Based on a pixiv image of the same name ("安らげる場所" by 涼風つばさ). Well, sort of. My attempt at a fanfic of a Fujiko Fujio work. Specifically, Perman (パーマン). Or Parman... whatever you romanize it as.
A Restful Place
Perman should have known that even in the wee hours of the morning, crime never slept. Now, he could never get a good night's sleep and even when his teachers and parents ask him why he's always so tired, he just left them at that and never gave an answer. Occasionally still, he used "bad dreams" as an excuse but it was beginning to get old.
Anyway, as Perman opened the large, sliding glass windows of his bedroom, he quickly discarded his gear and changed back to his pajamas, now as plain Mitsuo Suwa.
"Finally!" he said plopping on to his bed. "I can sleep..."
Then he heard a knock on the glass of his door. The universe was out to make him miserable, he had known that already.
He couldn't help but groan in his pillow. Who in the world could it be now?
"No. 1? I must talk to you..."
It shocked him to hear the familiar voice of his master and one of the supermen, guardians of the universe, Birdman. Did he do something wrong today? Was he going to be lectured? Then it occurred to him if he really was there.
He turned around and he did saw him standing, his one hand still knocking at the glass.
"No. 1, please..."
He then noticed his voice sounded to have a bit of sadness in their tone. It did not sound like he was out to berate him or anything.
"Birdman?" he said when he sat up from his bed.
Curious, he let him in, Birdman entering his room as soon as the doors were opened.
"Birdman, what is it? I can't take any more missions, I'm too tired..."
"No, no. It's not that, I just..." Birdman dropped to his knees on the floor, surprising Mitsuo.
Mitsuo then thought he heard something of a whimper come from him as his head hung low. It was so unlikely that it was beginning to put him off.
"N-No. 1... Mitsuo..."
Now he just uttered his real name, too? "Birdman, what's wrong?!" he asked a bit too loudly.
"I..." Birdman trembled. "...I have failed!" he exclaimed, looking at Mitsuo revealing his eyes to be now full of tears.
"Failed...?" Mitsuo drew back though unintentionally. Birdman's sudden burst of emotion was something new so it was expected. "What do you mean?"
"He was so young... The look on his eyes when he..." unable to finish, he shut his eyes and emitted an angry growl, "How did I go wrong?!"
"W-what? Birdman, just tell me what happened! What are you talking about?" Mitsuo asked frantically.
Letting up, Birdman began to explain. "Though not as often anymore, I still have a few missions here on Earth, saving anybody who needs help. I help them just as much as I help others within and outside the galaxy."
"I know," Mitsuo interrupted. "And you do such a good job of it!"
"Oh but that's where I'd doubt!" he stated, starting to break down again but stopped himself. "A young boy, younger than you, had gotten lost in a deep dark forest and it had been three days. His mother pleaded to have him back safely but she also said to be very careful when handling him."
"What did she mean by that?"
"You will see..." he paused, in deep thought for a minute, "Now, what his family simply thought was that he just wandered deep into the forest. What they didn't know was that he was actually abducted."
"Abducted? You mean kidnapped?"
Birdman nodded.
"By who?"
"Criminals hiding out in the forest," he answered, causing Mitsuo to gasp. "But when I saw that the thugs had already tied him up and gagged and were about to place him in the back of their car, I didn't have time to ask them why they have him and what were they even doing before. I just knew that I just have to save that child.
"They brought their guns out and I knew that they were either going to try and shoot me, or threaten to shoot the child. So I rushed to the man closest to the boy and punched him along with the other guy who also pointed his weapon at me. And as soon as I knocked them out, I untied him and began to carry him back to his family."
"Way to go, Birdman!" Mitsuo cheered. "But I don't see where it went wrong."
"I thought the same thing. At first, I was holding the boy in my arms, then I heard more guns coming from behind me. There were more of them!"
"Oh no!"
"I couldn't fight them, the boy was with me! I ran as fast as I could... I heard the engine of their cars starting so I ran faster..."
Mitsuo had sat down on his bed by now, clenching on his sheets.
"I felt the boy clutching to my chest and beginning to breathe quite fast. I tried to calm him down.
"I told him, 'Don't worry; you'll be with your mommy and daddy soon!' I looked back... They were catching up to me!"
Mitsuo could only imagine what that would've been like.
"The guns never stopped shooting. I was afraid they were going to hit one of us!"
"Then why didn't you fly away?!"
"Mitsuo!"
Both gasped when they heard someone shout. It was Mitsuo's mother.
Birdman hid under the bed while he just looked on. Then he saw the door open and his mother's tired and annoyed expression could be seen on her face.
"Mitsuo, why are you still awake? It's very late!"
"I know, Mama! I'm sorry, I was just..."
"And why is your window still open?"
"Um... I was letting the mosquitoes out!" he lied. "Yeah, that's it. They were keeping me up... I think they're gone now." He laughed nervously before finally closing the windows shut.
"Mitsuo, just go to sleep now... No excuses," the mother said, heavy lidded.
"I will Mama," he said as his mother shut the door, leaving him alone; Except for Birdman who had now crawled out.
"We might have to keep it down, Birdman. We might wake everyone up."
"I understand... Maybe I'll just... leave."
"What?!" Mitsuo quickly brought a hand to his mouth, refraining to shout. "But you haven't finished telling me the story!" he whispered.
"I don't know if I could bring it up any longer..."
"Please, Birdman? I think you were asking for my help when you got here and you looked very sad, you even cried... I wanna do something for you. But you have to tell me everything first."
Birdman had forgotten how the boy could have such a good heart. Clumsy and stubborn he could be, he was constantly reminded why he wound up becoming Perman #1. "My, you are stubborn. Fine, now I remembered you asked me something..."
"I asked why you didn't fly away..." he reminded. "They were shooting at you, the guys..."
"Yes, that's it! Well... this is where it begins. I actually did fly away. And flying away, I never thought of it as anything that could harm someone. They were just so close and they were still shooting and I had no choice but to take off with him still in my arms... I thought it was a good idea and the boy was safe."
"What a relief!"
Birdman could only guess how the innocent child in front of him would react once he revealed the tragic conclusion. "I flew down somewhere near the exit of the forest and I saw the mother coming to me and the child in my arms. At first, she looked so happy... Until I heard her cry out..." Tears dropped from underneath his mask down to his chin.
"Birdman, what was it? B-Birdman...?" Mitsuo edged near him.
"She said..." Birdman was afraid that he might scream the words right out of his mouth, and could cause a commotion in the household. With all the gathered strength in his emotions, he whispered the breaking words.
Mitsuo couldn't help but let his eyes water.
"'Why... isn't he... breathing...?'"
Mitsuo's jaw dropped. Along with it, a tear flowed down to his cheek.
"'What have you done to him?!' She kept asking. She became hysterical... She kept shaking him and shaking him and he never blinked..."
"He... His eyes were still open?" Mitsuo asked, starting to fear.
"He looked so scared... His body was so limp but the very last thing I saw... he was still so scared. His family rushed to his side and they began to cry... I couldn't do anything. I waited for one of them to attack me for..." he gulped a large lump from his throat before continuing, "...practically murdering their child!"
"No, Birdman, no! It was an accident!"
"But they were too busy," he continued still, ignoring Mitsuo's protest, "mourning for their son... S-so I flew away... without looking back. And up there, I began to regret, knowing I may never be forgiven by them."
"Birdman... w-when did this happen?"
"J-just a few hours ago... In another country where it is still daylight"
"A-a few hours ago... Birdman, I... but, how did he die? How did he die by just flying?"
"I was told by his mother to be careful... I wasn't told about the extent of what she meant by that. But all I could conclude was... the boy must've had a weak heart. He may have never experienced flying and I took off too fast when we lifted off the ground. The shock may have killed him and I caused it."
"But...you didn't know..."
"I didn't know! Exactly!" he knocked himself in the head, forgetting for a moment that he should be keeping quiet. "I didn't know... I didn't... " He lowered his head, refusing to look up, more tears dropped to the floor.
"Please, Birdman..." he stood up and tried to calm him down with a comforting hand. "It's gonna be okay..."
"I-I... Oh, Mitsuo!" He wrapped his arms around the boy and began crying as quietly as he could. "I'm a failure...!" he said. And he kept saying it, over and over again as he held Mitsuo tighter.
"Birdman!" Mitsuo by now was bawling just as much. "You're scaring me...! Why did you come to me?"
Birdman stopped for a while. He thought of what answer he could give him, but it wasn't the right time to lie about anything. Not that he was about to. He took a deep breath and wiped a tear falling from his chin. There, he began to do the unthinkable. As he ran his hand under his face, he started to unbuckle the strap keeping the mask in place on his head.
"Birdman... what are you doing?" he asked in a soft but startled voice.
As the strap on his mask hung loose on each side, he slowly lifted it off his head.
Mitsuo gaped at the scene, the broken hero in front of him revealing himself to be... what he almost imagined what he might've looked like without the mask but it still shocked him an awful lot.
"Mitsuo... my most cherished apprentice," he held the stunned boy's face as he said so, "As the closest one to becoming one of the guardians of the universe, it is only appropriate that I should tell you, there can be consequences to everything you do. Even if they are good things and you are trying to save a life. And though it may not seem like it, it's not uncommon for a superhero to be dealing with something like this...
"I was... disappointed with myself. I was unprepared and I forgot that my actions would always have an outcome and not always an outcome that I hope for. I wasn't even able to face the poor boy's family and I just took off! So you, Mitsu... I mean, No. 1, must do better than I. As an apprentice, you must aim to be the master. You must be more prepared and you must plan things ahead... What you do so far, if you think is already hard enough, I just want to say to you; it will get tougher. As you grow along with your powers, so will your responsibilities and the dangers you have to face," he paused for a bit before noticing that Mitsuo still held the same expression the first time he removed his mask. "I hope you are listening to me."
Mitsuo had been listening. His speech was as enthralling as Birdman's sudden unmasking. He looked him in the eyes the entire time. For the longest time, he was intimidated by this seemingly alien being that chose him to be the superhero that made him today only to find out how surprisingly... human he was. But that will not change his respect of him and he was sure that by the next day, he will be his old self again.
"Yes, Birdman. I understand." He felt for his face a dried tear and wiped it with a hand.
"Good." He sniffed and like Mitsuo, he also wiped the dried tears on his face. He took a deep breath and sighed. "May I just ask one more thing?"
"Sure, Birdman. What is it?"
"Can I spend the night here? I think it might've taken more of my energy than it should have, trying to keep myself together and all."
"...I-I guess so. After all, you came all this way..." he said. "Do you want me to lend you some pajamas or..."
"No, that's okay." As quickly as possible, Birdman placed the helmet back on his head and fastened the straps. "It'll be morning soon anyway. And I'll be on patrol later."
Mitsuo deflated at the fact that once again, he had failed to get a good night's sleep and it was true that morning would be a few hours away. He was very tired so he climbed back to his bed and under his covers.
Birdman meanwhile, placed only his head beside Mitsuo's bed with his own arms underneath him for a pillow.
"Are you comfortable there, Birdman?"
"Yes, I'm fine here. Thanks for asking."
"Alright. Good night." He then tried to close his eyes which he hoped would eventually bring him back to his nap.
"Good night," Birdman said to Mitsuo and began to finally drift off in his own slumber. "I love you..."
Mitsuo's eyes shot open. Had he heard right? But for now, he was too tired to argue about it in his mind. He had heard right and he could feel himself blush. His back being currently turned to Birdman, he decided to turn towards him, where he was seeing Birdman already snoring and drooling. He looked so tired and peaceful. And after all he'd been through, he certainly deserved his rest.
Out of nowhere, Mitsuo decided to give him a peck on the cheek. He finally rested after that.
Birdman's eyes shot open. The gesture was... surprising coming from the young man. He could feel himself blush. He saw Mitsuo, whose back was turned as soon as he crawled onto his bed, was now facing him. And he could see from Mitsuo's tired and peaceful expression as he slept, he certainly deserved his rest. What a good boy he was. Most of the time, at least. Then, he closed his eyes once more.
ooOoo
Rarely did Mitsuo wake up and see the sun rise with him. But for today, there seemed to be an exception.
"I'm sorry... I think I woke you up."
Mitsuo saw Birdman, already standing in front of him. "It's okay..." he said, "You'll be going now?"
Birdman nodded. "I'd best be on my way... Thank you, Mitsuo, for letting me stay here."
"You're welcome."
Birdman approached to open the window but Mitsuo rushed towards him and opened it first.
"You know you didn't have to do that."
"I did it because I wanted to!"
Birdman noticed a smile form across the young man's face as he said those words. It made him smile too, even amid the events that happened hours prior.
"Anyway, I'll be seeing you around," he turned to fly away, "Oh and No. 1?" he said, turning around.
"Yes?"
"Our little secret..." he said, pointing to his own mask, "This doesn't change anything."
Mitsuo laughed. "I already thought the same thing. Don't worry, Birdman, I won't tell!"
Birdman let out a little chuckle. "Okay, No.1, you still have a job to do later, remember that. Alright, take care!" And with that, he flew off to the skies.
"Take care!" Mitsuo shouted, waving to him.
Birdman also gave a last wave until finally disappearing into the horizon.
With everything past behind them, it's finally time for Mitsuo to get on with his nap... but then it occurred to him, that it was such a beautiful morning.
Everything was still quiet...
Birds are starting to wake up...
Mitsuo fetched for his copy robot and pressed on the red button that is to be the nose once it morphed into a perfect replica of him. Which it did.
"It's too early, I wanna sleep..." the copy robot moaned.
"Good! Then I have a perfect job for you..."
ooOoo
Perman flew above the city, the sky in a beautiful shade of purple. Perman should have known that even in the wee hours of the morning, crime never slept.
-End-
As always, please review if you're out there! I hope I've handled the character's characterizations well, and they're not too OOC.