Chapter Text
Hi! I'm Haruto! Today, me, Mama and Papa are gonna get me measured! Measured for what, you say? Well, for my school uniform! I'm going to school soon! I'm super excited!
"9 point... 5! Oh, you've gotten 2 millimeters bigger since the last time you came here." The seamstress said with a smile, measuring Haruto's arm.
"I'm bigger now, Papa!" Haruto piped up with a big smile, flapping his free arm up and down.
"Is that so? It's probably just an error." Amane replied. The seamstress chuckled.
"Don't you know? Children are always growing."
Nene gave a nod in return. "That's right. It's like what they say, kids grow up too fast, or something like that."
"Well, in that case, could you make it a little bigger? To account for his growth."
"Sure. But geez, Nene-chan, to think you've gone up and married right behind my back. You could have told me the last time you came here. But in retrospect, it was rather obvious you two were already together by then."
Heat rushed up to Nene's cheeks at what the seamstress said. That wasn't the first time anyone had told them she and Amane complemented each other as a couple very well. Did they really look like the real deal that much?
I really need to get myself together...
"It's really amazing that your son's going to Eden Academy of all places! Are you an Eden alumnus too, sir?"
Amane shook his head. "No, I went to a third-rate rural school..."
"Is that so?" Suddenly, the atmosphere became dark, as a serious expression formed on the seamstress' face.
"You better be careful, then. It's a school built around tradition. There's quite a divide between the old blood and the rest. Those kinds of attitudes spread across the students, which lead to bullying and discrimination. Not to mention, they also look down upon scholarship students, and there's also strife between boarders and commuters."
Is that kind of thing even allowed in Eden, much less any school at all? Amane thought. He knew Eden could be quite notorious, but if what the seamstress said was true, he worried about how Haruto would fare once he went there.
"And speaking of commuters, it's not entirely uncommon for them to be kidnapped for ransom, either, since it's guaranteed that the parents of Eden Academy's students are rich folks." The seamstress sighed, shaking her head.
Meanwhile, Haruto trembled in fear. Kidnappers? What if he was snatched by some bad guys while he went to school? What if they tried to hurt him and his parents?
"I... I don't wanna go to school anymore..." He croaked out in a small voice to his father.
The seamstress laughed, patting his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Don't worry, young man, there's plenty of fun waiting for you there."
You could have just said that to him before scaring him half to death. Amane wanted to say, but for obvious reasons, kept his mouth shut.
"Alright, so order comes out to one uniform, one winter coat, one sweater vest and three other pieces. Since you're a regular here, I'll make the final adjustments as fast as I can. Oh, and there's a shop around the corner where you can get the rest of your designated school supplies."
"Thank you!" Nene called back before they all left the shop, with the bell above the door letting out a loud clang as they shut it close.
Haruto remained glued to Amane's leg, looking around his surroundings. "Is something wrong?" His father asked.
"Kidnappers!"
From the story just now, I can see why he'd be on his guard for that. "I see. You sure act fast. Well, Nene, shall we eat out today?"
"I don't mind."
"Wait, but maybe kidnappers go to restaurants!"
"No they don't, Haruto."
"Today's special is pork saute with pawpaw sauce, served with porcini and garnished with potato potage." The chef arrived with their food, giving Amane a knowing look before leaving.
"Po?" Haruto parroted, poking at his food.
Ah, they put another cipher in my food. A mission briefing, huh? At Site D in 5 days, within 1300 hours.
"Hm? Amane, aren't you going to eat? You've been staring at your food for a while." Nene asked him, and he gave her a smile.
"Oh, I was just, uh... admiring it for a while. It looks quite nice, doesn't it?"
I get their message, but I wish they'd quit contacting me like this. It's weird.
FIVE DAYS LATER
rrriiiiing!!! The phone reverberated in the living room, the noise stopping when Amane picked it up. "Hello? Yes, that's me. What? It's already done? Hm... I see. Alright, we'll stop by and pick it up later today. Okay, bye."
Haruto peeked over from the couch, running up towards him. "Uniform's done?"
"Apparently. Hey, Nene, I'm sorry but could you take Haruto to the tailor for me? I've got work today." I wonder what they have to say at this time around.
"Of course! Just leave it to me!" Nene nodded.
Amane just let out a smile. Well, at least he could count on Nene on such matters. Plus, she looked rather adorable putting on an enthusiastic face like she did just now.
...Moving on. "I might be a little late tonight, so feel free to order takeout or something."
"No, it's fine. I'll be cooking dinner tonight."
"Have fun out there, Papa!" Haruto bid him goodbye.
It was a fairly far distance from the apartment, but after slipping into a photo booth, turning the switch on it to reveal a facial recognition camera, the interior turned into an elevator that descended down, down, down, into a secret room with a ding.
A blonde haired woman sat from across the room, arms and legs crossed as she turned her revolving chair around to face him. She tipped her wide brimmed hat upwards, glancing at him with sharp, green eyes.
"Hello, Agent Midnight. Or should I say, good evening?" She greeted him with a smile.
"Hey there, Yako. What seems to be the emergency?"
Yako closed her eyes and took one, deep breath. "First things first... What the hell was with that ridiculous expense from the other day?! You rented out a castle, with furnishings and all that! WISE has a budget, you know!!"
Wow. She's being extra today.
"About that, here's the invoice for the school supplies while we're at it." He chose to ignore her outburst and hand over an envelope to her. She huffed, but took it from him anyway.
"You got guts saying that so casually to me, kid."
"They were necessary expenses." Adding to the cost of my own dignity too, you know.
"Ugh, fine. Whatever. Anyway, moving to a more serious topic..." Yako stood up from her chair and went over to the corkboard behind her, giving it two knocks.
"Today we'll be reviewing the goals for the second phase of Operation Strix. But I guess this would be unnecessary for a perfectionist like you."
There was a crooked grin on Amane's face at those words. "Actually... I've just been sort of going with the flow a lot lately."
"Hm, well, as you can see here, phase two is the friendly get-together. But before I begin, I need to explain to you how Eden Academy works." She pointed at the picture of the school pinned to the board.
"Eden College. Attended by 2500 students in total. It covers a total of 13 grades, corresponding roughly to ages 6 and 18. From academics, sports and arts, it provides a first rate education in every field."
Yako then pointed at the picture of some older students, all who wore long, black hooded cloaks with red innards.
"However, there are those chosen to stand above, even within the elite. There's a special group of students called the Imperial Scholars. In order to be a part of the group Fujida is on, it is absolutely necessary to be one of these students or their parents."
Next picture showed another Imperial Scholar, and with a red marker, Yako circled the two little star medals above their chest, where the school's crest was.
"A student can become one of these super elites by earning 8 medals called Stellas, meaning 'stars'. They're awarded for outstanding grades or service to society. In other words, you must raise your son to become a model student as the first step for this phase. Don't hesitate to use any underhanded tactics if it calls for it."
"Okay, got it." Judging from how Haruto fares with exams and such, that will be a little hard to achieve. Amane thought dryly.
"Conversely, poor grades or misconduct will result to earning a demerit called a Tonitrus, meaning 'thunder'. 8 of these and he'll be expelled, so watch out. Now, for the details of our strategy..."
Amane let her words fade out a little as he closed his eyes, letting himself think for a while. Turning Haruto into a model student...
"Heh."
I see nothing but worry ahead of me.
At the tailor's shop, however, things seemed to be going well for Nene and Haruto.
"Ta-da! Check it out, Mama!" The little boy spread his arms out, showing off his brand new uniform. Black long sleeved shirt and shorts, white socks and black shoes to go along with it. The lower edges of the uniform had gold lining it, intricate arching designs engraved on them.
"Oh my! You're so cute, Haruto! You should have your picture taken!" Nene gushed at his appearance. If she had a camera on hand, she would have already snapped a hundred, maybe a thousand pictures of her adorable son.
Haruto did a little turn, tilting his head at his mother. "How about now?"
"Yes, of course! So adorable!"
"Could you two just go home already? You've been at it for a while now." The seamstress spoke up from behind them.
After that, the two then made their way out of the shop, Haruto insisting he wear his uniform on the way out. "Mama, can we go to the park?"
"Sure, I don't see why not."
He beamed at that, walking in front of her, taking the lead as he began to approach random people at the park upon reaching the place, showing his uniform off to them.
"What an adorable boy." One mother said.
"Is that Eden Academy's uniform? I'm jealous." Another mother added.
Nene watched them as their children called out for them, hungry from all their playing at the park. She lowered her head down, choosing to stare at the ground.
"What sort of cooking do you do in your household?".
"I see, I see, so your old mom was better after all."
"I wanna be with them forever!"
She heaved a sigh, looking back up to see Haruto giggling as he ran around the park, flapping his arms about.
I know that this is just a fake family, but... Can't I be more of a mother...? For him...?
"Mama! I showed everyone the cuteness!" Haruto came scampering back to her.
"Don't get your uniform dirty before you start school, okay? We need to stop by the supermarket before we head home."
"Hm? Why?"
Nene smiled, getting down to meet her son's level. "Amane said he'd be back late. I haven't had the chance to make dinner lately since I've been busy with my own job, but tonight I'll be the one to cook!"
"Woah! I wanna taste Mama's food!"
"I'll make sure you have the best dinner experience ever! You can count on me!"
Unbeknownst to them, a couple of shady bystanders had set their eyes on them, and had decided to follow after them to the supermarket.
Hmm... I guess I can make some curry chicken. It's been a while since I've made that kind of dish, but I think I can manage. Nene picked up some chicken from the freezer of the produce aisle, while Haruto continued to show off his uniform to people.
"Mama, I'll be going out first! I'm booored!"
"Okay, but don't stray away too far!" Nene called to him as she paid for their things at the cashier.
Haruto opened the door, but as soon as he took one step outside—
"Gotcha!" A hand covered his mouth, preventing him from making a sound. He was then dragged to the side by a man, and he wasn't alone, as there were three other people with him.
"Now be a good little boy and we'll let you go once your maid hands over the cash."
A bad guy! That tailor lady was right!
"Hey, even the uniform looks expensive. You think we could sell it?" Their lady accomplice poked at his shoulder.
"Sure, why not? Alright, kid..." Another man began to approach him slowly with a smirk. "Why don't you take off your—" He wasn't able to finish his sentence when something frozen solid smashed against his face, with a force so powerful it sent him towards the ground with a thud.
And there was Nene, a rather terrifying glare plastered across her face. And there also was the frozen chicken on the ground, the impact causing its plastic container to break. She had literally smacked that guy with it on the face and knocked him out.
"What... do you think you're doing?!"
The others didn't seem to be fazed, however. "Whoa now. Looks like we need to throw in a couple of hospital fees, too. Now hand over the purse, lady."
"I just spent it all, anyway. So very well, take it." She threw her purse at them to the ground.
The man holding Haruto shoved him aside, picking up the frozen chicken by the leg. "Too bad. Guess we'll have to take everything the kid's got on him, then. As for you, since you're getting fired anyway... Get your ass back to the sticks, you shitty maid!"
He began to swing his arm back, about to hit Nene with the strange weapon, but to his horror she merely lunged at him, her hand slicing the meat into pieces. The man dropped it back on the ground, unable to believe what just happened.
"Wha...did your bare hand... just cut through that frozen chicken?!"
"I..." She began, her voice shaky, and beginning to sound even more enraged than before.
"I AM HIS MOTHER! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO END UP LIKE THAT CHICKEN OVER THERE, THEN GET OUT OF HERE!!"
With that, the loonies ran off, screaming out "She's a witch!" and "Obviously! Her weird legs already give it away!"
"Mama!" Haruto ran up to her, and she breathed a sigh of relief, wrapping him around in her arms.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry, I only took my eyes off you for a moment..." She let go of him, sadly eyeing the state of the frozen chicken on the ground.
"It's ruined now... And it's my fault. I'm such a failure of a mother..."
Mama... Haruto shook his head, putting his hand on her head to pat her.
"Mama's so strong and cool! I love it! So don't cry! Don't cry! You were like whoosh! Bam!"
"O-okay, that's enough, it's embarrassing..."
"I want you to train me, Mama!" This caught her off guard. Train him? As in, for combat?
"I get that Eden's dangerous, but... if I get stronger, maybe it won't be as scary! I'll do my bestest not to die! So I wanna be like you when I grow up, Mama!" He put his arms out in the air to emphasize his point.
... Even if I can't be a normal mother... I can still do everything I can for him.
"Alright. But first we need to get that chicken replaced. We can't train on empty stomachs now, can we?"
"Qui!"
"I'm home. Sorry for taking so long." Amane stepped into the apartment, taking his hat off and putting it on the rack. From the living room, he could hear sounds of... people exercising?
"What are you two doing?" He asked upon seeing Nene and Haruto doing some serious punching exercises together.
"Preparing for school!" Was Nene's reply. Haruto confirmed this with another punch in the air.
"...Hm."
Yup. As I thought... Nothing but worries.