Keigo enters the President's office early in the afternoon. The President sees Keigo and hangs up her phone.
"You wanted to see me?" Keigo stands some feet away from the desk.
"Yes, I wanted to go over Akira's progress the last six months," the President says.
"Good news, I hope."
"Where is she now?"
"I left her with some of my sidekicks. She'll be fine."
The President types away at her computer for a moment.
"I'm impressed at how much she's improved," she studies the computer screen. "Her PTSD episodes have gone down, even without medication. She seems to be able to control her quirk much better now based on the data from her training here at the facility."
"Better psychological health yields better quirk control. Gee, who woulda thought!" Keigo snarks.
"Don't get sarcastic with me," the President frowns.
Keigo gestures to zip his mouth closed.
"Although I hate to admit it," the President sighs. "Your work with Akira has proven results. Even the city people recognize her for her hero work now."
"So you'll grant her more freedom," Keigo unzips his mouth.
"Not just yet. You do realize the risk Akira is in, don't you?"
Keigo stares at the President in thought.
"Her quirk is powerful," the President continues. "It's worth seeking after. If Akira were to go out on her own, she'll be left vulnerable, exposed to enemies. Why do you think I won't allow her in the hero ranks? At least here at the facility, she's heavily guarded. She's made a lot of enemies the last couple of years alone."
"Under your orders," Keigo retorts.
"She's an asset to the Commission. Of course we're going to use her for the gain of the public."
"At the expense of her wellbeing."
"And you think she'd be better off in the hands of enemies?"
Keigo furrows his brows.
"As long as I'm around," Keigo states. "Akira is safe."
"You've made it to the top 10 heroes, haven't you?" the President questions. "And you've got your own agency to run, along with the missions you have to complete under the Commission… You don't have much time to spare to babysit Akira."
"I'll make time."
"Even so…it doesn't change the fact that she poses a risk to everyone, even herself."
Keigo remains silent.
"Akira will remain under the Commission," the President says. "Because of her progress, I'll allow her to stay as a member of your agency. She's able to come and go from the facility as she pleases, so long as she follows the curfew. I trust that you'll ensure this continues. Am I understood?"
Keigo only nods.
"Good," the President returns to her computer. "You're dismissed."
Keigo turns and exits the office.
The streets are bustling with the warmer weather now that it's June. I'm walking alongside some sidekicks as we're on patrol this late afternoon.
"It's been an easy going day so far!" Hiroshi exclaims.
"The past week has been easy," Minoru adds. "With Nova and Hawks in the city, crime stays at an all time low!"
"Yeah! You and Hawks are the perfect duo!" Hiroshi tells me. "Your power combined with Hawks' speed - your teamwork is immaculate and famous in the city!"
"Ah, I guess so…" I scratch my arm.
"Seriously! You two are unstoppable," Minoru compliments.
"Thanks. You guys are great too," I give a small smile.
"Let's head back to the agency to fill out some paperwork."
We nod and head toward the agency. Once we arrive at the office, we settle down on the sofas in front of the mounted television. The rest of the sidekicks are there too, a total of five of us.
"Another chill day, huh?" Yamato asks.
"Yup! Might end up closing the agency early again!" Minoru replies.
"Say, let's hit up the movie theater after our shift," Hiroshi proposes.
"The movies, huh?" Keigo's voice grabs our attention.
We turn and see Keigo slide the balcony door closed.
"Hey!" Yamato greets him. "It'd be a great way to celebrate you reaching the top 10 hero ranks!"
"A movie sounds fun," Keigo nods as he approaches.
"Yeah!" the sidekicks cheer.
"You up for it?" Keigo peers down at me.
I give Keigo a nod and he smiles down at me.
Everyone has changed out of their hero outfits into their civilian clothes. I'm wearing my usual light blue jeans and black long sleeve shirt. Keigo is wearing his usual black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath and a pair of gray jeans. The group heads inside the theater.
"I'll get us our tickets," Yamato heads to the register. "Go ahead and get some snacks!"
I follow the group to the snack bar. My eyes scan the menu as I wonder what I'll get.
"Wanna share a bucket of popcorn?" Keigo offers.
"Sure," I reply.
Keigo and I walk up to the register.
"A large popcorn, please," Keigo orders. "And two large slushies."
"Coming right up!" the man at the register nods. "The slushies come in our promotional steel cups for the new action movie."
"Sounds cool!" Keigo smiles.
"Mh hm," I nod.
We receive our bucket of popcorn and steel cups for slushies. Keigo leads us to the slushie machine while I hold the bucket of popcorn.
"I'll fill them up for us," Keigo holds the cups. "Want your favorite?"
I give him an eager nod as Keigo fills one of the cups with red slushie. He then fills his own with the blue one.
"I got our tickets," Yamato approaches. "Let's head inside the theater. The movie started!"
The group follows Yamato into the theater as he shows us where our seats are in one of the front rows. Keigo sits to my left as I sit at the end. I glance around and see the theater is fairly full.
"We made it just in time for the previews," Keigo whispers to me.
I nod with a smile and begin to sip at my slushie.
"I can't seem to hide my feelings for you any longer…" the male protagonist says.
"What are you saying?" the woman is confused.
"In the case that we don't make it back to the base…"
"We will!" the woman insists.
"In the case that we don't…I just want you to know…"
The woman on screen stares up at her teammate as he gazes into her eyes.
"I love you…" the man finally says.
The woman stares up at her teammate in surprise, a blush across her face. I blink a few times as I stare up at the movie screen. My attention is taken away as I feel Keigo's hand brush across mine on the armrest to my left. His pinky finger is resting over mine as I see Keigo staring up at the movie. I figure I must be hogging the bucket of popcorn.
"Did you want more popcorn?" I whisper as I hold the bucket up to him.
"Oh, uh, sure…" Keigo whispers back.
Keigo takes the bucket of popcorn but doesn't eat any. My attention returns to the movie as the man and woman begin to kiss. I catch Keigo's gaze as he nervously smiles at me, a slight blush across his cheeks.
"Hm?" I blink at him. "Are you sick?"
"Maybe…" Keigo rubs his neck.
The man and woman on screen begin to take their clothes off as they continue to kiss. Keigo fidgets a bit in his seat again.
"I gotta go to the restroom," Keigo whispers and quickly excuses himself.
Keigo hands me the bucket of popcorn, and I watch as he scurries off.
"Maybe too much slushie…" I whisper to myself.
After the love scene, the movie suddenly cuts to a battle scene. The sudden tremble from the sound system as an explosion goes off makes me jump in my seat. Continuous clacks of gunfire cause me to shutter. My eyes go wide as scenes of a battlefield appear on the screen. I freeze up as the rumble from the explosions continue in sync with bullets. Memories of my own experience on the battlefield merge with scenes of the movie. My grasp on my steel slushie cup tightens as I stare up at the screen, my heartbeat picking up. The whirring of planes and the shouting of soldiers intensify the experience for me. A louder explosion causes me to jump again, the bucket of popcorn falling from my lap. My hand begins to heat up, causing the slushie to boil in the cup, but I'm too caught up in my flashbacks to break away. As I'm staring up wide eyed at the screen, Keigo suddenly appears in front of me.
"Hey," he whispers as he places his hand on my cheek. "Let's go."
Keigo takes my hand and quickly leads me out of the theater. I'm still dazed as I'm trying to break away from my flashback, but the crowd of people in the theater lobby doesn't help.
"It's alright, breathe," Keigo whispers as he holds me close.
Keigo takes the hot slushie cup from my hand and tosses it into a nearby garbage bin as he ushers me out of the lobby. We reach the busy evening street outside.
"I can still hear the bullets…" I wince.
"You're okay. You're with me," Keigo calmly says.
"Hey, it's Hawks and Nova!" someone notices.
"Are they on a date?" someone else says.
"Can I get a picture?"
My breathing quickens as I gaze around the crowd of people approaching us. Keigo sees I'm still not fully grounded yet.
"Sorry!" Keigo picks me up bridal style. "Nova's not feeling well. Gotta go!"
Keigo takes off in flight. I cling my arms around Keigo's neck as I lean my head against his chest, slowing my breathing.
"That's it…breathe…" Keigo softly says.
I listen to the sound of his heartbeat and match my breathing with it. Keigo flies us to the top of a building where he carefully sets me down on my feet.
"You okay now?" He holds me by my shoulders.
"Yeah…" I nod.
Keigo makes sure I can stand as I walk some feet away, taking in some fresh air. There's a moment of silence as I fully come back to my senses.
"I shoulda known better than to watch an action movie," Keigo says.
"It's okay… We didn't know what movie Yamato chose when he bought the tickets," I say.
I take in a final deep breath as I'm completely calm now.
"Better?" Keigo asks.
I give him a nod.
"I just feel bad for making a mess of the popcorn…" I look down.
"I'm sure it happens all the time," Keigo chuckles.
"And we left the guys there…"
"I'll send them a text saying you weren't feeling well," Keigo is typing away on his phone. "See? Nothing to worry about!"
Keigo slips his phone away after texting. I keep my gaze lowered in thought.
"Great job grounding yourself," Keigo puts a hand on my shoulder. "You've gotten better at it."
I give him a small smile and nod.
"I owe you another movie night," I say.
"Let's make sure it's a comedy next time," Keigo jokes.
Later that same night, Keigo is tossing in his bed, some of his feathers scattered around him. He suddenly wakes up, sensing something from one of his feathers. The clock on his night stand reads 2:34am.
"The balcony," Keigo whispers.
Keigo gets up and heads out of the bedroom, striding through the loft. Lightning flashes with thunder booming as rain pours down outside. He stops at spotting someone standing outside on his balcony.
"Akira," Keigo is surprised.
My back is facing him as I stand and gaze up into the sky. Keigo slides the balcony door open and approaches.
"Akira, are you okay?" Keigo peers at me.
Keigo doesn't receive an answer as I continue to stare up at the night sky. Despite the rain soaking me, Keigo is surprised to see me smiling as lightning flashes and thunder booms.
"I'm not afraid, Keigo…" I say.
My soaked clothes clings to my skin. My eyes blink as the rain hits my face while I gaze up at the flashing night sky. I spread my arms out and can't help but smile more.
"It's been so long since I last enjoyed the rain…" I say. "I'd forgotten how refreshing it feels."
My face lights up in glee as I turn to Keigo.
"I'm not afraid, Keigo!" I exclaim.
My eyes tear up as I'm overwhelmed with joy and relief that I just can't help but cry and laugh.
"I'm not afraid!" I pounce Keigo with a hug. "Thanks to you, I'm not afraid!"
I spin with Keigo a few times before I let go. Keigo can't help but smile as he watches me gleefully hop around in the pouring rain.