Hero of all Worlds- Dawn of a New Hero

After a hidden elevator to a secret hero air base and finding Pride's unique spacecraft, Kuro sat in the copilot's seat next to Pride who had shifted back to his regular form when his feet didn't fit the pedals. 

"Kuro my boy this might take a while" Pride warned. "I've never flown this thing alone before and I'm not sure I know how to fly." 

"Doesn't even have an owners manual" he grumbles under his breath. He must have done something because the engines roared to life at full power. The whole ship started vibrating. "SHIIIIIIT" Pride hissed in a foreign language. 

They hadn't even gotten off the runway yet but Kuro's first thought was, Oh is this how I'm gonna go? With my all time favorite hero, in a crashing alien spacecraft? "Let me see the controls; I might be able to help" Kuro panicked. 

Pride raised his hands off the control panels. Kuro had seen similar controls in games or on flight simulators. He gently eased off the throttle and the ship's vibrations grew weaker and the roar of the engines softened. "Can I?" Kuro asked before taking the controls.

"Of course," Pride nodded enthusiastically. "I have more experience as a copilot anyways." He smiled weakly, panic still frozen on his face. All Kuro could focus on was his hero's broken fanged smile.

Kuro gently eased the controls and they took off safely. Not quite gently, but at least safely. At one point Pride remembered how to turn on the auto pilot so they took a break as Pride walked him around the ship. From the outside, Kuro hadn't expected it to be so spacious in here. As Kuro marveled at the advanced technology and geeked out over space charts, Pride watched him with joy in his eyes. 

"How old is this ship, Pride?" Kuro wondered.

Pride scratched his chin. "I'm not quite sure, but it's been around at least since the first and seeing as it's an alien ship, she probably got it from somewhere. I wouldn't be surprised if it came from the same place as the meteors that gave us talents. Everything always seems to be connected."

Kuro looks across the main deck at Pride. Now whenever he heard the name, he didn't picture a poster or the image of the most famous hero in the world. He saw a hero, of course, but he also saw the skinny man in front of him. He saw the smile Pride always gave to the camera and pictured the first time he saw it in person at the hospital. But he also saw Pride's other smile, the one that smiled so wide Kuro thought his heart would break. The smile that Pride didn't show the world; one with a broken fang that not only showed bravery, but also endurance. Kuro didn't only see the shining, chiseled face the world saw, but also the sunken in eyes and harsh cheekbones of the aging man in front of him. 

And he realized just how long they'd known each other. It was less than half a year. 

"Pride?" Kuro asked. "Do you remember the first time we met?" 

"At the hospital right? Of course I do."

"Was it just chance that we met? You just happened to come by the hospital and I bet you didn't even get to visit all the kids there. And if I hadn't come back for my mom, I never would have been hurt so bad and you probably wouldn't have even gotten to know me. It's crazy how such a small thing..." Kuro trailed off. 

Pride closed the distance between him and where Kuro was sitting. Kuro looked dejected so Pride grabbed one of his hands, holding it tightly until Kuro's grey eyes met his. "Kiddo, me being there wasn't fate. Remember what I told you about Voice of the Stars. It called me there that day and led me directly to you. I knew I was being called to my successor. Guess the universe thought it was time for me to retire," he chuckled. "I wasn't sure about you. I didn't know if my calling would be wrong or not, but if you could believe it I stood outside the door to your room for almost 15 minutes. I asked for all the information about both you and your roommate because I didn't know who it would be."

"I was a mess." Pride's eyes drop from Kuro's. "Even when I saw you I wasn't sure. It feels weird to say this, but I'm actually kind of glad those villains attacked. You know why? Because the moment I saw you leap into action, all the churning thoughts and butterflies in my stomach were gone. As I was falling out the window, I knew that I was meant to find you. One way or another I would have found you eventually. You just happened to give me a pretty great first impression." He takes his other hand and ruffles Kuro's solid black mane. 

Kuro swallows back tears. "The first moment I saw you, I couldn't tell you'd been out there. I couldn't tell you were worried. Heck, I was stunned to see someone I admired so much right in front of me. I have the special edition 30th anniversary poster of you in my room. I was watching a video of you when you walked in the room. I think I about died right then and there. I was so worried about whether you'd like me, about my first impression." Kuro's voice breaks as he talks.

"Because honestly, you've never been like any other hero for me. Your strong morals and kindness above all else has been inspiring me since grade school. I talked back against bullies and other kids using their talents irresponsibly because it's what you'd do. When I was first diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, I asked if I could still be a hero. Because that's what you were and I wanted to be just like you." Kuro wiped away a tear. "When reality finally sank in, the only way my parents got me to stop crying was to put on videos of your greatest moments. And you know what I saw in those? I saw a hero smiling no matter the odds, no matter the gravity of the situation; a hero who smiled no matter how much he was afraid. So I started smiling too. Because I wanted to be as close to you as I could." 

Kuro was flat out bawling now, and Pride tenderly wrapped his arms around him. They stayed there for a few moments as the ship slowed to a hover above a deep crater scoring the savannah.