Viridian: The Green Guide

Chapter 13: Problem Child

Shouta couldn't help playing with the marble Viridian had thrown at him earlier as he sat by Tsukauchi's desk after his shift. The kid was smart, making the marbles pull triple duty as a way to call heroes, ammo, and a sort of makeshift signature. Viridian would be a popular and effective hero if he'd just get off the streets and into a hero program, but first, he'd have to learn how to take better care of himself, because he really shouldn't be on the streets the night after he was almost killed.

The kid must have an insane pain tolerance to be out and fighting so soon. The only indication that Viridian had been injured at all was a moderately slower running speed and a slight stiffness when he twisted, but he hadn't let it hold him back as he fought. Shouta didn't know if Viridian had broken his ribs, or just bruised them, but the kid shouldn't be so used to working through the pain. He also shouldn't be used to hiding his injuries. Shouta wasn't even sure the problem child had been doing it consciously, because the way the kid had been doing it instinctively, like pretending he was fine was a habit he'd developed after years of practice.

And wasn't that concerning? Viridian's obviously high pain tolerance and tendency to hide his injuries were just the latest entries in a disturbingly long list of concerns that Shouta had about the kid. He ran straight into danger when the most intelligent thing to do was run away, and if there was one thing Shouta knew, it was that Viridian wasn't stupid. He'd known the kid was smart just from the way he'd memorized everyone's patrol routes and that intelligence had only been confirmed by the way he targeted any weakness he could in his target's defenses.

But then he'd seen the notebook.

The kid was probably a genius and Nedzu would be salivating if he'd had a chance to read what Shouta had, and yet the kid insisted he wasn't smart. At first, Shouta had assumed he was joking, but the more he thought about the conversation they'd had earlier, the more he realized that Viridian honestly believed what he'd said. Shouta didn't know if he even wanted to think about what must have happened in Viridian's life to convince the kid that he was an idiot despite his obvious skills and that was even more true if he had an analysis quirk.

Which brought Shouta back to his list of concerns. If the kid thought he was stupid despite his intelligence, what other lies did he beleive? Did he somehow think he was worthless? Did he think that his life was worth less than the lives of the people he saved? Shouta thought back to the fight with the crab villain. Viridian hadn't thought twice about giving up his weapons so Shouta could fight more effectively, and then the first thing he'd done after the fight was ask if Shouta was ok, with no regard for his own safety or well being.

It was like Viridian had decided in that moment that it was ok if he died, as long as Shouta lived.

He stared at the marble again, seeing how the green and black swirled together. Was the kid....?

"Oh! You got one too!"

Shouta flinched as Amplifier's overly peppy voice practically yelled behind him and he almost dropped the marble. As it was, he fumbled it and only just managed to palm it before it rolled onto the floor.

He turned to glare at Amplifier, who smiled sheepishly at him, "Sorry..."

"What do you guys have?" Tsukauchi asked as he walked up with paperwork and coffee.

"Viridian's got a new calling card!" Amplifier grinned and dug around in her pockets before triumphantly showing Tsukauchi a green marble identical to the one Shouta had almost dropped. "He's started throwing these instead of rocks so that we know it's him."

Tsukauchi frowned at the marble, then turned to Shouta, "And you have one too?"

Shouta sighed and showed Tsukauchi his marble. Honestly, he wouldn't be surprised if the marbles became a badge of honor among the local heroes. He could see them turning into a sort of membership card for an exclusive club of heroes Viridian trusted even though Viridian went to heroes based on availability, not trust or competence. Still, he wouldn't put it beyond his colleagues to start collecting them.