"am bored ".

In a corner of the room, shielded by shadow, lay a figure of a boy bound in a macabre pose. His feet were tightly chained together with thick black iron links that trailed up to his wrists and around his waist.

A tight black leather mask enveloped all but his mouth; he was smiling faintly despite what must have been terrible discomfort and frustration at being so totally physically restrained.

The light of the lamp barely reached him but its glimmer illuminated chains across his chest, neck, arms and ankles like some divinely ordained shackle that no man could loosen or break away from of their own volition.

"Eh!"

Suddenly, a sharp click broke through the stillness of the room. The boy froze in place, he remained motionless in both hope and terror - though inside his head there were many things churning and spinning.

His heart raced faster than a rabbit's ... The boy felt fear and dread knot in his stomach like a nest of snakes as he imagined somebody else crossing that threshold. He longed only for her, with an intensity he is so familiar with, and couldn't bear the thought of anyone else entering the room--only her, again and again...

"Subaru It's me stormfront...May I come in?"

Suddenly the familiar sweet and mature voice of her broke through his thoughts like a ray of sunshine at once all anxiety fell away from him, now replaced by comfort, reassurance even joy. He smiled anew at the sound of her voice asking permission to enter.

"Y-yes pleas com ... in". Subaru opened his mouth to reply, but cursed himself inwardly for stuttering as the words stumbled out.

"Okay~"

Fortunately Stormfront didn't seem to mind, as she quickly opened the door after hearing his permission.

"Hello Subaru," she said, in a warm voice full of affection. "Did you miss me?"

Suddenly the oppressive blackness that had blanketed the room gave way to a cascade of light from outside and within. Though Subaru could not see it underneath his leather mask, he smiled at her words and replied in a fervent chorus.

" Yes! Yes! I did miss you so much. You don't know how impatiently I waited for your return; all these nights alone here in this room ... without you~."

With a smile that subaru could not see, she began to say," Awww~, hearing you say that makes me so happy, Subaru..." and then she paused before continuing in a sad tone. "It also makes me feel guilty for leaving you here alone for so long. I know I promised to come back for you but it seemed like you waited forever. I'm really sorry."

Hearing her words and feeling her sadness through them that was directed to him, sent warmth flowing through Subaru's heart. even if it had caused him some guilt to cause her distress, The guilt faded away as he realized how deeply concerned she was and he smiled more sincerely than ever before at the thought of it. He felt very happy that once again he could still see how much she cared for him.

"There is no reason for you to be sad," Subaru tried to console, offering a tender smile. "After all, you have fulfilled your promise to come back for me... And God knows that you have never broken your promises ... In addition, I did not wait long. It was only Two thousand one hundred ninety-one and a half hours - which is nothing! Really not that long! "

But the attempt at comfort seemed fruitless; a frown creased Stormfront's mature features as the sorrow remained etched across them, but this time for different reasons

And Subaru can already sense that his words did nothing to calm her down so he tries to say something else, anything just to calm her down but Stormfront beats him to it.

Stormfront took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before saying "I wonder how you knew how long I'd been gone?"

Despite her mild words, there was an edge of accusation and frustration in her tone. He knew what she was getting at.

"I--i".

As he opened his mouth to say something - anything - to try and defend himself, stormfront spoke again

"You didn't sleep during my absence did you? During the three months that I were absent...you did not sleep a single second...again."

And In a single moment all rational excuses melted away from Subaru like snow beneath a hot sun – now it seemed futile even attempting them.

So instead he now attempted truth.

"I didn't sleep for a moment because I was afraid that if I did, the visitation day would come and go without me ever knowing it...that I'd miss out on spending time with you."

The mere thought of it caused him to grind his teeth hard as if to subdue the emotions churning within him from escaping into plain sight. For three months, Subaru had been anxiously counting the ticks of the clock on the wall for Stormfront's next visitation day; he would be overcome with anxiety and worry when it seemed like too much time had passed since their last meeting.

Suddenly, complete silence descended upon them, and Subaru could hear a lot in this silence; from the beating of two hearts to the breathing of two people to the ticking of the clock, and also the sounds coming outside from the door leading to the hallway. But he preferred to focus on Stormfront's upcoming words and eagerly - yet anxious- he waited for her response.

But she said nothing, and instead of words to hear. he suddenly felt her warm breath against his face as his nose almost touched hers. Then He felt a light, soft touch that Subaru couldn't mistaken for anyone else's: Stormfront had placed her delicate hand at the side of his face.

Subaru was taken aback, but the shock gave way to a lightness and joy that bubbled inside him.

"Stormfront I--hm!"

Suddenly He tried to speak, but before he could get the words out from his lips, Stormfront's fingers hushed him – filling his mouth with tingles as she asked for silence.

Hmm~

He complied without altercation; content in being comforted by her tender touch. In a voice of concern yet love and understanding within its tones she said

"It is alright sweetheart - there is no anger here towards you... simply worry over your mental strife due to fatigue and lack of sleep".

"Y--you do?"

She leaned in and caressed his cheek gently, a soft smile pulling at her lips.

"Yes of course I do," she said softly. Then Her voice wavered slightly with a little bit of sadness as she continued, " thought I am to blame for not making our days of meetings more specific because of all my work obligations. Especially now that I recently just joined the Seven." She paused for a moment before continuing, her touch sending Subaru into ecstasy despite himself. He listened attentively as she explained further, "It's very exhausting work being the heroine of all the people and all that... but what can I do? People love me so I can't stop can I ?"

"Yes, I can truly understand their thirst for you and their love for you," he said ecstatically. " because you are their heroine as you are for me. And worry not about me—I will never let myself become an obstacle in you being the heroine of all the common and uncommon people alike out there. After all This is what makes you special—in addition to many other things." He paused before adding, "Of course…other things."

Stormfront smiled knowingly at him though he cant see it. and then a moment later she removed her hand; although disappointed by the loss of skin contact, Subaru kept silent instead of vocalizing his frustrations not wanting to upset her in any way.

"Subaru, now I will proceed to remove these chains and mask from you. BUT! before that, you must promise me something - promise me that you won't loose you cool and end up destroying this facility like you did last time".

Subaru may not be able to see her eyes nor her facial expression right now but hearing and feeling her solemnity and fear, that's he can. and as a result He felt his heart sink knowing he caused her to feel like those terrible emotions.

Suddenly the memory of that distant day flooded back to him, when she had been late in coming to visit him —a delay on her part that had led Subaru to worry and also fear feelings he hadn't understood at the time because he was just a little child.

But even as a child The consequences of those fears came crashing back on him and others — .how those feelings propelled him into a rage so powerful as to shatter his room to rubble, break glass windows and bringing down walls with his power until it finally resulted in an inferno which caused hundreds of people death.

Subaru looked back on the event in still contemplation. Did he feel guilt, shame, or remorse? He thought back to her words when she said she was upset with him. But where guilt should have been there sat instead a profound sense of certainty that what he had done was 100% justified — as long as it had been for her sake, how could it ever be wrong? If apologizing would bring peace and solace between them then he knew without hesitation that is what he would do for her and just her– after all it was she who he opened his eyes on since he came to existence.

"It's alright, You don't need to worry about me getting into any trouble today." He paused for a moment and glanced at her presumed direction before continuing, "I promise that I would not cause you distress or alarm in any way."

"... Fine, I'll take your word for it." Relieved she said after a moment contemplation.

Immediately afterward, Subaru felt the familiar click of mechanical parts and. Then he felt the vibranium chains that had bound him suddenly clanged loose from his limbs. But all subaru could think of now is——I wonder how many times Stormfront has to ask me to promise her every time she has to unchain me? ... thought this is my fault since I never told her the real reason of my rampage.

Subaru smiled at himself, though his face red, embarrassed and confused as to whether he should finally tell her the real reason.

"And in the end, after we eliminated those criminals who had tried to wreck my reputation as a hero, I was finally appointed advisor to Homelander as second-in-command. And trust me subaru I had Never worked as hard as i did in securing the company against what it deemed potential threats." With a satisfied sigh she concluded her story.

"Wow, to think you accomplished all these great feats in just three months. I expected nothing less from you, Stormfront. Excellent work as usual!." With his head on her lap he looked up at her face with his black eyes filled with wonder and awe.

She let out a happy "Aww~" in response to Subaru's words, her black eyes warm and twinkling with affection and tenderly she ruffled his black hair and chuckled softly.

"Thank you Subaru," she said warmly. "Your words really mean the world to me."

"It's just the truth," he smiled

Then suddenly His face grew confused " though Why didn't you come to me for help? I'm sure that I could have destroyed them all in much less time - not that I'm diminishing your capabilities or anything, but you know." He fixed her with a questioning gaze.

Stormfront closed her eyes, her brow furrowed in concentration. Then, she sighted "Three words… popularity… media… and propaganda."

"Yeah, this is definitely it," he said as a matter of fact, not asking a question. Then He took moment to survey his room, before continuing with conviction. "And let me guess...this time, it's the Homelander?" His tone was confident as if he had already known the answer but wanted affirmation from her.

"... yeah" she sighted even deeper this time.

"Wow! That tired look on your face —you almost sound like an oppressed nanny... Is he that bad I mean the homelander guy ?" he couldn't help but exclaim.

"Trust me Subaru, I don't even know where to start... Homelander is really unbearable and even nerve-wracking to talk to. That person is an absolute hypocrite and his only value is his strength..." Her voice trailed off as Subaru listened patiently while she poured out all the resentments that had been accumulating inside her.

Subaru stirred restlessly and his face darkened as Stormfront told him everything about the homelander. After a few moments, he finally spoke. "Interesting," he said quietly. "This is the person they call Homelander... whenever you talk about him, I feel this fire surging up in me to get out of here and start a fight with him." His lips curled into a half-smile then, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he asked: "Now speaking of fights - who do you think will win? Me or him...and be truthful please?"

The sudden question is Subaru's way to lighten the mood, but he is also curious to know, and seeing how her eyes lit up with interest and the slight smile, it seems that his initiative has succeeded.

"Well..." Stormfront cast her gaze to the side, turning the question over in her mind.

Finally, after a few moments of contemplation she spoke. "I think you're definitely going to win a fight against Homelander if I'm being honest with you Subaru," she said carefully. "He might be able to put up a good fight for awhile but your strength and resourcefulness are on another level entirely." She paused before continuing. " In addition to knowing Homelander's character, I believe that after exchanging a few blows with you and once discovering that your base power exceeds his own, Iam pretty sure he will inevitably beat a hasty retreat in order to save himself from getting killed "

"I'm not sure what I was expecting," subaru sighed, "but it wasn't this."

Stormfront chuckled, "What did you expect? The fact that he would be your equal? Or the fact that he wouldn't run?".

"...both actually " subaru admitted " Listening to all the thing you said about him I kinda expected a challenge".

"Well, duh," She teased the tip of her finger against Subaru's flushed cheek " You are the strongest in the world, after all, and Nobody can challenge your strength until someone else comes along who is stronger than you - but until then, just get used to this idea subaru~."

"Being the undisputed strongest is really boring. I kinda feel lonely " Subaru pouted.

"Sure are." she laughed.

And so the Seconds gradually wound into minutes, and minutes stretched out to hours as the two sat in comfortable silence. Soft snatches of conversation floated through the air— they shifted for a while from laughter to flirtatiousness, than back again. Time passed without them noticing until finally there was an interruption: a knock at the door calling an end to their fun time together.

"Come in," Stormfront answered.

And immediately the door opened to reveal a man of dapper elegance. He wore a deep purple suit with tails, sharp creases brushing his calves as he entered. His eyes were bright and clear blue beneath his blond hair, Subaru's smile fell upon seeing him still perched on her lap ——I fucking hate this guy. Subaru thought disdainfully.

"Miss. Stormfront, everything is ready. If you please, follow me." The man spoke His voice was polite yet professional -- like he'd made this same request many times before.

"Great! thank you, John!" Subaru watched as Stormfront thanked John cheerily. Who only nodded in response.

"Another mission for me right?" He asked with a weary sigh as he rose from her lap. He knew what this exchange meant, as he always did when John showed up——somebody definitely was going to end up dead tonight.

"Smart boy " She broke out into a tinkling laugh, which faded to nothing as she continued. "Yes, although this mission will be totally different from the previous ones." She stood up and stretched her hand towards Subaru, who only shrugged his shoulders in response and also rose from the ground "Now come on - I'll let the specialists explain the details to you since I myself don't know much."

"Lead the way John," Stormfront said. Without hesitation, John opened the door and strode out onto the the long hallway, Subaru and Stormfront keeping pace behind him.

Subaru and Stormfront walked slowly down the hallway, white walls on either side of them stretching far into the distance. John led them, his footsteps echoing against the hard surfaces. As they moved forward, a steady stream of lab-attired people were entering and exiting various rooms with purposeful strides.

yet as soon as any one set foot upon seeing Subaru pass by, they would flinch away in fear before scurrying off. Though Subaru's dark cold eyes met many stares along their

Walk, his's face darkened as he noticed this display of fear—his frown growing deeper with each gaze fall on him making his already scary eyes more terrifying.

——those gazes are infuriating, should I just speed bletzz out of here?, He thought.

Stormfront had been quietly observant of Subaru as he seemed to sink into a sudden moodiness deciding to do something about it she gradually walked closer to him, her eyes studying his darkened expression and sensing the change in mood.

So Taking a deep breath, she slowly extended her hand towards him until it almost brushed against his own. Subaru felt the warmth of her skin on his and suddenly snapped out of whatever gloomy thoughts had taken hold earlier. He turned to face her and was surprised to find that she was smiling at him teasingly, as if silently asking why the sudden Bad mood change.

Subaru sighed deeply, his eyes cast downward. He could still feel the stares of the people around them whose fear made them look away quickly when their gazes met.

"I don't really know," he spoke his voice both sad and confused." But the terrified gazes of the people around me make me feel like a monster instead of the hero that I am." His lips quivered as he stopped speaking for a moment before continuing on." Instead of fearing me ... why don't they love me?".

The hurt was palpable in his voice as he asked with plaintive confusion and gloom.

Stormfront sighed, her eyes becoming soft as she understood the source of Subaru's distress. "Oh you silly boy," she murmured, taking his hands in hers and squeezing them gently, causing his face to redden with embarrassment. She smiled a little wider as she continued: "They do respect you - maybe not in quite the way that you want it to be - but isn't it all just a show? Fear can be seen as its own form of respect too."

Subaru furrowed his brow and shook his head, unable to comprehend.

"But...but I don't see it that way," he said, confusion riddling each word. "Whenever I go out here, their facial expressions and looks towards me get worse and worse... How can all that fear be translated into respect? I don't understand." He was used to them looking at him like he carried a bloody knife in hand and A child's severed head is in the other hand they wouldn't even want near them — the truth of it started to make him tense with every time he gets out of his room and every assasination mission he completed. No matter how much time passed or how often they saw him come around, their looks only became more fearful and wary.

The pleasant smile dropped from stormfront face, adopting a serous expression "listen subaru. from other people. You are different. The way you were raised was different. The lessons you learned were different. For God's sake, even the functions of your organs and their work are different from the rest, in addition to your work and what it requires. Of course, those who know you will fear you and stay away from you out of fear for themselves. This is also a matter of respect for your strength."

"B-but I–

"NO But Subaru!, you should really try to see things from the perspective of other people before your own... It's been so long since I've seen you like this, so thrown off balance by the public eye. I had expected that by now you'd be more used to being outcast at or feared, but apparently not." A sigh blew her bangs across her forehead as she adopted an expression of great disappointment.

Subaru's face changed to an expression of stunned disbelief. His mouth hung open slightly, and his face appeared pained, as if her words had caused him a physical injury. His eyes fluttered and filled with tears that threatened to spill over at any moment, He looked as though he were on the brink of weeping — apparently whatever reply he'd been anticipating clearly not having been this one, ——Looks like I really screwed up here Subaru, you stupid, useless idiot, how can you be such a disappointing person...gahhhhh I wanna cry!.

Subaru cursed himself internally for having lost control of his emotions. He felt Stormfront's eyes on him as if she was carefully weighing her words before speaking. When nothing else came, she dropped the subject and shifted her focus to more pressing matters

"Come on Subaru, we have to go now no time for discussing personal issues," said Stormfront in an even tone while John patiently awaited them without uttering a word.

Subaru hung his head, a subtle nod of acknowledgement that he had been wrong. His mouth opened but no sound came out- only the faintest whisper of regret. Finally, words grated from his throat: "You're right...I'm sorry." He took a glance at Stormfront and John before setting off again in their wake - the three now was walking with faster than before, as if eager to make up for lost time. Subaru trudged after them with heavy feet — though they were going faster this time round, it felt like an eternity to him - every step was weighed down.

——Yeah next time I will just speed bletzz out of here with no question asked.

After a few minutes of walking, the three finally found themselves outside the facility. Behind them was an elegant white building, Its base was surrounded by lush green foliage. In front of them stood a sleek black SUV which glinted menacingly in contrast to its surroundings.

John stood beside the back door of the black car, as He gestured to Stormfront with an even voice, "Come on Ms. Stormfront, please get in the car."

Without hesitating, she nodded her head and stepped towards the car. "Come on, Subaru," she said with a quick smile, taking hold of the door handle. "What are you waiting for? Get in."

In response subaru adopted an expression of bafflement, as if she had suddenly sprouted a second head. She sighed in exasperation and asked, "What's wrong now?"

"Well..." His eyes darted around before continuing " Wouldn't it be quicker," he suggested, gesturing between them with a sweep of his arm, "if we just used our powers and flew there? It would cut down on our time significantly".

She shook her head, then said, "We can't do that. For one three main reasons, first we need John's permission for entering the place where we're going. Secondly, flying there would create witnesses and lastly," she paused as an affectionate smile appeared on her face. "You need to rest." She put a comforting hand on his arm and gently squeezed it before pulling him with her surprising him.

"B-but storm—

"Again, I don't want to hear excuses, Subaru," she began sternly. "What happened in the hallway before indicates that you are tired. Your emotions are very volatile... right, John?"

John nodded approvingly from the driver's seat with a knowing air of understanding and agreement.

"Have you seen Subaru? Even John agrees with me." She shot back at him, gesturing to jhon for additional support on the matter as if his opinion were somehow more valid than her own due its coming from an outside source rather than herself directly. Or maybe just for support.

Subaru felt a flush of embarrassment creeping up his neck, as if he had been scolded by a teacher in front of the whole class. He could feel John's gaze on him from the driver's seat, nodding approvingly at her words.

Subaru finally sighed deeply, capitulating with a hesitant "Okay, I will do what you say if that what makes happy than I wil—

Stormfront smiled in satisfaction before suddenly grabbing his head and effortlessly forcing him to lay on her lap. Despite his embarassment, he allowed the motion without resistance and relaxed on her lap. As he closed his eyes, an unexpected feeling of calmness overcame him——maybe she was right maybe I am tired. he thought with a yawn — the sudden soothing rumble of the car slowly lulling him towards slumber like a mother's melodic croonings to a new-born infant.

John said in a calm voice from the driver's seat, "It seemed that he was really tired despite his tremendous strength. It seemed that even he was helpless at the face of the power of sleeping."

"Yeah" Stormfront smiled in response as she looked at Subaru's face on her lap. His eyes were closed peacefully and his breathing had grown slow and steady, indicating a deep sleep. She ran her hand across his forehead tenderly.

"Sleep well subaru".

With that said The car started up quietly, like a whisper in the night. Its engine hummed with a low energy as it pulled away from the front of the building and rolled forward. The driver was careful not to rock or jostle any part of the vehicle too much, steering deftly so as not to wake its precious cargo - sleeping peacefully the safety of his companion's lap - before reaching their destination.