"Did you hear, that rookie that used to live across the street from Auntie June's decided to rampage on main street today?"
"What, that shark fellow? Didn't know he had it in him"
Two men sat next to each other at a wooden bar, the steam from the cups in front of them disappearing as they chatted. By their feet were two duffle bags, weather worn and packed to the brim. One of the men kicked his own bag further under his stool with a scuffed boot as he laughed at his companion.
"Don't you worry about that, he was just throwing a tantrum" He took a sip of his coffee before shaking his head, "tried to steal some purse and the lady made a huge fuss over it. Kid just didn't get his own way"
The other man ran a hand through grey hair before reaching for his own cup, "ahh I miss the good old days," he muttered as he took a sip, "when rookies would plan this kind of shit before they acted"
A hand collided with the bar with a hard smack as the grey-haired man's companion spat out a laugh, "Didn't stop your ass from getting chucked into prison Gorou, even with all your planning! did you forget that banks have security systems in your old age"
Gorou waved a hand towards the laughing man, a sneer on his wrinkled face, "Bah, technology, what's it good for"
"Stopping us villains from doing bad shit, obviously"
"Hey now, ex-villains you mean" Both men looked up as a colossus of a man poked his head out from a doorway, boxes in arm and a wide smile on his face. He squeezed past the frame, his giant stature making it harder than it should have been before dropping the boxes on the bench. He wiped his forehead with his arm as he regarded the older men fondly.
"Last I heard Kenta, you were volunteering down at the shelter."
The man in question blushed a bit before turning away to look out a window with fake nonchalance. As he turned, his hair fell away from the side of his face revealing a mess of scars that made the bartender furrow his brows in sadness.
"yeah well, them good folks," Kenta muttered out, rubbing the back of his neck before picking up his drink, "helping us ex-villains out when we have no place to go. Thought I would be sleeping on the streets when I finished up my time"
Gorou hummed in an agreement, "yeah, if I wasn't for good folk like yourself Nick, there wouldn't be much for us to do, 'part from commit more crimes"
"who am I to turn away people who are just looking for a second chance," Nick gave a wide grin before taking both the men's empty cups. A soft piano tune sprang up from the background and Nick hummed along with it under his breath as he started on new cups.
Looking out the window as he waited for everything to brew, Nick took the time to relax against the counter and reminisce. He had opened the bar a while back now, nearing on 7 years and he couldn't help but sigh in disbelief at how quickly the time had passed. It seemed like it was yesterday when he had signed the contract for the two-story building. He had got the place cheap, what with it being nestled in the bad part of town but he didn't mind, rather he was almost thankful for it. Not many people opened up shop in a villain infested neighbourhood, so business was booming with all kinds of people coming in, looking for a cheap meal. Of course, there was always trouble but not many people wanted to mess with someone with as insane of a strength quirk as Nick had and after a while, word got around that the guy in charge of Dasoku had pretty reasonable prices and didn't jack them up based on who walked in the door. Nick got to know a lot of different people over the years, a clear majority becoming regulars and eventually family, especially when some individuals would try to take on the bartender. Nick never asked what happened to the trouble makers, he had a pretty good idea, and just went about his business, serving and chatting with those that came through.
A high-pitched beeping sound snapped Nick out of his daze and he jumped, startled. Gorou and Kenta both laughed at the friendly bartender, getting a good kick out of seeing the colossal man easily frightened by something as simples as the coffee machine.
"and here I thought Nick had balls of steal and the swiftest of reflexes," Gorou goaded with a smirk. Kenta burrowed his face into his arm, trying, and failing, to hide his manic laughter.
"Oh, you think that's funny hey? Whose giving you guys free refills huh? We'll see whose laughing when those stop coming" Gorou could only chuckle as Nick dumped the hot cups in front of them before reaching out and rubbing his knuckles into Kenta's head, snickering at his pained whines.
A few moments passed with Kenta finally reigning in his laughing fit enough to drink his coffee. The bar wasn't usually busy during the mornings, with many people coming in for lunch and dinner rather than breakfast, however Nick could always count on the regulars that would pop in for coffee. Other than Gorou and Kenta, two individuals were clustered together in one of the back booths, muttering in harsh whispers that would be sporadically interrupted with a loud shout before quieting down. Just past the booths, a beautiful melodic piano tune drifted, the piano hidden from Nick's sight, but he didn't fret, already knowing who was playing so early in the morning.
He smiled at Gorou and Kenta's conversation, still talking about how terrible most of the rookie villains were now-a-days, before his attention was stolen by the loud, unorthodox thuds coming from the stair case overhead the bar. Peering up from between the stairs, he huffed at the sight of woollen socks decorated with different breeds of cartoon dogs.
Leaning against the bar, Nick held his chin in his hand and smiled fondly as a young black-haired girl hopped down the last few stairs before grabbing onto the handrail and swinging around to acknowledge them with a smile.
"Ahh, there's my little sister. Finally risen from the dead to help your poor brother open up huh?"
The girl mocked her brother with a sneer as she ducked underneath the bar. Punching her brother in the arm, she pulled and secured her short hair with a hair tie as she walked towards the coffee machine. A few strands fell out and framed her face to which she swept them behind her ear before pouring that last of the new pot into a mug to drink.
"Wouldn't sleep in so late if someone wasn't such a snorer" She remarked back in a rough voice, hiding a smirk behind her mug. Nick simply rolled his eyes and open one of the drawers, grasping the fabric inside before tossing it towards his sister.
"Alright alright, get your apron on idiot, the twins have been arguing for nearly 10 minutes and I'm afraid today might be the day they rip themselves apart"
Yelping as the apron hit her face, she forgoes her cup of coffee to put the cloth around her waist. Draining the last of the caffeine in one huge gulp, she chucks the dish in the sink before ducking under the bar, narrowly missing Nick's famous hair ruffle.
Padding across the bar, she approaches the twin's booth where they sat, heads huddled together and frantically muttering about something.
"If you remembered the damn detonator, then why didn't you remind me about it!"
"because I had to think of how we were going to get into the event, where we were going to place the explosives and how we were going to avoid all the pro heroes that were going to be coming after our asses!"
"We are literally conjoined, you dumbass! It would've taken you two seconds to turn your head slightly to the left and be like, 'hey Shio don't forget the detonator, so we can actually DO WHAT WE CAME HERE TO DO"
"it was your only job, Koshou!"
At this point the two were quite literally head to head, growling and cursing in each other's faces. With a sarcastic smirk, the young girl leant against the head of the opposite booth seats and stared at the couple.
"you know guys, my career as a villain looks very promising when I have such great examples of what not to do when committing a felony"
Mismatched eyes both turned to look at the smirking girl, her amber eyes flashing with amusement. The twins scoffed in unison, rolling their eyes at the black-eyed girls comment.
"Shut it Keria, you couldn't be a villain even if you tried," Shio taunted, "You're not scary enough" Watching his brother stick his tongue out, Koshou barked out a laugh, nodding along.
"Yeah Keira, you don't have a villainous bone in your body. Stick to your goody two shoe dreams"
The twins snickered in unison, hi-fiving each other with smirks pulled across their face. Keira couldn't help but laugh as they missed completely and ended up hitting each other in the face, moving around the back of the booth seat to collect their empty mugs.
"Yeha yeah, whatever, surrounded by villains but wants to be a hero. Lay off my dreams and I'll leave you to yours, however far-fetched they may be. Now do you want a refill or not?"
With chimes of yes' and pleases', Keira left the scatterbrained duo to their plans and wandered over to the piano that sat just around the corner from the bar. A grizzled old man sat at the bench, his fingers pressing along the keys letting a melodic song to float throughout the bar, setting a rather peaceful atmosphere for the early morning. Keira leant against the old instrument, running her fingers over familiar scratches and scuff marks idly as she watched on silently.
The old man was Masahrio, a man who had been coming to the small bar since its opening. He was the first one through the doors at opening, and if nothing stole his attention away for the day, the last to leave. He moved between the table closet to the bar and the piano, playing beautiful tunes one moment or berating Nick on his coffee making skills the next.
Keira hummed along with the last few notes of the familiar tune before clapping softly as Masahiro finished with a flourish of his worn hands. The old man glanced down at Keira's sock clad feet before looking up at the girl in front of him, flashing a mixture of gold and white teeth.
"Finally come down to do your job hey?"
Keira let out an unflattering snort as she crossed her arms around her chest, "Is it really a job if I don't get paid"
"I'll pay you when you finally move out, you ungrateful brat" Keira and Masahiro both let out barking laughs, and keira peeked her head out from around the corner, looking at her brother who as leaning against the bar with a smirk on his face.
"Ahh, dear brother, you'd miss me way too much"
Masahiro lets out a soft chuckle, closing the lid of the piano and slowly moving the piano bench back. Shoes with gold plates on the toes peeked out, one tapping sharply against the wooden floors to bring the snickering girls attention back to him. Reaching out a hand, he motioned for Keira to take it.
"Want me to make the usual for you?" She grasps Masahiro's hand, helping the man to his feet and pulling his arm around her shoulders. Masahiro was a tall man, only appearing shorter due to the hunch he had developed in the past couple of years however his age was catching up to him and would usually rely on the siblings for assistance when he didn't have his cane with him.
The man gave a quiet nod, reaching out to grasp the skull topped cane that leant against the wall, and pulling his arm away from Keria's shoulder to instead wrap around her own.
"You always make my coffee the right way, little one, so yes"
Waiting a moment for Masahiro to situate himself, Keria started to escort him to his self-designated table. He didn't seem to lean as much on her with the help of his cane, funnily enough he seemed to be holding her up as her socks slipped slightly on the wooden floors.
Setting his cane against the table, Masahiro sat heavily down in one of the old chairs, sighing in relief. Patting Keria's arm as she unwound it, he motioned for her to come down to his level. Placing his hand in front of his mouth like he was about to whisper something of great importance, Keria watched as his eyes seemed to glaze over.
"Nick's gonna fuck this cup up more than usual today. Don't know how he got this place off the ground with such poor skills." Masahiro let out a hearty laugh at the sound of indignation that erupted from the bar.
"I heard that, old man. I may not be a hero anymore, But I'll still kick your wrinkly ass"
Keria snickered as the two men bantered with each other, ducking under the bar to work at the coffee machine. Pulling out a mug decorated in cartoon cats, she went about making Masahiro's coffee. For as long as she had been living at the bar, Masahiro had always requested for her to make his coffees, even at the age of 8. He had talked her through the process, waving away Nick's insistence of just making it himself whenever she would muck it up. She picked it up pretty quickly, learning through doing was much easier for her than someone telling her what to do.
"Oi Keira," She turned her head slightly, humming at the two ex-cons sitting at the bar, newly made coffees in front of them, "exams for UA are a couple of months away, you ready?"
Letting out a despondent sigh, Keria shrugged her shoulders, "10 months actually, and I feel like I have the physical down pat, but it's the written portion I'm worried about. As much as the stuff all of you teach me is interesting and important, I'm still behind everyone in class, and none of the teachers really care"
Nick scoffed, shaking his head in disgust, "stupid education system," leaning against the bar opposite Gorou and Kenta, he crossed his arms with a scowl, "just because you don't have some flashy quirk doesn't mean your less than any other student out there"
"yeah, but what's good with sending more emails to the school! Hopefully it wont matter anymore, that is if I get into UA"
"Of course, you'll get in," Gorou chimed in, a cheeky grin on his face, "they would be crazy not to take you!" He raises his coffee to Kenta to toast. Keria laughed at the two men, Kenta crying out as the other man toasted too hard and spilled the coffee on his pants. She finished off Masahiro's coffee, topping it off with a bit of the chocolate dust that he said reminded him of home before bringing it around.
"Exactly right, you're meant to do great things, little one, and I may be old, but this quirk still has some juice left in it"
"Thanks, old man," Keria placed his cat mug in front of him before grasping his shoulder with a small but genuine smile on her face. Masahiro reached forward and grasped the cup, taking a deep smell and exhaling in content. He pats her hand in thanks before taking a sip of his drink.
A shout brought the groups attention to the bickering twins and Kenta spun around on the stool, patting the coffee stain with a napkin, "You hear that, you menaces, Old Masahiro here says Keira is gonna be the best hero and once she is on the streets, you wont be able to do anymore of those petty pranks you like to call crimes!"
The two look over, sneers on their faces, "At least we can do crimes without spontaneously combusting every three seconds" Koushou let out a laugh at his brother's words, and both simultaneously stuck their tongues out. Kenta let out a scoff before turning back around to reach for more napkins.
"And anyway, Keria loves us, so she wouldn't mind turning a blind eye, right Keria!" They both whirled around to stare at Keira with puppy dog pouts and crazy mismatched eyes, hands coming up to clasp under Shio's chin.
Keria stared at them with a raise brow before turning away, waving a hand behind her in dismissal.
"You wish!"
Both twins whined her name as she ducked behind the counter. Nick threw an arm around her shoulders as his own shook in laughter and she couldn't help but break character and laugh with him.
The day continued on like usual. Keria, with the help of her brother, would run around, serving whoever walking in the door, greeting the regulars, introducing herself to the newcomers and watching with a scowl on her face as the troublemakers would get tossed out. By the end of the day she had made over a hundred coffees, had three on the spot villain lessons, slipped twice due to her socks and had a new drawing pinned to the wall.
Keria stood, staring at the new addition to the already full wall. Nick closed the door, pulling the lock across and flicking the open sign around. Padding over to where his sister stood staring at the drawing with intensity, he crossed his arms and looked at the new piece.
They stood for a few moments of silence before both cocking their heads to the side at the same time.
"He is getting pretty good y'know" Nick said with an impressed tone. Keira hummed in agreement.
"Yeah, it should be disturbing how well he can draw the ghosts now, even with all their injuries. although I did have to tell him that blood was actually blue. Mayu-san was complaining about the pictures being too inappropriate for young boys to draw"
Nick scoffed before walking away, sweeping up mugs and plates as he went, "I'm pretty sure Yasu is older than Mayu-sama" Nick said mockingly as he waltzed behind the bar. Keira laughed aloud, following her brother and hopping up on one of the stools. She watched with a fond smile as Nick started up a new pot of coffee, pulling out their two mugs from the sink and drying them as he went. He went about the whole thing routinely, popping out the back momentarily and emerging with a slice of chocolate iced cake on a plate. Settling the plate and the two mugs between them, he reached behind him and grabbed the pot of coffee just as the timer rang.
They ate the cake between them, battling each other with forks and short grunts of protest for the last crumb. The silence as they drank their coffee was welcome, especially after busy days manning the small café.
"I'm proud of you, y'know" Nick said after a while, looking down at the mug in his hands. It had small orange hexagons on it with a stark white 'H' in this middle of each. Keira had had it made for him for his birthday as a joke, but he used it every night when they had a drink together.
Keria looked up, eyes scrunching up in confusions and a blush flooding her cheeks in embarrassment. Looking back down sharply after Nick gave her an amused grin, she muttered into her own mug, "Why'd you say that?"
Nick shrugged at this, "you're just working really hard for this, working hard to get into UA. After how our family treated you and I, I didn't think I would ever see you act like this again"
Keira's grip grew tight on her mug as she scrunched up her brows, "I have to do this," she whispered, "The UA course is one of the most esteemed hero programs in the country, probably even the world! Only 1 in 300 applicants go through and if you graduate UA, you're destined to be a great hero! It doesn't matter what Oji-san feels, I need to do this. I need to try at least, even if its just getting to do the entrance exams. I need to know that I'm not just some… some monster!"
Nick's hand shot out, dwarfing his sisters as she squeezed the mug tightly. Spider cracks shot out from beneath her palm and she quickly let go of the cup. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let out a deep breath. Nick released her hands and scooped the fractured cup up, tipping the liquid out and tossing it in the bin. Reaching below the sink, he grabbed a similar looking mug and topped it up with water before handing it back to his sister.
He watched as she took several deep gulps, "don't ever let their words get to you. They are small minded people with large wallets and even larger egos."
"I know, I know. I just… I can't help it. It's like they are always with me, shouting at me in the back of my head" Nick frowned, before coming around the side of the bar and standing at his sister's side. Placing his hand on her head, he turned her to face him. She looked up with dejected lidded eyes, a small sad frown marring her face and Nick could do nothing but ruffle her hair gently.
"It doesn't matter what they say Keira. You are strong, stronger than they ever would have thought, you are intelligent, despite what that good for nothing school says, and you have the support of some of the most unlikely people." He knelt slightly to look at her face on before giving her a full-blown smile. No one would ever compare it to All Might's grin, but Keira would gladly take it over the top ranked hero's any day.
"We have 10 months okay? 10 months for you to train and study hard and I'll be there every step of the way. We're getting you into that hero course okay? "
Keira closed her eyes tightly, keeping the little tears that had threatened to break loose at bay. Nodding her head sharply, she couldn't help but wrap her arms around her brother, holding him just as tightly as she did her hero dreams.