Shadow of a Man
Chapter 4
Paperwork is one of the worst things about being a hero. The countless hours spent looking over files, documents and other forms is a dull yet important segment of the job. Before the war, many heroes worked for agencies large and small that had entire departments dedicated to handling this, but times have changed.
After the war many hero agencies had to shrink or were forced to close. The shrinking of hero agencies forced them to compartmentalize causing a lot more of the work to be put back onto the heroes under them. Meaning that if I wasn't doing hero work, I was most likely chip away at office work at different points during the day. I was somewhat lucky with my agency having a small group of admin workers, but I still had plenty of paperwork to do myself.
I found myself one morning typing away at an incident report. Most of my patrols took place during the night and the previous one had been busier than usual. Running off 3 hours of sleep and a nearly empty stomach, I knew that the day ahead was going to be a tough one.
A few hours had been spent at my small office desk in a corner of my apartment. With each passing second the lack of sleep and my impending hunger was starting to get to me as my stomach let out a loud groan. After finishing a section of a report, I slumped back in my chair and gave my strained eyes a light rub to relieve them.
My stomach growled once again, which was my sign to finally eat something other than cheap gas station food. Multiple joints popped and crackled as I stood up from my desk with a stretch before walking over to my kitchen. I pulled out my phone to check my messages and while scrolling I saw a name that piqued my interest. It was Hana.
I haven't seen or talked to her since that night a few days ago. She had given me her phone number, yet I hadn't made any attempts to contact her. It wasn't like I didn't care. In fact, I thought about her quite a lot. Compared to the other women I had met in my life, which isn't a lot outside of work, she just seemed different.
The way she spoke and carried herself dragged me in. The low light of the bar prevented me from seeing her fully, but from what I did see, she was not lacking in the looks department. So, with all these qualities, why didn't I try to talk to her? The answer wasn't clear.
I guess I could say that I was nervous about trying in the first place. Women normally never showed me the time of day growing up, mostly due to my antics, so this was rare that it even happened.
The beginning of my career was chaotic. The country was put into shambles because of the war. I, and many heroes, were constantly working on trying to stabilize the country and put things back together. This meant that romantic relationships were often shelved in favor of my work.
The romantic relationships I did attempt to pursue all ended the same. Work got in the way, and they fizzled out. It hurt sometimes, however there wasn't time to dwell on them. My search for a romantic relationship disappeared after a while when I started to refocus all my attention on my work.
Maybe this was the reason why I didn't talk to Hana. The fear of another relationship failing because my life simply wouldn't allow it. But maybe this time would be different. Over the last year, crime had noticeably started to slow. On slower days I would have a few spare hours of free time, which had been a rarity these last few years.
Hana's name sat on the contacts screen of my phone. I was hungry in my apartment so maybe I could try to ask if she was interested in grabbing a bite to eat. It was something simple and straight to the point. How hard could it be?
I pressed the call button and placed my phone down on the kitchen counter after putting it on speaker and almost immediately the confidence I had suddenly washed away and was replaced a rushing flow of nervousness. A feeling an uneasiness filled my stomach, and I began to start questioning my decision to call her.
Would she even remember me? Was she interested in me? Maybe I was in over my head. Those were a few of the many thoughts that circled my mind.
With each ring of the phone my anxiety only continued to rise until eventually the ringing stopped and a voice came over the line.
"Hello this is Muchina," greeted a professional sounding voice.
I took a few moments to answer her, "H-hey Muchina this is Mineta."
"Hmm, that rings a bell," she slowly replied.
"Yeah, we had met a few days ago at the bar." I continued.
A moment of silence passed before she responded. "Oh! Shorty! I was starting to wonder when you would call me. I thought I had scared you off or something."
She remembered me. That was a relief.
I thought that maybe she had forgotten me, so her being happy to hear from me felt good. She wasn't wrong about me being somewhat scared to call her. I wouldn't let her know that though.
"Sorry about that Muchina. Things have been a bit busy on my end." It wasn't a lie, though it wasn't the complete truth either.
"I thought I told you call me Hana," she retorted sassily. "And it's okay. I've been busy myself this last week as you could tell from the last time we met."
"Yeah, you weren't looking to good the last time I saw you." I slyly commented.
"If I remember correctly, you didn't look any better yourself."
I gave a slight chuckle before responding, "Yeah, we both looked pretty rough that night."
A comfortable pause split the conversation for a few moments before Hana continued, "Its good thing you called me because I just went on my lunch break."
"Same here. I've been starving all morning."
She paused again before continuing, "Well… I know a good ramen place downtown. If you're up to it, we could… yah know… go together if you want."
I felt my brain crash and body freeze up. Did she just ask me out? I couldn't believe what I heard and fathom how quickly things were going. I expected maybe a small text or call here and there before we eventually met up again. Yet there I was. Getting invited to lunch by woman I've only talked to once before.
"Um, you there shorty?" Her voice snapped me back into reality as I attempted to act calm and collected.
"Uh, yeah… Yeah I'm okay with that."
"Nice, I'm sending you the address now."
There was a short pause before I heard a chime from my phone and the message appeared in my text.
Pulling the address into a map it showed that it was only three miles away. "It's not too far from me."
"Great! It's only about 3 miles from where I work, so I'll just catch a taxi or something."
"Well then, I'll meet you there then. I gotta go get ready. I should be there in around 25 minutes."
"Alight then shorty, I'll see you there."
Once the call ended, I dropped my phone down on the kitchen counter and sat in silence. I was dumbfounded at how easy that felt. It honestly felt a little too easy, but a win is win in my book. I quickly pumped my fist in a silent celebration before I rushed over to the room to quickly get ready.
There wasn't much time, so I went for something simple and appealing to wear. I had opted for a light purple button-down shirt. The material was light and breathable making it perfect to wear during the day. In addition to the shirt, I had a pair of dark purple pants to match.
After about ten minutes of doing my usual, yet rushed, hygiene routine, I gave myself one last look in the mirror. My hair presented itself in a its controlled curly fashion and the rest of my outfit looked pretty good. For good measure, I made sure to spray myself with some cologne and look at my watch which revealed that I had less than ten minutes before she would be at the ramen shop.
I rushed out of my apartment and was greeted by the sun beaming down onto the city with a soft breeze that flowed through the outdoor hallways of my building. The weather was nearly perfect, but I didn't have time to enjoy it fully. I quickly made my way down the stairs to the parking lot.
There was a single space in the parking lot that held something special to me hidden underneath a tarp. Pulling it off, it revealed a beautiful purple and yellow motorcycle underneath. I had gotten it a few months back when I decided I needed to get some sort of transport when I was out of uniform. It took a few months to get one tailored to my smaller stature yet was worth it in the end.
I took out a helmet from the storage box, stuffed the tarp where the helmet once was and climbed onto the bike. With a turn of a key the bike roared to life and a smile eased onto my face. Seeing as I was in rush, I figured I would have no quarrels with letting the 800cc engine scream down the roads.
The way I rode my bike that day wasn't the safest. I was weaving between the gaps of cars just to make sure I would get there within a decent time. It was pure luck that no one dared to stop me that day.
I arrived at the location in about ten minutes. Half the time the GPS predicted it would take. The area was located a by a popular outside market on the outskirts of downtown. It was more crowded than usual mostly due to the good weather that day. The shop was block down a pathway through the market center from where I parked my bike.
Snaking my way through the crowds, I made my way closer to the restaurant. Anxiety rose in my chest as I got closer hoping that she would be at the entrance waiting for me to meet her. My worries were squashed though when I saw her standing by herself by the shop.
She was looking down at her phone and she seemed to be tapping away at something. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket in which I took it out and saw a text from Hana.
"I'm here." Said the text.
I elected not to text her and just walk up and greet her instead. She was glued to her phone, so she didn't even notice me approach her.
"Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long?" I asked. She jumped a little from the slight shock of me being right beside her.
When we had first met, I wasn't able to see all her features due to the low lighting of the bar. In bright light I was finally able to get a good look at it. She was wearing a similar work outfit like at the bar, but with a few changes. Her white blouse had its sleeves rolled up to her elbows and dark brown hair was rolled up into a neat bun. Her skin was a light beige tint with freckles sparsely scattered around her skin.
After her moment of surprise, she gave a slight smile before responding, "Jesus Christ you scared the crap out of me."
"I thought you would've seen me coming. I was literally right in front of you." I replied with a chuckle.
"I didn't hear or see you coming at all."
"Let's just say that I'm used to being sneaky."
"Huh… Isn't that so," she said which I gave a shrug in response. "Well to answer your question, I had just got here 2 minutes ago."
"Good to know to I didn't make you wait too long."
"It's great because I would've went inside if I had to wait more than five minutes."
"You seem hungry." I said observing her impatience.
"You bet your ass I am."
I turned and got a look at the place we were at. The shop itself had a very low profile. Blink and you would've missed it. It was nestled in between the small buildings that lined the market pathways. The only way to tell that it was there would be the small wooden sign that read 'Umami Ramen House'.
"This place looks… quaint." I commented a little unsure of the shop.
Noticing my tone, she was quick to reassure me, "It may not look the best on the outside but wait until you actually try it. You'll be begging to come back."
"Heh, I'll see about that." I said, not completely convinced yet.
I then opened the door to the restaurant, making sure to signal Hana in before me. The shop was showing its age with most of the interior being outdated and wooden in nature yet still clean. There was splash of modernness with tablets centered on a wooden bar lined with stools as the only seating in the small ramen shop.
My nerves had calmed a little yet were still present. I tapped on the bar lightly to attempt to ease my nervousness.
I could see Hana start scrolling through the menus on the tablet. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm ordering our food," she said sassily, "what else did you think I was doing?"
I was going to retort but something she said confused me. "Our?"
"Yeah, I'm ordering our food. I'm getting you something you might like." She confirmed.
With a slight huff I replied, "Oh, so, I don't get choice?"
Hana put on hand on my shoulder and gave it a slight rub. "Nope! But don't worry that sweet little head of yours. I know the perfect bowl for you to try. Plus, I need to return the favor after you got me addicted to that wine."
A few beats of silence came between us as she ordered our food. I was able to get a glimpse of what they had through pictures on the tablet screen, and it looked delicious. I was starting to think that maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. She then finished ordering with a smile on her face.
Small talk ensued as we waited a few minutes for our food to arrive and I loved every minute of it. Even though we are talking about the blandest things like how our days were going, it still felt amazing to just talk to her. The conversation eventually landed on our jobs which made me a little nervous.
Openly admitting that I'm a hero is not something I do when I meet random people. But Hana wasn't a random person. I preferred to keep a low profile which is a complete 180 from when I was a kid. Keeping to myself was more efficient for the work I did and I preferred being able to go outside without having a multitude of people recognize me on the streets. It was almost like a switch when it happened. Life changes people. War changes people.
Yet, I felt like I could trust Hana. She didn't seem to have any nefarious intentions so far, so I didn't see the need to try to keep a secret.
"I work for a law firm not too far from here." She explained.
"Oh, so you're a lawyer?" I asked, trying to understand further.
"Technically I am, but I usually handle the paperwork side of things," she explained. "I'm good when it comes to understanding the workings of the justice system, yet horrible when it comes to debating an actual case.
"Heh, good to know. Remind me not to call you when I need a lawyer." I joked and received a playful punch to my arm.
That earned me a playful punch to my arm that was joined a chuckle. "What about you huh? What does a four-foot-something man like yourself do for a living?"
"Well… I don't think you would believe me." I said to her.
A teasing look took over her face as she responded, "Why's that? Are you a secret agent or something?"
"Eh, something like that." I replied.
"'Something like that?' Now you've got to tell me."
A slight pause happened before I revealed to her what I did. "Well, I'm actually a pro hero."
Her face went from interest to one of disbelief in less than a second as my words seemed to freeze her. I thought that maybe she had some sort of resentment towards heroes and could maybe ruin everything before it even got going.
"Bullshit." She said quietly in a stunned tone.
"Huh?"
"I said bullshit!" She louder attracting eyes of other people for a few seconds. Seeing that she had basically just yelled, she let out a small apology before everyone else continued with their day. "There's no way you're a hero."
"So, you don't believe me?" I asked.
"Nope." She confirmed.
"And why is that?"
"I don't know. You don't give off the vibe of being a hero."
"How does that make sense? I'm supposed to give off a vibe?" I asked genuinely confused.
"MmmHmm." She hummed while nodding her head.
"I don't know what to tell yah then."
"Then show me proof." She demanded.
I gave her an exasperated look. "Are you serious?"
"Absolutely." She replied without hesitation.
At first, I though the whole conversation was a joke, but I soon realized that she was one hundred percent serious. Why didn't she just believe me? Is it the way I looked? Or maybe it was because I wasn't well known. I felt a little embarrassed at the fact that I had to prove to someone that I was hero.
She sat firm with her arms crossed across her chest. She was waiting for something. I had the choice of backing down and not entertaining her or get the slight satisfaction of proving her wrong her and seeing the look on her face. I of course chose the latter.
Without saying anything I pulled out my phone and looked for the one picture that I knew would be perfect. Her intense look unaltered as she waited about a minute or two for me to find the picture I was looking for. A small smirk crept onto my face once I found the best piece of evidence I could find.
With a smug grin, I turned the phone towards her, and she began to scan the photo. After a few seconds her face remained the same with a slight bit of confusion.
"I have no idea what I'm looking at." She said plainly.
"Look a little closer at everyone at the picture. It was from a couple years ago, but I don't think we changed that much."
She looked for a few moments longer before her eyes opened and mouth slowly opened. "Wait a minute. Are these who I think they are?"
The picture I had shown her was one of the last class photos my class took together before we all started to go our separate ways. It was all of us lounging around the common area of the dorm during a pajama party with members of class B being there too. It a small moment of calm during our hectic lives at that point and it was a night I hold dear to my heart.
I just replied with a smug look before she continued. "There's no way. You were in class with all these heroes."
"Yep."
"Wow. I feel a little stupid now." She said sheepish smile.
"I honestly don't blame you not believing me. I'm not fairly known in the public that much."
"How come? You were in a class with all these high level heroes. Shouldn't most of Japan know about you about now?"
I waited for a few moments to think about a response before replying. "I stay out of the spotlight by choice. It makes the job I do easier when I don't have people down my back constantly."
She looked at me with curiosity before continuing. "Well Mr. Incognito, I'm personally happy that tens of cameras didn't follow us here trying to get the latest scoop."
Paparazzi would've been a major problem for high profile heroes before the war, but times have changed. Heroes don't have the spotlight like they used to. That was mainly reserved for the top heroes of the country, and even though I considered myself good. I wasn't anywhere near that level in my career.
I looked at the photo on my phone one more time before putting it away and responding. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
A few seconds later, our bowls were dropped off in front us and I could say with great confidence that noodles looked nothing short of delicious. A neat mixture of pork belly, soft boiled egg and a sprinkle of scallions laid in front of me. It was simple yet appetizing.
Little did I know that Hana was watching me the whole time. "Looks good right?"
"Looks good, but how does it taste." I said before grabbing my chopsticks.
Bringing the noodles up to my mouth and getting the first taste was the first sign that I was in for something good. I thought I had eaten some pretty good ramen before, but there was something about that bowl that just tasted different from all the rest. There was a sweetness to it along with a spice that wasn't too overbearing. After the first bite came the second, then the third. Each one allowed me to fully enjoy the flavor. It wasn't until I was halfway done, I said something Hana.
"Where did you find this place?" I questioned, hoping to for her spill the beans.
She herself was also eating and waited to finish chewing before answering me. "I learned about this place through my brother. He's a food journalist as a side gig and randomly found this place while he was in town one week. He took me here about a year ago and I've been hooked ever since.
"If I ever meet your brother I'll make sure to thank him personally." I thanked before continuing to eat. She only responded with a small smile before finishing her bowl.
Around ten minutes later we were both finished with our bowl and recovering from the filling meal we had just had. Knowing that she didn't have much more time in lunch break, I started to think about other things we could possibly do in a short amount of time. It didn't take long for an idea to pop up.
"So Hana," I started, "How much time you got left on your break?"
She a gave as swift look at the time on her phone before she answered, "About twenty minutes. Why do you ask?"
"That gives us plenty of time." I said out loud to myself which made Hana perk an eyebrow in confusion.
"Plenty of time for what?" she asked cautiously.
"Just come outside and I'll show you." I got up from my seat and began to walk to the door. Still a bit confused, she stayed seated for a little longer before following me.
"I swear if you kidnap me after all of this, I'm gonna lose it."
This ilicited another chukle from me. "You'll be fine… I think."
"That doesn't make me feel any better."
We then walked out of the door and made our way towards my parked bike a block away. With Hana behind me it made it hard to gauge how she was feeling. Once we got next to the bike I immediately climbed onto it and was greeted by the weary face on Hana.
"Oh no. If you think that I'm getting on that thing you're crazy?" She spoke.
"Oh, come on. It won't be that bad." I then gave the space behind me a little tap. "I promise you I won't go that fast."
"Nope. Not happening?" She restated
"So, you rather pay for a lift and possibly be late to work than take a short, free ride with me?" I asked with a perked eyebrow.
She stood still contemplating her options, which she didn't have many of to begin with.
"You promise you won't go that fast?" She asked
"I promise." I assured.
With a sigh she approached the bike and started to climb onto the space behind me. "If I die, I promise I'll haunt you for the rest of your life."
"Just make sure to hold on tight and put this on." I said while handing her my helmet.
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine." I waved off.
She shuffled behind me while she put on the helmet, but my body froze up when I felt her arms snake around my torso. I always ride by myself so the feeling was foreign to me, but it was something I could get used to. I gave myself a shimmy to loosen myself up before the motorcycle revved to life. I could her grip on me tighten just a little bit harder causing me to look back at her.
"You ready?" I ask while looking back.
All she does is give me a small nod back before I look forward. The motorcycle zipped forwards once I put into gear and pressed the gas. I could faintly hear a small yelp over the sound of bike.
We took off to the streets of the city I made my way through the busy traffic. It was the rare instance that I was going the speed limit, but for Hana it most likely felt faster as I weaved my way through traffic. I could hear her yelling something behind me, but it was being muted by the helmet and the wind. I couldn't help but laugh and smile at the situation.
Eventually came to a red light which allowed a break in the action. Her grip had tightened around me as it felt like she was going to crush my torso.
"How are you doing back there?" Asked with a smile.
"Oh, you know, just trying to not to fall to my death back here." She said sarcastically.
"Trust me when I say that I am taking it easy. If you want, I can go even slower." I offered.
"That would be nice." She agreed.
"I can do that for you. Also, where do you work because I've kind of been riding blind."
"Oh yeah. I forgot, um, take a left here then take a right two lights down." She explained while pointing in the direction to go.
I gave a slight nod of acknowledgement before the light turned green and I accelerated at an even slower pace than before. The rest of the ride was the tame as she seemed to be more comfortable than before by the way she wasn't death gripping me like before. I was a little disappointed that our time together was coming to an end, and I hoped that I made a good enough impression. I knew for a fact she did with me.
They then arrived at a five-story building covered in a glass exterior. Turning the key the car silenced and was brought to rest on the side of the road. Now that the ride was over, I felt her retreat from my back and take off her helmet. The warmth of her retreating boy was replaced with a cool breeze. Feeling her leave made me feel disappointed that our time together was coming to an end.
"Well, that was definitely something." She said before crawling off the bike.
"I told you it wouldn't be that bad." I affirmed. "Maybe next time we can go a little faster if you're up to it."
A smirk then appeared on her face, "Next time?"
I internally cringed as the words flew out my mouth without thinking twice. A wave of embarrassment and nervousness took a hold causing me to just freeze in front of her. I thought that maybe I had ruined everything but nerves were calmed when I heard Hana bust into a another fit of giggles.
"Jeez calm down." She said. "I had a good time so maybe we can do this again sometime."
I was still frozen, dissecting if I had heard correctly. It sounded like she wanted to go on second date, with me of all people! I would've never thought that today I would be having the possibility of going on date, not even a second date, with someone so amazing.
"I-I would like that." I stutter out trying to chain together a sentence.
"So would I. Next time though, lets go somewhere better than a ramen shop and you need to get another helmet." She continued.
"That shouldn't be an issue." I replied while grabbing my helmet.
Hana then started to fix her hair before speaking once more, "You have my number, so just tell me when your available Mr. Hero."
"I will be pretty busy, but I'll make sure to stay in touch."
"I would hope so. I'll be seeing you soon shorty."
With that she turned around and started walking towards the entrance to her building. My eyes tracked her until she disappeared behind the doors of the building. I fluttering sensation erupted in my chest and a smile was permanently on my face for the entire ride home. It was the happiest I had been in a while and I was stuck on a high that no drug could give. But with happiness came with troubles my mind brewed inside itself.
I didn't feel like I deserved to be with someone like her. I wasn't anywhere near the person I was in the past, but I still remembered who I used to be. I was and still am a troubled man. I didn't want to introduce my problems into her life. She didn't deserve that.
When got back to my apartment I took a seat on my coach and sat and thank for a while. As much as I was scared, I was hopeful and I concluded that if I wanted to make things work, I needed to try my best. I couldn't settle for less.
I looked at my desk from my coach and decided that maybe doing some work would help clear my mind and for the rest of that day the monotonous paperwork didn't seem that bad.
A/N
Hey, it's been a while. This chapter has been in development on and off for a few months now. I just wasn't happy with it. I still think that there are some issues, but I wanted to get this out to you guys as fast as possible. Hopefully I can get the next chapter out within the next few weeks, but I won't make any promises.
I hope you enjoyed!