Stray Dogs

ex nihilo nihil fit

"Hm?"

They turned back to each other and (M/N) asked, "Did you call me (M/N)?"

Both of their faces turned a bit warm and Nanami cleared his throat. "Yes. You said I could last night, and in turn, I said you could call me by my first name. If you'd rather we do not-"

"No, no, I do!" (M/N) cut him off. "I'd be happy to..?"

"Kento."

"Well then, Kento, I will be seeing you around," (M/N) smiled and waved before turning back around and leaving.

Nanami watched him leave and felt his face grow warm again. 'Why does it sound so different when he says my name? Well.. surely it's nothing.'

~ ♡︎ ~

(M/N) finally made it to the dining hall and found Megumi and Tsumiki finishing up their breakfast with Principal Yaga. "(L/N), you made it just in time," Yaga greeted. "The children were just finishing up their breakfast. You may take Megumi to the field, I'll be taking young Tsumiki here to my office to teach her to knit."

"Sounds great! Thanks, Yaga," (M/N) beamed, looking at the two step-siblings. Tsumiki was rubbing Megumi's back while the boy stared blankly at his empty plate. "Everything okay, you two?"

Tsumiki looked up at (M/N) and beckoned him closer. When he bent to her level, she whispered into his ear, "He doesn't like being alone. Please don't leave him anywhere."

He backed up a bit and smiled. "I would never," he whispered back. She smiled and nodded. (M/N) turned to Megumi and pat his head gently. "You want anything else before we go?"
Megumi nodded and pointed to an piece of bacon left on one of the breakfast platters. (M/N) gestures for him to grab it, and when he did, pulled his seat out for him. "Wonderful. Now, come along, you can eat it while we go to the field to meet Satoru and start your training."

"Does Tsumiki really have to stay with the principal?" Megumi asked, standing and eating his bacon. "And do we really have to train? What about our normal school stuff?"

(M/N) sighed and began to lead the boy out the dining hall. "You guys will continue attending next week, but we have to jumpstart your training today and this weekend," he answered. "That clan we told you about - they're coming to the school soon to discuss taking you away. We need to prepare you to show them that we'll do a much better job of raising you."

Megumi stayed quiet for a moment before muttering, "Okay, but only because they sound sucky. After they figure it out, I wanna go back to school."

(M/N) chuckled and nodded to reassure the boy. They eventually reached the field, where Satoru stood idly holding his phone in one hand and a cage in the other. "Finally, there you two are," he spoke. "Let's hurry this up so Megumi can kick some Zenin butt and we can train him to be the best!"

"Don't put all that pressure on him yet," (M/N) said as the two men looked down at the young boy. "Megumi, is there anything you might know about your power? Something your father might've shown you?"

Megumi shook his head. Satoru held up and waved his phone, then said, "I did some digging in the school archives while you were grabbing the kid. I found every Zenin clan technique, so we should probably try those out first."

(M/N) clicked his tongue. "The kid doesn't even know what cursed energy is yet, Satoru," he said. "Basics first."

"Damnit, you're right," Gojou sighed, backing away from the two. He opened the cage door and out flew a small, green, one-eyed and white-winged curse. "Megumi! Watch this!"