Chapter 15: Finally Free (1)
——
Well, I faced some problems after flying away. Some guards who secretly watch me all day noticed me flying away into the sky. Even though I returned pretty soon, Mom got mad. I tried explaining to her that I was just testing my quirk - but that didn't help much.
Anyway, I managed to change the subject by telling her the changes in my Quirk, causing her to consult Kishimoto's wife (the doctor who revealed Nejire's quirk) and she confirmed nothing was wrong with me and it's quite normal for quirks to evolve and earn more abilities once the user gets older.
Apparently, it's called "Quirk Growth".
My parents were a little surprised after hearing that this growth mostly occurs to Hero Course students after they start going to a Hero School. They again assumed I was a natural-born talent and hugged me tightly.
Though a certain someone was overly excited seeing the 'growth' of my Quirk...
"Neji~ aren't you sho cute~" I was laying on my back with Nejire sitting on top of me, her hands on my cheeks as she rubbed them with a cheeky smile on her face. She really likes this position, huh. "To think your Quirk would start growing before mine, to think my Otouto was such a genius!"
"I know, I know. I am a man of sheer talent. You don't need to remind me about it every day." I added with a smug look on my face. Though this caused her expression to change.
Instead of rubbing my cheeks softly, she pinched them hard, "You know," she said with her eyes narrowed as she gave me a death stare. "I was being sarcastic."
Ah yes… Of course, I knew that. In what universe would your older sibling not be jealous when you outshine them? Not this one. Though I can proudly say the reason of my sister's jealousy is kinda cute and wholesome.
"You should have waited until I grew my quirk too! Now we aren't a match anymore!" She puffed out her cheeks. "You have betrayed your Onee-chan's trust! How can you be so selfish?!"
Heh… I laughed softly. I love her so much. She is extremely lighthearted. Her jealousy is cute too since she barely cares about it. "Your quirk will grow too, 'Onee-sama'. Just keep training."
I could see my words affecting her as she hid a smile. Seeing that I put my hands on the side of her stomach and tickled her. She maintained an indifferent face before bursting in a fit of giggling and laughter. "You cheat!" she fell beside me as we rolled in the bed.
"S- stop! I can't breathe! Hahaha!"
Anyway, I didn't lie about her experiencing the "Quirk Growth" soon. I have said it before, in the game Hero's Rising, Nejire could release ring-like shockwaves too, and while the game isn't canon, I also remember she made a flower out of the energy she releases in the School Festival in the 4th season. So she clearly experienced this 'growth' in the original timeline.
Though if I recall right, it was stated that the Big Three weren't always the strongest, and they even ranked averagely in the 2nd year Sports Festival. So I can only assume she 'grew' her quirk after the School Festival.
Welp, I wouldn't mind helping her grow her quirk before that. I just hope the timeline doesn't become too fucked up.
I looked at the clock. It was evening, Mom would be back soon and watch her usual K-dramas. Then... time for a small family talk.
"Nejire-nee." I stopped tickling her and locked eyes with her. "Help me convince Mom today, okay?"
She tilted her head at first before smiling and saying in English, "Leave it to your Big Sis!"
«—(★)—»
In the drawing-room of the Hado Mansion, Gara was on the couch watching a K-drama on the slim T.V attached to the wall. She had an empty bag of popcorn in her hand that her hand went in and out of sometimes, not realising that it was already empty.
Aiko was on the same couch, a moldable blue half-transparent screen resting on his hand as he was scrolling through the front page of a newspaper on it.
On the ground, Nejire and Neji were playing with legos. Nejire built a dinosaur while Neji built a huge mecha robot. They were making the toys fight with each other.
Time passed as finally the show on the T.V ended. Gara released a breath. "Phew… that was so intense."
As she laid back on the couch, she looked down on the floor where her kids were playing. "It's already night, kids. You don't have much time to play."
She noticed Nejire ignored her words completely while Neji looked at her and said, "Okay."
He didn't say much after that, but instead of continuing to play, he instead stared at her face silently.
"...Is there anything on my face?" She asked, putting her hand on her cheeks, worried that there might be a pimple on her face.
She waited for an answer as Neji's crystal blue eyes didn't move for multiple seconds making her nervous.
Finally, he smiled. "No, there isn't anything. I was just admiring how beautiful you looked when immersed in something." Neji said naturally, making Gara blink continuously.
While she was speechless, Aiko glanced at her shocked face and chuckled in amusement.
Gara's lips parted repeatedly before she smiled ear to ear. She went to the floor and hugged Neji, she drove her face closer to him and rubbed her cheeks with him. "My baby boy, is there any new toy you want? Or do you want to go eat out tonight? Want mama to recite you a few bedtime stories before sleep, maybe?"
She was insanely happy hearing her cute son compliment her so suddenly. She didn't think of it much, but seriously she couldn't hold back from hugging him!
"Ah…" Neji blinked. "Well, if you really want to give me something, then give me the permission to travel all of Japan like I asked last time."
Gara froze in her spot, her smile stiffened as she watched Neji look at her expectantly.
"So?"
"Uh… well." Gara unwrapped her arms and avoided eye contact. "I- I have said it before, baby, I would let you travel the whole world if you wanted to but you would have to have grown up first."
"I have grown up."
"You're not even 10…"
Neji frowned. "Some kids my age are becoming doctors and scientists. Travelling is nothing close to that."
"Neji-"
"Hey, c'mon Mom!" This time Nejire interrupted her. "He wants to travel the world so bad, why not just let him? You shouldn't hold down a person's dream!"
Neji gave her a thumbs up hidden from Gara's gaze. Meanwhile, Gara's lips quivered as she almost broke out crying. "B- but, I can't live without seeing him everyday, even if it's just one day!" She brought Neji into a hug, his head going deep within her chest. "How can I sleep at night if he isn't in the mansion?!"
"My boy is so naive, would he even be able to eat at the right time without me!?"
—
'Aaaand, the drama is back.' Neji shrugged while his face was resting on his mother's chest. 'She is too overprotective. I love her so much but I mustn't get sidetracked, I need to stay away from her for a while so that I can focus on getting stronger.' Neji firmly decided.
Well, he does have a plan. He looked at his dad who was sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper as if nothing was happening. He exchanged gazes with him and nodded his head.
"Um, Gara…" his dad called as Gara turned to him with a frown on her face.
She glared at him with teary-red eyes. "What do you want? Can't you see I am talking with my son?"
Aiko smiled awkwardly and coughed. "Ahem, since he keeps talking about going out and you keep refusing, why don't we reach a middle point?"
Gara blinked, the frown still present. "Say, what idea do you have?"
Aiko smiled. "He was supposed to be homeschooled until High-school right?" Gara nodded. "Let's say we let him go on his journey." Gara frowned, Aiko continued. "But in exchange, he would instead be homeschooled until Middle school. After that, at the appropriate age, he would attend the same middle school as Nejire. This way, while he would be able to travel for a while – he has to come back to us before attending middle school, which is around 2 years from now on."
All the while as Gara listened, she was frowning. Her genius hubby didn't seem so smart right now. "I don't want my son to travel alone."
"Then go with him, since you're so overprotective."
Her frown depended. "You know how busy I am."
"You can't give up your job for your precious son?"
"I-" Gara bit her lips. Aiko hit her at the sore spot. He knew how much she loved Neji, but he also knew how much she loved her job. she didn't just do it for money, after all.
"That's why I have another idea," Aiko said. "Instead of sending him alone, which even I wouldn't allow, I would set up an escort for him."
Gara frowned. "I would not trust any bodyguard with him. I know how incompetent they are from the time in the park."
"I know. I am not talking about them." Aiko smiled. "Let's send Kimi with him. She is both strong enough and has a good relationship with Neji. She would be able to make him travel around as if Neji is with family."
Gara blinked. "That's…" that's a good idea. "Genius."
"I know, I know." Aiko chuckled. "So, do you agree on letting him go?"
Gara went silent. She cancelled her hug with Neji and put her hands on his shoulder, looking him in the eyes. She asked, "Are you fine with these conditions? You need to attend middle school, and Kimi would go with you. You'd also need to call me every night before sleep. Every. Night. Do you accept these conditions?"
Neji didn't answer.
«—{★}—»
-Neji Pov-|
'Do I accept?' I asked myself. The middle school part is not the problem. In fact, the reason why Dad is helping me is that I have already agreed to attend middle school while I made the deal with him. But the other part is the problem.
We never had the deal of sending Kimi along with me. But I guess… this was to be expected. Who would let their 9.5-year-old son out in the world without a guardian? It was dumb of me to assume that I can be alone and do whatever I want at this age…
But this is not really that big of a problem. They won't let me be without a guardian, so I guess Kimi is a better choice than them refusing me outright.
"It's fine. I don't mind accepting those conditions of yours, mom." I emphasised the word 'Mom' as she pressed her lower lip with the top one, looking at me with teary eyes yet again.
"So you don't care that Mom would be sad?" She said, "Then fine, I will let you be. Do whatever you want."
I didn't want to make her sad, but I didn't have any choice. Sigh–
"But." She interrupted me. "You can only go after your 10th birthday. I want us to celebrate that together as a family, understood?"
After a short pause, I smiled. "I love you too."
"..."
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Author's Note: Okay, so, some dark things are gonna happen in this arc. While I tried to write things in a lighter tone, some people might get offended - just a disclaimer. Neji also might come off as an "asshole" but that's just how he is originally, this is more of a 'redeem' arc for him.
Edited by the best glass boi @Glassman and best girl @Shortmotor 😏