City Of Silver Gray
Above the streets of Kyoto, the blue dragon soared. His red eyes kept a watchful gaze, piercing through the darkness where the moonlight couldn't reach.
Seiryu did not have a fixed patrol routine. He couldn't afford to let his movements become predictable, considering his mission against a particular villainess. And since he only had one sidekick working with him, he didn't have any problems coordinating his agency's staff through the constant changes... but it did annoy Honoken.
Though his capricious way of doing hero work led him all over the city, he was still unused to this neighborhood because, despite its high population density, it had a low crime rate. And while sometimes that happened because the crimes went unreported, this was not one of those times.
It was simply an unusual location for heroes and villains alike. So when they called him to look for a hero who never returned from patrolling here, Seiryu was puzzled but willing to help.
His investigation skills could use some work, and the lack of clues would make the task even harder, but there were some ways to accelerate the process.
He worked with the assumption that his target did not leave the ward they were operating in, which restricted their possible location within an area of 28 square kilometers. By asking the locals for someone with the hero's physical description and scouting promising leads with his flight plus superior eyesight, he was able to narrow down that area quickly.
If the missing person were here, Seiryu would find them before midnight. If they weren't, he would have to report back to the police so they could gather more clues and start a new search somewhere else. And the young hero would likely volunteer for that assignment.
Time flew far faster than him. Fewer people roamed the streets as he continued his search, but there were no incidents or villain sightings, as was par for the course in this region.
One hour before midnight, he spotted something strange as he landed on a building. A tiny figure wearing a hood stood near a smoking drainage grate, their back turned to the dragon hero.
Suspicious. Seiryu hopped off a ledge, taking in more details. It was not a hoodie but a dark blue jacket over a top that had a cowl. Said cowl had rabbit ears on top and two openings on the sides, leaving out the wearer's twin tails.
"...a hero coming?"
It was quiet, but he heard a voice as he swooped down to check on the stranger and the possible fire they were starting.
"Hey." the young hero called. The stranger looked up at him as he took slow, deliberate steps toward her.
Gray hair. Silver eyes. A tired expression. And a faint scent of coffee, despite the smoke surrounding them.
From her height, he had thought she was a stray child, but seeing her from another angle let him know that wasn't the case.
"Hey," she replied with a nod, then glanced down and kicked the grate.
"It's just one of those underground guys," she spoke, "... Well, that or some D-lister I don't know about."
"Underground," he provided, retracting his wings and reaching out one hand. "The name is Seiryu."
She shook it. "Noctiluca."
He stopped by her side and turned his gaze in the same direction as she did, looking past the storm drain.
Seiryu blinked, expression becoming carefully blank. Another woman was squatting in the sewers. This one wore a clown costume and had a face stained by makeup that was fading away. Loosely held between her fingers was the source of the smoke that caught his attention: a cigarette. And on her other hand... a rat.
"... Good evening, Popsy-senpai."
The hero he was supposed to locate took a drag off her cigar, staring blearily at nothing in particular.
"... Good?" she muttered after blowing more smoke upwards, making Noctiluca step back.
"Sorry," he said, unbothered by the fumes thanks to his mask. It was a thoughtless greeting, in hindsight. "The Hero Public Safety Commission sent me here to find you after you didn't report back, but..."
He tilted his head, looking between the two women. "What exactly is going on here?"
He already had an idea, but it was good to ask instead of relying purely on first impressions.
"She's stuck," Noctiluca confirmed his suspicions. "Didn't want anyone seeing her because it would make for bad PR. 'Clown Hero Ducks Work By Hiding In The Sewers,' or something silly like that."
"You can call it silly, but I know it'd happen," she grumbled before meeting his eyes. "It might still happen..."
"I'm not taking this to the media, and I doubt the Hero Commission will leak it," he tried to reassure her.
"That's not what I..." she abandoned her sentence with a soft sigh. "Nevermind..."
"How did you even end up there, anyway?"
"Well, it all started back in my agency..."
[City Of Silver Gray]
"What will you do, William? Without your brother to command our forces in this last battle, our chances look slim."
"Fear not. All Theo needs is time to grieve. And I'll make sure he gets it."
"This is so stupid..." Akagi commented as the episode unfolded, munching on a chicken wing. "How come he unlocks it right before the final battle?"
It was about 11 AM, and she was lying on her side on the couch, eating reheated takeout from two days ago and watching TV. Her favorite pro wrestling show wouldn't start until a few hours, and the news was more depressing than usual today, so she was stuck with the re-run of an old fantasy series. One of those made to market a book series, and that had super outdated special effects, along with an awful Japanese dub.
In the previous episode, the protagonist's love interest died after they reconciled. And now he was heartbroken about it, refusing to leave his quarters. His brother, who had magic powers, planned to stop time for everyone but them so they could talk and mourn together.
"The clock stops ticking. Everything freezes over. Time Will Wait."
She was sure there was some hidden symbolism going on that her therapist would probably catch. But to her, it just seemed like a waste of time-stopping powers. She bet he would never use it again after this.
She reached for her coffee table, putting the bones on her plate while pawing for another fried chicken piece, but that had been the last one.
"I'm sorry, Theo. I know I should get out. I know I should be stronger. I know it's what she would want me to do. But I can't..."
Her hand moved to the beer can instead, then paused as her phone buzzed. It was probably someone texting her since that app was the only one she had notifications on.
...
It was not a text.
Of course, she also had notifications enabled for the Hero Network app. But she hadn't gotten any in around... 3 months or so?
She stared at the screen with growing dread for a solid minute. Did she get in trouble again without knowing it?
As she tried to build up the courage to touch her phone, the screen faded to black automatically, making Akagi sigh and sag further on the couch. The small, rectangular weight on her stomach felt a thousand times heavier than it was.
She could barely concentrate on what she was doing before. Sounds and images flashed on her crappy TV, but she didn't register most of it, trying and failing to distract herself from that damn message.
After kicking back two beers, she finally got enough liquid courage to grab her phone again. What did she have to lose anyway? Money? Fame? Respect? All of those were already gone with the previous scandals.
"... huh."
It was a request to patrol the east side of Kyoto. Most of the heroes there were away, called to work on a case in Shiga Prefecture. The HPSC needed more numbers to cover them in case any villains wanted to strike the vacant east side.
If the message reached her, of all people, then they must have been seriously understaffed. Her agency was 15 kilometers away from the area.
But still, they called for her. They needed Popsy on the scene! She couldn't even remember the last time that happened.
First, Rika told her a few days ago that a hero had made a team-up offer to her. And now this. Maybe things were looking up for her.
She got up and lumbered to a pile of clothes, leaving behind the TV, empty beer cans, and dirty plates.
Her costume wasn't even dirty, either!
"..."
Akagi felt the haze around her head lighten. She took a bath. Put on the clown suit. Fetched a hand mirror and applied makeup, movements slightly clumsy as she hadn't done this in a while. A few minutes later, Popsy left her apartment/agency, feeling tipsy yet more determined than she'd been in a long time.
She opened the Hero Network app during her train ride, formally accepting the assignment.
Popsy got a few weird looks inside the train and during her patrol. Most people couldn't tell if she was a professional hero or a professional clown from a glance.
But she was used to it after years of donning the costume. The hero continued to make the rounds around the streets, fully immersed in her surroundings.
However, her focus slowly faded as minutes blended into hours without a single happening.
Walk to a street.
Check for any incidents.
Find nothing.
Get stared at.
Repeat.
Over and over, again and again.
It had been a while since her last patrol, so Popsy forgot this was the pattern in this area. She would typically kill off the boredom by making small talk with other heroes that were also patrolling, but there were none. This place was an unpopular route for most pros because, again, nothing happened.
That's likely why they contacted her, didn't they? Because everyone else had better things to do.
She shouldn't think like that, but it was hard not to feel like she was wasting time here. Why did they even bother to call anyone? The people here were doing fine. There were no villains. No emergencies. Not even cats stuck in trees—
"Ah!"
A child dropped something on the ground a few meters ahead of her. She and her mother reached for it, but before any of the two could grab it, a wild rat darted between the mother's legs, snatching it.
"H-Hey!" The girl switched targets from the candy bar to the critter, but the adult at her side held her back gently.
"Don't grab it, Kana. It's dirty."
"But mooom! It stole my chocolate!"
It was an incredibly minor, barely an inconvenience. But something finally happened.
Popsy smacked her cheeks and puffed up her chest, power-walking to the scene.
She'd have that kid smiling and enjoying her sweet in no time!
The hero face-planted with purpose on the nearest storm drain, stretching herself thin at the last moment to sink inside one of the slots. Her elongated body allowed her to reach the rat nibbling at the plastic package before it could tell what was happening.
Her body slinked to another grate, where above, the mother knelt by her daughter, trying to console her.
"Here you go!"
Popsy's face and right arm surged valiantly from the sewer's depths, presenting the chocolate bar with a wide grin.
"Ahh!"
"Eek!"
That... was not supposed to happen.
Before she knew it, the two had run away in panic while she could only stare.
"..."
She shouldn't have come from the sewers.
No, she shouldn't have bothered doing this at all. She could have bought the kid a new chocolate bar instead of diving for a dirty one that had already got bitten by a rat.
Popsy felt her body's elasticity die in sync with her motivation, having to lean back so her body wouldn't get stuck.
But now, she was inside the sewers without a working quirk.
Squeak!
Slumping against a damp wall, the clown hero dropped the chocolate and rat on the grimy floor, thinking about how she would get out of this pickle.
[City Of Silver Gray]
After recalling the stupid sequence of events that led to her current position, Popsy looked down at the ground, feeling another bout of misery weighing her body.
"... How long have you been there?" The dragon hero asked, frowning in sympathy. He had some experience with being let down by his quirk, but it was a time-limit issue in his case. Having your power stop working because you weren't in the right mindset to use it...
How bleak.
"It's almost midnight, right?" Popsy sighed when he nodded. "About ten hours, then."
"You should bring your phone the next time you go out," Noctiluca advised. "One call would have solved this."
"I did bring my phone," the clown mumbled. "But I didn't want to bother anyone when I could cheer myself up to get out. Then it got worse when I couldn't do it because I'd have to explain why I spent two hours in the sewers without calling!"
It was all spilling out now. Popsy counted the hours she wasted in the sewers with her fingers, a crazed glint in her eyes.
"... Then I spent one hour feeling depressed about my quirk and another crying for help. Everyone ran away from me!"
"Can't imagine why," the other woman muttered.
"I can't either! Do I look dangerous? Does everyone in this ward have bozophobia?! Is it because my costume is a bit dirty now? Of course it's dirty! I got stuck in a sewer!"
"Isn't it called coulrophobia?" Seiryu asked, slightly curious about the terminology.
"I... I don't know!" The question seemed to short-circuit Popsy for a moment, unwittingly taking the heat building in her rant.
"Then I... spent another hour depressed. My phone had already run out of power by that point, so I gave up and spent the last four hours teaching Janna tricks," she continued, rubbing the rat's ears. "So it's nine hours instead of ten...?"
"You taught it tricks?" Seiryu and Noctiluca asked simultaneously.
Popsy responded by gesturing at the rat, then herself, taking off her jester hat. The sewer pet skittered behind her, climbing her body, reaching the top of her head, then performing a somersault into her waiting palms.
"Ta-da!" she cheered, presenting the star of the act.
"..."
"..."
The two took in the spectacle for one second before clapping politely.
Truthfully, they were more impressed with her teaching this much in four hours than with the trick itself.
"What about you?" the young hero questioned Noctiluca, turning to her. "When and how did you find her?"
She blinked at being put on the spot. "Ah... it's not as convoluted as her story, but if you insist..."
[City Of Silver Gray]
"Err, Lysingen-san?" someone behind her asked.
Helene had just turned off the lights for the cafe and was about to flip the sign to 'Closed' and lock the doors.
She sighed, leaving the small plaque and looking at the person who called her.
"... If it's about business, I'm gonna ask you to come by tomorrow."
The girl with a bison mutation shook her head, hands gesticulating wildly. "No, no! It's..."
She bent down closer to Helene's height. "There's a creepy weirdo hanging around the sewers in Owotamaedacho...!" she whispered in a way that gave up the point of whispering. "My mum saw them on her way home and told me I should ask you for help."
"Ah. I'll look into it, then," Helene promised, nodding. "But call me Nocti when it's for stuff like this, so I don't get the wrong idea."
"Thanks, Lysin—I mean, Nocti-san!"
With that, the bison girl ran off, leaving the cafe owner sighing alone.
Welp. Time to grab her costume.
[City Of Silver Gray]
"Then I found this weirdo."
"I'm not a weirdo!" the sewer-dweller protested. "I'm a hero in a pinch!"
"Were you also a hero in a pinch when you kicked the mayor's dog a few weeks ago?" Noctiluca probed.
"T-That was an accident!"
"Uh-huh."
"I'm serious! I was running to an emergency when the dog—who wasn't on a leash, by the way—ran into me!"
"So now we're victim-blaming dogs."
"Popsy-senpai isn't that bad," Seiryu vouched, even managing not to add an 'I think...' to the end of his sentence.
"I'm none that bad!"
Her pet rat chirped in agreement. Or hunger. Or panic at the raising of voices. Popsy liked to believe it was that first one.
"Yeah, she's not dog-kicking bad," Noctiluca agreed, ignoring the protesting clown. "Anyway, I knew she was harmless as soon as I saw her."
She stepped lightly on the storm drain. "Thought about using my quirk to bust this thing—"
"That's destruction of property," Seiryu and Popsy said in unison.
"Yeah, I know, it was just a thought," she waved them off. "Then she asked me to buy some cigs because I guess the sewer stench wasn't enough for her."
Popsy held her cigarette close to her mouth with a tired smile. "You wouldn't get it."
"After that, you swooped in," Noctiluca finished, shifting towards him. "And now we're here. Any ideas on how to get her out?"
Seiryu hummed, holding his chin. "We could search for a manhole and rescue her from inside the sewers..."
She grimaced, stepping away from the grate. "I'd rather not get in there. Cleaned the costume yesterday and all."
"... Break through the grate, as you suggested, and I'd pay for the damages..."
"That one sounds promising."
"... Or we try to get her quirk working again," he decided.
She raised an eyebrow. "Like, making her laugh? No offense, but you don't seem like the humorous type." Not that she was much better in that regard.
"None taken. But as you said earlier, it was just a thought."
Seiryu crouched, reaching eye level with Noctiluca's shoulders, although his gaze was on the clown hero.
"Which one sounds better to you, Popsy-senpai?"
"Umm..."
She didn't want to make anyone travel through the sewers at midnight to drag her out. And she also didn't want someone who considered her a senpai to pay a fine for her.
"Let's try the third option first...?"
"... Comedy it is, then," the dragon hero concluded, rising back to his full height.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Seiryu and Noctiluca's eyes wandered as their minds scrambled to think of a joke. Popsy smoked and watched them, too drained from her attempts at activating her quirk to join them.
This was... a bit more difficult than Seiryu expected. He couldn't find anything funny about her situation at all.
"I think I have a good one," the hooded girl spoke, snapping her fingers.
...Thankfully, he wasn't alone in this.
"You know how that kid whose chocolate bar you tried to recover?"
Popsy nodded sadly.
"I guess when the mom saw you coming from the sewers, she thought it was It for them."
Seiryu winced as if in pain while Popsy stared, baffled.
"Wait... I don't get it. What's the punchline?" she asked after a few seconds of silence, earning a sigh from Noctiluca.
"An old horror novel," the dragon hero replied for her.
"Ah... Pennywise reference... how did I not catch that? I must be the shame of all clowns in the world..." she moped, hanging her head.
He turned to the failed comedian.
"I know, I know." she preemptively raised her hands. "It sucked and had the opposite effect."
"No, it was fine... you just needed better delivery... and a smarter audience..." Popsy mumbled, taking another drag off her cigarette before coughing loudly.
When harsh noises continued to escape her throat, Seiryu reached down, transforming his hand into a claw to destroy the storm drain. Popsy raised a hand in his direction, signaling to stop.
"I'm good..." she whispered, then cleared her throat. "My throat's acting weird."
"You did spend almost ten hours in there with no water," Noctiluca pointed out while throwing aside a glowing sledgehammer that scattered into motes of light.
"And smoking probably didn't help," Seiryu continued.
"What are you two, my doctors?" she grumbled. "Sometimes you need a smoke after a day like this."
Seiryu's gaze fell on his clown-rescuing comrade. "I'll get her something to drink. You keep working on your jokes."
"Can you bring booze too?"
"Can we switch positions?"
Seiryu ignored the clown's unhealthy request, letting Noctiluca continue.
"Sad as it is, that might have been my best material."
He sighed, holding his face with one hand. "Honestly, after witnessing your attempt, a part of me has given up on the plan."
She frowned at him. "It wasn't that bad."
"Agree to disagree."
"—And, even if it was, we still have other options. We could show something funny instead of making a joke... like a cat video."
"A cat video," the two heroes repeated.
"Can't beat the classics." She shrugged, then widened her eyes as he whipped out his phone. "Wait, I was only half-serious."
She stepped closer to him and stood on her toe tips to try and see the screen. He found the motion somewhat amusing, though his poker face betrayed nothing.
"I'm requesting the sewer system schematics from this area," he explained as he tapped away at the Hero Network app. With this, they wouldn't have to look for a maintenance hole blind nor search inside the sewers aimlessly.
"Ah. No cat videos, then."
"I'm more of a dog person, for the record," Popsy announced, voice hoarse. "And Janna might get scared if she sees a cat on-screen."
"Just don't show her? Also, how can you be a dog person after the Shiba-kicking incident?"
"I already told you it was an accident!"
After shouting, Popsy began coughing again.
"Ah, my bad," Noctiluca apologized as the young hero glared at her.
Seiryu sighed again. "I'm going to buy her water. Please don't make her talk unnecessarily."
"Alrig—"
He flew away before she could fully answer.
"What a gloomy guy," she thought out loud. "How'd you even become friends with him?"
"...?" Popsy tilted her head in confusion.
"He calls you senpai and everything."
The clown shrugged.
"Is that an 'I don't know why' or a 'you get used to him'?" Before Popsy could open her mouth, Noctiluca continued, "You know what, I'll wait until you can talk again."
A nod.
[City Of Silver Gray]
"No good?"
The clown hero shook her head in response to the hooded girl's question.
Seiryu came back to a peculiar sight. Noctiluca squatted near the storm drain, watching something on her phone. Popsy clung to the grate's bars to get a closer look. The rat rested on her shoulder.
"... I'm back."
The two turned to him as he spoke.
"That was fast," Noctiluca commented and shifted right so he could crouch by her side.
Clown shoes splashed on a dirty puddle as their owner landed back on the sewers, letting Seiryu slide a metal flask through one of the grate's openings. Popsy opened it with the speed of a woman who hadn't drunk anything in ten hours, chugging its contents even faster.
"Any progress?" he asked.
"Nope." Noctiluca shook her head. "I tried looking for something funny online. Huge mistake. They don't make memes like they used to."
"Like they used to? How old are you again?" he asked.
"How old do you think I am?"
Seiryu got slightly closer, examining her features.
"22," he guessed.
"Huh... 27, actually."
Better than being called a hag, at least.
Seiryu clicked his tongue. He could have gotten it right if he used his quirk to enhance his eyesight.
"Did you only bring one...?" Popsy asked, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.
"No." He produced a water bottle from his pocket. "Give me the flask so I can refill."
She complied, and Noctiluca continued to recount her struggles with cheering up Popsy.
"Before that, she asked me to look up pictures of Osaka. But she got even worse when she saw them, so... no progress, like I said before."
"That was my bad," Popsy admitted, reaching for the refilled water flask and taking a few sips. "I thought seeing my hometown would help."
But it only made the sewer air more stifling around her. Instead of recalling happy childhood memories, she only felt the cold of rock bottom.
"Sorry for being a bother," she sniffed.
"... You're not a bother," Noctiluca assured. "You're a hero in a pinch."
"It's normal to feel shame in a situation like this..." Seiryu began. "But it shouldn't be."
He paused, measuring his words to guarantee they would get through her head.
"You're here because you tried to brighten someone else's day, and now it's our turn to try and brighten yours. Heroes aren't above asking for or receiving help."
Popsy nodded, letting her head hang down. Seeing that she was thinking about it, he looked away and sat on the sidewalk by the storm drain, satisfied with saying his piece.
Noctiluca clapped his shoulder before sitting on the sidewalk with him, hugging her knees.
"Nice speech."
He said he'd given up on it, but that might have been the closest they got to executing the 'cheer her up' plan.
"So... what now?"
Seiryu grabbed his phone. "I'm going inside there to get her out—"
He trailed off, frowning. The information he requested on the Hero Network still hadn't been delivered.
"... I'll have to wait a bit until I can do that, however."
Considering the hour they were in, he couldn't be too mad about it. He was just concerned about letting Popsy in there for much longer.
"... You can leave if you want," he told Noctiluca. "I have it from here."
What a tempting offer... she wanted nothing more than hang up the costume and have a good night's sleep. And yet...
"You're worried about her too, huh?" the dragon hero whispered when she hesitated a second too long.
Noctiluca shrugged in response, not denying it.
"... Why did you decide to do this?" he wondered, eyes wandering between the street and the clown hero.
Noctiluca raised an eyebrow at him. "Pretty sure I talked about it earlier."
He waved a hand in dismissal.
"I meant the whole vigilante thing."
Ah.
"The what now?" Popsy asked, blinking rapidly.
"Vigilante? Where did that come from?" Despite those words, her body moved slightly away from his.
He stared at her flatly. "Stop that. Playing dumb doesn't suit you at all."
Noctiluca huffed, an awkward smile tugging at her lips. It wasn't like she was trying that hard to hide it, but he could at least have some tact in bringing it up.
"When did you figure it out?"
Seiryu pursed his lips behind his mask. "It could have been after you introduced yourself with a codename and called your clothes a costume... or when you admitted that someone asked you to solve this instead of emergency services... but when I really think about it... it was after I searched for you in the Hero Network," he decided.
"I thought you were requesting sewer plans?"
He nodded. "I did that before, yes."
Noctiluca rolled her eyes at him. "So... since you haven't tried to arrest me, I'll assume you're cool with the vigilante thing."
She hadn't expected that from him, but she'd take it. She wasn't in the mood for resisting arrest.
"It's not that simple, but..." he shook his head. "Nevermind."
"Eh? No, keep going. I'm kinda wondering what you were about to say. Aren't you too, Popsy?"
Before the clown hero could finish opening her mouth, Noctiluca added, "Actually, I forgot to ask: are you also cool with the vigilante thing?"
"I...guess? I mean, I can't really complain if you choose to spend your midnight helping me with no payment instead of sleeping."
The hooded woman groaned. "Don't even say the S-word. Opening the cafe tomorrow is gonna be rough."
She thrust a finger at Seiryu. "But let's not change the subject. Go on, say what you were about to say."
"You're the one changing it," he accused, returning her gesture. "I asked why did you decide to do this."
"How about we answer each other?"
"Sure. Go first."
"No, you go. My question is more recent."
"... Exactly. I asked first, so you talk first."
"Guys, if this is some routine you two are improvising for me..." Popsy began, looking between them. "I have to say it is not working. Please stop."
"... Now that you mention it, I think we could have reached something if you didn't interrupt it," the vigilante mused, rubbing her chin.
"No, she's right," Seiryu said.
"One has to play the tsukkomi and the other the boke in these scenarios," Popsy explained. "But you two are only fit for the former, so it doesn't work."
"Leave it to the Osakan to start a manzai lecture here and now," the dragon hero muttered.
Popsy scowled. "You better not be mocking Osaka or manzai routines," she warned, shaking a fist at him. "Because if you are, then I'll..."
Her hand stopped as she realized she couldn't fulfill the threat she had in her head.
"... make my rat chew on your costume?" she opted for something more feasible.
Noctiluca mock-gasped. "Not the costume!"
"... How frightening," Seiryu played along, though his voice was deadpan. "Please don't sic Janna on me. I meant nothing negative."
"You're on thin ice," she decided, pointing at her eyes and then at him. The rat on her shoulder sniffed the air, unaware of its role as a potential weapon.
"..."
"..."
"... why are you two staring at me like that?" Popsy asked as the chat entered a lull.
"Checking if the banter was enough to get your quirk working again," the vigilante replied.
"Ah..."
She reached for her cheek, pinched, and pulled, but the skin didn't stretch as far as she wanted.
She didn't feel like yesterday's garbage anymore, but that wasn't enough to use her power.
"No dice, eh? Well... I'll tell you two about my origin story while we wait for the Hero Commission to get their shit together."
Seiryu gave her a half-hearted glare at the words 'origin story' but remained quiet, waiting for her to continue.
"So, no offense to you guys, but the heroes here... they kinda suck. It's not like they lose to the villains... they take too long to get to the scene, that's all."
"My first experience dealing with a villain was when he finished robbing a bank down the street and then tried to steal from my cafe... which is a dick move when you think about it. I mean, he already had plenty of cash. Why come for me?"
Noctiluca cleared her throat. "Moving on. After my customers saw me beating him up, it... spiraled from there? First, it was self-defense in my place. Then helping the mochi guy across the street. Then Mrs. Toyama's sushi restaurant, then the arts-and-crafts shop to my right..."
She sighed. "After the fourth time, I decided that if I were to do this, I might as well be more committed. So I put on the hoodie and started calling myself Noctiluca."
Noctiluca sighed again after finishing her tale.
"It's kind of stupid when I say it all out loud."
"It's heroic."
She blinked at Seiryu, not anticipating those words to come from him.
"Don't look at me like that," he grumbled, annoyed. "In theory, vigilantism is one of the purest forms of heroism. Putting one's life on the line with no reward at the end except helping someone... it's noble."
Before hero licenses were a thing, every hero was a vigilante. The first member of his family to manifest a quirk included.
"But in practice...?" she probed.
"Most vigilantes are self-righteous, untrained morons who turn crises into disasters. Using your quirk to help others is noble, but if you have no experience, it can and will turn ugly."
He pointed at her. "In your case, it hasn't turned ugly. That's why I won't arrest you. Because you have the skills to support your ideals."
And those ideals were 'keeping her neighborhood safe,' which he couldn't disapprove of.
"... Y'know, for being such a gloomy guy, you're surprisingly nice with your words," the vigilante commented, a small smile gracing her lips.
"I'm not gloomy."
"If you say so."
"... I said I didn't mind your help... but it's a bit messed up, no?" Popsy broke her silence, leaning against a damp wall.
The two turned to her.
"We spent three years going through battle training, rescue training, mid-term exams, final exams, work studies, provisional license exams, internships... she put on a hoodie and started patrolling."
Noctiluca winced, making Popsy feel guilty.
"Sure, she helps people, but..."
She shook her head, lips set in a firm line. "Ah, I guess I'm just jealous."
Seeing that this subject was bringing down the clown's mood, Noctiluca glanced at the dragon hero. "What about you?"
He raised an eyebrow. "I explained my stance."
"Not that. What's your origin story?"
He cringed once again at the words. "Stop calling it that. It's corny."
"Less semantics and more story-telling, if you would."
The young man took off his mask and gazed at the midnight sky. "Hmm..."
"Oh, this oughta be good," Noctiluca mumbled, shifting on her improvised, concrete seat.
"It's a rite of passage from my family, in a way."
"..."
"..."
"... well?" the vigilante asked after a few seconds passed without him elaborating.
His red eyes moved from the stars to her silver orbs. "That's it."
"It... really isn't," Popsy said.
"You're bad at talking about yourself, huh?" Noctiluca guessed. "Don't worry, dude, we're not gonna make fun of you."
It was almost enough to make him laugh. As if he cared about their judgment.
"Dozens of decades ago, when the world was learning how to deal with the appearance of quirks, a member of my family decided to go out and fight crime with his power. The rest of the household... did not approve of his decision. He was supposed to be the heir. An only child that would inherit everything and shouldn't be throwing his life away night by night."
"But he kept breaking the law and saving people. When he stopped fighting due to wounds, he was already the head of the family, helping by providing shelter and equipment to that era's illegal heroes... including his son, who followed in his path. As did his grandchild, great-grandchild, and great-great-grand... you should be able to get it by now."
It was about perspective. Before being invested with all the authority and assets of the Atsushi family, the heirs entered the hero system. Learning how to use their power to help others so they could use the family's power properly.
Noctiluca raised her hand jokingly. "Umm... that all sounds very venerable, but learning how to punch villains and rescue people doesn't exactly translate into the business world, does it?"
"It doesn't," Popsy replied for him. "But hero schools teach a lot about building pros and agencies as brands."
Seiryu shook his head. "That's still more about publicity than economics. Which is why I also started doing online classes after graduating from Shiketsu. So I don't become one of those clueless rich boys who tanks their parents' company."
The vigilante snorted at his blunt words.
"Shiketsu, huh. Is that why you keep calling me senpai?"
He blinked at the clown hero, then scratched his hair self-consciously. "Ah. Sort of. I'm used to calling Rosethorn that since she prefers it. You two were classmates, so I suppose I did the same to you without noticing it... sorry."
"... I don't mind." It was nice that someone saw her as a senpai, even in her current state.
Current state...
"..."
"..."
Seiryu and Noctiluca stared at her, an unspoken question in their eyes.
"It doesn't go as far back as his family, but for me, it started with my dad. The Clown Hero: Patchy. He was my reason for becoming a pro, specifically with this motif," she explained, tugging on her costume.
"Dad... he was my idol. He wasn't in the top ten, but he was probably the most popular hero in Osaka, kind of like a city mascot."
Popsy flung a cigarette butt away, reaching for another before stopping herself. "I wanted to be like him. Someone who could make others smile. Someone who made people not scared of crime and the world just by being there. And now..."
She let out a deep breath. "Now I'm..."
"You're here because you tried to brighten someone else's day, and now it's our turn to try and brighten yours."
Her kouhai's words rang through her head.
She had forgotten all about that, didn't she? Coming here aimlessly, walking around doing nothing for hours... going through the motions of a patrol in an attempt to chase her old self. Caught up in keeping that image so much that she couldn't bring herself to ask for help.
She entered this sewer because of a desire to make others smile. To make that kid smile. And she got stuck here because she put that aside, focusing on making herself laugh to activate her quirk.
... Maybe it was time to go back to square one.
"Did you get those sewer plans?" she asked, setting it up.
Seiryu checked his phone before nodding slowly. "Yeah."
He got up, glancing at Noctiluca. "I'll go down there and get her out. You'll keep her company, right?" It was more of a statement than a question.
The vigilante nodded, and Popsy struck before he could leave.
"I guess this wasn't what you had in mind when you became an underground hero, eh?"
"... that was awful," he said, but since he hadn't put his mask back on, she could see he was struggling not to smile.
Huh. That was shockingly easy. This guy was too weak to puns.
"Sorry," Popsy said, still having one more in her. "I guess I'm draining the mood with these."
"Please stop."
Noctiluca kicked his shin lightly, snickering to herself. "How come you didn't have this reaction to my bad jokes?"
Seiryu shrugged. "I don't know. It might just be a skill issue on your part."
"Oh, screw you."
Seeing these two composed people having fun with her silly puns made her feel like she could try to leave again.
Popsy stepped forward and reached for the storm drain.
"Can you hold her for me?"
Seiryu nodded and carefully took the rat from her hand.
The clown hero took a deep breath, grabbed the bars between her and freedom, and squeezed her face through them.
... It was working.
Her quirk was working!
Before she knew it, her entire body was already outside, kneeling on the sidewalk.
"Hah..."
The cool, non-sewer air entered her nostrils as she got up and patted her costume. It was a cold night, but the warmth blossoming inside her chest felt stronger.
Seiryu and Noctiluca stepped forward, the former reaching out with her pet.
"Here—"
She hugged him. It looked supremely awkward due to their respective heights.
"..." Seiryu patted her shoulder, not protesting the gesture. He had seen her move and recognized what she was going for but didn't pull back out of politeness.
The clown hero stepped away from him and reached for the hooded woman, arms open wide.
"Please don't. You smell like a sewer."
Noctiluca did not share his mindset, backtracking with her hands up.
"Sorry," Popsy mumbled, receiving her rat.
"I... thank you both," she said, wiping her eye with one hand. "I owe you two big time."
"Don't sweat it," the vigilante waved her off. "I didn't do much except talk. And buy cigs."
"I'll pay you back for those, then."
A shrug. "Suit yourself."
She turned to her other rescuer. Despite the short time spent talking with him, she knew already what he would say. Something along the lines of...
"You don't owe me anything."
Yep, there it was.
"Even so, if there's anything you need..."
He huffed, not willing to debate this. "I'll keep it in mind."
It was good enough for her.
"Well, I hope you two have a good night. Because I know I'll wake up like shit tomorrow," Noctiluca dreaded, waving at them before walking away.
Seiryu and Popsy returned the gesture before the former stepped in the opposite direction.
"I'd offer to fly you to a station, but I'm not sure if my quirk would hold up," he admitted. He had already spent the entire day patrolling before going on overtime to look for her. Activating it briefly to break a storm drain wasn't a problem, but extended flights were another story.
"That's fine. I need to stretch my legs."
He nodded. "Till we meet again, Popsy-senpai."
"See ya, kouhai."
The two heroes went their separate ways.
[City Of Silver Gray]
On her route home, the clown hero stumbled upon a cafe. Clinging to the front walls was a man in a black bodysuit trying to pry the sign away.
'Thanks-a-Latte,' it said.
Ah. That was the place Noctiluca talked about. The vigilante was probably home now, taking the rest she deserved.
Still feeling she could use her quirk and thinking about paying her back, Popsy headed towards the thief.