Chapter Text
Hitoshi can still remember the first time he met The Reluctant Sidekick- capitalized because it’s not just a description, it’s also his fucking villain name. Guy even has it embroidered on the back of his hooded black cape in calligraphy, in a shade of green so bright it matches his eyes.
Hitoshi is of course too smart to fall for the obvious ploy.
He may be a newer graduate than most but he’s smart enough to see a trick coming miles away.
No one would name themselves The Reluctant Sidekick– much less wear said name with pride– if it weren’t for some long con or secret angle. Probably an attempt to garner sympathy should they ever be arrested. Either way The Reluctant Sidekick dresses all in black– down to the face paint mask design around his eyes– sticking out like a sore thumb from amongst the infamous Dragon’s Hoard who all wear their boss’s colors of red and gold.
Dragon himself has been known to scowl and rage and ramp up his aggression and property damage whenever in The Reluctant Sidekick’s company which is probably why Hitoshi starts running into Reluctant on less obvious heists.
Hitoshi may have needed to shorten The Reluctant Sidekick’s moniker to something he was willing to write over and over again while filling out reports but Reluctant is by no means a nickname and said sidekick is still a villain.
Nothing will change Hitoshi’s mind about that.
And then Tuesday comes, bringing with it The Gun Incident.
It starts out as a normal attempted bank heist, and the fact that Hitoshi knows enough about bank heists to say that makes him crave another coffee. He can’t wait till his required rotation with nighttime heroes is up and he officially gets the greenlight to go underground on his own. Though maybe he should be grateful there’s a system in place to ease graduates into it instead of just dumping them into the deep end without a support system.
Aizawa is definitely laughing at his pain but at least he hasn’t rescinded his offer to work together once Hitoshi makes it for real.
Though maybe he will if Hitoshi doesn’t stop this heist!
Five villains in total, all from The Dragon’s Hoard, though thankfully Dragon himself hasn’t deemed to make an appearance. It’s the usual B team crowd: Ox, Vulture, Rocky, Vixen, and of course, The Reluctant Sidekick himself.
Ox is the brawn who knocked down the wall leading to the vault so they can plunder.
Rocky is their usual offense but today he’s playing to his strengths– pun intended– and helping Vixen and Ox with the loot.
Vulture’s wings are flared wide, blocking Hitoshi’s gaze from the hostages, an honestly smart move from the usually dumb villain.
Reluctant is leaning against the wall next to him, twirling a gun around his finger. He’s not actively helping, but his passive stance screams boredom and Hitoshi knows how dangerous bored villains can get. They need to get in there, now!
Ghost Cape nods at him, motioning with her fingers at the large window. Hitoshi grins.
It’s a simple matter to loop his capture scarf around a pole and pull it taut. As soon as he sees Ghost Cape poised at the front entrance he jumps, swinging his feet out to smash the window with his armored boots. He enters with a mighty crash, flipping once in midair to dislodge his scarf and disperse his momentum.
All eyes are on him, just like he planned and he strikes a pose for added flair right as Ghost Cape makes it inside and tackles Vulture.
Reluctant stares at him, green eyes wide behind the paint, gun now firmly in his grip.
Hitoshi runs through his options. He can try to get Reluctant to answer him, snag him with his quirk. But Hitoshi will admit his repertoire is mainly comprised of insults so maybe pulling out one of those when he’s staring down a gun isn’t the smartest move. What else is there though? Flirt?
Hitoshi stiffens. Where did that idea even come from? Sure Reluctant looks around his age and wears that cape very well and yes his eyes are just– no. Nope nope nope, Hitoshi would rather get shot than finish that train of thought, thank you very much.
Reluctant turns slightly, eyes sliding to the left and it's an old trick and Hitoshi should know better but he can’t resist the distraction and so he glances over as well.
It’s Vixen, striding over with purpose, her feline grace helping her avoid the fighting almost elegantly as she beelines for Hitoshi and his silent staredown with Reluctant.
Well, that settles it, Hitoshi has no time to waste!
He turns back, opening his mouth to let loose a cheesy, “You come here often?” eyebrows already lifting suggestively and–
And then Reluctant lifts the gun and pulls the trigger.
The shot goes wide, missing Hitoshi entirely to ping off Vulture’s outstretched hand as it was about to fling Hitoshi’s current boss out the window. Vulture lets out a pained shriek and drops the hero, immediately taking a kick to the face that knocks him flat.
“Ah shit.” Reluctant states utterly deadpan, dry tone putting even Aizawa’s to shame, “knew I should have gotten my head injury checked out.”
Hitoshi thinks Reluctant’s eyes look just fine but then, he is a villain. Lying is old hat to scum like them and a possible concussion is the oldest excuse in the book for bad aim.
Vixen pinches the bridge of her nose. “Ku I swear to fuck if you get us arrested–”
Reluctant waves his arms agitatedly, “I wouldn’t do that, we had a deal!”
The villainess gives Reluctant– apparently nicknamed Ku by the team and damn they must hate his name too if even they’ve given him an alternative– a pointed look at where Ghost Cape is now cuffing the unconscious Vulture.
“Hey come on, he broke my number one rule! I had to!”
“Ku your father–”
“Would you look at the time!” Reluctant-Ku yelps, slamming his hand down on a watch-like contraption on his wrist. “It’s time to go!”
The lights go dead and when they blink on a moment later the villains are gone along with their half filled trolley of money bags.
Damn villains.
Hitoshi gets a clap on the back for successfully distracting Reluctant from the hostages so Moonlight could get them all out and Hitoshi nods and puffs up his chest and takes the full credit offered him and wisely keeps the fact that he hadn’t noticed shit going on during said standoff to himself.
At his temporary desk in the nighttime agency he wonders though. About Reluctant-Ku and his number one rule and his father.
He doesn’t learn anything more about either until The Elevator Incident.
Hitoshi’s working with Manual this week, which is cool because Manual is a very chill dude, a self proclaimed normal guy, a totally average person who is definitely not self deprecating in his hero name, nope.
Hitoshi likes working with him honestly but since Manual works on the edge of daylight and nighttime heroics he sometimes starts working before Hitoshi even gets to the office and then Hitoshi needs to change and catch up as fast as he can or he’ll feel like shit for missing the action.
Like right now.
Dragon’s Hoard has hit Hiro Works, a company that designs and manufactures support gear for heroes and even has a department in the basement where heroes can drop off costumes in need of repair discreetly.
It’s this department that Dragon’s Hoard has targeted and if this damn elevator would just show up Hitoshi could– he jabs at the button again, harshly, and is finally rewarded with the ding of the arriving elevator.
He’s just stepped inside when a voice shouts, “Hold the elevator!” and Hitoshi is so stunned at the unexpectedness of Reluctant Ku flying down the hallway as fast as his legs can carry him that he forgets to jab the ‘door close’ button before the villain can skid inside.
The doors slide closed and the elevator starts moving.
Silence.
Dead silence.
The elevator music trills in the background and Hitoshi resists the urge to clear his throat and shuffle his feet just to break the silence.
Reluctant Ku has no such qualms.
“Hey! Winter costume, right? Looks good!”
Hitoshi blinks.
“The fur trim in the boots really suits and it's subtle but elegant and adds just the splash of color you need. Those full gloves go over your regular fingerless ones right? So you can take them off easily when you're fighting indoors and still have the ones made for your capture scarf on underneath? Very nice, I approve.”
“...thanks?”
Ku beams at him brightly before looking down to tap away at his watch.
Hitoshi briefly considers tackling the guy and placing him under arrest but honestly he’s only got the one pair of cuffs and he can see Ku’s gun sitting on his belt and without knowing what his quirk is it's too risky to antagonize him when right now there’s relative peace in this enclosed space.
Instead he finds himself speaking.
“Don’t suppose you’d be willing to tell me what you guys are here for?”
He’s not expecting an answer. Someone who knows him well enough to tell his winter and summer costumes apart on sight definitely knows what his quirk is. Not to mention the question itself.
His jaw drops and he stares in shock as Ku replies, focus still wholly on his watch. “Classes ran late so I had to practically run here just to make it but if I had to guess they’re probably here for Lord Nitro’s costume. The gauntlets to be specific.” He waves a hand airily and rolls his eyes, “Dragon’s got these ideas about adapting it to spray nitroglycerin or flammable liquids to complement his fire quirk and I kept telling him that it’s not the same at all because Ka–”
He cuts off with what sounds to Hitoshi like a forced cough, hand flying to his mouth before dropping to rub at his throat. “Um, anyway. I just think it’s stupid but considering his plans and the timing and the fact that Lord Nitro was seen today in his winter getup and he always drops off his costume to be properly cleaned when he changes since his volatile quirk would become unstable if residue was left to build up, it just makes the most sense that that’s what they’re here for.”
“I see,” Hitoshi says slowly, wondering if he should have allowed Ku to keep going or if he should have grabbed him with his quirk and used him as leverage. Then again, Dragon seems to barely tolerate Ku as it is. Would he even give anything up or stop fighting just to save Ku?
There’s only one way to find out.
Hitoshi can’t believe he’s actually doing this as he opens his mouth and jokingly says, “Any chance you’d let me take you hostage?”
Ku pauses, tapping at his watch and giving the top of the device a half turn before finally looking up. His eyes are even brighter and wider up close.
“He’ll be mad but I’m fire resistant so make sure to keep me in front of you.”
And that.
Hitoshi doesn’t even know what to say to that.
So he says nothing, grabbing hold of Ku’s mind and riding the elevator the rest of the way down in silence.