Chapter 2 - An Unlucky Day

(Nero POV)

After waking up in the morning and picking up Ochaco from her house, we walked up the mall escalator as I let out a slight yawn.

"You're still not very good with mornings," Ochaco said, right next to me.

She was wearing a cute pink shirt and gray shorts, and underneath the shorts, she wore black leggings that went up to her brown shoes.

Meanwhile, I was dressed in the basics: a black shirt and blue jeans.

"A little, but I'll be fine in a few minutes," I said, letting out another yawn.

"If you say." She said, shrugging.

"By the way, what's the reason for us coming to the mall?" I asked as we stepped out of the escalator.

Ochaco walked beside me, making our shoulders almost touch.

"You will see." She smiles like a naughty child.

I just let out a light sigh and slightly turned my head, analyzing my surroundings as I walked alongside Ochaco.

"Hmm! Well, we are in the part that has a greater flow of people, and precisely this greater flow of people is women. The few men seem to have no life in their eyes, as they accompany their mothers, girlfriends, or friends. And her mischievous smile shows that it won't be much fun for me; maybe it's even a little embarrassing..., let's go to a lingerie store, right?" I asked with a lazy smile.

"Bruhhh! You're boring." She said this, crossing her arms over her breasts while pouting. "Honestly, you're a lot like your mother." Her pout turns into a nostalgic expression.

Even I, who had a sleepy expression, upon hearing her words, instantly had the same expression as Ochaco, but with a great touch of sadness.

My mother was a great woman, but like all splendid people, death took her early.

But in life, my mother was very fond of mythology, especially Greco-Roman, and that's why my first name is Nero, in honor of the fifth Roman emperor, Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus.

Even though Nero was a spoiled, tyrannical emperor who may or may not have burned down Rome, my mother still loved that name.

A very peculiar but splendid woman who didn't let her disability affect her.

My mother was completely unable to speak; that is, she was a mute person.

But it didn't affect her until her death.

She died when I was 10 years old, and I still remember that the following years were quite difficult.

I let out a soft sigh again, dispelling the sadness, before Ochaco started asking if I was okay.

"A little, but my mother liked to see the world as if it were a big chessboard, and I just prefer to analyze the small details of things," I said with a smile, putting my hands in my pockets.

Ochaco, who had lowered her arms and was swinging them from side to side as she walked, looked at me and said:

"And that was always a bummer; you have no idea how hard it was to surprise him with my gifts," Ochaco said, giving me an accusing look.

Well, it wasn't my fault that her presents were obvious.

But I didn't say anything; I just smiled at her, taking my hand out of my pocket and pointing forward with my finger.

"Oh! We've arrived." She exclaimed in her cute voice and looked with a happy expression at the lingerie store.

"Let's go." She takes my hand and pulls me inside.

As I walk through the door, I see several brothers sitting on chairs with their wives' purses on their laps.

Our eyes met, and, as companions, I saluted them, and my brothers returned the salute.

The next moment, I was separated from my companions in arms by a certain Badger, who was pulling me by the hand.

"You know, I won't get lost if you let go of my hand." A slightly dry smile formed on my lips.

"Maybe not, but prevention is better than cure." She lifts the finger of her free hand and shakes it from side to side as if she were reciting a very old proverb.

In this case, let's just enjoy it and go with the tide.

I thought, grabbing her hand and intertwining our fingers, which in turn made her cheeks blush even more.

I have to admit that teasing her with these little acts is very pleasurable.

Ochaco said nothing; she just pulled me through the lingerie store while some women looked at us and laughed.

•••

1 hour after Ochaco picked out some new bras, I was in front of the store's fitting room, waiting for her to change.

As I looked at the dressing room curtain, some employees passed by me, giving me a slightly critical and even amused look.

OK! This is a little embarrassing, I have to admit.

I thought, looking at the dressing room where Ochaco was.

It's been a while since I've been to a clothing store, especially lingerie.

The last time I remember going to a lingerie store was to accompany my mother, who wanted to buy underwear.

A happy memory, although at that time I was upset because I was in a clothing store without being able to do anything.

You could say that at the time my mother was alive, my father and I were still a family.

I let out a sigh, realizing that there was no point in thinking about it, and I looked to the side, seeing my reflection reflected in a mirror.

In the mirror is reflected the image of a handsome 14-year-old boy with short black hair and mesmerizing golden eyes.

Not bad.

I thought, looking in a mirror with a slight smile.

As soon as I thought that, the locker room curtain opened, revealing to me what Ochaco was wearing.

On her beautiful pair of breasts, she wore a frilly pink bra with thin straps. And on the bottom, she wore pink panties, which had a red ribbon.

Mother nature is truly beautiful.

I thought, putting my finger on my chin and looking at my Ochaco without any shame. Obviously, I was looking at it for scientific purposes, I swear.

But there really was no reason not to look at and admire her body, for the simple reason that if she was showing me that, then obviously I should look.

Meanwhile, she was extremely embarrassed; Ochaco was practically boiling with embarrassment. I don't know if it was my imagination, but I could even see smoke coming out of her head. Her Auburn eyes shot up and looked at me, but she quickly lowered them, as if she wanted to ask me how she was, but the shame was greater.

Now, I need to praise her, avoiding using indecent words, so as not to create an awkward atmosphere or prevent her from fainting.

"Hmm! I'm not the biggest lingerie critic out there. But, in my humble opinion, the bra suits you; after all, it's cute and beautiful, fitting your body perfectly." I guess I was a little corny, but all for the good of science.

But my words seemed to be a critical blow, as her face turned even redder.

"Thanks." She said, returning to the dressing room and quickly closing the curtain.

Through the shadows, I could see that she had crouched down and put her hands over her face.

She really is very cute.

I thought with a smile.

After this cute moment, Ochaco managed to snap out of her shame spiral, so she tried on several bras. And I had to see her in various bras. Not that I'm complaining; in fact, today I will go to a temple and sincerely thank the gods for this blessing.

We spent about an hour with this, until she decided to buy two bras: one pink and one black. Plus some other underwear.

After putting on her clothes, she now paid for her purchases, while I, like every man who goes to the mall with a woman, held the shopping bag. I think this must be in the Bible.

The woman received the money from Ochaco with a smile.

"Thank you very much for your purchase. May you and your boyfriend have a wonderful day." The girl said this with a beautiful smile.

"B-boyfriend?!"

Oh! This is a lovely cliché.

I just smiled, watching her fall back into a shame spiral.

Just as I was about to say something to snap her out of her shame spiral, there was a loud noise coming from the glass door.

"No one moves." A scream echoes through the store.

Speaking of clichés.

I thought, turning my head, and seeing four men and a woman entering the store. The four men quickly positioned themselves; three of them pointed guns at the few customers, and one of these men stood outside the lingerie store.

Obviously, the barrel of an automatic pistol was pointed at the woman at the register, and consequently, we were also in the crosshairs.

Ochaco looked at me. I looked at her, signaling to her not to do anything stupid.

She didn't say anything; she just gently moved her hand, holding mine.

"You three go to that corner, along with the others." The bandit pointed to the corner of the store where there were other customers.

The corner he pointed to was close to the wall.

Letting out an internal sigh, I went to that corner, still holding Ochaco's hand, while the cashier girl followed us.

She probably gave up on pressing the button below the cashier, the same button that sends a silent warning to the police.

"All of you on your knees." The bandit, who was holding an AK-47, exclaimed.

I must admit this was impressive; After all, finding this type of weapon in Japan, which is a very strict country regarding the possession of firearms, is surprising to say the least, being as rare as finding a needle in a haystack.

Japan has always been a strict country when it comes to gun legislation. Since 1558, during the Ashikaga Shogunate, only samurai were allowed to possess swords. Even today, with quirks taking over the world, seeing an armed police officer is rarer than seeing a flying elephant.

That's why seeing a guy with a damn AK-47 in Japan is so surprising.

Still holding Ochaco's hand as I walked to where most of the customers were, I looked at the five bandits.

What caught my attention the most among them was the woman, as she was the only one who was unarmed.

She was a young woman of medium height, with brown eyes and long gray hair styled in dreadlocks. She wears a dark purple jumpsuit with gray and light purple-patterned sleeves, along with black boots.

The strangest thing was her hair; it looked like she could use it as a weapon at any moment.

Since this woman is silent, just observing, perhaps she is the leader.

As I was thinking about this, I heard a faint murmur from the people who were squatting on the ground.

"Why isn't anyone coming?"

"Damn! Maybe I should do something?"

"Don't be idiots; the basics of a robbery are not reacting."

"Well, at least I won't have to tell my husband that I spent all his money and had to get more money some other way."

"At least I won't die a virgin."

Ignoring the last two comments, I focused on the first question.

It really was very strange that no one from outside helped us; after all, people outside could easily hear what was happening here…

Unless they actually can't hear what's going on in this store.

With that thought, my eyes quickly pass through all the villains, until they fall on a man who seemed very focused, outside the store.

A quirk?!

I was sure that guy by the broken door had some quirk that isolated the place or something.

In the next second, I am pulled out of my thoughts.

"Nero-Kun!" Ochaco lowers my arm to make me kneel with her.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't even realize where or what situation I was in.

So I kneel down beside her so that no matter what the villains do, I have more than enough reaction time to protect her.

After all, she is the most important person in my life.

I looked at Ochaco, who didn't seem too nervous; she was almost completely calm. If it weren't for her eyes, which held a slight hint of panic, I would have thought she was actually on a picnic.

"You look better than I thought," I said it softly, and I admit her calmness made me curious.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She said this, almost whispering.

"I think a robbery followed by a kidnapping should be in the top 10 reasons to be a little worried."

"No! Nothing will happen to me, after all, I'm with you. She gave a big smile as she shrugged.

Cute.

Your trust in me is heavier than the world Atlas carried, you know?

I hate to admit it, but this blind trust she places in me makes me happy.

I said nothing; I just held her hand tightly.

Seeing that nothing was happening, the surrendered people began to raise their voices.

"Hush." One of the men shouted, raising his pistol and firing.

There was no reaction from the outside, showing that this area truly seemed to be isolated, but inside everyone was silent, trembling for their lives.

The woman with dreadlocks smiles mischievously and walks in front of us.

"We just want a few little things, and we'll be on our way. Just like you all, we are good citizens." She said this, winking at us.

I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes, as I don't think this would be in the top 10 things that would please a thief.

"Hey! Boss." The bandit, holding a pistol, exclaimed at the woman with dreadlocks.

"What?" She replied, placing her hand on her hip.

"I was thinking, how about you let me have fun with one of these teenagers in exchange for a pay cut?" Exclaimed the bandit, pointing to the women who were crouching.

I raised one of my eyebrows.

Seriously! Another cliché.

Even though I thought about it, I was still worried, since my Ochaco is a beautiful girl.

"You're disgusting, but that's okay." She shrugs.

"Excellent." He exclaimed happily. Then he looked at the women with a lust-filled gaze. He analyzes the women one by one until his gaze freezes at a particular point.

"You, the girl with blonde hair, come here; otherwise, the little girl here will cosplay as a dead person." He pointed the barrel of the gun at a girl, around 6 years old, who was holding her mother's hand.

"Tsk!" I heard a click on the tongue, and the blonde stood up.

Before I could see who the girl was, the voice of the man holding the AK-47 sounded.

"Boss, I want it too." The guy with the AK-47 pouted.

"OK! OK! Hurry up with your disgusting things." The girl with dreadlocks looked like she was starting to get annoyed.

"I want you." Unfortunately, he pointed in our direction, probably towards Ochaco, and without saying anything else pointed the gun at the little girl.

Tsk!

This time it was me who clicked my tongue. Ochaco, seeing that she could do nothing, raised her body slightly.

When I was ready to do something, the AK-47 guy's voice sounded again.

"Why are you getting up?" He said, pointing at Ochaco.

Ochaco was visibly confused.

The bandit sighed.

"Go back to your seat. What would I want with a girl? What I chose was this hot guy with black hair and golden eyes." The bandit said, pointing at me with the tip of his gun.

"What?!" I murmured in surprise.

"W-what?!" Ochaco exclaimed in surprise, but you could tell she wanted to laugh at this unusual situation.

Honestly, you have a really weird sense of humor.

"Are you going to get up, or am I going to have to blow this little girl's brains out?"

Seeing that I didn't have much of a choice here, I stood up, casting a deadly glare at Ochaco, who was holding her face to keep from laughing while apologizing with her eyes.

I let out a sigh. Even though the law is quite restricted in the use of quirks by civilians, apparently I'm going to have to break some laws.

Because I really don't want to be abused.