章 24: Forgiveness?
Weeks had passed since the incident. The heroes never really saw Maria or heard anything from her aside from posters appearing around town saying Final Concert. Nathan was even shocked at this since he was the only one who could even talk to her without eyes glaring at him for doing so. Ivan did some covert spying for them from time to time, but he always came back with the same thing. "She's not talking to anyone. She looks sick and sleep-deprived. This is getting to her…"
No one would say anything until one day they heard the words "Kaede is coming today" from Kotetsu's mouth.
He was grinning ear to ear. Of course, he would, she was his daughter. A few hours later a short brunette came running up to her father and hugged him, but also seemed to give him shit for not talking to her that much. This caused the other heroes to laugh at the antics, but they didn't expect the following to come from her mouth "Where's Maria? I thought you said she was a hero like you guys! I wanna meet her, especially since I really admire her singing~"
They all went silent as they looked at her. "Umm, well Kaede," Kotetsu started.
"She's a liar, she betrayed us, and she is no longer part of us. There is no use in trying to talk about her here." Barnaby finished and adjusted his glasses.
Kaede puffed her cheeks and stared at Barnaby. "I used to think you were cool, but you're a total jerk! Have you ever tried talking to her to see why she did what she did?"
Barnaby gave her a blank look and walked off, ignoring the girl. Kaede sighed and looked at Kotetsu. "Did you hear that she's not going to sing anymore?"
The heroes all stopped there and watched the female. "So those Final Concert posters are actually saying it's the last one forever and not just the season?" Ivan spoke up.
Kaede nodded, frowning. She looked down. "I saw on the news that she hasn't been feeling well and now I see why."
Kotetsu sighed, knowing that he was going to have to listen to her. "Come on, tell me what you want," he watched the child.
Kaede smiled. "Simple. You all to talk to her and let her explain herself!"
The heroes looked at each other, knowing the NEXT wouldn't give up until they listened so they all agreed. "Okay, we will. We just need to find her"
"She's at the concert hall, preparing," Nathan spoke up.
"I'll go get her here!" Kaede suddenly yelled out.
They watched as the young Kaburagi ran off in a way similar to her father. She was gone before they could even stop her. Kotetsu had to get up so he could chase after her so she wouldn't get hurt. "Kaede! Get back here!"
He couldn't keep up with his daughter since she was hardheaded like him. He figured she would be safe so he sighed and headed back to the tower. "She's a lot like me"
"You don't say" Barnaby spoke out. "This will only end up hurting Maria more"
Kotetsu watched him, crossing his arms. "Do you really think that, Bun?"
Meanwhile, Kaede had made her way to the concert hall, glowing bright blue. She knew her NEXT abilities would come in handy to escape the others. She stopped when she entered the building, knocking at the door. Maria opened it, shaking and moving very slowly. "K-Kaede?"
She smiled and nodded. "Hi there, Maria! I missed talking to you!" She suddenly hugged the small female, smiling brightly even if she felt horrible for the fact she was horrible compared to the first time they met.
Maria smiled at the small Kaburagi, holding her close. "I am so happy I get to see you. How have you been? Anything new happen?"
Kaede watched the female and smiled. "I'm fine and I have NEXT abilities!" she grinned.
Maria kissed her forehead. "That's wonderful, sweetie"
"Also, I want you to come with me!"
"Wait… what?"
Kaede suddenly tugged at her arm and started to drag her toward the Hero tower. It wasn't long before they made it there, granted she didn't have the abilities of her father. They headed up towards the other heroes who all gasped when they saw how horrible Maria looked. "I brought her here, now talk and listen to each other!"
Maria frowned and looked down. "…I just want forgiveness… what I did was completely uncalled for… and I shouldn't have done such a thing…"
They all watched her, wondering if she had anything else to say. They were all so silent that they felt like they could hear each other's breathing and heartbeats. "…the man was a leader to the goons in the warehouse… which was why I let Lunatic get him…" she was shaking as she spoke. She was clearly too weak to really do anything and Kaede's dragging didn't help much.
They continued to watch her until Barnaby spoke up. "Why should we forgive a liar? You deceived us. You did so many wrongs that outweigh the rights you do."
Maria frowned and looked away, slowly standing up. The other heroes almost seemed to be afraid to say anything since they agreed, but at the same time, they didn't. "I can tell when I'm not welcomed… now if you excuse me…" she looked at Kaede. "Thank you… for trying sweetheart…"
With that, the raven left the tower, ignoring anything being said or thrown at her.
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