Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. Tiger&Bunny doesn't belong to me, and I make no profit off this.
Spoiler Warnings: Knowledge up to Episode 18
Author's Note: First foray into Tiger&Bunny. Just wanted to write something with Kaede, and this was what popped into my mind. Not planning on continuing it, even though it's open for it. Maybe if I get the urge at some point, but this is just meant to be a one-shot.
Looking out the window at the schoolyard below, chin propped up in hand, Kaede sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"Hm?" Distracted, she put her hand down slowly with a nervous laugh. "Ah, nothing. My good-for-nothing father came for a visit and left a mess in his wake. Ugh, really, could I have a more uncool dad?"
"Poor Kaede-chan! Wanna go shopping later? Maybe find something expensive you just have to have, or you'll hate him forever...?" The grinning girl followed up the statement with a conspiratorial wink.
Laughing, she waved her friend off. "My grandma hurt herself the other day and I promised to help with the garden. Maybe next week, if she's better?"
"Sure thing!"
Her friends could get the hint, and they left her to spend the rest of the lunch period alone. Dad... Why didn't you tell me you had the Hundred Power? And why aren't you here to help me, when I need you most? You promised...
Kaede had put two-and-two together when she learned what her real power was. The NEXT with Hundred Power she had touched just had to have been him. An idea coming to her, she slapped a hand down on her desk with a gasp. Heads turned her way, and when hers turned to gaze out the window, they turned back to what they were doing.
Dad has Hundred Power. Dad has work in Stern Bild. Work he can't get out of without guilt. Dad, are you a Hero? No way! But it makes sense. That would make him... Wild Tiger? But why, why couldn't he just tell me? Dad, why couldn't you...?
"Why?"
"Wh... K-Kaede! What is this, all of a sudden?"
It was hours later, and the young girl was on the first phone call with her dad that she had initiated in a long time. "I told you the other day, that my power is to copy others! Don't you listen to me! I had Hundred Power. I had it after coming in contact with you! Now tell me the truth! Are you, are you a Hero?"
Stunned silence was the only thing coming from the other line. If she couldn't see his face, she would wonder if he was still there. But, no, he stared at her with shock fading into sorrowful acceptance. "Yes. Kaede, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't- didn't- tell you."
"If you're a Hero, then, you must be, Wild Tiger?"
"Yes."
They sat quietly for several moments longer before a train of thought led to an unhappy place for the young girl. "NOW WAIT JUST A MINUTE!"
"AH! Kaede, not so loud!" A crash sounded along with his shout, and he was searching for a napkin now.
Gritting her teeth to hold back the tears, she leaned in close. "Your co-worker, the one you said who is quitting now. It, it can't be, Barnaby! It just can't be, he can't, he can't!"
Halting his clean-up attempts, Kotetsu set his jaw and tried to remember that his baby girl wasn't a baby anymore. That was hard when she looked at him with tears threatening to spill, but she deserved a better answer than some stupid drivel he could come up with. It was a serious situation demanding a serious response. "Kaede. It's complicated. He... He got some bad news and is losing his focus. It would be dangerous for him to fight, the way he is now. It's... a sentiment I can relate to." Tomoe...
"But," she couldn't help the tears any longer. Spinning around so he couldn't see her face, she swiped the back of her hand across her eyes.
And that was when she decided.
"DAD!"
"AH!" Another crash that she ignored, after she spun around with that violent shout.
"Bring him here!"
"What?"
"Bring him to visit! Maybe the fresh country air and some distance will help!" And I get to meet my idol...
"Kaede..." Maybe... Maybe she's got a point.