Hey everyone! Sorry for not uploading for so long. I couldn't come up with any ideas for a while. I have some good news though: I now have a beta reader, CallmeTsu! I'm going to try to update more frequently; I just need some more ideas. Enjoy the chapter!

It's been a few days since that incident. In those days, Kuboro has gotten to know Hitoshi better. He now knew the kid loved cats and adored Present Mic. Small things like that made him love the boy even more. He knew he didn't have enough money to get this kid a cat (yet), but he had just enough to buy a cat hoodie.

Like clockwork, they both listened to Put Your Hands Up radio yesterday. When the mist man escaped, he deeply missed his friends. Sure, he could print out pictures, but it wasn't enough. Hearing his friend's voice every Friday night helped. (He ignored the times he broke down and let every emotion seep out.)

Hitoshi listened to the show for two reasons: his favorite hero was the host, and it helped him through bad days. Both of them also loved the music. It wasn't like the trashy electronic music from most musicians now in days. Instead, it was mainly English music from the pre-quirk era. Kuboro was almost fluent due to the time he spent with Hizashi. Surprisingly, Hitoshi could already understand a bit of the language.

Other than getting to know the kid, Kuboro tried to find someone who could make them new IDs. He just couldn't find anyone who could do it at a reasonable price! All of the info brokers charged way too much yen. The only other option he had was to find a job. Though again, he had no ID or any fancy college degrees.

Even if he got a job, who was going to watch Hitoshi? Since the kid might be considered missing or dead, he couldn't enroll him in school. Not without changing his last name. It all leads back to getting a job. He had no idea who would hire him.

Kuboro could go a little longer without finding a job. For now, he needs to wake up Hitoshi.

"Rise and shine, Hitoshi," Kuboro said gently.

He gently nudged the side of the child. It didn't do anything, but it was worth a shot. Usually, he was already awake by now. He has a hard time falling asleep, so he usually gives up. Kuboro was glad he was sleeping. However, it was already noon. The mist man was about to run some errands. He didn't want Hitoshi to panic when he woke up.

Next, he pulled up a loud alarm on his phone. As Shouta would say, that's the logical option. Kids wake up to their alarm clocks most of the time. That didn't work. Hitoshi barely moved a muscle.

Before Kuboro tried again, he realized Hitoshi knew how to read. He'd been trying to wake him up when he could just leave a note. It wasn't a responsible move, but the boy wouldn't wake up anytime soon. Besides, he just needed time to learn the ropes of parenting. Try something and if it doesn't work, try another thing.

The mist man quietly walked to the fridge and pulled out leftover miso soup. Hitoshi adored sushi, but he couldn't eat it for every meal. He found some paper and a pencil next to the radio. Last night, the kid was thinking of questions he wanted to ask Present Mic. Silly questions like Have you ever had a voice crack? Serious ones like Can someone with a villain quirk become a hero? Kuboro reassured him he could, but the kid also wanted the answer from his favorite hero. To see if he should stay his favorite hero. The kid must still have trust issues with other people.

Taking a sheet of paper, he made sure to write down the note as simply as he could. He didn't know what Hitoshi's reading level was yet.

Hey Hitoshi! I'm going out to get more food and other fun things. I left you breakfast on the table. I'll be back in as soon as I can.

Love,

Kuboro

He stuck the note on the bare fridge and quickly put on his disguise. There was no way to get the mist off, so he just put on a hat and wore long sleeves. He teleported to the same mall he took Hitoshi to a few days ago. It was slightly busier than last time, but it didn't bother him. He had to go bargain hunting once again.

After Kuboro first escaped, he had no money. The only option was to steal. He hated the idea of stealing from innocent civilians; it went against his morals! Thankfully, he didn't have to steal from innocent people. He stole from All for One's thugs. Even then, it's barely enough to get by.

However, this mall is much cheaper than the other ones he tried. It had plenty of cheap fast-food joints and thrift stores. The most amazing part was the sushi restaurant. It wasn't as good as the one he went to as a teenager, but the sushi was sushi.

As the mist man did his errands, nothing unusual happened. That would be normal for any regular person. Nobody even gave him weird looks, and he always got them! It meant AFO was plotting. The last time this happened, it lasted an entire month filled with cat shelters, cat cafes, polaroids, and genuine smiles. It was a nasty reality check when it all came to an end.

Ignoring that memory, Kuboro went into a bookstore. He had some extra yen left over from getting essentials, so he might be able to get a book for Hitoshi. The only problem was that he had no idea which picture books he liked. Did he already read chapter books? He could've woken up Hitoshi and found out, but he doesn't know how to do that either.

Admittedly, he also didn't know where anything was in the store. He found guidebooks instead of children's books. The section had titles such as "How to do Math" or "Dummy's Guide to The Quirk Wars." However, there was also one book called "A Book for Young Parents." Kuboro leafed through the pages, and it all seemed okay. When he saw the price, he put it back. He wouldn't have enough money to buy a book for Hitoshi.

After a bit of wandering, he found the children's section. The books were almost all about pro heroes and quirks. None of those books seemed right for Hitoshi. Even the Present Mic book! He probably knew most of it already.

"Do you need help finding anything?" a woman quietly asked.

"Maybe. I'm looking for a book for my son," Kuboro admitted.

"What kind?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. I just adopted my son, so I don't know what he likes yet," Kuboro answered. He used to hate lying, but it was sometimes necessary. Besides, he didn't hate this lie. It could become a reality.

"I'd avoid most of the hero books," she suggested, "Almost all of them talk about how kids with powerful quirks can become heroes."

That sadly made sense. Everybody in this society thinks quirks are everything. They never talk about simple life lessons like hard work pays off. Kids grow up thinking they can be heroes automatically because of their quirk. At least some people understand.

"Thanks for the heads up," Kuboro whispered, "Is there anything not about heroes here?"

"There's some in the back," she quietly said, "Follow me."

As he was walking, he couldn't help to be paranoid. Nothing was suspicious about this woman. She had dark green hair with some kind of mutation on her face. There weren't any pockets on her outfit that could have weapons. Kuboro wasn't used to kind people anymore. He could portal out if she had any ulterior motives.

It turns out that he didn't need to worry. In the back, there was a neat shelf filled with picture books. They made calm conservation about their children while he was picking out a book. She had a daughter the same age as Hitoshi and wanted to be a hero. The girl even had a hero name picked out!

Kuboro made sure not to say too much about Hitoshi. All he did say was how much he liked Present Mic and his dream of becoming a hero. She didn't seem to care about the lack of information. Instead, she shared some parenting tips with him. They all sounded much better than that book he found earlier.

He also ended up finding two advanced picture books. It had illustrations and a good amount of words on each page. As the lady rang him up, she softly spoke up.

"Beru Asui."

Did he forget to come up with a fake surname? Well, better late than never.

"Kuboro Kurokumo," he said. He smiled for good measure to hide his embarrassment. His fake name was too similar to his real name. He only changed it to black cloud instead of white cloud. It made him want to facepalm so bad, but he restrained himself.

Thankfully, she didn't notice. She just smiled back and bagged up the books.

"It was nice meeting you, Asui-san!" the mist man exclaimed.

"Nice meeting you too," Asui replied, "Just come back here if you need more books or parenting advice."

Kuboro walked out of the bookstore with more faith in humanity.

_—-_

When he got home at 2 pm, Hitoshi was at the table eating the miso soup. He perked up immediately as Kuboro came through his portal.

"Hi," Hitoshi greeted, "Thank you for breakfast."

"No problem! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Kuboro remarked, "Even though it's more like a late lunch. You're such a heavy sleeper!"

"Sorry…," he mumbled.

"You don't have to say sorry. I'm glad you got enough sleep!" Kuboro assured. He ruffled the kid's hair while saying that. Like always, Hitoshi leaned into it. He'll get used to it in time.

"I got some books for you to read! If you don't like them, you can come with me next time," Kuboro stated.

Hitoshi beamed even more.

"Really?" he gasped.

"Really," Kuboro repeated.

They spent the rest of the day reading books and watching Disney movies. Maybe he wasn't bad at this parenting thing after all.