Heart Family

APRIL 21ST, 2130. FIFTEEN YEARS BEFORE CANON.

….

"Sir? You can see your wife now. Thanks for being patient through all of this, and congratulations." A nurse announced to a big, burly man with a well-kept beard, bushy eyebrows and beautiful gray locs.

Shooting to his feet; Tears threaten to pool down his face like a raging river. The nurse quickly stepped out of the way before the hulking man pushed her out of the way.

The man rushed into his wife's room. Merriment swelling his chest, making it hard to breathe without tears coming out; His wife smiled sweetly while she held their brown skinned, clueless baby. Looking at the man she chose to spend the rest of her life with- It was like a dream come true, the tears wouldn't stop flowing out of her eyes.

"Kamau…" She muttered, presenting their son to him. "He's beautiful…" She added, choking back a tired sob. Kamau smiled deeply, failing to hold in his tears.

"He is… He'll grow up to be a strong young man in the future." He foretold, holding the child in his hand like it was a fragile gem; brittle enough to crack and crumble at the slightest gust of wind.

The baby in question, gawked curiously at his parents, unaware of just how much happiness he created just by being there.

'You will become my greatest prize.'

***

SEVEN YEARS LATER.

"You will become my greatest prize! Push yourself harder, Che!" Kamau shouted, his face a nasty frown. The boy in question grunted, motivated by his father's words. Though his body was fatigued and throbbing with pain, he still threw punch after punch, kick after kick, all to land a single hit on his father.

Kamau watched as his son's dedication shined through his painful, hurt expression. It was exactly what he was looking for, it was his favorite trait that his son possessed.

'A fighting spirit like no other and a drive to be the best… He'll make it.' Kamau told himself, fighting back the smile that pulled at his mouth. Che's breathing began to get raspier; his movements were janky, uncoordinated and his blows were weakening.

Kamau grinned, "A couple more! Push yourself!" Che's frown deepened as his lungs started burning. It wasn't long till his body gave out, throwing one last punch towards his father's face before collapsing to the floor. A sweaty, panting mess.

"I-I need a break." Che said through his ragged breathing. Kamau chuckled, "And you earned one. Great work today. We'll stop here; For the next couple of hours after you recuperate, find your mother. She'll help you train your quirk." Che tilted his head, his black locs like his father's gray ones flopping as he moved his head.

"Why not you? It's always you." He asked, wiping his face with a rag. Kamau sighed, doing the same as he downed a bottle of water. "I have some business up in Tokyo. I'm meeting with the Hero Public Safety Commission. I'll be gone all evening." Che nodded, mouthing, 'Ah.'

"Okay. When are you leaving?" Che hopped to his feet, good as new. Kamau scoffed out of jealousy. "Man… That quirk of yours is something else. Anyway, I'm leaving in an hour. Your mom already knows." Walking passed his son, rubbing his head as he did so.

"Hn." Che smiled, humming as he strung out his sweat rag. As his dad left the Dojo, Che took a shower in the small bathroom in the corner of their training room and made his way up stairs and into the living room.

He saw his mom, Zara Heart, cuddled up on the corner of the couch, humming a song as she scrolled through her phone. Sneaking up behind her, he kissed her cheek and smiled when she gasped.

"Che! Oh, my goodness…" Placing her hand above her heart, she turned around and playfully glared at her son, not minding his actions at all. Che giggled, wrapping his arms around her before shoving off upstairs.

"Don't forget you have quirk training with me in an hour! Make sure you're ready!" She exclaimed; hearing Che's feet stomp up the staircase; only calming down when he reached the top of the staircase.

Zara chuckled at her son's antics. "What's funny?" Kamau asked, slipping on a jacket over his all-black tux. Zara eyed him up and down before beckoning him over. Kamau obliged without resistance, letting her pull him down by his tie and give him a peck on his lips.

"Che's quite the child, isn't he?" Zara said, leaving Kamau confused. "Yes, he is. He'll do great things one day. He'll BE great." Kamau's confidence in his son bled through his every word, sending chills down his wife's spine.

"It'll all be for nothing if you scare him away, you know." She turned back to her phone, scrolling through it. Kamau made his way to the kitchen, mulling over his wife's words. "Please, that boy isn't scared of anything. He's quiet, observant and quick-witted. If anything, I'll be the one to shy out." He chuckled.

Zara scoffed sarcastically. "I know he's all of those things because that's all he shows us… I worry about what he's really feeling inside." Stopping to think, Kamau put down his cup of orange juice, crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the counter.

Narrowing his eyes thoughtfully at Zara. "Hmm. Where's this coming from, love?" Zara sighed, putting down her phone to face him. "Do you think we're pushing him too hard? Forcing him to go to UA in the future is already pretty controlling. But we've been training that boy like he was about to be sent to war for years." Her voice was soft, full of concern and worry.

Kamau sighed, taking her feelings into consideration before formulating a sentence. "We train him to be more than war ready, remember? We train him because we want him to be free. Strength is the only way to do that these days; With quirks and all." Sipping his drink, he looks at his watch, eyes bulging seeing the time.

[12:35pm]

"Oh shit- I got to go. We'll talk about this more when I get home, I love you!" Practically sprinting to get his wife a kiss goodbye; within the next moment he was outside the door getting into his car.

Zara stared blankly, feeling terrible due to the worry and conflicted feelings building up inside her chest. However, before she let it bother her too much, she sighed and got up from her spot on the couch.

Slipping on a jacket and some sandals, she stood at the base of the stairs and called for her son. Moments later, Che came racing down them with nothing but a white wife-beater, some baggy black sweats and some slides with black socks.

"Quirk training?" He asked, Zara smiled, leading him to the back door.

"Quirk training."