"Stop! Nakamura! Put that gun away, I say!"

Yoru tugged on Nakamura's arm with all his strength, ignoring the ache in his body. Nakamura stopped, but only to stop Yoru from straining himself further. "You saw what I did," he growled, bearing down on the smaller man. "You were the one who identified those men to be Ito's."

Two days had passed since the scene at the hospital. The store's footage had yielded results, and to Yoru's confusion, the men were indeed Ito's underlings. Yoru hadn't even finished speaking before Nakamura had shot up, ordering his men to rally for an attack on Ito.

"Why are you protecting Ito?" Nakamura snarled, blinded by rage. "Are you forgetting which side you're on, anesan?"

Whipping back his fist, Yoru punched Nakamura on the mouth as hard as he could. A white-hot flash of pain spread through his chest, prompting him to release a shout of pain mixed with fury. "Ito does not use his men to kill," he spat as Nakamura wiped blood from his mouth. "He hires contract killers so any investigation doesn't trace back to him."

Staggering to the couch, Yoru collapsed into it and clutched his throbbing head. "I am putting myself through this shit because I know where I stand," he bleated. "Do whatever you want to those men. I don't care. Just get information from them first, and leave Ito alone. Attack him and we end up back at square one, only this time we'll have a war on our hands."

"So what?! We are capable of fighting one now!"

"Is that so?" Yoru shot up again, temper stoked. "We and what army, Nakamura? Do you seriously expect to fight Ito's group with Ito's own men, who were loyal to him barely three weeks ago? And how many of our other members are truly loyal to Kei?"

Nakamura had no response to that. As much as he hated to admit it, this perceptive fellow had hit the nail on its head. Despite multiple demonstrations of his efficiency as oyabun, Kei commanded little trust among his men, who knew that the astute, giant fighting machine of now was not Kei's original nature.

"I do not trust Ito," Yoru continued, still furious at having his loyalty questioned. "That is why we're doing our own digging before involving him. If I'm right and Ito is telling the truth, his aid in finding the mastermind is - what!"

Yoru's phone had started ringing about halfway through his tirade, and he now answered it with augmented irritation. "Well, good afternoon to you too, darling," came Kei's mystified voice.

"Ah." Yoru deflated and sank back onto the couch. "Sorry about that. How are you?"

"They changed my bandages, so everything itches. Why are you so upset? Is everything okay?"

Yoru shot Nakamura a venomous look. "It's all good, don't worry," he answered.

"Okay, then. Listen, I got a call from Ken's school. He's usually a well-behaved child, but he's gone and done something to one of the other kids. I can't go, obviously, so would you please go instead? I told them my wife would be coming."

"But how will they know I'm the wife? Don't I need to be on a list of pre-authorized people or something?"

"Yes, but I'm me, and they know that a gorgeous, pink-eyed little snowball is coming."

Yoru instantly turned as pink as his eyes. Nakamura guessed the content of the conversation and fake-gagged while Yoru signed off. "No rest for the weary," the omega remarked. "Nakamura, ask someone to bring the car around. And you - lay one finger on Ito before I give word, and I'll have it chopped off."
*
Kenichi's school campus was small but pretty. Children of varying ages with special needs were out and about with their teachers, painting or gardening or playing. Somewhere inside the building, a class was reciting the days of the week at the top of their lungs.

True to Kei's word, the school immediately recognized Yoru and let him in. Kenichi was seated before the Principal, pouting, with scratch marks on his face and arms. Another boy, who could not be over fourteen, was seated in the other chair, nursing a cut lip and a growing bruise on his cheek. His mother hovered over him in a third chair and glared at Yoru the moment he stepped in.

Yoru felt oddly like he was being tested. He had absolutely no idea what to do: he'd never even held a baby, and here he was, being expected to discipline a teenager who didn't understand what their relationship with each other was. "Um. Good day," he greeted awkwardly. "I'm Kenichi's guardian - well, guardian's spouse, actually, I'm still new and all and I'm not on the list and - uh, good day."

The Principal's eyebrow twitched in surprise, his image of a high-and-mighty diva shattered. "Good day," he answered, noting Yoru's trembling legs. "Please take a seat."

Yoru sat. "Your ward got into a fight with Sasaki-kun here," reported the Principal, getting right to the point. "This is unexpected of Itou-kun. He has never acted out like this before."

"Why?" Yoru blurted before remembering where he was. Clearing his throat, he put on his best stern expression and turned to Kenichi. "Ken, answer me," he said. "Why did you fight with this young man?"

"Does it matter?" snapped Sasaki's mother. "Look what he did to my boy! What do you teach your son?"

"To stay out of a private conversation, for one," Yoru answered calmly. "Now - Ken. Tell me why you fought with this boy, or we're not going home."

"He...he said bad things about oyassan," Ken answered sulkily. "He said oyassan was a bad man. He said oyassan makes people sad, and everyone wants him to go away forever."

"You know that's not true, right?"

"What's wrong in what he said?" interrupted the woman rebelliously. "I'm not at all surprised about Itou-kun's behavior. What more can you expect from a yaku-"

Yoru, who hadn't been in the best of moods to begin with and had been growing angrier with each word Ken said, finally snapped. "Keep your mouth shut!" he ordered, covering Ken's ears so he wouldn't hear his foul language. "You aren't the disabled one, so use some common sense of God gave you any!"

"How dare -"

"I will deal with my child's actions," Yoru told her. "You better teach yours to control his tongue." With that, he turned back to Kenichi. "It doesn't matter what that boy said," he scolded. "You do not hit people! Hasn't oyassan told you not to use violence?"

"But I was angry. He said oyassan should go away forever! Ken doesn't want to be alone again!"

"Oyassan isn't going away, Kenichi! You know it! You see him everyday! No matter how you feel, you do not hurt other people because of it! Do you understand me?" Yoru grabbed Ken's shoulders and gave him a little shake. "Do you understand me or not!"

"Yes," Kenichi answered timidly.

"Now apologize to this boy this instant!"

"But-"

"But nothing! How would you feel if you got hurt like this boy did?"

"...I'm sorry," Kenichi said to Sasaki, grudgingly.

"Say it properly!" Yoru snapped. "Bow!"

Kenichi's lower lip trembled, but he obeyed. "I'm sorry for hitting you, Sasaki-kun," he said. "I won't do it again."

"Good," Yoru said, still very stern. "Sensei, may the children be excused now?"

Principal Hayashi, who had been busy marveling at Yoru's impressive temper, snapped out of his reverie. "Wha- huh - of course," he said. "Itou-kun, Sasaki-kun, please wait outside. And behave yourselves."

"Look, Mr. Tsunoda, I understand that Itou-kun has special circumstances," he said once the door had shut behind the boys. "But this cannot happen again. Other parents are already on edge owing to Itou-kun's family background."

Yoru bowed his head in apology too. "I understand," said he. "We will discipline him properly at home."

"Thank you."

"Is that all?" Mrs. Sasaki demanded shrilly. "What sort of establishment is this? I demand immediate expulsion! A mafia family's child is going around bullying other children! The Chairman will hear of this. Just because he is a yakuza's child, he gets off easy, is that -"

"You really run your mouth way too much," Yoru retorted. "I'm sure the vitriol your son spouted wasn't his own creation. We might be yakuza, but even we don't badmouth other people in front of Kenichi. And how could you, a mother, wish for another child's parent to die?!"

Mrs. Sasaki glared, but didn't answer.

"In what capacity are you here?" Yoru asked, getting louder with every syllable. "What happened to that runaway tongue now, huh? Answer me! In what capacity are you here?"

"As the mother of a bullied child," Mrs. Sasaki answered with all the dignity she could muster.

"Your child is not bullied," Hayashi-sensei interrupted. "Please remember that Sasaki-kun is a repeat offender too, and Itou-kun is not the first person to have retaliated against him."

"You are here as his mother, nothing more, nothing less," Yoru continued. "I am here as nothing but Itou-kun's guardian, so why are you bringing my family's profession into this? Just because we're yakuza, our children deserve to be orphaned? You act all self-righteous because Kenichi lives in a yakuza household, but don't think that you civilians are any better! I lived as one for twenty-four years, you think I don't know anything? The true scourge of humanity are people like you, wishing death upon the father of an innocent child who's already lost his family once!"

Overcome by a dizzy spell, Yoru collapsed into his chair (he couldn't remember when he had stood up in the first place). "Excuse me," he panted, accepting the glass of water that Hayashi offered him. "I don't mean to excuse Kenichi's actions. He was wrong to lash out, and I sincerely apologize on his behalf."

"But why did he do it?" Hayashi asked. "From what his teacher tells me, he's been subject to comments related to Mr. Tsunoda's...job...before. He's never reacted to them before."

"My husband was seriously injured last week," Yoru explained. "Kenichi was abandoned as a child, and he's scared of being abandoned again if my husband dies. I've tried to explain to him that nothing of the sort will happen, but I'm afraid he doesn't trust me enough to believe me. I'm a new addition to the family, you see."

"I see. I'll ask Itou-kun's teacher to have a talk with him about his anxiety. In the mean time, please try to teach Itou-kun to not react upon being provoked. Despite being slower on the uptake than other students, he is, after all, a teenage boy. He has the size, strength and temperament of a sixteen-year-old, and if his violence becomes an established behaviour, it will become much more difficult for him to interact normally with society than it already is."

"I will keep that in mind."

Hayashi, a psychiatrist by profession, easily noticed the haunted look Yoru was trying to hide. This omega had issues too, and today's events had reminded him of a similar experience from his own past.

Indeed, Yoru's eyes were rather wet, and his voice shook despite his best efforts. He understood all too well what Kenichi was going through. That awareness of being defective, the constant ridicule and prejudice, that frustrating feeling of having no voice - he'd felt it too. He knew what it was like to keep silent in the face of abuse because fighting back would only backfire. He knew what it was like to be blamed when he was the victim, just because his mind didn't function normally. He knew that immense rage at the injustice of it all.

And he knew how it felt to have that anger overwhelm his fear of consequences.

"Please don't hesitate to ask me for help," Hayashi offered, but Yoru was too disturbed to give any response other than a parting nod.

The ride home was silent. Kenichi, who had never seen his anesan that angry, sat as far away from Yoru as he could. Once they reached home, however, Yoru immediately grabbed Ken and took him to his and Kei's room. "Kenichi, listen to me carefully," he said, sitting the boy down and taking his hands in his own. "Many people don't like oyassan's job. That's why they say mean things about him."

"But oyassan is nice," Ken argued.

"As long as you know that, it's enough," Yoru responded. "That's all that matters. Let others say whatever they want - it's wrong anyway, so getting angry about it is useless."

"I keep saying oyassan is really nice. Why won't anyone believe me?"

"Let them not. You love your oyassan and you think he's nice, so he's happy. He doesn't need Sasaki to think he's nice. All he needs is for you to know it."

"Really?"

"Really. And if you feel angry or sad or bad henceforth, or if someone says or does something to you, don't fight. Come straight to oyassan and anesan, okay? Tell us everything and we will deal with it."

"Yes, anesan."

"Has Sasaki said such things to you before? Is someone else from your class troubling you? It's okay to tell me even if they asked you not to. I won't let anything happen to you."

Unable to decide what to do with his emotions, Kenichi began to cry. "Yes!" he sobbed, curling up into Yoru's lap. "Sasaki-kun and his friends won't play with me. When I ask others to play, Sasaki-kun comes and pulls them away. And they tell sensei lies about me, and sensei punishes me. But I didn't do anything!"

Kenichi was much too large to fit into Yoru's lap and his weight hurt, but Yoru didn't move. He held Kenichi as the boy vented, patting his head comfortingly.

"And...and Minami-kun said my parents won't come back because I'm stupid," Ken said. "He said I'm like him. Then Sasaki-kun said that bad guys always die on TV, so oyassan will die too."

"There, there. Come here, let anesan give you a big hug." Kenichi complied, and Yoru cooed happily as Ken clung to him for comfort. "Don't believe a single word they say," he said. "You are a very good boy. You aren't stupid, you hear me? You're just different, and oyassan loves you just the way you are."

"Will he die, anesan?"

God forbid. "No, he will not," Yoru assured him, brushing away his tears. "He's coming home soon, you know."

"He is?" A small light appeared in Ken's eyes. "When is he coming?"

"In another two or three days. Now, you have to tell oyassan everything you told me, okay? We both will help you."

"Okay." Kenichi sniffled and pushed his face deeper into Yoru's shoulder, enjoying Yoru's head-patting. "Anesan, you're nice too."

"Is that so?" Yoru chuckled.

Kenichi nodded. "Mom doesn't hug me."

"Then from now on, I'll hug you lots." Yoru tightened his hug, and as an added bonus, affectionately pecked the top of Kenichi's head, eliciting a happy giggle. "Here, let's sleep a little. It's been a long day."

"I'm not tired!"

"Sure you aren't," Yoru said, noting Kenichi's drooping eyelids and heavy voice. "But I am. You're a brave boy, aren't you? Will you stay with anesan and protect him while he sleeps?"

Kenichi nodded, very proud indeed at being assigned such an important mission.

"Good." Yoru stretched out on the bed, pulling Kenichi against him. "There, I feel better already. Ken's cuddles make me feel the safest."

"Mmmm," Ken responded, as drowsy as he was happy.

"And when you wake up, you're grounded for two weeks."