Phantom of the Past

This was not going to be a good week for Kaguya Momoko.

It all started with Luphinus calling her to let her know he would be gone for a while. Apparently, there was something that had 'demanded her attention' in China, and he would be out of the country and in silence for a few weeks.

"I wanted you to know, just in case something happens and-"

"—And I wanted to know where you were, I understand. You know, I deal with these things too when you're not around, big boy. Like, big things, organized crime, murder investigations, etc. etc."

"I know, I know. You are Blood Valkyrie, the Terror of Hamura, the vigilante who is alone cleaning an entire neighborhood. That doesn't mean that I don't care about you, sometimes."

"The powerful and peerless Luphinus worrying about that little old watchman? Don't make me fall in love with you." Valkyrie joked, although there was indeed a slight flush forming on her cheeks. The watchman sat on the edge of a roof, his legs dangling in the open. "But seriously, I've been taking care of myself for a long time before I met him, I can more than handle Hamura alone for a few weeks."

Of course, that was not the complete truth. In the past year and a half, she has noticed an increase in the presence of the police and in the pro-hero presence and effectiveness in the community. It seems that she was finally forcing those reforms that Vetochkina had talked about.

"Okay, okay. But it's going to be total radio silence. I'm looking forward to seeing you when I get back." She could practically hear the smile in her voice.

"I look forward to seeing you too."

So yes, she wouldn't be seeing him for a while, but that alone wasn't a big problem.

What was terrible was that, with the end of Luphinus, a villain used his absence to start a wave of peculiar constructions, centered on Hamura. The shapes were made of twisted metal and could be as innocuous as a dog or formidable as a T-Rex. Valkyrie scanned the hot zones to find the one responsible, then teased the villain to get his attention, I found out that his Mutation was good for long-distance slaps. With your attention on wanting to get rid of it specifically, then buildings would be kept away from hurting other people. Valkyrie created a choke point on the highway bridge that leaves the city. There, she was forced to deal with the creations and unwanted attention of the other heroes. She had to deal with big, stupid Lulabi.

An arrogant, self-centered and narcissistic idiot, with short dark brown hair, sharp red eyes, about 1.55 meters tall, with a thin but muscular body, wearing a red uniform with gold stripes, practically glued to the body, boots and yellow gloves and a ridiculous blue cape that reached up to his shins.

"Listen, you exhibitionist brat, I'm not a soft-hearted idiot like Luphinus, so you better listen to me when I say-" Lulabi didn't have time to speak, because one of the constituents knocked him off the bridge.

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow when she saw the Narcissistic Hero land in the river below them. "I can't hear you… ETERNAL NUMBER TWO !!" Momoko shouted loudly for everyone to hear, although she was the only one there who could appreciate her brilliant intelligence.

At the end of the fight, with the villain unconscious and in custody, Valkyrie managed to escape without being seen. Street heroes were good in combat, but most of them were crap in stealth.

Then, Yuuko caught a bad cold that forced her to miss school. The nine-year-old tried to insist that she was fine and move on, but a look at her glassy eyes and a runny nose caused her mother to send her back to bed. The child's healing ability was great, but not perfect and would improve over time. This again was a little worrying, but not a big deal. The children got sick, it was perfectly normal. But the icing on the cake was that Momoko couldn't be there to take care of Yuuko alone. No, not because of Bloody Valkyrie, but because of their own confused family businesses.

Kaguya Momoko was fine with being out of the spotlight, she actually preferred it that way. But her adopted daughter being kidnapped by a large government research institution like MICAH and later rescued by Luphinus himself tended to get people's attention. The heroes tried to keep Yuuko out of the media's attention. "The poor girl has been through enough." Reykjavik said, but then an orderly tweeted a photo of Luphinus carrying Yuuko to the hospital after rescuing her and everything had gone to shit. Paparazzi started popping up everywhere, filling the girl with questions and generally making the life of the Kaguya family an annoying game of hide and seek. Vetochkina and Momoko tried to keep Yuuko out of this, taking her out of school for a week after a reporter managed to track where she was studying, but they couldn't.

Fortunately, Luphinus had an incredible legal team, contacting all major news outlets on Kaguya's behalf with a very strong "stop and give up" letter, asking them to leave the traumatized child alone or face severe repercussions.

It seemed to work, and the family was in relative peace until a few months later, when the case went to trial. Yuuko and Vetochkina were called as witnesses, along with Reykjavik and Luphinus. The heroes again tried to have a closed court for the girl, but MICAH and Orochi's lawyers created enough confusion for the judge to reject the idea. Then the little girl climbed up on the witness stand, explaining what had happened to her, and making her mother wish she could break the scientist's spine into a billion fragments of dust. Even the astute defense attorney, who was probably a legal person just trying to do his job, was unable to get Yuuko to say or indicate anything that might create reasonable doubts for the defense. Upon being released, Yuuko got out of her chair and Momoko gave her a big comforting hug, telling her daughter that she 'had done very well'. She could hear the click of the camera shutters and was not surprised to see her name and face emblazoned on the first page afterwards.

A few days after the trial was concluded, guilty of all charges and the institution dissolved, Momoko received a call from her lawyer, although she hated to admit it, from her parents. He said there were still issues with their property that needed to be resolved, including her inheritance. And if she wanted them to be resolved, she would have to travel back to her old hometown to have the meeting in person.

Momoko had to contain the desire to tell the man to fuck himself in the depths of hell and leave her alone. She found that she had to suppress many feelings, whenever thoughts about her blood family arose. Her parents died seven years ago and she was fine without their money, except that it wasn't entirely true. She knew the state of her finances and the tribute that Yuuko's adoption had taken from them. Don't misunderstand her, she would never, not in a million billion years, regret having opened her heart to the young woman, but her wallet probably would. In order to take better care of her daughter, yes, she is her daughter, Momoko would swallow her pride and face her fears.

So Vetochkina was back home, keeping an eye on her daughter as Momoko forced herself to go back to the one place she swore she would never come back to, Kuzuyama. It was a small town on the northern tip of Japan.

Momoko had purposely decided to flee to Tokyo, giving herself some distance, both mental and physical, between her and her past. This time, the long train ride was not helping at all, as unpleasant memories of locked doors and frequent hunger were reemerging. Momoko knew that she had problems, years of physical and emotional neglect didn't exactly make you happy or well adjusted, and she had been trying to solve them. But between being the Bloody Valkyrie and Yuuko's mother, and the price of good mental health counseling being what it was, she had to do it basically on her own, and that was not ideal.

But Momoko comforted herself with the idea that, hey, she could be away from home, in a place that caused her a litany of childhood trauma, with no way to relieve stress through vigilantism, but hey! It could always be worse. People may be shooting at her! In fact, delete it, she would prefer people to shoot her!

~ XxX ~

The lawyer, Funara Kai was an older man in his early fifties. His gray hair and dark face matched Momoko's mood perfectly.

After a polite conversation, they sat at his table and Momoko decided to get straight to the point. "So, what was so important that you waited seven years to contact me?"

He raised an eyebrow, but on the other hand he did not react to her scathing tone. "To be perfectly honest, Miss Kaguya, I would have contacted you about this after your parents died, but we were not sure how to contact you, or if you were still alive. As unfortunate as it was the kidnapping of your adopted daughter, allow me to confirm that you were alive and ask our investigator to track you down. "

"That was really scary to experience as a father is a little invasive, but whatever." Momoko sighed, running a hand through her hair. "So, uh, I'm not sure how we do this."

Funara pulled out a thick folder. "Well, the basic idea is that we analyze your parents' physical and financial assets, together with their wishes in their last will."

Momoko nodded, starting to swing her leg a little. "So, have things been stalled for the past seven years?" Okay, calm down, think about the possible interest rates and do this only for Yuuko.

"Not exactly. Funeral expenses and things like that were done by some of her cousins." Oh yes, Momoko kind of forgot about them. All of them to speak the truth. When Funara started to speak, Momoko allowed herself to lose focus and hear what he was saying in half. With the exception of his grandfather, Momoko was never close to anyone in his family. When she was beginning to discover that what her parents were doing to her was wrong, that being regularly locked in lockers and left alone for days or even weeks without supervision was not normal, the girl couldn't help being angry with her entire family. . The way her younger self had seen it, they were either stupid or willingly turning a blind eye to what was going on, not loving her enough to care what happened to her. Momoko now knew that neglect was much more difficult to recognize than abuse, whether physical or mental.

She followed this line of thought until it seemed that Funara had reached an important part and forced herself to pay full attention. "—So, a simplified explanation is that your parents left you your assets in a fund that you cannot use until you are married."

'Great, even beyond the grave they can't stop screwing with my life?' Momoko thought before calming her breathing. "So, I took a four-hour drive from Tokyo to here just to know that I still can't inherit anything?" The 25-year-old responded impassively, resisting the urge to place her palm on her face.

"Well, not at all. There's also the issue of the house and liquid assets. It's been empty since your parents passed away, and there are a lot of interested buyers. Unless you want to ..."

"The house will be sold."

"I haven't even finished talking."

"You were going to ask if I would be interested in staying at my childhood home. The answer is no." Momoko dug her nails into the back of her hand. Why would she want to go back to that place? With empty rooms, a gloomy atmosphere, and lockers that only lock from the outside? No, fuck, don't fuck, thanks.

"Okay, then, I'm going to refer you to the house's realtor, I'm sure they'll be happy to finally take the property off the market." He said, rummaging through a file and passing out a business card.

Funara-san looked at her over her glasses. "No, it barely scratches the surface, Kaguya-san. But I am confident that if we continue with the task, we will be able to get through most of it today."

Momoko sighed deeply and really wished that she could beat up some criminals or drunken idiots.

~ XxX ~

After six full hours of tiring discussions and mountains of paperwork, Momoko was feeling emotionally drained and tense. Momoko dragged her suitcase after her as she walked through the city center. Despite all her anxiety about this meeting, she had forgotten to actually book a hotel room for the night. Therefore, she herself had to go on foot, because the meeting was only over after the buses stopped running. Damn curfew.

As she walked through the city center, purposely ignoring the names of the stores so as not to bring back memories, she heard the telltale sounds of a nearby struggle and looked down an alley. A big, rough man was rising over someone else and pressing his arm menacingly against her throat.

"Oh, do you think you're such a tough guy then? Huh?" The bully jumped, moving closer. She knew it was not appropriate, but Momoko couldn't help it, but a feeling of dizziness and joy invaded her chest. Finally! A chance to do something. A chance to beat someone up!

"Hey!" Momoko called, drawing the brute's attention. When the two pairs of eyes turned to look at her, Momoko ran and kicked the attacker in the ribs. Without wasting a moment, she grabbed him and put the bully on an arm bar, now pressing his face against the wall. "You know, it's not a good thing to strangle people." Momoko joked. "Not consensually, at least."

Confident that the guy was contained, she turned her attention to the other man. He was winking at her like an owl and rubbing his throat, but he looked fine. She examined him just to be sure, feeling something like recognition when she saw his freckles and light curls, but she was unable to identify him.

"Kaguya ... Momoko?" He asked curiously.

Momoko inclined her head. Then understanding and recognition suddenly clicked together like cogs in your mind. "Wendell Stavanger?"

Wendell Stavanger was an old school acquaintance. They ran in similar circles, but quickly lost contact after classes ended. In fact, Takano Kirihara was really the only person she really kept in touch with, let alone Momoko really thought about it.

"So ... uh ... hello?" Wendell spoke first, after an awkward silence after a few seconds.

"It's good to see you, do you want me to call the police?" Momoko asked, gesturing to the man she had currently pinned to an arm bar. He tried to fight, so she hit the criminal's head against the wall again for good measure. Momoko may have let her frustration seep out when she hit harder than she intended, and the man fell to the floor, no longer conscious.

Wendell kept looking. "He, uh ... well, he was trying to get this girl's number and being all aggressive and macho, so when I, uh, intervened he didn't take it very well ..." Wendell then laughed awkwardly. "Better to be me than she is, I think?"

Momoko blinked and smiled. "Well, that was nice of you, but seriously, cops?"

"Well, yes, I think, although zipping it up is really necessary?" Momoko looked at the completed restrictions. She was not wearing one of her protective Valkyrie jackets, but one of normal leather. Still, she always carried simple equipment in her pockets, because she was prepared. She honestly contained the attacker on autopilot.

"Well, we don't want him to run away and bother someone else, right?" Momoko offered. Wendell nodded, still looking very nervous. After more than a few moments of silence, she calmly and carefully got up and walked over to him, placing her hand on her arm.

"Um, me, well ..."

"Do you have a safe place to go? I can take you there if you want."

Wendell nodded, flushed and embarrassed.

Momoko accompanied him to her home. They talked the whole time, Momoko trying to calm him down and take his mind off what just happened. He was in his final year of university, earning his degree in International Business, and was doing a summer job in Kuzuyama, at a specialized Greek food store. He talked about school, how excited he was to spend a semester abroad, in America, and even timidly admitted his lifelong dream of drinking coffee atop the Space Obelisk. Momoko thought he was absolutely adorable and extremely cute.

Coming to his door, she honestly hoped for a quick thanks, so they could move on with their lives. They would track each other on social media, maybe chat once in a while, but that was it. But Wendell surprised her.

He offered her a drink, and her shy smile told her that he wouldn't be offended if she refused. Momoko managed to think of some reasons for not. She gave him her number, so the police could get her testimony later. The little release she had to save him was bleeding while in Kuzuyama continued to press on her mind. She should probably go back to the hotel in order to have a place to sleep at night.

She agreed anyway.

Going up to his apartment, she left her suitcase by the door, hoping to get out after they called the police and explained the situation. She opened the stocked liquor cabinet and helped herself to half a glass while Wendell called the police. He gave his statement, explaining what had happened and where his attacker was still tied up, and promising to come tomorrow morning. Momoko also gave a statement, but explained that she had an urgent appointment in the morning, so now she could only do that over the phone.

Momoko rolled her eyes at the incessant questions, but answered each one in the most polite and professional way she could. From time to time, she could see Wendell looking at her watch and her bag.

"And yes, Kaguya Momoko, that is my complete statement, good night." In the final guarantee of the officer on duty, she hung up the phone and sighed heavily.

Momoko looked back at Wendell Stavanger. "Are you okay?" He asked, looking concerned for her.

She waved her hand dismissively. "I'm tired and a little exhausted, and I'm not looking forward to walking the rest of the way to the hotel."

"I, uh, didn't want to say anything, but I don't think they check in so late at night." Wendell said in a soft voice.

Momoko rubbed his eyes and blurted out a few words that made his host start to be shocked. "Sorry, it's just ... I had a really stressful week."

"Really? I never would have guessed." Wendell tried to joke, and Momoko managed to chuckle. "You know, I feel really bad that you don't have a place to sleep tonight because of me. So ... if you're okay with a futon and the neighbors are starting to exercise at four forty-four in the morning, I'm totally fine with you sleeping here. "

"Seriously?"

"You kind of just saved me from getting kicked in the ass. It's the least I could do." Normally Momoko would reject him, hating the idea of ​​being an annoyance to someone who was not a criminal. But, as stated earlier, she was tired and stressed and, in fact, totally grateful.

Even so, even as she put on her pajamas and started to settle on a futon, that feeling of nervousness did not leave her. Momoko would like to have a way to get rid of all that excess stress. It was then that she had a certain idea. A really bad idea, that she could name a dozen reasons not to do it right away.

They ended up having sex anyway.

Momoko wishes there was a more polite way of putting things, but it was the simple fact of what happened. They were not 'making love' or any other kind of poetic euphemism that would make things more than they really were. Two consenting adults, with a healthy mind and a capable body, rolled on the proverbial hay in a literal futon.

Momoko would like to be able to say that she didn't know why she did this. She would like to be able to say that she was drunk and horny and that it was just a stupid mistake. But it was not. She was tired and stressed, Kuzuyama put her on the edge from the moment she got off the train. But she wanted to forget that she was back in the place where no one had noticed her parents neglecting her for fourteen years. She wanted to forget that her parents had been screwing her since beyond the grave. She wanted to forget that she was in love with Luphinus and knew that it would never work.

Oh yes, she was in love with Luphinus.

She had known this for a while, at that point. She had started out small, a flutter in her chest. Kakinomoto Yoshio was an admirable person with whom she had formed a strange friendship. But then he always kept an eye on Hamura when she was away, always asking for her after an injury, hell, even the way he would make a fool of himself just to try to make her feel better. It had been a long time since Momoko had felt so ... appreciated. Momoko was unable to name a specific moment when her feelings began to transform. She was in the middle before she even knew it had started. But then she remembered who they were, the almighty Luphinus and a disconnected vigilante from Hamura. The symbols did not settle, let alone settle with emotionally fucked up bartenders who were also technically illegal watchmen.

More than anything, she was angry with herself for always wishing that someone as kind, friendly and genuine as Kakinomoto Yoshio could love someone like her. On some level, she hoped that sex would dislodge all the strange and confused feelings within her.

Spoiler alert: it didn't work.

Like, being licked and plowed by someone who knew what they were doing was great, but it didn't work miracles.

~ XxX ~

Kaguya Momoko woke up the next morning and felt a moment of confusion when she saw Wendell's curls spread on the pillow next to her. So she felt disappointed that it was not more familiar.

Oh, oh no.

Using all of his vigilante training, Momoko stealthily dressed in a different set of clothes, left a note with her phone number on it and locked the door behind her. All while Wendell was dozing in dreamland.

~ XxX ~

After another four hours of meetings with the lawyer, Momoko was on a train heading back to Hamura and vaguely wondered when the hell her life had become so complicated.

You hate me :) ?

-XxX-