—Cole POV—
Getting myself dressed in civilian clothing in a few minutes, my wives told me they were going to be awhile as the counter space was limited in the bathroom. Telling me that I really needed to renovate the bathroom to accommodate more of them, I agreed that it was something we needed to do. Suggesting we have Sir Boltan give us a quote since he was the best craftsman we knew, Gearnia was adamantly against it.
"I don't need my father seeing our bedroom!", Gearnia protested, "If that is how it will be, I will do the renovation myself!"
"The last time you did plumbing it backed up after one flush…", Celestine reminded her with a disgusted expression.
"Fine…anyone but my father then!", Gearnia stated with a huff.
Promising to have a few local contractors bid on the project, I suggested I take Eri and Kota to breakfast by myself so they could take their time getting ready. Agreeing that it was the best option given the circumstance, Desmina asked who suggested breakfast in the first place as it was never brought up at dinner. Looking at me first, I shook my head and said it wasn't my idea.
"They…they brought it up with me a few weeks ago during recess. I was busy reviewing coursework when they asked, and absentmindedly agreed before realizing what I was agreeing to. Work has been crazy with all the cramming we have been doing before Winter Break…I am sorry for forgetting to tell everyone else.", she apologized to us.
"It's fine, we all make mistakes sometimes.", I assured her with a kiss on the lips.
Giving me a smile, she excused herself as she had to get ready to head to school. As a teacher, she had to be there early to help get things organized for the play this evening. Kissing the rest of my wives goodbye before heading downstairs, I found Eri and Kota waiting patiently in the living room. Telling them that it would just be the three of us since their mothers had to get ready and feed the babies…they accepted the change in the plan before pulling me towards the door.
"Come on Daddy!!", Eri insisted, "I am so hungry I could eat a whole piggy!"
"Haha, then we better get going!", I chuckled as I scooped them both up.
—Southern California—
Heading to a well-known diner chain in California that we regularly frequented, we got a table almost right away. Handing us our silverware and menus, we gave the waitress our drink orders and began reviewing the menu. A few minutes into looking my menu over, I realized that Kota and Eri were looking at me for help. Remembering that neither of them was fluent in English reading yet, I read the menu to them as they only knew the lunch menu here.
After reading the menu off to them, the two asked me for my suggestion. Looking over the kids' menu again, I picked out the two items I thought they might like.
"Eri, I think you'd like the smiley face pancakes with eggs and bacon.", I said pointing to the item on the menu, "Kota, you'd like either the Belgian Waffle or the French Toast with eggs and bacon."
"They come with sprinkles!?", Eri gasped looking at the pictures closer, "I didn't know you could put sprinkles on pancakes! This is the bestest place to eat ever!!"
"How big is the waffle?", Kota asked skeptically, "If it's a kiddy size…I don't want it."
Projecting an image for him to see, the waffle I showed him was one I had seen served here previously. Instantly agreeing to the waffle, he grew a big smile as he thought of smothering it with syrup. Flagging our waitress down, I had the children tell her what they wanted by pointing to it on the menu. Looking at me with her big eyes, Eri asked me if she could get extra sprinkles on her pancakes.
"It's your special day today, I won't tell your mothers.", I chuckled with a smile, "It will be our little secret."
"Hehe!", Eri giggled with glee.
Placing my order after them, the waitress promised to have our food out right away. Watching the kids start working through the games on the kid's menu, which I had to explain to them, I sat back and peacefully sipped on my coffee. Enjoying the peace around us, it all came crashing down as a group of loud, obnoxious guests entered the diner. Watching them out of the corner of my eye, the assholes blew right past the hostess and took a seat directly behind us.
Demanding service from the staff at once, the hostess fumbled around grabbing menus and silverware before bringing it to them. Handing them out to the men as they ogled her body, she told them the waitress would be over shortly with an uncomfortable smile on her face. Turning and walking away from them, I thought that might have been it…but I was wrong.
Sensing one of the men swing their arm back, I heard a loud smacking sound as he grabbed a full handful of her butt cheek. The startled hostess instantly squealed out of fright before covering her face in shame and embarrassment. Running away from them, she ran into the kitchen to hide…and I couldn't blame her for it.
'I am off the clock today, and if it was a problem someone would call the police.', I thought minding my own business, 'Hell, she could be his girlfriend and she was embarrassed he did that in front of his friends. I don't want to ruin Kota and Eri's big day today if I can help it.'
Minding my own business, for the time being, I listened to the men voice their complaints about their university and how things could be better on campus for them. Tuning them out when they started talking about the recent women they had been with, our food arrived right about that same time. Giving us a nervous smile as she asked if we needed anything else, she proceeded to the table behind us to get their orders.
"What can I start you off with today…?", she inquired with a worried tone.
"How about you come over here, and find out?", the leader of the group said pointing to his crotch.
"Sir…please there are children here.", the waitress said trying to avoid getting near him.
"I don't give a shit about those brats, when I say come here you do it!", he spat in anger.
Reaching across the table, the man grabbed her by the throat in front of Eri and Kota. Putting her fork down, Eri looked at me expecting something to happen. Glancing over at Kota, he also seemed to think I was going to take care of these guys too.
'I can't take a day off without some shit happening.', I thought rising from my seat with a subtle hand movement, "Let the woman go, or you won't be using your jerk-off hand ever again."
Turning to look at me, the man holding the waitress let her go as his group started laughing at him. Watching him turn red with anger for being embarrassed like that, he decided to throw what clout he thought he had around.
"What the fuck you say to me!? Do you fucking know who I am!?", he shouted at me.
"Says here you are Michael Vincent…", I said reading the ID from his wallet that I swiped without him knowing, "Vincent…you related to Commissioner Vincent here in Huntington Beach?"
"Wait…how did you get that!?", he screamed reaching for his back pocket, "Give my wallet back you fucking nobody, I will have you arrested and thrown in jail!"
Tucking the ID back in his wallet, I threw it at his face without changing my expression. Telling him to cool his head before I busted his nose, he told me I was too much of a coward to do it.
"My dad runs this town, and you best remember that!", he spat.
"Real tough aren't you, all you can say is what your dad will do…", I said stepping up to the edge of their table, "I bet you are nothing but a scared little man hiding behind his dad's badge."
My words were enough to trigger a response out of him, and boy did he lose it. Flipping the table out of his way, the idiot rushed forward as his fingers turned into blades. Bringing his hands down in an attempt to carve my face up, the waitress shouted for me to dodge the blow. Staying right where I was, the idiot froze in place as a glowing bubble encased him. Realizing that he could no longer move, the man began moving his eyes around trying to signal his boys to help them.
"Attempted Murder, Sexual Harassment, and Assault are what I am going to write in my report.", I told him as he began to float into the air.
Making hand pistols with both of my hands, I started rapidly firing lasers through the man's body. Hearing him scream out in pain through his sealed mouth, I filled him with over three dozen holes before letting him go. Crashing through the table and onto the floor, his boys finally grew a backbone and stood up to me.
"You're a dead man!", they shouted getting their boss to his feet.
Watching them activate their Quirks, the men prepared to fight me thinking they could win with superior numbers.
"You really don't want a piece of this…", I replied with an irritated look.
Changing into my Hero Attire in an instant, the color in their faces vanished instantly as they recognized me now. With a reputation for brutalizing villains badly enough to leave some crippled for life, they opted to not fight me. Deactivating their Quirks, the men quickly sat back down and hung their heads trying not to make eye contact with me.
"Sit quietly and wait for the police to show up. One peep out of you, and I will throttle all of you.", I warned them.
"Yes sir!", one of the men said as I slammed his face into the concrete floor.
"You spoke…", I stated as I introduced them to a whole new world of pain.
Leaving them as an unconscious heap on the ground, I sat back down at our table and started eating my breakfast in peace. Showing up several minutes later, several cops came rushing in to see the Commissioner's son and friends lying on the ground covered in blood and snot. Looking around for the one responsible for this, I waved over to them and flashed my Hero ID.
"The Lightning Hero: Kessler!", the lead officer gasped, "You boys really fucked up, get them out of here now!"
"Tell Commissioner Vincent that I expect his son to be charged accordingly, I will be submitting my write-up to the Hero Associate President personally. If he isn't charged, tell the Commissioner I will drag them both to jail personally. His son didn't just decide to be a prick overnight, this has been going on for a long time and it ends now.", I growled, "I don't treat corrupt police officers very well…"
"I…I will pass the message along.", the officer acknowledged before scurrying off like a scared child.
Walking over with a fresh pot of coffee once they were gone, the waitress and hostess thanked me repeatedly for dealing with them. Telling me that Michael used his father's influence to get away with a lot of things, they said it was nice to see them cower in fear for once.
"If he causes anyone further issues, let me know.", I said sliding them my number, "I will take them both to the Hero Association HQ if I have to for this to end."
Thanking me several more times, they left us to eat our breakfast in peace. Glancing over at the proud smiles on my children's faces, I was happy to see they were content with how things went. Finishing our breakfast without further interruptions, we paid our tab and headed home to prepare for their play.
—Several Hours Later, School Auditorium—
After returning from the diner, things kicked into overdrive at home as Eri and Kota rushed around trying to finish things up. My wives had to help finish fitting Eri for her costume, and also make sure she made it to school in time for practice. As for Kota and I, we had to take the tree we made to school so it could be mounted on a moving set. Once it was mounted, he had to join his classmates in practice.
Since I had nothing better to do, I got roped into helping around the set as the teachers were overwhelmed. Changing light bulbs, getting props in order, and helping sweep the auditorium, it was surprising how much work really went into these plays. It had been centuries since I had been in one myself, I completely forgot about the behind the scenes work as I hated being in these sorts of plays.
"You are doing great…dear.", Fuyumi said with a smile as she came over for a few minutes.
"Is there anything else that I need to do?", I inquired.
"No, go ahead and get our seats in the back. Also get your camera setup too…I can't believe you bought an 8k camera for this.", she giggled with a smirk.
"I want to preserve our family memories in the highest quality available.", I stated with a proud smile, "While I may not enjoy plays, I do want to support our children's decision to be a part of it."
Giving me a hug, she told me that I was an amazing father for that. Telling me that her father never did this for any of his children, she was happy to be with someone who cared about his children.
"Well I better get ready, the doors open in ten minutes.", she said.
"Break a leg out there!", I chuckled.
Getting our seats reserved, I got the camera set up on a tripod and aimed at the stage. Making sure that everything was in focus, I sat back and waited for everyone to arrive. As the doors opened my wives started entering the auditorium with snacks and water from the concession stand outside the auditorium. Seeing the excitement on their faces, they were genuinely happy to see Eri and Kota's play tonight.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming tonight for this year's Christmas Play. The children have been working…", Fuyumi started to read aloud as an alert appeared on my HUD.
Realizing that Naofumi was in life-threatening danger, I cursed my luck and knew I had to get moving. Telling Vivian that I had a situation that I needed to attend to, I promised to be back as quickly as I could. Nodding her head, she started letting the others know as I teleported to Naofumi's location.