"Hey, Kaede," Kotetsu tucked his cell phone under his shoulder as he stirred his frying rice. "How was your day?"
"Pretty good," Kaede answered. "They picked the field day teams today. I'm on the blue team."
"Aw, field days were the best! I'll be cheering for you, sweetie!"
"It's in two weeks, so we're not doing anything exciting now," Kaede told him. "Right now we're doing spirit stuff. It's all dumb."
"Now, spirit isn't dumb…" Kotetsu corrected, before he curiously asked, "Wait, why do you think it's dumb?"
"The teachers won't let us do what we want," Kaede explained. "Three groups wanted to name their teams after heroes, but they said we couldn't. We're supposed to come up with something original."
"Aw, that's rough," Kotetsu frowned. He liked when kids got excited about heroes. Besides, just a few months ago, the blue-suited TopMag Wild Tiger had a shot—a long shot, but a shot!—at representing blue field day teams in grade schools everywhere! But he had to face it, his daughter's team probably wanted to be the Blue Roses. "Did you catch Hero TV today?"
"Yeah, with the stolen fire truck!" she exclaimed. "But Tiger and Barnaby stopped it!"
"Wasn't that so cool?" Kotetsu prompted. Maybe he could sneak a half-victory, if Kaede called Tiger and Barnaby cool, rather than just Barnaby. Worth a try…
"Tiger ruined the ending!" Kaede accused, and Kotetsu nearly dropped the phone. "After the arrest, Barnaby tried to give Tiger a hug, but Tiger totally shoved him!"
Yeah, that had happened, mostly… With the crime stopped, Barnaby looped his arm under Kotetsu's, rested his hand on his hip, and leaned in close. Surprised, Kotetsu ducked and ran to the transport van, hoping the cameras hadn't noticed, but of course they had. Barnaby no longer turned his back on Kotetsu so firmly, but he very deliberately paid no attention to Kotetsu whenever possible, and he only would have pulled that stunt when he knew the cameras were trained on them. Not to mention, Agnes had her eagle-sharp eyes peeled for any and all contact between the Scented partners, and made sure to feature it each episode.
"Ah, y-yeah," Kotestu stalled. What am I supposed to say to her about this? "I mean, they stopped the crime, right? So it's actually a good day…"
"Why is Tiger so mean to Barnaby? He should let Barnaby claim him!" Kaede complained. Kotetsu thanked his lucky stars this was not a video call, because he had no idea what his face looked like at that moment: some combination of horror, disgust, shock, and panic. "Barnaby's an Alpha, and a hero, and super-handsome, and good at everything. He can have anyone in the world, and he's picked Tiger. Can't Tiger see how special that is?"
"Kaede, that's… well…" Kotetsu cleared his throat twice before his vocal chords felt ready to speak. "You've got to consider Tiger's feelings, too…"
"He's old, and he's got a dumb beard, and he always messes up. He should be honored that an Alpha like Barnaby wants him."
Why is my daughter lecturing me about my relationship choices!? "But that's not the issue. It's not about honor. It's about pride," Kotetsu countered. "Tiger doesn't want anyone making decisions for him, whether it's the sponsors, or bosses, or an Alpha. Barnaby isn't letting m—uh, Tiger make his own choice."
The line was silent, and Kotetsu strained his ears to try and pick up some sound. Had the connection dropped? Did Kaede hang up on him? Had he made her mad again!?
"K-Kaede? Still there?" Kotetsu prompted.
"I just thought they'd be happier… if they were together," Kaede said quietly.
"I know, sweetie," Kotetsu said. "It's okay to want those you care about to be happy. But people aren't happy when you force them to do what you want, even if it's for their own good. Do you understand?"
"Yeah… I get it," Kaede said.
Kaede had a bit of homework, so she and Kotetsu said goodbye soon enough, but Kotetsu stood in the kitchen, staring at his phone, for a long time after. That had been so weird. Kaede's naïve insistence that Tiger and Barnaby should be together made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. All she knew about Scenting at this point was the rudimentary children's explanation: certain people were 'meant' to be together because of certain chemicals on their necks. She probably understood it as scientific love-at-first-sight. It'd be another few years before she got the full explanation and started to discover her own rule in the ridiculous puzzle, as an Alpha, Beta, or Omega. For the sake of grandkids, Kotetsu hoped her Scenting would be straight, but he knew he had as much control over his daughter's orientation and Scenting as Kaede did over his—which was no control at all.
And speaking of control, Kaede couldn't evne see the whole picture behind the scenes at Hero TV. All she saw were Barnaby's advances and Tiger's rejections, and those were more or less staged for TV at this point. She didn't know that Agnes planned to play up a sexual-tension subplot. She didn't know Nathan's theories on Barnaby's true feelings, several of which painted Barnaby in a not-so-romantic light. And she didn't know her father would be the one under Barnaby's Alpha thumb if Tiger got claimed. Kotetsu slid a hand down his face and tried to wipe the stress off. This got more complicated every time Kotetsu turned around, with no end in sight.
A very loud sizzling sound distracted Kotetsu from his thoughts, and the smell of burned rice jolted him back to reality. While Kotetsu and Kaede discussed Tiger's mating, Kotetsu's rice burned, and now he had a giant, blackened mess to scrape up and no dinner. Looked like tonight was a pizza night—and a night to give the deep-thought questions a break.
Strange as it sounded, Kotetsu was almost used to psychopaths. He never thought it would have happened, but they reared their deranged heads from time to time, and Kotetsu had to deal with them. Their appearances dragged his mood down for days, even if the stopped them before too much loss of life, and he muddled through by reminding himself, I saved who I could. And I'll save who I can tomorrow. Because he had no excuse for the ones he couldn't save, and the monsters who caused it all just made him feel worse. After ten years, the most effective strategy he could find for coping was just not feeling it, and not letting himself stop. It was the least he could do for those he failed to save.
Lunatic didn't really earn any special designation in and of himself. His 'idea of justice' was basically capital punishment, but if he carried it out as vigilante justice with no law on his side, it was murder, and murder is murder. And it's not like Kotetsu had never met a NEXT with terrifying powers before; Lunatic was just a little hotter than the others.
It had to be because of Barnaby. This was the rookie's first run-in with someone truly insane, and no matter how well-prepared you are, but Lunatic hit close to home on top of that. He killed the man in the mecha-tank with the tattoo on his neck that Barnaby was fixated on. And even then, Barnaby didn't have a 'standard' reaction to these horrors. Rather than shutting down with fear, he exploded with rage against the palm-faced murderer. With a single kill, Lunatic earned Barnaby's eternal, distilled hatred, and Kotetsu had a lot more thoughts to try and sort out.
Truthfully, it had never crossed his mind that Barnaby might be an orphan. He dreamed up some kind of frozen-formal home for Barnaby to grow up in, with Mother who never quite loved him and Father who never approved. That seemed like a sure-fire formula to raise an over-accomplished brat with a superiority complex. But based on the pictures from that old newspaper, quotes from friends, and the poetic obituary, nothing could have been further from the truth. Dr. Emily and Dr. Barnaby Sr probably would have given Barnaby all of the love and support in the world, if they had lived. It was sad for a little boy to lose such kind caregivers; it was downright tragic for that little boy to spend the next twenty years reliving their murders, obsessing over them, relentlessly hunting the killer, and feeling like he had no one to turn to.
Barnaby's problems extended way beyond being an Alpha. And Kotetsu should have known better than to assume they didn't, because he had problems beyond being an Omega. "Omega" didn't define his entire self—he didn't let it. And more than being an Alpha, Banraby had allowed himself to become defined by the snake and sword mark: Ouroboros.
After this truth came to light, Barnaby's rigidity toward Kotetsu toned down noticeably. He understood nothing could force his partner back out of his life now that Kotetsu and seen his secrets, but he kept Kotetsu outside the circle of trust that would give him the rest of the details. Kotetsu didn't have much time to think about that, especially in the days that followed.
In the aftermath of Lunatic, a shadow hung over Hero TV—for the dead, for the scared, and for those losing their faith in nonviolent heroes. The sponsors, in their everlasting wisdom of emotional manipulation, decided the best way to combat Lunatic was a publicity campaign. Kotetsu couldn't see how posing for pictures would raise the people's spirits more than arresting the bastard who lowered them, but Lunatic's capture had to be a long-term goal. In the meantime, let the people know the heroes weren't down and out. By… picking up litter. And visiting old people.
At least Kotetsu and Barnaby got the cool assignment: visiting Hero Academy. Kotetsu loved the idea of Hero Academy, a place where NEXTs with big dreams learned how to help people. Things got a little sour when Barnaby and Ivan kept moping about being there (Ivan with good reason, apparently) and Kotetsu realized that, once again, the only reason he went to the Academy at all was as Barnaby's add-on. Still, he pulled through, giving a bunch of sideshow NEXTs the best advice he could.
The day ended well, but with a high cost. Ivan's convicted friend picked that day to burst out of jail and take revenge, not to mention Lunatic made another appearance to try and kill him. Kotetsu and Barnaby fought him best they could, turning a whole parking lot and a few rooftops into their battleground, but landing a hit on that guy was nearly impossible. He ended up posed for the perfect strike, shooting a flaming bolt right at Barnaby—
Kotetsu just let his instincts go. He ran at full speed and took the bolt for Barnaby, burning pain enveloping his shoulder, but he fought through it, finally getting in a good punch as Lunatic punched back. Soon enough, Lunatic proved he didn't care who was and wasn't with Ouroboros, and Kotetsu knew this wasn't the right battle.
He grabbed Barnaby's hand. "I'm telling you, calm down."
And Barnaby listened.
Kotetsu hated ambulances, but in the same way he hated traffic on a Monday or realizing that he should have bought milk yesterday while staring into the fridge, craving cereal. He lay on his back and tried not to get motion-sick from the crazy driving or a migraine from the siren, as if Lunatic's wound didn't hurt enough. He kept drifting in and out of consciousness—not worrying, because he knew the signs of concussion and for once that wasn't the problem—and eventually he found himself in a hospital bed strung up with tubes. Deciding a bed was a place for real sleep, Kotetsu finally loosed his grip on wakeful thought and let himself sleep.
He woke up a few times through the night, with low light and a few far-off sounds of activity, but he never stayed awake long. Then he woke up breathing the scent of molasses and fresh rain and electricity instead of cold hospital disinfectant. Oh, this is a nice upgrade…
Kotetsu slowly opened his eyes and glanced around the room. His visitor's chair was occupied, by Barnaby, of course. That was his Scent turning the air into heaven. He sat absolutely motionless, staring at Kotetsu with a strange look in his eyes, and shadows underneath them.
"Wh—" Kotetsu's voice cracked, and he coughed the dryness out of his throat. "What are you doing here? It's late, go home."
"It's morning," Barnaby answered.
Kotetsu looked toward the little window on the wall and realized the brightness in the room was indeed due to the sun instead of florescent lighting. "Then, don't you have work?"
"I cleared my schedule."
"What did you do that for?" Kotetsu asked. He lifted his injured arm as far as the banadages would let him, suppressing a wince. "See? I'm fine! You don't have to sit with me, that's boring to you."
Barnaby did not take Kotetsu's very kind offer to let him get the hell out of there. He just kept sitting, completely still, staring either at Kotetsu's shoulder or his face.
"Bunny? Is something wrong?" he prompted.
Directing his question to Kotetsu's shoulder, Barnaby asked, "Why did you jump in front of me?"
"Huh? Did you want to get shot by palm-face?"
"That's not an answer. Tell me why you took the bolt."
"Because I had to protect you."
"But why?"
"You were in danger!"
"But that's not how it goes!" Barnaby finally switched his focus to Kotetsu's face. "I'm supposed to protect you! I'm an Alpha!"
It hurt to laugh, but Kotetsu managed a few chuckles anyway. Barnaby's eyes widened at his response, and his shock just made Kotetsu laugh harder. "That's what's bothering you?" Kotetsu giggled and shook his head. "You aren't a bad Alpha, if that's what you're worried about."
"That's not what I'm saying, I'm saying that I should have bene the one who—"
"Bunny," Kotetsu headed off another rant, holding his good hand placatingly. "That's not how the situation fell that time. Look at it this way: a hero protects people. That includes other heroes. Stuff like Alpha or Omega doesn't matter when there are lives on the line. I would have jumped in front of you if I was an Alpha and you were the Omega, or if we were both Alphas or both Omegas or whatever. It's just coincidence that an Omega defended an Alpha."
Barnaby didn't look away, but his jaw clenched. He didn't accept that kind of answer—but Kotetsu had nothing else to tell him. This was the truth.
Well, he had something else to say. "I didn't want you to get hurt."
The cold, judgmental edge in Barnaby's eyes finally faded. Even if he couldn't accept Kotetsu's actions, he at least understood.
"Okay? Don't let this bother you, Bunny."
"How can it not bother me?" Barnaby countered. "You rushed in and got hurt for my sake!"
"I don't have a problem with that! An Omega can defend an Alpha, that's okay!"
"My partner was injured defending me! Did it occur to you that I don't want you to get hurt, either?"
Now Kotetsu felt tongue-tied. Did Barnaby just leave Scenting out of this? He stared at the blonde for another minute, trying to process this revelation. For one, it poked giant holes in Nathan's theories. If Barnaby stopped thinking of Kotetsu in terms of his Scenting, then maybe…
"…I'm sorry," Kotetsu said. "I'll… try to be careful."
"Yes. Be careful," Barnaby said, a hint of his Alpha command-voice slipping in, but nowhere near enough to make his advice an order. They spent another minute just sitting there, looking at anywhere besides each others' faces. Kotetsu snuck glances every few seconds, and it might have just been the tipsy-sleepy pheromones in the air, but Barnaby's pout was a lot cuter than his scowl.
"Hey… there's something you can do for me while I'm healing," Kotestu brought up.
"What is it?"
"Protect the city," Kotetsu. "I'll heal faster knowing Sternbild is safe."
Barnaby scoffed. "How stupidly sentimental," he said. He finally stood up and turned away from the hospital bed. "You don't have to ask me to do my job properly."
Jerk, Kotetsu thought, but as he watched Barnaby walk away, he noticed a single scrap of red and white cloth in Barnaby's hands, with the ends burned and the words Let's visible. He was probably on his way to throw that out. Kotetsu lay back on his bed and breathed the last few tendrils of Barnaby's wonderful Scent before the air conditioning filtered it out, and nothing but the lonely, sterile hospital smell remained.