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Being a hero, a force of good, was a wonderful thing. However, it didn’t actually pay well. Spending time mastering skills that could save the world might look good on paper, but it didn’t have any marketable value in society. When the city’s most popular hero wasn’t fighting monsters and aliens, he was working the same side job like any ordinary citizen.
Heroes needed to make ends meet too. His good friend and roommate Laiha had been nagging him on this, and she brought up points that he could not refute. She was a very strict and responsible person, as well as scary when angered, so Riku has learned to never get on her bad side.
After bouncing around from a few part-time jobs here and there, Riku didn’t expect that he’d land a job as a babysitter to Mayu, Leito’s own daughter no less. The ever hardworking Leito was going on a business trip, while his wife was off to visit a sick relative back at her hometown for a few days, so they needed someone to watch over Mayu for the meantime. Riku was fairly good with kids, so he saw no problem with it. Besides, he was also well-acquainted with Mayu.
It couldn’t hurt to try, right? What could happen?
Rumina, Leito’s wife, had already prepared everything beforehand, including money, food, snacks and emergency contact numbers in case something happens. Although a bit worried, she knew that Riku was a good and capable lad. Mayu has taken quite a liking to him.
“Mayu, Riku-kun is here to play,” Leito announced.
Riku stepped into her room, walking up to the little girl before squatting down in front of her. “Mayu-chan, I’ll be in your care for the next few days.”
Mayu nodded cheerfully. “Let’s have fun, Riku onii-chan!”
“What are you drawing?” Riku asked, leaning over her table. “Can I see?”
Mayu slid the paper over. It had a picture of what appeared to be an Ultraman, Leito and a rainbow over it.
“Wow! This is really good!” Riku complimented. “Is this Zero?”
Twin tails bobbled as Mayu nodded quickly. “Zero-san and Papa get along pretty well. But Papa looks weird when he talks to Zero-san. It’s like he’s crazy.” She giggled.
Leito let an awkward cough. “I-I’m not… It’s just how I communicate with him, okay? Besides, Zero-san is not here right now.” He cleared his throat and tried to compose himself. “Well, then Riku-kun… I’ll leave everything to you. Please take care of Mayu.”
“Don’t worry, Leito-san,” Riku assured, placing a fist over his chest. “You can count on me.”
00000
The first two days went on smoothly without a hitch. Mayu was a well-behaved little girl who didn’t give Riku any trouble whatsoever. They had played dolls, watched cartoons, made drawings and ate delicious snacks her mother left for them.
The morning on the 3rd day, Riku was planning on taking Miyu to the park as he finished setting the table for breakfast. Wondering if the little girl was awake, he strode over to her room and knocked on the door. “Mayu-chan, are you awake?”
“Hm. I’m awake, Onii-chan. You can come in.”
With her permission, Riku opened the door and saw her seated on the edge of the bed. She had a photo album on her lap. “Good morning, Mayu-chan. What do you have there?”
“Pictures of my family,” she answered happily, pointing at certain photo. “Lookie! Lookie! This is me when I was a baby.”
Riku took a seat beside her and took a good look. “Baby Mayu-chan is so cute!” She looked no more than a month old.
Mayu giggled. “And this is me with Papa!”
Indeed, there was the photo of Leito carrying his infant daughter in his arms. He was beaming so brightly and with pride. No doubt that Mayu’s birth was one of his happiest days. The album contained a lot of their important family moments. Seeing Leito and Mayu so happy together in those photos somehow made his heart ache with longing. Leito had been with Mayu ever since she was born. He was always there for her, while Riku never experienced the love of a father.
“Mayu-chan, you love your father very much, right?”
Mayu nodded without any ounce of hesitation. “Yes, I really love him! He’s the best! What about you, Onii-chan?”
“Eh? Me?” Riku was taken aback by the question and hesitated, flicking his gaze away from Mayu. “I… Well…”
Confusion found its place on the little girl’s face. “Onii-chan, you don’t love your father?”
“Yes, uh, no… um…” He was at a loss for words as the image of his father filled his mind. How should he explain to a child that his father was the Ultraman of Darkness, Belial? “You see, it’s complicated.”
“Huh?” She tilted her head in confusion. “You don’t get along with your father?”
“Well, you could say that… We can’t see eye to eye.”
“So… You hate him?”
“No, I don’t—" Riku cut himself off, surprised by the words that came out almost automatically. His father was a villain, an enemy who nearly destroyed the universe. He has caused pain and destruction to countless beings. He even used his own son as a pawn for his plans. Riku had every right to hate him, to detest him with his whole heart, so why couldn’t he?
The little girl grew concerned. “Onii-chan, are you all right? Did I say something bad?”
Snapping out of his thoughts, Riku threw a smile to reassure her. “No, you didn’t. Don’t worry. I was just thinking of my father. Anyway…” He stood up and pumped his arms. “How about we go to the park today?”
Mayu immediately became excited. “The park? Yay! Let’s go!”
“But breakfast first, okay?”
“Okay!” Mayu set the album aside and ran off to the kitchen first.
Riku let out a sigh, rubbing his neck in thought. “If my father was more like Leito-san…” He let those words trail off and shook his head. “I should stop thinking of that. Must focus on Mayu-chan!”
This was by far the most satisfying and relaxing job he had ever got, and he thought he could take easy before the parents come home from their respective trips.
Unfortunately, the universe always find ways to screw you over.
00000
With breakfast done and Mayu all dressed-up, they locked up the apartment and went on their way out of the building, where they run into one of the neighbors. She was a housewife who was good friends with Rumina.
“Oh, Riku-kun, are you taking Mayu-chan out today? Going shopping?”
“Ah, actually to the park,” Riku replied.
“Is that so? Well, I just heard a crazy rumor yesterday. My husband’s colleague saw some weirdo lurking in the park.”
“Eh? Some weirdo?” That certainly set off some warning bells in his head.
“Says he’s been approaching kids… So creepy! You better keep a close eye on Mayu-chan, okay?”
Riku nodded. “Don’t worry, I will. Thank you for the warning.” He then looked down at Mayu, who was holding his hand. “Let’s go, Mayu-chan.”
Of course, the rumor about a weirdo in the park didn’t leave Riku’s mind, and he’d been vigilant enough to keep a close eye on Mayu while she played. There weren’t other kids around, so Mayu had the playground all to herself. He helped her make sand castles and pushed her on the swing before she spent some time on the slides and playset.
After some time, Riku was starting to crave for snacks. Luckily, there was a food truck selling crepes located along the path to the playground.
“Mayu-chan, would you like a crepe? I’ll go buy some.”
“I want choco banana!” Mayu answered, raising her hand high in an excited manner.
“All right. I’ll be right back. Just remember to not go anywhere I can’t see you. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand, Onii-chan.”
With a smile, he gave her a fond head pat and walked off to the food truck. He still kept an eye on her as he approached, only taking a moment to look at the menu. There were a variety of flavors to choose from, but he immediately locked on to Mayu’s preferred one and ordered two. He glanced over to Mayu again and saw her climbing up the slide. No other people were around. So far, so good, not a weirdo in sight.
When the crepes were all done, he turned to the server to grab them. They looked incredibly delicious. He was sure Mayu would love it too. As he turned to the playground, however, Mayu was nowhere in sight. He blinked in confusion. “Mayu-chan…?” He hastened his steps, letting his eyes roam. He looked behind the slides and fountain, thinking she might be playing hide and seek, but she wasn’t there.
“Mayu-chan, where are you? I have your crepe! You can come out now!” He felt a slight panic start in his chest.
This wasn’t good. Leito and Rumina would have his head. He needed to find Mayu fast.
Riku’s anxiety grew as he searched frantically around the vicinity. He was almost in people’s faces, asking them desperately, while still holding the crepes in his hands. “Have you seen a little girl with pigtails?”
He was met with shake of the head.
“Excuse me, have you seen a child?”
Another no.
“Has anyone seen Mayu-chan?!”
“Eh? Weren’t you just with her a while ago?” A kind-looking middle-aged man asked him.
“What?”
“Unless that was your twin? Your clothes are the same too.”
Twin? Same clothes? The gears in Riku’s mind started turning. There was no doubt about it. Someone had impersonated him and kidnapped Mayu. Now he has all the more reason to worry. “Wait, sir! Where did you see my look-alike?”
The Oji-san pointed him to the direction where he last seen them, and Riku immediately set off.
00000
“Onii-chan, are we there yet? You said we were getting ice cream instead,” Mayu said, tugging at Riku’s hand.
“We’re almost there, okay?”
“But this isn’t the way to the ice cream shop at all.”
“We’re just taking a detour.”
“Detour? This way is longer though, so why…?”
“Because I said so!” The voice that came out harsh and no longer sounded like Riku.
Of course, this frightened the little girl. “I…I want to go home now,” Mayu told him, her eyes almost close to tears.
“No, you’re coming with me!” he exclaimed, gripping her hand so tightly that it started to hurt.
“Onii-chan, stop! You’re hurting me!” she squirmed and struggled, but his grasp on her was too strong. “Let me go! Let go!”
“Damn, you’re so annoying!” This guy’s voice sounded way rougher now. His form had completely changed too, no longer human. "This is why I hate kids! If you weren’t an Ultra’s daughter, I wouldn’t have bothered!”
Mayu took one look at his true form and screamed. “You’re not Onii-chan! Someone help! Riku onii-chan!”
“Don’t be so stubborn or else I’ll eat you!”
“I’m not going with you!” She bit into his hand hard, causing him to let go, but she lost her balance in the process and fell on her butt.
“Why you little brat!” He was about to hit her when all of a sudden—
“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING TO MY DAUGHTER!?”
BAM!
One moment the strange creature was looming over the child, the next he was sent flying over a pile of garbage.
At this very second, Riku arrived at the scene, crepes in tow. “Mayu-chan!” he called out, only to be taken aback by a certain someone’s presence. “Eh? Leito-san? You’re back already—” He cut himself off, sensing something different about him. “No way… That you Zero?”
Leito flicked a thumb across his lips. “Hmph. The one and only. Leito’s work finished earlier than expected and he wanted to surprise Mayu. But then I found this scum trying to kidnap my daughter.”
“Um, Mayu is my daughter,” the real Leito inside spoke up.
Zero let out a shrug. “Same difference.”
“Papa!” Mayu clung onto her father, letting relief wash over her.
“Hey there, Mayu, you’re all right now,” Zero told her, ruffling her little head. “Why don’t you go over to Riku for a bit? He’s got your crepe.”
Mayu nodded and went over to Riku, who knelt down to her level and expressed his apology. “Mayu-chan, I’m so sorry. I should not have let you out of my sight,” he said sincerely, blaming himself for what happened.
She shook her head. “It wasn’t Onii-chan’s fault. It was the bad alien,” she assured him before addressing the crepe. “Is that choco banana?”
“Oh, um, yup! Here you go!”
Zero cracked his knuckles, his body oozing with menacing aura enough, as he approached the hideous alien squirming in the thrash.
“You! You’re really Zero?!” the Alien uttered, slowly backing away.
“You’re 20,000 too early to mess with my kid.”
“Zero-san, she’s my kid!” Leito inside chimed in.
“Same either way!”
“Wait!” the Alien pleaded.
“And you have the audacity to try and hit her? I’ll show you no mercy.” Zero’s voice dripped with venom.
“Stop! I give—” Not a second too soon, the alien’s screams rented the air. “Noooooo!!!!”
00000
The kidnapper was beaten up to a pulp before AIB came to arrest him. Mayu and Riku had already finished their crepes by then, and were on their way back to the apartment with Leito.
Mayu was happily skipping right next to her father, who kept a good hold of her hand. “Papa, you and Zero-san were really, really cool!”
Leito chuckled, a bit embarrassed by the compliment.
“Um, Leito-san, I’m really sorry for what happened,” Riku apologized, letting his shoulder slump and his head hang in a gesture of regret and shame. “Turns out I’m not fit to be a babysitter after all.”
“No, Onii-chan didn’t do anything wrong!” Mayu cut in immediately to defend Riku. “It was that bad alien’s fault. He copied Onii-chan! Papa, don’t get mad at him!”
“Don’t worry, Mayu, papa is not mad at Riku,” Leito said sincerely. “More importantly… Did you have fun with him while I was away?”
“Of course! Onii-chan’s the best!” Mayu replied cheerfully, and Riku felt his heart lighten up. “He took good care of me, gave me snacks, read me bedtime stories, and played dolls with me!” She reached out and took Riku’s hand to make a point. “Papa, I want him to be my sitter next time too! Can he please?”
“Mayu…” Leito saw the sparkle in his daughter’s eyes and the sweetest of smiles on her lips. He glanced at Riku for a moment, then back at Mayu again. He gave her a smile and nodded his head. “Of course, Mayu, he definitely can… as long as he wants to?”
Riku blinked in surprise when Mayu quickly looked up at him. “Onii-chan, how about it?”
Riku couldn’t really say no to that adorable face now, can he? He let out a big smile for her and said, “Sure, anything for you, Mayu-chan!”
“Hooray!”
“Thank you, Riku-kun,” Leito said. “Ah, but let’s keep this a secret from Rumina-san, okay? She might freak out if she knew what happened.”
Both Riku and Mayu raised their right hand and nodded.
Later that night, Riku joined the father and daughter for dinner, and had a lot of fun talking. Zero would occasionally quipped in, much to Leito’s own amusement, and he even played games with Mayu while Riku did the dishes. Recalling the events earlier, Riku couldn’t help but be amazed by Zero’s affection for Mayu. He was able to tell that Zero’s fatherly instincts to protect Mayu kicked into overdrive.
Leito had clearly rubbed off on Zero, whether he’d like to admit it or not. Riku made a mental note to tell Ultra Seven when they’ll meet again.
After Mayu went to bed, Riku and Leito sat in the living room and had tea. It had been quite a day for them.
“I hope Mayu wasn’t a handful while I was away.”
“Oh, no, she was an angel. I really enjoyed my time with her.”
“Mayu spoke highly of you too. She really likes you, Riku-kun.”
Riku blushed slightly, scratching at the pink on his cheek with a finger. “Not as much as she likes you, Leito-san. She told me just how much she adores you. Mayu-chan is really lucky to have you as a father.”
Leito felt touched by his words, but he also felt kind of sad for Riku. He was well-aware of Riku’s origins and heritage. The seed of his father’s sins, implanted at his birth, had been quite the burden to bear for young Riku, and although he may have hated his father at first, it seemed to have faded after his final fight with him.
Zero did mention to him that that the longing of a son enabled Riku to see past Belial’s actions and have the compassion to try and understand him.
“You know… Mayu asked me if I hated my father.”
Both Leito and Zero perked up at that.
“And I realized that I don’t hate him, just sad for him,” Riku admitted hesitantly. “Weird, right? I know I should hate him…” He shook his head in dismay. “I’m so sorry, Leito-san, Zero… I shouldn’t have mentioned this. I wish I could get rid of these feelings.”
Leito let out a sigh, placing a hand on Riku’s shoulder, but Riku kept his gaze down. “No father is perfect. We screw up, hurt feelings, and have weaknesses. They have all kinds of sides to them, Riku, and some sides are messed up.” He squeezed his shoulder firmly yet gently. “Your father is still your father. You don’t need to push your feelings aside, thinking you’ll get over them. You may not. The point is to make room for it, live with it.”
Riku looked up, surprised yet touched by his words, and was met with Leito’s sincere smile. “Leito-san…”
“Don’t minimize your feelings or your right to your feelings.”
His gaze softened, and his mouth curved into a smile. The ponderous weight on his heart had lifted. “Thank you very much, Leito-san.”
A little while later, after bidding Riku goodbye, Zero couldn’t help but express his gratitude towards Leito.
“Thanks… for what you did,” Zero almost said in a murmur. He was a bit flustered, but he tried not to show it. “He needed to hear that.”
“Zero-san, you really care for Riku-kun, huh?” Leito decided to tease him a bit. “You’re actually a big softie.”
“Huh?! What the hell are you saying? I’m no softie!” Zero retorted.
Leito chuckled. “But Riku-kun…No, Geed is an important friend, right?”
“Well…of course he is…” Zero shrugged. “That’s why I can’t leave him alone.”
Leito perceived that Zero seemed embarrassed, but he knew how much he cared. “So, um, any reason why you’re back on Earth?”
“Eh? Uh, no particular reason.”
“Really? No mission or something like that?”
“Nope, nothing.”
“Don’t tell me Zero-san is slacking off?”
“I’m not a slacker! Is it bad that I wanna see my daughter— Ah!” Zero immediately shut his mouth tight. He never meant to let that out.
Leito figured the reason would be something like that and giggled. “Just so you know, Mayu is my daughter.”
“CLOSE ENOUGH!”