Heavy grey clouds hung low in the sky one uneventful Thursday morning, letting tiny droplets of warmer-than-usual water fall relentlessly atop the green umbrella canopy I held onto, dripping soundlessly into murky puddles and drenching the black streets we walked along.
Bland cars honked to and fro, attempting to urge those in front of them to hurry the hell up so they, too, can get their young children to school before the bell. Thinking of this ahead of time, I decided it would be best to walk my two eight-year-old sons, Shiro and Kuro, to school instead of letting them carpool in Bakugou's Jeep; which didn't really have doors, anyway. Other faceless people migrated the street around us, slurred voices mixing together inaudibly as I weaved the boys through them.
As we drew near the quad of the school, the white and red of the Japanese flag began to shine prominently against the grey of the dreary October morning. Colorful paintings and posters lined the windows of the frontal school buildings, and the bright orange gateway looked as if it was glowing as I tugged Shiro and Kuro up the several stone steps to the entrance of the school.
"Alright," I finally huffed, turning to them and squeezing their hands that I had already been holding onto. The boys' eyes slowly drew up to mine. "I'll be back by the flag pole after school to pick you up, alright?"
"That's what you said yesterday." Shiro mumbled, lips straight with doubt.
"I know," I knelt down in front of them, trying to smile. "It's been busy, you know that."
Shiro merely rolled his eyes to the side, unwilling to participate any further in conversation while his brother stared at the ground. I sighed again.
"Hey," I demanded, tone hard this time. "I promise I'll be on time today, I pinkie promise."
At that, they slowly looked back up to me, still doubtful but now willing to listen. After another moment of silence, Shiro and Kuro lifted their little fingers.
Smiling, I hooked both of mine with theirs and pecked a quick kiss on either of their foreheads whilst I stood upright once again.
"Now, get your butts to class before the bell rings." I instructed, resting my hand on my hip as I smiled down at them.
Shiro and Kuro smiled and proceeded in running through the school gate; eventually disappearing in the ever-growing sea of grade-school children. I stood within the school's courtyard for a moment as the steady flow trickled into the building, and allowed my hand to fall down to my side after reopening my umbrella.
"Look what we have here," a familiar voice spoke just as I turned around, and I smiled upon seeing Bakugou looking back at me. "I feel like I see your boys more than I see you."
I let out a weak laugh as Bakugou approached, and pecked his cheek as he leaned down to hug me.
"It's been awhile," I agreed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. It was a rare sight to see Bakugou wearing any form of long sleeves; but today he was adorned in a dark grey turtle neck. The color contrasted against his light, spiky hair. "How have Ryoka and Ejiro been?"
"We're getting by," Bakugou replied, sliding his hands into his jean pockets. "What about Chinami? Is she still having issues controlling Dream Walker?"
At his question, I looked down. It was true that my oldest — Chinami — was growing stronger with every passing year. However, the more strength she acquired, the harder it became for her to control her Quirk. She and I spent most of our free time training to keep it under control, and as a result, I've been finding myself with less and less time for her brothers.
"She's working on it," I tried to smile. Bakugou set a hand on my shoulder. "However slowly, we're making progress."
"I can tell you're still worried."
"How can I not be?" I asked as Bakugou urged me forward. "With all that happened before..."
"Yeah, you've got a point," he replied, leading me toward his Jeep that was parked in the lot of the school. "But you made amends with Francis, right?"
"Yes," I confirmed, my grip on the handle of my umbrella tightening. "But I can never be too careful when it comes to my kids."
"Or anything, really," Bakugou commented, earning a frown from me as he opened the passenger side door. "Hop in, I'll give you a lift back to your house."
I said nothing in return and climbed in, and the silence continued for the majority of the car ride until my cell began to ring from my pant pocket.
I pulled the device out and glanced down to the caller ID. My brow furrowed at the sight of my sidekick's name beeping upon the screen, and reluctantly hit the 'answer' key.
"This better be good if you're calling me in so early." I began, hearing something rustle in the background. Bakugou glanced at me whilst we stopped at a stop sign.
"We've got a lead on the alleged sex trafficker in Tokushima Prefecture," Riptide — AKA Mandy Schwartz — said, disregarding my impatient answer as she usually did. "We need you here right away."
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "Send me the location and I'll meet you there."
"Understood."
"What's going on?" Bakugou asked, turning on my street as I shoved the phone back into my pocket.
"The team finally found a lead on the sex trafficker we've been searching for for weeks," I summarized. "I need to head in."
"Do you need me to take Chinami to school?" Bakugou asked. I shook my head.
"I'll take her on the way to Tokushima." I replied as Bakugou pulled over in front of the house.
"Let me know if you need anything, Osoroshi." He said before I could get out of the car, a hand on my shoulder.
I turned to smile at him, nodded, and hastily exited the Jeep. He honked his horn once before driving off, and I sped right into the house and passed the kitchen — where Iida stood by the coffee machine.
"Welcome home." He called, still sounding groggy as I climbed the stairs.
"Uh-huh." I hummed a response, went into the closet, and pulled out my hero suit.
I heard Iida coming up the stairs as I strapped my shoes on, and saw him in the doorway just as I was adjusting the sleeves on my arms.
"Got an early call?" He assumed.
"Yeah," I said breathlessly, taking the clip out of my hair to let it fall down my back. "I'll take Chinami and head out. I should be back in time to pick the boys up."
"Don't rush yourself, Osoroshi," Iida advised, handing me his mug. He still wore his pajamas. "I can get the boys today."
"You picked them up yesterday," I reminded, taking the cup and setting it on the nightstand as I stood up. "And I pinkie promised. There's no backing out for me now."
Iida chuckled and shook his head whilst planting a kiss on my cheek. "I don't know why you do that."
"Do what?" I pressed. He followed me down the stairs.
"Over-schedule yourself." He clarified.
"I don't," I shot him a frown. "I've gotta go."
Iida didn't respond to me, and instead kissed me again.
"Let's go, Chinami!" I called once we parted.
At her name, my eldest child came into the hall, all while shoving her notebook into her book bag as I opened the front door.
"I'll see you tonight, honey," I told Iida as I motioned for Chinami to hustle out the door. "And I'll handle the boys."
Iida offered me a limp wave, and with that Chinami and I were on our way.
"Anything new with Dream Walker?" I asked as we backed out of the driveway.
"Not really," Chinami sighed, tugging on a strand of her black hair. She wore it in long pigtails today. "One of the lights in the bathroom blew out again by the way..."
I sighed. "Did you tell Dad?"
Chinami nodded.
"You'll have control over this in no time," I said reassuringly, offering her a smile as she looked at me. "It's a strong power you've got, it'll take a while to master it."
"Did it take you this long?" She asked, sounding doubtful.
I paused. "Well, no. But Dream Walker isn't my only Quirk."
"What does that matter?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Yours could be a great deal stronger than mine for the simple reason that you just have one Quirk," I clarified, patting the top of her hand that rested on the center console. "So naturally it's going to take you a little longer to get used to it."
"It's been four years." She deadpanned.
"And you've only been enrolled in U.A. for a month," I shot back. "Believe it or not, U.A. is the only reason why I was able to detain Francis. If it's capable of doing that, then it's capable of handling your power."
Chinami sighed again, however she seemed to be more convinced that she was previously. I couldn't help but feel responsible for her negative feelings toward her Quirk; I could only imagine how it makes her feel about herself.
However, before I could reassure her any further, we arrived in front of U.A.'s gate.
"I'll see you later." Chinami mumbled as she climbed out of the car.
"Have a good day, sweetie," I encouraged, and leaned forward passed the passenger seat so I could see her face. "Are you walking home with Kaito and Saki?"
"Yeah," she confirmed. "Tell Dad not to worry about picking me up."
I nodded as Chinami shut the door, and smiled at the tiny wave she sent to me before entering the school. I looked on after her for a moment with my finger tapping against the steering wheel, thinking off all the things I could do to make Chinami's Quirk situation easier on her.
My thoughts were interrupted upon hearing my phone buzzing again, and reluctantly I took off down the street once more, commencing another day of work.
__________
"Another job well done, Freezer," the head of the child protective service that was partnered with my agency — Missus Masamune — said. "Over one-hundred kids have been recovered since Watanabe Reo's arrest thus far."
"That's great to hear," I replied, smiling gently as Masamune shook my hand like she did after every successful case. "Keep me posted and I'll get the reports done tonight, alright?"
"Of course." She beamed, and after squeezing my hand one final time, she finally let me go.
I walked out of her building that was located just down the street from my agency to see Riptide waiting for me. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she leaned against the hood of my car, and she merely offered me a lazy smile as I approached her.
"Finished getting your fix of congratulatory handshakes?" She asked, a hint of sarcasm in her tone as she tossed me my keys. I rolled my eyes.
"You're lucky I like you," I justified as we got into the car. "Or else you'd be fired."
Riptide let out a chortle at that, and fished her phone out of the backpack that was thrown in the backseat upon hearing it ring.
"Freezer Hero Agency, how may I direct your call?" She spoke into the receiver, tone laced with fake professionalism as she leaned her elbow on the window.
I glanced at her from the corner of my eye to see a perplexed look on her face. My nerves tightened at the sight of it, and quickly her eyes were on me.
"Hello?" She asked again, tone unsure.
"What is it?" I asked, stopping at a stoplight.
"They're just..." Riptide trailed off, handing her phone to me. "Breathing."
I pursed my lips at that and took the mobile. I pressed it to my ear whilst pushing down on the gas, and heard the alleged breathing Riptide spoke about. It was raspy and forced, like the person exhaling had just been beaten within an inch of their life.
"This is the Frost Bitten Hero, Freezer. Who is this?" I pressed, tone thick with authority as to get an answer out of whomever refused to speak through the phone.
However, instead of receiving a reply, the caller hung up.
"That's the third time it's happened this morning." Riptide confessed whilst taking back her work mobile.
"No one spoke?" I asked, pulling into the private parking garage of my agency.
"No," she shook her head. "They just breathed really hard, and after a while they hang up."
"Have one of the tech experts track the call," I instructed upon parking. "And let me know what comes up."
"I'm on it," Riptide obliged, climbing out of the car. "I'll phone you as soon as I get an answer."
I nodded, and after making sure she got into the building safely, turned out of the parking garage and began to make way toward Shiro and Kuro's school.