Chapter 14 Dodging A Bullet

As soon as Satoshi's feet touched the ground, his parents were already all over him, hugging him tightly and smothering him in kisses. Since they were in front of a dozen or so cameras, Satoshi felt a bit embarrassed. It was evident on his face since it turned a nice shade of red. Shiroi and her dad joined in on the fun as well, the only difference was they didn't participate in the hug, they just kind of awkwardly stood there, blocking the angles where the cameras could take a good angle shot.

"Son, what was that? Is that your superpower? And where did you find that White Lion? Is he your friend?" Tatsuki excitedly asked as he stared at the White Lion, purring as it stood beside Satoshi. "White Lion, whoever you are, be you a boy or a girl, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for assisting my son. I hope we get along from now on." Tatsuki bowed, making Satoshi almost roll his eyes since his dad was talking to an actual cat who just turned into a lion.

"Wait, I thought that White Lion is your family's familiar or something?! So you really don't know anything about this, Tatsuki?" Yukino-san was genuinely surprised. "That aside, how come your son could fly, could control metal at will, and could shoot off flames? Are those orbs of fire some sort of familiar as well?"

The Midoriyama Duo shook their head in confusion. "We're sorry, Yukine, our son's keeping a lot of secrets from us, so it seems." Ayumu slightly bowed as she teased Yukino Yukine and his daughter. They were a bit flustered about the whole situation but fortunately, they didn't ask any more questions.

A horde of reporters then came to ask Satoshi the most pressing questions like, what exactly is his superpower, or if he has multiple superpowers, or if he was hiding his superpower all along. All those questions were left unanswered however since the Midoriyama duo announced that they will keep it confidential indefinitely— which is a good choice, considering that Satoshi doesn't yet know the full extent of his powers. Furthermore, Tatsuki and Ayumu could tell how uncomfortable their son was, that's why they didn't prod him to say anything further.

Out of formality, the Midoriyama duo and Yukino Yukine agreed to an interview that lasted for about half an hour. While Satoshi and Shiroi waited for them to be finished, a man wearing shades inconspicuously passed by, handing Satoshi a business card. After smiling, he then gestured at Satoshi to give him a call any time. Soon after, a lady dressed in white passed by as well, handing Satoshi a business card. Then a little later after, a man riding a bike with the brand 'Mumen' on it, gave Satoshi yet another business card. The third man didn't even hide his identity. He just rode off after gesturing at Satoshi like the previous ones.

"You're getting famous." Shiroi complimented with a warm smile on her face. "Still, don't assume that I'll easily forgive you for withholding your superpower from me. And what exactly is your superpower anyway?"

Satoshi gulped. Every time he was asked that very question, his brain freezes as if he just slurped a cold drink straight out of the freezer. Meanwhile, Shiroi expectantly stared at him with her immersing clear blue eyes. A pang of guilt brought Satoshi back to his senses as he shook his head violently, telling himself that he should at least properly answer with the truth, otherwise he'd drift farther than ever from his childhood friend.

Making up his mind, he answered as simply as he could, ignoring the fact that there were reporters keenly listening in on their conversation. "Actually... I have no idea what it is." Satoshi cleanly admitted with a slightly disappointed expression on his face. There was also a hint of annoyance on it but Shiroi didn't notice it at all. "To tell you the truth, I only realized I had a superpower the night before the first day of school started. I was in my room when the, you know, shot out from my hands."

Shiroi nodded, completely comprehending what Satoshi was pertaining to. She knew that the reporters had elephants for ears, and that's why Satoshi didn't disclose much regarding his superpower. "I see... so that's why. Now that you said it, you couldn't really control it a while ago. That explains it... "

"Yes, and you do know that you'll be the first one to know if something were to happen to me. You know how it is." Satoshi tilted his head, slightly pointing towards his parents and Shiroi's dad as they continued on with the interview.

"Yeah," Shiroi nodded.

It seems like Satoshi dodged a bullet by a hair's breadth on that one.

Additionally, although it didn't seem like Satoshi was panicking, he basically turned into jelly deep inside. Every time he talks to Shiroi, he just couldn't bring himself to calm down. And when did they meet, one might wonder? They met when they were three years old. That says a lot about Satoshi's character, in one way or another.

The half-hour interview seemed like a few seconds to Satoshi since he was savoring his time with Shiroi. But to his surprise, his parents then walked towards Shiroi's dad's car. "Get in, don't be shy." Yukino Yukine offered. "I'll give all of you a ride, it seems like we have a lot of things to talk about."

"Get in." Shiroi went inside the car, patting the seat beside her.

After receiving a powerful pat on the back from his dad, Satoshi mustered all his courage to get in and sit beside Shiroi. His dad then took the front seat with Shiroi's dad, and as for his mom, she sat beside Shiroi from the other side of the car.

"Now, where are we headed? Take the call, Tatsuki." Yukino Yukine beamed as he revved up the engine.

"Well then, how about we take a visit to the Midoriyama agency before getting another meal?"

"Sounds good! And then we can begin the interview!" There was a hint of mischief in Yukine's face as the group drove off.

"Yes, the interview." Tatsuki seconded as he winked at his son, who was cluelessly preoccupied with thinking about how he was sitting beside Shiroi