"How to befriend a local cryptid" - A guide by a concerned nerd

Tadashi didn’t know what he was doing here. Okay, that’s a hell of a stretch, actually. And that was also a wrong question, perhaps. He knew what he was doing here, he just didn’t exactly know why, of all places, here. Zero percent has never been spotted in the Good luck alley, he would’ve known. Okay, that actually kinda answered it, didn’t it? The kid was known for moving around every once in a while. He wouldn’t be surprised if he decided to cover the last big spot in the city this time. Now, don’t get Tadashi wrong. He wasn’t a stalker or anything like that. It’s just not every time someone who made quite a name in bot-fighting was as young as people assumed Zero percent was. Nobody really saw his face, just the voice and the build, and nobody would give him more than thirteen. Meaning, a literal kid was crushing every ring he came to. Then again, the name Zero percent didn’t come out of nowhere, after all. It was the kid’s losing rate. And, judging by the fans’ calculations, he was going to have his 64th tonight. And he’s only been there for a little over a year. So sue him, Tadashi Hamada was curious as hell about this fighter and kept trying to see him in person. He was equally impressed and concerned about the kid. And that is how he ended up in the first rows watching Yama’s robot smash the opponent’s one into pieces with a single slash of its circular saw. The young man winced at the sight and backed off a little not to get a flying piece of metal on him. You can’t watch bot-fights and not walk out with some reflexes for your self preservation, he thought with a sigh as the owner of the place laughed at the loser. In the fighter girl’s defense, and Tadashi could’ve sworn he’d seen her at SFIT at some point, there is only so little you can do to balance the armor and the agility. Either way, she managed to hold against Yama for long enough to call it a decent fight. “The winner, by total annihilation,” the ringleader announced, collecting the betting money to give it to the winner, “Yama!” “Who’s next? Who has the guts to step into the ring with Little Yama?” The man shouted while pocketing the money, and suddenly, the entire ring fell silent, both previous participants and simple watchers taking a few steps to the side to make way for someone rather short, frail, if the way the dark hoodie’s sleeves hung around his arms were of any indication. The kid adjusted his black mask with red-lined eyes and stopped just a step away from where the last competitor still sat, mouth open in shock and awe. Tadashi had to hold back a wide smile as though he had just won a lottery. He knew who he was looking at. He had finally met Zero percent in person. “Hey there,” he said with a smile in his voice and straightened his back at the sight of Yama tensing. “Mind if I try? Never been to your ring, for some reason. You must be Yama, hm?” “You,” he growled. “Me. So? You have guts or not?” Much to the kid’s amusement, Yama frowned at him in disdain and grunted, but didn’t tell him to get out, instead silently eyeing the local cryptid as he sat down where the previous fighter had just been and pulled out some cash out of his pocket, neatly collected and tied with a rubber band. The metal of the plate clacked after the money was placed on it, Little Yama and the kid’s newest creation on two sides of the ring. The masked teenager raised his head, smirking. “Before we start, there’s something I need to tell you, Yama,” Zero percent drawled and Tadashi honestly couldn’t understand why the man suddenly tensed and squared his shoulders as if he was trying to protect himself from a literal child. Probably it must be something about his tone… “You better not screw this up.“ Then, he probably smiled even wider. ”So! Shall we?” The ringleader refused the urge to shiver as she placed the umbrella between the two’s bots. “Two bots enter, one bot leaves…” She eyed both of the competitors and for the first time in years she’s worked there, she couldn’t see any of Yama’s confidence. What was really up with this kid? “Fighters ready? Fight!” With that, the woman quickly pulled her umbrella out of the way as the two robots jumped into action. Yama didn’t hesitate to open his circular saw this time, there was no point anyway. Zero percent’s bot, however, seemed… wobbly? Yeah, that probably was the right word as the robot walked unsteadily to the other one only to be thrown into the air and cut on the joints to the sound of the crowd’s shocked screams. Tadashi could not believe his eyes. Yama wasn’t even the best bot fighter in the city after Zero percent. How could he lose so quickly? “Ha…” Yama looked at their robots with the same amount of disbelief. “Hah… Ha! Hahaha! That’s what you get when dealing with Yama, kid!” “Aw man, you really did cut him,” the kid pouted with a sigh. The man’s smile faded as the robot suddenly collected itself back as if it wasn’t lying limp on the ground just a few seconds ago. “Just kidding, you didn’t even scratch any important details, you’re losing focus.” With that, he pulled at the ends of his controller to open a hidden part, his head tilting in focus. “Mega-bot. Destroy.” The bot’s previously friendly face turned into a crazy grin and now it ran at Little Yama at least three times faster while its owner wasted a whole second to give out the sound of confusion, tiny frame easily dodging every attack as the opponent was now trying hard to get his upper hand, but it was just too fast. And where the speed couldn’t do all the job, well, the joints did disconnect from each other to roll on their own, only to reassemble in a completely different spot seconds later. Yama was furious and so, so helpless against this kid who had the audacity to look bored with the fight he was ready to throw hands. That was the exact moment the teenager apparently decided to stop toying with his victim and actually do what he came here for: another easy win. With that, Mega-bot climbed on the bigger robot and before it managed to shake the opponent off, one arm’s joint was crushed and the little menace held it up to cut the arm with the saw off. When Little Yama was successfully disarmed, the robot climbed up to coil around the neck and Zero percent flicked a little switch on his controller. Mega-bot let out the charge probably strong enough to fry a man alive. Then, its face changed back to a friendly smile as it bowed and jumped into the kid’s hand. “No more Little Yama,” he drawled with a smug grin, collecting the money with ease as he stood up. So much for the undefeatable fearsome Yama, he mused, narrowing his eyes at the growing anger in the eyes of the loser. Time to go. “But, what-” Yama sputtered, shaking hands collecting fried pieces of his robot. Widened eyes zeroed in on the kid who was ready to leave. “This isn’t possible!” “Hey, I mean, you clearly knew who you were dealing with, you could’ve just backed out and kept your robot but hey, at least you tried to put up a fight. Wanna go again after you’ve fixed your bot, Yama?” There was a brief moment in which Tadashi noticed a movement in the crowd that clearly wasn’t from one of Yama’s thugs who were already following their boss. He ran to his moped as fast as he could. The not so gentle push to the wall actually hurt a little. Nearly not as much as his muscles hurt after certain training sessions with Auntie, though. He still huffed in offense and narrowed his eyes at Yama. “No one hustles Yama!” The man roared, swiping the bot from the kid’s hands and gesturing to his thugs. “Teach the brat a lesson,” he spat and Zero percent’s shoulders drooped as he sighed. Great, another time dealing with low-tier idiots when I could get some nice coffee and work on some projects, he rolled his eyes as the men approached him. Welp, Yama’s fault he’s so stupid. “Hey fellas,” the teenager said eerily calmly for someone who was clearly outmatched, cracking his knuckles. “Let’s better talk about this.” Several things happened at the same time. First, it was a flash of familiar blue and black uniform he’d recognize everywhere. It wasn’t even two seconds until the man knocked out one of the thugs and before anyone could react to it, the others were already jumping out of the way of a definitely crazy moped driver, knocking each other on the ground. “Hey, ZP!” The guy turned to him, quickly eyeing the area. “Get on!” Zero percent stood still for a whole second, gazing at the unexpected… savior? A potential kidnap- no, that one clearly wasn’t the type. He then glanced at the mercenary who only nodded, apparently, approving of the er, new way out? “Er, sure? Let me just…” He whistled in Yama’s direction and soon enough, they heard a pained groan as Mega-bot fled the scene to jump into its rightful owner’s hand while he put on the accepted helmet. “Now we’re good to go!” Tadashi only nodded to that and, as soon as the other sat behind him, holding a surprisingly tight grip on him, he took off. He was not going to think about the fact that the kid apparently knew some mercenary whose uniform he couldn’t recognize, nuh-uh, not his circus, not his monkeys. “Are you okay?” Tadashi asked with genuine concern, taking the turn to what apparently was a dead end as the kid grunted in confirmation. Eh, he could work with that. Gogo used to take him on worse tracks. “Good. Hold on!” “There they are!” Tadashi led the moped on the board that was conveniently placed against the trash bins, sending them flying over Yama and his thugs. Zero percent screamed, borderline laughing, as his grip on the young man’s shoulders became painful. “Woo!” He screamed as they caught a moment just hanging in the air before the wheels reconnected with the ground and they rode from the Good luck alley. “You better turn left, like, now,” the kid suddenly said and Tadashi didn’t have time to ask why, he just turned… literal seconds before the police noticed them, too occupied with the obvious group of men who weren’t smart enough to leave in time. “How did you even-” “Less talking, more driving!” He cut off, and the other could only comply, driving them away as far as possible as fast as possible.

***

“Phew, what a ride! I didn’t know someone who looks like a total nerd could drive that crazy, you’re sure you aren’t some secret racer? I’d love to see you in action more!” Tadashi only managed to get a ‘uuhh’ out of him in response as the kid sighed, relaxing, and took his mask off. Well, that’s it, if the voice and build hadn’t tipped someone off, the face was an instant giveaway. “You really are a kid,” he choked out, surprised by the fact he was actually shocked. He knew Zero percent was a teenager at best, but man, he looked even younger than some of them had assumed. “I mean, what did you expect? An 5 foot tall adult with a squeaky voice?” The kid chuckled, putting his mask into one of the pockets. “I can’t blame you, though. Nobody expects a kid to be that good, huh.” “Yeah… I mean, you’re really impressive for, er…” “Fourteen. I’m fourteen,” he supplied, gaining a quiet ‘huh’ in response. “Hm?” “You’re a bit older than the majority assumes,” Tadashi explained. “They usually won’t give you more than thirteen.” “Huh. I mean, I did start at thirteen, so…” They stood in their awkward silence for almost a minute, Tadashi fidgeting with his hands and the other with his robot. Looking at the cars passing by not so far away, the young man wondered what he was going to do next. He really should’ve thought this through. The kid broke the silence first, “You know, I can’t get the feeling that I clearly know you from somewhere off me,” he hummed. “Weird, because I’m pretty sure it’s the first time we meet in person.” “Huh.” Tadashi glanced at him, then tilted his head before nodding. “Yeah, I think I get what you mean. Now that I saw your face, I can’t help but think we’ve met before, somewhere.” “I’m Hiro. Hiro Aken,” Hiro said, holding his hand out. Tadashi shook it with a warm smile. He’s not going to think about his brother who disappeared way too long ago to be found ever again, it’s time to let go at last, no, don’t think about it again Tadashi- “Tadashi Hamada,” he responded, his voice a little more raspy than he would like it to be. “Nice to meet you, Hiro.” They talked about many things that night. They both went on long rants about exciting tech they saw or made themselves. They talked about each other’s families a little and Hiro was officially invited to have dinner with him and his aunt sometime — which was approved by the said aunt over texts. But then Tadashi realized why he was even trying to track the kid down… “Why are you doing this? Putting yourself at risk with all these bot-fights, I mean.” He had this annoying feeling of concern about the kid every time he heard of Ze- Hiro. Something inside him always pulled to try and protect him and the name didn’t help at all. Hiro gave himself time to think about it, pulling on his red streaks until he huffed with a shrug after a long minute. “I dunno. I guess someone just has to watch over underground and make sure people there keep things in order while Dad’s busy with bigger stuff. Don’t wanna let them destroy the city too soon, y’know?” He chuckled with an awkward smile. Tadashi didn’t know how much of it was a joke. If any part at all. On the other hand, there was no way a literal kid would be chill about being a criminal, right? “Huh. Guess it makes sense,” he only managed to say in return, not exactly sure how it made any sense because it probably didn’t at all, but he wasn’t touching that for now. “Oh shoot, I better head home if I want to make it before dinner,” the kid suddenly realized without even checking the time. “Hey uh, how about we exchange numbers or something? You know, if you ever want to hang out normally rather than trying to track me down?” “Uh, sure?” Hiro gave him his unlocked phone without a second of hesitation. For someone whose identity stayed secret for over a year, as far as Tadashi knew, he had a surprising amount of trust in someone he met just an hour ago. “Not scared I’m gonna steal it and run to reveal all your secrets?” He teased, putting his number in the new contact nonetheless. The kid only shrugged at this. “Nah, if you weren’t good, Ryo would’ve killed you on sight. But he didn’t, so, I can trust you.” Tadashi froze in place, almost dropping the phone and barely catching it in the air. The. What. “...Ryo?” “Oh, y’know? The guy who knocked down all the thugs you distracted? He’s really good at seeing through people. That’s why my aunt likes to keep him around whenever there’s a shady deal.” Okay, that’s it. The kid was totally aware that he was a criminal, raised in a criminal environment and was totally cool with crime for whatever reason he ever was. Tadashi wasn’t even concerned at this point, he was low-key scared of this cryptid teenager. Sure, he was still concerned, but… Okay, things got complicated very quickly didn’t they. Next second Hiro got his phone back, the other got a text with a simple dot in it, and he nodded in what seemed like satisfaction. “Alright, now you have my number too! Aand I really gotta go. Bye!” And with that, Zero percent left the scene, hiding in the shadows of the night less than in a minute, leaving Tadashi to process everything he’s just heard, before he took off to head home as well.

***

This night Tadashi had nightmares about his parents for the first time in several years. He really had hoped he was over these by now.

***

“Hey Dad! Aunt ‘Kase! I’m home!” Hiro couldn’t hold back his wild smile as he shrugged off his hoodie and ran to find his family to tell them about tonight. He made a friend! That wasn’t affiliated with criminals! Well, he thought Tadashi wasn’t. He didn’t seem like the type. And he’s seen Ryo in the field! Which he definitely needed to ask about because he didn’t remember even mentioning going bot-fighting tonight, much less specifying he was going to the Good luck alley. No matter, tonight was awesome! “Hey kid,” Momakase waved him from the kitchen with a slight smile he knew she would only show to the ones she was close to. The boy beamed and rushed to his aunt. “Did you send Ryo after me? He’s so good at blending in, I didn’t even know he was there!” “Hm? No, I didn’t,” the master thief hummed, tilting her head slightly. “He was on his other duties this evening. Perhaps, he could’ve seen you on his way back and decided to follow you.” “Huh. Okay. He was cool in the field anyway!” “Oh? Did he have to get you out of trouble again, Hiro?” “What? No! Everything was under control!” He pouted, genuinely offended. “As if you hadn’t spent literal years to train me, it’s just this moron Yama complicating things with his stupidity. How does Dad even put up with him?” Momakase only laughed at this and continued preparing dinner with a shrug. Hell if she knew, their business overlapped surprisingly rarely. And she never had to actually deal with Yama before, even though they were sharing very close spaces… the criminal world worked in a weird way for sure. “I suppose he didn’t take my message as kindly as he was supposed to?” They heard a voice from behind that would’ve definitely scared anyone unprepared. “Dad!” The woman just smirked as she saw the kid’s eyes shine almost literally, mint eyes meeting ice blue. ‘Still so certain you didn’t pick up a stray cat that night?’ ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ “Dad, dad! Ryo beat the shit out of Yama’s thugs! Also this idiot tried to steal my bot, can you even believe that?” “Hiro, language,” Obake gently reminded him, ruffling his son’s hair before taking his seat to listen to Hiro’s rant about the evening. He couldn’t stress it enough how lucky they were to have this child on their side, already experienced in the underground enough to take some responsibilities such as watching over the more promising half of the underground. Who ever would've thought that the best way to get a perfect successor was to raise one yourself?