(8 AM)
John woke up in his bed, stretching his arms with a long yawn. He'd been working on the arc reactor for hours last night, finally crashing around 2 AM.
A normal person would have been exhausted with so little sleep. But Guts' body had fought through countless battles on even less rest. John barely registered the fatigue.
He swung his legs out of bed and got ready for work. The bills weren't going to pay themselves.
...
Musutafu
The morning sun shone across the streets, already buzzing with life. People rushed through train stations, their footsteps echoing through the city's busy arteries.
At a crosswalk, a businessman in a rumpled suit clutched his coffee, muttering about the morning meeting he was already late for. Beside him, a woman in athletic wear checked her watch, popped in her earbuds, and started jogging.
A group of school children ran past, their laughter cutting through the morning noise. One of them waved at a passing hero—a small-time rescue specialist in a blue jumpsuit—who gave a tired thumbs-up in return.
Two elderly women sat on a bench near the station. One was knitting. The other was complaining about the price of vegetables.
"Five hundred yen for a cabbage? That's criminal."
"Everything's not criminal when heroes are around."
A teenager leaned against a wall, phone angled for a selfie. Behind him, a hero billboard loomed—All Might flexing, his signature smile beaming down at the city.
At the corner of a quiet side street, a man was setting up his food cart. The smell of grilled meat and onions drifted through the air. A few people were already lining up for a bite.
The city hummed with the sounds of everyday life. It seemed peaceful.
But it wouldn't last long.
The scene shifted to a jewelry store.
A couple stood inside, gazing at a pearl necklace displayed behind the glass.
"Wow, so pretty. Hopefully I can have that for our fourth anniversary."
"Come on, I won't have enough money to buy it in time. Maybe next anniversary when I get a raise and have some time to save up."
The man rubbed the back of his head as his girlfriend looked at him, skeptical of the promise he'd made.
"You said that three years ago and those gifts were copies of the real ones, stop spending so much on hero figurines!"
She folded her arms and turned her head away with a huff.
As the couple bickered, two feminine figures in jackets and pants entered the shop, carrying empty bags. They inspected the jewelry for a few seconds then both pulled out guns and aimed at the jeweler behind the counter.
"Nobody move! Give us everything you've got and all the jewelry to fill these bags right now!"
One of them barked as people in the shop crouched down. The employees quickly handed over the jewelry to one thief, while the other moved through the crowd, snatching wallets and personal items.
After a few minutes, the two burst out of the shop but three heroes were already waiting.
"Not so fast! Put those guns and bags down or we will use force!"
A hero made of rock stepped forward, fists raised. Another moved up beside him, chains attached hero floats above her.
"We're pro heroes from the Endeavor Agency. Don't get reckless just because you have guns you're outmatched."
The two women exchanged glances. Then they dropped their guns.
It looked like surrender.
But that wasn't the case as both of them transformed.
One became a humanoid rhino and the other a humanoid cheetah.
"You think calling out the number two hero's name is gonna give you a power boost to stop us?!"
the cheetah woman shouted, using her speed to attack the hero with the white cape and wild hair.
He dodged, but her claws grazed his stomach, leaving a deep gash.
The chain hero sent her chains forward to support him, while the rock hero clashed with the female rhino.
They locked hands for a few moments until the rock hero was lifted off his feet and thrown into a parked car.
BOOM.
He tried to recover, but the rhino criminal grabbed a street light and used it as a weapon, bringing it down on him again and again.
"Ignore the cheetah! Help Clobber!" the wild-maned hero shouted, dodging another attack.
Chain Whip telekinetically sent her chains toward the rhino, wrapping around her torso.
It was the wrong move.
The rhino villain broke free, grabbed the retracting chains and used them to slam Chain whip into the ground over and over again.
The pro hero coughed up blood, her body taking more damage than she could handle.
"Let's finish this quick so we can get paid!"
The rhino criminal raised the street light for one final swing—
BAM.
"Grah!"
A shot rang out. The rhino's thumb was pierced clean through. She dropped the street light with a roar of pain.
Everyone stopped.
They looked up.
Lady Nagant stood on top of a nearby building, her arm already reforming into a rifle.
"Clobber, Chain Bind—attack her with everything you've got. Help is on the way."
She dodged a trash bin the rhino hurled at her, then reloaded. Her next shot hit the rhino's knee, making the criminal limp as the two heroes pressed their attack.
The wild-maned hero was overjoyed—his allies were getting help.
But that distraction cost him.
The cheetah criminal slashed across his back and bolted. She didn't care about her partner. Money was more important.
Lady Nagant clicked her tongue, watching the cheetah disappear into the alleyways. She'd need a better angle.
"I'll go after her. You two restrain the other one. Fast."
Both heroes nodded, picking up the pace to finish off the weakened rhino.
Lady Nagant leaped across rooftops, scanning for a clear shot.
As she found her position, her eyes locked onto two familiar figures casually walking through the alleyway the cheetah had just turned into.
'John. Ai!!'
She twirled a strand of her hair as fast as possible, forming a bullet—ready to immobilize the criminal before she could reach John and Ai.
Just as Lady Nagant was about to take the shot, she stopped.
John had already picked up Ai in one smooth motion, sidestepped, and kicked the criminal's leg so hard it snapped.
The cheetah tripped, face-first into the ground. She cried out in pain, clutching her broken leg.
John covered Ai's eyes before she could see anything.
Lady Nagant stared, momentarily stunned. She shook it off quickly, hopping down from the rooftop and sprinting toward them.
.....
Well, that's surprising. After hearing all that noise in the distance, I figured it'd be safer to cut through the alleyway—didn't want Ai getting caught up in anything. Guess I was wrong about this route.
John glanced down at the groaning cheetah hybrid, then at Ai, whose eyes were still covered by his hand.
He let out a tired sigh. He wished these villain attacks wouldn't happen almost every day.
But he shook his head with a small smile.
'Who am I kidding? I make good money from these guys, people needing their vehicles repair in my shop that has good prices. Not realizing I'm using the Horse Talisman power to restore quick in secret while chilling for days? It's a win-win for me.'
"JOHN!"
A familiar voice shouted his name. He looked up to see Lady Nagant running toward them.
'Speak of the devil.'
"Kaina, surprised to see you here. Something tells me the person lying on the ground is a villain?"
Lady Nagant came to a stop, catching her breath.
"Her and another criminal robbed a jewelry store. The pro heroes were having a hard time handling them.
Luckily, I was nearby on patrol and came to support them." She looked at John and Ai, still being carried in his arms. "Are you two alright?"
"We're fine Kaina. I thought that cheetah hybrid was some crazy person coming straight for us, so I quickly broke her leg."
She glanced at the cheetah criminal, still clutching her broken leg from John's kick.
"That was... unnecessary for you to do that," she said carefully. "But I can't argue that you were trying to defend yourself."
She was about to continue when Ai reached out for her.
John noticed and set Ai down. The little girl walked over and hugged Lady Nagant's leg.
"You're Onii-chan's friend. Were you here to visit us?"
Lady Nagant was caught off guard by the hug, but she shook it off and patted Ai's head.
"No, not really. But it's good to see you two again."
Ai smiled and hugged tighter. John watched with a small smile.
"How about we go out together? I want to get to know Onii-chan's friend more."
Lady Nagant froze. The child's innocent words caught her completely off guard.
She never had family or friends to hang out with in her personal life. And now a little girl who barely knew her wanted to spend time together.
'No. It's not right.'
She hesitated, glancing at her right hand. For just a moment, she hallucinate traces of bloodstains then to Ai's innocent star eyes.
John noticed her hesitation. He knew why and he couldn't blame her, so he called out to Ai to give her an out.
"Ai, I need to open the repair shop. Kaina has important work to do."
Ai's face fell. She stopped hugging Lady Nagant's leg and turned back to John, who lifted her up.
John started to walk past Kaina but she spoke, surprising him.
"...Maybe I can go out with you when I have time."
Ai's smile returned. She reached her small hand out toward Lady Nagant.
"Pinky promise?"
Kaina looked at the tiny hand. Then she reached out and linked her pinky with Ai's.
"Pinky promise."
Lady Nagant could have said nothing. She could have continued her life as it was. But hearing Ai's innocent request and seeing the sadness on her face made her accept it.
Meanwhile, John reflected on everything that had just happened.
'First, All Might's comment about me and her being a married couple. And now Ai somehow got a friend who is a government assassin? Why can't I get a normal day.'
He shook off the thought. It was too late to call off the hwould angout now, and he didna 't want to make Ai sad. Besides, maybe it was good for Kaina to spend time with decent people instead of the HPSC all the time.
"My phone number is on my repair shop's website," he said. "You can contact us when you have the time."
"I will."
John nodded and started walking. Ai waved at Lady Nagant, who waved back.
Moments later, police arrived to arrest the criminals. The pro heroes gave brief statements to the officers.
One of them approached Lady Nagant for a quick explanation about the cheetah criminal's broken leg.
"A friend went a bit overboard defending himself," she said. Cause the officer and a pro hero to look at each other confused.
End
[Author's note: Man took me a while to research of her and think of what she be like before getting hallucination of blood and being completely cold. But hy atleast this chapter is out about all might.]