Raiden has been able to cling to the power of his quirk for some time to make up for his weaknesses, as the might of lightning is one not to be trifled with. However, if the person on the other side was the expert assailant that he's heard of, he wanted to avoid a conflict as much as he could. The gang members had scattered cars getting assailed by the concussive forces storming about, perfect for dancing around so that he could make himself scarce.

With suppressive fire allowing him to exploit the Carrions' disrupted movements, he was able to thrust his hammer-like fists through the air and fill it with red-hot lightning that cleaved through their bodies. The spiny devils threatened him once more when Retsu has her space disrupted. As one stabbed forward, he caught the bone spear and jerked it upward. Gripping the Carrion's face and jumping up, he threw them at one of the Carrions approaching Retsu.

Getting a good view, the masked Nobu would know that he needed to leave before the assault ended. As a courtesy, red lightning burst from his knuckles as it cleaved through both Carrions. Others approached Retsu, as others assaulted Nobu. Catching a fire escape, he whipped his arm and let out a curved blade of lightning to repel the two coming after him. Jumping from the fire escape and rolling towards the alleyway exit, he drew the Carrions towards him.

"I have a feeling that our friendship will be short-lived, considering you look like a very familiar danger. Look, hnnf." Repelling a two-versus-one assault, his speech was broken up while he resorted to the low-recoil of red-electric fists to concussively knock them back. "I don't want to fucking do this today with you, the next time we meet...feel free to take aim."

Backing up, his escape was not quite guaranteed. Two carrion remained for him, but now he was spaced far enough to where he couldn't quickly assist Retsu with her end of the ambush.

---

[attr="class","likedo"]

Nobu hasn't cared about culture day in over ten years. It was crucial to the image of a hero on the rise, but as a businessman in the dark? Vigilante in the night? It mattered not. Seeing the ignorant bliss that raised the morale of the people was sometimes painful for the cynical like him. This would be the first time he's cared about it in all those years because now he had someone to care about. Kysaly.

Dressing up with stormy-themed yukata and happi, he would get into the festive mood with them as they would plan to enjoy the festival together. Since the festival was going to flood the streets, picking up Kysaly in a car was nigh-impossible. No, he was going to pick them up the old-fashioned way. Meeting at the entrance to Kyss Cafe, he would come dazzling in feminine notes but an overall masculine appearance. The yukata was a bit loose and the happi was a bit small, giving a modern fashion look to it.

With a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, chocolate-lens glasses with golden frames and a rose on his ear, he would act nonchalant. Once Kysaly would acknowledge him, he'd take the rose and lean in, a hand on the small of their back while presenting the flower. "For you, Kys." After they would take it, he would put a finger on his lip, showing the black-painted fingernails dragging down the rosy-glossed lower lip. "And for me..."

Letting the glasses slip a little to show those glimmering eyes of his, he would let his lower lip flick back up to his upper lip. With a soft, silent kiss to the air...it seemed obvious that he wanted to make Kysaly a frantic mess before the date even started. After, it would be time to walk to the festival.

---

What grew from their time together helped shift the initial hurt and frustration of that tumultuous night into something beautiful. Kysaly was struggling with letting Nobu go home, that was clear as day. He needed to decide if he'd break his normal rules about coddling or shoot straight as an arrow for them. Maybe not everyone needed the harsh hammer of lightning that was Nobu's judgment, especially considering the bond that bloomed between them.

Who was he kidding? Kysaly didn't need him to set them straight with all of those emotions. In fact, Nobu was emotional himself. In his own way, as a singular tear would shed by the time things were said and done. A quirk wasn't needed to feel and understand and truly empathize with the fearsome nature of the rose of romance blooming in what seemed like a desolate foundation. The fears running through their souls made their relationship human.

As Kysaly went to grab the final gift, that's when Nobu shed that tear. Wiping it away almost as quickly as it came, he didn't want them to catch it. Maybe it was insecurity or a need to be some infallible titan, but he wasn't ready to openly show those emotions in front of anyone. As they returned with a box, it piqued his interest. Presenting a scarf, it made Nobu give a warm smile that dulled as he noticed the trembling fingers.

Taking the scarf and putting it on nonchalantly, he looked down at Kysaly like he was the happiest man in the world. Taking Kysaly's hips and leaning down, kissing them one last time for the night, he almost lost control. Forcing himself to have restraint once more, he took Kysaly's chin to raise their head. "Hey doctor, I think I'm going to need a prescription." Gesturing with his hand for a phone number.

"It'll be for one cute barista and back-room doctor. Year-long supply, yeah?" Nobu was being cheesy and charming, as much as it pained him. He could be cute sometimes. "Seriously, I'm going to call you when I get home. Please, rest well, Kys." With that, he would leave and give a good-night call to Kysaly once he was settled in at home. It wasn't right away, there was some brooding to do about Cambion and physical therapy of his own.

But he didn't look in that mirror. There was no verbal degrading of himself. All that was on his mind was Kysaly.

---

One left in the chamber. Raiden was full of storms, but if he pushed himself too hard then he wouldn't be ready for what was to come. If others thought this was the end, they'd be sorely mistaken. With the depth of this castle buried in hell, there was going to be more challenges and more enemies to fry. After this battle, the lightning-thrower was going to need to switch back down to red lightning to avoid overheating.

Like a car that's been racing the track all day, the engine needed a little cooling. Green, the nuisance nomu that was Green...Well, a surprise impalement of the biological nightmare that was Green had brought some joy to Raiden. As the color of his lightning shifted down a few rungs back to red, he would approach Rem and Monster Bat. After Green was pried off, it seemed to fidget and while disoriented, attempted to rise once more.

As soon as the nomu's head came back up, Raiden shoved it down and stomped it with a thunderous crack of red lightning between his armored boot and Green's body. Dealing a definitive final blow seemingly and sliding the Nomu off the bridge into the acid, he dusted his gauntlets and closed in with the two. "Bat-Man, your puns are out of hand." Dead-pan, Raiden moved on with his one and only zinger as Mood Ring explained exactly the thought he was going to have next.

"It isn't over, if you need to recover then do so. If this is the beginning, they won't be the worst of it." Looking over the battlefield and taking a breather himself, he anticipated the poetic and cosmic sign that the next step of the raid was available. Looking at Rem, Raiden gave a nod with his expressionless visor. "Good shot, I was beginning to exhaust tracking that abomination down."

Turning to Monster Bat, he gave a thumbs up. "Thanks for the assist as well, we need to help each other as much as we can." In the end, Raiden wasn't so alone in his fight. If he would've missed the final blue lightning shot he had loaded up, that could've put him in danger. There was no guarantee of him succeeding until Rem and Monster Bat came into play. Now, they won the battle.

Soon, came the war.

---

Who would've known that last night's events would lead in these two becoming closer than they maybe would have? Originally, Nobu wasn't going to bring the truths that he did to Kysaly. The longer a person takes to reveal something as crucial as vigilantism or any aspect of identity, the deeper the consequence. Even if it wasn't directly harmful, the visage sculpted into that person's mind is always shaken by missing such a huge chunk of the picture.

The intimacy wasn't acted on just then, but Nobu could feel something else other than fun lust stirring between them. Kysaly was a hell of a person and has gone beyond just piquing his interest. Now the thing that drew him was tangible and visible. Before the wounded vigilante was a true hero. Not tainted by the dishonesty of society, Kysaly was a doctor that knew what they wanted and what they were willing to do. Yet, they still helped repair the broken bits in people.

"I will. I promise." Promises were powerful, he better keep it.

The care over the course of the next few weeks was wonderful. The first week was hard for Nobu, as he felt antsy to get back into the field and Kysaly had to calm him down more than once. There was a powerful sense of duty and Nobu wasn't fulfilling it like he thought he should. Rumblings of a dark event, a rite of passage for anyone who dared to care, that made him afraid of being frail. Still, he couldn't deny that Kysaly taking care of him and spending the time was heavenly.

They did so much, made sure he ate well and went through great lengths and connections to make sure he recovered. After a while, he would accept that he could live in this bubble of bliss for as long as was allowed. Work was to be done once it was over and Cambion was still at large. His friend and her kids were in hiding, but Cambion had connections of his own. Before Nobu could take on that daunting hunt, he needed to do more than heal.

He needed to be strong.

What he didn't have strength for was to admit that he knew that his recovery hit a point where he could've left. With how special Kysaly made him feel, he wanted to soak in the quality time and services provided. There was a debt that was going to be paid, but in the meantime...Kysaly brought cake. They were going to enjoy one final dinner together before Nobu returned to his apartment. As the makeshift table was set, Nobu couldn't conceal his happiness.

"Kys, you've done a lot to make sure I got better. I'm not going to recklessly fight him again, but it will eventually happen. I will be prepared and it won't be before you get a proper second, third, whatever amount of dates you'll have me for." The feeling of their time was almost like a true relationship, yet the foundation wasn't complete. Nobu was hoping to rectify this and as he ate with the good doctor, he reached out for their hands to embrace.

"Thank-you. I cherished this time we had. I may return home tonight and take a few days to get some affairs in order that have been neglected." Nobu needed to contact people who might've noticed his disappearance, especially considering the illegality of his work. "Let me show you one of my favorite sight-seeing spots this weekend." Winking at Kysaly and eating his food, he pondered on the sudden nature of him wanting to share a safe place like his little nest in Tokyo he retreats to when he doesn't want to go home.

It meant that he was having real, unprecedented feelings. Kysaly shared their home and went above and beyond when they didn't need to, so it was only fair to reciprocate. "You have a way of making a man feel special, let me return the favor." Curling his tongue around the food and sleekly swallowing it into a chewing smirk, his brow rose and fell as if to imply his...

Oh, this food was delicious.

---