All Might was not captured. He was just bound up with chains, shot up with elephant tranquilizers and slowly lowered into a piranha tank. This was merely a mild inconvenience that he would soon escape from…any minute now. As soon as the room stopped spinning.

Now, the recently appointed Number One Hero wouldn't be all that concerned, if it weren't for the man tied up right beside him. He and Crimson Riot had been working on two separate cases—exotic animal smuggling and jewel thievery—until the two cases turned out to be one in the same. Long story short, the smugglers were using snakes to sneak illicit goods into the country. Unfortunately, these criminals were a bit smarter than your average crime ring, and managed to get the drop on the two heroes instead of the other way round.

"What a fine mess you've gotten us into." The hard-haired hero grumbled, as he was being slowly lowered into a tiger pit. The general idea was that they'd be fed to animals so the gang would have time to escape, and then the beasties would be shipped to different parts of the country to dispose of the evidence.

However, just as it the two heroes were at serious risk of being turned into pet food, a dark figure burst through the nearby window, spraying glass all around. He recognized that green blur instantly.

"Ah, Jade Mantis!" He greeted with a smile. The vigilante landed on the floor, blew her bangs out of her face and surveyed her surroundings.

"All Might." She smirked back, before casting her gaze on those left to guard them. "So, we gonna skip to the part where I thrash the both of you or…?"

Recovering from the shock, they reached for their guns. "I'll take that as a no."

She dove down, dodging gunfire and keeping on the move, sending shards of glass back at them by way of counter fire.

"You know her?" Crimson Riot asked his companion in capture.

"We've met."

"Then is she the type to have a plan or more of a 'wing it' kind of girl?"

"Oh, she has a plan." He assured.

"Really? Because she's currently trapped behind cover and they're closing in."

"And we are currently tied up and being threatened by exotic animals."

But, just as it looked like Jade Mantis was royally screwed, the guards stopped to reload. That was when she popped up out of cover, and ripped the guns out of their hands.

The two guards stared at their hands for a moment, obviously confused. Jade Mantis took a piece of plywood and put them out of their misery straight away.

"Hey, vigilante!" Crimson Riot yelled. "A little help is always appreciated!"

Smirking, the masked woman sent shards of broken glass to cut Crimson Riot's hands free. (Why they had used rope for his bindings was anyone's guess). Satisfied that the veteran hero could swing out of there on his own, the vigilante turned her attention to All Might. Bounding up to the balcony, she threw the switch just as his blonde bangs were starting to get wet.

"Hey handsome." She greeted.

He just smiled. That way he wouldn't say anything stupid.

"That was a very manly thing you did," Crimson Riot complimented the vigilante,"but you're under arrest."

Quirking an eyebrow, she pouted but held up her wrists "I figured."

As neither of them really had handcuffs on them at the moment, All Might had to awkwardly wait with Jade Mantis until the cops showed up.

"So...nice weather we're having." He asked, after five minutes of silence had passed.

Jade Mantis gave him a blank look that practically screamed 'really?'.

"Are you just going to prattle on about the weather Mister-I-Hate-Awkward-Silences?"

"Unless you have something better to talk about."

"Small talk with the arestee before send-off, I can think of loads of better topics. Starting with, exactly how much hair gel do you use to get those bunny-ears?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your bunny ears. The antennae. The sharp horns of justice."

"Um, I really don't-"

"So it just gets that way on it's own?"

"Well, no."

"I knew it, no man can keep it up that long without help."

"Why do I have the feeling you're making fun of me?"

"If you could stop flirting with the criminal for five seconds, the police have arrived." Crimson Riot threw out.

"She's a vigilante, not a violent psychopath." All Might defended as Jade Mantis got cuffs properly put on her.

"Just admit you have the hots for her." Crimson Riot grumbled, still a bit annoyed at the Number One Hero.

It was then that the veteran man's man started to take a look at the young vigilante. Simple domino mask, probably held on by acting glue, available at almost any costume shop. The leather jacket looked warm and tough, but it hardly provided protection, and the work boots looked worn in. That told him that she didn't have much by way of resources, and was instead making do with things she could wear on and off the 'job' so to speak.

"Is that a new jacket?" He asked by way of polite conversation while the cops sorted everything out.

"Well, new to me. It's warm, bloodstains was out easily—"

"And it matches your workboots." He complimented. "Always important to color coordinate when you curb stomp."

"The most important factor, of course." She laughed. That was the first time that he ever actually saw her laugh. It was…really nice.

"Always a woman of fashion. Your tastes will be wasted behind bars."

"I do hate stripes." She thought aloud.

What happened next will not surprise you. She kicked the arresting officer in the shins, stole the handcuff key off his belt and leaped out the nearest window.

Oh no.

How tragic.

She's getting away. Nothing he could do about it now.

"Your little crush just committed felony assault." Crimson Riot mumbled to All Might.

"Nonsense! My only interest in her is rehabilitation. I believe that with a little work, she can become a loyal servant of justice."

"So letting her escape is all part of your reform therapy? Not your best plan."

XxX

The Number One Hero All Might and the Most Wanted Vigilante Jade Mantis had an…interesting relationship to say the least. If pressed, All Might would admit to admiring her tenacity and resolve, and for pursuing her own idea of justice despite technically being on the wrong side of the law. Jade Mantis would admit to admiring All Might's ideals, even if she felt they were a bit divorced from reality, and there was no doubting the effect his presence had on crime rates—but there were corners that even he couldn't reach at times. She also thought he had a cute butt. (Jade Mantis could always say things that Inko didn't have the nerve to).

Jade Mantis did a lot of things that Inko didn't have the nerve to, like follow Japan's newly appointed Number One as walked home from the grocery store.

"How domestic." The one and only All Might nearly dropped his groceries in surprise. An apple rolled off the top but stopped mid-air before hitting the ground.

"Jade Mantis?" He asked, looking around.

"Over here." The apple flew into her hand as she stepped out of a shadowy corner. She had forgone her usual domino for a surgical mask, and changed into dark street clothes to blend in better.

"You have to admit that's a little creepy." He deadpanned.

"Straight out of a thriller movie," She agreed. "A streetlight was out and I honestly couldn't resist." They both smiled at that.

"I have a carton of ice cream in here, and my place is still a couple blocks away, would you mind walking and talking?"

She shrugged. "No problem."

Inko rolled the apple between her hands. "You know, you don't have to risk getting nibbled on by fish just to make me feel useful."

At least he had the decency to freeze for a moment. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

She scoffed. "Please, you've got punches strong enough to level buildings, what's chains and a couple of shots of tranquilizer?" She sadly smiled.

"I guess…I guess I just wanted to make you feel like a hero before we had to haul you off in cuffs."

"You say that like you didn't know I'd get out."

"Kicking that officer in the shins was a ballsy move. Very elementary school."

"Still one of the weakest points of the body."

"Fine, I'll admit it. You always get out." She smiled in victory. "For now."

"So is this the part where you tell me not to insult your intelligence for letting you rescue me?" He asked, looking almost worried.

"I thought about that, and I have to admit it was just a bit patronizing…" she smirked, "But also kind of sweet. You're probably the first person to actually care about how I feel."

"First person in awhile, you mean."

"No."

There was a very awkward silence that Inko always hated. The kind of silence that meant people picked up on unfortunate implications.

"So, uh," All Might coughed awkwardly. "How did you find me?"

"Oh, a girl has to have some secrets." She smiled, trying to break the awkwardness. "Don't worry, it wasn't anything to outright stalkerish or invasive, I just logged all of your sightings over the past year and looked for hot zones. From there I just had to look for residential areas with blondes who had muscles the size of train cars."

"You're lying."

"What?" She blinked, blanking on what could make him say that.

"That was kind of creepy."

She laughed again. "Hey, we all have our strengths. You're one of the top heroes in the country and I'm really good at getting in and out of trouble. Though you have to admit," she pondered, looking up at the city lights, "one of those is way more useful than the other."

"You're the top vigilante in Japan. You save people that the system can't reach. That's the opposite of useless." He tried to assure her.

There was another pause there, much less awkward, but full of something that neither one really understood. Or was truly ready to understand, at that point.

"So you're saying you like me because I'm effective and I don't kill anyone." She pursed her lips, twirling the apple in her hand. "Good to know."

All Might caught himself, his face starting to go red. "That doesn't mean I actually condone your activities! At all! You are a criminal, you know that."

"Only legally." She shot back, then turned around once they realized that they were at his front door. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Inko said, and tossed him back the apple.

All Might caught it without thinking.