"___.” Daishou pats your leg. "We were wrong. Wake up." 

       "We were wrong about what…" You yawn rubbing your eye before blinking at the television, several buildings in flames showed on the screen.

        "Apparently Midnight held the news building hostage after several of the HQ branch agencies got blown up. The video we saw was of the first one, and they had brought it in to have it played whenever they reset the building…. So everyone that wasn't in the areas around the agencies had no idea what was happening." He breathes.

        "Not even we knew. So these videos are from people's cell phones?" You murmur.

        "Yeah… Apparently the other agencies were called too late. Everyone in those buildings got wiped out from the explosions except for the first one, Midnight and his gang physically attacked them." Daishou answers.

        "Holy shit Midnight. What are you doing now?" You sigh rubbing your eyes.

        "You two are kinda friends right?" Daishou tilts his head.

        "Kinda…" You answer. "But I literally don't have an…" You pause and check your phone finding a message from Death. "They want a total reform of Hero HQ." You show him the message.

        "A reform… So he's not looking to destroy them, but to change them… But if they don't abide, that'll probably mean war…" Daishou folds his arms, tilting his head in thought. "It's possible things are going to become tense now. HQ will probably make an effort to go after him." 

         "Yeah…" You agree, frowning at your phone. Midnight never made much sense to you to begin with, but now that you knew his identity, you felt even more lost. "I really don't know him. Or his goal…" 

       Daishou watches you quietly before reaching over and cupping your cheek. "You don't need to know him to know where you stand in all this. All you can do is…"

       "What I can." You finish with a nod. "And what I can do is, go on my date with Mika." You smile as you get a message from her.

       "... No fair." He huffs lightly.

       "Sure it is. You always get alone time with Mika." You smirk getting out of bed. 

       "But not with you." He murmurs and you pause looking back at him in mild horror.

        "We… haven't been alone this whole time…?" You whisper. He pauses and chuckles covering his face.

         "I meant for a date ___." He says. You pause and blush at that.

         "Oh. Th-That…" How do you respond to that? He peers at you, reaching over and taking your hand.

         "It wasn't a question yet. But if it were, would you be interested?" He asks lightly.

         "M-mhm." You nod slightly. 

         "Good. Go have fun. Maybe I'll be able to finish your room today while you're away." He smiles with a head tilt. 

         "Alright," You nod with a smile as he goes out before changing clothes and stepping into the hall. "See you later." You tell him. 

         "... Message me when you're on your way back." He requests. 

         "Sure." You hum before leaving for the meet up spot. You arrive there and wait patiently, glancing around for her. Hands come over your eyes and you pause. 

         "Guess who?" Mika whispers.

         "Hmm… A kitten? No… These aren't paws… they're soft and small… an angel? No… I didn't die… Could be Mika… Maybe." You hum tapping your chin. She giggles and you turn to her suddenly, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Aha. So it was all of the above." You grin as she hides her face giggling shyly. "Hello angel kitten Mika." 

         "You… Dork." She breathes shyly. "Ready to go get breakfast?" 

         "Yes. I'm starving… And should probably tell Daishou to eat before he starts his project." You swiftly message him.

         "The agency right?" She hums and you pause, glancing at her. "He mentioned getting started on it. But he won't let me see." She puffs her cheeks slightly as she leads the way.

          "He doesn't want you to see it right now, he thinks it looks bad. But it's improved a lot since I was last there. He's doing a great job." You smile lightly. 

           "... Ugh… I want to see it!" She bursts. "He's so stubborn! I won't be disappointed! I want to see him progress… It would be so cool to see it transform." She pouts.

           "He's always taking pictures of it, I'm sure he'll show them once he's ready." You hug her into your side. 

           "Alright…" She leans her head on you. "So what does he need for it? Should we get him stuff for the agency instead of gifts?" 

           "We could do both." You offer. "If we're going to get him something for the agency… Let's get him a fridge for drinks and food in case he forgets to go get food he'll have some there." 

          "Good idea! We should go find one of those first, to make sure we have enough money." She chimes. 

          "Well… I have this card that Tendo gave me last year. He said I could buy anything with it. But I haven't used it… I don't even know the balance on it." You frown. Actually, you were kind of afraid to check it now. This is a villain's credit card after all. 

          "Wow. He really takes care of you huh?" Mika tilts her head thoughtfully.

          "Heh... Yeah…" You smile softly. "That's my best friend, always doing too much for me." 

          "That's sweet." She hums softly. "You sure he won't mind if you buy a fridge with it?"

         "He'd probably say, 'Finally! Took you a year to buy something!' Or something like that." You chuckle lightly. "When's Daishou's birthday? Where are we going to put a fridge until then?" 

         "... It's tomorrow." She breathes. You trip at that, quickly adjusting your footing. "Sorry. I didn't want to rush you. And I knew you would handle things with the enemy fast." She frowns softly. 

         "Cake? Party?" You look at her worriedly. 

         "Hehehe, don't worry. I have that part covered." She gives a thumbs up. "I already sent out invitations too." 

         "You're amazing Mika." You gasp.

         "So don't worry about that. Let's get him his presents." She beams. 

          "Alright." You nod and let her guide you into a cafe to have breakfast before heading to an appliance store to browse the fridges. 

          "How big should it be?" She murmurs.

          "For now, big enough for him and whoever comes to help with the agency. How about this one?" You point.

          "Hmm… I'm kinda feeling the one with the ice machine though." She points, "Does the agency have water yet?"

          "Mhm." You nod, "That would be better for him." You comment. A sales person comes over to greet you both to help. You hand him the card after you and Mika make a final decision. "Alright. Now we can spend our money on something cute for him." 

          "Yes! I was thinking about a new jacket for him." Mika tells you excitedly.

          "Hmm… Something for Daishou…" You think to yourself. "Right now it does get cold in that room of his, and winter is getting close… Maybe a heated blanket would be good…?"

         "Awe that's really sweet. He does get cold easily." She nods thoughtfully.

         "Yeah…. Should I get him something else?" You tilt your head.

         "I think that'll be good. But if we find anything else along the way let's grab it." She smiles as the salesman returns with the card.

         "Okay we'll box it up and have it ready for pickup tomorrow." He rumbles. Something about his voice makes you pause. He meets your gaze and gives a nod.

        "Thanks so much." You give a bow to him. 

        "No problem. I'm glad you found what you were looking for." He says lightly. "Take care." He adds as you and Mika head out. 

        "Did you know that man?" Mika asks you.

        "I met him before, while I was looking for Tendo." You breathe.

        "Oh. Small world." Mika hums looking down. "Why were you looking for Tendo?" She asks, confused.

        "He went MIA after we ran into bad guys." You admit. "I was such a wreck then… But he's back now so I'm okay." 

        "That's good. I'm sorry you had to go through that." She takes your hand, playing with your fingers. She peeks at your face and you smile softly, pulling her closer and cuddling her cheek with yours making her blush and giggle softly, kissing your cheek in response. "Come on let's get the coat first." She hums pulling you into a store. You both browse the aisles before she finds a nice coat for him. You find a pair of boots to match too. Then you pause spotting a crown sitting with the hats like it had been put there as a joke.

        "Oh ho… He's going to like this." You smirk, grabbing it as well. 

        "A crown?" Mika raises an eyebrow.

        "An inside joke." You respond, twirling it around your finger. 

        "Hehe I wanna know now." She hums. 

        "I um… May have made the comparison when we met the prince. Daishou is a bit of a king." You murmur looking to the side.

         "Awww that's so cute! You have to get that! And now I have inspiration for a new painting!" She cheers happily as you follow her to pay with a chuckle.

         You continue browsing shops with her for a good part of the day. Eventually she takes you to her place to wrap everything up, except for the crown. "We may have gone a little overboard with shopping…" You murmur looking at the numerous gifts.

         "Yeah… but he's bound to like at least half of these." Mika nods.

         "Nah. I think he's going to like all of them. Especially that cool viper hoodie we found." You grin.

         "You got the hoodie too. Just a different color." She teases.

          "It was really cool though! Look! I'ma snake!" You throw on the hood and stick out your tongue.

          "So cute." She laughs in amusement. "He's going to think so too." 

          "Heh…" You smile and check the time. "I should get back. It's getting late." You hum getting up. 

          "Yeah… Be careful on your way back." Mika gets up, putting a hand on your chest and kissing you softly. "And sleep well." She smiles as you blush heavily.

          "Y-Yeah. You too." You manage, kissing her cheek before heading out. 

          You smile as you head back to Snake Den. The past two days have been nice, besides Tendo worrying you. 'Maybe I should call him.' You move to pull out your phone and a hand slides into yours making you tense.

           "___, I'm home." Tendo smiles in amusement when you look at him.

          "I was about to call you! Why are you here giving me a heart attack right now!?" You gasp.

         "I missed you, so I came to Nohebi to see you." He hums. "I went to the dorm to see you but you had already left… And I kind of… Went off on them." 

          "You did?" You blink in surprise at him. 

          "Yeah…" He nods rubbing his cheek. 

          "That's probably why they suddenly called then…" You hum hugging his side. "I missed you though, how have you been? What have you-"

           "I'm not here to talk about me." He grumbles hugging you back. "Besides, you went to see the prince, right? Tell me about that. I know you said everything in text but you always give more detail when you talk." He says into your shoulder, both of you stopping near a park. 

        "... Only if you promise to answer my questions afterwards." You respond.

        "... Fine." He nods. 

        So you relay everything to him again. This time giving some extra thoughts on Midnight to make him squirm a bit. "But Midnight was so cool, Tendo. We really fight well together, you know?"

        "Heh… You're really crushing on that villain now huh?" He chuckles with a head tilt.

        "Maybe. He's really hot. Must be something special under that suit." You hum nonchalantly, wanting to smirk when he brings a hand over his mouth.

        "___… Are you undressing him with your mind?" He asks carefully.

        "Hmm. Think I should leave this conversation now." You turn away and he quickly hugs.

         "Wait! It was getting good!" He protests. 

         "Don't you have some questions to answer?" You raise an eyebrow.

          "Ugh… I've been good. Been doing a lot of errands lately all over the place." He tells you quickly. 

           "That's it huh?" You raise an eyebrow.

           "Yeah. And I've been catching up on school stuff but that's all boring…" He sighs. 

           'What a smooth liar. No wonder I never connected the dots.' You think peering at him. "Okay then…"

           "So-" He pauses, looking over as someone starts to play a violin in the park. "... Want to dance with me for a bit?" He requests smiling. 

          "Uh. Sure. Let's dance." You relax with a smile letting him guide you over before pulling you in as you fall into the rhythm together. 

         "I was a bit jealous when you talked about the dancing part. We haven't done this in a while." He admits thoughtfully, holding you close. "Still feels nice." He breathes.

         "Hey Tendo? I want to take you on that date in three days okay. So don't do anything else." You tell him.

         "Three days… How specific." He shakes his head in amazement. "Mm alright. Three days. I can do that." He nods with a smile. "I'm curious now." 

          "No future sight." You poke his nose. But his response was hesitant, he was probably going to do another attack then.

          "Oh no of course not. It won't work with you anyway." He shakes his head, smiling excitedly. 

          "Alright good." You smile and eventually you both come to a stop. 

          "Thank you very much. You're an amazing musician." Tendo praises the violinist, giving him some money before quickly leading you off just as the man starts to yell happily.

          "Tendo… How much did you give him?" You ask him.

          "Does it matter? He's happy." He says looking ahead.

          "Okay… Oh. I used that card today, for a fridge." You tell him. He blinks a few times before chuckling.

          "I thought you lost that forever ago!" He laughs. "Why a fridge? That's random."

          "It's Daishou's birthday tomorrow, and we wanted to get him something for the agency he's working on." You tell him. 

          "That's so sweet." He kisses your cheek, pulling you into his side. "You're really becoming a hero huh?" He murmurs lightly.

          "... Yeah. I know I've done some bad things but… I really want to work with Daishou." You nod. 

         "Just because you did what had to be done. Doesn't make you bad." He tips your chin. "No matter what you choose. I will always love you." He kisses you lovingly. You kiss him back, you knew it was the truth, but you still felt guilty.

         "I love you too. I should get back though. Thanks for coming to see me." You smile. 

        "You don't need to thank me. It's what I wanted…" He hums. He didn't seem to want to let you go though, keeping you close still. You peek at him, meeting his soft gaze. "I wish I could keep you here at my side. Until the world unravels. Would you still be happy then?" 

        "Maybe. But if the world unravels wouldn't that be my fault?" You tilt your head.

        "Maybe. But I would still want you here to hold until the end." He smiles, holding you close. "This is where I'm happiest after all." He kisses your cheek and then neck, arms tightening around you. "I don't want to let you go… But it's what you want so I will." He gives your cheek another kiss before stepping back. "I'll see you soon okay? Have sweet dreams." He smiles tilting his head cutely.

        "Okay. You too Tendo." You give him another hug before heading off.

        He watches you go smiling softly to himself before checking the time on his phone as someone approaches him from the darkness of an alleyway. "Hello Stone. It's a pleasure to meet you."

         "So you're the one Midnight sent? And I see you're friends with Little Destroyer." Stone greets, glancing the way you had disappeared.

         "Best friends actually." Tendo puts away his phone before clapping his hands together. "So. I'm here to recruit your gang for a war. Interested?" 

       You reach Snake Den after grabbing some food from a nearby shop and head inside, latching the door behind you. "I'm back!" You call. 

       "I'm on the stairs!" He responds higher up. You smile and go up, soon finding him sitting at the top. "Good timing. I ran out of tiles for the hall." He glances back. 

        "It looks good." You comment, handing him the take out food you had gotten for both of you, sitting with him.

        "Thanks… And good because I did not enjoy any of that." He grumbles, separating the food to share before starting to eat.

         "Then how about resin flooring?" You hum, tilting your head as you also start to eat. He pauses, blinking at you.

         "I love that idea. I could probably make this staircase look like a waterfall if I did that." He looks down the steps with a small excited smile. "I wonder how much that would cost… I'll have to look into it." 

        "That would be so cool, boss." You breathe excitedly. He nods, tail coming out to swish behind him. It soon brushes against your back before wrapping around you and pulling you closer. You pause and he just leans on you as he finishes eating. 

        "So how was your date with Mika?" He asks.

        "Fun. We did a lot of shopping." You hum. He blinks peers at the single bag you had. "What? I wasn't just buying for me. I got you and me something." You smile taking out the crown to put on his head. He pauses in surprise before laughing lightly in amusement, his tail swishing again as he hides his face against your arm. 

        "Dork…" He murmurs, chuckling a bit still.

        "You know you like it, your majesty." You nudge him in response. 

        "I do but you really shouldn't encourage it." He chuckles putting a hand over his face as he sits up again. "Okay, show me what you got you."

        "Okay. Ready?" You turn to him before flipping your hood up and sticking out your tongue. You couldn't see his face behind the hood, but if you had you would've seen the big smile on his face and the warmth in his eyes as he looked at you.

        "You got the wrong tongue for it. But that's very cute." He rumbles in amusement, reaching over and using his index finger to lift the hood and peer at you in amusement. 

        "I thought so too." You grin happily. He smiles thoughtfully, pushing the hood back and letting his fingers graze your cheek. 

        "Your room is done now." He informs.

        "Eh? Really? Can I?" You point at the door, moving to get up. He nods and gets up to, tail wrapping around your arm to stop you.

         "Wait. I'm suddenly nervous." He murmurs putting a hand over his face.

         "Aww boss…" You tease him.

         "Shut it." He grumbles before following you into the room. It was empty still, but it looked great, the bay window was complete, looking out over the buildings at the ocean beyond it. You stop, taking it all in. He peeks at your face curiously, smiling a bit as you start to grin.

          "I love it…" You tell him.

          "Still need some furniture, but it's ready now." He rumbles hands on his hips as his tail swishes with satisfaction. He gives a smile as you look at him. You smile and kiss his cheek, making him pause with a blush. 

         "Thanks Suguru, it looks great." You breathe making the blush spread all over his face.

         "N-No problem. I wouldn't be a good snake… king… Boss?" He turns his face away. "What am I saying…" He wonders quietly before shaking his head and turning to you, clearing his throat. "I mean. I wouldn't be a good boss if I couldn't do this much." He manages.

         "Pfft… You got all tongue tied." You chuckle.

         "Th-That's your fault for surprising me like that." He scoffs, blushing more. He sighs covering his face. "Why are you like this?" He grumbles. You step closer, chuckling and drawing on the backs of his hands. 

        "You wanted to keep me around." You point out. He peers at you from behind his fingers before dropping his hands, taking your hands as he does, pressing into you slightly. You pause starting to blush as his tail trails over your back.

         "Yeah of course. You're my partner, whether it be in justice or crime. I got your back." He smiles thoughtfully, nose brushing yours. "I have a request to make ___. Just for tonight." He rumbles.

         "What's that?" You ask carefully.

         "Drink with me!" He beams, hugging you as his tail swishes about. "You know it's my birthday tomorrow! So drink with me!"

         "But we're underage…" You whisper.

         "If we're old enough to put our lives on the line then we're old enough to drink." He reasons. "Don't worry, we'll water it down with something else."

         "Aren't you supposed to drink on your birthday night though?" You point out.

         "I got this sneaking suspicion that you'll be taken away from me tomorrow." He grumbles against your cheek making you chuckle from the ticklish sensation.

          "Ah… Fine, you're so bad." You breathe as he pulls back with a smile.

          "Yes. Let's be bad together."