Heart of the Infiltrators

(Senran Kagura x Male Reader)

Chapter 76: Familial Usher

Slowing down to a stop at the open single platform station in the middle of the grassy plains out in the country, the train carrying shinobi and their fellow misfits squealed against the rails before finally coming to a stop. Then the banter of its occupants echoed out from the very moment the doors opened.

"I'm not carrying you," came the young man's voice.

"C'mon, I know you're strong enough for it," retorted Katsuragi, following right on his heel as he led the way off the train, "Besides, my leg is still asleep. Do you know how funny my foot feels right now?"

The young man turned to her, "Bend and shake it-," but was cut off.

"It feels like a staticky tv screen," said the blonde, expanding her arms into the air as though it further proved her point, "So, c'mon, help a sister out."

"Considering the fact that we've been naked in the same bed, I don't think I'd feel comfortable calling you a sister."

"Don't feel shame over it, brother," eased Katsuragi, before she got a bump from behind by Ryōbi for blocking the way off the train. Once she was off to the side, she shrugged her shoulders and stated, "Nobody'll judge if you call me it. Some guys and gals are just into that freaky stuff." When the young man continued to stare at her, she gave him a small look of confusion, "What? Why am I, of all people, getting this judgmental look from you? Need I remind you that we have both Ryōna and Haruka consistently in our company too?" When silence was still her only answer, she rubbed her cheek before flirtatiously suggesting, "Or perhaps the issue is that you'd rather call me mommy?"

"Oh, Heaven help us all," remarked the young man, letting his face fall into a hand as he tried to stifle a chuckle that resulted from his inability to keep a straight face any longer.

"If you carry me, we can make it happen," pressed Katsuragi. She pointed to him, "You could get into it," then herself, "I could get into it," and then to Yumi as she stepped off the train, "I know for sure that she could get into it, that being if you called her mommy too."

Having only heard the end of the discussion, Yumi's back stiffened up and she asked quickly, "What's happening and when is it taking place?"

Miki, following right behind Oda as they stepped onto the platform, looked over and called, "Yumi, I can't say what they're talking about for certain… but I know for fact that my pity for him suffering whatever he'll suffer during the disentanglement falls a bit lower with each exchange between the lot of you."

The young man pulled his head up from his hand, "Thanks for being a friend."

"Don't be a smartass with me," stated Miki, flapping his arm to the small crowd that was forming from the train, "You've definitely had a something-some with some of these women and you're definitely going to have several more when this is all over. My pity for you, when you've got a pillowy heaven waiting, is zilch."

"And, with a comment like that, I am definitely going to rub it in," grumbled the young man before he turned and found himself face-to-face with a bird, an emu, that stood almost two meters tall. Its long neck was craned over curiously and its big eyes studied his every motion. The surprise was so great that the young man's jaw fell and his eyes narrowed considerably as he questioned whether or not reality had been broken at some point or another.

Still standing right next to him, Katsuragi looked back and forth between him and the emu before pointing and stating, "It's a sign that you should carry me. The gods have spoken and you must obey."

Without breaking eye contact with the bird, the young man retorted, "Katsuragi, shut your face. With the way you've been standing for the last minute, I know your leg isn't asleep anymore." He then blinked and whipped his head around, "And shouldn't you be more concerned about a random ass emu just randomly showing up?"

"Hey, I'm a shinobi," explained Katsuragi with a grin, "Normal doesn't factor into my day-to-day," before her expression turned grave, "But in all seriousness, I expect you to carry me to make up for the time that I was standing on-," before the emu's beak promptly clonked her on the top of her head. There was a small delay in her reaction, mostly out of shock that the emu wasn't just some strange statue that they just hadn't noticed, before she seethed through her teeth for a long time and held the front of her forehead. Her foot thumped the ground repeatedly as she worked through the pain before she backed away from the bird and took a long breath.

"Katsuragi, do it again. I need to get that on video."

The blonde turned her head over to find that both Shiki and Ryōbi had their phones out and were waving for the emu to continue its assault. Katsuragi was not at all pleased by the sight of the two and promptly threatened under her breath, "Consider both of your asses kicked in the near future."

"Is no one going to question why the damn bird is here to begin with!?" roared the young man as he stared at the creature, which resumed its staring contest with him. Then, when it rose its head to peck him as well, Miyabi was there in a flash to deliver a protective slap into the side of its head while her face remained perfectly calm. The bird let out a grunt of alarm and took a few steps away before rounding its way back to try again and received a similar strike. It repeated its movements and, after the third smack, the emu made another booming noise before stepping off toward the post office at the end of the platform. The grateful young man looked to Miyabi and said, "Thanks for the save."

With a sure pat to the back, the woman let out a proud hum before her eyes focused on a tall old man stepping out from the building and approaching the emu. His gray beard, tinged only with some red, held a beauty in its bushiness and the cheeks and eyes resting above were as prominent as his broad shoulders. He gave the bird a few scathing words in English, using the same heavy Scottish accent that the young man did when he spoke the language, before ruffling the top of its head and turning to face the group on the platform. Then his eyes completely focused on the young man. The boy took a solid breath into his nose, briefly flicking his eyes toward the rest of the group with uncertainty on how to make introductions, before he tossed his worries aside and simply made his approach. The old and young men took some odd steps toward one another before they broke into a small gallop and collided into a heartfelt hug. Their shoulders shook back and forth together and their hands pressed onto the back of one another's heads. They then exchanged kisses to their cheeks and resumed their heartfelt hug.

"It's good to see you, Granddad."

"My God, boy, it's been too long."

The two stood there, basking in the embrace of their reunion while a mix of both heartfelt and awkward expressions, the latter mostly because they didn't know if there'd be a cue to introduce themselves, spread across the others on the platform. At the same time, a look of both relief and shame ran over Hanzō and Jasmine as their actions of the not-so-distant past haunted them before their very eyes. Regardless of whether or not they regretted their decision to pull the young man away, there would always be the weight of knowing that there would have been a perfectly peaceful life for him if he'd never been involved in their affairs in the first place.

Eventually summoning the strength to part himself, the old man raised his hands to grip his grandson's shoulders and gave him a gentle push away, "It's been too long. Too long, you hear me?" He then let out a proud, "Ha – ha! Damn, it's good to see you, son!" without acknowledging Yozakura covering Minori's ears in favor of gesturing to the emu, "I see you met Crikey."

The young man turned to look at the emu, who was taking a few cautious steps toward Miyabi, reeling its head back for another attempt at pecking, before she swatted it away and it scurried off to hide again. He then faced his grandfather again and spoke frankly, "Yeah, here's a question, what's with the giant bird?"

"I took trip to Australia while you were away, try and get my mind off all the nonsense," replied the old man with a cheeky grin and a wave of his hand, "Met him, that bastard bird, while out on a tour of a vineyard. No idea how he got there, considering the surrounding area was mostly urban, but I've questioned stranger things. So, I wrangled him, learned his ways, claimed him as my own since it was either that or he would have gotten shot, and now I own an emu… and I still consider myself more sane than that lot in Russia who have a pet bear. At least I can discipline my bird and it can peck me without ripping off my sexy face."

Swinging his head back and forth between the emu and his grandfather, the young man then asked, "How'd you get it through customs… and why Crikey?"

"First, the airport is a boring story. You wouldn't want to know-," started the old man before he was interrupted.

"No, I really want to know, Granddad."

Regardless, the elder continued casually, "Second, Crikey is a he and you'll refer to him as such, you shiteater." Then the old man shrugged haughtily and patted his grandson's head, "As for the name, let's not pretend you have the best name in the whole world so how about you set aside your judgment for someone like me, who couldn't give two shits if your name was Potato." He then waved his hand off and gestured to the crowd in front of the train, "You know what, if we're gonna talk names, introduce me to your friends." He grandiosely clapped his hands and lifted one in the air, "I see a bunch of beauties here," and then the other toward Miki, "and an actual male shinobi, perhaps?"

Miki looked back and forth a few ways before fidgeted his hands up to his chest, "Oh no, I'm not a shinobi."

Without a second to spare, the old man barked, "Of course you're not a shinobi, I can tell by the way you hold yourself… well, that and the fact that I, the damn fine ex-infiltrator that I am, don't sense anything off of you. I was just trying to comment on the recent imbalance of sex in their ranks. No, you're a dignitary if I've ever smelled one." Before anyone could question where he got such a detail from, whether it was informed or just the luckiest of guesses and deductions, he pointed at Miki's form, "The way your knees quake, you're not terribly familiar or comfortable with this group or this situation. Your eyes keep flickering to my grandson and that gorilla shinobi in such a way that you feel partially dependent on their protection-, ergo to both of those things, you're an outcast and probably not a shinobi if you're looking to an infiltrator to be your shield. Then there's the faint red stress marks on your knuckles, shaped in the exact same way that's found on youth trained by dignitaries for their monstrous equivalent to a correction. You're a dignitary-, an ex-dignitary if I want to be more specific."

The young man looked unsurprised, likely having seen this exact process several times before, while everyone else blinked at Miki. As that happened, the boy raised up his hands and quickly stated, "Ex-dignitary. Please don't punch me."

"I don't punch or kick or bite, boy," stated the old man before he smiled heartily and plainly spoke, "and I'll welcome you into my house as an equal to everyone else here. There's no need to worry."

Off to the side, Ryōbi let out an exhale and wondered aloud in the quietest of whispers, "…He's going to be one of those know-it-alls who nitpicks our details and knows us instantly, isn't he…?"

"You're damn fucking right on that one, little miss," retorted the old man with a finger pointing her way.

While Yozakura arms were getting sore from instinctually covering Minori's ears with every curse, letting out a dejected sigh as she so, Ryōbi tried to shrug off both him and whatever discussion that would follow by grumbling, "I didn't say anything."

"Bullshit and my ears know it," started the old man before he pointed to his bright eyes, "Furthermore, I have all of you pegged on your standings with my grandson. Don't ask me to not press on because I feel the need to show off and make a strong and honest first impression, regardless of whether or not it is a good or bad one." Quickly, he pointed to Miyabi, who'd just finished thwarting another attack from Crikey, "By all that I can tell, you're an affectionate lover of his. You find him cute and see him as someone to protect. If it were just you two, you'd mostly wear the pants but he'd command the home." He then stepped toward her and extended his hand, "It is wonderful to meet you. Please, continue to take care of my grandson."

Miyabi sheepishly raised her hand to his and gave a few strong shakes before returning with a bit more confidence, "It's good to meet you too, Sir. I am Miyabi. He spoke highly of you."

Once their shake was finished, the old man took notice of Yumi creeping up from the middle of the crowd to the front, very apparently eager to introduce herself with the bright smile on her face. Just behind her, Asuka, Homura, and Murasaki were following with expressions ranging from timid to a nerve-wracking nervous. The elder turned to face the arrivals with a bright glint to his eyes, "Well, I'm happy to see how forward and open the lot of you are about your relationship… even though it kind of kills my opportunity to get a bit showier by calling you all out one by one. But we'll probably all walk away happier if we roll right through."

When he extended his hand, the frontmost woman happily took it and gave her head a deep bow, "It is wonderful to meet you, Sir. I am Yumi and I hope you will also extend your blessings to the rest of us."

"Whoever the boy lets himself be with has my blessings immediately, Miss Yumi," spoke the old man before he nodded his head, "Someone as openly affectionate and doting as you are only solidifies my approval. Here's hoping the boy actually grows to be as handsome as you somehow see him."

Off to the side, the young man commented, "How confident I must feel about myself to hear your would-be praise, Granddad."

"Feel lucky I'm going gentle today, asshole," remarked the old man before he turned back to Yumi, "By the way, while I understand your desire to spoil him, don't be afraid to ask him to pamper you too. Cooking, massages, and all of the other romancey stuff, I've taught him all I can and he can certainly do for you all. Beyond that, please, continue to take care of him."

"I thank you for this information," said Yumi with another bow and a final shake of his hand before she made her way beside the young man, throwing him a suggestive look. Though he'd heard his grandfather and understood the meaning behind it, the young man just wiggled his brow as though he were confused.

At the same time, Asuka stepped up and shook his grandfather's hand, "It's great to finally meet you. Your grandson always happily talked about you."

"And if I kept a phone on me when I traveled, I'm sure he would have spoken wonderful things about you too," remarked the old man, "With how open your heart is to others and the innocence you preserve, I can tell the two of you make both a great fit and counter-balance to one another." He then nodded and his eyes were narrowed in such a way that they were both gentle and all too knowing, "Beyond that, I can tell that the two of you shared something special together in recent memory and that your bond is absolute steel. Please, continue to take care of him." Asuka blinked a few times, wondering what he could mean, before her mind zapped back to when she took the young man to her parents and how they shared the night together lovingly. Hoping that some of the less appropriate details remained unknown, Asuka shrunk meekly but kept a smile on as she finished her handshake and stepped off to the side.

Then Homura stepped up, trying to appear as happy as she could be to meet the old man. Unfortunately, despite the bravado-esque appearance, her voice came out a bit louder than she would have hoped, "It's good to meet you, Sir!"

She was surprised that he still casually took her hand and led the wobbly shake that followed, "And you, Miss…?"

"Homura," spoke the girl before clearing her throat, "My name is Homura."

"Miss Homura," started the old man before he spoke frankly, "there's no need to be skittish. Even if I had a negative opinion of you, which I certainly don't, that is not the be-all-end-all of your relationship. But let's not worry about what I could be saying in an alternate universe. You're a fine and loving woman and you also make a great match, or triangle if you'd prefer, with my grandson and that pretty girl. You have my blessing and I hope you will all take care of each other."

Even with the encouragement, Homura shrunk her head slightly, "Thank you, sir."

Letting out an amused sound from his throat, the old man commented to himself as she walked by to stand by his grandson, "…She's not used to facing this sort of unknown element, me. Give it time…" He then turned his head to Murasaki, who was squeezing the life out of Bebeby in her arms while doing her utmost to stand straight. But just as the old man was going to introduce himself to her, she let out a long whine and her body began to crumple down. Even still, the once-infiltrator could see her strength and that she stood stalwart beside his grandson. So, the old man spoke first, "I can tell you're shy so I won't force a handshake on you but there's nothing to fear. You're warm with my grandson, he is warm with you, and you both have my approval. Please, take good care of each other." He offered her a bow and a smile when he rose. He was a bit surprised to find Murasaki raising a shaking hand but he rolled with it quickly and took it to give a gentle shake before watching her nearly dash by to stand beside the young man.

In the background, Katsuragi was doing everything she could to keep someone between her and the emu giving her a hard stare. Yet, despite the distraction, she couldn't help but whip her head around in surprise when the old man called out, "Now, I know that there are no less than two others in this crowd of beautiful young women who've also been doing the bed dance with my grandson and I won't call them out because I can tell it's on a casual basis…" The blonde knew that he was addressing both her and Ayame despite her own lack of mannerisms… although, based on the way her partner in crime was looking back and forth between him and Katsuragi, she may have given the old man the subtle information he needed to make his guess. As her thoughts continued to mull around, he stated, "But, beyond those two, I can tell there are others in this crowd with unspoken feelings for both my grandson and others in their relationship. To them, I will say nothing more than to pursue your feelings since said relationship is open… unless I need to give you a figurative boot to your back to give you a good push to do so, in which case I'll find you when all of the other nonsense is settled."

Imu noticeably straightened up and a few people bent under the assumption that she was the only one he was talking about. Yet, just about everyone else caught onto the plural implications in his words. Keeping their postures solid, those he was addressing did their utmost to remain in hiding from the young man's potentially curious eyes, though the boy was actually doing his best to not look into what would certainly be a complicated manner on a day already filled with several others.

"Now then," clapped the old man heartily before pointing down the road, "I will look forward to introducing myself to all of you on a more personal level in time. For now, please follow my wonderful bastard of a grandson down the road. We've got some kilometers to walk and enjoy the countryside on. But we'll burn through this evening, get the disentanglement underway, and get everyone as comfortable with the necessary arrangements as can be."

Taking his cue, the young man took in the few expectant eyes that came his way and gestured down the road, "After me." He marched off the platform, his girlfriends following right behind him, with the crowd beginning to disperse to make after him. They would break into small jokes between one another in time, with Minori wanting them all to sing a song about yellow-bricked roads while a few others pointed out that the road they were on was gravel and, according to the young man, would quickly be turning into dirt. The sights and sounds of it all instilled nothing but relief in the old man for it confirmed his hopes that his treasured grandson found both relief and happiness in an otherwise dreary scenario. He closed his eyes and took a breath before speaking aloud for the adults who remained on the platform with him to hear, "He's truly become a part of their fold."

Hanzō was the first to respond from Jasmine's side, "That and then some…" before he showily rubbed the back of his head jokingly, "…though his romancing needs some work."

"My guess is that you made a bet of some sort on him?" stated the old man before he raised a brow, "Or, unless you're being deliberately ironic, I may need to remind you that the boy has five-plus women on his heels."

At the mention of the bet, several of the adults averted their eyes or snorted happily while Kagura beamed with delight. Right behind her, Naraku was also letting out a sigh of relief that they didn't go bankrupt with all that was on the table. After recovering from the memory of his financial loss, Hanzō stated frankly, "You had it the first time… the boy costed me a hundred thousand-," but was cut off.

"Your confidence in the boy costed you a hundred thousand yen," came a remark with some venom from the old man, "Even as a joke, I will not let you place even figurative weight on him with all that you already have."

Feeling his heart drop, both in guilt for the boy and towards the one he owed plenty to, Hanzō gave an earnest bow of his head, a gesture followed by the other adults present, as he spoke humbly, "My apologies, sir."

The old man maintained his stern expression, looking over the ones who stole his grandson away, before announcing, "Two of you, I've corrected without asking for anything in return because it was my duty as an infiltrator once." With a hard thump of his foot, one that made the emu nearby walk off to trail behind the group heading to his home, the old man continued to stare hard at them before stating, "At this point, I imagine the boy has mostly set aside his anger towards the lot of you and I imagine I'll be able to stand above mine once his ordeal is over tonight." His pupils narrowed, casting out all of his judgment and anger, "But let it be known, here and now, that I am still fucking pissed at the lot of you. You stole the boy away from home, in spite of the good deed I did for you all those years ago and all of the pleas I offered for you to leave him out of your business." He turned his head to the road, "I'm glad he found some happiness with those girls, even if it came with its weight in bruises and in fighting a damned Yōma-, yes, I saw the videos of that damned thing…!" before facing the adults one last time, "But whatever you've given him on this journey-, and I do not count his relationship with those girls as one of them…" He waggled his finger pointedly into the air, "Whatever you have given him on this journey is, by far, not at all equal to what you have taken him from: freedom from so-called infiltrators and a simple life with only the concerns that a normal person should have to hold."

Those who were being addressed weren't sure if there was anything appropriate to say in the face of those remarks, even if whatever spoken words carried the admittance of guilt or earnest apology. So, the adults could only stand there for a few moments before Jasmine closed her eyes and admitted, "You are not at all wrong in any of the things that you've said…" before meeting the old man's stare, "…but, even knowing the damage of what we've done, I cannot truly say I would have done anything different. Those girls needed an infiltrator who could correct their distortion and who wasn't at risk of killing them."

"I cannot deny those are in short supply nowadays," stated the old man, his mind mulling over Tsao and Haruo before he also added, "and I am partly glad you don't regret it… because I know you know the weight of your actions and that you truly considered them necessary." There was a short pause before he loudly sucked in some air and exhaled, "Even still, that doesn't mean I have to be okay with it." Hoping to rip away the souring atmosphere and begin his own path towards forgiving them, he commented, "So, I suppose you could make it up to me by taking on this bet in whatever way you feel: I'd bet all of my savings that the boy is walking away this weekend with ten-, no, twelve women heartily involved in his fold… and when I show you the digits that I'm putting on the table, you'll shit yourselves. Take some time, think it out, and place your bets… but do your best to pick the winning side." He then pointed a finger at Oda, "Except for you, tubby. The way I heard it, you sicced some mad dog shinobi fuck on my grandson. For that, you're placing your bet on the opposite side of mine and you should feel damn lucky that's all I'm going to do about it."

With that, the old man spun and walked away down the road with heat venting out of his nose to keep his face from reddening anymore with anger. The shinobi who were left behind had several thoughts running through them, though it was mostly the sudden whiplash from the once-infiltrators repeated change in gears. Still, having long since come to terms with the wrongs they'd committed, Jasmine vented some air from between her teeth and was the first to follow after him. Kagura and Naraku followed immediately after, not really registering any guilt since they were just being lumped together with the rest. After taking a bit more time to balance their own rights and wrongs, Hanzō and Oda then began their own marches forward with Rin, Kiriya and Daidōji at their sides. The lingering thought between them all was that much could be done to make right with the people they've wronged but even forgiveness from a victim will not mean everyone else has set aside whatever it was that happened.

In the meantime, as the still-young evening sun was riding its way toward the horizon, the young man found himself as the appointed tour guide of his old home.

Ikaruga trekked up to the front of the line, "If you don't mind me asking, how many people live in this town?"

The reply she received was slow and thoughtful, "Well… I never got an exact number… but I imagine it's really low in the triple digits. No more than five hundred, I'd say."

Ikaruga nodded and contemplated, having heard of extremely few places with such an astoundingly low number. Hibari hovered just behind her senior's shoulder, "Are there any stores nearby?"

"Nearby? Yes… but in the opposite direction of the road we're taking. And, because I know you're going to ask, there is a candy store. Bonus… it's got unique candies that you've probably never tried before."

Letting her imagination go wild, Hibari began to salivate at thought of the untried goodies. Once the drool broke the barrier past her mouth, Yagyū responded swiftly with a handkerchief and wiped it away. Then Yumi gripped and pulled on the young man's sleeve. When he turned to her, she pointed at the hillside in the distance, "Now… I know that it's no mountain… but, especially in places with some higher elevation… would there happen to be hot springs…?"

"Yes." The young man kept his eyes on Yumi with his face remaining straight. When he saw that she was about to open her mouth, he immediately responded, "Mixed bathing is an option."

In response, the woman's eyes briefly shined as stars before she clung to the young man's arm and rocked back and forth as a pair. Ryōbi saw the gushiness and decided she had to intervene, "Hey, dickhead."

"Tis I, dickhead."

"You're not planning on defiling the hot spring with your romp-skins, are you?"

While Yumi and a few others raised their brows at the terminology that was used to refer to them, the young man replied as he was still being rocked back and forth, "No plans there. Sexual contact is forbidden in the hot spring."

Upon being reminded with that detail, Yumi froze and hung her head. Fortunately, Homura peered in from the side and asked, "Is cuddling allowed?"

"No lap-sitting. Otherwise, side-to-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, arms around neck, etcetera, etcetera-, that's all fair game according to the lady who runs the place."

Feeling as though that were enough of a saving throw, Homura stuck a thumb into the air first to Yumi, who looked visibly relieved, and then to the rest of the party who would have interest. Then Murasaki stalked up to the front and murmured with her raised brows, "Will we be sleeping in your room?"

The young man turned to her, "All of us as in this entire crowd? Nope. Honestly, there's hardly going to be enough space for those in our relationship-, though, we can find a way to make that work." After giving it a bit more thought, he shrugged his shoulders and began to murmur his thoughts, "…As for everyone else, we do have some camping equipment… though, I can't imagine one tent…" He then shook his head and turned to Murasaki again, "We'd have to ask Granddad what he has in mind for everyone else."

"Ask away then, boy," came call from the rear of the group and many heads turned to reveal that the old man was right behind them. He waved his hand and scooted around the side as they continued to walk. When he got into a comfortable speaking position for everyone to hear him, he first murmured, "Or, actually, I already know what you're discussing so I'll just explain." He then cleared his throat and spoke aloud, "My grandson and his lovers will get up in his old bedroom. It'll take a merging of futons but, trust me, it'll work. As for everyone else, I've bolstered my supply of tents and cushions for sleeping outside." He raised up his hands defensively, "I'll admit, it won't be the best arrangement… but it'll be better than repeating what happened the last time I let someone sleep in the living room, both on the couch and floor."

There was an expectant silence from the group hoping for elaboration but, by the faraway and dreadful expression on the old man's face, he was too busy reliving the horrible memory to answer. So, like anyone curious enough for an answer, Haruka practically skipped her way to the front and flung her arms around the young man's neck before asking sweetly, "Perhaps that'd be a story you're willing to tell?" When silence and the glares of the boy's lovers were her only answer, she raised her head slightly and asked with some concern, "Hello?"

The young man's eyes were wide open as he too relived the experience of the last time someone slept in the living room. He heard the dishes crashing to the floor, the sound of ribs cracking under the pressure of unaware feet, and terrible screams of all those involved. The old man stalked up to the front of the group and shared a haunted glance with his grandson. He then pulled out a cross necklace from his shirt and kissed it, praying that old and young men alike could forget all that happened on that accursed day.

Haruka released her hands from around the boy's neck and held them in the air, "Actually, this should just remain a mystery to us." The silence from all around her was one of agreement.

Ready to flush away the subject in favor of a different one, the old man looked down to his grandson, "So… did you fill your stomach up?"

Snapping out of the past, the young man took a second to process the question before nodding his head, "Yeah," and gestured to his side, "Hibari brought snacks onto the train and shared."

"What a terrible breach in etiquette and decorum," came a mock cry from the old man before he fully turned to the aforementioned girl, "Young lady, you are absolutely wonderful for doing so." Hibari threw a smug glance at Ikaruga, who would not deign to give the satisfactory sight of her defeated expression. The upbeat mood would have persevered if the old man's voice didn't begin to turn low with seriousness when he addressed his grandson again, "Still, would you like to go get a meal before we get home?"

Sensing the respite that was being offered, the young man considered the offer with softer eyes. Then his expression became as steel and he focused his gaze forward, avoiding the temptation that was being thrown his way, "No. I don't have much of an appetite."

Aware of the weight his offers inflicted against his grandson, the old man thought it best to shut his mouth. Yet, he couldn't help but feel obligated to offer every possible delay in the agonizing process that would soon lay claim to the last person he truly treasured in all of the world, "Perhaps there's somewhere you'd like to show your girlfriends? Anywhere special come into mind?"

"Don't," was the one word that came out of the young man's mind as he imagined all of the things that'd he rather be doing back in his old home. Remaining dedicated to what he'd been called to do, the young man explained, "Let's not dance around what I'm here for, Granddad. I'm going to be going through with the disentanglement as soon as possible… both for the sake of time… and as recommended in your notes."

The old man heaved out a sigh, "Yeah, I knew you'd want to get straight into it… Actually, no. Not want. Compelled to get it over with is probably a better way to put it."

"Excuse me, sir," came Asuka's voice. When the old man looked at her, she did her best to match her gaze with his as she asked, "We all know that it's going to hurt for him and that it all has something to do with the nerves… but everything will go fine, right?"

"No doubt about it," remarked the old man as he watched her turn away to let out a sigh of relief. He went further and explained, "In fact, there isn't much risk of lasting damage at all once this is done… which is a miracle, considering the fact that we're talking about messing with nerves." But he wouldn't do a disservice to his grandson by not explaining the true gravity of the situation, "No, the only major thing is the pain that both he and Renka will be subject to… and it will be an ungodly amount of pain."

"How bad are we talking here?" asked Yozakura from the side.

The old man's stare as he turned to her was hard, "I've done it once myself and…" but he then paused to remark, "Actually, the best way to put it would be to say what an old infiltrator friend of mine said before she passed away long ago." He clicked his fingers and raised a finger into the air as he recalled her words, "She, as a mother, said that of all the pains in the world that could rival childbirth… a disentanglement was a legitimately fair contender, not due to how much pain one goes through-, she said that childbirth still hurt so much worse… No, the issue for her was how persevering a disentanglement's pain is… and I can agree with her on that." He turned to face everyone at that point to fully convey the gravity of what was going to be endured, "With childbirth and plenty of other pains in the world, there either comes a moment of relief or, at least, a thought of something not being as bad as it was towards the beginning. A disentanglement doesn't afford that. Until it fades in its entirety, usually after you've somehow gotten enough exhaustion and sleep drugs in your system to finally go under." He then tapped the side of his mouth, "The best way to put it, actually, would be to imagine having a broken tooth with an exposed nerve. Take the pain from that and put equal amounts across your entire body, in and out."

With that analogy, several concerned looks went to the back of the young man's head as he continued his march back to his old home. He clenched his eyes closed, doing his best to anticipate what his grandfather was warning right then and in the notes that he'd been given. He mouthed to himself, "…I'll do it… I'll do it…"

Then the old man's voice addressed him, "I want you to know that I would take the plunge if I thought I could take it."

"You know that I'd never forgive you if you'd gotten yourself killed from shock or anything else in doing this," retorted the young man, not at all turning his head in hopes that he could appear as strong as his voice was coming out, "I can handle it better than you can and, like you said, there's little risk that I'll take lasting damage from this. I'll go in, out, Renka and I will bite through the pain, and it'll be done and over with. Then we spend the rest of the weekend hoping for easier lives going forward, I imagine."

He was not expecting the old man's hand to gently grasp his shoulder but he did see the next words that came out of his mouth before even the first syllable, "I hope I'm not a broken record when I tell you this… but I'm proud of you. You're strong enough to do this."

All of the many times his grandfather offered those words came back into mind and the young man didn't realize how much he'd missed it in the time he'd been away. He swallowed some air and his expression faltered under the sincerity he could hear. Then he bobbed his head again, putting on the same façade of strength as he returned, "Thank you. I appreciate it more than you know." Under the lowering sun and with several affirmative pats and touches of affection from the women he loved, the young man pressed onward back to his childhood home.

In the meantime, while their dear sister suffered from another violent episode of rage from the ailment Haruo dealt to her, Hanabi and Kafuru fled from the bedroom onto the balcony of the house to escape the range of the bedridden woman's throwing arm. Both of them were heaving heavy breaths that had nothing to do with the bodily exhaustion that'd been welling up for months. Rather, the suffering of their sister, Renka, was becoming far too much for them to stand any longer and it took all that they had to keep anguished cries from exploding into the air for the world to hear.

Their only respite was the fact that it would all be coming to a sure end very soon. The old man who'd opened their house to them had left that morning along with his emu to retrieve the one who could really and truly bring peace to their sister's fractured mind. The process would take hours and it would result in a pain they wished Renka wouldn't have to bear after all of the suffering she's been subjected to… but she would be whole and Hanabi and Kafuru would have their sister again.

Still, it was such a shame that their apparent savior would have to be the one person who shared a near-identical face to the monster who thrusted them into such horrifying trouble to begin with.