Where Dreams Come True
Hm… next chapter up, and a name that might seem familiar to some…
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 2: Parting
"Promise, Erk! You have to promise!"
He laughed. "I already did! I'll meet you in Etruria one day."
She laughed too, blushing red. "I know… I just… I just wanna make sure."
"We linked pinkies, didn't we? I can't go back on that!"
"Yeah…" She smiled slightly. "Hey! My mommy gave me a really neat toy yesterday! Wanna go see?"
"Sure! Race you!" And they were off, running through the golden fields, stumbling shrieking with laughter.
"Erk…"
"Huh?" He called after her. "What is it?"
"Erk!"
"I heard you the first time! What's wrong?"
"ERK!"
He jerked upright, a cough racking him body. Ow, ow. Bad headache.
As slumped back onto the bed, he noticed Louise staring down worriedly at him. "Aunt… Louise?" He managed to croak out in a hoarse voice.
She ducked her head in a sigh of relief, mingled with exasperation. Forsaking words, she merely leaned over and drew her foster son into a long hug, which he returned, slightly confused. Where was he?
As his eyes took in the bare white surroundings, the sparse furniture, and the complicated devices around his bed, it finally dawned on him. A hospital.
"What happened?" He queried.
"Overwork." Pent, who had just appeared at the doorway to his ward, answered. "You've been studying far too much for too long, son."
Erk winced slightly at those words. Had he really done that? He had merely wished to ensure he knew the syllabus well enough…
Pent wasn't finished yet, however. "The doctor said he'd never seen a student like this before. You collapsed from the sheer stress of trying to do too much on your own." Massaging his temples, Pent slumped onto a nearby chair. "I've told you a hundred times, Erk. Do you listen? No. Stop pushing yourself so hard. You're top of all classes that Nino isn't in, otherwise you're second." He paused for breath, and shook his head. "Most parents nag their kids to study more."
Erk dipped his head slightly. "I- I'm sor-"
"Don't bother." Pent cut him off. "What's done is done and as long as you don't do it again, well, let bygones be bygones, son." He turned towards the door. "The doctor estimates you can be discharged tomorrow. Rest up, son. We're going dorm hunting."
As he walked out of the ward, Erk was left to sputter at the last sentence Pent had just said. "W-whuh?" He managed.
"I have to leave in two days anyway, and Louise is coming with me." Pent explained patiently as he cruised down the road. "We've managed to find several suitable places close to the university."
"But why?" Erk, in the backseat, questioned. "I'll be fine on my own! I'm eighteen years old! You don't think I'm responsible enough?"
"No. Just the opposite actually." Pent replied. "We're afraid that if we leave you at home on your own you'll shoot the lighting bills into the stratosphere and collapse. Again." Erk slumped over.
"I still think it's not fair." He mumbled to himself.
Louise sighed. "Well, there is another reason, actually."
Erk blinked and glanced up as Louise, in the front seat, leaned over to face him. "Erk, you're a kind, intelligent, obedient child, and no parents, foster or not, could ask for better. However…" She sighed. "You being in the house all day is doing hell for our sex life."
Erk said nothing, just stared at his surrogate mother with narrowed eyes. Louise held his gaze for a second longer, then turned over to her husband. "I tried." She shrugged and smirked slightly.
"Well, I must say your Lodge is rather cheap for it's size." Pent commented as he looked around the main hall.
"We get subsidized by the school, Master Pent. You should know, shouldn't you?"
"Yes, it was brought up a couple of times… mister… er…"
"Tsk!" The lilac-haired man grinned. "Forgot me so soon? Name's Legault. Try to remember, huh?"
"Right, right. Legault. Forgive me, but your most striking characteristic is your, shall we say, disreputable reputation."
"Ah, a man of words!" Legault chuckled. "Careful, though. Words, as any scholar knows, are very rascals. But that's all one in the end."
"Much as it is enjoyable to hear you quote Shakespeare, I believe we still need to find out more about the Lodge itself…"
"Right, right." Legault beckoned Pent, and the two of them strolled around the spacious halls, looking at the architecture and ambience.
"By the way, where's the guy who's supposed to be staying here in the first place? Is he huffy about having to leave you?"
"Not really. He's a bit moody at the shift in location, though. He's at home resting." Completing the tour, he turned to Legault. "Well, I must say that this is a rather fine lodge, and at good cost, too. It'll make a good place to stay."
Legault shrugged. "Should be, for your son, in any case. So, you choosing my little shed?"
Pent smiled. "I believe I can trust you. You're just… eccentric, is all."
"I try." He replied casually. Then, he paused and snapped his fingers. "Oh, by the way, there's just one little detail your son might feel uncomfortable with…
"WHAT did you just say?" Erk bellowed. "You registered me for a girl's dormitory? Are you insane, Uncle Pent?"
"Calm down, Erk." Pent reassured his son. "It's not really like that. It's unisexual. It just so happens that only girls have been living in there since it opened."
"Is that supposed to somehow make me feel better?" Erk questioned wearily. Pent gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his head.
Erk sighed, and walked over to the door. "I'll be going to grab a few personal items." He called back over his shoulder, before vanishing into his room.
"Well, here we are."
"Well, there we were."
"Hrmph." Erk muttered as he stared at the vast building in front of him. The main door yawned into what appeared to be a living room, and over the main entrance was a wooden sign nailed to the wall.
Crude lettering spelled out 'Welcome to Todai Lodge.'
"Not exactly the most prosperous looking establishment." Erk commented.
"Looks better on the inside, trust me. Kinda like a cheese and bacon roll." Legault grinned as he strode out from the door. "I take it you're our new tenant? Name's Legault. I'm the manager. Pleased to meet you. I think."
Erk sighed. "I guess."
Pent looked up from fiddling with the car booth. "Are you prepared for this, Erk?"
Erk sighed. "Two days ago, I was perfectly content to go home, knowing I would meet Aunt Louise with a delicious, steaming dinner. I would then proceed to retire to my room to study. And now I will be left in here for an absolute minimum of two weeks, with a bunch of females I have never met before. Am I prepared for this? Hell no."
"Nice to see we're being optimistic over this…" Pent grumped.
Erk sighed. "Don't you think this is a little oh, I dunno, rushed?"
Legault's grin widened. "Rush is good. Forces you to make decisions with your gut instead of that overestimated muscle we call a brain." To Erk's worried and anxious look, he relaxed into a welcoming pose.
"Kid, lemme tell you something I tell all the other tenants who come here. Ready? Listen. The best days of your life will be spent here. No joke. Doesn't matter how long you stay. You'll find what you were always looking for right here in this place."
I'll just bet. Erk thought silently. Unless you can conjure up a memory into reality…
"Ah, we have a doubter!" Legault noted from the look on Erk's face. "Trust me, kid. I dunno if it's magic, karma, being located in a cross-current of spirit energy, or whatever, but it's true. This, dear boy…" He turned with a sweeping gesture, indicating the whole of the property. "This is the place where dreams come true."
Short chapter, but the next one should be longer, I promise.
Fairly Erk-centric in this one, but then again, he is the main character.
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