As the last rays of sunlight vanished and cast harsh shadows across the two faces of the towering statue, heroes raced toward Janus Square from all directions, toward the unknowing target, Barnaby Brooks Jr. The late-afternoon shopping crowd was already growing bored and tired, and the square began to empty as they left for home. Barnaby impatiently paced around the statue in circles. He knew he had promised to wait at the square until Kotetsu arrived, but when? Would he have to spend all night in this park? Would Kotetsu spend all night fighting to get here? Without a way to call the old man and schedule another meeting time, Barnaby had to wait. He had to wait, right where Kotetsu knew to find him, until he arrived.

"Bunny!"

Barnaby whipped around toward the source of the sound. "Kotetsu, are you here?"

"Bunny? Bunny!"

He quickly circled the foot of the statue, spotted his partner, tattered and bruised after who knew how many obstacles and trials. Barnaby broke into run. "Kotetsu, what happened?"

Kotetsu didn't answer the question; his eyes locked on Barnaby and he staggered forward, his ankle rolling. "Bunny!"

"Who did this to you, Kotetsu?"

Before Kotetsu could answer, a gale force wind flooded the square, stirring up blinding dust and stopping the two heroes in their tracks. Barnaby squinted behind his glasses at the suspected source—Keith, in his Sky High suit, calling down a great wind to block Kotetsu's advance.

"Mr. Wild, stop!" Keith built up a sphere of air and launched it at Kotetsu, blasting him off his feet and sending him tumbling back into a storefront, where he hit the wall. Keith prepared another attack.

"Stop it!" Barnaby shouted. Activating his power, he grabbed the nearest heavy object—a park bench—and flung it at Keith. Unprepared for impact, the wooden struts shattered against the hero and knocked him back away from the square. Barnaby took advantage of the confusion and still air to run to Kotetsu's side as the older hero began to stir.

"Are you all right, Kotetsu?" Barnaby asked, helping Kotetsu sit up. "You were right about the First League—and all this time, I never noticed what they were doing to you…"

Kotetsu groaned, blinking through the pain, when he seemed to see Barnaby anew. "Bunny…" He reached up and clasped Barnaby's shoulder with one hand—well, sort of his shoulder, a bit closer to his neck. But no matter how hard he gripped, Barnaby's Hundred Power skin resisted the pressure. Thinking Kotetsu's death grip was from pain or fear, Barnaby took Kotetsu's hand in his own and squeezed back reassuringly.

"It's okay now, Kotetsu," Barnaby soothed. "I'm here. I won't abandon you."

"Bunny—Bunny—"

"What is it you needed to see me for?"

Kotetsu reached for the sword on his back. "Dammit, I can't—get it—"

"What is it?" Barnaby helped Kotetsu to his feet, who continued clawing at the hilt of the katana on his back.

"Sword…" Kotetsu muttered, grasping the handle and pulled the sword a few inches out of the scabbard, but his tumble had shifted the sword's angle on his back. He had no room to draw it. "I… I need it…"

In the distance, the engine of a motorcycle revved, just as Barnaby suggested an easy solution.

"Here, lean over a little. I'll draw it for you."

Kotetsu bent obligingly as Barnaby gripped the sword's hilt and drew it from the sheath with little effort.

"Kotetsu, why do you have a katana?" Barnaby questioned, turning the sword over in his hands and letting his power die, seeing no more need for it.

"Give it to me," Kotetsu said, reaching out for the sword. "Just give it back, okay?"

The sound of the engine drew closer.

"Will you promise to explain it?" Barnaby asked.

"Anything. Give me the sword."

On the other side of the square, the motorcycle with the sidecar and three female passengers launched out from one of the side streets, barely turning in time to avoid the central statue, and barreling toward the two heroes on the other side.

"All right," Barnaby flipped the blade and offered the sword to Kotetsu. He took it with his good hand, adjusted his grip, and then added his injured hand.

"Tiger!"

"Barnaby!!"

Kotetsu swung the sword back, preparing to strike.

"DAD!"

The two turned. The approaching motorcycle was almost on top of them, Karina squeezing the brakes with all her might as the machine screamed, burning rubber as the vehicle aimed to thread right between Kotetsu and Barnaby. Barnaby, obeying an instinct of self-preservation, took two steps back. Kotetsu, seeing another obstacle, just twisted his stance and prepared to swing at any one of the three people riding the motorcycle.

With one last lurch, the motorcycle stopped, and Kaede braced herself against the edges of the metal pod and stood, catching Kotetsu's wild eyes.

"Objective!" she shouted. "Uh… Take off your tie!"

The katana fell from Kotetsu's hand and clattered to the ground. He reached for his neck and deftly loosened the knot, creating room for the decorative buttons to slide through. He pulled on the long silk tail, inch by inch, until the knot unraveled completely, and then tugged it free of his collar and dropped it in a little spool on the cobblestones at his feet.

"Objective complete."

Everyone stared at Kotetsu—nervous, confused, hopeful, fearful. He blinked a few times, staring at the ground with his eyebrows furrowed, and he placed one hand on the side of his head.

"It's so… quiet," he mumbled, rubbing at his temple. "Weird…"

"Dad?" Kaede whispered.

Kotetsu looked up and noticed his daughter. "Kaede? What are you doing here? Wait, did you miss school today?" Kotetsu folded his arms in his best—though still terrible—Disapproving Father look. "Kaburagi Kaede, does Grandma know you're here?" But almost instantly, another potential reason dawned on him, and he continued in horror, "Oh no, I thought the junior skaters' performance was next month! I—I didn't miss it, did I?"

Tears in her eyes, Kaede leapt from the sidecar and flung her arms around her father's waist. "Dad!"

"I—I'm really sorry, sweetie! I mean, I know you were the cutest of them all, but I—" Kaede squeezed all the harder, and Kotetsu gasped, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Careful, careful!"

"Kotetsu? What's going on?" Barnaby asked, glaring slightly at the First League Pao Lin and Karina.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Karina let out a sigh of relief, cutting the motorcycle engine and sharing a secret smile with Pao Lin. "We did it."

Pao Lin grinned and offered Karina a fist-bump, which Karina returned.

With a puff of air, the recovered Keith landed beside the motorcycle, glancing between Kotetsu (with Kaede still clinging to his front) and Barnaby.

"Is everything okay now?"

"We did it!" Pao Lin offered Keith the same fist-bump, but he didn't seem to understand the gesture, and instead flung his hands in the air.

"Thank goodness! And again, thank goodness!"

"Why are you saying 'thank goodness?'" Barnaby stepped around the motorcycle and approached Keith. "You attacked Kotetsu! Why would you do that?"

"It was a delay!" Keith answered. "You see, I needed to buy time for Miss Wild!"

"Miss Wild? Do you mean Kotetsu's daughter?"

Kotetsu and Kaede, having apparently determined that the skating competition is, indeed, next month, and this visit was a surprise, turned their attention back to the group. Kaede still refused to let go of her father, keeping her arms around him as he left one hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, so if there's no skating, why was Kaede with you guys?" Kotetsu asked the other girls.

"Oh—um, well…" Karina and Pao Lin glanced at each other, looking back at Keith for salvation.

Rather than Keith, yet another car pulled up toward the pedestrian square, its driver, Antonio, and its passengers, Nathan and Ivan. Nathan burst from the front passenger door and skipped toward the assembled heroes.

"I think I see happiness here~!" he squealed, clapping his hands together.

"So was Tiger-chan successful?" Ivan asked.

Antonio nodded. "Looks like it."

"You guys—uuf!" Kotetsu began, but Kaede snuggled him a little tighter, cutting him off, so Kotetsu resumed stroking her hair to try and soothe whatever was troubling her.

"None of you are making any sense," Barnaby complained, turning to his partner. "I need answers, Kotetsu. You haven't been to work in three days, you kept calling me and giving strange instructions, and none of this accounts for your injuries or why the other heroes attacked you. Where were you?"

"Where was I? I was…" Kotetsu paused, and frowned. "Damn, I've been everywhere."

"Everywhere?" Barnaby echoed.

"Yeah, and none of it makes sense," Kotetsu said. "I spent all last night going into Bronze Stage hotels."

"Why would you do that?"

"I thought you were staying in one of them," Kotetsu said. "Were you?"

"No," Barnaby answered. "And why would you check every hotel?"

"Because I didn't know which one was yours…"

"What was so important that you had to check every single hotel to try and find me?"

The heroes held their breath as Kotetsu pondered his reason—if Kotetsu confessed outright to his Objective, Barnaby's trust in him would forever be destroyed.

"…Nothing, I guess," Kotetsu finally decided, and the heroes exhaled in relief.

Barnaby was much less relieved. "Nothing?" Barnaby repeated, a livid undercurrent seeping into his very controlled voice. "So all of this was just another of your moronic, tactless schemes?"

"Don't go blaming me!" Kotetsu insisted. "Even if I don't remember why, I had to find you! I just—had to! I didn't eat or sleep, and Sky High's dog attacked me, and Blue Rose tied me up in my own house!"

"That wasn't me!" Karina protested. "Well, Dragon Kid and Rock Bison helped!"

"But then how do I account for your involvement?" Barnaby turned his attention back to the other heroes. "If Kotetsu really had no reason in searching for me, why were you so adamant in keeping him away from me? All this pain would have been avoided if you hadn't decided to interfere!"

Though the heroes understood that, no, there would have been a lot more pain if they hadn't interfered, no one could come up with a fully encompassing answer, so they stood there helplessly looking at each other.

"I believe I can explain," a voice cut in.

The heroes all whipped around to face the newcomer.

"Bonjour, heroes," Agnes Joubert said with a sly smile.

"Ms. Agnes?" Barnaby said, staring at the executive producer as she approached, heels clicking professionally.

"Well done, everyone," she said. "I can officially call our dry run of the Hero Chase an unmitigated success."

"Hero Chase?" Kotetsu echoed.

Agnes flipped a lock of hair over her shoulder. "I'm always looking for ways to make Hero TV even more exciting. One of our main draws is the competition between heroes, earning points and crowning a King of Heroes. And I wondered, what other ways could we decide which hero is the best?"

"I don't understand," Barnaby said.

"Sorry I made you the dupe this round, Barnaby, but this was an exercise in the new Hero Chase rules I'm developing," Agnes explained. "The working title for these rules is Delivery Style. Tiger was tasked with finding you at all costs, while the other heroes worked together to provide obstacles and stop him. Your ignorance to the situation was one of the main dramatic points that made this story really work, don't you think?"

"But what does my daughter have to do with this?" Kotetsu asked, holding Kaede a little tighter.

"After a while, the situation started to remind me of the prelude to the fight with Albert Maverick," Agnes said smoothly. "And one of the elements that made that episode of Hero TV so exciting was the appearance of an innocent child. When we broadcast this for real, we'll most likely use a contest winner, not your daughter. But last minute, I needed someone with experience with heroes and who wouldn't compromise their identities."

"So was this all a publicity stunt?" Barnaby narrowed his eyes at the executive producer.

"Not yet, anyway," Agnes said. "I needed proof of concept before I pitched these rules to the OBC board of directors. If you managed to play this game so thrillingly for three whole days, I can easily see these Hero Chase games as being a great hit." She approached Kotetsu and patted him on the arm. "And Tiger, you've done a great job, shockingly enough. Time and time again you've escaped the First League, and you even held your own in a direct fight with two First League heroes and the whole Second League with no powers or wires. You could use that as evidence in a proposal to return to the First League. You've earned it."

Kotetsu's eyes widened a bit. "W-Well, Agnes, I'm flattered, but… no one told me anything about this."

"Oh, we did."

"But I don't remember it."

"Of course we told you."

"But I know I'd remember something like this."

"You've probably forgotten because you've been knocked unconscious so many times. Do you think we could pull off this sort of game without your consent and cooperation?"

"But Agn—"

"Because if you hadn't agreed to participate…" Agnes held up a finger and cut Kotetsu off. "Then you'd be personally responsible for all damages you've caused over these last few days, one-hundred-percent out of your pocket. But, since you did agree, Hero TV covers the damages and you don't have to worry about any of that."

Kotetsu glanced down at Kaede and tried to mentally calculate the cost of everything he had broken in his mad and apparently pointless hunt for Barnaby. It roughly equaled Kaede's college savings, and jeopardizing her future with his apparently aimless destruction was out of the question.

"…Right!" he laughed nervously. "Good thing I totally agreed, Agnes!"

Barnaby adjusted his glasses. "But this doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't make sense?" Agnes rested one hand on her hip. "I planned every last detail, from the humble start to this final confrontation."

"I don't mean to be rude, Kotetsu, but you usually aren't this good at keeping secrets," Barnaby said. "Especially about something frivolous like this. You sounded so distressed when you called me. There had to be another reason you wanted to meet. Something that would cause you to take such a silly game seriously."

"Another reason?" Kotetsu rested a hand against his beard, struggling to remember.

"That's silly, Handsome~!" Nathan interjected. "Ms. Agnes just explained the whole game to you~!"

"Fire Emblem's right!" Pao Lin added. "It was all just a game!"

"And you know Tiger's faked being serious before, too, in the right situation," Antonio continued.

"I remember!" Kotetsu cried suddenly, peeling Kaede off of his side. "Bunny! I remember exactly why I needed to find you!"

"No way!" Karina gasped.

"Tiger, it's not what you think!" Nathan reached out as Kotetsu closed the distance between himself and Barnaby.

"You're right that it was serious," Kotetsu said solemnly, reaching into his pocket. "I had to see you, and it didn't matter how long it took or how hurt I got. The reason I had to see you…"

He took Barnaby's hand and passed him a small object.

"…was this."

Barnaby looked down at his hand. Resting gently in his palm was the toy robot his parents had given him all those years ago, undamaged and safe.

"I was at your apartment when the sprinklers all busted," Kotetsu continued. "And I didn't know if it was really waterproof or not. So I saved it for you!"

"I thought it had been lost, or thrown out by accident…" Barnaby said quietly, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. "You're right. This is important. Thank you, Kotetsu."

"Aw, don't mention it," Kotetsu grinned. "What are partners for?"

The heroes once again breathed a sigh of relief as they avoided the second crisis.

"Now, if you're done being sappy, Tiger, you should go to the hospital for your hand," Agnes pointed to Kotetsu's sleeve-bound hand. "I'll arrange a hotel for you three, and the other heroes will bring your things to you. Right?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Antonio promptly agreed.

"Wait, wait, three?" Kotetsu frowned, confused.

"You, Barnaby, and your daughter," Agnes explained.

"Oh, no, Kaede's going home. Before the last train," Kotetsu decided.

"But Dad!" Kaede protested.

"You dragged her out of school because you thought it'd be dramatic to have a little girl in the middle of all the danger, but she can't miss two days in a row. Not for something like this," Kotetsu said. "I mean, if it was a real emergency, I'd be absolutely fine letting her stay the night, but this was all just a game!"

"You're kidding!" Kaede stared at her father in dismay. "That's totally not fair!"

"What's not fair about it? This isn't like the Maverick thing. It wasn't a crisis. You just skipped school, and that's all there is to it."

"Actually, Tiger," Nathan cut in. "Crisis or not, this has been a rather stressful experience for everyone involved, and your daughter needs some credit."

"Huh? Credit?" Kotetsu raised an eyebrow at Nathan.

"If it's school you're worried about, she can do lessons with me while you and Barnaby are at work," Pao Lin said. "My tutor would definitely let her join, and we can find some lessons her level!"

"Besides, you brag constantly about how smart she is. She'll make up that schoolwork in no time," Antonio added.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kotetsu asked.

"I think what we're trying to say is…" Karina placed a hand on Kaede's shoulder. "Your daughter doesn't care about some, uh, game for Hero TV... as much as she cares about spending time with you."

Picking up on her cue, Kaede turned her biggest, cutest puppy-dog eyes on her father, glistening brown orbs of pure adorable boring into his paternal soul.

"Can I stay, Daddy?" she asked with a voice half her age. "Please?"

Heart overwhelmed by his daughter's adorableness, Kotetsu's lower lip trembled as he held out his arms. "All right. C'mere, sweetie!"

Kaede hugged him once again, loudly declaring, "I love you, Daddy!" her self-satisfied, grinning face hidden from her father's view. After a minute, she did pull back and ask, "Hey, can we get ice cream?"

"Right now?" Kotetsu made a face. "Daddy's tired, sweetie…"

"Not right now! Kaede amended. "But before I go back, I want to get ice cream with you!"

"Heh, sounds good," Kotetsu ruffled Kaede's hair. "Oi, Bunny!"

Having largely faded into the background after the flood of relief over the security of one of his precious mementos, Barnaby looked up. "Yes?"

"Wanna get ice cream with us tomorrow?

At this moment, Kaede struggled to contain a very undignified freak out—ice cream with her two favorite heroes. Just. Might. Happen.

"When?" Barnaby asked.

"For lunch, I guess."

"You can't have ice cream for lunch. And you nag me about eating properly."

"C'mon, Bunny, Kaede's in town. We should treat her!" Kotetsu said.

Barnaby looked away. "I don't want to intrude."

"You're not intruding!" Kaede blurted, but she quickly covered with an attempt to surpass her previous cuteness levels, psychically sending the message: My dad is your best friend and I am an adorable child. You totally want ice cream with us.

After another minute, Barnaby gave in. "All right."

"Thank you so much!" Kaede exclaimed, reaching out to grab Barnaby's arm while still holding on to her father's.

"Well, first thing's first, Kotetsu, you should see a doctor for your hand," Barnaby said, pointing to the improvised bandage.

"I… sorta don't have a car," Kotetsu admitted, neglecting to explain why as he gathered up his fallen personal belongings, the necktie and katana. "And I need to give the sword back to its owners. I made a bit of a scene trying to borrow it."

"My car is in the Gold Stage. So I suppose we have to call a taxi?"

"Pretty much."

Kaede cared very little about their transportation arrangement, so long as she continued to stay in the presence of both her father and her idol, and happily clung to both their arms.

As Tiger and Bunny with Tiger Cub worked out their plan of action, Agnes turned her attention to the other heroes.

"Like I said, I'll work on reservations for them," she said. "But I need someone to retrieve Barnaby's luggage and get new clothes for Tiger."

"Mr. Barnaby's things are at my house!" Keith volunteered. "I will bring them!"

"I'll get Tiger's stuff," Antonio said. "And Kaede's."

"All right. Tomorrow, we'll have a debriefing with everyone who helped. But for now, all of you, get a good night's sleep… and good work."

The heroes shared happy, relieved smiles, and all went their separate ways as the evening wishing star appeared in the sky.