Nightglow (1)

Despite living with Kaguya Momoko, known as Bloody Valkyrie, Morakawa Yuuko would never get over how cool she was. Like, right now, she was in Veto-san's living room, all dressed up in her uniform, going out to take down the Purple Hawks! The leaders of the gang of villains had hidden themselves from the reach of the law, so it was the watchman's job to get them out of the hellhole they were hiding from. Despite the late hour, Yuuko was practically humming with excitement.

This buzz was contained on Veto-san's couch while the Russian and the guard were doing a final check of the equipment before the invasion. Most people would probably be concerned about a lonely woman coming across an entire building full of gang members, but not this nine-year-old girl. Momoko was the Blood Valkyrie and, in Yuuko's opinion, Valkyrie could do anything.

"Just one last thing." The girl tilted her head. Valkyrie had all her things, what was left to do? Momoko looked at her. "A certain little lady needs to be accommodated tonight."

Yuuko groaned and fell backwards on the couch pouting. "Awww, come on, let me stay awake!"

"No, it's not healthy for you to stay up late."

"You stay!" The girl tried to shoot back. The adoptive mother responded by simply picking her up and carrying her into the bedroom.

"I think this is one of those times when you have to do what I say and not what I do, girl." Yuuko pouted and crossed her arms, but allowed herself to be tucked under the covers and receive a kiss good night. "I'll be here when you wake up." Momoko said just before closing the door.

Yuuko tried to sleep, she really tried to sleep. But whenever she closed her eyes, all she could think about was Valkyrie, out there and helping people. Yuuko wanted this. She wanted to go there and just ... help. She wanted to help Valkyrie, and she wanted to help other people in the way the watchman had done for her.

But Momoko said that she didn't want Yuuko as her helper. But then Yuuko had a thought, Momoko was not here to object now. With a mischievous smile, Yuuko entered his closet. She stayed with her Russian 'godmother' so often that most of her things were actually here, instead of her one-bedroom apartment that she shared with Momoko.

See, Veto-san was teaching her things. Like ... how to pick locks. How to climb and jump through the alleys of Hamura. How to fight if someone hurt you. Things that usually had to be taught with the preface 'don't tell your mother' and a conspiratorial wink. And then that wink was extended to a very special gift at his last birthday party. A dark gray knife-proof sweatshirt, made of a material similar to that of the Valkyrie jacket.

Yuuko smiled as she took off her pajamas and put them on. The girl's plan was to go out and prove that she could be a good watchman, so Valkyrie would have to take her as a helper.

~ XxX ~

Valkyrie couldn't help but smile when she approached the Purple Hawks' hideout. She was not being arrogant, she learned her lesson the hard way from Ghost, but enjoying the moment. Because sometimes self-care is swallowing an obscene amount of coffee and starting a fight with the local crime boss.

But in all seriousness, the guard spent weeks planning and exploring the building in preparation for this invasion. She wasn't naive enough to think that it would ruin the gang forever, but taking down her leadership would leave the Purple Hawks fractured and debated. This would mean that the police would have an easier job picking them up and putting them behind bars. The people of Hamura were about to have a serious thorn removed from their foot.

She came into the shadows, watching the back entrance. Two men guarded the door, both with broad shoulders and projecting the kind of air they themselves knew how to handle.

Reaching his telekinesis, Momoko telekinetically grabbed the man's throat and pressed. Since she was moving parts of a person instead of an object as a whole, it took a lot more concentration to actually be able to do that. Furthermore, Luphinus would be unbearably smug if he knew that she used an idea he took from a film.

That was when she noticed something strange, while she was choking the man on the left, the man on the right did not seem to move, or respond in any other way. He was just ... looking forward. The first guard took something from her pocket, but Valkyrie pulled it with her Telekinesis. Was it a radio?

She snatched it out of his hand before he could contact anyone. Five seconds later, he was on the floor, unconscious. And the man on the right flickered and disappeared, still without reacting.

An interesting, interesting illusion. Usually the Purple Hawks liked the guards who had Mutations with a little more brute force. Big boy with an illusory ability at the back door meant that they were starting to stretch, but he still wanted to look like they were as strong as ever. For the Valkyrie blows, this was absolutely perfect.

If all went well, tomorrow morning her daughter would wake up in a safer neighborhood. Then Valkyrie took a deep breath and entered the door.

~ XxX ~

Luphinus was not bored. Any night he didn't need to be constantly caught between incidents and attacks by villains was a good night. That said, hero number one had to admit that things seemed particularly slow.

Usually, whenever he had a slow night, Yoshio would take the opportunity to sleep or perhaps catch up on the latest news from around the world. But for some reason, hero number one found himself jumping over the rooftops towards Hamura.

While he was in the neighborhood, trying to catch a glimpse of the local watchman, he noticed a shadowy figure leaping across the rooftops. It was a little slower than normal Valkyrie speed, but maybe she was hurt or something.

That last thought causing a little concern, Yoshio directed his descent and landed on the next roof in the figure's path as smoothly as he could.

He heard a small growl when someone landed. Luphinus turned cautiously, only to be greeted by the sight of a small figure in a gray sweatshirt. The moonlight reflected on the glasses that covered the upper half of his face.

Luphinus blinked. "You are not Valkyrie."

"Well, duh." The little figure spoke, and yes, it was definitely a child's voice.

Luphinus blinked again. A few seconds passed and, apparently tired of being watched, the child started to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Yoshio quickly moved to stand in front of the child. He was surprised to see that, suddenly, there was a person in front of them, but he quickly calmed down. "Uh, child, what are you doing?"

Although the glasses were mirrored, he could definitely tell that the child was looking at him. "Valkyrie is busy, so I'm taking care of things for her."

Yoshio then frowned. "Where's Valkyrie?"

The child crossed his arms. "Like I said, she is busy."

They stared at each other for another moment. "So, can I ask who you are?"

It earned him a smile, though, one that came closer to a malicious smile than an innocent smile. "I am the Blood Valkyrie's sidekick, Nightglow!" The child put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest with pride.

Luphinus decided that, despite the strangeness of the situation, she was still just a child. He knew exactly what to do with a child. His expression went from confused to amused. "Ha ha ha! I'm sure! Bloody Valkyrie must appreciate very much that you take care of things while she's busy." He was lying about it, no way did he really believe that Valkyrie would consciously let a little girl run through the roofs until late at night alone. "But I think she would like it even more if you came home safely. And isn't it time for the kids to be in bed? You must be tired."

The child crossed his arms, all traces of positivity and openness replaced by an expressionless look. "No."

Luphinus paused. Well, maybe he just needed to appeal "Okay, seriously girl, it's 11:37 pm, you need to go to-"

"Okay, then, I'm going." Nightglow tried to move away.

"—House. Hey!" Luphinus put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around. The girl froze under his grip in a way he recognized, but he didn't have time to think. He took his hand away, apologizing, and the impassive look from before doubled in intensity. "Sorry, but you are a child. It is not healthy or safe for you to be here at this time of night."

Valquíria's self-proclaimed 'helper' gave him another appraising look. "You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

Yoshio shook his head in a gentle 'no', but of course.

She raised her little fists. "Then I will fight you!"

'Aww, this is adorable ... Umph!'

The girl kicked him in the shins and started running, going over the edge of the roof before she had a chance to process what was going on. Sloppy, so sloppy, Luphinus criticized himself internally. But seriously, who expects this kind of thing from a child?

He jumped effortlessly after her and saw her start to hide in the shadows. He grabbed the back of her sweatshirt and lifted it. He could feel her glow through the goggles, as the child started to squirm and sway to try to break free. Although Luphinus could easily hold her, the hero realized that she would never cooperate with him if he just pushed it, and taking her to the nearest police station would probably not help at all.

"Okay, I'm going to make a deal with you, Nightglow." This seemed to get the girl's attention. "You let me accompany you on your patrol, on the condition that you let me take you home when this is over." The child gave him another look, before extending his hand.

"Promise?"

He shook his little hand in agreement. "Promise."

Around the corner, Yuliya smiled to herself. When she realized that Yuuko was out of her bed, her intention was to track down the girl and drag her back to Holiday. But this ... it was a casual encounter and she was curious to see what the repercussions would be. Trusting the number one hero to take care of the "Nightglow", the former Russian spy turned and left.

'I hope you have fun tonight, Yuuko.' She thought. 'Because tomorrow, your training intensifies.'

"Besides, have we met before?"

"Ha ha ha! No! I have no idea!" Nightglow tried to insist. He was not convinced, but decided to just nod his head anyway.

~ XxX ~

Valkyrie laughed as she wiped blood from her nose.

Catching projectiles in the air was not as difficult as it used to be. She just needed to think about her telekinetic 'hands' forming a kind of barrier and whamo! She was catching things in the air! She had a tendency to scare people, and given her 'watchful' thing, it was kind of what she wanted.

Look at this guy, one of the most important lieutenants, who had the ability to shoot poison splinters from his wrist like a puffer fish or a porcupine. He tried to shoot her, but she stopped in midair. He froze, as he probably never had before, and the watchman attacked him. He was tied up and gagged in a matter of seconds.

As soon as she finished tying his wrists so he couldn't use his speed, thanks to duct tape, Valkyrie could hear the heavy footsteps on the other side of the door.

Reinforcement was coming and it would not do any good. Taking out the bag of ball bearings, she tossed them toward the entrance. The first person who passed made a hilarious 'thump' as he passed through the door and fell on his butt. The second person did the same, but she was already crawling in the ventilation openings by then ...

~ XxX ~

It took a little longer for Kakinomoto Yoshio who maybe should find out that Nightglow was Morakawa Yuuko. To be fair, she was wearing a disguise, that very recognizable streak of white hair covered by the hood, and he didn't know her well enough to recognize her voice right away. In fact, he didn't really find out until she stabbed someone in the leg!

Okay, that sounded bad, let him go back in history a little bit.

The basics of the plan were as follows: 'patrol' with the girl for a while until she got tired, and then take her home because she would probably just want to sleep in her own bed. Unfortunately for him, Nightglow was an energetic young man. It was almost two in the morning, but there was no sign that she was slowing down yet.

They had actually come across some incidents. Car thief, home invasion attempt, car on the run, the driver had apparently fallen asleep at the wheel. Things that were quite simple for a hero in his position, that he had everything under control in a matter of seconds, before the young watchman could move. Every time this happened. Nightglow would pout a little, but otherwise he wouldn't say anything.

During the patrol together, she was not as chatty as he expected. In fact, she would only speak if he addressed her directly, and even then her response used to be monosyllable. The girl was probably doing this to be stealthy, or she didn't want him to find out about her anymore. But that didn't stop Luphinus from putting some things together, just based on his behavior.

To begin with, the girl had some kind of training. You don't jump on the roofs and do parkour on the sides of buildings without learning how to do that, especially at this age. While Luphinus was sure that Valkyrie was not training from her own small team of future watchmen from an early age, the main point was that the girl had training and experience. A well-meaning father probably enrolled the girl in parkour classes, having no idea what she would use to jump around in the city.

This particular line of thinking was interrupted when the girl stopped at the edge of another roof. "Wha-" The girl put a finger to her lips, silencing him. She then pointed down.

Ah. Hostage / assault situation. One guy had a knife drawn on the other. This would be something that should be treated with care, to ensure that no one gets hurt badly or worse. He turned his attention to the little watchman.

"Nightglow." Luphinus warned, but the girl jumped anyway. Luphinus let out a sound of surprise. It would be imperative for him to end this matter quickly and safely.

He jumped, landing in a heroic pose. "Don't be afraid, because I-"

"AHHH, THAT BRAT STEALED MY LEG !!! !!!"

"-I'm here?" Luphinus looked up, confused by the situation. The criminal was on the floor holding his leg, and Nightglow was holding a knife. The hostage was no longer threatened, but he definitely seemed lost with the whole situation.

"This is what you get for being a criminal scum." Nightglow stated, staying out of the man's reach, even when he was bleeding on the floor.

The ex-hostage looked between Hero Number One and then at the little watchman. "Is she with you?"

Luphinus rubbed his face in shame, sighed and said, "It's complicated."

"No, it's not!" The girl scolded him. "He's accompanying me on my patrol! He's my helper !!"

Hero number one took a deep breath and counted to ten. "Yes, and although I applaud your quick thinking, you don't just stab people in the leg. Criminals or not."

"Wait a second, he was threatening to kill someone and you are scolding me !?"

Children used to be so arrogant these days and he didn't know that? Children were generally not so rude to him. "Well, he is unconscious, too, why is he unconscious? And he is no longer bleeding?"

Nightglow raised his hand. His hand is shiny and without a glove.

Having been a prime target of the old witch's healing abilities since the age of thirteen, all the information kind of fits in for Kakinomoto Yoshio after that.

Glowing hand + absence of stabbing + unconscious person with absence of stabbing = Healing Ability.

Little girl + skill heals = Morakawa Yuuko.

Morakawa Yuuko = The child who was kidnapped by evil scientists, was tried by so-called evil scientists, and would have to testify against evil scientists in a trial that was coming relatively soon. She also kind of covered him with rats. Many rats. Many ... loving mice, but he was a big enough person to get over it. Principally. Over the months. And with a few hours at the psychologist.

There was a lot to unpack there.

Shit.

-XxX-