09—Parallels
In the kitchen, Sakura works to put the finishing touches on breakfast, adding a pinch of salt to the soup. She stirs the pot before sampling the product, then shows a satisfied smile. Shirou brings down a few soup bowls.
The living room is fairly silent, except for the television providing meaningless background noise, a commercial for some bath soap. Fujimura sits, her eye twitching as she stares at the top of Taiasu's head, the rest of his face and body concealed by the table. Finally tiring of this, she sighs, stands, and grabs a few floor cushions.
Three, to be precise.
"Here," she says, tossing them all at him casually. "Sit on these so we can at least see each other."
With little warning, just about a second before they're flying thoughtlessly at his head, Taiasu snaps around with his whole body. Deftly, he catches each. Two, one in each hand. The third, he sandwiches between.
She hadn't meant it. It was simply a momentary lapse in judgement on her part. Yet now, something about how he catches them, his quick reaction, the swiftness and fluidity of his motions, raises her eyebrows, then narrows her eyes.
First that daikon, and now this? This kid's more than he appears. Has he been trained? They do have to start young if they're going to progress, so it is possible…
She's no stranger to such things, having undergone martial arts training in her youth. And it's said 'like recognizes like'.
Next to the table, Taiasu arranges the floor cushions in a small pile, then plants himself, showing a gracious smile.
"Thanks. Sorry, didn't know it was bothering you."
Still suspicious, she only nods, her mouth a narrow line as she returns to her side of the table and her own floor cushion. With the three on his side, Taiasu is now about shoulder level with the table, so their eyes meet comfortably.
There are a few things Fujimura considers doing that could allay her suspicions. Feigning a blow to see how he reacts. But she shakes her head, dismissing this idea out of hand.
If I'm wrong, that would just be embarrassing.
She considers tossing her set of chopsticks at him and seeing if he catches them like he had those cushions, but feels the idea to be even more absurd. Finally, she settles on the most reasonable course of action.
"So for how long have you been cooking, Taruko-kun?"
Trying to naturally steer a conversation into a discussion about it.
"Hm?" He snaps his focus away from the television screen, twisting his head around and meeting her eyes with his. "How long? I forget… I know it hasn't been that long."
She narrows her eyes further at his casual answer. "You're pretty skilled with a knife if that's the case."
"Well, it's not like I just picked it up. I learned from the best."
At his words, her narrowing eyes widen.
He was taught professionally? Is he from some rich family or something?
From the TV, some noise catches his attention, and Taiasu's head turns slowly back toward it. While she watches his focus being stolen, Fujimura's suspicion gives way to genuine curiosity.
"What made you want to learn how to cook?"
Rather than the slight suspicion of before, that of course Taiasu had not picked up on, Fujimura's tone now conveys her sincere interest. Taiasu stops turning toward the TV and turns fully toward her again.
"What made me want to?"
He tilts his head back fully, quietly scanning the ceiling, as if it might have the answer to her question for a few moments. Finally, he shrugs, then looks back down at her.
"Nothing really, I guess. I just had an opportunity to learn, and I thought it might be an enjoyable diversion."
Fujimura's mouth narrows into a small circle as her eyes widen further. His words, those of an adult and an adventurer, juxtapose jarringly with his appearance, that of a young child.
"A d-diversion? And your parents were okay with this?"
A fair question. At hearing his words, anyone would wonder. Where are the parents in all of this? So her asking it shouldn't be a surprise.
In his chest, though, his heart still twists hearing it. He hasn't thought about it, about them, for some time. And now they've been thrust to the fore twice in one day… His downcast gaze becomes fixed on the table, his expression bearing a forlorn smile as he gives a solemn head-shake.
It takes him a moment to form his answer.
"Mom and dad… aren't around anymore."
The words bring with them a heavy, uncomfortable silence. No one is ever ready to hear them in this context.
To their side, a few bowls clatter in his hands as Shirou, who's been standing unnoticed for a few seconds listening, breathes sharply inward. Wordlessly, awkwardly, his mouth hangs partway open, and he can do little more than shift his discomforted gaze about the room.
Behind him, Sakura stands holding the pot of soup with a couple of hot pads in an equally uncomfortable silence. Across from Taiasu, Fujimura stares down shamefacedly, so much so her chin nearly touches her chest. Before, she's felt suspicion. Now, all she can see is a small, sadly smiling child trying to bear up under an enormous weight.
The deafening quiet doesn't escape Taiasu's notice. It's the longest several seconds of his day to this point before he finds a way to break it.
"It's okay. You couldn't have known, and it's been a few years now," he says, looking at her from across the table. "I don't like talking about it because… well…" As if the answer weren't obvious enough, he simply gestures around the room, at the three who stand or sit in stunned, awkward silence. "And at this rate, breakfast will get cold, right?"
As Taiasu works to suppress his own unpleasant feelings on the subject, he shows a forced, yet bright and cheery grin. Some of the tension breaks, and Shirou and Sakura both shuffle toward the table, setting the bowls and pot of soup down. While they do that, their teacher struggles against the weight forming in the pit of her stomach.
What am I even thinking? Whatever his situation is, he's done nothing to justify my suspicions.
She swallows against a hard lump in her throat, and forces her own light smile as Sakura and Shirou distribute the empty plates and bowls. Once everyone has found their place, Shirou sits beside Sakura, who sits between him and Taiasu, while their teacher sits opposite, staring vacantly at the television.
"Anyroad, I'm sure they wouldn't have had much to say on it," Taiasu says, still trying to lighten the mood. "They were all about independence and expanding out, so I'm sure they'd have been pleased with my decision."
As she hears his strange expression, Fujimura's ears perk up, and she looks over from across the table.
"Anyroad?"
He nods. The observation shifts the tone some, and he seizes the chance to derail the dour discussion.
"Yeah, you know? Anyroad? Like, any road you take?"
Shirou and Sakura both exchange perplexed looks. Sakura's already forgotten it's the second time she's heard the expression, and Fujimura sits staring, blinking several times while she tries to process.
"I've never heard that expression before. I think the closest we have to that would be when we say 'anyway.'"
Considering the linguistic quirk lifts more of the heavy atmosphere, and Taiasu breathes a silent word of gratitude for anything that can change the subject. He even completely misses the word she's just spoken. One he's heard before, for the first time, and recently. Sakura and Shirou both shrug and begin dishing their plates, and Fujimura strokes her chin thoughtfully, staring at the table, recalling some things both Sakura and Taiasu had said when they'd met earlier.
"Taruko-kun, you said you'd only just arrived? So you're not from Japan?"
Until now, Sakura has felt like she's been walking through a minefield, that the slightest missed step could prove disastrous. Now, she finds herself surprised by her non-reaction to her teacher's question. Somehow, for her, it feels benign enough not to warrant her concern.
As for Taiasu, he doesn't respond right away. His stare is fixed on the food. Then it shifts, and he's frowning down at his short arms. Several tight wrinkles form in his forehead as he presses his fists into his legs, leaning toward the table. Finally, Sakura looks down and spies him sitting nonplussed, pacing with his eyes, his frustrated glare moving between the things on the table and his arms.
"Taruko-kun?"
At her gentle prodding, he startles from his stupor, and his hands relax in his lap as he looks up.
"Hm? What's up?"
She smiles, shaking her head. "Nothing, you just looked bothered by something."
He makes a small noise as his mouth falls open partway, his face turning a shade of red as he casts his gaze back to the floor. Not looking up, he points toward the table.
"I was just trying to figure out how I'm going to enjoy breakfast, is all."
He heaves a small sigh. Sakura's smile wrinkles up, and she lets out a small chuckle before reaching across the table and fixing him a plate of fish and salad, and a couple of bowls, one with yam puree over rice, and the other with miso soup.
"You know, next time you can just ask," she says, chuckling again as she sets the last bowl down.
"Sure. I mean, it only makes sense," Shirou says, offering his own thoughts. "After all, you couldn't reach across the table unless you were standing on it, so just ask next time."
The red in Taiasu's face deepens as he looks long and hard at the floor.
"Thanks," he mutters, sliding his floor cushion tower closer to the table.
With their plates and bowls now filled, everyone claps their hands together, echoing one another in saying 'Thanks for the food' before they dig in. Taiasu quietly notes the similarity of the custom to one he'd picked up on during his time in the far east, back on Hydaelyn.
Despite the subtle distraction, their teacher's question has not left her mind. Before she's taken her first bite, she repeats herself.
"So, Taruko-kun, you're not from this country?"
He shakes his head, then takes in a piece of fresh seared salmon and savors its strong fishy taste and well-seasoned flavor. Garlic and onion, with a few other seasonings.
"Nope," he says, after he finishes his small bite. "I only arrived today. I hate imposing, but I'm glad I ran into Sakura when I did or else I'd be pretty lost."
Their conversation proceeds as any where people get to know each other would. That is to say, normally. Sakura again finds herself surprised for her lack of anxiety. Of course, in the back of her mind, her concerns still sit heavy.
Shirou starts in on his fish and salad, and Sakura begins with her soup, and for the moment the only sounds heard are that of chopsticks occasionally clinking against plates and bowls. Fujimura takes in a small piece of her own fish, chewing it slowly, along with Taiasu's response.
Something about the situation isn't sitting well with her.
There's something really strange about all of this. It sounds like his parents are gone. That's terrible, of course, and I feel awful for what I was thinking earlier. But if his parents are gone, it makes no sense for him to be here.
She swallows her bite, then settles on her next question.
"So you're here by yourself, then?"
Taiasu shakes his head, then downs the piece of chicken he's been working on.
"Nope. I met Sakura, then Shirou, and now you, so I'm not here by myself."
Shirou chokes on his bite of radish and has to pound his chest. Sakura's chopsticks hang in the air for a moment as she's surprised out of her decision of what to go for next, and Fujimura can only sit in momentarily stunned silence. For each of them, who've only known him for such a short time, his words are quite surprising. Shirou clears his airway, and their teacher shakes her head, overcoming her surprise.
Well… I'm not sure what to say to that, but he is a child, after all.
As her surprise passes, her mouth turns up, forming a small, sincere smile.
"Hmm… So you're the type who makes friends quickly, aren't you?"
"You're not wrong," Taiasu nods, grinning broadly. "I mean, I'd rather be friends if I can help it." Then he's tilting his head, prodding his chin. "Is that weird?"
Shirou and Sakura look at each other, each wearing a light grin, and they both chuckle while Fujimura shakes her head.
"No… It's not weird. It's kind of refreshing, to be honest."
For him to be this way after… Well, I don't know his entire story, but I hope he can stay like this for a long time.
She takes in another piece of fish, and everyone else sets to work on their meals in relative quiet. It's another few minutes before she asks her next question.
"So what brings you to Japan, Taruko-kun?"
He finishes chewing his bite, then chases it with a small sip from his soup bowl before answering.
"Nothing in particular." He fights back a sharp frown as he recalls the old man and how he'd practically deceived him into coming here. Enticing him, using his own desires as bait. Then something the man said floats up into his mind, and he latches on to it. "Just looking for a chance to broaden my horizons, I guess."
Whatever he was, he wasn't wrong. He may have been duplicitous, but he had me pegged from the start. Damn old man…
"So you came to Japan?"
Shirou interjects his thought after taking a sip from his own soup, and Taiasu nods.
"Someone I know seemed pretty fond of the place. He did a good job talking it up."
"But why Fuyuki?" Fujimura asks.
Sakura continues enjoying the meal and light conversation, while Shirou picks up on pieces here and there. Taiasu shrugs at the teacher's question.
"Seemed as good a place as any."
A comfortable silence prevails for a few moments.
Taiasu's answers remain vague, yet truthful, and seem to satisfy every question. They also soothe the disquieted feeling Fujimura has been wrestling with. Less what's said, and more how it's said. Though much remains unsaid, and she's none the wiser, what is is said in a straightforward and honest manner. But something else creeps up into her mind as she chews away the last of her fish.
"You know, you speak well for someone your age, Taruko-kun."
Beside him, he can practically feel Sakura's entire form stiffen. It's the first time since they've sat down that she's felt tense, and for good reason. Her teacher's casual observation could very well give the entire game away.
After all, regardless of how he looks, he's told her plainly, and plainly annoyed, that he's 'not a child'.
Taiasu tilts his head and shrugs. "I mean, I guess? Everyone has to grow up sometime. I suppose I just had to do it sooner than most people."
Sakura's tension eases as she breathes out a small, relieved sigh.
He's like a surgeon with his words.
Fujimura nods. "Well, if you're like this all the time, I could see why."
"Yeah, he's probably more mature than you are, Fuji-nee," Shirou mutters around his bite, and she puffs her cheeks out indignantly.
"That's no way to talk about your teacher."
"So where's home for you, then?" he asks, shrugging off her minor complaint.
Despite herself, Sakura can feel her tension building again. She tries to keep calm and continue eating. Rather than being overcome with concern, she views within their casual discussion a certain opportunity.
He's done well so far, and it's a good chance to make sure he'll be fine if we get—!
"It's pretty far away. I can't imagine it'd be well known here," Taiasu says, poking through his salad bowl. "But the name of the city is Ul'dah, in the region of Thanalan."
Sakura draws in a small, sharp breath, turning her head down to hide her widening eyes as her stress spikes.
!—Taruko-kun! You—! I can't believe he just came right out and said that!
The other two at the table both tilt their heads lightly, casting their gaze to the ceiling, searching their recollections before finding Taiasu to be correct.
Obviously.
Fujimura is the first to comment.
"Well… You're right, at least in that I've never heard of that place."
Taiasu nods as he takes another bite from his salad.
"That doesn't surprise me. Oh yeah, before I keep forgetting again, this is all great. Thanks for the breakfast, everyone."
"So what's it like there?" Shirou asks.
"How do you mean?"
"You know, weather and stuff?"
"Oh." Taiasu nods his understanding. "Well, it's warm and arid. Sort of like a desert, but still teeming with life." He breaks off another piece of fish. "The city is pleasant. I've made quite a few friends there."
After blowing on the fish held between his chopsticks, cooling it down, he puts it in his mouth.
No longer suspicious, Fujimura finds herself instead enamored with his way of speaking. If he looked like any other adult, it would be nothing special. But he just doesn't. It's baffling, and having little experience with children of his apparent age leaves her with no frame of reference, which definitely doesn't help.
"Say Taruko-kun… Please forgive me if it's too personal a question, but can I ask how long you've been on your own?"
Shirou nods along with her question, and beside him Sakura has shifted from tense to relaxed and back so many times her muscles ache again.
Taiasu shakes his head. "No, it's fine. I actually haven't been on my own for that long," he says through a small, somewhat sad smile. "I mean, it was for a few years after I lost mom and dad, but I made some good friends who look after me pretty well, so it's not like I'm all alone."
Again, beside him, he can feel Sakura relax as she heaves a low and quiet sigh. Fujimura nods her approval of his answer.
"That's wonderful. Good friends can be hard to find," she says with a warm smile. "It sounds like your parents did well with you. I'm sure they'd be proud."
She takes a small sip from her soup bowl.
It would also explain how he's so well mannered and well spoken. If he's been alone for as long as he says. For years. I suppose it's like he said. He'd have to grow up quickly to survive. They must have given him a fine start.
Shirou finishes his current bite, then dabs with a cloth napkin from the table before asking his next question.
"So how long will you be visiting?"
Taiasu shrugs. "I'm not sure, honestly. As far as I know, I'm in no rush. I guess I'll just play it by ear." His eyes snap wide as he remembers something. "I mean, of course, it depends on… um…" From the side, he casts Sakura a small look. "I also don't want to be imposing too much on Sakura. She's been kind enough to help me find my way around here, so I guess for as long as she's willing to put up with me?"
Sakura chews through her current bite as she looks toward him from the side as well, her mouth forming a small, thoughtful frown.
Is he still worrying about that? I already told him it wasn't a problem.
"Well, you seem fairly level-headed," Shirou says through his current bite. He grabs the pureed yam and spreads some on his rice. "Hey Sakura, can you pass the soy sauce please?"
"For those?" she asks, pointing, and he nods.
"Yeah, that's normally what you put it on, right? Oh, and this is all really well done," he says, gesturing over the spread set out on the table.
Quietly, he takes a moment to reflect on how much she's improved. When she'd started coming, her specialty was in preparing western style meals. So for her to excel so quickly in cooking traditional, Japanese-style breakfasts is nothing to sneeze at.
She's really come a long way. Soon she'll be better than me. The fish is perfect, and even the yams for the rice were ground well. Buttery smooth.
"It wasn't all me. Like I said, Taruko-kun helped with the vegetables…?" She stops as she notes the bottle toward which she's been reaching is quite empty. "Um… Senpai, it looks like you're out here," she says, pulling her hand back.
"How about that bottle next to Taiasu? That looks like it's got some in it."
"I'll get it!" Taiasu says, looking over the table and spotting a bottle with a dark liquid inside. He reaches out and grabs it, but stops, the scent catching in his nose. "Huh? You said this was soy sauce?"
Shirou nods. "It should be, right?"
Across the table, Fujimura, who's been hiding a childish smirk, quickly goes rigid, her grin falling flat.
"Of course it is! What else would it be?" she says stiffly.
Her eye gives a single, visceral twitch. With everything happening, she'd completely forgotten until Shirou asked for the sauce. Suddenly recalling, she'd been positively giddy over what was coming. Only now, as she watches Taiasu sniffing at the bottle with a questioning look on his face, it seems her plans are quickly about to come unraveled.
"I don't know. This doesn't smell like any soy sauce I've ever had."
"There have to be many types, right?" she says forcefully, her eye giving another hard twitch. "Just pass it like he asked, Taruko-kun."
He shrugs and hands it to Sakura, who passes it to Shirou, and Fujimura gives a relieved sigh as her expression eases. Then her poorly concealed, eager grin returns. Her behavior doesn't escape Shirou's notice, and he holds the jar up to his own nose, taking a single sniff before sampling a small amount on his finger, then almost recoiling.
He heaves a deep sigh before looking up at her and frowning.
"Fuji-nee… Did you know this was oyster sauce?"
Her eager grin quickly cracks, then falls downcast into a disappointed, frustrated frown.
"Taruko… kun…" Her hard frown stiffens further as she glares at him from across the table. "You should know better than to interfere with divine justice."
"Huh? Did I do something wrong?" Perplexed by her words, he can only offer a confused inquiry in reply.
Just as confused, Shirou nods his head. "Right? What are you talking about, Fuji-nee?"
Her frustrated frown quickly gives way to a childish pout as she folds her arms across her chest.
"What I'm saying is that I was trying to get even with you for what you did yesterday."
Shirou sighs as he stands and makes his way toward the refrigerator in the kitchen. "And how is that? By ruining my breakfast?" When he returns, it's with a fresh bottle of actual soy sauce, some of which he adds to his dish. "Seriously, you'll be twenty-five this year. Maybe you should at least act like an adult?"
Sakura breathes her own small sigh as she glances back and forth between the two of them. Their teacher isn't known for behaving like most adults do, but her actions when food is involved are seldom without reason.
"Senpai? What did you do yesterday?"
"He was picking on me along with everyone else!" Fujimura whines, answering before Shirou has the chance.
Taiasu can only continue directing his uncertain stare around the room between the three. Yet, some other things mix in with his small confusion. The fine food, the comfortable atmosphere, and the silly banter all blend well, bringing a warm and pleasant feeling in his chest and an amused smile to his face.
"Divine justice doesn't come from people, Fuji-nee. That's why it's divine justice…" Shirou mutters, mixing in the soy sauce, then taking a bite and smiling at the taste.
Smooth and sweet. The oyster sauce would've ruined this… That would've been such a waste.
She frowns, resting her chin on her fist and staring, glaring really, off to one side. "I was waiting all morning for that, too. And I still have to grade all those papers."
After heaving a sigh filled with discontent, she turns to her food and devours it in moments. Everyone can only stare blankly as the remaining salad, soup, and rice mixed with yam vanish from her plate and bowls before their very eyes. Finally, she lifts the soup bowl and sucks down the remaining broth, then wipes her mouth on her sleeve and shows Sakura a satisfied smile.
"Thanks for the breakfast. It was lovely as always, Sakura-chan." She stands and bows lightly, then makes for the door before stopping as something occurs to her. "Say, Sakura-chan, what's he going to be doing while you're in school?" She gestures toward Taiasu, who stares blinking at the newly emptied plates and bowls that remain where she'd been sitting.
"Huh? While I'm at school?" She glances down at him as well. "I'm not sure. We hadn't planned that far—"
"Why not just bring him with you, then?" What frustration she's been bearing from her failed practical joke fades, and her idea brings with it a delighted grin. "You can look after him there, right?"
Now realizing he's being spoken of, Taiasu breaks free from his awe at the speed with which Fujimura has devoured the rest of her breakfast, and looks up at her, then at Sakura.
"Uh, um… I…" He stammers for a second, trying to find his words. "I-I'm not, I mean, I don't want to be a bother. I can just wait at Sakura's house—"
"What bother?" Her grin expands. "I bet the students and teachers would get a big kick out of you."
"F-Fuji-nee," Shirou interjects after tightening his jaw, having just gone slack for what he's been hearing. "He's not some curiosity on display."
She dismisses his comment with a casual shrug. "Well, bring him anyway. He's small, it should be fine, right?" As if the issue is decided, she slides the living room door open and steps out, sliding it closed behind her, leaving everyone staring blankly at her wake.
Taiasu blinks a few more times. Then one word she's said echoes in his mind.
Wait, 'anyway'? She said that?
His eyes narrow for a moment.
Watcher said that, too. 'Anyway'. Well, it makes sense… He said this was his land, and they his people.
"Is she really even a teacher?" Shirou's minor complaint pulls Taiasu from his considerations. "Suggesting something like that makes me doubt it."
Sakura breathes a relieved sigh.
Somehow, we made it through breakfast, at least. But what was Fujimura-sensei so upset about?
Rather than speculate, she decides on taking the more prudent course of simply asking.
"Senpai…?"
He finishes his current bite of rice, then looks over to see Sakura looking at him, her brows drawing inward and her hand pressing against her chest. Something clearly weighs on her mind. Whatever it is, she hasn't said, so he guesses.
"Sorry, Sakura. She didn't even take the time to enjoy your breakfast properly."
She shakes her head. "I'm not worried about that, but what happened yesterday? For Fujimura-sensei to risk food like that, it would have to be something pretty distressing."
Taiasu lets his gaze wander between them for a few more moments before returning his attention to his own meal. There's little left. Just a few bites of fish, the rice with yam mixed in, and a small amount of soup broth.
Don't want it to get cold. She worked pretty hard on it, and it's fantastic. The fish isn't too strong, the soup base cuts the bitterness of the beets, and the carrots add just the right amount of sweetness to it.
He resumes working on his meal as Sakura and Shirou continue their discussion.
"Oh, that…" Shirou heaves a small sigh as he collects the empty plates and bowls. "I might have let her nickname slip out." He takes them to the sink and runs some water over them.
It would be something small for most people, but for their teacher it's a sort of hot button issue. Still, knowing the facts helps ease Sakura's concern, relaxing her expression into a relieved smile, and allowing her hands to come down to her sides.
"I guess her behavior can't be helped in that case. But you didn't apologize to her, did you, Senpai?"
Shirou shakes his head. "Sorry. I forgot since it happens so often."
She frowns sharply at his cavalier response. "You can't be that way, Senpai. You know Fujimura-sensei doesn't like when you call her that. I'll bet you even made her cry again, didn't you?"
He roughs his hair awkwardly as he returns from the kitchen. "And she ran away…" Under the weight of Sakura's piercing glare, his gaze falls to the floor. "English was a self-study because of it."
He frowns, briefly recalling the minor celebration, and the note someone had written cheering his 'accomplishment', which he'd promptly thrown away.
Sakura's sharp glare and frown soften into something sad.
"Geez, then it was all your fault."
Shirou sighs again. Still, he finds her reaction understandable, given what he knows of their relationship outside of school. Their teacher pulls double-duty as a big-sister figure for her. This means that when there's an issue like this, she's usually on Fujimura's side.
"Taruko-kun, you mustn't interfere with divine justice like that again," she says, looking down at him, and causing him to nearly choke on his last bite of fish.
He takes a drink from his soup bowl to clear his throat, then looks up at her, flailing his arms and balking.
"I-I didn't! I didn't even know what was happening!" Desperate to deflect, he deftly redirects the discussion. "So what's the deal? Do you guys always eat breakfast with her?"
Shirou nods. "Most days. She's my teacher, but also my guardian. She was friends with my father and she's also the landlord's daughter, so she started coming by since he took me in…" Wistful, he shows a small, sad smile. "She's been coming by more and more since he died. Mostly just to eat."
His words weigh down the conversation again and cause Taiasu to draw in a sharp breath.
"Your father died?"
Shirou nods. "Yeah. About five years ago."
Again, it's not the sort of topic anyone is readily prepared to discuss or handle, and all Taiasu can do is clumsily speak his sincere feelings.
"Geez… That really sucks. I'm sorry to hear that."
"Well, we all seem to have that in common, at least."
Taiasu catches his meaning, and glances up at Sakura, who looks down and away, wearing her own small, sad frown. The weight of the conversation grows heavier, bringing the pleasant atmosphere down with it, and he can't even find the words to respond out loud.
"Anyway, Fuji-nee is a big part of why I could survive after my father died. I owe her a lot." Forcing his thoughts back to the present helps lift Shirou's mood and expression. "She, Sakura and I made this big place our home, mostly…?"
His voice trails as he realizes something. He's been talking about these heavy things, yet has no real reason to. Of course, he also has no real reason NOT to.
Isn't it odd for me to be saying this stuff? Maybe it's because we have that in common? Well, as long as I keep my father's and my own arcane tendencies to myself, I guess it's fine. That stuff has to stay secret, after all.
He laughs, then sighs.
'Arcane tendencies.' Thinking that is a bit of a joke. I couldn't even call myself an apprentice, since I can't even cast a single spell properly.
He shakes his head, leaning it forward, then catches Taiasu staring up at him with his own head shifted to one side.
"Sorry, just remembering some stuff about my father."