Chapter 7: 10 years later
10 years have passed and now Snow is 15 getting ready for his last day of middle school.
"Hey Snow you're gonna be late if you don't hurry up." Saori says from the kitchen getting breakfast ready.
"Coming mom." Snow walks out of his room,his hair now like his mothers when she was younger,black headphones rest on his collarbone,he's wearing a white button up shirt,a blue tie and black trousers. Snow sits down at the table with his mother idly chatting. "Hey mom, where's dad thought he had off today?"
"He got called in for something,not sure what but he did tell me that he'll be back before you get home from school. Now that reminds me, did you finish packing for your trip?" The trip in question is Hayato wants to take Snow to his hometown where he grew up for the sole purpose of preparing him for future hero courses once he's in highschool.
"Yeah when I get back I need to do one quick go over to see if I have everything. Uh hey mom I don't think I ever asked you but how come you're not coming with us?"
"Well I can't tell you the whole story but what I can tell you is that it's meant to be a father son bonding trip along with preparing you for the eventual hero course. But don't worry you're gonna have loads of fun your father has been planning this for years."
"I look forward to it mom." Snow looks at the time and realizes he might be late. He gets up from the table and gives his mom a quick kiss on the cheek and runs to the door. "I'll see you later mom bye."
"Bye Snow and have fun." Snow grabs his bag and opens the door to leave and runs down the streets of Aptos heading towards Aptos middle school.
Snow makes it before the bells ring and sits down in his seat and notices a familiar face approaching his desk,It's Saya. She now has slightly longer hair with strands of hair on the side and now wears glasses. She's wearing a short sleeved white blouse,a red bow-tie and a blue skirt. "Hey Snow, aren't you excited about summer vacation,can't wait to head to the beach."
"Yeah I'm excited but I won't be able to hangout with you for awhile."
"Huh why not?' The bell rings signifying that class is starting soon.
"I'll explain at lunch"
"You better." The students take their respective seats and class starts.
"Alright that'll be all for now class, enjoy your lunch." Students get up from their seats and start to head out to the halls. Snow and Saya head out to their usual lunch spot on the rooftop of the school.
"So what are you doing this summer Snow? Are famimiles usually plan stuff together. I thought I would've known if something was happening."
"That would be my fault. It completely slipped my mind that my dad planned a road trip just for me and him."
"Oh that sounds like fun, where are you two going and for how long?"
"My dad said for a month and I don't know about where we're going but I do know that it's for preparing me for the hero courses."
"I guess I should start preparing too."
"Don't worry Saya you'll be fine you've always been a natural with your quirk."
"I appreciate the compliment but if you're going to be stepping your game up I should as well. Speaking of hero's did hear back from UA yet I haven't heard anything yet."
"I haven't either, hopefully we both make it in." The two enjoy the rest of their lunch and conversation until it's time to get back to class.
Off in Libra HQ Hayato and Kisara have been talking about the traitor that has been on the run for years."Any luck finding Vagabond, Kisara?"
"No nothing yet. He's just fallen off the grid and can't even find any past residences. He had to have set this up when we first suspected him of going rogue." During the years Kisara and Hayato have been monitoring Vagabond's movements until Hayato found out he was behind the new titan formula.
"Well, is there anything new about the titan drug?"
"Fortunately your team has been cracking down on a ton of lab locations. So we might be able to get this off the street fast enough before anyone can get hurt or worse."
"That's good to hear." Kisara closes her laptop and looks over to Hayato.
"Well I think that's enough about work. What do you have planned with Snow and Saori once Snow is on summer break?"
"Well I plan on taking Snow to where we grew up,Luxerion. I wanted to wait a bit longer to take him there but he needs to know about me and my family's history. Although I only told him that we're going there for quirk training and preparing him for hero courses. I just hope this doesn't fracture my relationship with him."
"Don't worry Hayato,if Snow is anything like you and Saori,and he is, he'll be accepting of your past and understand where you're coming from."
"Thank you for the reassurance, Kisara."
"Of course,that's what friends are for, how long are you going to be staying in luxerion?"
"For a month or so."
"Poor kid's gotta put up with your cooking for a month. I feel bad for him." Hayato is embarrassed and has a slight blush on his face.
"H-hey I've gotten better over the years." Both stare at each other in silence for a couple of seconds until they both start laughing in unison. "I should probably get going,thanks for the update Kisara."
"Yeah and I'll keep you updated in case anything happens while you're gone,have fun Hayato oh and say hi to mom and dad for me."
"I will." Hayato leaves Kisara's office and heads to the parking lot. Once there he heads into his car and starts it up to drive towards home.
Snow impatiently waiting for the bell to ring to finally get out of school stares at the clock intently. "This has to be the longest 3 minutes in my life. Just be 3 o'clock already." Before Snow knew it the final bell rang and students jumped in joy. Students grab their bags and head out to the hallways to leave school. Per routine everyday in middle school Snow would wait outside of the school for Saya so the two could walk home together. But today she's taking longer than usual. "What could be taking her so long." As if on cue Saya is running out the building waving to Snow.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting Snow, I was talking to one of my friends. She invited me to her parents' beach house but I had to decline." Snow has a somewhat concerned expression on his face upon hearing the news.
"I hope I didn't influence your decision Saya,You deserve to have some fun."
"Well I'd be lying if I said you didn't,but you really have me thinking Snow,that I should really dedicate time to my quirk. Besides I can't have you one up all the time." Saya says all while smiling towards Snow and Snow returns with his own smile.
"A friendly rivalry doesn't hurt,when I get back we should definitely show each other what we've learned."
"I'm game." After the conversation Snow and Saya start to walk down the streets to their homes. Both of them talk to each about various things until they come up to the split roads where they separate to their own paths. Before they head their separate ways Saya speaks up. "Hey Snow, have fun on your road trip and make sure you take pictures wherever you are." Snow lets out a small laugh before talking.
"Sure thing Saya see you when I get back." Both of them wave to each other and head home. Snow comes up to his house and takes out his keys from his pocket to unlock the door. "Hey mom, dad I'm home." Snow walks in on the two having a conversation. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." Saori walks over to Snow and gives him a hug.
"No you weren't sweetie we are actually just talking about you."
"Really?" Hayato decides to join the conversation.
"Yeah we were talking about how this is a good experience for you. I guess I should tell you where we're going but first go check if you have everything we'll be leaving soon."
"Oh alright,man I can't wait for this dad." Upon hearing those words Hayato smiles. He's happy at the fact that he's able to not only bond with his son but finally tell Snow everything about himself. Snow walks over to his bedroom and looks for his suitcase. "There it is. Let's see, toothbrush,toothpaste,change of clothes for the month,yep everything is here." Snow looks over to the side of his room and sees his acoustic guitar in its case and wonders if he should bring it. "Well it wouldn't hurt to ask dad if I could bring it." Snow changes into some clothes that aren't school uniform related and walks out with his suitcase and guitar. "Hey dad, would it be alright to bring my guitar."
"Sure why not, it's not like we'll be training everyday. Here take this." Hayato throws his keys at Snow and he catches them. "My car is out front. You can start putting your stuff in the trunk. I'll be out in one sec."
"Ok dad." Hayato goes into his bedroom to grab his luggage and heads for the front door but Saori stops him.
"Hayato wait one sec I have something to give to you." Saori heads into the bedroom and grabs a bouquet of flowers. She leaves the bedroom and hands them to Hayato. Hayato notices the type of flower they're yellow spider lilies. They represent remembrance of the important people in your who have passed away. "Since you're heading to Luxerion I thought it would be nice to give you these. I know it isn't much-" Saori was cut off by a sudden hug from Hayato.
"Saori thank you,the first thing I do once we're settled in Luxerion is to place these flowers on my mothers grave. You said it isn't much but the fact that you remembered her favorite flowers were yellow spider lily's means a lot to me."
"Aya would be so proud of who you are, Hayato. You should get going, don't want to hold you too long, it's gonna be a long drive."
"Yeah,I'll call you once we're there." Hayato and Saori share a kiss and both of them head to Hayato's car to load the luggage in the trunk. Saori walks over to where Snow is and gives him one last hug and a kiss on the forehead before he goes.
"Listen to your father ok and make sure you're eating right." Snow lets out a small laugh because of her mother's over protectiveness.
"Don't worry mom, we'll be fine." Hayato gets in the driver's seat and Snow sits in the passenger seat. Hayato starts the car and backs out of the driveway waves goodbye to Saori,Snow does the same as well and they're off to luxerion.
During the drive Snow was listening to music on his headphones,bopping his head back and forth to the beat of the song he was listening to. Hayato notices and has a smile on his face and starts to think of a conversation starter.
"Hey Snow." Snow hears his father's voice but can't make out what he said so he decides to take off his headphones.
"Did you say something Dad?"
"Yeah I was wondering what are you listening to right now?"
"Oh I was listening to Hibana by Kankaku pierrot."
"I recognize the band, that's their new song right?"
"Yep I really like the song gotta figure out how to play it on my acoustic."
"I can probably help with that after I listen to it a couple of times."
"I'd really appreciate it dad. I have no idea where I would even start with the tablature."
"Guess this a good segway as to where we're actually heading,when we get to Luxerion there's so much we can do there's even a place that has open mic nights and don't lie to me about not knowing how to sing." Snow is slightly embarrassed because he tends to keep that talent to himself but he quickly realizes he heard a name to a place he's never heard of.
"Hey dad we can keep the singing thing a secret for now."
"Of course I won't tell anyone. Are you planning on serenading Saya?" Snow's face lights up to a bright red and tries to hide his face in his hands.
"Could we move on please." Hayato lets out a laugh.
"Sure Snow we can move on. What else do you want to talk about?"
"How about that place you just mentioned,Luxerion,I never heard of it til now."
"That's actually where I grew up."
"I get to see where dad grew up as a kid. He's never really talked about it until now, all I know about his early life is that he left his hometown when he was 18 with Kisara to search for answers whatever that means. Maybe I'll be able to find out about his past."
"What's the place like dad,I know you haven't been there recently but maybe something from your memories would help me get to know the place a bit more."
"Sure I can do that for you Snow. So it's like Aptos in some ways like everyone knowing each other and being there for everyone if and when possible. Some landmarks are it's giant clock tower that should be up still. Oh and it has an old cathedral. I can't remember what religion was practiced there but when I left it was only useds for weddings and other ceremonies of the like. There was one place I would go to in the south district where I just looked out to the ocean with my mom."
"Hey dad, you don't mind taking me to your favorite places you went with mom. I really want to learn more about you and her."
"Of course we can Snow. It makes me happy to hear you are interested in my past and my mom. There's also some other things you need to know but that's a later time during the trip."
"I look forward to it dad."
Hayato enters into deep thought."How will you really react to a person you looked up to your entire life used to be a murderer for hire. Only time will tell I guess but whatever happens I will always cherish the time we spent together. Snow seeing you grow up is the greatest privilege I can be given."
Author's Note:I am looking over this at 2:00am in morning and contemplating in uploading it now but anywho,
Happy holidays everyone I wanted to get this chapter out yesterday but it slipped my mind so here it is now.
Alright first check the imgur link on my profile for what Saya looks like because I'm terrible at describing hair. . (Glasses weren't an option but she wears thin framed glasses and I know this picture doesn't match up to the description I gave her in this chapter but just imagine she's wearing a white blouse.)
Yes it is a picrew because I can't draw for the life of me and I can't really commission anyone. I would have a picrew for Snow but finding a male picrew with the right hair options I want is hard so anyone who knows of a good picrew I can use please tell me lol. Now for the actual story I wanted Hayato to be hesitant and scared in a sense because of his past and is wary as to how Snow will react to it. To address the elephant in the room Vagabond is the traitor, his motives are yet to be known but they will be known in the future just not now. I want to build up Snow and by extension Saya as well for a bit and have the big turning point happen so that my summary of this fic can actually make sense lol. I chose Hibana in particular because I just really like the song and I recently started playing tales of arise. The place Luxerion is pretty much a reference to lightning returns(One of my favorite games of all time) so I think that's it for now. Initially I wanted this chapter to be longer. I had one other scene planned out but scrapped it because it didn't really need to be there. Next chapter Snow and Hayato will both be in Luxerion and it'll be pretty much the first 2 days of their stay. Alright now I'm done lol hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. See you guys next time and take care.
