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Chapter Text

The Promised Neverland - Episode 1: 121045

As the younger characters of the audience took their well-deserved rest with some responsible adults on watch (Leorio, Gyomei, Yor, Koro-sensei, Opera, Shion, Robin, and Taiju), Senshi (delicious in dungeon) put the rest to work to make the most nutritious meal possible for the young ones. 

The chefs were pleased to see a fully stocked kitchen and mess hall just beyond the dormitories and bathrooms and immediately got to work. The chefs included: Senshi (delicious in dungeon), Sanji (op), Mukoda (campfire cooking), Charmy (black clover), and Mash (mashle). 

30 minutes later, everyone was brought into the mess hall for their first real meal in a long time. 

"Whoa! This is great! Thanks!" Gon (hxh) complements, eagerly biting into his meal. 

Licking the remains off his fingers, Inosuke (kny) held up his dish-ware and yelled, "Hey! Give me more!"

"Yeah! More please!" Sokka (atla) chirps, holding up his plate expectantly. 

Flinching away at Inosuke's yell, Ciel (black butler) groans, "Honestly... Could you not spit everywhere? It's going to get into my food!" 

"THIS IS REALLY TASTY!!" Luffy bellows, shoving fistfuls of food into his mouth. "CAN'T STOP! MUST EAT!"

"So how does it feel being fully nourished?" Senshi (delicious in dungeon) prompts, wearing a happy expression from all the positive feedback. "Doesn't it feel nice, m'boy?"

"Heh... Not bad, old man..." Senku (dr. stone) chuckles, his eyes trailing down to his plate as he scooped up any leftovers. 

"Come on~" Gen (dr. stone) cooed teasingly. "Surely you could phrase it better than that. And after all he's been through making this meal for you~"

".....I'm going to put you to work the first chance I can get...." 

After a very satisfying meal, the audience was sent back to the theaters without some of its members. This time, with the permission of the parents/guardians of the kids, the mysterious female operator leads the kids away to a more family-friendly environment. The excluded members included: Anya (spy x family), Tristan and Lancelot (the seven deadly sins), Kotaro (school babysitters), and Miri (buddy daddies). 

And some members were even dismissed, the universes being Classroom of the Elite, Tomodachi Game, and Death Parade.

But then a bright light engulfed the theater once more. As the characters turned away to shield their eyes, the familiar sound of bodies falling to the ground is heard once more. 

The Alien Stage cast jolted up from the floor with a start while the other theater members were overcome with shock. Mizi and Sua were holding each other while Ivan attempted to do the same with Till. Luka was still sitting on the floor with a bored expression. 

From the Summer Hikaru Died, Yoshiki was half-sprawled on the floor with ‘Hikaru’ hovering over him protectively. 

The Arcane: League of Legends cast were practically piled atop each other, cursing colorfully as they struggled to untangle themselves. 

And Frieren, from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, sat up dizzily as Fern and Stark stood up almost immediately. 

Hyuna (alien stage) was the only one brave enough, or perhaps stupid, to introduce herself.

Hyuna (alien stage) was gracious enough to explain how the casts found themselves in a smaller theater where they watched all the previous episodes and how they were now the newest and final additions to the theater. 

Once everyone calmed down, Till, ‘Hikaru’, and Jinx being the hardest to settle, people started to talk amongst themselves. Hyuna talked to Senku. Mizi and Sua huddled together with Haruhi (ouran) in tow. Till was conversing with Nagisa (ass-class), while Ivan was in mid-debate with Ciel for some petty reason. 

Hikaru was coddling Yoshiki, making it nearly impossible for others to approach. The Arcane cast made efforts to either spread out or watch from the sidelines. And unsurprisingly, the Frieren cast found themselves drawn to the Delicious in Dungeon cast.

Once Senshi (delicious in dungeon) snapped out of it, noticing how malnourished some of the casts were, he demanded they have some of the remaining portions before settling in their assigned seats. (Jinx vehemently refused but Senshi wouldn’t take no for an answer)

Once their stomachs were full and they were all settled in (with Jinx forced into her seat and restrained), the screen flickered on to the next universe ready to be shown. 

⤷ | The scene starts extremely blurry, gaining quality as a girl with a small chubby face, ginger hair, and big green eyes leans towards the audience. This girl, or younger Emma, had her hands wrapped around some thin iron bars, peering through the cracks curiously. "What is this?"

"She's- SHE'S ADORABLE!!" a good majority of the audience squealed, much to Emma's (tpn) utter embarrassment. 

"Oh! And to answer your question, that's an iron gate," Gowther (the seven deadly sins) adds, pointing at the younger on-screen Emma. 

"Yeah! I know that now!" Emma (tpn) squeaks, cheeks aflame. With a groan, she buried her face in her hands.

"Is it weird that I’m getting cuteness aggression?" Shin (sakamoto days) wonders aloud, wearing a slightly concerned expression. 

No. Sakamoto (Sakamoto days) responds immediately, having felt the same with his own daughter.

Yes. Saiki then blinked once, then twice once fully comprehending Sakamoto's response. What? No?!

⤷ | "It's a gate. It connects the inside and outside," younger Ray answers, wearing a somewhat neutral expression.

"Outside, huh?" Emma pauses before acknowledging, "We've never been outside." 

Mizi (alien stage) grimaced inwardly at the deja vu that her words sent up her spine. Haa...

Confused, Reki (sk8) asks, "So you've never been outside before then?" 

"And what's with the gates?" Iida (mha) interrupts, chopping his hand once more. "Why aren't your parents watching you?"

"She didn't mean it like that...." Norman cleared his throat awkwardly, his gaze set off to the side. "And the gates? It's um.... It's complicated."

"And we just happened to wander off and stumble into the gate! It's nothing to worry about," Emma (tpn) excused, laughing loudly to fill the awkward silence. 

Being witness to their failure of keeping their composure, Ray sighs harshly, "Hah... There's no point in being such a cryptic dummy... Just keep watching, then you'll see what they mean."

⤷ | "That's because we've been here ever since we were born," Norman gently reminds her, his chubby cheeks accentuated by his smile towards her. 

As Norman speaks, Ray stares blankly at the alleyway. 

"Mom always tells us, doesn't she?" Emma smiles as she turns back to the gates. "'Don't go near the gates or fence in the back of the forest because it's dangerous.'"

"She tells you this, but you guys still went there, huh..." Atsushi (bsd) awkwardly trails off. 

"How can you blame them? They're curious. It's human nature!" Dazai (bsd) theatrically exclaims, subtly eyeing Ray in a brief moment of sincerity. As is lying, or rather, hiding something.... Right? Ray?

The boy in question was staring intensely at the screen, as if attempting to burn the image of younger Emma and Norman into his retinas. In a moment of weakness, despite their need for maturity to survive in the outside world, Ray missed his friend's/sibling's childhood innocence. He couldn't reverse time, so this was the next best thing. 

⤷ | "That's obviously a lie," Ray interjects. 

"Really?" Norman hums almost absentmindedly.

Effortlessly, Emma unintentionally changed the topic by cheerily asking, "Hey, Ray! What do you want to do if you go outside?"

"I don't know. What about you?"

"I want to ride a giraffe!" 

IF you go outside? That's an odd way to phrase it.... Yoshiki (the summer hikaru died) frowned, then shook his head in fear that he was overthinking things. 

"Aww! That's so sweet!" Mitsuri (kny) cooed, hands clasped to her chest. 

Eyes wide and sparkling, Kyouka (bsd) exclaims softly, "I wanna do that too!"

"A giraffe?" Reno (kaiju no. 8) sweatpans. "Over anything else? Really?"

"Guys! I was like 4!" Emma (tpn) cried out, flapping her arms in protest. "Of course I would say stupid things like that!"

"Guys.... What the heck is a gee-rat?" Sokka (atla) whispers to the gaang, only receiving shrugs in response. 

⤷ | "Good luck," Ray sighs, turning his back to the gates. 

"I wonder..." Norman reaches out and gently wraps his hand around an iron bar in front of him. "I wonder what this gate is protecting us from."

In response, Ray practically glares at the gate while Emma looks upon it with innocent curiosity. 

"Rapists? Pedos?" With a shrill cry, Koro-sensei hurriedly covered Jean’s (aot)  mouth with a tentacle. 

"You can't say that!" Koro-sensei practically shrieked, anxiously eyeing the room.

"What? It's a legitimate answer!" Jean (aot) scowls, shoving Koro-sensei's appendage away. 

Tilting his head slightly to the side, Gon (hxh) asks, "Kurapika, what's a pedo?"

"....Nothing you need to worry about," Kurapika answered with great difficulty. 

With a furrowed brow, Leorio leans in to whisper into Kurapika's ear with concern, "But doesn't he though? With that freak around?"

- The Promised Neverland | Touch Off

The scene opens to a candle-lit lantern flickering on, the camera then swoops past to fly through a wood-floor corridor, eventually finding Emma, Norman, and Ray at the end of it. The screen zooms into Emma's wide green eye before quickly fading to black. 

Amongst the black backdrop, a tall white flower and a butterfly with its wings getting snapped off is shown. 

How much freedom do we have now...?

The characters who possess wings all collectively wince at the screen's imagery. 

Hyuna (alien stage) frowned at this opening sequence, her mind turning as she couldn't help but make similarities to her past. I remember questioning my own freedom back in anakt garden, I wonder if it's similar to that..... Well, for their sake, I hope not.... 

Wearing a frantic look, Emma was running towards something, sweat beading down her face. But before she could make it, she was enveloped by the darkness with one final cry. 

Na na na na na na na na~

"That seems..." Hakkai (Tokyo revengers) trails off, struggling to find the word. 

"Foreboding." Kyouya (ouran) finishes, holding his hands onto his lap. "Yes, unfortunately so."

Noooo! Not her! Main character syndrome, please! Spare her! Gen (dr. stone) practically shrieked inwardly, watching horrified as Emma continued to smile just as usual.

The scene changes to a large building beneath a rising sun, sunlight filtering through the trees tops nearby as flocks of birds take flight. In one of the trees, watching the sunrise, is the main trio.

Ray and Norman are sitting on the thick branch with Norman smiling peacefully while Ray's face is obscured by his hair. Emma is the only one standing, wearing a determined look. A lit match alone in darkness is quickly shown before transitioning back to the previous scene. 

Fire! 

"So.....what are you guys anyway?" Laios (delicious in dungeon) questions, drawing some attention. 

"What do you mean?" Ray (tpn) frowns, glaring at him as if to dare him to try something. 

"I wanted to say that you're friends!" Laios (delicious in dungeon) yelps, waving his hands to dissuade any perceived negativity in his previous comment. "...but you guys seem way too close for that, so...?"

"We're siblings!" Emma brightly exclaims, wrapping her arms around their necks. 

"Guess mom's got some explaining to do..." Yami (black clover) snickers behind his hand. 

"Haha! No no... We live at the same orphanage together with some other kids," Norman (tpn) laughs good-naturely, shaking his head. 

Sasha's (aot) eyes light up, "And you guys all treat each other like family? Awww you guys are the sweetest!" 

Overhearing Atsushi's sniffle, Kunikida (bsd) looks over at him only to see him quietly sobbing to himself. Hesitantly, he asks, "Atsushi, you good?"

"Yeah... it's just... the way that they said that....it healed something in me..." Atsushi (bsd) continued to sniffle, dabbing his eyes with the ends of Dazai's bandages. 

Shaded in a bright yellow hue, Emma jumps around a puzzle-piece backdrop while wearing her usual bright smile. She then enthusiastically pumps her fist to the audience before the scene transitions. 

Who's turn is it now? Who'll destroy us? 

"Man...you're so bright that it hurts....literally..." Shadow (sk8) groans, shielding his eyes. 

"Hm... How old are you anyway?" Adam (ror) inquires, tilting his head. 

"We're all 11! And we're the oldest of the kids," Emma explained, giggling as Adam walks over to squish her cheeks. 

"Hphm.... Don't grow up too fast then... take your time and enjoy your childhood," Adam (ror) says brightly, gazing down at her with fatherly adoration. 

Might be a bit late for that... Norman and Ray deadpan in unison. 

Despite that, Emma takes his advice with stride and nods her head with her usual amount of sheer determination. 

A group of younger kids is shown huddling around Emma as she hugs a boy closely, both wearing a closed-eyed smile. Then in quick succession, Emma is shown jumping onto Ray and Norman, her grin proving to be infectious as the boys both crack a smile at her antics. 

What am I missing? Why is it useless? 

Noticing Luffy (op) shift, Emma (tpn) hums worriedly, "Hmm? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just... you seem like a good older sister...." Luffy (op) says slowly at first, shaking his head. "Just keep doing what you're doing..." 

"....Don't worry, I don't ever plan on changing!" Emma nods once again, the determination in her eyes somehow increasing. 

Guys... you're not helping...like at all! Norman (tpn) deadpans, sweat drops appearing at his temple. You're just fueling her insane stubbornness! 

The intro switches to Norman, shaded in light blue, as he stands at the center of the screen with his arms crossed, wearing a knowledgeable smile. Then it shows Norman smiling gently, his eyes closed. 

I have to find the fuse before it disappears... 

Finally it shows Norman wearing an intense look, one half of his face obscured by shadow, his visible blue eye piercing as it faces the audience. 

It's on fire! 

"Oh? That's quite an intense look for someone of his age, is it not?" Beelzebub (ror) raises an interested brow, resting his chin in his palm. 

"Kakaka~! It certainly is~" Loki (ror) cackles. "I can't wait to see whether it's fake or not!"

"Ugh...." Kafka (kaiju no. 8) visibly shivers. This kid gives me the creeps! 

Kafka (kaiju no. 8) proceeds to shiver harsher when Norman (tpn) accidentally meets his eye. 

Raising his head slightly, shaded in red, Ray glances off to the side with a furrowed brow. Then it shows him with his back against a metaphorical wall as he flips through a book, fully enraptured.

Come, look, no God to pray to 

With the screen tilted at an angle, Ray is shown walking by. He looks down and uses his hand to swipe over the camera, darkening the screen with his palm. 

No star to wish upon, but I still won't give up hope 

This is.... an interesting choice in lyrics and vocals.... Jiro (mha) deadpans. Very interesting indeed...

"What a moody looking kid," Reigen (MP 100) comments bluntly. 

"Looks like teenage angst hit a little too early," Tanaka (haikyuu) snickered to Nishinoya who cackled in response. 

"Hah? I don't see you looking any better, baldy," Ray (tpn) scoffs, giving Tanaka the stink-eye. 

"Krk! Why you little-!" Before he could try to fly across the room, Daichi (haikyuu) wrapped his arms around his ribs and subdued him. 

Though a bit blurry at first, the intro changes into a scene that resembles a family photo with all the members of Grace Field including Isabella and Krone. It then flashes to the side of Emma's neck, showing off a series of number tattoos that starts below her right ear. 

If I did, fear and regret would eat up my path 

It changes so Emma's now alone. Folding her legs in front of her, she curls into herself, her eyes downcast. 

It's on fire! 

"That's a...lot of kids..." Noelle (black clover) then says quietly, "..and why does she look so sad?"

"Yeah! It's way more than me and Yuno's back home!" Asta (black clover) adds loudly. 

With unease, Till (alien stage) carefully brushes his fingers against the engraved skin of his neck. He looks back and forth from Emma's tattoos to his own, getting more nervous each time he swiveled his head, but unknown to him, Ivan (alien stage) was watching him do this from the very start. 

"I wouldn't think too hard about it yet," Ivan (alien stage) speaks up, making Till pause. "It just doesn't suit you." 

"Doesn't suit me...? The hell does that mean?!" Till (alien stage) howls indignantly, grabbing Ivan by the collar. 

"Boys boys, don't make this all about you," Hyuna (alien stage) scolds, pulling them away from each other. 

A boy with dark hair and tanned skin appears smiling, otherwise known as Don. Then it swings over to a girl with short green hair and glasses, Gilda. The screen then flashes briefly to the same butterfly flying in the dark only to transition to Isabella smiling closed-eyed, closing her pocket watch. Then it shows the butterfly getting its wings torn off like in the intro.

The things I want to forget, they can never be forgotten 

"And who are they?" Langa (sk8) tilts his head curiously. 

"That's Don and Gilda!" Norman (tpn) smiles fondly. "They're a year younger than us."

"Then who's she?" Karasuma (ass-class) speaks up, pointing at on-screen Isabella. 

Norman and Emma pause, exchanging an uneasy look before Emma shakily answers, "...Ah... She's our mom... she's been the one watching us until we get a-adopted...."

Ray (tpn) wanted nothing more than to throw his head against a wall at her response. Could you be any more obvious?! 

Eyeing their reactions with a stony stare, Viktor (arcane) shifted his gaze back to the screen. That's not a look someone would wear towards their mother... who is this woman exactly? 

So she's the one figuratively ripping off their wings? Interesting... Netero (hxh) muses inwardly, stroking his beard thoughtfully. 

A woman with voluptuous brown locs, Sister Krone, leans close to the screen as her lips form a wide closed-lip smile. It zooms out to show her energetically scoop a group of kids into a bear hug. 

Then the scene changes to the scenery of the night sky with a crescent moon through a netted window. Then it shows a tall, thin white flower against a black background that flourishes to become a big bushel of bright red flowers. 

The path to heaven starts at the bottom of hell 

Sister Krone...! Emma's (tpn) breath hitches as she catches sight of that horrible flower once again. That plant....! Conny..... Agh....

Zenitsu (kny), overhearing Emma's distressed sound waves, starts to sweat profusely upon seeing her expression. Why is she making that face? Kids her age shouldn't look like that! What the hell have I gotten myself into?! Momma, I wanna go home! His desperate monologue ends with him rocking back and forth in his chair. 

With a thin red string circling them, Ray and Norman stand side-by-side in front of Emma with serious expressions. Emma wears an equally serious one as she steps towards them. 

Even the tiniest spark can start a raging fire 

Together, they start piling their hands together, signifying their unison towards their common goal. But once their hands meet, the red string around them starts burning away. 

So I'll keep going there, the way towards my future 

Umemiya (wind breaker), with a smile, nods in understanding at the scene. Ahhh... Seems like they'll be quite the unstoppable trio... 

"The red string of fate huh? How befitting..." Ryuuichi (school babysitters) chuckles. 

"What do you mean by that?" Lied (iruma-kun) quizzed, tilting his head. 

A bit taken aback, Ryuuichi (school babysitters) explains, "It's an old legend that means that whoever is intertwined by the string, they are destined to be soulmates."

"So they're soulmates, all three of them?" Keroei (iruma-kun) challenged, eyebrow furrowed. 

Overhearing their discussion, the Promised Neverland trio flushed from embarrassment. 

Seeing their expressions, Ryuuichi (school babysitters) smiles, "Seems like it." 

The scene transitions to Emma, Ray, and Norman running through a thick green forest at top speed. Emma is seen jumping over logs, dodging trees, all while smiling and maintaining speed. 

It's only a few centimeters more, yeah! The place we want to reach, yeah! 

Running a little slower than Emma, Norman cartwheels over a rock with a determined look. Equally determined, Ray is shown jumping onto a thick branch and swinging forward to land back on the ground. 

So we cannot stop now, na na na na na na... 

Looking at the screen with awe, Norman's (tpn) gaze softens. Seeing us like this.... it reminds me of just how far we've come.... It's encouraging... 

Vi (arcane) blinks, “Well shit.” 

"Wow! You guys are incredible!" Nagisa (ass-class) gasps, eyes blown wide. 

I don't remember being this full of energy when I was a kid...! The youth is incredible these days, huh... Reigen sweats, eyeing the kids from his own universe.

"You've gotta teach me how you did that!" Bachira (bllk) crowed, pointing at the screen. 

"Yeah yeah! All those flips and tricks like hwaaa!" Hinata (haikyuu) cries out, spreading his arms out. 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rin (bllk) groans, "Please don't. My life is already hell with how he is now."

"And what are you? Some sort of wannabe Tarzan? Cringe," Tsukishima (haikyuu) scoffs. 

Before Hinata could fire back a snarky retort, Sugawara (haikyuu) smacks Tsukishima atop his head and scowls, "Stop it! Do you wanna start another commotion?"

The Gracefield kids are shown behind a netted fence, standing amongst broken remains of desks and chairs, all while wearing serious expressions. 

When I lose my hope, yeah! And give up for even a second, yeah! 

Ray, Emma, and Norman take off into the air, their sleeves rolled up. With a loud dramatic cry, Emma punches through a wall, causing it to break apart into white puzzle pieces. 

What kind of future will that bring me? Na na na na na na.....

"Out of curiosity.... Who's the stronger kid?" Kojiro (ror) questions, stroking his chin. 

"Mentally, it's probably either me or Norman," Ray answers, jerking his finger in his and Norman's direction. "Physically, it's gotta be either Don or Emma."

"Tsk. Aren't you at least embarrassed to be weaker than a girl?" Mineta (mha) guffaws. 

Taken aback, Norman (tpn) blinks, "What's being a girl have to do with her being strong?"

Emma (tpn) smiles at his words, she was so grateful to have people like Norman and Ray by her side. 

"Yasssss! Preach!!" Mina (mha) cheers loudly. 

With an especially exaggerated cough, Sero (mha) exclaims, "Don't listen to him! He got dropped on his head as a child multiple times."

"No I haven't-!" Mineta (mha) is suddenly interrupted by a hit to his back, stopping with a loud grunt. 

Threateningly, Aren (Saiki k) fumes, "Then stop acting like it."

Once seeing what was on the other side, Emma's face breaks out into a wide grin. The intro finishes with a singular spotlight amongst a dark background with the white butterfly flying into the light. 

That's why we cannot stop now! Na na na na na na na.....

With a sharp gasp, Emma exclaims, "Ah! Ray! This means-!"

With a sigh, Ray (tpn) reaches over to cover her mouth with his hand, "Don't let it get to your head. We still have a lot left to do." 

"Mphmm...." Emma (tpn) groans sadly underneath his hand, eyes downcast. 

With another annoyed sigh, Ray then proceeds to flick her chin with his free hand, causing her to yelp. "And don't sulk! There's no point in that, you idiot." 

⤷ | The scene opens to Emma sleeping as the sun begins to rise over Gracefield, a clock ticking in the background. Once the clock hits 6:00 am, it starts to ring loudly, reverberating throughout the building. 

With the room now fully lit up, Emma jumps into a sitting position and calls out with her arms raised, "Everyone, wake up! Or you'll be late for breakfast!" Upon her call, the other kids started to groggily sit up, yawning and blinking blearily. 

"You just woke up and you're already so cheery..." Saitama (opm) deadpans. 

Looking at the screen in disbelief, Dot (mashle) stares down at his hands and mumbles, "Damn.... Am I the problem?" 

"You guys are waking up at the ass-crack of dawn?" Nagi (blue lock) grimaces. 

Unbothered, Emma (tpn) challenged, "What time do you wake up then?"

With a shrug, Nagi (blue lock) replies, "Noon, at the earliest."

"Do you have a life?" Chigiri (blue lock) sweatpans. "'Cause I'm getting genuinely concerned....

⤷ | The scene briefly flashes to a calendar hanging on the wall. It read: October 2045 with the 12th circled, with the word Conny written underneath in cursive. 

"2045?!” Nobara gawks, slack jawed.

"Aaaah! You guys are from the future!" Kaido (Saiki k) fangirls, eyes sparkling. 

"The future huh....." Norman (tpn) cups his chin thoughtfully, eyes narrowed. Guess I can't count on them for information about the outside world.... Ah well.... It was baseless hope anyway....

"Geez... Even I'm getting worried," Saiki stares at a certain wall with a scrutinizing glare. "There should be no reason why a kid should be thinking like that."

⤷ | As Emma sits on her bed, helping a kid tie their shoes, two boys run past jovially. "Hey, wait for me!" the black haired one yells. 

"No way!" the blonde haired yells back. 

They both run past Gilda who scolds loudly, "Hey! Stop messing around and get ready!" 

As other kids shuffle past, two younger kids walk up to Emma with tears in their eyes, holding their shoes. "Emma, I can't get my shoes on." 

"I cannot tie my shoelaces!"

"Okay, hold on. Don't cry," she reassures them with a smile.

Gritting her teeth, Jinx (arcane) twitched in her restraints as the tortured voices of Milo and Claggor filled her head in accordance with the on-screen children’s joyous cries. 

"What's with these kids?" Noelle (black clover) scoffs, flipping her hair. Oh my gosh! They're all so cute~! 

"Wahhh.... Just from watching this, I'm getting overstimulated," Ukyo (dr. stone) sighs, chuckling a bit as he rubs his nape. 

Hmm..... Reminds me of the girls when they were younger.... Chilchuck (delicious in dungeon) reminisces absentmindedly. Ah... those were the good old days. 

"Just thinking about reading all those thoughts at once is making me dizzy!" Shin (Sakamoto Days) winces, holding his temple. 

Rolling his eyes, Natsuki (Sakamoto Days) mumbles, "...Lame." 

⤷ | It flashes to the kids running down the hallway, passing the house's communal bathroom. Holding Phil in her arms, Emma stops in front of the bathroom to greet cheerily, "Good morning Don, Conny, and Little Bunny!" 

"Morning!" Don raises a hand, at ease. 

"Morning, Emma," Conny smiles, holding Little Bunny close to her chest. 

“Awah! Sooo cute!! I just wanna eat them up!” Charmy (black clover) squeals, cupping her cheeks. 

Magna (black clover) chuckles, “Comin’ from you, that sounds like a threat.” 

“That’s kind of mean…” Fineral (black clover) deadpans as Charmy turns to Magna, aghast. 

“Don, huh? One of the strong ones, right?” Joe (sk8) hums, rubbing his chin. “....Not what I was expecting…” 

“Tch…. You’re just saying that ‘cause he doesn’t rippling muscles at the ripe age of 10,” Miya (sk8) scoffs. 

“Ugh…. That sounds horrifying,” Mukoda (campfire cooking) shudders. 

⤷ | Running into the dining room, still holding Phil, Emma breathes, “Look, we made it!” 

But not even a second later, the two boys from before ram into Emma from behind with a loud cry, sending her stumbling forward with Phil landing safely on his feet. The two boys grin, laughing mischievously showing off their matching chipped teeth.

Her back still turned to them, Emma begins to chuckle slowly. She then turns around, a shadow across her face, she bares her teeth and says, “Watch out…” then she raises her arms, chasing them down the hall with Phil on her heels, “I’m going to eat you!”

Wait ... .Am I just hearing things or am I hearing pleasant sound waves from that guy?! Zenitsu (kny), trying to be sneaky, tried to sneak a peek at Sanemi (kny), who was watching the scene, his body at ease.

Haah…. That’s some cruel irony right there…. Ray muses, running his fingers through his hair. ‘I’m going to eat you’, ha! 

Reminds me of when times were much simpler…. Tanjiro reminisces, smiling faintly. ….happier. I’m glad they can experience this happiness. 

“She’s being such a good big sister!” Clara (iruma-kun) remarked with glee. “Just like Clara is!” 

“Finding a way to complement both yourself and someone else is remarkable,” Asomdeus (iruma-kun) deadpans. 

⤷ | With a fond smile, Gilda sighs, “They’re at it again.” 

Once she caught up with them, she slung her arms over their shoulders and brought them into a hug, grinning all the while. Once Phil jumps in, they start laughing. 

Eventually, they walk back into the dining room with Emma carrying Phil piggy-back style. 

“Urk! My heart! It can’t take this anymore!” Chifuyu (tokyo revengers) wheezed dramatically, groping his chest.

“Fu fu fu~ How cute~!” Robin (op) giggles, her hand over her mouth. 

Standing up from his seat, Franky (op) poses. “YES! Hoping you all have a SUPER good time for the rest of your lives!”

Cooing alongside the rest of the audience, Mizi’s (alien stage) mind began to wander. I wonder… will there ever be a time for us to smile like that again? Or is it just wistful thinking….?

⤷ | With Phil pulling on her cheek, Emma says with a muffled voice, “Morning, Norman! And Ray!” 

Rolling in a cart of food, Norman greets calmly, “Good morning, Emma.” 

Matching her tone, Ray teasingly says, “Morning, Emma.”

“This is so unbelievably wholesome,” Senku (dr. stone) states, hands folded in his lap. “So much so that I’m led to believe that it only goes downhill from here on out.” 

“How can you say that?!” Taiju (dr. stone) shrieks, shaking him by the shoulders. “Are you trying to jinx them?!”

It’s a little too late for that…. Norman remarks inwardly with a painful grimace.

⤷ | “You’re so energetic,” Norman smiles. “Even though you haven’t eaten breakfast yet.” 

“How old are you again? Five?” Ray quipped sassily, walking away. 

As Phil slid off her back, Emma protested loudly, “I’m 11, the same as you guys! And one of the oldest here!”

“11 years old? My my, what an important stage of life you’re at my dear,” Korosensei hums, reaching a tentacle over to pet her hair. “But just because you’re getting older, it doesn’t mean you abandon your childlike whimsy. You just hone it to better suit your surroundings. Okay?” 

“Yes, sir!” Emma giggles, watching as Norman and Ray hesitated under the effect of Korosensei’s tentacles petting their hair. 

⤷ | Behind her, Isabella starts to giggle softly. 

“You’re laughing, too, Mom?” Emma huffs. 

Instead of responding directly, Mama asks, “Emma, can you give me a hand over here?”

Colliding with Mama’s front gently, Emma whines, “But Mom! I’m going to redo my entrance from the beginning.” 

“That’s their mom?” Ruby (oshi no ko) gasps. “She’s so pretty!” 

“Yes,” Tamaki (ouran) nods in agreement. “She certainly has an air of elegance to her, doesn’t she?” 

“Hehe… You know what they say…. Age is just a number…!” Mineta (mha) cackles, rubbing his hands together. 

“Dude….” Kunigami (blue lock) cringes. 

Placing his chin in the crook between his pointer finger and thumb, Rimuru (that time i was reincarnated as a slime) adds cheekily, “And just ‘cause there’s wrinkles on the wrapper, doesn't mean the candy ain’t sweet.”

Taking a deep breath, Sanji (op) breathes, “He’s not wrong.” 

Cue the theater debating over different tastes, with the remaining kids left inside left waiting by the sidelines. 

This is ....so weird…. The Promised Neverland kids all awkwardly concluded. 

⤷ | “Why? I love that part about you,” Mama smiles, gazing down at Emma fondly. 

“That I’m five years old on the inside?” 

Mama shakes her head. “The part where you care deeply about your family.”

“I agree with her,” Mel (arcane) nods. “It truly is admirable.” 

Till (alien stage) let out a small grunt as his whole body involuntarily twitched, grasping his armrest in surprise. 

“Till?” Mizi (alien stage) yelped, turning to him. 

“A-ah! I’m fine! Just… Just some weird sense of deja vu, I guess…” Till (alien stage) stammers, flustered. 

Out of Till’s field of view, Ivan (alien stage) stared at Till’s back with such deep intensity that it was even starting to draw attention from those around them. 

A dull ache reverberated within Inosuke’s (kny) chest, prompting him to slap a hand against it with a loud grunt. What was that? ….Did I forget to breathe again or something? 

Likewise to Inosuke, characters who had either lost, never had, or cannot see due to personal circumstance all experienced a dull ache of some kind once seeing Isabella’s motherly gaze. 

⤷ | Mama cupped her hands over Emma’s cheeks, which prompted Emma to wear a closed-eyed smile, her cheeks dusted with pink. “Thanks, Mom!” 

“Awww! That’s so sweet!” Marcille (delicious in dungeon) squeals. “What a good mom!” 

Grimly, Ranpo pushes his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “Hm… Don’t be so sure.” 

With a hum, Jack the Ripper (ror) activated his eye and gazed into the forms of Emma and Norman. And what he saw made him raise an intrigued brow. Their colors were a mix of discomfort and betrayal upon seeing their supposed mother. “Interesting…”

⤷ | After everyone had been settled amongst 3 dining tables within the room, Isabella drew in their attention with the ring of a small bell. “Good morning, my dear children. Let’s give thanks that all 38 of you siblings are able to live here happily, today, too…” She then brought her hands into a prayer, leading the other children to do the same. “Thank you for the food.”

“Thank you for the food,” the children chorused

“There’s 38 of you guys?!” Chopper (op) squawks in shock, eyes wide.  

“And there’s no other caretakers besides your mama?”  Mitsuya (tokyo revengers) questioned, brows furrowed. 

“There is,” Ray answers after a brief moment of silence between the three. “But she’s a new hire. Before it was just mama and the older kids helping out every once in a while.” 

Interested, Julius (black clover) presses, “But why now? Why wait until now to get some additional help?” 

Looking back at Ray and Emma for confirmation, Norman answers evenly, “That’s for something you’ll see later…” 

“Oh my! A mystery, huh!” Julius (black clover) smiles, matching Norman’s energy.

“More riddles? What a chore!” Yami (black clover) groans. 

⤷ | As the children ate, the scene zoomed into the number tattoos on their necks. Emma’s read 63194. Norman’s was 22194. And Ray’s read 81194. 

“Tattoos on their necks? At their age?” Jayce (arcane) mutters in disbelief. 

Caitlyn’s (arcane) eyes narrowed, “Yes, it’s certainly odd.”

“Now where have I seen those kinds of numbers before….?” Mukoda (campfire cooking) muttered to himself. 

Furrowing his brow at this scene, Ivan (alien stage) fiddled with his sleeve unconsciously, his fingers hovering over his name engraved on the inner of his wrist. 

⤷ | “Here. Open wide,” Mama cooed, holding a fork up to Conny’s mouth. 

“It’s delicious!” Conny smiled, swallowing the bite. 

Mama moves to wipe the corners of Conny’s mouth with a napkin. “You’re acting like a little baby, Conny.” 

“I can, right, especially today?” 

“Yes.”

The scene flashes to the calendar once more, zooming into the 12th, which was circled and labeled Conny. 

A bit suspicious, Draken (tokyo revengers) asked, “What was so special that day?” 

“Ooh! Was it her birthday?” Bokuto (haikyuu) inquired excitedly. 

“It was actually a month before that day,” Emma (tpn) blinked slowly, her voice becoming slowly more monotone. “She turned 6 on September 3rd.”

“So she’s just a baby,” Fern (Frieren) blinks. 

“Then what was that day for?” Teruki (mob psycho 100) pressed, impatient. 

“It was her adoption day,” Ray (tpn) answered for her. “We were celebrating her getting adopted.” 

“Aw! I’m so happy for her!” Nami (op) smiled. 

“Then what about you guys?” Sagiri (hell’s paradise) quizzed. “You haven’t gotten adopted yet, right?” 

“No,” Norman (tpn) blurted out, after which he paused and restored his composure. “...No, not yet. We’re still bidding our time.” 

“...Ah… I see…” Sagiri (hell’s paradise) trails off, a bit disturbed by Norman’s 180 behavior. 

⤷ | The scene changes to show all the kids sitting at desks in a dark room, headphones over their ears, the screens in front of them bathing their faces in ghoulish white light.

The blonde haired boy from before, Lannion, stared at the screen intensely. 

An AI voice then began to narrate, “Age 11, type 1. Answer each question within nine seconds. We will now begin.” 

“A test?! Seriously?!” Akkun (tokyo revengers) whines. “I can never escape school can I?!”

“And did that thing say nine? Nine seconds for each question?! Are you erioussay?!” Gen (dr. stone) tugged at his hair in disbelief. 

“You guys must be geniuses!” Misa (death note) exclaims. 

“Awww,” Emma (tpn) blushes, rubbing her neck. “Thanks.”

⤷ | With the sound of a buzzer going off, the kids began their testing. As they scanned barcodes on their screen, their gazes became intense, their eyes clear yet somehow glazed over at the same time. 

The buzzer went off again. After which, Gilda let out a loud sigh, falling face-first into her screen. 

“Ugh… Rest in peace,” Nishinoya (haikyuu) shuddered, making a hasty prayer. 

“Don’t be dramatic,” Daichi (haikyuu) chastised, flicking the back of his head. 

“But can you imagine doing that yourself?” Sugawara (haikyuu) asked. “Every…. Wait, how often did you take these tests?”

Tilting her head, Emma frowns, “Every day? Why?”

Oh dear god…. The audience stared at the TPN cast in stunned silence. 

“That sounds like hell,” Langa concluded, face blank. 

It really isn’t though? The TPN cast wonders, looking on at the chaos.

Yes. Yes it is….Shin (sakamoto days) deadpans. 

⤷ | The boy with black hair, Thoma, exclaims proudly, “Well, I think I got at least half!” 

“That much? Wow!” A younger boy with a bowl cut gasped. 

Conny sighed, “I’m jealous. I didn’t get most of it.”

“That’s to be expected,” Chigiri (blue lock) sighs, weary just from watching the kid’s testing. 

Arms folded in his lap, Erwin (aot) points out, “It’s actually amazing that she got any of them at all, with her age and what-not.”

“So she’s probably smarter than most people her age, impressive,” Light (death note) mused. 

⤷ | WIth the kids back in the classroom / testing room, Mama stands in front of the room, holding a clipboard. “Are you all ready for the results?” She flips through the pages and announces, “Norman. Ray. Emma. You three did an amazing job. You got all of them right! Perfect scores!”

Upon the reveal, the kids all gasped with Emma being the only one who cheered, waving her arms in celebration. “Yaaaay!” 

“Are you kidding me?!” Nagisa (ass-class) yelped, his voice slightly strangled. 

“That… That can’t be humanly possible!” Gon (hxh) bemoans, holding his head in his hands. 

“Oh but it is…” Kalego (iruma-kun) sneered, addressing his students. “And if they can do it, I expect every one of you to follow their lead.”

Following Kalego’s lead, fellow teachers within the audience nodded in agreement. 

“Don’t compare us to these freaks!” Most of the students cried out.

“Don’t call them that.” Shinobu (kny) then turned to the TPN kids and smiled, “Don’t worry, they’re just idiots, don’t mind them.”

“Uh…. yeah….sure….” Norman (tpn) trails off, watching awkwardly as Adam (ror) scolds the audience.

⤷ | “Those three are different, huh?” 

The camera pans to Norman, who’s seen talking fondly to a younger girl sitting in front of him. “Norman is a genius who has the best brains.” 

Behind him, Ray is seen resting his cheek against the palm of his hand, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes. “And Ray, an intellect who can compete against Norman’s genius.” 

Emma is shown talking jovially to Gilda and some other kids. “Emma has amazing athletic skills, and her learning ability allows her to stay close to the other two.” 

“Incredible,” Viktor (arcane) hums. “It’s true what they say, the greatest potential comes from our young.” 

“So… a natural genius, a mentalist, and a hard worker huh?” Senku (dr. stone) hums, his finger tapping against the arm of his chair, a grin spreading on his face. “How exhilarating.”

“Bad…. They’re so BAD!!” Chrome (dr. stone) cries out. “Man… I can’t imagine what it’s like to be so smart so young!”

Eyes sparkling, Mob (mob psycho 100) gasps, “Even without psychic powers… they’re incredible!” 

I see it now…. The truth…. Dot’s (mashle) face turns stony, features chiseled as realization sets in. My IQ is comparatively less than that of 11 year olds…

“Got some pretty impressive kids huh, buddy,” Buddha (ror) chuckles, nudging a smiling Adam (ror). 

⤷ | “They say the House has never had three kids at this level together before.” 

Amidst all the praise for Gracefield’s top trio, Don fidgeted in his seat, tapping his upper arms, his cheeks puffed up.

“No wonder Mom is happy with them.” 

Unable to take it anymore, Don stood up abruptly and cried out, “Norman! I challenge you to a game of tag!” 

Unbothered, Norman responds with a closed-eyed smile and a soft chuckle. 

Norman (tpn) laughed into the back of his hand, “I forgot just how competitive Donny was back in those days.” Once he settles down from his fit of laughter, his eyes narrow briefly. Those days seem so long ago now… 

“Despite their intellect, we mustn’t forget that they’re still kids at the end of the day,” Caitlyn (arcane) chuckles. 

“It’s almost reassuring," Tanjiro sighs in relief. 

“...Playing tag? Right after testing? These kids are incredible…” Ekko (arcane) deadpans. 

⤷ | The scene cuts to Norman standing next to a tree as all the kids run off into different directions in the forest behind the house. “Run! Run!” the kids cried out as they scurried away. 

Under the shade of the tree, Ray sat at the base reading a book. Glancing over at Norman, Ray sighs and pulls out a pocket watch with roman numerals. With one nod from Ray, Norman breaks off into a run as he settles back into reading. 

“They’re adorable!” Kohaku (dr. stone) cooed. 

“What a fun way to get some exercise in,” Suo (wind breaker) hums pleasantly.  

“It’s so cool that you’d play with all your siblings like this, yo!” Heisuke (sakamoto days) commends loudly. 

“Thanks…” Norman (tpn) smiles, rubbing his nape sheepishly. 

“And what about you?” Mirio (mha) asks cheerily. “Not a fan of tag?”

Ray only shrugs and says, “There was just no reason for me to play it back then.” 

⤷ | Huddled behind bushes and some skinny trees, a group of younger kids waited anxiously for any sign of Norman. One of them looked around, unaware of Norman approaching behind him. 

Without saying anything, Norman places a hand on his shoulder, making all the kids yelp. 

Intrigued, Hisoka (hxh) mused softly, “Quite the stealthy one, isn’t he?” 

“Sure, but I see no reason to fixate on it,” Illumi (hxh) shrugs nonchalantly. 

“You’re a genius and a master tag player? There’s no way!” Bachira (bllk) whines. 

“I’m sorry?” Norman (tpn) sweatpans.

⤷ | Wearing a determined look, Don announces to the forest, “Come get me, Norman! We’ll outrun you this time for sure!” He turns to address Conny behind him, “Right, Conny?” 

“Thank you for always helping me, Don,” Conny says, holding little bunny, her stuffed animal, to her chest. 

“Huh? You don’t have to thank me!” Don exclaims bashfully, marching over to Conny. “I’ll always help you! Anytime, anywhere you’re in need!”

With a small giggle, she held her finger against her lips which incited Don to clamp his hand over his mouth. 

“She’s adorable, ribbit,” Asui (mha) comments. 

“Seems like a common theme among all the older siblings here….” Brunhilde sighs as she wearily eyed individuals like Kusuke (saiki k) or Illumi (hxh). At least, for the good ones… 

Vi (arcane) shifted uncomfortably. She recalled saying something similar to Powder, right before their lives went to shit. 

“As an older sibling, that’s really all you can do,” Jinwoo (solo leveling) hums, an ominous blue light glinting in his eye. “And if you intend to uphold that promise, then strength is what you’re gonna need.” 

Now suddenly pumped up, Laois clenches his fist and inwardly hardens his resolve. Falin… Don’t you worry, your big brother’s gonna fulfill this promise once we get back and rescue you from the red dragon! 

Don… With how much you cared for Conny, it’s no wonder you reacted the way you did…. Ray contemplates, his gaze slightly downcast. If only we… I did something sooner. 

⤷ | Noting the footprints embedded in the dirt behind Conny, Don frowns, “Based on the size of these shoe’s footsteps…” He smiles giddily, “You let your guard down, Norman!” 

“As if!” Emma whines, resting her head on Norman’s shoulder. “His guard’s always up, making winning practically impossible!” 

“Sorry,” Norman chuckles, patting her head. 

⤷ | Beside him, Conny turns to smile and giggle at something behind her. Don whirls around and lets out a surprised yelp at Norman’s sudden appearance. 

“Don, you always let your guard down,” Norman smiles closed-eyed. Walking forward, Norman places a hand on Don’s shoulder and remarks, “Don’t I always tell you? Your weakness is that you make quick judgement and lose your cool.” He waves at Conny one last time before taking off into a run once more. 

“Games, even the simplest childhood ones, can teach quite the valuable lessons,” Ciel (black butler) mused. 

“It kinda pisses me off how good he is at this,” Connie (aot) gripes. 

“Yup,” Ymir (aot) clicks her tongue. “We’ve got a future smartass in our midsts.” 

Spare some talent for the rest of us man…. Ryota (kakegurui) deadpans. 

“It’s no wonder then that this Don kid keeps challenging him,” Chobei (hell's paradise) sighs. “This kid’s so damn patronizing." 

“Kids will be kids,” Frieren hums lightheartedly. 

⤷ | Outside the forest, the majority of the kids stood smiling and laughing amongst one another. “Dang, I got caught.” 

Approaching the group, Don marvels slowly, “What the heck? He practically got everyone.” 

“Well, it’s Norman after all,” Nat, the red-haired boy, shrugs. 

I’m glad they think so highly of me. Norman’s smile held an almost awkward tilt to it. Though it’s a bit embarrassing when they say it like that…

“Such a frail-looking kid’s able to do all that?” ‘Hikaru’ (tshd) frowned, doubtful.

“Yeah… he seems pretty cool,” Yoshiki (tshd) comments offhandedly. 

‘Hikaru’ (tshd) shifted in his seat, somewhat displeased by Yoshiki’s comment. 

⤷ | Anna, a girl with blonde twin braids, turns to Gilda and says, “The only survivor is…” 

“...just Emma,” Gilda finishes. 

Ray takes out his pocket watch once more and checks the time before turning to look at the forest. 

The scene cuts to Emma running through the forest alone, panting as she maintained a steady pace. 

“Amazing! Her physique is amazing! The body improvement club would surely approve!” Mob (mob psycho 100) gushed. I better ask her for some tips later! 

“Yes, her stamina is certainly nothing to laugh at!” Rengoku (kny) announces loudly. 

“Yes, she’s quite the flamboyant child!” Tengen (kny) agrees. 

“Thanks,” Emma (tpn) flushed, appreciative. 

I’m a bit jealous… Maomao (the apothecary diaries) admits inwardly. She has a petite figure much like myself and yet she has a good amount of athletic strength… Well, there’s nothing I can do so no use worrying about it. 

⤷ | As Emma ran, her gaze shifted, catching a familiar face across the trees. She smiled jovially as Norman, who wore a similar expression, kept in pace with her. 

With ease, she increased speed and jumped over a chasm. At the same chasm, Norman paused and smiled as Emma’s figure disappeared into the other part of the forest. 

Usopp (op) blinked once. He rubbed his eyes. Then he blinked again. “Did she just jump over a gorge?” 

“Apparently so,” Viktor (arcane) frowns. “And out of pure athletic ability it seems.” 

“Not even one steroid?” Takemichi (tokyo revengers) says hopelessly, face almost blank. 

“We don’t have access to those,” Ray dismissed absentmindedly. 

“And besides, why would I need them for a game of tag?” Emma (tpn) tilts her head slightly. 

“God damn it!” Usopp and Takemichi groan in unison, face in their hands. 

⤷ | With the ticking pocket watch in the background, Norman takes his time to peruse the terrain. Eventually he reaches the other side of the forest, taking the time to look around. 

Ban (sds) barked a laugh, “Haha! What a smart kid!” 

“Definitely,” Finn (mashle) shudders. 

Sokka (atla) rolled his eyes, “I think we’ve established this before.” 

⤷ | As Norman observed his surroundings, a light breeze blew some leaves into his face. In the tree next to him, from above, Emma waited from within the tree canopy, smiling all the while. 

Back on the ground, Norman takes a step forward only to trip on a rock and onto his face. 

“Ah…” Iruma deadpans, unsure of how to react. 

“Pft-hahaha!!!” Unfortunately, the more bold and frivolous characters like Luffy had no problem expressing their utter amusement. 

Wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, Power (csm) snickers, “After all that talk, you still- bwhahaha!” 

Embarrassment rose to Norman’s cheeks but besides that he managed to keep his composure despite all the laughter at his dispense. 

⤷ | With a gasp, Emma parkoured down the tree with ease and to Norman’s assistance. “Norman!” she cried as she bent down to his level. 

WIth a mischievous smile, Norman turns to face her and states, “I was pretending.” 

“No fair!” Emma balked, eyes wide and jaw dropped. “I was worried about you!” 

With an exasperated sigh, Ray (tpn) partially covered his face with his hand.

“That’s got to be cheating… right?” Kou (tbhk) asks, troubled.

With a hesitant shrug, Nejire (mha) answers, “I mean… he technically didn’t break any rules?”

“My my~ How cunning,” Yumeko (kakeguri) giggled behind her hand. 

“He made a fool of himself to win a game?” Rei (buddy daddies) cringed.

“I see no greater use of free will,” Karma (ass-class) mused, leaning back.

⤷ | As he sat up, Norman explained, “Emma, your weakness is that you’re nice.” He placed a hand on Emma’s shoulder, who sat still with her mouth agape. 

That’s one hell of a weakness… Sakamoto (sakamoto days) deadpans. 

I didn’t even know that was possible! Akira (sakamoto days) gawks. 

⤷ | The scene cuts to Norman, Ray, and Emma all now under the tree. While Norman and Ray sat at the base, Emma laid on the grass face-down, pounding her hands and feet in frustration. “He caught me again! Why?! So frustrating!” she whined. 

Snickers echoed throughout the theater. 

This is so embarrassing!!!! Emma practically screamed inwardly. Kill me now! 

Beside her, Norman muffled his chuckles while Ray hardly held back his own laughter, his shoulders shaking from the force of it. 

⤷ | “Question,” Ray interjects, making Emma pause and look up. “What does Norman have that you don’t?” 

Emma took a second to think. “The ability to plan ahead? Calmness? Overwhelming intelligence?”

“That didn’t take her long,” Armin (aot) blinks. 

Aren’t all these qualities sort of the same? Stark (frieren) frowns, tilting his head to the side. 

“She’s either overestimating Norman’s abilities,” Hikaru (ouran) ponders, eyebrow lifted.

“Or she’s severely ignorant or underestimating her own,” Karou (ouran) continues, rubbing his chin.

“It’d be kinda hilarious either way,” Yuzuriha (hell’s paradise) mused. 

⤷ | “Strategy,” Ray sighed which Emma perked up at. As he put his book down, Ray explained further, “If it’s about simple physical ability, you have the upper hand.” 

“If she has the upper hand physically, what makes Norman the winner every time?” Gon (hxh) questioned, arms crossed. 

With a slight quirk to his lips, Killua (hxh) answers, “It’s like betting a person who doesn’t know the rules of tag against a tag master.” 

After a few seconds of Gon (hxh) processing the information, he lights up and exclaims, “Oh~! I get it!” 

⤷ | “But Norman is strong right here. Like no other,” Ray points a finger at his temple. “You’re playing tag, It’s a game where you compete with strategy.” 

Her face settled into a slight pout, Emma probes further, “A simple game of tag?” 

“It’s like chess, but using your entire body.” 

The majority of the theater collectively sighed in their minds: Overthinking much? 

“Well…. You’re not wrong…” Chuuya (bsd) sighs, a bit conflicted. 

“But you’re probably the only person in the world who thinks of tag so complicately,” Mel (arcane) chuckles. 

Offering his own piece, Yoshiki (tshd) comments, “I’m pretty sure when I was a kid playing tag, I focussed on the fun rather than the potential mind chess.

“Hah…” Tanaka (haikyuu) sighs dramatically, swinging an arm over Yoshiki’s (tshd) shoulder, despite Hikaru (tshd) glaring holes into the appendage. “I guess that’s the difference between us normies and these freakin’ geniuses.”

⤷ | Ray turns to Norman who sat beside him. “Isn’t that right, Norman?” 

“Yeah. But you’re a better tactician than me, Ray,” Norman smiles. 

“You overestimate me,” Ray dismisses breathily. 

Emma frowns, “Reading the enemy’s moves, huh?”

Seeing this moment again, it’s amazing how I didn’t realize this sooner. Norman’s eyes narrowed as his thoughts spiraled, a smirk resting on his lips. Ray was preparing us for the truth. Discretely. Even through a brief conversation about tag. Guess I was right… you really are a better tactician, aren’t you Ray?

His mouth set as a straight line, Isagi (bllk) couldn’t help but wonder: Is this talk still about tag? Am I missing something? Does this correlate to something bigger? 

⤷ | Looking out in the distance, Norman remarks offhandedly, “But we’re not even close when it comes to Mom.” 

“That’s true. We’ve never beaten her at chess,” Emma grins. 

Norman responds with his own fond smile while Ray stares at Emma almost pointedly. 

“Ahaha… How ironic,” Emma laughs awkwardly, rubbing her nape. Sorry Ray! 

Matching his on-screen expression, Ray adds, “Almost painfully so.” 

“Haha… yeah…” Norman says dryly, attempting to look appeasing. Sorry Ray… 

What are they even talking about?? Shin (sakamoto days) questioned, puzzled. 

Next time, give your local psychics some context to go off of… Saiki deadpans. 

⤷ | “Norman!” Don cried out, pointing his finger at the said-boy. “I want a rematch! Next game, everyone will be ‘it’ except you!” 

“Whoa!” Emma gasped. 

“He’s losing his cool again,” Gilda sighs, sitting with Nat and Anna. 

With an almost childlike smile, Norman sat up once more, readying himself. 

“Doesn’t this remind you guys of our time in Anakt?” Mizi (alnst) hums, her eyes glazed over with nostalgia. 

“You actually wanna reminisce about those days?” Ivan (alnst) chuckles, closed-eyed. 

“Well those were some of the best days of my life,” Mizi (alnst) sighs. “The games we used to play, the songs we sang together.” 

“The meals we shared,” Sua (alnst) quietly added. 

“From the artificial grass to Till’s incredible drawings,” Mizi (alnst) giggled as Till (alnst) flushed up to the tips of his ears. 

Eyes downcast, Ivan (alnst) hums, “Well when you guys say it like that…. I’d have to agree.” 

⤷ | Back in the forest area, the kids were seen scouring the terrain carefully. Inside, Emma, Gilda, and Phil searched together. 

Mid-step, Emma paused, sensing a presence. She swerved to the right and walked uphill wide-eyed to a short-fence that separated the forest into two parts. Standing about 3 feet away, she stops and turns to her left to see Norman standing close by, his gaze also focused on the fence. 

“It’s a fence,” Todoroki (mha) voices. 

“A really really short fence,” Midoriya (mha) squinted. 

“No shit Sherlock,” Bakugo scowls. 

“Why would anyone need a fence that short?” Reki (sk8) frowns, brows furrowed. 

Kyo (fruits basket) rolls his eyes, “To prevent the younger kids from accessing the other side dumbass.”

“Then why not just get a normal fence? This just seems inconvenient,” Taiju (dr. stone) huffs. 

“Can we focus on something else? If we talk about this dumbass fence any longer, my braincells are gonna be at risk,” Levi (aot) groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Yeah, this topic is completely irrelevant to the rest of this episode anyway,” Nendo (saiki k) shrugs, facing the 4th wall.

Looking in Nendo’s general area, Aren (saiki k) says bluntly, “.....Who the fuck are you talking to now?”

⤷ | Without a word, Emma walks towards Norman and places a hand on his shoulder. They stare at each other for a moment, wide-eyed. “You caught me,” Norman smiles. 

Emma turns back to the fence. “You can’t go near there, no matter what.” 

“Yeah, Mom is always telling us that,” Norman sighs. “The gate and the fence deep in the forest are dangerous.”

Raising a brow, Kikoru (kaiju no. 8) asks, “Disregarding the gate, if the forest is so dangerous, why let the kids wander freely inside?”

“Confining children to the building may encourage bad behavior and lack of exercise, which may halt brain development. Allowing them to have these privileges promotes greater benefits than whatever may be in the forest,” Loid (spy x family) explains politely. However, it’s important to note that the danger of the forest is so prominent that the mother went out of her way to build such a fence and warn her eldest. How interesting… 

⤷ | “That’s obviously a lie,” Ray states, suddenly appearing at Emma and Norman’s side, forcing Emma to jerk back from touching the fence. 

Unsurprised by Ray’s sudden appearance, Norman asks, “What do you mean?”

“Well, just look at it. What part of this is dangerous?” Ray challenges, looking down at the fence with his hands in his pockets. “The fence is low, and I don’t see anything threatening. 

“Remember kids!” Korosensei rose a wagging tentacle. “Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean the danger isn’t there!” 

Ray was trying so hard to give us some hints. Emma (tpn) sweatpans.

Letting out a little sigh, Norman ran a hand down his face. Sending us with Little Bunny was the one thing he could do, to get the unfiltered truth through to us. 

Keep talking like that and soon I’ll start feeling bad for the kid… Shin (sakamoto days) cringed. 

⤷ | “But if Mom is telling us that…” Emma trails off. 

Glancing elsewhere, Ray mumbles, “You really love Mom, after all.” 

A bit startled, Emma yelped, “But everyone-” 

Ruby (oshi no ko), her face scrunched up in slight anger, frowns. Is he insinuating that he doesn’t? 

What a sad mindset to have at such a young age, Tohru (fruits basket) sympathized inwardly.

“A complicated relationship with your mother?” Caitlyn (arcane) asks, brow raised.

“Something like that,” Ray (tpn) answers, his gaze unfocused. 

“How complicated can it be? She seems fine,” Benimaru (that time I was reincarnated as a slime) scoffs. 

“Don’t just assume things, you jerk!” Rimuru (that time I was reincarnated as a slime) hissed.

⤷ | But before Emma could go further, Don jogged into frame, exclaiming, “Hey! Are you sure you guys are playing tag?” 

“Oh, is the game over already?” Gilda sighs, appearing shortly after Don with Conny at her side. 

Turning to Ray, Norman hums, “We should call it a day. If we’re late, Mom will be worried.” 

“This seems like a somewhat of a normal occurrence,” Yashiro (tbhk) comments awkwardly. 

Emma (tpn) tilts her head slightly to the side, “What makes you say that?” 

“It’s just…” Yashiro (tbhk) paused for a moment. “You seem quite adept at changing the subject when it starts to become uncomfortable.”

Norman (tpn) chuckles, “Well Ray’s always been a-” 

“A painfully depressing child?” Hanako (tbhk) teased, floating to be right in front of Norman’s face. 

“...I was gonna say that he’s always been a complicated guy,” Norman laughs, a bit strained. 

“Yeah… That’s not any better…” Ray sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

⤷ | Further away from the fence as more kids joined the group, Don looks back at it and says, “We’ll eventually leave this place, huh?” 

“This is an orphanage. Of course we’ll leave eventually,” Nat sighs. “Before we turn 12.” 

“Before you turn 12? You’ll be on your own?” Katara (alta) bawks, mouth agape. 

“The legal age is 18, they can’t do that,” Karasuma (ass-class) frowns, brows furrowed. 

“We wouldn’t be on our own, we would be…” Norman (tpn) paused, biting his lip as he thought of what to say next. “...placed with foster families to eventually get adopted. This would happen before we turned 12, that’s what Nat meant.”

That’s kinda weird… Always before 12… Hange (aot) scrutinizes, nose scrunched up. That has to mean something…right? 

⤷ | “You know what?” Gilda frowns. “We don’t receive letters from anyone.” 

Emma tilts her head, “Letters?” 

“You know, after they leave the House, no one writes us,” Gilda elaborates. 

With a reassuring smile, Norman hums, “I’m sure they’re being considerate to their foster parents.” 

“But surely a letter or two wouldn’t hurt,” Suo (wind breaker) quirks his head to the side questioningly. 

“And even if it does, the foster parents should just suck it up,” Sakura (wind breaker) huffs, cheek resting in his palm. 

As Suo and Umemiya (wind breaker) laughs at Sakura’s blunt language, Nirei (wind breaker) stumbles to defend him, “A-ah! What he means is-!”

“They’re the adults of the relationship and shouldn’t project such insecurities onto their foster children,” Robin (op) finishes calmly, regarding Nirei with a twinkle in her eye. “Am I right?” 

“Y-yeah…” Nirei (wind breaker) flushes.

⤷ | Aghast, Don exclaims, “But we’ve all been together ever since we were born! Even if we’re not related by blood, we’re truer siblings than most.”

With a harsh scoff, Jinx (arcane) snickers, “Word of advice kids, siblings are totally overrated. Blood related or not. They always end up stabbing you in the back no matter what you do.” 

Vi’s (arcane) body stiffened, Jinx’s words akin to a mighty blow to her psyche. 

After a brief pause, Aang (atla) awkwardly says, “Miss, I don’t know what you’ve been through but-”

But before Aang could continue, Jinx (arcane) cuts him off with a loud, “Ah! Kid, save this hippy talk for someone who actually wants to hear it.” 

Upon seeing Aang’s upset face, Jayce (arcane) scowls, “Way to get a kid upset, genius.” 

A wry smirk on her lips, Jinx chuckles, “What can I say? I’m just that great!” 

⤷ | Crossing her arms, Gilda sighs, “They must be having so much fun everyday that they’ve forgotten about the House.”

Emma smiles, “Then it’s fine, right? I’m happy for them.” 

“What a pure heart!” Goll (ror) yelps, surprised. 

“A common trait amongst human children!” Hercules (ror) beams. 

“Ugh. Her purity is becoming sickening at this point,” Mahito (jjk) gags. 

Amused, Geto/Kenjaku chuckles at Mahito’s obvious distaste. 

⤷ | “I want to go outside, too!” Gilda whines. 

With a smirk, Nat prompts, “What would you do outside?” 

“Isn’t it obvious? Get new clothes!” 

“Not again,” Don sighs. 

“I mean, come on!” Gilda cries out. “We only have this one uniform! I read in books that the outside world has so many different types of clothes! I want to wear them all!”

“I want to eat delicious food,” Nat states. 

“I want to go on a date with a cute girl,” Don adds. 

The way they talk about the outside world… It really is reminiscent of our Anakt days… Ivan (alien stage) muses, gaze diverting towards Till’s slouched form besides him. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I suppose we’ll see. 

“The feminine urge to dress stylishly? Now that I totally get!” Irina (ass-class) asserts, flipping her hair over her shoulder. 

“Uh what she said,” Denji (csm) remarks lamely, his gaze focused on Irina briefly before his eyes snap back to the screen. “Except I only get the part about food, delicious food and eating it.” 

“And a date with a cute girl? Sounds like Don and I are one of the same breed!” Dazai (bsd) exclaims, wearing a goofy expression. 

With a scowl, Kunikida (bsd) smacks the back of Dazai’s head and says, “Don’t compare your philandering ways to an innocent child’s curiosity.” 

⤷ | “Geez, that was rude,” Gilda huffs. 

“Oh, that’s not what I meant!”

Taking in the other kid’s responses, Phil eagerly raises his hand and exclaims, “I want to see a train!” 

The once squabbling trio all turn to Phil with affectionate smiles. “That’s a good one!” Don praises brightly.

Holding an almost amused tone in his voice, Rei (buddy daddies) hums, “Sounds like something Miri would say.” 

Rolling his eyes, Kazuki (buddy daddies) huffs, “Haah? There’s no way! We raised our daughter with standards y’know.” 

WIth an exaggerated yell, Tamaki (ouran) exclaims, “Ah~! How I long to be young and simple-minded again!” 

With a slight scoff, Haurhi (ouran) mumbles under her breath. “You’ve achieved at least one of these things.” 

⤷ | “What about you, Norman?” Emma smiles. 

“I want to go to different places and see things I’ve never seen before,” Norman says, opening his arms.

“Good idea! And you, Ray?” Emma chirps, the group turning to Ray. 

With a sigh, Ray closes his eyes and states, “Once I get outside, well, I’d have to survive first.” 

“How… logical…?” Historia (aot) hums. 

“You mean depressing as shit, right? Just say it how it is,” Ymir (aot) shrugs with a sigh. 

“.... Has he ever possessed any sense of childhood whimsy?” Kafka (kaiju no.8) deadpans. 

“What else can we expect from a kid with that hair,” Apollo (ror) humphs, arms crossed.  

⤷ | “Such a downer,” Don remarks, making Ray’s frown deeper. “What about you, Emma?” 

As Emma looked up at Don’s question, Ray quips, “You want to ride a giraffe, right?” 

Emma giggles, “Did I say that?” Then, with a reminiscent look, she explains, “Well, I don’t really want to leave. I want to stay here forever!” 

“You… wanna stay in an orphanage forever?” Laios (delicious in dungeon) blinks, confused.

“Dumbass!” Marcille (delicious in dungeon) slapped the back of his head. “She wants to stay with her mom and siblings forever!”

“Aww that’s sweet~!” Mitsuri (kny) squealed. 

“But totally unrealistic,” Nagi (bllk) states, 

“Shut up!” Chigiri (bllk) scowls, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him around. “I won’t let you crush her dreams you heartless bastard!” 

It’s always the most innocent dreams that never come to… Ranpo (bsd) frowns to himself. I just hope I’m proven wrong this time.

⤷ | “Hey, that’s kind of unfair,” Don chides, frowning. 

“But I’m so happy right now. Right?” At Emma’s response, the kids all just look at each other with fond closed-eyed smiles. 

“Happy, huh,” Ray mumbles to himself, gaze downcast. 

Happy right now, how ironic… Emma (tpn) seethed, fists clenched bitterly. 

After doing a quick look-around, Luffy (op) scratched his head and said, “Is he capable of feeling positive emotions? ‘Cause I’m not seeing it.”

“Hey kid…” Tamaki (mha) hesitantly spoke up. “I happen to know a guy that can help you if you want-”

“No thanks,” Ray dismissed. 

“You didn’t give him a chance…” Norman (tpn) sweatpants, to which Ray just shrugged at. 

Que Tamaki having a nervous breakdown with Mirio and Nejire trying to calm him down. 

⤷ | “I promise to write.” Conny steps forward, smiling sincerely, “I’ll write a lot of letters. I’ll never forget about everyone. When I leave the House, I want to become a mother like Mom. And then, I’ll never abandon any children.” 

As all the kids stare at Conny fondly, Emma says, “You love Mom very much, don’t you?” 

“Yeah!” Conny nods, smiling as she holds Little Bunny close. 

Sucking in a harsh breath, Ranpo (bsd) swiftly averted his eyes. 

Kusuo (saiki k) furrowed his brow, “I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”

Emma’s (tpn) bottom lip wobbled as she struggled not to cry out at Conny’s genuine smile toward the person responsible for her death. 

“I know you’ll miss her now but think about the happy life she’s gonna lead once she leaves,” Tohru (fruits basket) exclaims, clasping her hands. 

“A happy life…” Ray (tpn) murmurs. “Right….”

⤷ | The scene cuts to the House at night. Then to a child’s drawing hanging on the wall, which Mama takes off the wall and hugs it to her chest with a smile. 

Emma (tpn) froze, unsure what to think of this. Mama’s smiling at Conny’s drawing?! She… She has no right… it’s her fault Conny ended up like…. 

“This must be quite the bittersweet moment,” Kurapika (hxh) frowned. “Watching the child you lovingly raised being sent to a different family 

“It is what’s best for her,” Maomao (apothecary diaries) shook her head. She’s a strong woman, this one. I can see it in her eyes. But there’s something else to it…

“Besides, if Conny’s happy then I’m sure her Mama is too!” Lemon (mashle) chirped. 

⤷ | “I’m slow, and I wasn’t as smart as everyone, but even after I leave, I’ll do my best,” Conny exclaimed, looking around at all her siblings who gathered at the entrance of the House. “I’ll have Little Bunny so I’ll be okay.” 

“She.. but she isn’t!” Emma (tpn) cried out. She won’t be okay! 

“Of course she isn’t,” Opera (iruma-kun) placated. 

“Yeah, she can’t be slow with all those tests you guys take,” Bokuto (haikyuu) laughs. “She’s better than me!” 

“I think that says more about you than her, dude,” Mafuyu (sakamoto days) cringed. 

⤷ | “Conny…” Don trailed off, eyes crinkled. 

Conny stared at him for a moment before tearing up, “I don’t want to leave anymore. I want to stay here!” 

In response to her cries, Don began to sniffle into his sleeve, “Conny… Conny!” Beside him, Emma started to tear up as well as the other kids looked at Conny with bittersweet smiles. 

Needless to say, a few tears were exchanged upon this scene. 

“Fuck… This is sad…” Leorio (hxh) groaned, pressing his palms into his eyes. 

“What? Gonna cry, old man?” Killua (hxh) snickered.

“And what if I am? What’s it to you?” Leorio (hxh) seethed.

Sakura (wind breaker) turned to his right, only to balk at Nirei (wind breaker) practically sobbing into his hands. “R-Really?! You too?!” 

“I-I’m not crying! I swear!” Nirei (wind breaker) sniffed. “My eyes are just sweating! Aggressively! …..Just look away!” 

Rubbing Nirei’s back, Suo (wind breaker) lightheartedly chuckled, “Sorry Nirei, but no one’s gonna believe that.” 

⤷ | The scene unceremoniously ends with the door closing, leaving the rest of the children standing around the door. 

It then cuts to Mama and Conny walking down the hill with Mama holding Conny’s luggage and a lantern, humming a melody. 

“What song is that, Mom?” Conny asks, which received no response as Mama seemingly didn’t hear her. Mama’s melody filled the silence as they approached the large gate from before.

With a frown, Jiro (mha) hums, “I don’t think this is a song, more like a…” 

“A lullaby,” Till (alnst) finished, wearing a troubled expression. 

“Whatever it is, it’s giving me the creeps,” Mash (mashle) blanches. 

“She’s getting fostered… in the middle of the night?” Nami (op) paused.

And they’re walking into the forest for the fostering process? Jinx (arcane) raises her brow before letting out a dramatic sigh. Yeah this makes total sense and I totally trust this. 

⤷ | It cuts back to the House where Emma enters the dining room with a broom in hand. Upon entering, she stops then gawks at the sight of Little bunny sitting atop one of the tables. “Conny?! You’re kidding me!” 

“...Really? After all that, she forgets the stupid thing? Are you kidding me?!” Magma (black clover) howls. 

“I’m still recovering from all that sappy shit, what’s happening?” Levi (aot) sighs, pinching the bride of his nose. 

“An inanimate object being used as a plot device. What else is new?” Kusuo (saiki k) stared at a certain wall. 

⤷ | Norman and Gilda enter the dining room, also holding brooms. “Let’s hurry up and finish up cleaning,” Gilda hums as Emma sprints past. 

“Conny’s already gone!” Emma wails as she holds Little Bunny close. “What should I do?” 

“There’s still time,” Ray interrupts, suddenly appearing. “From the window, I saw the lights on the gate were still on. Mom isn’t back yet either, so I don’t think Conny has left yet.” 

“Let’s hurry, Emma,” Norman says with Emma following suit. 

 “They’re putting all that effort into a stuffed animal?” Ciel (black butler) sneers. “Why?” 

“Have you been watching this thing for the last five minutes with your eyes closed?” Stark (frieren) deadpans. “That plushie-thing is special to her!” 

“Then why would she leave it behind?” Yashiro (tbhk) questioned. “Wasn’t she holding it before she left?”

“Maybe she dropped it from all the emotion?” Emilico (shadows house) supplied hesitantly. 

“I doubt it…” Loid (spy x family) frowns. There’s something odd about this, I just can’t put my finger on it… 

⤷ | Ray watches from a window as Norman and Emma run down the hill, Little Bunny in Emma’s arms. They soon faced the gate, staring up at it for a moment. 

“You can’t go near there, no matter what,” Emma quotes softly. 

“I know. Let’s get scolded together, later,” Norman smiles. 

With a bead of sweet forming at his cheek, Yoshiki (tshd) sighs uncomfortably, “I don’t know why, but I’m getting a bad feeling about this.” 

This eerie atmosphere certainly isn’t helping, that’s for sure… Mel (arcane) mused, eyes narrowed. 

A-Are you kidding me?! The soundwaves from these kids are freaky as hell! AAH! Take me home already! Zenitsu (kny) cried out from the depths of his soul. 

⤷ | Peeking from the corner, Emma calls out, “Conny?” 

They quietly go further within the dark alley beyond the gate, passing large doors with lights above them, the sound of dripping water all around them. 

They stop in front of a truck with no driver, which Emma hums, “Is this the truck that’ll take Conny? Actually, I’ve never seen a vehicle before.” 

“Who’s gonna get adopted in this dark ass alley?” Sanemi sniffs in disgust. 

“Never seen a truck before? What kind of kid are you?” Mineta (mha) quips, kicking back in his chair. 

“The kind that seems severely traumatized and full of fear,” Kusuke (saiki k) hums to himself, visibly amused. 

“Where’d you get that?” Kusuo (saiki k) eyes his brother suspiciously. 

“These children are displaying common symptoms, where else? What? Am I aware of something you aren’t, dear brother?” Kusuke (saiki k) laughs manically. 

“No. You’re just stating the obvious for me,” Kusuo (saiki k) rolled his eyes. “I’m just surprised you didn’t reach this conclusion sooner.”

⤷ | Curiously, Emma watches water drip from the ceiling white Norman peered into the driving compartment of the truck. Jumping down, Norman mumbles, “No one’s here.” 

Facing the truck bed, Emma hums, “Maybe she’ll find it if we leave it in the back.” 

“Yeah,” Norman nods, walking off as Emma parted the truck’s curtains. 

“Something about this seems wrong,” Iruma shivers, rubbing his arms. “There should be someone here.” 

“Where’s the guard?” Mahiru (servamp) frowns, crossing his arms. “The driver? Their mom?”

“And why the hell is it so creepy for no reason?!” Usopp (op) wails, biting his nails. “Where’s the wholesomeness?! Bring it back!”

Wasn’t this whole thing about kids playing tag? Nagisa (ass-class) balked, staring at the screen open-mouthed. Where did this come from?! 

“I must be cursed…” Todoroki (mha) muttered to himself. “Angst always seems to follow wherever I go… Why…” 

⤷ | The sound of Little Bunny hitting the ground brings back Norman’s attention. With the plushie out of her grasp, Emma slowly backed away from the truck, breaths coming out in small gasps. Her eyes were wide, her figure trembling. “Norman…” 

“Why did she drop Little Bunny?” Sasha (aot) trailed off slowly. “And why does she look so scared…?”

“Just what the hell was in that truck?” Hikaru (tshd) scratched his head, confused. 

“Emma, what did you see?” Kurapika (hxh) probed gently, placing a light hand on her shoulder. 

Emma (tpn), eyes wide and expression locked into one of pure horror, held her hand over her mouth, her body trembling. She didn’t seem to hear his question, let alone acknowledge all the sympathetic and worried looks directed towards her. 

“Emma….” Norman (tpn) whispered, squeezing her hand to no avail. 

Tearing his gaze from Emma’s face, Ray (tpn) looks at Norman and slowly shakes his head. “Not now.”

“Kurapika,” Leorio (hxh) called out, wearing a serious look. “It’s best not to bother her right now.” His words prompted Kurapika to sigh and walk back to his seat, a bit defeated. 

“This… This must be the work of Dark Reunion… Yeah, it has to be! Don’t worry kid, I’ll protect you!” Kaido (saiki k) exclaimed, sweating profusely. Mommy! 

Shit. Shit. Shit. I’m not ready for whatever the hell this shit is… Takemichi, with the entirety of his body and soul, wanted nothing more than to leave. GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!

⤷ | Visibly alarmed, Norman took a breath before walking towards the trunk bed. Taking measured, slow steps, he made his way to the truck and peered past the curtains. 

A second later, Norman had a similar reaction to Emma. His eyes grew wide with terror as he let out a strangled gasp. 

It’s something so bad that it’s making this kid freak out? Karma (ass-class) mused, eyes narrowed. How scary. 

Oh god… Not again… Nanami (jjk) grit his teeth in frustration. Leave the youth out of this, just this once… 

“WAAAH!! Kinro, help me! I’m scared!!” Ginro (dr. stone) wailed, hiding his face in his hands. 

“We haven’t even seen what they’re so scared of,” Kinro (dr. stone) scolds, pulling Ginro’s hands away from his face. “And besides, these kids are handling it better than you, have some self respect!” 

“My my, what interesting faces,” Hisoka (hxh) cooed. “I’m oh so curious about what's causing these expressions.” 

“For once, I’ll have to agree,” Illumi (hxh) hums, glancing over at his acquaintance. 

“Interesting… Interesting…” Jack the Ripper (ror) mutters to himself, eyeing the TPN children’s ever fluctuating auras. 

Saitama (opm), tired of this trio of creeps, sighs, “You guys are just sick. Sick and creepy as hell. Stop it, you’re making everyone uncomfortable.” 

“I really hate to disagree with you but they’re not stopping anytime soon…” Dimple (mob) sweats. 

⤷ | The scene cuts to the bed of the truck, revealing quite the horrifying image. It was Conny. Dead. Pale as if the life were sucked out of her, her eyes wide and devoid of any life, focused on Emma and Norman. A tall red flower embedded in her chest with trace amounts of blood stained on her clothes and face. 

The theater fell into a silence that seemed to engulf the room all at once. The shock upon the discovery made all other possible conversations fall flat in comparison. 

This long-standing silence only ended when a piercing scream echoed throughout the theater, inciting a chain reaction of emotion to the scene. 

“M-Master?” Mob stammered, eyes suddenly covered by Reigen’s hands (mob psycho 100). 

“Don’t look, Mob… You guys too, Ritsu, Teru…” Reigen (mob psycho 100) trailed off gravely, eyeing Dimple who used his hands to cover the other boy’s eyes. 

“It’s… It’s Conny…” Noelle (black clover) stammered, hands shaking. 

“Oh god… OH GOD!” Asta (black clover) cried out, expression raw with horror. 

“That… That can’t be her!” Kou (tbhk) protested, shaking his head. “This… This can’t be real!”

“Y-Yeah! This has to be a dream!” Baji (tokyo revengers) exclaimed, wide-eyed. “A fucked up piece of your guy’s imaginations, right? Right?!” 

“Or it could be a prank!” Chopper (op) added shakily, eyes welling up with tears. “Haha, it’s not funny so she should stop pretending right about now!”

Emma’s (tpn) soft sobs interrupted the constant stammering. With tears spilling down her cheeks, she hicupped, “It… It’s her…. It’s Conny… she’s… She’s d-dead…” 

“She… she can’t be dead…” Heisuke (sakamoto days) denied loudly, unsure. “She just got adopted, she has so much to live for!” 

“Fuck! FUCK!!!” Eren (aot) screamed, digging his palms into his eyes. “….She was only six… how could this have happened…?”

“Someone did this to her,” Mikasa (aot) said thickly. “That’s the only explanation.”

“What… What kind of animals could do this?” Caitlyn (arcane) hissed, clenching her jaw. 

“Who would want to hurt Conny?” Tohru (fruits basket) sobbed into her hands. 

Cracking his knuckles, Garou (opm) remarks menacingly, “Some sick motherfuckers that’s got hell to pay…” 

Eyes gleaming with pure determination, Luffy states, “Someone’s gonna pay for this.” 

“You’re damn right…” Nami (opm) gritted out, furiously wiping away tears. 

Kurapika (hxh) sucked in a harsh breath, looking at his lap, unwilling to show anyone his glowing red eyes resulting from his anger. 

Fukuzawa (bsd), face taunted with anger, asked quietly, “Ranpo, did you know this was going to happen?”

Ranpo paused before tipping the brim of his head over his eyes, “... I hoped with every fiber of my being that my dedication would be incorrect.” 

The Gods (ror) paused, feeling waves of unbridled rage come off one human in particular, Adam (ror). 

Beyond the theater room, the female voice groaned, “Shiitt…” 

The masculine voice sighed, “We knew what would come by showing them this universe in particular.” 

“I know, I know, but damn…” 

⤷ | The pair gasped as a sudden voice emerged beyond the door. “Is someone there?” 

“Hey, did you hear a voice just now?” 

“Probably your imagination.” 

Just as the doors in front of them swung open, Emma and Norman scurried away to hide behind the truck, Little Bunny in hand. 

“It’s them… It has to be…” Eren (aot) muttered, biting his lip. 

“Who? Who are they?!” Finny (black butler) gasped, wide eyed. 

With a deep scowl, Eren states, “The bastards that killed Conny.”

“And how do you know that?” Armin (aot) challenged, making Eren recoil in surprise. “That’s what I thought. Stop making baseless accusations!” 

Katara (atla) watched this exchange mindlessly before suddenly paling. “Guys… Where’s their mom?” 

“You idiot, she was with… Conny…” Sokka trailed off, becoming equally pale. 

Shion (that time I got reincarnated as a slime) stammered, “D-Don’t tell me that she’s-!” 

“Shut up!” Rimuru (that time I got reincarnated as a slime) hissed. “Don’t say it! Not near them!” 

“We just… have to hope for the best,” MItsuri (kny) whimpered, looking a bit hopeless herself. 

“What? That the mother is alive and her daughter dead?” Sanemi (kny) smiled darkly, wearing a bitter look. 

“Better than both of them dead,” Shinobu (kny) retorted sharply, her smile strained. 

“Don’t be too sure about that…” Ray (tpn) murmured under his breath. 

⤷ | Exchanging a look, the pair slipped under the truck and crawled to the side facing the door. 

“If it was a stray cat, I would have caught it and ate it.” 

“You eat things like cats?” 

“They eat cats?!” Atsushi (bsd) squawked, mouth agape. 

“One of them does,” Kyouka (bsd) corrects grimly. 

“They can’t be human, right?” Ryota (kakegurui) exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. 

“What are they then?” Yumeko (kakegurui) mused, tapping her bottom lip with the tip of her nail. 

“They could be vampires,” Kuro (servamp) said, voice muffled from Mahiru’s hair. 

“Some kind of Kaiju maybe?” Kafka (kaiju no.8) offered. 

“Titans?” Connie (aot) hums. 

“They’re demons,” Giyu (kny), Sebastian (black butler), Aki (csm), and Sullivan (iruma-kun) voiced in unison. Afterward, they then gave each other confused, pointed stares. 

⤷ | Carefully, Emma crawled closer to the edge to get a better look, only to recoil in terror at the creatures awaiting them just beyond the truck. 

Eyes in the wrong places. Small pupils with yellow sclera. Gnarled fingers with long nails. 

Norman and Emma could barely hold back their screams, blatant horror written on their faces. 

“Definitely the ugliest motherfuckers I have ever seen,” Yami grumbles, expression dark. 

“Hm, Demons! And unflamboyant ones at that,” Uzui (kny) scoffed.

“Are we sure that these creatures are demons? They are unlike any I have seen before,” Fren (frieren) questioned, pensive. 

“I would assume that with our different universes, that it would come with different variants of species,” Laios (delicious in dungeon) concludes. “Isn’t that neat!?” 

Letting out a long sigh, Chilchuck (delicious in dungeon) dragged Laios down by his collar and hissed in his ear,  “Does it seem like the right time to nerd out over some monster shit, Laios?!” 

“...No…” Laios trailed off guiltily, looking down at the floor. 

As she watched the exchange between them, Kikoru (kaiju no.8) remarked under her breath, “Grown-ass man getting lectured by a literal child…” 

⤷ | One of the creatures singlehandedly lifted Conny out of the truck, its long tongue protruding out of its steaming maw. “It looks so delicious. Human flesh is the best.” 

Emma looked over at Norman with terrified eyes as Norman managed a strained, “No…!” 

“HOLY SHIT!!” Reigen (mob psycho 100) swore, sweating profusely. 

“They’re… They’re huge…” Ekko (arcane) paled, gripping the armrest of his chair at the realization. 

Ray (tpn) winced at Norman and Emma’s on-screen expressions. He knew that they had taken the truth harshly, but seeing the repercussions of his actions in-person was definitely an experience. 

“Human flesh…?” Light (death note) muttered, voice dropped into a rare horrified tone. 

“Don’t tell me they’re gonna-!” Misa (death note) gasped sharply, covering her mouth. 

“Those monsters… they’re going to eat her!” Leorio (hxh) cried out, veins bulging from his temples in anger. “GODDAMN IT!!” 

“Conny…!” Adam (ror) said in a hushed tone, so heartbreakingly soft with grief yet so tinged with anger that it was hard to discern his state of mind. 

⤷ | Moments later, one of them brought over a large canister filled with glowing blue liquid. “Damn! Can’t I at least have a fingertip?” 

“You idiot. It’s valuable merchandise. It’s not something the likes of us can have.” 

Floating in the liquid was Conny’s lifeless body, stripped of her clothing, with the red flower left stuck in her chest. 

Every fiber in Loid’s (spy x family) being was being filled with rage, disbelief, and great sorrow. Everything he’s been working towards seemed meaningless when children such as Conny suffered such cruel fates. His mask was slowly starting to break upon this realization.  

Overwhelmed with the horrific imagery shown before him, Ciel (black butler) shakily began to hyperventilate, his hands clutching the front of his clothes. 

“Young master…!” Mey-Rin (black butler) whimpered, his other servants beginning to fuss over him. 

Well… Isn’t this quite the familiar sight… Luka (alnst) mused, studying the purple pigmentation that stained the tips of his fingers. 

“Why would they take off her clothes…?” Yoshiki (tshd) asked, voice getting smaller with each word. 

“Merchandaise…” Viktor (arcane) trailed off, catching Jayce’s and Mel’s attention. “They refer to her as merchandise, alluding to the fact that the children may be…” 

“Sold and bought off to be consumed… How horrible,” Mel (arcane) whispered. 

“It’s inhumane,” Jayce (arcane) gritted out. “How could this happen?” 

“We can only speculate for now,” Viktor (arcane) states grimly. “We will only know the true reasoning by watching.” 

⤷ | “All the human flesh produced on this farm are high-quality meat intended for the rich.” 

Lowering her shaking hand, Emma whispers, “Where’s Mom?” 

Norman quickly shushes her, pressing his finger against his lip. 

Yes… where is their mom? Ukyo (dr. stone) narrowed his eyes in suspicion. 

“Eating children… is a luxury to demons?!” Tanjiro (kny) choked out, expression haunted. 

“Yes… No matter what universe we seem to see, it’s remained tried and true that demons are the scum of this Earth,” Frieren states, her voice cold. 

“Scum of the Earth?!” Keroei (iruma-kun) choked, offended. 

“Haah?! Who the hell do they think they’re talking about?!” Lied (iruma-kun) complained, tail swishing unhappily. 

Standing up from his seat, Asmodeus (iruma-kun) exclaimed, “We demons would never-!” 

But Asmodeus paused when he felt pressure at his side. “Asmodeus, everyone, I understand where you’re coming from but please! Not here, not now!” Iruma pleaded, eyes wide. 

Taking in Iruma’s obvious desperation, Asmodeus took in a breath and calmed down, sitting back down. “Iruma… Yes, I understand…” 

On the other side of the theater, L thinks aloud, “Perhaps in this world, there is a demon-run society where humans are inferior and even considered a source of consumption.”

"Where'd you get all that?!” Emilico (shadows house) said, mouth agape in amazement. 

“Context clues, it was simple,” L shrugged nonchalantly. 

⤷ | “Is the Gupna done?” one demon asks. 

“Mostly done, sir.” 

“Another six-year old… Lately we’ve been shipping out normal quality ones,” a demon holding a list trails its finger down a column of numbers. “But it looks like we’ll soon harvest some high quality ones.”

High quality? The way that they talk about these kids… it’s definitely reminiscent of how we humans talk about our food… how terrifying… Mukoda (campfire cooking) shuddered. 

I wonder… What is the criteria for a high quality child? Hisoka (hxh) thought to himself, morbidly curious. 

I could have sworn I’ve seen those numbers before… but where? Karasuma (ass-class) narrowed his brows, deep in thought. 

“Another six-year-old? Oh that’s sick!” Vi (arcane) scowls helplessly. “Just how many kids have been sent to their death?!” 

Grabbing her knees for support, Caitlyn (arcane) manages to say, “More than there ever should have been.” 

While Conny is important and her fate is a tragedy in itself, one must start to question where their mother is during all of this… Dazai (bsd) deduced inwardly. 

Head spinning from all the panicked thoughts all around him, Shin (sakamoto days) paused to listen to Dazai’s thoughts. …Oh shit! He’s right! Where is their mom?! 

⤷ | “Isabella. Make the preparations to pluck these three with full scores.”

Emma and Norman, looking more horrified than they’d ever looked before, slowly turned to the source of the feminine voice that answered the demon. 

It was their mother, wearing a cold look devoid of any emotion. “Understood,” she uttered, eyes dark. 

“Holy shit…” Chigiri (bllk) swore, running his hand down his face. 

“This…. This can’t be right..” Kunikida (bsd) said slowly. 

“Their mom… she’s behind all of this?” Gen (dr. stone) trailed off, voice empty of his usual exaggerations. 

“Haah… I knew this was too good to be true…” Senku (dr. stone) groaned into his hands. “Especially in this place.”

Itadori (jjk), frozen in shock, exclaimed suddenly, “She’s been raising them only to be bought and eaten?!” 

“This… This can’t be real!” Ruby (oshi no ko) denied vehemently. “Mothers are meant to love and protect, not… this!”

“Are we even sure this is the same person as before?” Kate (shadows house) challenged. “She could be a doppelganger for all we know!” 

“It’s our mom…” Norman (tpn) trailed off, avoiding all the stares. “It’s always been her…” 

Maomao (apothecary diaries) had a troubled look on her face, her head running a thousand miles a minute. I knew there was more to this woman than what meets the eye, but this? Who could have ever expected this… 

“Oh my god… How are we meant to tackle this…” Law (op) bemoans, eyeing the screen. 

“What? The fact that these kids are trapped in a human farm for demon consumption?” Chobei (hell’s paradise) drawls, his gaze betraying his tone. 

“Yeah… that…” All Might seethes, his rage swelling at the pure injustice of the TPN children’s situation and the hopelessness that comes with it. 

“Korosensei?” Nagisa probes quietly, watching in slight fear as his teacher’s face turns stormy black in anger. 

⤷ | “Wait. I smell something.” The demon holding the list hands it off to Isabella, its eyes rolling around as if scanning its surroundings. Eventually, the eyes hyperfocus on the source of the smell, under the truck. 

The creature crouched down, its eyes locking on a certain figure on the ground. 

“An enhanced sense of smell… Demonic physiology…” Midoriya listed under his breath, eyeing the screen with frustration. 

“Ugh… These things are creepy as fuck!” Shadow (sk8) shuddered, rubbing his arms. 

“Please…. Please be safe…” Elizabeth (seven deadly sins) pleaded, clasping her hands together. 

⤷ | The scene cuts to Norman and Emma running back up the hill, stopping abruptly as Emma collapsed onto the ground and Norman leaned on his knees to catch his breath. “Emma!” 

“Oh gosh!” Gon (hxh) gasped, flopping back into his seat. “My heart almost exploded from the stress!” 

“They’re safe…” Leorio (hxh) released a sigh, clutching the front of his suit. 

“Safe, but for how long?” Fyodor (bsd) mused mischievously. 

“And just what are you suggesting?” Mori (bsd) questioned, brow quirked. 

“That perhaps this issue, demons and the sort, are far beyond the control of three admittedly intelligent children,” Fyodor (bsd) chuckled closed-eyed. 

“Oh, but I wouldn’t underestimate them,” Dazai (bsd) hums, eyeing the TPN children. “They seem to be quite motivated for change.” 

“The hell are you guys talkin’ about?” Chuuya (bsd) grumbled. “Cut the shit and pay attention.” 

⤷ | Panting heavily, head bowed to the grass, Emma wheezed shakily, “Is this place a farm? Are we all… food? No, it can’t be. Everyone found foster homes. And Mom… It was the usual, kind Mom, right?” 

“Holy shit… she’s totally panicking…” Ban (seven deadly sins) said slowly, unsure how to phrase it. 

“Well yeah, no shit, her entire world’s falling apart,” Reno (kaiju no.8) rolled his eyes, his expression tense. “I think her panic is justified.”

“Preying on defenseless, innocent children for the sake of needless consumption, how despicable…” Hercules (ror) snarled, his anger visibly radiating off his body. 

“Oh my…” Hermes (ror) hums at Hercules display of emotions while Ares cowered in his seat. 

⤷ | Denial written all over her face, Emma lifted her head to exclaim, “We were mistaken. That girl wasn’t Conny, right?” 

Struggling to collect himself, Norman swallowed down his tears to say softly, “That was Conny.” 

“He’s so strong…” Kohaku (dr. stone) marveled openly. “Stronger than I’d ever be in this situation…” 

“Strong? He’s on the cusp of a mental breakdown himself,” Toma (hell’s paradise) sniffed distastefully. 

“Still, to be able to pull himself together for the sake of another..” Todo (jjk) ruminated deeply, crossing his arms. “That sort of feat does earn him some respect.”

“That’s it?! They just have to accept one of their younger siblings just died from demons?” Iida (mha) cried out, uncharacteristically angry. 

“What else can they do?” Aki (csm) states coldly. “They’re weak, unfit to fight against their oppressors. They’re left with no other options.” 

Don’t just speak for us… Emma fumed inwardly. We’ll prove you wrong… 

⤷ | Taking in a sharp breath, tears streaming down her face, Emma released all her unvented sorrow and frustration into one harrowing scream that seemed to echo throughout the grounds. 

Without hesitation, Norman rushed down the hill to seemingly comfort her. 

Zenitsu, Gon, and Ukyo flinched simultaneously as Emma’s piercing scream penetrated their heightened hearing. Never before had they heard a sound overflowing with such despair. 

“How are they supposed to move beyond this?” Mahiru (servamp) said in a strangled voice. 

“They don’t,” Yoshiki (tshd) spoke up, gaze downcast. “It never gets easier. The guilt, I mean....” 

“That doesn’t mean we’ve given up on living,” Norman (tpn) frowns, interrupting Yoshiki’s gloomy comment. “I still want to live alongside my family.” 

“And how, pray tell, are you going to achieve that?” Hisoka (hxh) purred. 

“Simple,” Norman (tpn) smiles, unnerved. 

“We escape,” Ray (tpn) finished for him, wearing a cocky smirk. 

⤷ | The scene cuts back to the interior of the house with Ray holding a lantern. “Welcome back. How did it go?” 

His face lined with stress, Emma standing silently behind him, Norman glances off to the side. “We didn’t make it.”

Ray watched as Emma and Norman wordlessly walked upstairs. 

I couldn’t imagine if this had been my situation, my siblings in danger like this… Asta sweated. 

This place is somehow even worse than my orphanage! Atsushi (bsd) winced, clenching his eyes together. 

Is there no demon slayer corps in this universe? Argh! If only I could be there to help them! Tanjiro (kny) stared at the screen helplessly. 

Looking down at her lap, though looking mostly unbothered, Fern (frieren) was thinking up a plan to somehow help these kids. I have to ask Master Frieren about the intricacies of magic and inter-dimensional travel… 

Aah, just another instance why my kind sucks… Meliodas (seven deadly sins) groaned inwardly. 

I better not see Diablo try anything after this… Rimuru (that time I got reincarnated as a slime) sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. And if he does, he’s out of my hands and I’m sending him back to hell! 

“I can see why some humans hate our kind so openly,” Opera (iruma-kun) hums. “Our reputation is almost nonexistent in their eyes.” 

Breathing through his nose, Kalego (iruma-kun) states, “It’s better we stay low for a bit, just until these humans have calmed down and regained their senses.” 

“I agree,” Sullivan (iruma-kun) nods to the rest of the students. “We all do.” 

⤷ | “Were we raised just to be eaten by something?” Emma whispered, voice wavering. 

“Let’s escape, Emma,” Norman states, his eyes devoid of his usual shine. “We have to leave this place. Don’t worry. We can do it. You, me, and Ray. If it’s the three of us…” 

“Yeah… Yeah! With three geniuses like you guys, you definitely have a chance!” Taiju (dr. stone) cried out, overly excited and desperate. 

“With Emma’s athleticism, Ray’s cunning, and Norman’s smart’s, you’ll escape for sure!” Kaido (saiki k) cheered, hopeful. 

Sakura (wind breaker) paused, “But if it’s just the three of them, then that means…”

“They’ll have to leave the rest of their siblings to die,” Umemiya (wind breaker) finished stiffly, 

“And they’ll never know that they’re demon chow until it’s too late for them,” Sokka (atla) frowns, wearing a troubled expression. 

“They have to make a choice then…” Ekko (arcane) trails off. 

“Either live out the rest of their days with their family and continue the cycle or run away and have the cycle continue without them at the cost of their siblings…” Viktor (arcane) voiced softly, gaze focused on the screen. 

“That kind of choice… this can’t be right!” Kunikida (bsd) cried out. “They’re too young to make these kinds of decisions!”

“They have no one else to rely on but themselves, the age-limit on survival-based decisions comes to a point,” Zoro (op) grunts. 

⤷ | “It might be impossible.” The scene pans over all of Gracefield’s sleeping children, peacefully unaware. “I can’t leave them here. Otherwise they’ll definitely get killed. I don’t want any more of my family to die,” Emma sobbed, sitting on the floor beside a bed.

“Poor girl…” Shinobu (kny) frowned sympathetically. 

“She doesn’t want to leave them there,” Akutagawa (bsd) blinks, surprised. 

Piecing it together, Ciel (black butler) says slowly, “She’s scared of dying, that much is obvious, but…”

“She still worries about her siblings and their wellbeing despite that,” Historia (aot) smiles, relieved. 

“What an extraordinary girl,” Adam (ror) whispered softly. 

“Sorry to bring down the mood but… like she said, it might be impossible, saving everyone,” Jinwoo (solo leveling) interrupted guiltily. 

Teru (tbhk) sighs, “Realistically, there’s going to be someone left behind.”

Shaking her head vehemently, Emma (tpn) exclaims, “I don’t care! I want everyone to survive and we will achieve that no matter what it takes!”

Even if it takes the lives of the ones you’re trying to save? Ranpo (bsd) thinks sadly to himself, watching Emma and Ray's respective determination reflect off their faces. 

⤷ | Swallowing his emotion down once more, Norman placed a hand on Emma’s shoulder, sliding down onto the floor with her. “It’s not impossible. It’ll be okay. Let’s run away. Together, with everyone.” 

Emma (tpn) almost burst into tears again at the sight of Norman ignoring his own grief in favor of hers. Wordlessly, she wrapped her arms around Norman and Ray, bringing their bodies together into a familial hug. 

“What’s this about?” Ray (tpn) frowned, peering over Emma’s orange curls. 

“I love you guys… Thank you…for everything…” Emma (tpn) mumbled into their clothes. 

“Of course! You don’t have to thank us!” Norman (tpn) laughed lightheartedly, patting Emma’s head. 

Killua (hxh), unfortunately, caught Illumi’s eye during this tender moment, sending shivers down the younger boy’s spine. Don’t even think about it! Killua seemed to scream telepathically to his brother. 

⤷ | “B-But how? How will us kids run away from those monsters?” Emma stared at a wall for a moment before gasping, “Strategy. It’ll be the same as playing tag.” 

“That’s right,” Norman smiles. “We’ll find a way for all of us to survive.” 

Emma nods at Norman’s affirmation, her face set into a teary determination. 

And just outside the room, Ray waits by a window with the lantern in hand.

“Did this thing just go full-circle?!” Shin (sakamoto days) gawked.

“Leave it to kids to somehow connect playing tag to outsmarting demons,” Yami (black clover) chuckled. 

“Impressive! Playing to one’s strengths is imperative to victory!” Korosensei (ass-class) cried. 

“There’s still hope in all this after all,” Midoriya (mha) breathed, wide-eyed. 

“Hell yeah!” Nami (op) cheered loudly. “Kick some demon ass, kids!” 

⤷ | The scene is cut abruptly by Mom holding Little Bunny eerily. Fixated on the doll, her eyes were empty and unlike any other version of herself. 

The Promised Neverland: 121045

“The bunny…” Senku (dr. stone) froze. “You forgot the bunny.” 

“Now she knows that somebody discovered the truth!” Sasha (aot) wailed, grabbing her hair. 

“But she doesn’t know who exactly,” Light (death note) paused. 

“And from what the demons said, we can infer that they are valuable products, meaning that they can’t risk any harm to come to the children,” L (death note) deduces. 

“So it’s a game of cat and mouse…” Kurapika (hxh) trails off. “Hmm…” 

“Well, I don’t know about all that but jeez!” Leorio (hxh) groaned, leaning back. “They couldn’t have ended with a more lighthearted moment?” 

“Oh it wasn’t that bad,” Killua (hxh) rolled his eyes. “Why? Get scared, old man?” 

“....Once I emotionally recover from this episode, I’m gonna strangle you…” 

Killua (hxh) stuck out his tongue, “I’d love to see you try.”