"You know who these two are, everyone — Tiger and Barnaby, the world's first Heroic duo! Consisting of Barnaby Brooks Jr., the rookie with a stunning debut, and Wild Tiger, the seasoned veteran, they leapt to fame ten months ago when they took down the terrorist Jake Martinez, and they've only continued to shine from there!" From his desk, Mario motioned at Bunny and Kotetsu sitting in the guest chairs. "So tell us: what are your thoughts on your accomplishments thus far?"

"I think you made us out to be more impressive than we actually are," Bunny said humbly.

"Nonsense! I'm only stating the facts." Mario flashed a grin at the camera. "Right, everyone?"

The audience chorused in agreement.

"Well, the rest is history! Since then, the two have worked together to protect us from all sorts of danger..."

Tomoe was sitting on the empty bench next to Kotetsu, elated as Mario continued his litany of the pair's exploits. Close as she was to them, she was surrounded in a bouquet of merry scents: a citrus melange against a background of fresh grass, steeped delicately in the perfume of rose pride. The soupy taste between them had changed, too, from cream of mushroom to something heartier — some sort of vegetable stew with rice. And through it all, Tomoe savored the cinnamon, the strongest she'd ever noticed it with those two as either a taste or a smell. She could have hardly asked for a better sight to greet her when she finally returned after so long in the Haze. (It also didn't hurt that Kotetsu and Bunny looked pretty damn fine in their suits — and fedora, in Kotetsu's case.)

"This current season has just started," continued Mario, "but you two are off to an impressive start, holding on to your positions from last season."

"Bunny's amazing to have come this far in just a year," Kotetsu said. "Right, partner?" He leaned over to poke Bunny in the arm. "C'mon, don't be so modest."

"Please stop that," Bunny admonished him, but there was no telltale smoky annoyance accompanying his words. In fact, according to the spike in the tang of lemon and cinnamon, it seemed he actually enjoyed that moment of brief contact, silly as it was. Yes, he — and Kotetsu — had certainly come quite far in a year of knowing each other.

...wait, did Kotetsu just call him "Bunny" on live television? Tomoe giggled. I wonder if the name will catch on with the rest of the fans. Kaede would probably prefer something a little less girly, though.

"One thing that concerns me, however, is the fact that Jake's accomplice, Miss Kriem, has yet to make a statement on the incident." Mario laced his fingers together and leaned forward expectantly. "How do you feel about that?"

Bunny mused for a bit. "Well, I was unable to discover Jake's reasons for killing my parents, or even any further details about the crime syndicate Ouroboros, but nevertheless, I'm relieved that this is all finally over." A graceful shrug. "Of course I would be more than willing to hear anything that she has to say, but I'm satisfied that Jake has been dealt with. He was a dangerous man in general."

"It was a pretty rough time for Bunny," Kotetsu chimed in, "but he managed to keep himself together." He grinned widely. "He's awesome like that."

"Oh, I couldn't have done it without your support, Tiger," Bunny said.

Kotetsu furrowed his brows at the younger man. "No way! It was all you."

"Don't be ridiculous. If it weren't for you — "

"Yeah, but you've always been so — "

"Tiger, will you just let me finish what I'm trying to — "

"Ah, will you take a look at that!" Mario interrupted, flinging a dramatic arm out in their direction. "Surely you've never seen a more perfect pair than this!"

Tomoe joined in the audience's laughter as Kotetsu and even Bunny looked a little flustered at the attention drawn to their attempted one-upmanship of lavishing praise on the other.

"Have you two always gotten along this well?" asked Mario.

"Ah..." Kotetsu glanced over at Bunny. "Y-yeah. We've always been this close, haven't we, Bunny?"

Bunny nodded. "We hit it off right from the start."

"You two are such liars," Tomoe muttered with a snicker. She'd caught the acetone faintly wafting in from around Kotetsu — he clearly hadn't been comfortable about telling such a falsehood. It was likely that the higher-ups were insisting on maintaining the most pristine image they could of their superstar Heroes, and that involved things like covering up any indication that the two hadn't been best buddies the moment they met. But considering how well they were getting along now, Tomoe was fairly certain that not many people were going to know or care about that little detail.

She suddenly straightened to attention as she felt the energies of the Haze ripple through her.

Behind Bunny, the silhouettes of his parents' ghosts melted into view. Bright as the studio lights were, there was no mistaking their features now, even considering how their appearances had deteriorated from years in the Haze.

And if Tomoe wasn't imagining things, she thought they might be smiling at her. Or maybe they were just smiling at how things had turned out for their son in general. Or maybe it wasn't anything like that at all, and Tomoe was just projecting the happy ending she wanted so badly to believe in.

Whatever the case was, she acknowledged their presence with a nod of her head before leaning over to rest an elbow on the arm of Kotetsu's chair. As she continued to listen to the interview, she became more convinced by the minute that this magical thing she was witnessing between Kotetsu and Barnaby was right. A new sense of peace bubbled up inside her like a fresh spring in the desert, and the thought occurred to Tomoe that as fun as it was to watch the two of them getting along splendidly, she probably wouldn't need to visit the Clear as often as she used to.

After all, this was enough to go by.

T-&-B-T-&-B-T-&-B

Review if you will, flame if you must!

-Sora G. Silverwind
my love, I won't allow you to kill yourself this way