The final, longish time-skip of the entire series, sans maybe the epilogue. Moving about 5 months prior to the UA Exams, so around 4 to 5 years. I'll give an explanation to what has happened over that time period in the story itself.
Oh yeah! This was checked over by my new beta: Tahaku!
Thanks for doing that for me.
(-)
It had been a little longer than four years since his father lost his powers. It boggled him, as it felt like it had been a century with everything that had gone on between then and now.
Firstly, Goat-Face was stripped of his Heroic License. It made the former pro sad that he wasn't able to do what he enjoyed. Ah, but such is life.
Next, Shiho had started to date his father. She was a wonderful mother to Karin and Yuzu, as she was to him. And that was even before the marriage had happened.
Then, a few months after the marriage, and a month before, if he passed the exam, he would transition into the newly, or more accurately, officially co-ed college, UA. It had been called a female only school, but there had been about two or three male transfers every year from the United States department.
But, as I was saying, the week before the recommendation exam thingy had begun, his father had dumped him off at his uncle's place to 'unlock' his true powers. Which leads us to now, where he is sitting on the floor, in a dark room, with two young children trying to be scary. "So, uh. What does this sword, or any of this to be honest, have to do with the voice inside my head?" He growled out to the shop-keeper sitting in front of him, as the red-headed child continued to make annoyingly stupid faces, inches away from his own.
He had to remind himself that child abuse wasn't heroic.
"My employees have nothing to do with this. I just thought I'd let them have a little fun. Same with all the moody lighting, and the candles, and no floors."
What? He cleared his ears with his pinkies. "You better hope, for your sake as well as well as this shop's, that I misheard you, and haven't been sitting here for an hour just so your brats could have fun."
It was safe to say, that he had inherited the scary aura from his mother. Even Tessai got shivers. "Of course not!" Kisuke giggled nervously. "It was to get you ready for the real training! Right Ururu?"
The little girl looked at him with confusion. "I thought you said that we did this so we could play with the strawberry man."
Kisuke, Tessai, and Jinta face-palmed. Damn it, he knew he should've asked someone else.
Surprisingly though, the orange-haired teen didn't budge, other than give a grin promising of a slow death. "Just get started already, or I promise that you will wake up with a missing limb."
He was quick to show him down to the large, probably illegal, basement he kept under the shop. The sheer size, and, what he could only explain as beauty, of the blue bordered room managed to take his attention off of the murder he was about to commit. For now anyway. "How the hell did you build something like this?"
Ichigo asked, wandering away from the tall ladder that they had used to traverse underground.
"That, is a trade secret, my friend." His fan resumed its place on his sash, as he pulled a sword out of his cane. "But, that isn't what you are down here for, is it?"
Ichigo, who had been absentmindedly walking around the artificial plateau, dropped his eyes off the ceiling as he remembered. "Right. Now I get to kill your manipulative ass."
The shop-keeper chuckled playfully. "Luckily for you, that plays right into releasing your Quirk." He fully unsheathed the sword that lay in his cane. "For you to access your full powers, you must knock my hat off my head."
The strawberry groaned with frustration. "I told you I was done with these shitty games, Hat-n-Clogs."
That's when all the mirth on his face dropped. Kisuke's blade started to vibrate violently, like an addict craving their drug. "And who said this was a game? You're fighting for your life here Kurosaki..." He examined his blade. "Because Benihime is thirsty."
Ichigo wasn't one to fear much, but when his uncle leaped at him, his blade screaming for blood, he almost froze. 'Move it, you imbecile! Are you trying to die down here?'
The coarse, unknown voice in his head caused his arm to flick up, his sword meeting its blood-thirsty counterpart with a blaze of sparks. The force of his downward strike was a little too much for him to handle, causing him to tilt it to the right and provoking it to slide to his right. Ichigo used his foot to pivot to the left, and his non-dominant hand outstretched itself to knock Kisuke's hat off.
But he had already recovered. Ichigo watched as the merchant grabbed the intruding arm, smiling devilishly and in a way that made him pull away. Of course, he couldn't. Kisuke pulled the limb by the forearm, while his dominant hand repositioned it's hold on his weapon's hilt, giving him a better grip as he slashed diagonally at Ichigo's chest.
He stumbled back, once his opponent finished his attack, and the rather deep cut started to bleed expeditiously, pouring out in hazardous amounts. He chose the option that seemed most logical to him at the moment, an attribute given to him by his new guardian.
Retreat.
He had to dodge slash after slash of his assailant's blade, but it was strenuous with the newly created cut in his chest. 'Whoever you are, what ever power you might represent, I need a little help out here!' He yelled into his mind-scape.
He waited for an answer, his head pumping with adrenaline as he continued to avoid attacks meant to cleave him in half. Black started to creep into his vision as his head became light, his balance wavering for a moment as Kisuke stopped. When his body finally gave out on him, he unintentionally leaned forward with no intent on landing on his hands. He had even dropped his only means of defense, the katana. He had been beaten, and most likely would die from blood loss. It was odd, because it seemed like all emotions cleared from his body. He couldn't care about himself. His future, his family, the what-could-have-been's. It all just seemed to float through his mind, as his body slowly fell to the floor.
'I've been trying to help you, you impudent fool, but your fear had deafened you.'
His right leg shot out to catch him, his left falling on its knee as he struggled to stay upright.
'I never knew you to be weak, Ichigo. As a child, you've refused to accept loss as an end and have continued to, throughout your worst struggles, push forward to success. Yet now, an adult, you fall as you should have as a child.'
His uninjured arm gripped onto the sword that lay on the ground, using it to leverage himself upright since he wasn't sure if his back would truly support him.
'I refuse to believe that this is the fall of Ichigo Kurosaki. Especially, since you had, and still have such a bright path in front of you.
His kneeling leg pushed into an unhinged position, making him stand straight once more and putting an unbearable strain on his body.
'You will not fall to an enemy such as he as long as you can hear my name.'
Both his hands gripped onto the hilt of the dirtied, and even cracked weapon, and the contact caused them to glow a bright blue.
'Hear my name Ichigo! Hear it as you have refused it for so long.'
'Call my name, Ichigo!'
'As my name is...'
"ZAN-"
His arms brought the sword slashing to his right, intent on hitting a full 180 degrees.
"GETSU!"
And Kisuke wouldn't forget the devastation the summoning of the weapon had caused. Not in a long time.
He watched the hyper-dense reishi that had gathered at the tip of the blade stretch out where the blade had arced, forming a bright blue half-circle around Ichigo.
It expanded the second he released his sword. Anything level with the blue semi-circle was erased from existence, and it carved a half crater around him at least 20 meters wide, and 10 meters deep. It was a fascinating sight to see, the unharmed earth to his left, in comparison to the decimation on his right. It seemed that control might not be as far off as he thought, seeing how the side he hadn't been aiming for remained unaffected.
Now he, having received the bulk of the attack, wasn't as lucky. A hasty, blood-mist wall had removed any dangerous force, but his hat was blown several feet into the air, and marked the end of their training.
"Tessai! The training's complete! Get him upstairs and start with the Healing Kido, Stat."
He had to hope that his mother wouldn't kill him for the new scar on his student's chest.
But who was he kidding.
He should probably start writing his will then and there.
(-)
"Kisuke. I do hope that you will explain the state my son is in."
An evil chill fell onto the room when Shiho left the room where her son lay, covered in bandages, bruises, and cuts. Shutting the door behind her, where his sisters sat by his side, she unleashed the demon inside her. "Um... Training mishap...?" Her malice only grew deeper, and hatred started to spark off her. Whatever. It was worth a shot. "Fine. I was trying to get his full potential to show up, so I had to push him to the brink of death. It worked, by the way, and he'll be fine in the next three days."
*Slap*
'How the hell can she make a slap hurt that much?!' Kisuke cried to himself, in fetal position on the floor as he nursed his bright red cheek.
Isshin laughed at his friend. "That's why I've learned not to make her mad! Ehehe!" He taunted, pointing his finger at him childishly.
*Slap*
Only for him to end up on the floor next to him. "You don't get off the hook either."
It was reported to the police that torturous screams were heard throughout the night at the Kisuke complex.
(-)
"ICHIGO! GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP, SON!"
At least that had remained consistent after the marriage. He couldn't express how grateful he was...
"How about you let your hard-working son sleep in for once, you annoying prick!" Isshin was treated to a sharp elbow to the nose, stopping all his momentum in an instant. Damn, it felt good to be back. And just in time too, because the UA Recommendation exams were that afternoon. When his father finally fell off his arm, he wiped the bloody residue of his arm, and kicked him in the stomach, just to be safe.
After rolling the limp body out of his room, he checked his closet for a pair of casual clothes that he could wear to the exams. His hand shuffled through the clothes hanging off the metal pole that was strung across the top of the closet, grabbing a black, cuffed, long sleeved shirt to wear with a light grey hoodie.
Then, he picked a pair of blue jeans out of the folded pants that sat on the dresser, as well as a belt from one of the drawers.
*Knock Knock Knock*
"Ichi-nii! Mom says that you need to get ready! The exams gonna start in about two hours!"
He checked his watch. Damn! He really was a lazy ass. "Tell her I'll be done in a bit!"
Ichigo heard her feet move away from his room, probably to inform Shiho that he was getting ready.
After he had showered and gotten his clothes on, twenty minutes had passed, and it signaled him to get moving. He got his socks and shoes on, walking out of his bedroom door as he clipped his watch back around his wrist. The second he stepped foot out of the small hallway that lead to his room, his nose was assaulted by a barrage of delightful smells. It hurt his stomach to think that he didn't have time to eat any of it, since it was a lengthy train-ride to get to UA.
"Ichi! There's some toast on the table for you, and Mom's already outside!" Yuzu told him, pointing at the table where Karin and Isshin fought over the food already placed down.
"On it!" He grabbed the piece of toast that sat solitary on a plate, putting it in his mouth before running out the door.
"Took you long enough, problem child." She had been waiting at the door for him, as they ran towards the station. He had to remove the toast from his mouth before he could speak.
"Sorry, but recovering from the edge of death makes it kinda hard to get up in the morning." He argued.
"Whatever. You still could've made us late for the train."
He just grumbled as he took another bite of toast. 'I warned you that she would be mad.'
'Hey. That extra 30 minutes was worth it.'
They made it to the station in record time, managing to catch the bullet train on it's way to UA's home city, Musutafu. The building shot past them at ridiculous speeds, though it was expected when traveling a hundred miles slower than the speed of sound. He had forgotten how fast the bullet trains were. They would probably get there with plenty of time to spare. Or at least, he would. He was sure Shiho would have to judge a couple of the recommendation students.
The station they arrived at was a minute walk away from UA, and their running got them there within a few seconds, giving them a total 47 minutes of flexibility. "So, where do I go? I haven't studied the campus, since, it was an all girls school."
Shiho nodded. "Talk to Mic. She'll tell you where to go." She informed him, leaving before he could complain.
'Great.'
Zangetsu mirthfully laughed. 'You act like you hate her. You're feelings say that she's practically part of the family now.'
'Yeah. She's like the crazy aunt of the family.'
He felt Zangetsu roll his eyes as he approached the extravagant hero who was handing out flyers. It took her a second, at least he guessed since her eyes were covered in extremely dark shades, but she managed to recognize him. "Oh my goodness. Ichigo!" She yelled, running at him in what looked like mach speed.
'I have a feeling she has a super speed quirk.'
His 'aunt' crashed into him. "I swear, you're getting too tall."
He shrugged, though 6'4 was a little tall for Japan. "It's good to see you too, Mic." He greeted, as she let go of him.
"I didn't know you were applying for UA! Most boys are too scared, seeing that it's the first year that guys can enter through the exams." She said to him, handing him one of her flyer-map thingies. "Anyway, the recommendation students go straight to the left. You can follow the signs after that." Mic traced the route with her fingers.
"Err... Thanks, I guess. I think I understand."
She flashed him a toothy grin. "Hope so! You got a lot of people who believe in you, Kiddo. Now, get out there! Shoo!"
After getting pushed into the building, he followed the route that he had been given until signs that had clearly been decorated by the loud extrovert pointed out the rest of the way. He just groaned at the terrible drawings that decorated the poster board.
Eventually, he ended up in the indoor gym, where an unknown hero was waiting to check if everyone arrived. "Name?" She asked, looking at her clip-board.
"Ichigo Kurosaki."
She flipped a few of the papers, landing at the "I" section before finding his name. "Recommended by Eraserhead and All-Might?"
"Yup."
She looked at him incredulously, before marking his name off and sending him in.
They started with standard, basic strength tests to see what you were capable of, or at least that was what he was told. He was first dragged to the first test by the only male teacher at UA, and a new one at that, Snipe. "Alright kid. What yer gonna do is take that device there in your hand, and grip as hard as you can. Perty easy."
Ichigo nodded, sitting on the bench and grabbing the grip machine after removing his hoodie. "Go ahead. No need to be shy."
A vein popped out of his head, and he gripped onto the handle as hard as he could. "352.6? No, 353.6. My apologies. Now, what's yer name kid?"
"Ichigo Kurosaki." He informed Snipe.
"Strawberry, huh. Whatever. Just move along." He pointed the irritated Ichigo over to the next station, carrying the clipboard with him to hand to the next coach.
When she saw him, the female hero laughed a little. "Hey, girls! It's our first boy of the day!" She said to a couple of the other proctors. "Ichigo, huh? Alright. Just do a bench-press at you maximum weight, and we'll be done." She told him, and he started to weigh the bar.
1 ton.
2 tonnes.
3, 4, and he finally stopped at five.
"Hey, you sure you can do this much?"
Ichigo nodded. "I know my limits, thank you." He said a little irritably, as he shifted himself under the bar.
It took some effort, but he managed to bench the weight 5 times before finishing. "A-Alright then. Head over to the final test, and you'll be done until the races." She told him, handing him back the clip-board with his scores.
The final test was a little different. It wasn't a raw weight or pressure like the others, but instead, three judges rated your creativity with your quirk. "Alright! Ichigo Kurosaki. You're up next after this."
'Alright. I don't have you here, Zangetsu. Got any ideas?' He asked his Zanpaktou.
'I've got nothing, Ichigo. You have no Reishi control, and you cannot perform the - without me there, so there is little you can do with your high spirit energy.'
'Thanks for the encouragement.' He sarcastically thanked the spirit. 'Okay. So it'll have to be something physical then. I guess, sword-fighting? No, 'cause that's not part of my quirk. Damn it. What the hell can I do then?' He thought to himself, as he was called up to perform.
He was given a decent sized space to demonstrate whatever he could come up with, and the three judges sat at their table with his paper in front of them. 'Just release your spirit energy, Ichigo. No need for control, and it should be enough to get you a considerable score.'
His eyes widened with excitement. 'Hell yeah! Nice going, Zangetsu!'
It took him a second to get into the frame of mind he needed to be in, but once he was, it all clicked. "Here it comes."
And nearly everyone around him fell short for air. It was like the sea itself had fallen above the room, crushing everyone in it with nearly unbearable pressure. His body was bordered with the densest of the pressure, so much so that it affected the light traveling off him and distorted his image.
'I think that is enough.' Zangetsu interfered, his concentration breaking and dispelling the aura.
Ichigo clicked his tongue. 'Damn it! You didn't even let me get to the good stuff.'
The judges had been bewildered, same with everyone else in the indoor gym, and the oldest woman placed his sheet in a small pile compared to the rest. "G-Go outside onto the t-t-track and wait for th-the next race to start."
So he did. Ichigo had just missed the last one, so he was left to sit on one of the bleachers while he waited. His eyes wandered the empty field, wondering why they didn't hold the trials out here instead of in the stuffy room. Maybe something was planned already, but he didn't think so. At the same time, he finally grasped how big UA actually was. There was the main building, of which he was next to. There were 12 training zones, each spanning a few miles in diameter, 6 dorms, previously four before the addition of the male dorms. And finally, there were the tracks fields, eight of which placed around the UA facility.
He wondered how much all this cost them. 'Billions, No doubt. Probably up there in the ten billions, actually.' He thought to himself.
'At least.'
"Hey, you! You're that really strong guy who just did that thing, right?!"
He turned his head, noticing the brown-haired girl that had sat next to him. She kept her hair short, almost like his own in a way with how frizzy it was. She was a little above average height, standing at a decent 5'11 that matched her muscular build. Lastly, she wore a dark green tank top with khaki brown cargo pants that seemed a little big.
"Depends on what 'thing' you are talking about." He hadn't meant to sound so bored.
She smiled a very off-putting grin. "I mean when you stole everyone's breath, literally! Some people even got knocked down!" She had exclaimed.
Ichigo shrugged. "Yeah, that was me."
That was where her personality took a turn. "Well I'm Ikuyo Yoarashi! Nice to meet you!" She yelled, her head crashing into the metal bleachers. She even left a dent in the shape of her face.
"Ichigo Kurosaki! Now please don't do that again!" He had almost jumped out of his seat when she did it the first time.
"I will try, but no promises!"
He slowly nodded. He could already tell this was going to be an odd friend to have, but, when did he have normal people around him? Oh yeah. Never. He figured out though, as they got to talking to each other, that she was actually rather tame and well mannered. Maybe she was a little bi-polar.
By the time enough people had gotten around to the race, they had already gotten through about twenty or so topics, since she seemed to not focus on one thing for too long.
"Anyone participating in the final test, follow me to the area where it will be conducted."
She had practically popped out of her seat like pop-corn, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him as she followed the proctor. "How do you think you're gonna do? Good? I think I'm going to do really good! My quirk makes me really fast, so- mmph-mphm-mmhm-hmmph!"
He had to cover her mouth with how loud she was speaking. "I think I will do fine. Just, please quiet down a little?"
She nodded, his hand still closed over her mouth for another second before he let go. "Sorry. I just get a little excited over quirks and competing."
He waved her off. "Passion for something isn't something to apologize for. I'm just usually around someone who's already really loud, so I try to enjoy quiet while I can."
'Make that two, actually.' He thought, reminding himself that both Present Mic and his father were above average in noise level.
Smiling as they reached their destination, which was a 2000 meter long strip of concrete, she started to jump for joy. "It's so open around here! I'm sure to get a lot of wind flow here!" She started to fly upwards, only to be anchored down by Ichigo.
"Sorry about her. Little bit of an air-head." He said to the many prying eyes.
"You two need to take this a little more seriously."
He heard the statement from an averaged-height female with split-color hair. Her left side of her face was covered with her red hair, and her icy right eye pierced through him. And, curvaceous as she was, she clearly put a lot into her body.
"Thanks for the advice, but I think we're taking this plenty serious." He was surprised to hear Ikuyo talk so passive-aggressive, her cold tone almost biting, but he had to agree with her. He just didn't think that she had an angry bone in her body.
The woman who had called them out scoffed irately, but she turned away as if they weren't worth her time, which was in fact, exactly what she was thinking.
"And, who the hell does she think she is?" He asked no one in particular, through gritted teeth.
"That, is the daughter of Endeavor. She has the same attitude as her father, and it makes me sick." Ikuyo's hair bristled wildly.
Now, not many people knew this, but Ichigo had an unspoken hatred for the Hellfire user. When his father told him about Endeavor refusing to join the raid in favor a more publicized charity ball, he had started to blame the loss of his fathers quirk on the hero. That, in tandem with his other misdeeds and unheroic behaviours, and it had created one hell of a grudge.
"You don't like him either." She pointed out.
"Definitely not a fan."
The clapping of one of the test proctors called their attention back to the exams, as she told the group of about...Oh, 7 or 8 students to line up at the start. "Watch the digital clock in front of you. When the timer reaches zero, get to the end as quickly as possible. Should be simple enough."
She explained, as he finally recognized her as the hero Vlad Queen. She stood quite tall, her red, skin-tight uniform covering the bulk of her body, sans the face and part of the chest. She had short grey hair and orange glasses, as well as two fangs that poked out of her mouth. "Now for some rules. No interfering with another student's run, and any component of your quirk is allowed, as long as you keep damage to a minimum."
So, pretty much anything was fair other than attacking the other competitors.
"Now get your asses in line already and stop staring like a bunch of children!"
Ichigo kneeled down into a sprinters crouch, watching as the thirty second timer started to tick down. "Good luck, Kurosaki!"
When the timer ran down to 0, a gun-shot only furthered the point that they needed to start, and he started to run.
Fast.
He burst ahead of anyone else for the first 400 metres, his feet digging small holes in the ground every time he stepped and pushed off the ground. And when he heard the high winds of Ikuyo behind him, as well as the flash-freezing of ice, he dug his foot into the ground for a final time, before disappearing.
And a second later, he was 200 metres from the finish line. "Stop stalling and get your ass across the line, Ichigo."
He didn't know that Shiho would be waiting for him at the end of the line, and he sure as hell didn't expect her to encourage him. It was in her own way, sure, but it was still encouragement.
A few seconds later, and he finished the race, his time being displayed at the top.
Ichigo Kurosaki - 13.36 seconds.
He was pretty proud of his score, probably because everyone else had just crossed the half-way thresh-hold, but the judges didn't look impressed. "I thought we said, Minimal damage dealt. Making small craters everywhere just made our job harder."
Ichigo nervously grinned. "Oops. Sorry."
They rolled their eyes annoyingly. He really hadn't meant to.
Guess they were still getting used to guys participating.
By the time they had redirected their attention, the other contestants had started to cross the finish line. It was close, but in second place was a floating Ikuyo, using the wind around her to propel her forward, then Endeavor's kid, who used ice to push herself towards the finish, almost like Ikuyo, and finally, a woman with her black hair in a ponytail who had created a motorbike, and the others he didn't pay attention to. They were a little too far behind for him to care.
"That was crazy Ichigo!" Ikuyo landed right in front of his face. "I thought you were just going to run the entire time, but then you went all, WHOOSH, and you disappeared!" She had started to reenact his actions. "Then you showed up like a foot away from the finish line! Your quirk is crazy!"
He smiled. "Yeah, I got pretty lucky. But at the same time, it took a lot of work to get here. I'm sure you know that. You aren't anything to scoff at either."
She blushed, but her smile only grew. "Hard work is what makes a hero! All of us should try to be hot-blooded!"
He gave a small laugh, stretching his arms into the air. "I'm not sure I'll be able to get on you level, but I'll try." He dropped his arms. "So, do you want to stay in contact? I could give you my number, if you want."
She nodded. "Yeah! That would be really cool, cause then we could see if we're in the same class! But I don't have my phone on me. I accidentally forgot it at home." Ikuyo explained.
"Alright then. Just put your number in there, and we should be good." He handed her his phone.
"Right!"
(-)
After trading their numbers, they stuck around for a bit as they waited for the day to end. Of course, it had concluded with Present Mic herding them out of the premises, and Ichigo meeting with his mother.
With a quick goodbye, they parted ways as she walked to what he guessed was her home, and in the opposite direction of the train station where he was headed.
*Bing*
His phone sounded off as he boarded the bullet-shaped transport, finding two empty seats that he and his parent occupied. He checked the message he had received, and wasn't surprised to see that it had been Ikuyo. It only made sense that her hyper-active personality transferred over text.
Ikuyo: Testing Testing! Hello, Hello?
Ichigo: Works fine on my end.
She responded immediately.
Ikuyo: Nice! That means I did keep track of your number!
Ichigo: Yeah. Guess that does.
Ikuyo: Just wanted to make sure!
He placed his phone back in his pocket. "Girlfriend?"
Ichigo grumbled. "No, just a friend Dry-eyes."
Shiho smirked. "Yeah. Me and your father were just friends, problem child."
He didn't know that his mother could tease paternally.
'It seems like that woman is full of surprises.'
'Kinda have to be when you're a hero.'
'Fair point.'
His sisters had been waiting for him at the train-station, same with his father, and Yuzu had tackled him when he walked out. "How'd you think you did, Ichi-nii?" She asked, as he lifted her onto his shoulders.
"I'm sure I made it in. I was getting weird looks the entire time though. Oh and I met this girl and we competed in this cool race thing..."
Shiho let his voice drown out as he walked home with his sisters, Yuzu on his shoulders as Karin listened beside him. It always amazed her how much of a different beast he was around his sisters. She thought of herself as a little over-protective, but even she couldn't compare to Ichigo. The amount of beatings that had been administered to her bullies was in the double-digits, though she knew that had he not have done so, she would've.
She had been apprehensive at first when Isshin had explained to her the death of their biological mother and how much they had revolved around her. Shiho didn't want to replace her, or bring danger to his kids. Hell, she barely knew how to parent at all.
Thankfully, none of them had seen her intrusion on the family as a replacement for what had been lost, and saw her as her own person. Yuzu had warmed up to her quickly, calling her mom the week after the marriage, something that warmed her heart to this day. Karin took a little longer, but followed in her sister's footsteps a month later.
Then, there was Ichigo. He was nice to her, treated her like family, but he didn't think of her as a mother. A parent, maybe, but that was different. He had been opening up to her and even given her the nickname, Dry-Eyes.
Progress, to say the least.
She had just hoped that it wouldn't take another 5 years for him to call her mom.
End.
Well then. Two, 5k long chapters in two days. I am really getting back into writing! Hope you all enjoyed.
Latta!
