Chapter Three
Explanation
Paapuru no yoake ga kitara, Ah
Anata no kioku wa kiete shimau no ne
Sore demo iwanai hitokoto ga aru
Itsu datte mitsumeteita wa
When the purple sunrise comes, ah
Your memory will end up disappearing
But there is still one thing I haven't said
I was always watching you
-"L'amour D'amour Moonlight", Usagi Ai no Senshi e no Michi
About an hour later, the two were seated across from each other at a kitchen table. Both had eaten, and sat in silence for the past few minutes.
"So...who are you, exactly?" asked the boy finally.
"My name is Tares," the man replied. "What about you?"
The boy drew himself up. "I'm Hanyuu Vejita, son of Queen Naoko," he replied proudly.
Across from him, Tares froze. "Naoko?" he whispered, staring hard at the kid.
Vejita nodded nervously. "Yeah..."
"How old are you?"
"Seven and a half."
Tares took in a sharp breath. "Seven," he muttered to himself. "And it's been eight years..."
"Um...sir? Tares-san? Is something wrong?" Vejita questioned. He looked as if he wouldn't mind being able to shrink into nonexistence.
Tares snapped back to attention. "No. No, everything's fine," he replied, clenching and unclenching his fist a few times. He looked at Vejita. For a brief second, his eyes shone, then faded. "What about your father?"
"My papa?" Vejita squirmed a bit uncomfortably in his chair. "Nappa."
Tares froze a second time. He looked up at the cieling. "Nappa," he murmured. He mulled this over for a moment, then stood. "Well, kid, I think I should get you back to your parents. I'm sure they're...worried about you."
"Actually, I was staying with-"
Tares didn't give him a chance to finish as he strode to the door of the kitchen, then outside.
"Hey, wait up!" Vejita called frantically, running after him.