What happens when the clock is turned back and events are viewed from another perspective? You would get the third perspective chapter. But that's beside the point of this chapter.
"Ugh…" Jomei slowly opened his eyes as he let out a moan. He hasn't felt this physically and mentally disturbed since- "Hisa…"
His eyes shot open, finally allowing him to catch a glimpse of his former mother-in-law.
"Finally awake, eh?" Hisa replied before calmly taking a sip from her tea cup.
Jomei rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to remember what happened before he blacked out.
"I arrived travelled here and saw Shujinkou with even more female friends until…" Jomei silently stared at Hisa. It was a gaze that any other person may be intimidated by. "You knocked me out with a pressure point again, huh?"
"Yep," Hisa casually answered. "Sorry for the sudden kidnapping but Shujinkou was really close to confirming your presence."
"You knocked me out in front of your resort…"
"Fainting/Knocking someone out… Oh, who am I kidding? I made an exception for you."
"I can tell…" Jomei muttered, still rubbing his neck."
"So…" Hisa placed her tea cup in center the table between them and crossed her arms. "What brings you around these parts, Jomei?"
"Let me get straight to the point… I need to your photo album."
Hisa's eyes lit up with curiosity and surprise.
"Why?" she asked.
"Let's just say that I found an interesting task to take up and I need some photograp-,"
"So my photos would be lucrative to you?" Hisa interjected.
"Yes," Jomei replied.
"Huh. Then no. A very vindictive no."
"…Fine," Jomei sighed. "Had to ask."
"That's kind of a bold thing to do, Jomei, especially considering that the last time I saw you I warned you not to hurt my grandson and you did just that," Hisa pointed out, slight annoyance leaking through her calm demeanor.
"Which must have made it cathartic to knock me out."
"Very. But like I said before, I really did it so Shujinkou couldn't confirm your presence."
"Okay…" Jomei slowly leaned back in his chair. "Just get it over with. I know you want to verbally tear me to shreds."
Hisa silently stared at Jomei and sighed, "I do, but what's the point? It would be like ranting to a brick wall and I've already done that before. I mean what do you want me to say? You're a terrible person? You lack empathy? I don't care about that. Everyone's their own person and sometimes you have to accept that. But what I do care about is how much of an influence you have on others.
I honestly don't know whether you think about that or not. You probably think about it in plain terms but you still probably don't think about how much. Take Shujinkou for example; you're well aware that you've hurt him. But did you know that your sudden departure helped push him into a state where he just flat out gave up on living his life which had a heavy effect on his relationships, my daughter had to deal with a failed marriage and forced herself to put her own feelings aside to make sure her son didn't do anything extreme and Sayori lost someone she cared for deeply and had to go through a rough part of life alone.
You see, there was no 'they'll get over it and move on' like I assume you thought. Your actions have essentially taken years of their lives and you couldn't even have the decency to explain why you left. So…"
"So…?"
"I know it sounds like I'm ranting at you, but I'm not, I'm just making a point so I can get to the real reason I'm even talking to you right now. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have to do anything for you, but I do know that you owe me a favor."
"Favor, huh? What is it?"
"When you leave, I want you to make sure that Shujinkou or the other kids don't see you, because I refuse to let you ruin another one of their trips."
Jomei silently stared at Hisa before suddenly standing up, "…Fine."
He then left the room without uttering another word. With his nothing left to keep him around, Jomei walked out of the resort and continued his leave until one single word stopped him dead in his tracks, "Father?"
Jomei followed the voice to its source, but all he found was a single cardboard. He was consumed by confusion, until Shujinkou suddenly crawled from under it.
"I couldn't even do the one request right…" the adult sighed.
"What are you doing here?" Shujinkou asked.
"Just… I just needed to visit your grandmother. I'm not staying this time or anything."
"Oh." Shujinkou awkwardly scratched his right cheek. "Well, I guess that means that I don't have to say anything."
"What exactly were you planning to say?"
"Never mind. It doesn't matter now."
He watched his father casually turn away from him with a, "Hm."
"Right…" Shujinkou's turned his gaze to the ground.
"I see that you've made some more friends," Jomei suddenly said.
Shujinkou's head shot back up; his face now plastered with surprise, "Yeah, I did."
He then did nothing but watch as his father approached him and place his hand on his head.
"You've made the right decision," he said.
"Huh?" Shujinkou stared at his father, confused by what his words and actions.
Jomei silently removed his hand from his head and just as silently took his leave.
"…Hey," Shujinkou called out.
Jomei turned around.
"…Safe travels," Shujinkou said.
"Right," Jomei replied before disappearing out of sight.
"What just happened?" Shujinkou wondered aloud as he sat down next to his cardboard box. "It really is the ultimate stealth tool."
Meanwhile, Fuyu searched through the convention for her adopted sister until she suddenly heard an excited, "Heck yeah!"
Following the trail of the sudden voice, Fuyu immediately laid eyes on Natsuki accepting a white and orange hanmste-like plushie."
"So cute!" she squeed.
"Natsuki," Fuyu called.
Excitement quickly escaped the pink-haired girl and was swiftly replaced with embarrassment.
"F-Fuyu! How long have you been there?" she nervously asked.
"Not long…" she sighed.
"What's wrong with you?"
"It's just that… I can't seem to find Rei."
"Oh. Her silence would make her harder to find than it would already be. That said… You should probably leave her be."
"You think?"
"I know you're probably worried about her but you shouldn't think that she unable to handle herself on her own. You'll end up becoming overbearing."
Fuyu crossed her arms as she pondered Natsuki's advice.
"Isn't there anything here you want to do?" Natsuki asked.
"Umm…" the young vacationing school president pulled a pamphlet out of her pocket. "I'm sure there's something…"
Natsuki gently squeezed her plush prize as Fuyu read aloud, "Game tournaments… Trivia… Meeting with mangakas."
"Meeting with mangakas?" Her pink eyes sparkled with interest. "Which ones?"
Fuyu quickly glanced at Natsuki, then back at the pamphlet. "Uhm… Why don't you look for yourself?"
She presented the pamphlet to Natsuki and watched her eyes widen with shock.
"S-She's actually here…" she mumbled.
"Who's here?" Fuyu questioned.
"The writer who has written a bunch of my favorite stuff: Harumi! I… I got to see her!"
"It doesn't start until later."
"Ugh…" Natsuki's cheeks turn red as the realization of her wasted excitement sunk in. "You mean I just acted like a semi-crazy fan girl for nothing."
"A Semi-crazy fan state brought on by is normal here so…" Fuyu adjusted her glasses and examined her surroundings. "Anyway, you just need to find something you can do until then."
"Like interacting with the Kingdom Hearts community!" From out of nowhere, a figure in a hooded double-breasted and twin-tailed black leather trench coat appeared before the two. Their face completely obscured by coat's hood, the two could only guess the stranger's gender based on their voice.
"Oh, who are you supposed to be," Fuyu queried.
"Take a look at my zipper," the mysterious figure pointed to the uniquely shaped silver zipper hanging from their coat. "I'm the MoM!"
"You're a mom?" Natsuki asked, her face unable to hide how confused she was.
"Actually, MoM is short for Master of Masters," Fuyu explained.
"Bingo!" MoM gave Fuyu a big thumbs up.
"Who's the Master of Masters?" Natsuki asked.
"A legendary Keyblade Master in Kingdom Hearts," Fuyu answered.
"Ooh, I like you're description," MoM replied. "Though I don't think it does enough justice…"
"Keyblade…? Wait a minute…" The bewildered Natsuki took a moment to ponder that word. "I think Shujinkou mentioned that a few times before…"
"Oh, I see you need a crash course on the lore," MoM said in an excited tone of voice.
"Whoa, before you do that, it would probably be better if Natsuki was introduced to the story of the game releases," Fuyu advised.
"Story of the game releases? What kind of story could there be there?" Natsuki asked
Instead of receiving an answer to her question, it was instead met with barely audible giggles."What's so funny?"
"Nothing it's just that…" Fuyu adjusted her glasses as she tried to bring out her stoic demeanor. As she did so, a single thought crossed her mind," All these repeats and questions makes her sound like Solid Snake."
Soon after that thought, Fuyu entered her infamous "President Mode" as MoM eagerly rubbed their hands together.
"This is going to be good," they said.
"It all begins with humble beginnings," Fuyu started. "In the beginning, the original Kingdom Hearts was released in its own country on the Playstation 2. A crossover game between Disney and Final Fantasy led by an original protagonist was a risky venture to say the least. But fortunately the game was positively received; the original and the International release."
"Why are you separating the releases?" Natsuki queried.
"It's minor, but I figured it was worth mentioning that the International release received a few additions. Now on to the next release…"
"Kingdom Hearts 2?"
"Nope. Kingdom Heart: Final Mix."
"What?" Natsuki shot a confuse look at Fuyu.
"After the release of Kingdom Hearts, the game was then re-released with a bunch of extra game and story content. Effectively, it is the definitive version of the original Kingdom Hearts," she explained. "Now we can move on to the next game…"
"Kingdom Hearts 2?"
"Nope, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memoiries. Unlike the original, this game was released on the Gameboy Advance."
"So, it's a spin-off?"
"Nope, it's actually a sequel."
"They… They released the sequel of a console game on a handheld?"
"Mm-hmm. They did remake it for the Playstation 2 later under the name of Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories."
"Now onto the next game: Kingdom Hearts II for the Playstation 2," MoM interjected.
"They named the third game in the franchise 'Kingdom Hearts II'?" Natsuki muttered in disbelief.
"Bingo! She's still standing!"
"After the release of Kingdom Hearts II, it was then re-released as Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix," Fuyu continued. "Like the first one, it adds more game and story content, thus making it the definitive version to play."
"Couldn't the game developers get it right the first time?" Natsuki sighed.
"To be fair, this was before extra content could just be downloaded into the original in those situations."
"That's a fair point."
"So after Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix, the next game, Kingdom Hearts: Coded was released on non-smart mobile phones. Like Chain of Memories, it's important to the overall franchise."
"They released another sequel on a mobile phone?" Natsuki's disbelief, slightly lowered from the discussion of Kingdom Hearts II, rose even higher than before.
"It was later remade for the Nintendo DS as Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded," Fuyu added.
"Well that's slightly better…"
"But before that remake came Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the Nintendo DS, a game that acted as an interquel between the end of Kingdom Hearts 1 and before the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 2. Then came Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep for the PSP which was later re-released as Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep: Final Mix. Then came the remake of coded, then came Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for the Nintendo 3DS. After that a browser game detailing the far past of the series named Kingdom Hearts X was released. Then-"
"WAIT!" Natsuki screamed at the top of her lungs. "Why are the games jumping between so many platforms?! And all those remakes and re-releases… This has got to be one of the most expensive franchises ever!"
"We haven't even scratched the surface yet," MoM giggled.
"A little before Kingdom Hearts X went live, Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 ReMIX was released for the Playstation 3," Fuyu continued. "It contained HD remasters of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories and a collection of cutscenes to tell the story of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Then came Kingdom Hearts HD II.5 ReMIX which contained HD remasters of Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep: Final Mix and a collection of cutscenes of Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded.
After that came Kingdom Hearts: Unchained X for smart phones. Though it was meant to replace Kingdom Hearts X, it was actually a continuation that required knowledge from the original game. Then came Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue for the Playstation 4 which contained a full HD remake of Dream Drop Distance, now dubbed Kingdom Hearts HD: Dream Drop Distance, had a short prologue to Kingdom Hearts III and served as a sequel to Birth by Sleep titled Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- and a brand new movie titled Kingdom Hearts X: Back Cover.
Soon after Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 ReMIX and Kingdom Hearts HD II.5 ReMIX was rereleased as Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 + II.5 ReMIX for the Playstation 4 and Kingdom Hearts: Unchained X finished its run and was rebranded Kingdom Hearts: Union X to signify the beginning of a new story. Almost 2 years later, Kingdom Hearts III was finally released finally bringing about the end of the first story arc."
Natsuki blankly stared at Fuyu, "…All of that… Was just the first arc?! All those generations of gaming consoles and rereleases and that was all just for the first story arc?!"
"And just remember that that we haven't even got into the story yet," MoM pointed out.
"Ugh… Fuyu… How can you and Shujinkou stand being fans of such a series?" a very puzzled Natsuki asked.
"I guess because we like it. Plus to be fair, those last rereleases were made just so it could be easier for new fans to get into the series," Fuyu explained.
"Ugh… My head…" Natsuki groaned. "You know, when Shujinkou first joined the club, I thought he seriously lacked dedication, among other things. But I was wrong. If he went through the first story arc in the order you just said, then he always did know how to be dedicated to something… and may possibly be borderline insane."
Elsewhere, a small brush circled around Monika's right cheek before finally rising up then dropping back down, gently poking it.
"And… done," the hand the brush belonged to retracted their instrument.
Kiyoko curiously stared at the results of the brushwork on Monika's cheek. On it laid a small, chubby, and incredibly cute mouse-like creature. It possessed yellow fur, long ears with black tips a large tail that resembled the shape of a lightning bolt. On its cheeks were two circle-shaped red pouches with sparks of electricity flowing out of them.
"That's a pretty good Pikachu," she approved.
"What about you, Kiyoko? Do you want to get something too?" Monika asked.
"Nah, I'm good with my Miku shirt."
The two sat up and continued to explore the convention.
"Hey, Kiyoko…" Monika said.
"Yeah?" Kiyoko glanced at Monika with curious eyes.
"Do you think it was a really good idea to let Yuri go off on her own the way she did?"
"Um… I couldn't say. You see, in these kinds of situations, it all depends on the individual. I don't really know Yuri well, so I don't really know what the correct option would be; whether to pursue or to give them space. But if you're really worried, we could get a party that hasn't witnessed what we saw involved so it doesn't look like we won't leave her alone if that's what she wants."
"Like who?"
In response to Monika's question, Kiyoko lightly scratched her right cheek.
"That's right! Shujinkou ran off somewhere so he could check up on her when he does get here," Monika realized as she pulled out her phone "Though I feel kinda bad about doing this."
"How come?" Kiyoko asked.
"For as long as Shujinkou has been in the club, he always considered himself an outcast that felt like he had to earn his keep. Like he didn't have anything to contribute that could justify his inclusion other than because he wanted to make Sayori happy. Maybe that's why he mostly kept to himself and just went along with what I and the others suggested.
But despite him believing that, he's actually had a very positive influence on us all. It's actually something I'm a little envious of."
"Envious?"
"Don't get me wrong. It's not something that makes me hate him in any way. It's actually one of the things that I like about him. It's just that… When the club was made official, it was kinda like we were only together just so we could have a place to belong to. But then he joined and things actually became a lot more like I hoped for. He was easily able to make friends with everyone, which in turned led to the club becoming a little closer. You could say that that's what I'm a little envious of.
I wasn't really able to do much for the club. Sayori's the one who coerced me to go out and find members and whenever any of us have a problem, it seems like he's the one we have to rely on to ultimately solve them. And it's not like I hate having to rely on him, it just that I wish I could help the others as much as he does for all of us and not just as their club president, but as a friend. And now requesting him to basically do something I can't makes me feel like a bad friend and like I'm taking advantage of his kind nature."
"Huh," Kiyoko silently stared at Monika as she pondered her words. "Well, I can't really comment on this track record you're keeping but I'm pretty sure the fact that you're this bothered in the first place proves that you're not a bad friend. Besides, everyone's got their own strengths that others wished they. You of all people should know that."
"That's true. Still…" Monika's grip on her phone slightly tightened. "I want to be a person that my friends can rely on."
"You shouldn't stress about that, Monika. You should let that strength bloom naturally. In the meantime, it's not like it would hurt anybody if you still need support in that one area, right?"
"No. Not at all," Monika giggled as she began to compose her text message. "Thanks Kiyoko."
"No big deal. Just trying to earn my keep," Kiyoko chuckled.