Disclaimer: I don't own Tiger & Bunny in any way, shape, or form. I just like to play with the characters.

Summary: Kotetsu forgot that being a Hero requires nerves of steel. [Future Fic]

Everyone was there, crowding into Kotetsu's house with the TV turned all of the way up and every spare seat taken, even the floor space near the couch. Barnaby stood in the doorway for a few seconds, holding three bowls and wondering how he'd gotten lucky enough to find these strange people that he called friend... and that called him that in return.

"Popcorn!" Pao-Lin grabbed the blue bowl that was balancing between the other two, her new pixie cut brushing against strong shoulders. "Thanks Barnaby!"

"Still hungry after everything we ordered?"

She grinned.

"Of course. And I'll share with Ivan too, I promise."

A quick look at the couch showed the man sitting crosslegged in the corner, the soles of his feet pressed against Antonio's back.

"Aren't you two supposed to be out there? Three," he amended quickly as he saw their third partner-in-crime approaching.

"We wanted to watch without any distractions," said Karina, sniffing deeply. "And none of us need the points at the moment. Ooh, is that caramel?" She reached out to grab it, pouting as Barnaby pulled it back and Pao-Lin wandering off with her salted bowl, hunched over it as if she was warding it from Karina.

"You said you were on a diet," Barnaby reminded her.

"You're mean."

"If she's on a diet, then I'll take the caramel," said Nathan, sashasying over to pick up the bowl.

"What?!" Karina looked as if she wanted to cry. "But... but you're always on a diet, give it back!"

"Guys, shup up!" shouted Kotetsu, clutching a pink pillow in his lap. Barnaby blinked. Correction: not a pillow, but the faded pink birthday rabbit he'd gotten years ago, back when he'd first joined Hero TV. "I can't hear anything!"

"It hasn't started yet old man," grumbled Antonio, pressing back against Ivan's feet and grunting happily at the forced massage. "Relax."

"... and now, the moment you've all been waiting for...our newest hero for this season is... KopyKat!"

Cheers sounded around the room as the woman's information showed up on the screen, with a giant question mark in the section for NEXT power.

"Kotestu," Keith called out as the name flashed up on the screen. "What's wrong with Kaede's spelling? She knows that both of those words use a 'C' right?"

"Keith, it's fine," said Karina, rolling her eyes. "I mean, when it comes down to it, what exactly does Origami Cyclone mean? Lots of paper cuts?"

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying that Hero names don't have to make sense," Karina shrugged. "If they did, I'd probably have ice in my name, and Pao-Lin would have electricity in hers."

"Chinese dragons rule the weather, which includes lightning," Pao-Lin pointed out. "So I already do. And if you want to pick on names, why not the Hero named after a wild animal with no animal-based powers?"

"Guyyyyyssss," whined Kotetsu, fidgiting again. "And I told you, my name is based off of the kanij for my name."

"Sorry!"

"Sorry."

One of those sounded pretty fake, but Barnaby made his way over to his partner without calling the woman out.

"You okay?" he asked, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"My little girl," sniffed the older man, "is a Hero! Just like her old man."

Barnaby saw Antonio and Nathan exchange amused and fond glances, then move a little bit closer to where Kotetsu was sitting.

"and here's tonight's first crime! We have a hostage situation at the train station, with ten hostages and five assailents. Let's go now to the scene of the crime-and first on the scene is KopyKat!"

"Yes!" shouted Kotestu, pumping a fist in the air as her name popped up with the attributed points. "Go Kaede!"

"Hmmm, I wonder who the criminals are?" mused Nathan, tapping their cheek with a bright pink nail. "NEXT? Or non?"

On screen, Kaede was inching closer, looking around her to see where exactly everyone was, teammates, hostages, and assailants.

"Does it matter when they have guns?" Antonio asked.

"...what?" whispered Kotetsu, his skin taking on a decidedly lighter color. "G-guns? Where?"

"Yeah, right over there to the left. See the barrel sticking out of the lower part of the window?" A thick finger pointed at the screen, over to the left.

Kotetsu stood up, the bunny clenched in his fist.

"Um, I need to go. Now. I'll be-"

"Sitting right next to me," said Nathan, snagging the older Japanese man and pulling him back to the ground in a hug. "This is Kaede's first day, you don't want to ruin it, do you?"

"She'll be perfectly fine," said Keith, giving a thumbs up. "And again, perfectly fine."

There was a crash from the TV and Karina laughed.

"I hate to say it," chuckled Ivan, "but after working with you for so many years, I can tell that she's definitely your daughter."

Barnaby watched as Kotetsu's head slowly inched to face the TV again. Kaede must have stolen a strength-based NEXT power since she was currently standing in in the middle of the gun fight, the focus of several blasting assailants, and protected by a slab of concrete that she was holding before herself. Which came from a nearby wall.

"Ka-e-de," he croaked, going a bit paler.

"Try not to faint old man," said Barnaby, trying to provoke a different response out of Kotetsu. It didn't work, the dreaded nickname forgotten. His grip on the bunny rabbit was also tighter, if the white knuckles were anything to go by.

"You really didn't think about this, did you?" asked Pao-Lin, munching on a handful of popcorn. "Did you forget about all the close calls we've had? Min Jian? Shelby? Maria, or even Jake?"

"No..." His voice could barely be heard above the TV.

Antonio slapped Kotetsu on the back.

"Your brain just didn't connect those facts, did it?" There was another crash as KopyKat powered through shooters, knocking them to the ground. "It's cute. She's got your sense of self-preservation."

Barnaby grinned, but leaned forward to lay a hand on Kotetsu's shoulder as the man twitched.

"I... I don't have-"

"We know," the room said in chorus. They cheered as Kaede brushed by one of the men and copied his power. It gave her rubbery skin, which she used to sling the bullets back, after they hit her.

"I can't... I can't watch this," choked Kotetsu, leaning forward and keening as if pained.

"Which is why we're all here buddy," said Antonio, raising a bottle of beer. "To make sure you do watch it, and don't do something stupid, like try to save her on live TV, 'cause even if Kaede died of embarrassment, Agnes would kill you."

"We wanted to make sure that Kaede-chan's dear father was cheering her on," cooed Nathan, finishing off the caramel popcorn nearby and grabbing a soft taco. "And not hiding from his fierce, powerful daughter."

"Is anyone recording this?" asked Barnaby, smirking at his partner. "We've had one first, and he's probably going to faint, which'll be another."

"What was the first one?" asked Ivan, nibbling on a pretzel that Pao-Lin had passed him.

"Him actually admitting that he has no sense of self-preservation. Something that I've been trying to get him to say since we teamed up."

"I gave up that long ago," rumbled Antonio. "He hadn't figured it out in high school, and after all those years of heroing, I figured it was useless, like an appendix."

Kotetsu emitted a strange squeaking sound, which drew everybody back to the TV. Kaede had apparently borrowed another power and was zipping around at a super speed, tying up all of the bad guys.

"What are you mak-" Karina stopped in mid-question as Kaede slipped on something and careened into a nearby wall. "You knew that was going to happen?"

"She's graceful on the ice," said Barnaby, shaking his head regretfully. "Incredibly graceful. But she's also had, how many Kotetsu? Ten or twelve broken bones?"

"Thirteen," came the answer through gritted teeth.

"She's pretty clumsy off of the ice," finished the blonde, shaking his head.

"Duly noted," said Ivan, patting Kotetsu on the back. "We'll keep an eye on her."

On screen, one of the Heros approached her, a young man with long green hair, and touched her shoulder, the result being Kaede turning blue with yet another power.

"Oh, wow..." breathed Pao-Lin, eyes sparkling. "She's healing herself!"

"What a great idea!" Keith laughed in delight. "And again, a great ides! A healer on the team would be incredibly useful, for Heroes and civilians alike!"

"We could've used that in a lot of situations," grumbled Barnaby, touching Kotetsu on the neck, where three thick scars lay beneath his vest.

"See? She's already up," Ivan pointed out. Kotetsu grunted, but it was true. Kaede had gotten up and walked over to where one of the hostages was tied up. "You don't need to worry so much. And look!"

"KopyKat gets points for being the first on the scene, capturing the assailants, and even rescue points for healing one of the hostages - wow! Her first day on the job and she's already netted 1,125 points! Let's hear it for today's Heros, and the stunningly charming KopyKat!

Kaede flashed two peace signs at the TV, her dark yellow cowl cheerfully outlined in a light blue.

Kotetsu turned the TV off, his face a little greenish.

"Some ginger ale might help calm your stomach," suggested Nathan.

"... is that what you all..." Kotetsu's voice was cracking, shattering into tiny pieces. "Is this how you all felt for me?"

"Frigthened beyond all belief that I was going to have to tell Muramasa that you'd killed yourself doing something stupid?!" snorted Antonio, looking at his empty beer. "Every. Fucking. Time."

"You did make us worry a lot Kotetsu." Ivan turned to face the older man, purple eyes fixated on him.

"I understood that you simply wanted to help others," said Keith, ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck, "however... yes. And many times yes."

"You wear your heart on your sleeve," said Nathan, "and while it's a large heart, it also has a tendency to get into trouble."

Barnaby noticed Pao-Lin and Karina give each other a look, but they didn't say anything. Kotetsu, on the other hand, was slumping further and further down on the floor, which was an accomplishment.

"However," said Barnaby, pitching his voice to carry over the crowd, "we wouldn't change you at all."

And that started a heart-felt pouring of agreement from everybody, at least until a cell-phone went off.

Everyone grew quiet.

"Kotetsu? Isn't that your ringtone?" asked Ivan, listening to the strains of Eye of the Tiger in the air.

"I've got it," said Barnaby, answering the phone and hitting the speaker button so that everyone could see and talk to each other.

"So!? Did you see?"

"Over a thousand points is a great start!" praised Keith. "And again, a great start! Continue doing such wonderful work and you'll be Queen of Heroes in no time!"

"We've got to figure out a way for you to keep those powers," added Karina. "Even after you touch another NEXT. The healing one would be especially useful."

"Great job Kaede!" cheered Antonio, twisting the top off another beer bottle.

"You did a great job," added Ivan, taking advantage of everyone moving around to grab a another pretzel. "Welcome to the team!"

"You're going to be a great Hero, Kaede-chan," squealed Nathan. "Just like your father "

"Barnaby..." the woman's voice grew quiet. Suspicious. "Where's dad? I don't hear him."

"Kaede," gasped Kotetsu, tears streaming down his face. Barnaby inched the phone in his direction. "I'm... I'm extremely proud of you."

"You watched me?!" Everyone could hear the surprise in the woman's voice.

"We made sure that he watched you," added Barnaby, patting the older man on the back.

"Thanks Dad." Kaede sniffed, her own eyes welling up over the call.

Letter from the Soup - E for Extreme

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(Also, bonus points if someone can figure out Kaede's costume)