What happened to Kiko on the other side of the call? Let's find out.

"Sorry. It seems she's a bit busy."

And just like that, the thief calmly hung up the phone, placing it on the help desk before properly raising his gun at Kiko once again. When he'd first rounded behind to where she was, she'd frozen him with her quirk, which turned out to be totally useless when another man - a foreigner maybe in his late 20s - came around the other corner and pointed his weapon at her. The girl was so shocked and unsure that she only vaguely heard her dad call her name on the other side and couldn't find the voice to respond to him. The man had simply held out his hand for her to give the phone to him, and that's what she did. Now, here she was: her call with her fathers cut short and two barrels pointed in her face.

The younger guy asked his partner something in what sounded like English. Kiko had never really been good in foreign language, so all the words meshed together with how fast he spoke. The man who'd taken her phone gave a short answer, also in English, something she was able to understand: her father among a few extra words. He then turned to her and spoke in Japanese. "Who'd you just call?"

Kiko tried to compose herself a bit, managing to morph her face of fear into one of defiance. "You're the one who so rudely interrupted my call. Can't you read?"

"In all this time, you could have called the police, but instead you called your father. Why?"

Because my parents are gonna show up and wipe the floor with you jerks. That's what she wanted to say. She wanted to spit it in his face, but she knew that would only make the situation more complicated. If they knew she was the daughter of not just one, but two heroes, one of which was practically tied for the number one spot…

Papa's words from last night echoed through her mind once again. Yeah...if these people knew who she was, it would just make things harder on multiple fronts.

Putting some of her anxiety into her face, she explained, "I know what you guys are planning to do to us once you're done. We all do. I...I just wanted to talk to my dad again."

Technically, that wasn't a lie, but the man narrowed his eyes at her, clearly not buying it. After a few heavy seconds, he looked at his companion. "Take her downstairs."

The foreigner snapped back annoyingly, and the man retorted in English, probably repeating himself. The younger thief actually smirked a bit upon finally understanding. He roughly grabbed Kiko by her forearm, pulling her to standing and shoving her in the direction of the elevator. The teenager pulled her arm back, glaring but obeying their commands. The guy held up his hands in mock defeat, condescendingly speaking a mix of English and broken Japanese. "Sorry, cutie, but you're not my type."

She may not have understood the last half of the sentence, but she was so tempted to freeze the scumbag in place just for the "cutie" comment, whether it was wasting her quirk or not. Regardless, the three of them rode down the elevator in concrete silence, and upon reaching the first floor, they led her at gunpoint back to the Portugese exhibit. Entering the room, Kiko's eyes widened in surprise and somewhat horror to see that four of the five canvases were already off the wall, out of their frames, and consolidated into a single roll. As for the fifth and final painting - the one she and Ainu had looked at not a half hour before - a team of two guys looked to be almost done removing its glass box. Holy crap, these guys really were prepared.

"Sir, we found this girl making a call to the outside. I think she's connected to the heroes or police somehow. What should we do?"

It was then that Kiko noticed what must have been the leader of the group. He was definitely European of some sort, built more stocky than his subordinates, and had a completely shaved, square head. Unlike the others who were merely in some casual dress clothes, this guy was in a full-on suit: an expensive watch, deep red tie, polished black shoes, the whole getup. Clearly, he was the one who collected most of the profits from the gang's ventures but probably did the least dirty work. He observed the newly arrived trio for a moment, raising an unconcerned eyebrow at Kiko. "Yeah? Even if she's a snitch, what makes you think she's related to the cops?"

That hard accent. Definitely American.

"She was on the phone with her father when we intercepted her. I didn't hear all of it, but she was giving him some info on our positions."

This seemed to spike Boss Man's interest. Smirking, he made his way over to them, looking down at Kiko, which she silently found pretty intimidating. He had to easily be almost seven feet tall, or at least he looked it. "So, your pops must be a big-whig, huh? I'm sure he and his buddies are scrambling over here to make sure his little girl is safe. Guess we better leave them a little present." He turned to the men working on the last painting. "How much left on that one?"

"Five minutes max, boss."

"Good." Baldy turned to the two men holding her. "Save us some time. Shoot her and kill the rest upstairs too. Then we can head straight out. If the police are coming, it doesn't matter anyway."

Kiko suddenly felt super cold. Her heart was fluttering a million miles a minute. In an instant her senses were heightened to the two large guns just inches from her. As the other foreigner went to grab her, her mind went into overdrive. No. No, no, no. NO.

"Wait! My father's Red Riot!" she exclaimed, tugging against the pull of her guards.

This being the first time she'd spoken up, the eight-or-so people in the room turned their attention to her. The two men behind her continued to try and pull her away, but from behind the leader, she saw one thief turn to another. "Wait, Red Riot? Isn't he one of the top twenty heroes in Japan or something?"

Kiko's heart twisted a bit. This was the split-second plan she'd come up with, but to save those people...I'm sorry Dad, Papa…

"Let me be your hostage! I'm all you need! You could get away with your art in exchange for me, and they won't chase after you. I'll make sure they don't, but if you kill anyone in this building, especially me, my dad will stop at nothing till each and every one of you bastards pays for what you've done. They don't care about a couple blobs of paint, but one hair on anyone's head and you're done for. Just give your word you won't kill those people, and I'll do whatever you want."

She remembered something Papa had mentioned to her long ago. When he and her dad had realized they had feelings for each other, he'd been reluctant about them actually dating. They were still in high school at the time in the most prestigious hero course in the country, so he was worried they would be acting as distractions for each other were they to get together. That, and it would make putting emotions out of the way during a mission all the harder if things went south. Ultimately, in true Bakugo fashion, he'd concluded that if he could be in a relationship and become the number one hero at the same time, then that just proved he was the strongest. However, he and Dad had swore to each other that their job as heroes would always come first. If something went south on a mission, if it was between one of their lives or fulfilling their duty, they would make that sacrifice, however painful it would be. Of course, they did their utmost to avoid that situation, but it always lingered in their minds.

That was something Kiko had always admired her fathers for, among many other things. A lot of her hero aunts and uncles had made similar vows too. It was a promise made long before she was born, before she was a part of their lives, but she wanted to be a part of it too. Her dads may be furious with her for this, it may hurt them a lot, but if it meant not just saving those people but getting the art back too, then she would do it. Hopefully, the ultimate sacrifice could be avoided, but she was willing nonetheless.

Was that why I said what I did? Who knows…

The bald man watched his lackeys attempt to drag her away for another few seconds, contemplating, before holding up his hand, signalling them to stop. Growing a conniving smile on his face, he said, "Spoken like the child of a hero. Alright, little lady. You've got yourself a deal. I guess I can spare an extra murder charge or two to give you this little favor, since you're offering to help me."

The man who had originally captured her and Ainu, who was standing off behind him, looked at his boss uncertainly. "But, sir...they know who some of us are."

"Then we got to get our asses out of here so even if the cops do find out who you are, they can't find you!" The baldy glanced at Kiko again, feigning an amiable expression. "And I trust that our new friend will keep her end of the bargain and conveniently forget our handsome faces."

Damn it...She had to trust her parents and the police, that they'd catch them no matter what. If not, then these guys getting away would be all her fault. All those people they killed before wouldn't get justice. Dad had told her that there were all sorts of villains - some who would say and do anything to get what they wanted, making deals only to break them, while some made it a point to keep their word, finding some sick chivalry in it despite their misdeeds. The question was: which one was this guy?

Her mistrust must have been evident in her eyes, because Baldy let out a short chuckle, smirking once again. "Don't you worry. Zombie always keeps his word."

Zombie? Was that his official villain name? He certainly didn't look the part. He looked more like a fancy, fat bowling pin than a creature from beyond the grave.

"Sir!" Someone came running in from behind Kiko and her guards, looking distressed. "We got some police cars outside. Looks like they're getting ready to do something, and they've got a hero leading the charge. Some red spiky-haired bastard."

"I'll give that father of yours credit. He works fast." Zombie turned to the pair working on the painting. "Are you idiots still not done!?"

"Sorry, boss. This one's being tricky. We need maybe two more minutes."

He scowled a bit. "Fine. Hand me the roll of the other four."

One of the men did as he asked, and Zombie walked over to Kiko, pulling out a pistol and grabbing her arm. "I'm going up with the art and the girl. Nobody else leaves until that painting is out of there, understand? If the hero and police get in here before you get out, you know what to do."

Some of the men looked more enthusiastic about that idea than others. "Yes, sir!"

Meanwhile, while Kiko was obviously worried about her father and everyone else, she was mostly filled with silent excitement at the sudden idea that popped in her brain. Holy crap - she'd be alone with this guy. She could freeze him, grab the paintings, and just hold him until the right people showed up! She couldn't believe her luck.

The pride was short-lived though. As Zombie began to drag her away, the man who'd captured her in the exhibit called out, "Wait, sir! Her quirk. She can freeze people by looking at them."

He briskly came over to them, pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, and promptly tied it around her eyes. Kiko felt her nerves immediately skyrocket at losing her sight. If she didn't feel like a helpless hostage before, she definitely did now. Not to mention that her actual good idea was now out the window. She sensed Zombie lean a little closer to her - the overwhelming smell of his nasty cologne was definitely a tell. Putting his large, sweaty hand on her tense shoulder, he said condescendingly, "I'm sure you wouldn't have used it, but you know, you can never be too careful."

Shit.

And with that, she began to be blindly led through the halls of the museum. Zombie's huge palm could have wrapped around her bicep three times with how hard he was holding it, and while she couldn't feel it anywhere on her person, she knew the barrel of his gun was also pointed at her. She really hoped she didn't look as shaky as she felt - one wrong move and this guy could actually kill her if he wanted to. Maybe that was his angle all along. Was this really a good plan? Had she done the right thing? Inside, her five-year-old self screamed out, begging for someone to come soon. Her anxiety further skyrocketed when, instead of taking some back exit to the parking lot, they started climbing the stairs.

Taking a deep breath and making sure her voice sounded as calm as possible, she asked, "Where are we going?"

"We have a helicopter stationed on the roof." Zombie informed, sounding quite proud of himself. "What? Did you think we're so dumb we'd all drive off in a nice matching black caravan? Separation is survival, my dear."

They continued to climb before reaching the fourth floor, at which they began making their way to the end of the corridor. "We're gonna take a nice backstage tour and go through the roof access door. Not much further and I'm home free and you can -"

As they seemingly turned a corner, the man suddenly stopped, gripping Kiko tighter in addition to pulling her closer to him. If she wasn't so nervous and scared, she would have cringed at being this close to the guy, but what was more concerning at the moment was the fact that his gun was now touching her temple.

"Who the hell are you!?"

"Right back at ya, Baldy." Kiko's knees almost gave out from the rush of relief. Papa. "You supposed to be the big bad of this operation?"

"Get out of my way, hero. You let me leave with these little paintings, and I'll let this girl and all the other nice people go. We can forget this little encounter ever happened, and everyone wins."

"Sorry, what'd you say? You sound drunk of your ass with that accent of yours." God, she could practically hear the cocky smirk in her father's voice. He sounded like he was only a few yards in front of them, though he was taking some slow, intimidating steps forward. "If you're talking about that junk on the roof, I blew that crap up. And those cronies of yours tried to shoot at me, so they got a little beating too. Looks like you got nowhere to go."

Kiko could feel Zombie tense up upon learning his main escape route had been destroyed. Faster that she would have expected, he wrapped his enormous arm around her neck and pressed the gun further into her skull. Instinctively, like her dads had taught her, she reached up her hands and wrapped them around his forearm before he'd fully gotten around her - this way she at least had some leeway to breathe and leverage to try and pull him away. Still, their size difference almost made that impossible, and she felt an overwhelming pressure on her neck. In this split second, she heard her papa's footsteps immediately stop.

"Stay the hell back, you bastard!" Zombie definitely sounded more frantic than before, but there still seemed to be more defiance than panic in his words. "This is your buddy's daughter, right? One move and there's gonna be a bullet in her brain. Let me get away with what I want, or she'll be dead on the ground and you'll never be able to show your face to him again. Let's not be stupid."

"What's stupid is you not pointing the gun at the person who's about to blow your fatass skyhigh."

Oh, Papa was mad now.

It was a subtle change, but his voice had lowered in pitch and his signature growl actually became less pronounced. Even with the blindfold on, Kiko could tell that his playful smile had disappeared, being replaced with either a serious glare or a small smirk far more dangerous than the one before. Was it just her, or could she hear small sparks flashing from her father's palms too? She knew how desperately he wanted to jump in and take this guy down - the problem was how to do it without her getting hurt. A complicated one, given the gun to her temple. This guy couldn't get away, not after all he'd done, and she was not about to let her fathers' duty be interrupted because of her. Facing what she felt was the direction of his voice, she mouthed words of silent permission: Get him, Papa.

Zombie's arm tightened around her neck. Okay, now breathing was getting a bit difficult. "You don't seem to understand. The girl and I made a deal. The only way she's getting out of this alive is if you turn a blind eye and let me off with -"

Since Kiko couldn't see, the next couple of seconds happened in a chaotic blur. A short but heavy sound of explosions echoed through the air. Not a millisecond later, she felt Zombie being flung backwards, unfortunately dragging her with him. In the time they went from standing to horizontal, the gun had been pushed away from her head. Still, his finger must have been ready on the trigger, because a shot rang out not too far from her ear. The jarring sound coupled with the sudden fall caused Kiko to let out a scream before hitting the ground hard on her side. By then, Zombie had let go of her, and she quickly crawled a few feet away while simultaneously trying to pull the tight blindfold off. After a few frantic seconds, she managed to remove the piece of fabric. Through her adjusting eyes, she saw the large man laying flat and knocked out on the ground. Her father, decked out in his full hero costume, stood above him with a boot to the criminal's chest, a palm pointed to his face, and a hard glare in his eye as he stared down at him. "Well, I never agreed to jack."

His daughter couldn't help but stare dumbly at the sight for a moment, her right ear ringing from the gunshot. It had only been last night that she'd seen him, but after everything that had happened, it felt like it'd been a year. Her body felt heavy from both the exhaustion of being so scared and the intense relief and safety she felt in this moment. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure where to start.

"Kiko." Seeing her in somewhat of a daze, her father rushed over and knelt in front of her, gripping her shoulders. Though he was wearing gloves, his palms were warm from the explosions he'd just made. His expression was still serious, though his eyes were softer as he quickly looked her over for injuries. "Hey, squirt, you alright?"

Hearing her nickname managed to switch her mind back on and allowed her to fully comprehend his presence in front of her. Before she knew it, her vision was blocked by a waterfall of tears. All of the stress of the past day or so finally broke her down to the core, and she tackled him with a death-grip hug before crashing into sobs. His arms immediately wrapped around her, squeezing her tightly and pulling her close. For whatever reason, the two of them hadn't really hugged as much since she became a teenager. Maybe it was because he wasn't much of a hugger to begin with, his husband being the one and only exception. Maybe it was because they expressed their affection in different ways that they felt they didn't really need to. Regardless, in this moment of intense relief, after so much worry, it felt as if neither ever wanted to let go.

"I'm sorry, Papa," she cried into his shoulder. I'm sorry for everything I said. I'm sorry for being an ungrateful brat. I'm sorry I didn't call you sooner. I'm sorry I ended up being a hostage. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry…"

"Idiot...what are you apologizing for?" He brought up one of his hands to the back of her head, cradling it against him like he did when she was little. His deep, rutted voice was as stoic as ever, but the way he squeezed her a bit tighter told her enough. Her throat was so choked up that she couldn't bring herself to answer his question, so they continued to embrace in silence.

Kiko adjusted her face, sitting her chin on his shoulder and finally opening her wet eyes. However, as soon as she did, they widened to the width of dinner plates when she saw what was behind them. Zombie was beginning to get up, which wouldn't have been concerning in of itself, seeing as her father had hit him pretty hard, but even lying down, she could tell he had tripled in every size imaginable in the span of a little over a minute. Her whole body went rigid. "Papa."

The hero whipped his head around, and seeing the bigger villain now almost standing, shot to his feet, putting himself between his daughter and the giant. Throwing on another confident smirk, he challenged, "What? You want an actual fight?"

His smirk quickly dropped, however, when he not only saw the other man's true size, but also that his face was completely blank. As he stood up and faced the pair, the irises and pupils of his eyes were barely visible, having clouded over, and his stare seemed to go right past them and into the distance. Narrowing his eyes in confusion and analysis, Kiko's father muttered, "What the hell?"

Wait a minute. Papa knocked him out pretty hard, but he seems completely fine now. Except something's up. He..he doesn't quite seem all there. Zombie...Zombie…

"Papa, when we were downstairs, this guy called himself Zombie," she informed him, her body beginning to shake again. "I think that might also be his quirk. If he gets knocked unconscious -"

Suddenly, much faster than he seemed to be earlier, the villain swung a right hook, his fist now big enough to easily hit the two of them. Thankfully, her papa was pretty fast too, grabbing

Kiko and diving them both off to the side and out of the way. After taking a split second to make sure his daughter was alright, Ground Zero quickly turned back to his opponent, finishing her sentence.

"He comes back way stronger."

I only realized after finishing this chapter that Zombie's appearance gives off heavy King Pin vibes. Consider it my homage, I guess.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review to tell me what you think! Also, if you haven't already, be sure to favorite and/or follow this story and/or me, and check out my other works too!

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