Yuma

Chapter two

Yuma's p.o.v
Enji drives me to school today. I give him a hug before heading in. I try to keep my head down and myself hidden.
"Hey!" Chip!
"Hey Chip!"
"What's up dude I didn't hear from you yesterday you alright?"
"Not really but I feel much better with you here. You were out for a while I was worried."
"Oh you know I had to get a fresh pair of grippy socks."
"You wanna talk about it?"
"I go caught by one of the staff trying to hurt myself."
"Why did you want to hurt yourself? Was it just a relapse?" I look at him with a similar expression Enji would look at me with.
"Survivors guilt is a bitch. I still don't get why they killed my mom and dad but not me. They had nothing to do with what happened to him."
"Oh."
"Sorry Yuma do you want me to drop the conversation? I know you probably don't want to hear-."
"Go ahead he's not my dad. He just fucked my mom thats all. Enji is my dad."
"Like I get he probably suffers with survivors guilt as well and a shit load of trauma but it wasn't the civilians fault and it sure as hell wasn't my parents fault! My dad lost his brother and Mother in that crash. He could have lost his life in it too if he wasn't on bed rest. My mom lost her aunt, uncle, cousins, and even a best friend of hers. A lot of people lost their lives that day because of All-Might. He could have just killed All-Might, the commission, plus dabi and not a single one of the victim's families would have bat an eye. Instead he killed far more then that crash did making him something worse."
"You know he got mad at me for calling Enji dad. I so badly wanted to beat the shit out of him right then and there. Enji has done more for me then he ever will. He tried saying that he made me and that he raised me for two years of my life. My mom did all that! She taught me how to speak, read, walk, use the toilet for the most part, she changed my ass more, my first word was momma. He got her killed right in front of my fucking face! No dad does that to their kid."
"What do you mean for the most part?"
"When it came to peeing standing up when I was like five Enji taught me how to aim. I was trying to copy him because you know how small kids are they follow you everywhere. I saw him peeing standing up and I wanted to be a big boy. After I got piss everywhere he decided it was time for a lesson on aim." Chip laughs.
"How bad was it?"
"I somehow had pissed on the ceiling. It was terrible. He was so mad but he couldn't help but laugh because it had never happened to him before. He thought I would have known how to pee." Chip continues to laugh. "Even better part is Enji taught me how to cook, make my bed, ride a bike, spell my name, fold my clothes, and so many more later life lessons a kid needs. The first time he caught me touching myself he gave me a talk. He handled like a pro and it wasn't too awkward. He works with me on my terms knowing I don't have the greatest experience with life thus far. He's taught me how to healthily handle my anger and aggression. Hell he taught me that emotions shouldn't be repressed or ignored especially since I am a guy and we are taught that emotions are somehow feminine."
"That's a real dad right there. He validates you, cares about and for you, taught you important things, and loves you unconditionally. He may not have the best track record but god damn is he sounding like a better dad then Ramsie ever could have been."
"You're right."
"A real man will step up and admit his wrongs and work on himself not expecting anything in return. A real dad does the same and it sounds like Enji has."
"Yeah. Shoto is staying with us while he's in college and he says the dad I have is the dad he wanted growing up. He also said he's happy to have him now and is extremely happy that I and possible future kids get to have this version of him. Natsuo is obviously taking a while to warm up to this new version of Enji but he respects the work he's putting in to better himself. He also respects that while yes Enji is moving forward he reflects on the past and doesn't claim that was a different man. He straight up admits it was him but he's working on himself."
"I like him."
"I was asking him a bunch of questions because I was genuinely curious if abusers can truly change. He said that yes it's possible for them to but they have to first admit they were wrong and actually commit to it. Obviously these weren't his exact words as he doesn't really know how to word but his point was the same. He also said that the abuser should never expect forgiveness or trust from their victims."
"Why did his kids forgive him?"
"They didn't. They will never forgive him they made that very clear but they also made it clear that they love him and would like to get to know him now that he's been working on himself for a while."
"Do you guys have family dinners?"
"Every birthday and holiday. On Halloween instead of a dinner we all curl up and watch scary movies while enjoying some awesome snacks."
"What about him and Rei?"
"They are separated. They have been since just before I came into the picture."
"So he's getting up there in age?"
"Well not really."
"What do you mean?"
"You know Ryuk?"
"Oh yeah the death king."
"Yeah."
"What about him?"
"He gifted Enji immortality. Which sounds weird and unbelievable-."
"Nah with the death kingdom taking the souls of dead children and turning them into grim reapers it's far from unbelievable. I mean I'm a human with chipmunk features and the ability to shift into a chipmunk. You can teleport. The only weird thing here is that you think it's weird. Plus an immortal Enji doesn't sound terrible. Imagine how many kids like you he could save!"
"Fair enough but yeah so he doesn't really age. A massive side effect though is somedays he can't get out of bed and just sleeps for like weeks at a time. I take care of him though because he would do the same for me. He has done the same for me." L approaches.
"Free period babe. Why don't we go to my place until second period?"
"I have some catching up with Chip to do."
"I just got back from a grippy socks vacation. I need to fill him in on all the people I met. Or saw again."
"You went to a mental hospital it's not a vacation." L voice is laced with annoyance.
"I call it a vacation because it sounds a lot less depressing then saying I got back from a mental health facility. Plus they give me these cool ass grippy socks which I found a place that sells some grippy socks and I may have convinced the group home to buy me a bunch."
"How did you do that?"
"I told them if they didn't that while I'm having a depressive episode I could slip on that stair and fall down them. I also said that if I were to have endless amounts of energy there is nothing stopping me from gliding around the house and possibly hurting me, the other boys, or the staff if I didn't get some good grippies."
"I don't get why you hang out with him Yuma. He's just gonna bring your mental state down."
"He's keeping me afloat thank you very much. I like having someone to bond with over the things we've experienced."
"Are you saying I don't keep you afloat?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying! You're like a rock in an already full bag of rocks tied to my back. It may seem small but it's still something." Chip grabs my arm to hold me back. "I'm tired of being used by people who pretend to care about me. You don't care I'm just something to make you look good. I'm done being something you can mention only when it's convenient for you!"
"When have I ever done that?"
"Okay let's start with when my cat died last month. You took that opportunity to get a day off work so you could get drunk and high with your friends. That same month you mentioned that you were dating me to get close to someone else's boyfriend, the month before that you mentioned me to a drug dealer so you didn't have to pay. Before you ask how I found out about that is he came to my fucking house asking for three hundred fucking dollars! I refused to pay him and told him I had no clue who the hell you are. I have many more where that came from."
"So what are you breaking up with me? Because we know what happens when you do."
"Yes I am and well we both have very different ideas as to what happens."
"So you wanna hear about the vacay?"
"Why not."
"Well for starters the new people there were terrified. Thought everyone there wanted to hurt them. Which in fact isn't true. Most of the time."
"Why do we hear about that all the time though?"
"It's mostly just a scare tactic. Most of us just coast. Do what we are told leave and some of us end up coming back."
"Is there people like that in there?"
"Oh most definitely but as long as you keep your distance and don't draw attention to yourself while they are experiencing violent behaviour you should be good. It's mostly the nurses that take the brunt of it. I'd suggest it Yuma."
"Huh?"
"It's just three weeks. You need it. I'm not saying that just because I'm saying because I think you could benefit from it. To an extent."
"But you said some people return."
"Yeah I did. I've returned multiple times. It helps for a while when I get out. Yeah I admit I relapse back into self harm and shit but it could be a lot worse if I didn't go. Obviously don't go if you don't think you could benefit from it but I think you could."
"Is it scary?"
"I'd be lying if I said no. Sometimes it is scary. You feel alone and like you'll never improve but usually those feelings pass. Plus you could have Enji visit you at visitation so it's not like you wouldn't see him while you're there. Think on it Yuma. If not I think you should get into therapy."
"What if they want to hold me longer?"
"I don't know I've never had that happen to me personally." I think on it.
"I'll mention it to Enji this weekend see what he thinks."