A/N:

This chapter might get a little... weird for some of you, but I'm just trying to keep it real here. Also, any trans readers following this might want to proceed with caution because it may or may not trigger some dysphoria. And lastly, I altered Kaede's age from the second chapter, for anyone who first started reading from an earlier point: she's 32 now, not 27. I did it to keep consistency with the actual age gap between Barnaby and Kaede.

But yeah, here ya go! Enjoy :P

-Reddie

Kaede awoke with a start to the jarring noise of her phone buzzing against a hard surface. With the loudest groan of frustration, she sat up and grabbed it to answer. Anya yowled, jumping out onto the floor as she rose.

"Hello?" She said, trying to hide the sleep that slurred her greeting ever so slightly.

"Hey, it's Barnaby. I'm in front of your flat, so come right on outside when you're ready to go to the hospital."

She grumbled, "I can drive myself."

"You can also save fuel if you accept my ride. Or did I come all the way from Sternbild for nothing?"

Her first thought was to say, "Yes, you did. Go home already and leave me alone if you're just going to stand there and keep defending someone who could've easily killed Dad."And she really meant that. She didn't want to have that sort of talk polluting her morale every step of the way. She wasn't about to give up on this, not when there were still so many questions left to be answered.

But she couldn't quite find the will to say it. Annoying as he was, she couldn't hate the intentions behind his staying at her side for the case. He was only looking out for her. It might've been a bit too late for him to be a parent to her, but Barnaby was family, and he was doing the best he could to support her. She'd long been forgiving her dad for making promises he couldn't keep, all because she knew he was trying his best. So how could she find the heart to push Barnaby away for caring?

"Fiiiiiiine," She whined, tugging off yesterday's clothes on her way back to her closet. "I'll be out in a moment."

Upon walking into the hospital lobby, Barnaby fidgeted, eyes flickering between his stepdaughter and the doctors passing by. Noticing his tense behavior, she couldn't help but glare from the corner of her eye at him. It wasn't as if she'd inherited his anxiety. She could hold a civil conversation with Dr. Page if she had to. Sure, she was angry, but she wasn't reckless. Recklessness would've been an awful trait to carry into her work, considering all the legal intricacies surrounding her duties. She wasn't stupid enough to land herself in jail over some petty, passing feelings. At least… she hoped these feelings would pass after today, after she could find out whether or not her dad was murdered.

Kaede took a deep breath, hoping really deep down inside that Barnaby was right when he said this was all a big informational mishap.

"Good afternoon," Kaede bowed to the man at the front desk. She held up the hospital's case file, "I am private investigator Kaede Kaburagi. I'm here for your hospital's case request to recover missing background information on nine of your doctors."

"Ah, Miss Kaburagi, thank you for taking on our case."

She gave a cheesy grin, putting a thumb up, "Not a problem. Now, to begin, I'd like to ask you how you came to realize the information had gone missing? What happened to the files?"

"Well, just last month, we began backing the archived digital files of our staff to hardcopy, and there were no problems moving that information over for employees who were still working here. But then we noticed there were elements missing on file for those who were no longer on staff. We've only had nine doctors quit, retire, or fired over the past few months recently, and some of them are missing more information than others. In the time since we sent you that case request, we managed to get on top of things for seven of those doctors, so you have your work cut out for you. In particular, we're having trouble recovering files for past work experience with Dr. Susan Hitch and Dr. Layla C. Page. We've tried calling, emailing, and sending letters even, but we've still been having trouble getting ahold of either of them. Dr. Hitch we know is retired, but we aren't certain of where Dr. Page is now."

"I see. Well, since that's the case, could you look them up on your computer? I'd like to see what information you currently do have on file for them."

"But of course. Give me a moment." After opening up a couple of tabs, he motioned for Kaede to come behind the front desk so she could see the screen for herself. Barnaby began to follow her, but then hesitated when Kaede gave him a look, reminding him of the legal intricacies surrounding the situation by mouthing the word "privacy". He backed off, somewhat guiltily, digging his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

Barnaby watched Kaede's unshifting expression as the front desk man's ramblings of pictures and credentials began to blur out into the background. And that was the moment he'd become aware of just how much she'd grown, how much she'd changed over the years.

She was nine when they first met, smiling and ever cheerful. That was the default image of her stuck to his head, only to be broken in this very moment by the stern and determined look fixed in her jaw and brows. When he made those promises to Kotetsu to take care of her, his mind was geared towards protecting a child who wasn't quite ready to face the world all by herself. But she was a capable adult now, and she'd shown him time after time over just these past few days that she could handle everything on her own. She didn't need him to help her with anything.

He wasn't needed by her, and that was the thought that scared him the most.

If he was nothing more than an accessory to her life, just helicoptering unnecessarily at her side… then what did he have left to live for? He looked back down at the time on his phone, numbers that indicated passing hours. He had so many hours left, years upon decades worth of them, and now… nothing to use them for, no one left to dedicate them to.

"Alright, thank you for your time, Miss Kaburagi. Please keep us updated on your findings."

"I most certainly will," She smiled tiredly, pleasant sincerity surfacing from beneath the formality. It filled Barnaby with guilt now, just standing there in front of a smile that showed just how dedicated she was to this job. It was clear to him now that she wasn't going to throw this all away over any hard feelings she held for a suspect. She had everything under control, and at this point, his presence was a signifier of his inability to trust her, a sign in her eyes that he only viewed her like a bomb ready to go off. He himself hated being perceived as such, so what right did he have to dehumanize her like that? He'd only ever been a passive participant in her childhood, and now he had the nerve to baby a grown woman like this?

What an awful person he was. Why didn't he just leave her alone already?

"Hey, Barnaby, let's go." Kaede motioned to him, as she stuffed some printouts into her case file folder, "We're done here for the day."

Aimlessly, he placed one foot in front of the other, sights cast to the ground.

"Kaede. I'm sorry," Barnaby hung his head, as they paused at the stoplight. He expected her to make that empty "mm" sound she usually did when she didn't have anything to respond with.

But instead, she went, "For what?"

"Sorry for bothering you today. I get I've been sticking around for a reason disrespectful to you, and I'm just…" he closed his eyes, then adding softly, "I want you to know that I trust you, and that I do think you're a responsible adult. So please don't feel a need to keep proving yourself throughout this case." Kaede couldn't believe her ears, as she stared ahead trying to process what Barnaby had just said to her. He sighed, "Anyhow, I won't be in your way anymore."

Suddenly, the thought of him leaving her alone for this case wasn't such a great relief anymore.

"Huh?" Kaede uttered, almost to an exaggerated degree, "Who the hell said you were in my way, Old Man? Didn't I ask for your help in this investigation in the first place anyhow?"

"But… I haven't been doing anything of much use, so I suppose it'd be best for me to just—"

"Just what? Leave before we really even get into this case? Fat chance!" She looked away from the window to him, only to watch his shoulders slump doubtfully. "Look, don't force yourself to stay by my side for this. I can take care of this case, you know. It's my job, so no need to worry about me. In fact, I don't want you by my side if you're just going to rag on me about Dr. Page. But!" Barnaby couldn't help but perk up a bit at that last exclaimed syllable, heart filling with some fraction of hope, "If you really do want to be of some help, then I'd really appreciate it if you continued, you know… saving me money on fuel like this."

"So… you want me to be your chauffeur for this investigation?"

"Well, when you put it that way, it sounds kind of mean…" Kaede mumbled, "But, it's not like I can afford to keep driving back and forth all the way between Century City and Sternbild. The drive from here to Oriental Town is already enough of a hassle."

"Wouldn't it just be easier for you to stay at my place for the duration of this investigation then?" Barnaby said, biting his tongue and wishing he could take back those words. Dammit, was that being too pushy again? She merely dismissed the idea.

"I can't, remember? This case has stuff going on in Century City too. Besides, I work best moving back and forth. The travel time gives me the space to think the case through. So, what do you say?"

He couldn't help but smile a little, "Alright then."

They'd arrived at the Century Center for Health, having the same discussion as before: how they first noticed there was information missing, what had likely happened to the files, and what they already had on file. All the information this hospital had on Dr. Page was nothing Kaede hadn't already seen on her public database files. Upon inquiring about Dr. Page's work hours, Kaede was given a printout. She accepted it with delight, welling up with eagerness as she drew that much closer to finding out the truth.

But then in an instant, she was only let down to find out that Dr. Page wouldn't be returning to work until the next week.

She was professional about the news of delay, even though this case was personal to her. Her shoulders sagged ever so slightly as she stepped out of the hospital, but Barnaby could see that she was holding it together alright. Her look of disappointment was almost too subtle for anyone else to notice. A knot turned in Barnaby's gut at this. If she could hide her emotions so well, how was he supposed to know if something was wrong with her? He exhaled, trying to remember his boundaries again. She was an adult, and she didn't need him to worry about her over something this small.

Suddenly, a look of panic crossed over her face as she drew in a gasp, giving Barnaby good reason to worry, especially when she moved a hand over her side.

Before he could even ask if she was alright, Kaede looked back at him, "Could you take me home right now please?"

He nodded, "Sure thing."

The whole way, he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong, but she clammed up completely about it, biting back any sound of pain the whole ride through. He was tempted to ask, but she simply waved a hand every time he looked back at her.

"I'm absolutely fine, don't worry," she finally said as they reached her flat.

From the front door, she ran to the bathroom, leaving Barnaby to sit there on the couch, stewing in concern. Anya mewed from the other side of the room, little white paws stepping out from the kitchen. She stood there, staring blankly at Barnaby, before drawing towards him. Barnaby accepted the cat's company, running a hand over her silky coat as he listened to the muffled sounds of a sink running and a faint hiss of "today of all days!" from Kaede.

"What's going on?" Barnaby muttered to himself, getting up. He called, "Kaede, you need any help?"

"It's fine, Barnaby! I can handle this myself!" She rejoined from the bathroom, sounding irritated. Minding himself, he managed to sit back down, only to find another issue of concern at hand…

"Um, Kaede?"

"Yes?" She groaned.

"Are you done yet?" He crossed his legs uncomfortably, "I might need to use the bathroom too."

She mumbled, not that he could hear, "You've got to be kidding me…" Kaede raised her voice, scrubbing the item she had under the sink harshly, "Give me a second and hold it, Old Man!"

"Alright…" he gave a shaky laugh. Thankfully, it wasn't long before she was finally out again, with her jacket off and a baggy pair of black sweats on. Considerately, he gave her a moment to get to an open space far away from him before he rushed towards the bathroom.

Only as he washed his hands did he notice vague blood stains in the wet cloth hanging in the shower. Barnaby could only blink when he realized what that meant.

"Oh."

Kaede worked away at her home office laptop for hours, searching through hospital webpages and public databases once again. She came across Dr. Page's landline number in a Century City phonebook and even attempted to call it, but, just as the person at Sternbild United said, there was no getting in touch with her.

Likely, the reason Dr. Page hadn't been picking up was because she didn't recognize the number. It was possible she'd taken Sternbild United off her list once she'd quit working for them, and that was probably why they couldn't get in touch with her. To add to that, Dr. Page was on vacation for the week, so there was no use calling an empty house at this time. There really wasn't a way to move forward in this case right now, at least on Dr. Page's account.

The investigator then shifted gears, focusing on finding Dr. Hitch. After digging through countless pictures of various women of the same name on a common social media site, she found a profile picture that matched the one in the printout from Sternbild United. An umber-skinned old woman dotted with moles graced the small square onscreen with a vibrant smile. Still, to be on the safe side, Kaede clicked on the about.

Age: 90

Birthday: April 4

Hometown: Sternbild, SB

Worked at: Sternbild United Hospital

Relationship status: Married to Bernice Hitch-Verano

Kaede smiled faintly. That was her alright.

At about that time, Barnaby closed his phone and tucked it away in his pocket before announcing himself as he left.

"I'm heading out for a few hours to go meet with Nathan. Do you need me to pick up anything for you on the way back?"

With the ridiculous cramp in her abdomen edging on at that instant, she was very tempted to say "tampons" just in case she'd run out (she would've checked the cabinet under the sink if she'd only had the time!), but instead she brushed his offer aside. She had a ton of pads for the time being. And she could buy some tampons herself when she found time, couldn't she? There was no need to bother him with that!

"No, I'm good."

"Alright then." He trailed away, sounding like he didn't believe her. She made nothing of it, continuing on with Dr. Hitch's profile, searching for a way to contact the retiree. And with a fleeting glance backward, Barnaby closed the front door behind him.

Barnaby blinked when he saw the person to answer his knock on the door.

"Pao-Lin? What are you doing here?" He stared back at her, finding it hard to believe the teenager he'd once worked with was now a middle-aged adult herself. She merely put a finger to her lips and motioned for him to come in. With a nod, he complied, Nathan waiting in a seat across the living room with a phone pressed to their shoulder. Ryan lay there, snoring loudly with his legs draped over one arm of the loveseat under him. Carefully, Pao-Lin closed the door behind them both.

"Alright, we're clear to talk now," She said at last. "Surprised to see you here, Barnaby."

"I could say the same thing to you, but I'm assuming you're here for the same reason I am. What did Nathan say?"

"Nothing yet. I'm waiting for them to get off the phone first."

"I see," Nathan nodded with a smile, voice hushed. "Fantastic. Okay then. Have a good evening. Thank you!" At last, the fire-lover stood up and clapped delightedly, springing up towards Barnaby and Pao-Lin to wrap them both in an embrace. "Oh my goodness, it is such a pleasure to see you two after so long! How have you both been? What have you been doing?"

"I've been great!" Pao-Lin chirped. "Been keeping myself busy with kung fu classes in the park every Sunday afternoon. Can't complain when my students love me, you know?" Nathan then turned eyes to Barnaby, who merely gave a half-smile as his reply.

"Come on, been up to anything fun lately, Handsome?"

What had Barnaby been doing to bide the time since Kotetsu died? It wasn't as if time stopped for him the sunny day of that funeral. Life went on. He bought a latte on the way home. He went window shopping. Instead of going back to Oriental Town, he went back to his old apartment in Sternbild (good thing he kept it as a vacation home instead of selling it). He did some cleaning, then sat down and took his treasured childhood toy apart, before putting it perfectly back together. He spent hours watching old videos on his computer, then fell asleep watching planes pass by outside his window at night. And for the rest of the year, he spent his time doing mundane everyday things like that. He couldn't work up the motivation to do much anything else, no volunteering to talk at schools or showing up to read stories at the orphanage (he still sent toys though). He just sat around at home, and then left for some fresh air when remembering brought on heartbreak. None of that quite fit the description of "anything fun", at least in his humble opinion.

"I've been decent. Nothing out of the ordinary," Barnaby shrugged, trying to play it off with a cool smile. It then occurred to him that he never told any of the former Heroes that Kotetsu had passed away last year, so before they could ask about him, he switched the subject, "So, what was it you wanted us to know about Hero TV?"

"Ah, yes. Well, you see, I was on the phone with one of my former sponsors, and it seems that a talk show would like to have all of us together for a group interview, a reunion if you will for one last time. They're curious as to what we've been up to since the show went off the air, and I've contacted close to everyone. Antonio, Karina, Keith, and that yummy hunk snoozing over there are all onboard with it, and we've been trying to work out a time that fits all our current schedules. I also got ahold of Agnes, and she's contacted the second league as well. I have no clue how to get in contact with Ivan, because it seems as though he's changed all his old contact information. And as for Kotetsu…" Nathan sent a vibrant smile Barnaby's way, "I'm sure his partner can pass along a message for little old me." Barnaby swallowed, uncertain of how to respond. Of all the Heroes, only he and Antonio had known about Kotetsu's passing. His heart dropped inside his chest like a stone at the thought of breaking the bad news to them. It was inevitable at this point… but in the very least, he wanted to buy a few more minutes of time, just to work up the nerve to say it.

"Oh! I've been in touch with Ivan," Pao-Lin replied giddily, "so I can give you his number if you want so you can find a time to talk about it. Or I could meet up with him and pass the message along."

"Either would be lovely, sweetheart! Whatever works with your schedule!" Nathan cooed, ruffling her hair. She didn't seem to mind it, and she took her moment to laugh like a kid again. For some reason, Kaede came to mind, and a pang of emptiness washed over Barnaby at that thought. "So! I take it you're both onboard?"

Pao-Lin chimed in, "You bet!"

"I can't," Barnaby uttered, causing them both to gasp and look at him concern. He explained, sensitive to the legal issue of confidentiality, "I'm… currently involved in other private business affairs for the time being, and it seems like they may take some time. So if at all possible, I'd like to put these plans on hold. But if the show must go on regardless, you can count me out. And… as for Kotetsu…" He looked down at his left hand, and then curled it into a fist, hiding the circular remnant of days long gone, "I'm sorry to say that… he couldn't attend this event even if he wanted to."

"What?" Nathan put a hand over their mouth, "Oh my, did something happen to him?"

"Yeah, he…" He choked up, barely managing to force the words out, "passed away a year ago… due to heart failure. I-I'm sorry, I didn't… tell either of you—any of you… about it…"

When he felt Nathan's arms around him, followed by Pao-Lin's arms, he then realized he was crying.

"Aw, honey," Nathan crooned, "I'm sorry we weren't there to support you during such a difficult time."

Pao-Lin added softly, "Yeah… if you ever need someone to talk to, we're here for you, alright?"

Barnaby couldn't help but feel embarrassed and ashamed, to fall apart like this when he needed to hold it together… for Kaede's sake, even though… she could take care of herself just fine. That thought only pushed his shame further. How could he still cling to that, the idea of being able to save someone who didn't need saving? Looking at the teardrops that had fallen—and continued to fall—against the lens of his glasses, he could only laugh on the inside for thinking himself capable of being her hero, let alone her parent, when he couldn't even maintain his composure in a situation like this. How could such a withered, fragile old man support anyone else when he himself needed others to hold him up first?

Yes… first and foremost, he needed support of his own.

He returned his friends' embrace.

The annoying thing about periods was that lying down just didn't feel right, no matter the position, whether lying on the side, the back, or belly. Usually, Kaede grumbled to herself over the fact because it made it hard for her to sleep, but tonight her head was so wired with zeal that she didn't even feel like lying still. Right on the glowing screen in front of her, there was a clear selfie of Dr. Susan Hitch, in front of her wife's bakery just a week ago. The caption was everything Kaede could've wanted and more.

"Celebrating our 55th anniversary at the Summertime Bakery! No one bakes a better cake than my sweetheart!"

Kaede knew that bakery. She passed it by many, many times on the way to Sternbild United when visiting her dad. Even better, thanks to curious potential customers online, there was contact information in the comments below! With that, she sent an email in advance to inform the pair of her visit. And by luck, Dr. Hitch happened to still be up in time to reply that she was looking forward to meeting her and sorting everything out. It gave Kaede an accomplished feeling, and she couldn't do anything except sit there and smile at the screen. Maybe she'd buy a few pastries from them too, given her menstrual cravings.

She checked the time, immediately getting up so that she could change out her pad. But then as she turned towards the bathroom, there was a knock at the door.

Kaede sighed, muttering to herself, "You have pretty bad timing, Old Man." She pivoted back and rushed up to the door, surprised instantly by the bag in his hand. He held it up a safe distance from her, offering it forward.

Making a face, she said, "I told you I was fine."

"I'm pretty sure you still need these though." Barnaby pulled the box of tampons out of the bag. Kaede stared in disbelief.

"How did you know?"

"I saw your underwear hanging in the shower. It wasn't quite washed through all the way."

She hissed under her breath, "Dammit." He cleared his throat, shaking the bag a little to remind her it was there.

"You know, it's pretty unreasonable how expensive this stuff is, considering these are a necessity," Barnaby adjusted his glasses, "So tell me if you need me to buy some. I have the money to spare, and it's no trouble. I got you pads and tampons, because I wasn't sure which you preferred."

"Thank you." She said, taking both from him reluctantly, "But you didn't need to do that. I mean, I'm thirty two, Barnaby. I've been dealing with this since I was ten." She drew backwards, giving him enough space to step inside the house, "I can take care of myself."

"I never said you couldn't," He replied, stepping past her. Pausing, he hung his head at the thought of what it must've been like to have her first period without her mom around. Barnaby continued, "Look, I know you and I have lived very different lives, but I get how it must've felt to grow up the way you did. I lost my parents at the same age that you lost your mom. So I get what it's like. You constantly feel alone, and then you get used to working that way, hiding your weaknesses and shutting other people out so that they don't have reason to get in your way. But I want you to know that… it's okay to accept some support every now and then. It doesn't make you weak or incompetent or whatever other unpleasant trait you might have in mind. It just… makes you human."

Kaede stood there in silence for a brief moment, before giving a slight laugh, "Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don't know, Old Man." She merely waved, recalling the countless interviews she'd read and listened to back when she was obsessed with him as a kid. Looking back on it now, it was a little funny, really. He'd been her support before they ever formally met.

For every promise her dad had broken, she turned to magazines with Barnaby emblazoned across the pages to soothe her upset. She found solace in his quoted words, between lines of sentiments she could deeply relate to. Kaede used to think she was exaggerating for thinking she could see herself in him, but, now that she'd heard this directly from the old man, she was reminded exactly of just how accurate that thought was.

And with that realization, she came to the decision that, from now on, she'd have to look after him too. With everything they shared in common, it was only right for them to stick together. Even if they didn't necessarily need one another… it was nice to have someone who understood.

She gave a yawn, rushing back to the bathroom, "Well, you know the blankets are in the ottoman, so I'll leave you to it. Good night, Barnaby."

"Good night, Kaede."

A/N:

Just for clarification, I based her menstrual cycle off of mine, so she didn't start bleeding the second she asked Barnaby to drive her home. Her flow was preceded by strong cramps first, and it was only around the time they got back to her place that she started bleeding. I honestly never expected to use someone's period as a plot point, but I thought it worked out pretty alright. Anyway, thanks for reading, and have a nice weekend. Next chapter will be out next week.

-Reddie