'So, you're out here again, huh?' said Amata. It was not unusual to find Kagura out early in the morning by the balcony these days.
'I've been thinking…we haven't really visited them,' said Kagura.
'Them?' asked Amata. Just who was Kagura talking about?
'Our…parents,' said Kagura. There was difficulty for him to finish the sentence. After all, he was partly responsible for their deaths.
'Oh,' said Amata silently. Both of the brothers were silent for a while, both lost in their own thoughts.
'…so are we going today?' asked Amata. He mentally told himself to ask Mikono to go with them. It was still awkward being alone with Kagura. Besides, they were going to their parents' grave. He wasn't ready for all this so soon.
'I'll meet you here after breakfast, ok?' said Kagura.
'Uhh…sure,' replied Amata. He was still unsure about going to their parents' grave but didn't have a reason to say no to Kagura.
During breakfast…
'Good morning, Mikono-san, Zessica-san,' said Amata cheerfully.
'Yo, Amata,' said Zessica.
'Good morning to you too, Amata-kun,' said Mikono with a smile.
'So…I was wondering whether you were free after breakfast, Mikono-san?' Amata casually mentioned, trying his best not to sound too suspicious.
'Ohhh, is this a date I'm hearing? He's asking you out Mikono!' said Zessica in a rather loud voice. Some heads in the room were turned to the table where they were sitting, everyone was curious as to what all that noise was about.
'Zessica- san!' said both Amata and Mikono in unison. Both of their cheeks flaring up due to embarrassment.
'Could we talk outside, Mikono-san?' whispered Amata.
'Sure, Amata-kun,' replied Mikono. She stood up, pushed her chair back and started following Amata towards the door.
'So, what do you to talk about?' asked Mikono sweetly.
'I was wondering if you could come with me to visit my parents' grave with Kagura,' said Amata.
'Oh. Sure, but could I also bring along Zessica? I'm sure things would be less tense with her,' said Mikono.
'Sure, it's been a while since the three of us hanged out together,' said Amata after thinking for a while.
'Then I'll go tell Zessica-san to get ready now!' said Mikono excitedly and she hurried back into the cafeteria to tell Zessica about their plans for today.
An hour later…
'You ready, Amata?' asked Kagura while they were waiting for the ferry.
'Yeah, but we have to wait for someone else,' said Amata.
'Huh? Who did you ask to come with us?' asked Kagura suspiciously.
'Amata-kun!' came a cheerful, girly voice.
'What the…Amata, why did you call them?' snarled Kagura.
'Amata needed someone to keep you in check asshole,' said Zessica teasingly.
'Whatever, bitch, lets go. We're running late,' muttered Kagura. He walked towards the ferry which had just arrived, the others followed him.
Once on board the ferry, Zessica and Mikono were sitting next to each other. Kagura was sitting on the farthest seat next to Zessica, while Amata was sitting next to Mikono. There was an awfully awkward silence between them.
'So, guys…why the sudden impulse to go visit your parents' grave?' asked Zessica in a cheerful voice, hoping to lighten the mood. Sadly, all she was met with was more awkward silence. Mikono just looked at Zessica reassuringly.
'This is gonna be a long day…' sighed Zessica as she tried to distract herself with the view of the harbour.
'Attention all passengers, we've arrived Neo-Stanley. We hope that you have had a pleasant and safe journey. Thank you,' said the voice from the P.A. system.
'Let's go,' said Kagura wasting no time getting off the ferry.
'Wait, Kagura-kun!' shouted Mikono who was barely out of her seat. She along with Zessica and Amata also hurried out of their seats to catch up with Kagura.
After a while of walking, they reached a place with many gravestones. It was surrounded by trees and gave off an eerie feeling.
'We're here. If I remember correctly, the gravestones of our parents' are on top of that hill,' said Kagura and started to walk up the hill.
They walked up the hill for quite some time, all around them were the gravestones of people who lost their lives during the battle against the abductors.
'How terrible, I didn't know so many people had lost their lives,' said Mikono.
'It feels like a crime that we can survive all this and go on with our lives,' agreed Zessica.
'We're here,' said Kagura. In front of him was a giant gravestone made out of marble. It read 'Here Lies Izumo Kamurogi and his wife Alicia. He will be forever remembered the selfless leader Altair'
'Dad…' whispered Amata softly as he made his way towards the gravestone.
'I can't believe he's gone, just when I thought he was right there beside me,' said Amata. He still remembered how Izumo died in his arms in Altair.
'Mom was also there,' continued Amata. A single tear fell from his eye.
'I'm sorry,' said Kagura unable to look at Amata in the eye.
Amata couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He got down to the floor and cried his heart out; he had been keeping all this to himself even since they got back from Altair. The sky suddenly turned dark and started raining.
'Amata…I,' Kagura said. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.
'Kagura-kun, why don't you and Zessica-san go take cover under the shade? I will handle this,' said Mikono calmly as she pointed to pavilion nearby.
'Come on, Kagura. Let's go, let Mikono handle this,' said Zessica grabbing his arm and dragging him along.
'Amata-kun, it's alright. I'm here, everything's going to be alright. Cry to your heart's content,' said Mikono gently as she cradled him in her arms.
'Why…? Just after I've finally reunited with them?' cried Amata even louder.
'Shh…it's ok,' whispered Mikono softly.
Meanwhile, Zessica and Kagura were taking cover under the pavilion.
'Poor Amata, he must feel terrible. Losing both his parent's just after he'd been reunited with them,' said Zessica.
Kagura just remained silent. What could he do? He couldn't bring back the dead. Nothing could.
'If only I'd known earlier…if only I wasn't so single-minded,' shouted Kagura suddenly. He started punching the wall.
'Hey are you out of your mind? You could get hurt!' shouted Zessica.
'Dammit! Dammit all!' shouted Kagura as he continued punching the wall. Suddenly there was a pair of arms that wrapped around his neck.
'Its ok, it's not your fault,' whispered Zessica softly.
'Dammit…' muttered Kagura before getting down on his knees and crying softly. Zessica was a bit taken aback. She'd never seen Kagura so vulnerable.
'It's not your fault, you didn't know at that time,' said Zessica as she softly patted his head. She continued stroking his hair gently until Kagura fell asleep.
'Zessica-san?' called out Mikono with Amata behind her. They had also come to take shade from the rain.
'Shh, he's asleep. Can't believe he's such a crybaby,' said Zessica with a small smile on her face.
'Aww, he looks so cute,' said Mikono softly.
The journey back home was more cheerful then before, except for Zessica and Kagura.
'Hey, Zessica?' said Kagura.
'Yeah? What is it?' replied Zessica slightly taken aback. It was the first time he addressed her properly.
'Could you…please keep quiet about what happened today?' asked Kagura in his most sincere voice. His cheeks were already turning a deep shade of red due to embarrassment.
'Sure, Mr. Crybaby,' said Zessica. She was trying hard not to burst out laughing.
'Thanks,' replied Kagura soberly.
'Woah, that's a first. Didn't know the great Kagura could say thanks,' said Zessica jokingly.
'Hey, just because you were there doesn't mean that you can make fun of me,' complained Kagura.
'Yeah, yeah. Sure. Mr. Crybaby,' Zessica added with extra emphasis on Crybaby.
Both Amata and Mikono were laughing.
'Hahaha. Sorry Kagura, can't help it,' said Amata.
'Sorry, kagura-kun,' said Mikono with an innocent smile.
'You ok now, Amata?' asked Zessica sincerely.
'Yeah, it's all thanks to you guys. I now know that although my parents' aren't here, I've got great friends who'll support me and be there for me!' said Amata cheerfully.
'So I'm just a friend? Hmph, Amata-kun you're the worst!' said Mikono jokingly.
'Huh?' Amata was clueless on why Mikono was angry.
'Forgive him Mikono. He's slow on these things,' laughed Zessica. Kagura couldn't help laughing too.
'So this is how life in Vega is? Amata is right, although I've lost both my parents. I've got great friends who'll be there for me. Let's look towards the future and not dwell on the past,' thought Kagura to himself.
'Kagura? What are you thinking about?' asked Zessica as she noticed that he had been staring at the three of them for quite a while.
'Nothing.' Said Kagura. Although there was a small smile forming on his lips. He just relaxed and enjoyed the evening view of the harbor.
'Life's not too bad,' Kagura thought to himself.
Wooooohhh! I'm finally done with this chapter. Sorry, for my late update, it's been almost 2 weeks since I last updated. As promised I developed more on Amata x Mikono as well. Next chapters will also focus on other characters so please be patient. I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to R x R!
