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"your voice is so gentle.."
he reached out to trace her cheeks with his fingers, admiring the way her lips twitched up into a smile. then her smile fell.
"it's a curse," she iterated, her eyes falling toward the ground in a show...
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๑๑๑ ★・・・・・・★ ๑๑๑
trust: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
★・・・・・・★
IN THE SPAN OF an hour, police broke into the house and took her mother away. Once she was released from her control, Kawa's mother glared eye-daggers at her dull daughter, who probably couldn't care less.
When her mother was finally ushered into a police car and driven away, Kawa convinced herself to sit on the floor of her home until someone came to take her.
And sure enough, a scraggily looking man appeared before her. "Kid, what's your name?"
She looked up curiously at the man, noticing his hero attire before wiping the expression from her face. "Kawa Ejiri.."
The man stared at her a moment longer, making the girl look away uncomfortably.
In reality, the pro hero was just concerned. He noticed her bloody cheeks, and without much warning, opted to wipe the wet liquid from her face. Kawa flinched slightly, a deep frown residing on her face as the pro began to speak.
"Don't worry.." he murmured, pulling his hand away and fiddling with the capture tape that rested at his neck. "We'll get this sorted out, just wait a little while longer.."
Hesitantly, Kawa nodded in response. The man left the scene, leaving Kawa to look around in slight boredom. A police officer came and led her away, urging her to sit in the back of the car. Sighing, she scooted in and shut the door. She had been right.
It would be a while until she saw her room again.
★
A few weeks later..
★
"You wanna know where we're going?"
Kawa glanced up at the car's driver seat in front of her, where a woman in her late forties peered at her through the rearview mirror. In response, Kawa shrugged. She had a faint idea of what was happening, but like always, she didn't understand completely.
"You'll be meeting your new guardians," the caretaker replied, making Kawa's interest peak. "You already know one of them. Remember Eraser Head?"
That's right. The girl slowly recalled the tired, scraggily old man who wiped the blood from her face with such sincerity. Resisting a smile, Kawa nodded. "The pro hero."
"That's right!" The woman assured enthusiastically. "Oh, here we are."
The car pulled into a driveway, which belonged to a fairly modern house. At the porch, she saw Eraser Head leaning on the wall.
Stepping out of the car, Kawa followed her female caretaker up to the porch, where she began handing the pro hero papers whilst she talked. "We appreciate you and your husband offering to take young Ejiri in, Eraser Head."
"It's the least I could do," the pro responded dryly, tucking the clipped papers under his arm. "Does she have anything with her?"
The woman frowned. "I'm afraid not," she murmured, a look of pity on her face. "Police never found anything belonging to her, apart from a few toys maybe.. I doubt she'd want those though."
A look of confusion formed on Kawa's face. "I own these clothes I'm wearing..?"
"Of course you do, honey," her caretaker replied sweetly, patting her head slightly as she turned to Eraser Head in a hushed tone. "..she can also be a bit dense, so make sure to explain things in detail..!"
"More information about Ejiri is detailed in those papers I handed you," the woman smiled, turning back to Kawa. "I have to leave now sweetie. Get along with your new guardian, okay?"
"..Okay?" Kawa replied with a hint of confusion at the babying behavior, waving slightly as the lady walked back to her car and drove away. "She's odd."
"I guess so," Kawa flinched, turning at the sound of the man's voice. "Let's go inside now."
With a hint of nervousness, the girl followed Eraser Head inside, folding her arms against her small chest. A loud voice boomed suddenly, making her flinch.
"Is the kid here?" A voice shouted, getting louder and louder as the person came closer and closer. "Hey there!"
Kawa gaped at the man, unable to hide the awe on her face. It was the Present Mic; the one she used to be obsessed with. "I used to listen to your talk-shows. You're.. Present Mic."
"That's the name!" He grinned, putting a hand on his hips. "You can call me Hizashi."
Shaking her head defiantly, Kawa let the excited expression fall from her face. "Where should I place my bags, Eraser Head?"
"Call me Shota," he replied. "Follow me upstairs."
Kawa followed her new guardians upstairs, where they turned into an empty room apart from an white bed, a dresser, and a bookshelf. On the far side of the room, there was a bay window with built in shelves on the sides, covered by slightly-translucent curtains.
In many ways, this new room was similar to her old one. There were a few notable differences though. The color of the wall was more creamy, there wasn't a closet, and there was no security camera in sight.
"..what if I'm in trouble..?" Kawa whispered to herself, not going unnoticed by the two adults. "Nowhere to lock.. nowhere to see.."
"Kawa?" The mentioned girl stiffened at the sound of her first name, turning to stare curiously at Hizashi. "We guarantee that you'll be safe here. And I think you'll see that our methods of parenting are different from what you're used to."
Kawa looked down at the floor, watching as her foot made rhythmic contact with the wooden paneling. She was trying to distract herself. "Okay.."
"Put your bags down," Shota murmured tiredly, gesturing toward the door. "Hizashi made dinner.."
"Heck yeah I did!"
"Please be quiet.."
The two adults walked downstairs, leaving Kawa to follow them out the door. Tossing her small backpack onto the bed, Kawa traveled over to the door and froze. She took a second to admire the wooden grooves in the doorframe, quite obviously stalling for time.
There wasn't any reason she shouldn't trust her new guardians, right?
