Standing outside the chain-link fence surrounding the orphanage on Saturday night, Kaito waits for Tiger Bunny with a scowl on his face.
Tapping his foot in frustration, he voices his complaint.
"How much longer do I have to wait?! I've been here for half an hour already!"
Just as he finishes speaking, he hears a familiar laugh from quite a distance away.
"Damn rabbit! Are you making fun of me?!"
Tiger Bunny comes into view with a grin on her face.
"Calm down, little man. I was just joking."
Kaito feels his anger boiling over at the presence of this high school girl.
"Tsk, I'm going back."
Just as he starts climbing over the fence, Tiger Bunny grabs him and Zorua.
"Nuh-uh, you're coming with me now."
Crossing his arms, Kaito resigns himself to his fate as the rabbit girl starts jumping toward the city.
"Now I'm getting kidnapped. What a great week..."
"What's up with you today, little man? You weren't this emotional last week."
After taking a deep breath to calm down, he opens his mouth.
"You seem like a delinquent, so you wouldn't get it."
"...Oh yeah?"
His words seem to tick her off, as she changes course with a sinister grin plastered on her face.
'Hopefully she brings me somewhere interesting.'
A look of anticipation crosses Kaito's expression.
Some time later...
Outside the city, they arrive at what appears to be a makeshift ring, two men already fighting inside of it, as a multitude of others spectate and cheer.
Tiger Bunny sets him down on a nearby tree.
"Kids aren't allowed, so just watch from here," she says, shooting Kaito a mocking smirk.
"Yeah yeah."
He ignores her as she leaves toward the arena and focuses on the people present.
"A majority of them seem to have 'mutant-type' quirks, judging by some of their bizarre appearances."
Unable to gain much from looks alone, he shifts his attention to the two currently fighting.
One of them appears able to transform his fists into iron ones, roughly twice their original size. The other looks completely normal, showing no signs of using a quirk.
Observing further, the second fighter ducks under a punch and gets a hold of the first, making his fists revert to normal.
Kaito looks at the scene in shock.
'A quirk that can deactivate other quirks on touch? Impressive...'
Just as he finishes the thought, the first fighter's iron fists reform after a second, and he lands a brutal hook on his opponent's face.
'Or not... Seems it only works for a second.'
As the spectators cheer for the winner, Tiger Bunny jumps into the ring, grinning widely.
The fighter with iron fists gets visibly nervous at her appearance.
'Seems like she's a local menace.'
He doesn't shy away though, and the fight starts soon after.
Before the male fighter can move, Tiger Bunny leaps at him first, spinning in the air and executing a brutal-looking axe kick. It gets blocked by his fists, but he slides back from the impact nonetheless.
Not letting up, she charges once again, ducking under a wild swing, tripping him, and landing a spinning kick on his chest that ends the fight.
'I knew her strength was insane... but her technique is quite high level as well.'
The night deepens as the rabbit girl continues winning one match after another, while Kaito tries to memorize her fighting style.
'It might be useful later.'
Looking down, he sees Zorua sleeping on his lap.
"Wait, how much time has passed...?"
As if to answer him, sunlight begins to peek through the trees, and the spectators start getting up to leave.
"Sigh... Looks like I'm not getting any sleep."
"Yo little man! Almost forgot about you! Haha!"
Tiger Bunny arrives on the ground below him.
Kaito jumps down from the tree he was sitting on.
"Can you just call me by my name instead? I really don't like being called 'little man'."
'Reminds me too much of my situation...'
She raises an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah? Then you can just call me Rumi."
Kaito nods his head and is grabbed once again as the rabbit girl starts making her way back toward the orphanage. Needless to say, he didn't do much training when he got back, spending his free time sleeping on the bench outside the orphanage.
His following days follow a monotonous routine: school, training, and the occasional escapade with Rumi.
Three years later...
Now standing at 143 cm (4'8"), the nine-year-old Kaito sleeps openly on his desk during class. The teachers have more or less given up on enforcing the rules with him, as he consistently gets top scores in every subject.
As the bell rings, the math teacher turns to the class.
"All right, everyone, that's all for today. Don't forget your homework — and someone wake Graves, it's time for lunch. Dismissed."
With that, the teacher leaves the classroom.
No one moves to wake him. Most of his classmates are too intimidated by him, leaving the job of waking Kaito to Mina. Zorua used to handle it, but ever since Kaito started getting away with sleeping in class, his nighttime training intensified — which means Zorua now naps through lessons as well.
But even with the increased training, he's only managed to reach level 22 after three years — with Zorua learning Taunt and Hatenna learning Psybeam, both at level 20. Their progress has begun to slow again, and it would've driven him crazy if not for his recent discovery.
He and Zorua are jolted awake as a pink hand slams onto their table.
Wiping the bit of drool from his mouth, Kaito stands and stretches.
"They should really make the desks more comfortable to sleep on..."
Mina just shakes her head, used to his shenanigans.
They make their way to the roof, their usual spot.
Sitting down, Kaito notices how no one else is around.
"Looks like it's only us today..."
Taking his bento, Kaito begins eating.
"You seem more tired than usual."
Giving Mina a sideways glance, he contemplates revealing his new training method.
"...It's nothing, I just increased my training."
She gives him a skeptical look.
"...Well, if you say so."
Returning to eating his lunch, Kaito reminisces about his discovery.
One week ago...
Thinking it's going to be another typical escapade with Rumi, Kaito waits in their meeting spot.
"Yo!"
Turning to the voice, he is about to answer, but instead raises an eyebrow at her new appearance.
"...You're not wearing that mask anymore? And what's with the leotard?"
Scoffing at him, she plants one hand on her hip, pointing with the other's thumb at herself as she proudly announces:
"You can call me the Rabbit Hero: Mirko!"
"..."
Kaito stares at her with a neutral expression for a while, as Rumi maintains her pose. Realizing it might not be a joke, he opens his mouth.
"...Wait, you're serious?"
"Brat!"
Bang! Crash!
"Cough...!"
Laying against the fence, Kaito holds his stomach as he tries to catch his breath.
"...Damn rabbit!"
"Hmph, that's what you get for trying to act like a funny guy."
Slowly standing up, he says between breaths:
"Am I wrong... in thinking they wouldn't license... someone who goes around... kicking children?"
"Oh, don't be such a baby. You can take it."
"Tsk."
Finally managing to stand fully, Kaito asks her:
"Now that you're official, I assume we won't be going to any underground arenas, right?"
Rumi widens her eyes as if just realizing that fact.
"Hmm... I wonder where we should go?"
Kaito's lips tremble as he resists opening his mouth.
'I don't want to be kicked again.'
After a while she hits her open palm with a fist, a savage grin appearing on her face.
He sighs, already knowing what's coming, as Zorua escapes into the Inner World before the brute can grab her.
'Lucky...' Kaito can't help but think, seeing the blue beam of particles enter his eyes.
Resigning himself to his fate, he is grabbed by Rumi and they start bouncing toward the outskirts of the city.
Some time later...
He is set down on the ground as they arrive at what appears to be an abandoned warehouse.
Turning to Rumi, Kaito asks:
"So will you finally tell me where we are?"
Nodding her head, she answers.
"Earlier today, some police officers told me that there's been some villain activity in the area."
"And so you thought it was a good idea to bring me along?"
Her grin is all the answer he needs.
Before they can walk too far, a person walks from around a corner of the warehouse, spotting the two. Without delay, he blows into a whistle, alerting his comrades.
"Well isn't this just perfect..."
Making a quick inspection of their surroundings, he doesn't see any cameras, but just to be safe, Kaito raises the hood of his hoodie and pulls it over his head.
'My quirk is too recognizable, but hopefully there are no cameras here.'
Releasing both of his Pokémon, he stands beside Rumi, who is bouncing in place in anticipation, waiting for the villains gather.
Eventually, a group of 15 is facing them—some mutant-types, the rest presumably emitters and transformation types. A villain who appears to be made out of some sort of blue slime steps forward.
"A hero and a... kid?"
Just as he finishes speaking, Rumi makes her move, leaping at the slime villain. Surprised by her speed, he quickly orders his subordinates.
"Quick! Three of you, grab the kid to use as a hostage!"
She is already upon him as he finishes giving the order, but instead of her kick landing, it passes right through his slime body.
Three villains separate from the group, rushing toward Kaito. Rumi quickly yells at him.
"You gonna be okay, kid?" Avoiding using his real name just in case.
"Tsk, so irresponsible."
As Rumi fights twelve of the villains, Kaito analyzes the three rushing at him.
'One appears to be a mutant-type, if his rhinoceros features are anything to go by. The other two are still a mystery.'
Deciding it's best to deal with the rhino first, as he is far faster than the other two, Kaito commands:
"Zorua, Shadow Sneak."
Her shadow extends toward the villain, it manifests two shadow blades and slices toward his Achilles. The villain, having eyes of course, notices the blatant attack and jumps to avoid it, immediately getting hit by a follow-up Psybeam from Hatenna while in the air—knocking him back and successfully disorienting him.
'Looks like the Psybeam successfully confused him. Gives me more time to deal with the others.'
The two villains snap out of their shock, seeing their massive companion get launched through the air, and activate their quirks.
The lanky fellow on the left turns his fingers into whips made of muscle, extending up to 4 meters (~13 feet), as he charges at Kaito. The stocky one on the right crouches down, and shortly after, launches himself at Kaito with a speed similar to Rumi—his quirk still unclear.
'Damn, this might be tricky.'
Ducking to avoid the stocky villain as he flies overhead, Kaito begins his next command.
"Zorua, use—"
But before he can finish, an impact lands on his back, sending him into the range of the lanky villain with whip fingers.
"Cough...!"
Quickly standing up, Kaito uses his left arm to block the whips, getting scratched multiple times in the process while retreating. He puts his prosthetic behind his back, as he would be unable to explain the damage done to it.
Now fighting with a handicap, he finishes his commands.
"Zorua, Taunt the stocky one. Hatenna, Disarming Voice."
There is a lull in the fight, as the villains use their hands to block their ears at the sound of Disarming Voice. With one of them taunted, Kaito decides to quickly finish the lanky one.
"Hatenna, Mystical Fire."
A ball of fire forms in front of her, shortly after launching a beam of fire at the villain, sending him sprawling to the ground, screaming from the pain.
"Hatenna, go knock him out with Nuzzle."
Done with him, Kaito turns to the stocky one, who is fighting Zorua. He finally sees what hit him—the stocky villain is able to make some sort of spheres from his feet and hands that he can use to propel himself or attack.
"A good quirk..."
Glancing back, Hatenna has finished electrocuting the lanky villain.
"Zorua, use Curse."
A purple aura surrounds her before quickly heading toward the villain. Now panting from exhaustion, Zorua stands there as the villain goes crashing to the floor from the vertigo and weakness inflicted by Curse. A Psybeam comes flying right at his face, knocking him out cold.
'Kaito!'
Turning, he finds the rhinoceros villain from earlier has taken hold of Hatenna.
'For such a big guy, he can move really quietly.'
Before the villain can start making any demands, Kaito gives the order telepathically, leaving him no chance to react.
'Hatenna, Nuzzle and then return.'
Her cheeks buzz with electricity and shock the villain holding her. Before she can be crushed in his grip, she turns into blue particles and returns to the Inner World, coming out a second later.
As the villain stares at them in hatred, paralyzed in place, Kaito calmly commands:
"Extrasensory, Mystical Fire."
Zorua holds the villain in place with a beam of psychic energy as a pillar of fire hits his chest. Not even giving him the time to scream, he is slammed into the ground as Extrasensory is about to end, finally knocking him out.
"Phew, fighting against quirks really is different. If it were a Pokémon, I'd at least know a rough estimate of their moves. That guy with the spheres really caught me off-guard."
Kaito's irises make a single full rotation after knocking out the last villain, as he goes to pick up Zorua, who is sprawled on the ground from exhaustion—Curse doing a number on her stamina.
Holding her in his arms, he rubs her head.
"You fought well, Zorua."
She purrs and falls asleep shortly after.
Kaito looks down and sees a small pastel pink figure jumping at his feet, seeking praise as well.
Crouching down, he obliges, rubbing her head too.
"You fought well too, Hatenna. Before you go, can you use Life Dew on me?"
She smiles brightly as water particles form in the air, then seep into both of their skin, healing Kaito's numerous scratches from the whips.
Glancing at his destroyed sleeves, he laments,
"I liked this hoodie..."
Shifting his attention to Rumi to see how her fight is going, finding that it's pretty much over—except for the slime villain still standing, as her attacks aren't able to land.
'Well, he's got his back to me, so what better chance...'
As the slime villain fights the rabbit hero, he takes great joy in noticing the hero's anger at not being able to hit him—taunting her whenever he can.
But after a while of their standstill, the rabbit's frustration is wiped off her face. Now in its place is a wide grin. Sensing a bad omen, he turns back.
"Hey, you three! Are you done—"
Just as he turns to look if his incompetent subordinates managed to capture the kid yet, he is met face to face with a beam of fire.
"Arghh!"
As he screams, his slime body seems to solidify from the heat, giving Rumi the ability to jump in and knock him out.
"Haha! Nice assist, kid! That guy was really pissing me off!"
Kaito approaches, holding the sleeping Zorua, Hatenna already having fled to the Inner World.
"Yeah yeah. I didn't expect I'd need to do almost a third—"
He stops talking, noticing the menacing grin gradually appearing on her face.
"...Never mind. So now what?"
"Good thing you stopped yourself there. Anyway, I'm gonna call the cops. You go hide over there or something."
Rumi points in a seemingly random direction.
As he walks, a realization hits him.
'Now that I think about it, what will the police think about the burn marks…?'
A mischievous smirk slowly forms on Kaito's expression.
"Whatever. It's her problem now. Sweet payback." A devious laugh escapes his lips.
Entering the forest surrounding the warehouse, he sits down behind a tree. After a few minutes, he can hear sirens blaring in the distance.
Having nothing better to do, he checks his level—finding it has changed from '21' to '22'.
Staring at the number, he furrows his brows.
'That's not right...'
The main reason for his confusion is that he reached level 22 from 21 at nearly the same speed as he reached level 21 from 20—breaking the trend of his progress slowing down.
Kaito quickly figures out the reason. A perk from living a monotonous life—the variables are easy to deduce.
"So I've been doing it wrong... It seems actual fighting raises my level way faster."
As he forms a plan for a new training method, Rumi approaches him.
"Come on, I'll take you back."
Kaito nods his head.
Back to present...
Finished reminiscing, he quickly devours his lunch.
'I'll go today...'