Chapter 11

The sun is slowly dipping behind the horizon. He watches it as it happens as he waits on top of a building, waiting.

The time to start the mission is about thirty minutes after sundown. He got briefed about it on the phone just ten minutes ago. It is an urgent matter, popping up unexpectedly and they needed immediate action. He was called because he was one of the few Heroes within the area of vicinity of action, the closest to it.

It'll be his first Hero mission after he got discharged from the hospital. He found out recently that there were a number of missions that had requested his assistance but goddamn Nedzu had intercepted them before they got to him, telling them that he was recovering from his injuries. He was quite pissed when Nedzu told him about it, and let his thoughts known. Unfortunately the rat-bear creature didn't give a single shit.

He was told that he needs a partner for this mission. Fortunately for him, another Hero is also close by. So he is here on the rooftop waiting for his partner.

"Eraserhead!"

He turns towards the source of the voice. The person drops onto the floor with barely a thud, cushioned by her furry pads, before she straightens up with a thrilled, happy grin.

"Miruko," he greets her as she walks over to him with a noticeable skip in her steps. If he can see, her bobtail must be wagging right now. "It seems we're together again."

"Yep!" She almost yells from excitement alone. "I want to say it's fate but that's just jackshit."

"You would say that," he mutters loud enough for Miruko to cackle. He merely sighs before he takes out his hands from his pocket. One hand lifts up to grab his scarf to pull it, unraveling it in that one simple movement. "Ready to go?" He asks as his scarf begins to float.

She doesn't answer immediately. She is not even looking him in the eyes. Instead, she seems to be looking at somewhere lower, right around his neck area.

"Miruko."

She blinks, startles. She snaps her eyes back up at him, wide with surprise. Then, she gives him a wide grin before nodding her head, acting like she didn't just zone out a moment ago.

He silently hopes she is not this absentminded the whole time.

.

She is absentminded the whole time.

He's pulling more weight than her, more active than his partner. The rate they're apprehending Villains is slow, slower than average Heroes. It's a shadow to their previous cooperation, where they went through with flying colors, one that a prideful Hero like Miruko can boast for days.

This… this is an embarrassment.

Miruko is distracted by something. There are a lot of close calls, last minute reactions, glancing blows that only left scuff marks. Her strength is still there but her reaction is not. She doesn't even look annoyed by that fact; it seems like it just slides off her as soon as nothing is aiming at her.

"It took longer than usual," he finally voices his thought as he ties up the Villains they had managed to catch.

"Yeah," he hears Miruko utters absentmindedly next to him. He narrows his eyes at the unconscious Villains he is tying up, not quite happy with the response he got. He secures the knot before turning to the side to face her.

She's looking down at him, he realizes, with her head tilted slightly to the side. Her eyes look glazed, almost half-lidded, but he can tell she is focusing on him.

"It's not as quick as last time we worked together," he comments with a slightly dry tone. That makes her blink before she looks to the side guiltily. At least she is aware of that fact, and actively listening to him.

The guilt doesn't last long though. She quickly returns her gaze on him. She tries to be sneaky about it but he is too aware of it. She's not looking him in the eyes, though, but he can tell he is the object of whatever she is fascinated with.

"Got something to say?" he finally voices out his thoughts.

"Nah," she replies, not looking away. He frowns at that response. She's not making any sense to him right now.

He releases a giant sigh before he shoves his hands in his pockets.

Now she finally looks away.

He raises a curious eyebrow, intrigued.

Experimentally, he takes out one hand.

Almost like laser-guided, her eyes return back to him.

He slowly raises his hand up to tug on his scarf.

Her eyes follow its movement unblinkingly.

So it's his hands that are distracting her?

.

Call him the fastest tofu delivery service because he is experiencing a sense of deja vu at this moment.

They came across a physically enhanced Villain, rendering him almost useless again and he is forced to rely Miruko on most of the work, again. And when he thought she had successfully taken the Villain down, he slowly stood back up and suddenly roared. Then he started pounding the ground, sending chunks of ground into the air.

"Damn it, just when I thought it's over!" he shouts over the loud pounding coming from the Villain as he keeps his balance from the quaking ground. A flash of white coming from his side is suddenly rushing forward causing him to curse out loud. "Miruko, no!"

She doesn't listen to him because he knows she can hear him. She is jumping into a lethal situation again, approaching quickly towards the unpredictable Villain. And he needs to react fast. Without a second thought, he throws his capture weapon towards her. It weaves through the debris getting closer and closer to Miruko while she is getting closer and closer to the Villain.

He watches as she pulls a leg back and successfully lands a strong kick to the Villain's head. His roar stops as well as he stops pounding the ground. As the Villain's body begins to fall, he notices a giant chunk is falling towards Miruko from above but his capture weapon catches her waist just in time. With one giant tug, he quickly pulls her back, away from falling debris and towards him.

Finally, she lands into his awaiting arm, mirroring the last time they are in this exact situation. But unlike last time, she doesn't even look perturbed, not even a single bit. Instead, she is staring intently at his hand on her upper arm. Still, he releases a sigh of relief seeing she is now safe.

"Is that your signature move or something? Heading into danger without considering a second thought?" he asks drily, glaring down at her. She doesn't answer immediately, keeps staring at his hand, before she finally looks up at him.

Then, her cheeks tint pink as she grins up at him.

"It is now! But I need you to be there to make it complete," she replies cheekily. He can feel his right eye twitching behind his goggles before he releases a defeated sigh. He pushes his goggles up to rest it right above his hairline.

This gives him a clear view of Miruko staring intently at him. He gives her an inquisitive raised eyebrow but she doesn't react. He thinks she's not even aware of it.

Then he realizes that he still has his hand up to his hairline. When he slowly lowers it down, her eyes follow. It's only when it is at his side and away from her line of sight when she finally blinks. She looks back at him in the eyes and flashes the familiar grin, cheeks still tinted pink.

She is… really fascinated by his hands.

With a slight nudge of encouragement, she finally moves out from his hold and stands on her own feet, but she doesn't move away from him. A light movement and they'd be touching elbows.

"I thought I made it clear to make me aware of your plan," he adds after the moment passes. She lets out a similar hearty but sheepish laugh.

"Must've slipped my mind. Sorry about that."

He grumbles while rolling his eyes.

"Let's tie him up before anythin' happens."

.

"Can I touch you for a bit?"

He stiffens on the spot. He looks away from the scene that is filled with police and Pro Heroes leading apprehended Villains away, signaling the successful end to the mission, and slowly turns towards Usagiyama who joins him on the rooftop. She has a familiar expectant look on her face, eyes wide and he thinks she's holding her breath too.

"Is there a reason?" he asks slowly, carefully.

"Just curious," she replies curtly. The expectant look doesn't die down a single bit.

His eyebrow slowly rises up his forehead. He knows what she'll be asking for; she had been staring at them the whole day, distracted by them.

They're far away from the crowd and left alone. No one bothers enough to climb the building just to talk to him or Usagiyama.

"…Fine."

Her face immediately blooms, a bright smile stretches her lips wide. As he takes his hands out from his pockets, he blinks in surprise when Usagiyama pulls her gloves off excitedly.

When he presents his hands towards her, palms facing the sky, she suddenly stops moving. Her eyes are wider than before, completely filled with utter fascination.

He watches as her touch starts at the tips of her fingers, lightly touching his palm. Then, she gets bolder and wraps her fingers around his hand. He sees her thumbs running over his palms, feeling each bump, catching each callous, touching each scar.

It makes him very aware just how small her hands are compared to his. Her fingers are long and slender, a total opposite to her physique, but he could wrap both hands in one of his and cover them completely.

She is deeply enchanted at what she is seeing, at what she is feeling. Not once her eyes stray away from his hands, from his palms.

Suddenly, he feels self-conscious of the state of his hands. He knows just how unforgiving he is with his training, and his hands suffer the most from it. It reminds him of his student years, training twice as much, thrice more after, just to catch up with the top class he was transferred to.

It must be an ugly sight.

"Your hands are so rough," she suddenly starts, voice a little quiet, almost mumbling, almost to herself. She doesn't look away from his hands, now squeezing each finger individually, frowning in concentration.

"I could say yours are the same," he replies. He's not blind from them, in fact he can feel the callouses from her fingers alone. He notices her frown deepens and she shakes her head.

"But yours are much more extreme."

"Apologies for the unsightly."

"No, I'm not messin' with you, it's just…" She breaks off. She bites her lip before taking a deep breath, seemingly gathering her thoughts. "I know why they're so rough; it's a testament of your hard work. They're the hands of a Hero, after all."

"Just like yours," he reminds her, to which she lets out a snort and a small tug up on her lips.

"For them to be so rough, so scarred, you must have done some unseen heroic works that will never be acknowledged by the public."

Her fingertips return to his palm, now with delicate touches. There is more soft caressing, less exploring.

It reminds him that she has feelings for him, and had confessed to him too.

Suddenly, her hands shift until they're cradling his, putting the back of his hands into her palm. Then, she lifts them up and presses his hands into her cheeks, cupping her face.

He blinks, taken off guard by her actions, as she makes him squish her cheeks with his palms, cheeks that are tinted with a different shade of pink.

Then, she lets out a girlish giggle.

"Your hands feel so nice and warm!"

He blinks again, now feeling his jaw drop slightly as she lets out another girlish giggle.

He never knew she had this side of her.

He has a feeling that no one else has ever seen her like this but him.

He is quite sure that this side of her is only meant for him.