Work Text:
Emu was crying; he didn't want to go to school. Right now he was pouting while sitting on the couch. Parado made him put his shoes on and get his backpack ready. "I know you're scared. You're afraid of it being a repeat of your old life, but Emu—it's not. This is a reset." He basically crouched down in front of Emu and held both of his hands. "Its not going to go the same way it did before. Trust me, you'll make friends."
"But what if I don't make friends?" His bottom lip quivered. Parado just sighed.
"You will. You won't be moving away this time. And hey, if for some reason you don't make friends," he stood up straighter, leaning forward as he began rubbing Emu's head, "then you can always switch to the online portion later on. Don't forget, too, you and I can play games on days you don't have homework. Okay?"
Emu nodded to him. "I believe you."
"Good."
Hiiro finally came into the room, having his work attire on. "You ready to go, Emu?"
He pouted again, but stood up to his feet. Parado then went inside of Emu, offering to be there with him for the day so he wouldn't feel too alone. Hiiro actually smiled at that, happy about it.
. . . . .
When he got to his class, they had him introduce himself. He was actually afraid to, but Parado told him he'd be okay. The 8 year old bowed his head. "I'm Kagami Emu—umm..." he lifted his head up. "Its nice t-to meet you all." He didn't mean to stutter.
The classmates greeted him. They seemed friendly, even his teacher did. A few of them recognized his last name, immediately asking questions. "Are you related to the Kagami Doctor at Seito?! He saved my dad!"
Emu just looked a bit shocked, then he smiled. "Yep!" The smile faded briefly. "I'm actually uhhh... not really related but he's a heart surgeon! He's my papa either way!" It was back to being a bright smile.
"Not related?" They tilted their head.
"I'm umm... am adopted kind of." He wanted to say he's been resurrected but he knew that it wasn't believable and that he shouldn't anyway. Afterall, only those involved in CR knew about his situation.
"Oh! Happy you have a good family take you in!" One of the kids seemed to understand that. "I'm adopted too—my family loves me also!"
Was he making friends already? There was a weird feeling in his chest that he couldn't directly comprehend, but it made him happy.
. . . . .
At the end of the day, Emu was waiting out at the front of the school to be picked up. The school just let out. Part of him was thinking he would be waiting for hours, just like back then. Just like his previous life. But then Haima pulled up in his car. "Emu! Your papa had a surgery run a bit late, so I came to pick you up."
A wide and happy smile. "Grandpa!" He immediately opened up the door to the backseat on the driver's side. He sat in and buckled himself in. Someone really did pick him up! They really did come for him!
"How did your first day of school go?"
"I think I made a friend somehow! It was a good day. I thought no one would talk to me but they did. I think I'll be okay!"
Haima seemed relieved to hear that after knowing what Emu went through in the past. "Do you want to go home or want me to bring you to CR to hang out with Poppy and Kiriya until Hiiro gets done?"
"CR!" He loved being allowed to go to CR. Normally they wouldn't let someone's kid into CR like that, but the Ministry knew the situation. They knew he still had some memories and knew things. They made a special exception for him, especially with how busy the others always were, and sometimes it was better for him to stay in CR rather than be left home alone. Well, that and Hiiro was always scared to death about Emu. In fact, there had been some days he would have brief nightmares about losing this version of Emu, of not being able to save him.
After entering CR from the elevator, Parado jumped out from Emu, hugging him. Emu hugged him back. Poppy noticed them walking in. "Emu!"
Kiriya was sitting at the table and looked over. "Yo, pro. How'd school go?"
"It was good! I umm—I met two other kids who are also adopted! Then they asked if Hiiro was my papa and I said he was—apparently he's saved one of my classmate's papa before, too!"
When Poppy crouched in front of Emu, he hugged her. She just hugged him back. "I'm glad you had a good first day, Emu. I'm happy." Poppy was holding back tears. Kiriya just smiled. They all knew how the original Emu felt about school. This was a breakthrough. This was good. Emu will be okay.
. . . . .
About an hour later, Emu was actually playing a racing game against Kiriya. He had his own handheld while Kiriya was borrowing Emu's. Emu was just as good as a gamer as he use to be, so no one went easy on him at all. They knew not to. In fact, they'd all try their best but only Parado and very seldom Nico could beat him.
Hiiro came into CR by the time they finished, seeing Emu excited that he won. The child stuck his tongue out at Kiriya who acted all offended but really wasn't. "Hey it was close!"
"True! You were behind by 1.2 seconds! Parado usually is behind by 0.5." The 8 year old grinned. Kiriya then couldn't help his smile. Emu didn't change all that much.
"Emu."
He turned to see Hiiro. "Papa!" Emu got up to run and hug him. The surgeon hugged his son back, holding him tightly.
"How was your day at school?"
"Good! I think I made a friend—one of my classmates said you saved their papa once!"
Hiiro just smiled briefly, rubbing Emu's head. "I'm happy that you had a good first day of school, Emu. Beyond happy." Beyond grateful. Parado and Kiriya both saw that brief look of relief on Hiiro's face. They remembered how he didn't want to send Emu at all, stating that he had suffered enough in his first life. But even with Kyotaro thinking the same, they—the government—still wanted him to go to school since he was legally, mentally, physically, and emotionally a child.
"And Emu, I'll tell you what—since it's still not too late, I'll take you out for ice cream."
"Ice cream!"
"You three wanna come with us?" Hiiro asked. Parado and Kiriya both actually decided to, Poppy decided to stay back in CR for a bit.
Having a New Game Plus does come with some good changes sometimes.