A/N: Faithful readers, have you ever wondered what if? What if Bakugo did not keep that little baby that showed up on his doorstep? The world would be pretty different, but some things were fated from the beginning. Check it out in my other fanfic What If!
"And that is how you unarm a knife-wielding villain!" Ochaco exclaimed with one of her assistants completely incapacitated. Her agency was bustling with interns and hires, and rightfully so. Uravity Agencies had some of the best hires this last year, and despite Ochaco being eighth in the polls, her agency has had the most revenue out of the top ten! A dozen or so interns watched with studious eyes when a sudden blaring noise lit up the building. She immediately stopped her lesson and gasped at her cell.
"Two red-alerts!" She squeaked. Ochaco turned to some of her hires and got bossy. "You five- head towards Musutafu park! And you four need to go to the Hosu Prison immediately! There's been a break-out!"
But as her hires and interns cleared out, one remained frozen in place.
"Hosu Prison?" He croaked, his eyes showing the first sign of fear Ochaco had witnessed.
"Hai. I'm sure my husband is on it already, but you can never be too careful!" She declared while putting on her helmet. "You stay here with the other interns! I'll be back shortly, Meiwaku!"
Basuji was completely frozen in place. He couldn't move one muscle. His vision hyper-focused on a single floorboard as the others ran chaotically past. But he couldn't budge.
What was he worried about?! The number one hero had this under control! No prisoners were going to roam free! At least... they better not. Hopefully Ochaco was right.
Hopefully, *he* didn't escape...
## Hosu Prison
Deku panted heavy heaves, clutching his bleeding arm tightly. He swallowed a bit as he looked around.
Two-hundred and eighty-four villains were single-handedly detained by the number one hero himself. They were all either unconscious, tied up, or simply waiting in compliance, not wanting to cause trouble. The prison had a mix of all types in there. Except, the prison building itself was nothing but rubble now. Something or somebody happened to it... Deku turned to another hero who was keeping the villains in their place and asked,
"Did I get all of them?"
"...No." Yosetsu sighed as he fused some villains to the ground. "There are six missing. And- oh my God!"
"What? What is it?!" Deku gasped as he hobbled over. His rib felt out of place, but the pain was bearable.
"There's another red-alert! In Musutafu! At the park!" Awase panicked. "I'll finish up here! You better get there now!"
"A-At the park?!" Deku stuttered. Spinning round, he whispered in horror, "Kōkyō..."
He never ran faster before in his entire life. The burst of wind shot through the streets as he dashed to his home city, returning to the place he had just left his potential successor. Kōkyō was just a boy- he just finished learning the basic defenses! Someone must've seen them together and- and-
If he were hurt then it would all be Deku's fault.
He came up the the park in a flash of green light, and the dust plumed over the few heroes scattered in the field.
A Nomu's carcass sizzled in the center.
"Oh my God." Deku gawked before catching sight of Kōkyō. "Young Kōkyō! Are you alright?!"
The kid smiled and nodded tiredly.
"I'm not super hurt. I'm a little dizzy but-" He tried to reassure his mentor, but Ground Zero wasn't going to sugarcoat it to Deku.
"'Ooh! Don't worry about me I'm not injured-' shut the hell up. This Nomu tried to kill Baby Shark. He broke his ankle, and just about snapped his neck when he jumped into danger!" Bakugo gently flicked Kōkyō between the eyes. Deku could barely believe what was happening. A Nomu attacked Kōkyō?
"...You were targeted?" Izuku whispered despairingly. Bakugo could tell what was going on in Deku's overthinking head: he was blaming himself.
"He lived though. I doubt he would've without this mysterious training he's gotten." Katsuki pointed to the Nomu's disgusting body. "He went for the eyes."
Kōkyō sheepishly rubbed his neck and stuttered,
"Hehe... wh-what training, Uncle Bakugo? I don't know-"
"I know." Bakugo rolled his eyes at Kōkyō's frail acting attempt. Sighing, he looked at Deku and his broken body. "What held you up?"
"Hosu Prison was broken into. Somebody destroyed the walls, and I detained about three-hundred of them." Midoryia said in between wheezing breaths. Yeah, he definitely dislocated a rib. "Six escaped... I think this was one of them..."
"Five others?" Bakugo gawked...
Midoryia turned back to Kōkyō and sighed heavily,
"I think I need to speak with young Kōkyō a moment. It's about something important..."
"Yeah. You do that." Bakugo nodded before leaving the two.
Coming up to Todoroki, Mina, and Iida, Bakugo mumbled,
"Hosu Prison was broken into."
"Really?!" Mina gasped. "Who did that?!"
"Don't know. But there are still five on the loose. And my guess is they don't have those collars anymore, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten far." He said as he rubbed his face. Suddenly, all their hero-phones lit up with the report on the five at-large individuals. They looked over each and every one of their disgustingly vile faces.
"One thing is certain," Iida chopped as he memorized their features, "finding these villains must become our number one priority!"
"Yeah," Bakugo sighed a gravelly sigh. He looked over Mina's shoulder at his son, who was talking to Iida's nephew, looking shaken as hell.
"As long as those villains are loose, no one is safe..."
## One week later
*Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap...*
The pencil in Eiji's fingers continually tapped on his desk as Shinso-Sensei spoke. Meiwaku was literally planing a homicide as the noise continued. It just would. Not. Stop.
Luckily, the bell rang, and the class was dismissed before anyone could witness a murder. Meiwaku seemed a little tense today. The internships had ended with awesome stories to tell, but he seemed... more ticked than usual. And the incessant noise was not aiding his nerves. The noise of that clicking, repetitive tap of Eiji's pencil that did not cease even with class dismissed. Tasen observed Eiji with a worried look in his eyes.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked with a serious posture. "We haven't talked much since that Nomu attack. You know if you need someone to talk to I'm here, right?" Tasen was trying his best to be the friend in need. Without looking up, Baachu mumbled,
"I almost died... it got me thinking. Life is short! I have so many things I want to do!" Eiji declared with a straightened posture.
"So what do you want to do?" Tasen asked in all seriousness.
"I want to ask the girl I like on a date!" Eiji announced with a smile.
"...Ha?" Tasen wasn't expecting something like that.
"The thing is, I've liked her since middle school, but I didn't have the guts to ask her on a date. But now, I think I'm ready!" He declared, immediately deflating into nerves. "But I don't know how to ask her out..."
Tasen hummed knowingly to himself.
"So you knew her in middle school?"
"Yeah."
Tasen looked outside the classroom to where Maru was talking with her friends.
"I think I know who you are talking about." He smirked devilishly.
"Is it that obvious?" Eiji bonked his head on his desk.
"Nah man. Here, listen up. I'm gonna help you out here. I'm an expert when it comes to dating." Tasen asserted despite his ignorance. "First off, you can't act too interested. That makes you look clingy, and guys aren't supposed to be the clingy ones, girls are."
"..." Eiji wasn't much of an expert himself, so he accepted the advice with a shrug, despite it being terrible.
"Secondly, you gotta make yourself look cool."
"Well... I don't wanna lie about myself." Eiji's comment made Tasen laugh.
"Lie? Don't sell yourself short, man! Just, show her those songs you record or something. You got skills. Girls like guys with skills."
"Oh, okay." As Eiji thought about what Tasen said, Maru came up behind him.
"Hey Baachu! You told me you gotta new job, does that mean you can finally afford to get boba with me?" She teased with a blush. He didn't seem to notice.
"Huh? Oh yeah, the model job I got is pretty sweet, but I don't think I can get boba today. I got something important to do." He stood and left the classroom. Tasen's jaw hung open.
"Man. He's good."
Dalisay put her makeup on as a few girls in her class looked over a magazine.
"No, I'm serious!" One whispered in hushed tones.
"Pfft. No way." Another girl spat.
"Dalisay, tell me you know what I'm talking about! Doesn't he look like that one guy from 1A?" They annoyingly shoved a magazine in front of her face. She glanced over it with an exasperated sigh.
Wait a minute. That model didn't look *like* the guy from 1A. That *WAS* the guy from 1A!
"A model, hmm?" She playfully smirked. Well, she did have fun seeing him all flustered, and now that he had a job maybe she could cash in on that?
As she trotted to the exit, her sensei called out to her,
"Goodbye, Dalisay. And remember," he stretched in his chair proudly, "we will show that class 1A who's boss!"
"Whatever, Monoma-Sensei." She groaned. He was too competitive... She turned the corner only for her nose to come centimeters away from hitting someone's chest!
"Oh! D-Dalisay!" Eiji blushed embarrassingly. "What are the chances of us running into each other?" He said as rubbed the back of his neck, his ears growing hot.
"Umm? This is my classroom?" She said while leaning confidently on the doorframe.
"Oh, erm, that's right." Eiji tugged at his collar. "Actually, I was hoping to run into you, because, umm, I was wondering if you'd want to..."
Geez! Why was this so hard? Eiji didn't have a ton of time to rehearse what to say and now he was embarrassing himself! He had to look cool! To feel confident! Eiji just had to remember what Maru told him: He's strong, powerful, talented, and he's got this!
With the words of confidence flowing through his veins, Baachu started over,
"Dalisay, I think you are really cool, and I was wondering if you would like to hang out. After school. With me. On a date." He winced at his pathetic proposition. She eyed him skeptically. He was a little too nervous for her tastes.
"Sorry, but I'm busy today."
"Oh..." Eiji drooped his head. Dalisay hummed a bit in reconsideration. He did well in the Sports Festival, and he was tall and handsome. In fact, he was a literal model. Maybe he was finally in her league...
"But I'm free tomorrow." She winked. His face lit up and he jumped in a shocked joy.
"Tomorrow?! Yes! Tomorrow!"
"Here's my number. After school?"
"Yeah! After school! Sounds great!" Eiji blushed a wild color as she gently typed away on his phone.
"Alright then, see you later, Eiji." Dalisay winked once more.
"B-Bye..." he looked like a star-struck ghost as he slowly and robotically walked away with her number in his phone. He did it! He finally had the guts to ask Dalisay out!
She stood in the doorway with a smug smile and a squint in her eyes.
Monoma's mouth hung open in absolute appall.
"You just accepted a date? From a Class 1A student?!" He said in a fit.
"Whatever." Dalisay rolled her eyes. "All the guys in Class 1B are gross."
Monoma curled up in his chair and cried betrayed tears.
"I can't believe my own student is dating the enemy. Where did I go wrong?!"
"Maru! Maru!" Eiji bounced into the dorm commons. There Maru was like always, sitting upside down on the couch. "You'll never guess what I just did!"
"Huh? What's that?" She smiled up at him from her phone.
"I just asked Dalisay out!"
Her expression slowly sank.
"Oh. Really?" She gave a warbled grin.
"Yeah! And you'll never believe it- *she said yes.*"
"*Oh~*" Maru's smile completely faded off her face.
"Yeah! I just had to remember the words of confidence you gave me at the Sports Festival!" Eiji said with a laugh. "I guess you could say I was able to do this thanks to you!"
"That's great..." Maru's entire posture curled over a bit.
"She said that tomorrow-"
"You know what, I suddenly don't feel too good." Maru said truthfully. "I think I need to go to the bathroom."
"Oh dang Maru, you okay?" Eiji asked as she wobbled away from him.
"Yeah. I'll be fine." She waved dismissively. "I'll get over it soon, I hope..." But she knew herself. She wasn't getting over this anytime soon.
"Oh..." Completely clueless, Eiji watched as she disappeared from view. "Bye, I guess..."
He looked around the empty room with a huff. Who else should he tell about Dalisay-
"That's right! My dad!" Eiji dialed him up as fast as possible and excitedly strode towards his dorm room.
A grumble answered the phone impolitely,
"Oi."
"Dad! Hey dad!" Eiji called out as he tossed his backpack down onto his bed. "You won't believe what I did!"
"Hey bub. What'd you break?" Katsuki joked.
"I asked a girl out on a date!"
Bakugo dropped his phone. Quickly catching it in the air, he smacked his hearing aids a bit. They were working, so Eiji really did just say that. His brain couldn't understand what was happening- his son asked someone out?
"What?"
"Yeah! Dalisay! And guess what?! She said yes!" Eiji squirmed excitedly.
"...You asked a girl on a date?"
"Yeah!"
"The girl you like... on a date?"
"Yeah?"
"...Really?" Katsuki did not believe it.
"Why is that weird to you? Yeah, we're gonna do something tomorrow." Eiji laughed.
Blinking a few times, Bakugo fell back in his office chair and pulled the hair from his face. Man. He really hadn't expected Eiji to start dating so soon. In fact, he was counting on it. His son was fourteen! That punk shouldn't be dating!
"I don't think you should be dating yet, bub." Katsuki said truthfully.
"Wha? Why not? We're just hanging out!" Protested the teen.
"There are a ton of reasons you shouldn't date yet! Reason number one: I'm gonna have to drive you everywhere! Having your parents drop you off on a date is not very cool!"
"You don't have to drive me! We go to school together and we can walk-"
"Reason number two:" Bakugo interrupted, "Dating costs money! Where are you going to get that money from?!"
"Oh, umm..." Eiji nervously looked around his room. He hadn't told his dad about his job. Katsuki was in the dark and Eiji was going to keep it that way.
"Reason number three: that's just going to distract you from your studies! Your grades will fall hard!"
"I promise they won't, I-"
"Reason number four: you are fourteen! You're a child! You aren't ready for the kind of responsibility that comes with dating!"
"Yeesh dad! It's not like I'm getting married!" Eiji rolled his eyes with a blush. His dad was being so embarrassing! "We're just going to hang out! Maybe go to a movie or something? I dunno!"
"Ugh..." Bakugo smacked his forehead and leaned on his work desk. What was he going to do with this kid? He looked over to a photo on his desk and groaned annoyedly. Those stupid, sparkly eyes and big ears were going to be the death of him one day...
"Fine! But I'm gonna lay out some boundaries for you, and if you don't stick by them then you can't date anymore! Kapeesh?!" Bakugo's hands gestured demandingly. Eiji immediately sat straight and gave an attentive noise.
"Listen up! You have to hang out in public places! You two can't be alone one-on-one! Don't you even think about touching her no-no square!"
"The no-no square?"
"And no hand-holding, smooching, snuggling, or cuddling! And absolutely no thinking about anything beyond that!"
"Gah! Dad! I'm not gonna do that! I'm not like that!" Eiji was very embarrassed by his abrasive and demanding dad.
"That's what guys like you say, then before you know it they are in an undefined relationship for four years until a baby plops outta nowhere!" Bakugo snapped.
"Huh?" That example seemed oddly specific. But Eiji shook his head and tried to calm his dad down. "Look, I promise you I'm not going to do anything stupid, okay. It's just a date."
Katsuki sighed defeatedly. What else could he say? He did everything he could to warn Eiji. Honestly, he really didn't like the idea of him dating, but...
Bakugo didn't want to prevent Eiji from falling in love, if that was in the works for him. And seeing how hopelessly romantic that kid can be, he had better luck than Bakugo ever did. At least she wasn't a Midoryia.
"Yeah. Fine. Just a date..." Katsuki wiped his exasperated face and looked out the window. "But ya gotta follow my ground rules to the T or you ain't seeing another chick until you're eighteen!"
"Don't worry! I'll follow your ground rules!" Eiji smirked and leaned in playfully. "Your... *Ground Zero* rules."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
## The next day
"So, like, what was your plan for this date, anyways?" Dalisay asked as she huffed the hair away from her face. Eiji blushed wildly as she walked next to him out of the train station. He still couldn't believe she actually said yes to this date!
"Oh! Well, I was thinking we could just walk around town and I'd show you some of the places I like to visit or, maybe we could catch a movie?" He shrugged with a nervous laugh. She sighed a long and silent sigh. So he didn't have a plan...
"I used to come to this park all the time." Eiji smiled at the fond memories. "It was almost my second home!"
Dalisay glared at the park. Most of it was closed off with tape, completely destroyed by that Nomu attack a few days ago.
"Hmm..." she eyed it, unamused.
"Oh, and that's my favorite pancake diner!" Eiji pointed across the street. "They sell Western-Style breakfasts all day. And they're open all night!" He beamed. "Wanna stop by for a lunch?"
"..." She wasn't drawn by the crappy diner. She deserved a classier meal than that. "Umm, no thanks..."
"Well, umm... what would you like to do?"
"..." Dalisay rolled her eyes. He really didn't have anything planned, did he? "Fine. What about a drink or something?"
Eiji's eyes lit up.
"What about boba?!"
"Hmm... I actually kinda, like, like boba." Dalisay shrugged. "There's this place over there, why not treat me to a tea?" She leaned in close, making him blush.
"Oh! S-S-Sure!"
As he held the door open for her, Eiji bounced with giddiness,
"Great choice! This is one of my favorite places to go! I used to come here all the time with-"
Suddenly, a familiar face caught his attention. A little curly-haired boba-barista stood in a cute, green apron writing a name on a cup. Her freckles scrunched as she poured the ingredients, and Eiji almost couldn't believe his eyes.
"Maru!" He exclaimed. It immediately caught her attention.
"Baachu?" She looked around with a smile. "Hey! Baachu-" Oh. SHE was there. On their date...
"Maru..." Dalisay spoke sharply.
"Grr..." Maru growled quietly to herself. But Eiji was completely blind to the spitfire between the two.
"Maru! I didn't know you worked here!" He beamed as he and his date came up to the counter. "So this is where you've been sneaking off to after school? That's so great!"
"Thanks, so far it's been a pretty chill afternoon gig." Maru shrugged. "So what can I do ya for?"
Eiji squinted up at the board at all the options, but ultimately he landed on the same thing he always got.
"I'll probably just get-"
"A medium matcha boba with extra tapioca and light on the ice?" She listed off his regular with a proud smile on her face, his drink already halfway finished.
"Yeah! Exactly! Man, Maru, you know me so well!" Eiji chuckled. Dalisay and Maru shot each other deviating glares of pride and jealousy. Leaning on her date's arm, Dalisay smoothly ordered,
"Yeah, umm, I'll have a small almond boba." She said with a curl of her silky hair.
"Name?" Maru asked with a petty smirk. It ticked Dalisay off, the disdaining scowl visible in her glare.
"...Cruz."
"I'll just put Dal-Gal. That's your hero-name right?"
"Thats cute, coming from Lady Compass here." She snapped back.
"Woah there!" Eiji awkwardly butted in. "Maru just likes to tease! Hehe... how about I go pay and then we go see a movie?"
Dalisay smirked victoriously and humphed in triumph.
"Yes. Let's."
Maru couldn't stand her. Why was she so snooty and rude all the time?! Ugh...
"You don't like her, do you fam?" Her nosy coworker chimed.
"Pfft. I can't find what Baachu sees in her!"
"Hey sis, calm. That guy is your best friend you were telling me about, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, is he stupid?" She asked while making Dalisay's drink. Probably better if she did it instead of Maru.
"No."
"Then fam, he probably likes her for a reason. So, try and be nice to her." She hummed. Ugh. That sounded reasonable...
But then, Dalisay came up to the counter and pulled out 200 Yen, sliding it over to Maru.
"Keep the change." She grinned. Maru was appalled! Offended! Dalisay gave her a tip?! Did she think Maru was broke? That she wasn't earning enough and that this measly 200 Yen was going to do her any good?!
"Hey sis, I see that look on your face." Her coworker came in once more. "Obviously she's not Japanese. Maybe she doesn't know how rude it is to leave a tip in Japan?"
"Huh?" Maru hadn't thought of that. Dalisay *is* an exchange student, maybe she didn't know certain cultural things? Yeah. She was probably just trying to be nice. But Maru couldn't keep the 200 Yen!
So she went up the the exchange student and handed the money back with a big smile.
"Hey, so, I know you haven't been in Japan that long, but giving a tip is actually considered pretty rude around here. I just thought you should know, because you probably didn't mean to-"
"Oh, I've been here for almost two years now." Dalisay smiled right back. "I know what I'm doing, but thanks."
Maru's mouth hung open as Eiji held the door open for Dalisay, completely unaware of her snootiness! Honestly, Maru couldn't believe it at all! Dalisay was *trying* to be rude?!
She looked down at the money in her hand and back up at closing door where Eiji walked away with the bimbo. Shoving the Yen into her pocket with an unbridled rage, Maru stomped back to work.
Maybe Baachu was stupid...
## Ground Zero Agencies
"Sad news today, as one of the five escapees from Hosu Prison committed a heinous crime yesterday..." Bakugo's tv screen played softly as he continued his aggravatingly fruitless search.
Katsuki did not usually work this late. But he wasn't getting any rest if he did take a break. Those villains were loose, and they all split off in different directions. And worst yet, one had already fulfilled his agenda...
"Hoshoku Shachi, who escaped from Hosu Prison eight days ago, used his quirk to swim across the Pacific Ocean and made his way to the western coast of the United States." Katsuki remembered that guy's profile. He could turn himself into any predatory animal of his choosing. That combined with that lunatic's bloodlust made him a dangerous man. "In the state of Oregon, he made his way to his ex-wife's house and killed her in front of their eleven-year-old daughter. He awaits his verdict, but this poor girl is now without any family. With her quirk making her potentially dangerous, her chances of getting adopted are slim-"
Bakugo turned the volume down and sighed heavily at his laptop. They needed to find the other four escapees before any more incidents came up.
A knock sounded on his office door, and Bakugo rubbed his face tiredly.
"What?" He groaned as someone came into his office. "Oh fantastic. It's you, Half-n-Half..." he rolled his eyes. But Todoroki wasn't offended by the abrasive man.
"I have some news from my research." Shouto said stoically.
"Any leads on the other four escapee bastards?" Katsuki asked with a crack of his neck.
"No, from your private investigation."
"Ha?" Bakugo snarled in confusion. "Look, Icy-Hot, your priorities are shit right now. We got four villains on the loose killing innocent people and-"
Todoroki sat down and spun his laptop around, completely ignoring Bakugo. What Katsuki saw he almost couldn't comprehend.
It was footage from the security camera over his old apartment.
"What?" Bakugo squinted at it and held the screen close.
"This was the night you found your son." Shouto described. Katsuki looked closely at the video. There he was, walking out of the building with his hands in his pockets and his stride wide. Bakugo's mouth hung open. He didn't even think to look at this security footage! In the video he stomped off past a few strangers and headed towards the noodle joint.
...And he walked right past somebody wearing an oversized hoodie and a sick-mask. They stood up as soon as he passed, walked by the apartment entrance, and dropped off a bag...
They weren't even gentle with the cargo. They let it hit the ground like there wasn't a living thing in there. There wasn't a last look inside or a pitying glance over their shoulder. They just walked off, as if they had dropped off trash.
"..." Bakugo's mouth hung open in shock and horror. "...Eiji?" The video kept playing, and the bag wiggled and squirmed, tiny kicks and punches visible from the outside, but the passing pedestrians didn't even bother to check. "I... walked right past the bitch... and I didn't even know." Bakugo muttered ever so quietly, his eyes wide and sad. Then he realized... that his son was on those steps the entire time he was at dinner.
His son was all alone, squirming and struggling to keep warm inside a stuffy little bag.
Katsuki started to shake in rage.
"Eiji... was out in the cold... for four hours?!" He snapped, clutching the computer with sizzling hands. "No one fucking stopped?! No one?!"
"..." Todoroki said nothing as Bakugo fumed. He was having a hard time wrangling this, obviously. "There is one more thing about this that I think you should see..." Shouto typed away at the laptop before spinning it once more around. It was a streetlight footage from just around the corner. And the hooded stranger was in the video. They looked up directly at the camera. It was too grainy to notice any features, except for the eyes. The eyes that looked absolutely crazy. The stranger waved at the camera... and disappeared!
"What? What the fuck?! Who the- why? How?"
"They corrupted the video. It was cut out in such a way, that I believe whoever left your son on those footsteps wanted to be seen." Todoroki said with a serious glare.
"...Corrupted the video?" Bakugo mumbled. He and Shouto looked at each other. They were thinking the same thing.
"I believe that the woman from your night at the bar and this person who left Eiji... are one and the same..."
"..."
"..."
"Fuck."
## Class 1A Dorms
Eiji was smitten. Full of butterflies! He like-liked someone! He had a crush! As far as Eiji knew, he was on the track towards falling in love! Or maybe this was love? Maybe? It sure felt like it!
Whatever it was, his thoughts were completely captivated by the girl with swaying hips and long nails. Wow... And he couldn't believe Dalisay already suggested they go on a second date! Must means she maybe liked him a little bit, too! Oh boy! That was beyond what Eiji could hope for! This was the best feeling ever!
Eiji was happy indeed. So happy that he was blind and deaf to everyone and everything around him, including his friends across the room from him.
"Mr. Coconut has been acting weird lately, huh?" Candy chewed on a celery stick. Meiwaku didn't care about Bak-Otaku or his weirdness. He had enough on his plate to worry about. Like the fact that Hosu Prison was broken into. And that HE broke out and was still on the loose.
He could be anywhere. Nowhere was safe. Not his mom's place, or public places, or anywhere! Not even Yueei could provide Meiwaku with a sense of security-
"You're acting odd."
"Gah! Don't touch me!" Meiwaku smacked Tasen's hand away reflexively. "Stay outta my business." He coughed.
"..." Tasen looked over to Eiji, and back over to Meiwaku with a worried look on his face. "I think everyone's been acting strange since the internships. I mean, the prison break? A Nomu attack? I was there, and it tried to kill this little boy! It took four pros to take him down!" He then mumbled quietly to himself, "And it's weird how Ground Zero hugged Eiji after the attack..."
"What." Meiwaku cut in.
"Oh, just, after the attack, Ground Zero hugged Eiji and that kid. Like he was worried about them. I guess the explosive hero really does care about citizens!" Tasen chuckled awkwardly. He personally didn't know too much about Ground Zero, but he was the number three hero, so everyone kinda knew a little about him.
But Meiwaku didn't know just a little. He knew a lot about Ground Zero. He's not a hugger. He's doesn't even hug his friends. But he hugged Bak-Otaku?
How the heck are they connected?! Are they really related like Eiji said?! No way! Ground Zero wasn't the guy who'd show favoritism towards a nephew or anyone like that, so who does Bak-Otaku think he is, claiming to be related?!
Wait...
Meiwaku knew a lot about Ground Zero. He was a hardcore fanboy. There's been someone the hero talked about from time to time but never shown publicly.
Ground Zero has a son.
But there was no way in God's good earth that Bak-Otaku was Ground Zero's son!
Right?!
...Right?
Meiwaku needed answers. NOW.
He stood abruptly with a loud screech of his chair and stomped to the love-struck teen.
"Bak-Otaku. Meet me behind the gym. Now."
His growl made Eiji snap out of it pretty quickly.
"W-What?" Eiji gulped in fear and the bubbly feeling within himself seeped away.
"I know you've been keeping secrets from me... I know who Ground Zero is to you."
Eiji shook in panic as his former tormentor walked outside calmly. A little too calmly. Oh man. This was not good. Should he follow? Should he really go out there and fight Meiwaku? It was nighttime! The students shouldn't be outside the dormitories! He could get expelled!
And would fighting Meiwaku be the heroic thing to do? Heroes don't instigate fights! They shouldn't fight! They...
Eiji watched Meiwaku disappear into the darkness.
No. Things couldn't stay the way they were. No more grudges. No more secrets. Meiwaku deserved answers and Eiji couldn't refuse him.
Leaving the safety of the couch behind him, he followed Meiwaku into the dark.
Eiji is going to become a hero, and if his dad taught him anything, it's that a hero doesn't run away from a fight.