Breakfast was both more and less awkward than Hitoshi had expected it to be. For one, Monoma seemed to have genuinely forgiven Hitoshi overnight, and was back to his fake smiles and outspoken overtures. It was tense when they arrived, but it didn't take more than a few sentences for the tension to bleed away.

"I tried to convince them of a better strategy," Monoma told Hitoshi, fake-casual with his hands in his pockets. "It was a shit strategy and people were bound to get hurt. Mine was better."

"But they didn't listen."

"No." Monoma laughed, a rueful smile crossing his face. "I'm just one part of a hero team, and not a very successful one at that. Of course they wouldn't listen to me."

Hitoshi snorted darkly, remembering all of the comments, criticisms, and open disdain he had received over the years. "They were idiots not to. Maybe if we'd used your plan, they wouldn't have thirty cases of civilian endangerment on their hands."

That was all it took for the tension to ease as Neito laughed, the sharp line of his shoulders easing. The conversation turned to small talk, and what each of them had been doing since high school. That was all well and good, save that Monoma seemed genuinely interested, but Hitoshi had little to tell.

"I've been working as an underground hero, moving between police precincts wherever they need me." Hitoshi shrugged lightly and picked at his croissant. Monoma had picked the restaurant, a fancy French deli near the station.

"You're not working with an agency, then?" Monoma was draped casually over the upholstered seat. He looked like he was literally spineless, or possibly a cat in a human body.

"Kinda," Hitoshi shrugged. "The agency I work with basically just works as an interim between me and the police force. They tell me where I need to go, what missions I'm needed on, and handle my benefits and paycheck." The arrangement was pretty common when it came to underground heroes. They didn't work in the same way as standard hero agencies, seeing as they moved around too often and didn't deal at all with publicity or merchandise deals. It was fairly common for them to have arrangements like his.

"Sounds like you have a lot of flexibility. I wish I had that at my agency." Monoma paused, glaring at his butter knife, and Hitoshi raised an eyebrow to prompt him to keep going. "I've been working for this agency for the past three years. I'm part of a team, and they're all quality heroes, but we just don't click. For one, half the time they don't accept my impeccable leadership."

"Idiots, the lot of them," Hitoshi commented drily. That earned him a smirk.

"Well, they certainly aren't on the same level as me." Monoma shrugged. "They're good heroes, and generally quite capable, but we don't really get along that well on or off the battlefield. I try my best, but I can't force them to follow my leadership, much as I'd like to. We're all equals."

"Sounds homey. I just go wherever they need me. I rarely stay for longer than a couple months. The only long-term coworkers I have are my agent, and maybe a couple other underground heroes."

"I'd rather have all that freedom than be stuck in this prefecture working with people I don't really like and who I don't work that well with." Monoma smirked at him from across the table. "Perhaps you'd like to switch jobs with me, Shinsou-kun?"

"No." Hitoshi smirked back at him. "If you don't like your coworkers and you're on their team, I'd probably yeet myself out a window in five minutes."

Monoma's surprised laugh rang loud and clear through the deli, more musical than Hitoshi remembered it being. Strange, how they'd both changed in the past five years. But as he watched Monoma, laughing with his whole body, more mature and comfortable in his own skin than Hitoshi ever remembered him being, he decided that it was for the better.


The two didn't see each other for another week or so, until the police called in the Phantom Thief's team to help Hitoshi out of a tight spot. It was supposed to be just a reconnaissance mission, pulling aside one of the higher-up members of a growing villain syndicate to gain information. Unfortunately, the villain had recognized him and called for reinforcements before Hitoshi could restrain him. Hitoshi had managed to hold his own alright, but he was infinitely grateful when he recognized the swish of the Phantom Thief's tails as he streaked past Hitoshi.

The battle was quick-won after that, between the lot of them. No one was injured, and even Hitoshi was mainly just exhausted. They managed to capture all the villains, save one mid-level villain in the organization. He was going to cause a lot of trouble for them in the future, Hitoshi could tell. He'd managed to escape with knowledge of Hitoshi's quirk and how to break it, which meant Hitoshi was going to have a royal bitch of a time in the coming investigation.

Hitoshi groaned, leaning heavily against the ambulance that had arrived to check the heroes for injuries. He tugged at his capture gear, loosening it and the mask around his neck so he could breathe better. He was hungry and tired, but he didn't have any food in the fridge. He'd meant to go shopping that afternoon but had slept through his alarm.

"Hey, Shinsou-kun!" Hitoshi looked up to see the Phantom Thief jogging up to him. The blond looked only vaguely ruffled by the fight. His hair was ruffled in a way that managed to look intentional, and he had some soot shadowing his collar from a close call. His eyes were hooded in a way that Hitoshi couldn't tell whether it was intentional or Monoma was just tired. "You should come with me to get food. I bet you're hungry after that fight."

Hitoshi grunted, pushing himself away from the ambulance. "Where?"

"Well," Monoma pulled out a real pocket watch from the inside of his coat, flicking it open, "it's currently 3:45 am. So I'm thinking combini food. There's one around the corner that's open 24 hours."

"Sounds good to me." Hitoshi wobbled forward before finding his balance, meandering off in the direction Monoma nodded in. The blonde followed, smirking at Hitoshi's unsteady gait.

"You sure you're okay to walk there? You're pretty unsteady on your feet."

"I'm fine. Just tired." He'd think his enormous eye bags would say that for him. Guess not.

"Sure you don't need me to carry you before you fall over?" Hitoshi glared at him, making a conscious effort to walk in a steady, straight line. Monoma snickered.

Despite Hitoshi's dubious balance, they managed to make it to the combini and through the doors. Monoma followed the purple-haired hero, bemused, as he picked out a meat bun and some shrimp chips. Monoma grabbed himself a bento while Hitoshi bumbled to the counter. The combini worker looked almost as tired as the underground hero. The individual had a rainbow gradient arm warmer spanning from their left wrist to their elbow, covering their soulmark, but that was the only splash of color on them. Their black uniform apron matched the black voids of their eyes and the dark bags beneath them. Hitoshi felt for them, he really did. He gave them a nod in solidarity as he took handed them his purchases, making a momentary connection spurred by their mutual fatigue.

"Slow night?" Monoma nudged in beside Hitoshi at the counter. All he got was a nod back, but he forged on anyway. "I like your arm warmer. It's very lively."

"…it's functional."

Hitoshi finished paying for his food and decided to spare the worker from more harassment. He bumped Monoma's hip with his own. "Thanks for the backup tonight."

"Of course!" The blonde turned to him, completely abandoning his attempt at conversation with the cashier. "I would never turn up the chance of coming to the aid of an old ally."

"All the same." Hitoshi tore open his bag of shrimp chips, eager to get something in his stomach. "I'd have been in real trouble if you hadn't turned up when you did."

"Our agency regularly gets calls for fights where other heroes are out of their depth." Monoma handed the cashier his card. "We all have support-oriented quirks, so we work well to help heroes out of situations they can't get out of themselves, especially when more combat-oriented heroes aren't available." Hitoshi grunted in agreement, watching Monoma finish his payment and nodding toward the door. The cashier made eye contact with him over Monoma's shoulder and nodded in thanks. Never say Hitoshi hadn't done anything nice.

"You know, maybe we should exchange emails. In case you need help on another mission, so we don't have to go through our agencies."

"…Sure." Hitoshi dug in his pocket for his phone, following Monoma out the door and into the cold night air while juggling his food. It took him a moment, but he was able to pull up his contacts and extend the phone to the blonde with only two shrimp chip casualties.

"Excellent!" Monoma gleefully entered his information and sent a message to himself using Hitoshi's phone. He handed it back with a grin. "And you can add me as a contact on HeroAid." Hitoshi blinked, wondering why Monoma hadn't suggested that first, seeing as the app was made to connect heroes who worked well together for missions and fights. They hadn't actually needed to exchange emails at all. Then again, at least they had each other's emails if they needed them.

They made their way to a low brick wall nearby to eat. Hitoshi unwrapped his meat bun in silence, listening to Monoma babble about how they could work together on missions in the future, and how they would work well together with Monoma's strategic mind and Hitoshi's natural combat ability and strong quirk. "In fact, if there's ever a mission where you need an extra set of vocal chords and a fellow strategist, you should call me. I'm always happy to take a mission on the side, and I was always fond of your quirk in school."

Hitoshi shrugged. "Maybe. I'll have to see if anything comes up while I'm in the area. I might not be here long."

"Which is a shame! I think we really could work well together if you were ever to settle down in this area."

Hitoshi eyed Monoma's wide-swinging arm as it came too close to his personal space. "Probably not going to happen any time soon."

"But if it does, you'll call me up?" Monoma was eyeing him expectantly, a delicate blonde brow arched behind his bangs.

"…Yeah." That earned him a brilliantly wide smile that glinted in the moonlight. "Maybe I will."