Chapter 25 - Awakening, Return and Past
"He… alright… it seems…"
My head hurts, which is not something new.
"We… return… our… then…"
I tried to move my body, and groaned at the resulting pain.
"May… meet… someday…"
'Who are those?' I wondered, as I could faintly hear voices around me. Slowly opening my eyes, I blinked twice before being greeted by the wide blue sky atop me.
"It… hurts…" I remarked, lifting my head and moving my limbs. Sending a command to my hand, it moves ever so slightly and painfully as I brought it to my face.
"It's burnt," true enough, there were scorch marks across the skin on my right hand along with some cut wounds, though the blood had dried. Lifting the other one confirmed that it's also in the same condition.
Holding my head, I raised my upper body and sat on the ground. And to my not-so-surprise, my shirt was gone, probably ashes now, and the only clothing I have on me is my long pants which sleeves had degreased to just above my knees.
After finishing inspecting my state of dress, I tried to stand up, but collapsed due to still feeling disoriented. My hand touched something when it landed, and bringing it to my face informed me that it's the brass knuckles that I borrowed from Shuuya. There's some damage to them, but not anything serious that disrupted their usage.
Turning my head around, I inspected my surroundings once more. It seems that I'm in a barren wasteland, with large pieces of rubbles everywhere and the land marked with black ashes.
'It seems the explosion was really big,' I concluded, still sitting on the ground.
After being on the ground for a few minutes, I tried standing again and slowly rose up. My sense of balance was not too good, and so I stumbled forward instead of walking. Grabbing Shuuya's brass knuckles, I moved on towards the faraway buildings. While my legs carried me forward, my mind was thinking about what happened to me and the voices earlier.
'I guess… I should be thankful that I'm still alive. Though, I don't know how, I'm still grateful. Now, I can return to Yuki and everyone,' coming upon a piece of metal bar on the ground, I picked it and used it as a staff to support me. 'But… who are those voices earlier? Are they the one who saved me? And where did they go when I woke up? Or are they just my delusions? Ghosts, perhaps?' I laughed a little at the thought. "Yeah, as if a spirit can protect me from an explosion."
And so I continued walking, occasionally resting when fatigue came. Eventually, I did arrive at some buildings on the edge of the blast crater. And as expected, the undeads are walking around the place, seemingly avoiding the explosion area. Thankfully, they didn't attack me, since I still have the undead virus and 'corruption' inside me, just like before. Stumbling around, I entered a random building and collapsed on the floor.
Several hours later, if the setting sun is any indication, I woke up from my exhausted sleep and stood up again, feeling just a little bit less tired and hurt than before. My first order of business is to find a new and clean set of clothing, which I found quickly enough in the first hour. Turns out the building is a small convenience store and the clothing I found were just a simple shirt, underwear, trousers and a brown long coat along with a pair of shoes. Searching the place further proved disappointing as the foods are either spoiled or gone.
Feeling thirsty and hungry, I have no choice but to exit the building with an empty stomach and still fatigued not to mention the various wounds on my body. 'I wonder… what the others are doing right now,' I thought as I stepped forward. 'I hope… they're safe. I believe… they're going to be fine without me. Shuuya's strong, while Kurumi and Miki are skilled in fighting, Ri-san will keep them away from going to any dangerous situations and Yuki…' I smiled slightly. 'She'll keep their spirits up. She's the heart of the group after all.'
Still walking forward, I keep on moving slowly even as the sun set down at the horizon. How do I manage to move my body in my state, I don't know. Perhaps it's my desire to meet the others again, though that reason is very cliché and cheesy. If I had to say, it's may have something to do with the undead virus still active inside of me which provides me with energy, or any variation of the explanation. I still don't have any information about the virus or the meteorite, and the only one who knows it is my father-
"Wait, that's it," I froze at the realization. "I can go to his place, Randall Corporation, and find out where Yuki and the others are," I have no doubts that they have left this place, either by the copter or the RV, and I have absolutely no chance of catching up to them even if I'm aware of where they are. With no means of transportation and information on their whereabouts(not to mention mine), I'm effectively hopeless in reaching them by myself. But if I go there, I can at least know obtain some supplies if not info on where they might be. He must've have something like a connection to a satellite or two, considering the size of the corporation.
'The real question is, whether he'll let me in and help me,' I resumed my journey, the first stars coming out to decorate the night sky. 'He'll definitely not cooperate with me by kindness alone. Even if he let me go the last time, there's no guarantee if he'll do the same the second time. I may have to fight him this time,' an undead came close to me and I punched it to the side. "But if that we're to happen, let it happen. I won't let him prevent me from seeing Yuki, even if have to ask him for help or fight him, I'll do anything. No matter how long it is, I'll definitely see her again."
'I made a promise to the world after all.'
~~~~~~~
"Looks like the new prototype is mostly complete," a man dressed in a lab coat spoke to himself while holding a clipboard. "It's taken me a long time, but if this works, then the actual immortality serum will just be a step more closer. My goal will finally be in my hand," he set the board on his desk and sat down. "Good thing too, with the meteorite blown to pieces some days ago, I'm running out of time as well as test subjects."
Suddenly, he felt an urge to pee. "Ah, toilet, toilet," the man rushed to the wet closet and relieved himself. Washing his hands, he heard a low sound coming from his lab. "Ah, the alarm again. Who is it this time?" Sighing, he grabbed his handgun and went to the elevator, not bothering to look at the panel screen.
Down and down the elevator goes, the researcher tidied his clothes and groomed his slightly spiky hair until he arrived at the ground floor. The doors opening, he stepped out and peered at who is it that entered the building. Much to his surprise, it was someone whom he knows, and a family of his.
"Yuuta…" Kiriha Kenji uttered, before quickly walking towards his son. Said person was currently collapsed face down on the floor in a very messy and wounded state, with no indication of being alive.
"Yuuta! Yuuta! What happened!" Kenji shouted, worried at the state of the person in front of him. He lifted the boy's body up and took note of the burnt marks on his skin. "You… don't tell me you were at the blast radius of the explosion!"
The boy opened one eye and stared at Kenji. "Ergh, Dad…" he mumbled. "That's you?"
"Yes, it's me," the father replied, before he received a punch to the face, knocking him backwards.
"That's for… giving that thing to Yuki…" Yuuta grinned weakly and fainted again.
~~~~~~~
My head hurts, which is not something new.
"Ergh, what happened?" I wondered aloud, feeling disoriented and numb, especially my body.
"Are you awake now?" I heard a voice speaking to me, which for some reason sounds familiar. "The anaesthetic should wear off by now," the voice added, and I opened my eyes to see who it was.
In front of me is someone who I thought I hated in the last few months, but I just couldn't. I should despise and wish death and damnation to him, though the feeling is shallow and unable to increase further.
It was my father.
"You're finally awake now, I take it?" He asked from his chair. "You know, you really worried me when you collapsed on the entrance. I was even more surprised by you punching me, but that's a trivial matter."
"You!" I tried to lurch forward to attack him, but found myself unable to move my body, even my hands. A quick look revealed that I'm bound onto a chair, the one you'd see in a dentist's operation room. Struggling, I couldn't escape from the chains.
"Don't move so much, that's for your protection as well as mine," my father informed and casually eat a cracker. "I don't want you rampaging around this place, and I hate to throw you out of the window if you do that."
Pausing from moving my body, I opted to glare at the man. "You'd really do that to your own son?"
Procuring a bottle of water from underneath his desk, he stood up an began walking towards me. "Well, I might do that if you're close to harming me in a threatening manner. If not, then I won't hurt you," he shoved the bottle at me. "Want some?"
"No," I responded, eyes still locked on the person. "I don't come here to accompany you. I came to this place because I need some… help," glancing sideways as I said that.
"Help, eh? And what kind of help do you need?" Dad answered, returning back to his seat.
"I got… separated from the others," I answered truthfully. "I don't know where they are right now nor do I have any may of catching up to them."
My father swivelled his chair and faced me. "Oho~ and how did you get separated? Could it be… that they left you?" He grinned.
"No. I ordered them to leave me back, and I'm the one who left them," the man didn't react to the statement.
"Of course you're the one who made the desicion by yourself, as expected of you," he stated. "There's no way you would leave them alone on your own, especially your family and friends," father smiled. "So, how long till the child is born?"
Uninvited, my face blushed at the question. "H-How did you know Yuki's already- It's only been a couple of months since we last met!" I stuttered out.
"So? You were born not even a year after me and your mom married. Our family tend to really rushed things when it involved producing a heir," informed the man. "But still, you're perhaps the youngest male in the last hundred years to produce a heir in our family line. Kids these days."
"I don't have a choice!" I blurted out. "Yuki's, well… cute… and I couldn't control myself after we wedded. And anyways, isn't it your fault in the first place that this happen to me!?" I shouted at him.
My father grinned(grinned!) arrogantly(arrogantly!) at the accusation and suddenly clapped. "Huhu~ I never expected you to be this flustered, Yuuta. You really do like Yuki-san, didn't you?"
The embarrassment in my heart increases and so I diverted the topic. "This is not what I came here for!" I(still) scream at him. "As much as I don't want to say this, I need your help in finding them, or at least provide me something that I can use to track them, and some supplies would be good too. I want to return to them, and her," begrudgingly, I requested.
"Sorry, but I can't help you with that," father nonchalantly dismissed my help request. "What made you think that I knew how to find your companions, much less connect with them? My time is mostly spend on doing my research and just a few hours of rest; I don't have the luxury to help others if it's not beneficial to me."
"Even if it's your son?" I stared at him straight in the eyes.
"Even if its my son," he replied.
We continue to glare at each other for a few seconds before I broke the gaze. "Tch, if that's how it is, then release me. I'll go search for them myself, even if I have to take forever to find them."
"Ah, but I haven't finished talking yet, you know," Dad suddenly spoke. "Truthfully, there is a way for me to find your companions, and that's through the company's private satellite," looks like I was right, this place did have a connection to a satellite. How convenient. "Problem is, the system needed to operate it in this building had been… er, damaged… and I'm not that particularly skilled in these area of technology; I studied medicine after all. So, it could take months before the system is back to an operational state and that's not counting the time spent on searching for your friends. But, if you want a method, there you have it."
"Then…" hope bloomed in my heart.
""But," he wagged his finger in front of me. "I said before right? I don't have the luxury to help others if it's not beneficial to me," smiling, the man added. "If you want me to aid you, then you've got to do something for me."
"Tch, you're seriously asking payment from your own son? What kind of father are you?" I remarked.
"Ah, but you're gonna be a father soon, am I right?" He countered. "Then you're on the same level as me. And trust me, raising a child is hard work that you'll definitely ask them to repay you someday," the person sighed.
Sighing myself, I asked. "So, what is it that you want me to help you with? Guarding the place, cleaning, scouting, accompanying you from dying of boredom? What is it?"
Grinning, he took out something from his pocket and placed it on bus desk. "Easy, I want you to become a test subject for the immortality serum that I'm making."
Disbelievingly, I stared at the definitely mad scientist. "You're seriously asking your own son to become your lab rat?" I ask with skepticism.
"Oh no, I am not kidding, Yuuta. I'm wholly serious," my father replied. "You see, before I have only used the prototypes I've developed on the undeads, and I have to say that my work had been steadily progressing. However, I am still a human and not an undead, and so, the result might not be so effective on me. That is why, I need a living human being to test the serum with and further my research. You understand, right?"
"Unfortunately, I do understand," I responded dejectedly. "But I'm sorry to inform you but I've also been infected before, and purified, so I may not be fully human for your experiment."
Unexpectedly, he laughed at my statement. "Oh, Yuuta. You're never fully human to begin with, you should realize that by now."
"What do you mean?"
"Oops, I've said too much. The time has not yet come for you to know the truth," I cocked my head confusedly. "As for your argument, well, I'll deal with that matter after the experiment on you is finished."
"I'm not getting out of this, am I?" He nodded. "Such misfortune." Closing my eyes, I asked again. "What are the risks?"
"You don't have to worry too much about the risks of the test," Dad assured me. "The worst that could happen is for to turn into an undead while the most favourable outcome could result in you becoming fully immortal. It's not that bad of a deal, right?" He smiled.
Thinking for a few seconds, I came to the conclusion that it may be worth in helping him. After all, I'm certain that I won't turn into an undead again, and I have to admit, being immortal or at least having a long lifespan does seems interesting. The others can take care of themselves, I trust Shuuya and Kurumi to protect them all. Assisting my father in his mad research huh? Though, there's still something I need to do. "Alright, I agree to your terms. I'll help you in these tests as long as you uphold your promise to help me find my friends," father nodded to himself at that. "Now, hurry up and release me."
"That won't be a problem," he jogged to my seat. "Now hold still for a second." Untying the handcuffs chaining me to the chair, he turned the thing around… before I greeted him with a punch to the stomach with all my might.
The force of the punch sent him flying backwards all the way to the window, and crashing through it where he… fell down? 'Wait, did he really just fell from the building?' I pondered at what just happened, mouth gaping.
Ten seconds later, a hand reached up towards the windowsill, and the head of a person after that. "Ha, that was really dangerous. You shouldn't kill me this early, Yuuta."
"What? But, how?" I sputtered, not knowing how he managed to not fall down.
"There's another chamber here," Dad pointed back behind the broken window. "It's a safety precaution in case someone wants to throw some chairs out of a window and still be able to recover them back," he explained casually. "But still, good thing I didn't pass though the actual window of the chamber. That would just be awful."
I was not amused when I heard the explanation. "That's doesn't make sense, but then again I'm not sure if you have any left at this point," I facepalmed.
Brushing the glass shards from his coat, he approached me and patted my shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll get used to this soon," I'm not sure if I want to get used to being with this side of him. "But yeah, this reminds me of the time when I first met Mina. How nostalgic this is," he turned to face me. "Do you want to hear about it?"
"I do not," I flatly refused. "I know what happened. Mom told me about it in the past."
"Yes, but you only heard the story from her, remember? You never heard it from me, of what actually happened." I have to admit, he's right. For some reason, she would get violent and embarassed when Dad was the one mentioning it. "So, let me tell you the story of how exactly I met Mina." This is going to be long, I just knew it.
~~~~~~~
In a certain university building, on a cloudless day at noon, a person leaned against the wall in the hallway, a piece of paper in his hand.
Greetings, Kenji.
How do you fare in the city? Are you studying hard? You're the first person in our village to enter K university, and we're proud of you for that. But you should not forget about taking care of your health. Try to cook something occasionally instead of just eating takeouts. Make some friends in your place, instead of just holing in your room like you did during high school. We care about you.
The rest of us are doing fine here in the village. Your father misses you though since he doesn't have a good sparring partner anymore. Ai and Koi are having their marriage ceremony this summer, so try to come back home for that. Suki is still picking fights at school. That girl, she's very hard to control. Meanwhile Kazoku has started her training and progressing well thus far, though she a little bit clumsy. As for me, you should know what I'm doing in my spare time. The flowers have to be taken care of, after all.
To the main reason for this letter, have you found someone yet? You're in your second year of college and you're still not married. That is not good. Your father and I have you when we're at Ai's age, and you're well past that. While I understand that you want to pursue your studies first, you shouldn't neglect on your family life. It wouldn't be for the son of the Kiriha family to remain single for long. Inform us when you met her so that she can be introduced to our family.
Ending this letter, I hope you're living well in the city and stay healthy, mind and body. Don't forget to visit us here in the village.
From your mother, Kiriha Sae
Sighing, the person adjusted his glasses and folded the letter, inserting it in the breast pocket of his shirt. "Mother, did she not know that I have no time in something like dating a girl? There's more important things than that such as my research," the boy known as Kiriha Kenji looked out of the window. "Still, I should probably head back home this summer to attend Ai and Koi's wedding. A spar with father wouldn't be bad either."
As Kenji continue to ponder about his family back home, he looked at his watch and sighed. "I'm late, Shiiko should be in the lab by now," flexing his shoulders, he strode along towards his destination.
'But still, a girl eh? That's not actually an unpleasant thought. I'll have to find one eventually after all,' Kenji closed his eyes and began to wonder. 'Straight long black hair, a little shorter than me, moderate chest size; yes, that would be the best."
As the boy continue to imagine, another person rounded the corner and collided into him. "Kyaah!"
"Whoa!" Surprised, Kenji stepped back in response but slipped on a piece of paper fallen from the person and stumbled forward towards them.
When the Kiriha son opened his eyes a few seconds later, he was staring face to face with the person. What's more, their lips were touching squarely on each other.
As soon as the other person realized this, their face immediately turned a mad shade of red and pushed Kenji backwards with much strength.
Returning to his senses, the boy touched his lips and stared at the person he just collided into. It was a girl with long black hair, clear green eyes, small chest and a very short stature.
~~~~~~~
"Wait a minute!" Yuuta interrupted the flashback, pausing the scene. "That's can't be Mom, is she?" He pointed at the very short girl. "I mean, she's shorter than Ruiko, and she's in middle school! Are you sure she's supposed to be at the university?"
Holding a hand up, Kenji tried to calm his son. "I understand your reactions, Yuuta, and I assure you that that is your mother, and she is of the same age as me, though the difference in sizes."
"If that really is Mom, how did she grow up from that to a normal height in several years?" Yuuta questioned.
His father rubbed his chin and looked away. "Hmm, that is truly a mystery, isn't it? But Yuki-san is a shorter than average girl too, isn't she?" He said.
"That may be true, but she can still grow, I think," mumbled the boy.
"Then let me finish the story first, before we discuss about that," Kenji replied.
~~~~~~~
Still somewhat shocked from the incident, Kenji awkwardly raised a hand to greet the girl. "Err, hello?"
"You…" the girl glared at him and pointed her finger accusingly. "What did you do!? That was my first kiss!" She screamed.
"Sorry?" The accused boy rubbed the back of his head. "That was my first too, so, are we even?"
The glare from the girl intensifies as her face turns redder from embarrassment and anger. "Hell no!" In one single leap, she jump kicked Kenji in the stomach, pushing him out through the third floor's window. "DIE!"
"Waah!" The boy screamed as he fell towards the ground. He ended up crashing to the thick grass face first. "Ah… this sucks," graoned Kenji to the dirt. "That's not how I want to have my first kiss at all. This is definitely not a great day." He remained splattered on the ground after that.
Then, he heard the sound of footsteps beside him. "Are you okay?" He heard a question, and raised his head to see the person better. "That was quite the drop you had. Are you injured anywhere?"
"Only my pride is injured," Kenji answered. "And perhaps my abdomen, but they'll heal in time," getting on his feet, he brushed the grass and soil from his clothes. A hand holding a handkerchief came from beside him.
"Here," after mouthing a thanks and cleaning his glasses and face, the recently-fallen boy turned to greet the one greeting him. "Kimura Hisao. We've met, you reside in the room in the same hallway as me, correct?" The brown haired boy, Hisao, said.
Returning the handkerchief, Kenji replied. "Yes, I've seen you before, mostly in the campus library too. Kiriha Kenji," he extended his hand.
~~~~~~~
Finishing his flashback, Kiriha Kenji, in present time, spun in his chair to face Yuuta. "And that's the story of Me and Mina's first meeting."
After hearing the story, Yuuta couldn't help but stare at his father incredulously. "Just how did you manage two managed to get together from that first impression? Are you sure she's of legal age when you two married? Who's that person appearing at the end, your friend? And, Mom's surprisingly violent in her younger years."
"How we got together you say?" The elder Kiriha quirked an eyebrow. "Fate works in mysterious ways you see, and it's not immediate that we gained feelings for each other. Yes, I repeat, Mina is the same age as me, despite her appearance. If you're talking about Hisao, he's actually the only close friend I had in university even though we're in different course, he studied physics while I chose medicine. And yeah, she's probably what you would call a violent but true tsundere in today's terms. Her kicks were really painful and hard to dodge."
Quietness exists after that exchange, as both Kiriha males looked at each other. Yuuta was the one to speak first. "So, what should we do now?"
"Well, you can go rest in one of the rooms available in the building. Chose whichever you like. We're finished for today, but tomorrow will bring with it a new start for us, so prepare yourself. Any food or drinks that you want you can find in the kitchen." Yuuta slightly nodded and stepped towards the door before he heard Kenji's voice again. "I probably don't have to tell you this, but there's no use if you want to escape, but I'll said it anyway. Also, I'm always awake so I'll appreciate if you don't try to kill me after this, though I have no doubt that you'll still try."
"Is that all?" Yuuta turned around, annoyed at his warnings though he knew that he knew what he's thinking about, and they're all right.
"There's more," came the reply. "If you want, we could resume your sword training. There's many more that you should learn as the heir of the family. And who knows, perhaps you can kill me in practice, of you can of course."
A grin formed on the boy's face, and he spoke confidently. "I accept your challenge."
"And I accept this responsibility." The father uttered.
This will take a long time.