Aspectabund

(Please note: this is a fanfiction for Boku no Hero Academia, however it focuses on my own character more than anything. I have included it here because it is some of my best writing and still impresses me that I did all of this in about 3 months while also graduating college)

Kenopsia had a routine. It was kind of inevitable after so many years. Every fifty or so they change things up, but for the most part they were content to live their simple life.

Every morning they would have a bowl of oats and berries from their garden with a side of freshly caught fish, take their time cleaning up, then wander out to work in their garden for the better part of the day. They needed all the time they could get in the day, considering their garden was in fact a plot of forested land about five square miles deep.

Buying the land in its entirety had been the last thing they spent big money on. With solar panels for the small amount of electricity they needed and a forest of food all around them, they never had to leave for much of anything, and for the most part, people knew to leave them alone. Over three hundred years of existence will do that to a guy.

However, two days a week, Kenopsia left their property for one specific and tedious reason.

To pick up their mail.

Any sane mailman wouldn’t drive miles out of their way to deliver a handful of letters to an old hermit, and Kenopsia couldn’t blame them. Supposedly, it was good for them to get out and see people every so often, even if it was just the one lady at the nearest post office who kept their mail in a specially marked lock box. They would prefer to get rid of their mailing address altogether, but if they wanted to be a legal citizen they had to provide somewhere for junk mail to collect. And, they supposed every so often something interesting would show up between stacks of brightly colored ads covered in the latest top heroes.

Donned in their most comfortable knit turtleneck and sweatpants, with their best friend perched on their shoulder, they entered the post office and greeted the woman at the desk with a nod and a quick diversion of their gaze. Eye contact was hard.

“Hello Kenopsia, hello Bendelton!” the woman greeted with a smile. She had been working there for a couple of decades, but they still always struggled to remember her name. They supposed she just had a forgettable presence. The only memorable thing about her was that she’d greet their Iguana with the same respect she’d greet them. Which, of course, was the right thing to do.

“Hmmm….” Kenopsia replied. “Afternoon, Shisozu.”

She smiled as she bent down behind the counter and pulled out their box. “I believe I saw something that looked relatively important mixed in with the junk this time.” 

They smiled. “I keep telling you that you can throw out the ads, I have no use for them.”

“And I keep telling you that that’s against the law and I could get fired.” She said with a laugh as she plopped a hefty pile of mail onto the counter.

They stared at the pile as they muttered, “I could pull some strings. I’ve got connections, even if I don’t use them.”

“I know, but I’d rather be honest in my work, Kenopsia.”

Disgruntled, they took their mail and nodded to her as they turned and left.

Human interaction was overrated anyways.

—

As per their system, Kenopsia didn’t actually check what came in the mail until the next day. The mental toll of going outside their property took too much out of them to care about who was trying to reach out to them.

So, it wasn’t until the next day that they stumbled across the invitation while sorting tax information and ads. They had been getting retirement checks ever since they hit ninety, and somehow no one had noticed for two hundred and thirty years that they weren’t dying anytime soon. They used most of  the money they got to give to charities, and by the time tax season came around, they only had to pay a couple yen to the government. Any leftover cash was used for buying small things, like if they needed to repair a tool and didn’t have the supplies to do so. They thought it was a good system, at least.

Tucked between their last tax statement and an ad for an extension for the wifi they didn’t own was a delicate, pristine invite to yet another fancy meeting put on by some rich guy with an ego.

They sighed, but opened it anyway. It was something to read, even if they didn’t like it.

Salutations, Mx. Kenopsia,

In a month, on the 25th, I will be holding a Gala in celebration for the anniversary of the first day of the business my grandfather started all those years ago. I am sure you remember those days, and my father loves to tell stories of you coming to galas of his own when he was in his prime. I hope dearly that you can make an appearance for old times sake. My father is a humble man, he had invited you out of desperation as a struggling businessman, and your presence had helped him greatly. I thought it would be touching to have him see you again, at his own son’s gala, just as his father had for him.

Do not worry about responding to this letter, simply arrive at the address below at 6pm on the 25th, if you decide to come. We would be overjoyed to see you there.

~ Mr. Kenzou Akihiko 

They had been preparing a sigh the moment they opened the letter. Seventy or so years ago they had gone to a lot of parties to support politicians they liked, in turn giving them better chances of changing the world for the better. That had been a solidly good period of time for them, when their phobias did not get the better of them, and their ability to socialize wasn’t so lacking. Yes, the mid-200’s were their prime. Or maybe it was like a mid-life crisis.

Either way, it now came to bother them more than not. The sons of all those politicians were convinced that they were entitled to their presence, just because they had liked their parents. They’d get a few letters every month demanding their attendance to some gala or festival or something that would almost certainly make them wish they weren’t immortal.

But Kenopsia did remember the father of Mr. Kenzou. It was one of the last public parties they’d gone to, as their anxiety began creeping back into their life. They had liked the small-time business for its dedication to its employees and care for its local community, and they hadn’t wanted to see it get sold off to some larger corporate entity. They couldn’t recall what they were selling, but that hardly mattered. They didn’t use stores.

And mr. Kenzou wasn’t demanding they come for him, but more for the chance to let his father see them again after so long.

Bendelton crawled up the back of their chair to wiggle himself under their frills. He made a soft huffing noise until they scratched him under his chin absentmindedly.

They glanced at their calendar that hung next to their refrigerator. It always took some time for letters to reach them, between the actual mail service, and the fact they didn’t check mail every day. For this reason, those who sent invites always had to send theirs out months before they sent anyone else’s, just to make sure Kenopsia would so much as see it in time.

The twenty-fifth would be in five days.

“What do you think, Bendelton?” they asked and turned to catch a glimpse of him from the corner of their eye. It was always hard to look him in the eye when he decided to make himself as small as possible at the base of their neck. He responded by placing his little clawed hand on their cheek and pushing them out of his space. They laughed and looked back to the letter.

It had been over fifty years since they’d been seen at a publicly televised event, about five since the last private party, they supposed it was about time to see what the rest of the world was up to.

Bendelton nuzzled into their shoulder then jolted up and quietly sneezed. Kenopsia’s smile faded. “Are you saying I need a shower? You ungrateful little cretin…” they sighed and stood. “Come on, i know how much you like sitting in the sink to soak up the humidity during my showers…. Come to think of it, it’s about that time of year that my fins molt. You might want to not sit on my shoulders when i don’t have them covered.”

Bendelton’s grip tightened on them as they made their way down the hall to their bathroom, but other than that, he did not respond.

—

Kenopsia rarely drove anywhere. The postoffice was only about a mile from their driveway, so they had no difficulty walking, considering how much exercise they got just tending to their garden.

But when they were young, before they reached the inhuman levels of their lifespan, they bought a little vintage car for a repair project, and they kept it around as the years went by. They occasionally drove it around their property to make sure it still ran after repairs, but it really got the most use back when they regularly went to galas.

Now, they were pulling it out of the little structure they had built for it so long ago and dusted it out. At some point a bird had used the exhaust pipe as a nest and they hadn’t noticed. From the look of the leftover egg shells, it had been a warbling white eye. For a fleeting second they wondered if there was a deeper meaning to that, but they saw so much wildlife around that if they put too much thought into every animal they saw (or didn’t see), they’d never get anything done.

They made sure the car still ran, since they hadn’t worked on it in a year or two, and when it did with minimal rattling, they buckled Bendelton into his car seat, adjusted their head covering, checked their pockets for the letter with the address and their map, then clambered inside and set off. A quick stop at the gas station next to the post office, and then Kenopsia had an hour long drive until they were in the city limits of Musutafu. That would give them another hour to actually figure out where the party was at, considering they didn’t have one of those fancy GPS devices.

—

When they pulled up to the hotel the event was being held at, there was already a line of fancy cars in line waiting to drop off guests, so they pulled into line, about twenty cars deep, and turned to Bendelton.

“I’m sure this is gonna be the most exciting part of this whole thing, huh?”

Bendelton scratched at his seatbelt and chuffed.

The front door slowly came into view. It was by no means a massive event, but there was a news crew, a red carpet, and a small crowd of paparazzi. Something tolerable for someone who hadn’t done this song and dance in so long.

As Kenopsia drifted closer, the odd looks from a few paparazzi did not go unnoticed. They probably looked completely out of place. Here they were in a line of sleek, black porsches and what-have-yous, crammed into a sea-green 1958 Subaru 360. The car was positively ancient when they got it. Now it was basically a fossil they kept alive by sheer will. But it had suicide doors, original red leather seats, and it didn’t take up too much room, so they wouldn’t trade it for anything.

The flashing of cameras stopped when they pulled up. There were some very obvious murmurs rising out of the crowd. They unbuckled Bendelton (allowing him to scramble up and perch on their shoulders) grabbed their keys, and stepped out of the car. The street was deadly silent. Not a single camera flashed. There were two bodyguards at the front of the red carpet and Kenopsia took their time approaching them, keys jingling in their hand. The man built like a bull, horns and all, looked nervous, though that may have been because though he was tall, they were taller. They didn’t care, they just held out their keys.

“Do you know how to drive a manual?”

“Uhh…. no?”

“I do!” his partner piped up. She had bright red hair and a chiseled jaw. They turned to her and held out their keys.

“Could you park my car somewhere? I’ll pay you when I leave.”

“Of course, Mx. Kenopsia!” she took the keys and hopped into their car, carefully pulling forward and around the corner with practiced ease. Kenopsia watched her go for a moment, then turned to the man.

“You should learn how to drive a manual. You never know.”

He nodded quickly and offered an apology, but they were already walking to the doors.

The moment they started moving, the paparazzi jumped to life and started yelling questions that made them up their pace. Starting the evening with ringing ears was not an ideal situation.

There were a few kids running around the front lobby. Their excited shouts as they played distracted Kenopsia from the fact that the group of hired greeters were staring at them in shock. It took Bendelton whipping his tail next to their face to jolt them back into the world of the living. They had always thought kids were better company than adults. A child never expected them to make speeches or show up to live events.

When they snapped back, one of the greeters finally approached them with a wary smile.

“Mx. Kenopsia, what a surprise to see you!” he held his hand out for them to shake. They shied away from the action.

“I came to see Mr. Kenzou. Or. his father. Can you point me in the direction I could find him?”

One of the kids behind them let out a loud, excited shriek, and the greeter tiredly frowned in their direction before turning back to them with a smile. Kenopsia did not return it.

“The main party is held in conference room B. food can be found in C, and interviews are being held in A. I can take you if you’d like?”

They opened their mouth to respond, but a force hit their leg suddenly, followed by a soft “oof” and a sniffle. They looked down and found one of the kids at their feet, having fallen over after running face first into their leg. She rubbed at her face gently as she tried to discreetly wipe at her eyes. 

“Makoto, what did I say about disturbing guests?” the greeter sighed at her. She looked up at the man in a panic, lip wobbling. “I knew I shouldn’t have brought you, you’re old enough to stay home alone now.” He spoke in that particular way worn down parents always did; exasperated and tired and wishing they could be anywhere else. It was how Kenopsia felt while talking to politicians. It wasn’t, however, the right way to talk to a young child.

“But dad, I didn’t mean to! Please don’t send me home!”

The man was obviously flushing brightly under his freckles from embarrassment, but Kenopsia ignored him in favor of kneeling down to be eye level with the equally freckled child, and held out their hand.

“Are you hurt?”

“Um…” Makoto murmured, and looked up at her father before shaking her head. Her red hair bounced buoyantly with the movement. “I’m okay. I’m sorry for running into you.” she tentatively took their hand.

They smiled and helped her up.

“That’s fine, what’s important is that you’re alright. I’d hate to stand in the way of some fun.”

Bendelton chuffed and nibbled on their ear, which caught the attention of Makoto. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open.

“That’s a big lizard…” she said, voice laced with awe.

“His name is Bendelton, would you like to touch him?”

Makoto seemed excited and hesitant at the same time. “Will he bite me?”

“Only if you’re rude to him.” Kenopsia chuckled. “Give me your hand, I’ll show you how to greet him.”

Makoto held her hand out and Kenopsia, ever so slowly, eased her hand towards Bendelton, stopping all movements when he jolted his head in dissatisfaction. He was always so tempermental about meeting new people.

When Kenopsia finally laid Makoto’s small hand on Bendelton’s cheek, the iguana settled and the girl’s eyes were lit with delight.

“He’s not slimy! He’s more like… like… the smooth stones in my driveway!” she moved her hand up a bit, and they gently moved it back down.

“Careful, he’s picky about who gets to touch his spines.”

Makoto nodded and put more focus on the scales of the iguana’s jaw. They could sit here for hours, with a nice kid who liked lizards, telling her about the eating habits of iguanas, but Makoto slowly pulled away a moment later with a shy look on her face as she glanced over their shoulder.

Her father must have been giving her A Look.

They still had a businessman to see, they supposed.

“Have a good night, Makoto. don’t let the adults tell you when and where to play. Just think: What Would Bendelton Do?”

She gave them a quizzical expression as they straightened up. “What would Bendelton do?”

They grinned. “If they upset you, bite them.”

Makoto stared at them as if they had just revealed the world’s darkest secret. They chuckled and waved as they wandered down the hallway to the conference rooms. They did not spare her father or his associates another glance.

—

Mr. Kenzou was over the moon to see them approach. He even shrieked mid-conversation with some other ceo-type when he glanced over the other’s shoulder at them. They waved awkwardly, and he abandoned his conversation partner in a flash to come talk to them.

“Mx. Kenopsia, I can’t believe you came!”

“Well, I haven’t been out in so long, I figured…” They ended their thought with a shrug.

“Well, I’m glad you decided to come, my father will be so surprised, you won’t believe the lecture I got when he found out i sent you the invite, he thought it was rude of me to assume you’d have the time, but he’d love to see you again.” he led them through the party, dodging inquisitive guests and reporters with ease. As they moved he talked more about the gala.

“It’s a way to give back to the community, you know? They are the reason we have been able to stay afloat all these years, without our customers we wouldn’t exist. Later on, we’ll have an art auction, and all proceeds will go to funding the local schools. Because of that, we have invited a few kids from the schools we’ll be helping to the gala, as a show of support and commitment to the children.”

“Ah…” Kenopsia glanced around, seeing a couple groups of kids around. Most looked to be the rich children of ceos, but one or two looked out of place in such a fancy event. “I knew I liked your family for a reason, it’s been so long, I forgot.”

Mr. Kenzou laughed. “That’s quite alright, I know you met so many people back in the day, and it has been fifty years, I would expect you to remember everything. Lord knows I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, don’t tell my wife.”

Kenopsia wasn’t sure what to make of that. 

They approached a table where an older man sat with whom Kenopsia could only assume was his wife. They were watching over the gala with soft smiles. When the man’s gaze found theirs, his expression dropped, cheeks went pale, and then all at once he broke into an earth-shattering grin.

Ah, the original Mr. Kenzou. The age progression of man was something Kenopsia decidedly could never quite comprehend. It had only been fifty years, he shouldn’t be so grey, but here he was, struggling to so much as stand. His wife helped stabilize him as he rose to his shakey feet.

“Kenopsia! I… I can’t believe my eyes!” he croaked. They nodded at him and offered a hand to shake. He took it in both of his shaking hands and gave them a wobbling but firm downward force. His son made sure he was stable, then nodded at them and returned to the party.

“Hello, Mr. Kenzou. I’m sorry we haven’t seen each other in so long, i’m afraid my anxieties get the best of me these days.”

He laughed and sat down, gesturing for them to sit with him and his wife.  “No, no don’t apologize, it would be selfish of me to expect you to do me favors after all you did for me.”

Kenopsia sat down and Bendelton shifted so he was perched on their other shoulder. Mr. Kenzou sr. gasped.

“Is that the little iguana you had before? He’s so big now!”

“Yes… his name is Bendelton.” they absentmindedly scratched under his jaw and he leaned into it happily.

“I remember him being only a few inches long, he just clung to your turtleneck the whole time… I suppose things haven’t really changed, huh?”

“He likes to be tall.”

Mr. Kenzou’s wife chuckled. “I am so pleased to meet you, I’ve heard so much about you, you really did leave an impact on the parties you attended.”

“I couldn’t tell you why.” Kenopsia said. “I’m just a person. Perhaps less so, considering how secluded I am.”

“You’ve been around for nearly nine generations!” Mr. Kenzou exclaimed. “You’ve got centuries worth of information in you, it gives you a good head on your shoulders and the wisdom to know how to move civilization forward.”

They chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that. I’m not sure society could live the way I’d like everyone to. Some people don’t like eating fish and oats together for breakfast.”

“Is that the secret to immortality?” he joked.

“Well, that and the ability to transform into an absurdly giant serpent.” Kenopsia responded in kind. The three of them chuckled for a moment, but Mr. Kenzou’s wife seemed to be falling asleep rather quickly. When she startled out of a particularly sudden and short nap, Mr. Kenzou sighed fondly.

“Sweetheart, i think i need to take you home.” he whispered to her. “Remember what the doctor said, don’t overdo it. Please don’t force yourself awake for my sake.”

“Oh, but love, Kenopsia came to see you.” she murmured sadly.

“Please don’t hurt yourself because of me.” they said. “I likely won’t stay long. It’s quite the drive back home, and I have a schedule I like to keep.”

“It truly was great seeing you, Kenopsia. I am honored you came.”

“It’s no problem, It’s good for me to get out of the house sometimes.”

From the corner closest to their table, a loud ruckus started up. The three of them turned to see a crowd of kids circled up, with one in particular shouting at someone lost in the mix.

“Kids.” Mr. Kenzou sighed. “Somehow I only like them when they’re my own.”

“They seem riled up.” they said, mostly to themself. Bendelton watched the ruckus attentively, so they turned to the couple as they rose. “Bendelton seems to want to see what’s up, so I will go try to get them to settle. You two have a nice night.”

“You don’t have to do that, security will break them up if they get too bad.”

“It’s alright,” they smiled softly. “I’d like to.”

Bendelton gripped them tightly as they approached the crowd. A few kids on the outer circle spotted them and ran off, but for the most part, everyone was focused on two people: an obviously wealthy kid in a perfectly cut white suit whose face was red from yelling, and another boy with a deck of cards in his hand. While he also had a suit on, it wasn’t nearly as pristine as the other kids’ and it didn’t quite fit right. It was likely a rental. This must have been one of the middle schoolers they were told about – he couldn’t have been more than twelve years old. He had silver hair and a smirk that shouted “come at me!” to the whole world.

Kenopsia didn’t particularly want to come at him. They just wanted to know what was going on.

“Excuse me.” they said, and the yelling kid quieted and turned around, startling then craning his neck to look them in the eye. “Mind telling me why you’re yelling so much?”

The kid scowled. “This filthy street rat scum stole my phone from me! It’s the latest model and in a limited color, and he won’t give it back!”

Kenopsia didn’t even have to ask before the other boy jumped in to defend himself.

“I didn’t steal it, This idiot bet it in a game of poker and lost, so it’s mine, fair and square. It’s not my fault he’s shit at cards.”

The rich kid turned to retaliate, and Kenopsia stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Is it true you bet it?”

He did not meet their gaze. They put a little bit of pressure into their hold on him, not to hurt, but to encourage. “Young man, the only person you hurt when you lie is yourself. Sometime down the line, you will receive retribution. It will not be pleasant. Now. Did you bet your phone in a game of cards?”

Kenopsia had seen this far too many times before, though usually played out with full grown adults. It was kind of refreshing to teach children rather than grown ups who no longer knew how to learn. The boy sighed and nodded, looking defeated, but hopeful at them.

“That’s what I thought.” they said. “You made a choice. It was a stupid choice. How do you suspect we will progress?”

“You’ll be the adult and get it back for me?”

They laughed. The kid’s hope drained from his eyes while the boy with the cards grinned. “You’re right, I will be an adult, as that’s all I can be here. But I won’t be getting your phone for you. You made a choice. Stick to it. Live with the consequences of your actions.” they looked down at the boy with the cards with a smile. “And how many kids have you swindled tonight?”

He fanned the cards out in front of his face to hide his smile, but the small tattooed face-like mark on his cheek gave his glee away. It smiled when he did.

“I wouldnt say swindled, as you said, they made their stupid decisions, and now they gotta deal with it.”

They chuckled. “Let me rephrase that. How many others have thrown a fit?”

“Oh, there were a few tears, but for the most part the rest of the crowd’s a bunch of troupers!”

They nodded, and appraised the cards in his hand. “It was poker you were playing?”

“Sure was. You want to play a round?” he smirked and fanned his face with the cards as he leaned back in his seat casually.

“It’s been a while. I wouldn’t mind a match.”

“Are you serious?” the rich whiner cried. “You’re an adult! You can just demand he gives back everything he took!”

Kenopsia sat across from Card boy and very obviously ignored the other kid as the cards were shuffled.

“If I win, all I would like is to get one request.”

“Not after money? Don’t wanna take from a poor kid?”

They placed their hands on the table gently as he dealt the cards. “I’ve no use for it. Actions are much more interesting. If you win, you get the same from me. Anything you want.”

Card boy raised an eyebrow at them, but said nothing as he checked his first card. Kenopsia didn’t even look at theirs.

He set out the first card. Kenopsia didn’t hesitate.

“Bet.”

—

“Four of a kind. Sorry kid, that beats a Straight.”

Card boy stared at their hand. They had only looked at it three rounds back, flying most of the game blind. It was obvious the kid wasn’t used to losing, at least not tonight. The crowd of kids around them Oohed and Awed.

“How?” he whispered.

“Must’ve been lucky.” they said. “I believe you owe me a request now?”

He sighed and scooped his cards up, appearing ready to leave. They stopped him with a gentle hand on his wrist.

“The prissy kid’s phone.”

He blinked at them owlishly. “What?”

“He won’t shut up, I’m sick of hearing his voice in my ear while we play. I’d like to return it to him so he goes away.”

“I thought…. You’re not gonna make me stop playing?”

“No, this is actually the most fun I’ve had at one of these in a very long time. I’d like to play another round if you’re willing. You are a good opponent.”

Quickly, he dropped his cards back onto the table and shoved the offending phone into their hand. They turned to the rich kid who had been lurking over their shoulder for the entire game. He made to grab it straight out of their hand, but they held it high above their head and gave him a very pointed look.

“This is not how you will react to such things in the future. These are not the actions of a good person. If I find out that you misuse your power in any way like this again, I will not hesitate to tell your guardian about your gambling tendencies. It is not a good look if you can’t hold onto the things you hold dear.”

The kid gulped and nodded, and took the phone when it was properly handed to him. He scurried off quickly and the crowd of rich kids followed after him.

Kenopsia turned back to the table.

“What is your name, card czar?”

He grinned. “Nikko. And you?”

“Kenopsia. Now, for the next game, what do you think of upping the stakes? I can provide anything you’d like, what say you?”

Nikko grinned and started shuffling the deck again.

—

They hadn’t noticed how late it was getting until Bendelton nearly slipped from their shoulders as he slept. Ten games of poker deep into the night, and they hadn’t even started getting tired. Nikko was a bit of a bastard, but the more they played, the more relaxed he got. When he got riled up at certain tactics they sneaked in, his polite speech slipped and he would let loose a few curses before catching himself and sinking into a more polite shadow of what he had just shown them. Kenopsia never commented on it in hopes he’d stop being so afraid.

As Bendelton shook himself awake, Kenopsia rubbed his cheek and sighed. “I usually only stay at these things for about an hour, yet here you got me sticking around for three.”

Nikko looked up at them in alarm. “Three? Damn, my moms will be picking me up soon.” he fiddled with the checks they had given him after the two games he won. He suddenly looked unsure. “Are you sure I can have this? I know this started with me taking stuff from winnings, but… 10,000 yen is a lot. This isn’t a professional match.”

“You won it fair and square. I get to spend my tax returns and retirement checks however I please.”

“Okay… thank y- wait. Retirement?” he looked up at them in bewilderment. “How the hell are you retired?”

They stood, winked at him, and walked away. If they weren’t a cryptic motherfucker at some point in the night they surely would have combusted. Still, they couldn’t stop the soft smile from forming as they said goodbye to the host and made their way outside.

The bodyguard who had parked their car walked them to the parking space a block away and got a hefty check from them in turn, for which she thanked them profusely. They waved her off as they ducked into the car and gently buckled Bendelton into his seat.

For once, they weren’t leaving one of these events completely drained, and they weren’t sure what to think of that.

—

A month later found Kenopsia with a whole new slew of party invites from people they neither knew about or cared for. Their appearance at the gala obviously did not go unnoticed, and now it seemed the rich had gone mad with the chance to host them. They really did not care for it at all.

However, in the mass of demands, they found another letter from Mr. Kenzou himself.

Salutations, Mx. Kenopsia,

I know it seems like only yesterday you were gracing us with your presence, so i feel just a bit down about writing to you again so soon. I know you like your space.

However, based on how the media is stirring at your emergence, i feel I must apologize for inviting you out in the first place. I cannot imagine the droves of mail you must be getting, requesting your presence.

My father always told me how picky you were in choosing which galas to attend, and that you always went in a show of blatant support for the host – bar the time you went to the Hero Public Safety Commision’s Gala just to spit in the face of the then-president. My father always did love to tell that story, even if he wasn’t present; it had been televised live, and the president of the Commission had been publicly fired a week later.

I am getting off track.

My point, Mx. Kenopsia, is that I believe the world we live in now has forgotten your morals. We know your power, and that those who you support grown while those you do not whither, but we have forgotten why you support people in the first place. The media wants to know where you will show up next, without thinking about what it is you want to come of the world. My family knows that you want a kinder world, but no one else seems to remember that.

I will be holding another Gala for my company in two months time to celebrate international workers day. My employees will have the day off, paid, followed by a grand party in their honor. (there is a reason i have not dealt with any worker strikes.)

You are not required to come, of course, but I thought it was something you would respect, and should you come, perhaps a few words in the press’s direction will remind them of what you stand for.

Apologies for the long letter, I wish you the best.

Mr. Kenzou

He certainly made a point. Although it felt like far too soon for another event, Kenopsia knew that the best way to get people off their back was to face them head on. Ignoring things only made problems worse.

—

This party was much more intense than the last one. Loud music blasted, the dance floor was packed, and the tables of food had to be restocked on the hour, thanks to how many people were there. It was by no means a fancy party. It was obviously for the workers to let off steam.

This time when they pulled up in their dingy car, the press went wild immediately. Cameras flashed, reporters asked rapid-fire questions that they did not listen to, and they handed off their keys to the bodyguard. Luckily, the same woman was working the event and didn’t have to be asked this time.

Mr. Kenzou had been the one to find them this go ‘round, as the crowds made them nervous and led to them hiding off in a corner. Their fins quivered under their wrapping and sweat collected on the back of their neck until his familiar presence made its way through the crowd. He looked worried and gently hovered as his mouth moved, and it took them a moment to realize that he was speaking. Bendelton had his claws on their face and they hadn’t noticed until they snapped themself out of their fit.

“Mx. Kenopsia, are you alright? Security said you looked panicked, did something happen? Do you need anything?” Mr. Kenzou asked when they blinked a few times and looked down at him. Even crouched over as they were, the host was shorter than them.

“Apologies.” they murmured, so quietly that Mr. Kenzou had to lean in to hear. “I seem to have had an anxiety attack. I’ll be fine.”

“It’s not fine, though! Here, I will bring you to a place where you can sit, and get you some water. I am so sorry about this, I should have told you that it would be a bit more intense.”

They allowed him to take their hand and guide them through the throngs of people to the opposite end of the room where some tables and chairs were set up. Most of them were empty. He sat them down at the table furthest from the crowd and left to grab them some water and food. Bendelton chuffed impatiently at them until they raised a shaky hand to rub against his cheek. The feeling of his cold skin grounded them in the present. They closed their eyes to revel in the feeling.

“Oh! There they are!” a voice called out from somewhere nearby. “For viewers at home who do not know, Mx. Kenopsia is quite the historical figure. They have been alive since quirks started appearing, due to their own quirk making them near-immortal! They are a fountain of wisdom, thanks to their many years on earth, so let’s see what they have to say tonight! It is very rare to catch them, it’s only recently that they’ve made a reappearance!”

Oh, great.

Bendelton shied away from their hand to hide under their fin covering and they knew the reporter was standing nearby without opening their eyes.

They sighed. Their body still shook with nerves, and Mr. Kenzou was not back yet.

Slowly, they opened their eyes and looked up at the woman eagerly trying to get their attention. One of her eyes was a lens, and her head around it was more cyborg than human. There were lights blinking next to buttons that read “recording” and “live”. She held a microphone that seemed to be plugged into the back of her head.

“Mx. Kenopsia, it has been about fifty years since you came to events like this, why the sudden change? And why only this company?”

They sighed and wished she had decided to do this at some other point in time.

“Hey!” Mr. Kenzou raced over to them, plate of crackers and cup of water in hand. “Did you get their permission before you started asking questions? Mx. Kenopsia is our esteemed guest and I will not stand for you tormenting them!”

“I speak for the people, Mr. Kenzou, and I will not be silenced! People want to know why they have suddenly reemerged, and what event they will be seen at next, but they are only ever seen at your parties! Are you bribing them?”

A low hiss gurgled its way up Kenopsia’s throat, startling their company. Both adults looked at them in surprise as they stood slowly until they loomed over the reporter, and snatched the mic out of her hand, the hiss not letting up until they started to speak.

“You want to know what events I will attend, but you do not think to wonder why I attend an event in the first place. You are as bad as the rich fucks who send me letters demanding I show up to their galas just because I went to their fathers’. You forget that I have standards and morals, and will not support those who I think are the scum of the Earth. Those who hoard money and let their employees live off of food stamps, who destroy the environment just to make more money… Those are the worst kinds of people, and they will never get my support. If you want to figure out where I will show up next, look into companies that are respectful, and doing great things for the world, instead of who’s richer.” They slowly approached the reporter as if they were hunting prey, and she backed up as they cornered her against the wall. “But I wouldn’t expect you to know respect if it hit you in the face, considering how you approached me. Is this how you treat all interviews? This isn’t reporting, this is harassment. Anyone worth their shit knows that the reason I stopped coming out was thanks to my agoraphobia. It wasn’t until Mr. Kenzou offered to let me see his father, who I was friends with back in the day, did I manage to overcome it for a night. I only came here tonight to tell people like you, who hound me for undeserved attention to fuck off.”

The reporter was frozen in her spot. Kenopsia dropped the mic, it caught on the wire connected to her, and was left swinging by her knees. When she didn’t take the hint, Kenopsia hissed again, their incisors grew into fangs, the fins under their wrappings moved of their own volition, and a few scales poked up from under the scruff on their chin.

“I said FUCK OFF!”

She yelped and bolted from them, struggling to pull up her mic as she ran.

“Mx. Kenopsia, I am… I am so sorry, I-”

Mr Kenzou’s warm, worried voice cut through them like a knife and the tension that had been building in their shoulders released. He guided them back to their seat and they slumped, exhausted, into the uncomfortable plastic.

“It’s not your fault, hopefully that will get enough attention that people will stop bothering me.”

Mr Kenzou paused. “Well… when I said to toss a few words to the press, fuck off wasnt really what I had in mind, but I suppose I cant criticize. When I saw her hounding you, I was ready to bring out the fists.”

Kenopsia laughed. “I’m glad you have my back. I suspect I’ll be fine for the rest of the night, so you go ahead and entertain your other guests.”

“But you-”

They held up a hand to stop him and smiled. “You’ve done plenty for me. Now, I just need a bit of peace to sort things out. Please, you’re a host. Do as hosts do.”

He smiled softly and patted them on the arm before leaving. They watched him merge with the crowd once again, and sipped from the water he brought them. They could feel how tense Bendelton was as he clung to them, and they brought him into their lap as to better calm  them both. After a few moments of steady breathing and stroking his spines, they finally felt fully grounded.

“That was, um…” they looked to the previously unoccupied seat to their left in surprise. They were so focused on recovering from their anxiety and anger that they hadn’t noticed the young boy sit down beside them. Though Nikko’s face was calm and passive as he stared at the table, the tattoo on his cheek looked distressed. “What happened?”

They let out a long breath, slightly unsteady, but they could handle this.

“I don’t get angry often, I understand I can get quite threatening when I am, though.”

“No, I get that. I was literally two tables away the whole time, I saw what went down and… yeah you got scary but that was valid. What I mean is…” he shrugged and looked anywhere but at them. “You looked shaken up before, when you sat down.”

“Oh.” they blinked, and sat up straight, but they had to crane their neck to look at Nikko, so they slouched again. “Well, you heard what I said, I have Agoraphobia. Have had it for about… hmm…. Well I think it started up when I hit 105, but it got severe when I was in my 200s.” They glanced at him, and he was looking at them like they were crazy. “… did you not hear her whole spiel about me?”

He shook his head. “I heard your end, not… 200s? How is that possible? Are you fucking with me?”

They chuckled. “I’ve lost track of the specific year, but I’m over 300 years old now. My quirk has basically rendered me immortal.”

Nikko stared at his lap with wide eyes. For a moment, Kenopsia worried something was wrong, but then he turned to them with bright eyes and a familiar shit-eating grin across his face.

“Are you saying I beat an undying being at poker twice?”

They laughed and reached for one of the crackers Mr. Kenzou had gotten for them. The tense air between them dissipated as he gloated. 

“You’ve got 300 years on you and you lost to a thirteen year old! twice! “ he laughed. “That’s gotta sting, huh?”

“Who’s to say I didn’t just let you win?” they smirked back, and he flustered angrily.

“No way, it’s poker, not fucking, I don’t know, Go Fish! You can’t just let me win!”

“You got your cards? You wanna test that theory?”

“You’re on, old timer.”

—

Their outburst had changed things. Now, the letters from desperate hosts gloated about the good things they were doing instead of how much they deserved to be supported for their ancestry. So many of the claims were so transparently fake and pompous that with each new letter, Kenopsia’s paranoia increased ten-fold. Even Shisozu at the post office noticed their distress at the letters and quietly offered to shred them “accidentally” but spiteing these fake rich people was something they had control over, and even if it caused them stress, they wanted to see what others wanted from them.

It was a bad habit, they supposed, as it rarely did their mental health any good, but it wasn’t like people ever actually showed up at their house, so the letters were the most social interaction they’d get for weeks at a time. But weeks of desperate lying to get their attention was decidedly worse than any desperate conceited pleas. It wore them thin enough that even Mr. Kenzou’s next letter, with words kind and handwritten instead of the usual typed, was met with their refusal to comply.

For once, though, they decided to write back. Mr. Kenzou had been nothing but understanding of their situation, so he deserved a reason for their actions.

Bendelton basked on the windowsill above their kitchen sink as they sat at their table and crafted a response to the man. It was a bit therapeutic, to tell him of their fears, and apologize for their disappearance, even if they hadn’t considered doing such a thing for anyone fifty years ago. There was something safe in letting someone besides their iguana know what was going on in their life. Plus, the shock written across Shisozu’s face when they returned to the post office the next day to send the letter made them laugh for the first time in weeks.

—

If they had to cry in their garden for an hour before leaving for the post office, well, that’s just for them and Bendelton to know.

—

They didn’t know how life felt like for those with normal lifespans, but it always seemed like existence existed in chapters. Large chunks of time split into periods of movement or of being static. There was no rhyme or reason, but some points during periods of inactivity left them anxious until they felt like they had to do something with the outside world. This must’ve been the start of one of those periods, because after several panic attacks, they felt compelled now more than ever to take a real dip into the murky depths of galas once again.

—

Logically, they knew Mr. Kenzou wouldn’t be at this party. He wasn’t hosting it, it was on the opposite end of town, and wasn’t connected to his company at all. But still, they found themself using their height to peer around for the familiar man. They didn’t have the same rapport with this host, and a friendly face in such a thick crowd would do them a world of good. Unfortunately, they had been left alone fifteen minutes into their arrival after the host got distracted with another guest, and the only option to keep away from the press was to wander aimlessly.

Bendelton was extra twitchy, and kept eyeing the food table so they steered themself in that direction. He had just finished his shed and hadn’t been eating, so he was much more food motivated than normal. Much like them, he had stopped shedding as often after he reached the end of a normal iguana’s lifespan. Instead of four weeks between sheds, it was more of a once a season ordeal. He just got so grumpy with each molt, and they didn’t like to see their friend upset.

He definitely deserved the strawberries he was eyeing from across the room.

They stacked a few meat and cheese snacks onto a plate as they handed fruit up to Bendelton, who happily smacked away at them. While he chewed on a particularly large strawberry, Kenopsia caught a glance of silver hair a ways down the buffet table. They paused, then grabbed some of the lettuce decorating a meat platter and made their way towards the one familiar face in the entire party.

“I was under the impression you were Mr. Kenzou’s pity invite, What are you doing here, Nikko?” they asked, making the kid jolt in surprise and turn to face them.

“Wow, real vote of confidence, Kenopsia. Nice.” he snarked.

They gave him A Look and he laughed.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too, but I just kept getting invited to all these shindigs and I couldn’t explain it even if I was being held at gunpoint. What about you? I figured you were gonna swear off these things after the last time. You didn’t even come to Kenzou’s last party. I thought you were bros.”

“It’s been fifty years since I really got out. So much inactivity tends to trigger bursts of energy, sometimes.”

Bendelton shifted moodily and they offered him a leaf of lettuce which he took with a bit less gusto than the strawberries. Just a bit, though. He always seemed to be starved after a shed.

“Mx. Kenopsia! Excuse me!” a woman and a man with a bulky camera pushed through the crowd. She huffed a moment before standing straight – only reaching their chest – and gave them a bold smile. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting, but would you mind answering some questions?”

They looked to Nikko, who shrugged like he didn’t care one way or another.

“…Just a few. But hold on a moment.”

“Of course!” The reporter took a few respectable steps back and spoke to her cameraman as Kenopsia turned to Nikko and knelt down to better reach his level.

“Could you watch Bendelton while I do this? I suspect a grouchy, hungry iguana won’t make the best interview partner. If he gets fidgety, just give him more fruit and greens.”

“Don’t lizards eat bugs?”

“Iguanas not so much. Bendelton would much rather have some mango than a cricket. Plus, do you see any bugs in here?” they smirked, and Nikko rolled his eyes but held out his arms to take the lizard.

Kenopsia led Bendelton down their arm with the promise of more lettuce, then plopped him in Nikko’s arms and turned to talk to the reporters. So focused on thinking of what to say, they didn’t notice the grunted “oof” that left Nikko when his arms were suddenly heaving over six feet worth of moody lizard.

“Okay, what questions do you have?” they asked as they approached the two.

“Actually, we were interested in that boy you’re always with.” the reporter said with a soft smile. Her tone was so different from the last reporter, it softened any walls they had begun to build.

“You mean Bendelton? He’s my emotional support Iguana-”

“Oh, no, sorry, I meant the other boy, who’s holding Bendelton?”

Kenopsia blinked a few times in surprise, then turned to glance back at the two. Nikko seemed to have decided to hold Bendelton in his lap and was offering a plate of cucumber to the iguana to keep him from crawling up onto his shoulders to better reach the food table.

“That’s Nikko.” they said when they turned back to her.

“Nikko?”

“Yes.”

“Anything else about him?”

The confusion they felt must have been evident on their face, because she jumped to explain.

“You see, the last two parties you went to, you were seen with that boy often. Mr. Kenzou himself said he kept inviting Nikko because he saw that you had a bond, and now he’s here, and has even been found at a few other events around the city. Some speculate he is a relative, and we would like for you to set the record straight.”

Kenopsia’s mind reeled from the new information. They were the reason Nikko kept getting invited out to these things? Why would hosts think that inviting him without telling them that they’d done so would make them show up? The disconnect was stunning. They leaned forward to speak and the reporter happily held her mic out.

“Um. to start out, I had no idea he was being invited out. If people think that inviting him without telling me is somehow gonna magically make me show up at their party, then I guess I have to come out and tell people that I don’t have a telepathy quirk.”

The reporter and her cameraman stared at them in shock, looked at each other, then both fell into a little laughing fit.

“I-I’m sorry Mx. Kenopsia, but are you telling me these hosts have been inviting a random teenager out to their parties in hopes you’ll also show up, but haven’t told you a word of it?”

“It’s like they think I have a secret phone or something that I only use to talk to Nikko.”

“Well,” she said after a few deep breaths to make sure she would giggle anymore. “If that’s the case, who is he?” 

Kenopsia took a deep breath, leaned in close to the mic, and looked directly at the camera. “He’s the only motherfucker here I respect.”

Quickly, they spun around and made their way back to their friends. They swooped down to scoop Bendelton back on their shoulders like he weighed nothing and Nikko let out a relieved breath. They held a hand out to help him up and he gave them a smirk.

“So what was the big question they wanted to ask?” he asked as he swiped a few fancy snacks.

“I think that people think that you’re my nephew or something. Maybe great great nephew?”

Nikko spluttered. “W-What?”

“They wanted to know why I hung out with you at these things. Turns out people invite you thinking it’ll get me to show up.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!” Nikko laughed and Kenopsia smiled.

“Yeah, I told them such. Set the record straight and made it clear you’re the only person here I respect. Fuck politicians, even the good ones, you know?”

Nikko didn’t respond, and they looked down to see his face had gone blank. It was the same face he pulled during their poker matches, and it was near-impenetrable. They knew better though. A better angle, and they could see the tattoo on his cheek. It was blushing, and it seemed stars had replaced the eyes. They usually associated the star eyes with when he won a game, but maybe they were related to all around joy or something like that. Either way, he seemed pleased. They clapped a hand down on his shoulder and chuckled.

“Well, I suppose we’ll be seeing more of each other, so I should start bringing more things to bet in our games, huh?”

“Damn right, I’m gonna start sweeping the floor with you if we keep playing, so you better start betting for real.”

They found a table away from the festivities and Kenopsia looked at him expectantly, but he made a point to not look at them. After a few moments of silence, he groaned and ran a hand through his hair nervously.

“My moms made me leave my cards at home. They didn’t like that I was upsetting rich kids by beating them. Said it wasn’t fair and might embarrass them.”

Kenopsia frowned and scratched at their stubble. “I suppose that’s fair. I’ll just have to bring my own deck next time, that way your mothers can’t get mad.”

He grinned and sat up a little straighter. “Really?”

“It only makes sense. I might have some chips somewhere too, just to make it more real. But I suppose for now we’ll just have to talk to each other with no distractions. How awful.” they rolled their eyes and Nikko laughed.

“Sure, old timer. What do you wanna talk about? How about what I did at school today?”

They blinked. “You go to school?”

“Uh, yeah? Did you… not go to school?”

They pulled a tight face and tugged the edge of their head covering down their forehead a bit more. “I did. I just thought maybe they made some sort of better system since I’d been. I mean, three hundred years before I was born only certain people went to school. Things change.”

Nikko frowned at the way they fidgeted but shrugged it off.

“Yeah, no it’s still school and it still sucks.”

“Balls.” Kenopsia muttered. Nikko choked on his own spit as he tried to muffle a laugh.

“So,” Kenopsia said as he got his breathing under control again. “How was school?”

“It was whatever, like, It’s hard to enjoy it when all my teachers have given up on me, so there’s that, and I have this history paper I gotta write that’s due in two days and I still haven’t started it.”

“What is the paper on?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t picked a topic. It’s supposed to be like… important figures in history but no one is interesting.”

“Hmm…” they closed their eyes in thought. “Mr. Kenzou’s father was pretty cool.”

“Nobody knows him but you, Kenopsia.”

“Oh yeah? Tell that to his son and wife.”

Nikko rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. Even if I did write about him it wouldn’t be interesting and it wouldn’t be fun to write.”

“Fun to write about, huh?” Kenopsia tapped their chin. “How about Bendelton? He’s the most interesting guy I know. It’s exciting being one of the only animals with a quirk.”

“Wait, Bendelton has a quirk? What does he do?”

They both looked at the iguana, who had made himself comfortable on the table, as far away from them as he could be.

“It’s not a matter of what he can do, but what he is. Iguanas of his species don’t usually live much longer than thirty years, fifty in captivity is pushing it but occasionally possible. He’s bigger than others of his species, though I’m not sure if that’s because of the quirk, like me, or his lifespan. He also doesn’t carry the bacteria that causes salmonella, which is why I let others touch him so freely. And, I mean, just look at him. He’s brimming with personality.”

Nikko stared at Bendelton, who sneezed and blinked one eye at a time slowly.

“Yeah…” he trailed off as an idea came to him. “What about you?”

“Me? I wouldn’t say I’m brimming with personality, I’m basically a hermit.”

“No, I mean, what if I wrote my paper on you? You’re a huge historical figure!”

“I mean, you could, but I doubt it would be as interesting as Bendelton.”

“I can’t interview Bendelton though, I don’t speak lizard.”

“That’s true…” Kenopsia muttered, then called a waiter over. The black and white-clad person scurried over quickly and seemed to revel in the quiet corner they had parked themselves in.

“Excuse me,” Kenopsia said, and the waiter startled at their polite tone. “Could we use your notepad and pen? Neither of us were expecting an interview tonight, but that’s where we seem to be heading.”

“Oh… but um… I need it for taking orders.” they looked back at the crowd reluctantly.

“No need.” Kenopsia waved their words away and guestured at Bendelton. “I forgot to bring Bendelton food, and I don’t want to get up, so you can just get him fruits and vegetables and feed him till we’re done. Plus, you look like you need a break.”

“I don’t think I can….”

“I’ll tip you, don’t worry.”

Nikko watched the exchange and tried very hard not to laugh in the poor waiter’s face, but they looked so relieved at Kenopsia’s request that it was a real struggle. They handed over their notepad and pen, then jogged to the salad bar to stack up on greens. Kenopsia handed their new supplies over to him and sat back expectantly.

“So? What kind of things do you need to write about?”

“I guess… start early? What was the world like when you were a kid?”

“When I was a kid huh? Hold on, let me think for a minute…” they leaned back and frowned as they rifled through three hundred years worth of experiences.

“I was born right when quirks started showing up, after the golden baby thing, so everything was pretty chaotic. Quirkless people were the majority, and those with quirks had a lot against them. Mine was pretty obvious, even as a child, so it was easy for me to become a target. The oppression of those with quirks didn’t let up for about a hundred years or so, you know, so there were people like me who died never knowing a more accepting world.”

The waiter came back and sat in the seat in front of Bendelton, already holding out some lettuce to him, but paused as they heard their story. Bendelton snatched the greens from their hand and they didn’t flinch, only grabbed some more food for him and mechanically handed it over as they listened intently to Kenopsia. Nikko had written only a few words before being sucked into the story.

“It’s why I wear the head covering. A hundred years of oppression can do strange things to your self worth, you know. I’m glad that things are better now, but I wish that people who died long ago could see what the world has become. It’s got its problems, but it’s much better.”

They glanced at Nikko, and he jolted and finished his sentence.

“I can’t say I remember much from that time. I was very young back then, and I faced a lot of trauma, so my memory decided I didn’t need to remember much of it. I remember getting my car, though, and getting the mortgage on my land. It took me about a hundred years to pay it off, but it was well worth it.”

“So, people say in the news and stuff that you’re like… a politician magnet and you can make or break people’s careers. How’s that?”

Kenopsia pulled a tight face and Nikko snorted.

“I don’t know. I decided to go live my life for a while and then reemerged and suddenly I was the oldest human alive on record. For some reason everyone thought that meant I had all powerful knowledge and made a big thing out of it and I haven’t been able to escape it since.”

Nikko couldn’t fight the grin on his face even if he tried. The tattoo on his cheek only smiled wider. “What do you think was the most important moment of your life?”

“Oh, pulling out the big guns now, are we?” they chuckled. “There’s a lot I could say, a lot you could look up and see news reports about, like when I spit on the president of the heroes association when it was first starting up, or when I got anxious, then drunk, and threw up on a super model’s shoes – which didn’t end her career, but the shoe designer’s, somehow. But I think the most important moment of my life was when I realized I was comfortable taking off my head coverings when I was alone. I spent a lot of time hating who I am. I played with gender to try to find something in me that I had overlooked, but it never helped to search for things that weren’t there. When I could look at myself fully and not hate what I saw? That was the turning point. And it happened one hundred and fifty years ago in the dead of winter when my solar power was out thanks to snow cover, and I had to do everything over an open flame. It was the hardest thing I put myself through and I came out better than before.”

“That’s beautiful…” the waiter murmured, starry-eyed.

“I think I can work with that.” Nikko said, quickly writing a few more notes. “Now,” he glanced up with a wicked spark in his eye. “What’s the juiciest gossip you have?”

—

Nearing the end of the night, Kenopsia bundled a sleeping Bendelton into their arms as Nikko checked his phone for the fifth time in the last three minutes. His frown grew as his tattoo started to look a bit panicked.

“You doing okay, Nikko?” they asked softly, though he still startled at the sound of their voice so close.

“My moms haven’t texted, they usually would have by now.”

“Did something happen?”

“They said they were staying home tonight, and I would have heard something from someone by now if something bad happened… I think they probably fell asleep.”

Kenopsia nodded sagely. “That’s understandable.” they paused a moment, then looked down at him softly. “Would you like a ride?”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t want to leave you here alone, not knowing if your moms were going to come get you.”

“I could just walk, we aren’t too far from my place.”

Kenopsia frowned. “It’s late, and dark. It’s not safe for someone so young to walk home alone, and it’s no trouble for me.”

Nikko couldn’t ignore the way they fidgeted with the cloth covering their head, and even he could realize that what they feared was not some super powered villain hurting him. It was quirkless people who had hurt them in their past. Suddenly their agoraphobia made a lot more sense.

And they were willing to stray further into the world to make sure he got home safe.

In that moment, Nikko’s heart felt full in a way that even his moms couldn’t cause. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, so he just nodded and let Kenopsia lead him out to their laughably small car. He crawled into the back as they buckled a still sleeping Bendelton into his booster seat, then got in on their side.

“Just point me in the right direction, I hardly know my way around this town.”

—

As they pulled up to a tattoo shop in a worn down neighborhood, Nikko fidgeted in his seat. Kenopsia looked at the shop then back at him quizzically.

“This shop?”

“We live in the apartment above it.” he replied, and didn’t look at them, instead staring up at a dim light in one of the windows above the shop.

“Oh. that’s handy.” they easily replied, and fully pulled over and got out, opening Nikko’s door for him. He gave them a suspicious look.

“What?”

“I’m your chauffeur. Like the fancy people at the galas we go to.”

He chuckled and moved to get out, watching his feet so he wouldn’t trip on the curb, but hesitated at a particular sight.

“Kenopsia.”

“Hmm?”

“Where are your shoes?”

They followed his gaze and flexed their toes – which might have been slightly webbed – then looked back at him.

“I don’t know what you mean. What shoes?”

He opened his mouth, then closed it. He had never looked at their feet before, he couldn’t prove they had been wearing shoes all evening, but they were at a gala. Shoes seemed like a mandatory part of the get up. At the same time, though, they showed up in sweats and a knit turtleneck sweater. In August.

“Have you been barefoot all night?”

Kenopsia smiled. “Nikko, every time we’ve met I’ve been barefoot.”

He couldn’t handle this information, so it was a relief when his moms ran out the front door, pulling their shoes on in a hurry, only to trip over each other when they saw him halfway out of Kenopsia’s car.

“Oh! Nikko sweetie, we’re sorry, we fell asleep while watching a movie, we didn’t realize how late it was!” they both hurried over, Akane helping him up onto the sidewalk, and Harumi running a soothing hand through his hair.

“It’s okay, I figured. Kenopsia gave me a ride.”

“Wha-” both women looked to the side, only then fully realizing who had brought him home. They were stooped to peer into the window of their car, checking on Bendelton, who was still very much asleep. When they noticed the women’s eyes on them, they stood and nodded at them.

“Hello.”

Harumi carefully stepped around Nikko with a smile as Akane took Nikko by the shoulders to look him in the eye.

“You were serious about meeting them?” she asked him. “I thought you just saw them from across the room or something.”

“What? No, I told you we played cards.”

Akane looked about ready to keel over and die.

Harumi held a gentle hand out to Kenopsia, who took it hesitantly.

“It is so nice to meet you, Thank you so much for bringing Nikko home! My name is Sawaya Harumi, and that’s my wife, Sawaya Akane. Is there anything we can do to return the favor?”

Kenopsia quickly pulled their hand back and stared at her, clearly startled. “Favor? What? No, no, it’s fine, don’t worry about me.”

Akane finally stepped forward. “Please, it’s our pleasure. We’d hate for Nikko to cause you trouble for nothing.”

Kenopsia frowned and shook their head rapidly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Nikko is a delight.”

His moms gave each other startled looks, which only made Kenopsia more visibly upset.

“Do you not think he’s a good kid?”

Harumi sniffed, then smiled. The sudden show of such a soft emotion made Kenopsia take a shaky step back. “No, he is, he really is, we just aren’t used to anyone else saying so.”

“No one but us and our customers put up with him, and our customers aren’t exactly the most upstanding bunch in the eyes of society.”

Kenopsia clicked their tongue and rolled their eyes. “Right. Society. You know, there’s a reason I separated myself from that two hundred years ago.”

Akane grinned at the distaste in their tone, and Nikko pulled on her sleeve. One didn’t have to look at his tattoo to see that he seemed entirely disgruntled with the situation.

“Mom, I’m tired, let’s just go inside. They need to go home too.”

“Just a second, Nikko.” she said, much in the same way a mother would say she’s almost done shopping when she hasn’t even made it through half the store.

Harumi wiped at her eyes. “Would you like to come in for tea?”

“Mom, it’s like eleven at night!”

“I really should go, it’s a long drive home. Thank you for the offer though. And Nikko, I wanna read that report when you’re done with it. Bring it to the next party.”

“Report?” Harumi asked. “What report?”

Nikko curled in on himself and nodded minutely at Kenopsia before kicking at the sidewalk.

“Report for history. Kenopsia helped with it and stuff. Can we fucking go in now?”

“Language, young man.” Akane lightly scolded and he rolled his eyes, finally deciding to just head inside without his mothers.

Harumi watched him go for a moment, then turned to Kenopsia. “Thank you.”

“I told you, it wasn’t any trouble.”

“I mean,” she looked to the side and scratched her head. “There’s not a lot of adults who give him the time of day. It’s good for him to have someone older than him who treats him well. We and the others at the shop do our best, but it just hits differently when the person who says you’re good didn’t also raise you, you know?”

Kenopsia shuffled in place. “I wouldn’t, to tell you the truth. Family is a bit forgien to me. But I understand your sentiment.”

Akane wrapped an arm around her wife’s shoulders and chuckled. “When Nikko came home asking to open a bank account of his own we were kinda shocked. Figured he took the money from some rich kids with a checkbook, but did you really give him 10,000 yen that first gala?”

They blinked slowly. “No,” the women gave them surprised looks. “He won it fair and square. I didn’t just give it to him. He also won the other 30,000.”

“The what?” Harumi gasped. “He didn’t tell us about that!”

They laughed. “Well I guess he wouldn’t have to, if he already had his account set up. He’s good at poker. It makes these galas worth going to.” they looked up to the windows above the shop and smiled. “He’s a very good kid.”

The mothers stared at Kenopsia in shock. When they noticed their stares, they just shrugged and waved. “It was nice to meet you, but I really ought to go. Nikko is giving us the stink eye from the window up there.” they gestured to a dark window. “And I have to trim my peonies tomorrow.”

As they drove off, Akane and Harumi waved and gave each other looks of equal delight and confusion.

Who would have thought that their delinquent son would make a friend out of an immortal gardener.

—

Something was slowly creeping in the air. Cold northern winds drifted through Kenopsia’s woods, coming off the ocean from the other edge of their property. Something about the cliffs that left them towering over the sea made the ocean wind breeze right to them without fail, telling their senses all they needed to know about coming changes.

It’d be hunting season soon.

—

Kenopsia had scrounged around their closest to find the ancient poker chips and card deck they now sported as they walked into the party. It had been a week since they had last seen Nikko, and knowing he’d be here added a little pep in their step.

They were stopped on the way in by one of the greeters, who looked vaguely familiar, but they couldn’t pin down the blond man.

“Mx. Kenopsia, I’m so glad I caught you.” he said, a little bit out of breath. Had they really been walking so fast, or was it just their long legs? “Do you remember me?” 

He seemed to catch on to the blank look they gave him. They shook their head to make sure their message was properly sent.

“I, um, I was working as a greeter at the gala for Mr. Kenzou a long while ago. My name is Fubuki Yuuma. My daughter-”

Oh! They did remember the little girl who took an interest in Bendelton! Of course they did. This must have been her father.

“Yes, Makoto, I remember her. Sweet girl. How is she?”

“She- erm, yeah, she’s wonderful. She stayed home to study for a test tonight… But that’s not the point. I wanted to apologize for my behavior when we first met. I was snappy with Makoto and you handled the situation so much better.”

Kenopsia could sort of remember him being stern, but really the only thing they remembered from the encounter was the gleam in Makoto’s eyes when she pet Bendelton.

“I have a lot more patience for children than I do for adults.” they finally said.

“And I respect that. I shouldn’t have snapped like that, it’s been eating at me for over a year that you thought I was like that all the time… I just had been pulling back to back shifts at the hospital and still didn’t have rent money, and couldn’t pay for a sitter and-”

“Did you explain that to Makoto, and apologize to her for snapping?”

They didn’t mind this man, they hardly even remembered him being rude. But has it really been over a year? How long had it been, exactly? They still thought Nikko was thirteen, like when they first met him. He likely wasn’t, anymore.

“I- of course I did! She’s my little princess, she means the world to me, as soon as you left I realized what I had done had upset her and apologized, I just-”

“Then it’s fine, and I forgive you. It was your daughter you hurt, not me, and you apologized for your behavior to the person who mattered.” they smiled. He stared up at them in shock. “That shows that you know how to be a good parent. Taking responsibility is something many parents forget to teach, but you clearly have it figured out.”

“Thank you, Mx. Kenopsia, that means the world to me.”

They eyed him up and down for a moment, then laid a hand on his shoulder. “When does your shift end?”

“In about an hour, why?”

“If you aren’t busy, come find me inside. You can play a few rounds with us.” they held up the poker kit, and his eyes widened.

“Oh, no, I don’t gamble Mx-”

“Just Kenopsia, please. And you don’t need to bet anything if you don’t want to, we just play to pass the time. It might be a nice way to relax after all this greeting you have to do.”

He laughed. “I’ll think about it. Thank you, M- uh, Kenopsia.”

They nodded and headed into the gala proper.

—

Knowing that they’d be settled somewhere for a long while this time, they stopped at the snack table to fill a few bowls with fruits and greens for Bendelton, who was already shuffling in excitement at the sight of the food. They glanced at the meat based treats for themself, but the scent of processed food didn’t sit well with them. They were far too used to eating what they grew, that corporation-made food, even “all natural” stuff didn’t always agree with them. In small amounts it was alright, but as long as they ate breakfast, they’d be fine all day.

Their height was an advantage as they scoured the party for their friend. There were a few silver heads of hair in the crowd, but none were Nikko, so they edged to the sides of the room where more tables sat, and found the boy as far back as he could be, slumped far down in his seat. It was a blessing they always wound up being late to these things; he was always around by the time they got there.

He perked up a bit as they approached, and moved a sheet of paper into his lap. Maybe he was working on some homework.

“Could I feed Bendelton?” he asked in lew of a greeting, making grabby hands at one of the bowls of fruit. They handed him the strawberries, set the greens on the table in front of him, then leaned down to let Bendelton onto the table. He sniffed the greens then turned his attention to Nikko and the plump strawberry he was holding out.

Kenopsia took a moment to stretch their shoulders before setting the poker kit out of the way on the table and sitting next to Nikko. He eyed the game, but they stopped him before he could try to start a match.

“First thing’s first, I wanna see your report. You got it?”

His shoulders slumped.

“I don’t think you want to.”

“Nonsense. Of course I wanna read what you have to say about me. I don’t mind a good roast every now and then.”

He snorted and slowly took the paper out of his lap. It was actually a five page packet, and it was covered in red pen marks.

“I’m not gonna read the edits, I like cold reads.” they said as he handed it over, and he nodded.

They spent the next few minutes in silence as Nikko tried to teach Bendelton tricks with strawberries as rewards, and Kenopsia read his report. They chuckled a few times, which made him smile, but no words were exchanged.

But there was something enchanting about a report that started with “the world’s only immortal is not as good at poker as you may think” and Kenopsia hung on every word, even the ones that described their painful early years. He had put focus into detailing their car, citing evidence he had seen first hand, and had even included a very brief bibliography with them as a first hand source.

And then they looked at the grade on the last page.

A big red F was circled, with a paragraph from the teacher underneath it that essentially called Nikko a liar, and accused him of disrespecting “one of the world’s oldest, wisest minds.”

“I’m keeping this.” they finally said, making Nikko jolt in his seat.

“What?”

“I’m keeping this. I love it. I’m going to hang it on my fridge.” they smiled at him and clutched it to their chest. “In a couple years I’m gonna make you write my biography and it’ll sell out in minutes.”

“I got an F on it though. I got written up for not taking the assignment seriously and…” he trailed off and looked so incredibly sad in that moment that Kenopsia wondered how they had missed his mood before.

“What is it, Nikko?”

“My moms tried to fight for me, now that they met you too, but the school didn’t take them seriously either and now… ugh. Next week I’m suspended, and my absence is gonna affect my grade and I probably won’t pass my class because of it. I’m supposed to be getting ready for high school, but if I don’t pass this class I’ll be the only sixteen year old in junior high!”

“I’m sorry, Nikko.”

“I just keep fucking up and it gets my moms in trouble! I hate it!” he cried out, tugging at his hair. “I don’t know what to fucking do anymore! I’m fifteen, I shouldn’t be causing my moms so much trouble….”

“Your performance in school is not a reflection of who you are, Nikko. I need you to know that. Hell, I’m a middle school dropout.”

He looked up at them in shock. His tattoo was crying angry tears.

“I was not able to continue school thanks to how I was perceived with my quirk. My family disowned me early on, and I wound up working on a farm for years before I was able to buy my property and hide away. I don’t like thinking about those years, but I do know that I was worth far more than what my teachers thought I was.”

Nikko nodded slowly.

“Don’t let your teachers bully you. The reason you got an F on this is because your teacher only knows an idealized version of me that does not exist. You know me far better than any reporter out there does, and don’t forget it.”

He nodded more firmly. “Thanks Kenopsia.”

“Glad that’s settled. Wanna play? I found some chips, and stopped by the bank to get some actual cash this time.”

“Oh, hell yeah!” Nikko cheered. “I still have stuff I took from rich kids at other parties, so you might be getting your first phone, old timer!”

They chuckled and pulled the poker kit closer as they gently folded the report and stuffed it into their pocket. That was something to deal with later. For now they just wanted to get this boy smiling properly again.

—

“Okay, fine, I fucking fold!” Nikko grumbled as he put his cards down. Kenopsia smirked as they pulled the chips in the center of the table towards them. Thanks to Nikko’s odd assortment of betting objects, they had assigned his chips various other meanings beyond yen. One of the ones they now had in hand was labeled “Lim. Ed. Worm on String” with black sharpie. They had no clue what it meant, but they were so entranced with the label they decided it was worth it to not bet it further.

“You’ll get it next time, Nikko.” they chided, which only made him huff in indignation and throw a poker chip at them.

“Oh, um, am I interrupting something?” a meek voice asked from behind them. Kenopsia looked up and found the man they had invited to play earlier.

“What do you want?” Nikko snapped. “We’re busy.”

“You’re not interrupting at all, you can join us if you’d like.”

“Kenopsia!” Nikko kicked them under the table and they smiled.

“Nikko, I invited him to play with us earlier. It’s alright.”

Nikko’s scowl did not let up but he did sit back and avoided glaring directly at the man, who tentatively sat down.

“I thought when you said you were playing it’d be with more than two people.”

“Well, Bendelton was playing too but he just keeps showing his cards. It’s a really bad play.” Kenopsia pointed across the table where Bendelton was laying on the table with two cards face up in front of him. He was licking the bowl that once held his strawberries, trying to get to the last bits of juice.

“Ah. Oh.” he said. “Would it really be okay if I played without betting?”

“Are you kidding me?” Nikko snapped. “Kenopsia, who is this clown? Listen bud, we play for keeps here, and if you aren’t willing to-”

“It’s fine.” Kenopsia smiled and kicked Nikko’s foot. “It’ll be a fun story to tell Makoto.”

“Who?” Nikko asked, not happy about being both ignored and out of the loop.

“My daughter, Makoto.” his eyes lit up as he mentioned her. “I think she would get a kick out of me playing poker with you and a… twelve year old.”

“Hey, I’m fifteen! And I’m still not convinced I’ll let you play. Kenopsia can’t boss me around!”

“Mr. Fubuki, please excuse us for a second, I need to convince my friend to stop being a wuss.”

“Oh, sure. And um, you can call me Yuuma.”

Kenopsia stood, pulled Nikko away from the table, and kneeled down in front of him. “I know that you like our games, but this could help him out. I’m only asking for one game.”

Nikko crossed his arms and huffed. “It’s our thing. You can’t just invite randos into it without asking.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask you first, and I’m sorry for disregarding your complaints. Wanna voice them all now?”

“Well to start, I don’t know this guy, and I’m not comfortable with him betting nothing then getting our stuff if he wins!”

They nodded. “I was going to throw the game, so I understand that concern.”

“You what?”

“He’s a struggling father, probably single, and raising a girl a few years younger than you. I don’t think he’s the type to take charity, so I was going to let him win it. It’d be nice if you could go along with it.”

Nikko looked over their shoulder at the man, who was holding his hand out tentatively to Bendelton. The iguana nudged his fingers and he jolted in surprise before a soft smile spread across his freckled face. Nikko sighed.

“Only if you promise to ask me first next time.”

They smiled and nodded. “Of course. I was a dick to not do that in the first place.”

“Yeah, you were. Now let’s go throw a match. But I’m not giving him good stuff.”

“Of course you’re not. I’m the one with the worm right now.”

Nikko laughed as they walked back. Yuuma looked relieved to hear he was in better spirits. His smile faded when Nikko sat down and turned to him, though.

“Alright old man, I’m gonna wreck your shit. You better be as good at poker as this wind bag over here, or else I’m not betting shit.”

“Check all you want, boy,” Kenopsia said as they sat down. “You know our deal. The more null coins you put in, the more chores you have to do at home.”

Nikko flushed and rounded on them. “Don’t bring that up!”

“Did you tell your mothers about our betting pool, or are they just wondering about your sudden ability to help around the house? Maybe I should take you home again so I can ask them myself.”

At the mention of his parents, Nikko sunk a little lower in his seat. Yuuma watched the banter with wide eyes. He’d take notes, but Nikko was nothing like his daughter. He suspected he wouldn’t have to deal with an angry delinquent in the coming years.

“They still wanna have tea with you, so do whatever.” he muttered. He caught Yuuma watching them and scowled. “Whatever! Just deal the cards so I can beat this loser!”

Kenopsia gathered the cards and slid a stack of white chips over to Yuuma. He spluttered and tried to hand them back but they wouldn’t have it.

“We play by our own rules. White chips are null. Red are Nikko’s, which he labels with items he’s putting up for bets, blue is a hundred yen, black is a thousand.”

“Null?”

“For Nikko he has to do a chore per null chip he bets, but I figure you already do a lot of chores, so we can figure out what you want to do afterwards.”

“You don’t have any nulls though.” he said, glancing at their pile of blue, black, and red chips.

“I’m just not a wuss and I have money to spare.”

Nikko glowered at them. “I’m not a fucking wuss.”

They just smiled and started handing out cards. Despite his insistence to not play, they still placed two cards in front of Bendelton.

“Everybody look at your cards,” they said, waiting for Nikko and Yuuma to take a glance, then set out the starting three in the middle of the table.

“Yuuma, you make the first bet.”

The man glanced between his cards and the flop, then placed a single white chip into the pot.

—

Kenopsia had folded fairly early in the game, and now acted solely as the dealer. Nikko was clearly still putting up a fight, though, as he kept adding more null chips to the pot. Kenopsia kept quiet, but tallied them up in their head with a smirk.

At the very least, Yuuma seemed to finally be enjoying himself. He had loosened up a few rounds ago, and even sent a scathing remark Nikko’s way at one point. Although, he had profusely apologized afterward and ruined the effect.

But Nikko was running low on white chips, and with a quick glance at Kenopsia, he sunk in his seat slightly. Maybe he had briefly forgotten their plan, but he wasn’t about to go out peacefully.

He glanced at his hand, his chips, and the flop in rapid succession, then threw himself back against the chair and groaned dramatically.

“Motherfuck, this is way too risky! God damn old man, you’re a beast. There’s no way I’m gonna let you play with us again, you’re gonna rob us out of house and home if you keep this up!”

Yuuma seemed confused at the little tantrum. It wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the others Kenopsia had seen from their one on one games, though.

“Are you folding, Nikko?”

He threw his cards face down on the table and grumbled out a “yeah whatever.”

Yuuma suddenly stared at the pot as if he hadn’t looked at it all game. His eyes grew wide at the many black and blue chips Kenopsia had dropped in. He looked up at them, panicked.

“There’s no way I can take all that from you.” he said as Kenopsia separated Nikko’s white chips from his. They already knew exactly how much money was in the pot, they just hadn’t focused on counting his nulls.

“I thought Nikko told you earlier. We play for keeps. If you don’t take it, it’s like a spit in the face to us. We worked hard to defend ourselves to the best of our ability, but you won it fair and square.”

“But I didn’t bet anything.”

“That’s not true. What do you think his Nulls should count for, Nikko?”

“How about how many dicks he has to suck?”

Yuuma made an odd choking sound deep in his throat.

“No, that’s boring.” Kenopsia sighed, and tapped the table a few times. “How about good deeds? Doesn’t have to be anything huge, just doing a good thing for someone else for each chip? You bet twenty three, that’s twenty three good deeds.”

“I…”

“Think of it as payment for the deeds. We work on an honor system, so you don’t need to prove anything, and you keep the pot.”

“This is so much though.”

“Maybe your first good deed could be getting something special for Makoto with the money.”

That shook him out of his reluctance. He slowly nodded and Kenopsia pulled out their checkbook.

—

As they bid their goodbyes to Yuuma, Kenopsia yawned and stretched.

“What do you say to leaving early?”

“And doing what?” Nikko asked as he messed with the chips, now stacked neatly into the kit.

“I was thinking of taking your moms up on that tea offer.”

“It’s only like two hours into the party, the sun’s probably barely starting to set.”

“Better for tea, then. I can drive. And I don’t like this party anyways. I don’t even know who the host is. I just came to read your report.”

Nikko pulled out his phone and stood, texting. He was likely telling his moms the change of plans.

“Fine, but if you guys only talk about stupid adult stuff I’m gonna just hang out in my room”

—

Harumi was waiting outside the shop for them as they pulled up and greeted them with a soft smile. The sun was just hitting the horizon line, and tinted the street with a warm orange light that suited the mother perfectly.

“Akane is with a customer right now, but I can take you through to the apartment.” she said as they approached. Kenopsia nodded and smiled, and Nikko rolled his eyes.

“Who’s in? A regular?”

“It’s Hebiki. She’s getting the color done on her shoulder piece.”

Nikko smiled and took no time to walk into the shop to greet who Kenopsia figured was a regular customer. Harumi held the door open for them and they had to duck a bit to enter.

There was a woman with snowy hair and a very lizard-like head covered in opalescent scales at one of the tattoo stations, with Akane working on her shoulder. Though her arms still very much had scales, they were smaller, more closely packed in than the ones on her head, and made it easier to receive a tattoo, as was evident by the packed sleeves she already bore. She offered a sharp smile to Nikko as he walked up to her, but the second Kenopsia came forward, she tensed, and her slitted pupils went as thin as needles.

“Hebiki, you need to relax. You’re gonna mess me up.” Akane said without looking up. However, her words did not sooth the woman, and when she pulled the tattooing gun away, Hebiki bolted from the chair to press herself against the wall, not taking her eyes off Kenopsia for a second.

They disregarded her, as they instead idly looked around the shop and admired the art examples.

“Who the hell is that?” Hebiki hissed, literally.

“That’s Kenopsia,” Nikko said. “Are you okay? I thought you always boasted about not being afraid of anything.”

Pleased with their adventure around the small shop, Kenopsia came up behind Nikko, laid a hand on his shoulder, and finally noted the woman who seemed to be trying to climb the wall to get away from them.

“Oh, that’s just a natural reaction to me. She has a reptile based quirk, right?”

Nikko glanced up at them, confused.

“Animals are better at picking up subtle hints of danger within an individual. It’s lost a bit in quirks, but so far every person with an animal quirk has been wary of me. Especially so if it’s reptilian.”

“But, why?”

Kenopsia took a bit of mercy on Hebiki by taking some steps away, and the woman relaxed slightly. It didn’t help that Bendelton was watching her intently in case she turned violent. “They can pick up on my quirk. It’s powerful, and it scares them.”

Harumi quickly came forward and gently tugged on their sweater. “Let’s get you upstairs, I’m sure Hebiki would like to get finished and go home soon.”

They nodded and let her lead them up a flight of stairs to the above apartment. Nikko followed hesitantly.

Harumi had already set up a tea set in their living room. The small, cozy room was filled with the mild smell of jasmine tea, and a soft music Kenopsia didn’t recognize was playing in the background.

“Akane should be done in an hour if you want to stick around for a while.” she said as she sat down at the table and poured them a cup of tea. They sat across from her and smiled.

“I would have spent hours at the gala with Nikko anyways, I don’t mind spending a long time in a better environment.” they glanced at the doorway, where Nikko still stood. “Do you want to join us, or are you afraid we’re gonna talk about boring adult stuff?”

He frowned and shuffled on his feet, but didn’t come closer. Before Kenopsia could ask if he was alright, though, he spoke up. “What, exactly, is your quirk? I looked it up, but there’s no straight answers anywhere.”

“Looked it up for your report?” they asked with a tilt of their head, and he nodded.

“I know the records for the early days of quirks kinda sucked, so it didn’t bother me much, but with Hebiki….”

“Perceived risk is not the same as true risk, Nikko. Many people think there’s a lot of risk with swimming in the ocean because of shark attacks. But it’s more likely to be struck by lightning than being hurt by a shark. What you saw down there was someone running on base instinctual perceived risk.”

“But Hebiki doesn’t get scared. So I wanna know what made her like that.” he snapped.

“Nikko, that’s no way to talk to a friend.” Harumi scolded.

“It’s alright.” Kenopsia said, then turned back to Nikko and stood. “I told you it was easy for others to see my quirk back then. Even if I was covered up with sweaters, it’s difficult to hide this kind of thing.”

They reached to the back of their neck, with a little difficulty because of Bendelton, and loosened the drawstring that kept their head covering on. It fell to the floor, revealing their dark blue fins. The appendages reached to their knees and quivered. Even if Kenopsia was comfortable with having the covering down at home, taking it off around others still left them anxious, and it made them tremble. The yellow spines of the fins caught the light in a way that might have been pretty, if they weren’t so nervous. Nikko’s eyebrows raised, but beyond that, he didn’t react, so they let out a shaky breath and rolled up one of their baggy sleeves. Similarly colored fins ran up the length of their outer arm, and pale blue-green scales lined their inner arm. It only served to make their long nails look more like claws.

“I know that quirks have evolved a lot in the centuries since I was born, and that there’s plenty of people who look more monstrous than me. I know there’s a hero out there who looks more whale than man. But as far as I’m aware, I was the first to have a mutation quirk quite this striking, and it gained me no favors. The fact that it’s only the surface of the quirk, and that my true quirk is that I turn into a large serpent, well…” they shrugged, and let their sleeve fall back into place. “Old habits die hard, and there was a time when all people, not just those with animal quirks, regarded me the same way Hebiki did just now.”

“Sure. but how does that make people with animal quirks scared of you?”

“Animal instincts. I suspect that they can sense, on some subliminal level, that I turn into a serpent of unusual size, and carnivorous things that are bigger than you are often a threat. Does it matter that the only meat I eat is certain sea life? It doesn’t seem so.”

Nikko looked them up and down, gave a short glare, then shrugged. “Alright. I believe you.”

“Your tea is getting cold, Kenopsia. Come on, sit down.” Harumi said.

“Oh, right.” they sat back down and rifled with their head covering until they were able to pull it back up over their fins. “What strain of Jasmine tea is this? It’s fantastic.”

“I don’t know strain names, but I got it from a neighbor down the street. He pays for some of his tattoos with his homegrown tea and vegetables.”

“That’s the ideal system.” Kenopsia nodded and breathed in the flowery aroma of the tea. The glands behind their ears alighted at the light scent and helped to calm their nerves. “I’ve always thought money was a chore. Trade and barter is a better system all around.”

“Is this seriously what you guys are going to talk about?” Nikko huffed.

“You don’t have to join us, Nikko. Sometimes I want to talk about the economy with your mom.”

He scoffed, stood, and wandered down the hall to his room, but not without a friendly middle finger tossed over his shoulder as he left. Harumi sighed at his actions, but Kenopsia just watched him go fondly, then turned back to her.

“I’m sorry about him.” she said.

“No apologies needed. I know what makes him tick by now, and I wanted him out of the room, at least for a bit. I need to talk to you without him.”

Harumi raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. “Oh? What is it?”

Kenopsia took the slightly crumpled report from their pocket. No amount of poker games could lift the weight it left in their pocket. Harumi’s face fell at the sight of the paper.

“He didn’t do anything wrong…” she whispered. “His teacher just wouldn’t listen to reason. She said we were just taking his side because he’s our son, but we don’t do that. If he had written lies we would be on her side.”

“I know. It’s not fair.” Kenopsia scowled at the many red notes the teacher had left on Nikko’s work. “I think the only way she’d understand is if she heard it straight from the serpent’s mouth.”

“What? Wait, are you-”

“I want to confront her tomorrow. It’s Friday tomorrow, school will be in session, right? I want to go talk to her and set things right. I came by for tea so I could get the address of the school.”

Harumi’s face lit up and if it weren’t for the table between them, Kenopsia was sure she would have thrown herself at them from the relief in her body language. “Kenopsia, you are a blessing, no one else has ever done this for him, it’ll mean the world to us all.”

Akane entered the room, wiping her hands on a washcloth. “Hebiki’s gonna finish her tat next week, she was too freaked out by Kenopsia to relax. Still got her down payment though. Is that Jasmine?”

“I’m sorry about scaring her.” Kenopsia said as Akane plopped down at the table and pressed a kiss to Harumi’s cheek.

“It’s fine, she’s a regular so we aren’t gonna lose her altogether.” her eyes trailed down to the paper in Kenopsia’s hand and she frowned.

“Sweetie, Kenopsia wants to confront Nikko’s teacher about the grade, and fight to change it and Nikko’s suspension.”

Akane’s eyes grew wide and she whipped her head around to stare at them. They scratched at their stubble and chuckled.

“I’ve never been a fan of school, but I see that it’s important. I don’t like seeing Nikko so upset, and I won’t stand for someone calling him a liar for spreading my truths. I was just asking where his school is so I could pay the school a visit.”

“I’ll do you one better.” Akane said with a smirk. “Come here tomorrow at noon, and I’ll take you to the school. We don’t have any appointments for two hours, and his History class is after lunch. I want to see you tear into that bitch.”

They gave her a smirk. “Deal. I’d probably get lost if I went on my own anyways.”

—

After plans were settled, they talked for a bit to lighten the mood. However, conversation didn’t flow easily between them all. Kenopsia knew how to talk to Nikko, what they could get away with and what lines they couldn’t cross. But with his mothers, it felt a bit more awkward. Nikko had a temperament like Akane, and they could read his emotions as easily as they could read Harumi, but adults were scary to interact with, especially when they cared about upsetting them. A simple poker game won’t always fix turbulent relations with adults like it does for Nikko.

After one particularly long silence between the three, Kenopsia sighed and stood.

“I should head home, thank you for the tea and your hospitality.”

“More like hospitali-tea, am I right?” Harumi asked with a grin. Akane covered her eyes in exasperation but she couldn’t hide the soft smile that crossed her lips. Kenopsia chuckled.

“I’m just going to say goodnight to Nikko. I wouldn’t want him thinking I left without saying goodbye.”

“His room is down the hall on the right. You can’t miss it.” Akane said over her shoulder as she moved to torment her wife for making her stupid pun. Kenopsia left with no regard for the teary cackles from Harumi as she pleaded for Akane to stop tickling her.

Nikko’s door was decorated with drawings he likely had done himself, as well as a name plate, much to their relief. They didn’t want to wind up in a bathroom or something.

They gently knocked on the door and waited until a soft “yeah?” sounded from within the room.

Nikko looked up as they creaked the door open, slid inside, and left the door open a crack. They glanced around the room, taking note of the drawings on the desk and the stack of fancy letters piling out of one of his drawers. It seemed he really did get invited to every party in town now. They wondered how many he actually went to.

“You good, Kenopsia?” he asked, staring up at them from where he sat on the end of his bed. “You’re zoning out.”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m heading out. I’ve got a busy day tomorrow, and need to get up early, and I don’t want to take up your family’s time.”

“My moms love you, Kenopsia, I can assure you, you’re not bothering us.”

“I know. But I’m not good at talking to adults. It’s much easier to get to know someone through a poker game than through conversation.” they smiled at him, and he ducked his head. He fiddled with something he was holding in his lap, and they came a bit closer to get a look at what it was.

It was his suspension slip. Signed by both his teacher and the principal. It had been crumpled and smoothed out several times until the paper was soft and delicate. They let out a deep breath through their nose.

“You are not a disappointment to your mothers. That’s apparent in how highly they speak of you. You’re pretty much the only thing we could think to talk about.”

He scoffed. “Losers.”

“Scoff all you want, you aren’t going to escape your mother’s love.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Then why do I feel like I make things worse for them at every turn?”

“Because that’s what children do. If someone wants an easy life, they don’t have kids in the first place. Raising another human to be their best self takes time, effort, and hard work. Even then, they aren’t going to turn out how you pictured. You’re going to fuck up a lot of times in your life. Now, when you’re young, is the best time to learn how to take those failures, and turn them into learning experiences. Your mothers are here to help guide you through that, and it is not trouble for them, because they care about you.”

“And what about you?” he asked quietly, giving them pause. As his words sunk in, they softened immensely and made a quiet cooing sound in the back of their throat. They dropped to a knee and held their arms out to offer Nikko some obviously much needed comfort. It didn’t take him long at all to bolt into their arms and tuck his head under their chin, letting out a few sniffles as he went.

“Oh, Nikko, of course I care about you. You’re my party buddy.”

His hands gripped onto their sweater, balling it into his fists. Luckily it was baggy enough that they had plenty of fabric to spare. They wrapped one arm around his shoulders, and the other threaded through his hair gently.

“You’re only fifteen, you don’t need the weight of the world on your shoulders. Let the adults sort things out for you, just for a little while.”

He nodded, sniffed, and nuzzled the top of his head into their chin. They clutched him a bit tighter before letting him go.

“I do need to go, though.”

He grabbed at their sleeve, halting them as they went to stand. “What’s the next gala you’re going to? I like taking stuff from rich kids and all, but it gets boring without you.”

They grinned, and ruffled his silvery hair. “Two weeks from tomorrow, at the crown point hotel. But don’t worry, Nikko, you’ll see me again sooner than you may think. Time passes quickly for someone with three hundred years on them.”

—

They were running a bit late the next day. Bendelton scurried away from them anytime they got close enough to pick him up. They had already wasted fifteen minutes chasing him around the kitchen, and he had now somehow managed to wedge himself behind the fridge. He always acted like this as it grew closer to hunting season. It was likely only a few days away, and their body was preparing for the event. Bendelton always noted the changes before them, and he didn’t like it one bit.

At ten past eleven, they finally rose from trying to get the iguana, hands firmly on their hips and nose in the air. For a moment, the scales hidden under their scruff seemed more vibrant, like a show of aggression, and Bendelton cowered deeper back against the wall.

“Fine, I see what fifty years of trust does for you.” they growled. “It’s not like you help me in social situations. I’ll just go, and Akane can be my moral support.”

Bendelton did not reply, just stared at them and gave a threatened head bob. Kenopsia sighed, dropped their hands, and grabbed what they’d need for the day. It had been a long time since they’d last gone out with the intent to yell at someone.

—

Akane quirked an eyebrow at them when she answered the door. Perhaps because they lacked a certain friend, but the odd glance she gave them and the door said maybe she wasn’t used to people knocking to be let into a store. Either way, she only chose to comment on one of the two.

“No Bendelton? Nikko says he’s always with you.”

“He was being a brat today.” they said with no further explanation. They rubbed at their neck, uncomfortable. Without twenty pounds of lizard on their shoulders, they felt like they could float away. It had been years since the last time they went out without him somewhere nearby.

Akane just nodded, and they were relieved that she didn’t pressure more information out of them. She just grabbed a purse off the counter inside, pulled on her walking shoes, and closed the shop door behind herself.

“Harumi’s upstairs, and our neighbors keep an eye on the shop, so I’m not worried about locking up.” she said, and started walking. With no other choice, Kenopsia followed after her, leaving with an inquisitive glance at their car.

She must have noticed their confusion. “It’s easier to take the train, there’s a stop a block away, and I don’t want to stress you out with driving around. If you stress out, I’ll probably stress out, and then we’ll be stressing each other out, and that’s no fun.”

Her thinking was pretty sound.

“If everything goes right, we’ll get there near the end of lunch. We’ll need to check in with the principal first though.”

“I don’t know much about modern schools, so I’ll trust you.” Kenopsia said, and Akane laughed.

—

The principal was built like a bear, but had the personality of a goldfish. Akane had gone into his office first, at her own insistence, and Kenopsia listened in on the conversation from the otherside of the door. The secretary behind the desk a few feet away from them hunched over her paperwork and tried very hard not to be noticed.

“Mrs. Sawaya, as I told you on the phone, there is nothing I can do about your son.”

“You’re accusing him of something he didn’t do, though!”

“How so? Is your delinquent of a son somehow on real speaking terms with the oldest person alive? How does that work? Mrs. Sawaya, what he wrote can’t be backed up, and Kenopsia has never been forthcoming in interviews. He was disrespectful, not only to Kenopsia, but to his teacher, for thinking she would let something like that slide.”

Akane stuttered out an angry response, and Kenopsia had enough. A hiss rose from their throat and they slammed the door open.

“The only disrespect here is you speaking of me as if you know me.”

The principal jumped at the sight of them towering over him, and Akane moved aside to let them approach the man. It was obvious that he was used to being the tallest in the room, and Kenopsia’s seven-plus feet were a threat to that.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” he asked.

They slammed Nikko’s report down on his desk. “You sit here and allow your teacher to call my words lies? Nikko interviewed me himself, he wrote my life as well as he could, and you tell him he’s lying, just because it doesn’t match your idea of me?”

His eyes darted between the paper and their seething face, and he gulped anxiously. He managed to look behind them, at Akane, but she just folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

“Y-you really do know Sawaya Nikko?”

They leaned down to hiss right in his face, not liking the doubtful tone in his voice. “He is the only person I have come to respect in one hundred years, so you better get up and take me to that teacher of his who decided to suspend him for writing the truth.”

He fumbled to get out of his seat, then darted to the door and held it open for them both. The secretary jumped and hid behind her computer as they marched through the front office and down the hall to Nikko’s classroom.

Upon reaching the classroom, Kenopsia went to open the sliding door, but the principal stopped them with a clammy hand on their wrist. Though he cowered at the sight of their canines growing longer and sharper, he did not let go.

“Please, Mx. Kenopsia, allow me to go in and get her. I wouldn’t want you to scare the kids.”

They glared at him, but stepped back to stand beside Akane as he slipped inside. Akane glanced up at them and nudged their arm with her elbow until they looked down at her.

“You good?”

“Oh, yes.” they glanced at the door, then back at her with a sharp grin. “It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to do something like this. I forgot how fun it is.”

Akane stared up at them with wide eyes, then chuckled in disbelief. “No wonder Nikko took such a shining to you. You’re just like the folk who come in to get tattoos.”

Their grin fell easily away as the door slid open again.

—

Nikko had been staring out the window when the principal slunk into the classroom. He hadn’t noticed, until the room had gone dead silent. Afraid that he had somehow messed something up, he glanced to the front of the class, only to see the principal sweating bullets and his history teacher looking at him like he was crazy. She glanced to the class, raised an eyebrow, and sighed as she allowed the principal to lead her out of the classroom.

“Nobody move, I’m just stepping out for a moment.” she said before stepping out.

Her order was entirely disregarded the moment the yelling started.

Though muffled, someone was obviously yelling at her and the principal. It took all of two seconds for the whole class to dart to the row of windows that faced into the hall, and pile on top of each other to peek out the small openings they made, as to not be noticed.

Nikko, of course, joined in. He managed to get in front of a few others to get a good look, and gasped at the sight.

His mom, leaning against the wall watched smugly as Kenopsia, looking entirely enraged, yelled his teacher and principal’s ears off.

“What makes you think you know more about me than I do?” Kenopsia snapped.

“Oh shit, Ms. Masami’s getting torn into.” someone whispered somewhere behind him.

“I-I, Mx. Kenopsia, I thought he was disrespecting you, there’s no real way he could have interviewed you, and even my brightest student has only found scraps of information on you. You never do interviews.”

“Are you calling Nikko stupid?” they shrieked. A few of his classmates turned to him in surprise. “You were given the most historically accurate report on my life as of yet, and you have the gall to call the author dull?”

“N-no, please, M-Mx. Kenopsia, it’s just that there’s no way for me to know-”

“Then consider this divine intervention!” Kenopsia yelled.

At this point, the other classrooms in the hall had stopped lectures to see what was going on. Faces peered out of doors and windows to get a good look at the squabble.

“You took my words, and you said they were lies. Worse than that, you want to suspend the boy who wrote them. If the teachers here act like this with their students, it is no longer a place of learning, but one of facism. As a teacher, you must teach what you know, yes, but you must also learn alongside your students, or else you can never teach them how to grow and change.” they turned to the principal. “And you, as the overreaching power, you must consider all sides, not just the one you pay. After all, it is the parents who pay the taxes that keep your job afloat. And if the children stop coming to school, you both will be out of a job, but the children will outlive you as you go hungry.”

Someone poked Nikko in the ribs and he jumped, and turned to see a few of his classmates staring at him in shock.

“Do you really know them?” one girl whispered.

He nodded but quickly went back to watching the event. He didn’t want to miss a second of this. The anger in Kenopsia’s voice was similar to when he had seen them blow up on the reporter when he was thirteen, but this lasted much longer, and their body language was far more tense and explosive. He didn’t even know they could get so angry. They hadn’t seemed pissed at all last night when they first found out.

“But, Mx. Kenopsia,” the principal chuckled nervously. “The children need an education, they could never go far without a high school diploma, let alone without a middle school education!”

Something they told him rang through Nikko’s head as they opened their mouth to respond, and he threw the window open with a bang before they could start.

“That’s not true!”

The four adults turned to him in surprise as he leaned out of the window to point to Kenopsia. “Kenopsia dropped out of middle school, and you say they’re smarter than anyone!”

He looked up to them, hoping he didn’t mess up their tirade, but they were grinning at him fondly, even when his teacher was very obviously not.

“I told everyone to stay still! Go back to your seats!” she yelled, and the majority of the students rushed back to their seats. A few still lingered when they saw that Nikko didn’t budge. Some of them were recording the fiasco on their phones. “Nikko, go back to your seat and stay quiet. You do not have a say in this, especially when you are just going to make such a ridiculous-ack!”

Kenopsia’s hand grabbed the back on her neck, and though it wasn’t a tight hold, the press of their long nails was reason enough for her to shut up.

“This is not a dictatorship, this is a school,” Kenopsia growled. Their voice went deep and threatening, rumbling through the hallway until Nikko was sure the whole school heard it. “Listen to what he has to say.” they looked to him and nodded encouragingly.

“Um.” he gripped the sliding track of the window, and glanced at his mom, who smiled with a thumbs up. “Kenopsia dropped out of middle school. Three hundred years ago, there weren’t as many people with quirks, and people were scared of them cause they looked so different, so their teachers treated them unfairly until their only option was to quit. They worked on a farm until they had enough money to buy their own land and fend for themself…. Did I get that right?”

Kenopsia smiled softly at him, though the look was odd when their fangs couldn’t be hidden by their lips. They had grown long enough to reach their chin, and two of their bottom teeth had started growing similarly during their rant.

“Yes, you hit the nail on the head, Nikko.”

He grinned, and Kenopsia dragged his teacher back next to the principal. She clutched at her throat when they finally let go of her.

“N-now Mx. Kenopsia, what exactly do you want from us, now that y-you got the attention of the whole school?” the principal asked. Nikko had never seen the man, who usually looked so threatening with his height and muscles, appear so cowardly.

“What do I want?” they asked, “Isn’t it obvious?”

Akane finally came forward and gave the two a glare, though it didn’t hold nearly as much power behind it as Kenopsia’s.

“You’ve treated my son unfairly, gave him a failing grade on a project he worked very hard on, and want to suspend him for a week, even though he did everything right. The only reason he’s in this mess is because you all have an image in your head of how Kenopsia is supposed to be. He deserves a better grade, and to not be punished for your foolishness.”

Kenopsia nodded.

The principal looked to the teacher, who nodded quickly. “Yes, I can see that… he deserves a better grade.” she glanced over to the windows, where Nikko leaned against the sill with his head on his fist and a smug smirk on his face. “I will… cancel his suspension.”

Kenopsia nodded. “Good. now think twice before you decide to dole out punishments without hearing your students out. They are children, yes, but they deserve to be heard.”

She ducked back into the classroom and Kenopsia approached Nikko at the window. He grinned up at them in awe.

“So, when you said I’d see you sooner than I’d think last night, were you planning on tearing my teacher a new asshole?”

“Nikko!” Akane scolded.

Kenopsia laughed and lightly pinched his cheek. “I can’t get anything past you, huh? Yes, I knew I was going to be paying her a visit the moment I saw your grade.”

He lightly bat their hand away from his face. “Thanks.”

“It was my pleasure.” they patted his head. “See you at the next gala.”

“Mx. Kenopsia, we really must let Ms. Masami get back to work.” The principal said.

“Yes.” they straightened, and he and Akane started down the hall, but Kenopsia lingered just long enough to slip a paper out of their pocket and into Nikko’s hand. They winked, and muttered, “For compensation for making you lose last night.”

With only a few strides of their long legs, they caught up to the others, leaving Nikko to take a closer look at the paper on his own. It was one of their checks.

“Fifty thousand yen?!”

Well, apparently he wasn’t completely alone. One of his classmates had peeked over his shoulder to get a look at Kenopsia’s treat, and he was left trying to keep the check away from his class as they bombarded him with questions about the mysterious stranger who came to his defense. Even the dictator that was Ms. Masami couldn’t settle them down until class ended.

—

Even with Bendelton’s warning, hunting season came suddenly, like it often did. The season length waxed and waned, depending on weather patterns and ocean currents, and there was never a set week they could mark on their calendar to prepare.

They were just glad that it didn’t mess with any of their plans.

They could smell the change on their tongue; the ocean currents from high in the north were bringing cold water as far south as they would this year, and they needed to get out a few leagues before they’d find any of their usual prey.

So, for a week, they let the ocean take them, and they ate until their serpentine body would be full for months.

—

“I got accepted into UA.”

“Mmhmm… huh.”

“What?” Nikko sounded a bit hurt at their response, but they weren’t sure what they were supposed to say. 

“Remind me what UA is?”

Nikko blinked at them a few times in shock, then laughed and playfully punched them. In the last few months he had had a bit of a growth spurt, and could now reach their upper arm with more ease. They chuckled, but still gave him a curious side-eye.

“You’re serious?” they nodded. “It’s the best hero school in, like, the whole world?”

“Ah… you want to be a hero?” they eyed the crowd of the gala. There were a few pro heroes about, as this was one of the more important parties they had been to. Something about celebrating the success of two support teams after a rough year. The two teams had worked together to create support items for some important heroes or something. The only reason Kenopsia was here, was because the original, parent team of these two had created a few items for them to live an easier life.

They generally liked support better than actual heroics, too.

Nikko, on the other hand, didn’t see their scouring glances, as he was busy trying to figure out how to best stack more desserts onto his small plate. “Nah, heroics isn’t really for me… I think I might help my moms in the shop later. But even the general course is a bitch to get into, and it looks great on your record.”

“I see, well congratulations on getting in, I bet you worked hard.”

“My moms freaked out, you should have seen their faces when I got the letter, I took the test behind their backs, cause I didn’t wanna risk disappointing them, and they nearly cried.”

Tearing their eyes away from the crowd, they turned to him with a smirk. “Are you just saying “nearly” to not embarrass Akane?”

Nikko’s eyes widened, then he laughed. “How did you know that? Most people think Harumi’s the one who’d cry!”

“I am a terrific judge of character.”

He snorted. “More like terrifying.”

“Hey, Akane and I bonded over yelling at your principal. I feel like I know her better now.” a flash of rusty orange caught their eye from across the room, and their shoulders slumped. They knew he was here, their instincts had picked up on it right away. But part of them had hoped that they had misjudged their senses. If he was here, then they’d be here, and things likely would get a little ugly if they weren’t careful.

They couldn’t blame him for it, though.

They gently nudged Nikko and leaned down. “ I need to go talk with someone real quick, I haven’t checked in with him for a few years. Don’t get into too much trouble without me.”

“Kenopsia, please. You know you love it when I get into trouble.”

They smiled and ruffled his hair. “Only when I can take part too.”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine. go talk to your friend, he’s probably like ninety, knowing you. It’ll be super boring.”

—

They found him perched in a dark corner where the reporters couldn’t find him. They supposed even such an outgoing persona such as his had to take a break once in a while. Or, more likely, he knew they were looking for him and he made himself scarce for their sake.

“Keigo.”

The young boy rolled his head back and looked up at them with a mirthful gaze. There was a time when he reacted to them with fear, much like Hebiki did. Birds and snakes traditionally didn’t get along, afterall. But that was many years ago, and he now only looked at them with a respectful hate.

“Old hag.”

The drink he sipped at smelled strongly of alcohol, more so than any of the drinks offered at the bar. They glared at it as he took a long sip without looking away from them.

“You shouldn’t be drinking that. You’re only eighteen.” their nose scrunched at the potent odor. “And even if you were older, I don’t think anyone should drink something so strong. Smells like rubbing alcohol.”

“As if you can tell me what to do.”

“The commission won’t like it.”

He huffed into his glass and rolled his eyes. “They don’t give a shit. I’m about to make it big, start my own agency, and that’s all they want me to do. I’m already basically number three, and I follow all their orders. They don’t care what I do in my free time.”

They sat down in the chair beside him and sighed. “Will you leave their shadow once you have your own agency?”

“They’re funding it, so it’s not like I’ll have much of a choice to leave.”

Neither of them looked at each other. They just stared out at the sea of people, watching as Endeavor towed around his prodigal son for the cameras, and business men tried to sign dealings with both pro heroes and the support team. Near the food tables, Kenopsia saw the Nagata siblings standing solemnly near their guardians, who effectively kept any hounding reporters at bay.

Maybe they shouldn’t have come to this one. It only made them sad.

“Stop mourning over there. You look ridiculous.” Keigo took a long drink, then set his glass on the table a bit harshly before turning to them with a scowl. “What are you so upset over?”

“This age allows such mistreatment of children. They’re treated like baubles and tools instead of people.”

“I’m not a child anymore, Kenopsia, I don’t care how old you are.”

“I know. But they still are.” they pointed to the Nagatas, then to the Todoroki boy. “Look at how the media want to swarm a couple of kids, it’s disgusting.”

He scoffed. “But you don’t do anything about it.”

“Changing this system will take more than just an old snake saying a few words.”

“Careful, that talk about changing the system might be seen as villainous.”

They shook their head. “I think we both know who the real villains are.”

Keigo turned so he didn’t have to look at them. “Knowing who they are and acting on it are two different things, huh?”

“Keigo, I wish I could have done more for you but-”

“You could have taken the commission’s offer.” he hissed. “Saved me a world of hurt, and maybe I would have had an actual parent figure.”

They glowered. “If you think for a second that the commission would have let us see each other after they got their claws into me, then you’re more of a fool than I thought.”

He didn’t respond, but his feathers twitched as they picked up on something he found interesting. Whether it was at the party, or somewhere in the outside world, they couldn’t say. They sat there for a moment in silence, until Keigo finally spoke again.

“Well, it was terrible talking to you, like usual. But I bet you’re gonna want to go save your new toy. My boss is talking him up over there.”

Kenopsia stared out across the party, to the other dark corner they knew Nikko would have holed up to wait for them, and saw, indeed, one of the commission grunts were talking to him, eyeing him like he was prey, and making him show off his quirk. They stood quickly, the movement knocking over Keigo’s glass. They both stared at the trickle of amber alcohol as it seeped into the table cloth, then Keigo glared up at them.

“Nice to know I’m second best now.”

A hiss rose in their throat. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, Keigo. But you were too far gone by the time I knew about you. I know you know where I live. I’ve seen your feathers around. If you really wanted out of there you could have broken out and come to me. But you chose not to. I can only help if someone first helps themself.” they gripped the tablecloth till their nails cut small holes into it. “You made your decision. I wasn’t about to endanger myself just to help a boy who’s already died. I can still help that boy over there though. He’s got more life than you ever had.”

Keigo growled as he stood. Though he was dwarfed by them, his ego was big enough to overpower anyone else.

“Hawks.”

“What?”

“My name is Hawks, not Keigo. Nobody gets to call me that anymore, especially not you.”

He quickly disappeared back into the crowd, and they only watched him a moment before rushing back across the party to Nikko.

There was no way in hell they’d let the commission get to him. In a perfect world, those scum wouldn’t get their hands on any more children, ever.

—

“And so I can manipulate the tattoos on my body, see?”

“Interesting…”

“You really think so? I mean, I can’t see how useful this would be for the Hero Commission.”

“Oh, you would be more useful to us than you may think.”

“Really? Oh! Hey Kenopsia!”

Kenopsia did not greet him back, just pushed the grunt away from the table and stood between him and Nikko.

“Kenopsia. It’s about time you joined us.”

“Back off.” they hissed.

“Kenopsia?”

“How was your little chat? Keigo’s been itching to talk to you for a while now.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Dude, what is going on?”

Kenopsia hissed at the man, letting their fangs grow out, and he finally backed away with his hands raised placatingly. The smirk on his face told them he wasn’t doing it out of fear or respect. “Don’t kill me over having a chat with your little friend there. We just think he’s very interesting. But if you insist, I’ll be on my way.”

They watched him sink back into the crowd, tense, until he was completely out of sight.

Nikko tugging on their sleeve snapped them out of their posturing, and they immediately sank down to a knee to check on him. He was taller than them like this, but it was nice to look up at someone for once. He stared at them like they had just bit someone’s head off, and tugged his hands away when they went to check him for injuries.

“What the fuck was that? He was from the Hero Commission, that’s like being approached by an actual hero agency!”

“It’s not.” the firmness in their voice drained the anger in Nikko’s body, replacing it with confusion and concern.

“Do you… not like heroes?”

They pulled a face as they looked back at the crowd that was full of heroes both big and small. “I don’t mind them. I don’t think heroics should be a paid job, that they are a glorified police force that can be easily manipulated, but I understand the good that they do,” they sighed. “But the Hero Commission is different. Becoming a hero through them is for hacks.” they looked up at him softly and held a hand up to his cheek. “Please, I don’t mind if you want to become a hero, but if you do, do it the just way, through school. The Hero Commission is full of false promises and will suck the life from you before you know it.”

Nikko blinked at them, then reached up to hold the hand on his cheek. The desperation in their voice left him with a heavy feeling in his chest. They hadn’t said anything about the Hero Commission for his report, but they had also edged around many uncomfortable topics from their early life. Assuming there were no difficult times for them now that the early stuff was past was a fool’s errand.

“Okay. I promise. I’m still not that interested, but it’s still fun to think about, you know.”

Kenopsia sighed and slumped a little bit.

They really regretted letting Bendelton stay home to bask. Yes, he needed the space to himself for a bit, but this night had been a roller coaster of emotion that they weren’t used to feeling.

“But you gotta tell me your beef with the Hero Commission when you take me home tonight. I’ve never heard of someone hating them as much as you seem to. Except like, villains.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but I suppose you deserve to know. You can’t tell anyone else, though.”

Nikko nodded, and offered them a chocolate truffle, which they declined. They hadn’t had to eat since hunting season, even though it had been a few months. The jellyfish had been plentiful this year, and they’d likely not have to eat again till late spring.

Not long after they settled into their seats, were they approached again, though this time it was by more agreeable folk.

“Apologies, Mx. Kenopsia, we saw you from across the room and wanted to say hello.” they glanced up at the man and the young boy in front of him, and smiled.

“Oh, Yuuta and Naru, it’s nice to see you two. It’s been a while.”

Yuuta crossed his arms and glared at them. “More like five years! If it weren’t for my quirk I would’ve thought you died or something!”

Nikko obviously didn’t like the tone the younger boy used. He stood, hands planted on the table, and opened his mouth to put the boy in his place, but Kenopsia patted his shoulder to tell him to stand down.

Now they had two children glaring at them, but the laughter evident in Naru’s eyes at the sight was enough to put a damper on any harsh feelings.

“Nikko, don’t start a fight. And Yuuta, I’m sorry I stopped going out. That’s on me.” they turned to Nikko. “Would it be okay if they joined us for a game? They are old friends.”

“No fucking way. Not with the way that brat talks to ya.” he hissed, sending another glare to Yuuta.

“Then, could they sit and watch?”

Nikko paused, then rolled his eyes. “Fine.” 

“You can watch our game, if you’d like.” Kenopsia said with a smile. Naru put his hand on Yuuta’s shoulder and glanced back at the crowd.

“I should get back to check in with Deyu. believe it or not, Yuuri tends to be the harder twin to watch. And it was Yuuta who insisted on-” the boy elbowed his guardian in the hip to stop the train of thought. He coughed to cover a laugh, and changed the subject. “But I can trust you’ll watch him?”

They nodded. “Of course, there’s nothing I enjoy more. And tell Enji that he can send Shoto over if he gets tired.”

“If which one gets tired, exactly?”

“Well, Enji is getting up there in age, so him or the preteen. But don’t send Enji over. I’d rather not have to talk to him more than necessary.”

Naru laughed and waved as he turned to return to the crowd. Yuuta settled into the seat opposite Nikko, with Kenopsia on his right.

“Playing poker?” he asked, a tone perfect for snobby rich kids lacing his words, and Nikko bristled. “Sounds lame.”

“Yeah, well good thing you can’t play with us!” Nikko hissed, and pulled his pile of chips closer to himself. Kenopsia watched them bicker with amusement.

They had helped watch Yuuta and other children of heroes at private parties a few years ago. They weren’t going to public or televised events, but smaller parties between the hugely rich were generally kinder to their agoraphobia, and taking care of young children was even better. It gave them an excuse not to talk to the adults, anyways. The Nagatas and the Todorokis were often found together, causing a ruckus on the dancefloor or making a mess of the buffet, and it was fun to discreetly help them cause a little trouble.

Nikko dealt their cards and started the pot, and Yuuta tried to seem aloof while also watching the game attentively. He had always liked card games, though people didn’t normally bring cards to such fancy parties. Hopefully Nikko would let him join in at some point.

—

“Hah! Four of a kind! Beat that, old timer!” 

Kenopsia showed their lesser hand and sighed. “You got me. What a shame.”

“They let you win!” Yuuta chimed in. they both looked over to the younger boy in bemusement.

“Oh yeah? The cards don’t lie, buddy!” Nikko pointed to his hand again, and Yuuta sighed, sounding very much like a tired middle aged man in a preteen’s body. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a very new, shiny phone, and put it on the table.

“Let me join, there’s plenty more where this came from.”

Nikko squinted at the phone, obviously deliberating. After a moment, he finally relented and started reshuffling the deck. “Fine, but you better not cry about it when I beat you.”

Yuuta smirked. “I can always buy another phone if I lose, but I’m not gonna lose to you anyways.”

“Oh, you’re on, rich boy.” Nikko growled, then turned to Kenopsia. “This is between him and me, old timer, so you better stay out of this!” he slid the cards over to them, and continued in a smaller voice. “But, if you can be the dealer so it’s fair….”

They laughed and shuffled once more before splitting the deck and setting out their cards.

The two boys matched each other quip-for-quip, which was making it hard for Kenopsia to not laugh. About halfway through their game, and after a particularly spicy word from Yuuta, they felt a light tug on their sleeve. The boys were spending most of the game arguing and doing the opposite of stone face in hopes of psyching out the other, so it was no skin off their back to be a little distracted.

Beside them stood the youngest Todoroki. He glanced at them, to the table, and then quickly down to his feet. The small hand that was still holding onto the baggy material on their shirt clenched as he seemed to look more anxious than usual.

“Hello Shoto, how are you doing?”

He just gave a little hum, tugged on their sleeve, and rubbed his scarred eye in response. Quiet-child speech for “overwhelmed”. They could certainly understand that.

“Tired, huh? I can relate. Do you wanna watch the boy’s game?”

He nodded, and moved to sit in the chair across the table, but they easily plucked him up and placed him in their lap. A small twelve-or-so year-old was no match in weight for a full grown iguana. Shoto shuffled in surprise for a moment, but they gently pat his head before reaching over to add a card to the flop, and he melted into a more comfortable position. They suspected a man like Enji wasn’t doling out comforting gestures, either in the streets for work, or at home.

“What are they playing?” Shoto quietly asked after a moment.

“Well, it’s supposed to be poker, though I think they’ve turned it into more of an insult contest.”

“Oh, that’s cute, you think you can scare me, Yuuta? I don’t even believe in ghosts!”

“Good, so you don’t mind if I use mine to look at your cards?”

Nikko slammed his cards against his chest so no otherworldly apparition could sneak a peek over his shoulder.

“That’s playing dirty and you know it! A win from cheating is no win at all!”

“Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.”

Kenopsia could nearly see steam coming out of Nikko’s ears as he got more serious about the game.

Shoto watched them, then looked up to Kenopsia. “So they aren’t supposed to be yelling at each other?”

“No, it’s usually supposed to be completely silent. But I think I like it like this better. It feels more exciting, huh?”

Shoto gave a quiet hum and a small smile in response as he watched on.

—

“Do you think we should wake them up?”

“It’s been like an hour, and the party’s probably gonna end soon, so yeah probably.”

“They are my ride home…”

Kenopsia huffed at the sound of Nikko and Yuuta finally not yelling at each other. Somewhere between them closing their eyes and now, they must have sorted something out.

“Their legs have got to be falling asleep since they’ve had Shoto on their lap for so long.”

“No way, they carry around a two ton iguana everywhere, a pipsqueak like him weighs nothing compared to that.”

“They still have that thing?”

Well, they couldn’t stand for that.

“His name is Bendelton, Yuuta.” they scolded without opening their eyes. The boys yelped, and Shoto shifted on their chest, but continued his soft snoring.

With much effort, they cracked their eyes open, first checking on Shoto. He was snuggled up under their chin, looking like he hadn’t slept in years, and they were the first bed he’d found. Then, with the energy one would expect a three hundred year old to have, they glanced up at Nikko and Yuuta. The younger boy looked sheepish, but Nikko just leaned in and smirked.

“How long were you awake?”

“Not long. Are you ready to go home?” they asked as they sat up and gently adjusted Shoto. They dreaded the day he hit his growth spurt and outgrows being held, whichever came first. Out of all the kids they took care of during parties, he had been the clingiest.

“Yeah, probably should’ve left like twenty minutes ago, but my moms will forgive me.”

They stood, resting Shoto on their hip, and made to scour the venue for his father, but startled at the fact the man had come up to them first. It looked like he had been trying to get there before they got up, and was now scowling at the fact that they were on their feet.

He hated that he had to look up to meet their eyes.

They reveled in it.

“Kenopsia. I’ll take my son back now.”

“Oh, are you leaving, Enji?” Looking over his head with ease, they spotted Naru, Deyu, and Yuuri heading over as well. Perhaps they could make a party out of leaving the building.

“Yes. I can take him off your hands.”

“Oh,” they grinned down at him. “But he’s quite comfortable right here. I think he likes my warm sweater. I can carry him to your car.”

“He’s nearly thirteen, Kenopsia, he can walk on his own.” a puff of hot smoke rushed from his head as he grew more agitated with them.

Shoto groaned and shifted. Kenopsia looked down at him. He blinked blearily up at them. “Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you to your car, Shoto?”

He seemed to consider his choices, but after a moment nuzzled back into their sweater. “I can’t walk, please carry me.”

They grinned at him, then down at Enji. “You heard him. Completely incapacitated. Tragic. I must carry him. Come on Nikko, let’s go.”

Nikko grabbed the poker set, which he and Yuuta must have packed up while they had slept, and followed them out. Naru, Deyu, and the twins weren’t far behind, and Enji only needed a few minutes of cool-down before taking up the rear.

“Someday you’re going to make him blow a gasket, Kenopsia.” Deyu sighed, though she was smiling.

“All I ask is you wait till we’re around to watch.” Naru added. “It’d be a shame to miss it.”

They laughed at the two, and Shoto wrapped his arms around their neck. They pressed a kiss to the top of his head and he relaxed his grip slightly. “I can’t promise anything. But I’ll try my best.”

Enji’s sleek black car was parked in a VIP zone right up front, so it didn’t take too long to find it. The Nagatas’ were a few spaces over, but they stuck around so the kids could say goodbye. Enji unlocked the car so Kenopsia could tuck Shoto into the backseat, then backed off as Yuuta crowded forward to give him a goodbye hug. They ruffled Yuuri’s hair as they passed her on their way to talk to their guardians. Nikko lingered awkwardly between them and the kids.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come talk to you, Deyu. I had a lap full of boy for the better part of the event.”

“It’s fine, Kenopsia. It’s nothing new. Or has your age caught up with you, and you don’t remember being a kiddie pack mule just five years ago?” Deyu smiled for a split second, but slipped back into her usual expression quickly. She was always more stone faced than Naru.

They laughed and shook their head. “That’s true, you got me.”

“Kenopsia.” Enji said gruffly. “I wanted to talk to you. I saw you with Hawks earlier.”

They turned to Naru, and blocked the man from their vision. “I think Yuuta and Nikko hit it off, I dozed off but they seemed to be getting along when I woke up.”

Enji grabbed their elbow. “I need to know what you were talking about to make him so upset.”

They twisted out of his grip and turned to Nikko.

“Are you ready to go? I don’t want your moms to worry too much.”

Nikko glanced between them and Enji, but nodded and followed them to the other lot they had parked in.

“You can’t ignore me forever, Kenopsia!” Enji shouted after them. Nikko glanced back at him, saw his face beet-red with anger, and turned back to Kenopsia, only to be met with them throwing the bird to Enji like he wasn’t the number two hero.

“What the hell, Kenopsia?!” he cried, and grabbed their wrist. They looked down at him in surprise, then grimaced and clicked their keys to unlock their tiny car.

Since Bendelton had not come with, the front seat was free for Nikko to take, and he took no time in getting situated right next to them. They put the keys into the ignition, but then sat still for a few minutes.

“I promised you I’d talk about the hero commission, didn’t I?”

“Oh, yeah. Is that related to your… thing with En… Endeavor? You look like you fucking hate him.”

“Oh, no, I just don’t like the guy. He thinks I should respect him cause he’s a hero, but I’ve known him since he was a baby. His father was a smallish hero, came to a gala with him, and then didn’t know how to change a diaper. I taught him how to. I taught his father how to change his diaper and he thinks I should treat him with unbreaking respect? That’s crazy.”

Nikko snorted at the imagery, and they finally started the car and backed out of the spot to get going. Their hands were clenched tight around the wheel.

“The hero commission is a whole other story. One that starts at the very beginning of the business of heroes.” the dark streets went by idly as a slight drizzle started. It wasn’t heavy enough to require the windshield wipers, but it made the few streetlights bleed through the glass and certainly set the tone for the ride.

“When they started, most people were wary of the concept of heroes. How could they be controlled, to make sure they didn’t go mad with power? So many cops in a quirkless world already did, and now with powers, things were so much worse. The commission started about a hundred years ago or so, and they wanted to have a face that people trusted already, instead of some new hero nobody knew. The news of me being the oldest person in the world had already been circulating, so…”

“The Commission wanted you to be the first hero?”

They grimaced and nodded. They had to flick the wipers on for a moment to clear the glass.

“But you know me. I don’t like the limelight. They hounded me for months, though. They insisted they knew what was best for me, and that I would be the world’s greatest hero. They didn’t care what I wanted, and they didn’t let up. They came to my house which shows just how stalkerish they were, since the only person who knew what property I had bought had died a hundred and five years before. It wasn’t in books or documents. I was a quirk-haver, at the time those with quirks couldn’t buy property legally, so it was completely hush-hush, under the table.”

They slowed as they came to a red light, and they sat back, having not noticed how tense they had gotten. Their sharp teeth worked at their lip for a moment, but Nikko was quiet and attentive, so they continued.

“They stalked me and tormented me until I finally caved and came to their big opening event.”

“What? Why?” Nikko asked, aghast.

“They thought I agreed to come to speak on their behalf. What I did instead, was, well. You may have heard about this before. It was huge at the time. I could see a use for heroes, so I did give a quick speech in favor of them, but then used the rest of my time to dig into the president of the commission, hoping to upheave the whole thing. I spit in his face, and he was fired the next week. I thought that was it, that they wouldn’t bother me anymore, but I was wrong. They blamed the first president for my refusal, and have sent me a request to come work for them every five or so years since.”

“Jesus, that’s gotta be annoying as hell.”

They laughed. Nikko didn’t know the half of it. They let their laughter hang in the air for a few minutes. This was the easy part. They took a deep breath and the light turned green.

“About thirteen years ago, I accepted an invite to tour their facility-”

“Again, why?!”

They shrugged. “I suppose I was bored, and bored of them hounding me. I thought if I showed interest then refused, they’d get the message.”

Nikko groaned dramatically. “Kenopsia, no!”

“You’re right. I would be better off if I hadn’t gone. But not for anything they did to me.”

Nikko eyed them warily.

“They had rescued a young boy, he was about six, and his family had been killed in some sort of terrible accident. Instead of putting him in the foster system, though, they saw his powerful quirk and decided to keep him. Trained him to be a weapon and-” their breath hitched and they slowed so they could stay in control of the car. They didn’t want to put them at risk just because they got reckless with emotions. “You know how I feel about kids. They’re malleable. That’s why it’s so important to be kind and supportive to them, so they can take those skills into adult life. Once you’re an adult, it’s harder to change, unless you learned early on that it’s good to change. But this kid… I don’t know what they did to him exactly, but he… he wasn’t a kid anymore. Six years old, and he was already grown up. That’s too fast. He was a hurting kid, and they turned him into a tool.”

“What happened to him? Did he… die?”

They were a block away from his apartment. They could do this.

“That depends on how you perceive death. From the moment I met him, he was already dead. Even when he was still living. I had instantly made a connection with him, the moment I met him. You know me, I love kids. But the commission knew that too, and it was part of their plan all along. They had told him that if I joined, I’d be his guardian. That this person who had finally been kind to him in a way he hadn’t had since his family died, would be his new family… What’s worse than them not consulting me before telling him this, was that it was a blatant lie. There’s no way in hell they’d actually let me near him once they had a hold on me. They knew me too well, or, they thought they did.”

They pulled up to his apartment and parked, but neither of them moved.

“I knew that boy was beyond help the moment I saw him. I wished I could do something, but the choice was between my safety, and the safety of an already broken boy. I did what I could with the time I had, told him that if he ever got out, that he would have a home with me, but they had him brainwashed too well. He wanted to be a hero, not a hermit, and only one of us was offering that path.”

“Come on, Kenopsia, don’t leave me hanging, what happened to him?”

“I guess he’s still alive. Ke… Hawks was at the gala tonight.”

“Hawks?!”

They sniffed and rubbed at their face. “He’d kill me if he knew I told someone all that, you gotta keep quiet about it.”

“I can’t believe that Hawks… I mean, I know he didn’t go to a hero school, but that’s insane. They were seriously training him since he was six?”

“It might’ve been earlier. That’s just when I saw him.”

Nikko stared at his hands. “Okay… so the hero commission is just a bunch of manipulative bastards who will weaponize kids no problem. I see why you got so pissed at that guy who was talking to me earlier.”

“They know you have connections to me. They wanted to use you to get to me, just like what they tried with Hawks. The problem with Hawks was that I didn’t know him well enough. But the problem with you…” they finally turned to him with a sharp, gleeful smile. “Is that I won’t let them anywhere near you. They won’t ever get the chance to lay a hand on you. Especially now that you know all this. You’re a smart kid.”

“Endeavor said you made Hawks upset tonight. What happened?”

“He accused me of some things, acted like a spoiled brat, and then I spilled his liquor. I think what really pissed him off was that I chose you over him, though. Once I realized a commissioner was chatting you up, I was done talking to him. He didn’t like that much at all.”

Despite the glum atmosphere, Nikko looked a bit smug.

“I’m sorry to end the night on such a downer.” they murmured. “I hope the rest of the night was alright for you?”

“Are you kidding? I got to see you take Endeavor down like five pegs! It was great! I’m sorry the commission showed up and brought bad stuff up again.”

“Oh, Nikko…” they reached over and brought him into a firm hug. He happily returned it. “You are such a good kid. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I think I’m gonna take a little break from parties just to throw the commission for a loop, but I have your address, so I can keep in touch. Just in case we don’t see each other before your school starts, good luck at UA.” they pressed a kiss to the top of his head, much like they had done for Shoto half an hour beforehand. Nikko squeezed them a bit harder, then pulled away and slipped out of the car.

“Sounds good, Old Timer. Write to me soon so I can write you back. I still don’t have your address, and I want to send you the latest memes.”

“Those are the things like the frog on the unicycle, right?”

“Oh my god, Kenopsia, that’s literally an ancient meme. That’s even before your time! That’s it, you gotta write to me immediately, I need to educate you.”

They laughed, relieved that they hadn’t brought down his mood too much. They watched him get inside the tattoo shop, then waited till his room light turned on. Then they just sat for a moment more with their forehead against the steering wheel.

“Oh lordy… Bendelton, you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you.”

—

Only talking to Nikko via mail had been the plan for the next few months, but like all good plans, it was inevitable something would throw it for a loop.

Nikko was set to graduate from junior high in March, and he was going to UA in April. Ever since Kenopsia had publicly shamed his teacher and principal, Nikko and several other previously dubbed “problem students” had been getting a little more slack. Plus, with the A that his teacher had given him after the incident, he was nowhere near getting held back anymore.

But, he still had the label of being difficult for a reason, and midway through the final term had him in the principal’s office for fighting another student.

Kenopsia, obviously, was not there for all of this, but they did get two lengthy letters all about it; one from Nikko himself, and another from Harumi, asking for help to console her son.

He had been defending himself and his family, after all. Some kid from another class thought it was a good idea to start spreading around some unsavory words about Nikko, his mothers, and even about Kenopsia and how they fit into his family.

Because Nikko considered them family.

It generally took a lot to genuinely shock Kenopsia. They’d seen enough in their time that they could see patterns forming before others, so real surprise wasn’t something they felt all that often. But reading that letter from Nikko, that emotionally charged rant that so casually called them his family, they realized, perhaps for the first time, exactly how much the two of them cared for each other.

And that care had sent another to the hospital, and put Nikko on a hefty suspension.

Luckily, it was far enough into the term that as long as he took his finals, he wouldn’t have a problem with graduating, but two and a half weeks was really something, and his mothers didn’t have the time to help him with the work his teachers sent him.

“Well, Bendelton.” they muttered. The iguana glanced at them from his basking spot in the kitchen window. “You know what this means, right?” he chuffed, bobbed his head, and returned to enjoying his sunbeam. They quickly drafted up a response to Harumi, made sure to give it enough postage for the fastest delivery, and scratched Bendelton under his chin on their way out the door. “Watch the place, will you? I’ll be back real quick.”

—

It had been ages since anyone had come to their property. Once a community organizer had visited to invite them to a festival in town, but that had been nearly twenty years ago. The people in town knew they preferred solitude, and happily let them alone. Word from their favorite postal worker told them that the townspeople had even chased off nosey reporters once in a while, just to let them keep their peace.

So the dust cloud rising behind the car coming up their long driveway was a bit unexpected. Especially so soon. They hadn’t gotten a reply from Harumi in the two days since they sent their letter, but this must have meant she and Akane were on board.

They had been tending to their plot of leeks not far from the driveway as the family drove up, so it was no issue to make their way to their guests. Brushing their dirt-caked hands on their denim gardening apron as the car stopped next to them, they smiled sagely at Akane as she took in the property from the passenger seat.

They didn’t expect Nikko to bullet out of the car and into them the moment it stopped moving. The force of him hitting their chest and wrapping his arms around them tightly knocked their sunhat off their head and the breath from their lungs.

“Nikko?” they asked, their hand hovering over his shoulders hesitantly. He didn’t reply, just shoved his face deeper into their apron, not minding the dirt.

“He’s been anxious all morning.” Harumi explained as she stepped out of the car. Akane followed her lead, still gazing around the area. She seemed positively transfixed with the scenery. “Sorry for not writing back, he wanted to come out as soon as possible.”

Kenopsia filed that away for a later thought and gently lowered their hands to rub Nikko’s back. He trembled for a moment, then sighed and pulled back. His eyes were a bit red, and they didn’t think that the chilly February air was at fault.

“Thanks for letting me stay out here with ya.”

“It’s no problem. You got your school work with you?”

“Yeah, and the moms are gonna mail anymore they email over, since we figured you wouldn’t have wi-fi.”

They nodded. “I hardly know what it is, honestly, so that’s a good call.” they turned to said mothers. “Would you like a tour around the place? I certainly don’t expect you to drive all the way out here just to turn back right away.”

Akane’s eyes lit up at the concept. “We took the whole day off to drive up here just in case it took longer than what you said, so we don’t have anything to lose.”

“We should get back before six, though, Kanako said she wanted to come by for drinks tonight, and we need enough time to get stuff ready.” Harumi gently chided. “But yes, we’d love a tour. This place is beautiful, Kenopsia.”

They smiled and gestured to the pile of stuff in the backseat. “Let’s start with bringing Nikko’s stuff in, yeah? If we get that out of the way first we don’t need to worry about it later.”

Nikko nodded and jumped to grab a suitcase and backpack from the car, and they led the group up to their cottage.

“This place is so cozy!” Harumi cheered as she walked into the main room. Early afternoon sun streamed through the window over the sink and brought a light yellow warmth to the area. She marveled at the wood-carved cabinets and counters and giggled at the ancient fridge they managed to keep working.

“Glad you like it, All the woodwork is my work.”

Harumi rounded on them so fast they were surprised she didn’t get whiplash. “You made all this?”

“Y-yes ma’am? Three hundred years old, life gets boring. Sometimes you just make a counterset.”

Nikko and Akane laughed, and Harumi went in for a closer look at the cabinets. Nikko nudged them and lifted his bags, and they took the hint.

“Here, I’ll show you to the bedroom.” Down the short hallway that led to their room and the bathroom, Nikko glanced around curiously. It was darker here, so they couldn’t imagine what he was looking at. They slid the door to their room open and started moving things around. “I never really anticipated having guests when I built the place, so it’s the bare minimum. Sorry you’ll have to share a room with me.”

“Is that a hammock?” they glanced at the cloth hanging between the walls and nodded.

“Saves space, and is more comfortable for me, I don’t like crushing my fins while I sleep.” they brushed a hand over the blue-green fins on their head and they twitched in response. “I can make a futon for you, or I have another hammock if you’d like to try it.”

Nikko shrugged. “When in Rome, right? I’ll try it.”

“Alright, good. Less work for me. So, put your stuff anywhere, just keep it tidy. Bendelton doesn’t like messes.”

“Where is Bendelton?”

“It’s about noon, right? He’s probably on the roof. The sun’s hot and the air’s cool, so he loves it up there. In the summer it’s too hot for him to do that, but late winter and spring are his favorite.”

“So he’s not constantly on you?” Nikko asked as he placed his bags in the corner.

“Oh, no. he’s very independent.” they made their way back to the main room. “He helps ground me when I’m out of my comfort zone, but this property is my comfort zone. I don’t need help while on it. Other people don’t come out here, and I know the area as well as the land knows itself. While we’re here, he’s basically my elusive, bratty roommate.”

Akane and Harumi perked up as they reentered. They had been looking at their fridge and the various things they had stuck to it, including Nikko’s report and a few drawings he had mailed them. To limit any embarrassment Nikko might get over that fact, Kenopsia quickly led them back outside.

“Okay, I’ve never had to do a guided tour of my property before, what do you want to see?”

“Well, you’ve got a lot of farm plots, do you want to show us what you’re growing?” Harumi asked.

“Ah, yeah.” The plots were to the right and straight back from the house. The further back, the more natural flora was allowed to creep into the beds. “I generally only grow enough for myself, except for certain goods that the locals love. Daikons have been in high demand the last few years. I’ll probably have you help dig some up, Nikko. I usually go to their weekend market if I’m feeling alright and have enough to give.”

“What were you working on when we pulled up?” Akane asked, looking over to the plot closest to the road.

“Ah, my leeks. Also a local favorite. I only grow whatever’s in season, so my diet changes with the weather, but right now, February is great for planting roots and greens, so I’ve got some chard and kale – Bendelton loves those – as well as beets, broccoli, lettuce, and a few varieties of onion. The daikons I planted in fall, and they are great for breaking ground on new plots since they get so big. I leave them over winter, and you wouldn’t believe the size they can get.” they smiled out at the large bundles of green erupting out of the ground from a plot farther back. “I’ll definitely put Nikko to work out here at some point. It’s really fun getting to mess around in the dirt with the plants and bugs.”

“That’ll be good. Us city slickers don’t get dirty like that nearly enough.” Akane smiled. “I try to get us out for hikes but work and school gets in the way.”

“You like hikes?” Kenopsia perked up. “Good, I was worried about just how much you want to see. There’s a lot of forest out here, but there is one spot I think you should all see, but it’s a bit of a walk.”

“I’m sure we can handle it!” she said, hope alighting in her eyes. Her excitement was palatable, and only served to hype Kenopsia up.

To the sea cliffs they’d go.

—

“You know, coming in, we got kinda lost. We stopped in town for directions but nobody gave us any real help.” Harumi said as they walked through the woods. Akane and Nikko were not far behind, but often stopped to look at some interesting plant or bug.

“Oh?”

“One guy tried to convince us it was the opposite way than you said!”

“Oh!” Kenopsia laughed. So that’s how the locals had kept reporters away for so long. “Yes, I know exactly what they were doing.”

“Huh?”

“They know I like my solitude, that’s all. They chase off the press when they come snooping for stories, they probably thought you were doing the same thing. I’ll tell them to not mind you guys next time I’m in town.”

Harumi chuckled.

“What?”

“When you think about it, it’s kind of like a weird yakuza. You give them radishes, and they protect you from nosey interlopers.”

“I-” they stopped to let that sink in, then giggled. “I’ll have to tell them you said that. I’m sure some of the older guys would get a kick out of it.”

“Kenopsia!” Nikko called. They paused to look back at the other two. Nikko held up a large tan beetle. “What’s this?”

“Rhinoceros beetle, though it’s on the small side for them out here.” Nikko stared at the squirming insect in surprise. “Leave it be, they are generally mild mannered and I’d rather leave them that way.”

“Never seen one in real life before, I was starting to think they made them up for TV and Animal Crossing.” he said as he gently put it back at the base of a fern. He and Akane quickly caught up with them and they continued down the path.

“My property is majorly woodland. I use a very small portion of it, but that portion is the dead center, just to keep myself shrouded from the rest of the world. The entire east edge is right along the coast, though.”

“You got a whole beach to yourself?” Nikko asked giddily.

“Not exactly.” the path was overgrown, as it usually became after a few months of little use. They gently moved some hanging vines and reaching ferns to the side, and revealed the edge of the forest – and with it, the edge of the sea cliffs. Black basalt cliffs that plummeted straight down into churning water. Foliage grew between the cracks in the rock, and in wind swept crevices below, sea birds nested.

“Oh my god,” Akane gasped. “Imagine watching the sunrise out here…”

“Maybe you need a weekend retreat too, Akane. Have you tried getting in trouble with your principal?”

Nikko laughed. Akane rolled her eyes. Harumi just stood silently and stared out over the endless miles of sea. She hadn’t been nearly as excited about the hiking as Akane had been, but it seemed this was worth it for her. Her soft smile said everything that her voice didn’t.

“You got any more breathtaking secrets around here?” Nikko asked. Kenopsia had to pause and think.

“I set up some shrines in one corner of the property. I don’t usually visit it till summer but we could do a little trip up there while you’re here one of these days. It is kinda a full day trip.”

Harumi checked her phone for the time. “We should probably head back. It’s a long drive, and we don’t want to get caught in evening traffic.”

Akane sighed and took one last lingering glance at the view. “Maybe we should spend a weekend trip up here, under better circumstances…” she blinked, then quickly glanced over to Kenopsia nervously. “If that’s okay with you, of course.”

“Only if you’re prepared to put in some work around here. Who knows when my age will catch up to me. Any day now, my bones could all suddenly turn to dust and you all will have to do all the upkeep.” they grinned, and started the trek back to the house.

—

The women’s departure was filled with tears on their part, and exasperation on their son’s part. From their outside perspective, though, they could see the way Nikko’s mouth twitched anxiously, and even his eyerolls didn’t have as much strength behind them as usual. They watched his moms drive back down the drive until their car was gone, then they laid a hand on his shoulder and nodded their head towards the cottage in a silent offer to go inside. He nodded back and followed them inside.

“Make yourself at home, I don’t usually do yard work past noon, so I’ve got nothing planned for the rest of the day.”

“What, not even dinner?”

They shrugged. “I usually set out a dish of kale for Bendelton, but he scavenges on his own just fine too.”

Nikko gave them an odd look.

“What?”

“I meant dinner for you. And I guess me, now, too.”

Kenopsia went clammy. Oh dear, that didn’t think this through. “Oh…. oh no. I didn’t think this through…” they muttered.

Nikko, equal parts curious, and concerned, raised his eyebrows. “Think what through? What’s wrong?”

“You eat three meals a day, don’t you?”

“Uh, yeah?”

They quickly grabbed their car keys and wallet. “I don’t have enough food for balanced meals for you, unless you wanna eat radishes three times a day.”

Nikko pulled a twisted face. “Yeah, no. that’s not happening. But what are you doing? Why don’t you have food? Do you not eat?”

“I usually just eat breakfast, my metabolism isn’t exactly human. Come on, we’re going into town and getting you food.”

Nikko followed his flustered friend out to their car with a bright laugh.

—

“Five hundred yen for one stalk of broccoli?!” Kenopsia cried. “Why would anyone pay that much? No wonder people get so excited when I come out to give out vegetables. Glad we’re good on veggies, I’m not buying something so ridiculous.”

“Kenopsia, you have plenty of money.”

“Yeah, but why would I buy something we already have? And I want to waste my money on stuff you want. Do you want five hundred yen broccoli?”

“No, I was about to go check out the instant stuff a few aisles over.”

“There you have it. Just let me be mad at the world sometimes.”

He laughed and they followed him through the store. He was much better at navigating the place than them. Several of the other customers stopped what they were doing to stare as they went by, though neither recipient of the looks noticed.

Kenopsia studied the ingredients on the back of a ramen packet. “You really eat this?”

“Yeah? Not all the time, but it’s quick and easy. Anyone can do it.”

“I could make this from scratch, it’s not that hard.”

“Really?”

“It’s just a broth and noodles,” they shrugged and put the packet back on the shelf. “Then whatever toppings you want. I got plenty of veggies for it, I just need some meat and bones for the broth and then stuff for the noodles.”

“Can you teach me?”

“Uh, excuse me, Mx. Kenopsia?”

The two of them glanced over to see a middle aged man looking at them, confused.

“Hey, you’re the guy who tried to give my moms wrong directions earlier today!”

Kenopsia looked down at Nikko in surprise. It always shook them a bit at how quickly his mood could change when others were around. Then they faced the man again. He was vaguely familiar, in the way so many people in this town were. The faces of people who stood in line to get their vegetables every so often tended to blend together.

“Is that true?”

“Well, yes, I thought…”

They knew what he thought. For the most part, they appreciated what he and many of the locals did. This time they couldn’t let it slide. They wrapped an arm around Nikko’s shoulders and pulled him in close.

“I invited him out. He and his family are very good friends of mine. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t bother him and his mothers.”

“I-I’m sorry, Mx. Kenopsia, I was worried that they wanted something from you. I didn’t mean to offend you!”

“You didn’t, it was a misunderstanding?” They tilted their head and glanced at Nikko. He was trying to hold back a laugh. “But you should apologize to Nikko, it was him you messed with, not me.”

The man nodded and ducked his head to the boy, giving a quiet and rushed apology. At the end of the aisle, a more familiar face bobbed into sight.

“Mx. Kenopsia?!” the postal worker whose name they really should have remembered at this point, considering their increased number of visits, sprung into the conversation with a wide grin. “Wowie, I never see you anywhere but the post office! And who’s this handsome boy?” she pinched Nikko’s cheek and he scoffed.

“Jeez, geezer, just how many people do you know?”

“Nikko, I’m three hundred years old. You meet people when you live that long whether you like it or not.”

The post woman gasped and clapped her hands in excitement. “So you’re Sawaya Nikko? I’ve been wondering who belonged to all those letters Mx. Kenopsia was sending!” she grabbed Nikko’s hand and shook it vigorously, not caring about how uncomfortable he, Kenopsia, or even the man who had been trying to back away from the conversation felt at the action. “What a pleasure it is to meet you!”

“That’s…. Great?” he glanced to Kenopsia. They shrugged.

“I’ll let you get back to shopping, I’d hate to be a bother, but it’s an honor to meet ya! Don’t be a stranger, yeah?” as quick as she had sprung up into the aisle, she was gone. The man had also made his escape during her excitement, which left both Nikko and Kenopsia in a bit of a daze. 

They stood in silence for a moment, but when their eyes met, neither could resist the laughter that bubbled up.

—

“Technically, a good stock should sit overnight, but it’ll be fine either way.” Kenopsia explained once they were back home. Nikko watched them add green onions and garlic to a hot pot, nearly melting at the rich smell. The door of the cottage creaked open, making him jump.

Bendelton wandered in, gave him a slow look, then wandered down the hallway to the bedroom. Nikko looked to Kenopsia, but they hardly noticed.

“Some people like to spice their ramen with a stick of cinnamon, but I can’t stand the stuff. You don’t mind, do you? I don’t use cinnamon or cloves at all. I know some people swear by it.”

In fact, they hadn’t even looked up from the pot as they poured chicken broth into the pot and steam rolled up into their face. Nikko couldn’t answer their question, he was too busy laughing. Something about them letting Bendelton come and go as he pleased just got to him.

“What?” they asked, finally looking up. “You agree about cinnamon?”

He could only laugh harder.

—

After some hearty bowls of soup for Nikko and a cup of broth for Kenopsia (so they’d feel like they were eating with him) they spent the evening talking much like they would at the galas. Nikko skirted around the topic of his suspension easily, and Kenopsia let him. He’d be staying with them for a week or so, they had plenty of time to talk about it, if he wanted to in the first place.

As they hung up Nikko’s hammock, strung up between the hardiest beams in the wall, he put away his clothes in an old dresser they rarely used. A comfortable quiet settled over the both of them as they strayed into their own little worlds.

Then Nikko screamed.

Well, scream wasn’t quite the word for it. Perhaps shriek would be a better term? Either way, a high pitched fell out of his mouth and he scrambled backwards. Kenopsia jolted at the sound, and turned to him curiously.

“What?”

“Spider!”

They looked to the dresser, where several long, hairy legs were emerging from a drawer Nikko had just opened. A second later, eight eyes peeked over the edge of the wood and stared out at them.

“It’s just a Huntsman, it wont hurt you.”

“Are you kidding? That thing is bigger than my head!”

They chuckled as they came closer to the dresser. “Sorry you have a small head, then. Huntsmen are non venomous and not aggressive towards humans.” to show this, they held their hand out, and the spider gradually stepped onto it. While it wasn’t as big as Nikko’s head, it did cover the entire length of their large hand. Nikko shied away from it when they brought it closer to him.

“I’m not touching that thing, and I’m not letting it in my clothes.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. I usually let Huntsmen live in my house rent free cause they eat giant centipedes, which are both venomous and poisonous, and like to sleep in linens, but if you insist I can put her outside.”

They only made a few steps towards the door before Nikko cried out a panicked “wait!” they stopped and turned, feigning curiosity, and trying to cover a laugh. “It wont bite me?”

“As long as you’re nice to her, she’ll be nice to you.” they held the spider out to him, and he hesitantly held his hand out to her. It took a bit of coaxing to get her off of her comfortable perch of Kenopsia’s hand, but eventually she meandered onto Nikko, and although he held her at a distance, in case she wanted to jump at his face, he looked at her with a bit more appreciation.

“Keep my clothes safe and I won’t send you outside.”

She didn’t respond beyond shuffling to get comfortable. She wasn’t able to, as Nikko placed her back into the drawer she came from and closed it. He quickly finished unpacking and refused to meet Kenopsia’s gaze, even when they laughed at him

Even so, when they turned off the light and crawled into their Hammock with a tired “goodnight,” he couldn’t bring himself to leave them hanging.

“Goodnight, Kenopsia.”

—

He found the half-eaten corpse of a giant centipede on the floor the next day, and Kenopsia was kind enough to impart the knowledge that if he had not chosen to sleep in a hammock, it probably would have crawled into bed with him before the spider had gotten to it.

If he gave an approving nod to the spider when he saw her afterwards, that was just for him and Kenopsia to know.

—

Halfway through his stay, Kenopsia gathered together some cleaning supplies, a couple water bottles, and a backpack to carry it all. When Nikko asked what they were doing, they just said they were taking him on a hike. Having finished all his work for school the previous day, and having nothing else to do, he shrugged and put his shoes on to follow them out into the woods.

“You mentioned you wanted to see anything else I was hiding on my property.” Kenopsia explained as they trekked up a steep hill. Although they were the one carrying the weight, Nikko was the one to need to stop for breaks every so often. “I don’t have a lot of secrets, I just like to let the land so as it pleases, and I forage from it. But I did make this shrine a while ago.”

“Yeah, you mentioned it. What’s it a shrine for?”

“You’ll see.”

They continued through the woods, allowing Nikko plenty of time to rest or to look at the wildlife. The hill up to the shrine was steep, but it was very much worth the trek. When the ground flattened out, and Nikko bent over to take some deep breaths, Kenopsia gently patted his back.

“We’re here. No more climbing.”

“Oh thank god…” he trailed off as he lifted his head, only to take in the large boulder surrounded by thick, ancient trees and covered in moss. The face that they stood in front of was sheared off to make a flat surface, and on that polished surface, name after name covered it. A list of names hobbled together in lines and slowly being consumed by the yellow-green creeping moss.

Nikko stood in awe of the space, shielded as it was. The trees here were obviously thousands of years old, reaching high enough to cover the whole area, and thick enough not even Kenopsia could wrap their arms around them all the way. It felt like he stood inside some great fishbowl made of bark and greenery. The sun could only peek in through the smallest gaps in the branches above, creating a spackle of glittering orange spots across the ground.

Kenopsia moved towards the boulder, small broom and dustpan in hand, and knelt to begin sweeping dust and overgrowth from a small raised platform, also made of stone. Perhaps it was made from what had been sheared off of the boulder.

Nikko stepped forward to inspect the names closer, but none of them were familiar.

“Who were these people?”

Kenopsia diligently swept, dumped the dustpan at the edge of the clearing, then returned to stand at Nikko’s side, looking up at the shrine just as he did.

“At a young age, I began documenting the names of people who had quirks who died. I was afraid that they did not have friends or family who would pray for them, so I started to. I know there are ones I missed, a lot of their deaths went unrecorded, but I could only hope that my message got to those ones as well. That there was someone out there who thought of them kindly, and who lived to see another day.” they moved down the rock and traced a few names with the tips of their fingers. “As I grew, I remembered the names of quirkless people who helped me, even when it could land them in a world of trouble. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today. They are all long dead, but I remember them, and I wanted them to know that.”

Nikko stared up at the boulder face in awe. Three hundred years of names, three hundred years of people thought to be forgotten, and three hundred years of kindness. It was humbling to come face to face with such a thing. Many people assumed they were on the right side of history, but how many people aided in the deaths of those with quirks early on? How many had been selfless enough to help a middle school dropout who’d been disowned for something they couldn’t control? In the world today, Nikko would never understand that kind of care, no matter how often he was labeled as a delinquent.

A stick of incense entered his vision, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked at it, at the hand that held it, and then up the arm and to Kenopsia. They held their own incense stick and a lighter in their other hand.

“Wanna light one, or should I light them both?”

“Oh.” He took the incense stick and followed Kenopsia’s lead when they knelt before the stone platform. They lit their stick, handed Nikko the lighter, and stuck it into a hole that had been drilled into the surface. For a moment, Nikko just watched as they lowered their head, closed their eyes, and silently prayed.

He’d known them for two years, but the persona they put on for galas – while still being thoroughly them – was hard to compare to them now. He had never seen them so comfortable. He saw their twitching and uncomfortable glances; they weren’t very good at hiding them at all. When that’s all you see of someone for so long, it’s easy to think that that is how they are at all times. However, seeing them now, and seeing them for as long as he’d been here, he realized just how much their phobia controlled them. Out here, they were comfortable, prevalent in just the way they held themself. They also shed their fin covering, letting their blue-green appendages hang free. From what he knew, it was an honor to know they were comfortable enough here, with him, to not cover up.

Before they could notice his staring, he lit his incense, placed it beside Kenopsia’s on the platform, and sent a prayer to the names without faces. He may not have known them, but he knew that without them, Kenopsia would not be who they were today. They might not have even made it past one hundred.

When he opened his eyes and sat up straighter, Kenopsia was watching him, obviously no having the same worries he had about being caught. They just smiled, pulled him closer and pressed a comforting kiss to the top of his head.

He wasn’t sure if it was for their comfort or his.

Maybe it was both.

—

The dirt between their fingers was a familiar feeling for Kenopsia, and after a week of helping them, they could tell it was becoming familiar to Nikko as well. He may not have had three hundred years worth of experience with it, but he didn’t flinch at bugs in the soil nearly as much as he did at first.

They were showing him how to transplant beets from indoor pots to the outside plot, and though the morning air was crisp, they’d certainly felt colder. At least it wasn’t January.

“It’s hardly my business – careful of the stems – but would you like to talk about why you were suspended?”

Nikko focused on his plant, making sure not to damage the deep red stems. The beets were small lumps of roots now, but under the sun they would ripen into juicy globes in no time. After pulling dirt back over his plant, he sat up and sighed.

“I told you in the letter didn’t I?”

“You only said he was spreading some nasty rumors around. That could mean anything. But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Nikko sighed again, shoulders drooping in resignation.

“He was saying shit like I acted out all the time cause i didn’t have a dad, and my mom’s were to blame for me being a brat.”

They tilted their head to the side, considering this. Knowing Nikko, they were surprised he hadn’t outright killed the kid for talking shit about his moms.

“I guess someone reminded him that you stuck up for me back in November, so he added to it, made it worse.” he shuddered. “I say some bad shit, but even I don’t wanna repeat that shit. Basically implied that the only reason you’re in the picture is cause one of my moms cheated and I’m a bastard.”

“And you sent him to the hospital for it?”

He huffed. “Uh, yeah! I’m not gonna take that shit! I don’t care what you adults say about not hitting.”

“No, I mean…” they covered a beet with a bit too much dirt and had to dig it out again. “You only sent him to the hospital?”

Nikko blinked, not comprehending.

“He deserved more than, what did you give him? A broken nose? You don’t shit talk another’s family like that. It’s a low blow, childish, and deserving of a knock in the jaw. You obviously showed a lot of control by stopping where you did.”

“But I hurt him. Isn’t that worse?”

“Were you going to hit him before he said any of that?” when he shook his head in a negative way, they continued. “He hurt you first, then. He started it, and he got what he deserved. You think he’s gonna spread shit like that again?”

Nikko shrugged and tried to refocus on the beets. There weren’t many left, so it was becoming increasingly difficult to do so.

“I have had to deal with plenty of rumor mills in my life. Some of them stop if you ignore them, but the majority only do what you want when you threaten their dignity and power. In my two-hundreds, I was shouting at so many gossip mags that I don’t think you would recognize me. Not even half those magazines survived after I tore into them. I didn’t hold back, I didn’t give them the chance to get better. You gave that boy a chance, and that’s a very strong choice. It says a lot about you.”

“Are you saying you would’ve suggested killing the kid?”

“Goodness, no! I love kids!” they said innocently. “All I’m saying, is you did the right thing. Sometimes, a punch to the face is what someone needs.”

“I guess…”

Kenopsia planted the last beet, and stood. “Now, let’s check on the growth of the Daikons. They might be ready for harvesting so we can bring them to town on Saturday.”

—

The Saturday before he was set to leave, Nikko helped load crates of vegetables they had harvested the day before into their car. The small size made it difficult, and he had to sit in the back with crates on all sides of him, but it wasn’t like they were going far anyways.

It was early, so they wouldn’t be caught in the humid heat that gathered down in town at midday, and Nikko was quick to fall back asleep between daikons and kale during the twenty minute drive. The sun had only just come up, and he was going to be helping with a crowd, if what Kenopsia said was true. He needed all the rest he could get.

The center of the small town was a city plaza and a town hall. Bricks smoothed from years of tread lined the ground, and a large, ancient tree sprouted from a center ring of dirt. The roots occasionally broke the surface, disrupting the brick work even at the edge of the plaza, and close to the tree, they curled and reached like some strange jungle gym. It was under this marvel that Kenopsia unloaded their crates, which caught the eye of some early risers wandering by during their morning routine.

As Nikko helped unload, they told him to keep going, then jogged over to the town hall building. By the time Nikko was done unloading, and a few civilians had meandered into the plaza with curious glances his way, Kenopsia returned with a folding table.

“They usually have one of these I can use.” they explained as he helped set it up. “Makes things a little easier.” he nodded and put a few crates on the table instead of on the ground. At some point during the unloading and set up, Bendelton crawled off of Kenopsia’s shoulders and nestled himself between some tree roots.

“Oh, Kenopsia! Hello!” a little old woman croaked as she hobbled over. “I didn’t know you got a helper!”

“That’s Nikko.” they said, not bothering to hide the pride in their voice when they spoke of him. “He was just here for a bit, He’ll be going home tomorrow.”

“Did he help with harvesting? she asked as she dug through a crate of daikons like it was second nature. “I know that Bendelton of yours isn’t doesn’t have thumbs, so it’s hard to get him to help.”

“He did. He’s from the city so it was his first time, but he assured me that next time he visits he’ll be much better at it, and he won’t get tired out nearly as quickly.”

The old woman laughed, and Nikko flushed. He hadn’t expected them to be so comfortable and amicable with the townsfolk. The way they interacted with them was very different from how they interacted with others at the galas, but maybe that was just how they were with people of high status? 

The old woman turned to him suddenly and looked him up and down. He tensed up under her gaze.

“If Kenopsia has you staying with them, then you must be an awfully good kid. But pray tell, where is your uniform?”

“My… uniform?”

She tutted and rustled around in her purse. She pulled out several swaths of fabric, knitting needles, and yarn before she found what she was looking for – a black handkerchief. She folded it into a triangle, and leaned over and wrapped it around Nikko’s head with more dexterity than he thought an old woman could possess. When she backed up, she looked at him approvingly.

“There, much better. Now you two match.” she took three large daikons, a bundle of kale, and a head of broccoli, fit them all into her seemingly endless bag, then left as if nothing had happened.

Kenopsia snorted at his numb shock.

He reached up to feel the handkerchief, only to realize the woman had used it to push his hair back, keeping it out of his face, and it was the same kind of fabric as Kenopsia’s covering.

He smiled up at them and couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up.

And if he was comforted by the fact that no matter how comfortable Kenopsia was with the townsfolk, they still wore their coverings around them, well, that was for just him to know.

—

After the first woman, they had a steady stream of patrons lined up. Most of them stopped to chat with Kenopsia, though they weren’t all that talkative – either allowing the other to monologue, or directing their attention to Nikko. It quickly became clear that they were elated with the fact that they had a distraction on their side, and that they didn’t have to make conversation beyond “Look, a teenager!” It gave them time to sit back with Bendelton and keep their phobias at bay.

Answering the local’s questions was the least he could do to repay Kenopsia for letting him stay with them for two weeks. A lot of them seemed to think he was some sort of long lost relative of Kenopsia’s, reminding him of the reason he’s been able to get to know them in the first place. Apparently the only reason a hermit has for being friends with a delinquent teen is blood relation, and not sheer boredom.

He honestly liked Kenopsia’s reason for befriending him better than the one people thought they had.

As noon approached and the sun beamed down and filled the plaza with a humid heat, the patrons came fewer and fewer. The crates were basically empty, and Kenopsia was obviously wiped from  the social interaction. They packed up the car together, and Nikko took the table back to the town hall, both so Kenopsia didn’t have to talk to anyone, and so they could start the AC in their ancient car.

Puttering back up to the property was slow and careful as Kenopsia was sure to not drift off like the heat wanted them to. Bendelton was no help, as he fell asleep the second he hit the warm red leather.

Afternoon naps were commonplace in Kenopsia’s house, Nikko had found. He wasn’t complaining one bit. Setting up the hammocks under some big trees as the sun slowly warmed the late winter season made for perfect napping, and it was going to be one of many things he’d miss when he had to return home.

—

For the second time in two weeks, Kenopsia watched as a cloud of dust traveled up their driveway. Nikko’s moms were coming to pick him up, and it was just dawning on them how much they’d miss having him around.

They and Nikko prepared a lunch for them all to share once Harumi and Akane arrived, both to be polite to the women who drove so long to pick him up, and to buy a little extra time before Nikko had to go.

He’d have to go back to school tomorrow, and he wasn’t happy about it. If nothing else, he was gonna miss afternoon naps like crazy. All his classes after lunch were going to suck.

But who was he kidding. He was going to miss all of this. Even the early wakeups.

When it was time for him to go, Kenopsia walked them all to the car, not hesitating to pull Nikko in for a quick hug.

“It was wonderful having you here, Nikko. You all are welcome up here anytime. The locals know Nikko now, so they shouldn’t be so hard on you anymore.”

Harumi and Akane smiled at them. Akane rubbed the back of her neck. “We might just take you up on that. Maybe during Summer break?”

“I don’t know when that is, but again, anytime. I can’t recommend it during the winter, but there’s plenty of work to be done then too, so I wouldn’t complain.” They surprised the women with gentle head pats. They usually were against touching and being touched; having them initiate such a gesture was something neither of them had experienced.

When they left, a cloud of dust following them out, it dawned on Kenopsia that they didn’t want to wait a long, indeterminate time before seeing any of them again.

A few months was enough time off.

It was time to get back outside.

—

Early April had them attending a few events, but due to Nikko’s new UA workload, he was too swamped and tired to come out. It’s not like he was the sole reason they came to these things, they still had their morals about them. But the events were all terribly boring without the kid. They found themself leaving after an hour out of either boredom or anxiety, only sticking around that long to talk to the host and anyone who stopped them with pleasantries. Mr. Kenzou had a few parties that they attended with far less hesitation than others, but even the man who started their friendship with Nikko couldn’t hold their attention for long.

This event wasn’t held by Mr. Kenzou, or anyone else they knew, for that matter. It was for some hero they hadn’t heard of for some time. They didn’t pay much attention to what heroes were out and about nowadays, especially considering their rocky relationship with the commission, but they had liked the guy’s energy when he was starting out. Enough so that though they couldn’t recall who exactly he was, when they had seen his name in a letter, they had assumed he was still as good a man as he was so long ago.

“Mx. Kenopsia! It is so good to see you again, it’d been so long, I’m honored to have you!”

They choked on their drink at the sudden booming voice that managed to sneak up on them and Bendelton They had hoped that this corner of the room was dark enough to hide in. Apparently, it was not.

They were also surprised when they didn’t have to look as far down as usual to meet the man’s gaze. But after a moment, they remembered feeling very much the same about him thirty years ago.

“Are you alright?” he asked, more softly this time.

They patted their chest a moment, then nodded. “You spooked me, Yagi.”

“I-” he hesitated for a moment, then chuckled. “Dear, I forgot I let you use my name for a moment, I’m surprised you remembered, it’s been so long.”

They tilted their head at him. “I don’t forget names so easily. Though, hero names I have trouble with. What was yours? Mighty…”

He let out a loud laugh. As friendly as he was, Kenopsia couldn’t say they liked how loud he could get.

“It’s All Might, my friend. I must say, it’s a bit refreshing to have to introduce myself these days! Come now, Mx. Kenopsia, I came to get you for a reason!”

Luckily, he did not manhandle them, just lead a path through the party. As the two tallest people there, it wasn’t hard keeping track of him. Most people were one or two heads below them.

He brought them to a tall table where an older man sat with a plate of food. Two stools sat on either side of him, and Yagi easily slipped into one of them. The man was so short his feet didn’t even reach the footrest built into the stool, while Yagi and Kenopsia could both plant their feet on the ground.

“Hello, Torino.” Kenopsia said. It had been a very long time since they had seen this particular face, but they couldn’t forget that scowl.

“Kenopsia. Causing trouble like always?” he muttered and took a hearty bite out of his pudding.

“Not sure what you mean.”

“Bah! Can’t believe you’re older than me, you act like Yagi when he was a boy. You don’t think things through, do ya?”

“Enlighten me to what you’re talking about, and I might be able to answer you properly.”

He waved his spoon around, pointing at them with it, which made it hard to take him seriously. There was some pudding in his beard.

“I heard from the Commission, you did a real number on Hawks. Then you go threatening a commissioner? If you don’t want to be harassed by them, stop making trouble for them!”

They huffed. “Torino, perhaps you are preaching to the wrong choir. They haven’t left me alone in one hundred years. I’m doing my civic duty of not letting them get ahold of another child.”

He huffed in disagreement. Kenopsia looked over to Yagi, who still seemed unusually chipper, considering the conversation.

“Why did you want me to come talk to the windbag?” they asked.

Hm.

Perhaps Nikko was rubbing off on them.

“He saw you earlier and wouldn’t stop grumbling, I thought he’d need to let it all out.”

“Yagi, as much as I enjoyed this, and I didn’t, that’s an awful reason.” they racked their brain for some sort of scathing remark. If Nikko were here, he would have already made ten, probably. What would he say? What would dig into a hero? “Don’t talk to me until you’re the number one hero.”

Torino coughed on his next spoonful of pudding and Yagi spit up some blood.

Ouch.

Maybe they shouldn’t take anymore pages from Nikko’s book?

Then, Torino burst into raucous laughter and Yagi struggled to clean up the front of his suit. Luckily, he was wearing a garish red tie, and most of the blood had landed on it and wasn’t exactly visible.

“Mx. Kenopsia, you must be confused,” Yagi said meekly. “I am the number one hero.”

They blinked at him and frowned. “No, you aren’t.”

“I have been for the last twenty or so years.”

Kenopsia pulled a face. That couldn’t have been right. “What about Arc Volt? Setsushi Rai?”

“Arc Volt has been dead for ages! And Setsushi Rai? That scoundrel has been retired for so long, I’m surprised she’s still kicking at this point!” Torino guffawed.

“That’s ridiculous. Yagi is like twenty. That’s too young. And besides, you’re one to talk, Torino. You look like a ten year old hamster.”

Who were they kidding? Channeling Nikko was too much fun.

“He’s forty six! For the wisest person on earth, you sure are daft!”

“I never claimed I was the smartest person, it’s not my fault my body refuses to die.”

Yagi tried to speak up, but the two of them were on a roll.

“Maybe you should’ve kept up the smoking habit from a few decades ago. Probably would have killed ya by now.”

“Torino, we both know that the chain smoking nanny bit is your thing, not mine. I don’t have the temperament for it.”

He squinted at them, calculating, then broke into a light chuckle. “You continue to be an utter bastard, but damn if it’s not entertaining. I still can’t tell where your sass starts and ends. I trust you’re just yanking my chain? Trying to bother me?”

“About what?”

“Everybody and their grandmother knows Yagi is the number one hero.”

They rolled their eyes. “I’m a hermit, Torino. I don’t know shit.” they turned to Yagi, who was looking flustered. “Congratulations on the promotion. I always did think you’d be a decent hero.”

“You did?” he asked. He was awfully timid for someone with the title of Number One Hero. being around Torino tended to do that to anyone, though. They made a flippant gesture at his question.

“Yeah. I mean, when I remembered you existed. Generally, my turnips came before hero nonsense, so I didn’t think too hard about it.”

Yagi laughed. His mighty laugh from earlier rose out of his chest, puffing him up like some kind of proud ostrich. 

“I hope I can continue living up to your expectations, Mx. Kenopsia!”

“That oughta be easy, my expectations are pretty much just don’t be a dick. But if you start to farm, I’ll have to put some more pressure on you.”

“I don’t know about that, but how about I start with getting you a drink?”

Before they could respond, he was merging back with the crowd. They looked back to Torino, who was chuckling under his breath.

“Poor boy, doesn’t know that arguing is just how old folk talk to each other.”

“He seems like a goody-two shoes. You should meet my friend Nikko. He could go back and forth with you much longer than I could.”

He laughed and shook his head.

They might not have been friends, but it was still good to have a familiar face at an event.

—

Even with an acquaintance, the party grew tedious at best. A few reporters would approach them periodically and ask questions, all of which were fairly tame, but still managed to rub them ragged. They hadn’t exactly noticed just how little people approached them when they were watching kids at these things. Even back when they’d watch the Todorokis and Nagatas, the kids were like a natural press-deterrent. They wished Nikko were here, he was far better at keeping people at bay than Torino.

They turned to him with a burning question on their tongue.

“Do you have a phone?”

He quirked an eyebrow at them and took out his cell phone. “Who doesn’t? I may be old but I keep up with the times.”

They shrugged. “I don’t have one. Can I borrow it?”

He rolled his eyes. “Do you even know how to use it, bone bag?”

“I’m actually more cartilage than bone, and yes, I do. Numbers go in, someone’s voice comes out. Easy.”

Torino grumbled, opened his phone to the correct app, then handed it over. “You better not be makin’ prank calls.”

They laughed and dialed Nikko’s number. Harumi had given them her, Akane’s, and Nikko’s numbers when Nikko was getting picked up from their house, just in case they ever decided to get a phone. They hadn’t thought they’d need it, but memorizing a couple digits wasn’t hard and gave them something to do. Now it had paid off.

“Yo, who is this?” Nikko picked up after a few rings.

“It’s me.”

“No shit? You got a phone?”

“I stole one from an old man at this party. I’m bored. You wanna drop by?”

Nikko laughed. In the background on his end, a few cars sped by. “Where’re you at?”

“Black Mountain resort. Very fancy, very draining.”

“Hell yeah, I’m nearby. I was studying at the library a few blocks over. I’ll be there in like ten minutes.”

“Gucci.”

He groaned. “I shouldn’t have taught you that, it sounds so wrong coming from you.”

They grinned. “That’s not very pog of you.”

“Christ! Stop it!” he laughed. “I’ll see you soon, stop being embarrassing!”

He hung up, and Kenopsia passed the phone back to Torino. He gave them an odd look.

“What?”

“You’re never relaxed when talking to people. Who was that?”

“You’ll meet him.” they stretched their back out, and ignored the cracks that came from the action. Torino flinched at the sound.

“You sound like the celery Yagi insists is good for me.”

“I’m so sorry he lies to you like that.”

—

Fifteen minutes, and Nikko had not given any further contact. If he had gotten lost, or if he was held up at front, he could have easily called back to ask for help. But there was no word, and it made Kenopsia increasingly anxious.

Torino tried to help them relax, but he didn’t know Nikko, didn’t know the trust they’d carved between them, or what Nikko’s usual habits were. When it came to his parents and Kenopsia, he didn’t want them to worry, and wouldn’t intentionally let them do so. He should have called.

They stood and started towards the door. “I’m gonna go look for him. Something’s not right.”

“Kenopsia, you’re making a big deal out of nothing!”

They sent a glare back to him. “Aren’t you supposed to be a hero? It’s better to do something if you can, even if it winds up not being necessary.”

He fell silent, and they made their way outside.

The sun had set and street lights were flickering on. At eight in the evening, there weren’t many commuters after the main rush to get home, and the few cars on the road sounded far louder than they really were. Someone who grew up in the city may have described the place as eerily silent, but Kenopsia knew what dead silence was, and this wasn’t it. The streetlights hummed, there were distant sounds of tvs and radios blasting from open windows, and the asphalt itself seemed to echo the rumble of tires long after they’d passed by. For someone so used to listening closely to the mild voice of the forest, it made it hard to concentrate.

But they remembered seeing a library on the way over, and they could only hope that that’s where Nikko had been. They set off in its direction, not bothering to grab their car.

It wasn’t long before they found what they were looking for.

And it made their chest boil.

—

The call from Kenopsia had been the last thing Nikko expected to get on his way home from the library. General studies at UA was no joke, and keeping his grades up had been eating up all of his time, even just a few weeks in, so the sudden distraction was a godsend. It was no trouble to turn back the other way to make the trek to the resort the event was at.

What was trouble, was the little posse that had decided to follow him halfway through the walk.

He was trying to not get into trouble while at UA, so his moms wouldn’t have to worry, and he wouldn’t have to risk getting kicked out. He had worked hard to be there, he wasn’t going to fuck it up.

But that was hard when his ex-classmates decided to make nuisances of themselves.

“What, you’re a goody-two-shoes now? Is that it?” one of them jeered from a few feet behind him. “You don’t have to act all good, Sawaya, we all know you didn’t get into UA on good behavior!”

They all laughed. Nikko tensed up and kept walking. He could walk into a big exclusive party and they couldn’t. That would show them. He might even get the security guards to put the fear of god into them for once. All these events tended to have the same hires for security, and he’d made friends with several of them over the years. Being on their good sides was important when rich kids would call them over after losing too much in poker.

“Nothing? Damn, you’re so boring now, dude, what happened?”

“Yuki, don’t you remember? When he got suspended, and went and lived with that weirdo in the woods? I bet they did something to him, he hasn’t been the same since!”

“No shit? I bet they’re in a cult and brainwashed him or something!”

“Or Kanta was right back then and they-”

This had to stop. Talking shit about him was one thing, but shit talking his friends and family was something else entirely. Besides, punching wasn’t using his quirk, and the principal of UA seemed pretty chill. He’d probably hear him out if something happened.

Quickly, he spun around and shoved the kid who was still talking. “Don’t talk abo-oof!”

He didn’t have enough time to finish his sentence as the kid’s two friends came to his rescue, one helping him up, the other punching Nikko in the face. He could take it, he’d been in plenty of fights, but it still hurt like hell. At least the kid was nursing his fist after the blow. He hadn’t thrown it right.

Rookies.

This was what happened when “smart” kids got high and mighty about their place on the social chain.

The sun had set. Visibility was going down, even with the streetlights; if need be, he could make a run for it. If they were smart, they’d leave him alone. He fell into a fighting stance, arms close to his body, fists near his face, and scowled at the boys. They all gladly scowled back.

“Anyone ever tell you that you’re a bastard, Sawaya? We all know that rich old guy paid to get you into UA cause your family is their little pet project, you don’t have to act like you’re worth more than that!”

“Shut the fuck up! If you guys know so much, why didn’t you get into UA, huh?” warmth trickled down his face and past his mouth. His nose was bleeding. The left side of his face stung. He’d probably have a black eye.

The boys didn’t like his quip. Another fist came flying at him, and he only just managed to dodge out of the way. A kick to the shin nearly had his right leg buckling, and one of them grabbed the front of his shirt and reared back to give a solid, proper punch to his face. As much as he struggled, he couldn’t rip free. His left eye was already swelling, so he just closed his eyes altogether to flinch through the pain.

But it never came.

Nikko peeked his right eye open, only to see the boys halted, looking at something straight up above them. The hand twisted in Nikko’s shirt trembled, and something wet and slimy hit the kid square in the eye.

Nikko managed a glance up. His vision was blurry from swelling, but there was no mistaking the fact that there was a giant serpent’s head glaring down at them. Drool dripped down its fangs and splattered on the ground. Attached to the head, was a shimmering blue body that snaked down the street and around a corner. How far it went was hard to tell. It had at least two legs that stood six feet tall at the shoulder, and that ended with talons as long as one of Nikko’s feet. Even though the head was far away, Nikko could tell that the giant incisors had to have been at least as long as his forearm.

One of the boys whimpered softly.

The serpent hissed, and blue-green fins unfurled from its head, looking very much like a frilled lizard in a dominance display.

His attackers didn’t stick around to find out if the bright coloration indicated venom or not. He was dropped roughly to the ground, and the other boys took off down the street, not bothering to worry about whether they left him to die.

The hiss from the serpent petered out once they were gone, though, and when Nikko looked up at it again, the frills were down, and it was looking at him with far too many pairs of eyes.

Seriously.

Why would something so big need fourteen eyes?

Thinking too hard about such a thing made his head hurt, though, and he was trying to not make connections to another reptilian he knew. Those fins were awfully familiar, but Kenopsia was at a party. And this… this was an insanely huge serpent wrapped around a city block. There was no way.

He groaned and laid back, closing his eyes. If he was gonna die at the hands of a giant creature, at least he’d go out in an unusual way.

But there were suddenly hands on his face, an iguana in his lap, and there weren’t any more excuses.

Kenopsia was so fucking cool.

—

“Christ, boy, what happened?”

The tiny old man who greeted them in front of the resort looked as grumpy as a ten year old hamster that should have only lived two years. He tried to help Kenopsia hold his weight, but they shooed him away. Nikko was too tired to fight any of their squabbling.

“He’s got a concussion, black eye, and I had to set his nose. Some bastard kids were beating on him a few blocks over.”

“Tough kid, he’s not complaining one bit.”

“Yeah…” Kenopsia gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. “Could we get him inside? The front desk should have a first aid kit, right?”

“That, or the custodian closet. Follow me.”

Nikko’s vision swam too much for him to concentrate on where they were going, but Kenopsia towered next to him the entire time, so he wasn’t worried about it. In fact, he found himself to be absolutely delighted at the turn of events.

They had said they could turn into a big snake, but he hadn’t realized just how big that meant. His friend was bigger than any animal on earth, and he helped them farm! They had fangs the size of his arm, and they got scared of being around other people! All of these revelations and more rushed him, and made him giddy. Kenopsia sat him down in a plush seat, pressed ice to his face, and he didn’t care because they were just a giant reptile that needed a smaller, sassier reptile to keep them calm in social situations. And- 

Was that All Might?

“Yagi, pass me the washcloth in the water bowl, would you? Kenopsia asked, and All Might, of all people, followed their command. They cleaned up the blood spread across his lips and chin, the cold wet towel a bit of a shock to his heated skin. He whined at the ache in his nose when they tried to clean it too.

“Just a little more, Nikko, then I’ll get you home. Where’s your phone? I want to call your moms.”

“In ma’ bag….” he said, and scowled down at his lap. “Keno’sia, I’m tired.”

“Just wait a while more, Torino’s getting someone who will help you. But you can’t sleep with a concussion.”

All Might was standing to the side, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly. Nikko leaned forward to whisper to Kenopsia, though it didn’t come out nearly as quiet as he thought.

“Is that All Might?”

“Yagi? Yes.” they were distracted with his phone.

The man glanced in their direction at the sound of both his names. He grinned at Nikko when he realized he was openly staring at him.

“Woah…” All Might started to come closer, but stopped the moment Nikko started speaking again. “Keno’sia, you’re so fuckin’ cool… you- you… call heroes by their names and… turn into big snakes, and you grow really big radishes, that’s so cool.” he nodded to himself. “Coolest person I’ve met.”

The tattoo on Nikko’s cheek flip flopped between emotions; adoration, pain, nervous, happiness.

Kenopsia had gotten good enough at reading his face that they often glazed over the tattoo in the first place, save for their poker games of course, but right then it was doing a lot of favors. Outwardly, he wasn’t doing great at responding to questions – a hard hit in the head can do that – but the tattoo expressed what he couldn’t convey with words.

Torino came in with his friend, and she gently pushed them out of the way to make her own assessment. After a few seconds, she nodded, wrote something down on a clipboard, got on a stool, and kissed Nikko’s head quickly. Instantly, the bruising around his eye started to fade, and he blinked with a little more comprehension behind his gaze.

“He’ll be just fine, Kenopsia.” the old woman said sweetly. “I’ve certainly fixed much worse. He’ll be able to sleep in about fifteen minutes, and I suggest you let him. My quirk speeds up the healing functions in one’s body, so he’s using his own stores of energy to heal, but just faster. He’ll need plenty of rest.”

Kenopsia nodded and threaded a hand through Nikko’s hair. He leaned into the touch easily.

“He is a UA student, isn’t he?” the woman asked.

“Yeah. General Studies.”

“I’m the nurse there, so I will be sure to keep an eye on him for a few days. I will also talk to the principal and let him know about the situation. We may need you to make a statement, and Torino says you don’t have a phone, so could I get a mailing address?”

After some info sharing, they helped Nikko stand, and got him into the back of their car. They drove slowly, making sure to wake him up each time he drifted off. Bendelton sat on his lap instead of in the front seat, as an extra layer of comfort. The damn lizard certainly knew when he was needed.

Harumi and Akane were waiting outside when they pulled up, and both rushed to help Kenopsia pull Nikko out of the backseat. Bendelton climbed back into the front seat to get out of the way of the mess of hands.

Akane inspected Nikko’s face first.

“I was expecting way worse, he doesn’t look too bad.” Nikko scrunched his face at her and lightly swatted her hands off of him.

“Recovery girl healed him for the most pressing stuff. His nose is still tender, and it drained his energy.” Kenopsia explained.

Harumi crooned at her son. “Oh, baby, you had a rough night, didn’t you? Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Nikko leaned into her embrace and tried to whisper conspiratorially in her ear. “Mom,  Kenopsia turns into a huge snake, it is so cool.”

“That’s nice sweetie. Come on now, let’s get those legs moving. You’re a big boy.”

Kenopsia went to help, but Akane’s hand on their arm made them stop in place and turn to her.

“Thank you.” she whispered.

“Huh?” Kenopsia responded numbly.

Akane wrapped her arms around them tightly and buried her face in their thick sweater. “Thank you, for calling us, for treating him, for going out to find him in the first place… Thank you so much.”

“I couldn’t stand by and do nothing when I knew something was wrong.”

She tightened her grip for a moment, then let go and smiled up at them. “Would you like to come in for tea?”

“I-” they hesitated on the no that was about to come out. They didn’t feel nearly as much anxiety about Akane’s touch as they would have a few months ago. They’d even go so far as to say that they were comfortable with her. They offered a tired smile. “Let me get Bendelton. He shouldn’t stay in the car.”

—

They never did get a letter from UA, but Nikko told them that he didn’t tell anyone else about their illegal quirk use, so they didn’t feel the need for any follow up from them. It surprised Kenopsia that there was such a thing as “illegal quirk use” still. It had been three hundred years, they figured society had progressed past the need for laws made by oppressors. Them using their quirk hadn’t even registered as an issue for them until the letter. They still didn’t care either way, though. Nikko was safe, and that was all that mattered.

Spring edged into Summer, and in late July, the whole Sawaya family visited for a few days. Nikko showed off his gardening skills to his moms, and Kenopsia introduced Akane to a map and compass so she could hike the area as much as she wanted for some much-deserved solo time. Harumi took an interest in the various crafts and tools Kenopsia kept around to keep up repairs around the area. Over the course of the four days they were there, they helped her make a toolbox of her own, both to teach her basics of woodworking, and so she didn’t have to buy one for any tools she would end up getting in the future.

Even with the extra help, having so many people over made them all the more tired, so the afternoon naps Nikko gladly joined were so much more welcome than normal.

And this became their new normal. Nikko put forth more effort into classes at UA, so his attendance to galas dropped steeply, so holiday visits to Kenopsia’s home was the most they saw of each other.

Kenopsia still went to galas, but without their friend, the events were draining and they found themself only staying an hour at best. Perhaps this chapter of their life was more about making a solid friend, instead of making some sort of social difference. God knows they didn’t know what half the events they went to were for, at this point. They were tired of being intrinsically tied to politics. Nikko and his moms were the only people who seemed to appreciate them for them.

—

During his second year at UA, Nikko asked for their help with a class project, and of course they agreed. No questions asked. A part of them wondered if maybe they gave the kid too much trust, but when it came to Nikko, they tended not to think. He asked them to bring the supplies for the stamps they’d shown him last winter? Well, then here they were, two boxes of potatoes and carving tools in hand, iguana on shoulder, and standing very awkwardly in front of a class of twenty sixteen year olds.

“Alright, so we all know the temporary tattoo shop last year was a huge hit at the festival, and I know you guys trusted me to come up with something just as cool this time, but i kinda went in a different direction, kay?” Nikko said, from his spot next to Kenopsia. The class was focused on him, and not the towering figure next to him, which impressed Kenopsia to no end. They knew he could bring in a crowd if needed, but they never thought he’d be like this.

He glanced at them and smiled. The tattoo on his face beamed just as brightly. He wasn’t nervous here, and he wasn’t nervous for them. After a year with these kids, he felt safe with them. That was more he could say with his middle school experience. This was very, very good.

“I know food stands are kinda over done, like, last year there were five ramen shops alone. But! What people like at these things is interaction, right? So what if they helped make the food?”

A few students gave wary glances.

“Nikko, I don’t know, that’s kinda a cop-out, right?” one asked.

“Not quite! Everyone, this is Kenopsia, you may have heard of them. Last winter, I stayed at their house and they taught me how to make edible stamps and ink, which can be used for art, then sliced and made into tempura! It’s got arts and crafts, food making, and eating! It’s actually really fun. Plus, we’ve still got a month before the festival, so if you don’t like it, we can brainstorm together.”

“We did tell him he should do the idea making after last year….” one kid near the front said. “We trusted you last year, I’m gonna trust you again.”

Nikko grinned proudly as more of his classmates agreed.

“Can we see how to do them first before the blind faith?” a girl asked. “It sounds fun, but if we can’t do it, how could we teach guests for the event?”

“Good point!” Nikko chirped, and turned to them. “Kenopsia, you wanna do a demo?”

They looked to him, then to the homeroom teacher who had set up in the back of the classroom to make sure everything went smoothly. She smiled and nodded, so they set down the boxes, took out a potato and knife and leaned against the teacher’s desk to get to work.

“It’s really not that hard. As long as you have an image in your head, and you’re careful with the carving, there’s no way you can go wrong.”

—

Twenty minutes later had the class excitedly carving potatoes into stamps, and Kenopsia making some ink from beets. Nikko walked around, helping others with their technique, and the teacher seemed to be taking a nap.

Their ink making was interrupted by a knock on the door, then a large mouse opening the door. He wore a little suit, walked on two legs, and he looked Kenopsia in the eye with no fear, so they knew he was much like their friend who was perched on their shoulders, and not a person with an animal quirk.

“Ah, good, I thought you’d be here, Mx. Kenopsia.”

They tilted their head at him curiously. “I don’t know you.”

He chuckled. “No, we haven’t met, but Mr. Sawaya said he wanted to bring you in for his class today, and he had to run such a thing through me. I am the principal of UA. you can call me Nezu.” he held out a paw, and they knelt down to give him a handshake. “I told him it was fine for you to come by, but I did want to ask something of you.”

“Really?”

“It is known that you have a transformation quirk – reptilian, yes? – that’s the extent of what is known, of course. I was wondering if you could aid in a practice for the hero students. Usually we can get Ryukyu to come in when we teach the students about battling against a transformation quirk, but she is busy.”

“But… this class…”

“I won’t force you! It would just be helpful for the kids.”

“Well…” they glanced at the class. They were pretty self-sufficient, but they were here for Nikko first. “Can the class I’m helping come with?”

Nezu tapped his chin and thought. “Well, they are training outside, so it’s not like there’s a lack of room… ah, Ms. Aiko, may your class go with Kenopsia to the hero course students?”

The teacher in the back, who hadn’t been napping, but instead grading papers in a very strange position, looked up quizzically.

“It’ll be outside, and I always think it’s better to learn under the sun. There’s plenty of other things I could teach them while out there.” they explained. She seemed contemplative, then stood to address the class.

“Everyone, Mx. Kenopsia has to go help the hero students.” a few groans came from the students, and Kenopsia smiled. “So you all have two options: stay here while I grade, and continue to work on your festival projects, or go with them and see what they are teaching the other class. I will not count either against you, it is up to you.”

In no time, half the class had packed up their things to follow Kenopsia and Nezu as they headed out to a training field. Nikko, of course, being among them. A few students ran to match Kenopsia’s long gait, just to ask them questions, and they slowed their pace so that they and Nezu didn’t have to work so hard to walk with them.

“Mx. Kenopsia, do you think we’ll have the best festival stand?”

“Yeah! Last year Nikko convinced us to do a temporary tattoo parlor with stuff from his mom’s work, and everyone thought it was super cool!”

“We gotta blow people out of the water! The hero students always get all the fame the rest of the year, the festival is for us to show off!”

Kenopsia smiled down at them. “It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you’re passionate about what you’re doing, others will follow. You could have the best idea in the world, but if you don’t come at it with excitement and fun, then it won’t be enjoyable for anyone.”

The kids seemed to think about this, looked to each other, and fell back with the main group, perhaps to relay this new information. Nezu chirped a laugh at them.

“Have you considered becoming a teacher, Mx. Kenopsia? You seem to have a talent for talking with the kids.”

“School and I don’t agree. Besides, I think they like me because I’m not their teacher. If I were teaching them everyday they’d get tired of me real quick. I’m just new to them, and that’s exciting.”

“I think young Nikko would disagree.”

“Nikko is the exception. Besides, I’m happy being a hermit.”

Nezu just hummed. “Very well. If you ever change your mind, UA will be happy to accommodate something. Now, about this hero class…”

They stepped out into the bright sun, where a group of ten students were testing their quirks against one another. A man who looked run ragged watched on from the sidelines. He perked up when he noticed them approaching, and met them halfway.

“I was under the impression that it was only going to be Kenopsia, not…” he eyed the gaggle of students behind them, and seemed genuinely confused about the potatoes they all held.

“I was teaching.” Kenopsia said with a little bite. “They’re good kids, and I didn’t want to leave them for the heroics. Maybe they can teach yours something?”

He snorted. “Good luck. I’ve already expelled half the class, this group of first years don’t have what it takes to be heroes.”

Nezu tugged on Kenopsia’s pant leg. “Mx. Kenopsia, this is Aizawa Shota. He teaches first year heroics.”

They nodded. “Let me give the kids some instruction, then I’ll join you on the field.”

He nodded and retreated as they turned to Nikko’s class.

“It looks like there’s some bleachers by the field, you can sit and watch, or work on your festival stuff, or you can take a little walk. As long as you don’t stray too far, it’s fair game.”

Luckily, the kids were more interested in planning stuff for their big event, so they stayed nearby. Kenopsia stopped Nikko on his way to the bleachers.

“Could you hold some stuff for me?”

“Of course.”

They pulled a resistant Bendelton from their shoulders, draped him into Nikko’s waiting arms – he had gotten stronger, he could bare the weight with more ease now – then took off their head covering, folded it, and draped it over his shoulder. His eyes widened.

“Are you sure?”

“My clothes transform with me, but this doesn’t. It just rips. I trust you to take care of it.”

He slowly nodded and waddled to go sit, weighed down as he was.

Aizawa was addressing his students when they got to the field.

“There will be times when you go up against someone with a transformation quirk, like the pro hero Ryukyu. These kinds of quirks can be difficult, some even I can’t erase, since they are not emitters. You need to know how to take down an enemy who is bigger and stronger than you, even when you are a fraction of their size. It’s possible.” he side-eyed Kenopsia.

If what Nezu said was true, then people had long-since forgotten what exactly they could become. It made sense, since they didn’t go out much, but the look Aizawa gave them seemed to be warning them, as if he didn’t think their quirk could hold its own. They were known for their age, after all. Not the bigger side of their quirk.

“You all will work together to capture Kenopsia here. They have a transformation quirk, and will give you trouble if you do not cooperate.”

The students nodded along, but some were clearly not listening. One short boy in the back scoffed.

“I’ve never heard of them, so it’s not like they’re gonna be that hard to take. If it was the newby, Mount Lady I’d be worried, but come on, she’s the biggest hero out there. Nobody could take her!”

Aizawa rolled his eyes and turned to walk off the field. As he passed them, he sighed and muttered, “Give them hell. Please.”

They didn’t really know what to do with that, and they didn’t want to hurt anyone, but they’d do their best. As the students took their stances on the opposite side of the training ground, they flexed their fins and stretched out their back. Turing into something that was ninety percent spine always left them a little sore if they didn’t stretch beforehand.

Aizawa blew a whistle, and the students ran forward, quirks at the ready. Kenopsia took a deep breath, closed their eyes, and when they opened them again, they had a much taller perspective. Looking down, with eyesight fourteen-fold, they could see the hero students had stopped dead to stare at them in awe and fear. Nikko and a few of his classmates were cheering from the sidelines.

Any and all attacks the kids made at them were ineffective. Their body was as wide around as an eighteen-wheeler, their head like a small car. With their fins up, that added another six feet across. If they really wanted to, they could probably swallow three kids whole at once. The students were lucky they weren’t interested in that kind of thing. For the most part, they just stood there, long tail thrashing back and forth to keep the students from grouping up, and roaring in the face of anyone who got too close. One kid sent a cloud of dust into their face, and it would have been a great tactic, had they not been built to see in murky depths filled with sediment and salt. The clear second eyelids they had for swimming allowed them to see just fine, even through the gritty dust.

And this would have continued, had a particular sound not caught their attention.

“Ouch!”

Their head snapped up to the bleachers. Nikko was cradling a finger; he must have cut himself on the carving knife.

In an instant, they were back to their smaller form, and running over to check on him. They had brought along a big pack of bandaids for this exact purpose, and it was this that they pulled out of their pocket as they reached him.

“Kenopsia? What are you-”

They shushed him, and wiped the bead of blood from his wound. Not too deep, just a little slice. Nothing a little bandage couldn’t fix. They wrapped his finger quickly, and patted his shoulder.

“Be careful, knives are dangerous.”

“I’m not the only one who’s cut themself, you don’t need to baby me.”

They blinked quickly, then glanced at the others in his class. “Who else got cuts?”

The students glanced at each other, then nearly all of them raised hands covered in little cuts and slices. Not terrible wounds, but if left alone could get infected.

“Okay, pause, we need to get those covered. Time for bandaids.”

Someone on the field scoffed.

When bandages were given, and Nikko recovered from his embarrassment, they made their way back to the hero students. Aizawa said nothing, but watched them like a hawk. Perhaps he was mad that they had gotten distracted, or perhaps he knew what they were going to say.

“What the hell was that?” one kid asked. “You’re supposed to be training us!”

“I am. Now my turn. What was that?”

“Uh, you’re fucking huge? There’s no way we could take you on!” one girl exclaimed.

“I gave you a perfectly good time to get me, and you all just stood there, dumbfounded.”

They all seemed confused.

“The best time to interact with a violent person with a transformation quirk is when they are not transformed.”

“But you were helping that kid.” the same girl muttered.

“And if I were a villain, I may have been helping another villain out of a rough spot.” they sighed. This wasn’t their cup of tea. “Listen. I don’t exactly like heroics one way or another. I find lots of issues with it. I came here for the general class today, not you all. But what I do know is that if you truly want to go be heroes, you are going to have to do countless things that you don’t want to do. People die early in this profession, and they kill others. It is not a comfortable life. If you think you will have control over every situation, then you wont last long.”

Aizawa approached them casually. He gave them a divisive nod, then turned to his class.

“They’re right. Villains won’t care about you. They will kill you if given the chance. If you aren’t ready for that, then get out. Class dismissed. Think about your futures.”

They blinked in surprise at his gruff tone. That wasn’t quite what they meant, but the kids were already heading back inside.

“Thanks. I think you might have gotten through some of them.” they looked down at the tired teacher. He pulled a juice box out of his pocket and sipped on it. “Despite me failing half the class already, they haven’t taken me seriously. They’ll die quick if they act like this in real situations. Kicking them out seems to be the only way I can protect them.”

They nodded. “A firm hand is sometimes a very good tool. They may resent you now, but once they’ve grown, they may find the logic in your actions.”

“Hey, Kenopsia!” Nikko shouted. “Senshin made an awesome stamp! Come see!”

They smiled at the kids, then turned to Aizawa with a wink. “But what do I know? I’m no teacher, I’m just a hermit.” they shrugged. “I hope you can reach them somehow, Shota.”

And with that, they slunk over to the general students to see what Nikko was so excited about. As they complimented the students’ work, Aizawa gave them a considering, but appreciative stare. He didn’t know much about them, but for now, they’d gained a place on his good side.

—

Time seemed to move slower with the Sawaya’s in the picture. The time between galas and holiday visits were just that – long breaks, that Kenopsia often found themselves wishing moved faster. The day-to-day bustle that once kept them occupied, while still an important part of their schedule, was paltry compared to writing letters to the family, or making them gifts. They sent Harumi and Akane birthday gifts when appropriate, and even visited the shop for Nikko’s seventeenth birthday.

He was seventeen already. He was going into his last year at UA, when it still felt like he was still that thirteen year old brat they met at a party by accident. Time was kind of repulsive in the way it never let up, and didn’t allow anyone to stop for breaks.

They wished they could pause, and take in certain moments: when they braved a crowded stadium to see Nikko reach the second stage in the UA sports festival, only to be knocked out as soon as it started; when instead of pouting about it, he pulled them to the first year stadium and cheered on a general kid who reached the third stage. When they picked Nikko up from school for a weekend, only to find little Yuuta following him to the car like a duckling. One that was making a huge fuss, and being a bit of a brat, but a duckling all the same. When he had to move into dorms for security, and they dropped by to help him set up a small garden box by his windowsill. When he showed them his newest tattoo – a snake draped across his shoulders – and admitted they were the inspiration.

But they couldn’t pause time, all they could do was appreciate every moment as it came. All they had was her and now, even if that so happened to be the biggest, most important gala either of them had been to since they met.

The place swarmed with reporters and pro heroes alike, as well as the kids of well-off families. The Nagata Twins had performed a touching number earlier on, Kenopsia had answered the bare minimum of questions, and now they perched on a particularly comfortable seat, cards in hand, and Nikko acting like they always imagined a big brother would.

The moment they had seen Yuuta and pointed him out, Nikko draped himself over his chair to look as annoyingly suave as possible – something he’d learned Yuuta couldn’t stand from a few past events. He fanned himself with his cards as he called the kid over, but Kenopsia could see something off in the way he held himself. The way he glanced at them, and responded so tentatively to Nikko… perhaps his quirk acted up and caused a change in demeanor. It wouldn’t be the first time they’d seen such a thing.

The best they could do for him would be treat him just as they would normally. Play mediator between him and Nikko, offer a moment of peace in such a cacophony of a gala, and keep an eye on him, just in case.

Him not taking the offer of a game came as a surprise, for them and Nikko, if the tattoo said anything, but Bendelton broke the tension rising in the pit of their stomach. Yuuta greeted him shakily, obviously confused, and they smiled. There was no need to make someone worry when they were already having a rough time. Bendelton’s presence creeping ever-closer to Nikko aslo distracted him from Yuuta’s odd behavior.

“Gah! Get ya damn lizard away from me, you’ve been usin’ it to see my hand, haven’t ya?!”

They sighed. The places his mind went, sometimes. They knew that he knew that Bendelton was an iguana, and that he had no powers outside of being their kind-of immortal roommate. Maybe he was seeing Yuuta’s oddities, and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, just like them. Still, they played along and corrected his claim, both on the lizard front, and the cheating.

“Well I know a guy with snakes for hair, and he can fuckin’ see through the bastards, so I ain’t buyin’ it.” he scoffed. Goodness, if he wanted them to admit something, he could have just asked.

“You simply have a terrible poker face.” they said with a smug smile. Nikko huffed at that and made to fight such a claim, but they kept going before he could say anything. “Your tattoo smiles when you have a good hand.”

They felt a little bad when he covered his tattoo with so much speed he might as well have just slapped himself silly. There was hurt and betrayal in his eyes, and offense in the way he held himself.

Yuuta spoke up before they could get an apology out. “Uh, so do you still want a game, or..?”

“No fuckin’ way. You better stay outta this one, you hear me? This is my honour on the line and you got no part in this.” Nikko snapped. His voice trembled slightly as he told Yuuta to go find a girl who had asked about him earlier, and it weighed heavy on Kenopsia’s heart. Maybe they should have mentioned it sooner? They figured he’d known about it, though.

It was evident that he didn’t, though, from the crumpled expression he gave them the moment Yuuta was gone.

“I thought you knew.” they said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Ain’t like I can control it or anything…” he muttered. “I thought I had it together for our games though.”

“Well, how about from now on I promise I won’t look at your cheek when we play. Promise.”

He sniffed. “And ignore this handsome face? I doubt you could.” he rubbed at his cheeks and eyes as they chuckled.

“If it means a fair game, I will sacrifice my happiness. I’ll admit it’ll be truly terrible to not see you, though.”

He huffed and started to shuffle the deck. It would take more than flattery to get him to forgive them.

For the moment, they put Yuuta on the back burner. They’d keep tabs on him from a distance, but making it up to Nikko was far more important.

—

After two games where they discreetly threw the game in Nikko’s favor, a large commotion came from somewhere near the dance floor. They both looked over, to see Yuuta throwing some kind of fit.

“He was actin’ kinda weird earlier, wasn’t he?” Nikko asked. He slid closer to them to get a better look. Yuuri was really digging into him, and Shouto stood nervously nearby.

“He was. I hope he’s doing okay. He’s not getting bullied or anything, right?”

“Pretty much the opposite. I’ve seen him around, and he’s basically got a harem of boys hanging off of him.” he snorted at the image, but Kenopsia frowned.

“Maybe I should ask Nezu what’s going on. He probably knows something.”

“Good luck. He’s a good principal, but he’s not one to kiss and tell.”

“Then maybe I’ll give him a smooch to convince him to tell me what’s up.” At that, Nikko finally laughed. Mission complete. “You need a ride back to the dorms, right?”

“Yeah… and since we won’t be getting any fancy watches from Yuuta we might as well go. That’s all I came out for.”

They made a wounded noise in the back of their throat. “You didn’t come for me?”

“Now that I know you’ve been cheatin’ for five years, no way!” he laughed at the sound of their exaggerated pain.

“You hurt me,” they said as they packed up and stood. Nikko joined them, standing like a body guard as he acted as a buff between them and the sea of reporters. “I thought you wanted to make it easy for me. Like a senior citizen discount.”

“You’ll get a discount the day you start getting wrinkles, mista’ thirty-forever!”

—

“Do you want to come with me to the principal’s?” they asked as they walked towards the UA dorms. Nikko shook his head.

“He’s more likely to tell just you. If I’m there too, there’s less privacy. Plus, I have stuff to do tomorrow, I need to go to bed.”

They nodded and gave him a firm hug when they reached his dorm. “I’ll tell you what I can, if I’m allowed to.” He nodded at them, and disappeared inside.

They made their way down to the faculty dorms. Nezu had pointed them out when they had helped Nikko move in, probably another hook to try to get them to work as a teacher. They wouldn’t bite, but knowing where they could reach the mouse was always good.

But before they reached the right building, a gruff voice called out to them.

“What are you doing?”

They turned, and Aizawa stood on the porch of what must have been 1-A’s dorm. There was a bit of a ruckus inside, probably the students worried over Yuuta. He must have slipped out to avoid the noise.

“I was at the gala tonight.”

He hummed, and joined them under the sidewalk light. “So you saw him?”

“He usually plays poker with Nikko and I, but he refused. It was odd. Odder than him getting hammered and throwing a fit.” they were sure to speak casually, but the worry still rose up in their tone. “I’ve known him since he was a baby. Something’s going on with him.”

Aizawa shoved his hands into the pockets of his pajama pants and sighed. He sounded like a man broken by the world.

“There’s been an issue with his quirk. I can’t say much more than that.” he scratched at his scruff. They put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at them curiously.

“You’re holding a lot on your shoulders, aren’t you?”

“It’s my job. The kids-”

They gave him a light squeeze. “And it’s your job as a person to take care of yourself. Balance will do you a world of help.” they guided him to sit on the porch he had been standing on. “Let someone else bear some weight, even just for tonight. Besides, I’m a hermit, remember? The only person I regularly talk to is a seventeen year old delinquent, and even that’s once or twice a month. I’m not a chatterbox.”

He chuckled, and ran his hands over his face with a groan. When they met his exhausted gaze, he started to mumble out some sort of an explanation.

“He’s got amnesia. Something happened with his quirk, now he can’t remember any of his life.”

They rubbed slow circles into the man’s back and gave a quiet “mmhmm” to let him know they were listening. When he didn’t go further, they looked down at him curiously. “That’s it?”

He looked at them like they’d bitten him. “What?”

“That’s all? Amnesia?” he nodded, and they sighed in relief. “Thank god. I was worried he was dying, or had a bad addiction. It can be unnerving to lose memories, but new ones can always be made.”

“That’s an awfully positive reaction.”

“Considering what the boy has been through, perhaps it’s good he doesn’t remember.”

Aizawa hummed in response, then yawned. They patted his back, and helped him stand.

“I think it’s time to go to bed, yeah? You can’t teach the kiddos if you’re unconscious.” they dusted him off gently as he watched their fretting through half closed eyes. He seemed confused about their actions. “Thank you for letting me know Yuuta’s condition. If I see him again I’ll be sure to let him know it’s okay. Be sure to take care of yourself as much as you take care of the kids, Shota.”

They leaned over, placed a very quick kiss to the top of his head, and headed back to the parking lot. They didn’t think about their actions until about halfway home, when they realized suddenly that it probably wasn’t proper to give the poor man a kiss. But listening to him reminded them so much of comforting Nikko, that it was second nature.

They shrugged to Bendelton, who had been kind enough to stay silent through the whole affair. “Maybe I’ll just make it my new thing. Tenderly kiss friends goodbye. I’m sure Harumi would love it.”

Bendelton had nothing to say to that.

—

A week before Nikko’s eighteenth birthday, Kenopsia was invited over to the Sawaya’s house, for what they didn’t know, but the tea was always good enough to warrant a visit, so who were they to decline?

Nikko seemed antsy as he hung around the tv, doing something on his phone, and his mothers were no better as they tried to make awkward small-talk over tea. Things had never been this awkward between them, even back when they first met the women. There was something they weren’t telling them, and it made them absurdly nervous. Was someone dying?

“There was a sale at the store the other day…” Harumi started. She would have gone on about something that wasn’t what she wanted to be talking about, but Kenopsia broke first.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay? You don’t have to beat around the bush, it’s making me nervous!” the words exited them like a gust of anxious wind. They had to take a deep breath afterwards.

“Oh! Um…” Harumi scratched the back of her head and gave an awkward chuckle. “It’s fine, we just – well, it’s just late in the game for this kind of thing, right? Its kind of weird to ask, and-”

“We don’t want to put you on the spot or anything!” Akane chimed in, not answering any questions. “And it’s kinda awkward, we just don’t really know how to ask and-”

Suddenly, Nikko let out a loud groan from across the room, dropped his phone, and stormed over with a determined look on his face.

“You’re both terrible at this! They’re already nervous as is, look at ‘em!”

Kenopsia didn’t know what was happening. They had to work to keep their breath steady, even as hyperventilation seemed like a good option right then. Harumi and Akane were so nervous, Nikko was trembling, and maybe they did something wrong? They tried to go over everything they’d done since they’d met the family. Were they mad about the time they fed Nikko fried centipede as a joke? He’d been grossed out, for sure, but that was a year ago! What about when Akane got lost in their woods and when they finally found her she had leeches up and down her legs? What about-

“Kenopsia, do you want to be my godparent?” Nikko suddenly asked.

Their breath stopped altogether. Forget hyperventilating, they couldn’t breathe whatsoever.

“Like, you’re pretty much already a part of the family, we just thought we’d make it official? The moms and I have been talking about it, and we are all for it, so it’s really up to you.” Nikko went on to explain, but they barely heard any of it. There was static in their head.

“Uh oh…” Akane muttered. “I think we broke them.”

“Is the lack of response good or bad?” Harumi asked Nikko. He shrugged as he stared at Kenopsia, slack jawed as they were. He kneeled down next to them and waved a hand in front of their face. They slowly turned to him, blinking rapidly, and abruptly pulled him to their chest as they finally took a gasping breath.

They shook as his words finally processed, and they buried their face in his shoulder. Nikko gently patted their arms and back as their breath rattled in their lungs.

“Nikko, you- you know that I- I haven’t had…” they trailed off, unable to finish their thought. Luckily, they didn’t need to as Nikko caught on to what they were trying to say.

“Yeah, I know. And if family on paper is too much for you, it’s okay. It’s not a deal breaker, it’s just formality. Sorry to say it, but you’ve been family for years now.”

They clutched him tighter and finally came up for air. There were wet spots on Nikko’s shirt, and they reached up to rub at their eyes, where tears were spilling over with no regard to the fabric around them.

“O-oh…” they muttered. Nikko rubbed their back gently as they hiccoughed. “I didn’t know I could still do that…” that was all they managed to get out before a harsh sob forced its way out of their throat, and they had to hold tight to Nikko again to stay grounded. Harumi and Akane quickly made their way around the table to join the hug, only adding fuel to the fire in Kenopsia’s heart.

They hadn’t had a family since they were eleven. No one made a point to stay in their life for too long. No one had ever wanted to bring them into their family, at least, not officially.

This was far too much, in all the best ways.

After a moment of heavy sobbing, they managed to take a deeper breath and stop clutching so tight to Nikko. As he sat back, he tried very hard not to look as nervous as he was, but it wasn’t working. Hopefully they could fix that real quick.

“Of course, I want to be your godparent, Nikko, there’s nothing I’d like more.”

It took all of a second for that to settle in Nikko, and only a second more for him to launch himself at them, knocking them both to the floor in a pile of laughter and happy tears.

Harumi and Akane stood close by, relieved, and Bendelton sprawled across the table, feasting on a plate of kale. Such matters didn’t bother him, as he knew nothing would change more than they already had. He may have just been an iguana, but he’d known longer than anyone that friendship between his friend and this strange boy wasn’t going away anytime soon.