It had been about two weeks since he’d made his debut as Real Steel. As a U.A. student, all of the training and challenges he’d endured had been for this goal: Getting his provisional license.
Now that he’d established a routine patrol under the tutelage of the ‘Shield Hero’, Crust, Tetsutetsu was feeling a lot more comfortable and in his element. He didn’t let the familiarity mislead him into believing there was nothing to be on the lookout for- However.
Since All Might’s retirement, the inner city crime rates displayed a visible increase in activity. More and more small time thugs and criminals felt it was the right time to emerge from the shadows, even organizing into strong teams with compatible Quirks. The Police had enacted curfews and raised awareness about looking out for neighbors and coworkers, emphasizing not to travel alone, if possible.
It just didn’t feel... safe, anymore.
Frowning as he rounded the corner of a small alleyway near a residential district, a sudden chorus of raised and panicked voices snapped him out of his silent brooding. Tetsutetsu immediately broke out into a steady run, dodging pedestrians and bellowing out for the clustered groups of civilians to move aside.
Glancing through the large window panels of a local grocer and convenience store, he mentally noted the positions of what looked like amateur burglars. They were wearing crude fabric masks and stuffing the contents of all the registers into dirtied pillow cases, nerves clearly making them visibly jumpy.
This was bad. Really bad, if they actually got set off enough to use their weapons, then the customers still trapped inside could get seriously injured- or worse.
Gritting his teeth, he kept low to ground and ducked behind some shelving units, using the narrow aisles as cover to get closer to the two thieves waving handguns around at the front of the store. He clenched both hands into fists and activated his Quirk, flesh and bone shifting into thick and durable metal.
Leaping out from behind the corner of a senbei display, he charged at the nearest shoplifter and roughly tackled him to the ground, both of their arms twining and shoving in order to seize the firearm that had been dropped in the process. Tetsutetsu’s heart leapt into his throat when the man struggling beneath him managed to get a good grip on the butt of the pistol, but his arm shot out and grabbed the barrel before it could be pointed in his face.
With a roar, he tightened the vice-like grip of his fingers, effectively ruining the functionality of the handgun’s slide action. His opponent couldn’t fire off any rounds without risking possible damage to his own hand and face, so the firearm was essentially forgotten in the ongoing struggle. Rearing an arm back, he pummeled the masked man’s jaw and nose, the impact of the last solid hit making his head bounce against the linoleum flooring.
The second male tried to make a break for it, shoulderchecking the nearest ‘employees only’ door open as he ran. As much as he wanted to chase the guy down, he needed to secure the the limbs of the burglar he’d just put out of commission... Luckily, there was an entire drawer full of black plastic zip ties behind one of the counters.
The sound a whimpering caught his attention, Tetsutetsu dusting off his hands as he stood up from his kneeling position on the ground. There was a small child cradled within the trembling arms of an elderly woman, both of their wide and fearful eyes trained upon the freshly recruited hero who had arrived on the scene.
“Are you two okay? Nobody’s hurt?” he asked, jogging over to their hiding place under a fruit stand filled with honeydew melon.
Much to his chagrin, they both began screaming and cowering at the mere sight of his burly frame approaching.
“H-hey, it’s all right! I’m here to help protect you from the bad guys, okay? Don’t be afraid-” he tried to explain, making calming gestures to show he wasn’t about to inflict any harm upon either of the pair.
