13 Chapter 13 : Change

*A/N*: I don't particularly like this chap since I wrote when I was high, I feel like the writing could be improved but I was lazy to edit the whole thing too. Anyway I hope you'll enjoy it, it's an important phase Kurai had to go through sooner or later.

Here's the discord: https://discord.gg/nnUPcCrNea

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Re-opening his eyes, the ground was no further than 3 or 4 meters down but instead of preparing himself for the shock, he closed his eyes again. Reaching his previous state of concentration for the second time of the night, he easily switched forms.

Therefore, he landed on his four paws with ease, like he didn't even jump from that high. His cat abilities, enhanced with even more strength, dexterity and speed, didn't even bat an eye at such measly height.

This time he knew how to control his quirk, so his transformation took care of the clothes. Contrary to Yoruichi or the first day he woke up, he could control it at will. If he wanted to appear naked or not, everything depended on him. Even though he didn't know where his clothes were 'stocked', he didn't bother with it.

Now feeling content with his previous stunt, and proving again that famous saying, he went back home with light steps.

Though, just before he looked around and sighed from the lack of help shouts, so he continued, trotting slowly. 'It's not like I want to help someone willingly every night.'

What he wanted was to continue and fuel more of those previous 'golden eyed ghost' rumours. Or that's the reason he deluded himself. In the end, he just wanted to vent and try his new power, so why not using those petty criminals as test subjects?

'Heh.' He chuckled.

Finding his way back to his bed. He knew his life would change again, and he'll need to act for the most part, at least for a few months.

Assassins were killers that was a fact, but they also were actors, great thinkers, athletes,... So being double-faced was a thing, and this isn't referring to a physical disability. (When he still worked that is...)

Time and time again he had the opportunity to see faithful husbands being bloody killers at night. Or university teachers having more skill at sniping than military soldiers...

This is also why he didn't find anything wrong with him being a 'genius son', while keeping another facade secret for his nightly activities. Or acting like he didn't know things to not look like a true monster.

Then again, acting wasn't very good for his mental health, after all when someone acts for a long period of time, he could even forget himself in that act. That's why he wanted to finally be free of all those shackles. And let out his true personality more.

Though, for now he pushed those thoughts away, it's not like he couldn't endure it for a bit more from now on.

His first morning as a human was... Normal, only if we accounted the Yaoyorozu household's standards. He woke up, cleaned himself in his personal bathroom and went down for breakfast. He even greeted the couple, his parents now, and until then he didn't need to act that much.

Miku went to work and Akio stayed a bit more to watch the TV. It was at that time that Kurai was reminded, again, of what kind of world he was in.

'Just before they were talking about that big ass maze appearing out of nowhere, or how the Queen of England had a longevity quirk passed down from generation to generation...' He recalled the previous headlines.

'Um... That must be why that British old hag is still alive... Anyway...' Kurai started gritting his teeth.

What he and Akio have been looking for a while now, was an interview of a police man retelling that famous horror story which took place in the US a few years back.

Kurai couldn't help but let out a disgusted expression, fortunately Akio, who was watching too, didn't notice it.

"Should I switch the channel?" He said, looking back at his son.

Kurai's eyes remained glued to the TV, he only shook his head to answer him.

Akio understood that he wanted to know more about it, even though most of the people already knew about this tragic history, he thought that maybe it'll help his son mature faster.

"... And that's how the crazy professor Doofenschwartz escaped." The voice from the TV echoed in the kitchen.

Kurai continued gritted his teeth, showing signs of anger for the first time. If there's one thing that he absolutely hates above everything is events related to kids. That was to him, like a red line to never cross.

Akio seemed angry too. He knew the whole story after all... Not the quick summary done right now by the TV.

How Pr. Doofenschwartz kidnapped kids, or how he experimented on them like lab rats...

Unfortunately, the cops even found the recordings, which weren't shown to the TV but had scenes of true torture... Small children missing a limb or two, with their belly or brain open, deformities, mutations,...

All sorts of atrocities, Akio was even glad that the TV didn't tell or show all this part, or he didn't know what would be Kurai's reaction to all the gore stuff.

The latter was... 'Why can't they just kill this bastard? I thought it was only Japan but... Is reputation that important??' He couldn't understand this aspect of the so-called heroes. Even more so when it was easier to just kill villains instead of capturing and imprisoning them.

The TV still continued to play but Akio had to go to work, "Don't stay and listen to this all day or you'll go bald from all the crazy stuff happening around the world!" He said while packing his car keys and documents.

It would've happened for real if Kurai was a 'normal' kid. 'Some shits are really crazy...'

He continued to eat the oats Miku prepared for him until the news resumed again.

"Japan finally cleared every dream-inducing drug from its land. Thanks to the heroes, every candy-drug has been erased. The main perpetrator: Pr. Doofenschwartz whereabouts remain unknown. But the authorities are assuring us that every kind of drug has been annihilated."

'Again this bastard?!' He got up, now hitting the table with his fist. Drugs were bad, that much was true. It could destroy a life way too fast, and no one was spared, even the normal father could be affected. But seeing that Professor's face again infuriated him to no end.

"Those drugs take the form of an everyday candy, fooling the consumer. It starts by inducing good dreams but slowly, depending on the person's mental fortitude, turns into nightmares. Eroding the said person's courage, ambition, or every other character trait helping a person marching forward..."

The voice in the TV continued, "That must be how Doofenschwartz's middle men sold it, by advertising its early good effects. To this day, we don't know his goa—"

Kurai turned off the TV and threw the remote on the couch.

''Fuck it, my morning is ruined." He got up and went out for the whole day.

That day, and night, the rumours of a ghost were stronger than ever. The neighbourhood, while thankful for the criminal purge, still got scared.

That night, the thoughts of multiple people connected together, 'Someone really angered the ghost of Nagoya.'

That night, Miku and Akio came back to a very calm Kurai, contrary to what Akio thought he would be. Which further improved his image in Akio's mind.

Fortunately it was a rare occurrence, and events like this didn't happen for a while. Though, it steeled the image of the US for Kurai, it was as fucked up as in his old world.

***

1 year and a few months later.

It had been an emotional year for Kurai, leaving his progresses and stalemates for his training aside.

The first marking moment for once was actually a few weeks after that TV talk about Pr. Doofenschwartz's drugs. In may.

5 years ago, it was in May that Miku found him outside, in the street. The 25th of may particularly.

And the couple thought of celebrating his birthday that day, not knowing exactly how old he was. But that was the age he looked like the most. And they needed a date for the adoption papers after all. But the real reason behind this celebration was mainly because Kurai was a human now.

'And every kid needs a birthday,' Were Miku's words after seeing Kurai's bewildered face. Shocked again at the love those people had for him, he may have underestimated it again, and too much. To be honest, it was the first time someone celebrated his birthday. In the Vultures camp, full of mercenaries, nobody cared about a random kid's birthday.

Not even old man Ar, it wasn't their fault though and Kurai understood it perfectly. Then, when he grew up, the notion of birthday eluded his mind completely. During that time he had lots of other things to work on instead. So it wasn't even him finding excuses.

That's why when the couple surprised him that day with Ayaka, Cacida, and they even wanted to invite Nemuri-chan's mom but Miku didn't ask for her number, he was quite shocked

The birthday, which seemed pretty normal to the other people, felt very warm to Kurai.

Eating, drinking, laughing with the people you love and trust. What else would someone need to be happy? This was an even better gift than the material ones he received from each one of them. That day, his 5th anniversary, first of both lives, became a marking event for him. One very fond memory.

Another moment worth remembering, a few months later, was when his family name was chosen. They always called him Kurai, while it suited him a lot, it sounded more like a first name than anything else. And the couple needed a complete name for the adoption paper after all. That was the only thing needed to complete it, after writing his birthday date.

Instantly Miku, and now that he could "talk" Japanese after having learned for a while, proposed to him to adopt the Yaoyorozu family name. But she got denied again by Akio, like those times where they argued back in the limousine.

He kept repeating that she didn't consider Kurai's opinion. The latter was dumbfounded once again. A family name. Something he never had...

Back at the mercenary camp, people always called him 'Kid'. And even when he grew up, when he himself decided to be called Victor, he never settled for a family name. The reason was... Because he simply never had a family, so he didn't see why he should have one. The closest person to a family he ever had died when he was only a teen. And even that old man never bothered with family names.

So Akio gave a few names out, saying that Kurai should have his own identity, to leave his own mark in the world, and finally, to later have his own family. Even if the couple considered him as family, they were very understanding, and a person should have their own identity. They both agreed on that last part.

But Akio propositions were always denied, sometimes by Miku or Kurai himself.

Finally it was Miku, who inadvertently proposed the correct one when she was reassuring Kurai that it was fine, and he'll always be family even if he didn't have the same name. She mentioned how since his arrival, he was the sunshine of their household, how he makes both their days happier, and brighter.

That's when it clicked for the couple, who both exclaimed at the same time, "Hizashi!"

Even Kurai found nothing wrong with it, so they both quickly took the limousine straight out to complete the papers.

This was now his name; Kurai Hizashi.

Hizashi stands for Sunshine, so he didn't find anything wrong with Dark Sunshine. No, all in all, it was a nice oxymoron.

He really felt that it was the start of a new life, in the truest sense of the word family, maybe it was at that time he really started calling the couple 'Mom' and 'Dad', well it was 'Pops' for Akio. Poor man was never called Dad, but he wasn't displeased, he could feel that deep down, after that episode, something changed in Kurai and he started treating them with more affection.

Like that, another couple of months passed until it reached the present day.

"I've already told you a while back that school is MAN.DA.TO.RY!" Miku insisted heavily on her words.

"Mom, listen, school is such a hassle... And the time there isn't worth it at all." Kurai tried to reason with her, why couldn't he get home-schooled like the last 2 years?

*Sigh*

Miku acted dramatically. "Sometimes I really wonder why did I make you go through such a high education in those last years... If I knew you would consider school as a hassle..." Indeed Kurai showed tremendous learning abilities, he didn't need to be told twice to learn something. 'Perks of a past life I guess.'

So he progressed enough those 2 years to say that elementary school was useless to him, well middle school and high school too but he couldn't tell them that yet. Though, the couple both knew very well, his knowledge level was already beyond elementary school.

"See? I've nothing to gain there!" Kurai added, exploiting the breach.

But from the back Akio interrupted them, "And who didn't make a new friend, like at all for the last years?"

Miku continued, "Who's a total shut-in?"

The chain combo didn't stop, Akio ended it with : "Continuing this way, you'll become worse than a socially inept neet..."

"Ugh..." Kurai acted like he was hurt, though their words hit right at the mark, his behaviour wasn't that of a normal kid after all. Normally, he should have friends and be more absorbed by games instead of books or training...

Kurai was hesitant, he didn't really want to lose his time at school when he could make use of his time more purposefully... But he also couldn't go against their words, on top of being true, after all those years he really came to respect them.

"Alright, but I have a condition..."