I wish I could've had a honeymoon. The December chill lances right through my thin white suit and I stand there almost like a statue. Every inch of me is cold and I regret leaving Koyurei.
Not only because he can make me toasty in seconds but also because we just got married. But of course the HPSC has to swoop in and demand that all heroes have to pick up the slack.
Seriously, the one time I could have off and I have to spend it away from my husband. That's why I left behind my lunch. Reigen and Satoru watch as I pace just to keep from freezing.
"Mistress Midnight? Are you okay?" Satoru asks, "I mean you've been driving a dent in the pavement for a good bit..."
"I'm okay, Satoru..." I smile but it doesn't match my eyes at all, "I just want to be anywhere but here."
"How was the wedding?" Reigen pipes up, "We heard you uh... had it."
"It was good, Reigen. The issue is I'd much rather be with my husband than be at work because the other heroes can't solve anything without me." I huff with them almost looking kind of sad for me. Which I get why.
I just... I want to stay home with him. Koyurei's not taking his adjustments well and his next appointment is today but at the same time there's this deep down feeling that he might forget it. I just hope its going okay. There's nothing really I worry about but deep down I do worry about him. He's normally a lot less dour but I guess he's having a hard time adjusting to being a civilian.
I get out my phone and call him, "Nemuri! I just got outta Dr. Shinsou's, what's wrong?" he sounds so happy.
"I forgot my lunch at home." I say, "Maybe when you get here... I can give you a reward?" I lower my voice and purr it out like a cat. I don't hear anything on the other end for a few seconds.
"What." his tone is completely flat, "You forgot one of the most important things ever?"
"Well... I wanna see you!" I exclaim, "So I made it a cute little quest! You know, like Dragon Quest?"
"I've never played those." He answers almost instantly but then recovers with, "Well, I'll be there in a little bit, I promise."
"I love you, baby." I kiss the receiver and he chuckles a little at it.
"I'll see you." he hangs up quickly enough and here I am almost kicking my feet and squeeing at the idea of my husband heroically swooping down from the sky just to give me my lunch.
Then kissing his cute over-achieving face and sharing my lunch with him. God, he's got me planning things like a damn middle school romance. It makes me so happy just thinking about how he's mine.
Out of all the men and lovers I had, Koyurei was the one who beat them all. He's like one of those pots that were broken and repaired with gold. Well, he's still gluing the pieces together. I can't wait to see the finished one. Maybe years down the line when we're both old and gray? Or soon if we ever have a kid? Still though, I love him so much.
The funeral was small, but I couldn't accept it. Dad actually looked sad, Mom was devastated, and my siblings understood. But here I am, looking at it again with new eyes. Shoto was in my arms peacefully playing with my tie.
Fuyumi was clinging to my coat and Natsuo was hand in hand with her. All I could do was watch as Dad set up the shrine and Mom wept. Her cries deep and loud. She lost a part of herself, and so did he.
So why? Why did *nothing* change? Shoto looks up at me with his almost calico eyes and I look back down with a forced smile. I tried my best to be calm but there's that same chill sitting deep in my chest.
The same one creeping through me right now. Even after all that progress my rage won't be healed.
Dr. Shinsou's voice comes through, "So the funeral only made you angrier." he says, "How'd you use the anger?"
"Absolutely not, Koyurei!" Dad looms over me, "You know what happened! Why are you like him now, too?"
"Dad, I can be stronger than him! You don't need Shoto. You have me!" I yell back, "Just watch!" and therein lies the mistake of the century. I ended up using my flames and my frost rose up to answer, smothering them before they could burn me.
His ferocious grin and gaze blaze into me. He knew I was the ticket to stardom and to strength enough to surpass All Might. All he needed was to see that I could do it. Training is brutal and my frost covers my body as little Shoto sits in my lap.
He and I were buddies back then.
"He's mean." he says.
"Yeah, I know." I answered with my arms around my brother, "He wasn't always like that though." my lips upturned into a smile just in the memory but watching it play out again, reality quickly seeped in.
"Really?" Shoto asks with his eyes sparkling a little. He wanted to know more about Dad and I guess that's fair, but what I told him is that he was...
"Dad was just... normal. Sure there were moments where he'd be a total... jerk. But at the same time he was fun." That was the truth. Dad was normal back when it was me and Touya and Fuyumi.
"My anger became the reason why I wouldn't become my father." I answer, the scene shifting from the house to my debut. It was a hot day in the middle of the dog days of summer with a heatwave on and-
No. It wasn't that.
What was it?
Was it...
The bedroom rises up around me. The early dawn peeking through the curtains and Nemuri is laying next to me. Sleeping soundly with her heartbeat in my ears. She's actually sleeping wrapped around me. Even though I'm pretty solidly bony.
"I just... I think I care way more about other people." my throat gets a lump of emotion and I hold back the tears, "I just think that's what makes me miss heroism. Because it proves that I'm better than Endeavor."
"I don't think it's about being better than him, it's just the fact that you're still thinking of things in terms of winning or losing. When really it's more about living." Dr. Shinsou says, "Considering what you've been through the lack of self-preservation sticks out like a sore thumb."
"I only had a five year career, and I guess I wanted to make a huge impact." A laugh courses out of my lungs almost on instinct, "I just was shambling around like a damn zombie."
"You also went to UA." he brings that up and the arena bursts to life around us with the cheering crowd and my blazing blue flames swirling around me in the first mask and mane in an almost mockery of my father.
This was a match where I fought one of Shiketsu's kids it was an inter-school Sports Festival. He had a few feet of height on me and had something similar to that guy from Dragon Ball, Broly. His name was Daisuke and he blasts right towards me. Flames redirect the punch and I nail him right on the face but because of his quirk he eats it like it's for breakfast. He grabs me and slams me around before tossing me into the air.
I just barely stop and my flames formed the wings like Keigo taught me. A spear of flames forms in my hands and I rear my hand back. But instead of being hot and feeling the heat in my body...
I felt cold. The explosion hit and knocked the poor kid out in seconds from the pure fury of the condensed inferno. When the smoke cleared Dad's looking down at me with the proudest smile I've ever seen...
Warm.
I felt warm.
We wrapped up the session and I put my coat back on. What I could do is focus on me and only me. Just try to adjust to it but instead of forcing it just keep myself grounded and normal.
My phone rings and I answer with it being Nemuri. She probably needs me to do something so yay! Purpose!
"Nemuri! I just got outta Dr. Shinsou's, what's wrong?" I sound so happy and then here she is sounding really sad.
"I forgot my lunch at home." she says and my heart sinks, "Maybe when you get here... I can give you a reward?" Although her voice lowers to purr at me because she's probably wanting something other than food.
"What." I don't mean to make my voice so flat but I want to impress it on her that lunch and meals in general are important! "You forgot one of the most important things ever?"
"Well... I wanna see you!" She explains almost like it's nothing too big, "So I made it a cute little quest! You know, like Dragon Quest?"
"I've never played those." I blurt out, panic a little, and then fix it with, "Well, I'll be there in a little bit, I promise."
"I love you, baby." She kisses the receiver and I chuckle a little. Now I need to find a way to get to her without my powers. How close am I to her agency? God, I hope I'm not too far away.
Every second counts and I don't notice how serious I made it until the next thing I say.
"I'll see you."
Then here I go driving back to the house and being filled with nervous energy that seemed to never go away. It was almost like I was on the bomb squad and I needed to make it there without using my quirk.
Then I face one of the worst enemies of any civilian.
Traffic.
There's a reason why my aunt is vehemently opposed to it. I try my best to weave my way though it to get to the agency but the traffic is thickening right around the onramp to the highway. A jet of orange flame bursts out and hits something far ahead with other sidekicks of the Endeavor Agency trying to get people out of the way. Gritting my teeth I turn my car around and-
Yeah no there's no way out other than to wait and I know my father is fighting whoever's holding up traffic. So I sit. Waiting. Nemuri's going hungry with each passing second! I gotta get there! That's when I see it. Dad flying on flames like an avenging god. A Flaming Arrow explodes near the villain and he closes in faster than the others can follow. Grabbing them and slamming them down in a Judo hold.
If the heat wouldn't knock them out, the heat would. But the others don't see something I do! This is a pair! I get out of the car and my flames burn away my coat and reveal my ice blue dress shirt to launch me into the air.
I kick into the other villain's face and launch off him to get back to the house, "OUTTA MY WAYYYYYY!" I scream. Even though I'm breaking several quirk laws I think the shock of me absolutely stomping a guy is enough to shake off the-
"Get back here, Koyurei!" Dad screams behind me. Even though I resigned from the Endeavor Agency, I still renewed my license. Little did I know I was leading Dad right to home.
When I get back there's this idea that I'd get the lunch and get going back to my car to peal out of there. But then here's the rub. Dad's right there. He's looking down at our nameplate.
"Nemuri and Koyurei Kayama, huh?" he starts, "You took her last name." his gaze is surprisingly soft and his voice is too. He looks down at me but his expression is like a blast from the past.
He isn't angry, just... calm? 'Calm' and 'Dad' don't exactly match in a sentence OR make sense! He's smiling.
"Okay who died?" I blurt out and Dad's hand lands on my shoulder.
"I'm proud of you, son!" He exclaims in pure joy. Okay NOW someone probably died. I look up at him and there's that proud glint in his eye.
"Did you... hit your head?" I ask.
"Huh?! Oh, HAHAHAHA! It must be a shock now that we're on equal terms!" he exclaims, "Ahh, I remember when I would do anything for your mother, cooking and cleaning even the laundry..."
"Now's not the time to get nostalgic! I'm a househusband!" I snap, pushing him (or trying to) out of my way, "Move it, you... big... dumb... oaf!"
"But there comes a time in every man's life that he has to look deep inside-" Why is he acting like he's so proud?! He's the one who put me in therapy! He's the one who didn't come to Sekoto Peak that day!
Why is he acting like everything's okay between us?!
"Shut up, Dad!" I snap, "You're either stupid or stubborn, and I don't care what you think! Now if you'll excuse me-" I throw my door open, "I gotta get Nemuri's lunch to her! It's important!"
I make a grab for the bento box and shove past him back to the outside. Slamming the door behind me and hearing poor Sushi hit the dirt just trying to be a cat. I cringe a little.
'Sorry, Sushi! Daddy has to deal with this guy and then Mommy and I'll come right back and give you all the treats and belly rubs and stuff you want! Hell, I'll run by the store and get you catnip!' tears sting my eyes, 'I'm so sorry!'
Dad stops pushing against me and sees me crying, "Koyurei?" he gasps.
"Just get out! Get outta my way! I... I don't need you! I never needed you!" tears rain down my face from the fear but my anger amps up my bravery, "I did it for Shoto, I did it for Fuyumi, and Natsuo! I did it for Mom and Touya, never for you!"
Dad stands there almost slack-jawed, "I still remember when you were a good dad! Fuyumi does too! That's why we stayed around for as long as we did, we believed you'd be that way again..."
I place my hand on his chest, "Now then, Enji. Get outta my way, I got a wife to get her lunch to."
The door bangs aside and the Boys all jump out of their seats and bow to... Koyurei? His hair's all out of sorts and his coat's gone, leaving only his ice-blue dress shirt and dress pants speckled with ashes. He leans against the doorframe and I can't help but take in the delicate but strong build of my husband peeking through it. He's dressed almost like he's a Yakuza.
"Welcome back, Mr. Kayama sir!" they chorus.
"Nemuri!" he yells, running to me and sliding down on the floor in a gesture of apology, "I'm so so so so so sorry!" he's practically blubbering.
"Koyurei..." I sigh.
"I was just trying to get your lunch to you and now it's not lunchtime anymore..."
"Koyurei..." I continue.
"My dad was fighting a villain and I kicked off one of their faces to fly, and when I got back to the house my Dad was there! Oh god, he knows where we live!" he looks genuinely scared and I pull him into my arms.
"Koyurei, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you got it to me." I soothe, running my fingers through his messy white and red hair, "Besides, you're the best husband in the world!"
He perks up immediately, "I am?!"
I grin. He gets so cute when I praise him, "Of course, time for your reward." I grab his hand and pull him back to the spare bedroom with the cushy bed. Sure, I'm hungry. But I can't just let him go without some kind of reward.
He sits down as I hustle over to the kitchenette, he'd already set the table before I could even blink. But this... this is important. Rei gave me a recipe apparently passed down from married-in to married-in, at least... I'm the first. It's a recipe for special Kuzumochi. I spent literal weeks perfecting it. Seriously between the wedding and everything I've been getting things down to a science. Koyurei sets up Clean Hallways of Love and I hustle back in with the plate.
"See, Lunch and Treats?" I lift it up shyly and he looks at it with a huge smile on his face.
"Alright come on and sit down! The series finale is on!" Soon enough after the finale...
"That was bullshit!" he snaps, "The janitor doesn't even get the teacher?!" Koyurei's flames stoke, "Come on, Nemuri! You gotta admit it's-"
I smile and curl into his arms, "Haaah. Finally, you're nice and toasty!" I rub my face into his chest, "Let's go home n' cuddle under the covers, huh?"
He chuckles, "Okay, hon. Let's get ho- Wait!"
I look up at him, "What?! What?"
"The car! I forgot it on the highwayyyyy!" he screams, making me laugh until...
"Wait, you're serious..." I breathe.
And now I know why I married my husband. There's never a dull moment in his life. Never a boring experience. Koyurei's my love and I can't change a thing no matter how hard I'd try.
He's all mine. When we get home Sushi rushes out and rubs against the both of us like nobody's business. He missed us so much! I pick him up as Koyurei drifts towards our bedroom.
"Nemuri... I'm tired..." he huffs, "I don't need your quirk but... can we cuddle?"
"Sure baby, just gimme a second..." I rub my face into Sushi's fur, "I'm so sorry Sushi-chan, you've been 'nored..." I coo.
"Hey!" Koyurei snaps, taking Sushi from me, "I'm sorry Sushi-kun!"
We ended up passed out in bed with Sushi between the two of us happy and warm as all get out.