Nomu of a Friend (EraserCloudMic)

Chapter 8

Third-Person Hizashi and Oboro
TW: Alcoholism, Depression, Mentions of Previous Self Harm and Suicide Attempt, Stay Safe!
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Today would be Shouta's twenty-first birthday. He went missing when he was still just eighteen, a couple of months after he went missing was his nineteenth birthday. That day was hard for Hizashi and Oboro, but especially hard for Shouta's mother.
Now, two years later, his twenty-first birthday is here. Still a dreadful day to those three individuals.
Hizashi and Oboro got up for the day, but if it was up to them, they would have just stayed in bed. It hurt waking up on the day of their missing loved one's birthday. They desperately wished they could be with him today.
They only got up because they would go visit Shouta's mother, to make sure she was okay, especially because of the day. They knew Shouta's disappearance hurt his mother more than the two of them.
The time was 8:30 when they got up, but due to the lack of energy, and the now newly diagnosed depression between the two of them, it took until 1 before they managed to get out of bed to shower and eat. They never could have imagined them, the most lively out of the previous trio, to be this depressed. But I guess having someone you love go missing (especially with evidence of harm being done to them) causes that.

They dried up all their leads about where Shouta could be. They had their hopes up almost two years ago when someone knew the people who were seen taking Shouta in and out of the warehouse. The names of those people where Amaro Yansushi, Kanjou Kei, and Sorochi Yo. The three of them were known as petty criminals around town, but never caught for their crimes, which was why their DNA wasn't in the system.
     The funny thing is, the three of them went off the grid after Shouta was kidnapped. As if they too disappeared, or were kidnapped. They were marked with others in the most wanted in Japan. You think someone would have seen them, even at the store for food. But no. They just vanished.
     Until they knew of these people, they had no clue, or evidence, to help find Shouta. All Hizashi and Oboro did now was work to finding those men, and hero work, as they still needed money.

     Oboro did very good for himself. He was able to put on an extremely good facade, convincing everyone he was doing okay. Only Hizashi, Nemuri, and Kyouka (Shouta's mother) knew how bad his mental state actually was.
     Oboro somehow made it into the top 20 pro heroes in Japan.
     Hizashi had a similar story. He wasn't as popular as Oboro, but he too was extremely good at putting on a facade. And only Oboro, Nemuri, and Kyouka knew how bad his mental state was.
     Hizashi was in the top 100 pro heroes in Japan.

     After Hizashi and Oboro barely managed to get ready, they got in Oboro's car and made their way to Kyouka's house.
     She still lived in the house she raised Shouta in. She's still fairly young, being only forty-six. But she now looks like she's in her fifties due to how poorly she's been taking care of herself due to Shouta's disappearance.
     After all, her whole world revolved around her son.
     "Ms. Aizawa?" Oboro knocked on the door, there wasn't a response, Oboro had a key so he opened the door and entered the house, Hizashi followed behind.
     "Ms. Aizawa? You home?" Hizashi called out. They looked on the couch and they saw Shouta's mother on the couch, a bottle of wine on the floor next to her. She was asleep.

     Kyouka developed an addiction to wine after Shouta's disappearance. The poor lady didn't know any other way to cope, she did it after the loss of her husband (only managing to stop because she needed to take care of Shouta), and now, her son has disappeared, and she's fallen back into bad habits.

     "Ms. Aizawa?" Oboro spoke gently as he softly shook the lady away. She slowly stirred awake, rubbing her eyes. Hizashi walked off to get her some pain medicine, she obviously had a headache.
     "Hello boys," she greeted the two young men. "What's wrong? Why are you over?" She asked. Hizashi came back with some pain medicine and water. Kyouka took the medicine and drank some of the water. "Thank you dear."
     "Do you remember what day it is?" Hizashi asked the lady, who is now sat up on the couch.
     "No... I've been losing track of things lately," she explained. Oboro and Hizashi felt a pang in their chests.
     "Ms. Aizawa," Hizashi started to explain, "it's November eighth. It's Shouta's birthday." Kyouka's face fell.
     "Oh, how could I forget?" She sadly asked herself, picking up the bottle of wine and taking a big sip. Oboro took the bottle from her.
     "How much did you drink?" He asked while taking it away. Kyouka started to cry.
     "Have you guys found him yet?" She asked. "My baby boy, please tell me you've found him," she begged. Hizashi and Oboro sat on both sides of Kyouka.
     "Not... not yet." Oboro dreaded saying this to Kyouka. She was sobbing at this point. She was probably still drunk, usually when they see her she tries to keep her composure. Even if she slips up a little.
     "Please tell me you're close," she begged again.
     "A-almost," Oboro hated lying to the poor lady, but he felt like she couldn't handle the truth right now.
     "Almost," she seemed happier by just a hair. "You've almost found him?"
     "Why don't we get you to bed?" Hizashi asked, standing up and helping Kyouka up. She went with him, Oboro followed, offering support from behind.