"Do you want to hear a story...?" I asked, my words coming out somewhat hoarse.
"Sure." Rimuru, who was sitting next to me, nodded, placing his hand on my shoulder.
(Here we go, I guess.) was the thought that passed through my head as I opened my mouth to start.
"It's about a girl... one who was born, who was brought into the world and was met with nothing but hate and resentment before she could even understand what those things were."
"She should have been welcomed into the world by the open arms of her mother, her father, and her older sister… but one of those was missing." I sighed openly as I continued, a slight tremor in my voice. "Her mother had died in childbirth; there had been complications and things had not gone well."
I took a second to let that information just hang in the air before continuing. "Her father was the one who took it the hardest… it broke something inside of him. Grief became rage, rage became hate, and unfortunately there was only one place that hate could be targeted, or at least it was the only thing at the time that he could anchor it upon."
"So in the end, what should have been a loving family had been broken, shattered, left to slowly rot without its heart."
As I continued to talk, Rimuru didn't interrupt, a fact I was honestly glad for. I knew that if I were to stop talking, if he interrupted me or just asked a simple question, I probably wouldn't be able to keep going. The fact that the memories were already flooding back to the forefront of my mind only made speaking about it that much harder. Either way, though, I kept going, kept talking.
"And as the girl grew she felt many things: guilt that she had caused all of this, fear that she would never be free, acceptance that this was her punishment, and so on. And yet, no matter what she felt, it all slowly just became numb. She became numb and hollow, a doll that moved without having a reason as to why it kept existing."
"Eventually, the only single thing left that she could feel was... was pain..." As I continued to speak I could almost feel that sensation of emptiness seeping back in. "And even that ended up becoming nothing but background noise after a while."
"The girl did try to escape it all a few times; she even tried to beg for help from others. Nobody cared, though." Honestly, that was the part of the story that I hated the most, why didn't anyone ever help? "She would always end up back where she started, back in that cold and hollow house, her own personal hell."
I breathed out for a moment, digging my fingers into my clothes as I tried to stop myself from shaking, something I failed at. "The only light she had was her sister, the person who taught her everything she knew and was the one person who bothered to treat her with anything close to kindness."
"Unfortunately however, when she turned ten her sister left. The girl didn't know the specifics, but eventually her sister just packed up her things and vanished without a word."
(Even now, I can't help but wonder why she left… did she finally get fed up with me? I just don't know.) I thought, shaking my head slightly as I continued.
"The abuse didn't end after that, though. No, it all got worse."
"And let me tell you, the father was very creative with how he took out his anger. The fact that the girl grew to look more and more like her mother was probably the only reason he couldn't bring himself to kill her personally, though it also probably only fueled his resentment further as well."
"And then something changed, around the time the girl turned fifteen… or maybe it was sixteen, it's hard to remember when you've never had a birthday…" I muttered, but quickly realised I was getting a bit off track.
"Anyway, the thing that changed was… well, she remembered what caused it exactly, but the girl's father, he…" I stopped myself before I could finish that sentence, the memories so vivid and clear now.
I don't know for how long I sat there in silence, but eventually the words just slipped out. "He hung himself."
"His... his last words to the girl were... were that she was a m-monster..."
"The girl... she, erm... she died not long after." I mused, remembering with agonising clarity how painful it had been. "Her body wasn't strong enough... she had already been starved to near the very brink of death, so she could barely even move anymore..."
"It's a pretty depressing story... huh...?" I asked, not even bothering to glance up. I was afraid to meet those amber eyes of his.
If you told me a few weeks ago that I'd be sitting down with the person who took me in and showed me kindness… well, I'd probably have a panic attack. Even now, in fact, I felt that little voice in the back of my head whispering that I should just shut up, that Rimuru had far better things to do than listen to my sod story. A part of me wished I was back outside, struggling to turn back into my human form, that would have been far less depressing.
Still, just as I felt my eyes growing damper and damper, as the memories got louder in my skull, it all suddenly went silent. I was confused until I realised I had been pulled into an embrace, the feeling so foreign I barely even registered it at first.
"W-what are you... what are you doing?" I asked, startled by the sudden contact.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that," he said, causing me to stutter.
"B-but I…"
"You didn't do anything wrong." Those words were enough to cause me to start hyperventilating slightly.
"I... I lost control… I became.. became exactly what he sai-" I tried to argue, but he cut me off.
"No," he said simply, pulling back slightly to look me dead in the eyes. "I refuse to let my daughter degrade herself because of the words of some scumbag who didn't even deserve the right to be called a father."
"Suu, listen. No one can choose how they're born, or what kind of outcome that can lead to."
I wanted to say something, but whatever those words may have been never reached my lips as he continued. "You're not a monster. You are not responsible for your mother's death. You're a kid, one who should have been showered with love, not treated like trash and blamed for something completely out of their control."
"You're an amazing person, kind, considerate, driven, and way more intelligent than I was at your age." He chuckled at that last bit before sighing.
"Look, I know that talking about all this probably hurts, that you would rather just forget everything and move on, but talking can help." I nodded slowly at that, still shaking, tears still gathering at the corners of my eyes. "I'm not exactly a licensed therapist, but it is my job to look out for you."
"So cry and get it all out if you want to, because I'll be right here for as long as you need me." That was the final straw as everything I had been holding back came flooding to the surface.
"I… o-okay..."
_ _ _ _Rimuru's POV_ _ _ _
I had experienced a lot of things since coming into this world, but nothing had made me angrier than hearing about Suu's past. She had been a little vague as she spoke about some of the things she went through, the physical and psychological abuse, but it was enough for me to get a clear picture, so to speak. And boy, I did not like the mental images of events that were forming in my head.
I hadn't been a parent in my past life, but I know I would have been furious to hear about someone going through all of this. So hearing her talk about this made me swear something to myself: if I ever met that asshole I'd tear him a fucking new one. And if anyone actually had the balls to try to hurt her like that again… well, there was already blood on my hands at this point, so what's a little more.
"So, are you feeling better?" I asked once she had finally calmed down.
Hearing my words, she just nodded, speaking in a quiet, fragile voice. "A little..."
"That's good. I'm glad."
"Are you okay? I know listening to all of that probably wasn't what most would consider a good time," she mused half-jokingly.
(Oh, I'm pissed, beyond pissed in fact.) I thought inwardly, not saying it out loud.
"I'm fine." I smiled, reaching out to pat her head before noticing how damp my clothes were. "A little wet though."
"S-sorry about that." She blushed, causing me to laugh softly.
"It's fine. If the cost of helping take a weight off your shoulders is only a little dampness, then I'd happily pay that price as many times as you need," was my response, a response that caused her to lean over and rest the side of her head on my shoulder.
For a moment afterwards we just sat in silence for a little while, at least until she shifted nervously. "C-can I... erm…"
"What is it?" I hummed curiously.
"Can I call… call you dad?" Now, I know that the conversation up until this point had been rather depressing, but those words were enough to make my whole day.
In fact my answer came alongside a barely contained smile. "I'd prefer papa, but dad works."
"S-shut up." She huffed, causing me to grin.
(So this is how it feels to have an adorable daughter.) Was the proud thought that echoed in my head.
"And since when did my little raven become so shy?" I asked, earning myself a glare.
"Little raven?"
I shrugged, feeling somewhat smug for coming up with such a cute nickname. "What? Don't like it?"
"I never said that..." she said, puffing out her cheeks and once again causing me to chuckle.
(Yep, she's definitely adorable.)
(((A/N. Just wanted to give you all a heads up, there will be no chapter next week. Why? Well, I think we all know why, after all, I'll be busy playing a certain game during that period of time. Anyway, thanks for reading, I appreciate it.)))