John stepped out of the cab, his limbs somehow still intact. He growled at the cabbie when he paid, but the man was completely unapologetic and departed as fast as he arrived. John looked around, now wondering where the hell he was, as this wasn’t the shopping centre he thought they were going to. Still, he didn’t think he was that far away from Rumi’s, so he could make his way home on foot after he was done. 

He started walking towards the building’s entrance, going over in his mind what he was looking for. He wanted to find a case of some sort for the Sword of Truth, so he could carry it around with him. If he was cornered by the Takeyama’s or another group of villains, he wanted to have easy access to the blade itself and not just its magic. He was thinking of a guitar case or one of those art kits he had seen people carrying around on the train often enough that it shouldn’t rouse suspicion.

Crowds of people were still walking in and out of the shopping centre despite the time of night, giving John hope it might be big enough to have a store carrying something he could use-

*Bam*

He found himself knocked to the ground, a white flash running past him.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry! Make room! There is an emergency!” A feminine voice shouted. 

John looked in the direction the person was running, and he could see Thirteen in her hero suit sprinting away from the plaza in front of the building. Sirens could be heard in the distance, though John had no idea if they were police, fire, or ambulances. He stood up, staring after her, then shrugged. 

It’s probably a fire… according to Nezu, she wouldn’t be responding to villains unless she had no choice.  

He checked his phone’s hero app, which the HPSC had him install, and sure enough, it showed a building fire a few blocks from here. He wasn’t sent a request to respond, so they didn’t deem it necessary for a martial arts hero’s sidekick to show up. He put his phone away and entered the building, noticing an art supply store right there on the first level. He would grab what he needed, then check in on the fire to make sure everything was good before returning home.

“How did it get this bad before you sent out the request?” Anan asked the fire chief, getting a sitrep before she dived into the burning building. It was a twenty-four-story office building with a research lab in the basement, but nearly four of the lower floors were already engulfed in flames.

“We sent out the request right away. The fire suppression system didn’t engage, and the fire is burning through the fire-resistant layers much quicker than it should be.” The man replied, then pointed to the map they had. “The stairwell here is still open, and according to the building’s security, everyone is out. Do you need anything else?”

“Just keep the water and foam coming from the outside. I’ll see about attacking the seat of the fire on the third floor first, and work up from there.”

“Right. Do you want me to send some men with you?”

“No, let’s not put them in danger. I can protect myself, but my Quirk might accidentally hurt one of them if they get in front of me. I’ll be using that stairwell to move up.” She replied, then sealed her suit. 

“Good Luck, Thirteen.” He replied, then turned back to overseeing the operation. 

She walked towards the building, popping one of her armoured finger caps open, ready to activate the black hole as soon as it was necessary. The lobby was smoke-free; the only indication of the fire raging above was some water dripping down one of the walls as the fire department tried to fight the inferno with torrents of water.  

Most people would be concerned about entering a building that was on fire, but this is what she became a hero for, and she was well-equipped to handle them. She had been in dozens of high-rise fires, so this was like any other Wednesday for her. 

She entered the stairwell and started to climb. She made it only to the second story before she realized something was off. Smoke was starting to billow down the stairwell, forcing her to turn on her thermal camera.

Shoot! The fire broke through the fire doors. This route won’t be safe for much longer. 

Still, she kept going upwards, activating her quirk to start drawing the smoke into her finger. She made it to the third floor and could see that it was where the door had burned open, flames rolling into the stairwell, the temperatures reaching near a thousand degrees. She opened a second finger cap, intensifying her Quirk. Flames, smoke and air were sucked into the black hole, clearing the opening. She stepped into the doorway to look around.

*BOOM!*

She was thrown backwards as the shockwave of an explosion struck her from somewhere on that floor, her thermal camera spiking to well over two thousand degrees. 

“Argh!”

She crashed into the wall and started to slide down the stairs as more explosions rocked the building. She recovered and sprinted downstairs, unsure what was happening. According to the fire chief, there shouldn’t have been any accelerants in the building, let alone things that could explode like that. 

I need to get out of here. Now!

A loud roar echoed above her, causing her to jump over the side of the stairs, determined to get lower in the collapsing building. Her suit was incredibly resilient, but she didn’t want to put it up against getting crushed by nearly a hundred thousand tons of building. The building shook, and the staircase above her began to collapse.

Throwing herself over the side of the next stairwell one more time, she opened up all the fingers on her hands and let loose with her Quirk at full power. Concrete and metal were drawn into her hands, the material being destroyed as fast as it was falling towards her. She couldn’t keep this up for long; using her full strength was like running at a full sprint while carrying a couple hundred pounds and breathing through a straw.  

The floor collapsed below her, sending her crashing downwards into the darkness, tons of concrete following her as the building tumbled in on itself. Something crashed into the side of her helmet, causing her head to snap hard to the side, interrupting her Quirk. That was all it took, and she was suddenly overwhelmed, darkness taking her.  

“Dig”

The noise stirred Anan awake, though she was unsure of what had happened. It was dark, the only light coming from her thermal camera, which was somehow still working despite most of her helmet being broken. She was in pain… a lot of pain. Just trying to move her arm caused so much pain she nearly passed out again.

“Dig”

That voice sounded familiar for some reason, but she couldn’t concentrate on it right then. She tried to activate her suit’s searchlights, but nothing worked except her camera, which didn’t tell her much. Her mouth was dry, so dry, she couldn’t speak. She tried to work up some saliva, but even that motion was painful. 

“Dig”

A bright light flooded her helmet, causing her to squint and jerk her head away from it.

“Agggrrrhhghh” *Cough, cough*

“I got you, Anan. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll get you loose.” The voice said with familiarity.

Who? What? What happened?  

“It’s TK. You were caught in a collapsing building. A… friend of mine let me know, so I came to see if I could get you free.” He replied, almost like he was reading her thoughts.

“T…K….Than- *COUGH, COUGH* you.”

“No problem, darling. Dig.”

He continued removing the debris around her, slowly freeing her from the rubble. She thought he was being very cavalier with how he was doing it, but she couldn’t speak her warnings about the possible loose rubble above her. 

What in the world am I thinking? He is saving your life, Anan. Be grateful. 

“Okay, I think your body is free. Hold on for a moment, I’ll heal you first, and then we can get out of here.” He said, touching the side of her face with one of his gloves. “Middle Heal!”

Green light lit up the small space they were in as his hands glowed, sending energy into her body. It felt incredibly good and caused her to clutch her legs together as a powerful orgasm rocked her body.

“HAH! AHH! *COUGH* HAH!” She moaned. 

What in the heck was that? It felt good the last time he healed me, but that was even stronger.

“Sorry. You were really injured, so I had to use a stronger heal. I have no idea why it does that to women. I assure you that it isn’t intentional.” He said, once again answering her thoughts.

*Cough, cough*

“Here, let me help slide you out. Your suit appears mostly intact, though your arms and hands were heavily damaged. I think I healed everything, but we can check you again once we get somewhere a little safer. The parkade didn’t collapse, so I went through the sewer and into the rubble from there.”

How did you even know where to find me? 

“My friend overheard the firefighters talk about where you were supposed to be. Once I was close enough, I tracked the camera on your suit to get your exact location.” He said, grabbing hold of her legs and dragging her body out of the hole she was trapped in. 

She stood up in the darkness, TK supporting her unsteady legs. The light of his phone was pointing away from them, not letting her see anything other than the silhouette of her saviour. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gave him a hug.

Thank you. This is the third time you have saved me, and I have no idea who you even are.

“It’s my pleasure, darlin’. I’m just glad I got here in time.”  

She slid her helmet open, then reached for his helmet. He stiffened up when she touched it, but didn’t stop her from taking it off.

She couldn’t see him, but he could be a troll for all she cared. She was going to reward her saviour in the only way she could. She pulled down on his shoulders and went up on her toes. Finding his lips with hers, she kissed him, plunging her tongue into his mouth.

He wrapped his powerful arms around her and kissed her back, pushing his tongue into her mouth and kissed her back. Saliva from his mouth finally gave her some much-needed moisture, but she didn’t fight back, enjoying this kiss far more than she thought possible. This was her dream: to be rescued by a tall, dark, and mysterious knight who would sweep her off her feet and carry her away.

I just wish we weren’t wearing these suits. I want to feel his hands over my body… oh my… what am I even thinking? Just enjoy the kiss, you hussy. It’s perfect as it is!

They continued to kiss for a little longer, his beard finally tickling her nose enough to cause her to sneeze a little and break their contact.  She lay her head on his armoured shoulder, running her hand through the hair on the back of his head. “I like tall men… almost as much as I like ones that save my life. Thank you, TK. Thank you for being my hero.”

“You’re welcome, darlin’.” He said, replacing his helmet. “Now, let’s see if we can get out of here. It took me some time to dig through the rubble, but I’m hoping you might be able to use your Quirk to get us out-“

“THIRTEEN! THIRTEEN! CAN YOU HEAR ME?” A familiar voice boomed from somewhere above them. 

“YES! I’m fine! Don’t move anything Mt Lady! I’m afraid to shift anything above me here! Can you clean out the front of the car park? I’m making my way there!” She shouted back.

“CAR PARK! GOT IT!”

“Well, I guess our meeting is cut short again. Let’s get out of here, Anan.” TK said, pushing his way down the opening he had created earlier. 

“I guess it is.” She said sadly, following him down the hole. “Will you someday let me know who you really are?”

“Maybe….probably.” He replied, guiding her legs to the floor. “Do you really want to know? You know I’m currently considered a criminal in Japan. Right now, you can honestly say you don’t know who I am. You would have to lie if anyone asks you who I am, else I would have to go on the run.”

“I can wait… but… can we meet sometime. Preferably when I’m not the damsel in distress?” 

“I’ll see what I can do, darlin’.” He chuckled. He had such a wonderful-sounding voice.

“Call me that again.”

“What? Darlin’?”

“Mmm… yeah. I like it.”

“Well, darlin’, I’ll call you that all you want, but we are about to have a giant lady tear a hole into this rubble, and I’d better not be anywhere nearby when she does. We are on better terms now, but I don’t feel like having to dodge the police again.” 

“You will have to tell me about that sometime.”

“We’ll see. Through here.” He said, entering yet another hole.

They made their way through the maze of holes he had dug out, finally getting into the car park. It was only partially collapsed in, its emergency lighting still activated. A motorcycle idled near where they came out, its headlight illuminating the opening he had created. Dozens of cubes were scattered around them, apparently dragged out here from when he used his Quirk to get into the rubble.

He asked her to turn around for a moment, then when she turned back, the bike had disappeared. He waved goodbye, then disappeared down another hole dug into the wall. She waved back, then turned to the front of the car park and started to use her Quirk again, digging her way out of the building.

She didn’t realize it, but she hadn’t stopped smiling since she finally kissed her saviour. 

John moved through the streets with his new art case strapped over his back, exhausted from his exertions tonight.

When he arrived at the fire, he watched from a distance as the whole building began to collapse. After it stopped and the dust started to settle, he ran around to check on the firefighters, pulling a few of them out of the rubble as John. In the process, he heard that Anan was still trapped inside, so he made his way in via the sewers after sending a message to Rumi about the disaster in her city.

When he dug inside, he decided to try out his eyepatch to see if he could find her with it, and that is when he uncovered something interesting. There was a lab directly below the car park, full of large tubes similar to the Auto-docs in Infinite Frontiers, though they were glass and filled with an opaque liquid he couldn’t see through. It wasn’t important at the time, but he thought it might be worth bringing up to someone in the near future. 

After saving Anan, he checked on the fire again, and this was the first time he saw Yu in her giant form. He had to admit, she was incredible to see in person, now wearing a gigantic dress instead of spandex. He rejoined the rescue efforts then, but everyone had been accounted for, and the fire department was now just hosing down the remaining hotspots. 

The fire chief thanked him for his earlier efforts, then sent him on his way, since there was no need for him to remain; Thirteen had been contacted and was being extracted as they spoke. John just nodded and left, only realizing a few minutes later that he probably should have told the man about the weird lab then. 

Oh well, it’s nearly four in the morning. I’m just going to message Nezu to let him know I’ll be late tomorrow. I can’t interview people with no sleep. I’ll just tell Rumi about the lab when I get up. It’s not going anywhere.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep