Seijo Teiko, but not really

“Late again? Honestly, after the past week thought you had a few minutes free to spend time with me,” Sera said into her phone, a small frown on her face. It was a bit hard to hold a conversation, with the amount of pedestrians walking besides her, doing their daily errands.

“It isn’t my fault Sera, you know it isn’t. It’s just, I’m deep into this investigation right now and we’re so close to catching this guy,” he explained to her, and Sera understood what he was saying and everything about it, didn’t mean she was all too pleased with it.

“It’s our anniversary Seijo, remember?” Four years, they had been married for four years. It was a tradition of some sorts for them to celebrate it every year with something grand. So many of her fellow friends complained about their husbands forgetting their anniversaries and Sera was thankful for not experiencing the same.

Say all you will about him, Seijo was an amazing husband. One that many girls had dreamed of marrying when they were little. A knight in shining armor if you will, with how he positively brought joy and happiness in her life.

“How would I ever forget?” Seijo said, and Sera could almost imagine the man wiggling his eyebrows as he delivered a line that made her forget the reason why she was even mad with him in the first place.

The keyword being ‘almost', she was still pissed with him.

“Where are you now?” Sera asked him, trying her best to hold three plastic bags with her right hand holding her phone to her ear. Maybe he was close by, and she could hopefully surprise him with a little kiss while he was working.

“Close by I think, in fact, look up.” She craned her head upwards and stared up at the evening sky. It was a relatively clear day, and by the time she had finished her grocery shopping, the sun had almost completely gone over the horizon, with only a few stray rays of light being visible to her. There was nothing in the sky other than a few birds, with no sign of him anywhere.

Where was he? Did he just play some kind of practical joke on her? Unforgivable, men.

“I meant look in front of you, but only slightly upwards. Why would I tell you to look at the sky? I’m not All Might.” Sera could hear his jovial laughter as she resisted the urge to slap her forehead from stupidity.

In front of her was a row of apartment complexes, with the largest of which being several meters tall. It absolutely towered over her and, by extension, the whole street, casting a large shadow.

And indeed, Sera could see something or perhaps it was someone at a distance, waving to her on top of one of those large apartment complexes.

From where she was, Sera could barely make out the figure. Tall, probably one hundred and eighty centimeters in height, probably weighed approximately seventy kilograms and forgot to take out the trash today.

It was her no-use husband up there, and even from here, Sera could see as clear as day the grin on his face as he held out his fingers in a peace motion at her.

“I hate you so much,” she said, smiling to herself. “Why are you up there in the first place?”

“I’m a bird,” he said, his faraway shadow flapping his arms up and down. “It’s normal for birds to be on top of buildings.”

“Are you seriously trying to use your Quirk to convince me that you’re a bird?” Sera asked him, looking at her husband in the distance. “Cause if so, it’s not working.”

He laughed, practically wheezing at his poor attempt of comedy. One thing Seijo wasn’t good at, it was making jokes. “Curse you Yukimori, I’ll get you next time.”

“There’s not gonna be a next time if you don’t answer my question.” She made sure her tone conveyed exactly what would be dealt to him later that night if he continued his jokes.

And thankfully, for him at least, Seijo valued his life above all else and decided that perhaps being a bird wasn’t all that worth it. “They say a falcon can spot prey from miles away on top of a large tree. Perhaps I can do the same, standing on top of this building over here.”

“For the last time, Seijo. I created binoculars for you, use them for god’s sake. How many times do I have to remind you to not act like some dumb action hero up on that building?” She was practically livid, yelling into her phone. Loud enough for the pedestrians around her to take note of the busy woman's private struggle.

"Oh, my sweet little drama queen." A chuckle echoed out through the phone. "Are you claiming that I am not an action hero?" The miniature silhouette stood tall with arms spread wide atop the building. "I bet a pretty penny I could soar my way to you right now and scoop you up in my arms."

Sera humored her husband's, albeit stupid, bit. "Is that so?" She had a bag holding hand on her hip. "While watching you jump to your **** would make for one hell of an anniversary gift, let me place something other than money on that bet."

"Wow... So the ever beautiful and intelligent love of my life wants me to jump. How am I supposed to process this newfound discovery?" He continued with his bit, placing a hand on his chest that even though Sera couldn’t see, she could vividly imagine the action due to how many times he did the same thing at home. “Very well, I shall humor one of your wishes, what do you want?”

"One wish huh,” hummed Sera through closed lips. "I wish for you to return home with me to spend our anniversary right and proper?"

She loved that man, she really did. She loved him to the deepest corner and crevice of her core. But goddamn could the guy be the most stubborn person alive. His ruggedness when it came to putting down evil and finishing a task at hand was admirable. Adorable even!

It reminded her of herself, a little bit. The determination and drive to complete what was ahead of her were one of the many things the two had in common.

Sera, being a woman of science and academics, always strived to finish a project or solve an equation in the best way possible.

And Seijo, being a man of intelligence and cunningness, always strived to cheat off of her during a test.

Even with four years of them being married and several more dating, she truly didn’t understand his inner thought process sometimes.

Why would Seijo sign up for an investigation if he knew it was absolutely going to interfere with unskippable events in his life.

Events like their four-year anniversary!

To think that this man was the ranked number 6th Hero in the world, who’d have thought?

"Seijo, I was hoping... I was just.. Well, I hoped this day could just be us." The woman sighed. Her love for her husband would never falter, but she still had to make her obvious disappointment apparent. "It’s our fourth anniversary, and you know how little we get to see each other these days.”

“I’m sorry Sera, it’s just.” It was one of those rare times that Seijo spoke without any humor in his voice. It was quite the drastic change, with the only times he had ever used it was when he confessed to her, and when he proposed. “I’m supposed to protect the people, serve them, give them a source of hope during these dark times.”

Those words, Sera remembered them so very well. They were a mantra of some sorts for him, with Seijo repeating those very same words everytime he was going into battle.

To remind him of his responsibilities.

To remind him what was on the line.

To remind him of what he lived for.

Saving people, bringing a smile to their faces.

Despite what he just said earlier, Sera could see Seijo possibly becoming the next All Might if he truly wanted it. Seijo, unlike All Might, disliked the attention he got as a Pro Hero, and wanted to be left alone more often than not.

“I’m sorry, Sera,” he said, his regret laden voice a pain to hear. “But I have to do this, for us.”

Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down. “You know I can’t get mad at you when you say it like that.” She pouted slightly, frowning as she hovered towards the ‘end call’ button. “Make sure you don’t come back late, I don’t want to have a cold dinner alone.”

"My my... Sera I..."

*Click*

Sera tapped off the call. She just knew he'd attempt to swoon her over with his lovely charming idiocy. And more than likely, the intelligent woman would fall for it. Now was her time to be upset, really it was her right.

For once in her life, she wanted her husband to put aside his hero life to spend some alone time with her, particularly with a nice dinner that would probably end up with some snuggling on the couch, she wasn’t all that picky.

A hand suddenly tapped her shoulder, and Sera suddenly froze up as her walking slowed to a stop. Her fingers itched towards her purse, where she knew she had a high voltage taser she carried around in case anyone wanted to go harass the wife of a Pro Hero.

Her finger was already a few milliseconds away from pressing the trigger of her taser. With the speed of a hawk, Sera turned to her side expecting to see a rabid fan, but instead of that, she saw someone that she didn’t know.

Decked out in colorful spandex with a solid logo in the middle, Sera could imagine that he wouldn’t look too out of place from a circus. Other than the previously mentioned gaudy costume, he held out a phone in his left hand and a wooden basket of some sort.

"Excuse me, miss?” the mystery person said, holding out his hands above him as Sera quickly took out her taser. "I-I’m with Mister Anonymous, h-he asked me to give you this.” This person she had never met before held out the phone in his left hand.

Sera stared at it, half expecting something to happen. Perhaps a building would explode or something. But after a few seconds of....nothing happening, she picked it up and brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" She said, knowing who was on the other side. If it was some prank or something someone was doing to her, she was going to be so pissed off.

And indeed, Sera could feel her anger flare up as she heard the familiar sound of her husband’s voice once again. "Hey my beautiful genius. You miss me? Have you figure it out yet?"

With the utmost ****, Sera turned around. She looked back up to the large apartment complex and spotted her normal-looking husband, at the same spot he was before, sitting with his legs swinging off the side of the building.

"Figured out how much of a fucking idiot you are?" She had a hint of disdain in her voice, but it went uncommented by Seijo.

"It's not my fault; you fell in love with me!" He defended himself, with Sera being able to see him raise his arms to accentuate what he just said but accidentally dropping his phone on his lap. "That choice was entirely on you."

Sera frowned, her finger hovering the ‘end call’ button for the second time that day. "Seijo-"

"It's normal for you to smile! After all, It's our anniversary! Have you forgotten?"

The frown on her face stuttered and flickered. First, from a frown, then to a passive line and up into a half-smile. Sera shook her head and tapped the side of her ear. "Have you forgotten you can't use your quirk on me? And also how could you tell I was frowning from up there?"

From here, Sera could see he was holding something metal in his hands. "You made me some binoculars didn’t you? Why would I not use them? My wonderful wife creates the most useful inventions, I’d reckon." Sera's mouth opened to retort in frustration about when he insisted he didn’t have the earlier, but she closed her lips and thought out her words before she said them.

It had always touched her heart in a special way to see him put her many devices to use. Even still, he wouldn't get her defenses lowered that easily. She wasn’t that easily swayed by his simple yet charming words.

“Why do all this?” Sera asked, her voice getting louder than before. She pointed a finger to the man standing beside her, who was scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “Who even is this person?”

“Oh, that’s Derek. Say hi Derek.” The man beside her, who was apparently named ‘Derek,’ waved awkwardly at her. “He’s one of my many sidekicks. Anyways, aren’t you glad that I put this much effort into pleasing you even though I can’t come to dinner tonight?”

Well, if this was the amount of effort he was putting in, then it was actually quite sweet, if you could excuse the appearance of Derek and the fact that they were talking on the phone instead of face-to-face.

"Well, that's nice I guess,” Sera lied as effortlessly as she breathed. “But I'm going to go home now, call me when you're actually ready to spend time together. And don't send any more of your sidekicks after me." She hung up the call, rather forcibly, and returned the borrowed phone.

But Derek interrupted her again before she could step away. "Uh, miss! Your husband would like you to have this basket." He motioned to the basket he held, which was apparently full of flowers, orchids, to be specific.

"My god, Seijo," Sera cursed out as she pushed the basket far away from her. "Just, throw those away. I don’t want them."

"Please miss," The man insisted, shoving the basket towards her gently. "He really wants you to take this."

"And I really want to spend the day with him. And look how that fucking turned out." She crossed her arms below her chest. "Guess we both see the importance of this day differently."

"Miss, he wants you to take this basket and read the letter inside." Derek held his outstretched arm towards Sera, where she eyed a folded envelope hidden between a couple of intertwined purple orchids. "Please, just trust him."

"Fine." More to get the man off her back, Sera swiped the basket from his hands. "I'll read it once he gets back home."

Derek nodded, mumbling something into an earpiece and had left without a sound, disappearing from the area as silently as he had came.

Making sure that nobody was watching, Sera threw away the basket of flowers into the nearest trash bin she could find, making sure that it was placed right at the bottom of the bin. The letter, she kept in her purse.

If Seijo wanted her to read it, she’d do so when he’s dead after Sera killed him for not celebrating their anniversary.

Yes, sweet sweet ****. She could almost smile.

Almost.

---

Sera stared at herself in the mirror, wiping it slightly to make sure that it wasn’t in any way distorted. Once it was completely clean, she stepped back slightly and examined herself.“Yeah, it totally fit.” It didn’t, but she didn’t want to admit that. Who’d want to?

The sleeveless black dress fit her snugly, almost too snugly in fact. It practically suffocated her waist, forcing her to breathe in a slight way to avoid a very young **** due to asphyxiation. It was a charming dress however, and so that outweighed what was previously mentioned.

Fashion was more important than breathing, was a philosophy she lived by.

‘Seijo’s gonna love this,’ she thought for an instant but then immediately slapped herself.

Fuck Seijo. He was too busy to come home, and therefore didn’t deserve her dressing up for him. Yes, that was true.

And with this in mind, instead of the very uncomfortable and very expensive black dress she had bought at a branded clothing store specifically for this day, Sera changed into a very comfortable and very cheap t-shirt and sweatshirt she had found at a thrift store.

In actuality, she preferred the latter pick—fuck philosophy.

“I’m off Kuro,” Sera said to her black tabby kitten, kissing it on the forehead as she made sure to lock the door on her way out. She triple-checked her purse, making sure that her taser and many more inventions were in their usual spots.

After reloading the ammo of her pistol, Sera slowly made her way to the location where they had decided, weeks ago, where they would spend their four year anniversary.

Plans change, and outfits along with them. Seijo had already paid and booked the entire restaurant just for this night, to provide them privacy during their big night.

The owner of the restaurant, an Italian man, named Lio Gallo, was a victim of a hit and run but was saved when Seijo arrived. To repay his favour, the man had allowed them to eat for free anytime they entered to which the both of them had politely declined.

Lio was a good friend to her, so he would probably understand if she were to enter the restaurant without Seijo. Probably bring her a couple glasses of wine if she started to vent to him.

“I love you Chika, with all my heart.”

“Haruto! Stop!” Que a glowing-red blush. “Y- You shouldn’t say such things in public! I’m getting embarrassed.”

“Why would you be? It’s true.”

“Haruto..”

Geeze. That transaction had her feeling awkward for just hearing it.

Sera made some effort to mask her silent gagging with a cough as she walked alongside a young couple. Young love, puppy love, whatever you want to call it, was a bit cringe.

Not that she was jealous or anything, if they wanted to do that, they should have done it in private instead of right next to a very cranky adult.

She was probably walking for fifteen minutes... Probably... However long the trek, her soft and comfortable shoes were killing her.

The life Sera created for herself involved more technology than it did manual labor. So, yes- She tends to get tired much quicker during tasks that don't include the muscle that is her brain.

Sera looked around her surroundings, taking a little breather at a nearby bench.

And it was incidentally the very spot she was at earlier that very day. Past the talkative calming crowd in her current surroundings, Sera could see the very same trash can she had thrown the basket of flowers in. Right in front of her was the apartment complex that Seijo was stationed at before.

Weirdly enough, several black-cloaked figures were scaling the side of the building. Using some sort of invention that even she didn’t know, they walked on the walls as they effortlessly ignored the rules of gravity.

And gravity doesn't like it when people shit on his rules!

“Wha.” Her mouth was agape as Sera saw them enter through an open window, making sure that no sound, or anything at all, was seen or heard. It was honestly quite breathtaking, and concerning how they gracefully broke into what was apparently a very crowded apartment.

Her first instinct was to call the police, naturally, that was the right option. But, seeing as the nearest police station was several miles away, that wasn’t the right option.

She had to call a Pro Hero.

A sudden noise broke her out of her thoughts as she pinpointed the source of the sound to be on the top of the building.

And there he was, the one person she immediately thought of to call.

Seijo Teiko, or more commonly known by his hero name Anonymous. Her husband, the number 6th hero in the world. On top of a building, his face uncharacteristically stoic, as he waited for someone, or actually something to happen.

And happen it did. Because, as soon as she and him locked eyes- She knew something happened.

And that something, was an explosion.

---

What happened next was all a blur for her. She could barely think straight in that scenario, with everything and anything nearby flooding her senses and making sure she couldn’t possibly digest anything that had happened. What she knew, was that Seijo was in trouble.

Like the turning on of a light switch- Every and all emotion/feelings going through Sera's mind were thrown aside. Her husband was in danger. That thought alone propelled the shock out of her system.

And it hurt, it really did. The explosion, while far away, was near enough that even she was affected. After the sonic boom, she could barely stand up without hurting, the sound of the explosion was so loud, her ears were ringing.

The explosion from across the street had sent concrete debris soaring amid the critically forceful blast of sound that came with it. All around her were tiny chunks of concrete and mortar, littering the floor as fire and flames surrounded the area.

She tried standing up, and it took her several tries to not trip over pieces of rubble on the floor. It was hard, but Sera had regained most of her motor functions and slowly limped her way towards the apartment complex.

Civilians, injured and not, ran besides and around her as they tried to escape from the place. They didn’t even spare a single glance at her, not even a passing one, as they were too preoccupied with escaping to even care about a woman slowly limping towards what appeared to her to be a villain attack.

But Sera didn't care; the shock was gone, her pain was ignored. At that moment, the scattering civilians, the amount of rubble around her, the pain she felt from everywhere in her body. It didn't matter. It didn’t matter one bit.

It did not fucking matter!

Her husband had been in the radius of that explosion. Actually, worse, he was smack dab in the middle of said explosion.

By this point, Sera had thoughts that he was dea-

No he wasn’t dead, he wouldn’t be.

He was supposed to come home tonight, and celebrate their fourth anniversary.

He was going to let her berate him for being late. And then hug her and watch as she melted into his embrace and forgive him for being such a stupid idiot.

He couldn’t be dead. He wouldn't be dead.

She was sure of it.

Reaching into her purse, Sera took out several silver discs and threw them directly in front of her. They floated in front of her, creating multiple tiny platforms that suspended in the air to which she used to scale the building by leaping off of them.

In a matter of seconds, Sera was already halfway up and using another invention of hers, blasted a hole into a side of the building, rolling underneath a fallen pipe. She flicked her wrists; a couple dozen more of her flying disks flew out and attached themselves to the debris around her.

The disks, glowing a bright blue, were controlled directly with her mind, and she used them to sense the building, pinpointing whether there were people still in the building.

After several moments, Sera found at least three. They were grouped together at the top of the building, with the only way up being blocked by large chunks of rubble.

Behind her, a piece of the ceiling fell, shaking the whole building in its very foundation. Sera had to act fast. The building couldn’t handle it if she was one second late.

“I’m coming Seijo.” She tapped a button on the side of her shoes, turning the footwear into what was essentially a metal sledgehammer.

She just had to get a head start, which was hard seeing as the floor behind her was destroyed. Taking a deep breath, she focused her mind on her husband and ignored the pain.

She ran and ran... Ran like her life depended on it. And it did, Seijo was her life.

Once she was a foot’s distance between herself and the rubble, Sera leaped into the air and, with all of her strength, delivered a kick that shattered the piece of concrete like it was made of glass.

Sera landed carefully, deactivating the invention, and quickly going up the stairs that survived the explosion. She couldn’t be late. She had to save him.

But it was too late.

It was already too late.

She knew that.

She fucking knew that.

"No.. No.. No... No.." She sputtered out, struggling to speak or even breath. “No no Seijo!”

There he was, a sight so regrettably familiar to her that she couldn’t handle it anymore and began to tear up.

“Seijo,” She tried to speak, but no words came out. He was on the ground, a large pipe sticking out of his left stomach. Her legs were shaking. She refused to believe what was before her. "N.. No..."

His mask was askew, his monochrome latex costume full of holes and tears. He wasn’t breathing, his eyes barely opening as Sera could see the blood streaming out of his mouth.

“Se…..Seijo,” Sera said tentatively, approaching his body on her knees as she tried to ignore the small bits of glass and rocks that had stabbed her shins in doing so. She held out a shaky hand towards his face, stroking his face with her soft thumb as the warm blood rolled down her arm.

“Please, ple.... Stay with me Seijo!” Sera yelled out, her tears fully spilling out from her eyes.

“I-I…” She launched herself towards him, holding him as tightly as she could. "I.. I should've.. I should've gotten you down from there! I... Should've been..."

A hand, warm and comforting, patted the top of her head. Sera let out a muffled cry, her eyes bloodshot red and puffy. “Seijo.”

“I told you didn’t I?” Seijo, his eyes barely opened, looking at her with love. Those eyes, those very eyes she had fallen in love so many years ago. “It’s normal for you to smile?”

“Seijo,” Her lips wobbled but didn't creep up into a smile. She cried out and held his body in her hands. “I can’t-I can’t live without you!”

Seijo, humming slightly, didn’t respond to her. Instead, he pointed to something in her purse, the letter, the letter she was supposed to read when he came home.

She wouldn’t be able to read it ever again. Because...

Because.

Seijo wouldn’t come home to celebrate their anniversary.

“I’m sorry Seijo,” Sera said, stroking his cheek as she laughed slightly, but immediately a fresh batch of tears burst out of her eyes. “I couldn’t read it.”

Her chin was soaked with her own salty tears and the blood from the love of her life—the light to her darkness, the normal spec in her absurd world.

Yet despite that. Seijo looked back at his wife, with weak loving eyes.

And he smiled.

Smiled so wide even though he was impaled. His smile, a smile she had fallen for when they were students, it seemed to say to her, ‘‘My my Sera Yukimori is apologizing to me? What’s happened to the world?”

“It...” He coughed out dry a dry, blood-filled cough. “Amazes me how.. Heh... A.. A normal guy could score someone so... Remarkable... Beautiful angel...”

Sera sniffed back her tears and planted her lips to gently kiss his forehead. “You're anything but normal...”

He smiled.

"Goodbye Sera,” Seijo said one last time. “I love you.”

“I love you too, you big idiot,” she said teasingly, a wistful smile on her face as she, for the last time, stared at him directly in the eyes. “I love you.”

Seijo coughed, an action the petered out his last clutch to life. But he held his soft smile for as long as he had the power. The last thing he saw was his wife's loving face as she held onto him, and gave him a final reassuring look at her love for him.

His body in her arms felt too light, as he passed away.

Too light.

Does it normally hurt this much when you lose someone you love?

Normal...

Sera smiled at the word. She had always wanted to be normal, all her life.

To have a normal life, be a normal wife, love a normal husband, and live without strife.

She wanted those and more, perhaps too much.

Seijo, while not exactly what you call normal by any means, made her happy.

She couldn’t have wanted more from a loved one. But more, wasn’t what she got.

But, it was what she had to accept and move on.

“Goodbye Seijo,” She said to him, one, last, time. “Goodbye.” She hesitated, if only slightly, and kissed him on his lifeless lips.

He died with a smile on his face, so like what he preached for. To live life with a smile, to protect the people with a smile on his face.

For a ‘normal’ husband, Sera couldn’t have wanted more.