The Children of the Nest

As more and more children gathered around him, Shu felt his smile falter. Don't any of you kids have a sense of personal space?

He looked pleadingly at Bronya, who was chatting animatedly with Sora.

Shu: Requesting backup!

Bronya: Negative. Your mission is to befriend Sora and have her influence Natasha, not entertain the children.

Shu: "..." Fine. Follow orders, then.

"Big brother, are you from outside the Nest?" another child asked, raising their hand.

"Yes…" Shu sighed, forcing a smile. He didn't dislike children. On the contrary, he felt an inexplicable fondness for them, which was why he hadn't reacted sooner to their growing numbers.

These children were so innocent, their emotions pure and untainted. He didn't even sense a hint of mischief from them. And he knew mischief when he saw it.

A little girl raised her hand insistently. Shu nodded, and she spoke. "Big brother! Did Teacher pick you up too?"

"We're here to pick up you and your teacher," Shu replied, chuckling.

"Wow~!" The children gasped, and one of them, a future math prodigy, began a strange calculation.

"Teacher is strong because she picked us up. Big brother can pick up Teacher and us, so big brother is stronger than Teacher!"

The other children gasped, then erupted into a lively debate.

"How strong is stronger than Teacher?"

"Strong enough to do things Teacher can't!"

"But Teacher can do anything!"

"No, Teacher can't do everything!"

"Like what? Teacher can do anything!"

"Teacher can't eat poop!"

"…Oh, yeah…"

Shu: "..." Neither can I! He stared at the child who had uttered that statement, speechless. I asked for your upper limits, not your lower ones!

"Pfft…" A familiar giggle came from nearby. Shu glanced over to see Bronya quickly suppressing a smile.

"Sora, Siberia actually has a local delicacy…" Bronya continued, ignoring Shu's increasingly exasperated look, focused on her mission.

"Bwahahahaha…!" A boisterous laugh erupted from the corner. Shu didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Kiana, tonight you'll learn that I can eat two dinners' worth of food! he thought vengefully. Payback for stealing my meat in Nagazora!

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, another person's face darkened.

Mei stifled a laugh, glancing at Natasha, whose chopping had become noticeably more aggressive, then quickly schooled her expression, resuming her task.

Outside, seeing the children's discussion veering towards even more inappropriate territory, Shu quickly intervened, pointing to another child who had raised their hand.

The child, startled, cleared their throat importantly, mimicking adult behavior. Shu was amused by the display, but at least it had brought the conversation to a halt.

"Big brother, where are you from? Is it a bigger Nest?" the little girl asked.

Is Fire Moth a bigger Nest? Shu wondered. In a way, it was. A place for lost birds to return to.

"Yes," he replied, smiling.

"Wow~!" Another chorus of amazement, followed by a fresh round of questions.

"Do you have more colorful crayons?"

In the kitchen, Natasha paused.

"Can we watch TV and play on computers again?"

"And will there be new plushies?"

"Lots and lots of Homu!"

"Maybe… Mommy is there too?"

One child's quiet question brought the chatter to an abrupt halt. The children looked at each other, frozen.

In the sudden silence, Shu felt a lump form in his throat, a wave of longing and fear washing over him.

He clutched his chest, his expression pained.

"If you cry, Teacher Natasha will tell Mommy and Daddy!" Sora's matter-of-fact voice broke the spell. She pointed at one of the children. "Adam! You're too old to cry! Shame on you!"

Adam, the boy in question, sniffled, then retorted loudly, "I'm not crying! I just have a cold!"

Shu stared, dumbfounded. This is an act, right? It has to be!

But the overwhelming sadness in his heart had receded, and he took a deep, steadying breath. Li Sushang's grief had nearly broken him. If these children were to experience the same realization… he wouldn't be able to handle it. He would probably crumble right there, weeping and questioning everything. He would never forget the feeling of overwhelming despair that had caused him to collapse when he first discovered his powers.

In the kitchen, Natasha chopped vegetables with renewed vigor.

As Shu recovered, he saw Adam, Sora's accomplice, raise his hand. Hesitantly, he gestured for the boy to speak. He was afraid of another wave of grief.

If Adam was working with Sora, he shouldn't ask anything too outrageous… right?

Shu looked at Adam nervously, and the boy spoke.

"Big brother, how strong are you?"

Oh! Show and tell! I can do that! Shu relaxed, looking around, then pulled up a stool.

"Alright, since you want to see, I'll show you some… magic!"

"Isn't it magic?" someone asked.

"No." Shu shook his head and said firmly, "It's magic!"