Chapter 1: A Parent's Resolve
Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.
- Saint Augustine
-X- Nemuri "Midnight" Kayama's POV -X-
Love...
Such a beautiful thing...
It gives people the strength to do such amazing acts purely out of love...
Just thinking about it makes me want to smile...
Love always brings happiness...
That's what Mom taught me since I was a little girl...
The memories and feelings that make me who I am today, every single one of them as happy as the one before, making me remember every time I look back that I was truly loved by everyone around me...
All the times Mom told me she loved me or that she was proud of me and she believed I would achieve greatness echo in the depths of my heart like a soothing lullaby...
Her favorite way of loving me was always to call me those things...
A blessed child...
The light of her life...
I never understood fully why she called me like that specifically...
It's always been like this since I can remember...
She reallyloves me like nothing else in the world...
And I like being loved...
It's warm...
It fills me with such warmth...
I want to feel loved if it means I will feel such happiness...
Why does love make you so happy?...
If...
If I was born as someone else...
Would I still be loved?...
Mom and Kugo love me because I'm me...
And if I wasn't me then I wouldn't be loved...
If I wasn't loved then I wouldn't feel this happiness...
If I didn't feel this happiness then I would be miserable ...
Why...
Why was I blessed but not this child?...
I thought all of this while silently looking at my child's face, the gruesome reality of the situation surrounding him finally landing fully on me, the possibility of what Kugo told me being true growing by the minute, that disgusting feeling of powerlessness that kept making its way to my heart, knowing that everything I could do right now was to hold his hand and not let go.
Hundreds of questions kept popping up in my head as I looked at his face, his mouth kept itself in a flat line not showing any emotion even as the EMT kept pressuring and cleaning his wounds as much as he could, not a flinch, not a twitch of his mouth, not even a single frown, he kept looking impassively at the small window of the ambulance, or to be more accurate, to the shining moon outside.
I wondered a lot of things about him, why was he in that alleyway?... why is he injured this badly?... where are his parents?... why does he have a quirk canceling anklet that looks to be of high grade?... but above all else the one thing that kept nagging at the back of my head and probably the one thing I should have asked back in the alleyway.
"Who are you?..."
Before even realizing I had said it out loud I felt a small squeeze from the tiny hand that was holding mine like it was it's last lifeline, with it came the slightly confused stare from my boy, his chocolate brown eyes found my azure blue ones, trying to fix my mistake and make myself clear I cleared my throat and spoke in a softer tone.
"Ahem... I'm sorry about that, I was just wondering if you could tell me your name sweetie, I might have forgotten to ask you back in the alley... oh my where are my manners my name is Midnight... Y-you... you can just call me Nemuri I know my hero name can be a mouthful to children"
'Guuuuuhhhhh... Why did I have to start stuttering and sounding so unsure of myself back there... dear Kami-sama if Mom saw that she would tear me apart for sure... I just hope he doesn't think less of me because of that blunder'
The child in front of her looked confused, his face didn't show it that much but Nemuri could guess that's what he was feeling right now, she had always been good at reading people, but this child was closed off that it was hard even for her to guess what he was thinking or feeling.
The only times he has shown any kind of strong emotions were both in the alley, the first time he spoke to her, the longing and desperation she felt coming from him where so strong she swears she could almost touch them, the second time was when he was about to be taken away by the EMT's.
Fear
Pure, animalistic, primal fear.
It felt like he was certain he would die if he had let go of Kugo's shirt, it was so strong and palpable she felt like she was the one in danger, the tears pricking at the corner of his eyes, his small knuckles turning white from how hard he was griping her husband's shirt, the small yet noticeable trembling of his shoulders and the bloodshot eyes that screamed for someone to help him.
It felt so visceral and palpable she could almost imagine a younger version of herself that had gone through whatever this little boy had went through, her younger self gripping desperately at Kugo's shirt, bawling her eyes out and crying for her mom with all her strength, hoping that someone would help her.
Yet he stood there, holding Kugo silently, he didn't cry or scream nor he called out for help, he was ready to be abandoned at any moment, the belief that no one would help him deeply engraved in his mind, yet, the last shard of his former self cried out for salvation, with its dying embers it called for them, making them feel a fraction of what he felt deep inside.
It's last stand wasn't in vain, they felt every single bit of it, Nemuri was sure Kugo had it worse than her, she could feel it, her husband had been shaken in ways she could even begin to fathom, but one thing she was sure of was that he was out for blood, and he wouldn't stop until he was either dead or he had captured whoever hurt this child.
"...hi... Wa...shi"
"Huh?... Sorry sweetheart did you say something?... I was... a l-little bit lost in thought hehehe..."
Coming out her internal reminiscing Nemuri was a little bit surprised when she heard what she thought was a whisper, looking once again at the child's face she could see he looked unsure and uncomfortable, she couldn't keep her eyes away from his right hand, the small hand tenderly touching his neck, only now did Nemuri notice the almost purple bruises in his neck and the red markings that surrounded his entire neck, realizing what it meant made her insides churn with disgust.
'Oh my poor little boy... What have they done to you?... To have you chained like you were some kind of animal... I can't imagine what kind of monsters the people who did this to you are...'
Nemuri had never dealt with a case of abuse this extreme, she really didn't know what to do as a hero, she knew her whole persona didn't go well with this kind of situations, after all she was supposed to be a seductress, someone that uses her charm to lure villains in a position where she can deal with them easily, she had toned down once she started working with Kugo but she was still relatively new with this side of heroics, the much darker side that wasn't often seen in the news.
She made up her mind, if she couldn't do this the heroic way then she would do it the second best way she could think of, that was doing it as a mother, of course she wasn't actually a mother, the situation between herself and the child was by no means normal, she had kinda 'adopted' him in the spur of the moment, by no means was she having second thoughts, but this was definitely a first for her.
Steeling her resolve Nemuri slowly took the child's hand away from his neck, giving it a small squeeze as she looked directly into his eyes, she could see the uncertainty, the weariness, but deep down inside those brown orbs she could see a tinge of happiness, of longing, buried below an endless number of scars were the tiny embers of hope, hope that was once lost and reduced to this pitiful state by the malice of people.
Yet this was all that Nemuri needed to see, that small ember of hope was everything she needed to help this child, because it still burned deep inside of him, it meant she could nourish and help this tiny ember to become a raging fire, all she needed to do was to become and anchor for him, someone he could trust, someone that could show him that life wasn't as bad as he thought it was, to guide him when things got rough, to shower him with love when no one else did, all she needed to do was to become a mother.
His mother...
"You know... I would really like to know your name sweetheart... Mine's Nemuri... Nemuri Kayama... So... what's yours Chibisuke?..."
The small boy looked unsure of what to say, Nemuri slowly laid a hand on his cheek, at first he flinched a little bit, not accustomed to being touched by someone else so tenderly, the only human contact he got where punches, slaps, kicks and other forms of physical violence, to be touched in such a caring way made him confused, he didn't know how to feel, a part of him told him she was just doing this so he would lower his guard to hurt him, but another part of him deep inside just wanted to melt into her hand.
Choosing to trust the former he leaned into her hand, his shoulders relaxed and he seemed to almost melt in her hands, he really didn't like saying his name, after all it was the name 'they' gave him, he didn't like the feeling he got whenever he said it out loud, yet she asked for his name, she was kind and warm, and he didn't want her to go away, so if a little discomfort was all it took to keep her near then it wasn't that bad.
"Asahi... Wa-... Wakabayashi..."
Nemuri noticed how he seemed uncomfortable saying his own name, especially how he hesitated and the tiniest bit of disgust when he said his last name, as she picked up more and more clues about this child the more she felt disgusted with his parents, now it was as plain as day that the ones who did this to Asahi were his 'parents' if she could even call them that, she believed firmly that someone who could bring such harm to one's child should never be allowed to be called a 'parent'.
Giving his hand a reassuring squeeze Nemuri looked deep into his eyes, the way she spoke reminded her of her own mother, the way she would make all her worries go away, the amount of love that poured out of each word, the heartwarming smile she had that told her 'Everything is fine, Mama is here for you'.
"Everything is going to be alright Asahi, Mama is here for you and I will make sure you won't have to go through anything like this ever again... This is my promise to you as a your Mother"
Before she could even blink she felt a small pair of arms wrap around her back, clinging to her like she would disappear if he let go of her for even a second, then came the weight of a small head resting in her bosom, the feeling of wetness making itself present in her chest, and the trembling of his shoulders coursing through her body, all she could think of at that moment was to hold him close, to give him comfort, let him take out all his pain and suffering, an so she put a hand on his head, carefully pushing his head deeper in her chest while she played with his brown locks, holding his back with her other arm making sure he knew she wasn't going anywhere.
"Let it all out baby... you don't have to hold it in anymore... kick, cry, scream, punch, do everything you want, I will be here to take everything you feel and once you are satisfied I will still be by your side to soothe you... Because I love you..."
With that last sentence everything came to a stop, his shoulders stopped trembling, his arms relaxed and were no longer gripping her back tightly, he lifted his head and looked her to the eye, his brown eyes looked glazed and lost, her azure ones where full of love and warmth, and so, the sobs turned to wailing, the griping turned to hugging like his life depended on it, the small trembling became an unstoppable shake, and she stood through all of it, holding and whispering him sweet nothings in his ear, it was just the two of them at that moment.
She knew what she had to do, while still holding him close she took out her phone, this position allowed the EMT to treat the wounds on the child's back while he was hugging Nemuri, once his breathing became slow and deep she understood he had fallen asleep, the poor boy must have been exhausted from everything that happened tonight she thought, finally looking through her phone contacts she found the small icon of a Mouse with devil looking horns, the mere thought of tapping the call icon besides it made her shiver, the implications of calling that person? almost gave her a headache, but albeit everything else, she knew he was the only being on this planet that could help her with the predicament she found herself in, taking a deep breath she steeled her resolve and tapped the call icon brazing herself for the migraine she was sure to have after this conversation.
After all...
She was calling the one and only Rat King...
-X- Principal Nezu POV -X-
It was such a dazzling night for the principal of the one and only UA Academy, the full moon was shining brightly high in the sky with such splendor that could only be seen once a decade, the stars in the sky only making this astonishing view only better, they adorned the night sky with their ephemeral glow, their presence making the moon look all the more enthralling, the being know as 'Nezu' looked out of his window at this scenery, thinking about the heaps of plans he had for the future.
His scheming was interrupted by the call he had been waiting for the whole night, he picked up his phone and looked at the caller ID, only a handful of people had his private number and they all knew they should only call him if there was a serious problem, seeing that the one who called him was 'Nemuri' with a pink cloud of smoke beside her name he knew it was time, answering the call he cleared his throat and spoke to the person on the other side.
"What am I? A mouse? A lion? A dog?"
He spoke with giddiness in his voice, he always loved to play mental games with humans, the way they struggled to come up with a correct answer was so satisfying to him, even tho they came up with wrong answers most of the time, but alas, not everyone could be as smart as himself, he took a sip of his tea while waiting for an answer, yet he was surprised to get one faster than he expected.
"Principal Nezu we both know you are none of those so please stop with the mind breaking games, I really need help right now, and I mean I really really REALLY need lots of help, Kugo told me that I should call you to help us sort this out"
As always he got a satisfying answer, not the correct one but still a satisfying answer, that was one of the reasons why Nemuri was one of his favorite students, always quick to answer and the way she gave him answers that would quench his need to play around with the feeble minds of people, setting his cup aside he decided to give his full attention to her, even though he already knew everything that transpired in the last 20 minutes.
"As you might already know I'm fully aware of the predicament you find yourself in, I've already initiated protocol 'Leto' and both the EMT and Ambulance Operator have been informed to take the child to a special facility where we can treat his wounds and find out what happened to him, it would be too risky to take him to a regular hospital where he could be taken away by the people that had him captive, so all you have to do is stay by his side and make sure he arrives safely to the facility"
He was sure Nemuri was taken aback by his lengthy explanation, but he knew she would process all the information he gave her in just a couple of seconds he was already getting off his chair when he heard her speak again, but already knowing what she was going to say he simply opted to interrupt her and tell her what she needed to know.
"Principal about the-" "You don't need to worry about that anymore I've already informed the detective about the situation and he will catch up to us in the facility with the equipment necessary to remove that nasty anklet from the boy, so please don't try to remove it before he gets to a safe space, Oh where are my manners I almost forgot to tell you"
"Congratulations on your first child "
Before he could hear any kind of response he hung up, reaching for his coat he made his way to the entrance of the school, there was already a car waiting for him outside to take him to the facility, he had some pep to his step on the way out, he always felt giddy whenever his plans worked out perfectly, and obviously they always did.
After all
He already knew everything that would and could ever happen.
Chapter 1: A parent's resolve
End
Next Chapter:
For it is my duty
To be continued...