Sorry for the delay, ended up taking longer than expected. But the last few chapters will start releasing weekly until the ending. Enjoy!!*
The duo walked through the city towards their destination. Louise marveled at the sights. The tall buildings, the different clothing, the shops in the market district. Saito couldn't help but smile as she took in everything with childlike fascination. But they had a job to do, and couldn't linger for very long.
Presently, they made it to a small, 2 story house. "Is this the place, Saito?" Asked Louise. "Yup, this is my home," he replied. "Where I grew up." Louise's eyes took in the modest dwelling, "You lived here? It's bigger than I imagined." Saito turned to the girl and shrugged, "Well we can't all be the children of Dukes, but I like it."
With that, he pressed a button on a speaker box, which made a slight buzzing noise. A moment later, a voice crackled through. "Hello?" It was female, and Louise looked into the speaker, as if searching for the source of the sound. Saito, however, smiled warmly, recognizing the voice he hadn't heard in quite some time. "It's me. I'm home," he said.
There was a pause, and after a second the front gate unlocked. Saito and Louise walked through it and towards the house door. But before the boy could even touch the handle, it burst open and a woman came rushing out, griping him in a tight bear hug.
"Where have you been!?" She wailed. "I was so worried, I haven't heard from you in months!!" Saito struggled with the woman, trying to escape her hug. "They told me you suddenly vanished without a trace, I thought something terrible happened..." "It's a long story, now will you please let me go!?" He gasps for air slightly as the woman releases her grip. She notices Louise standing off to the side, looking simultaneously awestruck and confused.
"Oh my, you've brought a guest?" She quickly recomposed herself and bows to Louise. "Please forgive my rudeness, I haven't seen my son in some time." he walks over to the girl. Louise turns to him, "Saito, is this?..." The boy smiled, acknowledging the woman, "Louise, this is my mom: Keiko Hiraga. Mom, this is Louise de la Valliére. We've been... working together for a while."
Kieko once more bowed politely to the young girl, "Delighted to make your acquaintance," she said. Louise curtsied, "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you." Keiko blinked, "I'm afraid I don't understand you..." "I've been working a bit as a translator, sort of why you haven't heard from me. She says 'it's nice to meet you'," Saito explained.
"I see," Keiko replied, raising an eyebrow. "Well come inside, both of you! I want to hear all about what you've been doing, Saito. And especially about Ms. Louise! I'll make some tea..." The boy turned back as Keiko re-entered the house. "After you," he said with a smile. Louise looked a bit nervously inside, "This feels so formal, meeting your mother like this." "Don't worry about it," Saito assured her. "Mom's very easy going, nothing to be nervous about. She's not your mom after all, now that was intimidating." Louise took a deep breath, somewhat reassured as she walked indoors, the boy following close behind.
Some time later, the trio was eating dinner together. Keiko had cooked a relatively modest meal of fish and rice, which Saito couldn't get enough of. Louise was having trouble with her chopsticks, which the boy found very amusing. Fortunately, he was able to show her the basics, keeping her from getting too frustrated. Keiko couldn't help but notice the obvious bond between the two.
"So, Louise's father is a dignitary from France" She asked. "Yeah, that's how we first met," he replied. "I was pretty much roped into it, didn't have a choice. But after a while, I got to know Louise and it's been a very interesting time." "I suppose that's why you've been so busy," Keiko noted. "You could've at least called, the phones still work, you know."
"I know, and I'm really sorry," the boy apologized. Keiko looked at Louise, who was still struggling with the chopsticks. She smiled and poured the girl some more tea. "I can see you've had your hands full with this one," she said, acknowledging Louise. Saito rolled his eyes, "You have no idea. I can't begin tell you how rough it was at first."
Louise raised an eyebrow, realizing the boy was talking about her. "Can you translate this for me?" She asked. and Saito nodded, proceeding to speak for the girl. "She says 'the fish is very good, and you have a lovely home'," he began. "'She doesn't know how a nice woman like you could have a son like m-' Hey!!"
Keiko giggled along with Louise. "Oh I like her," she said. "I'm glad you're enjoying the food. I grew the vegetables in the backyard." Saito translated this to the girl, who looked out the back door to see a small garden. She smiled and nodded in understanding. "A woman of many talents. Now I see where you get it from," she teased. Saito elbowed her playfully in response.
Just then, Keiko noticed the runes on Saito's left hand, "You have a tattoo now?" Saito's eyes darted to his hand, "Y-yeah, everyone in my new unit has one... Kinda like the one Dad had on his arm, right?" "What does it mean?" Asked Keiko. "It's... kind of an inside secret," he replied. "Mmhmm," she nods suspiciously, taking a sip of tea.
Louise was pretty tired after their long day, and lay out on Saito's futon after dinner. The boy and his mother got a chance to catch up on the front porch. The breeze was cool and there was a decent view of the ocean from their position.
"How long are you staying?" Asked Keiko. "Just until later tonight," Saito replied. "I've got an assignment to carry out and we only had a little spare time." "Oh..." His mother seemed disappointed. "But I wanted to see you, and introduce you to Louise while I was here," he went on. "She's special to you, isn't she?" Keiko nudged her son slightly.
Saito turned and smiled gently, "Yeah, she really is. I'm glad you were able to meet her." "I know there's more to what you've told me," Keiko added. "Like why were you reported missing if you've been doing a job this whole time? Are you really still with the military? You worked so hard to get where you were..."
The boy took a deep breath, "All I can say is that it's very complicated. I'm not in any kind of trouble, and I am looking after Louise as part of a job. But there's a lot that I can't tell you. At least not yet..."
Keiko looked at him closely, "I'm assuming there's something classified you can't disclose to civilians?" Saito nodded, "Something like that." "Is it dangerous?" The boy didn't answer, which spoke volumes to the worried woman. "You're going away again, aren't you?" She said. "Will you be back?"
Saito looked at his mother, hoping to sooth her worried expression. "I'm honestly not sure when, but yes. Once all of this is done, I'll see you again." "I just can't lose you Saito," she said, tears starting to form. "Not after your father..." "I'll come back, I promise," Saito said with firm resolve. It wasn't just to his mother he was saying this, but also an affirmation to himself that he would survive the mission. But the hard part was yet to come.