An inspiration from SIDEKICKS and One Punch Man

"Most have been forgotten. Most deserve to be forgotten. The heroes will always be remembered. The best. The best and the worst. And a few who were a bit of both."

― George R.R. Martin, A Feast for Crows

Knowing Kuroko Tetsuya, you could say that he was a sucker for heroes – a mega huge fan for those champions he'd been watching in the telly – no matter they were real or not. It all started during the first summer he spent in his uncle's house in California. Alas, having his summer cold just as he arrived wasn't a pleasant thing at all, and he was stuck bedridden in the shabby-looking apartment viewing the white sands of Cali's beaches. He had to waste his time by the windowsill, feeling the heaty waves of dog days' breeze and gazed over bikini-clad teenage girls and volleyball boys. So, his uncle had took pity of his state; sighing all day long with a cooling aid propped on top of his forehead and mucus drooling from his nose – this wasn't what ten-year old boys supposed to do in summertime! And thus, his uncle had greeted him with a cheeky smile, one that had Tetsuya furrowed his brows in curiosity, until Uncle Minami showed him a couple of DVDs which were actually a collection of Marvel and DC comics. Never in his life had he shown a bright face in response. His uncle, Kuroko Minami, found it an improvement in his expressions.

And Tetsuya was much happier after they watched three movies in a row – the first version of Spiderman, then The Dark Knight and Sidekick. Even if it was already time for dinner and Uncle Minami proceeded to call for pizza – he was a divorced man, and lazy – that Tetsuya went to look out for others in the bundle. He was about to slip in the 2005's Fantastic Four did he heard his uncle chuckled from behind, perhaps amused at the young boy's antics on beginning to be a fanboy himself. Still, Tetsuya turned around with a frown marring his young, cherubic face and he glared. "Why are you laughing?" Genuinely, he wasn't fond of being laughed at but in truth, his uncle neither had any bad intentions or whatsoever.

"It's nothing. . ." the thirty year old uncle shook his head, hauling himself up just to drag himself to the fridge nearby to grab more beer for himself and cartons of juice for the young blunette as well. "You remind me when I was a kid. You know. . . Back in the 1980s, I've get to see the first Batman series, or – or Superman had reached its third movie, the Swamp Thing. . . Y'get it? It's a thing that everybody likes. But you just reminded me of when I was a young boy like you."

The latter kept himself mute, yet eyeing his uncle in a rather observant mien. "What do you mean?"

"Those look in your eyes, kid," he beamed, flashing his row of teeth, "It's like you want to be a hero yourself when you watched all those stuffs."

"I just. . . well, I kinda liked 'em." Truthfully, he could never imagine himself being a saviour of the city – or nation, better yet. Even right now, he was weak from the cold he was having; how is it possible to fight some ugly-looking monsters or lunatic criminals still on the run? Tetsuya shrugged toward the thought, cringing as he flashed an image of him beaten up rather than saving the day. Unfortunately, he was aware that he wasn't blessed with pure strength or super genius mind when he was given birth. Kuroko Tetsuya was just a normal boy; or well, he's actually lower than average. "I could never be a hero, uncle. . . Look at these arms!" he admitted jokingly, although deep inside a bitter taste settled.

The man snorted a laugh, much to his nephew's offend. "Yeah, yeah, kid. I got it. It's just that, since you're little you had these dead-fish eyes. . . Like, nothing interests you. It's only today that I get to see some sparks in those ocean blue eyes. I'm happy for that."

"Oh. . . I never knew someone would be worried about my eyes. . ."

"We all are, in fact. Your mum, your dad – heck, even Pops are starting to think that you might be mental or something. You're just dead frozen sometimes. But I guess these heroes thing brought miracles today," he grinned lopsidedly, tasting one of the recently opened Carlsberg in a large swing.

"But they're not real. They're just fantasies," the blunette snorted, blue eyes rolled in sarcasm. But then, he was surprised – shocked – to see the mischievous wink thrown onto his direction, especially the grin stretched wider on the chapped lips of his uncle and his fingers played beneath his stubble-filled chin. As if there was a secret yet to be told behind the sneaky glimpses his middle-aged uncle was giving him until he felt chills crawling up to his spine. It wasn't the breeze that made him shiver. "Are you saying they're. . . real?"

"You could say that, kid." He chuckled, the deep sound rumbled in his throat.

"B-But how?" Now, his attention perked up a hundred percent. He looked like he was about to burst in happiness, with the large eyes a fireworks of azure and cerulean shades. He picked himself up, scooting closer to his uncle languidly dozing on the old cushioned settee. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Alright, alright! Chill down for a second," Uncle Minami attempted to dodge the flailing arms directing as light, playful punches to his face. "Here, maybe it's in the TV now. Let's watch the news."

After slipping the compact disk out from the DVD player, they retreated back to the couch. Tetsuya sprawled on the floor with three or four comics on his lap, changing the channel until they reached the late night news programme. And just as they did it, the screen flashed an image of a cape-wearing man grinning straight toward the camera, his hands akimbo on his fine hips. He was tall and well-built, wearing an angry shade of red for a mask covering his eyes, matched gloves and the cape fluttered about from the back as proud as the wearer himself. The news reporter, a young woman with short-cropped brown hair had her fingers dawdling with the glasses she wore before she excitedly exclaimed of the hero's arrival. "And again, we had yet to see this brave hero save a girl from getting murdered by a group of gangsters –" she prattled on the achievements, Tetsuya swallowing every word with full attention, "And this hero is called Running Man! He is known to be a very fast runner –" on and on with his biodata. The blunette peered over his shoulder, finding his uncle staring toward him once again, flashing the infamous grin whilst he stroked his unshaven rubble he sort of adored. Scowling, he returned back to the telly, focusing on the next news about the weather forecast.

"So, whaddaya think? Hm?"

"W-well. . . it's unbelievable."

"But it's true. Suck it up, buddy."

The child curled and squirmed, hugging his legs and propped his chin on top of his knees as he went into a deep thought about the matter. For a child, this was already in a serious level of thinking. "Is it possible?"

"Be specific, kid. Possible for what?" he quaffed down half of the contents in the canned beer, then hurled the already empty trash elsewhere without a care.

The blue-haired boy gulped. "Is it possible if I could be a hero as well?" There was determination in the big, baby blue eyes. A rare determination inspired by what could seemed like a childish entertainment but the swirl of emotions were real, even his uncle widened his eyes, flabbergasted by the sudden question. He scratched the back of his head, reluctant on what to say next and bit his lip. "What do you think? You think you can do it? Be a hero like him?" The blunette remained silent, head lowered that his uncle would have thought he'd give up in despair, but the man was proven wrong as he rose back up and gave a firm nod.

His uncle laughed, "Look what we've got here! Can't wait to see you in the TV one day!" he proudly stroked the blue tufts, making it tousled as it already was before. Shyly, Tetsuya simpered as he took every sounds of laughter from his uncle. It was only when his uncle suddenly went dead silent. His attention was disrupted by the notification on the telly, till he pushed Tetsuya a bit to the side as a smile crossed his face. "Hey buddy, look." In cue to his uncle's order, Tetsuya whipped his face and went back to his curling position as he watched in curiosity to what his uncle's interest was piqued. He stole a glimpse toward his uncle, neither focusing on the telly or him but looked as if he was daydreaming and reverted back his eyesight to the screen. It was just a live show, and a man wearing the formal clothing consisted of an ebony suit and pants, a striped tie and a pair of polished oxfords was hosting the show. It seemed that tonight's guest was, well, a hero – much to Tetsuya's surprise. But the hero wasn't the same as the news just now. Rather, Tetsuya knew he was a hero because of the leather and rubber suit he was wearing, black in colour and contrary to the pale skin. He had the trademark mask, but his weren't the fancy vermillion Running Man was wearing, instead it was a simple and dark rubber plastered against his good-looking features and the guest didn't wear any prideful capes. Despite the hue of the garments he was wearing, his hair was a fiery crimson burning the blunette's gaze in wonderment. The blunette couldn't bother to listen to the details, yet he barely managed to know the name, The Emperor strumming in his ears like a worthy Grammy-awarded song. Tetsuya gasped.

If Tetsuya was a hero, he wanted to meet the hero on the telly – fight along with the teenage champion. Screw the host blabbering something along with the script written on the cue card, his attention was fully focused on The Emperor himself.

"So, even you got wonderstruck, hm?" He heard a distance call from his uncle, bringing him back to reality. The blunette almost jumped, and a bubblegum shade spread across his cheeks as he thought of his fantasies – God damn, he was just ten! "It's okay, kid. Everyone likes The Emperor. You're not the only one," his uncle winked.

"B-But. . . who is he?"

"They said he's the youngest hero they had now in Hero Society. He started out two years ago, at the age of thirteen but he's still super strong. Pretty insane, huh?" The blunette showed a distant look, his mind wandering elsewhere.

"Yeah. . ." He sniffled, "Pretty insane. . ." Yet, there was a soft smile present on his small face. His curiosity wasn't eased, it piqued higher and all he wanted to achieve was to meet this hero bearing the title emperor one day.

The blunette didn't notice he fell asleep with the smile still intact, brimming with a recherché thrill he never felt before. His uncle scooped him by his arms, noticing how light the child was and shook his head. The man brought him to the bedroom the child was staying, a cramped area fitted only for a single bed with its mattress older than the child itself, a closet and a desk propped with stacks of books – who knew a child could be an avid reader – and small bric-a-bracs. Tetsuya groaned softly, tossing his body to the side once he felt the hardened mattress. His uncle patted him before closing the bedroom door.

"Good night, buddy," a soft grin, "I'm sure you'd be a good hero one day."

Paragon

Episode I : The Emperor's Sidekick

Chapter One

"Tetsuya!" A petite woman searched around the house in frantic, attempting to spot a certain blunette anywhere around the house. She searched her son's bedroom, the kitchen, the bijou café full with customers enjoying either their morning coffee or engulfing a heavy breakfast; even the attic above but still there wasn't a sign of her son's presence. She started to become worried, pacing here and forth till the memory hit her hard and she groaned in frustration. "Get down now, child!" But there wasn't any response. Not a miniscule sound was heard and again, she stormed around the kitchen connected to the living room in an impatient manner.

From the back of the kitchen wall, his back feeling against the smooth tile, a certain seventeen year old blunette was giggling as he remained in his hiding. He happily thanked his gift, an ability of being in a low presence – not even his mother could detect him at most times. For that, he managed to slip out of the room as quiet as a mouse – stealth of a high-ranked assassin – not before leaving a short note and grabbing an apple inside the fruit bowl. He finally freed a relatively clamorous laughter once he made it outside, clutching his stomach as he did so. His schoolbag almost slipped from his shoulder as he regained his composure and he swiftly sling it back, heading off to Seirin High. As usual, New Jersey was a busy city especially during the early morning. Every corners of the street was horded by citizens, cars and buses littering the traffic. A breezy day it was, because summer was coming and it was the last brink of spring. Not many noticed him as he pushed past the crowd, a throng of people walking on the crossing lane. He accidentally pushed a woman, causing her to stumble and had her face slammed against someone's back, whilst his recently bitten apple fell dramatically onto the ground. The blame instantly went to someone else, coincidentally someone else was bringing a grocery bag with him and the woman immediately yanked his shirt. In a crowded street of New Jersey, Tetsuya had just caused a bicker to happen but he was busy heading to school so he paid no attention toward the shouts and yells starting to rise in the crowd.

Eyes rolling, the teen could only muster a mocking sneer.

Once he reached his high school, he noticed a tall redhead leaning by the railing of a staircase. With a bored expression, he twirled the basketball with one finger like it was the easiest thing to do. Wanting to test his ability once again, he slowly crept behind his friend. Silently, he tiptoed closer toward Kagami Taiga, but the redhead wasn't capable of noticing him just yet. Instead, the blunette caught him mumbling the word shortstack and why the hell is he late?, the blunette huffed. Arms akimbo, he leaned closer to Taiga just to whisper; "I'm here, y'know?"

"WHAAA!"

The shorter male laughed, happy that his cheap trick never failed. "Good morning, Kagami-kun." He walked away, humming a childish tune as he did. He peered over his shoulder, the redhead was recovering from his shock.

"Geez Kuroko, can you stop doing that? You're going to give someone a heart attack someday."

A meek reply, "No."

"Wha –" Taiga groaned, "Why?"

"Your reactions are amusing."

"Seriously?" He sighed.

Tetsuya walked past the taller male, twirled for a second with a small grin that couldn't quite reached the probably-permanent monotonous eyes; "That's for calling me shortstack too," he almost pirouetted back to front and proceeded to his locker, the twelfth one from the entrance. He heard his best friend groaned from behind, and then footsteps trailing; "You're seriously creepy most of the times." He heaved out a tired laugh, shaking his head toward his short friend. The blunette only gazed ahead, his head lowered occasionally as if to chuckle.

"It's your big day tomorrow," Taiga spoke again, masking a Cheshire grin, when they both reached the twelfth and thirteenth locker. Beside them, a group of cheerleaders were talking about the latest sale on Urban Decay, and the two of them decided to ignore.

Tetsuya only nodded, yet even the redhead was able to notice the excitement twizzling in his baby blue pools when the topic was mentioned. It was then Tetsuya started smiling like a fool, an excited fool as if he'd be marrying a beauty chic tomorrow. But even marriage doesn't sound as thrilling as entering the Hero Society the next day; the blunette had himself bursting with glee and he flashed a teensy bit of the rare smile. "Yeah, I'm so nervous," he answered. "I mean. . . I'm leaving home for the first time. . ." a bit of remorse, "And you guys."

"We promised to graduate together next year. I can't believe you ditch me alone!"

"You're not alone," the shorter lad rolled his eyes. "You've got your half-brother with you. And don't you dare forget about Alex."

Taiga snorted. "But Alex's a teacher, Kuroko. . . And she's our coach."

"Well, maybe from now on, I guess you have to talk to the seniors." Tetsuya gave him a devilish smirk from the corners of the locker. Taiga gulped in horror, thinking about the seniors he had to endure. They weren't exactly bad, but they already came in groups and being the only junior inside a rather large clique made him felt rather awkward. The red-haired basketball player shuddered toward the thought.

"I still can't believe this is happening," he cried.

Tetsuya slammed his locker, now the gap between him and Taiga was demolished and the redhead could finally see the firmness in the pools casting shades of the brightest day. He swallowed. "You know I'll come visit you guys when I can. After all, this is a dream I wanted since. . . since seven years ago. And they finally let me in after a few months of waiting," he drawled on. "Now, let's go to class."

Taiga could only nodded, his lips pulling into a thin line and words were sealed away.

The blunette returned home earlier than before, his strides back to the apartment faster than usual and he was humming – humming! Usually, the teen would go back minutes before the curfew kicked in, or worst later than that. It was when he put his ability in test, and he successfully made past a nagging mother, a seething father and a worried grandmother. Yet, that night, his mother took a quick notice out of him just as he stepped into the kitchen bearing a nice whiff of upcoming dinner and she was rather amazed at how bright he was shining that evening. Most of the times, the blunette was an emotionless prick, unreadable and an enigma even to the family members. They once thought he might be mental or something – due to the fact that the whole other family members were charismatic, on top of that, party maniacs. Including the grandparents, of course. But he was a contrast to the others, a gloom between the joyous community, the rain to the sunshine. So, his mother threw him an amused look on to which he responded with a confused one. Tetsuya strolled on to pick another fruit from the basket.

"Looks like we a got little sunshine today," she beamed, her fingers plucking a strand of her own blue strands behind her ear. "It's a big day tomorrow, hn?"

"Yeah. . . Can't wait." He rummaged through the fridge and noticed his mother had made vanilla milkshake stored in a bottle and greedily took it.

Kuroko Nozomi stood firm in front of the working stove. For once, she didn't expand the topic farther as she would always do. Hoping her son wouldn't take notice, she bit her lower lip, again brushing her fingers through the azure cascades and wept tiny, gossamer tears prying her eyes. Alas for her, Tetsuya caught glimpses of her slumped shoulders and lowered head. He crawled nearby her and swung one arm around her neck, bending slightly to pry on his crying mother. Nozomi sparsely shed any tears; the first one when Grandpa died last year, and the second was now. Confused to what was making her mood blue, Tetsuya solaced his mother by massaging the area in between the shoulders and lower neck. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she sniffled, still stirring the beef stew boiling in the pot.

"Hey mom, c'mon. . ."

"No, no, no. . ." her mother shook slightly, "It's just –" a hasty pause, "You're leaving home. . ."

"Oh Mom, I'll be fine," he persuaded, "I'll visit."

Nozomi giggled at the promise. Turning to meet her son's concerned gaze, she flicked his forehead playfully. "Don't keep promises you can't keep! The headquarters for Hero Society is in Miami."

". . . Bus rides?"

The two of them went silent for a moment, then the mother laughed as if his suggestion meant nothing but a joke. "Really? A hero riding a bus? Didn't that. . . institution gives you a limo or something?"

"I'll work it out," he took a bite of the polished green apple, but after seeing the look his mom gave him, the younger blunette grumbled, "Mom, I swear I'm not breaking my promise."

"Nah, it's fine. . ." she went to grab a serving bowl for the beef stew. "I'm. . ." she brushed a rivulet, "I'm just not ready to let go of my son."

A cloud of air puffed out of his lips as he tenderly gazed upon his mother. So, she had been worried sick after all. And it was the first time he's leaving home; not for college but something not guaranteed its safety. Yet, he knew this was what he wanted. Nozomi knew that. Overall, he was sure his mom would be fine, after all the doting years he'd bore before. Even so, he gave Kuroko Nozomi the warmest embrace he could, and Tetsuya sniffled as well, enjoying the semblance of heat he would always remember.

The next day came unexpectedly fast, and Tetsuya was woken with the fervent waves of summer greetings. Both excited and nervous, the blunette was sure that he almost broke his ankle crashing down from the top of the bunk bed and rushed to the washing room to tame his horrid mane. From below, Nozomi was yelling whether he was fine or not but he paid no heed as he busied himself tending with a not-at-all packed suitcase whilst trying to wear the navy jumper at the same time. Right, he forgot to pack. Very clever.

"Tetsuya, those agents are waiting for you downstairs!" His mother rattled the railing, as if to warn him about something he already knew. Tetsuya paid no heed, instead rolling his eyes for the umpteenth time and dashed to grab whatever amount of underwear he had in the closet – also, reminding himself to wear actual pants. "Coming!" he shouted back. He was about to close the suitcase, but then he remembered about the comic books he had been given by his uncle seven years ago. Reluctantly, he thought about the decision, occasionally glancing toward the piles of Marvel and DC comics. At last, a few stashes slipped in between the piles of clothes as well.

Finally, after for like twenty minutes holing inside the messy bedroom – really, it became a disaster – he sprinted down the staircase, feet stomping against wood much to his weak grandmother's chagrin, he was faced with a frustrated mother and his grandmother clutching her poor heart. "I'm sorry," he genuinely said, although paired with a lopsided smile – an absolutely clumsy manner. Arms crossed, Nozomi could only flicked his forehead and ushered him to the café below.

Downstairs, the quaint place was already brimming with customers. It was Saturday, so the amount doubled than what weekdays would provide them. Tetsuya spotted the agents sitting in the foremost corner, papers and documents deeming importance placed helter-skelter on top of the table. Whilst one had a composed and cool demeanour – heck, he was bearing a smile – his companion on the other hand, looked impatient. Tetsuya walked closer to them, he felt his invisibility turned on and neither of them took notice.

"Where's this kid after all? We've been here for an hour." The one with narrow eyes hidden behind glasses spoke, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"Come on, he'll be here soon." The relaxed one spoke.

"I'm here," Tetsuya prepared for surprised yells to come.

And come they did. The impatient one almost jumped from his seat as he released a shocked shout but settled down once again as he huffed out loud. The cool one was also surprised, but to the point on which he regained his composure and threw the blunette an amused smile. Secretly, Tetsuya himself was holding back his laughter – never did his cheap tricks failing on him.

"Hello, um, Kuroko-san," the calm one spoke, "I'm Izuki Shun and this is my boss Hyuuga Junpei."

"Good morning," the blunette politely bowed. Even he was amazed at his sudden manners when inside his chest was brimming with endless excitement, he was nearly grinning as he did his curt bow.

"So," the black-haired man spoke again – but this time he flashed a smirk which gave shudders to the blunette's spine. There was something in the upright curl that made Tetsuya became uneased. He scratched his head, eyeing the two agents with full curiosity. The man continued after a long pause, after signalling more glances toward his teeth-clenching partner – boss, whatever. "Are you ready to meet the Emperor?"

The blue-haired teen was sure he was beaming. Once the azure eyes a pair of dull, unpolished gems but now they shone brighter than the last brink of spring's sunshine, and it was surprising enough a smile settled permanently upon the emotionless visage. He inhaled deeply, his fingers clutching the bars of the wheeled suitcase. The tedious humdrum life he faced before was no longer chasing after him. Instead, a new life awaited him and he happily gave his assumable response.

"Yeah."

Finally, he get to work under Akashi Seijuurou, or also known as The Emperor.

"I'm ready."

Finally.

TO BE CONTINUED

Extra notes :

Akashi Seijuurou aka The Emperor, 22 – Hero

Kuroko Tetsuya aka The Phantom, 17 – Sidekick to Akashi

Aomine Daiki (I can't think of a name yet. . .), 22 – Hero

Kise Ryouta aka Copycat, 19 – Sidekick to Aomine

Midorima Shintarou aka The Shooter, 22 – Hero

Takao Kazunari aka Hawkeye (I fucking know XD), 20 - Sidekick

Momoi Satsuki aka Analyst (once known as Informant), 19 – Hero, once a Sidekick to Aomine but passed

Teppei Kiyoshi aka Iron Heart, members of the Uncrowned Kings, 26 – Hero

Setting is in America, but the visual image is like San Fransokyo which is a mixture of Japan and America. There are Americans but also Japanese people, duh.

Story will also be done internationally, characters visiting the Association in China, Paris, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

To become a hero have this stage; if you fail the entrance exam, you become the Undercore. Undercore is like a group of army sent for emergency cases in case that a hero hasn't reached the location. Unfortunately, they are not given credits at all. If one pass, becomes a Sidekick to whatever hero you wanted to work with. The hero will then gives you another set of test, on which you fail you have to repeat the tests with another hero. Pass, succeeds on becoming a hero. If you meet the qualifications of a great hero, you are able to join a team consisting of strong heroes or the Agency itself.

Beware of aliens, lol.

Mozu : I hope you enjoy this new project of mine. *giggles* I can't stop my plot bunnies. Oh, and Running Man is just. . . a bad joke, lol. I don't have ideas anymore! Anyway, you will see some OOC here but it's supposed to align with the storyline. And the bullying is not going to be that bad, right Akashi?

Akashi : If you make me hurt my Tetsuya real bad, you'll pay.

Mozu : *shoots Kuroko* I. . . I can explain.

Kuroko : *half-dead* T-The powers will be explained. . . next. . .

Akashi : Son of a bitch.

Mozu : I'M SORRY! THERE'S NO ANGST HERE WTF. X FOR LOVE, O FOR HATE. SUBSCRIBE AND LOVE ME, FUCKERS I'M DRUNK

-Mozu The Mochi (2015)