Old Friends

Naomi held her son's hand as he lay in the hospital bed, brain sensors, a heart rate monitor, a pulse oximeter, and a saline drip were hooked to a pole as the wires attached to his tiny body. He looked so frail, it broke the mother's heart as tears began to well up in her eyes, she hated seeing him like this, but she refused to look away.

When Naomi first got the call that her son was being rushed to the nearest hospital, she had very nearly collapsed right on the spot. Her manager almost called her an ambulance but she recovered and sprinted towards where her boy was being treated. She hadn't run so far so fast since her hero days, something that her aching leg muscles could attest to. But she ignored her pain, her son needed her, and she had to be by his side no matter what.

The door to the hospital room opened to reveal a man with a falcon head wearing a white lab coat. "I have the results of your son's tests Miss Ishii."

"What happened?" She asked in a hoarse voice.

The doctor looked down at the touch screen tablet in his hands. "It appears your son had a minor stroke due to the awakening of his quirk."

"Will he be okay?"

"The MRI doesn't show any brain damage, you can rest easy knowing that he will still be able to lead a normal life. Well as normal as one with his quirk can."

Naomi sighed in relief as she bent down and kissed her son's cheek. "Thank God."

"Do you already suspect what quirk your son has Ma'am?" The falcon-headed doctor asked upon seeing the lack of confusion on the woman's face at the mention of her son's quirk.

She nodded, "I do, his father, he was psychic. He had telepathy and telekinesis, as well as a few other mental abilities."

The doctor glanced at his notes and nodded, "then it seems that your son had inherited at least the telepathy portion of his father's abilities, but we can't be too sure yet if he's inherited his full capabilities."

"What needs to be done so he doesn't have a stroke again?" Naomi asked.

"With quirks like these, it is advisable that he wears a quirk inhibitor until he is capable of controlling his powers. Right now we have given him a minor quirk suppressant, but that will only last for another six hours. With your consent, we would like to give your son this inhibitor. I will also send a request to the quirk regulation office to allow your son to practice his quirk in a safe and secure environment until he is capable of living everyday life without the need for it."

The redhead lifted her arm and pulled back her blue long-sleeved shirt. "Will he have to be dealing with something as bulky as this?"

The doctor gave her a concerned look, or as concerned as a falcon could look. "You have an inhibitor yourself?"

Naomi couldn't blame the man for his reaction, the type of people with quirk inhibitors were usually criminals or people who had quirks that were too dangerous for themselves or others to be left unchecked. "I'm on probation," it wasn't good to lie to doctors, but there was no reason to go into the whole story with him either.

The doctor regarded her for a moment, eyes glancing at her and back to her son then down at the hand that had not stopped holding the boy's tiny hand. "To answer your question, no, the inhibitors assigned by hospitals are different to the justice system. Here I will let you hold it before we come to a decision." He said before taking the inhibitor out from his coat pocket and handing it to the mother.

Naomi grabbed the inhibitor and looked down at the device with a scrutinizing eye. It was indeed less bulky than hers, unlike the cuff she wore, this contraption resemble a thin polished metal bracer with a currently deactivated light at its center The lock to the bracer was on the underside where it would clamp around her son's wrist securely, the metal looked to be made of the same hers was, so she knew from experience it wouldn't rust in water and felt quite cool against the skin.

"Will I have the key to his inhibitor?" She asked.

"Yes you will, only you or another medical professional will be allowed to take his inhibitor off. However first responders and heroes will be given permission if he is ever involved in an emergency situation and it is required." The doctor answered with a nod.

"When will it be determined that he will be allowed to live life without the inhibitor?"

"I do not know, normally those who are given inhibitors can go years without taking them off, if at all. But there are some cases where the inhibitor is only worn for a few months or even weeks, if my request is approved then him being allowed to train will make sure that time comes sooner rather than later."

Naomi nodded, "alright if it means he will be safe then I give you permission." She said before handing the inhibitor to the doctor.

The falcon-headed man took it and asked. "Which is his dominant hand?"

"He's right-handed."

"I'll have to put the inhibitor on his right wrist."

Naomi looked down at her son and gave his hand a squeeze as she lifted his arm out for the doctor.

The metal bracer clasped around his wrist with a hiss of escaping air after the doctor closed it around Samuru's tiny arm. The green light in the middle turned on and began to blink slowly just as Naomi's inhibitor did.

"This is also programmed with a bit of reshaping nanite technology so it will grow as he grows so there should be no concern with him outgrowing the inhibitor." Said the doctor.

"When will I be able to take him home?"

"We will keep him here overnight for observation but you will be able to take him home tomorrow afternoon."

Naomi smiled, "thank you so much."

The doctor bowed his head, "it is no trouble, here is my number, please call my office if there is any complication with the inhibitor or if you have any further concerns." He said before handing the woman a business card.

"I will, thank you again." She said as she took the card.

"Have a good day," the doctor bid farewell with one final bow before leaving the mother and son alone in the hospital room.

Naomi looked down at her son and gently caressed the side of his face. "I'm so sorry Samuru, I wish… I wish your father could still be here to help you with this."

Her eyes filled with tears as she looked away from her boy and out towards the window, an angry scowl appeared on her face as she whispered. "God damn you Danuja, you fucking crazy piece of shit. Why did you have to do it, why did you make me…"

A sob escaped her throat as she collapsed into a seat next to her son, she buried her head into the side of his hospital bed and cried softly.

____________________________________________________________

It was later that night and Samuru was still asleep in the hospital bed, Naomi had been able to gather herself a few hours ago. She was hungry but couldn't bring herself to leave her son's side, the doctors and nurses told her he would be fine, but she still didn't want to leave him.

The redhead sighed as she pulled out her phone and opened the contacts. There were five people in it, her manager at the corner store, her father as she still couldn't bring herself to delete his number, a few old friends she hasn't talked to in a long time, and her mentor.

Taking a deep breath, Naomi called the man she had not spoken to in a long time.

The phone rang three times before the voice of an older man spoke from the other line.

-𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰?-

Naomi swallowed her spit, "Sensei…it's me."

-𝘕𝘢𝘰𝘮𝘪, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.-

"Yeah…it's good to hear you too."

-𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?-

The mother smiled despite the situation, her old mentor could always read her like an open book. "Samuru…he awoke his quirk…it's Danuja's."

There was a long pause.

-𝘐𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?-

"Yes, they gave him an inhibitor."

-𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.-

"Are you sure…even after all I've done?" She asked in a quivering voice.

-𝘕𝘢𝘰𝘮𝘪, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵. 𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵.-

Her mentor didn't hate her, Naomi couldn't help but cry as she felt a weight be lifted from her. "I'll have to tell the probation office where I'm going and get it cleared with them."

-𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.-

"Thank you, uncle."

-𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.-

"Okay, I'll talk to you then."

-𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘺𝘦.-

"Bye."

The man on the other line hung up, Naomi placed her hand atop her son's smaller one. "You're going to be alright Sam, it's going to be alright."

___________________________________________________

Naomi awoke the next morning to the feeling of someone poking the top of her head, she groaned and swatted the offending hand away.

"Hey ma, wake up," a tiny dry voice spoke.

Instantly the mother sat up and found her son giving her a soft smile with his violet eyes looking at her.

"Samuru," She engulfed him in a hug and held him tight.

"Gah…ma…choaking…"

"Oh sorry," She chuckled sheepishly before letting him go.

Samuru took a moment to breathe before asking. "What happened?"

Naomi grabbed his little hand and gave her best reassuring smile, "you awakened your quirk."

He blinked in surprise, "my quirk?"

"Yes. What was the last thing you remember?" From what his teacher told her, it seemed as if he had awakened telepathy, but she had to be sure.

"I remember…" He trailed off as he narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment, "voices, lots of them. Like I was in a crowd but everyone was all screaming in my ears at once but…instead of with my ears, I was hearing them in my head. Like when you're about to fall asleep and your thoughts sound more real…if that makes any sense."

That was almost exactly how Danjua had described hearing other people's thoughts. "That would be your quirk. You're capable of hearing other people's thoughts just like your father did."

Samuru looked up at her in confusion, "then why can't I hear anything now?"

"You were given an inhibitor, it's on your right wrist see."

Her son raised his arm and looked at the metal bracer with wide eyes, "cool."

Naomi couldn't help but giggle a bit as she was relieved that he didn't hate the device. "You're going to have to wear that until you can learn to control your quirk."

"How am I going to learn to control my quirk if I'm wearing this all the time?"

There was that sharp mind of his showing itself again, "We're getting permission from the quirk regulation office to practice your quirk in a safe environment. I've also made a call to my old mentor who will be able to help you just like he did with your father."

His eyes shone with curiosity. "Really, who is it?"

Naomi couldn't help but smile nostalgically, "someone who will help you.."

"Aw, I can't even know his name?" Samuru pouted.

The redhead shook her head, "it'll ruin the surprise. But I will tell you that he was a very skilled hero in his day"

"Really?" He was even more interested now.

"Yes, now let me call the doctor so we can get you home."

"Mmkay."

Naomi giggled at her son's response, he was just too cute sometimes.

_____________________________________________

After speaking with the doctor for several minutes and having more tests performed on her son for the next several more. Samuru was finally cleared to leave for home.

Naomi took her son back to the apartment within the hour and allowed him to pick the choice of whatever he wanted to eat for lunch as a celebration. They took home the admittedly delicious meal of fried chicken and spent the rest of the day watching old movies together until it became dark.

An hour later after Samuru's bedtime, Naomi could be found sitting alone in the dark at her small water-damaged dining table with an opened bottle of whisky and her head held in her hands.

The house was so quiet when her son was asleep, there was no sound of one of his old movies being played nor the occasional flip of a page from any of the books he would read. It was in the silence of the night, without any of the daytime distractions, that Naomi would find herself thinking of things she would rather forget. Normally she would solve these issues with exercise, putting her mind to thinking of the next lap around the block or the next rep on the bench. But tonight the weight of her sins bared down on her shoulders heavier than normal, so she opened the often ignored bottle hidden in the back of a high shelf and drank to forget.

Naomi groaned as she burned her throat with the eighty-proof whisky, the bitter taste lingering on the back of her tongue.

Just then there were two soft knocks at her front door, the redhead turned to the sound with narrowed eyes. She never had any guests, and no one but a few trusted individuals should even know where to find her.

Naomi quietly walked towards the door and drew her pistol from the holster that rarely ever left her waist. She glanced down at the small gap in between the door and the floor. The shadow cast would suggest one person was standing alone by the door, she glanced over to the right towards the closed certain window, no silhouette there. This could mean either it was truly one person or whoever they brought with them was stacked on her left side.

She had a few options, quietly pick her son up and leave out the fire escape, take the initiative and start shooting through the door now, or be risky and trust whoever is on the other side wasn't an enemy.

However, before she could decide a female voice coming from the other side of the door spoke up. "Naomi…it's me, Crow's Eye told me what happened."

She recognized that voice, but just because it might be who she thinks it is doesn't mean it actually was. Naomi decided to risk it and knocked on a nearby wall twice then paused for four seconds, then knocked three more times more rapidly.

"Really Naomi, again with the code knocks?"

The sound of the gun's hammer being pulled back cut through the silence.

"Fine, fine." The woman on the other side sighed.

Two swift knocks, a two-second pause, then proceeded three slower knocks.

With her guest now identified, Naomi holstered her weapon and cracked open the door.

Standing before her was a beautiful woman with dark purple hair tied into a spiky ponytail wearing a white sundress and black heels that nearly put her six-foot in height. The woman's sky blue eyes looked up at her in concern.

"What do you want Nemuri?" The redhead asked.

Nemuri Kayama, otherwise known as the R-rated hero Midnight, an unassailable well of confidence and an icon of female sexuality in Japan. Weathered under the stern purple gaze of the woman before her. "I-I just wanted to see how you and your son were doing."

"We haven't spoken in eight years."

Nemuri's eyes fell, "I know…I should've called, I just…"

Naomi sighed, even after eight years of no contact, the sight of seeing Nemuri upset still hurt her to see. "Get inside." She said gruffly before walking away towards the kitchen table, not bothering to turn on the lights as she did.

Midnight followed the taller woman, her eyes having a bit of trouble adjusting to the darkness thanks to the dull yellow light that was above the apartment door. However, she was a trained hero and such things were not even an inconvenience for her as she was still able to easily spot the large from of her friend looming over a small wood table. "How have you been?" She asked as she slid into an unfolded plastic chair across the table.

The redhead gestured to the small apartment around them with the hand currently holding the tall bottle of whisky. "Better than Tartarus, even if the state did seize all of my assets."

Nemuri frowned, even in the dark she could tell how dingy the home of her old friend was. Nothing matched and looked as if it was scavenged from the side of the road or haggled over in a thrift store. "Where are you working?"

Naomi took a swig from her bottle, "at a little corner store a block from here, the one that sells the lime soda flavored potato chips."

Midnight knew of the store she was talking about, "that's…nice."

The mother scoffed, "Sure it is. It's the only thing that would take me since it's not as if I can just put former pro hero on my resume."

"How much longer is your ban? I could get you a job in my agency once it's over."

"Four more years left, but I don't know if I even want to come back at this point anymore," Naomi answered with a sigh.

Midnight placed a soft hand atop Naomi's unoccupied one and gave her a small smile."If that's what you want to do I won't stop you, but know that I will always have a spot open for you in case you change your mind."

Naomi glanced down at the pale hand that felt so warm against hers then turned her gaze back up at the woman sitting across from her. "I'll think about it."

Nemuri beamed, "that's all I ask."

The redhead grunted, "so what's all this about Sensei telling you about what happened?"

"Well it's just as I said, Crow's Eye called me earlier today and asked me to check up on you so here I am."

"I didn't ask to be looked after, and neither did I expect Sensei to tell others of my personal business," Naomi said with a scoff.

"I know, I think he just figured I would be able to help you in some way."

"I already asked for his help, he even called me back a bit ago to confirm that I will be given permission to visit him in a few days."

Nemuri gently squeezed the hand that still rested atop the back of her friend's. "Naomi, he knows that there are things you won't share with him that you would share with me. So please, let me make up for the eight years I spent ignoring my best friend."

The mother's frown grew, "I…" she sighed again, "I don't hate you for not being there, I know I hurt you really badly with what I did. I should be the one asking you to forgive me, not the other way around."

Nemuri nodded, "I was angry with you for a long time. But I realized that you were given an impossible choice, it wasn't fair giving you that ultimatum, and in the end, you still chose to protect the world over Danuja."

Her shoulders sagged. "It shouldn't have come to that."

"I know, we failed you, both of you."

Naomi took a long draft of her whisk, "I still think about it you know. Every night I close my eyes, I think about what I did. The fucked up part is that I sometimes regret it, I regret saving the world. What kind of hero does that make me?"

"You loved him, Naomi, and he at one point loved you. It's not your fault that you still wanted to see the good in him even after all he had done and all he was going to do. That's the type of hero you are, you see the good in everyone."

Naomi cleared her throat, "I just…I just wish he could've seen him. If he had known I was pregnant with his son, maybe he would've stopped, maybe if we had waited a few more weeks or months. Maybe all of this never would have happened."

The two fell into silence for a long moment with nothing but the soft humming sound of the refrigerator filling the air.

"How's Samuru?" Nemuri asked after a few long minutes.

The mother's expression brightened at the mention of her son, "he's wonderful, the best student in his year, possibly even the whole school. You'd love him Nemuri, so mature and kind-hearted for his age, I'm so proud of him."

Midnight smiled as she watched her friend practically glow with a radiant smile as she gushed over her son. "I'd like to meet him."

"We should get together for lunch sometime."

Nemuri's smile grew even brighter, "I'd love that."

And so both women continued to talk well into the night, rekindling an old friendship that had been neglected for far too long. Many laughs were shared and many a drink was had between the two, time flew by and neither even noticed what hour it was, even when they both passed out together on the couch.