Disclaimer: Tiger & Bunny belongs to Sunrise.
I've found out something I shouldn't have
Chapter 3: Adults are just outdated children
Kaede was understanding when he told her not to come to Sternbild the following week. The city was a wreckage at some areas, and the mood was by the floor. Not to mention the heroes had been working tirelessly to help the victims —sadly he couldn't say that to his daughter. Their tasks varying from clearing the most affected areas, to boosting the mood of the affected with meetings and choreographed plays at the community centers.
Thankfully, the tragedy had kept crime at bay. Criminals might have been dealing with the outcome of the flooding as well. Tiger and Barnaby had witnessed it after saving that network of drug dealers from the judgement of Lunatic.
Kotetsu found himself wondering at times about the whereabouts of the vigilante. Both heroes' Good luck mode combined attack had cracked something inside the villain, and him falling in the stream didn't ease the hero's mind.
Bunny told him not to dwell on Lunatic for the moment. The man had received a flat hit to the jaw on his full hundred power and had survived. He was much more resilient than what Tiger was giving him credit for.
On the bright side, ever since the flood had caused so much havoc, any property damage from Wild Tiger was considered as a side effect of the disaster, which meant Kotetsu didn't put a foot on Court the following days. Funny enough, it didn't make him as happy as he'd thought —he had secretly wished to see Justice Petrov again, just to speak with him about the magazine.
The magazine Kaede had brought him had another hint from that lost memory. It had scribbles in black marker all over the place, clearly made by a little kid. One page with an interview to Mr. Legend had a lot of annotations with the word: "lies", among other unflattening remarks.
It almost looked like young Yuri was jealous when Mr. Legend had told the interviewer he never married because that would make him worry for his family safety. Instead, Mr. Legend strived for the happiness of everyone in the city.
Wild Tiger's his opportunity to talk to the judge came later in week when he was called to court again. This time for some appeal the real estate company owner of the demolished hospital had pledged — ManlYon22 had warned this could happen, so the hero was more prepared than the usual.
Since it was an appeal, this hearing had been presided by higher level judge, but Kotetsu took advantage of being in the Justice Bureau to find his way to Petrov's office. Shockingly, he was informed the judge he would be absent the following week, because he was in the hospital.
Finding out in the location of the judge was an easy task thanks to Wild Tiger's popularity in the courthouse. Funny enough, there were many Tiger fans in the facilities, some of them were part of his fan club, while others had been saved by the hero. The hero squeezed his schedule and finished his reports at never-seen-before speed to pull some free time that same afternoon. He went straight to Rosemary Grace Hospital in Bronze Stage and quickly found Yuri Petrov's room.
"Evenin'" He entered after two knocks without waiting for the patient's response.
Petrov clearly wasn't expecting a visit. The man turned his back at Kotetsu upon seeing him, balling up like a scared animal. His ashen hair falling on his face like when he had seen the man at the gym. Kotetsu was perplexed at this behavior, especially since the hospital gown the judge was wearing was showing a big portion of the white skin of his back.
"Wild Tiger, I wasn't expecting your visit." That was an understatement.
"I went to court this morning —not my fault this time, and I heard you were in the hospital. I was a worried it may be something bad."
Kotetsu didn't like hospitals, he despised seeing someone he cared about laying on that pristine height adjustable bed. It was a heavy burden to remember how Tomoe had spent the last months of her life wilting down inside those white walls. Therefore, he hated seeing judge Petrov in such condition.
"Ah I wasn't sure of what to bring, so I brought you fruit." He placed a basket with grapes, apples, pears, oranges and one melon on the chair reserved for the family members. Kotetsu reflected on whether someone had been looking after the judge until now, he didn't find the usual belongings from a family member or much anything else around.
"Much appreciated. It is nothing to worry about, I was caught in an accident during the flooding and broke a couple of ribs. In fact, the doctor will discharge me tomorrow morning." He muttered through the blankets covering great length of his face.
"Could you stop that, Yuri!?" Kotetsu made his best effort to keep his voice at a reasonable level, surprising himself from using the judge given name with such familiarity. "This flooding, it was a great tragedy, and you brushing it aside as it was nothing gets on my nerves. Is it too hard to admit you are a victim of the tragedy as well? To ask for help once in a while?"
"Wild Tiger," Yuri forced a distance between them with his formal addressing and sharp tone. "as true I'm an affected, I'm far from being considered a victim. Thank you for your kind visit, if you'd excuse me, the doctor recommended me to rest."
"No. I won't leave until you speak to me directly. It's rude to give the back to someone who is here looking for your wellbeing. I don't care about your birthmark," and at this Kotetsu saw the judge visibly flinch.
"Birthmark?"
"I saw it already at the gym. So, there's no point of keeping your face hidden from me."
Yuri's shoulders slumped in defeat, and he sat up with a grunt of protest —he was still in pain. Giving up, the man glared at Kotetsu with deep emerald eyes, making his heart skip a beat. That mark on his face was clearly a burnt, it reminded him that time a classmate named Mui had gotten a jellyfish around her arm during a summer beach trip. Tentacles stretching all over the skin forming reddish marks.
Somehow, the image of the all-honorable judge in the courtroom had been erased by the one of the little kid from two decades ago.
"You see? it's easier if we talk face to face." Suddenly nervous, he grinned to ease the tension.
"Then? What is so important than you need to see me face to face?" Despite the unrest was obvious from every gesture on his body language, Yuri had still the gall to speak formal and composed.
Kotetsu took the thick magazine from the soft suitcase he had been carrying ever since the morning, when he had thought he could cross with Yuri In the Justice Bureau. He dropped it on Yuri's lap with a poof sound. The judge revised it through the pages until he stumbled with the infantile drawings atop of Mr. Legend's interview, staring at them almost offended.
"Do you remember ever going once to Oriental Town?" Kotetsu proceeded to tell him the story of how they met two decades ago.
Yuri listened the whole tale in silence, his slitting eyes telling he was at least paying attention. His slender fingers caressed the cover of the tattered magazine, gathering the courage to dive in its content. His troubled breathing stopped at the centerpiece where a kid had scribbled all kind of mean remarks about the contents of the reportage.
"I don't remember ever being this childish." He acknowledged.
"You and me." Kotetsu tapped on his hat, amused. "I feel I never apologized in the right way. To tell you the truth, the only reason I showed up with my brother back then, was because my mother had forced me to."
Yuri's chortle was a complete surprise, it was either laughing was painful in his condition or that he still wanted to regain a bit of his faked dignity in front of the hero.
"Likewise. I was going to destroy your magazine, but I heard Mrs. Ohara gossiping with a neighbor about…" and at this point he stopped, as if wondering if it was the right thing to say. The pause was longer than his train of thought could bear. His condescending, collected gaze met Kotetsu's. "They said your father had abandoned you."
Kotetsu took off his hat. This was the kind of conversation he wasn't expecting to have when he had decided to visit the judge in the hospital, but he supposed he had looked it for himself. He nodded, recognizing his father had abandoned his family barely months after his NEXT powers had manifested. His mother had tried to convince him that his parents' marriage was having problems before, but the timing was too accurate to overlook.
"You should believe your mother, I worked once in familiar court and, most often than you'd give credit, children don't have any idea of the problems their parents are faring until they file a divorce." Yuri regretted seeing so many breaking-apart families in court. "Anyhow, when I heard this from Mrs. Ohara, I thought your life should have been the most miserable existence in the world."
"Whoa, that's a big description." Despite being the narration of the mindset of a child, it rubbed Kotetsu in the wrong spot.
"I… I got the signature on the magazine. I didn't bother to hide the destruction, because I still felt you deserved some punishment." At that instant the judge realized something, he reached up to his face by instinct. "It has just occurred to me… you do know this is not a birthmark…"
He grabbed the magazine with both hands, as if mussing whether throwing it at the hero would equal a fair punishment for the lie. Panicked, Kotetsu replied with both hands gesturing him to refrain damaging his treasure further.
"All right, all right! I may have lied about it, but it was the only way to get your out your funk." He scratched his beard absentminded. Then he leant over too close to call it a comfortable personal space, this was needed in such close range. "Besides, I don't care the circumstances for you getting that mark. As long as you are uncomfortable with it, I won't tell a word about it."
Yuri leant back to avoid Kotetsu's face brushing his own. The movement produced a grimace, as the broken ribs hurt with the slight motion.
"I'd appreciate if you do so, Wild Tiger." Right, Yuri Petrov was not going to lower the formal tone not once. The magazine was still in his hands, but he was not clawing it anymore. He gave it back to his rightful owner with a troubled expression.
"Kotetsu… it's Kotetsu. I'm not wearing my mask." He pointed at the obvious and hugged the magazine like an excited teenager. "Honestly, you are too formal."
A nurse entered the room to announce the visit time was over. Kotetsu promised to come pick Yuri from the hospital the next day, and the judge shot him an uninterested.
"Do as you please."
Unfortunately —and this was something Kaede was becoming an expert at, if something described Kotetsu and promises was that he was 100% unreliable.
That morning Barnaby and him were summoned by HeroTV for an emergency in Gold Stage, one of the lifts which take people form Gold to Silver had started malfunctioning. About ninety people, suspended over two miles above the ground, in danger of precipitating to the lower stage at any moment.
Wild Tiger hadn't given much detail to Bunny about his evening the day before, he had summed up it all by saying he had visited Judge Petrov in the hospital, and had promised to pick the man up once they discharge him. That was why his partner had suggested to leave this rescuing for him, but Kotetsu stubborn resolution to help everyone wouldn't leave him at ease knowing all those lives were at steak —and Yuri wouldn't appreciate the hero leaving his duty neither.
Worst came to worst, and the elevator broke.
With a shared effort from Blue Rose freezing the shaft, Rock Bison holding in place the car, and Dragon Kid frying up the crazed lift electrical system, they succeeded in securing an escape route for the people trapped inside.
However, the cabin was still over five hundred feet above ground level. Barnaby and Wild Tiger used their hundred power to jump back and fro to the car picking up passengers, Sky High participated as well. While Origami Cyclone and Fire Emblem didn't have a featured role, they stayed behind helping the victims and clearing up the traffic for the ambulance to attend the rescued victims.
When the heroes had thought the ordeal was over, a second lift started malfunctioning.
After that, thanks to Ms. Agnes intel, they figured out it hadn't been an accident, someone had hijacked the elevator. The heroes spent the evening tracking the culprit. Who resulted to be a group of young hackers.
They did have a grand motif, proving the lax security in the lifts and the need to improve the system. When they heard their act was labeled as terrorism, they understood the extent of what they had done and gave up pacifically the second the heroes found their hideout
Learning that all those poor people from the elevator wasn't in a real danger was a relief, however it didn't match with his frustrated frown. By the time Kotetsu arrived to the hospital it was nighttime, and Yuri Petrov had been discharged for hours. He pulled out his phone to tap at the contact he had saved ever since Kaede had visited and quickly wrote:
"I'm sorry, something came out with work."
He knew he should have sent that message hours ago —possibly when Bunny told him to do so, but was too focused in saving the day. He received a reply withing minutes nonetheless.
"Ms. Joubert has already sent me the footage to revise for a compilation. I suppose we will see in court later."
At this Kotetsu winced, he couldn't recall breaking anything during the rescue —if anything, Antonio had destroyed part of the shaft in the first elevator, to keep the car in place. But as his online buddy ManLi had said, many of his property damage sues were not Tiger's fault to begin with, just greedy individuals without scruples suing a hero.
Despite the bittersweet meaning of Yuri's message, he was kind of looking forward to see the judge again.
Much as Yuri had predicted, they called Kotetsu to court the next week, but not for the usual property damage. In fact, all the heroes had been called to declare about the lift incident.
The perpetrators were all minors, ranging in ages from twelve to sixteen, and somehow, they had a former good publicity thanks to other projects the team had been working on. In fact, they had been providing with free internet to the poorest areas of the city, and had hacked the supply chain of some Kronos Foods branches to provide for elderly care houses with perfectly good food that otherwise was going to be thrown away.
Despite being a case related to a capture by the heroes, Tiger didn't see judge Petrov in Court. His secretary informed him that the Judge was still off due to his injuries, and that he may rejoin work the next week.
Wild Tiger tried his best to give a neutral declaration, stating the facts as Bunny has asked (urged) him to do. His reputation as hero was in the scope if he showed some pity for criminal activity. But he couldn't leave things as they were, considering the circumstances. They were just kids, and although the raid to the internet café they had chosen as their headquarters had been mostly Fire Emblem's feat, Tiger saw they white as sheet faces as the officers put them up in the police cars —those kids meant well, but their methods had been flawed.
He finished his statement saying that the boys had gave up the moment he and Bunny entered the store, and that they were aware of what they have done and repented for it from the very start.
It was unusual, but he got a message from Yuri himself as soon as he left the justice bureau to the heroes' gym in the same building.
"In your mindset, feeling sorry for committing a crime is enough for forgiving the convict?"
Was he watching the trial? The case had gained so much popularity due to the heroes' participation, that there were cameras filming the whole process, but Tiger never imagined those were LIVE.
"It depends. I just said what I felt correct. It's not up to me to decide what happens from here on."
He waited for good ten minutes in the fitting room for a reply. When his patience depleted, he saved the phone in the locker and went for his workout session.
When he came back, already dressed in his casual clothes, he found out Yuri had answered the message barely one minute after Kotetsu had given up in the conversation.
"Isn't that hypocrite of your part?"
Why was he taking the issue so personal? Kotetsu was racking his brains to answer when Bunny entered the locker room —they had held him back with interviews and barricades of fans after giving his declaration. His partner found him with his hand crushing the phone, eyeing the device as if intending to pierce a hole on it.
"Did something come up?"
"Bunny, do you think I am a hypocrite?" He throttled; he encompassed how those words hurt until he addressed them to someone else.
His partner raised an eyebrow and came to sit beside him on the dressing bench to peer at the phone screen. He probably saw the sender, which was registered as 'Yuri'. Bunny arranged his glasses and crossed his arms with self-sufficiency.
"I don't know Old man; I don't live inside your head. But if your actions match with your ideals, I don't see why someone could call you a hypocrite. If anything, your head full of air make you the most transparent when it comes to take decisions." He smirked. "Is this about your recent declaration?"
Kotetsu shared a bit about the conversation he was having with Yuri. Bunny was his partner, and he had his full trust that his relationship with the judge was between the three of them. It was important to have a different perspective to give a right answer, and it came as an outside the box thinking from Barnaby.
"Could it be possible that he was reflecting in you when he called you like that? Perhaps he's the first to doubt his judgements when something like this happens." After all, having to send four child prodigies to juvie wasn't the most pleasant task.
That was it! Yuri was so stressed about this trial —which he was apparently following despite of his free days, that he didn't find a way to vent. Kotetsu thanked Bunny and left gym with a triumphant grin. He was in the elevator to the parking lot when he called Yuri. It took several tones for him to pick the phone up.
"Wild Tiger." He confirmed the identity of the sender with a tone barren of any emotion. "Is this about the earlier message? I suppose I owe you an explanation…"
"Nah, it doesn't matter. I'm not mad or upset." He arrived to the parking lot and headed to where his car was parked. "I was thinking, you really need to relax for a bit. Are you free tonight?"
The pause after this last line lasted so long that Kotetsu had to speak again just to get sure the signal was still good and that Yuri hadn't hung up. The judge replied he was still there, a bit taken aback by the sudden invitation.
"I'm attending to an old school hero fan meeting at nine. Those guys know everything about the heroes to a T, and they get together every month or so to play Honor's Stronghold. It sounds like a blast!" Kotetsu insisted, while fastening his seatbelt. As Yuri seemed too excited to answer, he decided to give a push to the conversation. "Do you need me to pick you up?"
"No!" That had more zeal than the expected. "I mean, you don't need to pick me up. Send me the address and I'll be there. Though, I don't know the rules nor own a deck."
The fact that Yuri mentioned a deck, when Barnaby and even Blue Rose would flatly ask what Honor's Stronghold was, meant the judge was more versed in the theme than what he'd pretend.
"Great! Don't worry, I will bring a spare deck for you."
The Ebon Warrior sounded more like a dungeon than a tabletop game bar. Anyone would think its wood gates, reinforced with metal plates looked tacky for Gold Stage, but it was this quirk that made it especially popular in the geek community. Upon entering, you could feel the whole fantasy experience engulfing you.
Kotetsu was not a huge fan of role play games, but he was a big dork about anything related to the heroes, and this particular bar had always had on sale weird collectables and a section dedicated to the them. It was a much more reserved and underground version of the Hero Bar in Silver stage.
A cab parked beside Kotetsu, and Yuri got off of it with a barely visible wince —he was still hurting from his recent accident. This time, the judge was wearing a printed cotton shirt with folded sleeves and gray slim fit jeans. It was hard to get used to this side of someone who had been seen wearing the same bespoke tailored suit for years.
"You made it." He forced to hide his gleeful smile.
"I read they sell jigsaw puzzles in here too." Yuri pushed a stray strand of his hair backwards; he hadn't bothered to tie it in his usual ponytail; but he hadn't forgotten to apply the makeup.
"Do you like jigsaw puzzles?" As they entered the faux rock tunnel Kotetsu remembered how he used to solve those puzzles with Kaede when she was little.
"I just finished a three thousand piece one this morning."
Kotetsu whistled in admiration. He was about to ask how many days has that feat taken, when Manny called them to join the table where a well-nourished group of six men were already having matches of Honor's Stronghold in pairs. A waitress brought two chairs more and the newcomers squeezed at the end of the table, facing each other. Kotetsu was having trouble to remember the name of the veteran fan sitting on his right, but the man was in the zone and he couldn't greet him —in fact, the other four barely acknowledged them.
The waitress came to hand the menu, and to pick the order for drinks. Kotetsu selected an artisan beer they brewed in the place, and Yuri called for a simple cherry flavored Italian soda —he was still taking a lot of pain killers, and he confessed he didn't drink anyway.
"It is usually livelier." Kotetsu excused the poor manners of his friends, perhaps if they had arrived earlier, they would have chatted before starting to play. "Let's have a match or two and then we chat with everyone."
Kotetsu pushed a pre boxed starter 'Wind Wizard' deck with Sky High on the cover over the table. He justified his own custom deck was more brawl focused, therefore an elemental deck was the best option against him. Yuri retorted that he didn't want an unfair advantage, but he didn't complaint more once he realized the rules were more complex than what he had expected.
Just the first practice match took them half the night, due to the judge sharp questions and acid remarks. It was fun to play with him, quick to learn and easy to get involved. Kotetsu obliterated Yuri's heroes with a bazooka, and never in his life had he felt so ashamed from a victory —he had been mentally rooting for Yuri to win, but he wasn't going to leave paths open because the judge would certainly notice.
"A rematch?"
"Guys, would you like to share another order of spicy wings?" Manny and the others had finished their matches long time ago and had spent the remaining minutes staring at Kotetsu's match.
"Sure. Do you want to order another soda?" Kotetsu was on his third beer and everyone ordered a new round. Yuri scrutinized the menu frowning. He closed it in complete control of himself. He'd have a slice of carrot cake.
It was transparent as water the judge was sour about losing, more so as they hadn't granted him with his rematch in order to socialize. The group was talking about the last statement of Wild Tiger in court. And even Manny agreed it had been reckless.
Somehow, this derived on the relationship the hero had with Lunatic. The old man called Ernesto thought the hero and the vigilante knew each other in real life, while the others speculated that in the most likely scenario, only Lunatic knew Tiger's secret identity.
Yuri jumped in to debunk this theory. Lunatic had stablished he's ready to kill anyone who interfered in his so-called justice, if he'd knew who Wild Tiger is, he'd attack him in his civil clothes to get rid of him once and for all. Kotetsu shivered at the thought —especially since Wild Tiger had gone to such lengths to keep his secret identity for the safety of his family.
Yuri was equally disgusted and curious that Titan Apollon was commercializing Lunatic action figures. He couldn't encompass how the city was open to worship a criminal.
When Jimmy, the oldest member of the group, mentioned that such things as praising vigilantism could have never happened in the old times, the conversation shifter towards Mr. Legend. Kotetsu was delighted of having someone to talk to about the best rescues of Legend's third season, and the most exciting chases. Yuri listened to their conversation with demureness, a perfect smile on his lips, nodding from time to time, takings sips of his beer absentmindedly —it was hard to figure whether he was just reserved and still having a good time, or he was starting to feel uncomfortable.
Efrain, a reserved guy sitting at the opposite side of the table, started to talk about Stealth Soldier and how he was the most amazing and reliable hero from the roster of that decade. Of course, no one thought someone who never went up from fifth place would matter. It all resulted in Efrain shattering the lively conversation with a bitter remark.
"He may have been an underperformer, but at least he never beat his wife and children like Mr. Legend."
Kotetsu stood up and walked towards him. That's a sharp accusation, how he dared to insult Mr. Legend like that? The man could as well stand up and slap everyone for what it mattered.
"Take back what you said."
The rest of the group seconded him, but Efrain didn't falter. He knew from good sources that Mr. Legend had trouble putting the bottle down, and that Stealth Soldier had put up with his attitude for a long time, until he confided him during a banter what he had done.
"Bullshit! That's nothing but bad publicity from a sore loser." Jimmy finished his sixth beer in a big gulp. "How can you know what the heroes were doing in their free time? Revealing such thing it's too low even for someone desperate for points."
"He is right, I mean, if there were a case of domestic violence wouldn't someone file a case to court?" Manny added, turning to Yuri in hopes of some back up from a judge. "Mr. Petrov… are you okay?"
Kotetsu forgot his petty quarrel with Efrain and rushed to Yuri's side. His friend was on the verge of hyperventilating, his puffs of air were short and small. Without notice, the judge stood up and beelined to the restroom. Everyone stared at each other nonplussed.
"I will go check on him." He left after the judge.
He found Yuri bent over one the toilet seats, hands on the sides of the booth. Wheezing sounds alternating with cracking heaves. Kotetsu got close to hold back his hair, he perceived the tiniest flinch from the touch, but Yuri thanked him nonetheless, before he rolled on himself again to deposit his cake on the bowl. After excruciating minutes, Yuri told him he had finished, that he was fine —he wasn't, his shirt was practically drenched with sweat and he was shivering.
He hobbled to wash his hands and mouth, making an extra effort to look composed, until he wasn't. He leant his hands on the porcelain border of the sink and collapsed. Kotetsu caught him on time before he broke his nose against the faucet.
"Hey, Yuri!" He sat him up on the bathroom floor to assure Yuri was breathing —he was barely doing it. And he remembered the judge was heavy in painkillers, and he had seen him drinking a beer. Perhaps when they ordered a full round, the waitress brought one for him. And in the heat of the conversation, his friend might had slipped his mind about his abstinence. One lousy beer can't be that bad, can it?
There was also the problem of his condition. He'd probably had passed out from the strain of throwing up with broken ribs. Would that mean he broke them again!?
Kotetsu went out of the restrooms carrying Yuri princess style, the others quicky came forwards to learn what had happened. It was Efrain from all people who offered to drive them to the nearest hospital.
"No way man, you are drunk!" Manny complained, his voice a bit more slurred than anyone else.
"Well, it's that or wait for an ambulance." Efrain refuted.
It was reckless, but Kotetsu was desperate. He had thought of running with Yuri in toil using his hundred power —he had done that once with a pregnant woman. Except this time, he wasn't sure of how to handle Yuri without worsening his ribs.
As promised, Efrain was a devil behind the wheel, and he had a large collection of shortcuts for when the traffic lights weren't on his side. Kotetsu sat on the back seat with Yuri leaning on his shoulder with both legs extended. It was a bit cramped, and he had to hold the taller man with both hands since he couldn't put him the safety belt in that position.
"About what I said earlier… about Mr. Legend…" Efrain spoke, not taking the eyes from the route. "It's something I've been carrying in my chest for too long. Maybe it wasn't right to take it out with you guys."
"Tell me with all honesty, is that true?" Could Mr. Legend harm a woman, or children? It was a pill hard to swallow, but reading the sincerity in his driver through the rearview mirror, he didn't have a reason to argue.
"My uncle was Stealth Soldier. The reliable source I told you, it was from him." He declared. "He quitted a month or so after learning the truth. He was heartbroken and… apparently, he didn't have a chance to do the right thing. The whole business was shoved under the rug."
Kotetsu gulped and looked down at Yuri. His father adored Mr. Legend to the point of going crazy, would it mean something to learn his father's idol was a after all a bad person? Efrain pulled over on the ER in minutes and wished them luck.
Yuri recovered consciousness one hour later. The man blinked and gave a big breath which resulted in cough.
"Where…" He was disoriented and weak.
"In the hospital. You gave us a big scare back at the bar. How are you feeling?" Kotetsu put away the phone in his pocket. He had been messaging with Bunny, even though his partner had told him he was about to go to bed, he had replied to all his babble.
"I feel… numb. What happened?"
"You mixed alcohol and medication. The doctors told me you could have severely damaged your stomach." He crossed his arms like he used to do with Kaede, it felt odd to be on the other side of the admonition with the judge.
Yuri reached up to his face, perhaps getting sure his perfect make up was still on. It was almost a tic.
"I had one beer." He was not justifying, it sounded more like regret. Of course, he had put himself in unnecessary danger, but the sourness of his expression told Kotetsu there were layers underneath.
"You are in observation; we have to wait for the doctor to come and discharge you." Kotetsu rummaged in his pocket and pulled out the two decks of Honor's Stronghold. "What would you say about our rematch?"
It was three in the morning when the doctor came to check up on Yuri, they had played two matches before the fatigue forced them to take a nap. Kotetsu woke up to find the judge dressing up with sluggish speed. He was giving him the back, so he could contemplate his lean back, his ashen hair falling on the pale skin… a sense of déjà vu invaded him when he stood up to help Yuri to put on his shirt —it reeked of puke, but that was the only clothing he had available.
"You are a good man, Wild Tiger." Yuri conceded out of the blue.
"It's Kotetsu, I'm not in service." He grinned, pointing at the place where his mask usually was.
"Fine, Kotetsu." Yuri gave up, resigned. Though it seemed he was relieved of finally dropping the formality. From now on, they weren't Justice Petrov and Wild Tiger, but childhood friends Yuri and Kotetsu.
Despite their recovered friendship, Yuri didn't agree to share a cab with Kotetsu; neither to come spend the night in Tiger's apartment.
"I suppose I'll be seeing you again." The judge said upon climbing with effort in the backseat of a cab.
"In court, you mean?"
"Like, in general." Yuri raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Oh, way better." Kotetsu bent closer with a big grin, which grew larger from the judge's bafflement. And then he snapped his fingers. "I know! Let's meet next time in my apartment. I make a mean chahan, and we can watch old HeroTV reruns, I have the whole remastered collection."
"Good night, Kotetsu." Yuri shook his head in amazement, a tiny smile in the corner of his lips. He asked the driver to go, leaving the hero waving his hand like a wife saying farewell to his sailor husband.
Despite his eagerness to invite Yuri to hang around, Kotetsu was overloaded with work the following weeks. From frustrating a kidnapping, to helping in a fire; from salving a construction worker from falling to his demise, to the capture of a serial killer. He appreciated Loyds had sent them to make the actual hero work over those silly media campaigns but, instead of re-scheduling, their boss had squeezed the publicity for whenever Tiger and Barnaby had some free time.
They had to move from saving the day to a book presentation; from escaping a building in flames to a silly charity concert —he wasn't even singing at that one, everything was playback!
Bunny was putting his best face for all the events, but even the young man had a limit. Maybe no one but Kotetsu noted how the blonde's irritation raised through the minute. After the heroes finished the broadcast of a raid of bootleg smugglers, and Agnes announced that's was going to be it for the night, it was natural for Tiger to offer to hang around at the hero bar with his partner. After all, it was the first free night they had had for days. And then Bunny snapped.
"I have more important things to do than hang around with you morning and night!"
Reflecting in his harsh words, he apologized almost immediately. However, Wild Tiger understood he was right, they had been stuck together for days and, even though he was happy to have Bunny as his buddy, perhaps a respite in their partnership was due —he knew Bunny was going to lay in the darkness of his void apartment listening to opera music at max volume, disregarding his physical and mental health, but he wasn't in the mood to bicker.
Tiger may have liked to see Yuri for this occasion, but the judge replied to his message saying he had an audience the following day, and he had a heap of documents to review before it. While Rock Bisson had a more interesting excuse, he was going out with a woman.
"Go get 'em, tiger!" He cheered his best friend when he left to his hero transport, to which the Bull Tank of the West Coast flipped him a bird.
"Like you'd get a piece of this." He yelled, clearly amused.
The list was getting shorter, Wild Tiger was running out of options to hang around. Okay, the third is the charm. He dialed Ben.
His ex-boss greeted him at the entrance of the Hero Bar. All the bar seats were taken, so they settled in a table for two far from the counter. Ben was looking positive as always, he had a couple of amusing stories to share about his new job as a taxi driver —no, he wasn't having money issues. And he had been following HeroTV as usual. He congratulated Kotetsu for the ascension in the ranks, assuring him that at this rate he'd outdo Blue Rose before the end of the season.
"You know well the points don't interest me." He sipped from his beer with modesty, although he liked hearing some recognition from time to time.
They discussed all sort of topics, mostly related to the heroes, that's why it was inevitable Kotetsu was going to talk about his last meeting with the old school heroes fan club. Ben knew some of them, from the time he was Wild Tiger's manager in Top Mag. And he vouched they were great people.
"That I'm not sure. One of them said very nasty things about Mr. Legend." Kotetsu pouted, putting an annoyed face.
"Really?" Ben took a bite of the fries they had ordered. "Was it Efrain?"
"You know him?" Kotetsu drowned his French fry in mayo before shoving it in his mouth. "Can you believe? He's said that Mr. Legend used to beat his family."
The expression of Ben was nothing like the hero had expected. Where he wanted to hear laughter or some sort of indignation, Ben averted his gaze to his twiddling thumbs.
"Ben?" Kotetsu prompted an answer, the reality waterfalling on him. "Wait, wait, wait! Don't you mean… it's all true? That cannot be!"
"Hush Kotetsu." Ben ordered him to sin down again. "This is supposed to keep from the public. Apollon pays the prying journalist to keep their eyes from the scoop, or so I was told. Listen, as far as I heard the story, Legend was loaded in alcohol when he mentioned it at a hero's party. He made the best to redeem his ways after that, but the thrust from the other heroes was splitter between those who believed he was joking, and those who were sure he wasn't. Stealth Soldier was in the second group."
"But nothing was confirmed." Kotetsu fought reason to keep his favorite hero on the pedestal.
"That's right." Ben gave another sip to his beer. "I would like to think those are rumors… however, it's so easy to figure it out."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you know why they didn't hold funeral services to Legend?" Ben waited for a befuddled Kotetsu to shake his head. "Because there was nothing left to mourn. Legend died in a fire, not from a heart attack like the media told the people."
Kotetsu finished his beer in one go and ordered a second one. This wasn't exactly how he had intended to enjoy his free night. Legend hitting his wife and child was already unbelievable, and now Ben came and told him the hero had died in a horrible accident.
"It was the Legendmobile, the moment he started the engine it engulfed in flames. His wife and son were present, but now they live under a witness protection program and their identities lay unknown. What the journalist could leak from the incident was, that only the boy was caught in the fire, the mother however was badly beaten." Ben waited for the waitress to leave to continue his speech. "It's easy to connect the dots as how Stealth Soldier jumped to that conclusion."
Kotetsu squeezed his nose on the table's surface, fingers digging on his hair. This cannot be happening. He wasn't going to tell Ben what Agnes had revealed about Yuri's dad. Did that mean Yuri's dad had killed Legend? Now that he put it that way, the motive his manager had listed was very weak.
He couldn't imagine a hero fan going insane and setting in flames something just because the hero had retired, he must have had another motive. Could it be Anton Petrov was trying to stop Legend from beating his wife and child? Justice… or love?
"Hey Ben, do you know if Legend's wife had a lover?"
His former boss reclined backwards. Anyone but Ben may think Kotetsu's guessing was silly or outrageous, he didn't question how his friend had arrived to such conclusion, but he couldn't clear it either. Legend's family was probably living their lives in another city —maybe in another country even, and the records of their lives had been erased for good after Legend's death.
This was a lot to think about. When he came back home, Kotetsu laid on bed staring at the celling for one hour. Wondering if cheating was the reason Legend was hitting his wife —not that it was justified, violence was never the answer, and if Anton had killed himself taking Legend with him?
"That poor boy would hate Yuri." He thought about Legend's son who Anton had orphaned. He sat up with the revelation. Yuri knows, he was probably there with his father.
The judge knew about the whole disgrace. It would only make sense why he was so uncomfortable with the heroes' fans when they started talking about Legend. Kotetsu felt terrible for taking him to that reunion; it must have been painful to open old wounds —and new wounds, considering the worsened estate of his broken ribs due to all the puking.
He pulled his phone to send a message.
"Come to my apartment tomorrow afternoon. It's very important."
As he never explained what was the deal about, Yuri arrived as soon as his job allowed him that evening. He was wearing his usual tailored suit and briefcase in hand when he entered Kotetsu's apartment with a wary scan of the whole place, as if expecting danger to pounce on him any minute.
"I apologize for the delay; the traffic is terrible during rush hour on Friday. What is it that cannot be said by telephone?" He sat down on the couch, leaving his briefcase by the floor on a side, all business-like.
Kotetsu walked to the bookshelf and took out a box he had just bought.
"Ta-da!" He showcased a one thousand jigsaw puzzle with a Venice canal landscape. "I didn't know if you already have this image, I asked around in the store and it just came out on sale two days ago."
He placed the box on the center table. Yuri was both stunned and touched, as if no one had given him a gift ever.
"That's… very generous of your part." Then he shook his head already yearning to open the toy. "But I cannot accept. It could be considered a bribe."
"Wha-? We are not in the justice bureau, and besides, you haven't presided any of my hearings in months."
"Still. I was in sick leave, my position there remains intact."
Kotetsu crossed his arms with apprehension, racketing his brains truly to make Yuri accept his gift. Then a silly idea crossed his mind, and he proceeded to open the box in front of his friend and unceremoniously dropped the thousand pieces on the table. Some scattered to the floor but that was a problem for later.
"You know what? I'm not giving you this jigsaw puzzle; I'm merely asking you to help me to complete it. Aren't you the administrator of the heroes? You are supposed to help us in anything in your reach, right?"
Yuri couldn't but roll his eyes in amusement and sigh. He picked one of the pieces from the floor and contemplated all its sides.
"That was a rather good argumentation, Wild Tiger. Perhaps you have learnt a thing or two about law from all the time you've spent in Court."
Soon they settled in silence. Kotetsu on the ottoman, keeping the largest possible gap from where Yuri was bent down on the sofa. At first, there was a bit of idle chat from Kotetsu's part, asking about the origin of Yuri's interest in puzzles, some fond memories of doing puzzles with Kaede, and eventual directions to solve this one —not a single piece looked the same. But as his friend got more and more immersed in the task, the vague responses evolved into simple grunts and head nods, until it was a lost cause. Kotetsu was left to his own devices, and decided that the easiest way to finish this was to collect all the pieces with straight sides to form the border.
He was getting the hang of it after an hour or so, seeing the frame of the image taking shape before his eyes gave him a sense of accomplishment. He gazed to Yuri, wondering if the other mas was experiencing the same: he was glowing. Not literally, but Kotetsu haven't seen the judge so gleeful in forever. Maybe he wasn't all smile and sunshine, yet the way his eyes genuinely enjoyed the activity made him feel proud.
It was funny how Yuri's astray lock of hair kept getting in the way of his vision, and the only motion he did to solve it was to push it behind his ear, from where gravity forced the lock back to swing over his face. Yuri was so engrossed in solving the puzzle, that he didn't answer when Kotetsu mentioned he was hungry, and asked him if he wanted to eat as well. The only thing that snapped him from his bubble was Kotetsu's hand on his shoulder. He spun around startled, as if he'd seen a ghost.
That is not a good reaction.
That would never be the reaction of Yuri as a kid, the little boy who chased bullies even though he didn't have a chance to win. Whatever that had happened during that terrible day between Mr. Legend signing event and Yuri's dad, it had scarred him for life.
"Aaaah, you are making a great job!" The jigsaw puzzle was about one half from completion. "What would you say if we make a pause to have dinner?"
"Ah…mmm… sorry, I spaced out here. I'll take your invitation."
Kotetsu usually had his dinner on the living room table, but for the moment that place was off limits for any type of food. They settled on the kitchen table, the surface was reduced for both men's long legs, so they arranged to sit in front of the other, but sightly by the right. They were still very cramped.
He gave Yuri a big plate with chahan, an iced peach tea, and got some for himself. Kotetsu preened when Yuri complimented the flavor and texture of the rice. He finished most part of the plate within minutes, until he seemed satiated and slowed down to actually chew on his food. Maybe he hadn't notice how hungry he was.
Holding the spoon halfway to his still full mouth, Yuri's eyes wandered through Kotetsu's apartment. His gaze halted in the shelf to his right. Suddenly, his spoon stumbled on the place.
"Did you actually buy the Lunatic's figurine?" He referred to the new additions to the hero's collection.
A couple of months ago, S.F. Figurarts had sent them prototypes of the heroes' action figures for their opinion. When the final version came out, everyone got a free figurine of their hero identity. Kotetsu was so elated that he asked for one of Bunny as well —his intention was to buy one for each hero, but the whole set went out of stock in days. And while he waited for the next edition to come out, he decided to add Lunatic before he'd miss the opportunity again.
"And they are completely articulated." Kotetsu brought Tiger, Barnaby and Lunatic to the table.
He moved the arms, wrist and legs of the toys. "You cannot escape this time, we have you cornered, Palm-face." He voiced with resolution, and fixed Tiger action figure with a hand on the hip and the other pointing at the Lunatic figure, which had a slumped pose like the one he used often to look like a broken puppet.
He grabbed the vigilante's figure by the waist and aimed at Tiger with his crossbow. "You won't catch me because I follow the voice of Thanatos yada yada…" He feigned a silly voice because he couldn't take the villain serious, at least not in this context. "Oh, and look at this." He pressed the action figure's wrist and the crossbow actually launched a blue arrow that didn't go far on the table.
"That's not like he sounds." Yuri challenged, and then he realized he was getting in the role play and hid his fluster behind big gulps to his iced tea.
"Really? How should this one sound then?" He shook the Lunatic figure in front of his face, it was so amusing to see the all-collected judge lose it occasionally. After a lot of nagging, Yuri sighted and picked up the figure. He did his best to keep it standing and moved the arms in a gallant pose.
"Repent sinners, for this night you will face the true meaning of justice…" He expressed doubtlessly, until he glanced at Kotetsu getting excited for the accuracy. Yuri justified. "I… as HeroTV curator I've watched all Lunatic's appearances."
"That was awesome! Hey, let's pretend Bunny and I finally catch him!" He got each of the partner heroes in his hands, approaching them to the Lunatic in Yuri's hands.
"Uuuh, I'd rather not." Yuri pulled the toy back to his chest, almost as if he was protecting it from the heroes. Kotetsu slumped back on his chair —Bunny had almost the same peevish reaction when he had proposed him to play, interjected he would never forgive his partner if he got the Barnaby's action figure scratched.
"Fine, I know they are expensive." He placed the action figures on its place, Lunatic's one was getting comfortable in Yuri's hands, who eventually gave it away with a sullen expression. There must be a way he accepts the toy as a gift. "Hey, why don't you look after this one? Bunny says I'm a klutz, and besides, I don't have much place left for it."
"What are you implying?" Yuri's eyes were two slits, still he received back the action figure without fuss.
"I'm not giving it away. I'm requesting if you can keep it until I ask you back for it." He scratched his beard, proud of his wits."
Yuri played with the figure's articulations before accepting with a silent nod. He clearly was fascinated with the quality of the toy. Yuri Petrov had never stuck him as a fan of Lunatic, from what Kaede had told him, the judge was more a fan of Wild Tiger. Kotetsu tested the waters.
"I have never told anyone but, Lunatic saved my life a while back." The confession peeled Yuri's attention out from the action figure. Kotetsu continued, "it all happened in the old hospital two months ago. I fell from a hole and almost got crushed by a boulder. Lunatic and I were trapped underneath the rubble."
"Nothing of this went to your reports, Wild Tiger." Yuri spat, sightly miffed.
"I didn't want to worry Bunny. He would have blamed himself for not arriving earlier or something, that's how he is." Kotetsu rubbed his eyes. "Ah, but I told him I was trapped with Lunatic. That, we decided it was better to keep it from the public."
"Why?"
"Because he's a criminal?" Kotetsu failed to utter a duh, that would be way too rude. "Although at times I don't know what passes through that palm-face's head. To tell you the truth, I'm a bit worried for him."
Yuri had removed the plastic cape from the doll and sat it reclining on the empty tea bottle. He looked Kotetsu with a stern face.
"You shouldn't worry for him, he's a public menace and we need to bring him to justice as soon as possible." He interlaced his fingers with the elbows on the table, like he was interviewing a job seeker. "Out of curiosity, what exactly worries you in this case?"
"Mmm, maybe it's just my imagination. It's just that, have you noticed he hasn't appeared in almost a month? We haven't heard from him ever since the flood."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Not exactly, no, no. I guess it's a good thing if anything. The problem here is, Bunny and I beat his ass that night with our good luck mode. Dr. Saito says it doesn't enhance our powers but man, they concentrate them in a single punch!" Kotetsu motioned a punch and a kick, and proceeded to narrate the events with his whole body. "And I'm sure something creaked when we hit him, it was like a cruishs! sound. And he fell into the stream instead of doing his creepy fire propulsion thing, and I tried to help him but… but it looks like it was him who let go of me." In spite of his opinion towards the man, Kotetsu couldn't hide the bitterness from that last moment.
"Do you think he died?"
Kotetsu forgot to breath for a moment. He couldn't have died; the man was tough enough to receive a full jab to the jaw with his hundred power… could he? Yuri continued with his neutral expression.
"Does it worry you that you may be charged by murder in the occasion he's found dead?"
"Wha—? I haven't even thought of that, no. I mean, if he'd died I should…" His eyes felt watery, the sole thought formed a knot on his throat. "I should say goodbye to Kaede and my family and… and serve my time in prison."
At this, Yuri started to chuckle, as if his wariness amused him.
"The legal system doesn't work like that." And then he abandoned any mirth to lean forward, fingers interlaced under his nose. A solemn stark in his words. "Kotetsu, do you covet for Lunatic to show up, even though that would mean him appearing to serve his justice?"
"Haah? When you put it that way, it sounds awful." Kotetsu cast away the premise with his hand as if he was shooing a pesky fly. "I'd prefer if the guy shows up to give himself in, but that's a lot to ask for. At least I would like to figure out if he's okay. Besides, you don't have to worry about a thing, if Palm-face shows up, Bunny and I will get sure to stop him before he kills anyone."
Yuri gave a baleful look at the action figure prepped on the table and muttered.
"We are all counting with you."
Kotetsu was moved, from the many times he had hear that cliché phrase he was sure that not a single person had charged it of meaning as his friend had done. A mysterious urge of physical contact with the judge invaded him. He reached out prudently to touch Yuri's hand, when his communicator beeped that very instant, killing the mood.
"I… uh…" Kotetsu felt very awkward and reached out to pick up the Lunatic toy as a pretext for what he had intended originally. Yuri conceded him to answer the calling, which the hero did turning his back to his guest.
"Bonjour Tiger." Agnes smooth voice flooded the beforehand tense mood. "A car hijacking is taking place in Sternbild Bronze East Medaille, you are the closest hero to the location. Your transport is on its way."
"Understood." He kept to himself the question of why a mundane car robbery needed the intervention of a hero. Not that he didn't want to help, only that he found unusual being called for low profile crimes —Perhaps Agnes had concealed more important information, or she wanted him to win the first-to-arrive points. Better don't make her wait.
Yuri was still on the chair, resting his chin on his fingers, in a pose that made him almost unreadable. Kotetsu gave him the Lunatic figure back, which Yuri oddly accepted with fondness —he was good at hiding his emotions for the rest of the world, but Kotetsu had started to get a grasp how the man behaved.
"You probably heard her, Ms. Agnes." He scratched the back of his head, averting his gaze. "I'm sorry we cannot return to the puzzle tonight."
He got another call from Bunny. Saito and he were already waiting in the transport outside his house. Wait, did that mean his partner was ready before him? That meant he wasn't the closest hero to reach. Good. Maybe Bunny had a better idea of why they'd call them for simple hijacking. Thus, he jumped out of the house apologizing to Petrov once again.
"You can watch the chase in the TV." And waved him goodbye with a second thought. "Ah, and if you want to leave, could you please lock the door?"