We need ten reviews for this story to get a proper ranking. Help me out here!
CHAPTER FORTY
Earlier that day
Kazuho Haneyama, or popularly known as Pop☆Step, bounded up a three-story building. Her job was to maintain a high vantage point to scout the area. The two idiots with her always ran headfirst into danger—she felt responsible for their safety in a way, so she stuck around whenever they went for their daily patrols.
Because of that, everyone assumed she was a vigilante like them. While she wouldn't deny the lifestyle was exciting, far removed from her ordinary life as a high schooler, and offered a different kind of excitement from her work as an underground idol, she was not a vigilante.
Many of the fine citizens of this neighborhood lumped her in with Grandpa Fist and Cruller Man. The fact that they announced their names every time they completed a task and still got misidentified without fail every time was a great source of amusement. Though it would have been a lot more amusing if Koichi got more fazed when she teased him. He was way too nonchalant.
So again—Pop☆Step was not a vigilante. She only helped out with non-combat-related tasks. So whenever their little operation got busted, she could get away scot-free from any punishment.
Leaping over another building, she struck a pose midair as she spotted her adoring fans. Below the building stood four boys, who, on spotting her, waved their glow sticks excitedly.
The sight always brought a smile to her face—another reason to stick with the chaotic master-and-disciple pair. Her popularity in the local community had skyrocketed ever since she stuck with them. She even had her own fan page like a real celebrity. The thought gave her an extra spring to her step.
The sight of a tall, rampaging monster drained the smile from her face. This was her cue to inform Koichi and the old grandpa of the threat. While they dealt with the villain, she would do her best to evacuate the panicking citizens safely.
"RAAAARRRRGH!" the monster bellowed mindlessly as it rampaged madly, eyes unfocused and drool pouring down endlessly from its mouth.
Another instant villain, Pop☆Step determined immediately. For some reason, Naruhata had been cursed with them for quite some time.
An instant villain was a person who, upon being injected with a drug called Ideo Trigger, succumbed to their instincts and rampaged wildly without any regard to the consequences of their actions.
With the number of incidents that occurred weekly, you'd think the drugs were sodas that could be easily mass-produced. They hadn't gotten a hold of the supplier for now, so they could only be satisfied with putting an end to the villains as they popped up.
"UWWAAAGH!"
The monster roared as it charged straight at the crowd, its bird-like legs drawing deep trenches in the ground as it accelerated after the fleeing crowd. It was stopped, however, by an unassuming figure wearing an All Might hoodie.
"Look, it's the Cruller," a kid pointed out excitedly from the crowd. The fleeing crowd calmed down somewhat as they gazed at his figure with excitement.
Koichi grimaced at the name but otherwise stood firmly, blocking the path of the rampaging mutant.
Pop☆Step stifled a laugh as she urged the crowd to continue evacuating. Served him right for picking up such a lame name. The Crawler sounded like something you would call a cockroach. At least Cruller was undoubtedly a cuter name in comparison—after all, Koichi was as sweet as the pastry he was named after.
The sight of him standing fearlessly before the monster, giving the crowd more time to flee, caused her to blush slightly as her heart fluttered at the dashing image.
An image that was crushed soon after, as Koichi slithered around like a bug, anxiously trying to buy time. Pop☆Step found herself facepalming at the sight. Seriously.
Thankfully, she was spared from further embarrassment as, out of nowhere, Knuckleduster punched the peacock quirk user square in the face. The monster was sent flying and landed unconscious in a heap, twitching like it was having a stroke.
Pop☆Step winced at the display of violence. The old man always wore those brass knuckles—it had already left an indent in the face of the villain. The now-revealed man sprawled on the floor, naked save for the pair of underwear and the covering of blue feathers on his body.
Then again, were the feathers considered clothing or being naked?
That was a thought for later. For now, she had to bail before the cops showed up and accosted them.
Back at Koichi Haimawari's Condo
"Ah, another small fry. I thought this one could offer some challenge," Knuckleduster sighed as he threw a punch at Koichi, who, wearing padded gloves, tried his best to absorb the blows.
"Ah, I thought we already established that I'm not cut out for being some kind of brawler," Koichi murmured as he ducked under a jab that was heading straight for his face.
"Just because you don't want to punch people doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how to take one," replied Knuckleduster as he threw another flurry of punches at Koichi.
"You really have a screw loose, old man. I thought you would be more relieved that the fight ended quickly," Pop☆Step said as she watched Koichi struggle helplessly against the relentless assault, like a boat caught in a storm, struggling to hold on.
Granted, she didn't know anything about the old man's personal life, but it was quite obvious he was partly insane. No normal person got thrills from being punched in the face. Well, except masochists—that had her wondering if Koichi was an M or an S.
Looking at his tightened features as he struggled to keep up, she immediately dismissed the thought of him being an S—or even an M, for that matter. He was in college, but he was still so pure she doubted he had even held a girl's hand before.
With a sleight of hand, Knuckleduster feinted to the left. Koichi, falling for the misdirection, raised his left gloved palm to counter but was struck square in the face.
"Sorry, kid. I got carried away," Knuckleduster apologized as he scratched his hair sheepishly.
Well, if you were sorry, you wouldn't keep doing it, Pop☆Step thought to herself as she picked up the first aid kit to tend to Koichi's wounds. His nose was already bleeding, so she picked up a cotton swab to clean it.
This wasn't the first time Knuckleduster got carried away and injured Koichi under the pretext of training.
Koichi himself didn't mind and said that the old man was holding back considerably, that he had kept his strength to a minimum for their confrontations. Still, Fist Grandpa could do better and not make her clean up Koichi's wounds every time their sparring sessions ended.
"Thanks, Pop," Koichi said as he sat up on the floor. The time it took him to recover from the punch had lessened considerably since their first training session. The old man may have annoyed her, but she didn't doubt the effectiveness of his 'training.'
Then again, she wouldn't subject herself to that punishment or put herself at risk of messing up her face. After all, it was the capital she relied upon for her budding idol career. It would be an untold tragedy if she looked bruised on the day a scout came to inspect her before signing her to an agency.
So she was content to sit here as the cute and fabulous mascot of the group, spending her days leisurely like this—bickering with Koichi and the old grandpa. Here, she could escape from the monotony of school and her home.
Here, she could be more than plain old Kazuho Haneyama.
"PIT-01 TO CONTROL. CONFIRMING A VILLAIN RECKLESSLY SPEEDING AHEAD OF US. WHERE DO WE TAKE HIM DOWN?"
The radio on Koichi's table rang out with this message.
She found it odd that the old man had managed to tap into the communications of a hero agency like Idaten. Then again, while the old man was gruff, brash, annoying, had used her bath towel once, didn't respect boundaries, and was an old geezer who had zero fashion sense—he was surprisingly a really reliable adult.
"WE'VE SET UP ROADBLOCKS IN BOTH DIRECTIONS OF THE CAPITAL CENTRAL LOOP HIGHWAY BETWEEN TOIDA AND NARUHATA. CONTROL TO INGENIUM, WE HAVE PASSED THE TOIDA JUNCTION. NO CIVILIAN VEHICLES FOR FIVE KILOMETERS AHEAD."
The radio continued relaying the message.
"Do you think he'll catch the guy this time?" Pop☆Step asked curiously. This wasn't the first time they were getting the announcement from Idaten. The last time, the villain had slipped away from the hero agency and made a mess in the neighborhood.
This time, Knuckleduster had decided to take matters into his own hands and stop the villain.
"Of course he can! Ingenium's a very smart guy—I'm sure he'll figure something out this time," Koichi said with such certainty it seemed more like he was stating a prophecy than mere speculation.
Then again, Koichi had been harboring immense respect for the hero since he taught him the trick to brake with his quirk and offered him a spot at his agency. If Koichi wasn't such an All Might fanboy, she believed he would be switching camps immediately.
"OUR VILLAIN HAS LEFT THE OVERPASS AND IS MAKING HIS WAY TO THE OLD EAST NARUHATA DISTRICT."
At that announcement, Knuckleduster got up from the tatami mat as he rasped his knuckles together. Koichi put on his All Might hoodie, while Pop☆Step—still dressed in her costume from earlier—walked out from the condo. Their destination… the Old East Naruhata District.
It was super anti-climactic.
It had taken them a longer amount of time to get to the scene than it took to subdue the villain.
Koichi had positioned himself on the floor, properly aligning his body at the feet of the villain.
The villain had been on the run, so he was ill-prepared to face Koichi, who had suddenly popped out from an alley.
Following up was Knuckleduster, who sent a punch directly to the villain's face. In one punch, the villain—who had caused a lot of trouble to Team Idaten for weeks—was resolved in mere seconds by the Crawler and Knuckleduster.
She was frustrated because all she ended up doing was hauling a bunch of rope to tie up the villain.
The whirring sounds of an engine broke her out of her reverie as she leaped to the top of a building. That sound was unmistakably the hero Ingenium.
While Koichi had described him as being some cool older brother figure, she didn't want to stick around to test that impression. Staying out of trouble had always been her number one motto.
Knuckleduster shot out his grappling hook onto the roof as he scaled the building effortlessly. Koichi made his way onto the roof as well, his 'Slide and Glide' quirk making his movement as seamless as if it were solid ground.
The trio watched, amused, as Ingenium confusedly found the tied-up villain and tried—and failed—to find the culprits for this action.
Koichi, still on the roof, gave some speech about memorizing the complex and winding streets in the neighborhood to the hero.
While it was unusually out of character for Koichi, she sensed he was just excited to show off his accomplishments to a senior he admired. She would have done the same if she suddenly stumbled upon LISA one day.
"We're just a couple of guys who don't mind lending justice a hand… The Crawler and Knuckleduster," Koichi declared excitedly as he leapt towards the next building.
"I'm not a part of this," Pop☆Step said as she followed after them, Knuckleduster already gaining a lead on her. Her motto was safety first. While Koichi had described Ingenium as being a hero who was quite laid-back, she wasn't going to put that reputation to the test. Better safe than sorry.
The trio made their way into the night and walked down the streets of Naruhata.
After cleaning up at Koichi's house I'll go home.
Her activities as Pop☆Step had been quite risky, as she didn't want her mum to find out about her little escapades. Luckily for her, she always carried a pair of plainclothes she could change into. She didn't want to start explaining why she went out dressed in skimpy clothes and put on heavy makeup.
She was snapped out of her thoughts, however, as she slammed into the back of Knuckleduster, who had been standing motionless.
Pop☆Step rubbed her head in pain as she shouted, "Hey, watch where you're standing, old geezer, you—"
She stopped her tirade as she saw Knuckleduster's face had morphed into an expression of disbelief.
She followed his gaze and set her eyes on a—what? Ten, eleven-year-old boy who looked disheveled.
The boy's expression mirrored Knuckleduster's as he stared at the group—or more specifically, at Knuckleduster—in astonishment.
…
"Well damn, O'Clock. You look like shit."
Author's note: Thanks @Black_Prince_M for the review, really appreciate it. Seriously the struggle to get this chapter out was insane. My laptop kept inexplicably turning off. I've had to rewrite that ending sequence about three times already. I need a new battery.