Now that he had spent a few more seconds looking at the man, he did find his face familiar. But Takehiro Kazuma was never one to idolise celebrities, nor did he have time for that now.

  The vigilante relaxed his body, only then realising how sore he felt from all that physical activity. It would be nice to take a good, long rest right about now, but his work wasn’t finished just yet. He turned around, preparing to leap out of the carpark—

  “Hey, Takehiro. Hang on for a bit, will you?” Miles tugged on his hand with a surprising amount of force, gesturing at some security guards scurrying towards them. “Don’t want these guys to give you any trouble.”

  “Just— ‘Hiro’… is fine,” the vigilante mumbled as the small group of navy blue came into view.

  “Mister Cooper, are you alright? Did the criminal hurt you?” one of them asked while putting handcuffs on the thief.

  Miles chuckled lightly, pointing at the vehicle still dangerously close to the unconscious criminal. “I’d be more worried about that car if I were you. Just tell whoever owns that car to bill me. I’ll be off now if there’s nothing else—”

  “Hold on, sir. Who’s this guy?” Another guard pointed at Hiro, approaching him threateningly. “Is he involved with this criminal as well?”

  Miles stood in front of the masked vigilante.

  “My personal bodyguard was only discharging his duties,” he said sharply. “Duties that happened to overlap with yours, may I add. All’s well that ends well, so I suggest we don’t escalate the situation further. Or all of us will be inconvenienced.”

  The security guards looked at each other nervously before taking a step back to bow to him.

  “No need to apologise. We all make mistakes.” Miles waved a hand casually and gestured for Hiro to enter a sleek-looking sports car. “Come, let’s go.”

  The engine revved to life as Hiro walked into the car awkwardly, still too stunned by the turn of events to properly react.

  The draught from the air-conditioning was doing a world-class job of lulling him to sleep, so Hiro decided to speak before he found himself knocked out in a stranger’s car. Fortunately, Miles wasn’t exactly the quiet type either.

  “So, where to?” the man asked, gesturing at the purse in Hiro’s hands. “Let me guess; you were chasing down a thief who snatched a purse from some poor lady. We might wanna hurry before she cuts her losses and heads back home on her own.”

  “Tatooin Station…” Hiro mumbled.

  “What’s that? Speak up, son. Tatooin Station, was it?”

  He nodded silently as the man turned the car around.

  “C’mon, son. Loosen up a little. I feel like I’m driving you to a court-martial here.” Miles chuckled heartily. “You just made someone’s day, for goodness’ sake. Be proud of yourself! What’cha like to listen to? Is jazz alright with you?”

  Smooth jazz filled the car immediately as the radio turned on by itself.

  “How did you do that?” Hiro blurted out, noticing the man’s eyes flash green for a second time.

  “Ah, right. Guess the media doesn’t exactly talk about that part of me often,” Miles said. “It’s my quirk. I’m a technopath, meaning I can communicate with, manipulate, and control electrical signals with my mind. It’s a big reason why I can come up with all sorts of support gear. Apart from my talented team of engineers, of course.”

  “That’s an amazing power!” the vigilante exclaimed. “Just think of all the people you can help if you become a hero!”

  The smile on Miles’ face slipped a little.

  “Well, I find more satisfaction in helping the heroes themselves.” His voice dropped as well. “Like I did with you earlier. It was a good thing that the criminal’s support item ran on electricity. We make a good team, lad. What’s your hero name?”

  It was Hiro’s turn to falter. “I— Uh… I don’t really have one. Not officially, at least.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “What’s that mean?”

  “I’m… not licensed.” Hiro surprised even himself with his frankness. “I just want to do some good in this world, but I… I don’t have a quirk.”

  If Miles was surprised, he did not show it. He did, however, allow the silence to drag on for a few seconds as the car turned a corner. The train station showed itself almost immediately, and Miles pulled up by the roadside.

  “Is that her?” The man pointed at an old lady sitting on some steps.

  Hiro’s heart sank with pity. She was right where he had left her after telling her that he would be ‘right back’ with her purse. Her head rested on the trolley of groceries beside her as her body heaved ever so slightly in the dim late afternoon sun.

  The car door slid open, and Hiro ran towards the woman.

  “Wha—? Oh, thank you so much, young one!” The old woman brightened with joy as she received the purse with trembling hands. “Thank you for getting my purse back! It’s all I have left… Poor boy, you look so exhausted. Please take this; it’s the least I can do to repay—”

  Hiro took a step back, refusing the two thousand yen bill thrust towards him.

  “There’s no need for that, Ma’am.” He helped her up slowly. “I’m just doing what any hero would’ve done. Would you like me to escort you home?”

  “You have done enough for me, young man. My house is just over there; I’ll be just fine. Bless you, hero. Go and get some rest.”

  Hiro watched the old lady hobble into the housing estate beside the station before taking a moment to rest on the steps himself. The bustling around him increased as another crowd of people began jostling out of the train station. Some of them cast a few weird glances at the masked vigilante, but most were more concerned with getting to their next destination.

  He slowly got up to his feet, looking at the road. Miles’ car had long disappeared from the roadside as well. A dull feeling of disappointment rose in his chest, but he pushed it back down. The CEO of the most successful quirk support company in Japan was bound to be busy, after all. Why would he ever give a quirkless vigilante like him a second glance—

  “Hey, hero.”

  Hiro turned around in shock.

  “Take a walk with me, will you?” Miles was standing behind him. “I have a proposal that you might be interested in.”

  The crimson glare of the sun glanced off the man’s face, and Hiro took in how aged he looked for the first time. Miles’ face looked well-worn by years of exhaustion and worry, with wrinkles on his forehead deep enough to swim in.

  It would’ve been rude to ask his age right off the bat, but he’d put the man in his late forties, although he looked a lot older. The silver streaks in his hair also only aged him further instead of giving him the well-dignified look they were supposed to.

  “Hell of a day, huh?” Miles sighed wistfully, draining a bottle of juice in a single swig. “Y’know what I would usually be doing at this time of the evening?”

  “Ironing your suit for the next day?”

  Miles chuckled softly. “Relaxing, son. I would’ve been tucking into a nice bowl of sashimi rice, maybe enjoying a soak in the hot springs just down the road. Just… relaxing.”

  Hiro continued staring at him.

  “It wasn’t always like this, though. Just five years ago, I would’ve been rushing out project after project,” the man continued. “I’d be lucky to even get some time to use the toilet. But I was happy doing what I loved. I was happy ‘fighting on the frontlines’, so to speak. Do you know why?”

  Hiro cast his gaze into the distance. “You had something worth fighting for.”

  “Clever ol’ chap.” Miles placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s like a fire. A fire within you that’s willing to burn itself out just to propel you to greater heights. A fire that I know you possess as well.”

  “You don’t know me.”

  “Don’t I?” the man said. “Don’t I know why you get out of bed every morning just to put on that stuffy gear to go on patrols? Don’t I know why you go out of your way just to help someone who doesn’t even know who you are?”

  Hiro remained motionless, keeping his expression as neutral as possible.

  “You’re in dire need of an upgrade, young hero. All that dumpster diving and homemade gear can only take you so far. You wanna be a true hero? You gotta fight smart, not just hard.”

  What did I even do wrong to get a quirkless child?! You were supposed to be my ticket back to Tokyo, dammit! You’re so useless!

  Hiro’s fists clenched unconsciously as his mother’s words echoed in his head. Bitterness stung his heart. The quirkless in this superhero society will always be looked down upon, no matter how hard they try. Miles Cooper was right; simply fighting hard isn’t going to cut it anymore.

  “Why are you doing this for me?’ Hiro turned to him. “I’m not even a real hero; I’m just a quirkless guy who can’t even pass the hero entrance exams. What do you possibly have to gain by helping me?”

  “That’s… for me to decide.” Miles gave him a mysterious smile. It was small and reserved, but Hiro could tell that it was genuine.

  “How is this going to work?” he asked hesitantly.

  Miles passed him a business card. “Do keep my number in your phone so you don’t think I’m just another telemarketer. I have a couple of support gear that will greatly improve your effectiveness as a street hero. I’ll be in contact soon.”

  “Wait!” Hiro called out before the man left again. “I didn’t give you my number.”

  “No, you didn’t.” Miles grinned, tapping a finger on his head as the green glow flickered in his eyes again. “See you around, hero.”

  The CEO walked back to his car, leaving the masked vigilante to ponder his next move.