"Bye, Nico. Thanks for everything!" Teresa said as she waved at me.

I smiled and waved at her. "Hope your trip goes well!" I yelled, waving back at her.

Teresa turned around and followed her mother, brother, and Akari into a limo sent here by Lady Saya. It was rather surreal to think that the queen of this universe sent it to my place. We rarely got visitors here.

I sighed as I turned around and glanced up at my rundown burger joint. Mom and I had saved up money to buy it. Yet, I had failed to sustain it. I was an awful business man. Perhaps I should've sold it. No, I couldn't give up on it. Not after everything my mom and I went through in order to get it in the first place.

I'll use the money I get as a soldier of the kingdom to repair this place. Then, once Mom is out of the hospital, I'll be able to show it to her in all its glory.

I gasped.

Mom!

***

I closed the door of my place and rushed over to the nearby hospital. I didn't stop running until I stood in front of room 274. My hand shook as I reached for the door knob. It had been weeks since I had last been here. Would Mom be mad at me?

I took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Inside, I saw a red-haired woman staring outside with longing eyes.

"Mom," I spoke up as she didn't turn to look at me.

She gasped. "Nico, you're here! I've been waiting forever for you. What kept you so busy?"

I gave her a shy smile. I couldn't tell her that I had been dealing with some military matters. She didn't even know that I had joined the military. I didn't wish to burden her fragile heart with worry about her only son.

I smiled. "I've been busy with practice and work."

Her face beamed. "Work, huh? Is the restaurant finally getting customers?"

I pulled over a seat and sat down. I kept my golden eyes on her scrawny arms. She'd lost more weight since I last visited.

"A bit. I also had a few guests over. Uh, hope that you don't mind."

"Guests? Well, as long as one of them wasn't a girl."

I turned away and scratched the side of my face. "Well, two of them were."

"Nico... are you a two-timer like your father?" she asked with a straight face.

"No, I'm not! I'll never be like that guy! Also, I'm not into either of them like that. They're just friends. The mother and brother of one of them also stayed over."

"Oh, I see." She giggled. "I'm glad that you finally made some friends, though."

My eyes widened in surprise. She had a point. I had always wanted to make friends, but didn't even realize I had already made some recently.

I laughed. "Yeah!" I reached a hand out and placed it over hers. They were small and thin. I felt that if I gripped them too hard, that they would shatter into dust.

"Hey, Nico, please close your eyes," Mom said.

"Uh, sure." I let go of her hand and closed them tightly. Had she gotten me something? But how? Did she send one of the nurses on an errand again? Also, why would she get me something at this time of year?

Suddenly, I felt something soft against my right hand. I opened one eye and saw that it was a red boxing glove.

***

[Years Ago]

"Mommy! Mommy!" I yelled, running down the stairs of our old home in the countryside.

"What is it, Nico?" Mom asked as she rinsed away leftover cake crumbs and cream from a plate.

I held up a magazine with various comics on it. My index finger pointed at the a pair of man exchanging punches in a ring. "This, I want to be like this when I grow up!"

"A boxer?" she asked, furrowing her brow. She took the magazine from me and went through the various pages. "I don't know, if it's anything like this manga is depicting, then it's pretty dangerous."

I spread out my arms. "You don't need to worry about that! I have amazing healing abilities, remember?"

"That might be, but recall that the pain remains even after your wounds heal."

I took back the magazine. "Yeah, but not any longer than they usually would on a normal person."

Mom sighed. "True, but still..." She patted my head and smiled slightly. "I don't like seeing my little boy get hurt."

"I'll train to avoid their hits!" I jumped back and moved side to side as if I were dodging an invisible enemy's blows. "Then I'll strike them like this!" I raised my right hand up as if I were delivering an uppercut straight at my opponent's chin.

Mom giggled. "A made up enemy is usually easier to defeat than a real one, Nico." She crossed her arms over her chest and grinned. "Still, those are some very impressive moves for a boy your age."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Hmm, though first I'll need to get you some boxing gloves. Wonder how much they cost..."

I stared at my magazine. Inside it was an advertisement for gloves that likely would've fit my eight-year-old self. They costed ten riku, nearly the equivalent of a full day of work at the cannery for Mom.

"Ten riku, huh?" she said, looking at the advertisement. "They're surprisingly expensive, huh?"

I lowered my head. "Yeah..."

She flashed me a grin as she reached into her left jean pocket and brought out a ten-riku bill. "Luckily, that's the exact same as your birthday gift!"

I gasped. "That much?" I eyes, eyes wide.

"Of course. You've been a good boy this year! Plus, I never give you allowance for all the chores you do, so this kind of make up for it."

I laughed. Without warning, I jumped and hugged her. "Thanks, Mommy! You're the best Mommy in the whole world!"

Mom wrapped her arms around me and shook me. "And you're the best son I could've asked for!"

***

"Gloves?" I said as I opened my other eye.

Mom leered at me. "Hey, didn't I say to close your eyes? Now you ruined the surprise."

"Uh, I'm still surprised. Why did you get me gloves?" I asked.

She grinned. "You haven't had a pair of usable gloves to call your own in years." She stared at my arms which were wrapped up in bandages. "Instead you've had to rely on makeshift protection for your fists."

I pulled my left arm back. "It's fine. I don't mind. I've gotten used to using bandages."

Mom furrowed her brow just as she had done when I first told her that I wanted to be a boxer. "Nico, I know that you're worried about our finances. Even as a child, you never once asked for me to buy you something, not even a candy bar." She grabbed the other glove from underneath her pillow. "So please, let me give you this."

I sighed and chuckled. "Alright, you win, Mom. I can't say no to you when you're making that face."

She giggled as she finished putting on my left glove. "Well, how about showing me some of your moves? I haven't seen you in action in years."

I glanced around at the room. It was small, but still had enough space for me to show off a few moves.

I stood up and pushed the stool aside. "Alright, he goes!" I said, grinning. I pulled my right arm back and dashed forward before delivering a swift jab and then turning around and throwing another with my left fist.

Mom clapped. "You've gotten faster!"

My face reddened. "You think so?"

"Yeah! Maybe now you really can dodge all of your opponents!"

I lowered my head again in embarrassment. "Well, not all."

She giggled. "You're so modest Nico. I'm so happy that I had you."

I bit my lip. "Even if I bear the blood of a demon?"

She pursed her lips. "Nico, you know, that never bothered me. Whether demon or not, you have always been my son. The one person in this world that I can trust wholeheartedly. Plus, demons at the end of the day are simply angels who went the wrong way. You are a good and upright young man, so to me you're a pure angel."

My heart sank. I wasn't as good, nor as upright as she thought. Not when I'd been lying to her about what I'd been up to.

I gulped, sinking the feeling away. Instead, I raised my head and laughed. "Sorry, but that's so corny, Mom!"

Her cheeks turned as red as our hair. "Well, forgive me for being a sappy mother!"

I laughed and walked back over to her. "Thanks for the gift, Mom."

She smiled. "It's nothing. I originally got them for your birthday, but since I had the surgery that day, I couldn't give them to you." She grabbed my right arm and gripped it as tightly as she could. "I'm sorry that I made what should've been a wonderful day into one filled with worry for you."

I smiled. "I'm just glad that everything turned out fine. That was gift enough for me."

She leaned her head against my arm. "I hope to be with you for many more birthdays to come, my little-redhead."

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this special! I'm adding this birthday special on April 27th, 2020 (well over a year after finishing TSoJ's main story) as it fit this book (as seen with the chronology) better rather than the third, I placed it here :)**