the Pain of Truth [Ray X Reader] (the Promised Neverland)

108

3rd Person Pov:

"What a great family!" stated Norman, smiling at the many children, including one adult, that stood in front of him. The Grace Field escapees were shocked, to say the least. None of them could have imagined this.

"Huh?! What do you mean?" "Wait, what?! Minerva was..." "That kid is from Emma's pictures..." "Eh? But that kid was..." trailed the children off, some of them barely able to contain their emotions. This was all too overwhelming.

"You're alive?! The real thing?!" "Norman!" "I'm so happy! You're alive! You're alive!" called the younger children, hugging him tightly, which he returned. "Norman..." trailed Emma off, her green eyes wide as she stepped closer to him.

Norman smiled at her, saying: "Emma. I really, really wanted to see you for so long..." She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly, a few tears spilling from her eyes. None of the other children knew what to say. So, they kept silent, smiling at their long lost brother.

Ray tightened his hands into fists, walking up to him. "Ray..." trailed Norman off, not knowing what to say next. He didn't need to say anything, however, as Ray just slapped him across the face once Emma had stepped back, causing Norman to stumble, falling to the ground.

The kids gasped, with (Y/N) approaching the two of them, surprised that Ray would do that. It's not like she didn't understand him. The urge to hit Norman had been in her, too. He had the means to contact them, one way or another, but didn't do so. Besides, she wouldn't have dared to hit her dear older brother after not seeing him for so long.

Norman chuckled, rubbing his cheek, saying: "How awful. To get payback without so much as greeting me. Looks like you were able to find something important to you." With tears rolling down his face, Ray said: "Yeah... Thanks to you."

"Ray..." trailed (Y/N) off, smiling softly, tearing up once more. She stepped even closer, hugging them both. Emma joined the group hug, happy to have all of her best friends right in front of her again.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" called Ray, crying uncontrollably. "Don't you ever die again, you dumb Norman." Norman smiled, saying: "Yeah... Got it, you idiot, Ray."

Time skip: a bit later

After having told Norman how exactly they escaped, and how they managed to expand their family, Norman said: "I see... Phil and the rest are still at the house... But everyone, you all did well. I'm happy that I can meet everyone from Grand Valley. And sorry. If I could've found the shelter's location quicker, or sensed the enemies raid coming..."

His last sentence was directed at Yuugo, who just shook his head, saying: "It's fine. We survived in the end, all thanks to this reckless smart-ass." He placed his hand onto (Y/N)'s head, grinning. She smiled lightly, saying: "Yeah, but Lucas did end up heavily injured..." "Stop looking at the bad things, (Y/N). You saved our lives. And that's all that matters."

Her cheeks took a light, reddish color at his words. Not sure how to handle such praise, she decided to hide her face in Ray's chest, who gently placed a hand onto her head, a light smile resting on his face. Norman smiled at them, glad to see that their relationship had turned out like this.

"Also... Where were you at, Norman? You said something about a 'particular Farm', but..." trailed Gilda off, to which Norman opened the first few buttons of his shirt, showing them the mark he got underneath his collarbone.

"I was at Lambda 7214. A place to experiment on cattle children." he answered. Yvette gasped, saying: "That mark..." Marc looked up at the giant boy they had with them, saying: "It's the same as Adam's!"

Nigel asked: "'A new plantation at the westernmost end'... Then those two were on the same farm?" "How did you get out of there?" asked Ray, tapping (Y/N)'s shoulders. She turned to face Norman, having understood Ray's request. She's the best at observing people and picking up small details, after all.

Her (e/c) eyes were focused solely on Norman, who began explaining. "I broke free. I found an accomplice, and borrowed the help of one of Minerva's supporters. I destroyed that cage and escaped from it."

"A supporter?" asked one of the children, to which Norman said: "Right. He called himself Smee. He was the person who gave the pen to Sister Krone. Although, he's been killed by now... Thanks to a purge ordered by the head, Peter Ratri, the supporters lurking behind the scenes were wiped out."

He sighed at the memories, saying: "But before Smee was the last to go, I inherited some information as well as his network." "Then, this hideout, too?" asked Emma, looking at him with a curious expression.

Norman nodded, answering: "Yeah, it's a part of Smee's network. That's how we can have such a large settlement." "Norman, that broadcast was yours, too..." trailed Emma off, looking at Norman.

He smiled, saying: "Yup. I thought it would reach you all better if I posed as Minerva. And besides creating a paradise, making use of the network, the threat of the Ratri clan, waging war against Demons, inheriting the names of Minerva and James Ratri has been useful in a number of different ways."

(Y/N) noticed something. It was barely noticeable, but she was skilled at observing people. Every time Norman mentioned Minerva, Peter Ratri or James Ratri, he would look at her. "Hey, Norman. There are a lot of things I want to ask you." started Ray, causing her to snap out of her thoughts.

"About Lambda, and about this hideout. About Hayato, Zazie, and the rest of the humans here... And much more. But before that, I have one question for you. What are you planning? By destroying the plantations and making this 'paradise'. Just what is-" said Ray, only to have Norman cutting him off.

He said: "To answer that question, there's a certain conversation I'll need to have with you." He looked at each of his best friends, asking: "Do you all know about why Demons eat humans? Why they must eat humans? And just what the Demons are?"

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Picture from:

https://www.pinterest.it/pin/756112224919727391/