Chapter 111: Nightfall
"You're a top student from U.A. You want to be a Pro Hero just like Snake Sis, right? If you help us restore the Director to his human form, as payment, we will all be your sparring partners. We can help you accumulate the combat experience you're missing."
Kira had to admit, his combat experience was indeed lacking. Just like when the lion-man had pounced on him—his mind had reacted, but his body couldn't keep up with the rhythm, causing him to be a beat too slow. It was fine when fighting other U.A. students, but compared to a creature at the top of the food chain, Kira felt like a lamb to the slaughter.
Kira didn't agree immediately. Instead, he asked, "I have one question. I'm just a student. Why do you think I can help you attract popularity? Besides, I'm only here for a week."
Okami smiled. "I may be an animal, but I watch TV when I'm in human form. We don't get to see Snake Sis in person very often, so we have to watch her on TV."
"TV? You have televisions in your cages?"
"How is that possible? The Director isn't that extravagant!" Okami quickly denied it. "It's the zookeeper. She has a TV in her cottage. I go over to watch when I have free time. A few days ago, when the Director was away, I saw your performance at the concert on a broadcast. The stage effects were amazing!"
Kira hadn't expected this. He had come to this remote part of Tottori to avoid being recognized, only to be identified by an animal... It was truly absurd.
"That concert didn't have much to do with me. I was just a temporary guest performer."
"I know that," Okami nodded. "But your popularity didn't just come from nowhere, did it? What we want to learn from you... is your method for generating that kind of popularity."
"...I'll think about it."
Kira didn't give a direct answer. After Okami patted him on the back and left, Kira sat down on a stone bench, holding a banana as he looked up at the night sky.
It was clear that his job for this week-long work-study was to feed these amazing animals. Originally, Kira had just wanted to find a place where no reporters would be watching and disappear for a few days, but now his mission was to help a zoo attract customers.
Kira had no intention of refusing. The conditions Okami had offered were too tempting—all the animals in the zoo would be his sparring partners. This would allow Kira's combat experience to increase rapidly.
The strength of a bear, the speed of a leopard... As long as he had experience fighting these kinds of extreme attributes, he wouldn't suffer unnecessary injuries in the future from a lack of experience when fighting people with unknown Quirks.
What Kira hated was being the center of attention, not becoming a Pro Hero. Just like the hero name he had chosen for himself, "Gold Spirit," he would not run away from his destiny.
"New Zookeeper, are you going to eat that banana?"
A deep, sonorous voice sounded beside him. Kira looked up. A gorilla with an honest-looking face was standing in front of him, his eyes fixed on the banana in his hand. "All the bananas at the feast tonight were eaten. The one in your hand is the last one. If you don't like it, you could let me take care of it."
If I didn't like it, I wouldn't be holding it... Kira didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What a terrible excuse.
"Here, you can have it." Kira handed him the banana. "Your name is Kongo, right? But I think 'Caesar' would suit you better."
The gorilla took the banana, skillfully peeled it, and then sat down on the bench next to Kira. As he ate, he mumbled, "New Zookeeper, you're a good person. If that were the Director, he would have just thrown the banana away, probably to Shishido, but never to me."
"The Director is a rabbit. He probably doesn't like bananas, does he?"
The gorilla seemed to have long since gotten used to the Director's antics. "But he loves to find his fun at other people's expense..." he said calmly. "If the zookeeper hadn't come, he'd probably be even worse by now."
"Because... at the end of the day, we're not the same kind." The gorilla looked up at the moon, then suddenly beat his chest and let out a howl.
"Are you planning to climb the Empire State Building?" Kira suddenly asked.
"The Director gave me this name! I don't like it either!"
It was getting late. The animals, shooed by the Director, all returned to their cages to sleep. Although their forms had changed, their biological habits had not. They didn't seem to have any complaints about their simple-looking enclosures.
Kira lay on his bed. Listening to the howling duet of the wolf-man and Kongo the gorilla, he stared at the dim ceiling, unable to sleep.
It was only around ten o'clock. In the countryside, most people would already be fast asleep. But in Tokyo, the nightlife was just beginning.
Kira thought for a moment, then pulled out his phone and called Momo Yaoyorozu.
"Kira-kun? Good evening. Is something wrong?" Momo's voice sounded a little weak, as if she were tired.
"Good evening, Yaoyorozu. Are you doing your work-study with the Pro Hero Uwabami?"
"Ah, yes!" At the mention of this topic, she perked up. "Uwabami-san is amazing! She's taking us to a TV studio for a recording. Oh, right, 'us' means me and Itsuka Kendo from Class 1-B. She was nominated by Uwabami-san at the same time as me!"
"Are you still working now?"
Momo glanced at the young woman standing in the spotlight. She covered the phone's receiver. "Mm-hmm. We're still in the middle of filming a show. It'll probably be another half hour before we're done..." She suddenly added, "I'm so envious... Uwabami-san is so confident under the spotlight..."
"Envious?"
Hearing Kira's question, Momo snapped back to reality. "Oh... I was just talking to myself! Don't mind me! By the way, where are you right now, Kira-kun? I heard you went to an agency in Tottori. Is it Gang Orca's place?"
In the public's mind, when you mentioned Tottori, aside from the author of Detective Conan, the most famous thing was Gang Orca's aquarium-slash-hero-agency.
"It's not Gang Orca. It's a Pro Hero named 'Mad Rabbit.' I'm working at a zoo right now."
Hearing Kira's calm voice, Momo felt a strange, inexplicable sense of peace. She said with a wry smile, "A zoo? That... doesn't really sound like you."
"Well, I think a TV studio suits you perfectly."
"You think I have the potential to be a star?"
"I think 'magician' would suit you quite well..."
Momo, who was sitting in an empty seat in a dark corner of the studio, covered her mouth, giggling as she chatted with Kira.
"Hey, hey! The recording is over! Miss Yaoyorozu, can you stop chatting? We should really let everyone in the studio see that lovesick smile of yours."
Itsuka Kendo had appeared at her side at some point and was looking at her with a knowing, teasing gaze. "Who are you talking to? Can you introduce me?"
"Kira-kun, the recording is over. I have to get back to work now."
As if waking from a dream, Momo quickly said goodbye to Kira and hung up the phone.
She let out a sigh of relief and looked up to see Itsuka Kendo standing beside her, along with Uwabami, who was smiling, one hand on her hip. Momo's face instantly turned red, and she shot to her feet, bowing. "I'm so sorry! I kept you waiting!"
Uwabami gently shook her head. "It's no problem at all. That's your private time while I'm recording. You don't need to worry about me."
As if lost in a memory, her eyes narrowed. "Besides... you're very lucky to have someone you can talk to like that."
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