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There’s this poster of All Might in Naruhata’s poorest police department.
Well, presumably, there’re posters of the Number One Hero in every police department across all of Japan, they slap them over every available surface, but this particular one was special.
This was the poster Chizome has had the displeasure of staring at for hours at a time after being detained, waiting for the police to figure out they couldn’t really charge him with anything worth jail time. At that point, he was starting to suspect they held him as long as they could just to spite him.
But yes, the poster. It’s one of the older ones, from when All Might still hadn’t been all that well-known yet. He’s smiling in it, of course, one fist raised.
The text below him proudly proclaimed that “violence is never the solution.”
Chizome hated that poster with a passion.
Don’t get him wrong, he adored All Might as a hero—the man was an ideal of what the other heroes should be aspiring to reach—but that particular poster aged badly.
“Violence is never the solution” sounded a bit hypocritical from the man whose entire repertoire of moves consisted of various “Smash!”-es named after American States of all things.
Why couldn’t he have named them after Japanese prefectures? Show some patriotism! Where’s a Mie Smash? Tottori Smash? Or even a Tokyo Smash or Kyoto Smash!
In any case, Chizome had stared at that poster far too many times for far too long; he’s rather certain he could draw it from memory if given enough materials.
And, well… This was a little embarrassing to admit, but with nothing better to do, Chizome had ended up talking to the poster quite a bit.
What else was he meant to do? Sit there in silence? At least this way, he could practice his speeches and rehearse for the inevitable meeting with All Might he was going to get one day.
Chizome, on his own... He was well aware he could not bring about the change the world oh-so-desperately needed. He just didn’t have enough influence.
But All Might? If the Number One Hero spoke out against fake heroes, if the Symbol of Peace started the movement to establish proper guidelines…
Surely, society would follow him without a question?
So far though, he’s had no luck getting All Might’s attention, so he’s had to settle for his soapboxing.
Could he really afford to wait, though?
“Every day, the fake heroes are allowed to run around freely, not held accountable for their actions,” he told the poster of All Might. “Every four months, even more hero students gain their provisional licenses without proper understanding of what it means to be a hero. Every year, more of them graduate, oversaturating the heroics industry, and every year, even more children take their place at the schools…”
...Would an audience with All Might even change anything at that point? Even with the most extensive campaign… Who’s to say it wasn’t too late?
Who’s to say the only solution at that point wasn’t just picking up a sword and—
“Could you tell me where the superintendent’s office is?” A voice trailed off from a little ways down the corridor, bulldozing over Chizome’s train of thought and capturing his interest.
He stood up, trying to get a better look through the bars.
There’s a plain-looking man Chizome didn’t recognize. He’s talking to Sergeant Katou, who didn’t look all that interested in their conversation, barely glancing away from the files he was holding.
“Who’s asking?”
“Detective Tsukauchi Na—” was how far the man got before Katou interrupted him.
“Yeah, sure,” he scoffed. “Whatever you want, I’m sure the superintendent doesn’t have time for that bullshit.”
He left after that, leaving the other—Detective Tsukauchi—behind, stuttering as he tried to argue.
“Yeah, Katou isn’t really going to help you, he’s a stubborn asshole at the best of days,” Chizome offered, lounging against the bars. “You picked literally the worst person possible to ask for directions.”
The detective turned to look at him, blinking in surprise.
“...Would you happen to know where the superintendent’s office is…?” he asked, clearly running out of options.
Chizome chuckled. “If you go back to the main entrance and go up the stairs there, up to the third floor, his office is the fifth door on the left.”
Detective Tsukauchi’s shoulders relaxed, a sigh of relief escaping him. Curiously, he didn’t even pause to question if Chizome was shitting him.
He wasn’t, of course, but it would have still been prudent to ask, considering he’s the one who’s sitting behind the bars, out of the two of them.
“Thank you,” the detective said. “Now, just to convince the superintendent to give his permission…”
He sounded utterly miserable and Chizome… Well, Chizome’s bored, could you blame him?
“Permission for what?” he asked, curious.
The detective eyed him for a second before deciding that letting this weight off of his chest was more important than keeping a secret from some random person in a holding cell.
“I need his permission for a hero to get involved in one of the investigations here,” he sighed. “Naruhata’s police is… notoriously bad about sharing their cases.”
Chizome considered him for a moment. Should he give up his blackmail material?
But, really, he’s got nothing to lose… and he might inconvenience the superintendent in the process.
“Mention kittyspotters.jp to him,” he said. “Specifically, calicolover73. He’ll sign whatever you need him to.”
Detective Tsukauchi just stared at him. “I’m not going to—to blackmail him!”
Shrugging, Chizome returned back to his rather uncomfortable bench, sitting on top of it cross-legged. “Your choice. But you know he’s not going to agree without something pressing him; he’s too much of a bastard who’s too loathsome of heroes stealing his credit to allow them to help out.”
Tsukauchi left without another word, the set of his shoulders already betraying what he was going to do.
Chizome smirked as he returned to staring at All Might’s poster.
What was he thinking about, again?
***
Detective Tsukauchi returned half an hour later, along with Inspector Ota, one of the more tolerable officers in the precinct.
She moved to open the doors to Chizome’s cell, a carefully neutral expression on her face.
“Aw, have you gotten bored of me already?” Chizome tilted his head. “I hadn’t been expecting to leave for another, oh, six or seven hours.”
“Don’t complain,” she rolled her eyes, leaving the doors unlocked as she stepped away. “You got that idiot to pay your bail, congrats.”
Ota left after that, not caring to wait and see if Chizome actually vacated the cell.
He did, of course, he’s not one to waste an opportunity like that. Detective Tsukauchi was still waiting right outside.
“Um… Why?” Chizome asked, brows furrowed.
Tsukauchi didn’t really look him in the eye. “Your advice was… invaluable.”
Chuckling, Chizome took the lead, confidently leading them both towards the exit. He’s been inside the station often enough to memorize this specific route.
He didn’t bother stopping by the lockers—his signs would be destroyed by now—and he didn’t really carry anything of actual value when going out to preach. Too many times his phone, keys, or even documents got lost or destroyed when held by the police.
The rest of the police station did not react to his leaving, beyond a frown or a glare thrown his way—most of them didn’t keep track of time as well as they liked to think they did—and before long, he was throwing the doors open, breathing in the fresh night air.
“So you blackmailed the superintendent,” Chizome threw the words over his shoulder, ignoring the goosebumps appearing all over his bare arms.
The detective scowled slightly. “He was dragging his feet on a multiple kidnappings case. I am not letting children stay in a quirk trafficking ring any longer than they’ve already spent there.”
Chizome conceded the point.
“Come on.” Tsukauchi waved at him, turning towards the parking lot. “I’ll drive you home.”
It would be stupid to accept. The place Chizome’s staying at wasn’t that far away, and he didn’t like people knowing even the general whereabouts of his living space.
Any other day, he would have declined.
But today, for a reason he didn’t quite understand… He accepted.
***
Chizome had been fully expecting to never see Detective Tsukauchi again.
And yet, there he was, stepping between Chizome and Sergeant Katou just as the latter was moving to arrest him yet again.
“I’ll take this from here,” the Detective said, flashing his license.
Katou scowled, barely glancing at him. “Scram.”
“I do apologize.” Detective Tsukauchi smiled, sounding not at all sorry. “But I’m afraid you’re out of your jurisdiction at the moment. This is Endoru ward—you can’t actually arrest him here.”
Katou scoffed, but gave up, flashing Chizome his middle finger before leaving.
“It’s not like me being out of their ward has ever stopped them before,” Chizome noted, however grateful he was for not having to spend the rest of the day—and possibly night—in the same holding cell, with only a picture of All Might for company.
Tsukauchi crouched to help gather the boards Katou did not hesitate to kick around.
“Doesn’t mean he should have done that,” the man said, reading through the data Chizome put down on the cardboard. Today, he used statistics of excessive violence used by heroes during arrests. “You’ve got some strong views about heroics.”
Chizome scowled. “If you’re going to ridicule me, I will not hesitate to punch you.”
The detective looked up at him, blinking slowly. “What about constructive criticism?”
Narrowing his eyes, Chizome tried to figure out if the man’s just trying to rile him up, or if this was a genuine offer.
“I was just on my way to get some lunch,” Detective Tsukauchi said, Chizome’s board under his arm. “Would you like to join me? You could tell me all about your cause, because I’m pretty sure that ‘Get rid of the fake heroes’ is a succinct summarisation rather than the entire thing.”
Chizome grumbled, but… Well, he had someone here willing to listen, and he’s been in need of a real person to rehearse on. The cartoonish All Might was getting a little too agreeable for Chizome’s tastes.
Apparently, the detective’s idea of an appropriate lunch place was a fast food restaurant; one of those American chains which had been invading Japan for a while now, with mixed results.
It’s not a place Chizome would usually choose to eat at, but the Detective insisted he pick something, so he got a simple salad and, on the cashier’s recommendation, a blood milkshake.
It was pretty obviously made with animal blood, but it did taste nice.
To his credit, the detective listened to his explanation of the faults of hero society intently, asking poignant questions at the right points.
“Alright, so let’s say you’ve got every single hero currently in the system reevaluated,” he said at one point, sipping his soda. “The fake ones get their licenses revoked, the good ones continue to work. What then? ‘Cause I get the feeling that by your standards, not many heroes would keep their jobs.”
Chizome scowled lightly. That was a problem he’s considered before. And…
“Supplementary classes,” he said, “If they pass, they can get their licenses back.”
“By classes, you mean in the hero schools—?”
“Don’t get me started on hero schools,” Chizome barked out, shovelling a piece of cucumber into his mouth.
He’s had the displeasure of attending one, back when he still believed he could change the way heroics worked from the inside.
It took him half a day to become disillusioned, but he gave it half a year before actually dropping out.
Tsukauchi blinked. “I would love to hear about that, actually.”
Ah, well. If he insisted—
***
Chizome had never let his daily life interfere with his nightly endeavors, and he wasn’t going to let the little routine Tsukauchi was establishing get in the way.
Sadly, it seemed Tsukauchi wasn’t going to be the only one interrupting his work.
The Naruhata vigilantes—kids, really, with the possible exception of Knuckleduster—were already all over his case by the time he arrived.
As he sat there on the roof, staring at the three of them beating up his possible source of intel on the rise in Trigger sales, well… This kind of thing makes you think.
They’ve clearly got the Trigger angle covered, perhaps Chizome should switch to something else. Dealing with fake heroes seemed like a nice little—
“They been at it for long?” A gruff voice asked from off to the side and Chizome just barely stopped himself from flinching.
“Eraserhead,” he nodded to the man. Now he was a hero properly following in All Might’s footsteps.
The man took it as some sort of an invitation, settling himself right next to Chizome.
“You think they’ll share the info?”
“If they get any.” Chizome shrugged. “Not the best at intimidation, that bunch.”
Eraserhead just grunted at that.
“You could always help them out,” he suggested. That’s what heroes were meant to do, after all, help. “Show them how it’s done. One glare and the dealer will drop everything he knows.”
“And give Nedzu more arguments?” The hero scoffed, but shifted slightly. He was going to do it, Chizome knew. “I am not cut out to be a teacher.”
“Get down there and prove it, then.”
Sighing, Eraserhead shifted the capture weapon bundled around his neck. “Fine, but only if you come with me.”
“You do know I’m a vigilante, right?”
“A vigilante they know,” the hero stressed, already halfway off the roof. “And besides, you’ve been after this intel too, haven’t you?”
Chizome rolled his eyes, but followed Eraserhead down.
Knuckleduster was the only one to notice their arrival, acknowledging it with a small nod. The other two really needed to work on their situational awareness, but thankfully, that wasn’t Chizome’s problem.
On the other hand…
One of his knives soared through the air, twirling harmlessly between the two kids before embedding itself in the wall, just barely nicking the thug’s ear.
Their startled yelps were like music to his ears.
The vigilantes had only a second to glance back at Chizome, shocked, before the villain started talking.
“What, am I giving you trouble?” He mocked, glancing between Crawler and Pop☆Step. “Had to call Big Daddy Vigilante in for help? Can’t even intimidate a guy yourself—”
“You’re right, they can’t,” Eraserhead spoke up, emerging from the shadows. His capture weapon rose from his shoulders, providing a second layer of bindings. “Which is what they’ll be learning tonight. Thank you for volunteering.”
“Yes!” Pop☆Step called softly, exchanging a fistbump with the other two vigilantes, grins on their faces.
The villain blanched at that, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
“Now then.” Chizome liberated a few more knives from his shoulder strap. What do teenagers find exciting these days… “Who wants to learn how to obliterate a kneecap?”
***
With how often Tsukauchi stumbled upon Chizome—mostly when interrupting his arrests—it was inevitable that at some point, he would meet him as Stendhal.
Chizome still wasn’t prepared for that to happen.
He was in an alley, urgently removing any identifying elements of his costume after having led the police away from the other vigilantes. There were still officers on his tail, but he might just shake them off if he blended in with the civilians.
It would have been so much easier to just… dispose of them. They were corrupt, anyway, and that’s almost as bad as being a fake hero—
“Akaguro?” A familiar voice called from the mouth of the alley.
Like a deer in headlights, Chizome briefly considered running in the opposite direction, even if it would bring him straight into the arms of his pursuers.
“Shit.” Tsukauchi crossed the distance between them in a few strides, the large shopping bag already wide open. “Come on, I’m parked nearby.”
He followed the detective as if in a daze, not quite understanding what was happening. Was he being arrested? It didn’t seem like an arrest...
The car ride after that was weirdly tense. Especially after the radio crackled to life, informing everyone on their frequency about the vigilantes’ escape.
“They’re doing what true heroes should,” Chizome said eventually, feeling the need to explain himself as he stared out of the side window. “Knuckleduster was a hero before the Commission dropped him for losing his quirk. Crawler is a good, selfless kid. Pop☆Step—She’s getting there. A bit too fond of becoming an idol, but—”
“I know that,” Tsukauchi interrupted, glancing at him. “I’m glad you—I’m glad they’ve managed to get away.”
Chizome just blinked at that, before crossing his arms. “I did nothing.”
“Of course.”
“How do you keep getting to me in time, anyways?” Chizome asked, desperate for a change of topic.
“Oh, that?” Tsukauchi chuckled. “Today was a genuine accident, but the others… They call you in every time. For reinforcements or, I don’t know, entertainment? Very helpful to me though, so I’m not going to complain.”
Chizome just shook his head. “Why do you bother, though? You’re not getting anything out of this.”
“I’m getting an innocent man out of unlawful detention.” Tsukauchi shrugged. “That’s good enough for me.”
He had to scoff at the innocent bit, but...
“... You’d make a real hero.”
“I’ll leave the heroing to Tosh—to All Might and all the others,” Tsukauchi said dryly, the slip of tongue not unnoticed by Chizome. But he’ll let it rest, at least for now. “And the Naruhata vigilantes. If there was a way to get them licenses, I would, you know?”
“It’s pretty much impossible to get a license without the backing of a hero school.” Chizome sneered. “The Hero Public Safety Commission made sure of that. That’s about the only type of people their exams weed out, because they sure don’t manage to get rid of the fakes.”
Tsukauchi hummed at that, pulling into the drive-through of their usual place. It’s still the same fast food restaurant, but the blood milkshakes made it far more palatable to Chizome.
“Principal Nedzu’s working on that, last I heard,” Tsukauchi said as they waited in the queue. “He’s going to be pushing a proposal for different, individual testing following a Pro Hero’s sponsorship.”
Now it’s Chizome’s turn to hum. “Only one recommendation per lifetime.”
“That’s not in the prop—”
“That’s what the commission will push.” Chizome shrugged, pausing as they ordered. “It has to be limited somehow, and with Megamind pressing them, that’s the best they’ll manage.”
Tsukauchi merely hummed.
***
The invitation caught him by surprise.
He stared at the colorful card cheerfully announcing his presence was desired at Tsukauchi’s birthday party for a long while, letting the detective start fidgeting a little.
“Why?” He asked eventually, moving to take off his mask just to let Tsukauchi see the full scope of his bafflement. Tsukauchi caught him while Chizome was out vigilanteing, and it was just adding to the confusion. “Did you run out of people to invite?”
“Not really, it’s going to be a small party.” Tsukauchi shrugged, getting a few other cards out of his coat. “I was planning on inviting the vigilantes, too, but I hadn’t seen them in a while—”
Chizome sighed, outstretching his open hand. “I’ll be seeing them later tonight.”
Tsukauchi smiled at him, muttering a soft thanks as he passed him the cards. Chizome tucked them into one of his larger pouches, careful not to crinkle them.
“This doesn’t mean I’ll be going, myself,” he warned. “Who else is going to be there?”
“Eraserhead,” Tsukauchi listed straight away. “Sansa, my coworker. I invited Mic and Midnight, too, to make sure they drag Eraser in. To—uh. Toshinori might pop in, if he manages.”
Chizome furrowed his brows at that. “Why wouldn’t he manage?”
“Crime never sleeps,” Tsukauchi sighed. “And he, uh, he’s All Might’s secretary, so, you know...”
“Unpredictable working hours.” Chizome nodded. Secretary to the Symbol of Peace… has to be a full-time position. “I’ll try. You might have to pick me up from the station, though.”
Tsukauchi just laughed at that.
***
Chizome wasn’t the first one at the party.
The kids were already there when he entered, chatting happily as Knuckleduster monopolized the sake.
It felt weird to see them out of their costumes, though in Crawler’s case, it really didn’t make all that much difference.
It felt even weirder to have them see him out of the costume.
“Oh, I see why you’re wearing the mask, now,” Crawler said, setting Pop into a giggling fit.
Chizome just rolled his eyes, grabbing a cup of water for himself.
Crawler realized what he said a mere moment later. “I meant you have a distinctive face!” He clarified quickly, his hands waving wildly. “I remember seeing you in the park a few times, so someone else might, too—”
“It’s fine, kid,” Chizome grumbled, settling himself with his back to the wall and eyes towards the doors and windows both. “Either way, you’re not saying anything I hadn’t heard before.”
The ring of the doorbell interrupted them, the arrival of the three Pro Heroes stopping whatever awkward thing Crawler had been planning to say next.
A man with a cat’s head—Tsukauchi’s coworker, Chizome learned soon—arrived not long after.
And moments behind him—
“Makoto,” Tsukauchi said, sounding far less excited. “I—hadn’t realized you would be coming.”
“Of course I came!” the woman called, throwing herself at the man. A clingy ex, perhaps? “I’m your little sister! I wouldn’t miss the party for the world!”
She pulled herself off, hands still touching Tsukauchi. “It seems my invitation got lost in the mail, though. I had to beg the details off of Koichi.”
“I apologize!” Crawler straightened immediately, looking only at Tsukauchi. “I hadn’t realized…”
“You couldn’t have known.” Tsukauchi smiled, but it’s a tight one, his arms shifting slowly as he tried to dislodge Makoto’s hands.
Chizome pushed himself off of the wall, leaving his cup on the table to free up his hands as he went to approach the pair.
“Oooh, and who would this be?” Makoto asked, pulling her attention towards Chizome. “A boyfriend?”
Tsukauchi swallowed audibly, visibly uncomfortable. “No,” he said, and Makoto zeroed in on him immediately.
“But you’d like him to be, wouldn’t—”
“That’s enough.” Chizome stepped in between them, forcing the woman to let go of Tsukauchi. “Do you need me to show you the door, or can you find it yourself?”
Makoto scoffed, throwing hair over her shoulder. Chizome abruptly realized where he knew her from: She was the manager to Captain Celebrity. As such, she appeared on the TV frequently, especially shortly before his early retirement as she tried to fix his reputation.
“This is my brother.” She poked a manicured finger into Chizome’s chest, slightly thrown off at his lack of reaction. “If anything, you should be the one leaving.”
“It’s fine,” Tsukauchi said, but it’s clearly not. The doorbell rang before he could continue. “Let me just get that.”
He squeezed past Makoto, careful to avoid touching her. Her quirk, probably.
The last one to arrive was, supposedly, All Might’s secretary.
Either All Might got a twin to handle that aspect of his job, or… or he used that as his civilian identity. Regardless of the details, this was the opportunity Chizome has been waiting for.
This was his chance to get All Might on board, to finally get started with getting rid of the fake heroes—
But as Tsukauchi stormed past them with a strained smile, heading straight for the balcony, Chizome had to make a choice.
The goal of his life he’s been working towards for the past several years, or comforting his, dare he say it, friend.
Eh, All Might would still be there afterwards, right? He’s already waited years to make any progress, what’s a few more hours?
He grabbed Tsukauchi’s coat and went out onto the balcony, closing the doors behind himself.
The man accepted the coat easily; it’s early April, the weather is still chilly.
Chizome’s company, though…
“You’re missing the party,” he noted as Chizome settled in the other chair by the small, round table.
“It’s your birthday party,” Chizome pointed out. “The center of it is where you are, and you are here.”
Tsukauchi sighed. “I just need a moment.”
“I’ll leave if you want me to,” Chizome said. “But if you’d like to… talk about it…”
Tsukauchi chuckled weakly. “That sounded painful.”
“I’m serious, though.”
“It’s just my sister.” Tsukauchi shrugged. “She’s always been like this. She looooves asking uncomfortable questions. Says her quirk forces her to, every time.”
Chizome didn’t hesitate. “I could paralyse her for you.”
Tsukauchi flinched, staring at Chizome with wide eyes.
“That’s a bit extreme for being annoying, don’t you think…?”
“Oh.” All those months, and he’s never really told Tsukauchi… “That’s my quirk. If I ingest someone’s blood, I can temporarily paralyse them. It’s not, uh, it’s not permanent.”
He braced himself for the disgust, but… It never came.
“That makes sense.” Tsukauchi nodded. “Is that why you like those blood milkshakes so much? You’ve seemed to like that restaurant better after you tried them…”
Chizome chuckles at that. “That’s one of the reasons, yeah. Anyway, your sister—I paralyse her, we stuff her in a closet—voila, peace and quiet.”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Tsukauchi said, looking through the windows towards the inside of his apartment. “She seems to have just left.”
“Bet you hundred yen Crawler annoyed her,” Chizome said, glancing back as well.
“I’m not taking a bet I know I will lose.”
An uproar erupted, though they couldn’t hear what caused it. They could only see Crawler and Pop crowding around All Might, the man seemingly overwhelmed.
“Should we go in before they get All Might to expire?” Chizome questioned.
Tsukauchi glanced at him, slightly surprised. “...Nah. It seems Eraser and the others got it covered.”
And that they did, talking with the kids about something or the other.
“You knew he was All Might?” Tsukauchi asked, turning towards Chizome.
“Well, it’s either him or his twin,” Chizome said dryly.
“And yet… you’re here.”
Chizome blinked. “Where else would I be? I already told you, the party—”
“I’m talking about your plan.” Tsukauchi was staring at him, and Chizome felt like he’s being tested. “The plan you’ve been trying for years to get him to read? Help you implement it?”
“I’ve waited years, another few hours won’t hurt.” Chizome shrugged, glancing through the glass. “Or a few weeks, I suppose. He seems to be leaving.”
Because the man was on the phone, slowly moving towards the doors with quite a few apologetic glances thrown Tsukauchi’s way.
“So he does.” Tsukauchi nodded, directing a smile All Might’s way.
“No rest for the wicked, they say,” Chizome mused. “But no one says there’s no rest for the good, either.”
“Amen to that,” Tsukauchi chuckled, bundling himself tighter in his coat. Maybe Chizome should have grabbed the warmer one—
But, no, he realized, the detective was just looking for something amongst the many pockets he had.
He produced a piece of paper, letter-sized, but took his sweet time just staring at it.
“Principal Nedzu had been looking for teachers recently,” he said.
“Ah.” Chizome nodded. “That must be what Eraserhead had been trying to complain about. He was rather adamant that he didn't want to be a teacher.”
Tsukauchi chuckled at that. “Yes, though Present Mic and Midnight clearly swayed him in their favour, considering he has accepted. Heroics teacher and Class A homeroom, if I recall correctly. They’re still looking for someone to cover Class B homeroom and Ethics…”
Dots rapidly connected, and Chizome couldn’t help but flinch.
“I am not going to teach!” he yelped.
“What better way to change the heroes than right at the start, as they’re training to get their licenses?” Tsukauchi countered. “They’re the future of the heroics.”
That… was true. But still—
“UA only takes Pro Heroes on as teachers,” Chizome pointed out. “I’m, as I keep having to remind people, a vigilante.”
“Principal Nedzu said he didn’t mind that.” Tsukauchi shrugged. “But, if it bothers you, the Independent Hero Licensing Program is in full swing now…”
Chizome stared at him, stunned.
“That’s why the kids got so excited before, isn’t it?” he said, pointing his thumb behind himself.
“Yep.” The detective smiled. “Midnight agreed to take on Crawler, Mic is taking on Pop☆Step-”
“Eraserhead and Knuckleduster?” Chizome finished, shaking his head slightly. “That’s either the best or the worst combination ever.”
“I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”
Chizome… was tempted. He couldn’t say he wasn’t. But was he really worthy of getting backed up by an actual hero?
“Waaaait…” he trailed off as realization refused to set in. “But they did implement the once in a lifetime restriction, so who…”
Tsukauchi just smirked at him.
“No way.”
“Yes way.”
“But!” Standing up, Chizome leaned heavily on the banister. “He’s the Number One Hero! And I’m just a- just a vigilante! I’m just a—”
“A good man.” Tsukauchi stood up as well, one hand on Chizome’s shoulder. “You’re a good man. And, I hope, you’ll be a good teacher.”
Chizome folded his arms across his chest grumpily to avoid that emotional vulnerability. And he lost the argument, too, didn’t he? “Is this actually your birthday party, or was that just a convenient excuse to get us all in one place?”
“Sansa doesn’t have any secondary reasons for being here, as far as I know,” Tsukauchi said and Chizome—
Chizome couldn’t help but laugh.