Author's Notes:

Hey guys! We made it to 50 chapters! It's a proud moment for me, and I'm happy to have reached this milestone so early. I'll try and post another chapter tomorrow if I can. I do have more time now that midterms are over, so look forward to it! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 50: Hiraga's Reunion

Saito ran along the beach at a brisk pace. It had been about a week since Louise's parents had visited. He and Louise would be visiting his own parents the next day, so he wanted to make sure that at the very least, he was healthy enough to walk and run on his own.

As he ran along the coastline, he could tell that he wasn't quite at 100 percent yet, but he was pretty close. Upon realizing that he was back up to strength, he ran back home, where Louise was busy feeding their kids. Seeing this brought a smile to Saito's face, but also made him start to think.

"Welcome back, Saito." Louise said as she noticed him walk into the building.

"Thanks." He replied. "I think I'm nearly as good as new."

"That's good to hear." She replied as she put another spoonful of porridge into her son's mouth.

"I've been thinking..." Saito began. "Maybe we should leave the kids here while we visit my parents."

"How come?" Louise asked.

"Well, the shock of seeing me again is already pretty big." He replied. "Not to mention I look the way I do now. If we brought kids as well, it could be too much for them."

"You're probably right. We could leave them with Sasha. She probably won't mind." She said.

"Yeah. Besides, we can use your world door to reach them at any time." He replied

With the topic settled, they both went to bed earlier than normal, as they had decided to leave for Tokyo the next day. Saito felt extremely worried, more so than when he met Louise's parents. The feeling caused him to have trouble remaining asleep. Even when he did manage to sleep, it was not a very sound one, and it was filled with nightmares.

When he woke up, Louise was already prepared to leave. She chose to wear her academy uniform since it was the most similar to the clothes worn in Saito's world. He wore his normal clothes which he had the first time he went to Halkeginia.

"Where are Riza and Gabriel?" Saito asked sleepily.

"I took them to Sasha already." Louise replied as she tied her hair into a ponytail. "She was unusually eager to take them into custody."

"Hm? Maybe she just likes them. I assume you took Hayai there as well?" He asked, combing his own hair.

"He refused to leave the kids alone, so he's there with them." She replied. "Mariel said she'd take care of things in this country while we're gone. I've already given her authorization."

"Won't people know she's an Elf?" Saito asked.

"She can disguise herself as a human. It'll be fine. Besides, Elf or not, I am the Queen. My word is final." She replied.

"Well, I guess everything is sorted. Are you ready?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied.

Before she opened the portal, Saito picked up Derf and slung him onto his back. Louise pointed her finger into the air and, withing a few seconds, an ovular portal opened in the room. Saito could see the familiar streets of Akihabara in front of him.

It seemed to be evening, as it was dark and there was no one walking around. Saito took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He quickly walked forward through the portal, as if trying to get the action over with.

When he opened his eyes, the portal behind him had closed. Louise stood next to him, looking around in awe at the dazzling lights and signs. Saito held her hand, snapping her out of her trance.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"It's completely different from what I'm used to." She replied. "But it's really amazing."

"It hasn't changed a bit..." He said nostalgically.

"Where does your family live?" She asked.

"It's not too far away, but it's nearly winter and it's dark, so we should wait until tomorrow to meet them." He replied.

"So where will we stay?" She asked.

"Well, there are a bunch of hotels around. We can just pick one to stay in." He replied.

She sighed in relief, happy that she wouldn't have to sleep outside in the cold. Saito wrapped his tail underneath his clothes, then they began walking in search of a hotel. It didn't take Saito long to find one. It looked rather normal from the outside, so they began to walk towards the entrance.

"Saito, how are we going to pay for a night?" She asked.

"Hm? Well I'll just use a gold coin." He replied. "Gold is far more valuable in this world. One piece could probably pay for several days."

He led her inside the building, where he was quite shocked by the decor. There were quite a lot of warm colors, primarily red and pink. He chose to ignore it and walked towards the front desk, where a young man was waiting to greet him.

"Welcome to Shizukana Hotel." The man said, wearing a bright smile. "How may I help you tonight?"

"We need a room for one night." Saito said.

"Ah, one night huh? Very good, sir." He replied, making Saito slightly confused.

Louise, who had no knowledge of the Japanese language, could only stand next to Saito, trying her best to look polite.

"And would the young lady like any equipment brought to your room?" The man asked her.

"Pardon her. She is French and doesn't speak Japanese." Saito said. "What do you mean by equipment."

"Anything to make your stay more comfortable." The man replied.

"No we should be fine, thank you." Saito replied.

"Trying to be natural? Very good, sir." The man replied. "That will be 13143 Yen. Would you like to pay with a card?"

"No. I have something else." He replied.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin made of gold and handed it to the man. The man looked at the coin which shined brilliantly in the light of the room. He picked it up and examined it closely.

"You would be surprised how many people try to pay with fake gold." He said, crouching to get something from underneath the counter.

He pulled out several tools. A beaker, distilled water, a piece of ceramic, and a bottle of nitric acid. First, he scratched the coin on the ceramic plate, then inspected it closely. Seeming satisfied, he put the plate away.

Next, he pulled out a scale and filled his beaker with water. He weighed the gold, then dropped it in the water, taking care to make sure he marked the water's highest level before and after the gold was put into it. After writing down something on his notebook, he once again seemed satisfied.

Finally, he filled a steel container with the acid and dropped the gold into it. After waiting for several minutes, he finally pulled it out. After putting everything away, he came back to talk to Saito.

"I'm surprised this gold is real. It is very pure as well." He said. "But this is enough to pay for several weeks worth of service. Why would you use it on one night?"

"I have more at home." Saito replied. "Anyway, we are quite tired. Will this cover any costs tonight?"

"Of course!" The man replied.

He got them a room key, then led them to the top floor of the building, which contained a penthouse. Once there, the man bowed and walked back to the elevator, feeling extremely happy.

Saito and Louise walked into the penthouse, where there a very large bed with red sheets and comforters. They had a clear view of much of the city from their large window. Saito, however, paid no heed to the view. Not only was he feeling quite tired, but the hotel somehow made him suspicious.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it made him very uncomfortable. As he thought about everything the man downstairs had told him, his sensitive ears picked up a strange sound coming from a room several floors downstairs.

The sound was instantly recognizable, making Saito's face turn red as he realized what he had done. He quietly snuck behind Louise and, without warning, tapped her neck, making her unconscious. He lifted her into the bed, letting her sleep without knowing what kind of hotel they were staying in. As he was extremely tired himself, he laid down next to her and soon fell asleep as well.

The next morning, Saito got up out of bed, feeling rested. He stroked Louise's hair softly until she woke up a few minutes later. She had no memory of being knocked out, so she assumed that she just became tired and fell asleep.

They walked downstairs, where Saito noticed that several other couples were also leaving the building. Wanting to depart as quickly as possible, he simply waved goodbye to the employee who gave them their room, then hurriedly walked outside.

"We could probably get to my parents house by just running fast." He said to Louise, who seemed bewildered at the cars on the road and planes in the sky.

"Okay." She replied, not really paying attention.

He noticed how fascinated she was with the cars, so he decided to call a cab instead. She was surprised by the feeling of the car accelerating, never experiencing something like it before. She was also intrigued by the different materials inside. Particularly the plastics.

Eventually, the cab reached their destination. Saito handed the driver several gold coins, telling him to take them to a gold shop so he knows they're real, then got out of the cab with Louise. They stood on a quiet street with several houses on each side. In front of them was the house that was most important.

Louise took a look at Saito. His face wore an expression of nervousness and fear. She tightly held his hand, doing her best to give him some comfort. He smiled and gave her a kiss, then took a deep breath. Holding her hand, he walked to the gate of the house then, with slight hesitation, rang the doorbell.

For a few minutes, there was no sound, then Saito saw the door to the house crack open. Through it came a familiar face which he longed to see ever since he left. His mother walked towards the steps of the gate, wearing a happy smile.

"Why hello there, young ones. How may I help you?" She asked.

Saito took a deep breath, then looked directly into her eyes.

"Mom, it's me. Saito. I'm back." He said.

She stared at him for a long time, thinking about what he just said.

"My boy didn't have orange eyes." She replied, dismissing his words.

"I promise it's me." He said. "I was born on December 9th. My favorite food is a Teriyaki burger."

Despite telling her those two things, he could see that she was still skeptical. Not knowing how to convince her, he pulled Derf from his scabbard and showed his mother the sword. He could tell she instantly remembered the sword that Saito had bought a few days before his disappearance.

She covered her mouth with her hands. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she looked down at the white blade that glistened in the sun. The memories of her son seemed to fill her mind when she saw his face reflecting off of the pure white metal.

He put the sword back into the scabbard on his back, then looked back at his mother. Tears were now flowing freely down her face, which wore an expression that showed happiness, relief, and grief at the same time. He gave her a hug, doing his best to be as affectionate as possible.

For several minutes, they remained at the front gate, hugging each other. After quite a while, she let go to take a good look at her son. He looked completely different than when she last saw him. She assumed his eyes were orange because of contacts, but his hair was much longer. He was also noticeably taller and she could feel that under his clothes, he was very muscular and lean, although this wasn't noticeable unless someone made contact with him.

She then noticed the pink haired girl who stood next to him, admiring their reunion. She composed herself, cleared her throat, then wiped her tears before speaking again.

"I'm sorry. Please come inside." She said, trying to keep her tears back.

Inside the house, everything was just as Saito remembered. The living room's layout was exactly the same. All of the kitchen appliances were where they always used to be, and everything was extremely clean. His mother had them sit in the living room while she got them tea. When she came back, she set the tea in front of them then took a deep breath.

"Before I ask what happened to you, who may this young lady be?" She asked.

"Oh, this is Louise." Saito replied. "She speaks mostly French, so her Japanese isn't as good as ours."

"Oh, she is French? How odd." His mother replied.

"Hey Louise, do you know a spell that will let you speak Japanese." He asked.

"Yeah." She replied.

Louise pretended to be speaking to Saito, but was actually chanting the incantations for the spell. After a few seconds of 'conversation', Louise turned towards Saito's mother and began to speak Japanese fluently.

"Hello Ms. Hiraga. My name is Louise de la Vallière. It's a pleasure to meet you." She said.

"Oh, your Japanese is quite good." Her mother replied. "Are you two, by any chance, in a relationship?"

Louise turned red and nodded, looking at the ground.

"I'd rather explain everything when dad gets home." Saito said. "Where is Aisaka?"

"She got an internship at a hospital nearby, so she leaves with your father for work every morning." She replied.

"That's good..." Saito said, almost like he wasn't listening.

A feeling of guilt overcame him as he thought about the pain he must have put his family through by leaving.

"Why don't you take off those contacts?" His mother asked.

"These aren't contacts. My eyes...changed color." He replied. "I know it sounds crazy, but I'll explain everything when Father and Aisaka come home."

His mother was extremely suspicious of the whole situation, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and allow him to explain later. During the day as they waited for Saito's father and sister to come home, they spoke about what had happened since he disappeared.

His mother explained that his sister, feeling immense grief for the loss of her little brother, became a workaholic in order to cope with the pain. She worked 7 days a week and did a lot of overtime. It took a tole on her body and she was now much weaker than before. When she eventually did come home, she was detached and rarely spoke to her parents unless necessary. She became so aloof that it even forced her boyfriend, who she had dated for more than five years, to break up with her, which only sent her into a more severe depression.

His father, too, became a workaholic. However, due to his older age, the stress eventually led to him suffering a stroke. Luckily, he made a full recovery, but his boss ordered him to take several weeks off from work.

She, herself, was also constantly depressed, but she did her best not to show it since she was the heart of that family. If she were to resign herself into falling into a deep depression, the family around her would crumble.

Hearing all of these things made Saito feel extremely guilty. A guilt which no amount of comforting would erase, and one he would hold inside of him for the rest of his life, although in time, he would learn to suppress it.

"I'm sorry." Saito said when she finished her explanations. "I didn't mean to cause you all so much pain."

"It's okay. You're back now, that's what matters." She replied. "Besides, I'm sure you wouldn't just disappear for no reason."

"Yeah. I wouldn't..." Saito said to himself while looking at Louise, who seemed bewildered by everything.

A few seconds after wards, Saito heard the sound of the door to the house unlocking, indicating that his father and sister had arrived. Saito stood up and faced the door, waiting for it to open. When it finally did, sure enough, there were the two familiar faces he loved so much, although they looked extremely depressed.

"Who is this?" Aisaka asked her mother.

"Aisaka...it's me. Saito." Saito said, feeling very nervous.

"My brother is dead." Aisaka replied coldly.

"I promise it's me." Saito replied.

He brushed his hair away from his forehead, revealing a very light scar.

"I got this when I was four years old. You and I were playing with building blocks in my room, but you got mad at me and threw one at me. That's how I got it." He said.

His father's face became pale. Within a few seconds, he simply collapsed, about to fall to the ground. Saito quickly grabbed him before he could touch the ground, then lifted him onto a couch. Aisaka stared at Saito the entire time. When he turned around to talk to her once his father was on the couch, she suddenly hugged him, with tears flowing down her face.

He hugged her back, knowing how much pain she must be in. After several minutes, she pulled herself away, wearing a bright smile on her face. She held Saito's face in her hands, making sure to take in the fact that she was there.

"Where have you been?" She asked.

"Yes, where have you been, son?" Saito's father said, waking up from his temporary coma.

Saito sat down next to Louise and took a deep breath.

"Please, allow me to explain." He began.

Author's Notes:

Okay, I'm really sorry about the delay. I fell ill with the flu, so I decided to take the time to recover. But more importantly, thank you so much for supporting me all the way to 50 chapters! I really appreciate it, and I hope we continue to have a strong community around the story. Thanks again, and see you next time!