Plain, boring meadows rolled by and Risuka Aoyagi sighed. Kaasan had somewhat come to her senses in the last few months, thus, dragging a nearly unwilling young boy out to the middle of the countryside. His kaasan had calmed down enough to have a decent conversation about Risuka and had decided to take him to see his tousan.
Risuka looked at his cell phone and wondered if he should have called Soubi before he left. It was going to be a full week without any real contact with "normal" people, as Risuka liked to put it.
His otousan had always been somewhat distant and cold. Even to Seimei.
It was somewhat like the opposite of how kaasan was to Risuka. Tousan was the same when it came to Seimei, he didn't even go to his funeral. The brown car ran quietly through the darkening streets. Small country roads greeted it with dust and sharp turns that sent Risuka nearly toppling onto his kaasan.
After nearly two more hours of driving, his kaasan softly said, "Koko desu." Were here.
Risuka stiffly got out of his seat and stood looking at the quaint two story house that was rimmed in dark colors. "Will… Tousan be happy to see me?" He asked, hesitation marring his question.
"Maybe. Let's go." She whispered, and she went on ahead of him to knock on the door.
A middle aged man with fake cat ears answered.
"Miyou… Long time since I've laid eyes on you. Have you brought him as well?" Asked the brown haired man who had dark colored eyes. Wide glasses adorned his face, and his hair was somewhat messy from work.
"Yes. It has been too long." She murmured then turned around to address the boy.
"Your staying here." Was all she whispered and before Risuka could fully comprehend it, she was driving off.
"Kaasan…." He whispered, feeling somewhat lost. He then turned to face his father. His features were similar but he couldn't really remember him. There were few memories of him in his collection. Most were of Soubi and his own friends.
"Standing and staring won't make this any easier. Come on inside, Risuka-chan." His tousan said effortlessly as he nodded, beckoning Risuka in.
The house that Risuka saw seemed foreign to him. After kaasan and tousan had divorced, Risuka had not set foot in his father's new house.
The windows were dimmed by dark solar windows framed in large, black shutters. The furniture was, of course, all white. Their old house had pictures of bland, white furniture that reminded him of his psychologist.
Stainless steel appliances adorned the kitchen, and when something didn't come in steel, Aoygi-san got it in black.
His son slowly walked through the kitchen, noticing the steel toaster and black cookware that looked somewhat scorched. He watched as his son sat at the kitchen table, with it's white chairs and black tablecloth.
"School's been alright?" Jyoukin asked as he regarded his favorite son with a hint of amusement. Jyoukin stood in the doorway that changed the kitchen to the living room.
Risuka looked up from his musings and nodded. Jyoukin's amusement stopped, "Kotae!" Answer me. He said sternly, and Risuka's eyes widened.
"It's been fine. I-I made some friends." Risuka said softly, his eyes back to the tabletop.
"Friends, huh? Did you make memories with them? Any pictures?" He asked, his voice a bit softer than before.
Risuka lightly blushed, "Y-yes! Hai!" Here, he said, as he pulled from his bag a nice multitude of pictures. Aoygi-san walked over to the boy and held out his hand. Risuka gave the twenty plus pictures his tousan, who smiled when he saw the first one.
Risuka was with a cute girl with pinkish hair, and a cute outfit.
"An elementary student? Your friend"
"Hai! Yuiko." Risuka answered.
The next one. "Two toned young man, that's pretty rare"
"Yayoi-san. He's my friend too."
Who's this nice woman he wondered. "That's sensei." Risuka said pointing to the brown haired woman with ears.
"Your sensei, I wonder if there fake." He said smiling. "Do you know?"
"W-what? No!" Risuka said, feeling surprise.
The next picture sent Jyoukin for a whirl. His eyes narrowed and his voice became angry. "Soubi." He gritted out as he clutched the picture then to Risuka's horror, ripped it in two.
"Stay. Away. From. Him!" Jyoukin said angrily, as he took the rest of the photos and ripped the to shreds before Risuka could even speak.
Yuiko's and Yayoi's were the only ones that remained on the floor.