Forms of speech:
"Talking out loud"
"Inner thoughts"
"Text"
Chapter 16: Flare Izayoi
"I'll become a hero to protect you and Kana."
(Flashback: 5 years ago)
To get inside Flare's head and know who he is as a person. We need to go through some of his memories first. The catalyst of it all back when he was 10.
A woman with long black hair and blue eyes stood in front of her son. She was the bearer of bad news for something out of her control. "Your father won't be home for a while Flare." she says while hiding the truth from her son.
Flare was shocked to hear the news. He knew his father went on many "business trips" or so he thought. "But why mom? Did something happen?" Flare said with great concern.
Flare's mother Tsubaki knelt down to her son's level and enveloped him in a hug. She whispers into her son's ear "Everythings gonna be alright, Flare. I'll be able to take care of the 3 of us." Tsubaki tries her hardest to not cry and fake a smile for her son. "It's time I stop depending on him and take matters into my own hands. No matter how much of an uphill battle it may be." With her "significant other'' gone Tsubaki won't have the monetary means to support herself,her son and on the way daughter. But that doesn't matter to her as long as she's still alive she'll take care of her children.
The events that followed were tragic. Tsubaki's friends and families all distanced themselves from her and her children. She was eventually evicted from their place of stay and forced to live in a shelter until she was able to find a job. Flare will soon find out the reasonings as to what led to those series of unfortunate events.
(Flashback: 2 years ago)
Flare is now 13 and is finishing up his last day of school. Once the final bells ring, Flare heads home. "I wonder what mom has planned this summer. I wouldn't mind another camping trip." During the 3 year gap Tsubaki has worked multiple jobs,some were one offs and several overnight shifts to keep her family afloat. Also during this gap Flare and Tsubaki have grown to have a mutual disdain towards the person that walked out on them. Flare has yet to know the real reason why he left but ultimately it won't change Flare's opinion on the person. His mother and sister were the only family he needed. Why bother caring about a person who didn't seem to care about his family.
Flare reaches the familiar street he lived on. This particular area of Aptos was inhabited by the lower income residents. The streets were littered with trash and homeless people. Some of the buildings had noticeable degrading exterior and possibly interiors. Crime was higher than usual but thankfully this part of the city wasn't completely abandoned by Aptos' heroes. Luckily for the Izayoi's the house they stayed in was more nice looking by comparison and weren't exposed to much crime.
Flare approaches the front door of his house and unlocks the front door. "Mom, I'm home." Flare announces as he walks into the house further.
It was a 2 bedroom house with a small kitchen connected to the living room with a dining table located inside the kitchen. Tsubaki had her own room while Flare and Kana shared a room. Unfortunately the rooms were only big enough for 1 person but somehow Flare made it work for him and his sister. Mainly for his sister to give her the normalcy she deserves. Flare was very weary of the financial situation they were in and wanted to make sure that Kana was happy at all times.
Once he walked into the living room he saw his mother and Kana playing together. He couldn't help but smile. Kana looked over to the visitor and had a huge smile on her face. Kana, much like her mother, has black hair and blue eyes. She gets up from the floor and runs to her brother and Flare kneels down to her level. "FLARE!" Kana hugs Flare tightly around his neck while laughing. Flare happily returns the hug and picks her up. He stands up while Kana holds onto him and he holds her with one arm and gives her a kiss on the forehead.
Flare continues to walk to his mother. Tsubaki gives Flare a warm smile while saying "Hi Flare, how was your last day of school?"
"Nothing special. I honestly couldn't wait to get out so I can start my summer vacation." Flare says with a smile.
Tsubaki smiles back but something has crept in her mind. Something that she needs to talk about with Flare. Something she's been waiting to do once he is older. She has a mental debate as to when and how she should deliver the news. Tsubaki doesn't want to ruin her son's mood right now but it has to come out sooner rather than later. Her mood changes to a more somber look. Flare notices the change in behavior and wants to ask his mother what's wrong. But before he could, Tsubaki spoke first. "Flare, could you take Kana into your room? We need to talk about something important."
Flare was confused at first and many things started to race towards his head. One of many questions that popped into Flare's head was "Did she get laid off from another job? Flare decides to ask one of many questions he had. "Mom did you-" Flare stops himself knowing that it's not the right time since Kana is right here."Never mind let's go Kana." While still holding Kana he starts to walk towards his room.
Flare opens the door to his small bedroom with 2 small beds and minimal decorating. There was also a window on Flare's side of the room where he had the view of the front street. He places Kana on her bed and before he was about to turn around Kana had a question. "Can we play later,Flare?"
Flare gives Kana a soft smile before placing his hand on her head. "Yeah we can play later. As soon as me and mommy are done talking ok."Kana has another big smile and nods her head ok before Flare leaves the room and rejoins his mother in the living room. He sits next to her. A silence ensues between the two. Flare, wanting to break the silence, spoke first. "Mom, did something happen at work?"
Tsubaki shook her head no. "Nothing like that. We're fine on the financial front if that's what you're wondering."
Flare mentally sighs in relief and relaxes a bit knowing that they're fine for the time being. But that still begs the question of what did Tsubaki want to talk about. "Then what's wrong mom?"
Tsubaki inhales and lets out a loud sigh from what she's about to do. "Flare, we need to talk about your father and the kind of man he is."
Flare had noticeable detest in his face. "Why should we talk about him? What, did he come back after all this time and apologize?" Flare says sarcastically.
"No nothing like that you jus-"
"Then we're done here." Flare gets up but Tsubaki grabs onto one of Flare's arms and their eyes meet. Flare sees the pleadfull look in his mothers eyes. Flare's serious look softened and knew by the look of her face that he needed to hear what his mother had to tell him. Flare sits back down next to his mother. "So what about him do I need to know?" Flare says while not making eye contact.
Tsubaki troubles at finding the words she needs to delicately handle the situation."There's so much he needs to know. I guess the best place would be to explain the relationship between Yuto and I." Tsubaki prepares herself and quickly recalls the events. "Well it goes back to when me and him first met. I was pretty naive when I first met him."
"Naive? How so?" Flare's interest was piqued. In his eyes his mother is a strong willed person that always gets back up no matter how many times she falls down.
"I never fell in love with him. I fell in love with the persona he put up.I…." Tsubaki pauses from what she's about to say. This is the first time she's said this out in the open and coming to terms with it. Despite lying to herself with needless optimism she needs to face reality. "I let him control my life. Not only that, I let him destroy the relationship I had with my family and friends." Tears start to run down Tsubaki's face and Flare instinctively puts a hand behind her back and brings Tsubaki closer for a comforting embrace. Tsubaki lays her head against Flare's head and they sit like this for a couple of minutes. She starts to wipe away her tears while saying "Thank you Flare." in a soft tone.
"Hey we don't need to keep on going if this is too hard for you mom." Flare was concerned that this conversation is dredging up bad memories and doesn't want to push his mother any further.
Tsubaki lifts her head from Flare's and shakes her head no. "We have to talk about this. You need to know this Flare. I don't want to lie to you anymore." Flare silently nods and lets his mother proceed. Tsubaki circles back to the kind of man that Yuto was and still is."Your father he….wasn't who I thought he was. He's manipulative,he has a way with words you couldn't imagine. He appeals to what people want to hear while also making you believe things you normally think were wrong. For example my marriage with him was something I was….coerced into doing."
Flare was shocked by what his mother said. "Did he threaten you?" There was a sense of urgency from Flare's question.
"Yes and no. My well being wasn't threatened but the well beings of people I cared about were. So I made the choice and paid the price for it." Flare slowly pieced together what his mother was getting at. The result of her marriage was what caused her family and friends to distance themselves from her. But that begs the question: did they know what was going on or were they oblivious. Tsubaki chokes up a bit from the next sentence she was about to utter. "Flare, before I continue, I want you to know that I will always love you and Kana. Nothing will ever change that you hear me."
Flare could see the pain in his mother's eyes. "I know that mom and the same goes for you as well. I -no we will always love you too." Flare says to reassure his mother that no matter what he'll love her. She never walked out on his life and put in a ton of dedication that cost her a lot of sleepless nights and sacrificing family moments.
There's no delicate way to say what she's about to say. "Flare you and Kana were the result of your fathe-no Yuto's manipulation and not only that the main purpose of you two were to see if my quirk and his would mix together." Tsubaki says coldy.
Flare was distraught and his mouth gaped open from the sudden news."We….were." Was all Flare could utter. Tsubaki knew what Flare was asking and simply nodded to confirm it for him. That yes his and Kana's existence were just to fulfill an unknown purpose. "But why!?" anger was boiling up in Flare. The disdain he once had has turned into pure hatred.
Tsubkai notices Flare's flaring emotions and calms him down by holding one of his hands in both of hers. "What I'm about to tell you you can't tell anyone you hear me. Not even Kana can know this. Not until she's older at least. Promise me Flare you won't tell her."
"I-I promise mom."
"Yuto was a part of a certain group of people. He called it the syndicate and that specific syndicate's name was the hellhounds. The things he's done and is continuing to do are horrid. He wanted you or Kana to join him. Turn one of you or both of you into weapons to do this bidding. I couldn't allow that to happen so I lied to him."
Flare was confused; neither Flare nor Kana had his mothers quirk. So why lie about something that was true. "Mom, I don't have your quirk. I have his flames and Kana does as well but on a much smaller scale."
"Flare I lied to you and the doctor that ran the check up that day. It's only something I could notice. You have my soul eater quirk." Tsubaki's soul eater quirk allows her at the touch of the hand sap away someone else's stamina and use it as her own. Thankfully her quirk was something she can use at will and wasn't constantly active.
"What!? I don't even know how to activate it."
"That's because it's imbued with your flames. When the doctor asked you to burn the piece of paper to test your flames. A small part of your flames burned him a little, remember that." Flare thinks back to when he was 4 and vaguely remembers what Tsubaki was talking about. Flare nods his head from at least knowing what she was talking about and this lets Tsubaki conitune her explanation. "It was subtle but he was more tired than usual for someone his age. Your flames sapped some of his stamina. Once it clicked in my head that Yuto succeeded I kept my mouth shut at the doctor's office and lied to Yuto about your quirk."
Flare had more questions he needed answered but they could wait considering Kana has yet to be mentioned. "What about Kana? When he left she wasn't even born yet."
"He grew impatient and stopped caring when she was 1. Although I've always had this feeling that we were watched by someone until she started to show early signs of her quirk."
"I guess he got the picture he failed." Flare was relieved to say the least that he wouldn't have to worry about a man like that. But a fear rose in Flare. What if Yuto came back into their lives and took him or even Kana. "What if-"
Tsubaki cuts off Flare and raises her voice a little. "I won't let that happen. He won't come near us ever again and I'll make sure he won't." Tsubaki said in great determination. She knew what question was about to ask and shut it down immediately. She doesn't care what she has to do,no matter what Flare and Kana's well-being are a top priority she'll go above and beyond for them. They're the one thing in her life she doesn't regret at all despite the heartache,misery and manipulation she went through,they'll always be her sunlight in the darkest days. She pulls in Flare for a hug and Flare hugs back. She starts to rub the back of his head and whisper "There's still a lot you need to know about Yuto, Flare.. What I just told you is the tip of the iceberg but if you have any questions I'll answer them."
Naturally Flare had a million questions but there were only 4 words that were applicable to the situation. "I love you mom." Flare said in a wobbly voice. Tears had formed in his eyes once they started to hug each other. To know what your own mother went through is hard to take in.
Flare may not be able to see it but Tsubaki was smiling with teary eyes."I love you too Flare." A door creaking open could be heard along with small footsteps. Flare and Tsubaki break away from their embrace and see Kana. Tsubaki gets up and carries Kana into her arms and starts to smother her in kisses. "I love you too, Kana." She says in a happy tone. Kana starts to giggle and laugh in joy. Flare gets up as well and joins in on the smothering. "Flare,Kana I can't imagine my life without you two. I'll make sure you two get to live the life you deserve."
In the weeks that followed Flare began to learn more and more about Tsubaki's past with Yuto. She went into detail about the facade she fell in love with. He learned that Tsubaki's family and friends never knew what happened to her. They were given lies from Yuto to help alienate Tsubaki along with ruining every possible background check she would go through. He'd even go as far to make a false criminal record to ensure Tsubaki wouldn't be able to do anything. Luckily someone was kind enough to look at the discrepancy and quickly erased the falsified record. Flare was also clued in on how dire their living situation was years ago and this was the best they had for the time being. Currently Tsubaki was saving enough money to move out of this area of Aptos and somewhere nicer within the city.
Flare was also told the alias that Yuto uses. His name was Vagabond. Having that knowledge something sparked within Flare. He wasn't sure what it was but he had a sense of duty. Combined with knowing the struggles that his mother went through and persevered through, it made Flare determined to help his mother in any way possible. He just couldn't figure out how. A part time job would never work because they don't have enough money for a sitter. Not to mention that Kana gets really scared of strangers due to the neighborhoods they lived in. Flare was left frustrated for weeks on end not being able to help his mother. It was only until a certain night was when Flare decided on how he would help his mother and sister.
Everyone is sound asleep in the izayoi household. The streets were also quiet with the sound of wind brushing against the streets picking up small pieces of gravel. Everything was normal for the night until a loud gunshot could be heard not too far away from the Izayoi residence. Flare instantly shot up in bed from the noise along with Kana's crying. He quickly gets out of bed and wraps his arms around her and Kana holds onto Flare for dear life. Flare starts to comfort her by rubbing her back. "It's gonna be ok, Kana. I'll protect you," Flare hushed in a whisper while Kana was still crying.
Tsubaki also had woken up from her slumber and immediately made her way to her children's room. The door flew open and the next thing her children knew they were being enveloped in their mother's warm embrace. "It's gonna be ok, Kana. Mommy is here to protect you." Flare looks to his left and out to the window. There he saw the man holding a handgun who was firing a warning shot. They stood over a woman on the ground cowering in fear. They were a ways away so he couldn't make out what they were saying but could tell a mugging was happening. Tsubaki had seen where Flare's attention was and noticed the sight as well. The man wore an angry expression and started to point the gun at the woman. Flare's and Tsubaki's eyes widened knowing what was about to happen next. Tsubaki insticniely puts her hands over Kana's ears and Flare tries to avert his eyes from the gruesome act. But no gunshot was ever heard and the woman wasn't lying on the ground lifeless. Instead the man froze in fear from something that wasn't in view of Tsubaki and Flare yet.
A figure wrapped in black with streaks of dark blue. They stepped into the light of a street lamp and it gave enough light to show their black hair and a mask that covered the lower half of their face. His footsteps echoed throughout the street. As they are walking they breathe in and exhale loudly and a mist could be leaving the seams of their mask. The masked hero was now in view of everyone.
"Eyepatch was right, this part of Aptos is lawless. This is the 10th crime in progress I've stopped tonight. I'll have to ask Kisara to have some of our heroes post up here. Nobody deserves to live like this." Hayato starts to glare at his prey with menacing eyes.
The man frantically points his gun at Hayato and shouts out "Stay where you are hero! I'm not afraid to shoot."
"Then do it." Hayato coldy mugger was too scared to fire his gun. Hayato darts at the man. The mugger once again shakily points his gun at Hayato and shuts his eyes and pulls the trigger. Except there was no gunshot to be heard again. Instead this time the mugger's arm where he was holding the handgun was frozen. He opens his eyes and sees the handiwork of Hayato. During the period of time the mugger's eyes were closed Hayato had thrown slush at their hand and froze upon contact. To capitalize on the daze the criminal was in, Hayato quickly knees the man and delivers a quick punch to the head knocking him out instantly. The ice on his arm quickly melts away and Hayato takes out some handcuffs and cuffs the unconscious mugger to the nearest street lamp. Hayato then reaches behind his ear to activate his comms device and contacts the local police. "This is Hyorinmaru, I took down another robbery in progress, send a policeman to my location." While waiting for a response Hayato looks over to the woman. "Are you ok, miss? You're not hurt anywhere are you?" Hayato asked with concern in his voice.
The woman shook her head no and replied "I'm fine. Thank you, hero."
"I'm only doing my job." Hayato turns around to walk away. Before he makes his leave he has something to say first. "The police will be here soon and tell them exactly what you saw. They'll make sure you get home safe, miss." With that Hayato makes his leave.
Flare watched in amazement at how Hayato took down the mugger with ease. Tsubaki had also watched what had transpired and was relieved that a hero came just in time. She quickly looks over to Kana who had stopped crying but wasn't letting go of her. She picks her up and gets Flare's attention. "Hey Flare I'm gonna be with Kana in the living room until she falls back to sleep."
"I'll come with mom. She needs both of us." Tsubaki smiled at how protective Flare was. They both head to the living room and Tsubaki turns on the TV. Thankfully they were showing kid shows this late at night. Tsubaki sat with Kana in her arms and Flare next to her. Flare was in deep thought. He's never seen a hero in person take someone out like that. It was inspiring.
Flare broke out of thought when he heard his mother's sweet soothing voice. "It's ok, Kana. The scary noise is gone." This is when things started to click for Flare. Through the culmination of seeing a hero work firsthand,knowing who his father was, and finally the determination that his mother showed in the past and continues to show was all Flare needed to know how to not only give back to his mother but also protect her and Kana. Flare decided he wants to be a hero.
The weeks that followed after the events Flare made himself a regular at the library researching ways of how to become a hero. It couldn't be as easy to decide you want to be one and just get out on the streets doling out justice. Flare quickly knew that he had to apply to a hero school for highschool. Which would be no problem since he's nearing that age anyway. The real issue was telling his mother what he wanted to do. This was something he wanted to keep a secret until he knew this is what he wanted to do. With each passing second,minute,hour and day he was sure this was what he wanted to do. He just needs to bring this up to his mother and try to get her not to worry about him. Hero work was dangerous no matter how you look at it and Tsubaki was already over protective with her children. Who knows how she'll react when she hears her oldest wants to be a hero.
Flare closes the book he was reading and looks up at the ceiling. "She needs to know. At dinner tonight I'll tell her. I just hope she understands why I want to do this." Flare makes up his mind as to what he wants to do. He gets up from his seat and places the book back onto the shelf and leaves the library. It was starting to get late so Flare hurried home and started to think of ways to bring up what he wants to do in the future.
Flare arrives back home and helps his mother set up the table. Tsubaki was very happy today considering she just got a raise at her current job. So she was able to splurge a little on food for her children. Flare debates if it's smart to bring up the idea. "This might ruin her mood if I tell her today."
Flare wore a pensive look on his face that Tsubaki noticed. "Hey Flare is everything alright? Is something bothering you?"
Flare was broken out of thought and quickly replied "Oh I'm just tired. Sorry to worry you."
Tsubaki tilts her head to the side confused. "I let him sleep in today and he only left for the library today. Could something be on his mind?" Tsubaki thought. Considering it was the latter she reassures Flare. "Just know you can always talk to me about anything, Flare,ok." She finishes with a smile.
This caused Flare to relax a bit knowing he doesn't have to tell her now. But he knew that his mother was onto him. In the back of his mind he knew it had to come out tonight but was having second thoughts on the reveal. "Maybe not today." Once the table was set up Flare went into his room to get his sister. They all sat down at the table, Kana and Flare sat next to each while Tsubaki sat across from them.
As they enjoyed their dinner Tsubaki noticed that Flare wasn't touching his food as much. She also noticed that Kana wasn't eating her vegetables either. To kill two birds with one stone she got Flare's attention. "Flare could you." She says while pointing at his untouched vegetables. Flare looked down and quickly got the message and started to eat. Kana usually copies her older brother's actions and that even extends to the dinner table. She saw Flare eating and she started to eat as well. Tsubaki smiled and mentally patted herself on the back. Getting Kana to eat vegetables was a struggle before she started to copy her brother. Tsubaki had noticed though that Flare wasn't himself at all today when he came back from the library. "Ummm Flare. Are you sure everything is ok? You seem out of it today."
Flare starts to tell his mother a lie to try and get her not to worry about his strange behavior. "I'm just tired, mom."
Tsubaki wasn't satisfied with that answer and gave Flare a soft knowing look. "I know I said this earlier Flare but if something is really bothering you. You can always talk to me about anything."
This made Flare feel really bad. Not only is he keeping something from his mother as important as wanting to be a hero,she also knew that he was lying. To stop the charade Flare decides he'll tell her right now. "Mom." Flare said to get his mother's attention. She perked her head up and looked into Flare's auburn eye's. "Ummm I…I want to be a hero" Flare finishes with confidence.
Tsubaki's eyes widened and was taken aback by what Flare said. Her son had never expressed about becoming a hero before until today. Kana on the other hand had a bright smile from what she heard. "Are you gonna be like All Might Flare!" She ecstatically said.
Flare looks over to Kana and starts to ruffle his hair sheepishly. "I don't know about that Kana."
"Flare, why do you want to become a hero? You've never talked about it until now." Tsubaki yearned for an answer from her son's sudden career choice. It would be an understatement to say she wasn't worrying. A million thoughts,questions and scenarios played in her head all at once. There was a particular made up scenario that played in her head that she didn't want to happen. It was the possibility that Flare and Yuto would eventually find each other and fight each other. She couldn't bear the thought of something like that happening.
Before she could deny Flare's request,Flare calmingly said "I want to protect both you and Kana. Ever since a month ago from seeing that hero and learning about a certain someone." Flare chose his words carefully considering Kana was in the room with them. "I just feel that I'm not doing enough to help you or Kana. I know you probably disapprove of this mom but I…I want to protect you two." A tear starts to slide down Flare's face.
She notices that her brother is crying and wants to comfort him. Kana tries her best to hug Flare while in her seat. "You're my hero, big brother." Flare smiled at his sister's words and hugged her back.
Tsubaki had a soft smile on her face from her daughter's action and Flare's resolve. "Flare." Flare looked over to his mother and she had a soft expression on her face."I want you to know that you're already doing so much for me and Kana." She paused before saying"You're right I do disapprove but…..this is something you won't back down from is it?"
Flare nodded his head in affirmation. "I'll become a hero to protect both you and Kana."Flare said with determination.
The determination Flare showed reminded her of someone. It reminded her of herself and the determination she showed when wanting to protect her children and working towards her goal. Seeing that her son won't back down decides to give him the ok. "I couldn't be any more proud of you Flare. I'll allow you to become a hero." Flare had a big smile on his face from his mothers approval before he could celebrate Tsubaki had one other thing to say. "We're gonna have to talk about more of this later but promise me that you'll keep yourself safe."
"I will mom." This was the start of Flare's journey to becoming a hero for his mother and sister but also making a vow to himself that he'll make sure his father pays for what he's done to his mother and answers for his crimes.
Throughout the remainder of his summer vacation and his last year of junior high, Flare prepares himself for his future hero courses. His training entailed a basic workout along with a diet that his mother happily pushed. Speaking of which Tsubaki had helped Flare learn to control the soul eater part of his quirk so it isn't always active during his flames. Flare had also designed his own fighting style to incorporate his flames. Since he's always thought of his black flames as demonic he thought that his special moves should reflect it. The hard part was actually coming up with a fighting style. This resulted in Flare attending free weekend classes from various self defense practices and made up his own cqc system whilst mixing in his own style of wild and undisciplined attacks like his gauntlet hades and belial edge.
Then came the inspiration for his costume,this was hard for Flare to figure out. He wanted something akin to the hero he saw that night but wasn't entirely sure of the design. He never encountered that hero again nor could he find anything about him. He deduced that the hero he saw was an underground hero and that what he wore was to help him not standout but also put fear into people. So Flare decided on the long red trench coat and the black leather jumpsuit. The red to not only match his hair but also contrast his black flames.
Eventually Flare applied to gekkoukan high and much like the rest of class 0. He too had top scores on academics and the quirk aptitude test. Along with some more uplifting news Tsubaki had taken up another job and was able to move out of the neighborhood they lived in and into the much nicer areas of Aptos. Of course working 2 jobs is exhausting but she never minded it at all if it meant that her children would be safe.
Now to fast forward to the present. Towards the end of the school day of their team exercise.
(Class 0)
Class had ended and everybody was packing up to leave. Per usual Flare is the first one out of the class to not linger and also pick up Kana from school. As he walks out the classroom and into the hallway he's stopped by Minato. Flare quickly bows and says "Hello ."
"Hey there Izayoi. Glad I was able to catch you before you left. I just want to say great job out there today. Keep it up." Minato says with a smile.
Flare has a small smile on his face and nods."Thank you Mr,Kirigaya. If you'll excuse me, I need to get going." Flare says the last part with some urgency.
Minato could tell Flare had somewhere to be and step to the side to let him through. "Of course,get home safe and enjoy your weekend." Flare waves behind him before making his way out of the school.
(kindergarten school)
Flare heads towards the playground which is where the kids are usually dismissed. Flare sees his little bundle of joy and walks to her. Kana sees Flare walking to her and she screams "FLARE!" and she runs into Flare's arms. Flare scoops her up and gives her a kiss on the forehead. A woman with long black hair tied in a pony tail wearing a white cardigan over her black button down shirt,black pants and high heeled shoes accompanies the brother and sister. It was Haruka Shinozaki.
"Hi there Flare." she says with a warm smile.
"Hi I hope I wasn't too late in picking up Kana today."
"Nope you're right on time and didn't I tell you, you can call me Haruka."
Flare flinched a little once he caught on how he referred to Haruka. Once Kana was of age to be enrolled into school Haruka being her usual self wanted to get to know the Izayoi's. She slowly became a friend of the family by how much Tsubaki trusted Haruka. Their first interaction for each other will always be a memory Tsubaki and Flare will hold onto. Haruka's warm and inviting personality made them feel at ease.
"Right, sorry about that Haruka. So how was Kana today?"
"Oh you know her usual amazing self." Haruka says while ruffling Kana's hair. Which Kana responded with a few giggles of laughter. Haruka wanted to ask Flare a question of where his mother was. She hasn't seen her for the remainder of the week outside of the parent teacher meetings they had before the school year started. "So Flare, how's your mother been doing? Last time we spoke she talked about her 2 jobs,bless that woman's heart I can't imagine how tired she must be." Haruka says with concern, filling her voice.
Flare remembered that his mother never picked up Kana this week.. "Oh I guess she never got the chance to tell you. Sometime this month she left her second job due to a pay raise at the job she's currently at right now. She also works double shifts but it's much better than before." Flare remembers when his mother was working 2 jobs she would come exhausted and rarely spent time with her children. Flare felt bad whenever he saw the bags under his mother's eyes but knew that as long as he was working towards his goal as a hero he'd be able to help her out financially.
Haruka felt relieved once she heard the news and was proud of Tsubaki's accomplishment. "That's great news! Tell her I said congrats."
"I will." Flare quickly pulls out his phone to check the time and realize he needs to get home soon to start dinner. "We should get going Kana. It was nice talking Haruka,enjoy your weekend." Flare reaches for Kana's hand and before they were about to leave Haruka stopped them.
"Flare just one second please." Haruka had noticed Flare's school uniform and recognized what school it's from. "I know your mother said you're attending a hero school but she never said you're going to gekkoukan."
"Yeah I go to gekkoukan. Is there something I need to know about the school Haruka?" Flare tilts his head in confusion by Haruka mentioning gekkoukan.
"No, it's a great school. I was wondering if by any chance you know anyone by the name of Snow Arisato." Haruka also became a friend of the family towards the Arisato's due to her warm and inviting personality. Saori was more than happy to give updates to Haruka about Snow once she was no longer his teacher. She always noticed how timid and shy Snow was and worried about him in future schools he attended. Thankfully he had a certain short haired blonde girl to help him throughout the years.
Flare's eyes rolled and an eyebrow twitched by the sound of Snow's name. To say the least he was irritated. Flare quickly composes himself before answering Haruka. "Yeah I know him,him and I are in the same class. Why do you ask?"
Haruka lets out a sigh of relief from the news. "That's good to hear. He's a former student of mine and I get worried about him sometimes. He was always shy and timid when I first met him. I think you'd be great friends with him Flare."
"Never gonna happen." "Yeah sure I'll keep that in mind." Flare telling an obvious lie,he'd never become Snow's friend especially not after today's exercise.
"Please do Flare,he reminds me a lot about you in some ways. I'm positive you two will be great friends and maybe even great partners. Who knows where your hero careers will go."
Flare once again rolls his eyes before replying. "Yeah who knows." he says with a hint of sarcasm that Haruka didn't catch. "Never in a million years will me and him work together."
"Well that's all for now sorry for keeping you here longer than you need to be Flare."
"It's no problem really. Bye Haruka and enjoy your weekend."
"Bye Flare,bye Kana you two enjoy your weekend as well and I'll see you two on Monday." Haruka finishes with a smile. They wave each other bye one last time before going their separate ways.
(Izayoi household)
Flare's wrapping up making dinner while Kana is finishing her homework in the living room. In the new house they lived in it was a bigger improvement from their previous stay. There were 3 bedrooms instead of 2,a much bigger kitchen,bathroom and living room. The interior and the exterior were naturally a huge contrast from their previous stay as well. As to where their house was located it was in the western part of Aptos. So it's close to gekkoukan high and Kana's school and unbeknownst to Flare he only lived 10 minutes away from a certain blue haired boy and blond girl. Living in the western part of Aptos also meant he was closer to the beach which is a plan that Tsubaki has for her children once the weather is nicer for it.
Flare puts the finishing touches on the stir fry he made and starts to portion out 3 plates but his phone starts to vibrate in his pants. He takes out his phone and sees that his mother is calling him and answers the phone. "Hey mom."
"Hi Flare,did you and Kana get home safe?" This was a routine occurrence,around this time Tsubaki would call to make sure her children were safe and sound and update them if she was coming home that night or not.
"Yeah,she's finishing up her homework before of dinner will you be home soon?"
Tsubaki's mood is saddened when she has to tell Flare the news. "I'm sorry Flare, I have to work the night shift. But I'll make it up to you two tomorrow morning with some breakfast I promise."
Flare had a good idea of his mother's fluctuating work schedule but was always optimistic about the idea of being home for dinner. Flare's expression is saddened as well but tries to hide it as best he can."It's alright mom,I know you're busy. I'll let Kana know that you won't be home tonight."
"Thank you for understanding Flare. I have to get back to work soon. I love you two and goodnight."
"I love you too mom,goodnight." They both hang up in unison. Flare puts one of the plates back into a cabinet. He then starts to portion out the food on 2 plates and places utensils next to them. "Kana dinner is ready!" Flare shouted from the kitchen.
Kana heard his voice in the living room and got up from the floor. "Coming Flare!" She leaves her homework on the coffee table and hurries to the dining table. She takes a seat and Flare emerges from the kitchen with two plates of food and places one of them in front of Kana. She starts to eat and Flare sits across from her.
Before Flare could eat he wanted to tell Kana that their mother won't be coming home tonight. "Kana." Flare says to get his sister's attention. She looks up and over towards Flare. "Mom won't be home until very late tonight."
Kana's expression had also saddened like her brother's and mothers did prior. "oh ….ok" she said in a soft tone.
Flare noticed the mood changed and quickly thought of a way to cheer her up. "Hey why don't we have a movie night tonight. Just the two of us we can even stay up a bit later than usual." This caused Kana's mood to be lifted. Flare took notice and decided to keep the ball rolling. "I can make some popcorn and get you some candy. You can even choose the movie Kana." To say the least, Kana was extremely happy. Her mood took a total 180. She quickly got up from her seat and gave her brother the biggest hug she possibly could.
After dinner Flare quickly washed the dishes and put away the leftovers for his mother. He quickly checks Kana's homeworks while doing his own homework. After that Flare and Kana head to a convenience store to pick up some microwavable popcorn and candy.
While Flare was making the popcorn Kana was in front of the DVD shelf that stood next to the TV. All of the movies were more aimed towards kids because of Kana but Flare enjoyed watching studio ghibli films with her amongst other shows and movies aimed towards kids. Flare pours the two bags of popcorn into 1 big bowl and heads to the living room. Kana finally chooses the movie and gives the case to Flare once he puts the bowl of popcorn down. Flare takes the case and sees it, the film is My Neighbor Totoro. Flare smiles and remembers a time when Kana wanted Totoro as a pet. Hard to tell a kid you can't have a fictional creature as a pet. With the movie selection and snacks out of the way,their movie night starts.
(The next day)
The morning sun rises and so does Tsubaki. She got home at about 1am to have her very late dinner and shower to head into her bed for the much needed rest. She intended to keep her promise and got up to get started on breakfast after her morning routine. She goes into the fridge and pulls out the ingredients for pancakes and omelets.
The first of Tsubaki's children starts to wake up that being Kana. She smells the aroma of pancakes and she quickly gets out of bed not only for the pancakes. But the presence of her mother starts her mood off on the right foot.
Tsubaki hears a door open and stops what she's doing to turn around to see who will enter the kitchen first. She gives a warm smile to Kana as she walks into Tsubaki's field of view. "Mommy!" Kana says as she runs to her mother. Tsubaki happily welcomes her daughter into her arms and gives her a big hug.
"Good morning Kana. How did my little candle sleep?" Candle was a pet name Tsubaki started to use when Kana first got her quirk. Her flames weren't a jet black color like her brothers but they took on the other color that Yuto's flames were,purple. Flare was glad she didn't have black flames like his or the purplish black flames their father had. A bright purple was a pleasing color to look at.
"I slept great mommy." Kana happily replied. She saw the pancake batter along with other breakfast items and her stomach made an adorable low growl that Tsubaki couldn't help but laugh at.
Tsubaki puts Kana down and kneels down to her level. "Go wake up your brother. Breakfast will be ready in a bit." Kana nods with a smile and makes her way to her brother's bedroom.
Flare was sound asleep until he heard his bedroom door creek open. He places one hand over his eyes to rub away the tiredness he was feeling and looks over to the person who was peeking out the door. Once Kana saw that Flare was waking up she opened the door more and hastily made her way to her brother's side. Flare quickly sat up and Kana jumped onto Flare and tightly hugged him around the neck. To which Flare happily hugged his sister back.
"Good morning Kana. Did you sleep ok?"
"Yup." She nodded.
With his bedroom door open Flare could smell the aroma of the breakfast items being prepared. "Come on Kana, let's brush our teeth before breakfast." Flare picks up Kana and she holds onto Flare's neck as he carries her to the bathroom. He sets her down on the stepping stool; they both brush their teeth to wash out the taste of morning breath.
After they brush their teeth Flare picks up Kana they both head to the kitchen and are greeted by their mother. "Good morning Flare, did you sleep well last night?"
"Good morning mom and shouldn't I be asking that question." Flare says with a small laugh.
Tsubaki laughs as well before saying "I slept fine, thank you for asking Flare and you?"
"I slept fine as well mom."
Flare puts Kana in her seat and he sits down next to her. Tsubaki places a plate of pancakes and an omelet in front of each of her children and starts to get a plate for herself. The family enjoy their breakfast and talk about various things. Eventually Tsubaki asked Flare how his school day was yesterday.
"So how was school Flare? You didn't get into any more trouble did you?" Much like Snow,Flare was also bad at keeping secrets. He told his mother the moment he came home from that day.
Flare starts to blush a bit from embarrassment. "N-no mom I didn't get into any trouble." He said while bashfully rubbing the back of his head. "It was pretty much your normal school day,oh and we had a team exercise again."
"Oh that sounds like fun. Was it the same as the one you did on your first day?"
"Sorta instead of groups of 3 we were in pairs and it was student vs student."
"Did you win Flare!?" Kana asked with enthusiasm.
"No but my teacher did say I did a great job during the exercise." Flare finished with a hint of disappointment from himself.
Tsubaki caught wind of it quickly and cheered Flare up."Don't worry Flare, I'm sure you'll win one of the exercises." Tsubaki said as positive reinforcement.
"Yeah you're amazing Flare!" Kana chimed in.
Flare smiled from the warming words of Kana and Tsubaki. "Thank you,I'll make sure to win the next one."
Tsubaki had asked for the details of the exercise and Flare gave a more abridged version of the exercise. He purposely left out the conversation he and Snow had mainly so he wouldn't get irritated in the process of telling his story. The cocky attitude Snow displayed gave another reason for Flare to not like him.
Tsubaki was proud to say the least to hear that her son was willing to work with other classmates. She was always privy on how Flare's socal life is and why he chooses to not have any friends. She wanted to bring it up but never saw the opportunity. It would have to be done when Kana wasn't around so Flare doesn't feel overwhelmed by questions.
After breakfast Kana goes and watches some morning cartoons while Flare helps his mother clean up. As they were washing dishes Tsubaki decided now would be a good time to at least say something about his friend situation.
"Flare." She says to get his attention. Flare looks over to his mother giving her his full attention. "I know you've had a hard time making friends for reasons." Those reasons being partly due to him having a goal in mind and wanting no distractions in his way. Another reason is because of the guilt he feels to be related to someone like Yuto. So to keep others safe it's better to put up a metaphorical wall to block others out. Flare couldn't bear the idea of his father harming any potential friends and of course this fear extended to his family. "But you shouldn't let him control you. Living in fear and caution isn't healthy." Tsubaki was clearly speaking from experience. "I'm not telling you to make a ton of friends but just one. That's all I'm asking for,you deserve to be happy."
Flare absorbed his mother's words and took them to heart. He was stunned that she pretty much hit the nail on the head without going into too much detail. Flare nods his head and says "I'll…..I'll try mom."
Tsubaki smiles and gives Flare some ideas as to who he should be friends with. "That Kunagiri kid seems nice from everything you've told me about. Maybe even Kaiji since you recently worked together. Or Arisato considering….." Tsubaki saw the noticeable detest and cringe on Flare's face once Snow was mentioned. She was confused why he had that reaction but that's a question for another time. "Ok maybe not him but Kunagiri is a good start." Tsubaki says as a happy middle ground.
"I'd rather not be his friend." The irritation for Snow stems from when they first met and were practically competing with each other from the get go. This also played into the wall that Flare put up in not wanting any friends. But there was something about Snow that rubbed him the wrong way and couldn't put his finger on it. Possibly because they have polar opposite quirks or maybe although unbeknownst to Flare,Snow's father was also a part of the syndicate. Whatever it was Flare didn't want to find out. "I'll try with Kunagiri first mom."
Tsubaki wore a smile on her face from her son's decision. "That's great Flare." A thought popped into her head and a devious smile was on Tsubaki's face. "I also wouldn't mind any grandchildren."
"M-MOM!" Flare says with a crack in his voice.
Tsubaki couldn't help herself; she had to laugh at the flustered state her son was in. This was one of the very few times she had teased Flare. "I know there has to be some girl that finds you as a nice catch." Flare has a shade of red on his face contrasting from his dark red hair. Tsubaki notices and hugs her son. "I'm only kidding Flare." She says with a playful laugh. "I do hope you find true love Flare. I know you won't make the same mistakes I made." They breakaway from their embrace and they continue to wash the dishes.
The rest of the morning goes as normal for the Izayoi's,Flare goes out for a morning workout and spends some time on the drums. Tsubaki wanted Flare to have a school hobby that surrounded him with other people. Unfortunately it didn't go as planned but at least Flare kept up with his instrument practice. Music was a way to express himself in a way words couldn't. He's even played a couple of songs for his mother and sister.
Tsubaki and Kana normally spend time together watching TV and playing together. Tsubaki had the weekends off and usually makes the most of her time spent with Kana and Flare. Due to her pay raise an idea pops into her head. She texts Flare to come into the living room.
"Hey Flare, could you come into the living room please."
While banging on the drums in the garage he feels his phone vibrate against his leg. He puts down the drumsticks and pulls out his phone. He sees his mother's text and takes off his headphones and gets up from his seat. Once in the living room Flare greets his mother. "Hey mom." Tsubaki gestures to Flare to sit next to her. Flare takes his seat and now Tsubaki is sandwiched between her children.
She places both of her arms on each of her children and brings them into a loving hug. "Since I got a pay raise, how about we do something today. I'm all for spoiling my wonderful children." Tsubaki finishes while planting kisses on Flare and Kana's cheeks. The Izayoi decided where they wanted to go but ultimately it didn't matter to them. As long as they were together they were fine with whatever.
Author's note:
Hey guys it's been a while since the last chapter but here we are. I was actually struggling with how to end this chapter because I wanted a scene with Flare meeting Snow at paulownia mall but scrapped it. Not sure if that was a good idea but I'm pretty confident in that decision.
No references this time, just a nice chapter for Flare's character and his family. Along with the reveal that Vagabond is his Father, although it could've been obvious from my character description way back in chapter 3 for him.
This chapter came out pretty well and I'm not sure what the next chapter should be about. Should it be more Flare centric,maybe something Vagabond centric,or try to move the story forward considering it's been pretty slow. So as per usual let me know what you guys think about this chapter and maybe help with some direction as to where I should go. I know this is my story to tell but feedback from readers are just as important as my ideas. As of when the next chapter will come out, who knows but I'm sure I'll figure something out with my dilemma.
Take care and see you guys next time