Vipers Best (1)

"Thank you for coming to see me, Kaguya-san." Even though Momoko hadn't been to school for about five or six years, her back straightened almost out of reflex. Funai Eika was Yuuko's second-grade teacher, a middle-aged woman with a polite, yet firm, air around her.

"There is no problem." She assured Momoko, pretending that she wasn't completely nervous about the whole situation. Yuuko was intimidated by the other students? Yuuko was being bullied by the other students? Yuuko created her own gang of little troublemakers and is taking over the school slowly? Yuuko is misbehaving? God, this whole thing just reminded her because she was completely disqualified for this 'dad' thing.

"Kaguya-san. Yuuko-chan is not in trouble. In fact, so far she is a joy to have in class. It's just that ..." Mrs. Funai paused, and Momoko had a bad feeling going on through your stomach. "We are a little concerned about some of the things she has been saying to other students. About you."

"… I beg you pardon." Momoko hadn't noticed any professional heroes or vehicles around, but she already planned no less than three escape plans for that break.

"She says, and I'm paraphrasing here, that you could" totally kick everyone's ass "for her words." Funai looked apologetic, but still a little questioning.

Momoko allowed herself to breathe. "Oh! Thank goodness."

"Kaguya-san?"

"Oh, no, no, that was really inappropriate on my part, I'm really sorry." The woman got serious. "I was just concerned that the other kids were making fun of her for being an adopted child, or something like that."

"Well, nothing that has been brought to my attention, or to the other teachers," Funai said in a reassuring voice, but the expression on her face clearly telegraphed that such a thing would not go unnoticed by her. "But, uh, what do you do for a living, Kaguya-san? Martial arts instructor ... police ...?" Pro Hero? That unspoken question hung in the air. Legally, no institution could ask whether a person was a professional hero or not for security reasons; this information could only be provided voluntarily by the person himself.

"I am a bartender." This caused the teacher's eyebrow to rise, but on the other hand she refrained from commenting. Momoko held out her hand and the teacher's pencil cup flew from the table to her hand, "It's a versatile, though weak, form of Telekinesis." Momoko put the pencil cup back on the table. "Besides, I may have told her about some stories involving some stupid, funny drunks. Teehee." Momo let out a nervous laugh. Nothing she just said was technically a lie, in itself, she was just playing with some things close to the truth.

The elementary school teacher nodded. "I see, I also apologize for assuming anything, Kaguya-san. It's just that, having seen Morakawa-chan's file, I'm worried about her talking about any kind of violence at home."

God, that wasn't ironic at all.

"Hey." Said the teacher, calling Momoko's attention. "Being a father is always difficult, even for people who have done this before. You have been thrown to the bottom of the metaphorical pit, and I can say that now, you feel like you can barely keep your head above water-"

'She may have a possible empathic ability. It makes sense for a teacher. ' Momoko thought silently.

"- but it's worth it, I think you're doing a good job so far."

This is kind of bullshit, but I appreciate the feeling.

The meeting ended shortly after that, with a polite handshake and Momoko didn't quite believe what the teacher was really saying. Momoko waited outside the school for another ten minutes so that she could catch Yuuko. She suspected that Funai had scheduled during school hours not only to accommodate Momoko's working hours, but so that the teacher might be able to see how Yuuko reacted when she unexpectedly saw her new adoptive mother waiting outside the school. Smart move, really a very smart move.

"Momoko?" Yuuko blinked, she looked surprised, but not scared. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just thought about coming to see my favorite brunette." Momoko patted Yuuko on the top of the head. "And maybe we can go to the library today?" The girl practically shone with that. The school took a day trip to pick up all the children's library cards a few days ago, and Yuuko has been looking forward to returning ever since.

"Are you serious?" Yuuko asked, looking unsure. The child gave the most adorable smile when Momoko nodded.

~ XxX ~

Hamura Public Library Computer # 6, Google Search History: Friday, 4:36 pm

-Hamura's crime statistics ...

-Luphinus can affect crime statistics ...

- Crime statistics of Luphinus Hamura ...

-Luphinus ...

-Luphinus can be cute ...

-Luphinus can have a cute ass ...

Momoko looked at the search results for a good thirty seconds before closing the tab in embarrassment. "What the fuck was that Momoko?" She rubbed her hand up and down her face, trying to force the blush to disappear. Luphinus was a friend of hers, what was she doing acting like an obsessed fangirl? Even though he was her second favorite brunette.

Taking a deep breath, Momoko leaned back to check on Yuuko. The Public Library was organized so that the guard could surf online while Yuuko flipped through the children's section. A lock of black hair with a white fringe was standing in front of one of the shelves, a book already in his hands. Despite the irregularities in Yuuko's education, she was an intelligent child who liked to learn.

The woman went back to the computer and clicked on her email account. She noticed several emails from a sender marked only as MICAH, oh, okay. Not knowing where this was going, but bored enough to check, Momoko clicked on the message to open it. She flipped through, reading something about an 'incredible opportunity' and 'please take the time to schedule an appointment'. Momoko quickly deleted the message, along with two others that she didn't even bother to open.

She heard Yuuko's light footsteps approaching and quickly closed her email. "Hey, are you ready to go?"

"Yea." The girl nodded, looking adorably enthusiastic.

Momoko disconnected from the computer again. "Cool, what did you get?"

Yuuko held up a book called the Encyclopedia of the Cheerful Hero. Momoko recognized it as a children's book that gave simplistic explanations about the powers of some of the most popular heroes. Things like, 'Blizzard can freeze anything with just a touch.' Nothing that a person with a working TV and Internet signal cannot find alone. The other was a medical encyclopedia, thicker than a dictionary, which Momoko really doubted came from the children's section.

The foster mother then raised an eyebrow.

"Veto-san said that I should work to improve my healing ability. And I can only recognize things that I have heard of."

The foster mother then lowered her eyebrow.

"Are you going to get anything?" Yuuko asked as Momoko got up, stuffing the notebook back into the bag.

"Yes. I have a long surveillance planned for this weekend, so I picked up an audiobook." Momoko held up the box containing Anna Katrina. Every 35 hours and 40 minutes and 27 seconds.

Happy families are all the same; The text on the back said, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

~ XxX ~

People with happy families are unlikely to set off for robbery so quickly, that Yuliya knew. As the woman had promised, she had taken the eight-year-old girl to Hamura Park to begin teaching the girl the amazing art of pickpocketing. The girl had understood this very quickly and was now having balance problems by "accidentally" hitting people and apologizing while she was practicing her new skills. Yuliya then staged her act as an 'old and kind grandmother' and returned the "found" valuables to the original owner.

Now, they were taking a break. Yuuko was at the playground, laughing and having fun with the other children. Yuliya sighed contentedly with herself, as she sat on a bench facing the lake full of ducklings. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see some ducks approaching the coast at their own pace.

Yuliya risked a look at the lonely figure by the lake. Black hair with a Mohawk cut, floral tattoos and 80's clothes. It was certainly a possibility. It wasn't until she examined him with her skill and found that the man had absolutely no weaknesses that the former Russian spy could find. She looked back at Yuuko, who seemed almost mesmerized simply by the sight of Hero Number One just ... feeding the ducklings ...

Yuliya Vetochkina then pulled out her notepad and pen. "Ready for another lesson?" Yuuko nodded, always eager to learn as always.

"Go over there and ask him for an autograph, without anyone else listening and finding out." Yuliya instructed. "After all, he looks like he needs a quiet day." Yuuko nodded, taking a deep breath and seeming to prepare.

It was so adorable.

~ XxX ~

Yoshio was taking a day of total silence, without radio, without heroic work, it was just him and himself, this was a time for himself, he had that right every now and then, once every three or four weeks, that it is perfectly normal and healthy, just sitting in a nearby park and feeding some ducks. Not that he didn't love his job or his fans, he loved it, he really loved being a hero, it was just that everyone needed a little break now and then. A chance to breathe and remember what you were fighting for. Hamura Park was a perfect example. A few years ago, families did not dare to approach because of the drug dealers and addicts who used the place as a kind of open-air drug market. Now? No needle or shaded figure in sight, with renovated playground equipment and families enjoying the weekend with their children.

All thanks to Valkyrie. He couldn't help thinking. He was so busy thinking while feeding the ducks that he didn't even notice the tapping of feet approaching him.

"L-Luphinus-san?"

Yoshio looked to the left almost automatically. There was a little girl holding a pen and notebook, shaking a little while she tried to maintain eye contact with him. 'Aww, the poor thing, she's probably just a very shy little girl.'

"Hm? Yes, young man?" Yoshio asked gently, so as not to scare her, or to let anyone know that he was right here.

"Could you ... could you ..." She hesitantly held out a notebook and pen, looking at the floor. "Could you please sign this?" She murmured. Yoshio barely heard it, but he smiled nonetheless, and gently took the offered pen and paper.

"Sure, miss?"

"Oh! Morakawa! Morakawa Yuuko!" She remembered. "And I ... right, I think you're really cool." She whispered again, looking at her shoes.

For Yuuko - I think you're really cool too! Luphinus

"Thanks." Yuuko-chan whispered, a little louder. She looked at the notebook for a long second, before giving it a quick hug. Very close to him, probably an impulsive decision. Before he could react, she ran out, autograph in hand, back to a woman with gray hair that he supposed was his grandmother. The women talked for a few moments before moving away, without making a sound. Yoshio smiled to himself, it was always nice to meet a fan.

~ XxX ~

"Did you steal his wallet?" Vetochkina laughed then, almost scandalized by the whole situation.

"It was almost too easy!" Yuuko laughed, sitting on the bar stool. She really had just walked over to Luphinus wanting an autograph, she would be able to show it to everyone at school, it would be amazing, but then she just wanted to see if she ... could do that. Yuliya knew that she should probably scold the girl for this, but this? This was too good.

Luphinus, hero number one, was stolen by an eight-year-old child, no one would believe them and that just made it funnier. They had walked home from the park back to Holiday before Yuuko displayed his prize, like an owl cub displaying its first death.

They basically found what you would expect in a day-to-day wallet, credit and debit cards made for one Kakinomoto Yoshio, a small suit to file for later, some receipts, membership cards and about 16,000 yen in the wallet. However, there was one thing that Vetochkina was not really expecting.

It was a folded photograph of what looked like a young Luphinus, or, well, Kakinomoto Yoshio, with a fit brunette woman with light hair and red eyes. Her white gloves, white cape, and uniform revealed her likely profession as a heroine. An old teacher, perhaps? A mentor? Perhaps even a maternal figure? Vetochkina suddenly realized that she was being a little too invasive. This was Luphinus' wallet, and the man might be pulling out his crown to look for it.

"Okay, okay, we had fun. It's time to give it back." Yuuko pouted, but on the other hand she didn't object.

~ XxX ~

Kakinomoto Yoshio could admit, he was a little annoyed. He had lost his wallet and was trying to figure out where the hell he could have left it. To try to get his mind off it, and postpone the call to the credit card company to try to cancel his cards, he was sitting in an internet cafe not far from the park and fiddling with his laptop.

-Hamura crime statistics ...

-Hamura Valkyrie crime statistics ...

-Bloody Valkyrie ...

-Valkyrie and Luphinus ...

He closed the leash before he could go any further. Why the hell did he do that?

He was browsing through his civil email spam, coupon, spam, when he found an email entitled New case, sent by EroSexHub. It was probably Reykjavik, since no one else Yoshio knew was bold enough to have a reference not to one or two porn sites, but to refer to three porn sites, like an email address. Reykjavik was a welcome addition to the hero community, to be sure, but he was ... well ... a little weird, to say the least. Always chattering about one thing or another, when he wasn't laughing hysterically talking about ghosts and conspiracy theories ... a lot of conspiracy theories really.

Yoshio got ready and opened the e-mail. - Going undercover. Radio silence 24 hours. Wish me luck not bad luck! - The animal hero then put a cute paw emoji by raising his thumb. Hero number one was confused. Okay, so I didn't have a few pages and that was very good, but as number one he needed to set an example for the other heroes and scold them when it was really necessary.

He switched to the official email account of the heroism that all professionals usually talk to each other about.

To: Hero-Reykjavik

From: Luphinus

-Reykjavik, we have a secure email server for a reason, use it. Good luck with your covert operation, I'll talk to you when I get back-

Before he could really think about it, his cell phone rang.

"Excuse me, would you happen to be Kakinomoto Yoshio?" A slightly accented voice, he inquired.

"Who is it?" Yoshio asked, probably letting his irritation bleed more than he originally intended. Yoshio immediately regretted being rude, but he had a coupon for his favorite coffee and there was just another stamp of a free coffee and cookies. Also, one of the only pictures he had with Naomi.

"My name is Yuliya Vetochkina, I found her wallet on a bench in Parque Hamura." He remembered that day, oh, the little girl! When she gave him the hug, she may have pushed the wallet out of her pocket ... Or maybe he took it out for some reason and just forgot to get it back. Anyway, he was obviously found now, so he didn't have to worry about it anymore.

"Oh, thank you very much Vetochkina-sama!" Yoshio thanked him, deeply happy with the prospect of getting it back. "However, if you don't care ... what condition did you find it in?"

"No apparent problems. You still have all the money and credit cards along with a photo, I believe. Although I must admit that I am looking to get your Golden Raspberry Club lifetime membership card." Vetochkina joked. Now, as much as Yoshio liked to believe in the best of people, the reality of his work put him face to face with what humanity had to offer. It was good, though, to see that his worst guess was wrong.

"Now, Kakinomoto-san, would you prefer that I return the wallet in the mail and leave it at the nearest police station or ...?" Yoshio honestly preferred to just pick it up himself, and there was no way to ask Vetochkina-sama to do it. Your wallet, your responsibility.

"No, no, I dropped like an idiot, so I shouldn't be bothering you anymore." After some convincing on his part, he agreed to meet at the Holiday Restaurant in Hamura to recover his lost property.

He did a quick little background check after hanging up the phone. Yuliya Vetochkina was born in Russia and served for more than two decades in the army as a translator for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After working at several embassies around the world throughout her career, she retired and moved to Japan just a few years ago.

Just run a few blocks away to pick up her wallet, absolutely no problem.

~ XxX ~

Hero number one could smell the meat and butter as he approached the building and felt his stomach growl. Maybe when he has his wallet back ...

He found the woman he recognized from the background check standing behind the bar at the back of the restaurant, cleaning the bar with a cloth.

"Uh, hi, my name is Kakinomoto Yoshio, I should-"

"Ah! Kakinomoto-san." The woman greeted him cordially, looking him up and down. She reached into one of her apron pockets and took out her lost wallet. Although he was genuinely grateful, it took him a moment to make sure everything was there. It was exactly how he remembered it.

"Well, Vetochkina-sama, as you found my wallet, I believe it is only fair for me to get something to eat." Besides, he was the only potential customer here now, so it was really fair.

After ordering some appetizers, he heard one of the side doors open and saw the little girl from before, Yuuko-chan, as he remembers, come down. She was going to Vetochkina-sama at the bar, but stopped as soon as she saw him. The child looked at him curiously, as if she were trying to connect the dots. For some reason, however, she didn't seem to recognize him this time, and after a few moments she continued on her way.

Vetochkina-sama smiled indulgently as the girl climbed onto a stool and sat down, opening her book. "Yuuko-chan, this is Kakinomoto-san. We found his wallet in the park, remember?" The child nodded, suddenly understanding his eyes. The child then smiled for some reason before returning to his book.

About half an hour later, Yoshio was halfway through one of the most delicious meat stews he had ever eaten in his life, his mother's meat stews didn't count when the front door opened again. The hero vaguely registered a man in khaki pants holding a clipboard before returning to his meal.

"Delivery to Yuliya Vetochkina?"

"I beg you pardon?"

The man pointed to his clipboard. "The Holiday Restaurant and Bar is scheduled for a refueling delivery. I have about three crates full of vodka for you in my truck, lady." The delivery man stated, in his strangely strained voice.

Vetochkina-sama stopped for a moment, assessing the situation. "I think you may have come to the wrong address, as we have refueling shipments on the third and seventeenth day of each month, and we have a regular delivery person who is fine. Her name is Yusuke Nariko and you are certainly not a blonde who looks like a model. " Vetochkina's voice was strained, and Yoshio realized that she was still sending looks to Yuuko-chan at the bar. The girl did not take her eyes off the book.

The deliveryman followed his line of sight and rubbed his face. "Damn it, I really hoped we could do this the easy way." Before Yoshio could understand what was happening, there was a 'click' sound and a black gas started to fill the entire restaurant. He looked back, and the man was now somehow wearing a gas mask, and Vetochkina-sama was punching him. Hero number one immediately stood up to help in any way he could ... but then he passed out.

~ XxX ~

When Yoshio came to, Yoshio saw that the restaurant was destroyed. The tables were overturned, the chairs practically shattered, and Vetochkina-san was behind the bar. His vision was still blurry, but he could still see how the older woman looked hurt and confused, burn marks on her clothes and a trickle of blood running down her forehead. The hero blinked several times and, when his vision cleared, he realized that his arms should not be folded that way ... unofficially.

"—I'm fine, you just have to let me talk. I don't care about those deep breath shit, you have to understand that my goddaughter was kidnapped !!"

-XxX-

...

You hate me?

-XxX-