Continuation Shota Aizawa x Akemi Yuriemoto (Aizawa)

Chapter 238: Letting go of guilt

Part 2
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Manami Yuriemoto was standing in the opening doorway of the roof listening to her husband telling their daughter that story of his darkest moment. Mindreader had told them everything in extensive detail and right now she reliving it within her mind. Her shaking hands were clasped together against her pounding heart as she bowed her head in shame over the memories.

She saw her wedding ring and engagement ring on her finger and cried without making a sound as her tears fell down her face.

*Oh why did I have to verbally wound him in such a brutal way?*

She covered his eyes with her hands and started shaking. *To take my ring and place it into his hand as if I didn't even care of how much that would hurt him!*

She looked up at her husband in grief screaming within her mind. *Why...? GOD PLEASE TELL ME WHY?*

Tears fell from her eyes onto the cold concrete slabs of the stairways door opening. Her voice was the faintest of whispers. "Why can't I get over this guilt?"

Even after all these years, the guilt of that one action still haunts her. Like a silent scream that's clawing at her throat...begging to be released from behind the now cracked mask and painted porcelain smile.

She allowed her tears to fall unhindered as she bowed her head. The white noise in her mind drowned out everything around her as the blurry image of a man was walking towards her. She closed her eyes as she remembered the aftermath at the hospital.
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Manami Yuriemoto was sitting to the side of her husbands hospital bed. Nobuyuki was emotionally drained and completely exhausted from his fight. He was pale skinned and his body was covered in beads of sweat. He had a high fever due to all the stress and anger he was desperately trying to suppress within his subconscious for so long. The stress deluded his illness until he could no longer ignore it. He had been sick for two months!

A week after his wedding to Manami was when his father died.

Manami was gripping his clammy calloused hand within her own. He was finally able to stop fidgeting within his sleep over the fever. He was breathing evenly and relaxed enough to make her hope that he was having a pleasant dream.

She held his hand against her lips kissing the knuckles of his hand before bowing her head over her enclosed hands in a silent prayer as tears fell down her face.

A soft knock jolted her from her prayer. She looked up with a startled gasp and saw Mindreader leaning against the doorframe. The 20 year old man held the presence of a veteran pro hero...like his father-in-law and mentor Erasure, he was a strong silent pillar of strength that most sidekicks envied.

He was already a pro hero two years after graduating from U.A. when most were still sidekicks or struggling to make a name for themselves. He wasn't given the title from the aftermath a tragedy like Nobuyuki had been given after his father passed away.

No Mindreader earned that title solely through his strategic mind, logical and calming even voice, impressive ingenuity, and overwhelming skillset in the heat of battle.

Manami stared at him but he wasn't gazing at her. He appeared to be deep in thought as his black eyes closed before opening them. He had a distant frown upon his face.

He sighed softly and spoke without meeting her gaze.

"He'll recover...he's far from being weak. I expect to be working alongside him in the future. We work well together. Even if he is a dramatic idiot half the time." He chuckled faintly in amusement over the last couple of tag team missions they were paired up on.