Chapter: Small Jobs
The Mission Board was finally full.
Not with high-level threats.
Not with destruction.
Just… small things.
Stolen goods.
Missing pets.
Street fights.
Disturbances.
Kaito stared at the board with disappointment.
"…this is it?"
Yoi chuckled. "What? You wanted another Death Blower?"
Kaito crossed his arms. "At least something exciting."
Ayu stood behind them.
"These missions matter."
Kaito sighed loudly. "Yeah, yeah…"
Ayu tapped one of the missions.
"Robbery in Sector 4. We start with that."
---
The store was small.
Half-broken glass.
A man holding a knife stood in front of the counter, shaking.
"Don't come closer!" he shouted.
The shopkeeper was terrified.
Shadow moved silently behind the man.
Ayu stepped forward calmly.
"Put the knife down."
"I said don't come closer!"
His hand trembled more.
Kaito whispered, "Should I knock him out?"
Ayu shook his head slightly.
"Not yet."
Ayu walked slowly toward the man.
"No sudden moves. No one here wants to hurt you."
The man's eyes were filled with fear.
Not anger.
Fear.
"I… I just need money…"
Ayu stopped a few steps away.
"You won't get it like this."
Shadow appeared behind the man silently.
Before the man could react—
He was disarmed.
Knife gone.
Pinned down.
Fight over.
No chaos.
No destruction.
Just control.
---
Next mission.
A small child crying near a broken building.
"My cat… it's stuck!"
Kaito looked up.
A tiny cat was stuck on a ledge.
He sighed.
"Seriously?"
Miko smiled. "I'll go."
She created a small golden platform and climbed up carefully.
The cat hissed at first.
Then calmed.
She brought it down safely.
The child hugged the cat tightly.
"Thank you!"
Miko smiled softly.
Ayu watched quietly.
---
Another mission.
Two men fighting in the street.
Yoi walked forward.
"Alright, break it up."
They ignored him.
Yoi fired a small shot between them.
The sound echoed.
Both froze.
"…we're done here," Yoi said calmly.
They ran.
Kaito laughed. "That was easy."
Milosevic noted something.
"Fear works faster than force."
Ayu didn't comment.
---
By evening, the team returned.
Tired.
Not from fighting.
But from doing things that didn't feel like "hero work."
Kaito dropped onto the couch.
"I'm more tired than the Death Blower fight."
Yoi smirked. "Because you had to think."
Miko sat quietly, smiling.
Shadow stood near the window again.
Milosevic updated the mission logs.
Ayu looked at all of them.
Then at the Mission Board.
Some tasks were completed.
Many still remained.
He spoke calmly.
"This is what most of our work will be."
Kaito groaned.
Ayu continued.
"If you only want big fights… you will miss the point."
Silence.
Miko said softly, "These felt… important."
Ayu nodded.
"Yes."
He looked at the team.
"Saving one person… matters just as much as saving a city."
Kaito didn't reply.
But he didn't argue either.
Outside, the city continued its normal life.
And for the first time…
The team understood that being a hero wasn't always about big battles.
Sometimes…
It was about small jobs no one else notices.