Freeze Frame

Chapter 132

Third person pov

They'd lost them. Toshinori couldn't quite believe it. Young Chad had actually managed to lose the Yakuza. His driving skills were truly nothing to gawk at. Though he'd complained the entire time about how they really needed a Subaru if they wanted to efficiently move through the woods, he still seemed to manage just fine. Toshinori could hardly fathom how they didn't crash and total their vehicle. Trees whipped past them, scraping the edges as Chad went at quite frankly insane speeds. A couple of the people tailing them had gotten ballsy and tried to follow them into the brush. They found themselves with a dent in the front of their SUVs not soon after.

Toshinori had been exposed to a variety of different music tastes during his impromptu road trip with Young Chad. He'd never been one to be all into that sort of thing. He didn't listen to tunes in his free time, nor did he keep track of what was in or out. It simply wasn't in his nature, he supposed. Chad was quite the stark contrast to that. Toshinori found himself listening to different genres, ranging from pop, to country, to rock, to grunge. A chaotic soundtrack to go along with their crusade. All Might found himself quite enjoying most of the music Young Chad turned on. Even if they were getting shot at half the time it was playing.

Getting away from the Yakuza was awful. Toshinori was sure they could've done it in a pinch were they both not injured. With each of them down a leg, they were left with no choice but to keep driving and hope for the best. This course of action had clearly worked out for the better. Chad seemed awfully chipper the entire time, and Toshinori had to wonder just how often the young man went through situations just like this. He'd thought about asking, but then Chad had opened the door and used a dirty microfiber wash towel and a straw to take out one of the mafia members who got a little too trigger happy for his liking. They'd made their great escape not long after that.

And now here they were. At a mall drinking boba tea and wandering aimlessly around a Hot Topic. 

"Listen bro, all I'm saying is that my Hot Cash expires tomorrow. I'm not trying to be wasteful." Chad noted as he pushed Toshinori in one of the rentable wheelchairs they had at the front of the mall. He was simultaneously using it as a crutch to keep the weight off his bad foot whilst also carting the previous Number One pro around. Toshinori had tried to talk him out of it, but Chad had ignored him completely. It was pretty obvious the young man exercised selective hearing quite regularly. "Global warming isn't a joke, you know?"

"Is global warming related to this... hot cash of yours?" Toshinori had never really had boba tea before now. It was better than he could recall it being from the few times he had gone out of his way to try it. It was less milky than what he'd had in the past, instead fruity in a refreshing way.

"I mean, I'm sure that shit's related somehow. Like, butterfly effect." Chad decided smartly, eyes scanning the available keychains they had. All Might hadn't recreationally been to a mall in years now, and he could say for certain he hadn't even known Hot Topic even existed. There seemed to be several pop culture references in here. There was lots of hero wear too. Graphic T-shirts alongside dresses, shorts, and even swim suits. It seemed like an outlet his students would like. 

"I see. Is there anything in particular we're on the lookout for?" Toshinori asked mildly. He had tried bringing up the fact that they should really lay low and try to head back towards Musutafu, but that too had been to no avail. Chad had announced that it was 'break time'. All Might really wasn't that familiar with the concept. It felt odd not to be doing something when the situation still seemed so dire. His breaks came when his time ran out previously, but even then he'd find himself doing paperwork and other hero-related activities. Trotting around without a care in the world felt... well, odd, he had to say.