𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐃𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

38

Touya didn't have much experience meeting a girl's parents, but he could tell pretty quickly that he'd already failed to make a good impression on your mother.

However, it wasn't often that he made a good impression on anyone. So he wouldn't have been too bothered if there had not been sharp glass threatening to slice open his throat. Glass that was controlled by a woman with seething, motherly rage. From the way she looked at him, Touya could tell that she'd already concluded that your disappearance was his fault.

It wouldn't be easy to convince her otherwise. Considering that she was a hero and he was one of the most wanted villains in Japan. Aya stumbled over her words beside him, desperately trying to explain the situation, but the woman was having none of it.

"I was informed by Japan's Hero Commission just a few hours ago that a member of the League of Villains had escaped from their custody, along with a female accomplice." She took a step closer. "I wasn't planning on investigating it. The purpose of my trip was to come and check on my daughter's wellbeing. But what a surprise it is to find the two fugitives in her apartment." Your mother flicked her wrist and the glass surrounding them paused in its movement. "Tell me where she is."

Alright, he could play cool. He could convince her to listen to him. Didn't matter that he was a villain and all his negotiations often ended with someone dead or missing a limb. He could be civil.

"Your daughter," Touya said. "Is currently being held captive by the same Commissioners who you spoke to earlier." He knew she wouldn't believe it, but he continued anyway, hoping to at least catch her interest before the authorities were called. "The girl beside me is one of her closest friends who was being held as leverage over her."

Your mother scoffed. "You expect me to believe you, villain?"

"No, actually. I figured that a hero such as yourself wouldn't listen to a single word coming from my mouth. But it's the truth."

Aya spoke up from beside him. Touya looked over, surprised to see that there were fewer of the glass shards around her than there had been before. "Hear him out, ma'am, please. There's... there's a lot that's happened that your daughter hasn't told you. But she'll never get the chance to explain it all unless we get her out of the Commission's hands."

Your mother's brows narrowed. "There is nothing that the Commission could possibly want from her. That girl is my child and I love her dearly, but she is a secretary, a quirkless one at that. I can't think of anything she could've done that would have caught their attention. Let alone have made them 'capture' her, as you say."

Fuck how she felt about him, this woman was not making a good impression on Touya either. "I think we both know that that's a lie," Touya said darkly. "You know exactly what those people want from her. It's the same thing my former villain partners wanted from her. The same thing that the entire world would kill for if the truth was revealed."

The woman's face went slack, betraying the truth of his words before she could put on another mask. "Don't try and spin those lies to me-"

"It looks to me that you're the only liar in this room," he cut her off. "You've been lying to her for her entire life, haven't you? Has it been so long that you've managed to convince yourself that the story you told her was true? And are you so blinded by your heroic nature that you truly believe that the Commission wouldn't figure it out and use whatever means necessary to take control of her? Of the weapon inside of her that you tried so hard to keep hidden?"

Touya didn't expect the sudden anger that rose to the surface. But being face to face with this woman, the one who'd made you strong, yet constantly made you doubt yourself. She could have helped you, trained you to harness that power of yours instead of shutting it out entirely and forcing you into a life where you remained oblivious. You could have learned how to keep it quiet, learned to control it. Maybe then, none of this would be happening.