Chapter 9:Stepping out the comfort zone and one's past

2 weeks have passed and Snow has made considerable growth. He now has much better control over his quirk. He's steadily learning systema and daily sparring matches with Hayato. He's also learning how to freerun/parkour to get places in the quickest and stylish possible. But Snow has expressed an interest that Hayato didn't think he had to teach him stealth.

"Need help?" Hayato says while extending his hand to Snow to help him up from being tossed to the ground by Hayato. Snow grabs his father's hand and is hoisted up on his 2 feet.

"Let's go again dad. I think I'm starting to understand this a bit better."

"Ok, last one and we pack up, got it."

"Got it."

Both assume a ready position and charge at each other, both of them throwing punches and elbows at each other and blocking to the corresponding strike being thrown. Hayato decides to change it up and throw a kick at Snow but Snow successfully blocks the kick by raising his right knee and then extends his leg for a low kick on Hayato's other leg. Causing him to fall and Snow presses the advantage by throwing a hook and Hayato's block it. The two go at it for a couple more minutes until Snow throws a punch that Hayato blocks. He retaliates by kneeing Snow in the stomach, grabs his arm and places his leg behind one of Snow's leg's and throws him down using his own momentum against him. Hayato again extends his hand out to Snow and Snow grabs it to get back up.

"Man I felt like was close at that time too."

"Don't worry Snow I wasn't a natural when I started learning. What I can tell you though is that you've been progressing nicely in both quirk training and hand to hand combat."

"Thanks dad, that really helps. Oh and I don't know when it would be a good time to bring it up but could you teach me stealth. I know we only have 2 weeks left here but I really want to make the most out of it."

"Wait, run that by me one more time Snow. You want to learn what?"

"Stealth, if it's a problem dad we don't have to."

"No no it's fine just that you never had an interest until now."

"Well ever since you've been telling me some of the missions you've been on I thought it would be nice to know. I'm not sure what type of hero I want to be but being an underground hero may be an option."

"Well not everyone that's an underground hero is a practitioner of stealth. Even some heroes you see now in the spotlight are capable of stealth. It's a skill that's used when the need arises unless that's your particular field. But sure I'll teach you stealth,it's going to be in Aptos though which is where we'll be continuing your training mainly during the morning. At night is the opportune time to teach stealth. You also can't teach that in an underground facility it has to be done on the field."

"That makes sense. Man, I can't wait to learn it once we get back." Snow and Hayato walk towards the changing rooms and change into everyday clothes and head out of the building.

On their way home Hayato stops by a local restaurant for the two to have dinner. The two sit and have and idle chat about various things while they wait for their food to come. Hayato decides to tell Snow that the karaoke place is having an open mic tonight.

"Hey Snow, are you interested in open mic,it's tonight at the karaoke place." Snow is hesitant to answer.

"I don't know dad,I'm not sure if I'm ready yet."

"I know I've been pushing it on to you Snow but I want you to explore this avenue to its fullest. I listen to you every night playing guitar and I can tell the emotion behind the one song you've been making yourself. You're very passionate about it and you need to be more confident in yourself. I believe in you Snow." Hayato gives Snow a reassuring smile and Snow smiles back. Snow lets out a sigh and agrees with his father.

"You're right dad, I need to be more confident in myself. When we get home I'm gonna practice til we have to leave. You don't mind listening, so you can give me some pointers?"

"I don't mind listening at all. What song do you have in mind?"

"I want to do Hibana. I feel confident about playing that song." The conversation was cut short due to the waiter handing them their food. "Enjoy you two." "Thank you" Hayato and Snow said in unison and enjoyed their meal. Once done Hayato pays and leaves a tip for the waiter and the two walk out of the restaurant to the car to head home. So Snow can practice for his performance as soon as possible. Once home Snow starts to gargle warm salt water and starts to perform vocal warm ups before singing. He then grabs a black guitar pic and grabs his guitar and heads to the living and starts playing. Hayato listens to Snow play and sings the lyrics to the practices with Hayato's guidance until it's time to leave.

2 hours have passed Hayato and Snow are now driving to the karaoke place. Once there Hayato registers Snow and the two sit through the other performers before him. Snow is amazed by the talent tonight and starts to second guess himself if he could be as good as them. Before he knew it Snow's turn was up,luckily for him there was intermission. Hayato and Snow are backstage and Hayato notices Snow slightly panicking.

"Snow a what's wrong are you ok?"

"No dad, this was a mistake. What if I'm not good enough. What if I actually sound terrible or freeze up midway through. I don't know if I can do this." Hayato places his hand on Snow's shoulder and looks into his eyes.

"Snow you're going to do fine."

"But what if-" Snow was cut off by Hayato.

"No, what ifs Snow. Don't worry about what won't happen. You and I both know you're talented."

"But dad, I've never done this before. How are you so confident in me?"

"Because I am and I believe in you Snow. You're not giving yourself nearly as much credit as you deserve. Stop selling yourself short. Show me the Snow I know,the one that's going out there to show how amazing of a singer and guitarist he is." Snow gives his dad a hug from his encouraging words

"Thank you dad." Hayato hugs back. The moment was ruined by the host announcing Snow is performing next.

"Up next we have Snow Arisato from Aptos performing,let's give a big welcome to him onto the stage."

"I should get going."

"I'll be right in front watching." With that Snow and Hayato go their separate ways and Snow appears behind the red curtain and is greeted by applause. Snow approaches the microphone and taps on it and accidentally makes a ringing noise by tapping too hard.

"S-sorry about that first time bare with me. Hi I'm Snow and the song I will be performing is called Hibana by kankaku pierrot. So I'm gonna need some help from the audience for this song for the chorus part. You'll know what it is when you listen to me,with that said let's get started." Snow takes his guitar and pic and takes a deep breath and exhales slowly and starts to play.

Matataku ma ni hajiku tobe tobe kieru made Kasanatta te to te ga bokura wo moyashita Tobihaneta hibana ga ima

I want to feel your heart right now You are the place my only hope

Kizutsuite kizutsukete wo kurikaeshi Sore demo bokura Stand up Kamen goshi ni waratten no? nani wo osore nigeten no? Unmei wo bokura de fumidasou

Hajimari ni tomoshita hi ga kiesou ni nattemo

Just like the flowers that bloom and fall Repeat over and over again

Keep the flame alive

I want to feel your heart right now You are the place my only hope I know… bokura itsuka

We spark like flowers in the sky No matter where I'm by your side I know… bokura no show time

Nozoitatte soko ni wa mou daremo inai Oimotometatte kako wa mou soumatou you Kotae nante nai daremo oshiechakurenai Sore demo bokura erande koko made kitan daro?

Maiodoru hibana kokoro wo furuwase Kuruttemo ii ima dake wa Kazari wa mou iranai kara koko de sa Subete misete "hai" ni natte

Bokura ga bokura wo koete ikeru you ni you ni Kasanariatte tomotta sonzai shoumei wo ima koko de kakakeyou

I want to feel your heart right now You are the place my only hope I know… bokura itsuka

We spark like flowers in the sky No matter where I'm by your side I know… zutto

Kezuriai kasaneau shoudou wo kono te ni Saki chiri yuku ima wo mirai ni kaete Hitori ja okori enai kiseki mitai ni Bokura wa marude matataku hibana Madamada hibana bokura no hibana

Snow sings his heart out and the audience sings along for the chorus of the song. Hayato is filled with an overwhelming amount of pride.

"Seeing you here Snow makes me so proud of you right now. I'm so happy that I gave you the life you deserved and I hope this happiness never fades away." Once Snow finishes the song he's rewarded with a resounding applause of people cheering him on.

"This was definitely not the reception I was expecting. But it's validating that maybe I am good at this." Snow bows and walks off stage and Hayato meets him outside. "Dad, did you see that? They actually like me. Thank you dad for encouraging me to do this."

"Of course Snow I will always support you. Come on, you deserve a treat, how does ice cream sound?"

"I could really go for some ice cream." The two get in the car and drive to the nearest ice cream parlor. During the car ride Snow is still in disbelief that he actually performed and people loved it. This was a first for Snow in multiple things,first performing in front of a group of people,second coming over his nerves and third just stepping out of his comfort zone in general. Snow was never a talkative person nor was he outgoing as Saya was. So naturally Snow is proud of himself getting over this hurdle and aims to improve this aspect of himself. The car comes to a full stop once outside of the ice cream parlor and the two walk out the car and into the store. Hayato places an order for him and Snow and they take their seats.

"Hey dad, did you by any chance record me? I really want mom to see it."

"Of course I did and I'll send it to her once we get home."

"Nice I hope she isn't asleep by the time we get back."

"Don't worry I texted her the moment you agreed to perform tonight she's been looking forward to it." They get their ice cream and enjoy the moment together.

"I am really lucky to have such supportive and loving parents. Mom,dad, you mean the world to me."

Once they're done with their ice cream Hayato pays and the two walk out the door but are stopped by a girl with short purple hair and red eyes about the same height as Snow. She walks towards Snow and is somewhat nervous to speak up. Snow, also being nervous by the sudden appearance of a person, decides to speak first.

"H-hi how may I help you?"

"Um, is it ok that I can get an autograph? My mom and I saw you perform and I really liked it." Snow was taken aback from that.

"Do I have a fan?" Snow realizes he's taking too long to answer and quickly responds. "S-sure you can. Do you have a pen or something to write on?"

She takes out a pen and notebook from her purse and opens to a clean page for Snow to write an autograph. He writes his name in it and hands the book back to the girl. She looks down at the book and looks up with a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you so much!" She quickly bows to Snow and hurries back to her mother to show her the autograph. Hayato decides to tease Snow a bit from the interaction.

"Look at you flirting with other girls. Saya would be pretty upset about this." Snow's face turns a bright red.

"Dad!" Hayato lets out a laugh and pats his son on the back and the two walk out the parlor. The two are now home and Hayato sends the video of Snow performing to Saori. Saori hears her phone vibrate and sees she got a text from Hayato. She quickly opens the text because she's been waiting to see Snow perform. She had known Snow could sing but just wasn't sure how to bring it out of him. She watches the video and is amazed by her son's talent. Once done she quickly calls Hayato to gush about Snow and how proud she is. Hayato picks up and puts the phone on speaker and they're greeted with Saori's cheerful glee.

"Snow you were amazing out there. I wish I was there to see you in person. I'm so proud of you Snow."

"Thank you mom, I'm glad you liked it."

"Liked it? I LOVED it. You have to sing the exact same song once you get back."

"It's a deal mom." Hayato decides to talk about Snow's fan.

"He's even got a fan Saori. Gave an autograph too."

"Awww."

"Don't tell Saya though she might get jealous."

"Dad!" Saori and Hayato laugh in unison from their son's embarrassment and Snow's face returns to a similar shade of red from earlier.

"Don't worry I won't tell her Snow."

"Not you too mom." Saori lets out a small laugh before telling her son and husband goodnight.

"Goodnight Snow,goodnight Hayato, have sweet dreams you two."

"Goodnight Saori."

"Goodnight mom." Hayato hangs up and the two take turns in the bathroom to prepare for bed. Once done the two go into their separate rooms and say goodnight to each other and fall fast asleep.

The following morning Snow wakes up to the scent of food coming from the kitchen."Is dad cooking? "I've never seen him pick up a pot or pan for as long as I can remember." Snow gets up from bed and makes his way to the kitchen. Much to his surprise he was right Hayato was making breakfast. Hayato turns around and sees Snow and smiles at him.

"Hey Snow, did you sleep well?"

"Uhh yeah I did but let's talk about the elephant in the room. You're cooking." Hayato lets out a small laugh.

"Yeah I picked up a thing or two from your mother. We're also taking the next two days off. You've been working hard at training,you deserve a break."

"Well if you say so dad I won't complain." Hayato gestures to Snow to sit down and places a plate in front of Snow with bacon and an omelette.

"Juice is in the fridge Snow here's a glass."

"Thank you." Snow goes into the fridge and takes out the apple juice and pours a glass for himself. Snow sits back down at the table and takes a bite into the omelette and Snow is surprised that it tastes good. He recalls his mother and Kisara's stories about Hayato trying to cook in the past and they've always been overcooked or burnt. "Hey dad, the omelette is delicious, it's just as fluffy as mom makes them."

"Oh good I didn't burn them. Last thing I need to do is send my son to a hospital for food poisoning." "I'm glad you like it Snow. So what do you want to do today? We could do some sightseeing if you want."

"I'd love that dad. I can even take pictures and send them to Saya."

"Yeah the top of the clock tower has an amazing view for the sunset, great for couples."

"Dad!" Snow says while embarrassed with a slight crack in his voice. Hayato laughs at his son's embarrassment but decides to tone down the teasing for the rest of the day.

"Ok ok that's the last joke I promise."

"I'm holding you up to that promise." Hayato is done cooking his own omelette and bacon and sits across from Snow.

"So anywhere else you have in mind Snow?"

"Yeah I'd like to go to the places you went with your mom,If that's ok with you." Hayato is slightly taken aback by the request but he complies.

"Sure Snow, we could do that, there's quite a few that come to mind that we can go to. If you don't mind me asking why specifically the places I spent time with my mother?"

"Well I want to know more about your childhood and your mom sounds like a great person so I want to get to know her more."

"I appreciate your curiosity Snow."

"Why's that?"

"Well I don't often think about my past let alone my childhood. There are so many things I don't want to recall but you've been helping me with remembering the good parts about my past. Once we're done eating we can start with one place in particular."

"Ok dad." Hayato and Snow enjoy the rest of their breakfast before getting dressed to go sightseeing.

Hayato and Snow are now walking through the streets of Luxerion and Hayato has the perfect place to show Snow first. A library,Aya was a bookworm and would often take Hayato there every now and again. The two are now standing in front of the library and they walk through the front doors.

"Did you come here often dad?"

"Yeah with my mother. She was a bookworm for as long as I can remember."

"That explains why there are so many different books in your office at home."

"Yeah she really did rub off on me." The two walk through the various sections of the library and they stop at the reference section. It's filled with encyclopedias,biographies,dictionaries,dissertations and other reference documents.

"This is where my mother would go the most. Mainly for the dissertations she always wanted to see what others' findings were in the medical field."

"Was she a nurse?"

"Well you're not exactly wrong but she ran a whole medical clinic."

"That's so cool dad it's kinda like how you are with Libra." Hayato smiles at that comment.

"Y'know I never thought of it like that. Maybe my mom had more influence in my life than I thought."

"Did she have a quirk?"

"No actually. She was quirkless."

"Really? That's really rare to find someone who's quirkless but nonetheless quirk or not running an entire medical clinic takes a lot out of someone."

"Yeah she really was something else." Hayato and Snow continue to explore the library for a bit until Hayato thinks of another place to go to.

"Hey Snow, I know somewhere we can go." The two walk out of the library and Hayato takes Snow to a flower garden located in the south district of luxerion. The moment Snow saw the flower garden he immediately thought of his mom.

"Mom would love it here dad. There are even the more exotic flowers mom get's once a year."

"Yeah and coincidentally this is where my mom went a lot. She came here to relax and it reminded her where she grew up. And these were her favorite flowers." Hayato picks up a yellow spider lily to show Snow. Snow looks at the flower and realizes that his father had a bouquet of them.

"Hey dad didn't you have some of these when we first got here."

"Yeah I took them to my mom's grave."

"Hey dad,could we visit the cemetery? I would like to pay my respects."

"Yeah we can do that Snow." Snow and Hayato spend some time in the flower garden and head to various other places all with a story attached to them. By the end of the day Hayato and Snow make one last stop,the cemetery.

Hayato and Snow are now walking in the cemetery and find Aya's tombstone. Snow reads the engravings and notices the last name.

"Dad,Arisato was her maiden name?"

"Yeah, I had to fight tooth and nail to not have his name there. I didn't want her or me to have any association with Soma whatsoever."

"I understand dad." Snow and Hayato stand in front of Aya's grave and Snow starts to tear up. Hayato notices and holds his son in a comforting embrace and whispers into his ear.

"Hey it's gonna be ok." Snow is now crying into his fathers chest.

"I know I don't know everything about her but it's not fair. Why did she have to die?"

"It's gonna be ok Snow. She would've loved you and Saori. She may be gone but the memory of her won't because of me,you and everybody else who loved her. She's touched the hearts of many and helped so many people and it doesn't stop with her because I am here." Snow's crying starts to slowly stop and he looks up at his father.

"Dad, thank you for today. I'm glad to have known about your mom and I'll make sure her memory lives on." Hayato smiles at Snow and places his hand on his head.

"Both of us will Snow. Come on, it's starting to get late, we should start heading home." Snow nods in agreement and the two start walking out of the cemetery and straight to their home. They get into a change of clothes, brush their teeth and head to the separate rooms and fall asleep.

Author's note: Hey guys hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was pretty fun to write this one. Not much to say or give context other than to listen to the song to get an idea as to how it sounds and for a quick character description on Aya. She has long blonde hair most of the time kept in a ponytail,green eyes,and average height.

Next chapter will be the last day of Snow's and Hayato's trip so it'll be action focused on systema and freerunning/parkour. Again I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one. Take care until then.