Chapter 6

Kotetsu was initially pulled from his dreams by the golden glow of the morning sun that hit his face, but it was a sore back and a stiff neck that got him to open his eyes and sit up. He squinted as his vision adjusted to the brightness. It had to be at least ten in the morning, by the looks of it. Blinking the blurriness away, he tapped his call band to pull up the time: 10:21 AM.

Kotetsu rubbed his face. His eyes felt a little puffy, and there was a hint of a headache as well. He'd slept the rest of the night, but the odd hours had left him fairly groggy. A long, hot shower would hopefully clear that up.

It didn't take long for him to remember what he had learned last night, which momentarily stalled his strides on his way to the bathroom. He pushed the thought away. He didn't want to think about that right now.

His shower was not as relaxing as he would have liked it to be, but it woke him up at least. He went upstairs and pulled his usual garb out of the drawers under the bed. After swiping his watch and bracelet from the bedside table, he went back downstairs and fetched a glass of water. He didn't have to look in his pantry to know that he didn't have anything around to eat, so he decided he would stop somewhere on his way to work.

The weather outside was bright and sunny, a stark contrast from his gloomy mood. Clear blue skies and a cool, gentle breeze promised to bring a pleasant day. With the window rolled down, the air current threatened to steal his hat, so he pulled it off and set it in the passenger seat beside him. The warm sunlight even managed to break through the cloud that hung over Kotetsu's head, injecting him with a sliver of optimism. Just a sliver. There was a lot that worried him, a lot to be fixed, but if he could just take things one step at a time, maybe he would make it through the day. All he had to do was get through it, and endurance was his strong point, wasn't it? There was a small comfort in knowing that the worst of it was now behind him, or at least he hoped that was the case.

He wasn't all that hungry, but he knew he needed to eat something. Normally he would just grab a quick breakfast sandwich from one of the many fast food joints along the way, but he did not think his stomach would agree with something that greasy this morning, so he settled on stopping at a small bakery a few blocks down the road.

The strong aroma found his nostrils before he'd even stepped out of his van. Their front door was propped open, probably to lure in people just like him. The air was thick with a sweet mix of brewing coffee and freshly glazed donuts.

It seemed he had just missed the morning rush, as he was the first in line when he walked up to the counter. The owner greeted him with a friendly voice, though she wore a look of concern when her eyes met his.

Suddenly, Kotetsu was a little self-conscious. Had he forgotten to shave his stubble? No, he did that. He hadn't eaten yet, so there couldn't be anything on his face, so what—

Without a word, the short woman bent behind the glass case and pulled something off one of the middle racks. A moment later, she placed a petite cake down in front of Kotetsu, utterly confusing him.

"Er, actually, I was going to order a croissant…" he stammered, thinking there must be some misunderstanding.

But the woman offered a knowing smile. "This is my treat. You look like you have had a rough morning," she said, a little sympathetic. "I'll get your croissant."

Kotetsu flinched. Did he really look that bad? "Ah…thanks."

The older woman smiled again and returned to the case to retrieve his order. "Would you like a coffee to take with you?"

The hero nodded. "Yes, please. A medium, just black."

He fished his wallet out to pay, and as the owner boxed his complimentary cake, he dropped some change into her tip jar. He waved his thanks as he turned and left. Sweet lady, he thought, even if the gesture made him a little uncomfortable, knowing he was that easy to read.

He had to agree, however, that this dark mood wouldn't do. To take his mind off of things, he decided it might be refreshing to walk around and window shop before heading into work. There were a couple of blocks of shops and street vendors near Apollon, which he was usually driving past on his way to work, so today he thought he would actually stop by and take the time to check them out. If he received a call, he'd be able to respond within minutes, but there was plenty to explore and amuse himself with if he didn't.

With that thought in mind, Kotetsu drove the rest of the way to work and parked in the garage, but instead of heading into the building, he hit the streets to distract himself for an hour or two.

It turned out to be a good thing that he'd decided to stick near Apollon's building, as his call band began to buzz, like clockwork.

"Bonjour, Heroes," came a familiar and ever-confident voice. "Presently, there is a reckless driver speeding through traffic, heading north on I-87. He just passed exit 13. Judging by his behavior, we suspect he may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He bumped into a taxi near downtown and took off, and I've just sent Rock Bison and Origami Cyclone to make sure everyone involved is okay. He is putting a lot more people in danger. You two are to arrive at the scene as quickly as possible, and drive safely. I'll keep you updated on his position, as always."

After acknowledging the report, Kotetsu tapped his call band to dial Mr. Saitou, who picked up almost automatically. "I'm right outside Apollon, so I'll be there soon. No need to send out the truck or anything."

Saitou squeaked what Kotetsu could only assume was an affirmative response before he started heading that way.

He was able to reach the entrance within a couple of minutes. When the elevator doors opened to let him off on Saitou's engineering level, the first object his eyes caught sight of was the back of Barnaby's trademark jacket.

His stomach did a somersault. He hadn't mentally prepared himself for their encounter this morning, but his anxiety was quickly replaced by the urgency of the situation. He followed the blonde into the suit room to change.

And so began his first real day back on the job with Barnaby. He had to remind himself that today was the ice breaker, and things would be less awkward tomorrow. All he had to do was get through it.

After suiting up, the duo made for the garage on the bottom floor. Neither of them had yet attempted any small talk, so the only thing heard inside the elevator was the delicate chime of the changing floor numbers as they descended. Kotetsu silently thanked Saitou for having given his suit's design a faceplate with full coverage.

As the doors opened, they filed out without a word. Considering they had last ridden separately, Kotetsu assumed Saitou must have done a quick tune up on their chasers since then, as both vehicles were joined together in the double chaser mode.

It wasn't unusual, given that they almost always rode out together, but Barnaby was quick to fix that. He reached the bikes just ahead of Kotetsu and slammed a hand down on the top button of Tiger's bike, causing the green and white addition to clink and clank as it snapped back into its lonely form. He threw a leg over his own chaser and sped off, leaving Kotetsu in a streak of pink light. Evidently, teamwork was not on his agenda today.

Though a bit dejected by the motion, Kotetsu did not delay mounting his chaser and following.

It took them only about five minutes to catch up to the speeding car. Its erratic maneuvering made it easy to spot as it threaded through traffic. Thank goodness it wasn't rush hour yet. Barnaby and Tiger were able to weave around cars with ease, though they had to be careful of the vehicles that started hitting the brakes in surprise as soon as the speeding driver flew past them. The pair followed closely, but kept some distance as they each calculated the best way to approach.

The traffic may not have been too congested, but they still needed to be mindful of all the civilians' whereabouts. Tiger considered using his Wild Shoot to puncture one of the tires, but decided it would be too dangerous. If he sent the vehicle into a tumble at this speed, not only would it probably kill the driver, but it would most certainly cause a pile up in the process. Their best bet would be to corner the driver and force him off the road.

"Barnaby, we should get Blue Rose or Fire Emblem to come help us surround him," Tiger suggested. Truthfully, he would have liked to just connect his bike with Barnaby's so he could forget about driving and jump onto the runaway car like he normally would, but he didn't expect Barnaby to be too keen on him doing that when he had already made it clear that they were driving separately.

Not unexpectedly, Barnaby dismissed his idea immediately. "We don't have time to wait for others. He needs to be taken off the road as quickly as possible before he hits someone else."

Tiger couldn't argue with that, but he wasn't sure how Barnaby expected to take the guy out on his own when he was the one who didn't have the option of giving up the wheel to take action. Maybe he was suggesting he should join with him after all?

"All right, then I'll transform my bike and jump his car." With a rev of the engine, the green chaser picked up speed to catch up to Barnaby's.

"No, I will handle this," was all Barnaby offered before charging ahead and lining himself up with the drugged driver.

Apparently, he had something in mind, and since Kotetsu knew he was bent on doing things his way, he resigned himself to a defensive position. He knew it was best not to step on Barnaby's toes right now anyway. "All right, do as you will." Kotetsu held back a bit to watch, ready to take action the moment something went wrong.

It appeared the criminal hadn't even noticed Barnaby approaching until the scarlet-clad hero leaned his bike into the driver's door, attempting to nudge him toward the right side of the road. But when the driver did notice, he jerked the wheel, clipping the back end of a neighboring vehicle and causing it to spin off onto the shoulder and into the side railing. Luckily, the car behind it had been far enough away to move around it in time, avoiding a pile up. Kotetsu immediately made for the de-commissioned car, leaving the rest to Barnaby.

When he pulled up to it, he found two people inside – two women who looked to be in their early twenties. The driver was dazed, and appeared to have gotten a generous dose of whiplash, but was otherwise unscathed from what he could gather. The passenger however, appeared to be unconscious. The blood running down the right side of her head indicated she must have hit it against the window when the car collided with the rail. Kotetsu went straight for her side.

Activating his power, he ran up to the passenger door and pulled the crumpled remains of it off completely. "Miss, can you hear me?"

No response, as he expected.

Yanking off a glove, he gently pushed two fingers against the young woman's neck to check for a pulse. He felt a slow tempo against his fingertips, and noticed that the girl's chest was rising and falling. Kotetsu let out a sigh of relief. The girl should be okay.

"Tiger, we saw the crash. How bad is it?" asked the producer from the HeroTV helicopter that had just flown by moments before.

" There are two women; one unconscious with a head injury. She's breathing. The driver is alert, but dizzy. I think she's only suffering from some whiplash, but I don't know for sure," he responded.

"We've got someone on the emergency line right now. I'll pass along the victims' conditions. Someone should arrive shortly."

Kotetsu tried to examine the passenger's injury, but it was hard to tell the extent of the damage under her dark, blood-matted hair. If there was a break in her skull, Kotetsu didn't want to risk making things worse, so he refrained from tending to the bleeding. He glanced up at the driver and noticed she looked like she was ready to pass out, probably from shock more than anything else.

"Ma'am, stay with me please. Help will be here soon." Kotetsu waved a hand to get her attention. When she looked at him, he continued. "You will be fine. Just talk to me, all right? Your friend will be okay. Everything will be okay."

She nodded, and he continued to talk to her, doing his best to keep her calm. The car did not appear to be a threat to their safety, so he did not move either of them.

Kotetsu stayed with the car until medics arrived, and with their direction, helped retrieve the victims from the totaled automobile. To his relief, he was not notified of any other accidents, and Agnes told him that Barnaby managed to force the criminal off the road without further incident and made the arrest.

The veteran was glad for that, though he had to admit he felt a little...useless. For some reason, it was hard to be happy about what little he was able to do. He'd done what he always preferred to do, which was to ensure the safety of the people. It was just that normally he and Barnaby would tackle the criminal together and coordinate their moves to make it happen. But this time, Barnaby had handled the criminal entirely without his aid, no problem. He hadn't needed him at all.

He wasn't allowed much time to dwell, however, as his partner's voice broke through his thoughts over the helmet's sound system.

"Our interview and photoshoot session is in an hour, so don't be late," came a reminder for something he knew nothing about.

"Eh? What interview, and what photoshoot?" Kotetsu wasn't aware they had any other obligations today.

His question was met with an exasperated sigh. "With Limelight Magazine, at 2:30."

"Oh..." It did not ring a bell, though admittedly, he rarely ever looked at their schedule. It hit him now how dependent he had gotten on Barnaby to remind him about everything. Surely he'd brought it up in the first place because he knew Kotetsu hadn't looked.

"I'm not going to be your personal secretary, old man," chided the younger hero. "Please be a responsible grown up and keep track of your schedule."

Kotetsu scowled at that last condescending comment. It had been a long time since he'd had to deal with Barnaby's self-righteous brat attitude, and he hadn't missed it one bit. "Okay, okay," he conceded, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Either Barnaby didn't notice or he chose to ignore it, as no snarky comment followed.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw the second of the two ladies being lifted into the ambulance. With both of them now in the hands of the medical professionals, Kotetsu left the scene and headed back toward Apollon Media to get cleaned up.

Their limo was waiting for them out front, ready to escort the two to a small studio across town. Mr. Lloyds had been there to greet them, as always. The ride to the studio was quiet, save for the occasional comment from their manager about how wonderfully smooth Barnaby's arrest had been. Nevermind the people who got hit, Kotetsu thought with a slight bitterness. Despite their earlier exchange, Barnaby seemed to be in higher spirits than he'd been in since the unspeakable. Not talkative still, but confident. Maybe a little arrogant, even. Perhaps his arrest had been just what the doctor ordered.

Kotetsu knew he should be happy for him, but nothing felt right. He gave his partner a sideways glance. That attitude. That haughty look on his face. Ignoring him. Between all of that and his refusal to work together, Kotetsu half wondered if it was NC1977 again. But he knew he would never be given the luxury of actually going back in time. He just hoped it wouldn't take nearly as long to get back on his good side as it had to get on it in the first place, because he wasn't sure if he was ready to deal with that all over again.

Upon their arrival, the two were taken up to the second floor of the building and straight into the dressing room to get ready. They weren't allotted a lot of time for this session (the studio rental must be expensive), but the experienced makeup and hair specialists were there to make sure they would be ready in a timely fashion. Kotetsu never took too long since, thanks to his domino mask, he didn't require much makeup. Barnaby, on the other hand, took much longer, so Kotetsu got to start his individual photos first.

Nothing provocative today, to his relief. He had donned a dark grey pin-striped business suit (unusually tight though it was), with a silky black dress shirt and a silver tie. His hair had been slicked back, and if it wasn't for the mask, he might actually pass for a pompous CEO of some thriving corporation. He was told the theme was "Back in Business" or something cheesy like that, thus the attire. He was asked to pose with a fancy-looking chair, which he wasn't sure what to do with other than sit in it, but he wasn't above asking the photographer to manually pose him as he pleased.

About fifteen minutes into the shoot, Barnaby strolled out of the dressing room. His outfit was the reverse of Kotetsu's: a suit made of a dark silver silk-like material, well-tailored to compliment his figure. He wore a black dress shirt like Kotetsu, and his necktie matched the pinstriped fabric of his suit as well. The bearded man had never imagined a monochrome palette would suit Barnaby since he was so used to seeing him in reds, but he looked absolutely sharp.

When he realized he was staring at his partner, he quickly averted his gaze before the other caught him, but the photographer had noticed his distraction the moment he looked away. "Excuse me, Mr. Tiger, but could you please look at the camera for me? Thanks."

Kotetsu forced a sheepish smile and obliged.

After a few shots of one last solo pose, they asked Barnaby to step in for their partner pictures. They did a few standard ideas – posing side by side, straightening their ties, sitting on the chair with one in the seat and the other on an arm, pretending to look over paperwork.

And then the photographer asked them to hold onto the handle of a briefcase. But instead of simply sharing the handle, they were to hook each other's arms at the elbow as they did so. Neither voiced any complaints at the request, but Kotetsu could feel how rigid Barnaby's arm was as they looped their arms together and held the briefcase up. They hadn't so much as bumped into each other since everything went down. Tomorrow won't be as awkward as today, Kotetsu mentally reminded himself as he grit his teeth. He silently prayed the photographer would make this one quick.

But he would have no such luck. In fact, the photographer asked them to move closer together, as they had been standing far apart. He needed them to fit into a close-up, so he had them shoulder-to-shoulder, at just enough of an angle that the sides of their heads touched as well. Kotetsu willed time to speed the hell up.

When he was finally relieved from the set, Kotetsu released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Barnaby would be occupied with his solo shots for a while, thank the heavens.

He met with the interviewer, who had been waiting patiently off to the side, and sat down with him to knock out some of the questions on his own. They always reserved a few questions for the pair to answer together in hopes of capturing some of their dynamics, but he had plenty of personal questions to get through too. A lot of them were much the same as other interviews, like "What's your sign?" and "Would you consider yourself to be introverted or extroverted?" and "Where do you see yourself in 20 years?" He bullshitted his answers most of the time anymore. He didn't like the idea of answering too honestly, lest someone who knew him outside of work match up his answers and figure out his identity, but he hated these things anyway and rarely took them seriously.

The silver-suited hero joined them when the photographer was satisfied with his sets. Now that they were together, they were going to get all the questions about their teamwork. Kotetsu braced himself. He knew he was going to have to improvise a lot of good answers for a lot of awkward questions.

Here we go.

The short, dark-haired interviewer seemed tickled to have both of them with him now. He started his hand-held recorder back up and proceeded with the first question.

"So, how does it feel to be working together again in the First League? With the lineup identical to that of your first season as a team, it's a bit of a blast from the past!"

A painfully accurate observation, Kotetsu thought.

"Mr. Brooks, shall we start with your response?"

Kotetsu was lucky in that they almost always asked Barnaby's thoughts first. It used to make him feel shafted, but today at least, it was a blessing.

His partner gave the man a well-rehearsed answer. "I am looking forward to working with the First League heroes again. I have a lot of memories with HeroTV, and I'm happy to be a part of it once more. I'm confident that we'll have a shot at the top two spots this year." He gave Kotetsu a practiced smile. "Right, Tiger?"

Such a smooth talker. It was something to admire, really.

Kotetsu mirrored his fake politeness. "Yeah, well, I've been part of the First League for a long time. I've known some of the heroes longer than others, but they've all become like a second family to me really, so it's good to be back. I may have a handicap this time around, but my passion for it is all the same."

So far, so good.

"Oh, a wonderful outlook!" agreed the interviewer enthusiastically. "Speaking of which, Tiger, with your power down to only a minute, do you think it will get you in trouble?"

Obviously, asshole. "It certainly doesn't help, but I'm not worried. I've only ever used my power for 5 minutes at a time anyway, and I've been able to save people without it. I did okay in the Second League, at any rate. And besides," he forced his lips into a jovial grin – he was going for the gold here, "I know that if I fall, this guy will be here to catch me in his arms, like always."

The interviewer laughed. "Of course! The famous 'princess carry' that started everything. We love it." He turned to face Barnaby again. "Mr. Brooks, rumor has it that you were initially asked to return to the First League alone. Is that true?"

Barnaby nodded. "Yes."

"And is it true that you refused to do it unless Wild Tiger moved up with you?"

Kotetesu winced inwardly. This guy was starting to ask the wrong questions. When he looked at Barnaby, he was surprised to catch the younger man's mask falter for a moment, but it was corrected just as quickly as it had fallen.

"Yes. He is my partner, after all. It wouldn't be the same by myself, and I'm sure many fans would be disappointed, too." He added a wink for a playful touch. A nice recovery.

"Absolutely! There's been nothing quite like you two as a team." He beamed at the veteran. "Tiger, could you ever imagine working without Barnaby, like you did back before he came along?"

The question was more of a rhetorical one, but it hit Kotetsu in a soft spot. The older man swallowed. Was this guy deliberately trying to push their buttons? Kotetsu had to remember, though, that to everyone else, they were chummy as ever, and nothing was different. He could tell Barnaby was searching for something else to look at.

As much of a direct hit the question was, Kotetsu could only answer honestly. No matter what Barnaby thought of him right now, his feelings weren't any different, and if he was being given a chance to say so without saying it to Barnaby directly, he was going to take it.

"No," he started, his voice taking on a serious tone. "No, I couldn't imagine doing that. Even if my limited power didn't make me more dependent on his help, I would never want to be without him again." Suddenly feeling a lump in his throat, he bit the inside of his cheek in an effort to keep his emotions under control. He hadn't meant to let this fear surface like that, but as the words rolled off his tongue, some of the pain came with it unexpectedly.

Kotetsu didn't dare look at Barnaby's face, but he saw an ivory hand clench at the suit fabric it rested on top of.

Fortunately, the interviewer remained oblivious to whatever was going on between them and excitedly commented on how inseparable the two were before progressing to his next questions. Kotetsu was more than ready to move on, and if the rest of the interview was going to be like this, Kotetsu wasn't sure he would make it. At the very least, he knew he was going to need a strong glass of something when he got home.

Today is the worst of it, he reminded himself once more, reciting it in his head like a mantra. It will get easier after this. Once you've hit the bottom, there's nowhere left to go but up. Tomorrow, we will breathe a little easier.