Marriage Counseling

## Untimely Reunion

Excalibur sighed in relief. The Professional Hero had just finished his last mission, the capturing of a highly wanted villain. The capturing of such an individual was key, as it not only earned him the bounty and recognition, Excalibur would be able to donate the money earned to children's charities. He sheathed his katana, waving to the officers as they left the scene. He looked up at they sky; it was already late. He turned around, about to head back to his office to report the capture to his comrades.

"Daddy?" an ominous voice echoed with no origin in sight. The sky was dark and Excalibur's battle with Akatsuki had knocked out the majority of the lights in the area. Could it be the heroes mind was playing trick on him? Maybe it was the late hours and his body's desperate cry for sleep. But then it happened again. "Dad, it's hurts!" the voice once again cried out, but this time with it's point of origin. All that was left was a shadow, fading away into a barely lit alley.

"What the--" he cursed, turning around, looking for the source of the noise. That voice... There was no way it could be who Excalibur thought it was. It just couldn't. He unsheathed his blade, bringing it out swinging. "Who's there?!" he yelled, anger tinging his voice. "Come out where ever you are!" he yelled, practically ordering whomever was there to appear.

"Dad, hurry!" the voice cried out frantically. Whoever was crying obviously needed someone to come to him.

"Fuckin' hell..." Excalibur murmured under his breath, beginning to follow the source of the voice.

The voice grew weaker. "Dad..." it became clear the voice came from a young child, a boy. What he was doing alone and who was his father was still a mystery. But it appeared time was running out. The only light in the alley, suddenly burst, making it pitch black, before the hero could even see the child.

The hero chased after the voice, and stopped when the light burst. He was instantly on guard, searching around. "Who's there?! How do you know about that kid?!" he spat, angry as he'd ever be.

"Dad...did ya forget about me?" the boy's voice echoed, as he suddenly emerged right in front of the hero. But what the smell revealed that darkness hid was the fact, the boy was neither his son nor was he alive. It was simply a dead boy's corpse with a recording on it. At that momment, a high pitched laugh echoed across the alley. "Oh my, would you look at who it is." her voice was a familiar one to the hero.

Excalibur almost lost it until he heard her voice. A voice that had been his favourite sound until that cursed night. He snapped towards the source of the voice and sighed in exasperation. He knew who she was. "What do you want? I need to head back to my office." he said, staring into the speaker's eyes.

"Oh, is that how you treat your lawfully wedded wife?" Minako responded, her acting as the source of light to see one another. She walked closer to her husband. "You didn't like my joke? I thought you'd burst into laughter at the sight." acknowledging that the corpse was her doing. "I mean, you are just doing so well to move on, I thought I'd put it to the test." a huge sinister grin emerged on her face. "I think ya failed." she once again burst into the psychotic laughter.

Instantly the man launched forward, only centimeters away from his wife. "That wasn't a joke, Mina." he said, a disappointed look on his face. "You don't joke about something like that; we both lost something that night." he continued, staring in his wife's eyes. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come with me, we can fix...whatever this is. For our son."

Minako blushed a bit, "So ya still love me?" she questioned. For a moment, it appeared her innocence and old self had returned. But then a malignant look emerged on her face. "Prove it!" Minako went for his belt, beginning to unstrap it. "Fuck me right here!" she yelled, hoping others would hear her. She didn't seem to care that they were in a dark valley, or that the corpse of a boy remained only feet away from her. "Fuck me right here Kurono!" she repeated.

He grabbed her hand as it reached for his belt. He moved it away slowly. "Love isn't always lust, Mina." he stated, putting his free hand on her cheek. "I still love you, you know I do. But...I'm not having sex with you right now. My offer still stands, come with me and we can fix whatever happened to you. Whatever happened to us. Please, Mina." he said, his thumb slowly caressing her cheek.

"You disgust me!" she spoke, smacking his hands away with a single stroke. "Why would I need to be fixed? Do you think I'm crazy?" she once again questioned, spinning one eye in circles while the other eye remained complete still. As she mocked her husband, she could not help but remember what happened days after that fateful event.

"He's dead! He's actually dead!" she laughed hysterically. The married couple found themselves in an plain office, with little to no color, talking to trama psychologist.

"Yes, he's dead. But I asked what day it is?" the psychologist once again asked Minako who had not been sane since. She was still sitting in the same clothes as that day, soaked in her son's blood. She continued to laugh, not answering the doctor's question.

Kurono stayed silent, his hand holding onto his wife's own. He was still in shock, that cursed night plaguing his memories still. "Mina, the doctor asked what day it is today, not whether if...he's dead." he said, his voice craking near the end. "Do you want to answer the man now?"

But even her husband's voice could not return her to sanity. She continued to laugh, to the point where they gave her medication to call her down and take her to the next room.

"I think you're wife is suffering from severe and rare variation of post-traumatic stress disorder. It'll take time for her to return to her old-self." the psychologist began, before reaching to the more important part. "I'd like to keep her here, where she can properly heal. With your permission, I believe our unique program can help her move past this tough time, and make sure you don't lose two family members."

Kurono was heartbroken. Did he have to leave the woman he loved the most by herself? Isolate her from society as a whole? But he knew he had to say yes, it would help Minako progress from this side of herself. Maybe even return her back to the way she had always been. He looked up at the psychologist, nodding. "Let's do it. I beg you doctor, please bring me back my wife. Please."

*But little did Kurono know that the treatment would only make her worst. The doctors tried the usual procedures, but none seemed to work. Then they'd attempt to sooth her with drugs, but that'd make her an addict. Obviously, they'd stop feeding the drugs to her, causing her to suffer from withdrawal and disturb her mental state even further. Eventually, she'd be classified as a crazy, and put in a mental asylum.*

"They told me I was crazy, the I needed to accept the fact he was dead and move on. And then they put me in that place, that crazy place. How could you let them put me in that crazy?" tears began to roll down her eyes. Minako broke down like a child.

Kurono sighed. He kept his hand on her cheek. "I had no idea Mina. I really didn't. If I did, I wouldn't have let them take you away from me." he ranted, caressing her cheek. "I told you I'd protect you in sickness and in health, and I thought that'd be the best way to protect me. Trust me when I tell you, I love you, even if you wouldn't, I'd always love you, Mina."

As if one queue, her laughter was summoned once again. "Hey hey, did you know?" her laughed interrupted herself. "Did you know, Madness, as we know it, is a lot like gravity. Something you're very fond with." she giggled once again before reaching her point. "All it takes is a little...PUSH!" extending her fingers forward which would summon various knives from behind the hero, moving at him at incredible speeds. If he moved, he'd be putting his wife in-danger.

Kurono quickly spun around, using his katana to slash the knives out of the way, turning towards Mina angrily. "Mina! You could've killed yourself if I had moved out of the way!" he snapped, still holding his katana. He sighed, staring down into her eyes. He sometimes still couldn't believe how much his wife had changed since that day. It was because of that day Kurono decided to become the hero he was today. "Mina, you can't do stuff like this."

"I like it when ya talk to me like that." she moaned. Then something even more disturbing followed. "Uuuu, yes daddy. Make it hurt!" she spoke loudly, mimicing their child's voice. The resemblance was almost to the tee. She was really fucked up, it was almost as if she got a kick out of messing with her husband. "You gonna cut me with that blade of your's?" she continued muse. "Remember, down the river not across the sea." she once again, burst into laughter.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I may love you," he began nonchalantly. "But if you ever fuckin' do that again, I'll break your arm." he spat, anger tinging his voice. He grabbed her hands with his one of his own, yanking her towards them until there was almost no distance between them. "I'm taking you in, Mina. You've become too unstable, too dangerous."

"Too dangerous? You think I am a danger to society? Personally, I think society is a danger to me!" Minako exclaimed, before twitching her fingers which caused Kurono's own arm to dramatically let go of Minako's. She then quickly turned and walked into the darkness. "Since you're a hero now, with a fancy hero name. I guess that makes me villain? What do you think my villain name should be?!?" she playfully asked her husband from the shadows.

Excalibur shook his head in disappointment. "You're not a villain, you're my wife. You're a good person, but you're not...*you* right now." he stated, pointing his katana at Minako. "Either you can come with me peacefully, or we have to do this the hard way. And the hard way may involve you getting hurt, and I don't want that." he ranted, conviction in his eyes. "Last chance, Mina."

## Lovers Quarrel

"See there's your problem. You're too binary. Yes no, black white, right wrong." Minako continued on. "You miss out on the rest of the world because of it. I think you should come with me, and we can fix your head. Crazy boy!" she giggled.
Kurono, no Excalibur sighed. He suddenly appeared next to Mina, small craters at where he had been standing. "Surrender now and I don't have to hurt you." he said, his sword pointed at her neck. "This is the final warning, Minako Masamune."

Grabbing the blade with her hand, blood began to drop from her palm. "First blood has been drawn, what's your next move babe?" Minako instigated, baiting the hero to attack her.

Excalibur cursed, pulling his blade away. "Minako, I beg of you, just surrender." he begged, not wanting to harm his wife. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Mina, please."

Disappointed by her husband's begging , Minako decided she make the first move. Through her quirk, the strings were attached to the Kurono's blade pulled tightly, hoping to yank it out of his grasp. With her none injured hand, she withdrew an blade from the back of her dress, and swung it towards her husband's throat.

Excalibur sighed as he let his blade escape his grasp. However, he had used his quirk to increase its gravitational force. As it flew towards Minako, it skimmed by her, crashing through a nearby wall. As his wife swung a blade towards his neck, he quickly stepped to the side and grabbed her wrist, squeezing it slightly; a warning. "Don't do this, Mina. This is a battle your strings can't win."

"You're so arrogant..." Minako commented, well aware that she'd be unable to face her husband in hand to hand combat. With her left hand caught by her husband and her right currently injured, Minako appeared to have realized her situation. "Do you remember the first time we met...in University?"

*A decade ago*
It was orientation, and Minako was far from home. Born to a poor family in the outskirts of Japan, she was the first to go to college. She sat alone, waiting for the service to begin as other mingled amonngst each other.

Kurono took in a deep breath. He had arrived at University a week before classes would begin, and he had made friends. Yet he was afraid, scared. How would his first class of the year go? Shoving all doubts and fear into the depths of his mind, he opened the door and entered the class.

As the man walked into the room, Minako could not help but blush. She was instantly attracted to him. For some reason his bland face and basic qualities were appealing to the eccentric girl. She tried her best not stare, looking away after gazing at him for too long.

Kurono had noticed the woman that had been staring at him. Her outfit was colourful to say the least, but for some reason, he felt attraction towards her. She was visually stunning, a rather brave opinion. Noticing that there were no other seats except the one next to her, he maintained a calm expression, sitting next to the woman.

"Now is not the time to act nervous..." she told herself, as the man sat down. "Minako" she sporadically spoke. Her face became as red as a tomato. She knew she had already ruined this relationship.

Kurono chuckled. "Hi there, I'm Kurono." he responded, unsure of where this confidence had come from. He ran a hand through his hair before pulling out a pencil. "You a freshman to this place or...?" he asked, patiently awaiting her response.

"Yeah!" she could not help but giggle at the fact he pulled pencil from his hair. "This is actually my first day on campus. I'm a little nervous to be honest with ya." she admitted, for some reason feeling comfortable to tell him that.

Kurono chuckled. "This is my first day too," he began. "Nervous around me? The feelins mutual. Haven't sat this close to someone so attractive ever." he joked, setting his pencil aside. "What's your name?"

She blushed at his comment. "Mi-Minako" she stuttered, embarrassed by the fact she was so nervous. "And yours?"

Kurono smiled. "I'm Kurono." he responded. "Don't be so nervous, we're classmates now!" he exclaimed, patting her on the back.

"And what if I wanna be more than classmates!" Minako spoke bravely, giving little thought to the consequences. As a girl from a small little village, she believed in love at first sight. And she believed this was it.

Kurono raised a brow. There was no way this was happening. Was he being...asked out? "Do you now?" Kurono said, teasing Minako. "You sure about that? I'm a pretty mean guy."

Disappointed by his response, she looked away with a certain amount of sass. She didn't utter a single word, but she felt her message was quite clear.

"I was messin' around Minako," the man began. "Yeah, I'd like to try that whole more than classmates thing. We could maybe grab a bite after class?"

"Yeah!" she joyfully responded.

"Of course I do, Minako." he responded, pointing his blade at her. "Come with me peacefully, and I don't even have to call on my suit. I don't want to hurt you."

"Way to ruin a sentimental moment..." she sighed in disgust. "If you take me then who's gonna save those people..." she pointed upwards, where a bunch of people were tied up together hanging on a string from a poll. "You take too far from here those people will drop and die."

"Don't be stupid." Excalibur began, maintaining his calm. "Don't do anything you won't regret. Just...let them go."

"I guess this is where we say our goodbyes. Can't wait to see you again baby." she spoke, sending her husband a kiss before walking cutting the string loose to drop the people. The moment he'd go to save him, she'd make her exit.

Excalibur couldn't lose his cool. He couldn't let his wife see him worry. Increasing the gravitational force of his blade, he quickly carved out a chunk of the ground, all while moving forward. Using his foot to decrease that chunks gravitational force, Excalibur quickly kicked it up into the air. Those that were falling landed on it, the chunk floating in the air. He had been moving the entire time and was soon in front of Minako. "Hands in the air, don't make me use force." he said, maintaining a confident voice.

"The time for threats is over, Kurono baby. Either you put me down or I walk away." she noted, continuing on her path paying little regard to her husband.

Excalibur cursed under his breath. No matter what, he could never bring himself to kill Minako. She was still her, the woman he had fallen in love with. Yet as a Hero, he had to take her in. He took in a deep breath before launching forwards, grabbing her wrists. "I'm takin' you in, Minako Masamune."

"This wasn't an option..." she spoke, before the hair on her scalp grew and attacked her husband. While unknown to most, Minako's "strings" are actually her white hair. Not a fan of her quirk and once bullied because of it, she refers to her weaponized hair as string. With the power to piece the human body, it appeared as if she was going for the kill.

Kurono swung his blade up, despite the awkward angle. He sliced through her hair, hopping backwards to avoid the strike. "That could've hurt." he teased, sheathing his blade. Her hair was all choppy now, and despite it, Kurono still thought she was beautiful. He grabbed her by the wrists again, shaking his head in disappointment, not in her, but in himself for whatever reason. "Let's go."

Her hair grew even longer. "Looks like I'm going to have to kill you...." as strands of her hair pierced the ground. "Let's see how you fair when you can't see the attack coming." Like a game of whack a mole, her hair would begin to emerge from the ground sporadically. However, unlike the childish game, being pierced could be detrimental.

Excalibur was quick to react, and he leaped into the air, avoiding the first wave of hair. But as he fell down, he knew he would be stabbed by it. As such, he increased the gravitational force in his sword, and as he landed, he slammed his blade to the ground, causing tremors. Chunks of the ground flew towards his wife at rapid speeds.

With her hair from her scalp covering the ground she raised her arm in response to her husband's attack. "Afraid to get close. You won't be able to defeat me from that distance." Minako commented, before hair aggresively grew from the same arm and pierced the flying rock that was heading towards her. Funneling more hair into the ground, like snakes, strands of hair managed to slip through the nucks and crannies and carried on with the assault.

His sword moved around at rapid speeds, slicing off any hair that came his way. Eventually, he brought his sword down, sending shockwaves outwards, collapsing some debris onto Minako's hair. He leaped at her, his sword at the ready. "Minako Masamune." he began, a monotone voice audible. "Time to go to jail."