Haikyuu! Superhero AU: Rise of Heroes

by LilweenGalatrass

After the fall of a meteor on Earth, superpowers start to appear. Despite the army trying to cover it all up and chasing down all suspicious people, the danger becomes real with the appearance of supervillains. Bokuto Koutarou, with the help of his friends, rise to the challenge and becomes a superhero. Various people try to eliminate him, he'll have to become a pillar to society.

10. Food of Love

Here is the new chapter, sorry for being late! I hope you'll like it!

I need to thank once again my beta-reader, animeviolonist001 on and AwkardPotatoChild on AO3, who pointed out to me all the mistakes in this chapter, which I tried to correct as best as I could.

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FANFICTION

HAIKYUU! SUPERHERO AU : THE RISE OF HEROES

CHAPTER X : Food of Love

"Do good to others and every man can be a Superman."

― Superman #156, Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan & George Klein

Tooru hurried through the door of the café, looking around and grinning when he saw the person he was meeting. He walked to her and immediately sat down. Hanae didn't seem surprised and smiled at him.

"I hope you don't mind that I went in without waiting for you," she started.

"Not at all! I'm glad you got away from that downpour!" He answered, glancing at the window, a curtain of heavy rain was falling.

A waitress arrived and after ordering tea, Tooru settled into the seat comfortably, staring at the beautiful woman in front of him. A few days after meeting her for the first time, he had gone back to the Karasuno bar, and learned from Ukai that she had been coming back every evening. Tooru had decided to wait for her and had been absolutely enchanted when he saw her come in, a dumbfounded expression on her face when she saw him.

A beautiful mask of fake surprise that would have fooled him if he didn't know any better.

They had talked for a while and then he had walked her home without any expectation. They had exchanged numbers and had met a few times since, always falling into an easy talk.

Losing track of the time going by because of her words and his line of thoughts, Tooru had to shake himself to remember to not trust and believe her too easily. Everything sounded like a beautiful truth, but he knew it was a perfectly crafted lie. But even knowing that… he couldn't help but be more honest than he would have been with anyone else, he couldn't help but stare at her face and see her mask drop every once in a while.

It was like that night, years ago.

But so much had changed since then, he didn't know what to believe.

"Do you still work for the Tokyo Museum?" Hanae asked, the perfect representation of the impeccable and polite young woman that she ought to be.

After the Art Slicer's attack at the museum, Tooru had continued working for them for a few weeks because they had feared the Slicer might attack again. Now that she was in jail, there were no more worries and he had been freed – and generously paid.

"Not anymore, I can go back to day-time work." He answered, "I've mostly been helping out the police recently. What about you? Are the children behaving?"

"They are!" She answered with a chuckle, "Sometimes, they're a little mischievous, but it's normal at this age. The other day, Atsushi-kun didn't do his homework and guess what he gave me as excuse?"

"The dog had eaten it?" He proposed, raising an eyebrow.

"Aliens had kidnapped him and kept him from doing his homework!"

Tooru couldn't help it and laughed loudly, imagining the scene perfectly in his head. He was certain he too had used this excuse a few times when he was a kid.

Hanae stared at him as he laughed, and a smile appeared on her face, her eyes sparkling to see him so relaxed and natural with her…

"Oh, kids, I swear…" He sighed, shaking his head lightly in amusement.

Her smile wavered and she continued, glancing at the window to watch the rare people who had gone out in this rain walking by quickly.

"I told him it was impossible… but he said there was no way I could prove he was wrong about aliens – because of what had happened with the meteor… They're all so worried, all the time… Yesterday, a little girl cried when her mother was late to come pick her up because she thought she was gone like all… all the others."

Tooru's heart squeezed painfully when he realised that the worry and guilt he could see in her eyes wasn't fake. She was feeling bad because of the sentiment of insecurity that was haunting the children she was teaching, she wanted to help.

"Maybe letting them think of aliens being the cause of all this is better than if they knew the truth… whatever it might be." He said, glancing aside with a serious expression on his face.

"But they're scared… What… what about you?" She asked, leaning forward, "What do you think really happened with this meteor? Was it an alien attack or a test gone wrong like what NASA said?"

Tooru straightened up, taking a deep breath. He crossed his ankle over his knee, thinking deeply about his answer. If it were anyone else, he'd start giving his theories, laid out with all of his proof… but this was Minami Hanae, the school teacher pretending to not be a spy that was following him everywhere. He couldn't be careless about his words – he didn't know what would happen to him, or to Tsukishima, or the pillars of this transforming society: Nite Owl and Little Giant.

Hanae, or rather at this moment, Shiori, noticed the alien socks around his ankles and couldn't help smiling, which she quickly hid. It broke her heart to put up such a mask around him when he was so sweet and honest, but she had a mission. And right now, this question, as innocent as it sounded to anyone else, might give her some clues on who Oikawa Tooru truly was. She needed to focus.

"I think that the truth must be quite horrible, if the few who know it keep it so confidential," he answered in a hard voice, staring right into her eyes.

It lasted less than a second, but the mere hesitation he saw was enough to confirm his doubts. He swallowed hard and looked away, unable to glance at her. Like he had thought… she had something to do with this 'truth'. Whether she was aware it or not, he couldn't tell, but she knew more than he did.

"Isn't that what always happens anyway?" She asked in a low voice, leaning backwards and staring back at him.

The atmosphere between them was electrical now, and not necessarily in a good way. They could both feel that there was a change in the conversation and their behaviour. Right now, they were revealing their true colours. But they wouldn't stop or go back on the right path for the role they've been taught to play – this feeling of being absolutely honest was exhilarating and new. They didn't want it to stop. Not yet. The truth and the hurt could wait a little longer.

"The winners are the ones who write history, isn't it?" She continued carefully.

"…Are you saying that this is a war and they've won?" Tooru asked, frowning lightly.

"I'm saying… that whoever caused this catastrophe… human or not… broke enough of our values to help humanity lose the war between order and chaos."

There was a long and heavy silence. The background sounds of the heavy rain and the café noises were smothered by the intensity of their gazes.

Tooru turned his head away, then smirked darkly. It surprised Hanae enough that she had to hold back a shiver, but her heart beat excitedly realizing that for all his good manners and charming smiles, Oikawa Tooru was a lot more dangerous than he seemed to be.

"I wouldn't claim victory for chaos so soon. It's always in the darkest night that the stars shine the brightest." He said as he turned back to her, his expression softening.

Speechless. She stared back at him and with no pretence, she truly was speechless by the faith and softness in his expression. So raw, so strong, so tender – all at once, in these beautiful chocolate eyes.

"I love the stars…" She whispered.

"I know…" He answered in a hushed voice.

"Could we– do you…"

Her voice broke, and she swallowed hard, not daring to ask him such a thing. But without a word, he understood and smiled brightly.

"Yes."

She shouldn't have smiled the way she did, she shouldn't have listened so closely to her heart singing happily, but she couldn't help herself.

Oikawa Tooru truly was a dangerous man…

During the night, in another part of Tokyo…

Azumane Asahi smiled happily as he took out the trays of pastries from the oven. He laid them down, letting them cool while he checked on the bread. He started organizing his bakery for the day, putting all the bread behind their tags. He put down all the pastries for the day, then started preparing more batches of pain au chocolat or croissants – a lot of his regulars liked them warm and crispy in the early morning.

He opened the bakery, breathing the fresh air of November with a smile on his face, before going back into the warm and cozy feeling of his shop. He was putting aside the breads and pastries for his regulars that he knew would come soon just as the customers, regulars or not, started showing up.

Everyone who came to the Morning Sun bakery, regardless of their mood, would smile instantly, feeling happy and welcome in this cute place. They didn't love it just for the delicious taste of the pastry on their way to their jobs, or the warmth it gave them in the dark, winter morning, but mostly for the baker himself. Azumane Asahi was the true light of this bakery. His gentleness and sweet smile made everyone happy to just come in and breath in the scent of fresh baked goods.

Asahi looked up when a particularly cheerful voice broke through the quietness of the morning. He blinked, seeing someone he hadn't never seen, accompanying one of his most regular clients – Iwaizumi Hajime.

"And she's so smart and intelligent! I feel so stupid when I talk with her!" His friend exclaimed enthusiastically.

"That must be a new feeling for you, then," Iwaizumi mocked with a side smile.

"Don't make fun of me, Iwa-chan!"

Iwaizumi smirked, turning towards Asahi who smiled like he always did, even though the police officer's smile didn't reach his eyes. It hadn't in a long while.

"Azumane, how are you today?" He asked.

"I'm fine, like always! You know I'm always doing great at this hour! What about you? Heading for work?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna take a box of croissants for my colleagues, a dozen please. And my usual." He answered with a nod and a polite smile.

Asahi nodded, starting to prepare the box of croissants for him. He glanced quickly at Iwaizumi's friend who was intensely staring at the pastries on display.

"I think I'll take a milk bread…" He murmured to himself before turning towards Iwaizumi, "Hey! Iwa-chan! Are the milk bread here good?"

"Yeah, everything's good here. Azumane is the best baker I know."

"After your fiancée, she is an incredible baker," Asahi remarked with a smile before lightening up a little, "I haven't seen her in a while! How is she?"

Oikawa froze, turning towards his best friend, but Iwaizumi didn't waver or even blink.

"She's fine. Busy with work."

"I see, I see! I'll grab some freshly made pain au chocolat, so it'll still be warm when she gets it!" Asahi exclaimed, going into the back to get the order.

The moment he turned around, Iwaizumi's smile wavered, but Oikawa didn't say anything.

Asahi came back quickly, finishing their orders with smiles.

"I live nearby, but I've come here. That's a shame because it all looks delicious," Oikawa commented.

"Really? You two are close friends I take it?" Asahi continued, handing them their orders.

"Yeah, childhood friends, unfortunately," Iwaizumi answered despite the fondness in his eyes.

"Iwa-chan! Don't say it like that!"

It made the baker laugh lightly as Oikawa continued.

"We actually live in the same building even now, but I usually go to work at various hours, and I never came around here. It's on his way for to the police station, but I rarely go there with him."

"Good thing you decided to pass by today then. I hope you enjoy the milk bread, sir!" Asahi said.

Maybe it was the cheerfulness of the baker, the cosiness of the bakery, or the sweet smell around them, but both Oikawa and Iwaizumi couldn't help but smile and feel relaxed, happier.

"Thank you! I'm certain I will!" he answered.

They left the bakery, and it took a few minutes of walking in the fresh air for the joyful dizziness that had taken over them to dissipate. They passed a bin and Iwaizumi threw away the paper bag that should have been for Kiku… What had happened in the bakery slowly came back to Oikawa's mind.

"…You and Kiku-chan always left at the same time for work. You passed by this bakery, didn't you?" He asked in a knowing voice.

"…Yeah."

Iwaizumi looked ahead, apparently unfazed, but trying to control the raging emotions within him, while Oikawa looked down, his heart squeezing painfully.

"You seem to know that baker pretty well. Why didn't you tell him about Kiku-chan?" He asked.

Iwaizumi shrugged, unable to meet his friend's eyes.

"I just couldn't… I can't. I don't know… he's… he's such a sweet guy. I can't do that and after all this time lying, there wasn't an opportunity for me to tell him such a thing…"

"He doesn't know that she disappeared? I mean, with the timing and everything…"

"Maybe he pretends to not know for my sake. Who knows." He mumbled with a half-hearted shrug, "He asked me about her several times. I said she was working in another part of town with very early hours and that… I was just bringing her pastry to her now."

"But you just threw it in a bin…" Oikawa said, his voice close to an accusatory tone.

"I do what it takes to keep hope." Iwaizumi answered, his voice sounding almost angry, but it was just full of hurt.

Oikawa glanced at him, opening his lips to say something comforting, but they arrived at the Miyagi Police Station and there was no more time to say anything. Iwaizumi looked relieved by it.

"Ah! Iwaizumi!" Daichi exclaimed when he saw them arrive.

Sensing the confusion from a few people preparing to go, it didn't take long for the two friends to realize that something had happened.

"Is it a superhuman?" Oikawa asked eagerly, wanting to get closer to the police investigation in order to find more clues for his aliens' theory.

"We don't know yet. A murder case. One of ours." Daichi said quickly.

"One of ours got murdered?" Iwaizumi asked, eyes widening and instinctively looking around to see who was missing.

"One of ours murdered his wife…" Daichi corrected in a tight voice, "Can you head out with Shimizu? I have a meeting with the Shiratorizawa guys, so I can't go."

"Which is why I'm here too. I need to meet with this pompous Ushiwaka bastard." Oikawa piped in, an annoyed smile on his face.

"Ah, sure. I'll go." Iwaizumi answered.

He glanced down at the box of croissants he had brought then gave it to his chief who lit up.

"Oh! Thanks!"

"Yeah, it's nothing," Iwaizumi mumbled, handing his own paper bag to Oikawa.

"You're not gonna eat it?"

"Not hungry anymore…"

And without another look at his friend, he followed the rest of the team who would be working on the murder case. Both Sawamura and Oikawa watched him leave.

"…He's not okay. You shouldn't give him cases like this." Oikawa said, frowning lightly.

"I tried to lighten his workload, but he figured it out and forced me to give him more work. It's a good distraction for him…"

His voice trailed off and Oikawa sent him a hard look.

"No, it's not." He said.

"It's not," Sawamura agreed with a sigh, "But right now, that's all he feels like doing – working. He'll get over it, he just needs time."

"You make it sound like she's dead…" Oikawa murmured, looking down and keeping his lips tight.

Daichi hesitated, uncomfortable, before he sighed.

"We still have no clues about the missing people… They're mostly considered dead at this point. Most of their families and friends have grieved and are moving on. Iwaizumi… he's not grieving just her disappearance, but also the loss of the future they could have had. It'll take time, but he'll get over it."

He tapped Oikawa's shoulder in a comforting manner before walking away, leaving the box of pastries for everyone.

"You can't get over something like that…" He mumbled to himself, his determination to find out clues about the truth of that night renewed.

The team made up of Shimizu, Iwaizumi, and some police officers, accompanied by Saito Akane from the lab, went to the crime scene. It had happened in the married couple's apartment and the entire commotion had been heard by neighbours who had called the police. A big argument had erupted between the two, the Miyagi Police Station's police officer murdered his wife with his gun, then put it into his mouth in grief.

The testimonies were quickly collected and the bodies and crime scene examined. While the evidence was being gathered and the medical examiner was about to carry out the bodies, silence fell on the team of investigators.

"You okay?" Shimizu asked Iwaizumi when she noticed that he was completely still, his pen resting over the paper.

He turned to her then nodded quickly.

"Yeah, just didn't have enough coffee this morning…"

She noticed the way his eyes glanced at the bodies then away. She followed his gaze then tuned completely towards him.

"This case is easy enough for me to handle it on my own. I'm sure Daichi can find you another–"

"I don't need to be protected, Shimizu!" He exclaimed, before wincing at his tone, "Sorry… I know that you're all worried for me, but… I'm fine. Really."

She stared at him and he stared back, putting up a confident face. Her grey eyes seemed to read right through him, but he was too used to the woman to be uncomfortable by it.

"…If you say so." She finally answered with a shrug.

She went to talk with Saito who was gathering everything that had been covered in blood splatter.

Hajime's gaze noticed that one of the objects she was collecting was a paper bag from the Morning Sun Bakery. There were a few drops of blood. Then, he caught sight of a picture of the couple on their wedding day, so happy and smiling beyond joy.

He turned away, trying to swallow back his bitterness.

Meanwhile, at the Miyagi Police Station…

Sawamura could feel the tension as if it were a gas about to smother him. But he ignored the discomfort he felt and glanced across the table at the rest of the Shiratorizawa Special Force. They were all perfectly relaxed and at ease while Ushijima was giving the results to General Washijou. He was an old and cranky man who looked down at everyone and had barely spared a glance at the Superintendent of the Miyagi Police Station. From what Sawamura had understood, he was one of the main Generals of the Japan Self-Defense Force, and one of the pillars of the government ever since the meteor night.

"We have very few dangerous superhumans actively trying to cause chaos and the few who manifested themselves have been stopped by our forces." Ushijima concluded, putting down the papers.

"But only because of that hero… vigilante of sorts…" Washijou said, narrowing his eyes.

"Nite Owl and the Little Giant show no animosity and there is no reason to arrest them."

"But they're causing trouble, putting people in danger by acting against our forces. I don't like these two acting so freely in the city."

"They aren't acting against us, only against dangerous superhumans. They can act against some dangerous people that the police or the Special Force can't handle because of strength or timing. Furthermore… they are raising the people's spirits."

"If people want to admire people, put some singers or something. Someone we can control."

Sawamura didn't like the direction this conversation was turning, and so did Ushijima if the way he tightened his lips in the slightest way was any clue. He leaned forward, ignoring the way Tendou suddenly looked at him before he even opened his lips, as if he knew what he was about to say.

"With all due respect, sir…" Sawamura started.

Everyone turned to him at once, Washijou's disdainful gaze making his voice trail off.

"I don't think there is any issue with Nite Owl and Little Giant's actions. If anything, it's positive. They raise people's spirits and they help us, the Shiratorizawa Special Force as much as the police. The real problem is with our incapacity to gather clues about the cases of missing people and the lack of new information concerning what happened the night of the meteor… Furthermore–"

"I don't remember giving you the authorization to talk," Washijou cut.

A few of the soldiers glanced worriedly between their General and the dark gaze that Sawamura was sending him. Only Tendou looked mildly amused, even though the tension sparkled even more.

"And I don't need the authorization to talk, sir." Sawamura answered without blinking an eye, his voice hard, "I am the Superintendent of this police station, which you use as headquarters with my team's resources. I'm not one of your soldiers you can give orders or authorizations. If you want my help, you'll listen to me."

Washijou stared at him coldly, unimpressed, but Ushijima intervened, his calm voice soothing everyone's tense bodies:

"Sawamura-san's resources and his team are very valuable for our work, and his opinions are often objective and useful. We should listen to him, sir."

"…Very well. What else do you need to say?" Washijou asked the Superintendent.

"…As I was saying, there is a rise in crime caused by the apparition of superhumans. We also suspect an increase in organized crime, causing trouble and being very active on the black market."

Washijou glanced quickly at his team, then back at Sawamura, before standing up. And despite his crouched figure and old age, the uniform and absolute power emanating from him were enough to make everyone lean back in respect.

"That rise in crime can't be helped, but it should be resolved as soon as possible. As for those organized crime groups, your first step should be to determine whether it exists or not and if it does, get rid of it."

He glanced at Ushijima, giving a sharp nod at his specially trained team.

"You must team up, the Miyagi Police Station and my Special Force– I will send you the results from the Inarizaki Special Force in the Kansai region. Perhaps it will motivate and inspire you all."

"They have better results than us?" Semi asked, sounding surprised.

"But we have a success rate of over seventy five percent when it comes to stopping superhumans and maintaining order," Reon said, blinking.

"Seventy five percent, you say…?" Washijou said, glancing at him before his lips curled back into a disappointed grimace, "The Inarizaki Special Force has a hundred percent rate. Get to their level or measures will be taken."

Everyone from the Shiratorizawa Special Force shivered, even Ushijima lost his composure for a moment. Whether it was from that other Special Force's perfect record, or if it was because of the hidden threat behind that order, Sawamura couldn't tell, but he swallowed hard.

"I'm done here. Keep sending me your results." Washijou ordered, already walking out of the room.

At once, the entire Special Force stood up and bowed to his departure, saluting him in a single voice. Trained like perfect soldiers, Sawamura realised. And yet, according to their General, they were failing their mission and this statement was haunting them – he could see it in their eyes.

"Pfff… well, now we can breathe again…" Tendou let out, pulling at his tie and opening his jacket.

"He seems… tough." Sawamura commented with an uneasy smile.

"Tough is an understatement," Semi answered.

Ushijima didn't answer, going back over the files he had shown the General.

"You are dismissed," he finally said.

Most seemed relieved to leave and have a few minutes to themselves. Sawamura hesitated, but followed the crowd, noticing Semi suddenly hurrying towards Akane who was passing by. Smiling, they started talking, not realizing that just a few meters behind, Kuroo was watching them. The scientist frowned from afar, walking straight into a desk and making the files he was carrying fall over. Daichi smirked, amused to see the usual smooth talker so clumsy and jealous.

He went into his office and sighed deeply, staring at the ceiling. He had a feeling that something was amiss and not everything was being shared between the Shiratorizawa Special Force and the Miyagi Police Station. They were obeying orders without blinking an eye, trained to be some of the most effective team of the Japan Self-Defence Force. What were their exact orders if they were failing?

Kuroo was writing some report when Akane came back into the lab, a smile on her face. He stared at her, eyes narrowed. She was so lost in her own little world that she didn't notice his staring until she turned around to grab her water bottle.

"…What?" She mumbled.

"…You're smiling."

"Is that a crime?"

"No… but… you don't usually smile like that…"

"I'm in a good mood." She answered with a shrug.

"Even though one of our colleagues murdered his wife then shot himself?" He asked, stunned.

She hesitated, turned towards him and winced then turned back towards her computer.

"My life doesn't only revolve around my job, unlike you. I have plenty of reasons to be happy over grieving for a man I never talked to."

"Hey! I have a life too!" He exclaimed, offended and straightening up.

"Please, you think I don't know that you bring your files home to keep working on them? You only go home to eat, sleep, and take showers."

"At least I don't go around and fuck everyone I meet," he replied harshly.

She dropped everything and turned around, glaring at him.

"Neither do I." She hissed.

Tetsurou remained silent, feeling bad. He lowered his gaze then let his hands go through his hair, a sign that he was feeling uncomfortable. It made her relax, knowing that after all these years, he still had these habits.

"Sorry… I shouldn't have said… that…" He mumbled apologetically.

Akane huffed, then turned back towards the pile of evidence she still had to analyse. Tetsurou glanced around, wincing at the sudden tension in the air. Most of the team was off for lunch and Yakkun had gone to pick up theirs. It was only him and Akane and they hadn't argued like that in… since…

He realised that the two of them were rarely together, and usually had work.

"Hey… I'm… I'm really sorry…" Tetsurou said, standing up and approaching her.

"I know…" She mumbled, trying to ignore him.

"You should take a break, y'know."

"I don't feel like it."

"And I'm the one who doesn't have a life outside of my job?" He asked sarcastically.

She turned to him, glowering but when she saw his raised eyebrow and smirk… she couldn't help but feel her frustration melt away due to the sparkling feelings she had had in her heart for years now.

"…I don't do that anymore, you know. I… I'm doing real relationships now…" Akane said, referring to what he had accused her of earlier.

She sounded so fragile, he almost fell to his knees. But Tetsurou knew it wasn't just the tone of her voice that made him so weak. It was also knowing that these "real relationships" were with anyone but him.

"I know…" He answered, his gaze vibrant with emotions she couldn't quite understand.

Disturbed by his golden eyes and by the beatings of her heart, Akane stood up and grabbed another evidence bag. She observed it a moment, a paper bag with a pastry from some bakery… She needed to analyse the blood on it.

"What a waste…" Tetsurou mumbled with a pout.

She opened the plastic bag and at once, the sweet scent from the pastry, even hours after it had gone cold, invaded their senses. They both breathed deeply, closing their eyes and suddenly feeling their blood flowing anew. Their bodies were warm, their hearts beating hard and their desire… tight in their stomachs.

Akane and Tetsurou opened their eyes once again, staring at each other, electricity in the air.

"What… what a waste…" He repeated in a low, sultry voice that sent fire through her veins all the while he stared at her cherry-red lips.

"I… y-yeah…"

Her own eyes stared at his lips and she closed her eyes. She could feel it – the way his lips would brush, kiss, bite, and lick her skin, leaving delicious bruises all over her body. She missed it – the way his skin felt against hers, the burning sensation of his muscles against her curves, the way he moved into her body.

Tetsurou approached, his hand against hers. It made them shiver and they looked into each other's eyes once again.

Their desire, ignored for too long, was smelling so sweet now. They could almost taste it. Their passion alit once again, about to set fire to their souls.

Their lips crashed against one another. Tetsurou surrounded her body with his strong arms. It was too much and not enough all at once and they breathed hard, their hands wandering all over their bodies, craving more, more, more… They couldn't stop kissing, breathing heavily, greedily touch each other's body, engraving their rapture into the other's flesh.

Within seconds, hot and fallen into their own worlds, they fell against the desk, bringing down Akane's chair and half of what was laying on her desk. Tetsurou bit her neck and she screamed out, wrapping her legs around his waist to bring him closer to her. He hungrily kissed her mouth again, not having enough while they started clawing at each other's clothes.

"What the fuck?!"

Tetsurou and Akane jumped, brought back to reality by Yakkun's shocked voice. They stared at each other for a while, shocked. Then, he suddenly moved away as quickly as he had jumped on her and she swiftly straightened up, arranging her clothes and standing up. They moved away from each other, breathing heavily and trying to appear calm despite their red cheeks and still burning desire.

"What is wrong with you?! Get a room! We have so much evidence lying around! What if you contaminate them?!" Yakkun exclaimed, shaking his head while he put down the pile of lunches.

"What…" Tetsurou breathed, staring at him in disbelief.

"I said, get a room, you two! Are you deaf?! Anyone could see too! Seriously!"

"That's the only thing you can say?! You're not… shocked that we'd… do something like this?" Tetsurou continued, seeing Akane freeze from the corner of his eye.

It was Yakkun's turn to look surprised, blinking at him in disbelief. He glanced between Tetsurou and Akane.

"Everyone knows you're dating, but you could at least keep it together when we're at work." He answered, as if it were obvious.

"We're not dating!" Tetsurou exclaimed, a new rush of blood to his cheeks making him dizzy.

Akane suddenly darted out of the room, pushing Yakkun out of the way who didn't understand why they were reacting this way. Tetsurou tried grabbing her arm, but she was too fast and he only caught thin air. He felt like he was at the airport, waiting for time to come back and give him another chance to fix what they had broken. But time had gone on and she had been gone too long for anything to be fixed.

"If you're not dating, why were you all over each other like animals in heat?" Yakkun asked, confused.

"Wait– everyone thinks we're dating?!"

"Well… yeah?"

Tetsurou clapped his hands over his face, distraught and panicked. How long had everyone assumed he and Akane were dating?!

Yakkun seemed to finally realise that his friends had not been dating in secrecy all this time, and he suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"Oh."

Kuroo looked up from his hands, glaring at him.

"…But, um, you seem… you seemed… busy and– Kuroo! Wait! Don't be angry!"

Yaku watched him run out, probably after Akane considering the direction he had taken. He glanced around the empty lab, realizing that after this mess, he'll have lunch all alone.

Tetsurou found Akane just as she was leaving the restroom. Upon seeing him, she tried to run back in, but he caught her arm and dragged her into the nearest dark hall.

"We need to talk!" He exclaimed, pushing her against the wall.

"No, we don't!" She answered, glaring at him.

"What just happened–"

"–Was a mistake! I don't…! I don't even know what took over me! I don't feel that way for you! Not anymore!"

He held his breath, hurt beyond what he would have expected. His lips tightened, his eyes burned, and he shook his head.

"I thought so too… but…"

"Tetsurou!" She hissed, breathlessly before covering her face with her hands, "Stop… please…! There's no way we could– we're wrong for each other, you know that. We'd only break more…"

"But… I…"

I waited for you. I tried to get you back.

Not hard enough.

And now it was too late. Nine years too late.

"I didn't want you to go… all these years ago, I… I made mistakes, we both did…" Tetsurou started in a shaky voice, staring at his feet.

"You made perfectly clear that you didn't want a mess like me…" She whispered, unable to look at his face.

"And you made it perfectly clear that you didn't want to even give us another chance!" He replied, voice breaking at the accusation that shouldn't rest only on her shoulders. They were both to blame for what had broken between them.

She stared back at him, eyes filled with tears, but she had let too many salty drops roll down her cheeks to let another one wet her cheeks now.

"We had our chance, Tetsurou… We messed up. We can't go back to that time, and we can't… we can't ignore the pain we gave each other…"

Her fingers trembled and she almost put her hand against his cheek, but at the last moment, she stopped herself. She couldn't afford this small gesture of comfort…

He opened and closed his lips, but there was nothing else to say. She gently pushed away his arm that was blocking her way, leaving him alone with a broken heart and a burning soul.

Akane walked away, not having the strength to look back. Neither her, nor Tetsurou a few minutes later when he went to get his stuff to go home, realised that Semi Eita had heard everything, hidden behind a corner.

When Tetsurou went back into the lab, there was only Yakkun who sheepishly (and safely) remained quiet. His intention had been to get his bag, and go home to suffer alone and away from everyone, but he noticed that everything he and Akane had made fall in their strange moment was still on the floor.

"Akane barked at me to stay away from her desk when I tried cleaning up," Yakkun explained, sipping his coffee from the safety of his own desk.

Not caring much for his life, Tetsurou sighed and started picking up the various files and notebooks. He put it all back on the desk and he stared at her organizer, filled with papers and notes. He saw the corner of what seemed to be a photography. Curious, he opened it and his heart squeezed painfully. He knew that photography, he had the same folded in his wallet. It was the two of them, years ago, when they were still together and happy… It was a picture she had taken while they were in bed, his hair was worst than usual. He had been kissing her neck and tickling her side, making her laugh beautifully. He hadn't seen that smile and laugh in years now. From the state of the photography, damaged and covered in white lines, Akane had obviously tried to tear it apart, crumpled it into a ball, tried to throw it away… But like how he still had that very same picture in his wallet, even if he didn't look at it, he couldn't get rid of it. Not really. Just like they couldn't get rid of the mark they had left in each other's hearts.

He closed the organizer abruptly and almost turned away when his gaze noticed the opened evidence bag with the pastry. His eyes narrowed and he picked it up. He hesitantly sniffed it a little, smelling the scent of a cold pastry… and something sweet that tingled his nose and made his heart speed up a little. It reminded him of Akane. And when she had opened it earlier, it had been the trigger for their heated kiss.

What if…?

He stared at the paper bag with Morning Sun Bakery written on it. He couldn't take evidence used for an investigation with him, but he needed to look into it. It'd explain his and Akane's behaviour earlier. Maybe.

"I'm going home. Don't call me unless it's an emergency." He said suddenly.

"Uh, okay?"

He walked away in a hurry, not even noticing a couple of Shiratorizawa Special Force's men that passed by. Tendou narrowed his eyes at him, watching him walk away.

"Something wrong?" Reon asked, tilting his head.

"I have a feeling that this guy is hiding something…"

"You can't read his mind?" He continued, surprised.

"Not really… he's not a superhuman, that much I can tell. But his mind is locked up. Like… he's hiding something from himself, lying to himself and it's messing with my mind-reading… Also the amount of cat and nerd thoughts is insane. I'd need to be alone in a room with him and focus entirely on trying to read his mind to get something."

"We can't do that without being suspicious, Tendou. And if you try too hard to read someone's mind, you know what happens… I don't want to have to save your life again…" Reon finished in a low voice.

His friend glanced at him, but didn't answer as they continued inside the building.

A few hours later…

Bokuto walked towards Kuroo and Tsukishima who were waiting at a street corner for him.

"Hey hey! Why did you ask me to come here so suddenly?"

"I think we need to investigate someplace that might have a… superhuman there." Kuroo said gravely, "A murder happened, a guy from our team who isn't the short-tempered type. He killed his wife after a big argument, then killed himself. We don't understand what happened, but… there was something in the apartment that gave me… a strange reaction earlier."

"What sort of reaction?" Tsukishima asked.

"Uuum… I just got… a bit… sweaty. Anyway."

Tsukishima and Bokuto glanced at each other, unconvinced by the obvious lie that made their friend blush. The superhuman was about to tease him when Kuroo pointed at a bakery at the other side of the street.

"Bokuto and I will go inside, see what happens… then Tsukishima, you'll go there and pretend to write an article or something. Ask to go in the back."

"I guess it could work, but if there's some sort of danger, what should we expect?" The journalist asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I… have… no idea. But it'll mess with your brains. And possibly your heart and body, giving you weird and unexpected, totally unexplained reactions to certain people." Kuroo answered, patting his chest as if to check if his heart was beating regularly.

Once again, his two friends glanced at each other curiously, not understanding what he was talking about. Before any more questions could be asked and embarrass him further, Kuroo grabbed Bokuto's arm and started dragging him away. The hero stared at him sharply before speaking up calmly.

"Were those strange reactions to your heart and body towards a certain person? A certain person working with you, and whom you've been in love with since forever? A certain Saito Akane, perhaps?" He asked knowingly.

Kuroo stopped abruptly and whipped towards him so suddenly Bokuto almost startled.

"H-how did you know that I'm in- I was in love with her and that she's the one involved in that mess?!" He exclaimed, turning red.

"…Because she's the only girl you've ever dated who made you react this way?" Bokuto said with a casual shrug.

Kuroo gave him a dumbfounded look, as if he couldn't believe he was so easy to read for an air-head like Bokuto.

Then, they entered the Morning Sun Bakery and instantly stopped in their tracks. They took deep breaths of the warm, sweet smell of breads and pastries, and their lips tilted up, their shoulders relaxed.

"Welcome!" Asahi exclaimed with a lovely smile when he saw them enter, "How can I help you?"

"Wow, it smells so nice!" Bokuto exclaimed, looking around with a grin.

"Thank you very much! That's why I became a baker, to see people's smiles when they enter and smell my pastries," he answered.

"Wait, you're the baker?" Kuroo asked, pointing at him.

"I am, indeed," he answered with a little nod.

"I would have imagined a cute young girl with a fluffy apron… not a big guy with the look of a criminal instead…"

Bokuto elbowed him with big eyes, but Asahi, instead of getting offended, only chuckled awkwardly.

"I get told that a lot… I just want to look wild, though… One of my friends inspired me to be more confident with my looks." He explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I think that's really brave! I like that! A wild look, hell yeah!" Bokuto exclaimed enthusiastically.

"I like your hair too. It's very wild to go for spiky white and black hair. It's not natural, is it?" Asahi asked.

"Hey hey, it's become like this after I became– aaaaah…"

Bokuto received Kuroo's elbow in his sides so suddenly that his voice turned into a strangled scream, then it went high-pitched as he tried to find a way to cover up his messing up.

"A-after I became aaa… a… a zookeeper! It was… in reference to the owls!"

Another elbowing and he stepped aside, casually pushing off Kuroo with one hand. The scientist's eyes widened when he just slid to the floor with how strong his friend was.

"I love owls! That's why! My name is also a reference to owls! Bokuto!" He exclaimed before advancing to the counter and presenting his hand, "Nice to meet you! You don't happen to have owl-inspired pastries, uh?"

"U-um, n-no, not yet…" Asahi answered sheepishly, taking the man's hand almost shyly.

"Not yet?"

"I want to create a pastry inspired by Nite Owl and Little Giant, to thank them for what they're doing for everyone. But so far, it hasn't really looked great… I don't really know what flavours to choose either. I'd love to meet them and ask what their favourite flavours are…"

Bokuto lit up, sparkling proudly.

"You're one of my–"

Kuroo coughed loudly to cover his voice and, undisturbed, Bokuto continued.

"You're one of Nite Owl's fan?! Me too! He's the coolest, isn't he?!"

"U-uh… y-yeah… I wish I could be as strong and brave…" Asahi answered with a wishful smile.

"But you are strong and brave!" Bokuto exclaimed suddenly, frowning at the man's lack of confidence, "You are making bread and pastries, which I cannot do! It's an amazing skill, and more importantly, you make people happy! Everyone who comes in here smiles and feels joy thanks to your bakery and your pastries! That's amazing!"

Asahi stared at him in awe as he paused thoughtfully.

"I'd say that's even cooler than any hero-work! Bringing every day joy to the people!" Bokuto exclaimed with a wink.

The baker blinked, stunned and warmed up by these words. He had a strange flashback of Nite Owl himself winking during an interview at a pretty reporter, more flustered himself than she had been… but it meant nothing, even if this strange guy kept referring to Nite Owl as "I".

"Y-you… do you think Nite Owl would like a pastry made after him?" He asked timidly.

"OH! I'd–"

Bokuto's voice was cut by Kuroo's kick in the back of his leg, then he continued, as happy as ever.

"He'd love to! I'm sure he'd be super proud to have a great pastry made after him! You should go with vanilla!"

"Uh?"

"The flavour! It's Nite Owl's favourite– w-well, not that I know his favourite flavour, but he seems like a guy who likes vanilla, doesn't he? Ah ah…"

Kuroo facepalmed, realizing now that it was a miracle Bokuto (and Hinata who was a mini-him) hadn't revealed their secret identities yet.

"Vanilla…? I had been opting for lemon and lavender but…"

"Lemon and lavender are fine! Perfect!" Kuroo piped in, pushing aside Bokuto (or trying to), "We'd like to order uh… four of the… the… chocolate things… here!" He said, pointing at the first pastry he could find.

"Oh, some éclairs! I'll get that for you right away!" Asahi answered, happily preparing the packet for the two friends.

"What's lamenda?" Bokuto asked in a low voice to Kuroo.

"It's lavender, you idiot! It's a plant!"

"But vanilla is good?" He whined.

"Vanilla also is a plant, you imbecile! And you don't get to choose, you're not Nite Owl, remember? You're Bokuto Koutarou! How can you… how…"

His voice trailed off as the scent of bread and pastries came out from the back just as Asahi went in the back room. Both men groaned hungrily before slumping forward, feeling groggy and happy for no reason other than the bakery was pure joy and peace. They wanted to stay there forever and their brains forgot everything that mattered other than soon, they'll get to taste this heaven on their tongues.

When they went back outside, the wind was so refreshing it cleared up their minds and made them feel like they've woken up from a strange and peaceful dream.

"That was nice…" Bokuto said with a smile.

"Yeah… what happened exactly? I know you almost shared your identity with that guy…"

"But he's so nice and comforting! I feel like I can trust him, y'know?"

"…Yeah… That's… weird."

"Nah, it's just that he's got a nice bakery! I don't know what you imagined, but there's nothing wrong with him! He's too nice, there's no way he could be a villain, or cause a murder or anything!"

"…There's definitely something off with that bakery… or that guy… or… something…" Kuroo said, frowning.

Bokuto stopped and turned towards him, an amused smile on his face.

"Aren't you just desperate to find a reason to explain why whatever happened with Akane did happen?"

"So? Anything strange? And who is Akane?" Tsukishima asked after overhearing them as he was leaning against his motorbike two meters away.

"No one and nothing happened with Akane! But something did happen in there… I'm just not sure what. It's… cloudy." Kuroo answered.

"Great, I'll record everything then." Tsukishima said, preparing his hidden camera.

"Can I eat a chocolate thingy while we wait?" Bokuto asked, hand reaching for the paper bag Kuroo was carrying.

"NO! We need to wait and make sure there's nothing wrong with these things! What if it turns you into a murder-psycho?! You have super strength and endurance. We wouldn't be able to stop you from becoming a serial-killer!" Kuroo exclaimed, holding the paper bag as far away from the pouty superhuman as possible.

"Then give one to Tsukishima and if he goes psycho, I'll punch him unconscious!"

"No." Tsukishima said with a deadpan look on his face.

"That is not a solution! Another punch from you and he'll be in a coma!"

"Aaaw, come on! I only punched him once!"

"It was one too many times!"

"I panicked that time!"

"I'm going into the bakery," Tsukishima sighed, unheard by the two idiots.

He wasn't sure what to expect, and Kuroo and Bokuto, confused and joyful as they were, hadn't been of any help. So he went in as he would for any reporting and immediately sighed blissfully as the smell hit him. He looked around and his lips almost tilted into a smile… Almost, but he resisted, keeping a straight face on.

"Welcome, sir! What can I do for you?" The gentle giant of a baker asked with a big smile.

Tsukishima opened his mouth to talk, but his eyes caught sight of strawberry shortcake and his line of thoughts was cut.

"Strawberry shortcake!" He exclaimed, walking towards the display window.

"I-is this your order, sir?" Asahi hesitated.

It made Tsukishima come back to earth and he shook his head, turning towards the baker.

"Sorry, I got distracted. I… Let me introduce myself," he said, taking out a card, "I am a journalist, working for the Tokyo newspaper and we would like to write an article on your successful bakery, if it's alright with you."

"Oh, another one?" He answered, taking the card with a smile.

"Another one?" Tsukishima repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, a few days ago, another journalist from another newspaper asked me the same thing. They asked me questions and walked around the bakery for a while before telling me they'll send me a copy of the article when it's published. But if you want to do the same, you're welcome here! I don't mind some advertising, ah ah!"

Tsukishima glanced around. He was feeling more and more foggy the more time he spent in this bakery, but in a good way. It was like a sleepy, peaceful feeling after spending the evening eating your favourite food and watching your favourite movie. In his case, that was Jurassic Park and strawberry shortcakes, maybe he should do that tonight. He'd–

He shook his head once again, forcing his brain to focus on what was going on here. Kuroo was right, there was definitely something off about this bakery, or that man, no matter how kind he seemed.

"I'd love to, thank you. Could you start by telling me how your day goes?"

For long minutes, he asked the baker all sorts of questions, as if he were really write an article on his bakery – perhaps he would, it felt so good here, after all. This bakery deserved more recognition. Then, Asahi kindly invited him to the kitchen to see how everything was made. He took pictures and videos, and continued asking him questions. He knew there were other things he needed to ask him, about strange things happening, but how could he do it discreetly? What were the questions again? It would drive him mad if he didn't ask soon.

"I must admit, you seem a lot more professional than that other journalist," Asahi said as they went back into the main part of the bakery.

"Eh?"

"That other journalist who came for an interview the other day? He was asking me very strange questions."

Tsukishima felt electricity zap his brain, bringing it back on the right track. It was the golden opportunity to learn more!

"What sort of questions?" He asked, sounding as innocent as he could.

"Oh, if I had secret ingredient– but my secret ingredient is love and care, you see."

"U-uh."

"And if my business rates had gone up since that dreadful night with the meteor and all these people disappearing… Or if I had noticed strange things happening… Those sort of questions, you know." He explained with a smile, unfazed by the very idea of suspicion.

"And… did it? Go up, I mean? Your business?" Tsukishima asked.

Asahi thought about this for a little while, before nodding with a smile.

"It has. I think it's because people want some more sweetness and joy after everything that happened… I don't see what else could possibly explain it."

"U-uh…"

"Would you like some strawberry shortcake, then?" Asahi asked and it was impossible to say no to that sweet smile and the idea of these delicious cakes.

"Yes, please."

It was only after a few steps outside of the bakery, breathing fresh air that Tsukishima started feeling a little less light-headed. But there was still a lingering feeling of bliss that he couldn't explain.

"There's something off with that bakery," he told the two men when he reached them.

Kuroo and Bokuto glanced at each other, then they decided to go to the Nest, so the scientist could analyse the baked goods they had gathered, and perhaps try to make sense of what was happening with this bakery.

At the Nest, and with the help of Kenma, they went over Tsukishima's recordings because of his foggy memory. Meanwhile, Kuroo was running tests on the few samples they got from the bakery.

"I'm curious to know who that other journalist was," Tsukishima said, "From what Azumane-san said, these questions got him weirded out and he's a very hard person to weird out. He's so… peaceful and positive…"

"I could see if there were any cameras recording nearby that could lead us to that person. You don't have any other information? Like a date or a physical description?" Kenma asked.

"My brain was too mushy to think to ask for that," he answered with a frown.

"Hey! Kuroo! Can we eat the pastries now?" Bokuto asked when he arrived into the room.

"We need to wait for the results first," Kuroo answered, "Nothing came up I guess?"

"Nope. I think I'll go home now. I have to get up early tomorrow morning." Tsukishima said, gathering his stuff.

"I'll go help out Hinata on patrol," Bokuto announced, heading to the underground room to get changed.

"I'll stay here tonight. I'll keep you updated if anything pops up," Kenma told Kuroo.

He considered going home, but… he didn't have the heart to be alone after what had happened earlier that day. There were some memories of Akane he didn't want to face at the moment.

"I… I'll stay too. I need to wait for the results anyway…"

Kenma sent him a knowing look, but only nodded, silently respecting his need for company.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city…

Hinata, or the Little Giant as he was right now, was watching from a hiding place as several people were exchanging various bags, speaking in low voices. It would almost be normal if it weren't in a faraway side-road with no police patrols planned (Kenma had confirmed it to him a few minutes ago, which meant there was someone on the inside working with the police) and if it wasn't the middle of the night. And more importantly, he had been following one of the two groups for a few nights now.

About a week ago, he started rewatching some of his and Nite Owl's heroic actions, mostly to feel great about his accomplishments, partly to analyse the fights. He noticed that in a lot of videos or in superhuman sighting, there were people staring from afar with a serious, strange look on their face. He and Kenma had worked on this ever since, trying to track down who these people were and if they were of any threat. They were identified by a tattoo that they had, somewhere on their body: weasels. There wasn't much that either Kenma or Hinata had found, but now, what they were doing was pretty interesting – for a hero, at least.

Hinata was about to call Kenma or Bokuto to ask them if he should stop these guys from selling whatever it was on the black market, but then, the two groups stopped the exchange. They went into their respective cars and drove off. He hesitated, not knowing which one to follow, and decided to go after the Weasels.

Right now, he was wearing his night suit – black with orange details – which meant that he was invisible when moving quickly. He remained hidden and spied on the group that had stopped just before a big and traditional mansion.

"Komori-san has given us tonight's orders: the boss wants to grab that baker tonight. Several suspicious people stopped by the bakery." One said, just loud enough to be heard by his colleagues. Hinata was glad that Kenma had developed a new device to listen with a fifty-meters radius.

"Got it. I'll send a few guys then."

Hinata realized that someone was in danger and he lifted up his hand to communicate with Bokuto, pressing the mic in his helmet.

"Nite Owl, BB-5, you there?"

"I told you to not call me that. It's ridiculous," Kenma muttered.

"But Captain Kitty said it was your official code name!" Hinata answered.

He heard a growling sound, interrupted by Nite Owl before Kenma could complain more. "BB-5", which stood for "Big Brain 5", was a super cool code name, and he and Kuroo had spent a lot of time coming up with it.

"What is it, Little Giant?" He asked.

If he was using his hero name, it meant he was probably out patrolling.

"These guys just said they're going to kidnap someone. Should I stop them?"

"Well yeah! Kidnapping people is bad! Wait, who is going to kidnap who? What's going on?" Nite Owl asked, confused.

"Are these the Weasels?" BB-5 asked.

"What Weasels?" Nite Owl asked.

"Yeah, I think I found their base, but I just overheard that their boss wants to kidnap a baker or something…"

"Wait, a baker?"

"Yes. They didn't say who or where."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Bokuto?" BB-5 said in a serious voice.

"Yeah, we're dealing with a lot of bakers today."

"Bokuto."

"What?" He said, as if there was nothing wrong in what he had just said.

"What's going on?" Little Giant asked, "What should I do? They're leaving!"

"Follow them and keep us updated on what is going on. Nite Owl, hurry ahead to the Morning Sun Bakery." BB-5 ordered.

"You think they're after our Sunshine Baker?"

"He mentioned being interviewed by someone strange a few days ago. I'm going to check if I see any cars or strange people have been lurking around his bakery recently. That fake journalist might have been a Weasel."

"Okay, who the fuck are these weasels? I don't suppose you mean the cute little animals."

"Hinata and I have been working on it for a few days now. They're an organized gang of criminals that lurk around superhuman sightings and fight scenes. We don't really know who or what they do though. We haven't found any evidence to prove our theories."

"Well, they're about to kidnap someone, so that's a pretty good evidence that they're not good people!"

"What if it's a trap to catch you all? A trap set up by these Weasels and Asahi?" Kuroo– no, Captain Kitty, intervened.

"Asahi is too nice for that! He can't be a criminal!" Nite Owl exclaimed.

"Who is Asahi?" Little Giant asked.

"The baker they're about to kidnap, if our assumptions are correct. I suspected him of being a superhuman after a murder that happened this morning, which is why we went to his bakery today to investigate a little." Captain Kitty answered.

"Oh, so you're the suspicious guys who made the Weasels act! Wait, what murder?" Little Giant asked.

"We need to work on our communication, guys…" BB-5 complained.

"We weren't suspicious! We were super discreet!" Nite Owl exclaimed.

"Tsukishima waited for you at a street corner and once you came back, he went into the bakery while you two waited for him. You didn't even try to hide! There's nothing more suspicious than that!" BB-5 said in an annoyed voice.

Nite Owl and Captain Kitty didn't say anything.

Little Giant arrived right in front of the silent bakery, but lost in the conversation, he hadn't seen where the car from the Weasels had ended up. He looked around just as Nite Owl, on his Nite Bike, arrived and stopped next to him.

"Where are the Weasels?" He asked.

"Um…"

Just then, they heard some struggling on the other side of the street. They saw several yakuza transporting the tall and large figure of the nice baker, hands tied, and bag thrown over his head. Considering the lack of struggle, he was unconscious.

"There they are! Let's catch them!" Nite Owl exclaimed, about to start his bike up again.

"Wait!" Little Giant exclaimed, grabbing his arm, "Kenma and I tried catching these guys, but we didn't have any proof! This is the perfect opportunity to gather some and stop them for good now!"

Nite Owl hesitated as they watched Azumane Asahi get put into the car that drove off at an insultingly normal pace instead of the wild chase they had expected.

"These Weasels are probably yakuza. Some of them might be superhumans, which would explain why they're always around!" Hinata continued, "Even a normal group of yakuza can't be stopped easily. We need plenty of evidence, like catching them red-handed!"

"We're not going to sacrifice that nice baker just to catch a bunch of criminals!"

"Of course not! But Ken– I mean, BB-5 is recording everything we're seeing and doing, right?" He said, tapping the side of his helmet where a small camera was hidden, "It'll be enough evidence. We can catch them in the wrong, save Asahi-san, and stop them from causing more trouble."

Nite Owl was frowning, but he pressed the mic on the side of his helmet. The car would soon be too far away for them to catch up easily to.

"BB-5? What do you think? Is it possible tonight?"

"I guess. You'll have to be careful, though. We have no idea how many of them there are, and how many of them are superhumans. At the slightest risk, you should escape."

"Then, we prioritize saving Asahi! Little Giant, hop on!" Nite Owl ordered, the engine of his Nite Bike roaring.

His sidekick jumped on behind him and they started following the car from a safe distance, not to the main house where Little Giant had seen them earlier, but to a faraway and abandoned warehouse.

"All right, Little Giant, you go to the left, and I go to the right. We wait and scope out the outside and especially the inside. Let's try to count how many of them there are before deciding what to do next. Engage only if you are in danger of being discovered or in immediate danger. Wait for my command," Nite Owl said.

"Got it, Nite Owl!"

He kept the Nite Bike hidden behind some trees and bushes, and they slowly approached the warehouse. There were two men with big guns at the front, probably many more doing rounds all around the building. Nite Owl made a sign to Little Giant to go to the left as planned. Using the few bushes and their outfits that could fade into the night background, they managed to go around and avoid being seen by the two men at the entrance.

There were two men guarding the back, but the sides of the warehouse seemed safe enough.

"Little Giant, let's knock out the two men at the back," Nite Owl murmured into the mic.

"Got it!"

He stepped outside of the bushes to do so but a smoke of sand was lifted up by Little Giant's suddenly arriving at the back of the warehouse. The two men didn't have time to react and got knocked out by the swift hero.

"You just keep getting better, aren't you?!" Nite Owl exclaimed proudly.

"Hey hey…~!" He answered, passing his hand against his neck, "Thank you, Nite Owl!"

They tried looking through the windows into the warehouse, but the view was hidden by piles of wooden storage boxes.

"There's an air vent right above us, let's use the Little Birb," Nite Owl whispered.

Little Giant nodded cheerfully as the hero took a little device from his tool belt that could be held in the palm of his hand. It was round, but shaped like a black bird.

"How does it work?" He continued in a low voice.

"You pull the tail and it starts flying and everything," Little Giant said.

"Right."

Nite Owl pulled at the tiny tail and Nite Birb started floating with a buzzing sound. He placed him through the air vent, and he flew through the wide pipe and into the building without trouble. His eyes lit up red and started scanning the entire area. The information and images he could capture were sent directly to both Nite Owl and Little Giant's night goggles they had put on.

"Eighteen people in the building, plus the two at the front you haven't knocked out yet. One of them has to be our baker," BB-5 said, even though they could see the heat signatures thanks to their goggles.

"It's like Iron Man! It's so cool!" Little Giant exclaimed, grinning in awe.

"Focus, guys! It's a rescue mission, not make believe! There's a small room, about five meters away from where you're standing, but it has the most number of people there. Inside the room, there are three people and from the shapes I can see, I'd say one of them is our target. He is sitting on a chair."

"All right, then, what's the plan?" Little Giant asked, taking off his goggles to see clearly.

"…We are going to start taking out the guards at the entrance in silence, then you'll distract everyone and try to draw them to the entrance. Meanwhile, I'll rescue Asahi." Nite Owl said, BB-5 humming in agreement to that plan.

"Got it!"

Meanwhile…

Asahi gasped when the bag over his head was taken off roughly. He blinked, suddenly blinded by the dim, yellow light after so much darkness. His cheeks were wet from scared tears and sobs that had gone through him throughout the entire way there after he had woken up.

"How pathetic. Are you certain he'd be of use to us?"

The sharp voice made Asahi's attention go to the two men who were there. They were dressed in suits, but casually, jackets left open and ties gone.

"From our reports, he's probably a superhuman, and there have been many people who ended up dead after dealing with him!" The second man answered in a chirpy voice.

"Mmm."

Asahi stared at the two men, his heart pounding in fear against his chest.

The first man had wavy black hair, sharp dark eyes, and his lower face was covered by a white mask with a weasel drawn on it. Two moles were on the right side of his forehead and from under his unbuttoned shirt, there was a tattoo whose shape was impossible to make. The second man was smiling and seemed much more jovial, with parted light brown hair and thick eyebrows.

"What's that smell?" The dark-haired one asked, frowning darkly.

"It's coming off him. I think that's his power," his associate answered with a shrug, putting on a mask to block it.

"It smells of… what is this smell? It smells like something that shouldn't exist, that should just be a concept, like happy puppies or something…"

"Our men are going to run some tests, I guess. But that's not the important part now. We'll figure out his powers with time, like with the others."

Asahi choked, which attracted their attention back on him.

"W-who are you?" He asked, in a stifled, shaky voice.

The black-haired man seemed impressed he had found his voice, if the way he had raised his eyebrow was any indication.

"We might as well introduce ourselves now that we'll be working together for a better world, Azumane-san. My name is Komori Motoya and this is Sakusa Kiyoomi. We're part of the yakuza."

Asahi's eyes teared up again and he started hyperventilating, but it didn't disturb the two criminals.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you." Komori continued with a smile that was almost reassuring if he hadn't just admitted that he was a member of the yakuza and that they weren't in a distant abandoned facility of sort. "Consider ourselves as… ah, business men. Business men who work in the shadows of big companies, sometimes for these big companies actually. Our business was mostly drugs and weapons, but ever since the night of the meteor and the appearance of these powers… we've been dealing with other types of business."

It took a moment for Asahi to comprehend, but the glint in their eyes as they looked him over was enough to understand their motivations.

"H-hu-human… human traff-trafficking!" He exclaimed, hiccupping in panic.

"Superhuman trafficking, but not just that. We're also running tests, to help people like you. You see, the transition from human to superhuman isn't always easy and many of us end up hiding and disappearing because we don't fit into society anymore… So, we help them find new paths. Sometimes, they want a job, so we offer it to them, if their values are not too important to them."

"I-I'm not… I'm not a superhuman…! I'm a normal person, I swear! I'm a baker, nothing more!" He exclaimed, his wrists burning from the tight, plastic handcuffs keeping him in the chair.

"Ooh…" Komori said in a voice full of sympathy before turning to his oyabun, "He hasn't understood yet…"

"Understood what?!"

"You're a superhuman too, Azumane. Why do you think so many people love your pastries?" Sakusa said in a calm, but cold voice.

"My superhuman power is being a good baker?!" He exclaimed, stunned.

"Your superhuman power is unknown. But it seems to influence people's moods… or their will or sanity." Sakusa continued, his voice sweet and posed like a snake about to attack, "Over the last month and a half, over twenty people have died. Fight gone wrong, suicides, mysterious circumstances… Three of them were our men, which is how we found out about you. The one and only common point about all these people? They regularly went to your bakery."

Asahi's eyes opened even wider, filled with fear and guilt of the unknown. He… he hadn't killed these people, had he? It meant nothing, coincidences…! Nothing else!

"I-I haven't done anything wrong, ever, in my life! I swear!" He exclaimed, more tears filling his eyes, "Except maybe the one time I got a fine for driving too fast and that one time I didn't run fast enough to bring an injured kitten to the veterinary– but other than that, I've always been a good person! I would never injure anyone! I swear!"

Sakusa and Komori glanced at each other, weirded out by his pure soul.

"Azumane, we know you're not yakuza-material… But it doesn't mean a change of pace wouldn't hurt you, you know," Komori said with a convincing expression on his face, "You already have the looks for it. You just need to… toughen up, y'know."

"I look like a shady criminal…?!" He cried out.

Sakusa rolled his eyes while Komori was unsure of how to behave. He was frightened enough as it was and with such a sweet soul, it would be impossible to use threats to get answers or anything from him. They needed to soothe him and have him see things their way. They hoped his superhuman power wasn't influencing their mood though, or it'd be difficult to get anything done by the end of the night.

"Like I said, our business is very normal and we don't hurt people."

"You kidnapped me!"

"But we didn't hurt you."

"You hurt my feelings!"

"The point is," Sakusa intervened in an impatient voice, "we just want to ask you some questions, give you some suggestions, and then…"

"T-then you'll let me go? I'll never tell anyone about this, I swear! I'll be mute as a tomb!" Asahi exclaimed, extremely convincing despite his current state of mind.

The two yakuza glanced at each other, Komori looking almost amused with their new toy.

"I don't doubt you. You're such a good guy. You would never tell anyone, would you?" He said with a wide smirk that hid their true plans of Asahi's future.

But the baker was too innocent to catch onto the hidden threat and nodded vividly to convince them of his good will. The worst part? They knew that he was honest and would keep his word. But they couldn't take any risk.

"All right! More questions! As we told you, you are a superhuman – do you know any personally?" Komori continued while Sakusa went to lean against a table, observing the baker's behaviour closely.

"What?! No! Never! I don't know anyone like that!"

"If you did, would you tell us their identity?"

"No! You would hurt them!" He exclaimed, shaking his head, "I-I don't know anything about superhumans, except what they say on tv… I-I didn't even know I… did I really kill these people…?" He asked, his voice strangling on his sobs.

"It doesn't matter. They're dead now."

"But if I have a power and it did this–"

"Asahi, you want to get out of here, right?" Komori said, growing impatient, "Then answer our questions."

Tears of absolute fear rolled down Asahi's cheeks as he understood that… they had no intention on letting him leave here on his own, or with a beating heart…

"Two men and a journalist visited you today at your bakery. Have you seen them before?"

The baker shook his head, sniffing miserably.

"Answer me, don't cry. Just give me the answer." Komori continued.

But Asahi hiccupped, shaking his head, drowning in tears and fright. Suddenly, something sharp hit his head so violently, he would have fallen off the chair if it weren't for the plastic handcuffs holding him in place. He gasped, a burning sensation on his cheek and against his chest. He looked down, and saw a deep cut and blood seeping through his clothes. The warm liquid was rolling down his face and onto his chin.

He looked up again, the fear for his life replaced by the fear of pain.

"He asked you a question politely. I am not nearly as polite as my friend. So answer." Sakusa said – but he hadn't moved an inch from the table he was leaning on, and yet, he had managed to hit Asahi from that distance.

"So," Komori continued with a sweet smile that turned the baker's blood to ice, "Two men and a journalist. They visited your bakery, didn't they? The two men had very strange hair, one had white and black hair; the journalist had glasses. They were in tow."

"O-oh… I-I had never seen them… before today…" Asahi answered, eyes shining from the tears and the truth.

"Did they give you their identities?"

"O-only the journalist… He gave me his card… the two others, I don't know anything about them… I didn't even know they were acquainted!"

Komori and Sakusa glanced at each other, communicating silently. Komori was about to ask Asahi another question, but a commotion was heard through the door. Once again, the two yakuza shared a look just as screams echoed.

Asahi felt his blood leave his face. He would collapse at this rate, with all these emotions. He couldn't handle being kidnapped by superhuman yakuza…! It was too much for his nerves…!

Sakusa gave a sharp nod towards his partner and Komori exited the door. He was immediately thrown towards the ceiling with a strangled scream. Sakusa straightened up suddenly just as Nite Owl appeared in the doorway.

"Nite Owl… I should have expected you to show up at some point to ruin my plans…" He hissed, glaring at the hero.

"Actually, my amazing sidekick is the one who found out everything about you! You just ended up kidnapping the wrong guy at the wrong time!"

Asahi sniffled, eyes teary and full of hope now that the city's hero had showed up to save him.

Sakusa narrowed his eyes at Nite Owl, then lifted up his chin, unimpressed by his powers or the fame he had gotten due to his hero work.

Nite Owl suddenly jumped after the oyabun, aiming to knock him out with one punch. He was fast enough to avoid the hero's fist and answered with several punches to his sides that made Nite Owl's eyes widen slightly just as the kumichou of the Itachiyama-gumi jumped backwards. The exchange had lasted just two seconds.

"You're a superhuman, uh?" Nite Owl realised, frowning lightly, "And you are using these powers to kidnap people and commit crimes, tch…"

"Don't be ridiculous. Kidnapping people is below me. My men do it for me. As for committing crimes, I've always done that. These powers just made it easier." Sakusa answered with his lips tilted upwards.

Keeping his hands out and tight as if he were a lion trying to unsheathe his claws, he lifted up his hands. Without moving from his spot, he slashed through the air. Nite Owl gasped when he felt a strong, stinging pain clash across his chest. He stepped away quickly and put his free hand over his chest. There was nothing. He had attacked the air and yet, he was now covered in large slashes similar to claw marks.

"Why do they always slash through everything?" He mumbled to himself.

He jumped back once again when Sakusa attacked him once more without moving from his defensive and distanced position. Nite Owl lifted up his shield and grunted when the hit almost made him shake. It was powerful and strange. He glanced at his shield, now covered in scratches across its entire length. He had noticed a two seconds lag – the time it took for the invisible claws to cut through the air.

"Great," he muttered.

Whatever power this was, it was like giant claws shooting through the air and were just as dangerous as Lev's paws, if not more.

He glanced at Asahi, who was crying, attached to his chair. He had to get Sakusa away from the victim before he uses him against the hero.

"Honestly, I thought a yakuza boss would have more impressive powers," Nite Owl continued, stepping away when the superhuman walked towards him slowly.

Calmly, he raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by the scorn.

"Don't you know? The yakuza isn't about individual strength. It's about teamwork." He said with a light shrug.

Nite Owl frowned just as strong arms surrounded him from behind, trapping his own arms against his sides. The yakuza from earlier, probably the wakagashira, the boss' right hand, that he had thrown in the air! He had forgotten about him! Nite Owl almost dropped his shield, now useless against his side, just as Sakusa's arm was about to slash through the air. Acting fast, Nite Owl lifted up his legs, which unbalanced Komori because of the sudden weight. Then Nite Owl kicked the ground, bending forward just as Sakusa's arm moved, too fast to stop his attack. Komori cried out, leaping over Nite Owl and becoming his shield from the invisible claws that slashed through his back.

"AAAH!" He shouted, falling on his knees.

"Komori!" Sakusa exclaimed, turning furious eyes towards Nite Owl.

The hero had already grabbed a device from his tool belt and threw it on the ground. It exploded into a cloud of smoke that blinded the two yakuza. Running through the smoke, Nite Owl punched Sakusa who fell against the closest wall, hitting his head. The hero arrived by Asahi's side, the poor baker coughing his lungs out because of the smoke. With his shield as a weapon, he destroyed the plastic handcuff, the man almost falling forward with a gasp. Without giving him a moment to think, Nite Owl threw him over his shoulder and ran away from the smoke and through the abandoned facility.

"Hold on tight!" He exclaimed.

Asahi cried out as Nite Owl ran out the back door. The two yakuza Little Giant had knocked out earlier were still unconscious as he set down the baker, who was breathing heavily, eyes wide in terror.

"You okay?" Nite Owl asked, kneeling in front of him.

"I… I…!"

"You're not dying. That's great! Little Giant, report!" He ordered, leaning his head slightly to listen to his words.

"Everyone on this side is down and I'm tying them up with rope! How is the baker?"

"He's safe with me. BB-5?"

"I called the police a few minutes ago. They're almost there."

"Little Giant, come get Asahi and bring him to the front to wait for help to come."

"Okay!"

"W-wait! W-where are you going?" Asahi asked when he saw Nite Owl stand up, "D-don't leave me alone, p-lease!"

Just then a trail of dust showed Little Giant who approached with a proud smile.

"Asahi-san? I'm Little Giant! I'll escort you away from here!" He said, giving him his hand.

"You're safe with him, I just need to tie up the Yakuza boss and his right-hand who were interrogating you earlier," Nite Owl said.

Asahi didn't say anything, still pale and shaky, and Nite Owl went back into the hell-place.

He quickly found the spot where he had left them. The chair was still there and so was the smoke from the smoke bomb he had used to distract them… But the two men were gone. Keeping his lips thin, he walked through the entire building, but only found all the members that were tied up by Little Giant. Just as he was stepping out the front door, he saw a car suddenly drive away on the road. He clicked his tongue. It was already too far away to catch up to it.

"Damn it…" He mumbled.

In the car that was getting away, Sakusa massaged his jaw, glaring from over his shoulder at the superhero who had ruined his night. Hearing a sharp intake of breath, his attention was back on Komori who was suffering from the injuries he had involuntarily given him.

"Rest, get into your other shape, Komori," he told him, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Sakusa took out a bamboo segment from his pocket. Komori glanced at it and with a light whooshing sound, he shrunk down and into the hollow wood. In this form, he won't feel as much pain as in his human form.

"Nite Owl, I'll be your undoing…" Sakusa hissed, promising to the rising sun in the distance that he would destroy the hero with his own two hands.

Back at the yakuza hideout, several police cars arrived, and they exchanged a word with Nite Owl and Little Giant who gave them a USB drive with all the evidence they had gathered about the Weasels. The police were told of the two who had escaped and their base. After having interrogated Asahi, they forgot about him in a car, covered in blankets. He was dozing off when Nite Owl and Little Giant approached him.

"Hey, you okay, big guy?" Nite Owl asked.

"I could be dead, so I'd say I'm fine at the moment… It's a very nice feeling, still being alive…" Asahi said in a surprisingly quiet voice.

He stared behind the two heroes and they followed his gaze, seeing the sky a light orange from the rising sun.

"Thank you for saving my life, both of you," he told them, standing up on shaky legs.

"Hey, anytime! It's our job! Well, avoid getting kidnapped again by the yakuza. It's probably better for your health!" Nite Owl said, patting his shoulder.

"…D-do I know you? You seem… you sound familiar… Have I met you somewhere?" Asahi asked, staring firmly at Nite Owl.

He startled and looked away, suddenly stiff and uncomfortable. Little Giant glanced up at him in panic, unable to say anything.

"U-um… Uh! G-good question! I… uh… ah ah…"

A memory from the previous day suddenly popped into Asahi's head.

"What… what's your favourite flavour? For pastries?" He asked.

"Vanilla!" He answered instantly.

Nite Owl stared back at Asahi who opened and closed his lips, understanding that he had probably figured it out.

"But any flavour is nice, honestly… lemon and lavender? That sounds awesome too." He continued in a light voice.

"O-oh… t-then…" Asahi continued, turning towards Little Giant, "A-and you? What about orange and cinnamon?"

"That sounds awesome! Are you going to make pastries inspired by us?! This is so cool! What's cinnamon?"

"It's… um…"

He looked back, helpless and a little confused, towards Nite Owl who put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, we have to go, but… we have a friend who might be able to help you with, y'know…"

He wiggled his fingers as a metaphor for superhuman powers.

"If you do need our help, you know what to do, right?"

Asahi swallowed hard, and nodded wordlessly.

"Right! Let's go then! Little Giant, you ready?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to taste that pastry!"

"Yeah, me too!"

Asahi watched them walk away and drive off into the sunrise… Even if he was still scared because of the events of the previous night, he was even more in awe with his heroes and what they had done to save him from superhuman yakuza.

A few days later, at the Nest…

"All right! I know what's your power! Probably!" Kuroo exclaimed, coming out of his lab with a bunch of papers in his hand.

"Probably?" Asahi repeated, confused.

"He is very good at what he does, most of the time. So don't worry!" Lev said with an encouraging smile.

A few days after the events of the kidnapping, now certain he was off the yakuza's list of victims, and because he was haunted by what he had learned, Asahi had called Tsukishima. He had been given his card and after a quick talk, they decided to trust the baker and bring him to the Nest. Kuroo ran a bunch of tests and exams on Asahi to go with what he had previously found on the pastries.

"You're a walking stick of pheromones," Kuroo told him with a big smile, relieved that there was an explanation to his strange behaviour with Akane a few days ago.

"I'm a what?" Asahi asked, tearing up.

"W-wait! Calm down! I'm gonna explain!" Kuroo exclaimed, "Every human has certain amounts of chemicals. Like dopamine or PEA, or for the nerds like me, phenylethylamine, a chemical neurotransmitter that at low levels, makes us feel euphoric. It's what causes the excitement you feel when you fall in love with someone, for example. At higher levels, it can cause paranoia."

He paused, shaking the papers with all the results on them once again.

"You, Asahi-san, have an enormous level of dopamine and PEA, but it's not really in you – but all around. I think your emotions produce and make your hormones emanate from your body, and end up infiltrating everything, including your pastries."

"Am I poisoning people…?!"

"No, no, no! It's perfectly safe! On a low level, but… it's not the only hormonal change your body went through when you became a superhuman. The level of PEA is controlled by an enzyme known as monoamine oxidase, or MAO. MAO type B deactivates dopamine and PEA. MAO itself is controlled by progesterone and dihydro-testosterone, which suppresses type B activity and therefore increases the biological level of PEA. You have a high level of PEA, mixed with a high level of dihydro-testosterone and progesterone, and practically non-existent type B MAO." Kuroo concluded with a shrug, as if it made any sense.

Asahi stared at him, mouth hanging open, then he glanced at the rest of the hero team. Everyone looked just as confused as he was.

"…Could you repeat all that… but slowly?" Bokuto asked, as if it'd help him understand what was going on.

Kuroo sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You have a lot of hormones coming out of your body and nothing to suppress it. You're a walking stick of pheromones," he said, sounding annoyed that his entire explanation had been reduced to such a simple sentence because of these idiots.

"Aaaaah!" They all exclaimed, finally understanding.

"But why did it kill people? Hormones are nice, aren't they?" Lev asked, sniffing the air once again (he adored Asahi's scent).

"On low levels, yeah, but on higher levels, it can cause paranoia, violent reactions… By constantly consuming your pastries and regular exposure to your body, some people ended up getting… drunk and heavily affected by an overdose of these hormones. This is why most of the murders who were linked to you ended up being violent fights that ended badly, jealous couples, passionate murders…" Kuroo explained, thinking back on the murder case that had led to his suspicions about the baker.

"S-so… I… I really did kill these people…" Asahi whispered, eyes tearing up.

"Hey, it's not your fault. They were affected by hormones, you didn't have any control on that, it wasn't your fault," Kuroo said.

"But it's my fault all these hormones affected these people! If it weren't for me…!"

"Calm down, Asahi-san," Lev said with a smile, "I like your hormones! And I love your pastries! And it's what most people think, right? The people who died only acted the way they did because they couldn't think straight, not because you had told them to do such things! There are so many, much more terrible people! Don't feel guilty for crimes you haven't committed!"

Asahi stared at the were-lion who smiled broadly. Hinata quickly spoke up too.

"Lev's right! Maybe these people died because of a number of other reasons that had nothing to do with the hormones you release… and how many people did you make happy with your pastries because of the same hormones? What about people who are very sad, but smile thanks to your bakery? What about people who find comfort in your pastries? For all these people… you're a hero!"

The baker's eyes filled with tears, his heart beating stronger, and everyone felt the sudden wave of hormones that came off of him. They felt dizzy for a moment, but couldn't help but smile and sigh.

"Yep, definitely a good feeling…" Kuroo sighed, "And nothing personal, only… hormones, chemistry, stuff science can explain."

Asahi choked, being comforted by Lev and Hinata, and after a few minutes, he finally wiped his eyes and looked up helplessly at his heroes.

"B-but… what can I do to stop it? It's dangerous… but I-I can't control the hormones my body creates, right?" Asahi asked, lips shaking as he looked down as his hands.

"Nope, but science exists and is super cool.. Kuroo said, proudly pulling out a little box from his pocket. "I made a product that might be able to stabilize your production of hormones. You will still create more than an average human, but it might be enough to not affect others as much. You just need to inject yourself once a day."

Asahi swallowed hard, not a big fan of needles, but if it meant keeping people from becoming psycho killers because of an overdose of his hormones… then he'll get used to it.

"T-thank you… thank you so much!" He exclaimed.

"Come on, I'll show you how to do the injection." Kuroo said, patting his shoulder.

After showing him how to do the injection, Asahi did the first one. He didn't feel any change in himself, and there wasn't a big change in the atmosphere, but they all hoped it'll work.

"I made some pastries to thank you, and I'd love to have your opinions," he said, bringing out a box.

"Ooooh!" Hinata and Lev exclaimed.

Asahi opened the box and showed beautiful pastries, all shaped like Nite Owl and the Little Giant.

"Oooh! The pastries you promised us! Is mine cinnamon and orange?!"

"Yes, and for Nite Owl… I chose vanilla and lavender. If I have your permission, I'll start selling them next week."

Curiously, Bokuto went to pick up one of the Nite Owl pastry. He bit into it and felt tears well up in his eyes.

"I-is it bad? Is it that bad?!" Asahi asked, panicking.

"Ah! No, no, not at all! It just…"

He smiled sadly, looking down at the pastry in his hand, not really aware of the rest of the team staring at him worriedly.

"It just reminded me of great memories… I love it."

"O-oh…"

"OOOOH! MINE IS SO TASTY! I LOVE IT!" Hinata exclaimed, jumping up and down, "Kenma! Taste it, taste it!"

"Eeeh… it's not bad…"

"Oh, I love the Little Giant one!" Lev exclaimed, "OOOh! But the Nite Owl one is so great too!" He continued, holding up two pastries, unable to choose a favourite.

Akaashi blinked when he tasted the Nite Owl pastry, then he glanced at his friend who had walked away to sit down in a chair. He approached him, worried by the reaction he had had earlier.

"Why did you react like that? I've never seen you so emotional just eating a pastry… even though you have shed tears while eating hamburgers when you were particularly hungry."

"O-oh… It must be the hormones, then! That's it, it's… it's the love hormones…"

Akaashi's eyes widened.

"Is it… about her?"

Bokuto kept his lips thin, and after a long moment, he nodded.

"I wonder how…"

His voice broke and he shook his head, suddenly standing up and putting a smile on his face.

"Well! We have different lives now! It's not like I'll ever see her again, so…"

"You know I can–"

"Hey hey! Kuroo! Is there more of that Little Giant pastry?" Bokuto exclaimed, ignoring his friend.

"Nah, we ate it all!"

"OI! No fair! I haven't tasted it yet!"

"You should have been faster instead of moping in a corner like that!"

"GEH!"

Now with a solution to his superhuman powers, Asahi returned to his bakery with a smile on his face. Bokuto and Kuroo watched him from afar as he opened the store and quickly, clients came in, all coming out with smiles on their faces.

"Do you think it's going to affect his business?" Kuroo asked out loud.

Bokuto smiled, arms crossed over his chest in a proud manner.

"Nah, people don't go there because of these hormones. They've always loved his pastries, because Asahi loves pastries and seeing people's smiles. Like Hinata said… he's everyone's hero, on an everyday basis, saving them from their bad moods and sad mornings."

Kuroo smiled back, but his mind drifted away, and after saying goodbye to his friend, he ended up going back to the Miyagi Police Station. It was almost night when he went there to finish writing some report. He couldn't take the risk of sharing what he knew about Asahi and why their colleague had killed his wife, then killed himself… The case was closed now, anyway.

Someone suddenly walking in had him look up, and both Tetsurou and Akane froze, staring at each other. They hadn't been alone since what happened a few days ago… He quickly averted his gaze, cheeks turning red and she hurried towards her desk, looking for something. She was wearing a pretty dress and high-heels. Was she going on a date?

"Hey…" he spoke up when she was about to head out. "I'm… I'm sorry for what I said… and did the other day… I acted like an idiot. It was… hormones… I guess." He mumbled, unable to meet her eyes.

"Y-yeah… me too… it was…"

She sighed deeply and they glanced at each other before looking away. He passed a hand behind his neck, feeling awkward and uncomfortable.

"Look, I…"

He looked up, hopeful, when she spoke up again, but she looked… determined. Sad, but determined.

"I'm moving on. I can't keep holding onto… what we once had. I want to make a life with someone and… it won't be you, Tets– Kuroo. You should forget about me too… Let's stop holding onto… that."

Her voice broke on the last word and she looked down.

"S-sure," he said, throat feeling tight and his heart like stone. "I think so too. It's best if we… if we don't let our past together affect our work."

"Exactly, this is… this is for the best."

"Yeah, it is… it's for the best."

They stared at each other, then Akane left suddenly. Tetsurou let his head fall into his arms, cursing himself a thousand times over.

"Why… why you idiot… why didn't you say you were still in love with her and you wanted to try again…?! Why did you agree with her…?!" He mumbled, voice muffled because his lips were pressed against his desk.

He straightened up, staring at the ceiling, and took a deep breath to chase away the stinging in his eyes. He was fine, it'll be fine. He could handle… whatever would happen. And it was exactly what Akane had told him several times over the years, every time she had her "important" relationship fall apart. Whatever… whatever, it didn't affect him anyway… he didn't care… not really…

Sniffing, he printed his report and left it on Daichi's desk, not even reacting to his worried glances. Then, he left, determined to go to a bar and distract himself, maybe even meet the love of his life there.

Tetsurou stopped abruptly when he saw, through the window of the bar, Akane and Semi talking to each other. They were both smiling, talking enthusiastically… and she laughed. He hadn't heard her laugh in years.

Burning tears filled his eyes and slowly, with shaky hands, he took out his wallet. He knew exactly where to find the folded photograph of him and Akane from years ago. She was laughing and she was beautiful. His heart squeezed painfully.

"We had our chance, Tetsurou…" She had told him a few days ago.

He had held onto it for years… and unable to look again at Akane laughing with that Shiratorizawa guy, he dropped the picture and buried his hands in his pockets, lowering his head. Rain started to fall, hiding his tears, and ruining the picture and the feelings he had held onto for years.

Love hurt.

---

Next chapter will come as soon as possible!

Tell me what you think!

Yours Truly,

May