Perhaps a Better Place [A Dadzawa Story]

Tension: Chapter 17

  Shouji says he'll go in with me while everyone else waits outside, talking amongst themselves.

     We walk past the front counter and to the horror manga section. Walking down the aisle, I look through the section dedicated to my current favorite author.

     I scan over the ones I've already read, searching for ones I haven't. I grin when I find the newest addition to the shelf and slide it from its spot.

     As I pull it closer to read the blurb on the back, a man bumps into me and I drop it. I mumble an apology, even though he ran into me. He hums, bored, but I ignore it.

     I lean down and grab the manga, looking at the guy out of the corner of my eye. I watch as he walks by a lady, who is looking through the kids' section, and plucks her wallet out of her pocket. Shocked, I turn to look at Shouji, but he's not paying attention. I don't waste time in standing up and walking after him quickly.

     "Hey!" I shout, and he keeps walking. I bolt forward and grab the fabric of the jacket on his elbow. "Yo, stealing isn't fucking cool, man. Return it."

     He turns with a sick smile on his face. "I suggest you forget what you saw, before we have a problem."

     I raise an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?"

     "It doesn't have to be, babe." He places a hand on my shoulder. My frown deepens. "Just ignore me, and we can both be on our way."

     "I don't think so." I feel my stomach churn painfully at his mocking nickname. "Shouji?" I call.

     "Right here." His voice is closer than I thought.

     The man looks up and visibly pales, because yes, Shouji is very tall. And very muscular. And admittedly, very scary if you don't know how sweet he actually is.

     "Is there a problem?" The man behind the counter asks.

     "Yes, actually." I say. But the thief bolts out of the store. "Hey!"

     Shouji and I run after him, Shouji stopping very briefly to tell the rest of our group. I look back to see them following quickly.

     He's fast, faster than us. I feel my face grow red with frustration.

     I look behind me and find they've fallen behind even more. I stop running and run to my friends. The heroes continue their pursuit as my friends stop.

     "He's too fast, they'll never catch him. Fumi, my coffee, please. Mezo, you know what to do."

     I drink the rest of my coffee and Shouji turns his back to us. He spreads his dupli-arms and creates a strong barrier by widening his stance.

     With a high jump and planting my feet firmly on Mezo's upper back, I push off and shoot forward.

     My quirk not only makes me hyper, but enhances my speed, as long as I have things to jump off of.

     "Mic, move!" I yell as I kick off of a pillar to increase my speed. And he moves immediately, thanks to hero instincts, I assume.

     I sail over him and tuck my arms over my head as I quickly catch up to the bastard. He looks behind him three seconds before I slam into the back of his legs, sending us both crashing to the ground roughly. He lets out a loud grunt as he rolls onto his side.

     I stand quickly, as disoriented as I am. I jog the ten feet over to where he lays, groaning and complaining.

     "Shut the fuck up, man," I mumble, pushing my foot against his shoulder so his chest is on the ground.

     I kneel with one knee on his lower back and another on his upper back, keeping his chest pinned. He grunts again, mumbling curses at me.

     With one hand, I reach into his jacket pocket and grab the wallet I saw him take.

     "Thank you so much for your cooperation, dickhead," I say with a bit of malice.

     His feet suddenly kick back and I fall forward. Before he can move any more, Aizawa's got his arms pinned behind his back with his own legs pinning the man's legs to the ground. Midnight is there not a second later.

     As Midnight cuffs him, Present Mic helps me up. He frets while I repeatedly tell him I'm okay, I'm not hurt at all.

     "You did such a good job!" He celebrates, wrapping me in a tight hug. I laugh and hug him back.

     "That's probably the easiest it will ever be, kid," Midnight says. "But yes, you did a great job wrangling your first thug. Well, except for that end bit there."

     We watch as Aizawa drags the man to his feet. He looks bored and angry, then he looks at me. He looks angrier as he forces the man to walk and moves him toward us.

     "Apologize," Aizawa says.

     "So-" I start, but he cuts me off.

     "Not you, kid."

     "Oh."

     Aizawa jerks the man and the latter rolls his eyes.

     "I'm not fucking apologizing, I don't have to."

     "You got caught slacking," I chuckle. "It's  the only respectful thing."

     He attempts to spit in my face and I easily sidestep. Living with my dad seems to have trained me for this day.

     "You, my good sir, are a piece of shit," I say, patting his cheek with mock affection as I walk past him. I lazily look around the growing crowd and spot the woman who had her wallet stolen. I wave with a smile and she takes that as her cue to rush over.

     She envelopes me in a bone-crushing hug before I have the chance to give her the wallet.

     "Thank you so much!" She says, pulling away to hold my shoulders. "I hadn't even noticed until I saw you confront the man with that other boy. I owe you so much, please, let me repay you and your friend."

     "Oh please, it's no big deal," I wave both hands dismissively. "We did the bare minimum."

     "Honey, you don't understand," she uses her hand to cover her mouth when her bottom lip quivers slightly. When she seems to compose herself, she grabs my shoulder again. Her voice lowers. "I am a single mother with four children. The holidays are just around the corner and I was getting some gifts for them. I had all my money and my credit cards in here. If he had gotten away with it, I would have had nothing." She ignores the tears that run down her cheeks. "We would have struggled so much. Please, please, let me do something for you, dear."

     I swallow the lump in my throat and blink away the stinging in my eyes. I gently take her hands off my shoulders and hold them in mine. She's shaking.

     "Ma'am, I don't want anything. I don't need anything, trust me. Buy your kids something nice. Treat yourself."

     She lets out a sob, throwing her arms around me again. "You're an angel! What's your hero name, dear, so I can tell everyone what you've done?"

     "Well," I pause, "I don't have a hero name quite yet. But my name is (Y/N), (Y/N)... Just (Y/N), actually."

     "Of course," she smiles, wiping away her tears. She suddenly looks up and to the left slightly. "You have a wonderful daughter, sir."

     I look where she's looking and can't correct her in time.

     Aizawa smiles. "I know."