15 Self-medication.

Felix scratched his head before holding his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

—Well...

Usually, in this kind of situation, acting without thinking was better because if you do the opposite, it just makes the person in front of you feel like you are lying to them or looking for an excuse.

So his response was clear and straightforward.

"This is Kaoruko, a colleague and friend-with-benefits."

"Huh!?" exclaimed the sidekick, her skin flushing and turning to a darker blue, like a blueberry; while Rumi widened her eyes at her teammate's frankness. "F-Felix, w-what are you talking about? I... you... I mean..."

"...So you really don't see me like that?" Felix asked with a voluntarily sorry tone.

"Well... It's not that, but..."

"What do you see me as, then?" the young man asked, raising an eyebrow, putting Rumi aside to force her into the discussion.

"We're not here to discuss yar stupid relationships," Rumi grunted as she walked towards them. "Kaoruko, if I've memorized it, right? Do ya know that driving someone around when they get out of the hospital is dangerous? I just came to escort him home so he could relax before going back to work, but then I see an idiot taking him to somewhere unhealthy."

"Well... the doctors said there was nothing to worry about, so-"

"If you're really are a 'friend' of his, then you should pay more attention to him. Acting like this just shows that you don't care about his condition-"

"Miss Mirko, stop harassing her. Wouldn't you rather join us for a drink than growl?"

"Hmph! At least I'm caring about ya, not like a certain someone."

"Hey, you're being possessive right now.~"

"I am not!" she exclaimed as she furrowed her eyebrow.

Rumi crossed her arms and looked at Kaoruko to see if she would take her with them despite the fact that she was rude ten seconds before. Obviously, Rumi was there to spend some time with Felix, so the reason for her discontent was evident; even Kaoruko could understand it.

Against all odd, Bubble Girl agreed with a nod, and after a few more "friendly" exchanges between the two, they all got into the car, Rumi in the back seats, sulking like a sullen child.

On the way downtown, they discussed the recent events concerning underground MMA tournaments and criminal activities. During the week he was in the hospital, the heroes and police officers uncovered several of these locations, only adding to the mystery surrounding these places' creation.

Most of them were located in the suburban fringes of major cities or directly in the countryside. The fact that nobody could see or detect the construction or location of such places interested many reporters who were interested in the details and wanted a scoop. So much so that the Japanese authorities could not really fight against the media and the Detnerat company, which took advantage of the growing but silent fear, to sell their products at all costs.

Criticism of how the government and the authorities handled the latest events was fiercely debated by the population and other political classes seeing it as a form of weakness. But Felix didn't really care. Now that he was sitting in a restaurant with two women he had an interest in, his concern was redirected to them. And his pheromones too.

"This place is kind of chill," he began, turning to the sidekick. "I'll remember the address. So you wanted to bring me here to hit on me? Maybe even use your aphrodisiac bubbles one more time, hm?"

"Geez... N-Not at all! If you could stop teasing me every time we see each other..." she replied, leaning towards her purse with a fleeting gaze. "I just wanted to bring this to you... and talk about it," she continued, putting a piece of paper in front of him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I don't really know, but the letter is from the address of the brand new agency of Mt. Lady. What could those people want from you?"

"Huh...? Who knows... But a fucking letter? Why not use a homing pigeon? It's not like we have the internet or phones nowadays," he replied ironically, having an idea of what they "wanted from him.".

"This is just a formality; everything needs to be on paper for the sake of the Hero Commission," she explained with a proud smile. "Aren't you going to open it?"

"No, I'll take care of it later. I'm with you now." Felix smiled before turning to his favorite rabbit girl. "Miss Mirko... why are you making THAT face?"

"Don't call me Mirko here... I'm in civilian attire," she grunted once again, turning her head the other way as she drank her soda. "Yer always call her by her first name... You could do the same with me, I didn't forbid ya to do so..."

"I prefer to call you Miss Mirko; it seems much more professional like it needs to be," he lied as he patted Rumi's head using his quirk again. She grunted much more than usual; who knows how needy she is now.

At the bar, a group of young people watched a video on their phones, which had been viewed repeatedly for several days on socials media. A video uploaded on the darknet, but now present as usual in front of everyone, on internet. The three of them also watched their phones to see the news and trends on the little bluebird's social media.

The MMA tournament. Once again relayed on the net and exchanged massively despite the state restrictions. The most striking fact that made the three people sitting at the same table realize that the situation was different than usual was the names people used to talk about the fighters. The Rapper. Tiger Bunny & Quirkless.

Two individuals who made a fuss in the underworld for no apparent reason. The MMA champion had disappeared and was last seen in the hands of these same people. The sudden disappearance of a person winning all competitions for 10 years didn't go unnoticed at all. Plus, the public liked him despite his barbarity because of his temperament.

Even though they had made discretion and reactiveness a priority during this mission, they couldn't prevent some conspiracy theories from flourishing. And accusations about Mirko participating as a Tiger Bunny was one of them, Rumi initially hoped that this wouldn't happen, but despite having dyed her hair, the fur of her ears, put on contacts lenses, worn pantyhose, long sleeves, and a mask to hide her skin, she was still being exposed. She would once again have to find a way to remedy a potential fiasco.

As for Felix, no one accused him of anything; he was just Quirkless, the attendee capable of copying quirks and working with Tiger Bunny, something scarce, and therefore something that could thrill people. That said, if they ever started trying to track him down or using facial identification software, it might be possible to get a result since the bandages he wore on his face were a bit loose during the fight.

—Covering-up the issue will be complex... We'll have to stay in line for some time. For the last few weeks, Rumi... well... the heroine Mirko has been working a lot less than usual, and some people must have noticed that.

Faced with all this, Felix and Rumi knew they would have to act accordingly in the hope of not having any trouble. Even though Kaoruko only knew a little bit about the mission they had all been carrying out, she quickly understood the circumstances. She decided to take them to her favorite karaoke to make them forget their worries. Of course, in Japan, karaoke was only a way to drink alcohol at slightly reduced prices.

Rumi accepted that she was biting her nails. Her stress only showed in this way, and Felix having a plan in mind to level-up and get their help in the future, couldn't miss this chance to get even closer to them. If he could ever get them to become his associates with their agreements, it would be a godsend.

But alcohol was a dangerous ingredient against Mirko and a dangerous weapon for Felix, who had gotten used to getting drunk during his teenage years.

"Usagiyama-san, you've drunk enough," Kaoruko said as she took the glass from her hands. "Bringing you here was a terrible idea... even you, Felix." Seeing that even Felix wasn't answering, she sighed and took Rumi on her shoulders to take her to her car. Once Felix was sure that they were both gone, he sat down on the karaoke couch and prepared himself for the special moment.

—As if five glasses of vodka would be enough to knock me out. My mother had already started making me drink when I was 12... She thought it was part of a man's qualities to be able to tank up any kind of damage, even the damage of alcohol... I don't think that's actually true, but at least it serves me for some purpose today.

He sighed and focused his thoughts, once again to get his system in his mind and get a clearer picture of the first hormone cocktail tests he was starting to concoct. During his stay in the hospital, between TV and reading, he also used his time to improve his understanding of his new system and finally make the [Love Potion]. The effectiveness wasn't yet exceptional, but when he used it on Rumi when he patted her head in the early afternoon, Felix was sure he saw the heroine react positively.

[Love Potion] — {Oxytocin, Dopamine, Endorphin, Serotonin, Releaser Pheromones.}

Aside from the addictiveness that it could create in anyone, he wasn't sure if the other effects since everything were mixed up. Still, he knew that even if it eventually exhausted him in the long run, using it could slowly addict someone, albeit more effectively than before. The problem with his old system was that he had to use them independently, which was no longer the case, and this opened up a myriad of possibilities for him.

Immediately after preparing a pernicious assault, he left the karaoke room pretending to be drunk when Kaoruko returned. Not innocent, but a little naive, she was the kind of person who could be manipulated, but who could demonstrate a sudden lucidity, so he played his best acting, and thanks to the feelings that had already been building up in her for several weeks, she let her guard down even more.

"Ah! Geez... Don't touch me there, Felix!" she exclaimed as she tried to help him walk despite their differences in height. "Geez... This is no time to get me all worked up like this... I'll take you back to your apartment, so try to stay calm."

"Sorry... I see in duplicate..."

"That's okay," she said before pausing. "...Usagiyama-san threw up after only two glasses of champagne. I'm surprised you held out after ingesting all that alcohol."

"Do I look like I'm holding up...?" he grunted as he stood on a wall to move forward.

"Ahaha! Not really, but it's not so bad. You can stand up and talk a little."

Felix sneered at her remark, even though everything was going well for him; it was Rumi that was the one to worry about. After getting back in the car and managing to push Felix into the car, she turned the key and drove off in the direction of his apartment. Even though Bubble Girl didn't know the exact location, she knew that he and she lived close to each other, so she would only have to ask him for details later. She had made him lie down on Mirko's thighs, half knocked out in the back seats so that he could see the sky through the glass roof of the car.

No rain, just a starry sky, a few clouds, and a crescent moon, reminding him of the costume Rumi wore when she worked as a heroine.

—What the-

Rumi leaned towards him before he could react, her small size allowing her to reach the young man's lips with hers. The kiss lasted a long time, a mixture of the taste of alcohol mixed with the smell of a discreet perfume that you could only smell if you were close to her. Her eyes reflected Felix's face and his surprise, but also the attention she needed right away. Her tongue only wanted Felix to follow the movement, but for the sake of his acting and to further vitiate her, he simply let her do so without saying anything.

"U-Usagiyama-san! What are you doing in my car... I shouldn't have put you next to him..."

"Ya should..." she stopped because of the hiccups, then continued. "Try some real kisses, like french kisses, it's really-"

"Not in the car, stop, stop..." she replied, blushing a little more. "You're drunk, you're going to regret what you've just done..."

"Why?~ Would you regret kissing Felix?"

"N- That's not the point! He's drunk; what about him?"

Felix let them talk to each other, even though he could interfere, Rumi seemed to be doing the job for him; the alcohol let buried feelings speak for themselves. But then again, it was her who had decided to drink more than she could despite the warnings that everyone had given her, and she kicked those who tried to stop her, so... Felix was not at fault.

As they approached the place after Felix had guided Kaoruko, he thought he briefly recognized the strange alleyway he often walked by. No strange aura, no light, no unusual feeling.

However, the former detainee felt much odder not to feel the same as when he passed by every day. But given Rumi's condition, she couldn't share his opinion... The only weakness this woman had was alcohol, and carrots were somewhat ironic when you compare her to what she was showing her fans.

"Talk about a mess..." Kaoruko sighed as she put her hand through her hair after getting Rumi and Felix back upstairs. "So you two are really living together, huh."

"It's... not a choice..." Rumi explained as she tried to walk in a straight line to the couch where they had made the Canadian lie-down. "But I don't feel bad about it either... I think..."

"What do you mean-" she widened her eyes when she saw that after sitting on the couch, Rumi began to bend over and even lie down on Felix. Felix just let it happen, lying still to show some false weakness, so they saw him as an easy "target". There's no better trap than to make your prey believe that, in the end, it's your prey that's hunting you. This is called throwing yourself into the lion's den.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing...!" tried to contest Kaoruko with a conflicted expression as she stared at the animalistic woman in front of her, craving so much for a dick that she could see her love juice through her pants.

"You should do the same, ya know... This little prick... is thinking that he can do whatever he wants with me... So I will teach him a lesson and get my medication myself..."

"Huh...?"