Valiant Visit

Cast: Ryukishi, Nyogo Family, Maru(maru), Feat: Eri, Ippon, Magnum Shrimp, Capture Cloth, Crazy Train, Mirror Devil, Noctiluca, Archangel

I. Dai-Ichi Ikkai Compound

Rain fell against the reinforced windows of the black armored car, and the driver pulled up to the opened gate of the Yakuza compound. The headlights illuminated the imposing structure, casting a hazy glow on the walls. The engine rumbled to a halt, and the driver turned around.

"We're here," he said.

Inigo, dressed in his usual white dress shirt and black blazer with a red tie, looked out into the rain-drenched courtyard. His gaze fell on the towering walls and armed guards that stood watch along them, their weapons at the ready. His dragon construct, Gigan, made itself tiny and hid inside his pocket. Gigan hated this place, and was afraid.

A young maid with an umbrella waited for him outside the car. He stepped out of the car and made his way towards the large Edo-period style house of his eldest brother, Satoru. Grim and serious, with bouts of cold calculating cruelty, Satoru was raised to be a copy of their father. Inigo didn't envy his eldest brother's station.

As he passed by, a line of servants bowed and guided him towards a large room at the end of a hallway. Inigo took a deep breath and opened the door.


Satoru sat alone at the head of a large silk-covered table, a cup of tea in his hand. He was tall and imposing, around 6'4 with sharp features and a commanding presence. His dark hair was tied in a traditional bun behind him. He was dressed in a black hakama with the markings of the Dai-Ichi Ikka embroidered along the back. Behind Satoru sat his dragon construct, Earthbreaker, its head hidden within its massive coiled body forming a large wall of dark scales and hardened bone plates.

Inigo bowed hastily and took a seat across from his brother.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Inigo said.

Satoru took a sip of his tea before answering. "Inigo. There's something important we need to discuss."

Inigo felt uncomfortable in his seat.

"Father is sick, that means the mantle of Dai-Ichi Ikka may soon fall to me. The family is busy preparing for this event."

"So the old man's finally passing the crown huh? I'd be more choked up but he hasn't spoken to me in eight years. Doubt he even knows I exist."

"Nonetheless. You've been outcasted from the main family, but I'll make arrangements to amend that mistake once I'm in power."

Inigo frowned. He was happy where he was. "You'll be breaking several rules if you do that.. but good luck."

Satoru gave Inigo a grim look. "And in case something happens to me, you will prepare to become head of the family."

Inigo was surprised. "Huh? What about Kazuo.. Luccione or whatever he's calling himself these days? He's second in line."

Satoru shook his head. "I have reservations when it comes to him. You will be secretly trained in his place. I've changed my will to reflect this until such time that I'm able to produce a suitable heir of my own."

Inigo didn't like any of this. "Must be really bad if you're coming to me."

Satoru nodded. "If I had any other choice, we wouldn't be speaking."

"Why not Uncle? or Ichiban? Lil Mustache Baby? There's gotta be someone else in the organization.."

Satoru shook his head. "The head title of Dai-Ichi Kai must stay within our line, within our legacy." He stood up and rounded the table. Inigo eyed him with concern.

“Our line must continue to ensure our powerful dragon quirks are passed on to the new generation.”

Satoru slid the cover off the top of the table, underneath was a stylized map of Japan decorated with draconic shapes and symbols. Inigo could see the three main bases of the Dai-Ichi Ikka, and those which belonged to the other four Yakuza families, as well as places and groups that meant little to him. He browsed over the map.. Revolutionary, Night Parade, Vigilantes, Glutton God's Kitchen... He was looking at a map of the criminal underworld.

"We are standing in the precipice of a dangerous age, Inigo. You know of the first gold child." Satoru said, his voice low and serious. "After the first child was born with a quirk, the world changed. The people who had quirks were looked upon with fear and suspicion. It ushered forth a time of chaos and destruction in Japan. The government tried to maintain order but without a suitable source of strength they couldn't hold. Even when they created the hero system to stop the so-called "villains". Their reach fell only to those they deemed worth defending, millions suffered.."

Inigo listened intently.

"..That's when we stepped in," Satoru continued. "We saw an opportunity to end the destruction. Using the quirks in their bloodlines, the Five Families solidified their control of Japan's underworld to bring order to a chaotic world. And we succeeded. We have kept the peace and order for these many years... but our control is fleeting. In the modern era, people with quirks have become more stubborn and independent. Even villains resist our code, they rebel against us, and at worst, they openly attack our members. Without our guiding hand, Japan will fall to ruin. And the government alone cannot stand against the tide it would unleash. That is why we need you by our side, brother."

Inigo turned away.

"Fine, I'll be your back-up or whatever. Not like anything's gonna happen to you with old growly over there." Earthbreaker shuddered in response.

"There is another thing, a rogue group of villains made an attack on the Five Families last night. They attacked a remote gathering near Nagoya, barricading themselves in with hostages. I want you to deal with this, with Luccione as soon as he arrives. Make it quick, we don't want the heroes finding out what happened. Consider this field training in our affairs, since you're taking his place as my heir."

"And in return you'll deal with the protestors and those villains right? I sent you all the details on Representative Medoh."

"Consider it done. It's good seeing you again, Inigo."


The next morning, Inigo met his second brother, Luccione in the halls of the manor. He knew who it was as soon as he saw the rest of the hallway shine like it was sprinkled in gold dust.

"Hello Inigo, my darling baby brother."

Luccione was tall and wiry, his long white hair slicked back, and there was a permanent smirk on his pale powdered face. He wore a resplendent kimono robe and rode on his gold dragon, Avarice, who resembled a large temple-lion with the lower body of a giant lizard. Luccione was surrounded by a crowd of people wearing elegant suits and dresses. They cheered and laughed around him, while drinking wine as if they were in a fancy ball.

“Tell me, what did Satoru tell you?”

“Eh, he told me about the old man, and gave me a lecture for fucking around.”

“Is that it? Poor Inigo-boy. We have missed you so dearly.” Avarice's eyes focused on Inigo.

Inigo felt Luccione's quirk and stubbornly resisted. Luccione's dragon had an aura that created mind-altering illusions of wealth and luxury. The greedier a person was, the more susceptible they were to the aura. He calmed himself and concentrated on seeing the truth. Underneath the illusion the crowd of people were wearing dirty rags. They were all severely thin and covered in cuts and bruises. They had vacant expressions, their eyes glazed over, resembling mindless zombies.

"Do you like my admirers?"

"What the hell did you do Kaz?"

"These are my pets. They're addicted to my quirk, and they do whatever I say. It's quite amusing, really." Luccione kissed the hand of a young blonde woman next to him, who giggled hysterically.

Inigo felt Gigan tense up. Could they fight Luccione and save these people.

No, not right now. I'm sorry Gigan. We have to work with him. For now.

II. Yokiso Villa, Nagoya

Luccione and Inigo stood outside Yokiso Villa as the family's footmen gathered behind them.

Luccione's eyes glinted with excitement as he saw the makeshift barricade along the villa's entrance. "This is adorable," he said to the men, "Fight with no mercy. Let's show them what we do to those who dare attack the Five Families." The men cheered.

Inigo frowned. "What about the hostages? We have to save them too."

Luccione chuckled haughtily. "We're here to secure our position, baby brother. The hostages are inconsequential but save them if you must."

Inigo simply nodded. He knew his brother's priorities were twisted, but he couldn't abandon the innocent people inside. Luccione rode forward riding his gold dragon, the dragon's aura expanding to wash over the men behind them, imbuing them with a sense of greed and ambition. Despite Luccione's quirk, Inigo felt scared about charging ahead. He's only really been in four fights, only one with a quirk user, not counting all the girls that's attacked him of course. Although, he was willing to bet whoever's in there can't hit as hard as Yui or Maxine.

He took a deep breath and the drills that were hammered into him by the Family his whole life, took control of his thoughts. You must lead from the front with power. Isn't that what his old man always said?

Inigo called on his own green dragon, Gigan shape-shifted to imitate Luccione's dragon. Inigo mounted his dragon and moved to follow Luccione. He looked around at the men with him, some of them already succumbing to Luccione's quirk. "Listen up," he said, "We're here to save lives. Keep your focus on freeing hostages, and don't let my brother's quirk get to you."

The group charged forward. Surprising the enemies as the dragons crushed the barricade with ease opening the way for their men to storm in. Gigan expanded to create a shield against a hail of enemy gunfire. Avarice flared its aura, stupefying many of the defenders, who sat there laughing even as they were mowed down. Luccione's men fought with ruthless efficiency, while Inigo's team worked to secure the hostages in each room. As they fought their way through the building, Luccione laughed and charged ahead at a muscular man with an elephant-mutation and a blue haired man throwing ice-projectiles.

"I'll take the left wing of the Villa. Go find your own fun!" Luccione yelled out as he slammed the ice villain into a wall.


Inigo moved deeper into the building. He saw several defenders running down a hallway. Inigo jumped forward and kicked his construct who had turned into a soccer ball.

"Crash Kick!" he yelled as the soccer ball expanded, enlarging into the size of a boulder and building up speed until it crashed into the armed men. Gigan snapped back into its dragon form and pounced on the remaining soldiers.

Inigo continued forward and passed several empty rooms. There were bottles of saki and untouched dishes everywhere. The villains must’ve attacked mid-celebration. He suddenly heard yells of distress as he saw his men running from a thick cloud of smoke. "QUIRK USER!" One of them yelled as a hail of blackened shurikens cut them down.

A villain with a smoke-quirk? Inigo prepared himself for a fight as he ran into a wide rectangular common room half-filled with smoke.

"What do we have here.. A little Yakuza here to die?" The villain's voice came out of the black smoke before throwing a flurry of shurikens at Inigo.

Inigo quickly formed a round shield to block the projectiles, and then activated his quirk again to turn Gigan into a massive hammer. He swung the hammer and spun, sweeping the span of the room trying to take out the villain quickly. He hit nothing but empty smoke.

The villain cackled and threw another barrage of shurikens. One of them got through Inigo's defenses and sliced into his left shoulder, drawing blood. He gritted his teeth.

He focused through the pain, quickly forming his dragon knight armor with wings and began fanning the smoke away. The gust barely cleared any smoke in the closed room, it just sent them flying in random directions. The villain started laughing. "A pathetic attempt."

Where is he hiding? Inigo paused to think. He could send his construct out and try to flank the villain, but it made activating his quirk slower and more difficult to use. When Gigan was within reach, Inigo could quickly transform it into whatever's needed.

"Did you think we would be under the heel of the Five Families forever? We were born with these quirks as gifts! I was born for greater things than to be your lackey!" The black smoke surged forward and thickened around Inigo. He tried to fan it away, but it began choking him. Inigo jerked and fell to the floor coughing. He couldn't breathe. He tried crawling out of the smoke but the entire hallway behind him was now filled with it. The villain laughed louder.

Inigo's eyes stung, he coughed weakly trying to breathe. He had to find a way to win. If he died here - his class would never know what happened to him and he'd never be able to apologize for missing his date with Hoge.

Kashkkk!! Kssshkkk!!

Gigan instinctively formed a dome shield around the struggling Inigo, repelling another flurry of shurikens. Inigo thought about what he could transform Gigan into. It was too late to make a helmet or mask.

Inigo couldn't let the smoke distract him. He closed his eyes and relied on his other senses. He could feel the villain's presence and hear his movement. There was a faint clinking and whooshing as he circled around the room. The clinking would be the shurikens he carried, but what was the whooshing sound? It sounded like a vent. Maybe the villain wasn't emitting the smoke. He was the smoke.

Inigo tried to imagine a giant vacuum cleaner. No. Too complicated. He didn't have time to imagine every part. He could make a bulldozer to break a wall but he wasn't sure where he was in the building. What about...

Inigo pictured the device in his head. The mechanics behind it were simple enough, and so were the density required for each part. Gigan began to transform.

The villain roared as he saw Gigan's protective dome disappear. "Giving up already? The Five Families are a relic of the past! Die and rot like the rest of them!" He threw a wave of deadly shurikens.

Inigo listened for the projectiles as they were being thrown, he rolled out of the way and directed Gigan with his mind towards the villain's location. "Now!"

Gigan flew forward and expanded, the construct had turned into a large bellow. Drawing the black smoke in, pulling the villain within.

"Wait!!! Nooo!!" SHHHWOOOM!

Once he knew the villain was inside, Inigo turned Gigan into a large airtight orb. Inigo gasped for air, and grabbed his bleeding shoulder. He slowly staggered towards the villain.

"I don't give a shit about your gripe with the Family."

The villain's form had partially changed back into a red-headed man with several face tattoos, he was desperately trying to push and cut his way out of Gigan's bubble with a large knife.

"But I can't die yet.." Inigo winced in pain. "Not until I've scored with a girl!" Gigan's bubble opened up as Inigo punched the man in the face, knocking him out.

Inigo turned to the dark hallway the man was guarding. He started down the hall, the sounds of gunfire started to die down outside. They had won. Inigo found his way to a large door locked from the outside by a metal bar.


Gigan bursts through the door, Inigo at its side. The hostages looked up at him, some of them still in shock. "Everyone, come with us!" he shouted. "We're getting you out of here."

Inigo saw his men behind him and ordered them to lead the hostages to safety.

As the hostages left the room, Inigo caught sight of a small figure huddled in a corner. It was a little girl wearing a white dress shirt and a green skirt. She had large red eyes and blue-gray colored hair which was styled into two braids over her shoulder. On her forehead was a small white bump that resembled a horn. It was barely visible.

The little girl looked up at Inigo with frightened eyes. "It's okay now. I'm Inigo, what's your name?"

The girl only stared. "I'm gonna get you out of here okay? Did you come here with anyone?"

She looked down and pointed to a set of bodies in the corner. Inigo cursed under his breath. These servants died to protect her. What kind of things had this little girl seen?

The girl's eyes widened, as she suddenly ran up and hid behind Inigo. He gritted his teeth as he saw the room start to sparkle.

"Inigo, my darling brother. You did a fantastic job, the day is ours." Luccione practically slid into the room while standing on his dragon, he had several new thralls behind him, including the villain with an elephant-mutation.

"If we're done here, I'll be heading back. It's a school day tomorrow." Inigo stepped to the right to cover Eri some more.

"Oh but what do you have there?" Luccione smiled as he sent his dragon after the little girl. Gigan shifted into its dragon form and stood in front of her. "Interesting... I think I know this one. Oh what a cute little pet. You can go back to your school Inigo, leave everything here to me."

"I-I'm scared," the girl whispered as she grabbed Inigo's hand. Inigo squeezed the girl's hand.

"I'm not leaving her with you Kaz. I'll get her home myself." Inigo stood defiantly.

Luccione smirked. "You fight one villain, and you think you can order me around, little brother?" With a wave of his hand, Luccione's thralls surrounded Inigo. He felt the full weight of Avarice's aura on him.

Golden lights filled Inigo's vision. If he had enough money, he could just buy the school. If he was famous, all the girls would beg to be with him. If he was...

Inigo sunk his fingers into the shuriken still stuck on his bleeding shoulder, the sharp pain snapped him back to reality. He glared at his older brother.

"I'm not backing down on this one. I'll fight you if I have to." Gigan roared behind him.

Luccione seemed surprised. He waved his hand, and his thralls and dragon returned to his side.

He started laughing flamboyantly. "Oh calm down, baby brother. I'm only joking. That school really has you convinced that you can be a hero huh?" Luccione got on his gold dragon and started to ride away, waving as he did so.

"Take the Shie Hassaikai brat. I got enough toys for one day."

III. Inigo's Apartment

"Get back to me when you reach them. Yeah. She's at my place. Thanks Jenkins."

Inigo sighed and put away his phone. He's been calling people all morning to try and reach the girl's family. The little girl from Nagoya was named Eri. She had been quiet the whole ride back to Kyoto, only speaking once to say her name and ask when her grandpa was coming. Now she sat in Inigo's living room playing with Gigan in its little dragon-form.

Eri was a weird little girl. She mostly stared and never smiled. It reminded Inigo of someone else. He felt lightheaded. Must be the painkillers they gave him for the stitches on his shoulder. He sighed and made his way to the kitchen.

"So I have Clucky Charms and Popsy-O's. Which one do you want?" Inigo held out the two half-empty cereal boxes for Eri to see. How long have these been in there?

Eri shook her head.

"How about eggs?"

"Toast?"

"Instant Ramen?"

She shook her head again, just as her stomach growled.

"And that's all we got. Gigan remind me that we need to go shopping." His construct mewed in confirmation and turned into a shopping cart.

"There's a ramen place down the block, you wanna go there?" She shook her head again.

"There's a cafe, with cake and other sweets. How about that?" Eri shrugged.

"Guess we have a winner."

IV. Shiketsu High School

Inigo rode his dragon and flew low and slowly with Eri on his back as they made their way to the "Thanks a Latte" Café. He flew over the school. It was a Sunday, but the school was open for support students only. It looked like they were holding support item field tests for interested sponsors. Inigo landed by a school bench and placed Eri down. She had fallen asleep during the flight and he didn't want to risk flying with her. He was gonna have to walk her the rest of the way.

Inigo's eyes caught something in the distance. There was a familiar figure near the Hero-course gardens.

Hoge stood holding a hose as she watered the flower beds. The short haired girl with brown eyes carried a black tote bag on her back. She wore a black pleated skirt, a white button-up blouse with a sailor-style collar, and a black blazer with brass buttons. She also had on knee-high socks and black loafers. As she watered the plants, the sunlight hit her in a way that made her sparkle, a small rainbow appeared over her. She looked so calm, and almost happy. She was still the most beautiful girl he's ever seen. Inigo was spellbound.

Gigan poked Inigo back to reality and mewed. He patted the little dragon and snuck his way forward. "Let's go say hello."

He watched her from around the corner. She was watering the flower beds of the other classes too. What kind of weirdo goes to school when they don't have to and then chooses to do chores. She was practicing running like a ninja as she went from one flowerbed to another. What a dork.

As she got closer, Inigo approached her from behind, he activated his quirk, and put his hands over her eyes.

"Guess who?"

She tensed up and shivered. He could feel her face getting warm.

"I-Imai-kun?"

Inigo felt like a dagger just struck him.

"No! It's not Imai, it's me. Inigo!" He turned her around and grinned weakly. "H-hey there."

"Baka." She blinked and turned the hose on him, spraying him on the face. "Pervert! Wakarazuya! Asshole!"

Inigo fell back, coughing, he shielded his face. "Hoge! H-hey wait! Hold on!" He suddenly wished he was fighting the smoke villain again. "I just want to talk!"

"Speak fast. Little monkey brain. Baka." She turned off the hose but held it in front of her defensively.

Inigo quickly wiped his face and reached into his blazer. From it, he took out a notebook and held it out for her.

"I'm sorry for missing our date! I should've told you earlier, but I kept missing you." Inigo bowed his head.

Hoge picked up the notebook and opened it.

"See. I wrote "I'm sorry" in every space." Inigo smirked.

Hoge stared. "This is a waste of a good notebook." She slipped the notebook into her tote bag.

"I'll get another one if you don't forgive me. I'll give you one every day." Inigo said playfully.

"Is this blackmail? You're blackmailing me."

"Not blackmail! All I want is another chance to date you. To make up for the first one?"

She stepped back apprehensively.

"You're finished with all the other girls. So now you're coming back to get me after ignoring me the whole time. How horrible."

"No." Inigo stepped forward in a panic and pressed his palm on the wall behind Maru, pushing her back in the process. "I think you're the girl I should've been with all along. With those other girls.. I was just trying to get my mind off of you."

Hoge blushed, she looked uncertain into Inigo's eyes. He stared back and smiled softly. Hoge was about answer when she noticed something to the side. She tilted her head and pointed with a blank face. "Who's that?"

Eri had woken up and made her way to Inigo. She was standing behind them.

Inigo turned. "Oh.. That's uhh."

Eri yawned. "He said he's taking me to get sweets."

Hoge activated the hose and sprayed Inigo's face again. "Baka! You're kidnapping kids now. Drug dealer. Human trafficker! You're selling kids to get more drugs! Baka baka baka! I'll report you!"

Inigo struggled to block with his hands. "You got it all wrong! Stop! H-hey Hoge! Someone's coming!"

Hoge looked out. She saw Ippon-sensei passing by, he was talking to a pro hero wearing a shrimp-themed costume. Hoge raised her arm to wave them over. Inigo lunged at her, he put a hand over her mouth as they fell to the ground. He didn't know what would happen if a teacher or a pro-hero found Eri here, but it probably wasn't good.

("...As a real man, I go all the time. They have the best shrimp cocktails. Uh. No offense.")

("None taken.")

He stayed on top of Hoge until Ippon-sensei passed by. Inigo whispered. "Sorry. I can't get caught with her on school grounds. Her grandpa would get mad." He looked down at Hoge, water dripped down from his face to hers. She stayed surprisingly still the whole time just watching him, his hand still over her mouth. He thought she looked slightly erotic. Inigo shook his head.

"I'm gonna let you go now. You're pissed so you can attack me all you want, just don't get a teacher please."

Inigo got off Hoge, and she just sat up quietly. She glared at him and made her way to Eri, pointing a suspicious finger at him. "Do you want me to save you from him? I'm a top hero-in-training."

Eri rubbed her eyes and looked at Hoge. "You're hard to see. I don't know, he saved me from bad guys. I think he's taking me to grandpa after we go to the cafe." Eri's stomach growled.

Hoge nodded. "I won't let him harm you. I'll keep you safe." Hoge leered at Inigo and then ran off.

He frowned. She was crouching and ninja-running away. He wondered how much of what he said went over her head. He led Eri out of the school grounds and back to the path for the café.


After a few minutes of walking, He glanced behind them. Hoge was following them.

"How long is she gonna be following us?" Inigo sighed as he watched her dash from one street light to another, then towards a mailbox.

Eri shrugged. "I think she's nice."

Inigo paused and moved towards their stalker. "Hey weirdo. I know you're behind that mailbox." Inigo kept his hands in his pockets and circled around. Hoge was crouched against the mailbox.

She stood up and stared at him. "Are you psychic? Super-senses? How are you finding me?"

Inigo grinned. "My own little secret." He winked and pointed at her sleeve where a small green lace ribbon was wrapped around. "I put Gigan on you when I snuck up the first time. I can't sense you, but I can sense my own construct."

"Take it off." Hoge demanded, as she tried to remove Gigan.

"Only if you promise to stop following us."

"No. Baka." She kept trying to remove Gigan.

"How bout' you come with us instead? If you really think I'm doing something weird."

Hoge paused to think. "Okay." She stared at Eri. "I'll keep you safe from him."

Eri nodded and took Hoge's hand as the three of them walked towards the café together.

V. Kyoto Park District

Inigo, Hoge, and Eri strolled down the street on the warm sunny day. The birds were singing, and there was a pleasant breeze in the air. Eri held Hoge's hand as they walked, and began asking her questions.

"Are you a real ninja?"

Hoge nodded. "Yes."

She's not actually a ninja.. Inigo thought.

"Then how come you're out during the day?"

Hoge took a deep breath in and held up a finger.

"A ninja is trained to operate during the day as well. Ninjas are often hired as spies or assassins, and they need to be able to blend in with regular people during the day. They can't just disappear into the shadows all the time, or people would get suspicious. I learned how to move and act like ordinary citizens, all while still being able to use ninja skills if necessary. In feudal Japan, there were strict social classes, and the farmers and peasants were considered to be the lowest of the low. But they were also the ones who knew the land the best, and could navigate through it easily. So when warlords needed spies or assassins, they often turned to these farmers and peasants, who could move around unnoticed and gather information without raising suspicion. Ninjas are trained to be versatile and adaptable, you can't always expect your target to be out at night, and it's easier to attack during the day since people know ninjas attack at night."

She thought it through?? How did she say all that in one breath?

"That's fun. Do you think I can be a ninja?" Eri asked.

"Yes. I can train you." Hoge squeezed her hand and they shared a look.

Inigo eyed Hoge and sighed. She could get in trouble if she got too close to Eri.

"Better not be putting weird ideas into her head. Ninjas are lame anyway, Knights are cooler." Inigo smirked.

Hoge leered and stuck her tongue out at him. Inigo stuck his tongue out back. Eri just stared as she walked between the two teenagers.

"Hey. We're almost at the cafe." He said. "It's just around the corner."

As they approached a corner, Eri's eyes widened as she spotted a little puppy waddling its way towards them. She tugged at Hoge's hand and rushed over to pet it. The puppy yipped and wagged its tail.

The puppy turned to Hoge and growled menacingly, then it turned back to Eri and yipped happily.

"Did you just see that?" Inigo pointed.

Hoge nodded. "My quirk upsets animals. Also babies. I'm used to it."

The old woman holding the puppy's leash smiled warmly at them. She fiddled with her glasses. "Oh, what a lovely sight." She looked to Eri, then to Inigo and Hoge.

"You must have been really young when you had her. Couples these days. Make sure you have more children now. Japan is counting on you." The old lady chuckled and walked away with her dog.

Inigo and Hoge avoided eye-contact with each other and shared a brief awkward silence before resuming their walk towards the café.

VI. Thanks a Latte Café

Chimes announced their arrival as Inigo, Hoge, and Eri walked into the Thanks a Latte café. At the front was a counter made of polished wood with a glass case displaying a variety of pastries and sweets. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, and the sound of steaming milk being frothed can be heard from the back.

A short gray-haired woman was busy serving a line of customers at the counter so Eri and Hoge made their way to a table in the corner, taking in the cozy atmosphere of the indoor café. A few other patrons were scattered around, enjoying their drinks and snacks.

Inigo glanced around the room and spotted three familiar faces. Yui was at a table arguing with the cute little lady who owned the café. Towards the back of the cafe, stood two of his classmates, Sen was busy playing with the pinball machine while Christopher watched. Inigo waved to get their attention and nodded before joining Eri and Hoge at their table.

Hoge was still holding Eri's hand. Eri seemed more nervous and shy. The more people there were around them, the quieter she became.

"So what're we getting? Can I start us off with some coffee and cake?" Inigo said grinning as he reached for his wallet.

Hoge looked around suspiciously. "I don't like coffee. It should be a banned substance. Café's should be outlawed for serving it."

"Coffee is gross." Eri imitated.

Inigo chuckled. "No coffee then. Is juice okay?"

Hoge and Eri shrugged.

"I'll just order a bit of everything. Sit tight."

Inigo walked over and stood at the end of the line to order, he watched Hoge and Eri talking. Just two weirdos talking about ninjas. He sighed. If he hadn't found Eri, he could've been out getting with girls and getting dates today. Instead he's stuck babysitting with Maru(maru). Wait.. Hold on. Was he on a date right now? His vision zero'd in on Hoge. Was this their second date?

"Next customer please!"

Inigo fumbled with his wallet as he stepped forward.

“Can we get some juice? And one of everything you have. It’s a special occasion.” Inigo winked.


Inigo returned to their table and sat next to Hoge. He put down a large tray filled with sweet-smelling dishes. There were three large glasses of strawberry mango juice, a large plate of fluffy pancakes, several biscuits of varying shapes, a plate of strawberry shortcake, banana sponge cake, mochi ice cream, chewy rice balls, chocolate chip cookies, and various other cakes.

Eri stared at her juice. Hoge picked up a rice cake. “You ordered too much food. Far too much for the three of us.” she said quietly.

Inigo grinned. “Yeah, it’s a feast. I ordered everything. She has to like something here.”

Eri took a sip, as Hoge nibbled on a rice cake. Inigo scooted closer to her and munched on one of the cookies. “This place is the best.”

Hoge tilted her head towards Eri. “She’s still not eating. She said she gets headaches when she eats. It has something to do with her quirk.”

Eri nodded and then looked up meekly at Hoge. “What’s your quirk?”

“It's difficult for people to notice me. It keeps me from getting detected.”

“Heroes have cool quirks. Grandpa says mine is still coming in. I wish I had that.” Eri sipped her juice.

“No. You wouldn’t want mine.” Hoge said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“She’s just being humble! Her quirk is awesome, it lets her be a ninja,” Inigo interjected grinning.

Hoge leered at Inigo’s construct who’s still on her sleeve. “You can have his quirk. For a hero, it’s flashier and easier than mine.”

Inigo protested, “Nah, you try having a nanny watching you and judging you 24/7. It kinda blows. Definitely not easy.”

“At least you’re never alone,” Hoge said quietly..

Inigo leaned in and placed a hand over hers. “If it was up to me, you’ll never be alone again.”

“Baka.”

They stared. Inigo smiled, she always looked at him like she’s trying to analyze him. Like she’s trying to read his mind. She didn’t snap her hand away. This is it. He gulped and wondered which line to use next.

“Inigo! What’s going on man?” Sen called out as he approached the table, behind him stood Christopher and Yui.

Inigo turned and waved at them. “Yo Shinkan!” He noticed Hoge starting to duck under the table. “I’m with Hoge and my little cousin, Eri.” He pointed at them with his thumb.

Yui moved in and sat down next to Eri. “Hey I’m Yui!” the white haired girl said a little too aggressively causing Eri to flinch and turn away. “What the hell’s her problem?”

“She’s a little shy.” Inigo explained. “Eri, this is Yui, Sen and Christopher. They’re our classmates, also heroes-in-training.”

“I didn’t know you hung out with class rep.” Christopher looked to Inigo.

Hoge stopped trying to duck under the table and sat very still. “We just ran into each other.”

Inigo pointed at the other three. “Yeah well, what are you three up to?”

“I went here to talk to Noc- I mean the owner, and these guys followed me here.” Yui explained. “You’re not eating this right?” She grabbed a muffin from one of the plates and started eating it.

Christopher held out a notebook.

“I was telling Shinkan my analysis of his team’s performance the other day, and I thought I could share with Yui. Feedback is critical at this stage of our development.”

“Oh yeah. Damn. You guys were pretty tough.” Inigo said. He and Shinkan grinned and shared a look. They fist bumped.

“Let’s have a rematch sooner than later. Yeah?” Inigo said.

Yui spoke with her mouth full of muffins. “Which team won again?”

Inigo chuckled and turned to Yui. “Actually I came to the cafe, hoping you’d be around.”

She swallowed. “Huh?”

Inigo pointed a thumb towards Eri. “She had some juice, but she just won’t eat. You’re kinda the most clever person I know so I came here.”

All of them looked at Eri who just stared at the sponge cake in front of her. They could hear her stomach growl.

Yui wiped some muffin crumbs off her cheek and looked at Inigo suspiciously. “Tch. I’ll give it a shot, but I’m taking some of your food, Myoga,” she growled.


The students stood and crowded around the table. Yui had removed all the plates off the table “If there’s too much food. She gets confused and she won’t eat. It’s called choice paralysis.” She held up a finger matter of factly.

The others nodded in unison. “That’s smart,” Hoge said.

Yui placed the plate of fish-shaped biscuits back on the table. “See the design, it’s eye-catching so it’ll get her attention.”

The others nodded in unison again. “Intriguing.” Chris started writing in his notebook.

Yui kept the plate a few inches away from Eri’s reach and slowly moved it forward. “And then!”

Yui took out a small round-bell and started ringing it over the food.

Ding, ding, ding! “Come and get it!”

They fell in dismay. “S-she’s not a cat!”

Eri just stared at the biscuits and shook her head. Yui growled and folded her arms. “It works at home. It’s not my fault the kid’s all screwy!”

Inigo scratched his head. “Really, thanks for trying though. Anyone else have any ideas?”

Christopher piped up. “I have something. Don’t blame me if it doesn’t work, man.”


Inigo and Yui gave way to Christopher who pulled out a notebook.

He stood in front of Eri and opened the book. She stared at him, and he pushed two small plates, with rice pudding and fruit-tart, towards her.

"Little girl." He said flatly. "These dishes are loaded with vitamins and minerals that are essential for your body."

"Its value to your taste buds should not be your main concern. You need 1,600 to 2,200 calories per day. You must eat to neutralize your hunger. Ideally consumption should also boost your health and prevent sickness and death. Your brain will also work better if-"

Christopher kept on going. The others watched as Eri got more confused and dazed until she fell asleep.

"She's knocked-out! K.O! " Shinkan Sen pointed out.

Yui grunted. "She's just a little girl. She can’t understand all that."

Christopher shrugged. "I considered her age. She does not need to grasp all the concepts, simply one convincing concept should have been enough. I overestimated her."

Hoge started poking Eri until she woke up.

Sen stood up. “I got something that’ll work. My grandfather taught me this trick once when he was drunk. It worked for all the children in my family. It’s a move passed down from generations of Shinkans.”

They all stepped back to watch Sen. He picked up a spoon and scooped some rice pudding off a plate. He held it towards Eri, who stared at him with interest.

“Here comes the train. Choo-choo! Choo-choo!” He slowly moved the spoon towards Eri’s mouth.

“Open up for the train! Choo-choo!” Eri tilted her head away and shook it.

“She might be too old for that one.” Inigo pointed out. The others nodded in agreement. Shinkan shrugged and ate the pudding himself. They all stood around puzzled. “It sucks, but I guess I’ll just take her home. Not like we can force her to eat.”

Hoge’s eyes darted to the side, she saw Eri glance at something. Hoge crept behind the counter and picked up an apple inside one of the containers.

To the others, she simply appeared in front of Eri and held out the apple. “Do you want this? I can cut it up for you.” Eri stared and the others watched.

“Hey.” Hoge looked down at Gigan who’s still wrapped around her sleeve. “Turn into a knife.”

The construct transformed into a knife and she started cutting up the apple into slices. “See your quirk isn’t that hard to use.” She glanced at Inigo before sliding the plate of apple slices to Eri.

They all waited with bated breaths. Eri started eating. They all cheered.

“Wooo!” Inigo slid next to Hoge and patted her on the head. “You’re the best Hoge!”

“Glad that’s over with.” Yui gave a nod to their class rep.

“Nice work Nyoro,” Sen said, giving her a thumbs-up, and Christopher looked at her approvingly. “I will note this down for the next time I deal with such a child.”

Inigo could tell she was blushing, and she mumbled something he couldn't quite hear. Did she say, "Praise me more?”

Inigo stood up. “In honor of our class rep’s success. Drinks are on me! Oh, and we're gonna need help eating the rest of this food. You guys wanna stay and help us out?” They cheered.

“All of these here are already mine.” Yui said, the delinquent yanked several plates towards her. “Can you believe how much she overcharges for these?”

Chris nods. “I haven’t eaten yet. So I’ll accept the offer.”

Shinkan Sen grinned and grabbed a plate of pie. "Gotta feed the engine if I'm running back home."

“You're always training huh?” Inigo chuckled. “No pun intended.”

Sen nodded. “The battle exercise proved I must do better. Does anyone want to spar?”

Yui held up a muffin, inspecting it. "Are you looking to get your ass beat by me?”

“If I win, can I have some muffins?”

Yui stuffed the remaining two mini muffins into her mouth. “What muffins?”

They all laughed. Inigo glanced to his side and smiled at Hoge. She looked a little blurry even to him. Was she feeling tense?

He placed a hand on hers. "We're all friends here right?" She calmed down and smiled back at him.

Christopher looked up and spoke. "Would you like me to do a review on your performance in the battle?"

Inigo smirked. "Yeah I'll take you up on that. Give it to me straight, coach." Suddenly his phone rang.

"That's me. I gotta get this. Rain check ok?"

Christopher nodded. Hoge looked at him. "You can tell me his performance."

He scooted forward and opened the notebook. "First of all, their strategy was-"


“Is this Dai-Ichi Inigo?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

"Ah, this is the head of Shie Hissekai, please call me Pops. You’re Saizo’s third son aren’t you? I'm sorry about your mother.”

“Yeah thanks, I’ve had enough time to deal with it.”

“Where is Eri?”

“She’s at a cafe. Eating apple slices.”

“Impressive. You got her to eat. Thank you for taking care of her. We’re on our way to your apartment now. We’ll be arriving with our escort team in an hour. Please be careful, we believe someone might have intercepted your messages.”

“I’ll be careful. See you then.” Inigo hung up the call.

Intercepted messages? That can’t be good.

Inigo walked back to the table where everyone was joking around. Eri was throwing food for Sen to catch in his mouth and he released puffs of smoke as he did so.

“Sorry guys. That was Eri’s gramps. We gotta go.”

“Aw. I wanted to play some more,” Eri said in protest. The others looked at Inigo.

“C’mon, don’t make me look like a bad guy now.” Inigo frowned. “Just say goodbye Eri.”

Eri said her goodbyes and followed Inigo, chimes rang as they made their way out the door. Hoge stood up too and started to follow after the two.

“Nyoro, you’re going with them?” asked Christoper flatly.

“My dorm is the same way.” Hoge did a small bow and walked after Eri and Inigo.

VII. Kyoto Park District

It was getting dark by the time they reached the park. Five minutes into their walk home, Inigo was happy and relieved when he sensed Hoge following them. He paused and looked back. Eri followed his gaze and saw the short-haired girl standing there.

Eri ran up and hugged Hoge. “I thought you were gone.”

“I’m here. I have to make sure you get home.” She took Eri’s hand and they started walking together.

“You could come over to my place when she leaves and we can continue our date, y’know?” Inigo said, winking from the front.

“Baka. I never said this was a date.”

“We walked through the park. Had a meal at a cafe. Sounds like a date to me.“

“I would never go to your place.”

“Not even in a thousand years?”

“Never is longer than that. Stupid.”

“And here I thought you were having a good time.”

Hoge looked down. “Ok. I was.”

“Then I win. Date or no date, that’s all that matters to me.” He winked and kept walking.

“Hey Inigo.”

“What?”

“Why do you want to date me? Why me?” She said quietly.

“Well.” Inigo paused to think.

A sharp vibrating noise filled the air above them. Suddenly a large block of ice materialized in the sky and fell on the group. Crashing and creating a thick mist. Inigo pulled Hoge out of the way, but Eri was caught inside the dome of ice.

“These guys again..” Inigo turned around and saw two familiar figures in the mist. The two villains from Nagoya were walking towards them. The villain with an elephant-mutation and the blue-haired villain with an ice-projection quirk.

How the hell did they escape?

Inigo formed his dragon knight armor around himself with Gigan. It was stylized plate armor, the kind that knights used to wear back in the day. A large pair of dragon wings near the back of his shoulder completed the transformation.

“Those are real villains. I’ll get Eri out of here. You should run.” He said, turning to Hoge. She was no longer there. Her quirk was fully active and he couldn’t find her. Did she flee already?

Eri banged on the ice from inside the dome. She was gonna freeze in there. Inigo transformed part of his armor into a large mining pick and struck the ice. It was too thick. The two villains laughed as they approached.

“We’re supposed to get the girl, but I don’t see why we can’t have any fun,” said the Elephant-Man in a deep voice.

Inigo read up on these villains after they were captured. He tried to remember what he knew. He focused on the elephant-man.

Villain Name:「Mammogar」

Quirk:「Elephant」

Type: Mutant

Description: He has the appearance of an elephant, and has the strength and toughness of a full grown bull. His trunk allows him to trumpet a supersonic sound blast around himself.

Mammogar charged forward, making the ground shake.

“You’re ruining my date!” Inigo yelled as he punched forward, his gauntlet grew turning into the colossal arm of a dragon who slammed the elephant-man to the side. Inigo took a breath in. Two fights in one day. His reserves were running low.

I just need to get Eri out and run.

The elephant-man was already on his feet and charging again.

Inigo flapped his dragon wings and flew upwards, dodging the large mutant’s attack. He turned and five pillars of ice materialized above him and fell. He weaved dodging the first four, but the fifth knocked him to the ground.

“Trying to fly away won’t work here, little dragon boy.” Inigo scrambled to his feet and turned to the blue-haired man with the ice powers.

Villain Name:「Cryo Jin」

Quirk:「Falling Ice」

Type: Emitter

Description: He can create constructs of ice by pulling from moisture in the upper atmosphere. He focuses his quirk on higher points of elevation to make larger ice and then drops them on his enemies.

Inigo gritted his teeth. Their quirks fit well together. He was vulnerable in the air against Cryo Jin, but couldn’t stay on the ground against Mammogar. He would have to take one down quickly.

Inigo frantically sped away from the trampling elephant-man, while dodging Cryo Jin’s ice quirk. He circled the park a few times, trying to find an opening.

Seeing Mammogar slow down, Inigo shot forward towards Cryo Jin. He created a giant construct hammer and swung as he got close. The villain dropped down an ice barrier, but Inigo smashed through it. He slammed the blunt weapon into the villain’s abdomen.

The blow connected and sent the villain reeling back. Inigo followed up with another strike but was blasted back by a burst of icy winds.

Mammogar ran up from behind and smashed into him.

Inigo fell to the ground. His armor was dented in several places. He looked to the side. Eri was still stuck in the dome of ice. He had to help her.

“Let her go.” Inigo muttered, creating a knight's shield in front of him.

Cryo Jin chuckled. “I’ll give this one to you, big guy.” He leaped backwards.

Mammogar raised his trunk in the air and created a sonic blast, the high pitched attack struck Inigo. It disoriented him, causing him to fall to his knee. The mutant howled and charged again.

This is it huh? He couldn’t even say goodbye to her.. He could almost see her eyes.

“Baka. Get up.”

“Hoge?”

She was by his side.

“You have to get out of here. We can’t take them.” Inigo said weakly.

“It’s fine. I brought company.”

The sounds of a train horn shot up into the night. Shinkan and Yui had arrived, and they charged the Elephant Man.

Shinkan Sen crashed into Mammogar. His engine boomed and roared. The impact from their meeting caused the ground to rumble.

Yui ran up and whipped her bindings into Mammogar’s large ears, pulling them forward over his eyes to blind him.

Seeing his friends, Inigo picked up a second wind and sprinted towards Eri. “They’re after Eri! We need to get her out of that dome!”

Cryo Jin raised both arms up and conjured two crashing pillars of ice above Yui. The delinquent dodged, using her bindings to swing herself away via a lamp post. She swung around and kicked the ice villain in the head. Inigo moved past the distracted enemies. He saw Christopher following him as he got to the dome of ice imprisoning Eri.

“Chris, do you have Hifumi’s quirk. Can you get her out?”

“Negative. There’s not enough space inside for me.”

Inigo turned Gigan into a large drill around his arm and started chipping away at the dome.

“What about your other quirk?”

“Observe.” Christopher pointed a hand out towards Cryo Jin and created his own ice spike above the villain, it crashed down sending the villain falling to the ground. Christopher had copied Jin’s quirk.

“Using my own quirk against me? Fools!” Cryo Jin got up and dashed forward. He spread his arms up and started raining down icicles on the two students. Inigo lifted up his shield and enlarged it over himself and Chris, blocking the icicles. “I can’t hold this for long, man.” Chris kept conjuring ice spikes, getting more annoyed as the ice villain seemed to know how to dodge them.

“Fools! I’ll show you what I can really do!” A shadow fell over the two boys. Christopher touched Inigo’s arm and focused. Cryo Jin was creating a gigantic pillar above their heads. Inigo swore.

Suddenly, Hoge appeared behind the ice villain, she dunked a half-full trash can over the ice villain’s head, cutting off his concentration. The incomplete-pillar above Inigo and Christopher fell.

Christopher teleported himself and Inigo out of the way. “Go! While he can’t see us.” Christopher yelled with his eyes closed.

Inigo nodded. He ran forward. "Gigan!" His construct transformed into a spinning soccer ball in front of him.

"CRASH KICK!" He kicked the ball hard and activated his quirk, pouring all his stamina into his construct, and sending the ball flying forward at a high arch. The ball enlarged into the size of a boulder, homing in on the ice villain before slamming in full force. Gigan quickly transformed into his dragon form and started thrashing Cryo Jin with teeth and claws. The ice villain was down.

Inigo tried to give Hoge a thumbs up but she was already gone, he turned back to Chris.

“Good job. We still need to get her out of the dome before she freezes to death. Can you use my quirk?”

"I am already doing that. Can’t you tell?" Chris shuddered as a single tear rolled down his cheek. “Fuck this quirk.” He was feeling the intense emotions that came with the dragon quirk. He focused his copied power, and made a drill around his arm with his black dragon. He started drilling into the dome of ice.

“Just one more villain. I hope the others can hold on.” Inigo combined his drill with Chris, as they chipped into the ice together.


Mammogar’s sonic blast sent Yui and Sen flying backwards. The ringing pain in their ears made it hard to move.

The elephant villain lifted Sen and slammed him hard into the ground.

Mammogar laughed and stomped towards Yui, he trumpeted another sonic blast into the air stunning her. “Poor little imps. Should’ve stayed in school.”

Hoge popped into Mammogar’s vision, and pulled the disoriented Yui out of the way of the Elephant-man's charge.

"It's the trunk. If you can stop it we can win."

"I can't get close to him! Damn it!" Yui glared angrily as the class rep held up two fingers. Yui nodded and the two separated, running in two different directions.

Hoge popped up in front of the Mammogar. "Psst. Over here!" She threw a peanut at him.

“There you are! You won’t get far this time!” He raised his trunk into the air to trumpet again.

“No you don’t!” Yui quickly leaped onto the elephant-man’s back and wrapped her bindings around its trunk, squeezing tight. It tried to use its sonic attack but it struggled to do so.

“Get off me Imp!”

The elephant-man sped up and slammed himself backwards into a tree, but Yui held on. She heard the sounds of a train horn blasting into the air. She saw Sen behind her.

Sen had gotten up and was building up speed. She yanked hard at Mammogar’s trunk causing him to stumble backwards. Sen crashed into Mammogar’s right foot in full force, breaking the elephant-mutant’s knee.

“GAAH!! DAMNIT!!” Now with an injured knee, Mammogar seemed enraged, he slammed Sen aside and stumbled towards Eri’s location. He was going berserk. He reached behind him and grabbed Yui, whipping her off his back.

Christopher and Inigo had just broken through the ice dome and pulled the pale unconscious girl out. They watched as Mammogar got closer.

“I’ll take her somewhere safe.” Chris said before teleporting away with Eri.

“NOOO!!” Mammogar shouted angrily, he sent a sonic blast around him with his trunk. Hoge was hit full force by the blast, Inigo ran up and grabbed her as she fell.

“THIS ISN’T OVER!” The elephant man rushed in and helped Cryo Jin stand up. The ice villain groaned and started to wake up. They stood together.

“You little imps surprised us, but it’s time for round two!” Cryo Jin said.

“No. I think this is over.” A clear feminine voice called out from the shadows. Inigo saw a figure he didn’t recognize. Standing on top of a light post, half-hidden by the light was a figure wearing a dark coat with bunny-like ears on their hood. With a wave of her hand she bound the two injured villains in layers of rope made of light. The villains struggled but were soon overwhelmed by each folding layer.

Was she a pro-hero? Here?

“Fucking finally,” Yui yelled impatiently, spitting into the ground. Christopher and Sen looked just as confused as Inigo.


Inigo made his way back home, still feeling bruised from the fight. Gigan mewed inside his pocket. It was stuck in its little dragon form until they could recover. He sighed and thought about what happened.

Eri’s grandpa had arrived soon after the fight accompanied by the police. Eri had woken up enough to thank them, but she was rushed away to a nearby hospital for a check-up. The mysterious hero, whoever it was, had disappeared leaving them to be questioned by the police.

Inigo recognized the two police officers as ones under the Five Families’ sway. He knew the full report would be purposely vague and unclear to the public.

The cops explained that Eri’s grandpa was a rich statesman and that these were likely kidnappers. Inigo wasn’t sure if his friends bought the story, but it was the official story in the report. They were given healing by a medic with a support item, and the cops assured them each that they wouldn’t get in trouble with the school.

They said goodbye soon after.

Inigo was frustrated over the whole thing. Those villains, they were likely sent by his brother, and he had gotten his friends hurt.

Inigo saw something shine and looked up.

“Luccione…”

Luccione was in an alleyway with his dragon. He was smiling. Was he watching the whole time? He felt Avarice’s aura again. He was too weak to fight it.

“You have some interesting friends, baby brother. Perhaps we’ll play again later.”

Inigo’s vision faded and he fell unconscious.

VIII. Someone’s Room

Inigo felt nice and warm. He pulled the pillow up close.

“Myoga.”

“Gigan.. Five more minutes..” He mumbled.

“Wake up.” Somebody pinched his cheek.

“Oww! Stop!” He opened his eyes, and the room started to come to focus. He felt dizzy.

He was touching something soft. He was on a nice bed, and Hoge was laying next to him. She stared up at him, just like in the school gardens. His hands were pressed by her side. He must’ve died and went to Heaven. He smiled and looked around. Noah’s gonna be pissed when he finds out what Heaven’s really like. It’s just a plain dorm bedroom with a bass guitar in the corner. There was a work desk with a laptop on it and this bed. It smelled nice, and at least his girl was here.

She pinched his cheek hard.

“Oww! H-hoge?” This was real!

“You’re awake. Will you get off me?”

“Y-yes!” He scooted back and sat up. “We didn’t do it did we? Just my luck if I slept through my first time..”

“Baka. I followed you. You passed out near my dorm so I brought you here. I was making sure you were breathing, when you grabbed me.”

Inigo shook his head.

“Sorry. I think I remember now.. ”

"Are you feeling okay? You just passed out."

"I'm fine. I think I got hurt more than I thought."

“In the park, who were those men?”

“They were kidnappers like the police said.”

“Who were they.. Really..?”

“They looked like mobsters to me.”

“Inigo.. please..”

She stared at him with those eyes. Inigo sighed, he felt the weight of everything that’s happened crashing into him. Satoru’s offer to become heir. Luccione’s attack. His friends getting hurt. He felt exhausted holding it all in.

“They were ex-Yakuza villains sent by my older brother. Who’s also a Yakuza. Like me. ”

She paused for a moment.

“And you got Eri from them?”

“Not exactly. Eri’s grandpa is the head of their syndicate. She was being held hostage. I was just bringing her home.”

“Will she be safe now?”

“Yeah. She should be.”

Hoge sighed in relief. Inigo was quiet.

“I won't tell if you behave. I know the importance of secrets.”

Inigo’s hair covered his eyes.

“Thanks... Still.. It’s probably best if you stay away from me. You guys almost got hurt because of me. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you.. Or Yui.. or Christopher.. Or Sen.. Or any of our classmates.. I should stay away from Shiketsu.”

“Hey. Listen to this.”

Hoge handed him one side of a pair of earbuds. “Huh?” He placed it on his ear.

He heard music playing and he stood still, listening. He felt Hoge’s head on his shoulder.

The bass guitar’s strings hummed softly, the mournful notes carried a somber tone. It was a sad song. The melody was a delicate balance of sadness and sweetness, like goodbyes shared on a fading summer day. Each note seemed to hang in the air. The rhythm was slow and steady. Their low tones resonated with melancholy to Inigo, like someone shouting as loud as they can into a muted void. The song seemed incomplete, like there had to be more. It was almost painful to just be on that same note. As the final notes drifted away, it lingered in the silence.

“Did you like it?”

“Yeah, that was really good. Was that you playing?”

“Yes. I never played that for anyone. It’s not done yet. Now we both have each other’s secrets.”

“Thanks... you can turn me and my family in, but I’ll let everyone know you’re a huge music dork.”

“Only after we graduate. I could collect the reward and rise up in the hero rankings.”

Inigo chuckled. Hoge smiled.

“Hey, thanks. For taking me here, and for helping me today. I don’t think I could’ve done it without you.”

“I had fun. I liked being a part of it. It was a good date.”

“Told you it was a date.”

“I do have a question.”

“Huh?”

Hoge pulled up Inigo’s opened bag, and held out something.

“Why do you have so many leopard print underwear? Is it because you’re into cats? Or is it the jungle theme?”

“N-no! Hey don’t touch that!” He scrambled forward to grab it.

“Nope.” Hoge sidestepped and ran away, she held up Inigo’s notebook. The one with all his stats for the girls.

“Why am I ranked below Yui in this? You’re terrible.”

“I haven’t updated it yet! Gigan! Go get her!”

Gigan flew forward but Hoge stopped it with a stare. Gigan flew to her side.

“What the? Buddy, you’re on her side now?”

“We had a long talk while you were asleep.”

“About what?”

“It’s a secret.”

BING BONG!

A bell rang through the building.

Hoge looked at Inigo. “You should go. My dorm has a curfew.”

“You mean I can’t stay the night? We can make things official,” He grinned.

“No. Just go.” She threw Inigo’s bag at him.

Inigo sighed and gathered his stuff. Hoge opened the door.

“Just gonna throw me away before the next guy gets here. I get it.” He walked dramatically out the door. “And I’ll be stuck thinking of you all night. So cruel.”

Inigo smiled at her and winked.

He fell back as she stepped forward suddenly. He wasn’t sure if it was her quirk, but she was closer than he observed. In a blur she was in front of him. “Baka.” She kissed him on the cheek.

Fireworks shot up in his head. He blushed red. “Hoge..”

“Good-bye Inigo.” She slammed the door closed before he could say more.

“Hey! That wasn’t fair! I’m gonna stay here all night, and keep your dorm mates awake!” ”

“Go. Away.” She said through the door.

Suddenly the building’s dorm-mother, a large woman with a grumpy face ran up the hall.

“Hey you! What’re you doing! Who are you!!”

Inigo grinned. “Time to go. Hey Nyoro! I’m definitely gonna get you back for that sneak attack! You better watch yourself!”

He ran up to a large open window. He shot finger-guns at the woman and fell out the window backwards.

Inigo soared. He created dragon wings, stronger and larger than he’s ever built them before. Whenever he thought of Hoge, he felt a flame inside him roar. He was told his quirk scaled off willpower. Right now. He could take on the world. Bring on all the bad guys! He burst through the clouds and cheered at the top of his lungs.

The world was pure bliss. He felt like he could do anything. Everything was gonna be okay. He saw what looked like a shooting star in the night sky, off in the distance. It was glowing in an odd-angelic way. Inigo made a wish.

I want the strength to protect everyone. I need a way to get more powerful. I don't care about heroes or villains. I'll protect everyone's happiness.

Edit
Pub: 02 May 2023 22:08 UTC
Edit: 06 May 2023 19:33 UTC
Views: 610