Chapter Text
In a faraway land known as the kingdom of Liberl, lived a small boy named Kokichi Ouma. His mother had gone out for the day, leaving him to look after the house. He sat at the dinner table, waiting for his mother to come home so they can eat together. As he sat there, he stared at the door in expectance. When nothing happened for a few moments, Kokichi pouted. "Hmph, Mommy is really late. I even got a message from the guild saying she'd be home today too." He huffed as he walked to the window behind him. He leaned his arms against the sill. "And Miu's gone traveling around the kingdom on some kinda training." He let out a frustrated groan as he stretched out his legs. "I'm sooooo bored! Maybe I'll just practice with my staff before dinner."
Suddenly he heard the door open and a familiar voice called out. "Honey, I'm home."
Now filled with excitement, Kokichi spun around to see his mother. "Mommy!" He immediately sprinted to her
His mother, Kirumi, smiled at him. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Kokichi. Did you take good care of the house while I was away?"
The purple haired boy nodded firmly. "Yep! Of course I did! Did you run into any trouble, Mommy? You didn't get hurt fighting the bad monsters, did you?"
Kirumi shook her head. "Of course not. I'm fit as a fiddle." Then she remembered she was holding something. "That reminds me though, I brought you a present."
Kokichi's face lit up as he was practically jumping for joy. "Really?! What kinda present?! Clothes? Jewelry? A new scarf?!
Kirumi simply sighed. "Maybe I raised you wrong, Kokichi. Aren't little boys supposed to like playing outside in the dirt and roughhousing?"
The small child shrugged "I like playing outside but my clothes get dirty and my necklaces break!" Kirumi shook her head in disappointment. "Anyway Mommy, what's with the big blanket? Is that my present?!"
Kirumi giggled. "Smart boy. Why don't you come take a look?" She gently removed the blanket to reveal a small injured boy with dark black hair
Kokichi stepped closer. When he got a good look, his face turned to a look of shock. "Wh-wh-wh-wha-"
"What do you think, dear? Quite a handsome boy, don't you think?" Kirumi smiled as she presented the boy to her biological son
Without warning, Kokichi stomped a foot down and angerly shouted. "WHY IS MY PRESENT A BOY?!"
His mother quickly shushed him. "Keep it down or you'll wake him up."
"Wake him up? He's alive?" He inquired
"Yes. I've treated his wounds, so he should be in stable condition. In the meantime, we'll have to let him rest. I'll go put him to bed, so if you wouldn't mind heating a kettle of water on the stove, I'd appreciate it dear."
Kokichi nodded. "Okay!" He then turned around to grab the tea kettle and put water into it
Meanwhile, Kirumi took the boy to one of their spare bedrooms and layed him down
A few minutes passed and Kokichi brought in the kettle with the hot water in it. As Kirumi was tending to the boy in bed, her son watched as the boy slumbered. "He sure sleeps soundly. And he almost looks the same age as me. What beautiful black hair too."
Kirumi giggled. "Mm-hm. And a nice pair of amber eyes to go with it."
Suddenly Kokichi turned to face his mother. "That's nice and all, but how about you come clean and fess up." Kirumi stopped and shot him a questioning look. "Who is this kid, anyway? And why is he hurt? Why did you bring him to our house? Is he an illi-jit-mate child? Did you betray Daddy?"
Kirumi sighed. "Where have you been picking up these kinds of words? No doubt from Miu, I assume." She brought a hand up to her face in disappointment
"Yep! That's right!"
"For heaven's sake! That woman is going to get me in trouble one of these days with all her nonsense..." Kirumi cleared her throat and tried to explain. "Actually I just met this boy while I was out on business. And I don't even know his name."
"You mean Bracer business?!" Kokichi asked with a smile
"Something like that." Kirumi's gaze switched to the bed. "Hm?"
Suddenly the boy started waking up. The other two watched expectantly as he opened his eyes. He groaned a bit and looked at his surroundings. "Wh-where am I?"
Kirumi smiled as she greeted him. "Oh good, you're awake. Welcome to my home. You'll be safe here."
The boy shot the woman a glare. "What are you trying to pull? You must be out of your mind. Why... Why didn't you just leave me there to die?"
Kirumi's expression dropped to a look of confusion. "Why? Now that's a question I don't know how to answer. Does 'things just worked out that way' work for you?"
"Don't toy with me, Kirumi Ouma! Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself involved in?!"
"Hey!" Kokichi suddenly shouted and kicked the boy. "You're sure shouting a lot for someone who's supposed to be hurt! Running your mouth like that is just gonna make it take longer for your body to heal!"
The boy raised an eyebrow. "And just who are you supposed to be?"
"Kokichi! Kokichi Ouma!"
Kirumi chuckled. "He's my son. Don't you remember I told you that I have a son your age?"
The boy had a thoughtful look on his face. "Now that you mention it..." After a moment, his expression changed to something accusatory. "Wait a minute! Don't try and change the sub-" Kokichi kicked him again. "Ow!"
"Quit yelling!"
"Alright, alright already!" The boy sighed. "But you kicking me like that isn't going to make me heal any faster, either!"
Kokichi scowled. "I don't hear you yelling again, do I?!"
"Look, kicking me is just going to make things worse."
Kokichi smiled menacingly. "Do I hear... YELLING?!"
The boy flinched at this and let it go. "N-Never mind. Just forget it."
Kirumi awkwardly laughed and spoke. "As a word of advice, it would be wise not to argue with Kokichi while you're in this house."
"Yeah, I can see that..." The boy replied
Kokichi interrupted once again. "By the way, aren't you forgetting something?" In response, the boy just looked at him puzzling. "Your name. You know, that thing people call you? I told you mine already, so don't you think it would be unfair and impolite not to tell me yours?"
The boy seemed hesitant at first. As if weary of what might happen if he said anything. "Umm..."
"It seems like the logical thing to do if you ask me. Trying to hide it now would only serve to your detriment." Kirumi stated
The boy eyed her for a bit before resigning to his fate. "F-Fine." He took a deep breath as if to mentally prepare himself
"...My name is Shuichi."