Chapter Text
-X- ? Shizuoka Prefecture -X-
Love ...
Such a sickening thing...
Why do people do such horrendous acts proclaiming them to be done out of love ...
Just thinking about it makes me want to retch...
Love always brings pain ...
That's what 'Mother' taught me since I was a little kid...
The scars and bruises that litter my body, every single one of them so they could 'make sure every time you look at yourself you remember that we love you the most' ...
All the insults and curses they threw at me behind closed doors echoing in the depths of my mind like a damn broken record...
Her favorite way of loving me always was to call me those things...
Every...
Single...
Day...
A ' cursed' child ...
Good for nothing 'lecher ' ...
I never understood why she said that specifically...
I never even touched a woman in all my life...
Willingly I guess ...
It's been like this since I got my quirk ...
They really love me because of my quirk ...
But I don't like being loved ...
It hurts ...
It hurts so much...
I don't want to be loved if it means I will feel so much pain...
Why does love have to hurt so much...
If...
If I didn't have this quirk...
Would they still love me? ...
Ah...
I see...
They love me because of this accursed quirk...
It's all this quirk's fault ...
If I wasn't born with it then I wouldn't be loved ...
If I wasn't loved then I wouldn't have to feel pain ...
If I didn't feel pain I would be happy ...
Why...
'Why did it have to be me...'
How did this even happe-...
.
.
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.
.
Everything seemed to stop at that moment
The sound of the heavy rain vanished and alongside it the sound of the cars passing nearby and every other sound that the busy nightlife of the city produced, it was like he was transported to an empty field in the middle of the countryside
The clouds parted in a singular spot in the sky, as if the heavens themselves spoke to the child laying battered and bleeding on that dirty alleyway
A message for him to stop for a moment and look to that small piece of clear sky, the almost always dark sky of the city that always lacked the beautiful luminous bodies that we call stars
As if it was the work of magic, god, the will of the world, or maybe, just maybe, it was the will of those same stars that shone with such intensity that it almost seemed like he was looking at the sun itself
The sky became clearer and clearer, if you looked at it you would never guess you were standing in the middle of a city , you might even think you were standing at the top of a mountain or in the middle of the sea
What he saw would be engraved in his memory for the rest of his existence and even after it ended, it would be so deeply ingrained in his soul that it would follow him even after he joins the infinite circle of reincarnation once again
In the middle of the the sky he saw a vortex of pure darkness that seemed to warp reality around itself and defy the concepts and rules of the world, it was enveloped by a mysterious yet mesmerizing ring of blue pale flames that made him feel a chill run through his spine
The best way to describe it would be a 'true alter' to the Sun itself, where the Sun emanated pure light and warmed everything in its path, this amalgamation that defied everything he knew seemed to absorb all the light around itself, the flames that surrounded it looked abnormally cold, like you would instantly freeze if they were to touch you
But as odd as it seemed, he found comfort in the coldness the 'Reverse Sun' emanated, for him it wasn't an uncomfortable cold, more like a cold breeze in the middle of the summer that gave him the opportunity to take his mind away of the scorching pain caused by his multiple wounds
As he looked more and more into the 'Reverse Sun' he seemed to realize it was actually absorbing the ring of flames around it, as it consumed more and more flames something started to shine inside it, among the seemingly endless darkness stood a group of starts that he knew like the back of his hand
It could have been any group of random stars or some other well know constellations like Scorpio or Sagittarius, but in the middle of it all, shining brighter than any other group of stars, stood a constellation that held so much value inside his heart
"O-orion"
It was but a whisper , drowned out by the sound of the heavy downpour and the bustling of the city, but as if acknowledging that it was being called upon, the constellation pulsed with even more intensity
"She a-always said Orion was h-her favorite"
The boy was reminiscing about a time long gone alongside a girl with long silky white hair and the kindest set of blue eyes he has ever seen, but all good things must come to an end
"I wonder were she went... She vanished just as suddenly as she appeared... Just like a shooting star "
She had always been odd to him, she claimed to 'love' him, yet she never raised her hand at him like his mother , never looked at him with degrading eyes like his father
Never laughed behind his back or made rumors about him like his peers , she didn't even raise her voice or called him mean names the whole time they spent together and always looked at him in the eyes with so much care and warmth
Even then she claimed vigorously that she 'loves' him the most, but he... he didn't understand, she never showed him her 'love', not the kind his mother taught him, she did the exact opposite of it to be honest
His heart was f illed with joy every time he was with her, yet his mind, what he knew , what he was taught , what he had seen and felt , all of that kept messing with his mind , making him think she didn't 'love' him
But one day
She just vanished
Just like his grandma
He didn't hear or see her after that, it was like she was just a leaf that was dragged along by the wind , a fresh gust of air that passed through his hair, a shooting star that came through the night sky and vanished just as fast as it appeared
As if the constellation knew what he was feeling, it pulsed once again, this time bringing a wave of comfort onto his body, like being tugged into bed by your mother, or what he supposed it would feel like
But as soon as it came it was gone, now the pain of the stab wound that kept bleeding on his left side coming onto him once again, the multiple cuts across his body aching with fierce intensity , specially the ones around his calf's
Everything hurt , moving hurt, breathing hurt, even trying to think about something else made his head hurt, that was probably because of the concussion caused by being choke slammed against a wall multiple times
The sound of the rain and the traffic came back , the feeling of the freezing cold raindrops only aggravating the pain of his injuries, the concrete floor below him felt really cold yet strangely warm in some places
That was probably the warmth of his own blood staining the dirty floor of the alleyway even more, he didn't have enough strength to get up, hell... not even enough to make pressure on his biggest wound
He knew what was coming, he was familiar with pain, he was 'loved' since he was 4, so he had plenty of time to feel the ' love' his parents bestowed upon him, yet at this singular moment, after reminiscing about the times he spend with the white haired girl
He was afraid...
He was oh so afraid ...
He knew he was dying ...
He knew he would definitely die here...
Alone ...
In a dirty alleyway in the middle of the city...
Without a single person that cared for him to be at his side when he took his last breath...
And even knowing that there was nothing he could do to change it...
He didn't want to die...
!Not like this!
!NOT IN A DISGUSTING, DARK, LONELY ALLEYWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!
!HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE HE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE!...
He... He only wanted to see her one last time ... Both of them ... His precious Nee-sama and his lovely Obaa-san ... Just once would be enough for him...
So he prayed ...
He didn't believe in god...
If ' God' existed then he wouldn't have gone through everything he experienced...
But if there was something ...
Anything ...
Anyone ...
That could help him ...
Save him...
So he could find them one day...
He prayed to it...
He begged to it...
He groveled at their feet for just a chance ...
He didn't care if he had to devout his entire being to them...
He didn't care if he had to s ell his soul to them...
He just wanted a chance to see them once again...
And he would happily die after that...
He prayed ...
He prayed...
With his last bit of strength...
He prayed once again...
And...
They heard...
They saw...
And They responded...
One wanting to give the boy the happiness he deserved...
Wishing to give him the means to achieve his destiny ...
The other waking up from a long slumber...
Astonished by such a strong flurry of emotions...
Such passion ...
Such devotion ...
Such determination ...
But above everything else...
Such ̷̹͕̟͚̩̘̿̿͐̈͆̔O̴̢̨͎̟̭̜͛̒̈́̾̕̕V̸͖̮͈̩͍͕̏͒͋̈́̐͘Ǝ̴͍̠̜̜͖̰͌́͑̒͠͝...
IT SQUIRMED WITH SO MUCH JOY AND EXCITEMENT, IT HAD FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE WITH SUCH A STRONG LOVE BURNING INSIDE THEM, SOMEONE JUST LIKE ITSELF...
A true 'Beast' made of 'Love'. ...
It wanted to raise and cherish this little one into a fine warrior...
So it could enjoy playing with him to it's heart's content once the time came...
And so...
They interfered ...
With his last prayer all his strength was depleted...
He laid there without an ounce of strength left in his body...
His vision started to become blurry...
The sounds around him became harder to distinguish...
His hands felt cold...
The only warmth he could feel was that of his blood dripping and making a puddle in the ground below him...
And even that was starting to lose its warmth...
He knew...
This was the end...
He was going to die...
He couldn't do anything...
So...
He gave up...
' This is it ,I gue -'
.
.
.
.
At the last moment...
Just before accepting his fate...
A pair of blurs caught his attention...
Black, White, Purple, Red, Pink...
But among them...
The one he couldn't take his eyes of...
Blue...
The same shade of blue as her eyes...
The same warmth...
The same care...
The same preoccupation...
At that moment he could swear he saw her again...
'Nee-sama...'
But his eyes unblurred and with that the illusion vanished...
Long dark-purple hair that seemed to absorb the moonlight...
A beauty mark just below her left eye...
A red domino mask that framed her...
Blue Eyes...
'It's not Nee-sama'
"-ight -tie"
Coming out of his stupor and barely being able to keep himself conscious he tried to hear what the woman was saying, it was hard to hear because of the rain but as if those words reached the core of his entire existence, he heard them as clear as if he was in an empty room with her
"Everything is going to be alright sweetie, I promise everything will be okay so please stay awake for me baby"
For the years to come and until the day he passed away , Asahi would always remember those words and treasure them as if they were the most precious thing on earth
The love and care with which the woman above him spoke those words would be engraved on his heart forever , he had long forgotten what being truly loved by a mother felt like
What it was like before his quirk manifested...
But with those words...
It was at this moment he finally remembered what it felt like being loved by a mother...
He didn't remember when was the last time he cried, all the pain and insults had made him numb to most emotions, but those words broke a damn that had been holding years of abuse and bottled up emotions
Asahi would proudly tell this story to his children in the future , he would die before even thinking of being ashamed or embarrassed by what came out of his mouth next
If he was being totally honest, it didn't even come out of his mouth, he was sure that it honestly came from the deepest, most pure and honest part of his heart
" O-okaa -san ... I d- dont want to die"
-X- -?'s POV -X-
"-?" was sure this would be one of the most important days in her life, it might be her gut felling but she was sure she would remember those words for the rest of her life and even maybe take them with her to her next life
She was glad she agreed to accompany Kuugo on his nightly patrol on that fateful day, she would be grateful to whatever being or force that had made her stop at that rooftop and look up at the sky
Because it was that brief lull in the storm, that shining constellation that she couldn't keep her eyes off, that blessed her with the opportunity to find that child about to die alone in an dark and dirty alleyway
She would always cry whenever she got to this part of the story, because to her, the words that this chi-, No, the words that her one and only son told her in that dark night would forever change her
That night something woke up inside "-?" , she didn't know why or how, hell she didn't even care to think about it, she just knew , that the child in front of her wasn't calling for his biological mother
No, she just knew, deep inside her, that this child, her child , was calling for her , not some other person, her specifically , and it was at that moment she accepted it, that a bond like no other was formed between the two of them
Some of her colleagues would question her decision and even question her whole professionalism because of this moment, she would always give them the finger, because she didn't care about anything else , because at that moment she decided that it was HER CHILD , HER SON , and she would rip the throat of anyone who dared harm him with her own teeth and nails
" Everything will be alright baby , nothing bad is going to happen to you, we are going to get you the help you need and you will be as good as new in the morning, mommy will be here right beside you all the way , so please, my beautiful boy , stay awake for me, I promise everything will be alright, you just have to keep your pretty eyes open , okay?"
"-?" had worked with multiple children in her career, but she had never been so emotionally invested in any of them, she did care for them greatly, she wanted to be a mother in the future so she really liked children
But there was something about this boy that she couldn't explain, she didn't care to find and explanation either, it was as if both of them had come to an unspoken agreement the moment they looked into each others eyes, they would be Mother and Son from that moment onward
And "-?" was sure as hell she wouldn't be loosing her child tonight, she couldn't, she didn't even know his name, but it was her child as of right now, and she would do everything in her power to get her child home safe and sound
"O-kay I w-will try"
It was less than a whisper , she knew her son was running out of strength , and if he didn't get an ambulance and a blood transfusion in the next couple of minutes he wouldn't make it , and it terrified her to no end , she wouldn't allow it , not while she was alive and breathing
Before she ended up being consumed by her inner turmoil an odd wave of comfort hit her like a warm hug from a loved one, coming out of her worried daze she gazed the way from which that sense of comfort came from
And what she found would make her question the way the universe worked for the rest of her life, she didn't give it a lot of importance when she arrived at the alleyway, her first thought was to get her child the help he needed ASAP, but then she inspected her surroundings, "gobsmacked" would be an accurate way to describe how she was feeling right now
It was like this secluded alleyway became a small Eden protecting the wounded child, the once before stormy clouds that hung above him parted in un-natural ways, creating a small perimeter of less than 15 meters where there wasn't a single drop of rain falling, it also seemed like the sound from outside was muffled, it was oddly quiet in that alleyway compared to the thunderstorm raging around them
But what stood in the center of it all, illuminating the night sky like they were the sun itself stood Orion, it shone with such intensity and gave an odd sense of authority that she thought it was the work of a quirk or the stress of the situation finally getting to her, but as soon as those thoughts came to her mind they disappeared with a warm wave of comfort coming from the constellation thousands of light years away from earth
It was as if it was telling her "Everything is going to work out, so don't worry too much child", and so she decided to calm herself and focus on keeping the child in her arms awake, she knew there was an ambulance already in its way to take him to the nearest hospital
-X- Kuugo Sakamata's POV -X-
Kuugo had already started dialing for an ambulance the moment he saw "-?" jump down from the rooftop they where standing in to help the child that was injured in the alleyway bellow them, he was quite shaken that he didn't even notice the small kid bleeding out below them even with his enhanced hearing and smell
He gave a quick explanation of the situation to the call taker so they could send out a team of EMT's prepared for the situation, form what he could see at first glance the kid looked to be around 7 or 8 years old, maybe older because of how skinny and short but overall malnourished he appeared, he had quite a few visible cuts, lacerations and bruises but what worried him the most was the possible stab wound on his abdomen, there was a large puddle of blood below the kid that was already staining "-?'s" costume, he was surprised the little guy was still kicking, the amount of blood that came out of him would definitely be a dead sentence to anyone his age
He wanted to inspect the child closer so he could try to mitigate any bleeding that wasn't visible from where he was standing, so he gently got closer to the kid and "-?", he didn't want to further aggravate his wife that already was pretty shaken up, so he asked gently to both of them if he could check for any more wounds the kid may have so he could help him out while the EMT's got there
" -? I need to check the kid for any more injuries and to get some pressure in that wound, can you let me check the kid? "
"H-huh?... Oh... yeah yeah you are right sorry I spaced out a lot there, we need to help him until the ambulance arrives"
'Well, there goes part 1 of the plan', he already got his wife out of her dazed state and got permission to touch the child, his instincts told him that she had somehow been imprinted by the child, it was incredibly weird because it only happens with animal related quirk users when they are born, so it was unprecedented for 2 people with no animal related quirks to imprint with each other, well as far as he saw the kid didn't have any mutations so he supposed he had a different kind of quirk
This was the whole reason why he had to ask for permission to even touch the child, he knew from experience with his own mother that touching a female's cub without permission was the closest you could get to asking to be mangled to dead without actually saying it, so he knew he had to thread carefully because right now she truly was in "Mama-bear" mode, now came part 2 of the plan, getting the kids permission to check for injuries, it was extremely important to get his permission
If he tried to be forceful right now and the kid saw him as a threat it would send all of Part 1 to the drain, the moment the kid panicked it would instantly make his wife go on defensive mode, and he knew he stood no chance against his wife's quirk at this range, adding that with the fact that she didn't even notice the whole imprinting thing affecting her, from an outside perspective it looked normal, just a heroine being worried about an injured child, but Kugo's instincts told him that it was so much more
He decided it was now or never, this whole thing was a huge gamble because of his appearance, he was aware of his not so "friendly" appearance so he prayed the kid wouldn't get scared, he slowly kneeled down besides the child and spoke to him calmly and trying to make him feel as safe as possible despite his appearance
"How are you feeling kid? My name's Gang Orca but you can call me Kuugo if you want, I need to check you for any injuries I'm not seeing so we can help you, will you let me help you ?
As soon as those words left his mouth the kid 'looked his way', and that's when things started to go south, the moment the kid 'laid eyes on him' he tensed up, but he wasn't actually looking at him, his eyes were glazed and he was looking at his business suit with an horrified expression and that's when he saw in his peripheral vision that his wife started tensing up and her quirk started oozing out of her skin, acting quickly but still being gentle he removed his suit and the child relaxed, it seemed to work as the child's eyes became focused and started inspecting him slowly
Once both their eyes locked into each other's Kuugo felt a sudden but incredibly strong sense of dread coming from the kid, his instincts were a jumbled mess, in one hand they were screaming at him to run and get as far as possible from the 'thing' in front of him, and in the other they were weirdly begging them to stay as still as possible and stay by the kid's side, he decided to listen to the later and stay put where he was, and it seemed to work out when there was a flash of something in the kids eyes
He didn't know exactly what it was, he thought it was a mix between trust, fondness and longing, before he could process all of what had happened in the last 5 seconds, he found himself reaching out for the kid's hand that wasn't holding his wife's, as soon as their hands came into contact he felt a jolt of something coursing from his hand then going all over his body and finally reaching his brain, and whit that a strange sense of warmth and fondness invaded his chest when he looked at the kid's eyes
'Damn Chibisuke just imprinted himself on me without asking or even knowing he did it ... aahhh... well there's nothing I can do about it anymore, I guess we are parents now ne -?'
Kuugo had been married to '-?' for 2 years already, they had been talking about having children not so long ago, despite their efforts it seemed like '-?' has been unable to get pregnant even though both of them are perfectly healthy , so the timing of this child arriving in their life's seemed like the work of Kami-sama
He was sure his wife though the same by how warmly she was looking at the kid resting his head in her lap, even playing a little bit with his dark brown hair which looked to be quite messy and even spiky in some places, the fact that it was uncomfortably long and seemed like it wasn't taken care of in a long time raised a lot of red flags in Kuugo's mind
That uneasiness brought him out of his internal turmoil and he continued inspecting the child for any life-threatening injuries, doing so raised so many red flags in his mind that he was surprised '-?'didn't go in a rage induced rampage by seeing just how truly injured their kid was
He confirmed his suspicions once he looked at the lower abdomen of his kid, there was a deep stab wound that seemed to bleed copious amounts of blood, he immediately ripped apart his discarded business suit so he had something to put pressure on the wound
After he covered the most life-threatening injury the search for more injuries was resumed, he for sure had to give credit to the little warrior in front of him, it was beyond him how he could avoid screaming with how many cuts he had around his body, from some clear cuts caused by a knife to even some wood splinters and glass shards still embedded in his skin
' Wha ... what in the... What in the name of the all knowing Kami-sama happened to you Chibisuke ...'
Kuugo was dumbfounded at what he saw once he took a closer look at his kids torso, it was littered to the brim with scars, some old and some that looked to have been made a couple of months ago, every single one of them screamed that the boy didn't have them treated properly and that scared him to no end
He and '-?' checked the missing children reports for their city and even the ones surrounding it every single week and he was sure he hadn't seen the kids face or description in any of those reports, those which they just checked the night prior to this whole debacle, so he knew for sure he wasn't a kidnapping victim
By how old those scars looked he couldn't be, most kidnappers wouldn't keep a hostage for so long that the wounds they inflicted on them could scar like this, so that discarded the kidnapping being the source of all the injuries in his boy's body
But once the kidnapping was ruled out it made Kuugo want to retch, the only other two options were that he was a human trafficking victim or the victim of an extreme child abuse case, either of those possibilities made a shiver run down his spine
As he looked more and more at the kid everything he saw started indicating it was the former case, clothes that looked to be for someone his age but definitely looked worn out, how long and unkempt his hair was, how thin and weak he looked, like he would fall apart if they treated him roughly
The copious amounts of scars surrounding all his body, the repetitive cuts around his tendons so he couldn't run too far or run at all, the slash that barely missed his right eye, most likely caused by a sharp knife, the patches of purple skin and bruises that littered his entire body, and the disgusting bruises that could only be caused by ropes that scarred his neck and hands
He had never seen someone so injured in his whole career, and he was a god damn hero, he saw his fellow heroes get injured multiple times but he was sure that none of them would be able to not scream if they were subject to this amount of injuries, hell, most of them would have already fainted
He felt so bad for his little boy, for everything he had to go through until today, but above everything else that he was feeling, what was above everything else was the amount of pure unadulterated rage he was feeling towards the monsters that did this to a boy so small and defenseless
He swore that he would find them and make them pay for what they did, THEY DARED HARM HIS KID, and he was sure they would love spending the rest of their lives in prison, and he knew what they did to child abusers inside those thick reinforced concrete walls, and they had every single ounce of it coming to them
A sudden thug to his shoulder and the surprise from the cold rain hitting his body once again brought him out of his revenge filled mind, once he looked behind him every single noise from the city hit him at once, it honestly almost stunned him for a moment, compared to how quiet and peaceful it was inside their little bubble a couple of moments ago everything around them looked and sounded horrible
"Gang Orca-san we came for the injured child, we have everything ready outside of the alley so we need to get him in the stretcher and bring him to the hospital"
The EMT that pulled at his shoulder told him with a loud voice, the downpour made it hard to hear anything that wasn't loud enough, Kugo once again was presented with a challenge that he must overcome, getting his wife to let a pair of complete strangers touch and move her injured child without her using her quirk on them and ripping them to shreds.
'Okey... He-... Here goes nothing I suppose...'
-X- -?'s POV -X-
The sudden change temperature around us almost made me yelp, but that wasn't what mattered the most right now, the real problem was my little boy trembling below me, when we found him he was completely soaked and freezing, that couple of minutes we were inside the little bubble of protection allowed him to recover a little bit of warmth but he was starting to lose strength quickly once again
I instantly took off my raincoat and tried to put it on him as best as I could without aggravating his wounds even more, I am a completely healthy adult and at best I would get a cold for staying in the rain for so long, but he's such a tiny child that I honestly fear he would die because of the condition he's in right now
And like Mom once said '-?, Remember this for when you have your first child, for us, Mothers, our child's safety and well being comes first and foremost, even if we have to sacrifice our own bodies so they can be happy and healthy, that is one of the most important lessons your Grandma taught me, and I hope you will follow our example, because, to us, there's nothing more valuable than our children's happiness'
She told me this when I got married to Kuugo, she really wants me to have children before she passes away, she always tells me that she will spoil rotten my firstborn, and I can't deny that she's an incredible mother, so my child would be way more spoiled than I was
The problem came when I was unable to get pregnant no matter what we tried, from artificial insemination to fertility enhancing medication and even some quirks that helped with it, everything seemed to be useless and I started feeling hopeless
Even this morning I was feeling depressed and didn't want to come to work but Kugo got me to come along with him to his nightly patrol around the city, we mostly patrolled in the areas surrounding the residential part of the city, we mostly encountered a few junkies, some small time villains and even some lost children so this whole situation caught us off ward
I sometimes wonder how fate works, a couple of hours ago I was brooding and being sad because I couldn't be a mother and right now I'm holding my child in my arms, the fact that he was near death's door was already making me want to go against everything my oath to society stands for, if I could have my way the people who did this to him wouldn't see the next sunrise
But I had to try my best and hold everything I was feeling inside for both the sake of my newly 'adopted?' son and my husband, it is way harder that it sounds, I feel way more emotional than before and the feeling of my son trembling below me from both pain and the cold water falling on us is making me reach my limit
'Keep it in... stay calm... Breath... Everything will be okay... Keep it inside... All is good... Think about your kid '-?'... You have to keep it together...'
As I kept reciting those words like a mantra I saw my husband talk with someone, taking a closer look it was an EMT and behind him I could see the lights of the ambulance we had been waiting for, this meant my son was finally safe and it made me relax a little bit, but something inside me is telling me I shouldn't let go of him, like they were going to take him away from me, from us, but I know we need to get him to the hospital
'But I'm still scared... What if he doesn't make it to the hospital... what if something happens to the ambulance... What if whoever did this to him comes back to finish the job... What if they take him to somewhere we can't find him... WHAT IF, WHAT IF! WHAT IF! WHAT IF! WHAT IF! WHA-'
Before I could go on a meltdown I felt a pair of strong hands in my shoulders and a small squeeze in one of my hands, once I opened my eyes I saw them both, my husband and my child, both of them looking at me with worried eyes that made me realize how quickly I was spiraling out of reason, I couldn't let them see me like this, I didn't want them to see me like this, so mustering all my strength I freed my son from my arms.
As soon as I unwrapped my arms from my child, Kuugo took him in his, gently pulling him up with such ease you would think he's made out of paper, with as much care as he could he got him in the stretcher, but he stopped once he saw and felt it, fear, such a primal and crude fear, like an injured pray that was about to be devoured by a starved predator, it was coming off directly from our boy, his eyes were bloodshot, his knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping Kugo's shirt, his small mouth trembling as if he was trying to say something desperately but the words wouldn't come out of it.
Before I could jump from my spot to embrace him in my arms once again Kuugo lowered his head in front of our child's, he looked into his eyes for a couple of seconds, as if they were having a silent conversation we knew nothing about, and finally leaning over the remaining distance he gently touched our child's forehead with his own, with such a soothing and fatherly tone I had never heard coming out his mouth he reassured him.
"Everything is goin' to be alright Chibisuke, yer Ma's going to go with ya so the nice men can help ya feel better and once your fine and dandy we're gonna go home and eat yer favorite snacks, but first yer Pa's gonna have a nice and long talk with some not so nice people, be a good pip-squeak and do what yer Ma tells you"
This was the first time in all the years I've know Kuugo that I heard him talk with such tenderness and love to someone besides myself, it also had something else laced within it that made it slightly different from how he talked to me, he even started talking with the accent and manner of speech his family had back in his hometown
Nod*
Our child gave him a small nod in affirmation and released his shirt, Kuugo ruffled his hair affectionately and I could swear I heard both of them purr, but once their little Father-Son? bonding moment ended Kuugo looked back at me with a serious expression, the one he made whenever we had to fight a group of villains or we were in a pinch, the implications behind it scared me to be honest
With a steady pace he started walking towards me and once he was in arms reach he placed one of his hands in my shoulder, with a calm voice he started whispering to me
" '-?' You go with the kid, Honey, I need you to listen to me carefully and promise me that under no circumstances you will loose your cool"
The way he spoke to me made me extremely anxious, I was incredibly scared of what he was about to tell me but I had to steel my resolve and promise him that I would keep calm despite what he was about to tell me
"Okay... I promise I won't get in trouble"
He looked me in the eyes for a couple of seconds and then released a big sigh that released some steam from his blowhole, something he rarely did and it meant he was beyond stressed, so I prepared myself to what's to come
"Once you board the ambulance I want you to stay at our child's side the whole time, the kid needs one of us to be by his side at all times, he doesn't trust anyone else at the moment so it would be really bad if we got separated... Listen I know it's going to sound really bad... The kid has a Quirk Cancelling Anklet and with the scars I found it means he's either a Child Trafficking victim or the victim of a extreme Child Abuse case... I need you to call Nezu as soon as you get in that ambulance, he will know what to do in this case... As for myself I got the kids scent and I will track his steps until I find from where he ran away... I need you to stay calm and do as I said, AM I UNDERSTOOD?"
I was definitely not ready for what he told me, I knew Kuugo was better at picking up this kind of things than me, but he arrived at a conclusion that was way different than what I tough happened to our child, it really started taking a toll at my mental health just trying to process everything that he told me, but now more than ever I had to stay strong for both of them, our child was in a situation way worse than what I tough so I prepared myself to fight whatever comes our way to my dying breath.
"Yes, I will talk with Principal Nezu once I get in the ambulance, just... Please be careful honey... We don't know what the people who did this to our child are capable off... if they did this to a child so small and fragile I fear whatever they might try to do to you... So please if things go south just get out of there and come back to us, okey?.. I love you... you Dumb Aquatic Panda"
"I love you too Honey... even if you are a Dramatic Panda"
"Hey that's not nice I'm your wife have some respect... just... make sure you come back in one piece"
With those words said we shared a quick farewell kiss, I moved forward towards the ambulance so I could stay by our son's side while he went out to hunt whoever dared harm our cub, and once Kuugo set his sights in reaching something there was only a couple of people in Japan that could stop him, and right now I'm sure none of them would want to get in his way
Once inside the ambulance I saw my child being treated carefully by the EMT, he looked really uncomfortable being touched by someone besides me and Kuugo, so I quickly maneuvered around the ambulance to reach his side, once he saw me his body relaxed and he didn't look as tense as before, I took his hand and he almost seemed to melt in the stretcher, once he was calmed by my presence I saw him look outside the window into the starry sky
He mouthed a small yet full of gratefulness 'Arigato', I didn't need to see what he was mouthing that word to, I was sure we both saw the same constellation and we were eternally grateful to it for allowing us to meet in this eventful night
Finally in our way to the hospital I thought everything would be alright, but unbeknownst to me the gears of fate started moving forward and we wouldn't be ready for the journey we have ahead of us
-X- 3rd Person POV -X-
This was just the beginning of an era of changes that would shake the foundations of humanity as we know it, a tale of heroes and villains, a story about love and loss and the journey of a boy that desires to feel loved and to make his love reach others.
But that is a story for another day
This is just prologue to the arduous journey this generation of heroes has to go through so they can reach true peace
It all started here
A child desperately trying to reach for his freedom that was taken away
A mother trying her best to protect and care for her son
An a father in the hunt for the monsters that harmed his child
Everything began...
That Night Under the Glittering Sky...
Prologue: That Night Under the Glittering Sky
End
Next Chapter:
A Parent's Resolve
To be continued ...
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