Author's Note! Hi everyone! Sorry for not posting anything in a long time, but my inspiration for writing has just not been there for a while. I hope to get back to my other stories soon! This is my first time writing for Tiger & Bunny so I apologize if anyone is out of character. Well, enough from me, let's read the story! Enjoy!

The Ninth Life of Kotetsu T. Kaburagi

Barnaby Brooks Jr. lounged contentedly on the couch, novel in hand. The window was cracked to allow the fresh spring breeze to filter through the room. The former hero sighed happily and gazed out the window. He'd have to get used to the new view, but he didn't think it'd be all that hard.

One month and Oriental Town was already beginning to feel like home.

And to think at first, Barnaby would have nothing with leaving Sternbild. Kotetsu had begged and pleaded for his "lil' bunny" to come and at least try living somewhere besides the city, and even managed to get his daughter to join in.

"Please, Mr. Barnaby? It'll be so lonely in the new house with just me and my dad," Kaede said, looking at Barnaby with the most heart-rending puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen.

The blond man finally caved, not only because of Kaede's adorable pleading but also because he just couldn't manage living without his partner by his side. And thus, he'd ended up as the newest resident of Kotetsu's hometown as well as the newest part of the Kaburagi family.

And it was wonderful.

"Hi Barnaby!" Kaede called out, bringing Barnaby back to the present.

The former hero looked up from the novel he was reading to see his partner's daughter at the doorframe.

"Kaede," he greeted in reply. "How was your day?"

"Good!" she replied cheerfully, then looked up and down the hallway. "Where's Dad?"

"He's bringing the car to the shop. He tried fixing it earlier, but all he did was make it even worse than it already was. I finally got him take it to a professional before he broke it beyond repair," Barnaby explained with a sigh and a shake of his head. "Your uncle Muramasa's going to pick him up while making deliveries, so I'm not sure when he's going to get back." He paused to tuck a bookmark in the novel and set it on the coffee table. "You're sleeping over at Mirai's house tonight, right?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," she nodded eagerly in reply, "Her mom's coming to pick me up at five."

Barnaby glanced at his watch and said, "You'd better get ready. I'll make us some tea, okay?"

"Sounds good!" Kaede said happily, dashing off to gather her things.

The former hero smiled and walked into the kitchen. Barnaby filled the teakettle with water and set it on the stove. He bustled around as the water reached a boil, pulling out the teabags, cups, spoons, and sugar (Kaede wouldn't drink it without) while trying to remember just where everything was in the new kitchen. The blond man still wasn't quite used to everything in this new house after spending so much time in a minimalistic apartment with just what he needed to get by. There was just so much more… stuff to deal with now.

The whistle of the teakettle interrupted Barnaby's thoughts thankfully before they overwhelmed him. As he was pouring the water, Kaede entered the kitchen.

"All packed!" she said happily, sitting down at her spot at the table.

The former hero added the teabags to the cups and placed them on the table. As Kaede prepared her tea the way she liked it, Barnaby pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. "So, did anything interesting happen today?" he asked.

Kaede nodded. "There's this new girl, Teri, in my class and she's a NEXT, too! She can change people into animals by touching them!" the young brunette said excitedly. "Remember that annoying kid Kevin? Who kept saying my scarf was dumb?" She leaned forward expectantly until Barnaby nodded in affirmation.

"Yes, I remember. He's not still bothering you, is he?" he asked, his hands tightening around the teacup.

"Not anymore," Kaede said with a sly grin not unlike her father's. "Teri let me borrow her power and I turned him into a Guinea pig!" The young Kaburagi burst out laughing. "That taught him!"

Barnaby chuckled. That sure wasn't a conventional way of dealing with bullies, but could anything be conventional when you were a NEXT?

"You did change him back, didn't you?" he asked after the two of them finished laughing.

"Yeah," Kaede said dejectedly, sticking her lip out in a pout. "Mrs. Yamamoto said he couldn't be the new class pet."

Barnaby couldn't help but laugh at both Kaede's words and expression. She could just be so much like Kotetsu sometimes. He'd seen his partner make that same exact face when he didn't get what he wanted, like when the heroes refused to let him do the cooking for the small party they'd had for Origami Cyclone's birthday.

"Come on guys, Origami loves Japanese stuff!" Kotetsu exclaimed.

"We all know the only thing you can cook is fried rice," Rock Bison pointed out flatly.

"Well, yeah, but that's Japanese! Plus it's really good, he'll love it!" Kotetsu insisted.

"Tiger, darling, there simply must be more than one type of food. I know a great Japanese restaurant that can cater the party," Fire Emblem said. He took out his cell phone and began dialing the number.

"But!"

"Um… no offense, Mr. Tiger, but…" Dragon Kid said timidly, "Ivan told me he doesn't even like fried rice that much…. He likes sushi best."

The veteran superhero's jaw dropped in surprise, then quickly closed into a pout. "Fine! But don't come complaining to me when you're tired of cold, raw fish and you want some warm, delicious fried rice!"

A car horn beeped outside.

Barnaby looked up. "Sounds like your friends are here."

Kaede drained the rest of her tea in a big gulp and ran to grab her bags. "Tell them I'll be right there!"

Barnaby set down his tea and walked out of the kitchen. He slipped into a pair of sandals and began walking to the minivan to make talk with Mirai's mother until Kaede made it outside. The former hero instantly realized that this was a bad idea when he remembered Kaede's friends—the passengers of the minivan—were big fans of his. Very big fans of his.

"Barnaby!" came the piercing squeal of four preteen girls. The car's back door began sliding open.

Mirai's mother made eye contact with Barnaby and mouthed, "Get away while you still can!"

Quickly, Barnaby formulated an excuse to retreat: "I think I hear the phone ringing." He glanced over his shoulder to make it more convincing. "I'd better go answer it. Have fun tonight!" And with that, Barnaby sprinted back to the house and out of the grasps of the most frightening types of fans known to mankind. There was nothing worse than an obsessed preteen fangirl.

Behind him he heard the rumble of Muramasa's old—no, antique van.

Oh, good, Kotetsu's home. He can see Kaede off, he thought.

Barnaby stumbled through the front door. At the last second he just avoided tripping over Kaede. The young Kaburagi, sitting on the threshold, giggled as she finished tying her sneaker. Kaede found the fact that the former hero, who'd defeated such terrifying and powerful NEXTs like Jake Martinez, was afraid of her friends absolutely hilarious.

"Sorry, Kaede," Barnaby apologized quickly while kicking off his sandals. "Your dad's out there, have a fun night, goodbye!" And with that, he got safely away from the front windows as possible to escape the prying eyes of Kaede's friends. The blond man knew he was over-reacting, but he liked the little game it had become and hearing his partner's daughter's laugh.

"Hey, Kaede, sweetie!" came Kotetsu's voice from outside. "I'm so glad I got to see my cute little daughter before she left for the night!"

"Dad, you're embarrassing me!" Kaede shrilled.

"What, your daddy's not cool enough to be seen by your friends?"

"Dad!"

"Give daddy a hug before you go!"

"Dad!"

"I love you too, baby!"

Barnaby chuckled and settled back down on the couch with his novel. Kotetsu was probably the most embarrassing, dorkiest dad a kid could have. Hell, he was probably the most embarrassing, dorkiest partner someone could have. But Barnaby didn't care, and deep down Kaede didn't either, because they knew Kotetsu loved them with all his heart.

Scratch, scratch.

That didn't mean Barnaby never got annoyed with him, though.

"Kotetsu, you have hands! Stop being silly and just open the door!" Barnaby yelled from the couch, keeping his eyes focused on the page he was reading.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

"Kotetsu! If you need help with the door, just knock like a normal person!"

Scritchscritchscritchscritch.

"Kotetsu! You'd better really need help or I swear I'm going to—"

He trailed off as he flung open the front door. Instead of the former Crusher for Justice, on the doorstep sat a scruffy orange cat with dark tabby stripes.

"Oh, it's just a cat," Barnaby mumbled to himself.

It stared at the former hero for a moment before inviting itself in and twining itself around his legs. Frowning, Barnaby pushed the cat away with his foot. "Go on," he demanded.

Instead, the cat pressed itself back against Barnaby's leg. He wrinkled his face in disgust at the thought of all the cat hair that was getting on his pants. Who knew where this furball had even been?

The blond man pushed the cat away again, this time with more force. "I said go on!"

The cat meowed in protest and sat down stubbornly, refusing to move. It stared up at Barnaby, who scowled back down. He huffed in annoyance.

"You're not coming in, and that's final!"

The cat whined a meow in response.

Barnaby rolled his eyes and turned to go back inside. With one foot inside the doorframe, a thought suddenly dawned on him.

Wait a minute… Kaede said she'd used an animal-changing power earlier today… Kotetsu gave her a hug before she left, so she must've touched him… her ability to control new NEXT powers are still pretty shaky… which means…

Barnaby snatched up the cat, causing it to yowl in surprise.

It had amber eyes, just like Kotetsu. It had disproportionately long legs, just like Kotetsu. It had a mole on the bottom of one of its feet, just like Kotetsu. Barnaby grimaced, then checked the undercarriage of the cat. It was a male, just like Kotetsu.

There was one last test.

"Kotetsu? Is that… you?" he asked the cat, feeling both stupid and slightly frightened.

The feline looked him right in the eye and meowed.

"Oh, no," Barnaby gasped as the cat—no, Kotetsu—purred and rubbed his muzzle against the former hero's slack-jawed face.

…Kaede's turned her father into a cat!