Chapter 6: Ren Kimura
They stepped off the helicopter, glad to leave the noisy beast behind them. Goro took Ren by the hand and they quickly ran towards the roof top door. As they descended the stairs, they were finally able to speak to one another privately. It had been a very long day.
"So, any luck getting Shota Aizawa to sign on or at least come up to the Agency?" Ren asked.
"He won't sign. I am certain after today," Goro said, a grin on his face.
"Why are you so happy about that? You've been obsessing over signing this kid all week!"
"From what I observed from him today I think he sees all the bullshit the pro hero world exudes and he doesn't want any part of it. He's not wrong y'know. But in the pro hero world you have to 'play the game' unfortunately if you want a large agency that has any kind of pull. It doesn't mean you aren't doing good things and making a difference. I think his opinion has changed about what our purpose is at our agency at least," Goro said.
"Or his opinion changed about you, you mean." Ren replied.
"Well, I don't know about that."
"Okay, Mr. Modest."
"Well, I am disappointed a bit. His fighting style coupled with my quirk is a powerful combo." Goro shrugged and became thoughtful suddenly. Ren tried not to smile; he sometimes reminded her of a big kid the way he would move his shoulders back and forth, first the left, then the right, when he got a little discouraged. It was an unconscious movement he did, when he was away from the cameras and was alone in his head. Sometimes his lips would move slightly, a physical manifestation of the thoughts racing through his mind. After two flights of stairs, they entered the main agency building. The lights were all off mostly and the quiet and still of such a large space with none of the moving, breathing bodies it usually housed made the agency feel odd and alien. Ren knew the on-call staff was present in the surveillance room on the first floor, but it felt like the two of them were completely alone. They made their way to the parking garage. Ren was thankful they were only a ten minute drive away from home. It had been a long day and she was exhausted. Her body ached from her fight with the hologram villain.
"So if Aizawa isn't joining any agencies, what will he do?" Ren asked.
"He wants to be an independent, underground hero. I have no doubt he'll be successful. But I did tell him if he found himself with any down time he could help us out by free-lancing. He wasn't sure where he would start as far as what city he would choose to set up shop in, so I told him our city, Kosai, has one of the highest crime rates in Japan so we could use his help. He seems to be a practical guy so that's probably the best tactic as far as getting him to work with us. Who knows? Maybe down the line he'll be a part of our roster."
As they approached the car, Goro walked to the passenger door to open it for her. As he stood there, his hand on the handle, he seemed to change his mind. He wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her into a hug. "I missed you today," he whispered as he rested his head against hers.
"Miss me? We've been together most the day." She leaned back so she could look at him, her arms around his neck.
"Work doesn't count. We're always so busy. And never alone," He touched her face gently with the gloved fingers of his right hand. She ran a gloved hand through the hair on the back of his head. He brought his face dangerously close to hers. She could feel his breath on her nose and mouth and longed to kiss him at that moment.
"Let's get home then so we can be alone," she whispered.