Asami
God, she was tired.
Crime was already high enough in Sendai without a crisis happening nearly six hundred miles away. There was a nationwide call for heroes both in and around Kobe and, at first, Asami wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to get involved. Between the constant flow of warring emotions and the intimate history the Chikara class shared with Koushi, she was worried that her feelings on the matter might get in the way. However, after Enlighten was spotted on location, she wasn't so sure that it really mattered. Akito had always been composed and professional, though, so it may not have been much of a surprise that he could place his personal feelings aside in favor of the greater good.
If he could manage that, then Asami certainly could as well. After all, she was never romantically involved with Koushi – they were good friends, of course, but there hadn't been that type of connection in her case. Besides, she had a while to come to terms with the fact that he was a criminal. It should be fine – she just needed a day or two to think about what she wanted before rushing headfirst into things.
She wasn't the only person in Sendai who wanted to go, either. Her phone - while normally dry, save for texts from her dads or news updates - rang at the obnoxiously early hour of five a.m. This was unusual for Asami, as friends were few and far between, and she hadn't gone out of her way to keep in contact with her classmates.
"Hello?" she asked, immediately on high alert. The sun wasn't up yet, and she hadn't checked the contact to make sure who was calling. Maybe one of her dads needed help?
"Hello," echoed the voice on the other end. "This is Shiruko Kagura. I apologize for calling so early in the morning."
Ah. Asami relaxed a bit, relieved that it wasn't either Haru or Souta. However, it was a little strange that Kagura chose now of all times to give her a call. It wasn't like they were close or anything – they just so happened to work in the same place. "It's alright," she responded, only a little miffed. Her alarm would've gone off in about fifteen minutes regardless, but all sleep was valuable. "Do you have a reason for calling?"
"Have you not seen the news recently?" Asami was reminded, all at once, that the two of them did not get along. There was a reason why they rarely spoke despite having ended up working in the same city. Kagura wasn't necessarily being sarcastic, but he was certainly patronizing, and Asami could only stand him for so long. "Koushi has escaped from prison."
Asami sighed through her nose, exasperated. "Yes, I've heard." It had happened the day before yesterday – everyone in Japan knew by now.
"Do you plan on going to Kobe? They've called for more Pros to come help with the investigation."
"I'm going to leave for Kobe today," she stated truthfully. It had taken her a bit of time to make her decision, but she was confident in it now. "They need as much help as they can get, down there. Especially since he's allegedly working with another villain."
They could've sworn they heard Kagura growl, irate and impassioned, on the other end of the line. "I always knew there was something wrong with Koushi," he grumbled, momentarily losing that flourish with which he often spoke. "I'd just hoped prison would be the end of it."
"We'll put him back, and that will be the end of it," she assured the other hero, tone firm and unyielding. "I'm assuming you want to go to Kobe, too?"
"I wanted to ask what your plans were, first, but yes. That was my intention." It was strange that he wanted to touch base with her first, but maybe it wasn't as bizarre as Asami originally thought. She and Kagura had, although rarely and unintentionally, teamed up in the past simply based on proximity. She knew that he thought of her as a capable hero, and perhaps it would be comforting to have an old classmate to travel with.
"Do you want to go together?" Asami asked. Kagura, as far as she could recall, was an immensely prideful person, and that question may have been difficult for him to ask outright. She didn't mind throwing him a bone.
"That is an excellent idea," Kagura responded, and if Asami paid enough attention, she could just barely catch the warble of relief in his typical baritone. "We can meet outside Blackreath's Agency at nine."
That was a surprising bit of consideration, offering to meet outside her dad's agency.
"Sounds good," she confirmed. "I'll see you there."
After the call ended, Asami couldn't help but feel a bit lighter, overall. The fact that she wouldn't have to show up in Kobe on her own was a huge weight off her shoulders. She, as well as all her more public hero classmates, were under intense scrutiny now. Kagura made for a rather flashy distraction to pull all that attention off her.
It wasn't like she minded being in the public eye, but this situation was a little more volatile than what she was used to.
Asami would have gone on her own, regardless. It was a hero's job to put a villain in prison, and the fact that this person was a former friend made no difference to her. It was just... nice, knowing that she wasn't going to have to deal with it by herself for a while.
Even if it was Kagura she was working with.
Mitsuru
It wasn't fair. Upon hearing about Koushi's escape from prison and even before the nationwide call for heroes, Mitsuru immediately made plans to go to Kobe. Everything was set for them to make their way up there from Fukuoka – they'd be there within three hours by train, at most. Things were going smoothly, uneventful for the most part, until they informed their boss that they were going to leave.
"Yeah, you're not doing that."
Eri had been swiftly dismissive of the idea. Her agency was quite small – just herself and her two interns – so having Mitsuru leave so abruptly would leave her and Maho struggling. Rationally, Mitsuru understood that, but that didn't mean they had to like it. In fact, they had vehemently argued against the decision, but Eri had maintained her position. They only dropped the subject when threatened with termination from the agency – honestly, Mitsuru was sorely tempted, but their father's face popped into their mind and... well, they didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing them fail.
So, aside from work, they'd taken to skulking around their apartment for a good portion of the last day and a half. Which is exactly what they were doing now, laying on their rickety couch with their forgotten manga spread open and resting against their chest.
Unfortunately, such skulking did not go unnoticed by their elderly roommate.
"You should take this poor dog out for a walk," Sakurako admonished, leaning heavily on her cane as she limped into the room. "He's been moping around all day. I think you're finally rubbing off on him."
Mitsuru sat up with a groan and watched as the little black-and-white terrier trotted into the room. He didn't look particularly mopey, but there was a stab of guilt in their chest when they realized that they hadn't taken him out on a real walk that day.
"C'mere, Kumo," they urged, and the small dog yipped before hopping up into Mitsuru's waiting arms. "Do you wanna go to the park today?"
Kumo yapped again, wriggling excitedly as Mitsuru scratched his back. They took that as a yes.
"I was thinking that we could play one of those table games when you get back," Sakurako continued, offering them a small smile. "What's that character I always play as, again?"
"A druid," Mitsuru said, though they were pretty sure Sakurako knew what it was called by now.
"Ah, yes," she continued. "Maybe we could cook something together, too. I'm thinking... curry?" A wry smirk crossed the old woman's lips.
Mitsuru couldn't help but smile in return. "That sounds good, actually," they agreed, huffing out a small laugh when Kumo licked their chin to grab their attention again. "Alright, alright. I'm going."
They got to their feet and put on a jacket before grabbing Kumo's leash, fastening it to his collar.
"Make sure to grab some more tea on your way home," Sakurako tacked on. "I think we're almost out."
"Okay," Mitsuru called over their shoulder, and headed out the front door, feeling... lighter.
Maybe being stuck sucked. Feeling helpless and restricted wasn't fun for anyone, and waiting was stressful – especially when Mitsuru wanted nothing more than to absolutely destroy Koushi. How could they not, when he'd taken so much from them – from all of them? His escape was like spitting in the faces of everyone he already hurt.
They'll get their chance with him, eventually. But in the meantime, there were things they could do to keep themself occupied.
Sakurako and Kumo were pretty good distractions, after all.
Wakana
Koushi escaped from prison and Otoba vanished mere hours later. That couldn't be a coincidence.
Now, truthfully, Wakana didn't know how to feel about Koushi. Otoba had been good friends with him, and she knew that, but she'd never been close with the redhead. She also evidently misjudged the situation in assuming that Otoba would not go after the illusionist, but ultimately wasn't surprised – just a little... inconvenienced, and maybe slightly concerned.
Slightly.
Which brought her here, standing in front of the remarkably-average-sized door to her remarkably-larger-than-average friend's home. It was a pretty place – quaint, with eggshell white paint and baby blue shutters. There were some well-maintained rosebushes at either side of the entryway.
It only took a second or two of steeling herself (ha!) before she could bring herself to knock.
She heard the man before she saw him – loud, thundering footsteps on thin floors – and the door swung open without preamble. Dorobo stood there, hulking frame bent over slightly to see through the entry, and the blatant difference in height had her looking up to meet his eye.
He shut it in her face just as quickly.
Fortunately, she didn't have to wait too long for a resolution to that, either, because not a moment later, a woman's voice sounded from inside the house: "Honey, it's rude to shut the door on people!"
Dorobo sighed heavily before opening it a second time.
The man was a sight to behold. Over seven feet of massive, hulking muscle with one large red eye, a black beard, and a single horn on his bald head. He was dressed nicely, per the norm – a salmon polo underneath a tan coat and some slacks.
They hadn't seen one another in months since Dorobo had begun his voluntary sabbatical from the hero gig. Before then, the three of them (she, Otoba, and Dorobo) teamed up semi-regularly. They weren't part of the same agency, but they were located near enough to each other that working together had proven beneficial. Besides, it had been nice to have a couple of familiar faces around – especially earlier on in their careers.
"Do come in," Dorobo invited, slow and deliberate, but clearly a little reluctant. Wakana couldn't blame him.
"Thanks," she responded, and wasted no time in stepping into the living area.
Katame Reiwa, in contrast with her gigantic husband, was a tiny thing. She stood at just over five feet with straight purple hair and solid black eyes, brimming with far too much energy to be contained in that petite body of hers. "Hi, Wakana!" she chirped, flouncing over to Wakana's side, and placing a hand on her upper arm – the one without the scales. "It's been way too long! Come in, have a seat – I'll go get some tea started for us."
Wakana found herself ushered over to a large couch, clearly made to accommodate mutations that affected someone's size. All the furniture was much bigger than what she was used to – the recliner on the other end of the living room housed Dorobo's frame perfectly as he settled in.
The tiny woman made it halfway to the kitchen before she began chatting to herself about how Wakana preferred coffee to tea, that she should make that instead. She and Dorobo were such a bizarre combination and Wakana still wasn't entirely sure how they'd gotten together – just that the two met just after Dorobo's graduation and Reiwa stuck around stubbornly ever since.
Dorobo sighed as his wife disappeared around the corner and flashed him a quick wink as she did so. He ran a hand down his face and to the end of his beard before glancing over at Wakana. "She left us alone on purpose," he explained. "She keeps asking me to get back in touch with my friends, so I'd wager she's ecstatic you stopped by today."
She wasn't sure why he'd decided to go on a break, but heroes rarely took time off from their work without good reason, so Wakana hadn't wanted to push Dorobo too hard to communicate. Maybe he'd just needed some time with his wife or was in the process of recovering from an injury - Wakana didn't want to pry.
"Ah, well... 'm not really here to catch up," Wakana said regretfully, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "Sorry, but you know what happened the other day." She didn't have to worry about being blunt with Dorobo – it was something the two of them shared, and it was why they got along better than most.
"I presume you mean the prison break," the large man responded, reclining in his chair.
Wakana took a deep breath and scratched at the back of her neck. "That's... part of it, yeah." A big part, certainly, but not the only part. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a major issue, but I was gonna go down on my own for that. Or, with Otoba, maybe, but..."
"But your little lover-boy ran off on you?" Dorobo interjected, just as direct as Wakana herself.
Now, a few years back, that might've caused her to blush or perhaps deny the accusation but calling Otoba her 'lover-boy' wasn't inaccurate, she supposed. Wakana wasn't blind to his affections, but she'd been fucked over in her relationships in the past and presently wasn't ready for romance. Otoba was just a good friend – they discussed this before, and he was okay with doing whatever she wanted.
It was kind of relieving, to not be rushed into figuring out how she felt.
"Yeah," she acquiesced. "It's just unusual for him to not text back or answer his calls. He wasn't at his club, either – it's just... weird, and the timing can't be a coincidence."
Dorobo hummed in thought, bulky arms crossed over his chest. "No, it probably isn't," he agreed. "Otoba and Koushi were quite close in school if I recall. Perhaps he's gone to bail him out, so to speak."
The idea of Otoba rushing into the situation relying on the idea that he and Koushi would still be best friends was... unsettling. But he never really mentioned anything about how he felt after Koushi's arrest, and Wakana didn't want to push him for information, so she'd just let it be. She kind of regretted that, now.
"Maybe," she murmured, folding her hands in front of her. "But that's the thing I'm worried about... and it's why I'm here."
That red eye pierced into her own. "You would like for me to accompany you," he guessed.
Wakana stared right back at him, unblinking. "If it were just Koushi, I'd go alone. Hell, I wouldn't even tell you I was going."
"But you aren't sure where Otoba's loyalties lie, and the two of them are quite formidable together." Dorobo was clearly turning the idea over in his head, analyzing and strategizing as always.
"You're the one I trust the most in this situation," she added. Ari was a wonderful friend, but she was still working in Tokyo with Marin, so she wasn't planning on heading to Kobe in the first place. Besides, the smaller woman could get a little trigger happy, and Wakana preferred having Dorobo's steady presence and sharp mind in this case.
A heavy sigh drew from the man, and he looked up at the ceiling. "I was... debating on heading down to Kobe, myself," he admitted. "The Koushi case never seemed complete to me in the first place. Ever since it was announced, I felt like something wasn't right."
"Then we're on the same page there." Except for the fact that Wakana hadn't really debated the idea of going to begin with – it was kind of just a given that she would go. "If we both go, we'd be more likely to get information out of him, don't you think?"
"Look, if this happened a few months ago, I would have no issue dropping everything and going," Dorobo explained, making eye contact with her again. "But it's not just me that I have to worry about anym-"
"Don't worry about me!" Reiwa interrupted loudly, hopping around the corner that she was most definitely eavesdropping behind. Now that she was thinking about it, Wakana never heard the coffee maker turn on. "I don't want to hold you back. You need to get back out there, anyways!"
Dorobo stared at his wife, looking a tad shell-shocked. "But Reiwa, the baby..."
Surprised, Wakana's eyes drifted down to her midsection, where the tiniest of baby bumps pressed against her t-shirt.
"You don't think I can protect the both of us?" the woman asked, placing her hands on her hips. Her purple hair stood on end, spiking out like the spines of a sea urchin. Wakana had been pricked by one once and knew from experience that they hurt like a bitch.
"You're putting words in my mouth," Dorobo argued and narrowed his eye, but didn't stand from his chair. "I was just trying to consider-"
"Honey, I am a hero, too," Reiwa explained, heading over to stand in front of her husband. "I do not want to be the reason you feel confined to this house. If it makes you feel better, maybe I can go stay with your parents while you're away?"
A sour look crossed Dorobo's face but it was clear he preferred that idea to having Reiwa stay in their house, alone. Still, he said nothing, visibly mulling over the choices in his head.
"Congratulations. On the baby, I mean," Wakana said, to cut the tension. It was a bit awkward to witness the couple glaring at one another in total silence, after all.
A blinding smile spread across Reiwa's face. "Thank you! They weren't planned, but Dorobo took a break from the hero biz and he had some more free time. One thing led to another, and... well, whoops!" She laughed a little. "But we're both happy about it. I'm on parental leave, and we've spent a lot more time together recently-"
"Alright," Dorobo finally stated, holding up his hands. "I will go with Wakana to Kobe, if you go stay with my family."
"Oh, good!" Reiwa exclaimed. "I've been wanting to go see Do'Jin. Kenko told me the two of them can't wait to meet the baby."
Dorobo took a deep breath and got to his feet before heading down the hall, muttering something about needing to pack a bag.
For a moment, Reiwa and Wakana waited in silence before the purple-haired woman spoke. "You know, I was hoping he'd get back into the whole hero thing," she mused, rubbing at her stomach in that absent way pregnant people do. "He's been restless lately."
"Wish it could be under better circumstances," Wakana replied, looking over at her.
"Who knows?" Reiwa asked, fixing Wakana with a striking smile. "Maybe these are the best circumstances you could ask for."
Jun
It was a remarkably cold day, even for Akita. There was a heavy chill in the air, cutting through the thick fabric of the sweater he was sporting. He was grateful for the mask covering his lower face, effectively blocking the worst of the wind, but he missed the feel of his hero outfit. His skin itched with the unending desire to wear it, to return to work, to run straight down to Kobe.
But he couldn't.
Having so much free time recently was not what he was used to, and he wasn't quite sure what to do with himself now.
Mandatory furlough. It was for his mental health, and he knew that, but he didn't feel any better now than he had before. Was it really benefiting him if he felt even worse than he did while he was working?
He stared intently at the messages on his phone, delivered just the night prior.
K: kobe's nice this time of yr.
u should stop by fr a visit.
Sending information through text was dangerous. It was why the messages were so vague, but Jun saw it for what it was: a summons, taunting Jun and dangling the life he wasn't currently allowed to return to in front of his nose.
His costume hung in his closet, collecting dust. If he were to try it on tonight, perhaps it would still fit.
Jun stared at the message, unblinking, and switched the tab to his search engine. Train tickets to Kobe were affordable, and the travel time was just under eight hours.
Maybe it was time for a vacation.
It was for his mental health, after all.
AN
Thank you all for reading, and for all the reviews and support! Yu and I appreciate it all so much, and it's inspiring us to keep working on the story.
This chapter was a lot of fun to write, as well. I want to show where everyone's at and what they're thinking or feeling, even if the POVs are a little bit short right now. The introductory arc will end in two more chapters!
Thank you again!
