Kōkyō kicked and punched the air with quick little jabs, the sunshine warming him up as he went. The park was beautiful and peaceful this afternoon. Like nothing in the world could go wrong. Deku stood leaning on a nearby tree, watching the boy's posture and agility.
"Move your left leg back a bit more when you kick. A little higher. Yeah! Great!" Izuku picked up Kōkyō's water bottle and tossed it at him. The nine-year-old instinctively kicked it to the grass!
"HYAH! Oh."
"Nice reflexes. But... maybe just grab it next time." Deku laughed as he gently handed it to the boy this time around. "Alright, Kōkyō! Let's wrap up for today, shall we? Have you been following along with that diet I gave you?"
"Yes! The American Dream plan is going smoothly!" Kōkyō bounced with a smile. "I actually did some research on all of the major food components and I found out that adding a tiny little bit of baking soda to my water I can optimize my diet completely, helping me push myself without stunting my growth."
Deku couldn't help but laugh proudly at the boy.
"You're smart, young Kōkyō. Do you do well in your classes?"
"I'm top of my class!" Kōkyō's beamed, soaking in his idol's praise.
"You know, I bet you could move up a grade or two if you wanted. Get out of the class with those bullies."
Kōkyō blinked a few times. He was allowed to do that?
"But... is it okay to run away from those bullies? Shouldn't I... stand my ground?" He asked sheepishly.
"A hero's job is to protect people and make them feel safe. And that includes yourself." Deku smiled. "You are allowed to prioritize yourself every once and a while. Took me a long time to learn that."
"...?" Kōkyō's pure face and confused little nod make the number one hero smile. Yeah. This kid was the one.
"Alright. I will see you tomorrow-"
"Hey Deku?" Kōkyō squeaked and twirled his thumbs. "I was wondering... Why'd you decide to train me? I mean... I'm just some quirkless kid..."
Midoryia spun around curiously. He hadn't told Kōkyō about One For All yet. Mostly, he wanted the kid to understand that he could be a hero, quirk or no quirk. Plus, was a small child really ready to keep such a big secret? Would that put him in danger?
"..." Deku smiled as he looked to the ground, wondering what to say. "I... suppose you just remind me of myself." He sighed. "You have a hero's heart. I see that in you."
Kōkyō's smile was so heart-melting that Deku thought he'd be blinded. He honestly had to look away it was so bright.
"Alright. I will see you tomorrow! And don't overwork yourself, young Kōkyō."
"I won't!" The boy unknowingly lied. Waving at the disappearing green flash of light, the kid immediately went back to self-training. He knew his way home from here, so he slowly did his kicks and defensive jabs as he meandered back home.
A looming beast hid in the shadows of an alleyway, it's lifeless eyes dead on their target. The internal clock in the creature's mind counted slowly, as per instructions. Three-thirty five... Three-thirty six...
It was nearly time to fulfill its orders...
Down the parkway a little ways strode Pinky and her newest intern, waving at the passing people.
"So my dad said he might run into us today." Eiji said as they went. "Does he usually patrol around here? Do you guys run into each other?"
"Oh, sometimes." Mina said as she inhaled the sunny air. "He does rooftop patrols, and I usually keep low. But sometimes I wave at him and he does the little nod. Ya know?"
"Yeah, we call that the nod of acknowledgement back home." Eiji laughed as Ashido pursed her lips and gave a tough-guy nod. Yeah it was pretty stupid looking, but they weren't going to tell Bakugo that.
Just out of their sight, Kōkyō gave a few sharp and pointed jabs at a tree and hummed a little tune from his favorite show. He was still riding high on happiness after seeing Deku. No matter how often he saw him, that unbridled joy kept coming back.
Suddenly, Kōkyō felt... cold? The sun's rays were cut off from him, and that happiness he held slipped through his fingers. Peering over his shoulder, he shakily gasped.
It was a beast.
Dread filled the deepest pit of his stomach. This thing didn't look human. Something in its eyes... wanted to kill...
Quicker than a blink, the creature swiped at him!
"Aah!" Kōkyō ducked and rolled away, blitzing off as quickly as his legs could carry him. But the beast followed. And he was fast.
As it punched and lurched after the little boy, his attacks missed by only centimeters. Kōkyō's adrenaline-fuels instincts were just barely keeping him alive.
"Help! Somebody! I don't know him!" Kōkyō screamed. But the bystanders around him were frozen. Their legs wouldn't move. Was nobody going to save him?!
And why was this guy after Kōkyō anyways?! Was he trying to kidnap him?
"Somebody! Help me! Ack!" Kōkyō was thrown back as the mindless being destroyed the earth beneath his feet. Hitting his back against a tree, the air was knocked out of his lungs. Before he could react, the monster snatched him up by his ankle!
"AAAHH! Let go of me! Let go!" Kōkyō's cried out. He flailed around, grabbing ahold of the tree branches for dear life. But Kōkyō was yanked away, a measly stick coming off with him. The beast held the boy close to its face and hissed. It opened its jaws into wide, unnatural angle.
It was going to eat him.
"HELP! SOMEBODY!" Kōkyō screamed. He tried to think, to remember what Deku taught him.
Obstruct your opponent's vision...
"Go for the eyes!" Kōkyō's screamed as he held firm to the stick in his grasp. With all of his might, the boy whipped himself back and plunged his weapon inward! He impaled half the branch into the beast's eye socket! Blood gushed out of the grotesque wound! Kōkyō himself nearly fainted at the damage he had done.
...But the monster didn't even flinch.
"Help me! Please! Somebody!" Kōkyō's cries were getting more desperate as the other hand came wrapping around his head. The creature pulled his body into opposite directions. Kōkyō felt his ankle dislocate and a terrible pain shoot through his back. The skin of his very body felt tight. Too tight. He couldn't even scream the pain was too great.
He was being torn in two...
"Kōkyō!" He heard someone cry out.
SHINK!
Kōkyō gasped as the monster dropped him. He winced as he fell to the earth below, but somebody caught him!
"Huh?" He looked up. "Eiji!" He cried, happy tears of relief welling up in his eyes. Eiji had impaled the monster's hands! He saved him!
"Little bro! Oh my God, are you okay?!"
Pinky jumped in between the two boys and the mindless brute, shooting acid out in a heavy stream.
"Get him out of here!" She demanded of her intern. She didn't have to tell Eiji twice. He ran with his bro in his arms, creating as much distance between he and the beast as possible.
"Eiji! I thought I was going to die!" Kōkyō croaked out as he clung to his rescuer.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Eiji asked, a panic still pounding in his heart.
"M-My ankle. I think it's broken."
"Don't worry, we'll be safe soon and then we can fix you right up-"
Eiji's sentence was stopped dead in its tracks. The beast blocked their path.
"Look out!" Mina screamed as he came screeching to a halt. Doing a 360, Baachu ran the opposite direction of the monster. But it was following him.
Mina was attacking him from all sides, but he ignored the burning acid on his skin. He was dead-set on Kōkyō and nothing else.
"Hey ugly! Fight me- OOF!" Mina was smacked carelessly to the side as the monster pursued the boys. "Why is he after them?!" She gasped in fear, sliding after it.
As it came dangerously close to Eiji, he gasped and shot jagged spikes from his back, sticking deep into the thing's hand. But it's flesh healed over, it's tissues mending itself at an incredible and terrifying speed. It smacked Eiji and Kōkyō to the dirt, and the boys gasped up in fear. The towering man hissed down at them, it's talons reaching out once more for Kōkyō.
"DIE!"
KABOOM!
Eiji and Kōkyō gasped with hope. The sizzling monster curled over to its side, and out of the smoke stood their hero.
"Dad!"
"Uncle Bakugo!"
Ground Zero stomped up to the monster and pointed at the boys.
"Get out of here. NOW."
Nodding vigorously, Eiji picked up Kōkyō once more, running away from the scene. The beast stood up and stared at Bakugo, the stick still jutting out of it's unblinking eye. Snarling an evil smile, Bakugo cracked his neck.
"Let's go, fucker."
Despite his taunt, the beast glazed over him and locked into his target once more. It ran right past Bakugo.
It needed to kill.
"What the fuck?! What is he doing?! Fucking fight me you coward!" Katsuki screamed and blasted after it, his explosions blowing off chunks of flesh. But it kept growing right back. The monster didn't even acknowledge the pain.
Spraying acid into the monster's eyes, Ashido stopped it for one moment. But it simply sniffed the air and followed the sent of its prey.
"What the hell is this guy?! Why is he after my son?!" Bakugo screamed as he and Pinky pursued it.
"That thing..." Mina gasped as she slid after it. She didn't realize until now, but it was all too clear. Too familiar. And it sent the coldest shiver of dread down her throat.
"Is a Nomu..."
Bakugo's eyes widened. She was right, and that terrified him. But there weren't any Nomu's anymore! Right? He hadn't seen once since he was a teenager. They were ruthless killing machines.
And one was after his son.
"How do we fucking kill these things?! This one isn't dying!" He screamed, blasting in front of it. He blew up its beak and slit its face in half. But it was unwavering.
"Wait- doesn't this Nomu seem familiar?" Ashido gasped as she melted its feet.
"All Nomu's look the same, it ain't-"
"This is the Nomu that attacked USJ- back when we were at Yueei!" She gasped. "You know, the one designed-"
"Designed to kill All Might..." Bakugo gasped. This thing was supposed to be locked away! Put in a facility where it'd never see the light of day again! It was too powerful to be out in the streets. How...
Oh God. The monster made to kill All Might was after his son.
"Ground Zero! We need to get Deku here now! I know that you think you can take this Nomu on, but this is not the time to be prideful and-"
"No, you're absolutely right." Katsuki said as he AP shot the Nomu over and over.
"Huh?"
"I said, you're fucking right now call for help!"
"O-Okay!" Mina didn't hesitate. She put out the red-alert signal. "Oh my God, Bakugo, there's ANOTHER red-alert."
"WHAT?!" Bakugo gasped. They haven't seen a red-alert in years. And now there were two in one day?! "Get Deku here, this one is more important!"
"I- OOF!" Mina was smacked away once more by the Nomu. That was it. Bakugo was calling Deku himself- NOW.
The phone rang. And rang.
But no one picked up.
Deku never did that.
"Dammit Deku!" Bakugo screamed into the answering machine. "There's a Nomu- a fucking NOMU. It's after Eiji! And Baby-Shark! Just get your ass over here NOW, DEKU!" Ground Zero screamed his head off as he blasted the beast some more. He was only slowing it down, and barely. Eiji had made some distance, but the Nomu could catch up in a split-second. But Bakugo wasn't going to let that happen...
If they didn't get help soon, then he wasn't sure what he'd do.
## Uptown
"So, young nephew, when patrolling, we always keep our helmets off." Iida said with robotic hand-gestures. "People feel more at ease when seeing the face of a hero!"
"Uhuh..." Tasen nodded, following behind his uncle. He stared at his back, nervously pulling at his collar. Why'd he have to make his gear black?! It was not helping his sweat issue one bit...
"Young nephew? Is everything alright?" Iida asked as he pushed his glasses further up his nose.
"Y-Yeah..." Tasen had a wrenching feeling in his gut.
"Hmm..." Iida could tell something wasn't right. Swiping a hand down, he smiled warmly at his brother's son, "You understand you can talk to me about anything." Tasen looked up nervously. Tenya's face looked like Eiji's: genuine. "We are family, right?"
"..." Tasen stopped walking and stared at the sidewalk lines. Putting a hand to his upset gut, his mouth furrowed uncomfortably. Slowly, he exhaled, "I've... been thinking a lot about the kind of person I want to be..."
"Yes?" Iida listened intently.
"And... there's this feeling that I've had for a while, but I never told you about it because I was afraid of disappointing you..." Tasen gulped and felt a nervous shake wrack his legs.
"But I... don't want to be..." Biting his lip and wincing his eyes, he whispered, "I don't want to be the next Ingenium..."
He wasn't sure how his uncle was going to react, so he kept his eyes closed. He knew that he should've told him earlier. Long before he signed up for Yueei and made them pay so much money. He knew the timing was bad. But he hadn't said anything until now. His uncle was probably looking forward to leaving a legacy, and in a single sentence that was swept out from under him.
Tasen waited for Iida's response with a sick feeling rising up into his throat when...
"That is alright."
"...huh?" Tasen looked up with a confused look on his face. His uncle... was still genuine? "Aren't you... disappointed in me?"
"No." Iida smiled. "I may feel a little sad, but those are my own emotions, and I will have to deal with those as an adult. But you should not have to bear the weight of that." He said with a hand on Tasen's shoulder. "I am glad you told me. I would have been very sad if you took up a mantle you did not want."
Tasen breathed... and a weight was completely lifted from his chest.
He felt free.
"Have you told my brother about your decision yet?"
Aaaand the gut twist came back.
"...No..."
"When do you plan on telling him?" Iida asked as they started to walk once more.
"...I don't know. Maybe... once I have some other career planned out, that way I don't look so pathetic..." he sulked.
"I will not tell you what to do, but my brother will not think differently about you if you confess your desire! In my opinion, you should tell him as soon as conveniently possible!" Iida said with many chops through the air.
"Really? Are you sure?"
"I think that is the respectable thing to do." Iida declared.
Dang. Respectable? Fine... Tasen sighed and nodded. It really did seem like the respectable thing to do...
Suddenly, a loud, blaring noise came from Iida's phone. A red light flashed across the screen.
Iida gasped.
"What is it? Is everything alright?!" Tasen gulped nervously.
"Two red-alerts have just been declared! We are close to one- follow me!" Iida demanded. Tasen had no idea what was going on, but he wasn't about to be left in the dust! He ran after his uncle, not wasting one second.
They were there in a flash, and what he saw he couldn't believe.
This terrible, disgusting creature was running after Eiji! He was carrying a small boy, and two other heroes were attacking the monstrosity with all their might! But it had its target set on the fleeing boys.
"A Nomu!" Iida immediately recognized. It's beak hissed and gurgled at them, and Tasen almost gagged. The stick in his eye wiggled as he directed his vision back to Kōkyō. "Stay back, young nephew!" Iida demanded.
"No way! I got to help!"
"No, you can not interfere! I will not allow you to put yourself in danger!" Tenya said more sternly. "Now stand back unless I say otherwise!"
"But my friend needs my help!"
"..." Tenya wanted to say so many things, but the Nomu demanded his attention. "Keep watch, but under no circumstances should you approach the Nomu!"
Tasen nodded in understanding, but he was determined to be of help. His uncle was right, though— getting in the way of the pro-heroes was a bad plan. But was there anything he could do to save his friend? He honestly didn't know what to do.
Iida kicked the beast in the face, knocking it back a single step as he yelled,
"A Nomu in the vicinity?! Has Deku been contacted?!"
"He's not picking up his damn phone!" Bakugo screamed as he cratered out more chunks of the beast's flesh. "This thing is after Eiji and Kōkyō! Get them out of here-" Bakugo was caught off-guard as the pursuing monster leapt over their heads! He soared through the sky and nearly crushed Eiji! The boys tumbled to the ground, rolling away from each other!
"Kōkyō!" Eiji cried out. The little boy looked up in horror. A large foot was about to crush him when-
"Gotcha!" Tasen breathed, carrying the boy away. Kōkyō breathed out a relieved gasp. They were leaving the monster in the dust. "Are you alright?"
"M-My big bro! The monster, he's gonna-" but the monster walked right past Eiji. It didn't even acknowledge him.
It ran after Kōkyō.
"He's... He's after me..." Kōkyō whispered. He couldn't believe the speed this Nomu had- it was almost as fast as them! Tasen gasped as he looked over his shoulder. His uncle said this thing was dangerous- and it was after them! Tasen circled around the whole lake right back to the others. Going to the pro's was the best option if he hoped to keep this kid alive!
Ground Zero, Pinky, and Ingenium waited in ready as the monster was being led back to them. Tasen got there before the Nomu, but it was only a few seconds behind.
"What is it after?!" Mina gasped, her hands sizzling with acid. Bakugo looked to Kōkyō with worry in his eyes. This entire time... it had only been after one person.
"He's after Baby Shark." Bakugo growled. That reinforced the indescribable fear in the nine-year-old's eyes. Cracking his neck, Katsuki spat, "But he ain't gonna get him!"
"Nephew!" Iida screamed. "Hand me Kōkyō."
Tasen knew the kid would be safer in his uncle's arms. He didn't question him once.
"Now nephew, I need you to find Pro-Hero Shouto and bring him to this location immediately!"
"I... I have to leave? But-" Tasen turned around and stared at Eiji. "-but I can't abandon my friend!"
"Dontcha think we could use Deku's help instead, Four-Eyes?!" Bakugo growled, defensively putting an arm in front of his son.
"The only way to destroy a Nomu is by carbonizing their cells! Shouto is the only hero who can do such a thing!" Iida screamed. "Now go! Get help!"
The fear was evident on Tasen's face, but he knew what he needed to do.
He ran. As fast as his legs could carry him. Faster than he ever had before.
Their lives depended on it.
## Unknown Location
"Things are getting out of hand." Tomo said slowly, her glowing eyes staring at the wall. "The Nomu you unleashed might actually kill him..."
Little Boss sat in her chair, drinking some wine and eating some chocolate.
"Oh well. Deku can find another successor. But if Baachu saves him that'll be quite the feat, don't you think?" She wiggled excitedly in her seat. "Tell me, what do you see now, Tomo?" Little Boss asked her assistant as she tapped her feet anxiously.
Tomo closed her glowing eyes once more.
"Ground Zero and Baachu are bickering with each other." She said, pulling her stick-straight hair behind her ear. Little Boss could barely contain her giddiness.
"Ooh I do love those moments! What are they saying?" Little Boss squirmed as she ate some more.
"Let me see..." Tomo closed her eyes and hummed quietly.
## The Park
Iida bounced to and fro, evading the beast and luring him along. Kōkyō clung to Ingenium for dear life, their speed making him a tad dizzy. As the Nomu tried to grab them from the air, the onslaught coming from Mina and Katsuki didn't stop. But Eiji was just watching in terror, his vision darting across the busy field.
"Let me help, I-"
"NO!" Bakugo screamed, shooting a concentrated blast through the Nomu's shoulder. It didn't flinch the tiniest bit.
"But I can-" Eiji lurched forward, two tendrils ebbing from his palms.
"Stay put!"
"But-"
"EIJIRO!" Ooh snap. Eiji was in trouble. He honestly feared his dad more than that monster.
Out of the air, a hand smacked Iida and Kōkyō to the earth, tossing them away from each other. It's good eye locked onto Kōkyō. The boy gasped!
"Don't you touch him!" Bakugo screamed as he wrapped himself around the Nomu's face. He pried its jaw open and sent a boom through the brain.
Looks like it didn't need one of those either. Because it just. Kept. Going.
Eiji watched in horror as the Nomu came close to his little bro! He couldn't stand idly by! No!
His legs moved on their own.
Kōkyō couldn't believe his eyes! His big bro had scooped him up once more!
"EIJI! NO!" Bakugo screamed after his selfless son.
"Big bro- p-put me down..." Kōkyō whimpered as he watched the beast come closer.
"No! I'm not gonna-"
"He's after me! He's just gonna hurt you and-"
"SHUT UP!" Eiji screamed painfully. "I'm not leaving you behind, okay?!"
Kōkyō could see the monster coming close. And he looked at Eiji's face. It... looked so scared. Like it was calling out for help.
The Nomu was going to catch them.
Eiji was going to get hurt because of Kōkyō.
So the boy did the bravest thing he could think of. He whipped himself around and flung himself out of Eiji's arms.
"KŌKYŌ!" Eiji cried out in panic and confusion and horror. The little boy wobbled his broken self to his fate, a smile on his face. He held two shakey fists up in the air.
"Full Cowl..." He pulled back into his best kicking stance, pushing his left leg back. Just like Deku told him to. "...Shoot Style." He said with a forced smile in the face of death.
But right before he seized his opportunity, a rumble shook the very ground he stood on. He fell back, his footing slipping out from under him and-
~FWOOM~ SHINK!
Blood squirted all over Kōkyō. He looked away before tentatively opening his eyes.
The Nomu loomed above him- motionless.
Every joint, every section of the creature... was impaled right through. Sharp sticks and shoots sturdily mounted in the earth encircled the Nomu and came together to a point right above it's head.
It writhed disgustingly, but it was completely constrained.
The Nomu had been stopped! By Eiji!
"We-We're alive!" Kōkyō gasped and panted. Eiji was frozen solid, gawking speechlessly. If that Nomu were a person...
"Eiji! Kōkyō! Oh my God-" Mina wrapped her arms around the two boys, a shiver rolling down her spine. She was so scared for them.
Bakugo ran past the giant monstrosity and knelt in front of them.
"Eiji! Kōkyō! Are you hurt?!" Bakugo asked as he checked their eyes for head trauma.
"Kōkyō's ankle is hurt. I'm fine." Eiji said with a strange solemness. His voice was quiet.
"In that case," Bakugo stood above Eiji as he smacked the back of his head. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!"
"..." Eiji stared at the ground, rubbing his arm.
"Ingenium was about to grab Kōkyō again- I fucking told you to stay put!" Bakugo screamed.
"Ground Zero, Baachu did a heroic work today. You shouldn't be so-" but before Ingenium could finish his sentence, Katsuki screamed at his son once more.
"You are an intern! You are in TRAINING! You don't go after Nomu's designed to kill ALL MIGHT!" He spat. Bakugo's angry posture slowly melted as he watched Eiji's downcast face. "I'm just..." Sighing, he gently rubbed the heads of the two boys. "I'm glad you're okay, Baby-Shark. I'm glad you're okay, Eiji..." And he pulled them in and rested his head on Eiji's. Everyone was just so shaken- his nerves nearly shot when he saw Eiji run off with Kōkyō. He...
Bakugo couldn't imagine loosing them.
Tasen came zooming in, carrying Shouto on his back. Which looked kind of strange, seeing a teenager give a full-grown man a piggyback ride. But as they came up to the Nomu, Tasen let out a deep sigh of relief.
"You- You trapped him!" He laughed in awe at his friend. "And... Ground Zero is... hugging you?" That seemed a little strange to him. Eiji didn't respond to him. He looked quite sad.
Shouto stepped up to the Nomu, Mina cautiously right behind him.
"Should we just turn him in, or-"
Todoroki lifted his hand up. Suddenly, a concentrated flume of blue flame cauterized the head of the Nomu. The creature screamed out in one last howl of agony before limping over, it's cranium nothing but dust and rock.
"No."
The police came, and the heroes turned their attention to the authorities. Ambulances and news reporters and heroes swarmed the area in a rush, focusing on the heroes of the day. In the lingering smoke of the burning flesh, Kōkyō stood behind Eiji's sunken figure.
"B-Big bro?" Kōkyō looked up at Eiji in awe and admiration. The teenager looked pretty shaken. They all were. He came in and gave his bro a hug. "Eiji, I thought you were really cool. I'm sorry your dad shouted at you, but if it means anything, I thought you were a cool hero-"
Eiji was shaking. His eyes looked at Kōkyō with an odd expression. They were still scared.
"Kōkyō you naive idiot..." Eiji hissed, making him gasp.
"Eiji? I-"
"What the hell were you thinking, you self-sacrificial ass!? Jumping out of my arms like that?!" The teenager cussed, tears shaking in of his angry eyes.
"He-He was going t-to hurt you and-" Kōkyō stuttered, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Stop trying to be a damn hero, alright?! You trying to get yourself killed?!"
"N-No, I just want to be a hero like-"
"You need to wake up and quit pretending!" Eiji yelled, a tear dripping off his face. "Playtime's over! Welcome to the real world! You can't be a hero!"
Kōkyō was tough through this whole ordeal. He felt the urge to scream and cry the entire time he was being attacked. He didn't though. But this...
It broke him.
Hot tears streamed ceaselessly down Kōkyō's smudged face. Hiccuping, he hid his face in his arms and turned away from Eiji. But Eiji wasn't worried about his feelings this time. He said what needed to be said. If Kōkyō kept going down this path, then he would just die young.
Eiji wouldn't let that happen to his little bro...
"I'm sorry... you just can't..." He coughed quietly. They stood a meter apart, but the distance couldn't hide their strained emotions. But as Eiji slowly turned away, he heard Kōkyō squeak a tiny sound,
"I... won't listen... to you."
Confused, Eiji turned back to his little bro.
"Huh?"
"A long time ago... you told me... I shouldn't care what you think..." Kōkyō shakily said. He looked up at Eiji, and his face made the teenager gasp. Through the tears- through the snot and the grime and the dirt-
He was smiling.
"Quirk or no quirk- with you or without you- I will become a hero!"
Eiji gasped a little, his teeth grinding together. The sheer determination on Kōkyō's face was like nothing he had seen before.
There was nothing Eiji could say that would stop him.
"...Okay." Eiji whispered, biting himself for what he was about to say. "I... can't stand the idea of you going into danger and getting yourself killed. I can't stand the idea that nothing I can do will stop you..." Eiji kneeled in front of his little bro and held out a fist.
"But I can't stop you. So I won't let you go out there alone."
Kōkyō gasped and looked up at Eiji's face. Their lips quivered as they looked into each other's eyes.
"I promised to look out for you, after all." Eiji laughed with a tiny cough.
Kōkyō nodded affirmingly and received Eiji's fist-bump.
"I'll make sure you don't have to worry about me."
"I don't think you can do that." Eiji laughed. "Just promise me you won't be so selfless in the future— when you start saving people for real."
Smiling, Kōkyō gave a single huff.
"I promise."