Serpentine Fire Overture

"I'm not a goddamn maid, Yuusei!"

With his back turned to her, Yuusei smiled and continued to walk, hearing her steps following him a second later. Entering his agency's storage room, he rummaged through some paperwork before retrieving what he'd been looking for.

Kalianne stood by the doorway, pouting at him. Her expression became confused as she noted the lack of cleaning supplies in his hand. "Don't worry," he began, patting her shoulder and walking to his desk. "I won't treat you like one."

"You sure have a way of showing it..." she muttered.

He pulled a chair next to his and beckoned her closer, sitting down and organizing his files.

Kalianne dropped to her seat, legs crossed. "... I'm not saying I won't do it, y'know. I'm just worried you're getting the wrong idea about this sidekick deal—"

"Give me your license," he requested, reaching an open palm near her stomach. "Before you do anything here, I'd like to get through the documentation."

She blinked, then fished her license from inside her hoodie.

"Hey, Yuusei, are you listening to me?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I understand I wasn't your first or tenth choice for the hero you'd want to work under. And you're anxious about your workplace environment after what happened with Majestic."

"..."

He inputted her data on the Hero Network to submit her sidekick application, checking on his agency's information when necessary. "But one: I plan on staying underground for the foreseeable future, so you don't have to worry about things like stealing credit. And two..."

He looked at her, finger one inch away from the enter key. "You'll be a sidekick in record only. I'm not arrogant enough to boss you around when we have the same experience."

He pressed it.

"Think of this more as an unofficial team."

Most heroes worked alone, not counting the sidekicks under them. But there were cases where heroes formed permanent teams, assembling agencies with multiple owners.

Yuusei wanted to make that offer to her. Their quirks complemented each other well, and their teamwork wasn't bad either. However, he held back this desire for her sake.

Because he understood her. Yuusei knew she wanted to start her own agency one day and that working under another hero was a way to get enough money for it.

But she was already going through bad press for quitting Majestic's place. If he gave her part of his agency, only for her to leave as soon as she got enough funds to build her own, her reputation wouldn't improve. Even if they parted on good terms, the media wouldn't care.

The celebrity aspect of pro-heroism was annoying like that. He didn't have to deal with it, but Kalianne would since she wasn't the type to stay underground forever.

He glanced at the screen to see if her documentation was accepted, then turned his chair to her.

Kalianne was chewing on the inside of her cheek, eyes fluttering between him and his notebook.

"Unofficial team, huh..."

She sighed, slumping on her chair.

"... Man, I really should have come to you earlier."

He had been in her mind since the start. But the thought of having a former classmate as her boss was mortifying, so she'd delayed visiting his place as long as she could have.

"Welcome to the Spring Dragon Agency," he said, handing Kalianne her license. "If I had to summarize it... we'll spend 70% of the time capturing villains plus 30% on rescue and evacuation missions. I assume that won't be a problem for you."

She shook her head, reaching for the card and holding his wrist with her other hand before he could pull away.

"... Thanks, Yuusei."

She quite literally wouldn't know what to do if he denied her. He was her last recourse.

"Don't thank me for being greedy. I said it before, but you'd have a place here even if I didn't know about your situation. That's how great of a heroine you are in my eyes."

She chuckled in what was supposed to be an arrogant gesture, but her face flushed slightly, detracting from the sound.

"Having someone like you slip through the cracks would be a tragedy."

She let go of his wrist and punched his shoulder, embarrassed. "Y-You're just saying all that so I won't get mad when you have me cleaning this place."

A bit late for that, wasn't it?

Poking him on the chest, she continued. "I mean, you even made sure to bind me in a contract before the act. How scummy of you, Yuusei. Scummy, I say!"

He gazed at her hand in amusement. 'She really ought to be more honest with herself.'

"I'll help out too, you know."

A raised eyebrow was thrown at him. Along with a couple more pokes to his left pectoral. "Oh, really? Have you ever even cleaned your room before, Atsushi-kun?"

Yuusei rolled his eyes. He lived away from his family's estate nowadays, and they both knew it. "I shouldn't be hearing that from you."

He couldn't help but rise to the bait, however.

poke poke~

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I've been to your place, Kalianne." It was not nearly as messy as he implied. It was the opposite, in fact. Despite her tomboyish behavior, Kalianne was very orderly when it came to housework. Thus, he knew ribbing her about it would have an effect. "Frankly, I expect to do most of the work if we have to tidy up the agency."

"Ha!" she barked a laugh. "Like you've been doing so far?"

He bit his lip, realizing he'd gotten ahead of himself. They were surrounded by proof that he wouldn't do most of the work.

Emboldened by his split-second pause, Kalianne sprang from her chair and got behind him to ruffle his hair.

"Aww, don't worry about it, 'boss'~ I can't let our agency stay like this, so of course I'll help out."

Yuusei froze under her hold... before relaxing with a low chuckle.

"I'm glad you stopped seeing it as being my maid and instead as contributing to our agency."

She blinked, then put him in a headlock, growling in his ear, "D-Don't get cocky! I don't wanna clock in every day to this dump!"

"Sure."

Yuusei rose from his chair, but Kalianne didn't break her hold on him, getting carried away as he walked around his office.

"Where do you want to start?"

She clutched him tighter, legs swinging due to their height difference. "Hey, hold my legs so I don't slip."

"... Why don't you let go instead?"

"Cuz I'm choking you, duh."

"That has to be a new record for trying to kill your boss..." he mused, reaching behind him to support her by her thighs. Kalianne adjusted herself on the piggyback ride, raising her body to put her head over his.

"Hmm... to answer your question, we do it top to bottom. Ceiling fixtures, high shelves, that sort of stuff. Then walls and windows, then the floors."

Yuusei stopped before the cleaning supplies that were stored in his agency. As she'd anticipated, most of them were unopened.

She patted his right cheek twice, and he got the message, letting go of her legs as she stopped smothering him.

After a few seconds of gathering what they needed, the two heroes left with mops and buckets in hand.

---

[Serpentine Fire]

---

"I'm throwing it away."

"No, you're not."

"What use does it have besides taking up space?" She asked, shaking the thing.

"... It's a spare costume."

"Not anymore. Look at this thing, Yuusei!"

She shoved the pants near his face.

He shrugged. "I can ask a support company to repair it."

"There's no repairing it! Half of it is missing! At this point, you'd be better off requesting a whole new one!"

She stopped. Now that she looked at it properly, these tears were too clean. It didn't look like battle damage. It looked like someone cut parts of it with scissors before he wore it.

"How'd this even happen, by the way?"

"A matter-absorbing villain... I believe his name was Maw. I faced him after tracking down Karma at one of Night Parade's hideouts."

Kalianne made a face caught between amusement and concern. "Wait... he took off your clothes during the battle? Was this guy a pervert or something?"

"Nope. His absorption worked by drawing objects into himself. My costume happened to get caught in the range too many times."

He reached for the incomplete costume, fingers rubbing the fabric. "Maw and Karma escaped with a tunnel he created by absorbing the ground. It was a thoroughly vexing night."

Primarily because Karma kept giggling as he lost his outfit bit by bit.

"Only more reason to throw it away, eh?" she offered, pulling his ruined clothes away from him.

Yuusei loathed the idea of throwing away something that belonged to him, even in its current state. It was an old habit that led to him cluttering up any place he stayed for extended amounts of time.

"... Fine." he sighed.

But Kalianne did have a point, and she only brought it up because he asked for help with cleaning up the agency in the first place.

"Don't give me that pouty look. It's just a costume," Kalianne spoke as they left the locker room, throwing his clothing in a garbage bag.

"I'm not pouting," he said, pouting. "But thanks for the help."

"Yes, yes, be grateful," she demanded, grinning and puffing out her chest with her hands on her hips.

"Are you up for patrolling today?"

Her lips thinned before she nodded. "Sure. Where?"

He walked to his desk, grabbing and putting on his mask. His voice came out two octaves deeper as he spoke. "West Capital Ward. It's been a while since I went there, and a villain I want to capture in that area."

"Karma?"

"... No." A pause. "Well, I do want her. But not today."

He approached a window and opened it, and she did the same by his side.

Yuusei and Kalianne jumped from the building. He sprouted wings, and she propelled herself with flames like a rocket. The two flew away south, leaving the agency behind.

Yuusei reached for his pocket and engaged the automatic locks, turning to his patrol partner a moment later.

"I forgot to ask earlier, but did you change your costume?"

"Hm? Oh! Not really, it's just a new bodysuit." It was nice of him to notice, though.

He nodded. Honoken's old bodysuit had been black, while the new one was a dark blue. The white crop top hoodie she wore over it had become shorter too. And also...

"Ditched the gauntlet?"

She wasn't wielding the support equipment she usually did.

"It got busted after my last fight. I was going to ask for repairs, but then I got tired of Majestic's shit and left. That model belongs to his agency." Unlike her costume. "So... yeah."

"If you have the schematics, send them to me, and I'll get you a new one by tomorrow."

Kalianne beamed at him. "Nice!"

"I'll also have to get us some comms so we can keep in touch no matter the distance during our patrols..."

"Sure!"

"And make you copies of the agency's keys in case you need to get in while I'm not there..."

"Uh, alright."

"Actually, commissioning a new gadget isn't good enough. You'll need to get in touch with my support developer so you can make the requests in the future without relying on me..."

"..."

"Hey, Kali... Honoken."

She tilted her head at him.

"Having a sidekick is a lot of work."

He didn't have to worry about as many things in his brief team-up with Weiss.

"Pfft—!"

She giggled uncontrollably and covered her mouth with one hand, swaying to his side after losing half her propulsion.

"Y-You realized that now?!" she asked, laughing and gasping for air, her flight path crashing into his. Yuusei grunted, wrapping a hand around her waist to steady her course.

He looked to the streets, avoiding her gaze.

"... We're almost there."

She smirked at his poor attempt at changing the topic. "And not a single crisis found on the way."

Life could not let those words go by.

Below them, five people burst from a storefront, the largest between them throwing aside an employee and running with stolen goods like all the others.

"Let's make a meteor!" Honoken said.

Seiryu nodded, then threw her up in the air. She spread her legs slightly and landed on top of him, sitting on his shoulders as he let his quirk affect his entire body.

Riding the dragon, Honoken thrust her hands forward, raining fireballs on the villains that moved at her command, forming a ring around them. The fastest of the villains yelped as the flames surged ahead of him, leaping back and bumping into one of his comrades.

Honoken felt the air around her change and stopped firing, holding Seiryu's horns for support as he moved.

The young hero swooped in and spun between their adversaries, becoming a storm of scaled limbs, striking five times with his claws, legs, and tail all in under one second. His slit pupils took in the effects of his attack as he landed on the edge of the burning ring, crouching with his hand on the ground and wings flaring out.

Four villains dropped to the ground, unconscious. He spotted the last one stumbling through the flames.

"Drop the ring," he ordered.

Still dizzy from his rough movement, Honoken swayed on top of him but did as he asked.

Without the flames obscuring his vision, he saw the villain rushing inside a van and desperately starting the engine.

"I'll capture him. You stay here and make sure these don't escape."

"Okay...!"

She climbed off him, and he soared away, chasing the runaway vehicle. It didn't even have time to cross a street before he was above it, grabbing it by the roof and lifting it off the ground. His tail slipped inside the van, wrapping around the driver's neck and pulling him out.

Seiryu glided down, letting the vehicle down as softly as he could manage, then flapping his wings and standing on it, releasing his quirk everywhere but his tail to decrease his weight.

"Yield." he spoke to the person clutching at his tail. A bearded, black-haired man with average height and pure red eyes.

"W-Why the hell... would I do that?!" he shouted before exploding into smoke.

The young man heard another explosion behind him and turned. The villain had reappeared on a nearby rooftop, flipping him off before teleporting to a more distant place.

A short-range warp quirk...

Seiryu sighed.

He had wondered how, despite feeling all five of his strikes come true, only four of his opponents got knocked out. He had assumed enhanced durability once he saw the villain inside the van unharmed. But now...

His tail flicked the air behind him, hitting an invisible creature. The illusionist villain gasped and fell down the van, flickering back into his sight.

He made Seiryu hallucinate in the fiery ring, leading him to believe his attack hit. But the villain panicked when he caught up and projected a half-baked, nonsensical reality in his head. Why would anyone bother with taking a van when they could teleport?

Without giving him time to recover, Seiryu leaped down and struck him in the jaw, knocking him out. It was unfortunate... but he couldn't afford to be gentle against an illusion quirk. He couldn't even be sure these events weren't part of another fake reality.

Did he land that blow on the invisible opponent while he was off-guard? Or was it another artificial sensation of touch?

"Bothersome..."

He called for his wings once again, rising above the streets to see if anything would change. He didn't know how the illusionist's quirk worked, and leaving his spot could help him discover if it had a range or time limit.

That was assuming he was still under an illusion and not being paranoid, however.

He scanned the people below him, trying to find his target. In the best-case scenario, the illusions had a short range and duration, perhaps even requiring eye contact. In the worst-case scenario, they could be activated and maintained remotely with a significant reach.

After looking for the villain and failing to find him, the young hero returned to the ground, grabbing the guy he'd knocked out, then flying back to Honoken's location.

"Oh, you got 'im."

Seiryu sighed, handing the criminal to the officers at the scene. "Well, no doubts about it now."

"Eh?"

"He almost gave me the slip with an illusion quirk. I was questioning my entire reality until I heard your voice."

The villain wouldn't know her tone or mannerisms enough to convince him. Unless... it was the type of mirage that drew from his subconscious?

Seeing the intense look on his face, Honoken patted his back. "Geez, relax. Want me to pinch you to break the spell?" she asked, smirking and reaching for his cheek with a groping motion. When his eyes moved to her hand without losing their zeal, her tone turned deadpan. "... You're actually thinking about it, aren't you."

"... Maybe."

She raised her other hand, pulled down his mask, and pinched his cheeks.

He glared at her. "I said maybe."

She pinched them harder.

Seiryu grabbed her wrists and pulled her away from his face, which had been forcibly flushed red.

"Alright, I get your point. Let's finish our track to West Capital Ward."

He turned away from her, fixing his mask back on and flapping his wings.

Honoken threw a thumbs up to the amused police officers before flying away with him.

"That was a decent warm-up," she commented, "But we gotta work on that move a bit more."

Seiryu raised an eyebrow. "What was wrong with it?"

"For starters, I was a bit weak on the knees when you landed since I'm not used to your movements."

"Fair enough." It had been a while since they teamed up and did that.

"Also, we need a cool name for it."

"Denied."

"This is non-negotiable, Yuusei! Having names for your super-moves is Heroism 102!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "We're underground heroes now, Honoken. I have names for my super-moves, but I don't call them out because there's no point besides warning the opponent they're coming."

And now she was pouting at him.

Crossing the Katsura River, the two reached Kyoto's West Capital Ward.

Seiryu pulled up his phone.

"This is our target."

Honoken floated above him and stopped using her quirk, sitting on his shoulders again to see the screen.

Two pictures were shown to her, side by side. On the left, a slim, blank-faced young woman stared from beyond the screen. She had violet eyes and short black hair.

Shigure Rengoko.

On the right, a blurry record of a woman jumping from a rooftop. She had the same body type and hairstyle as the one in the other image. She wore a metal mask, an armored bodysuit covered by cargo pants and a long coat, and wielded a large knife. Every piece of her outfit was black.

Villain Name: Tasogare.

"She appeared in this area two weeks ago and has been classified as a B-Rank villain."

Honoken bent over and swiped a finger on the screen, sliding down on the Hero Network dossier.

"49 accounts of assault, 65 of aiding and abetting... 6 homicides.... how the fuck is that B-Rank?"

"Tasogare only shows up during battles between heroes and villains, always helping the side with a numbers disadvantage. After her debut, she was branded a vigilante for assisting a hero in capturing two criminals."

Seiryu put his phone away.

"Her vigilante era was short-lived, ending when she almost killed the hero that same day during a hideout raid."

"I see...." Honoken pursed her lips. "What's our plan for catching her?"

"Start a regular patrol, but always engage in a manner to draw her in. If we find a single villain, we attack together, but if there are two, only one of us goes in... so on and so on. We'll bait her into taking action and best her before her teleportation cooldown expires."

"What is her cooldown?"

"Unknown. This information was taken from Rengoko's medical records. When her quirk was discovered, she had to wait 6 minutes between uses."

But that was when she was 4 years old.

She frowned, drumming her fingers on one of his horns. "So if we get into a fight outnumbered... and she comes to help us... we turn on her? Sounds kinda dirty, doesn't it?"

Seiryu hummed. "It's certainly underhanded, in a way. But I don't mind if it's to catch a murderer."

"When you put it that way..." she clicked her tongue. "Nah, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

Heroes should be better than that.

"Do you have another idea?" he asked, interested in her way of approaching the situation. He did say they'd be an unofficial team, so if he could help it, he wouldn't pressure her into doing things his way.

Honoken chuckled shyly at being put on the spot, scratching her cheek. "Ermm... I'll think of something while we look for her?"

"Fine by me," he agreed before narrowing his eyes at a sudden motion a few streets away.

West Capital Medium Security Prison.

"Jailbreak at 11 o'clock."

She followed his gaze, seeing a burly man with a lion's head and butterfly wings burst through a wall, carrying a girl in a green prison uniform under his arm.

A few meters to their left, a wall melted, revealing a second man with his hand extended in a finger gun gesture.

'It's... two on three—No, four,' Seiryu decided, spotting another criminal break out by smashing a wall with a comically large, glowing sledgehammer.

Number one, the lion-butterfly mutant. Predictable close-range fighter.

Number two, the criminal being rescued. Quirk unknown.

Number three, a guy who could shoot acid from his fingertips. Range dependant how much acceleration he could put into his attacks.

And number four, who could create or empower objects.

"I'll take care of the close-range fighters," The dragon hero claimed, increasing his flight speed.

"Right!" she said enthusiastically, preparing to dismount him before pausing. "Wanna try the meteor move again?"

"Won't work; they're too spread out."

Honoken nodded, then leaned back, letting herself fall off Seiryu. She backflipped in the air and put her hands behind her, blasting herself forward with heat a moment later.

The jailbreakers noticed them, attacking preemptively with flying jets of acid and a mallet spinning into the air.

She used a jet of flame to dart to the left and shot a few dozen fireballs at them, vaporizing the acid and making all the villains run to avoid the rest.

The lion man dove to the side to prevent his fur from burning, then grunted as Seiryu struck his shoulder with a flying kick. The hero moved to press the attack, punching his jaw while sweeping his feet with a tail.

As his opponent lost balance, the tail sneaked around him and grabbed the girl in prison uniform by the ankle, pulling her away as Seiryu disengaged.

"Woah!" The former prisoner yelped as her vision spun, blinking rapidly before realizing another person was holding her.

The lion man snarled, reaching behind him and throwing down a small water tank he'd been carrying on his back. "Get in here, Miyu!"

Miyu screeched as the dragon hero's fist rushed to knock her out, disappearing from his grasp a moment later, then rising from the pool of water forming near her ally.

"Ah shit, that was too close... why did you people even come here?" she whined.

Teleportation on liquids, huh?

"You two got this?!" The hammer-wielding woman asked, approaching them cautiously while palming her weapon.

"They don't." Seiryu taunted, stepping towards her.

She scowled, charging as her winged companion roared and did the same. Close-range opponents were successfully drawn.

Meanwhile, Honoken flew around her opponent, countering his projectiles with controlled flame bursts. She poured extra power into her next vertical boost, rising far above him and landing on a rooftop.

"Tch," The acid shooter murmured, now put on the defensive as fireballs continued to rain around him. His acid couldn't reach her that high.

"Oi, Shiki, back me up!" he demanded without taking his eyes off the heroine.

Shiki, the lion man with butterfly wings, growled as the dragon hero sidestepped another one of his punches, soaring away from a hammer strike to his back while slapping the wielder on the face with his tail.

"I'm busy, Kurusu!"

He flew after Seiryu, but the hero canceled his quirk midair, decreasing his size to dodge a body blow. He grew a tail to catch a flying hammer by its shaft, swung it at Shiki's solar plexus, then rolled on the ground as the lion man choked in pain.

The young hero blocked a punch from Miyu a second later, having landed in her ever-expanding pool. He transformed his arm and tried to backhand her, but she sunk into the water again, reappearing at a safe distance. Wings burst from his back, flapping mightily to move him away from a war hammer's spike, but it still caught him in the ribs, making his trajectory whirl. He corrected himself in time, stopping before crashing through a window and inside a building.

They were all coming at him. Even the acid user, who got tired of waiting for Honoken to get into his range.

And that's when she attacked. As all four opponents turned their backs on her to target the cornered dragon.

She leapt from the roof, coming down with a blanket of flames that evaporated the water on the ground and burned all the villains.

"Well done, young hero! True Strength is all about striking when the time is right!"

... Just in time for the cavalry.

"「Shrimp Revolver」!"

The man in a shrimp-themed costume charged when the fire died, his fists blurring as he hit Shiki six times in under a second.

Seiryu soared above Magnum Shrimp, covering him by breaking a mallet rushing to his back. He flew past the hammer creator's guard and grabbed her by the throat, slamming her on the pavement.

He rushed to his next opponent, not bothering with dodging the acid bullets as fiery arrows struck them down for him. The villain was caught between him and Honoken, desperately trying to run away, but he was too slow. Seiryu clotheslined him before he could take his third step.

His eyes scanned the battle's state. Two of the villains were on the ground, and the third one was getting defeated by Magnum Shrimp... there was no sign of the water teleporter. But how? Honoken had destroyed her medium for movement.

"Ora!" The Strongest Shrimp Hero cried out, finishing his opponent with a lightning-quick uppercut to the jaw. He leaned to the right to let the lion man fall on his face, then struck a pose for the civilians watching the fight from a safe distance.

They cheered, flashing pictures of the victorious hero.

"T-Thanks for the help, Shrimp-san!" an officer commended, coming out from the busted station. From beyond its broken walls, Seiryu could see many of his partners laid down in various states of injury.

Magnum Shrimp threw the cop a thumbs-up. "All in a day's job! But I couldn't have done it without those two!"

The dragon hero approached the second half of the reinforcements, a woman in a bodysuit with taloned feet.

"... Flamingal."

"... Seiryu."

"Did you see where the last one went?"

"No."

"Weren't there four of them?" Honoken asked, head swiveling around in an attempt to spot the missing villain.

Seiryu frowned. "She must have used her quirk to get away."

"How? I got rid of the water!"

"I have a theory," he began, looking at the steam rising from the ground with a critical eye. "Maybe she doesn't move between liquids or water... but instead high humidity areas."

Honoken's last attack didn't destroy her means of moving. It allowed her to fly away.

"Almost," The officer interjected, Magun Shrimp trailing behind him. "Miyu Tabikawa, Quirk:「Down The Drain.」"

"We had plans to transfer her to a higher security prison, but it seems the paperwork wasn't quick enough," he continued, scratching his hair. He looked at the downed villains, who had come to Miyu's rescue and now swapped places with her. "At least these three didn't bother going through more cells and breaking out more inmates. Probably knew the heroes would get to them quick..."

Seiryu watched as Flamingal helped with restraining them.

"She couldn't have gone far. Honoken and I will track her down before the trail goes cold."

Honoken grabbed his arm, pulling him towards her before he could leave the scene.

"Are you sure that's a good idea...?" she whispered. "I thought my quirk would counter hers, but I might get in the way if she can use it on steam."

"I assume she needs a minimum amount of water to move properly." Or else she could have avoided his first strike without needing that water tank. So moving within steam wouldn't last long if it spread too thin.

"Plus, there's still—"

Magnum Shrimp patted their shoulders, grinning brightly under his helmet. "Get going, you two! True Strength is all about having the resolve to walk down your paths without hesitation!"

"..."

"..."

Seiryu and Honoken blinked, their gazes pulling away from each other to look at the older hero. The former was convinced he had declared something different earlier but nodded nonetheless, while the latter just stared.

Magnum Shrimp took his nod as enough of an answer and used his grip on their shoulders to turn them around and push them forward.

"... Well, you heard the man," Honoken spoke with a lopsided grin.

"Good luck on your patrols," Seiryu wished the two heroes as he left, twin flame trails following behind him.

Magnum Shrimp dusted off his hands after a job well done, turning to Flamingal. "Hey, since when were those two a thing?"

She shrugged. "I heard she had a big falling out with Majestic, but I didn't know about this... it makes a surprising amount of sense, though."

"Good for her, good for them! True Strength is all about finding new paths when you're at a precipice!"

Honoken flew east, keeping pace with Seiryu.

"As I was saying... beyond the limits of Miyu Tabikawa's quirk, we still have to find Tasogare."

She turned to him in disbelief. Since Magnum Shrimp and Flamingal had made the last battle a four versus four, Tasogare did not appear. The heroine hadn't forgotten about the villain they came for, but...

"Isn't that super greedy?"

If she was on his wavelength, the plan was to use one teleporter to capture the other. But if their opponents were clever enough, there was a high chance of them leading the two heroes around in circles for the entire day.

"Yes... and?"

She laughed. Leave it to the guy who started chasing an S-Rank villain before graduating high school to say something like that.

"Alright! I can't say I dislike it."

Seiryu nodded. "Have you formed your strategy for dealing with Tasogare?"

"What...? No, I was busy fighting villains just now. You were there. Plus, if everything goes right, she'll be protecting a jailbreaker, so I won't feel as bad when we capture her."

Honoken looked around with a blank expression. "By the way, where are we going?"

"We crossed the Katsura River to get here. It's pretty close to the station. Considering the villain's quirk, I anticipate she will use the large body of water to lay low..."

He turned to her. "Now that I think about it, we should cover more escape routes. I'll stay on the lookout near the river, and you make your rounds near the prison." Since her quirk was ill-suited for the environment.

The two stopped on the rooftop of a clinic. Honoken sat on the ledge, legs swinging back and forth, and Seiryu settled on her right, taking off his mask to unwind.

He massaged his jaw, looking at the people below going through their lives.

"Do you still have my number?" he asked his former classmate.

"Huh? Why wouldn't I?"

Because she came to his agency unannounced instead of calling him about her situation. Although... knowing her, it was probably out of impulsiveness instead of inability to communicate.

"... Nevermind."

He pulled out his phone, showing her the map of their current location.

"I'll be flying around the Katsura River, and you circle around this area," he defined, pointing to where they should go. "Since we don't have specialized comms, We'll call each other every 5 minutes. But we also reach out if we find Tasogare or Tabikawa... or if there's an unexpected crisis."

Kalianne nodded along with his explanation. "Hm, hm, hmm~ That sounds all well and good, Yuusei. There's just one tiny problem."

He frowned. "What?"

"I didn't bring my phone with me."

"..."

His disappointment was palpable. Kalianne scowled as he stared at her with that damn face, looking like he wanted to say something but holding himself back.

"..."

Enough was enough.

"Don't look at me like that! Where the hell am I supposed to fit a phone in this costume?!"

She leaned back, pulling up her hoodie and tugging on the spandex below to show off her outfit.

It was true. Every part of it was skintight, with no pockets available. Maybe Kalianne could put it inside the hoodie's sleeves, like she did with her license, but it would cause damage to the phone if she tried to fly.

Still...

Yuusei clenched a hand on the part between her breasts, pulling on it. "Why are you speaking as if you didn't submit the design yourself?"

It would be one thing if it was a mistake by the support company. But Yuusei knew firsthand how the developers hired by Shiketsu operated. If there weren't any pockets in Honoken's costume, then she wished it that way.

He let go of the bodysuit, and she hissed as the fabric smacked against her skin.

"Because!" she punched him in retaliation. "Normally, I put my phone inside a safe chamber in my gauntlet!"

He blinked. "Oh."

"Yeah, Oh." Kalianne fixed her top, glaring at him.

"Apologies," he said, rubbing his nape and looking away from her.

"Hmph!" He was keen enough to notice if she changed her costume, but not that she didn't have any pockets?

An uneasy silence settled between them.

"..."

"..."

But there were villains to be caught, so Yuusei would have to power through this awkwardness.

"So..."

"..."

"Do you want to split up and search two areas without communicating?"

"..."

"Or stick close but cover less ground?"

She huffed, crossing her arms. "Let me think."

If they separated and one found Tabikawa, the chances of baiting Tasogare into action were zero unless they found a way to call each other...

Kalianne snickered.

He quirked an eyebrow at her mood change, and she waved him off.

"I imagined using smoke signals to tell you if I find something."

"What would you burn to make them?" he asked, half-joking, half-curious where she was going with this.

She looked at her hands. "Hmm... maybe not smoke signals, but a pillar of fire shot in the air?"

Yuusei put a hand under his chin. "What if I needed to respond? Or send the first message?"

"I'm glad you asked."

She pointed at his throat. "You'd call me with a roar."

"... A roar."

"A dragon's roar, yes."

"Hah..."

Yuusei shook his head in amusement.

"Oi, oi, don't give me that quick exhale that's not quite laughter, Mister. We both know your past."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. And if I did, it's probably something I stopped doing after our first year that you can't help but bring up."

"I could—"

He put a finger over her lips before she could drag on the banter. "Let's focus on the job now."

She bit it, and he covered it in dragon scales to keep it unharmed, pulling away a second later. "Really?"

"I could have done worse," she threatened, sticking out her tongue.

"..."

Unsure of how to respond, Seiryu jumped from the rooftop, sprouting wings and soaring away. Laughter followed him all the way. She pushed her quirk further than usual, catching up to him in a burst of speed.

For the third time that day, she found herself sitting on his shoulders.

"Get off."

She ran a hand through his hair, still laughing. "Nope~! The smoke signal plan has potential, but I decided to stick with you."

"Fly with your own quirk."

"But what if we have to do another combination move?" she asked, leaning over to glance at him upside-down. "This position is just more convenient."

Seiryu did not look amused. "Can you at least not block my vision while you do whatever this is?"

"Block my vision, he says. I'm a sight for sore eyes!"

---

[Serpentine Fire]

---

"Any news?"

Seiryu took a moment to check his Hero Network feed, then shook his head.

They started by scouting the area where Miyu Tabikawa escaped, then investigated any trails she could have taken to reach the Katsura River. Finally, they spent 15 minutes circling around the river, waiting for her to approach.

He sighed. "My gamble fell short. Either Tabikawa chose to hide in another way, or she got past our surveillance."

"... Wanna call it a day?" she asked as they landed on a park by the river's edge. Although, calling it that was too generous. It was simply a spot where the grass had been cut, and a few white benches were placed. The two chose to sit on the grass.

The afternoon sun sparkled behind them, making the water glimmer.

"No," he said. "... Unless you wish to, of course."

She shook her head wildly, her ponytail hitting his back from the sudden movement. "No way! I'm too invested now. We can't let our first patrol close out like this."

She wanted to end it with a bang!

Judging by his focused expression, they were on the same page.

"There's no point in moving without a new plan, however. Let's take a break to come up with something."

"Huh? That's the opposite of what we just decided!" Did he need to recover his quirk or something?

"It's not."

"Okay, not really, but after saying that, it'd feel weird to sit down and strategize. This should be our hot-blooded second wind, you get... me..."

Swiftly, treacherously, and hungrily, Honoken's stomach decided to rumble as she finished speaking.

"..."

"..."

"Not a word."

"I think I saw a cafe around when we were flying."

"That's almost a dozen words."

He rolled his eyes at her, standing up and gesturing for her to follow. "Come. I'll treat you to something."

She perked up at that, and soon, they flew together again. This section of West Capital Ward wasn't very populated, so the two heroes didn't grab much attention as they approached the cafe.

It was a small building with a low roof and large windows, colored in pastel tones and with a dome-shaped owning above the white door, and on top of that, a sign decorated with hearts.

♥Nyanshikyo♥

Inside, Kalianne could see the cafe's workers, a bunch of girls wearing maid outfits that showed their cleavages, with skirts so short that they were at risk of flashing panties with every movement. Fitting the place's theme, they also had cat ears, tails, gloves, and bells on their collars.

"..."

"..."

She stared from outside before turning to her patrol partner with a shit-eating grin.

"Not a word."

"A maid cafe, Yuusei? How bold."

"That's half a dozen words too many."

"And unexpected," she continued with no regard for his answer, stepping forward but stopping when he didn't mirror her. "Aw, I know you didn't know it was this kind of place when you saw it from way up, but I'm not in the mood to find somewhere else."

She tugged on his arm.

"... As long as you're aware."

He let himself be pulled inside.

The scent of coffee, tea, and sweet treats penetrated their senses as the two entered the establishment. A soft melody played in the background, muffling the conversations happening between the other customers.

The receptionist was a young woman with short pink hair and pointy ears who greeted them with a heart gesture and a sunny smile.

"Welcome to Nyanshikyo, heroes! Are you two here for business or pleasure~?"

"Pleasure."

"Food."

"Table for two, then! Follow me."

The receptionist turned around, walking with a sway to her hips that made her fake cat tail wiggle.

They were left with a table near the windows and a pair of menus.

"One of our maids will be with you soon~!"

With that, she left with a wink.

Yuusei removed his mask, placing it on his lap. Since they were already here, he'd order something too.

"Wanna share a parfait?" Kalianne asked, skimming through the menu with a soft grin that disappeared when he didn't reply. "... Yuusei?"

"..."

He wasn't even looking at her. His focus was on the maid walking over to them.

Short, red blonde hair styled to make it seem wings were growing from it. Fair skin with a healthy flush from working her shift and a well-endowed body that made her uniform seem shorter than it was. Her black and white maid outfit possessed pink accents, the same color as her eyes.

"Hey!" she gave them a cheery wave, wiggling the fingers of her cat-themed gloves. "You can call me Tabbie-chan! How can I serve you today, masters~?"

Yuusei's naturally powerful poker face ensured that he looked the part of the intrigued customer, but internally, he was in crisis.

That hair, those eyes, that body, and then that voice...

He glanced at the girl on the other side of his table to check if she was seeing the same as him.

Kalianne looked to be in a crisis of her own. Various emotions danced in her eyes. Astonishment. Amusement. A bit of Anger. All of it was directed at him.

He blinked, and it was gone, replaced by a sickly sweet smile.

"Oh, I want the Pixiebob Pasta. What about you?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Her reaction left his mind in further chaos. Had he made a mistake?

"... I'll have the Nyanshikyo Bento Box," he picked the first thing he saw on the menu, eyes carefully examining the two people near him.

He gazed into the maid's eyes as she took their orders and spotted a glimmer of recognition.

So he wasn't wrong after all.

The maid in front of him... Tabbie-chan... was definitely Miyu Tabikawa.

Kalianne hadn't caught on yet, because she hadn't fought her long enough during the jailbreak. That, combined with the changed outfit, hairstyle, and the addition of make-up, had prevented her from grasping it.

One of their targets was about to serve them food.

Absurd. Why had Miyu kept the facade instead of excusing herself and fleeing when she saw them? Was she that confident in not being detected? Why did she even take a shift at a maid cafe right after escaping prison? Sure, Nyanshikyo was near the river, so she could still flee if her teleportation range was long enough. But why not fuse into the river by default?

Perhaps a time limit on how long she could stay within the water?

"Wow," Kalianne commented as the maid left, "I'm almost disappointed in you."

Oh, and this girl was still under the wrong impression from his behavior. Ridiculous.

He opened his mouth to explain the situation, then paused.

He did not doubt Kalianne would believe him if he told her. The issue was her reaction. Although he and Miyu recognized each other, was she aware her cover had been blown already?

Honoken would understand, but her poker face was lacking. If she responded too blatantly to his reveal, that would clue Miyu that they knew.

His best chance to take her down had come and gone when she approached to take their orders. Now, with their positions, she would have time to react if he rose from his seat and attacked at his top speed. Taking it slow and disguising his attack wouldn't work either. She had a direct line of sight to him and was wary of his movements.

Of course, her reaction time would not matter if the river was too far from「Down The Drain.」's range. But that was a gamble he did not want to take.

He should have studied her more... but it was too late now. He wanted to take out his phone and look up her dossier in the Hero Network, but that would get him kicked out of the maid cafe, giving the villain an opening.

"Not even going to defend yourself?" Kalianne pressed, lightly kicking his shin under the table.

And to think she had to physically drag him here.

"... I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your newfound maid fetish."

What even was it about that maid in particular that drew him in? He didn't react this badly to the receptionist. Did he have a thing for redheads? Was it her breasts?

Either way, she wouldn't let him live it down for a long while.

"Doesn't ring a bell."

"You could at least stop staring at her while feigning ignorance," she teased, kicking him again.

Yes, he was keeping his eyes on Miyu while she worked behind the counter. But it was to make sure she wouldn't try to slip away.

In the corner of his vision, Kalianne held herself in fake anxiety. "And to think you even sweet-talked me into cleaning for you earlier...! I feel violated..."

Meanwhile, the girl known as Miyu Tabikawa cooked.

Building up her courage for the third time, she looked away from the pasta she was preparing, and... the hero was still staring at her.

Scary! Those crimson eyes were too much! The only reason she hadn't bolted was because of his face. Or rather, the supremely calm look he wore. She wasn't sure if he recognized her and was waiting for her to give him one reason to pounce or if he was waiting for his food.

"How long, I wonder? How long until my boss forces me to come to his agency in a maid uniform?"

Of course, there was also the possibility he was staring because of something else. But the other hero he came in was ribbing him about it, and he didn't appear upset by the comments.

"Tabbie-chan, can you pass me the nori?" One of her coworkers asked.

"H-Here you go!" Miyu said, stopping her gawking and turning her mind back to the kitchen.

Seiryu's next chance would appear when Miyu came to deliver their food.

Although... was that really the best move?

He still had to catch Tasogare...

No, not he... Them.

So that's what that feeling of wrongness was. He was excluding Honoken from his course of action. That wouldn't do. How were they supposed to be a team if he couldn't trust her with vital information?

His true chance was transpiring right now. Miyu had shifted her focus after being called by her coworker.

"Honoken," he began, keeping his voice low just in case. "That girl... doesn't she look familiar to you?"

"...?" The sudden seriousness in his voice and eyes caught her off-guard. Unwittingly, her gaze traveled to the maid.

If he was using that tone with her, it was something to do with their current case...

Seiryu watched her expression go from baffled to pensive... and then shocked.

"T-that's—!"

A tail slithered below the table and pulled her elbow down, preventing her from gesturing at the villain.

"Oh, right, teleporting quirk," she mumbled, and he cut off his transformation. "How do we do this?"

"I was preparing to take her by surprise when she brings the food, but..."

"Tasogare," she concluded, crossing her legs. "Well, it's either what you just said... or cornering her after her shift."

He hummed, giving it some thought. "How's your stealth?"

"Shit." She was never the type to sneak around, and working in Majestic's agency did not change that. It might have made it worse, in fact.

But they needed the two of them to push Tasogare into acting...

"Let's take it slow anyway," he proposed. "We agreed to take a strategy break before coming here, right?"

"Ahh, fine... but only because we came here to eat in the first place."

After this development, part of her wanted to quit this "two villains with one stone" plan while they were ahead... while the other didn't want to explain herself to the cafe's staff after Seiryu sucker-punched one of them.

"... Eat? Are you joking?"

"Why would I joke about that? I'm fucking starving, Yuusei."

"She could have tampered with our food. We have to cancel our orders."

"When she already started cooking? That's a dick move!"

"Don't raise your voice," he warned. "Tabikawa will hear."

"Sorry... but you're being too paranoid. Besides, can't you use your quirk to detect poison?"

"Only if it leaves a scent I can tell apart from the ingredients."

She clapped her hands once, grinning. "Good enough for me. Sample my supply."

Seiryu would tell her exactly what he thought about that before he spotted Miyu approaching in his peripheral with two plates.

"Here's your Pixiebob Pasta!"

It was a plate of rigatoni pasta with mushroom sauce. Adorned with meatballs cut to have cat-eared shapes and garnished with fresh herbs and grated cheese.

"And your Nyanshikyo Bento Box~!"

Cat-shaped onigiri, bell pepper tempura, chicken sausages, and fruit slices. The last two were arranged to spell out "Thank you for the food."

"I poured all my love into these, so please enjoy, masters~!" It took all she had not to stutter while talking to them, but she did it.

Honoken scooped a piece of her meal and reached toward him, leaning over the table slightly.

"Say ahh~!"

He responded with a single look.

'No.'

'... Isn't that my job?' Miyu wondered, looking between the two and feeling like she was intruding on something. Wait... this was good. She would probably collapse if she had to act any friendlier with them.

The heroine persisted, pushing the utensil closer to her patrol partner's stoic face.

... She was going to eat the potentially poisoned food if he didn't go along, wouldn't she?

Seiryu sighed, then transformed his tongue.

---

[Serpentine Fire]

---

A few buildings away from the cafe known as Nyanshikyo, two heroes waited.

"Miyu Tabikawa. 21 years old. In her fifth semester at Kyoto's University of Medicine. Arrested two days ago for contrabanding illegal substances. She has no villain name and is only a pawn in Greenfinger's latest scheme, but because of her quirk, she was sentenced to two years in a max-security prison."

Seiryu pocketed his phone. "Furthermore, she cannot reach Katsura River from here with a single teleport. So we could have struck while we were inside the cafe."

"Honestly, I'm glad we didn't. The food was pretty good," Honoken praised before swallowing another spoonful of matcha parfait.

Soon, she finished her dessert and approached his spot on the rooftop they were in, sitting by his side.

"Stakeouts are lame," she sighed, stretching her arms.

"Indeed."

...

...

...

She bumped shoulders with him.

"...?"

"This is the part where we make small talk to pass the time."

He took a moment to reply. "Sorry. My mind is still on Tabikawa."

Tired of making maid jokes, she opted to take him seriously for once. "What about her?"

"I'm wondering why she came here right after escaping. It's even odder now that I know Greenfinger's men came to rescue her."

Her quirk was valuable for their operations, so a squad was sent to break her out... and she escaped. Why was she here instead of grouping with her allies?

"Hiding in plain sight?" she guessed. "She can't warp to the river directly from here, but she could warp to a humid place in between. Or close the gap by running."

"That's close to what I thought at first," he admitted, nodding. "But my instincts are telling me there's something else to this situation..."

"You could always ask after we capture her."

"... I'll try." But in his experience, asking villains about their reasons didn't have a high success rate.

...

...

...

"Did you put her location in the HN?"

"Yeah," Seiryu confirmed. The authorities knew Miyu's location and were nearby with quirk-restraining devices, ready to evacuate anyone within the battle's radius. It was just up to them to incapacitate her before she teleported.

...

...

...

"Why did you decide to go underground?" she asked after the silence dragged on for too long.

"Karma." he said without looking at her, refusing to elaborate further.

She leaned closer to him, putting her head over his shoulder. "... That doesn't tell me anything."

"I believe it's rather self-explanatory."

"Only for a weirdo like you."

...

...

...

Honoken pulled off her headband, eyes straying from the cafe's entrances to peek at Seiryu.

She rubbed her forehead. "I gotta ask... why aren't you as curious about Tasogare as you are with Tabikawa? Hiding in a maid cafe is tame compared to what she has going on."

"I am curious about her. That's why I broke my usual patrol route to come here... and also because I thought I had a decent chance of capturing her."

She snorted. "Thought? Had?"

"When I saw her case on my news feed, I thought I had a decent chance. With you, I'm certain we'll do it."

"Pssh. Flatterer."

...

...

...

"... She's leaving."

"Fucking finally—H-Hey!"

After one hour of waiting, they spotted Miyu Tabiwaka leaving through the back door, now wearing more casual clothing. Predictably, she was on edge, looking around and expecting an ambush.

She would not find one. Seiryu had pulled Honoken to their target's blind spot as soon as he saw her.

"Sorry," he whispered, letting go of her. "You weren't confident in your stealth, and I didn't want to risk it."

After looking around in the streets and the rooftops, the villain's shoulders slumped. At a slow pace, she walked in the Katsura River's direction. But her body language and empty eyes left the impression that she was aimless, with nowhere else to go.

Once again, her behavior struck him as odd. He could understand retreating near a spot where her quirk was most effective, but she didn't seem to have a plan beyond that.

He'd observed enough.

"Let's move."

Flight with flamethrowers was too noisy for this, so he picked up Honoken and glided toward their target.

A pillar of neon purple surged around Miyu Tabikawa, startling her. She looked behind her in time to spot the dragon hero that had almost caught her earlier.

Seiryu landed, dismissing his quirk.

"Miyu Tabikawa... and Shigure Rengoko, Villain Name: Tasogare."

An armored lady stood behind the fugitive, putting Miyu between villain and hero.

"I'm afraid I don't know your names, honorless curs," Tasogare stated, brandishing her weapon and stepping past her impromptu protégé.

"Ugh... not again...!" Miyu whined, falling to her knees. Couldn't all these villains and heroes leave her alone?

"Our names don't matter," Seiryu declared, stepping forward.

"Hey, speak for yourself!" his partner added, climbing off him. "I'd rather be called Honoken than honorless cur."

"I know how it goes with you government dogs by now," the villain in black continued, undeterred. "I won't be surrendering, and neither will this girl."

The dragon hero glanced at Miyu, an unspoken question in his eyes.

"I-I don't wanna go to jail! Can't you two let me go?" she pleaded, tears forming in her eyes. "I thought I was doing normal courier work! I didn't know there were drugs in those packages!"

"That story just makes you sound really dumb, y'know?" Honoken pointed out, cracking her knuckles.

"I am dumb!" Miyu bawled.

"..." Seiryu became quiet at that, pondering the villain's words. Although it came off as a sob story that absolved her of most guilt, somehow... it fell in line with her erratic behavior.

For a villain working for Greenfinger, her actions today were... stupid. But for a girl who got involved in criminal activity without knowing and was trying to flee from everything that got her in this crisis... it was still stupid, but a lot less so.

"Ah shit, that was too close... why did you people even come here?"

Her words from back in the jailbreak rang inside his head. At the time, he had dismissed it as her whining about the heroes arriving to ruin her escape. Could it be she was actually talking about the villains who came to rescue her?

"Can you fight, Miyu Tabikawa?" Tasogare asked, still holding a fighting stance. "As I said, those two don't intend on hearing anything but your surrender."

Irritating as it was, she was right. They could not afford to let Miyu go because she might be telling the truth.

"I can't, T-Tasogare-san..."

"Then flee—"

Seiryu exploded from the pavement, rising above them in a fraction of a second. With a single flap of his wings, he dived at the two villains, aiming to land behind Miyu and knock her out with a single blow.

In a flash of light, Tasogare appeared in his target location before him, grabbing Miyu by the collar and throwing her to the side. She reached for her pockets and flung half a dozen knives at him.

Honoken darted from the side, one hand propelling her with flames while the other gathered fire for an explosive punch.

The dragon hero sped up, letting the projectiles sink into his costume and stop before his scales. His claw batted Tasogare's blade, pushing the rest of her body away with his momentum.

He crashed on the ground between the two villains, the force of his landing blowing Miyu back. He caught her with his tail, pulling her while holding out an untransformed fist aimed at her gut. She crumpled as it connected.

Tasogare dashed to punish his openings from the other side but had to retreat from Honoken's fiery fist. The heroine cut off her swing and opened her hand, turning the explosive punch into a searing blast from her palm that covered Tasogare's midsection, leaving her crouching on the ground, armor smoking.

Seiryu kept holding the unconscious Miyu, analyzing his opponent.

From the details he possessed on「Union」, Tasogare could not teleport people, only objects she held. But her teleportation cooldown had also been registered at 6 minutes. There were only a few seconds between her appearing behind Miyu and then by her side when he made his attack. So he could not discount a possible awakening to her ability.

No, that wasn't right. Tasogare had told Miyu to flee. If the villain had awakened the ability to move others, she would have done so from the moment the battle started.

Tasogare's hands blurred as she reached for her pocket again and pointed a syringe at her neck a second later.

Trigger...

So she did have a quirk awakening, but only a temporary one.

"Disgusting... avoiding me and going for the one who can't fight back..."

He raised an eyebrow. Him, avoiding her? Was that how she rationalized getting swatted away?

A flash of light, then a small burst of pain on his ankle. He whipped around, his claw catching her blade as she tried to stab his back, but she was gone again a second later.

Honoken rushed to assist him as the villain assaulted him from every angle. The dragon took to the air, focusing on tracking Tasogare's teleportation and keeping Miyu within his grasp.

If the armored villain got to her ally and warped to anyone within 2 kilometers of the scene, this would all be for nothing.

However, she couldn't do that yet. Seiryu understood her quirk a little better after seeing it in action.

One: Tasogare had a charge time before each teleport. Her appearance behind Miyu was foreshadowed by a purple glow, which lasted around 3 seconds before her body was visible. Her second teleport had a shorter charge time, but there were too many possible factors to determine why. Maybe she had to charge less to warp small distances, or there was a familiarity factor with the target.

Two: she still had a cooldown, even after taking Trigger. That, or she was purposefully leaving gaps each time she used her quirk.

Another flash. He felt an extra weight on his tail and moved it near his face. Tasogare was grabbing Miyu by the shoulder and charging another teleport.

Three: she needed physical contact if she wanted to take others.

The villain blinked away, letting a fireball pass harmlessly where she once was.

Four: deciding to warp to another place did not reset her charge time.

Seiryu shifted left, taking a glancing blow to his forearm but reacting in time with a punch aimed at her face. Unable to dodge in time, Tasogare put her blade on the path. The dragon's fist broke through it and did the same for her mask, sending her into a crash course to Honoken. Tasogare warped behind the heroine, avoiding a burning fist by reversing their positions and kicking her spine as she flew out of range.

Honoken hissed, turning and retaliating with a sweeping jet of flames. Tasogare let the fire bathe her armor for the remainder of her cooldown before teleporting below Honoken, holding her by the ankle. A glow surrounded both of them.

She was trying to isolate them. To teleport with Honoken and then come back to face Seiryu alone.

The heroine kicked at her face, launching more fireballs in her direction with one hand and jetting toward her partner with the other. Tasogare used her opponent's body to swing away, blocking a foot with her free arm.

Seiryu cursed, claw swiping the empty air as the two disappeared from his sight. Crimson eyes roamed around the street, anticipating the villain's next move. Then, he saw it. Light from far away, with a different color than「Union」's visual cue.

Huh. So she did end up using a flame pillar.

"No roar?" Honoken muttered to herself, aiming her blazing hand back at her opponent.

Tasogare scowled, throwing away her broken blade. Behind the two adversaries, a random passerby that the villain had selected from memory ran away.

Fighting against two heroes who could fly was incredibly annoying. Even with her range increased to 3 kilometers after taking Trigger, she could see the dragon on the horizon rapidly approaching them.

Fireballs flew ahead of Honoken as she charged forward, forcing Tasogare to dart to the side. After making such a long warp, she was still not ready to reuse her ability.

The Flame Strike Hero met her as she rolled away from the projectiles, fists pounding against her. Flames burst from the impacts, causing further damage but not managing to surpass the thermal insulation from her armor.

Tasogare drew a knife from her pocket and stabbed upwards, but her opponent sidestepped in time, shuffling past the attack and throwing a few jabs to keep her on guard. Steel and fire danced around the two, not managing to pierce each other's evasion.

Then, the tell-tale glow of「Union」made its appearance. Honoken tried to tackle the villain to warp with her but did not make it in time.

Seiryu spotted Tasogare reappearing on a nearby rooftop. Miyu was still collapsed under his arm.

He switched his trajectory to clash with her before she could teleport again, letting his tail hold the knocked-out villain.

Fighting while carrying an unconscious person was incredibly annoying. He couldn't exert his top speed or attack at full power without hurting Miyu. But he couldn't let go. The only reason this fight was ongoing was his stalwart defense against Tasogare's ideal escape route.

Her timer ran out, allowing her to flash above the flying hero and stab at his skull. He leaned his head sideways in time, getting away with his mask split open.

The two met multiple times in the air. Tasogare was no longer trying to teleport near Miyu as that would make her position predictable. A single well-placed blow from the dragon hero would easily go past her protective gear, so she could not restrict her movement pattern out of anxiety.

And anxious she was. The ability to move others with her was a temporary effect granted by Trigger. Without it, her only option to win would be to defeat both heroes and carry Miyu away without「Union」.

A rain of burning arrows fell at the villain, and she warped on Seiryu's back, using him as a platform to kick off, flipping mid-air and landing on a rooftop. Several meters away, Honoken ran, fire gathering between her hands. Instead of flying at the two and making the villain banish her again, she would approach them as a moving mortar.

She thrust her hands out, launching three massive fireballs that covered Tasogare's current position, Seiryu's back and left side, limiting her routes for teleporting. To him, that is.

Tasogare warped near the other hero, knife aimed at her exposed back. Instincts screaming at her, Honoken spun, but the edge still caught her side, stabbing between her ribs.

She grit her teeth, feeling pain and blood burst from the wound but refusing to retreat from her opponent. Adrenaline and heat pushed her uppercut into a devastating counter to Tasogare's chest.

The villain wheezed, body swaying back. But pain wasn't enough to make her quit either.

The dragon was already upon them, far faster than before. She did not fear for her life, but the glare aimed at her almost made her reconsider that.

Separating them and focusing on him had been the wrong move. They could regroup too quickly to make a difference.

Tasogare warped to Honoken's wounded side, kicking at her shin and swinging at her chest, missing the first hit but drawing blood across her collarbone. The villain took a left hook to the chin for her aggression, making her head rattle and sting with heat.

She couldn't muster another attack right now. Someone with a low charge time... ah. A store she visited in the morning, outside of her costume...

Purple light surged from her, and once again, Seiryu's claws struck at nothing but air.

The grocery store clerk yelped as an armored figure appeared near him, tumbling into a snack rack.

Tasogare panted, sweating harshly beneath her armor, clutching her weapon like a lifeline.

"A-Are you okay?!" the clerk asked, running to help her up. She reached out a hand to stop him.

Instead of buying time by separating them and focusing on the hero with Miyu, the right move was to isolate Honoken and take her out of the fight.

Could she do it? The quirk enhancer would fade away any moment now. Maybe she should summon herself safely away from them and watch their next move... No. Retreat was not an option. If she was forced to fight them without Trigger... she would definitely lose. It stung, but that was what her battle experience told her.

Although she wanted to remove Honoken from the equation, her ally would be there to cover her. But he was also busy keeping Miyu close to him...

Without high risk, there would be no high reward.

---

[Serpentine Fire]

---

"Did she run away...?" Honoken asked, wincing as her nerves protested her refusal to stop moving.

Seiryu let go of his quirk, returning to his regular size and laying Miyu on the ground. He crouched near Honoken's wound, examining her.

"Hey, It wasn't that deep. I can keep going." she claimed, pushing his forehead while keeping pressure on the wound.

"... Let me see," he insisted, carefully touching the slashed section of her costume.

"I know more about this than you. It's fine."

"Here."

She stopped pushing him back and grabbed his wrist, guiding him. "At least help me out while you're down there."

Seiryu cut off the blood flow while she took her hoodie off, then let go as she wrapped it tight around her torso, staining the white fabric.

He rose to his full height, still looking concerned but not wishing to patronize her. He blinked as Honoken reached for his face, touching a small cut Tasogare had given him after slicing his mask off. She wiped the blood coming from it with her thumb.

"Man..." she groaned. "All this, and we didn't even catch her."

"It's not over yet," he pointed out, lifting Miyu with his tail. "We can't leave Tabikawa with the authorities while Tasogare still has Trigger in her system. She'll teleport behind our backs and warp with Tabikawa before she gets to prison. On that note..."

He turned around, wings bursting from his back. "Climb on. If she teleports to any of us, we'll counter as one."

They flew together a few seconds later.

"Yeah, I still don't think she's coming back," Honoken commented.

"You could never comprehend the depths of my resolve," Tasogare declared, shimmering into existence on the ground below them.

"I can't comprehend you in general," she replied, gathering fire on her palms while tugging on Seiryu's horn as he changed direction.

"I'm an agent of balance."

Tasogare had anticipated their formation and teleported somewhere where she could pass her cooldown.

"Even with one of you bleeding out, you insist on fighting a 2v1... disgusting," she said to herself, scowling deeply.

"Sorry!" Honoken shouted, having heard her. "But it's my first day on the job, and I kinda wanna impress my boss!"

Seiryu flew around the streets, witnessing the start of a light show. Bright flames and purple flashes popped around him as he tried to track down Tasogare while keeping the unconscious villain safe in his grasp. The two heroes covered each other's backs, preventing her from warping to separate them again.

She was becoming desperate, no longer moving with any strategy in mind. Straightforwardly striking at any of the few openings that presented themselves. Into this second round, her plan had been to warp herself with Honoken and take care of the heroine, then escape with Miyu, taking one of the dragon's attacks head-on if necessary. She would not stay conscious for long after, but her mission would be completed.

He took the fight to greater heights, wings beating the air and making Honoken's flames move in chaotic patterns. If Tasogare appeared above him, she would get caught in his charge. Below him, and her attacks would not reach before he ascended further. Behind him, Honoken would check her.

On top of a burning spiral, they met one last time. Knife and claw blurred toward each opponent, one aimed at a scaled throat, the other at an armored chest. A feint. Tasogare flickered right before anything connected.

A blazing ray struck everything below her neck, burning away her pants and coat, leaving only the bodysuit armor, which also broke as Seiryu drove his other fist at her chest, making a booming noise. She didn't get time to charge「Union」. Seiryu had not waited for his partner's attack to end and struck through the flames, ending the battle.

He caught the villain as her body slackened in the air with a wide-eyed expression, gently floating everyone down.

"Ugh..." Miyu groaned in her sleep, her skin tone becoming sickly. As he feared, he had sped up too much, and her body suffered for it.

Miyu Tabikawa: Captured
Shigure Rengoko: Captured

He sighed. It could have gone a lot worse. And also a lot better.

"Victory!" the girl on top of him cheered, throwing up twin peace signs and making his frown shift into a quiet smile.

Nevertheless... they completed their task.

"Oh shit, is your hand okay?!" she asked, looking at his burnt glove.

---

[Serpentine Fire]

---

"And thas a job well done~!" Kalianne slurred her words as they approached the police station's exit. The healing quirk from one of the officers sapped her stamina in return, so she was a bit weak right now.

Yuusei grabbed her shoulder to steady her as she almost stumbled on her next step. "Stop trying to walk so quickly."

"Shhtop being so tall! I have to powerwalk to keep up with you," She complained, pouting.

The two crossed the doors leading outside. To their left, the sunset in the opposite direction to their agency.

He squatted slightly to make it easier for her to climb on his back and soar away from the station together.

"Don't get too used to this." He was doing this because he didn't want to watch her bump into buildings flying in her current state.

"Too late!" she said, bopping his head.

The journey back to the Spring Dragon Agency was brief and peaceful.

"I'll write the report of today's events and then go home. You can leave your bloodied hoodie in the locker room. I'll get it cleaned." Yuusei explained, removing his costume's gloves. One of them was ruined, but his hand had been safe from the fire thanks to his quirk.

He patted her head, walking to his desk. "You did great today. Go home and rest. Tomorrow we start patrolling at 8 AM."

"Hmm... nah, I'm gonna wait for you to finish that report."

"Why?"

"I want a ride home."

He turned around and tried to flick her forehead, but she dodged it.

"I'm not your ride. You already recovered, so get there by yourself."

"Hey, be nice to your employee! We could make an event out of it," she began, sitting on his desk. "Get to my place, call for some takeout, and celebrate a successful first patrol!"

Yuusei took his seat, opening his notebook to submit his report.

"... Alright."

It would be a good chance to catch up with her about things outside of work.

"There you go!" she praised him, patting his arm. "What are we thinking? Pizza? Chinese?"

"If I say pizza, will you ask for a normal topping this time?"

She smirked. "I'll strongly consider it."

He shook his head, fighting back a smile. "... Good enough."

The sound of typing took over the lull in their conversation.

...

...

...

"Say, you're usually more chill when work is over. Something on your mind?"

"I'm thinking about visiting Miyu Tabikawa in prison."

"... What? Why?"

"There's a chance she might have been telling the truth. I'll read what I can find about her court case to confirm my hunch, but if I'm right..."

"You'll what?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I'll get her out. Contact some lawyers and see if they can make an appeal to modify her sentence. Still, even in the best case, the contraband charges will get removed, but she'd still be guilty of using her quirk illegally. However, depending on the judge, she could get away by paying a fine..."

His fingers slowed down on the notebook's keys as he estimated the villain's fate.

"... Huh. Did not expect this sort of thing from you."

He scratched his hair, feeling somewhat awkward. "It's the sensible thing to do. Beyond stopping villains and saving people from burning buildings as Seiryu, I can also do good as an Atsushi."

The laws surrounding villains and heroes were far, far from perfect. Even if he was the one to capture Miyu Tabikawa today as part of his job, it didn't mean he couldn't help her outside of it.

Still, there were probably plenty of others like her that he put to jail without a second thought. It was by pure coincidence that their paths crossed while he looked for Tasogare and he happened to hear her story.

... He hated relying on luck.

Maybe he should try to listen to his foes more. It would be difficult, and he probably wouldn't try it during a crisis when innocent lives were on the line... or whenever Karma opened that mouth of hers. But heroism wasn't about taking the easy path.

Yuusei turned his chair to a window, watching the twilight before gazing at Kalianne.

"Take your case, for example. It will be hard finding evidence against Majestic beyond word of mouth from other sidekicks he screwed over. And his legal team has to be top-notch if he's gotten away with it for so long... but if we get enough people testifying, I'm sure you could get payback."

He shrugged. "Or not. I'm not that savvy about these things."

"... But you'd still try."

"Yeah. For you."

She broke eye contact with him, chuckling nervously. "I'll keep that in mind. But I don't think I ever want to see his face again, even if it's on a high-stakes legal battle to ruin his career..."

Still, she needed to hear that from him.

Kalianne beamed at him, cheeks flushed red. "Thanks again, Yuusei. For today. I think... I think I'll be fine right here."

As expected, she wasn't the type to pursue a grudge like him. But he made the proposal anyway, because offering a place in his agency hadn't felt enough.

... He needed to hear that from her, too.