Dawn of a New Age

Chapter 2 (Part III): Crimson Rain

Disclaimer(s): None of the image(s) used in this chapter belongs to me. The Pixiv or Twitter source(s) will be linked underneath each image if available or unless it is from an official source.

The majority of this chapter is a flashback.

Word Count: 15.7k Words

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Flashback

In a two-floored house, a lone woman sat at the dinner table where a plate of meat and vegetables had been laid out along with a bowl of rice. When she initially made the dishes, she had a bright smile on her face and was excited for someone to try them out and (hopefully) enjoy every part of the meal. However, that someone was late when returning from school and the food had gone cold after hours.

She looked out the window and stared at the gray thunderclouds looming over the city, sighing to herself as she continued to wait patiently. The rain tapping on the window was not different from the current storm in the present.

A knock on the door startled the woman before she quickly ran over and answered it, only to find a young boy standing there, covered in bruises. He had short H/C hair dirtied with mud and his E/C eyes quietly looked up at the woman.

With a ghastly look and a sharp gasp, she covered her mouth with both hands.

"Y-Y/N baby?"

Aisha quickly kneeled to get a better look at her son whose whole appearance was the complete opposite of her long, recently dried H/C hair and sparkling E/C eyes. "W-What happened!? Who did this!?"

For the first time since the Y/N could remember, tears of frustration welled up in his eyes and fell as he wiped his face with his left arm. "T-The older kids were picking on my classmates and I-I only wanted to help them..." He spluttered in between sobs as Aisha felt her heart shatter into pieces with each wail, tears also welling up in her eyes.

She quickly picked her son up and locked the door before bringing him to the kitchen and setting him down at the dinner table. With tactical agility, she was easily able to patch him up as best as she could without touching into that side of her... After she was done she pecked her son on his forehead and remained by his side, bringing him in for a hug.

"You don't know how proud I am of you for helping your classmates. Did they thank you?"

Y/N didn't say anything and looked away, confusing Aisha.

"What happened next, Y/N baby?"

Y/N didn't say anything and continued to look in the opposite direction.

"...Y/N?" Aisha asked again.

"T-They... T-They told the teachers..." Her son barely whispered with a sniff.

Her face lightened up and gently grabbed his face to delicately make him face her. "That's a good thing! Did the teachers-" Aisha's heart dropped when she saw the anguish written all over her son's face.

"THEY TOLD THE TEACHERS THAT I STARTED IT!" Y/N shouted with his eyes closed as more tears poured out from his eyes at the unfairness he was going through. "THE TEACHERS TOLD ME THAT I SHOULDN'T BE FIGHTING WITH OTHER STUDENTS AND SAID IT WAS MY FAULT! NOW EVERYONE THINKS IT'S MY FAULT!"

"W-What?" Aisha was left horrorstruck at the news, her hands were shaking at the explanation from her child.

Y/N tilted his head down to not look at his mother's eyes. "E-Everyone in my grade thinks it's my fault that the older kids are picking on us now and no one wants to be my friend! The teachers think I'm always picking fights with the other students and everyone in my grade wants me to get beat up..." He buried his face into his mom's chest while his small hands grabbed her shirt to keep himself grounded. "I don't wanna be here anymore... I wanna move, momma..."