84: 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜
A heavy silence settled over the Iida family after the two guests left hastily.
Tenya remained standing while his mother and brothers stayed down. All but Takashi, the more social of the twins. He looked at the door curiously, then back at his brothers.
Tensei cleared his throat. "She seemed nice." He said simply, hoping to release some of the building tension. It didn't work.
"I'm going to my room." Their mother whispered, standing up. "Please, have dinner without me."
"Mother-" Tenya stood up, but his mother left the room before he could argue.
"What's the matter with Mama?" Takashi asked, he looked around in confusion. "Why's everyone acting funny?"
"It's Nothing Takashi. Why don't you and Tougo go play upstairs until Getou is finished with the food?" Tensei suggested with a small smile. The twins shared a look, then both got up to go up the stairs, less to play and more to discuss what they think happened just now.
The room was empty except for the two oldest Iida sons.
"So..." Tensei said, glancing over at Tenya. His brother was still standing there in panic, his book on the ground at his feet. He seemed shocked. "You didn't tell me Kurayami was in your class." He said simply.
"I... didn't think to mention it." Iida muttered. He lied, he had purposely kept it from him, from his parents too. Although they found out during the sports festival. His father hadn't said a word, and his mother had been too frantic over Tensei being injured to mention it until much later. By then the shock had worn off.
"That's not true." Tensei frowned. "It doesn't matter Tenya, she's just a kid. Why would you keep it secret?"
"I just..." He clinched his fists. "Didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I just... didn't want anyone to know."
"...Alright." Tensei nodded. "That's alright." He looked around awkwardly, then sighed. "I'm gonna go grab a snack before dinner." He said, excusing himself from the room.
Tenya stared at the door Nova had just disappeared into.
When Zoey said her sister would pick her up, He had expected a blonde stranger with wings to come in with a smile as charming as Zoey's. Not for a nervous redhead to peek in, with freckles that seemed to stand out even more when she wasn't in uniform.
It had certainly been a shock.
⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘
Nova and Zoey walked home, there was more silence than usually. Nova was used to Zoey yapping on and on during their walks, but she was being quiet. It was like Zoey could just sense something was off, Nova hoped she hadn't made to much of a scene in leaving.
"...Sorry we had to leave so quickly." Nova said with a forced smile. "Did you have fun?"
"Mhm..." Zoey nodded, glancing up at Nova after she broke the silence. "...Do you not like Takashi's family?"
Nova shook her head. "No... It's not like that at all. I'm sure the Iida's are very nice." She looked away.
"Did Miss Karon want us back soon?" Zoey guessed. Nova shook her head again. "So... Why were you acting so funny?"
Nova sighed and looked down at Zoey. She could always just lie, but that didn't seem right. Zoey had to understand this eventually right? No reason to keep it from her.
"You remember what Karon said when you first came to live with us? About how my name was Kurayami? And how that meant bad things?" Nova asked, she stopped on the sidewalk and knelt down by Zoey. Who looked at her with a confused look.
But she nodded.
"Well... That was because before he died, my Dad did some really bad things. He was a villain." Nova said quietly.
"The Kurayami villain?" Zoey asked.
"You've Heard about him, right?"
"At school... The teacher mentioned it. But she didn't say a lot. She said it made her sad to talk about and that we'll learn more when we're older." Zoey said slowly, remembering a day in class.
"Right. Well one of the bad things my dad did was hurt pro heroes." Nova explained, Zoey looked at her with a small frown. She was clearly thinking very hard about all of this.
"Did you... Meet your friend's dad today? Mr Iida?" She asked quietly.
Zoey shook her head. "He's out of town."
Nova nodded. "Alright, well... He used to be a pro hero. But he had to stop because my father hurt him very badly." She looked away and tried to subtly wipe her eyes. She didn't know why this was working her up so much.
"Oh..." Zoey whispered softly, looking down. Then back up at Nova. "And that's why you left really fast?"
"Yes... I don't think the Iidas would like me staying too long." Nova nodded, her voice cracking.
"But why?" Zoey asked innocently. She seemed to be upset now, and confused.
Why?
Nova didn't know. She couldn't truly give a satisfying answer. Not one Zoey would accept. Some people would understand the moment she said who her father was, Zoey was not one of those people. It made Nova proud.
"You didn't do any of those things... Why would they be mad at you?" Zoey asked. "You're a hero, not a bad guy."
"I know... But... I might remind them of the bad things that happened. People don't like reminders." Nova tried to explain it the best she could, without breaking down. This was just... The way her life was, something she had to accept. Something Zoey now had to come to terms with.
"Is... Is that why you don't have a lot of friends? Because they don't want to be reminded?" Zoey asked, wiping her nose. "That sounds sad."
"Hey... No it's okay. I do have friends at school. I promise. And I have you too, you're my best friend." Nova pulled Zoey into a hug. Using the moment to wipe away the tears that began to fall.
"I am?" Zoey asked.
"Of course you are. You're my little sister, I couldn't ask for a better best friend."
⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘
After a day things seemed to have calmed in the Iida household. The visit from Nova Kurayami was forgotten in the wake of their father's arrival back home that Sunday.
While Taro Iida had long since retired, he still had multiple connections to different agencies and pro related organizations. The Iida family had endless connections in the hero world. Taro Iida was the one who nourished those connections.
Taro Iida was a fairly tall man, sitting at the head of the table having no idea what transpired just yesterday in his house. Tenya Iida had hoped to keep it that way.
He never spoke to his father about Nova. But he knew better too. The man was a good, kind and loving father. Tenya rarely hesitated to bring anything up in his presence... Anything but Kurayami.
The man hadn't spoken on it since said villain's execution.
You could bring it up, and he wouldn't stop you. But he would quietly withdraw from the conversation, his father's silence made him uncomfortable. Taro Iida was by no means an alcoholic, but Tenya noticed, when he was around ten years old that any mention of the villain led to his father drinking a single glass of strong liquor. It wasn't even really enough to make one feel anything but warm...
But it only happened at the mention of Kurayami.
Taro sat beside his wife; Akane Iida. Who was altogether different.
Kurayami made her anxious. From what Iida could tell the woman just seemed to completely avoid the subject. At least around her sons. But after the birth of the twins she had been weakened anyways, the pregnancy had been hard and while she was still the woman her family loved... She seemed more fragile than she had been.
Tensei and his father talked about business. Tenya watched with Interest, but sometimes the discussion moved away from his own knowledge of how agencies and laws and law enforcement worked. It just made him want to learn all he could, to be able to talk with the men he so admired.
"Mama?" Takashi said, Takashi was the younger of the twins. By just about five minutes, he was also the more... Outgoing.
"Tougo wants to know if Zoey can come play again."
Tougo was the older boy, though he did look or act like it. Some would call him desperately shy, but that wasn't always the case. Tougo was simply more comfortable in silence. He was diagnosed with selective mutism when he was around five.
He was able to speak just fine, but sometimes found himself unable to force the words out. Especially in social situations, even sometimes at home he'd whisper into Takashi's ear instead of talking too loudly himself.
Their mother hesitated and Tenya stiffened, casting a glance at his father who was ignorantly enjoying his meal. The older man paid attention to his son vaguely but thought it was just a simple question his wife knew better how to answer.
"I'm... Not sure...." Their mother said quietly.
"You said you'd talk to dad about it." Takashi said with a frown.
"And I will, if you give me a chance too." His mother frowned disapprovingly. "He only just got home, besides it's not very important right now is it?"
"...I guess not." Takashi said with a tone that displayed the opposite clearly.
Taro watched the interaction with a tender frown. He knew the boys were planning on having a playdate with another student during the time he was gone. Maybe it just went poorly?
But an accidental glance at his second oldest son, Iida told him there was something deeper.
Tenya looked down at his food. Looking almost...
Angry?
A/N:
Katniss and prim = Nova and Zoey
Other inspirations include:
(The last two had more than two but the spirit is still there.)
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