Keigo stands in front of the President's desk. She holds an envelope of documents as she sternly stares down at an identification card.
"Here it is," the President slides the ID card into the beige envelope. "All of Akira's pro hero documents are in here, along with a cell phone," she hands Keigo the envelope.
"Great!" Keigo takes it. "I'm honestly surprised I managed to convince you to go through with this. Seems you're starting to trust Akira."
"I only did it because I trust you. I don't trust her," she firmly states.
"Gotcha…" Keigo brushes off her comment.
Keigo holds the envelope in his hand as he thinks for a moment.
"I still don't get why you don't trust Akira," Keigo says.
"It doesn't involve you," the President returns to her laptop.
"There's gotta be a reason why…After all Akira has done for the Commission…"
"Go before I change my mind," she's irritated. "You're dismissed."
"Alright, alright…" Keigo turns and heads out.
Keigo closes the office door and heads down the hall. As he turns the corner, he spots me leaning against the wall.
"So? What's the news?" I have my arms acrossed.
"You got it," Keigo smiles.
"What?" I'm surprised. "Are you serious?"
"You're officially a pro hero," Keigo slides the ID card and holds it up.
I take it and stare at it in disbelief.
"I…can't believe she actually approved this…" I'm in awe.
"Don't I tell ya not to doubt me?" Keigo smugs.
I continue to stare down at the ID card with an unsure gaze.
"Hm?" Keigo is surprised. "Aren't you glad?"
"I'm not sure if I'll hold up well as a pro hero out in public…" I doubt myself.
"Come on, Akira…" Keigo puts a hand on my shoulder. "You got this."
I stare up at Keigo's encouraging gaze and smile a bit.
"Now let's go celebrate my birthday by patrolling the streets!" Keigo leads us away.
It's morning while Keigo and I are walking through the streets. I'm holding up my hero license as I stare at it in silence. Keigo's feathers are taking care of minor issues happening, such as helping an elderly woman cross the street and stopping a man who stole a lady's purse. Meanwhile, Keigo is nonchalantly walking beside me as he peers over at my hero license.
"Hero name: Nova," Keigo reads the ID. "That's got a nice ring to it!"
I read below my printed name: Affiliation: Hero Public Safety Commission.
"Seems like I'll never get away from the Commission…" I say.
"You don't know that," Keigo says. "Think of this as your first step to healing."
"First step to healing?"
"You're not just serving the Commission anymore… You're out here doing public hero work. You'll gain the recognition you deserve instead of being in the shadows. The people need heroes who inspire hope for the future."
"In case you forgot, I'm a living weapon of mass destruction."
"Now that you're a public hero, it's your chance to change that."
I stare at Keigo as I reflect on his words.
"If only the President trusted me like you do…" I say.
"I'm still tryin to figure out why she doesn't trust you…" Keigo wonders aloud. "After all you've done for the Commission, you'd think she woulda given you more freedom a long time ago."
"It's a miracle she even let me get this far… I know she did it because she trusts you…She's never trusted me…"
"Akira..."
Keigo is interrupted by screams nearby. Blocks of concrete hit the street along with other debris, crashing on parked cars. Keigo and I gaze up and see that a crane is malfunctioning and is hitting the side of a building. It's tearing through a wall of glass windows.
"Let's move!" Keigo flies up.
"Got it!" I follow after him.
Keigo uses his feathers to carry people away from the falling debris. I fly my way up toward the crane, dodging falling debris and glass.
"Help!" the crane operator waves from inside the crane control cabin.
I fly over and look inside the cabin.
"What's going on?" I ask him.
"The crane! It just started malfunctioning!" the man is in panic. "I can't get it to stop!"
"Come on!" I hold my hand out to him.
The man cowers and seems unsure as he gazes down before taking my hand. I firmly grasp his hand and arm and fly him over to a safe ledge of a nearby building.
"Thank you! Thank you!" The man cries.
"How do I cut the power to the crane?" I ask.
"It's powered by a cable reel," the man points.
I gaze at the direction he's pointing at and see the thick cables that connect to the crane
"If you cut the cable reels, the crane will shut down," the man explains. "But those are some thick steel cables! You're gonna need a good amount of power to cut through!"
I fly over toward the crane and barely dodge its swinging metal arm.
"Akira, what's goin on up there?" Keigo's voice says through the earpiece.
"I'm cutting the power to the crane," I reply.
"Great! You do that while I remove civilians from the vicinity!"
"Copy that!"
I fly over to where the crane is hooked up to power just behind the operating cab. After charging my fist with energy, I shoot a beam and cut right through the cable reels. The crane shakes for a moment before coming to a groaning halt. Building debris stops falling down to the street below, and it's now quiet.
"You did it!" the crane operator shouts from the ledge some yards away. "You did it!"
As I'm still in midair, I glance back at him and then hear an uproar of cheering. People are shouting happily from the streets and from the damaged building. My eyes gaze around in awe at the feeling.
"See how that feels?" Keigo speaks into the earpiece. "You're a pro hero now. Get used to it."
I'm still in awe at the cheering of people as my eyes get a bit watery.
After our big save in the city this morning, Keigo and I are out for a late evening walk at the end of our patrol. I glance around the large screens on buildings and all the billboards. There are some ads with pro heroes modeling some clothes and other products. There's a slim screen that showcases images of the Top 10 heroes. I also spot a billboard with Keigo on it. I'm in wonder at how glorified pro heroes are in society.
"Are all heroes this glorified?" I gaze up at a bright screen of ads.
"There's more emphasis on the top 10," Keigo responds.
"You're close to the top 10, aren't you?"
"I'm moving up pretty fast in the ranks…To be honest, I'd rather stay in the lower ranks…somewhere in the 20s. There's more freedom there."
"Freedom, huh?" I wonder.
"Hawks!" a young boy greets.
"Hey there!" Keigo greets.
"Can you sign my notebook!"
"Sure! What's your name?"
"Kyo! You saved my dad from falling debris earlier today!"
"Is that so?"
"Thanks so much for keeping him safe!"
"My pleasure, buddy!"
"Hawks! Can I please get a selfie?" a young lady asks.
"Sure!"
Keigo holds two fingers up in a pose for peace as he smiles at the camera.
"Thanks!" the young lady hurries away.
"That's a lot of attention…" I'm a bit nervous.
"You get used to it," Keigo reassures. "I know your social skills aren't well developed, but you'll get the hang of it as time goes on."
"My social skills aren't developed?" I raise a brow.
"You don't catch on to normal social cues."
"Hm?"
"Exactly," Keigo chuckles a bit. "You'll learn as you go."
"Excuse me," a young voice catches my attention.
I stop and turn to see a little girl timidly approach with a notebook. At first, I think she's got her attention on Keigo, but then I see that her brown eyes are staring up at me.
"Can you…please sign my notebook?" the girl shyly hold a pen up.
"Um…sure," I reach for her pen.
I glance over at Keigo for help.
"Ask her for her name," he whispers.
"Oh…What's your name?" I ask as I hold the pen.
"Tohru," she timidly replies.
"Well, here you go, Tohru," I hand her back the notebook.
"Nova…" she's in awe at my signature.
She does a little hop in joy as she hugs the notebook.
"Do you want Hawks to sign it too?" I ask her.
"He's great, but…" Tohru shyly smiles up at me. "You're the one who saved my papa from inside the crane."
My brows rise at hearing this. Tohru continues to smile up at me. I can see the hope in her eyes - the hope Keigo was talking about.
"Thank you so much," a woman approaches. "You saved my husband. He was the crane operator from this morning."
"I told her, mama!" Tohru jumps in joy. "And she signed my notebook!" she holds it up.
"Nova…" the mother reads. "So that's your hero name?"
"Uh, yeah…" I nod.
"Thank you so much, Nova…" the mother bows her head. "You kept my family together."
I stare at her in awe, silent and unsure of how to respond to this.
"Sorry, it's been a long day for Nova," Keigo interjects. "It's her first day out in hero work."
"Oh, then we'll leave you to get some rest!" the mother excuses herself.
"Bye, Nova!" Tohru waves.
I wave back with a blank stare as they turn and leave.
"You've got a beautiful smile," Keigo says. "Use it more often."
"Easy for you to say," I reply. "You're the one on billboards."
"Hey, what can I say? I'm movin up fast in the ranks of pro heroes," Keigo shrugs.
"Bringing people at ease comes easy for you, huh."
"Nah, don't flatter me!" Keigo rubs the back of his neck.
I gaze down in thought, still reflecting on Tohru and her mother.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Keigo peers at me.
"It's just new to me…" I say. "Instead of people running to me, they usually run away."
"Why do you think I try so hard to make sure I'm the one running to you?"
I gaze up at Keigo as he smiles warmly at me.
"Hey…" I hold my hand up over his head. "I forgot how much taller you've gotten."
"Seems five-foot-eight is as tall as I'll get," Keigo chuckles.
"You're at least a couple of inches taller than me, now. Though I'm still older than you."
"By just two days!" Keigo laughs.
"Still older," I walk away.
Keigo walks after me as he chuckles.
I gaze around Keigo's apartment in awe at the open layout while sitting at the kitchen island. The ceilings are high and there are no walls separating the spaces other than furniture. The only space separated is a closed off bedroom. Keigo is cooking in the kitchen.
"These are some tall ceilings," I gaze up.
"This kind of apartment is called a loft," Keigo says. "I love the open layout. The wide open balcony allows for easy flight in and out."
"And you've got a nice view of the city from here," I peer out of the wall of glass windows.
"When you're a high ranked pro, you can afford the top floor of a high rise apartment building."
Keigo sets a long tray of kushiage on his kitchen island. The fried meat steams as another tray of dango sits next to it.
"Eat it while it's fresh!" Keigo smiles.
"Mm! Keigo, these are delicious!" I munch.
"I'm glad you like'em!" He stuffs some in his mouth.
"Since when do you know how to cook?"
"I learn during my freetime…something all pro heroes should have."
"Hm?"
"I've got a dream I wanna accomplish," he chews.
"And what's that?"
"I just wanna enjoy myself. Seriously. Do some leisurely patrolling, put in a few appearances, say 'Aw shucks, no trouble today,' and get a good night's sleep! That's my ideal life! I wanna make this world one where heroes have time to kill."
I stare at Keigo admiringly.
"And now that you're a pro hero…" Keigo continues. "I've got you to help me make it happen!"
"Me?" I'm surprised.
"Who else?"
"You really think I'm the pro hero-type?"
"Of course! Sure you can be socially awkward, but that's something you'll work on!"
"Socially awkward?" I furrow my brows.
"You don't see it, do you?" Keigo tilts his head with a smile.
"See what?" I look at myself.
"Despite your agent skills, you don't see how socially awkward you actually are?"
"I'm putting up a facade while on missions, following orders… I guess I'm not sure how I really am socially…or who I really am…" I stare down at my open hands.
Keigo's smile fades a bit upon hearing that.
"I've gotten better at hugs, remember?" I bring up.
"In your defense, they have gotten better, yes," Keigo nods. "You do have one solid poker face though."
"Huh?" I keep a blank face.
Keigo chuckles, which I'm still confused about why.
"It's adorable, actually," Keigo mutters.
"Hm?" I'm confused.
"Hm?" he echoes.
Ignoring him, I reach for a dango and take a bite of the sweet colored treats. The rice dough is so moist and the right amount of sweet. My eyes tear up as I smile with a slight blush.
"You can't seem to hide your taste for sweets, though," Keigo continues to tease.
"These are so good…" I continue to savor.
"Hey! I've got an idea!" Keigo snaps his finger. "Since your birthday and mine are two days apart, let's celebrate on the day in between! On the 27th of December! Now that you're out in the city more often, we get to celebrate appropriately."
"Really?" My eyes light up.
"Definitely! It'll be our tradition!" Keigo nods. "That way I can make you all the dango you want!"
I giggle happily as I munch on another piece of dango. We continue to eat the freshly cooked food.
"On a serious note," Keigo says. "I'm proud of you, Akira. You're doing great as a pro hero."
"Really? After just my first day?" I raise a brow.
"You've always been a hero."
"Sometimes, I doubt that…" I look down. "After all I've done under the Commission…I'm not so sure…"
"Remember little Tohru? Her mother? The man you saved who was their husband and father? That's what you are, Akira…People will learn to love you for who you are - a loving person at heart."
I stare at Keigo for a moment.
"Maybe you're right…" I say. "This is my chance to make up for all the lives I've taken…by saving as many as I can."
"See? You're startin to get it," Keigo nods with a smile.
Just then, my cell phone rings in my pocket. I see it's the Commission.
"Yeah…" I answer.
"It's getting late," the officer says. "Past your agreed time to be back at the facility."
"Give her a break, will ya?" Keigo takes the phone. "She got done saving people on her first day at public hero work. Besides, she's with me. I'll bring her back soon."
"Ensure that you do, Hawks," the officer firmly states.
"Sheesh," Keigo hangs up.
"You really say what's on your mind," I giggle.
"I just adore the truth - lying is too much work," Keigo gazes down in thought. "Hiding your feelings is much harder to do…"
Keigo meets my gaze as he's in thought.
"They're so delicious…" I tear up happily at eating the dango.
Keigo chuckles as he shakes his head.