ONE'S JUSTICE

ARC TWO CHAPTER SIX

Arc 2 Chapter 6: A Moment Of Rest Before The Inevitable

"You try to blend yourself in the dark, unfortunately for you, I was born in it."

The words echoed in his mind as his senses began to slowly return. He felt the sharp sting of pain throughout his body, his muscles aching as though they'd been torn apart and hastily stitched back together. His chest felt tight, and there was a faint smell of antiseptic in the air. The faint hum of a clock ticking from somewhere nearby was the only sound breaking the quiet, but that, too, felt distant as he fought to focus.

His hand twitched, and before he knew it, his vision cleared—just enough to see a figure sitting beside him. It was a woman, dark hair framing her face, and she was… uncovering his bandages? No, why was she so close?

Instinct kicked in.

In a swift motion, he jerked upright, his arm shooting out to grab the woman by the throat, his fingers tightening as his eyes, wide and panicked slowly morphed into a harsh glare. Enemy? Friend? Who is she?

The woman gasped, her hands coming up in a defensive manner, and he noticed the faint flutter of fear in her eyes. She wasn't a threat. Not immediately. But it didn't stop the surge of adrenaline flooding his system, clouding his thoughts. Ken gritted his teeth, trying to push past the haze of confusion, but his body was weak, trembling beneath the exertion.

"Mum!!" a young voice cried out from the doorway.

Ken froze, the words from the voice so unexpected and so childlike that they pierced through the cloud of panic and anger, forcing him to look in the direction of the sound.

A small girl, maybe seven or eight years old, stood there, her wide eyes filled with shock and concern. Her hands were clenched into fists, but she was clearly scared. She didn't look like she was going to attack him.

"Leave her alone!" she cried again, running into the room. "You're hurting my mum!"

His grip loosened as the girl's cry broke his focus, but it wasn't enough for his head to fully clear. For a moment, he remained there, staring at the girl, blinking as the fog began to lift from his mind. The woman… her mum.

His mind slowly began piecing things together.

The woman. The faint memory of being saved by a woman when he was barely holding on to consciousness while slowly sinking deep underwater. He hadn't been able to remember exactly what had happened, but he knew the pain he was feeling was from battle.

Ken's head throbbed with the effort of processing the information, but his hand finally released its grip from Mayuri's throat, though his fingers still hovered around her skin, trembling. His breathing was uneven.

"Are you okay, mum?" Lila asked, her voice wavering as she looked at Mayuri, who had already started to rub her neck, trying to regain her composure.

Mayuri's eyes softened, and she smiled faintly at Lila before giving Ken a cautious look. "I'm fine, sweetheart. It's okay."

Ken exhaled shakily, still sitting up, trying to make sense of everything. "I'm… I'm sorry," he muttered, his voice rough. "I didn't—"

"You meanie!" Lila interrupted, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her face scrunched up in displeasure as she glared at him. "You hurt my mum! Mummy said you're a good guy but I don't see it"

Ken's brow furrowed at the sudden outburst, confusion written all over his face. The little girl was glaring at him, a stark contrast from the fear filled eyes from earlier, but there was something in her stance, in the way she held herself that was almost… determined.

"I'm sorry," he said again, slowly, his mind working to make amends, but there was something about the way Lila called him a "meanie" that caught him off guard. It was too childish, too innocent for the way he had acted.

Lila's pout deepened as she continued her silent protest. Mayuri, however, seemed to notice Ken's hesitation, and she sighed, standing up slowly from the bed and walking over to him.

"You were disoriented," she said softly, her eyes still holding that cautious warmth. "You didn't know what was going on. But… it's important to stay calm."

Ken glanced at her, his face softening as the weight of his actions fully hit him. He ran a hand over his face, shaking his head. "I just—everything's foggy. I don't know what happened." He paused for a moment, then added, "Where am I? How long have I been out?"

He remembered flying towards one of The Outcasts base to save his team and confronting their leader. He had gotten a serious beating and it was black from there.

"You've been out for a month," Mayuri replied, her voice gentle but it did little to settle the panic that flared within the former hero-in-training. A month?! "You're in my home, and—"

Ken stood abruptly, his movements shaky, but his body screamed for him to move. "I should leave," he muttered, looking at the door. "I'll be fine. I don't want to be a burden."

Lila's eyes widened, and her hands shot out to grab his right arm. "No! You can't leave! Not yet!" she insisted, her voice high-pitched with a mix of childish conviction and worry. "You have to stay! You can't be a meanie and leave after you hurt mum!"

Ken blinked, his surprise growing. "I… I didn't mean to—"

"You're hurt," Mayuri interjected, walking over to him as he prepared to leave. "You're not well enough to leave yet. You need rest. Please. Let me help you recover. You may not remember but you saved me once before, and now it's my turn to help you."

He turned his head toward her, his eyes narrowing, an expression of disbelief flickering across his face. "I can't just… stay here. I'm not one to rely on others. At least not again."

But Mayuri's steady gaze didn't falter. "You don't have to rely on me," she said. "But I'd prefer it if you let me take care of you for a while. Please. Don't leave like this. You're in no condition to be out there."

Ken hesitated, his mind warring against the idea of staying. It was not his nature. He had spent so long on his own—doing what he needed to survive, never staying in one place too long. But something in Mayuri's eyes, in the way Lila was watching him with the same determined expression, softened his resolve.

"I'll… stay for a little while," he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Mayuri's face broke into a small, relieved smile. "Thank you."

The tension in the room lightened, just a little. But there was still a long road ahead. Lila, still grumpy with him, was watching him closely, her eyes narrowing as if she didn't quite trust him yet. But Ken couldn't help but feel… oddly peaceful in that moment. He wasn't used to being cared for, especially not after everything he had been through. It was strange, but not unpleasant.

"Good!" Lila chirped suddenly, hopping on her feet. "Now we can all play together! But you have to be nice and not hurt mum anymore!"

Ken blinked, still unsure of how to handle the situation. "I… I don't play."

"Well, you're going to play with me!" Lila declared, her hands on her hips. "We can play tag, or… or I can teach you how to bake cookies!"

Mayuri chuckled quietly at the child's antics.

Ken stared at Lila for a long moment, then at Mayuri, and finally, he sighed. "Fine," he muttered, "I'll play… but only for a bit. And I'm definitely not baking cookies."

Lila's face lit up with a huge grin. "Deal!"

Ken stared at her, his head still spinning with everything that had happened, but something about the moment—a moment that felt… almost normal—made him realize that, for the first time in a long while, maybe it was okay to let himself rest, even if only for a short while.

And as Mayuri watched him cautiously, yet with a hint of warmth in her eyes, Ken found himself wondering if it might not be so bad to stay, just a little longer.

It had been three days since Ken had woken up in Mayuri's home. Three days of his world shifting from the chaos of his past life to a strange, almost tranquil existence. The pain from his injuries had dulled, and his mind, though still clouded at times, had begun to clear. The worst of it all, however, wasn't the physical recovery—it was the storm of emotions and the memories that surged within him.

The world outside had changed, irrevocably shattered by the attack of the Outcasts. The news broadcasts he had caught glimpses of on the television showed the devastation from all corners of the globe. Cities burned, governments crumbled, and citizens were left with nothing but confusion, fear, and grief. There was nothing left of the world he had known, no place he could go that felt safe anymore. The Outcasts had destroyed too much, had taken too many.

Ken, despite his attempts to remain detached, couldn't help but feel the weight of it all. His hands clenched as he watched the images of cities burning, the faces of those who had lost their homes, their families. His heart twisted painfully as he thought of Nagant and the others, and knowing they were still out there, suffering at the hands of those terrorists, gnawed at him.

Mayuri had explained it all to him, the full scope of the attacks, the widespread devastation that had taken place in the last month. She had been kind enough to keep him updated on the progress of the recovery efforts. Governments were struggling to regain control, but it felt like every step forward was met with two steps back. The scale of the Outcasts' operation was beyond anything anyone had expected. Ken could feel it in his bones: they were up against something far bigger and more dangerous than they had anticipated.

Sitting on the couch, his gaze fixed on the television, Ken gripped the armrest tightly.

Mayuri had been a silent comfort to him in those three days, doing her best to make him feel at ease in her home. She kept the house running, ensuring that Lila was taken care of, while Ken recovered. Her warmth and kindness were a far cry from the coldness he'd grown accustomed to in the past few years, and yet, it also made him feel a strange sense of guilt. She had her own burdens, her own pain—she didn't need to carry his too.

Yet despite the quiet solace, Ken couldn't fully escape the dread that clung to him, a nagging worry that never left him.

"Are you okay?" Mayuri asked gently from the kitchen, where she was busy preparing some food. Her voice, warm and concerned, made him glance up.

Ken hesitated for a moment, his lips parted as he struggled to find the words. "I'm fine," he finally muttered, though the answer was anything but convincing.

"Liar," Mayuri said softly, her tone teasing but kind.

Ken didn't respond. Instead, he returned to his thoughts, his eyes darting to the window as the wind picked up outside. He thought about how the heroes were handling all this. His old pals and mentors.

As though on cue, he felt a small tug on his sleeve. His sharp senses, always alert, immediately detected the source of the disturbance. He turned to find Lila standing beside him, her small form practically vibrating with excitement.

"I almost got you!" she declared proudly, her hands on her hips. "I was so sneaky, wasn't I?"

Ken raised an eyebrow, his gaze scanning the small girl. Despite her energetic nature, he couldn't help but smile faintly. He had grown used to Lila's presence over the past few days. Despite her innocent complaints about him earlier, there was something about her—the way she seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve—that tugged at something deep within him. She reminded him of himself back when he was a kid

"I felt you coming a mile away," he replied dryly with a slight grin, though his tone was softer than it had been when they first met.

"It's not fair!" Lila pouted, crossing her arms and glaring at him, clearly frustrated. "You always know where I am! You're using your quirk!"

Ken chuckled lightly, his hand coming to his chin as he leaned back. "You didn't say anything about using my quirk" he said, his voice laced with a playful tone.

Lila scowled and kicked at the floor in frustration. "That's not fair! Mum says I can't use mine yet, so it's not fair you use yours!"

Ken blinked in surprise. "You have a quirk?" He's mum had said she was quirkless so he had assumed Lila was too. Maybe from her father.

Lila nodded vigorously, her small eyes shining with mischief, but her words faltered as she glanced toward her mother in the kitchen. "Mum says I'm not supposed to talk about it."

Ken's curiosity was piqued, but he respected Mayuri's wishes, not pressing further. Still, something about the way Lila spoke, the way she hesitated, made him wonder. Could it be something so powerful or complex that her mum didn't want it exposed?

"I won't ask, then," Ken said, offering the child a reassuring smile.

Lila sighed and slumped down beside him. "It's just not fair," she muttered again, her frustration fading as quickly as it had appeared.

Ken was about to say something else when Mayuri entered the living room with a tray of food, setting it down in front of them. She glanced between Ken and Lila, her eyes softening at the sight of her daughter's pout.

"You'll get used to it, Lila," Mayuri said gently, "You're still young. And, Ken, I'm sure you'll make sure she doesn't get too sneaky when it's time to play."

Ken's lips twitched into a small smile as he glanced at Mayuri, the warmth in her voice easing the tightness in his chest. It wasn't much, but for a few seconds, he felt like he could breathe easier. Lila's antics, her childish complaints, the way Mayuri effortlessly took care of everything—it all felt like a semblance of normalcy in a world that had lost it.

For the past three days, the house became a strange, comforting refuge from the world outside. Though Mayuri and Lila did their best to make him feel welcome, the weight of the outside world never fully left him. News reports filtered in from around the world—London's ruins were still smoking, Tokyo was still in recovery, New York had begun rebuilding, but the progress was slow. The Outcasts had been relentless, leaving scars that wouldn't heal quickly.

Ken stayed mostly silent as he watched the news, occasionally talking to Mayuri about the state of the world, though the conversation never strayed too far into specifics. He couldn't bring himself to talk about his team too much. He knew the Outcasts had them—he could feel it in his bones. The uncertainty of their fate ate at him, gnawing away at him in quiet moments.

At night, Lila would sneak into his room, sometimes with a book to read to him, other times just to sit quietly beside him. Despite his initial reluctance, Ken found himself slowly growing attached to the small girl. There was something so pure, so unaffected about her. In her, he saw the innocence that he had lost long ago.

Mayuri would often sit with them in the evening, offering food and tea, talking about small things—her hopes for the future, what they might do when the world recovered, how she longed to see things return to normal. But deep down, Ken knew the truth: normal would never come back. The Outcasts had ensured that.

But as the days wore on, Ken found himself reflecting on one thing more than any other. The way Mayuri treated him—kindly, without expectation or judgment—reminded him of someone. It hurt, but he couldn't ignore it. She reminded him of his mother, of the warmth and care he had once taken for granted. He tried to bury those feelings deep inside, but in the quiet of the night, he couldn't shake the sense of loss that still lingered.

Mayuri and Lila didn't know the full weight of his past actions or what had happened before. Everything they knew was what was released by the news. But, for the first time in months, Ken found himself grateful for the unexpected comfort they provided.

It wasn't much—but it was something

THAT'S IT FOR THIS CHAPTER.

Had an accident and couldn't type of post anything and then there's my bros to watch over. Being the oldest of four boys can be annoying. Anyway, I'll be posting the next chapter very very soon for both The Feared Hero and the first chapter of the DC Universe story and Fairy Tail story.

Till then, see ya