Before heading downstairs, Miyata stopped in front of a mirror in the hallway. His reflection showed a young man with pale silver hair falling over his forehead, and deep violet eyes. His face was pale, but his features were sharp and elegant.
Miyata gave a faint smile before raising his hands and running them through his hair.
"Ah... It's great to be handsome..."(Note: You will find the picture in the comments)
Miyata went down to see the busy back of a lady who would be his mother. Not saying much, he sat down on his chair while waiting for the meal to be prepared. Miyata looked at his mother who was sweating due to the heat of the kitchen but still had a smile on her face.
She was his only parent, as his father, who used to be a hero, died when he was around 5 years old. Thankfully, due to the AWHF (Association for Welfare of Hero Families) which provided them a fixed amount of money monthly, their lives were going well.
The money was enough to ensure they lived comfortably. His mother, who worked at a bank, and his sister, who was a famous fashion model, both earned a decent living. However, this was not enough to satisfy him; he continued to demand large sums of money from them.
This wasn't the case before, but the moment he realized he was going to end up without a "Quirk" (a superpower), he fell into a trench of resentment.
His mother tried to comfort him many times, but he would instead argue with her and blame her for his uselessness, saying, "It's all your fault! If you weren't Quirkless, I might not have ended up like this! Why do I have a mother like you! I hate this! I hate you!"
What made matters worse was that his sister had an extremely powerful ability, which pushed his jealousy to its limits.
Miyata's mother always smiled at Miyata and listened to his scolding without arguing back even a bit. She also felt guilty for not being able to provide a "Quirk" for her son, and this guilt was slowly eating her away every day. However, she made sure not to show it on her face so it wouldn't affect Miyata. But she was worrying for nothing, because even if the original Miyata had known about her feelings, he wouldn't have cared, and would have instead said, "You get what you deserve."
That's the kind of person he was.
There were times when he heard his mother crying late at night. His sister would try to comfort her quietly, but instead of feeling sad, he felt happy. His logic was, "Since you made my life miserable, you're also not supposed to be happy!"
Miyata couldn't help but hate his earlier self more and more as more thoughts regarding his behavior came to his mind. Taking a huge sigh, Miyata stood up from his seat and walked towards his mother. Things had been wrong for a long time, and it was time for him to correct this.
He couldn't let this lady, who would now be his mother, have such a tough life.
"Is there something wrong, Miyata-kun? Do you need more money?" Miyata's mother said with a smile on her face, waiting for her dear son's reply.
Miyata didn't reply. He slowly placed his hands forward and gently embraced his mother from behind, saying while leaning his head on her back, "I'm sorry, Mom, I'm sorry for everything. I'll make sure to be a good son from now on... I know a 'sorry' is not enough, but I still wanted to say it..." Miyata said as tears automatically started coming from his eyes
Rita, who was expecting him to demand money as usual, was astonished as she felt the embrace from behind and heard the emotional voice of her son. Hearing his words, she quickly turned around with a worry-filled face, only to see her crying son. She said, "Miyata, are you alright? Is there a problem? Please tell me, Mommy will help you to the best of her ability."
Not minding the food that was burning, she wiped his tears with the sleeves of her blouse and made Miyata sit back on the chair as she knelt on the ground in front of him.
Seeing the worry-filled face of the lady, Miyata couldn't help but get even more emotional as more tears started flowing from his eyes. Seeing this, Rita moved closer and hugged him tightly while patting his head. "What is it, my baby? Don't cry, Mommy can't see you like this." His mother's voice, which was also growing emotional by now, entered his ears.
"I-It's just I wanted to apologize to you, Mom. I'm truly sorry. I'll make sure to treat you well." Miyata said.
"W-What are you talking about? Mommy knows that her baby loves her. It's normal to say rude things by accident. Mommy used to do that a lot as well. You don't need to worry about it, as I've never blamed you for it."
Rita said as she tightened her embrace on Miyata while patting him. Although she was saying that, one could see a happy and relieved smile on her tear-stained face as she comforted her son, whom she loved the most.
After a while, when Rita felt that Miyata was comforted enough, she gently released him and looked into his eyes, which were tear-stained just like hers, and said, "Promise Mommy that you'll never cry again. You need to be a strong boy, Miyata-kun, and make your father in heaven proud of you."
Miyata sniffled and nodded, saying, "I w-will. I-I will make Father and you both proud of me."
Rita couldn't help but smile upon hearing her son's words and gave him another tight hug before standing up as she started preparing their meal from scratch because the one she was making had burnt up. Throughout all of this, instead of annoyance, there was a smile on her face, which, unlike the previous fake one, was genuine.
Happiness filled the atmosphere in the kitchen. The smell of the burnt food no longer bothered Rita, and her genuine smile lit up the place. Suddenly, this warm atmosphere was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell.
"I'm coming!" Rita said loudly, wiping her hands with the apron. "Maybe it's your sister who has returned."
Miyata froze in his place. His sister. He had completely forgotten her in the midst of his conflicting emotions with his mother. He swallowed hard, feeling his heart beat faster. His relationship with his sister was more complicated and painful than his relationship with his mother.
"I'll open it, Mom," Miyata said in a low voice.
Rita stopped moving and looked at him in surprise. "You? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Miyata said as he walked toward the door. He knew this meeting would be very difficult, based on the original owner's memory, but he decided to try.
"Haaah..." he sighed before slowly opening the door.
End of Chapter
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