Spider-Man and The Esper

28. Injury

Spider-man and Fubuki now faced each other from across the room of Bang's Dojo. "Try to push me back if you can. Ready?"

Fubuki held her arms out in front of her and gave a nod. "Yes."

"GO!" Spider-man shouted as he took off. Sure enough, as soon as he began running, he could feel Fubuki's power trying to move against him, he froze as he struggled to move forward while a blue aura surrounded him, which made him smile but eventually he was launched back across the room hitting the wall with great impact. "Ok, that's gonna leave a mark.." Spider-man's red lenses changed to white as he reached Fubuki in an instant.

"Boop," he said, poking the girl on her nose.

"Ah!" said Fubuki, releasing her powers and rubbing. She then gave the hero a frown as a blush formed on her cheeks. She crossed her arms.

Spider-man switching back his original form he informed her. "I could feel it. Your power is increasing."

Fubuki just looked away. "I doubt it… It couldn't even stop you in your cosmic form."

Spider-man could only shake his head at her. "Then you should try and come up with a strategy for stopping me. That could always work too, you know."

Fubuki's eyes lit up as she looked back at him. "A strategy?"

"Of course. Tactics are just as important as strength in battle."

"I see," said Fubuki, slowly looking away. I never thought to use that here.

Noticing the determined look in her eye, Spider-man decided to continue. "Ready to go again?"

Fubuki nodded. "Let's try it again."

Taking up their positions once more, Fubuki decided to change her outlook on the situation. Keeping an eye out for any potential strategy ideas, Fubuki gave her mentor a heads up. 

"Ready when you are," she said.

"Right, GO!" he replied.

Just as before, Spider-man ran at Fubuki as she used her powers to hold him back. This time, Fubuki watched Spider-man carefully, looking for any openings that she could exploit. Just as Spider-man was nearing Fubuki, the idea stuck with her.

That's it!

"Boop." said Spider-man, poking Fubuki on the nose again.

Fubuki simply shakes her head as she grinned at him, 'I swear, he acts like such a child.'

"Let's do it one more time," she told him confidently.

Spider-man just smiled at her. "Oh, think you can win, huh?"

Fubuki shrugged. "We'll see."

Spider-man gave her a curious look before turning back around. "All right then."

Once again, Spider-man faced Fubuki from across the room. This time, both competitors were showcasing determined looks on their faces. It was obvious that this match wouldn't be the same as the ones that preceded it.

"Ready?" asked Spider-man.

"Ready," said Fubuki.

"Okay then, here I come!"

And with that, Spider-man took off across the room, heading straight towards Fubuki. This time, Fubuki didn't focus on holding him back with her powers, but instead carefully tried watching his movements.

'Wait for it,' she thought cautiously. 'There!'

Seizing her opportunity, Fubuki quickly used her powers to crush a floorboard right beneath where Spider-man's foot would land. The woodwork dented inward, leaving a small crevice in the Spider-themed hero's path. Sure enough, upon placing his foot in the trap, Spider-man instantly fell forward with one of his arms in front of him. He then hit the floor hard, and stopped completely.