Well I'm glad that you clicked on yet another chapter of my story! I really hope that you guys are enjoying it! The setup-arc is reaching its climax, and soon, you'll be able to see what I'm sure you all came here for! So, without further adieu, I'll close this off so you guys can get on with the show. Please, sit back, relax, and let me serenade you with my tale...

Disclaimer: I don't own -man or BNHA, all rights go to their respective owners.


Chapter Three: Gladiator

What had started out as a simple evening was quickly spiraling down into pure and utter chaos. After Allen swore that he'd defeat Kaze's boss, to free Mr. Eiichi's family from debt, he and Mr. Eiichi were shoved in a car and sent on a journey into the city's underbelly. They were driving for what seemed like hours into the night, passing street after street, and block after block, before finally nearing their destination. "The boss knows that we're coming, right?" Bingo asked Hebi from the driver's seat. The man in question nodded, before waving a hand through the air, signaling everyone in the car to keep quiet.

"Yeah, I texted him the second the brat brought it up. He's ecstatic, it's been a long time since he's been able to crush somebody." Hebi snickered as he held his mobile phone up to his left ear. After a few seconds of ringing, Allen heard a muffled voice answer the call. "Hey boss, it's me... yeah, yeah don't worry, he isn't going to run away." The thug mumbled as he playfully picked one of his ears. "Oh? Really? Hmm~ I never knew you could be so merciful, but okay..." with that, Hebi turned around to face Allen and Eiichi. His smug grin reminded Allen of Cross, and made him want to punch him. "Hey, you two, you should be thankful. Before we get to the base, the boss has decided that he'll give you one last chance to back-out." As Allen expected, Mr. Eiichi, who was sitting next to him, seemed to jump at the offer. However, before he could even utter a word, Allen raised up his arm to stop him.

"No, I'm not backing out, I agreed to the duel and I plan to follow through with it." His decree was met with a horrified gaze from Mr. Eiichi, while the thugs were actually rather impressed.

"Wow... this kid really does have some platinum-class balls, doesn't he?" Hebi laughed-out as he leaned back into his car seat. "Well, you just keep that fire burning, kid, you might as well nurture it while you can. Before our boss beats it out of you, that is." Yet again, Allen was reminded of the thugs that extorted him back when he was training with Cross. Compared to those men, in those days, these three looked like little kittens.

"Allen..." Mr. Eiichi started, however, before he could even get a word out, the immigration agent stopped himself. On numerous occasions throughout the ride, he had tried his best to give Allen some information on the Kaze's boss. Such as his identity, and what the man's quirk was. But, each and every time, Allen refused his information. It wasn't because he was being overly-prideful or anything like that, far from it. After all, Allen knew quite-well how valuable such intel could be. However, he had a feeling that, if he didn't shut him up, Hebi and the other two thugs would've. Every time that Mr. Eiichi tried to speak on the subject, Allen noticed Hebi's and Bingo's fingers start to twitch. It was a reaction that he had seen a lot back when he was playing poker. Whatever Mr. Eiichi knew clearly agitated them, and so, to avoid poking the hornets nest, Allen made sure that he stayed ignorant. Luckily, his little ploy worked, and when both of them arrived at their destination, neither of them had so much of a scratch on their bodies.

"So, Mr. Thug, are you certain that it's okay for me to fight on-behalf of Mr. Eiichi's family?" Allen asked Hebi as they stepped out of the car. A cool mist had overtaken the parking lot they were in. Which, in more ways than one, reminded Allen of a graveyard.

"As long as it's just you, and no one else, the boss won't have any complaints about a proxy fighting Mr. Eiichi's battle." Hebi mumbled as he chuckled slightly under his breath. "But, then again, even if there was somebody-else fighting alongside you, I doubt it would matter. After all..." as the thug spoke, a perfectly-timed gust of wind blew the fog out of the parking lot, allowing Allen to finally get a glimpse of where he would be fighting. "There's no way that you'll be able to take down one of the top one-hundred heroes." It was then that Allen got to see the giant glowing sign hanging above the building they were all standing in front of. And, after reading what it said, Allen felt the air leave his lungs.

"Metal Meister Hero Agency?" Allen tentatively mumbled the building's name. He wouldn't lie, he definitely wasn't expecting this. After his little moment of shock, Hebi and the rest of the thugs immediately burst into fits of laughter. Mr. Eiichi also wasn't doing too hot, his face was completely contorted with rage, so much so that his forehead's veins were practically about to pop. "Now I know why Mr. Eiichi hates Metal Meister so much." Allen was close to slapping himself. A corrupt official! He should've known that's how it was! Back in the days when he relied on poker to live, he had swindled more than a few politicians and policemen who were using tax-payers' money as collateral. Sometimes, if the situation was dire, they'd even send hired goons after him.

"I never get tired of seeing that face!" Hebi said as he wiped a tear from his left eye. "I always love watching the boss crush confident little pricks like you, now come on! You agreed to do this yourself, after all." After shaking the surprise off of his face. Allen looked up, confidence brimming in his eyes, and headed into the building. All things considered, it was a fairly-normal office complex. The lobby was, of course, filled with various sculptures and pieces of art, but it wasn't anything that he hadn't seen before. Several late-night stewards and stewardesses were rushing around, each one carrying multiple files worth of paperwork.

"It's almost like a mini-version of the Black Order." Allen thought as he accidentally let a nostalgic smile spread across his face. However, this pleasant moment was immediately destroyed when he heard Hebi start to yell.

"Hey boss! It's me! I've got two customers here that want to discuss business!" Hebi yelled, his voice reverberating through the relatively-empty building. Soon afterwards, from the rafters above, Allen heard something rushing towards them. With every step, the building shook with a notable thud, until, finally, the source of the shaking arrived. Like a blinding meteorite, something inexplicably-shiny jumped off of the third-story balcony above, and then plummeted down to the surface.

"Hebi! Bingo! You two should know better than to keep me waiting!" The strange object, who was obviously a man, said as the repeating thuds drew even closer to them. Eventually, after the man got close enough, Allen was finally able to get a good look at him.

"So this is Metal Meister?" Allen thought as he stared at the corrupt hero. Metal Meister was definitely a big-enough man, he was close to seven feet tall, and every muscle on his body had been built-up to the point of near absurdity. His hero costume was just as, if not more, ridiculous-looking. It appeared to be a form of chainmail, however, resting on the surface were thousands of tiny lights. Each one was smaller than a fingernail, but were brighter than industrial-grade spotlights. Finally, there was a long flowing cape hanging off of the hero's back. The glass the lights were made out of seemed to be hardened, almost as if they were crafted from steel.

"Hmph, I thought you'd be taller." Meister grumbled as he smirked cockily down at Allen. "Y'know who I am, boy? You should, considering where you've been staying." The humongous hero said as he scratched the tip of his nose.

"Be careful, Mr. Walker, he has the ability to turn organic matter into heavy elements. One touch and it's all over." Eiichi whispered in Allen's ear. After taking a moment to process that information, Allen nodded and locked his gaze with Metal Meister.

"Hmm... well you've got spunk, I'll give you that." He said as he turned around, the ground shaking in his wake, and motioned for them to follow. "Come on, we can't do battle out here where the public can see us." With no other option available to him, Allen just nodded, and followed the hero through the building. Eventually, after quite a few flights of steps, they arrived at, what looked like, Metal Meister's office. It was a giant room with multiple visible supports and no windows. A desk, which Allen assumed belonged to the corrupt hero, was tucked away in the back-right corner of the office. "Tell me, boy, why do you think a hero like me would bother entering the debt-collecting business?" The hero in question asked as Hebi, and the other two thugs, scurried off to the room's edges.

"If they're acting like that, the fight's probably going to start soon." Allen thought as he stared intently at Metal Meister. Not wanting to be rude, he gave the hero his answer, "Well... to be perfectly frank, I think it's because you're greedy. Hero work pays well, but it isn't exactly easy. I'm certain that, for a man like yourself, you wanted to branch-out to find more 'stable' forms of income." Out of all of the corrupt cops and officials he met in his time, at least sixty-percent of them did what they did for monetary reasons. And Allen was certain that Metal Meister was no different.

"Well, well, well, that's surprising. A kid your age would normally completely disregard that question and just call me a villain. You're the first I've met who's managed to connect it to the dangers of my official job." When Allen heard that, he scoffed, it wasn't that surprising. He could tell just by looking at Metal Meister that he wasn't a courageous person. There wasn't anything physical that tipped him off about this trait. It was just that, after he devoted years of his life to fighting in the Holy War, he started to learn how to read a person's character. Playing poker definitely helped in this endeavor, and after a few months of practice, he could reliably tell what sort of people were reliable or not.

"Are you going to keep talking?" Allen started as he raised his fists up into the air, it was time that he finished this. "I thought we were going to fight." Yet again, Metal Meister chuckled. He truly saw him as nothing-more than a child.

"Keh, you obviously aren't from around here, boy. There's a procedure to these kind of things." The man said as he waved one of his arms towards Hebi. "Hey, Hebi, go grab my compensation file, it should be on my desk." After said file was safely in his hands, Metal Meister opened it, smiled, and turned back to Allen. "First off, boy, before we do this, we have to agree upon your prize."

"My... prize?" Allen asked as he confusedly tilted his head. He wasn't sure what the corrupt hero was going to say, but it certainly wasn't that. When the man saw his confused visage, all he could do was grin and chuckle.

"Look at you, you've got absolutely no idea what I'm talking about." Metal Meister said as he let out a sigh. "Damn... this is why I hate dealing with proxies." After taking a moment to frustratingly kick the floor, he started to explain. "Look, we aren't villains who cause chaos for the fun of it. Even though it may be hard for you to believe, little syndicates like ours are still expected to uphold certain values. The most important of said values being that everyone gets paid their due share, and that includes you as well, boy. Since you're a proxy, you have a right to ask for compensation should you win. Of course, this is honestly more of a formality, but I'm still required to tell you about it."

"Compensation?" Allen mumbled out loud as, for a second, he stumbled around like an idiot. "Do yakuza actually do that? That sounds too... fair... to be right." Allen thought as he scratched his head. "Then again, he obviously isn't expecting me to win, so, like he said, he's probably just saying it as a formality." He fully expected Metal Meister to jump him without warning, but, at least for now, it appeared that the crooked hero wasn't completely without tact. After a while, Metal Meister snapped his fingers together, it appeared that he had an idea.

"Oh! I know, what about a citizenship and identification documents?" The hero said as he crossed his large, muscular, arms. "If you beat me, my company will provide you with all of the documents you need to live here in Japan. If you beat me, that is." The man's cocky tone was really starting to get on Allen's nerves now. He obviously didn't think much of him. In more ways than one, that attitude reminded him of Kanda.

"If that's what I need to get this fight underway, then okay. Now then..." Allen hissed as he raised his arms up into the air, "Why don't we get started?" Like waving a red flag in front of a mad bull, Metal Meister immediately smirked, and started to slowly walk towards him. With every step, he playfully stretched his arms and legs, almost as if he were getting ready for a light workout.

"Heh, I'm glad you agreed." The man started as his eyes, like that of a hawk, ran over Allen's body. "Since this is a duel, boy, as a matter of principle it's standard conduct to announce our quirks before fighting. You obviously already know mine, I can turn anything living into metal. So, tell me, what quirk do you have that makes you think you can beat one of the world's top one-hundred heroes?" Now it was Allen's turn to smirk.

"None, sadly, I wasn't born with a quirk." He couldn't risk letting the current world learn of his left arm. If the Vatican got wind of his existence, even if they didn't have many records left of the Holy War, his new life would turn into a real mess, real quick. So, even though it would put him at an extreme disadvantage, Allen had to play dumb to his own powers. Thankfully, his perfect poker face fooled Metal Meister and everyone else in the room. After he spoke up, it was almost as if time had stopped for the entire room.

"You... don't have a quirk? You've got to be lying..." Metal Meister mumbled as he stared intently into Allen's eyes. Yet again, his ruse fooled the hero, stopping the man dead in his tracks. "I can't believe it, you're actually serious, aren't you?" He asked. Allen nodded, the fire in his eyes burning just as bright as ever. "Ah, dammit... this isn't going to be a fight if that's how it is, it'll just be a slaughter." Metal Meister groaned out as he frustratingly pinched the bridge of his nose, he looked like a child who had just lost one of his favorite toys.

"Mr. Walker! You didn't tell me that you didn't have a quirk! Concede the match now! It's better that you do that, and spare your life, than risk losing everything over me and my family!" Eiichi called out from the sidelines as Metal Meister's thugs laughed. However, Allen just ignored him and kept walking forward.

"So, even though you don't have a quirk, you still want to fight me?" Metal Meister sighed, "Since you're young, I'll give you one last chance. Listen to that man and—" before the corrupt hero could even finish his sentence, Allen rushed up to him and drove his right fist into Metal Meister's stomach. He could feel bones crack as he pressed onwards, causing the hero to cough-up a few drops of blood.

"What?! How are you—?!" Metal Meister yelled as his body was flung a few feet back. He grunted as he dug his heels into the floor, and after a few seconds of sliding, came to an unceremonious-halt. "When the hell did he have the time to setup that punch?" From what he saw; there was barely a second in-between the time when the boy first lunged at him to a fist being burrowed into his stomach. "There's no way that you don't have a quirk... you've got to be pulling my leg." What he just took wasn't the punch of any normal adolescent boy, that's for damn sure.

"Sorry, but I'm telling the truth. You don't have to have a quirk to be strong, after all." Allen said, his voice slightly-coy, as he continued his assault. While Metal Meister breathed in, obviously preparing for an attack, Allen took the chance to jump into the air. Immediately after his leap, Metal Meister shot a strange smog out from his mouth. It took mere moments for it to completely envelop where he had been standing. And, if Metal Meister didn't stop it, the smog would've quickly overtaken the entire room. Thankfully, the corrupt hero had some common sense, and quickly snapped his fingers together causing the smog to disperse.

"This kid… is he really telling the truth?" Metal Meister thought as he tried to keep his eyes on the boy's moving body. "How can someone move that fast without a quirk?! And the way he controls himself, it almost looks... professional." He thought as he bit his lip. This entire situation had quickly turned into a huge headache. "Crap, I need to watch my movements." The kid's previous attack had broken a couple of ribs, and he was almost certain that a few blood vessels had ruptured.

"That looks like that hurts." Allen said as he dove into Metal Meister's blind spot and readied himself for another assault. Even though he was certain that he'd done quite a bit of damage to the corrupt hero, Metal Meister was still relatively-calm. "I guess that professional hero title isn't just for show." Considering that he was fighting one of the top one-hundred heroes, it was quite obvious how much experience the man had. He took his punches with relative-ease, and only opened himself up for attacks on rare occasions. Every one of his attacks could only be dodged by the thinnest of margins. There wasn't a single movement wasted, nor a moment where Metal Meister wasn't thinking of his next attack. "He's definitely an amazing fighter, that's for sure..." Allen thought as he frowned.

"What's wrong, boy? What happened to all of that moxie you had a minute ago?" Metal Meister yelled as he jumped forward, readying his fist for a bone-crushing punch. "If this boy truly doesn't have a quirk, there's no way that he'll be able to dodge this." There was only a handful of villains that could avoid his special attack. After he landed it, he'd charge Mr. Eiichi for everything he was worth, and then he'd be yet another step closer to a life of luxury. "Take this! Flesh Destroying Fist!" In the blink of an eye, Metal Meister wrapped one of his fists in a cloak of smog and leapt forward. His speed was impressive, far more so than what he'd led the boy to believe. "Kuh~ nobody ever thinks that someone as large as me can move this quickly, that's why I always come out on top." He thought with a smile. However, while Metal Meister was prematurely-celebrating his victory, Allen had prepared himself for a counterattack.

"Too slow…" he thought as he ran to one of the office's walls and, using the wall as a springboard, jumped behind Metal Meister. After years of fighting akuma that were faster than the human eye could comprehend, Allen had trained his body to its upmost limits. And, since he was a parasite type, things like near-superhuman speed came easily. If his body wasn't this fast, or strong, without his innocence, he would've perished long ago. "I've got to admit," he thought as he swirled-around to face Metal Meister's back, "These attacks really are excellent." Any normal person, even a professional hero, would've struggled to keep up. But, yet again, his experience proved useful. Nearly every day he had to face hordes of akuma, each of which had some sort of unique ability, to survive. Needless to say, fighting a human with a human's reflexes wasn't anywhere near as difficult. He dodged Metal Meister's attacks with relative-ease, and before the hero had the chance to react, sent his left fist rocketing into the man's liver.

"Gah!" Metal Meister yelped as he fell to the ground. The corrupt hero, and his audience, was in total shock. "Dammit! How did he do that?! That setup was perfect!" He could feel his body start to churn under the weight of the boy's fist, almost as if someone had stuck an electric drill into his intestines.

"There, that should about do it." Allen thought with a frown as he took a few steps back, allowing Metal Meister to collapse onto the office's floor. "I sure got lucky that his quirk didn't buff his body." He might've been doing well in this battle, he wasn't an idiot. He knew how strong heroes and villains could be. "If he had a quirk like All Might's this could've ended-up with me on the ground instead of him." Even though his body was far-stronger than the average person, that didn't make him invincible. Most of his strength, after all, was in his innocence and abilities. If he had to face someone who had a quirk that overtook his base strength, or was overly-destructive, he'd struggle to keep up. But, at least for now, this was enough.

"Boss!" Hebi yelped as he and the other thugs ran to Metal Meister's side. "Boss! Are you okay?!" As Hebi tried his best to pull the corrupt hero off the ground, the other two thugs drew their pistols and pointed them at Allen.

"You bastard! I'll send you straight to Hell!" Bingo screeched as he cocked his pistol's hammer. However, before he got the chance to fire it. Metal Meister rose from his stupor and stopped him.

"What are you doing, you fool?! Are you trying to smear mud over my name?!" The man yelled as he forcibly yanked the weapon from the man's hands. Once he was certain that nobody would attack, he sighed, and returned his gaze to Allen. "Shit... I can't say that I'm not embarrassed to be beaten by some kid with no quirk, but I guess that's life." Metal Meister grunted as he rubbed his belly.

"Sir, you can still fight! And so can we! Let us kill this kid!" Hebi yelped, prompting Metal Meister to smack him aside.

"What did I say, you dolt? That's not how we do things. If people found out that we just shot everyone that came here to clear their debt, they wouldn't hesitate to notify the hero association. And we can't have that." The man said as he let out a breath. "And plus, I'm thoroughly beat." With that, Metal Meister reached down to his waist and pulled up his shirt. The wound that lay there was enough to make even Hebi squirm, and caused Mr. Eiichi to start gagging. Several ribs were broken, and many were protruding out of his flesh like a porcupine's needles. "I'm not sure how you got so strong with no quirk, boy. Even now, I'm in shock. I keep thinking you're lying, but when I stare at your face, I can't help but believe you."

"Does that mean you give up? You'll leave Mr. Eiichi and his family alone now?" Allen asked him as he pounded his fists together. When dealing with men like this, it was always important to show them who had the most strength. And, thankfully, his message came across, and Metal Meister nodded.

"Yeah, you won fair and square. If I fought anymore I'd be endangering my life." The corrupt hero mumbled as he, with quite a bit of pain, pulled himself up off the floor. As he struggled to breathe, Mr. Eiichi ran over and playfully smacked Allen on the back.

"I've got to say, I didn't think you'd actually manage to do it!" He said with a laugh. If one looked closely, they could see that Mr. Eiichi's eyes were red and swollen.

"He must be struggling to hold back his tears." Allen thought as, he too, let out a hearty chuckle. "With this your family doesn't have to worry about its debt anymore. Take that as my thanks for helping me out." It was hard to imagine, but this chaos was finally over. However, even though the battle had concluded, there was still more to come.

"Wait... don't be so fast." Metal Meister whispered as, with his voice hoarse, he stumbled over to the two of them. "You've beaten me, so as a good businessman, I've got to give you your compensation." As the man talked, Allen couldn't help but raise one of his eyebrows in confusion.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked Metal Meister as he instinctively readied his body for an attack. The corrupt hero didn't look like someone that had been beaten. In fact, the man seemed almost... happy. "I doubt that grin is just because you're going to give me some papers, so what's up?" There was a glint in Metal Meister's eyes that wasn't there before. The way that he was staring at him was different. Instead of looking at him like he was a kid, Metal Meister's stare seemed to suggest that he was gazing upon an equal.

"Tell me, Mr. Walker, how would you like to be a hero?" Metal Meister asked him in-between gasps for air. As his words lingered awkwardly in the air, the first people to break the uneasy silence was, conveniently, Hebi and the other thugs.

"What?! Wait, boss, you can't be suggesting that you're actually planning on—!" Metal Meister cut the man off.

"Yes, now shut up, I'm talking to the kid. Or, should I say Mr. Walker?" The corrupt hero mumbled as he knelt down and stared into Allen's eyes.

"Listen, Mr. Walker, there are many things that I am. A villain is one of them. However, I also work as a hero. So, technically, you could say its my duty to scout-out new talents. And, even though you don't have a quirk, you've managed to intrigue me." As Allen listened to Metal Meister's words, he felt a sneeze coming on.

"Why do I feel that I've been given this speech before?" Allen thought as his mind flashed-back to the day Cross picked him up from that graveyard. "What are you getting at here, Metal Meister?" Allen said as he locked his gaze with the hero's. "If you haven't noticed, I've beaten you blue and bloody. You should be running me out of this office right now, not offering me a position." Allen couldn't help but find this whole situation suspicious. However, when he saw the strangely-pure look in Metal Meister's eyes, he hesitated.

"There aren't many people in this world that can beat me. And, much to my personal distaste, I admit that you're one of them. I want more than anything to just give you your reward and kick you out, but the man in me wouldn't let me do that. I'm a businessman, I run a company, so when I see someone as gifted as you, I just can't ignore it." As Metal Meister spoke, he took out his wallet, opened it, and showed Allen a small metallic card that rested inside. "You, Allen Walker, have the potential to be something great. And I want to help make that happen. If you agree to a few terms, I'll give you your citizenship, papers, and a recommendation to one of the best schools there is." When Allen heard that, a proverbial light bulb turned on in his head.

"So that's what this is about..." Allen mumbled as he glared at the corrupt hero. "You're sweetening the pot in return for my silence, aren't you?" The smug grin Metal Meister gave him told him all that he needed to know.

"You're better at reading people than I thought, but yes, that's the deal. If it hasn't already crossed your mind, you're the first in years that has managed to win a bout against me. Mr. Eiichi and the people in the slums know to keep their mouths shut, but you're an outsider, so I can't just let you go. And, for obvious reasons, I can't force you to stay silent either. So, that just means I have to buy your word. In return for a life here in Japan, I want you to swear that you'll never mention me, or this place, ever again. Do we have a deal?" The hero asked as he raised up one of his hands for him to shake. But Allen didn't take it.

"Dammit..." he cursed as he curled his left fist up into a ball. "This offer should be a no-brainer. I should just go report him to the authorities! But, if I do, then there's a very good chance that I'll end up deported." At this point, being kicked out of the country was probably a death sentence. He just didn't have the resources to decline Metal Meister's generous offer. And plus, the gambler in him was screaming at him to take it. And so, Allen just stood there, shaking in his confusion, as he pondered what to do. However, before Metal Meister could pull his hand away, Mr. Eiichi grabbed Allen's wrist and shoved it forward. "Mr. Eiichi! Stop that!" Allen yelped as he turned to the man. However, instead of an heroic smile, Mr. Eiichi's face was covered in the stain of defeat.

"You should take his offer, Mr. Walker." The tired immigration agent said as he carefully wrapped Allen's fingers around the hero's. "Let's look at this rationally. At the moment, my family is free from his clutches, but you aren't. If you don't take this deal, then there's virtually no way that you'll be able to make it in this land. Sure, it may not be the morally-correct thing to do. But, sometimes, in life, we all have to make decisions that may go against those feelings. If you want to bring him to justice, then become a hero, or someone who can stand on their own, and take him down. However, until that time, it's better that you just take what you can get. Trust me, from this old man to you." Mr. Eiichi spoke with the vigor of a wise man. And, as much as it hurt to admit, Allen couldn't help but agree with him.

When he was stuck slaving-away in that circus, there were many times where he had to steal food, or fight to survive. Life is cruel, and most times people don't have the luxury of choosing the "morally correct" option. "I... understand..." Allen mumbled, clearly defeated, as he shook Metal Meister's hand. Afterwards, Allen heard Mr. Eiichi let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God, at least now I can rest easy knowing that you won't be stuck out on the streets." He said as he headed for the exit, it appeared that he wanted to get out of that place as soon as possible. And Allen couldn't agree more. And so, after a few more words with Metal Meister, Allen hurried after him.

"I'll notify you tomorrow when you can head over! I'll be the one recommending you, so you should be accepted in no time at all! Welcome to Japan, Mr. Walker!" Metal Meister called as Allen slammed the door behind him. He was still angry at the hero, no, at himself, for taking that deal. But all of that was in the past now.

"Will you guys be okay by yourselves?" Allen asked Mr. Eiichi. He had a feeling that, once he left for school, he probably wouldn't be able to see the man again for quite a while. However, in his sadness, Mr. Eiichi reached out, and smacked him back to reality.

"Don't get all depressed on me now, you hear? We've only known each other for just-under a day. So, after you move in, leave and don't look back." Mr. Eiichi words were stern, strict, and exactly what Allen needed to hear. They didn't leave any room for argument. And so, with his heart somber and full of sorrow, Allen placed a hand over his heart and gave the man a small bow.

"Again, thank you, for everything." He said, causing Mr. Eiichi to turn a bit red.

"Now, now, there's no need for that. Just be quiet and follow me, I've got a feeling that we're going to have to get a taxi. And since we don't have to worry about you being deported, I'm going to work you for all you're worth before you head out. The slums could use a person like you right now." Eiichi said as he looked away from Allen. Goodbyes like this were always the hardest, after all. "You better live your life to the fullest, got it?" He mumbled as he lightly-scuffled Allen's hair. Once he stopped, Allen smiled, nodded, and hurried on ahead to the main road.

"I'll do my best, I promise." And, with that, a chapter on Allen's life came to a close. However, as with most things in life, this ending was only the beginning of an entirely-new ordeal. As the pair headed off towards Mr. Eiichi's home, readying themselves for the future, Allen looked out the window, and thought to himself, "A hero... can I really be one?"


Author's Note

Welp, another chapter in the chapter-dump bonanza another dollar, I hope you guys are enjoying this, and thanks for reading this far! Like I said, since all of my other chapters have been released in one go, I'm going to keep this AN fairly short. No use making it longer than it needs to be, right? Anyway, that's all for me, enjoy the rest of your day and I'll see you guys in the next chapter of A Tale of Two Endlings. See ya in chapter four!

Chapter Four: New Faces