My World My Justice Chapter 34: Hopping Hearts Pt.1 (Patreon)

The beach boardwalk stretched out before her, the sound of waves mixing with distant laughter and the usual crowd noise. Rumi tapped her foot impatiently, checking her phone for what felt like the hundredth time.

Five minutes till 7 o'clock.

She probably shouldn't have come early. That gave the wrong idea, since the guy was supposed to arrive first and wait for his date, right? That's how it worked?

Ah right. Date. She was going on a date with True Might.

Fuck.

She really went and did it. Actually asked him out like some dumb teenager with a crush. And the bastard had accepted with that booming enthusiasm of his, going on about "noble fellowship and righteous recreation" or some other justice rambling. But he'd accepted. That was the important part.

Her stomach did an uncomfortable flip that had nothing to do with hunger.

She let out a heavy sigh because this was getting ridiculous. She'd faced down entire gangs, fought capes that could kill her in seconds, survived injuries that would've put normal people in the ground. Yet here she was, nervous about a damn date like some inexperienced kid.

She shook her head sharply, trying to clear her thoughts, then looked down at herself one more time.

White long-sleeved shirt, fitted but not tight, exposing just the right amount of her toned stomach. Comfortable pants with a simple silver belt buckle that hugged her hips nicely. Her long white hair pulled back into a high ponytail - practical, but still her style. She'd even bothered to make sure everything was clean and unwrinkled, which was more effort than she'd put into her appearance in months outside of those stupid modeling shoots.

It felt weird wearing civilian clothes. It had been ages since she'd bothered with anything except her hero costume or baggy disguises for grocery runs. But she couldn't exactly show up to a date in her usual getup. That would draw the wrong attention, and she didn't want this moment ruined by stupid wannabe paparazzi or some stupid villain suddenly appearing from a hole.

People still recognized her anyway; kind of hard to hide rabbit ears and a tail, but surprisingly, no one really bothered her much. A few respectful nods, some smiles, but most people just left her alone. Probably appreciation for helping save the city, or maybe people were just accustomed to open identity capes walking around by now. Whatever the reason, she was grateful for it.

Still, she couldn't help wondering if he'd like how she looked.

Rumi pulled her ears down in frustration. Why the hell was she getting so worked up about this?!

At least she had some idea what to expect. The big guy would probably show up in whatever civilian clothes he'd worn when he went to that grill with the Claw Patrol. Which was kinda unfair that they didn't invite her... okay, that was a little too much to ask since she'd been pretty dismissive of them.

She checked her phone again. 2 minutes.

No way the big guy was going to be late. Punctuality was probably some sacred virtue of justice or whatever in his weird code of honor.

She rubbed the back of her neck, trying to relax. Unless he got caught up in a sudden fight on the way here? Not impossible, since outside gangsters were always cropping up to cause problems. Although with Sere patrolling that area, most issues should be handled by now...

Her ears twitched as movement caught her attention. Someone was approaching along the boardwalk, and a wave of inexplicable familiarity washed over her the second she turned around.

A tall guy, fit, wearing a white shirt under a beige jacket with black pants and white shoes. His build was impressive even under the casual clothes - broad shoulders, tapered waist, the kind of physique that came from actual training, not just gym vanity. His blonde hair caught the evening light, and even from this distance, she could see he had a strong jawline and—

Wait. Why did he feel so familiar? She'd remember meeting someone who looked like that. Handsome guys were a dime a dozen - she'd seen plenty of pretty faces before in her modeling work, and they never really caught her attention. So why was this one making her pulse quicken?

And why the hell was he approaching her directly? With that confident smile?

Why was she blushing like a dumbass?!

Rumi tensed as the guy - who was definitely taller than her but not absurdly so, maybe six-foot-something - closed the distance. She got ready to tell him to fuck off because she was already here waiting for someone—

"Justice is always on time, friend Mirko."

Rumi's brain short-circuited for a full second before she shook her head violently, her ears standing straight up in shock.

"TRUE MIGHT?!" she blurted out, then immediately covered her mouth with both hands to muffle the outburst.

True Might - because it was him, that grin was unmistakably familiar even on this completely different face - just smiled wider. "Who else would it be?"

No way. He was supposed to be the big guy, like seven feet tall and massive and built like a walking tank and... he was still tall and built, just not…No, wait, what the actual hell?!

"Y-yer late!" she managed to say, crossing her arms defensively even as her mind raced to catch up with reality. "And what the hell?! Were you a trump or a changer this entire time?! What's with that look now, huh?! Where's the rest of you?!"

Her mind was in absolute chaos. She'd never expected him to look like this - she'd always seen him as the oversized justice ham, the walking wall of muscle and booming speeches. The idea that he could just... shrink down? Look normal? Look... really damn good?

And he was talking normally! No booming voice that could be heard three blocks away, no dramatic poses with fists raised to the heavens!

"I don't understand - how are you - why are you—" She gestured frantically at all of him, her usual confidence completely shattered. "You're supposed to be huge! And loud! And doing the whole justice thing! What is this?!"

This wasn't fair. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. She'd mentally prepared herself for the big blonde wall of muscle and justice speeches, not... not this. Not someone who looked like he could be on a magazine cover, who made her heart do stupid things just by smiling at her.

"Explain. Now," she demanded, though her voice lacked its usual edge. "Before I lose my damn mind trying to figure out what's going on."

True Might thought for a moment, a contemplative look crossing his features. "This is a date, so I didn't want to ruin it if I came… transformed? Thought it might be, well, a little too overwhelming."

"So it IS a transformation! You were always a changer, or would that be a brute-changer-trump? Aghhh, I hate all this egghead classification shit!" Rumi rubbed her temples, trying to make sense of it all. Her ears flattened against her head in frustration.

"Kinda?"

"What do you mean 'kinda'?!" She threw her hands up. "Either you change or you don't! There's no 'kinda' about it!"

Her date sighed, and something shifted in his demeanor. His smile turned... wistful? Melancholic? It was an expression she'd never seen on True Might's face before. Well, he is True Might, now she is closer she can see it clearly just a little deflated.

 "I don't think I'll ever return to this after today."

Rumi froze. All those racing thoughts, all that chaos in her head, came to a screeching halt.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice came out quieter than she intended.

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck, looking conflicted. It was weird seeing the guy who'd taken down a fully grown Lung, who'd beaten Stormfront, who'd crushed half the Empire's roster, show that kind of expression. "Later. We can discuss this better later. For now, let's just... enjoy this time as normal people, yeah?"

"That's rich coming from you," she shot back, but there was no real heat in it. Her mind was still trying to process what he'd just implied. 

Never return to this? What the hell did that mean?

They stood there for a moment in awkward silence, the evening breeze carrying the salt smell of the ocean between them. Rumi shifted her weight from foot to foot, suddenly hyper-aware of how close they were standing.

Finally, she straightened up, squaring her shoulders. 

Right. She could do this. She'd faced down gangs, capes, all sorts of dangerous shit. A date shouldn't be harder than that.

"Right. Normal people." She extended her hand, feeling oddly formal about it. "So... I'm Rumi. Rumi Usagiyama when I'm out of my costume."

He took it, his grip firm. "Daniel. Just... Daniel."

His hand was warm. And much larger than hers, even if he is powered down. She pulled her hand back after a moment, her ears twitching.

"So, uh..." Rumi started, then stopped. Damn it, why was this so hard? She fought people for a living, spoke her mind without a filter, never backed down from a challenge. But why this now?

Her ears twitched in agitation.

"This is weird," she finally admitted, crossing her arms. "I mean, not bad weird. Just... weird. You look different, which isn’t a bad thing. Sound different. Act different."

"Is that a problem?" He asked.

"No! I mean…" Rumi bit her lip, wrestling with how to explain. "I just... I got myself ready to deal with the whole True Might package, y'know? I had a whole plan for how to handle that."

Her date let out a short laugh. "Sorry to throw off your date plans"

"Don't call it that!" But she was fighting a smile now. 

After that a silence stretched between them again, but this time it felt less awkward.

‘Live everyday like there's no tomorrow.’

Before she could second-guess herself, she stepped closer and, tiptoeing, quickly pressed a kiss to his cheek. At least she could actually reach him at this height without jumping unlike the other time.

She immediately stepped back, looking away and scratching her own cheek. Why did her face heat up so much?*. "I wanted to meet the guy behind the costume, y'know," she muttered, her voice coming out more defensive than she intended. "But this is... this is a surprise. A welcome one, I guess."

There was a beat of silence.

"How about we start simple?" Daniel said. "Let's go grab a snowcone."

"A snowcone? Really?" Despite herself, Rumi found herself smiling as she adjusted a strand of her hair. "That's your big date plan?"

"It's a beginning," he said simply.

"Fine. But I'm getting the biggest one they have." She started walking, then paused and glanced back at him. "And don't even think about paying for mine. I ain’t those type of gals."

--------------------------------------

-Futaba Sakura, Oracle-

Futaba was monitoring her feeds as always, eyes scanning multiple screens for anything unusual, when a message notification popped up. It was from Manabi, which meant she'd finished another set of videos ready to upload to Daniel's social media accounts over the next few days.

She couldn’t help but smile as she saved them all. That girl was really good at her job. The production quality, the editing, the way she captured the most dramatic moments—it was all top-tier work. Futaba was seriously considering introducing her to Daniel eventually. Meeting her favorite hero in person would probably send Manabi's motivation into overdrive. She'd give it her... her PLUS ULTRA.

"Heh."

It was also pretty cool to have found another fellow Japanese shut-in.

But then her thoughts drifted to Daniel and his date tonight. She'd already wished him good luck earlier and helped him out with some of her top-tier dating advice. He definitely deserved this moment after everything he'd done for the city. The guy had earned some happiness.

Although she couldn't help but feel a little sad too. Just a tiny bit. A small pang of... something she didn't want to examine too closely.

But oh well. You win some; you lose some. That's just how life worked.

Before she could dwell on that feeling any longer, her burner phone suddenly rang. She snatched it up immediately.

"Jello?"

“We found him," Lisa responded curtly.

"Oh, cool! Use the Tinkertech bomb now; it should work in disabling him for good since it worked on similar cases before from what I researched. And if that doesn't work, then use the spare containment foam trap and if that doesn't work then use the special tinkertech bottle."

"Already set."

"Keep this line open, just in case if things go sideways."

"Whatever."

A brief pause filled with ambient noise and footsteps, then: "Bomb planted."

Futaba waited in tense silence, listening intently through the phone as she heard muffled movement, presumably Lisa and her team getting into position. Then came the dull thump of the explosion, followed by what sounded like debris settling.

"He wasn't there" 

"Ah—"

"YOUUUU MISCREANTS!" And Futaba already knows who that loud voice belongs to. "NOW FEEL THE HAND OF JUSTICE!”

"Oh no…"

"Fuck—"

"W-wait, we can explain—!"

Futaba immediately killed the call, staring at her phone in horrified silence. The Undersiders were seriously unlucky, or fate was playing some cruel cosmic joke on them.

Oh, well... at least the worst they'd face was extremely sore butts by morning and bruised egos, she was going to pay them a little extra to make up for it. Anyway, count Spankulot was many things, but he wasn't actually dangerous. 

Still, Futaba had been absolutely certain he would be sleeping in that abandoned building. She'd even confirmed through her surveillance feeds that he'd gone inside earlier and hadn't left. All the intelligence gathered had pointed to a successful capture.

Really, terrible luck there.

She should probably reach out to the Protectorate about capturing Count Spankulot soon, because now that the major gangs were dismantled or crippled, he'd definitely redirect his "righteous spankiness shenanigans" toward the next set of troublemakers. Which meant teenagers causing mischief. And probably teenage capes eventually.

That would be... problematic. The PR nightmare of a Ward—a literal minor—getting publicly spanked by a villain would be bad, even if Count Spankulot was relatively harmless compared to actual murderous villains. 

Futaba made a mental note to send an anonymous tip to the PRT about his location next time she spotted him, let them deal with the embarrassing Case 53 for good. She could sacrifice the potential reputation boost of capturing him if it meant getting rid of that headache.

For now, though, she had other priorities. Mostly continuing to investigate the full extent of Coil's network. Even though she'd effectively taken control of most of his assets, there were incredibly long trails of very interesting information to uncover. Like discovering that Circus had been on his payroll, though she'd apparently left for another state to do freelance mercenary work. Or finding detailed plans for kidnapping the mayor's niece for leverage.

Well, at least that girl was safe now.

Futaba cracked open another energy drink, the familiar hiss and sweet smell helping her focus. She took a long sip, then paused mid-drink as an idea struck her.

She grabbed her other phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Any gouda news?" Mouse Protector answered immediately.

Wow, that was awful.

"What do you think about an... escorting job?" Futaba asked, leaning back in her chair. "The paying kind, but not that kind of paying. More like the bodyguard kind."

"Ooh, mysterious! Who's the lucky person getting the Mouse's premium protection package?"

"True Might. He's on a date tonight, and I want to make absolutely sure no asshole villain or random cape nonsense ruins it for him. He deserves one normal evening."

"Awww, that's actually really sweet! I knew it was only a matter of time that girl would ask our big boy!" Mouse Protector replied. "Consider it done, boss!"

"Thanks. I'm sending you the location now."

The call ended, and Futaba allowed herself a small smile. At least she could do this much, make sure Daniel's date went smoothly without any cape drama interrupting.

Even if she felt that annoying little pang again thinking about it.

She shook her head, pushing the feeling aside, and returned her attention to the screens. There was still work to do, and dwelling on things that couldn't be changed was pointless.

Back to monitoring the city before she booted up her gaming session.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

-Daniel, True Might-

Returning to a semblance of normality is, without question, the best decision I'd made in months; especially now that I've used that ticket for a date with the bunny girl. Worth the wait, I say.

Or well, attempting a date with Mirko.

After the initial shock of the revelation which I have to admit was absolutely hilarious to see, never in my entire life had I thought the fierce, aggressive, battle-junkie rabbit hero would be this... adorable when flustered. Her face went through about five different shades of red while she tried to process. I would have given her a headpat if I didn’t know that she would bite me if I tried.

Although she recovered her usual bravado pretty fast and returned to being the same brash, tough, competitive heroine I'd come to know over these months. And she's showing that part of herself once more right at this very moment as I find myself locked in an arm wrestling match at one of the empty tables on the boardwalk.

"Come on, big guy!" The woman taunts with a fierce, wild grin spreading across her face. "Thought you were supposed to be strong! Where's all that legendary power now, huh? Don't tell me it's all smoke and mirrors!"

She barks out a laugh before focusing all her strength into her right arm with an  ‘Ora!’.

I merely grin back at her, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing me struggle, and apply significantly more force to my grip. Our locked hands tremble slightly from the opposing pressure, neither giving an inch.

I might have temporarily depowered myself with that consumable card, but that doesn't mean I've been completely stripped of my strength or part of my powers. I still have a very athletic and naturally strong body; just not at the ridiculous superhuman levels I'm used to. Still, I'm pretty sure that's more than enough to keep up with this woman who is, surprisingly, a hell of a lot stronger than I imagined she'd be for a fun-sized woman.

Mirko pushes back hard, throwing her weight into it with a determined growl. "What's wrong? Getting tired already?"

Okay, I can't lose concentration or she might pull a fast one on me.

The small crowd that had gathered around us is actually cheering now; some for the rabbit hero, others for me, the 'mysterious' big guy challenging the off-duty heroine. Although I wonder how long before people put two and two together. I can already imagine their reactions when they realize.

We hold that stalemate position for what feels like a full minute, neither giving an inch, both grinning at each other with pure competitive joy.

But after maintaining that perfect balance for so long, Mirko's arm falters just for a split second and I immediately seize the opportunity. With a grunt, I push with everything I have, and her hand slams down onto the table with a resounding thud.

"Agh, dammit!" Mirko exclaims, pulling her hand back and shaking it out. "Lucky shot! Total fluke! Best two out of three, right now!"

I just laugh; normal laughter, not that boisterous boom I've grown accustomed to, which feels both weird and wonderful before shaking my head. "Power or not, I can still beat you when it counts."

Mirko's eyes narrow dangerously, but that competitive smirk returns to her lips almost immediately. "Oh yeah? Wanna bet on that, hot stuff?! Because I'm about to wipe the floor with you!"

And those simple challenging words spiral into an entire evening of competitive chaos.

Conveniently, there's an ongoing event filled with carnival games and other types of mini-games, which we immediately throw ourselves to try as many as we can.

First, the ring toss booth turns into a heated competition where Mirko somehow beats me and rubs it in my face with zero mercy.

"Ha! Two whole rings ahead! Face it, technique beats strength!" she crows, doing a little victory dance that's equal parts adorable and infuriating.

The basketball shooting game is completely dominated by the heroine too, while I struggle to score more than two shots out of ten, which is complete bullshit because I wasn't that bad at basketball normally.

"What's the matter? Can't handle a little round ball?" Mirko teases with a spinning ball on one finger before sinking another perfect shot. "All that muscle and no coordination!"

The strength test hammer game... well, it's beyond obvious who wins that one. I bring the hammer down so hard the bell practically flies off the top, and I have to pay the operator to fix it.

"Okay, that one doesn't count!" She protests. "You literally broke the game! That's cheating!"

"How is being REALLY strong cheating?" I counter with a grin.

"Because…because it just is! Shut up!"

The punching machine meets a similar fate, my punch registers an error because I exceed the maximum reading. The operator just stares at the sparking machine in disbelief.

After those incidents, we've attracted way too much attention from curious onlookers starting to pull out phones, so we quickly relocate to the beach where there's significantly less people.

A spontaneous race down the shoreline has Rumi's powerful legs giving her an early lead, her laughter trailing behind her.

"Eat my dust, slowpoke!" she calls back over her shoulder.

But since she's not wearing her flexible and practical hero costume, I'm able to catch up quickly and then pass her. My clothes might be casual too, but since they come from my apartment closet, courtesy of the company, they don't hinder my movement at all.

"Not fair!" she complains, pushing herself harder but unable to close the gap.

My win.

Once on the beach proper, we decide to be a little childish and start an impromptu sandcastle building contest, which quickly turns into us actively sabotaging each other's creations whenever the other isn't looking.

"Hey! That tower was perfect!" I protest when Mirko casually kicks over my carefully constructed corner.

"Oops, my bad! Must've tripped!" she says with the least convincing innocent expression I've ever seen.

The sabotage escalates until it devolves into an all-out sand war. That is until Rumi launches herself at me without warning, tackling me into the surf while laughing maniacally. "Take that!"

The impact causes my clothes to get completely soaked. I retaliate by picking her up and threatening to throw her deeper into the water.

"Don't you dare! Don't you—Daniel, I swear to God!" she shrieks, half-laughing and half-genuinely alarmed, kicking her legs.

But she manages to break free with a twist of her body, landing in the shallow water with a splash. 

So I just kicked some water to her, causing her to shriek because it was a little cold. Obviously she retaliates in kind.

After a while, the new competition is to see who can skip stones the farthest across the waves. I actually win this one by pure luck when my stone catches a perfect angle and bounces an incredible seventeen times before finally sinking.

"Bullshit! That was total luck!" Mirko accuses, though she's grinning and picks up another rock.

"Still counts!" I shoot back.

By the time we finally call a mutual truce, mostly because we're both an absolute mess. Covered head to toe in sand that's gotten into every crevice of our clothing. Our outfits are damp with salt water and plastered with wet sand. My hair has sand in it that I keep finding no matter how much I shake my head. Mirko's distinctive white rabbit's ears are drooping slightly, also full of sand and clearly annoying her based on how much they keep twitching irritably.

We stand there on the beach attempting to shake off the sand from our clothes, which proves to be a futile effort. Every time I think I've gotten it all out, more sand appears from some hidden pocket or fold.

"Ugh, this is hopeless," I mutter, still trying anyway.

"Damn, that was so much fun though!" Mirko exclaims breathlessly, still attempting to brush sand out of her hair and ears with limited success, though the massive grin never leaves her face. "Totally worth getting covered in this crap! And I definitely won most of those competitions, so suck it!"

I smirk at her. "Pretty sure the score is actually in my favor if we're counting honestly."

"What?! Nuh-uh! I won way more!" she protests immediately, ears standing up indignantly.

"You did not."

"Did too!"

"We can go again if you want," I say, thumping my fists together.

"Ha! You'd lose even worse the second time around!" She points at me accusingly, getting right up in my space. "I'm just getting warmed up!"

We stand there for another moment, both catching our breath, yet still grinning like idiots despite being covered in sand and salt water, before Rumi finally walks over to a relatively clean spot higher up on the beach and plops herself down on the sand with no ceremony, pulling her knees up loosely to her chest.

"Come on, sit down for a minute. I'm beat," she says, patting the sand next to her in invitation. She pauses, looking down at her soaked shirt with disgust. "Ugh, and screw this thing, it's sticking to everything."

She quickly pulls off the soaked white long-sleeve shirt and tosses it aside carelessly, leaving her in nothing but a black tank top… Ah no, that's just a sports bra.

I follow suit, settling down beside her and peeling off my own wet shirt and the jacket I left it somewhere behind. 

For a moment we just sit there in surprisingly comfortable silence, watching the waves roll in and out. The moon is the only light although it is incomplete.

"So…" Mirko starts after a while, glancing over at me. "I guess this was fun. Different from all the hero stuff, you know? Just... being normal and doing normal stupid shit together."

I nod, understanding exactly what she means. "Yeah. I didn't realize how much I actually needed something like this until right now."

"Me neither, honestly," she admits, looking back out at the dark ocean. "Usually I'm just... fighting or training or patrolling. Being the hero, being tough, being ready for the next bunch of assholes. All the damn time in this messed-up city. It's been a while since I just... hung out with someone like this. Had lots of fun."

She pauses, then adds with that competitive smirk creeping back onto her face, "Though I was still totally proving I'm better than you at most things tonight. Just for the record."

"Keep telling yourself that," I shoot back with a grin, nudging her shoulder with mine. “I had to nerf myself a lot.”

She punches my arm in retaliation. "I will, it was a legit win in my book!"

"If it helps you sleep at night."

"Oh, you are so asking for another beat-down," she threatens with a laugh when she lets out a loud hiccup which she tries to hide.

We fall back into comfortable silence for a bit. That silence is pretty welcome when most of time it has been really loud. J

"Hey," Rumi suddenly calls me out.  "Thanks for this. The whole... date thing. Normal stuff. I know it's probably weird with the whole saying it again and now knowing with the True Might identity reveal and everything, but... yeah. Thanks."

She seems almost embarrassed to be saying it, which is kind of endearing coming from someone like her.

"No problem," I reply. "I'm having a good time too. Best decision I've made in a while, honestly."

"Good," she says firmly, then adds with renewed energy, "Because next time, I'm totally gonna kick your ass with no upsets. This was just me going easy on you."

"Sure it was."

"It was!" she insists, then shifts slightly to face me better. "And next time, we should do something different. Maybe actual food that isn't boardwalk stall crap, or I don't know... there's supposed to be a new action flick from Earth Aleph playing. Heard it's got some crazy fight scenes."

She pauses, and I catch a slight flush creeping onto her cheeks. "I mean, not that I'm saying this has to be a date-date, or that we need to keep doing this regularly, but like... you know what I mean. Just hanging out.Or whatever."

The way she's stumbling over her words is honestly adorable, and so completely unlike her usual confident self that I have to fight back a smile.

"We could hit up that new burger place downtown too," she continues, recovering some of her bravado. "Or maybe you could show me some of your favorites. I barely know anything about you outside of the whole ‘justice’ and punching bad guys thing, you know?"

I find myself smiling at the suggestion but I can't quite suppress the sadness that follows. "You should probably learn as much as you can now, then. Because there probably won't be a next time like this."

The reaction is immediate. I can see Rumi's expression shift from embarrassed to concerned in a heartbeat.

"What?" Her ears stand straight up in alarm. "What do you mean there won't be? Did I say something wrong? Was this whole thing too pushy? I know I can be a lot sometimes, but—"

"No, no!" I quickly interrupt, holding up my hands defensively. "Nothing like that. You did nothing wrong at all. This has been great, seriously. One of the best days I've had in a long time."

I mean, a date with her is amazing in itself already. More than I could have hoped for.

"Then what the hell do you mean?" She's fully turned toward me now, sitting up straighter, her red eyes searching mine. "You're talking like this is some one-time thing and we're never gonna see each other again or something."

I let out a long breath, running my hand through my sandy hair and immediately regretting it. "That came out wrong. We'll still see each other, obviously. We're both heroes in the same city and we patrol together regularly now. I just meant... see me like this." I gesture vaguely at myself.

"I don't understand," Mirko says slowly, her ears flattening slightly against her head in confusion and growing frustration. "Why wouldn't you be able to... just be you again? You're doing it right now, aren't you?"

"Because I don't know how to power down intentionally," I admit sheepishly, looking out at the ocean instead of directly at her. "I was just lucky with this one. Really, really lucky. Like winning-the-lottery kind of lucky."

That ticket was an SR pull from the loot box after all, rare as hell.

There's a moment of silence.

"Wait, what?" The heroine leans forward, her brow furrowed deeply. "What do you mean you don't know how? You're literally doing it right now! Just... do whatever you did to get like this again!"

"Yeah, but it's not something I can just... do on command," I try to explain, struggling to find the right words. "It's complicated."

"Then un-complicate it for me," she says bluntly. "Because you're being weirdly cryptic about this and it's pissing me off."

I sigh, trying to figure out how to explain this without revealing too much about the company. "My powers/triggers... The transformation isn't just something I put on and take off like a costume. It changes me… fundamentally."

"Okaaaay..." Mirko prompts, clearly waiting for more elaboration.

"It's like... when I'm transformed into True Might, I'm still me; my mind, my memories, my personality; but everything gets filtered through this... I don't know, lens? Framework?" I struggle for the right comparison. "The justice-themed speeches, the dramatic declarations, the heroic posing, energy, attitude, all of it... that's not an act. That's not me pretending or playing a character. In that form, that's how I express myself."

No control over it whatsoever. Even asking for a simple sandwich becomes a whole theatrical production with the crippling hero speech. Just like I asked that meaty sandwich not long ago.

"So it's like a personality change?" she asks, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "Like you become someone different?"

"No, not exactly," I say quickly, shaking my head. "I'm still myself at my core. My mind and thoughts are still mine, my decisions and values are still mine, my memories and experiences are all there. It's just..." I struggle to find the right comparison that makes sense. "It's like... imagine if the way you express yourself was completely different from how you actually feel inside, but you couldn't control it. You're still you, but the filter between your thoughts and your words is... different. Damn, this is seriously hard to explain."

Crippling hero speech my ass.

Rumi is quiet for a moment, her ears twitching as she processes this information. "That sounds exhausting as hell."

"It is," I admit honestly. "Especially at first. But I've gotten used to it over time. Most days I don't even think about it anymore. It just... is what it is."

I’m True Might after all, the living embodiment of justice and defender of the innocent.

"But you're you right now," she points out, gesturing at me emphatically. "Normal. Talking like a regular person. So obviously you can switch back and forth. There has to be a way."

"That's the thing though; I can't. Not normally. Not by choice." I turn to look at her directly, wanting her to understand. "This? Right now? This was pure dumb luck. I don't have any control over when or if it happens again. There's no switch I can flip, no technique I can practice."

Her ears droop noticeably. "So what you're saying is..."

"What I'm saying is that this—" I gesture between us and then at myself, "—is temporary. In about twenty-one hours, maybe less, I'll revert to being the usual True Might you've come to know and fight alongside. The booming voice, the dramatic speeches, the whole package. And I honestly don't know if I'll ever get another chance to be like this again. It might never happen."

Fuck, that sounds depressing.

Should I tell her about being able to communicate normally by writing? I don't know... that feels like too much to reveal right now. It's the one thing I keep private, the one workaround I have. Telling her feels like crossing a line I'm not ready for yet.

The heroine's ears flatten completely against her head, and she opens her mouth, closes it, then opens it again like she's trying to find words. "Wow, I... don't really know what to say about that. That sounds... really shitty, actually. Like, genuinely awful."

She pauses, her expression troubled and conflicted. "It almost sounds as bad as those Case 53 situations. You know, people who are stuck in forms and with powers they can't control or turn off. I never thought..." She trails off, looking at me with a complicated expression. "I never thought that about you specifically. You always seemed so confident about everything, so happy and enthusiastic. Like you loved every second of being True Might."

"Yeah, well, I DO love being True Might." I say with a humorless laugh. "But when you take on the mantle, things change. How you perceive the world, how you interact with it... it all shifts whether you want it to or not."

"Then that's not just some side-effect or performance thing, that's just straight-up messed up," she says bluntly, her voice carrying a sharp edge. "So you're telling me that after tomorrow, you're stuck being Mr. Justice and Righteousness 24/7 with absolutely no off switch? No breaks? No downtime? No... this?" She gestures at the beach.

"Pretty much, yeah," I confirm quietly, looking back out at the waves.

I have the break times to play videogames with Futaba but…. It isn’t really the same.

"That's bullshit," she says firmly, and there's anger in her voice now. "Complete and utter bullshit. You're telling me you can't just... I don't know, be yourself? Ever? That you're locked into this thing permanently?"

"Unless I get incredibly lucky again, yeah. That's the reality." I shrug, trying to play it off as less of a big deal than it feels. "It's not all bad though. I'm still helping people, still making a difference. The hero's work is cool and it matters. Just... the person doing it is a bit more theatrical than I'd originally planned."

Mirko is quiet for a long moment, staring out at the ocean with her jaw clenched. I can practically see her working through this revelation, processing what it means.

"That's so fucked up," she finally says, her voice quieter than before. "You're basically... trapped. In your own power. And nobody knows?"

"Just you and one other person now," I admit. "And I'd appreciate it if we could keep it that way."

"Yeah, of course. I'm not gonna go blabbing about it." She runs a hand through her hair, her ears still flat against her head. "But damn, Daniel... that's heavy. That's really…fuck."

She falls silent again, and I can see the conflict playing out across her face.

"So let me get this straight," she says slowly, turning back to face me. "The guy I've been fighting alongside, competing with, the one who..." she hesitates, her cheeks flushing slightly, "...the one I gave that good luck kiss to before the Lung fight... that's you. But also not entirely you? Or it is you but filtered through this power thing you can't control?"

"It's me," I say firmly. "Everything True Might does and says and feels; that's all genuinely me. Just... expressed differently. The core person is the same. Even the competitive streak when it comes to you specifically—" I catch myself, realizing what I just admitted, "—that's all real. It's just that the delivery is cranked up to eleven and I can't turn down the volume."

Rumi looks at me for a long moment, her expression unreadable. "This is so weird," she finally says. "Like, I thought I was starting to figure you out, you know? Figure out True Might. And now you're telling me there's this whole other side I might never actually get to see again after tonight."

"I know," I say quietly. "I'm sorry. I probably should have explained this before we did the whole date thing—"

"No," she interrupts sharply. "Don't apologize for that. I'm glad we did this. I'm glad I got to see you like this, even if it's just once. It's just..." She struggles for words, which is rare for her. "It's just making things more complicated in my head than they already were."

"Complicated how?" I ask, genuinely curious despite the heavy mood.

"Just... complicated," she says, looking away with those telltale red cheeks again. "I don't really wanna get into it right now."

We sit there in silence for a bit, the mood considerably heavier than before. I can tell she's genuinely bothered by this revelation, wrestling with something internally. Part of me wonders if I shouldn't have told her at all, if ignorance would have been better.

But no—she deserved to know. Especially after that kiss, after agreeing to this date. She deserved the truth about what she was getting into.

"For what it's worth," I say quietly, "I really am glad we did this too. Even if it's just once. Getting to be normal, to talk like this, to just... exist without the whole justice persona... it means a lot. More than you probably realize."

Rumi glances at me, and some of the tension in her shoulders eases slightly. "Yeah, well... don't get all sappy on me now. We've still got like twenty hours left, right? Might as well make the most of it instead of sitting here being all depressing about tomorrow."

A small smile tugs at my lips. "So what did you want to do next? Actually get that food you mentioned?"

"Hell yeah," she says, some of her usual energy returning. "I'm starving. And you're buying, by the way. Consider it payment for dropping that emotional bomb on me."

"Fair enough," I laugh.

We start the walk back toward the boardwalk proper, still trying futilely to shake off sand that seems determined to stay with us forever, but I guess a shower will be the only way to be clean. We've at least grabbed our respective shirts—and my jacket—though we didn’t put it on cause it was full of sand and wet. It might be a little weird to walk around semi-naked, but the place is a lot less crowded now that a couple hours have passed since we arrived.

"So there's this place I've been wanting to try," The rabbit girl says as we walk, her usual confidence mostly back in her voice. "Heard they make these colossal burgers. Like, stupid big. Pretty sure there's some kind of food challenge."

"Of course you'd want to turn dinner into a competition," I say with a grin.

"What? It's not a competition!" she protests immediately, then pauses with that familiar glint in her eye. "Unless you're too chicken to try matching me. Then it's totally a competition and you're already losing by default."

"You're impossible." I roll my eyes.

"Yeah, but you like it…" she shoots back with that cocky smirk, then seems to catch herself. "I mean... you know what I mean. Shut up."

I just laugh, and we continue walking in comfortable silence for a bit. The beach gives way to the wooden planks of the boardwalk proper. The lights strung up along the shops and stalls are pretty nice now that I'm actually paying attention to them.

The heroine suddenly stops walking.

I take a few more steps before realizing she's not beside me anymore, and I turn back to look at her. She's standing there with her arms crossed tightly, staring at the ground like it personally offended her.

"You okay?" I ask, walking back toward her.

She looks up at me, and there's something conflicted in her expression.

"I'm a fucking hypocrite," she says suddenly, frustration clear in her voice.

"What?"

"All that talk about living every day like it's your last, no regrets, doing what you want, taking chances..." She shakes her head, her ears flattening against her skull as she clenches her fists at her sides. "And here I am, dancing around shit because I'm too chickenshit to just say what I want."

"Is this about-"

"You know what? Fuck this," she interrupts me.

Before I can even ask, the rabbit hero closes the distance between us in two quick steps. With a small jump, she grabs my shoulder and pulls me down into a kiss.

Not on the cheek this time. An actual, real kiss.

My heart skips a beat in response.

The kiss is brief but intense… fierce, exactly like her. When she finally breaks it, she stays close, her hand still gripping my shoulder. Her face is flushed red, but her expression is defiant, daring me.

"There," she says, slightly breathless but with fire burning in her red eyes. "That's what I actually wanted to do. And I don't care if the timing's shit or if this whole situation is complicated as hell or if you're gonna be stuck as Mr. Justice Forever after tomorrow. I like you, okay? True Might, Daniel, whatever form you're stuck in—I like you. So deal with it."

She finally releases my shoulder and takes a small step back, crossing her arms once more.

I'm still processing what just happened. All I can do is stare at her with what's probably the dumbest expression ever on my face. I mean, I've kissed people before... well, the original me had, not this new body, but still; I was supposed to be the one to initiate something like this, not the other way around. She just completely blindsided me and I don't know how to—

"You gonna say something or just stand there looking like an idiot?" 

Words feel completely inadequate for this moment. So instead of trying to articulate the mess in my head, I step forward, cup her face gently with one hand, and kiss her back.

She makes a small surprised sound before melting into it. Her hands find their way to my shoulders, gripping tight like she's afraid I might disappear if she lets go.

It lasts longer, more certain than the first. When we finally break apart, we're both breathing hard and probably looking like complete idiots with these massive grins on our faces.

"So, uh..." Mirko starts, her confidence wavering just slightly for the first time tonight. "That was... yeah."

"Yeah."

She laughs—a genuine, almost nervous laugh that I've never heard from her before. "Wow, okay. I did that. I actually did that. And you kissed me back. That happened."

"It did," I confirm, unable to stop smiling like an idiot.

"Good. Cool. That's... good." She's fidgeting now, playing with the hem of her tank top. "I mean, I don't take it back or anything. Just so we're clear. I meant what I said."

"I know," I say, finding my voice again. "And for the record, I like you too. Have for a while now, actually. Just didn't think..."

She would accept the guy behind the hero.

"Yeah, well, thinking's overrated," she cuts in with a grin, some of her usual confidence returning. "Acting on instinct, that's where it's at. And my instincts have been screaming at me to do that for weeks now."

"Weeks?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Shut up," she says, but she's smiling. "Don't make me regret being honest here."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Still getting those burgers though," Mirko says suddenly, and I can see her trying to regain some semblance of normalcy even as her cheeks stay flushed. "This doesn't mean you get out of buying dinner. If anything, you owe me extra fries now for making me do all the emotional heavy lifting here."

I laugh, a light laugh that feels better than anything has in months. "Whatever you want."

"Good answer, big guy." She reaches out and grabs my hand without hesitation, lacing her fingers through mine. "Come on, let's go before I say something even more embarrassing. I've hit my emotional corny quota for the year."

"You? Embarrassed?" I tease, falling into step beside her.

"Don't push your luck."

Tonight I'm just Daniel.

And honestly? That's pretty damn amazing.

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AN: First part? Then what WILL happen in the next part?! ( ˶°ㅁ°) !!( ˶°ㅁ°) !!

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 c /づ  づ

Jokes aside, the short stories did help me with nailing down Mirko's personality when dealing with emotional stuff, with her motto she wouldn't let doubts and what if hold her back after all.

And the Undersiders can’t catch a breath in the cape scene it seems.

Hope you like it and get ready for the next one.