Chapter 107
"Watch out!"
Seeing the cheetah's jaws open, Yoshikage Kira dropped his luggage and, with lightning-fast reflexes, grabbed the woman by the collar and yanked her behind him.
"Ah... ptuh!"
The sound was just a noise, but as Kira watched the cheetah's next action, he had to question his own eyes. The cheetah opened its mouth, made a disgusted spitting motion, and after a few coughs, it walked over to a water basin and began to wash its own face.
...In other words, the cheetah had never intended to attack the woman at all.
"Thank you for that," the employee behind Kira said suddenly.
Kira turned and shook his head. "I should be the one apologizing. If I hadn't startled you, you probably wouldn't have panicked. Besides, the cheetah was never going to attack you. My actions were unnecessary."
The short-haired woman paused for a moment, then smiled. "That's true. But you just did what you thought was right, so I still have to thank you."
After speaking, she continued, "Are you a tourist? I'm Aoi Hana, a zookeeper here."
Kira shook his head. "I'm not a tourist. I'm looking for the Pro Hero, Mad Rabbit. Do you know him?"
"Mad Rabbit? You mean the Director?" Aoi Hana looked surprised. "It's rare for anyone to come looking for the Director..."
After yesterday's misunderstanding, Kira was now carrying his ID with him at all times. He took his U.A. student card from his pocket and handed it to her. "I'm Yoshikage Kira, from the U.A. High Hero Course. I'm here for my work-study internship."
"U.A. High in Tokyo!?" Aoi Hana was shocked. "That guy went to Tokyo once and actually managed to trick a top U.A. student into coming to a place like this? What on earth is he thinking!?"
Her head drooped. She suddenly got behind Kira, and after stripping off her rubber gloves, she put both hands on his back and began to push him toward the exit. "Hurry up and leave! The Director is still sleeping! This is no place for you! There's no 'work-study' here!"
Kira, completely bewildered, let himself be pushed along, dragging his luggage as Aoi Hana shoved him all the way back to the zoo's entrance. Along the way, several animals poked their heads out, looking at the scene with curiosity.
As they passed an iron cage, the gorilla inside saw Aoi and let out an excited hoot, beating its chest.
"Kongo, be quiet! The Director will hear you!" Aoi made a "shh" gesture. The gorilla tilted its head for a second, then immediately started howling again.
"Awoooo!" A wolf's howl also rang out, as if to greet the crisp morning.
One by one, the other animals joined in, like a great chorus, or perhaps, like an alarm system for a certain someone.
"Um..." Kira didn't resist, just letting Aoi push him in the direction she wanted. He tried to say something but was quickly cut off.
"Forget them! Just hurry up and go!" Aoi, seeing that she couldn't stop the animals, sighed and pushed Kira toward the gate more urgently. "Hurry, before the Director wakes up!"
The arched "Twilight Zoo" sign was just ahead. An excited smile spread across Aoi's face. However—
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A voice suddenly boomed from the park's loudspeakers. "Aoi Hana, if you don't stop this instant, I will consider this a personal provocation, and I will be forced to administer punishment!"
"Who'd listen to you!? I'm not letting anyone else get dragged into this hellhole!" Aoi shouted back, continuing to push Kira forward.
"Hehehe... Interesting! You want to have a race with me? A slow-pokey turtle like you could have a hundred-year head start and you still wouldn't be faster than me!"
On top of a one-story building, the Director, dressed in his black tracksuit with the rabbit head and red scarf, was stretching and warming up, his cold eyes fixed on Aoi Hana, who was getting closer and closer to the gate. He took a short running start on the rooftop, and then, in an instant, he leaped.
"RABBIT'S-LEAP—BOING!"
Like a shooting star, a black shadow crashed to the ground, landing perfectly on the only path to the zoo's exit, blocking their way.
"Director..." Aoi Hana froze, swallowing hard.
Kira squinted at the figure that had emerged from the dust cloud. With just a short run-up, he had jumped over 200 meters, and it was clear he had been holding back. This is the power of Mad Rabbit...?
The rabbit-headed man smiled and pointed an accusatory finger at Aoi Hana. "You... have lost! No matter what, you turtles can never beat a rabbit!"
"I'm sorry... I couldn't save you..." Aoi Hana took her hands off Kira's back, sighed in defeat, and turned to walk back into the zoo.
"Hey! Zookeeper! Get back here! Aren't you going to explain yourself!?" the Rabbit Director shouted, annoyed that she was completely ignoring him.
"Heh, heh." Aoi turned her head, a smile that was both weary and mocking on her face. Then, without another word, she left.
"When the rabbit's away, the zookeeper will play... I really need to teach her a lesson..." the rabbit muttered. He turned to Kira, his eyes lighting up. "You're the guy who was performing at the concert, right? You're pretty interesting..."
"Interesting? You must be the Pro Hero, Mad Rabbit. Your name really suits you," Kira said calmly. "Now, could you please get off my head?"
"That's not important!" At some point, the rabbit had jumped onto Kira's back and was now patting him down with an excited expression.
"Should I call you 'Mad Rabbit' or 'Director'?" Kira asked. "What am I supposed to be doing here? And where do I put my luggage?"
The rabbit hopped off his back and smiled. "You're asking so many questions at once, I don't know how to answer! Just call me Director. As for everything else, go ask the zookeeper!"
"You mean the zookeeper from just now...?" Kira paused, then decided to ask. "Director, when I came here, Principal Nezu mentioned that you have an ability to restore Quirks, is that right?"
"Restore Quirks? Who'd you hear that from? Not me," the rabbit said, blinking his eyes, feigning ignorance.
He walked over to Kira's luggage, pulled up the handle, and then leaped onto the suitcase, riding it like a bumper car as he shot into the zoo.
"That's not important! Follow me! I'll take you to your quarters!"
Kira's hero costume case was also with his luggage. He was now empty-handed and had no choice but to follow the Director.
Arriving in front of a building, the Director put the luggage by the door and made an "after you" gesture. "This is your room! I'll leave you to get settled!"
"I can handle it." Kira walked up and nodded.
The room looked like a single-person dorm. It had all the basic necessities, but it seemed no one had lived in it for a long time. It was covered in dust.
"Director, setting all else aside, can you at least tell me what I'm supposed to be doing here?"
The Director paused, rubbing his furry chin as he paced back and forth. "Right... I was so focused on getting you here, I didn't think about that... Ah! I've got it!"
He turned, a wide smile on his rabbit face. "You can help with raising the animals! Let's work together toward our goal of making this the best zoo in the nation!"
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