Here we are! The response was so strong for the first chapter that I decided to give you guys a conclusion to it after all. Thank you all so much for the support. Enjoy seeing what Taki ultimately decided.
Taki quietly ate the katsudon bowl he was having for lunch while listening to Tsukasa and Takagi go on about work and their families. Takagi had married Mitsuha's sister Yotsuha and they had two kids of their own while Tsukasa had of course married Taki's former co-worker and childhood crush, Ms. Okudera. The three of them decided to meet for lunch because Taki was still undecided about whether to take the promotion or not.
"Taki, you alright?" asked Tsukasa. "You've been quiet this whole time."
The man shrugged and bit into one of the pork cutlets before sipping some water.
Takagi smirked and wrapped an arm around his friend turned brother-in-law. "Come on, big shot. Say something. I mean, after all, you are taking that promotion, aren't you?"
"Takagi!" Taki hissed as his face turned red. "How did you find out?"
"I overheard the wives talking to each other."
Tsukasa stopped his chopsticks in mid-air. "You're getting a promotion? Taki, that's awesome!" he exclaimed. "Look at you, getting to work on the New Tokyo Dome project and now getting a promotion. You must be so happy."
Taki turned his gaze down at his bowl. The more he thought about it on the train ride to work, the more doubt started creeping into his head. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do this to Mitsuha and the kids; Wabisuke and Itsuha were at an age where it would be more difficult to fit in at a new place.
"I am, but I'm also not," he mumbled. "The job would require me to move the family to Sapporo, which means we'd be starting a completely new life."
His two friends nodded in understanding.
"I see," Tsukasa said, taking a bite of his oyakodon. "What does Mitsuha think?"
"She says she'll support me no matter what I choose, but I have a feeling she doesn't want to leave." Taki sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm supposed to have an answer by the end of today. At first, I wanted to take the job, but now I'm not sure what to do anymore."
Tsukasa put his chopsticks down and turned Taki's head to look at him. The architect stared back at his doctor friend, who had a serious look in his bespectacled eyes. Taki had seen that look enough times to know to shut up and listen to what Tsukasa had to say.
"Taki, I've had to go through this plenty of times," he said. "I've been transferred to so many different hospitals that I feel I have the art of job changes down to a science.
"When the first one happened, I was worried about having to move all the way up to Saitama, a place that was not far by any means but may as well have been Mars. But then, Miki told me something that I never forgot: She said that as long as I was providing for her and our family, it didn't matter where we lived." He smiled. "And she was right."
That speech struck a chord with Taki. Tsukasa was right; as long as he was with Mitsuha and their kids, he was happy. The money he would make from a promotion would have their future taken care of. He and Mitsuha would never have to worry about money again. But it wasn't just all about the money; living in Sapporo would allow them to have opportunities that they would not have in Tokyo. They could get a bigger home there too without dealing with Tokyo taxes.
He smiled. "Thanks, Tsukasa. I needed that."
His friend nodded. "No problem. We'll always be here for ya, big guy."
"Yeah," Takagi grinned and flashed a thumbs up. "Go for it."
Taki took off his jacket and put it around his black swivel chair before sitting down at his desk after returning to his office in Shinjuku from lunch. There was a small origami crane that Itsuha made for him when she was seven and pictures of Mitsuha and his children all over his desk. He smiled, admiring them for a moment, and then mulled over a set of blueprints one last time before the meeting with the prospective contractor that afternoon.
'Admit it, you're just procrastinating,' Taki scolded himself. He adjusted some dimensions that didn't look right on one part of the design.
Knock, knock.
"Tachibana."
Taki looked up and saw his supervisor standing at the door. The death knells rung in his head. It was time. He had to give them his decision now.
"Mr. Kawasaki," he said, shooting up to his feet and taking a bow. "Come on in."
The man bowed back and sat down at the chair in front of the desk. He was a bit shorter than Taki, with salt-n-pepper hair and a slightly protruding gut. He was in his late forties and had been with the company since he joined after college. Taki had known him since he first came to the firm almost twenty years ago.
"Would you like some coffee?" he offered. He was just stalling for time now.
"No thank you," the supervisor declined politely. "You know why I'm here, Tachibana. We need a decision from you now. What's it gonna be?"
The younger man propped his hand on his chin and sat there in thought. He was now officially put on the spot. There was no weaseling his way out of this. It was time to decide the rest of his life.
The contrast between how confident he was in wanting to take the job that morning and how he felt now was profound. Taki felt like he was being torn in half with both sides refusing to meet and reunite into one body. It was up to him to bring them together.
Tsukasa's advice echoed through his head as he looked at the pictures of his family. No matter where he lived, he would be happy so long as he had his family. The chance to become a partner at a firm was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one that hardly came around for many architects. For his children's future and for him and Mitsuha to live comfortably for the rest of their lives, taking the promotion seemed like the right move to make.
But then again, their lives were here in Tokyo. Mitsuha had wanted to live in the bustling metropolis her whole life before coming after Itomori was destroyed. In a way, Taki felt he would be tearing her away from her home once again. Not to mention the impact it could have on his kids. Sayaka was young enough that she could adjust without too much trouble, but the older two were a different case. Itsuha was someone who didn't really like change, and while Wabisuke was an easy-going kid who made friends easily, Taki didn't know how he would react to having to move to a new place and leave all his friends behind.
He sighed and rubbed his face. Now that the moment was here, all the pros and cons of this decision pressed down on his shoulders. This was so hard.
"Well?" his supervisor said, folding his arms over his chest. "I would love to sit here and wait all day while you decide, Tachibana, but I can't. What's your decision?"
Taki bit his lip. The title of 'partner', along with the money that came with it and the prospect of financial security for his family, was very hard to say no to. The gut instinct he had that morning came back in a brief moment of clarity. He decided to act on it before he second and third-guessed himself.
"My decision is…" he began, then swallowed the indecision in his chest as it started to come back. "…I'll take the position. It's what's best for my family."
Once he said those words, Taki felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. That relief then turned into a warm feeling. In his heart of hearts, he knew that it was the right decision to make. He'd miss Tokyo, but they could always come back whenever they wanted.
The supervisor smiled and stood up from the desk. "Congratulations, Tachibana. I know just how hard you've worked to get to this position," he said. "We wouldn't have offered this position to you if we didn't believe you were worthy of it."
"Thank you, Mr. Kawasaki," Taki bowed. "I appreciate it. It'll be sad leaving all of you after eighteen years."
"And we'll certainly miss you. The New Tokyo Dome project would not have been possible without you."
"You'll find someone who can see the job through to completion. There's plenty of other good people here that can do it."
"But none like you."
"When do you want me to start?" Taki asked.
"At the beginning of next month," his supervisor replied. "Just long enough for you and your family to get your affairs in order and then get settled."
Taki glanced at his calendar. Today was the tenth, which gave him three weeks to get the apartment put up for sale and hopefully sold in that time. By how the demand was in Tokyo, especially in Shinjuku where his family lived, it probably wouldn't be long before they found a buyer.
"Okay, that's not that bad."
Kawasaki turned and walked toward the door. He turned and added with a smile, "The Sapporo branch will now be known as Okubo, Sawada and Tachibana. How does that sound?"
Taki's smile widened. Those words were like sweet music to him.
"It's what I have been waiting to hear my whole life," he said.
The older man nodded. "I thought so. See you at the meeting."
"See you then."
Taki leaned back in his chair once Kawasaki left the office, his head spinning from the exchange. This was really happening. He reached for the phone to call Mitsuha and tell her the good news.
"Hello?" his wife's voice came through on the receiver.
"Hey, babe, it's me," he said.
"Hi, honey. How are you doing?"
"Much better now, actually. I finally told my supervisor my decision."
"What'd you tell him?"
Taki took a slow deep breath and then smiled to himself. "I'm taking the job."
There was a long pause where nothing was said. Taki didn't know how to take this silence from his wife. Was she happy for him? Was she unhappy? The longer she stayed quiet, the more nervous he became.
"Taki, that's wonderful!" Mitsuha exclaimed. "I'm so proud of you. You work harder than anyone I know. You deserve this. Congratulations. We should go out tonight to celebrate."
"Thanks," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "You sure you're okay with this? You'll have to quit your job, a job that you've worked so hard to get."
"It's okay. Just because you got a promotion, that does not mean I have to quit working. I can make kimonos from home and sell them in shops up there in Sapporo. I have some connections. Plus it allows me to spend more time with the kids."
Taki's face fell. Kids. That's right. Now he and Mitsuha would have to tell the kids about this.
"Well, if this is what we're gonna do, let's talk to the kids," Mitsuha said, seeming to have read his mind.
"How do you think they'll handle it?"
Dinner that night was a quiet affair for the most part as the entire Tachibana family ate a meal of yakisoba, tempura, and vegetables. Sayaka needed a little polite urging to eat her vegetables, but eventually ate them like the good girl she was. Mitsuha and Taki splurged on buying a bottle of wine to go along with dinner that night to celebrate the special occasion.
"Kids, your father has something he would like to tell you," Mitsuha said once dinner was finished.
"You're not leaving us, are you?" Wabisuke cracked.
Sayaka gasped. "No, Daddy! Don't leave!" she cried.
Taki chuckled. "Guys, guys. Your mom and I are not separating. I promise. It's nothing like that." He took a sip of his wine to center himself, bracing for however the older two would react. He figured he would start with something simple to buffer the situation. "I got a promotion at work. I'm going to be a partner at the firm."
Bright smiles shot up his two oldest children's faces.
"Wow! Way to go, Dad!" Wabisuke exclaimed.
"Congratulations, Daddy," Itsuha added.
The two of them jumped out of their chairs and hugged their father. Okay, they both seemed in a good mood now, Taki told himself. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure how they would react when he told them where he got the promotion. The man glanced at his wife from the corner of his eyes for some help. She smiled and squeezed his hand.
"So does that mean we'll be moving into a bigger apartment?" Itsuha asked. "I mean, if you're going to be a partner, that means we can afford a bigger place. I could use my own bathroom for a change."
"Why? So you can spend all day in it?" Wabisuke bit. He then did a crude imitation of his sister. "Mom, I can't come out until my hair is right. Oh, I think it's off by a quarter sixteenth of an inch. Whatever am I going to do?"
Sayaka giggled. The middle Tachibana child's face turned beet red and she smacked her brother's shoulder. "Shut up!"
"Hey, that's enough!" Mitsuha barked. "Not at the dinner table, you two. Let your father finish."
Taki gulped, thankful his wife had gotten control of the situation back. "Sort of," he replied nervously. "We'll be getting a bigger place…" Here it goes. He cringed a little as he finished his statement. "…in Sapporo."
All three children froze. For a moment, Taki's heart seemed to stop beating and his blood felt cold. He had finally said it. Now, how were they going to react?
Wabisuke was the first to show any signs of a reaction as he bit his lip and then stroked his chin.
"So, we're moving?" he asked, his voice devoid of any emotion. Even so, Taki saw the shock and confusion in his son's eyes.
He nodded. "Yes. At the end of the month, we're moving to Sapporo." Then, "I was offered the job the other day. I didn't tell you guys about it at first because I wasn't sure how to react. Your mom and I had a long discussion, and we are both in agreement that this is the right move to make.
"I realize we're very comfortable and happy here and that this is going to be a big change for all of us, but with the money I'll be able to make, it'd put you two through college without trouble," he pointed to his two oldest children, "And still have enough for Saya too. You guys won't have to worry about debt like most of your generation. Besides that, we'll be able to afford that much bigger space in Sapporo than here and it was too good of an offer to pass up."
SLAM!
Taki jolted out of his explanation at the sudden sound. Itsuha had her fists pressed firmly on the table. It took a second for him to realize the noise came from her slamming them down. Tears were welled up in her eyes.
"Itsuha–" he said, trying to conduct some form of damage control.
"I hate you, Daddy! I'm not moving!" she roared, shooting up from her chair and running out of the kitchen. Her bedroom door slammed behind her. Even from their vantage point, the whole family heard her sobbing.
Wabisuke shrugged. "While I don't share her extreme emotion, I'm not too fond of the idea of moving either," he said. "But I think I can probably get used to the idea. I know how hard you've worked to get this point. You deserve it."
Taki nodded and smiled. "Thanks for being understanding, son."
"Of course, Dad. You said we're moving at the end of the month, right?"
"That's right. Gives you all the time you need to spend as much time with your friends. Don't forget that we can always come back. It's not like we're leaving and never coming back."
"Right."
Mitsuha got up and made a move towards Itsuha's bedroom, but Taki waved a hand.
"I'll take care of this," he said.
"Are you sure?" Mitsuha asked, concerned.
Her husband nodded. "I'm sure. Let me handle her."
His wife took one last glance at their daughter's bedroom and sat back down. Taki smiled appreciatively at her and went to knock on the door.
"Itsuha? Honey? Could you open the door for me, please?"
"Go away!" Itsuha sobbed into her pillow.
How could her father do this to her? Did he hate her? Is that why he chose to do this? She didn't want to leave her friends and have to start at a new middle school in a place completely different from Tokyo. Sapporo was the furthest thing from the boonies, but Hokkaido was so much different than the rest of Japan. How would they receive a Tokyo girl like her?
The door creaked open.
"Come on, sweetheart. What's wrong?"
Itsuha threw her pillow at the guest. "I said go away!"
The pillow hit Taki in the chest, but that didn't deter him from moving to sit beside his daughter's bed as she cried into her other pillow.
"Why, Daddy?" she wailed. "How could you do this to me! I'm finally getting popular. Tohma finally acknowledged me. I have all my friends. It's not fair!"
Tohma Shirukashi was a popular boy in her grade. Itsuha had had a huge crush on him since the fourth grade, but it was only recently that he started to notice her. She thought that meant she finally had a chance at him. Now, all those hopes were gone due to this impending move.
"I know, sweetheart," her father said. She felt his hand on her back. "But think about it. We can always come back when we want to and your friends will all be here. You'll make friends up there too. People are drawn to you."
Itsuha slammed her fists on her pillow and sat up in her bed. She glared knives at her father.
"It's not the same," she pouted. "Dad, you don't know how hard it is to be a girl. I'll have to start at the bottom and prove how awesome I am all over again." Sniffle. "There's no guy that's out there like Tohma. He's the one, I just feel it. Who the heck knows what they're all like in Sapporo?"
"I know you've had your eye on Tohma for a while, honey. It's not easy adjusting to a new place, but we can make it work." Taki smiled. "Establishing yourself won't take long. I promise."
Itsuha crossed her arms. "How would you know?" she grumbled. "You never had to move."
"True, but your mom has."
"So what?"
"So, she knows what it's like. If she can do it, so can you."
The preteen Tachibana girl rolled her eyes and shook her head. This wasn't happening. It could be fixed. It had to.
"You've got to turn it down," she begged. "Please, Daddy. I'm not moving. You're going to ruin my life if we do this."
Her father frowned. "I can't, honey," he replied. "I've already accepted the position and signed the contract. There's no going back, even if I want to."
She was afraid he would say that. Itsuha curled herself into a ball on her bed, looking away from her father and continuing to cry.
"You'll only have to put up with it for six years until you graduate high school. After that, you can come back to Tokyo."
The mattress gave a bit as she felt her father lay beside her. Itsuha bit her lip and stopped crying, feeling his arms wrap around her. A warm feeling of comfort spread through her and she shut her eyes with a small smile.
"It'll be an adventure," Taki whispered in her ear.
She reached for his arms and held them against her. Itsuha truly loved her father and was happy for him, but why did that have to mean leaving the only life she had ever known? It just wasn't fair.
"Did you mean it when you said I could come back?" the twelve-year-old asked in a shaky voice, rolling over to look at her father.
Taki nodded. "Of course."
"Pinky promise?"
He smiled and locked his pinky with hers.
"Pinky promise, my little dango."
Itsuha finally smiled and wiped her eyes free of any tears.
"I have to spend a lot of time with my friends before we leave, okay?" she said. "There's so much I want to do and only a month to do it."
"Then do it, honey. There's a Latin term called 'carpe diem'. Do you know what that means?"
Itsuha cocked an eyebrow. "Carpe what?"
"Carpe diem," Taki repeated. "It means 'seize the day'. Make the most of the time you have left here, sweetheart, so that way you can go to Sapporo with no regrets."
"Seize the day," she said to herself. After a few seconds in heavy thought, she nodded. "Okay. I'll do it."
"Go for it." Her father smiled as he hugged her. Itsuha returned the favor, feeling warm and safe in his embrace. They then broke apart. "Make Tohma see what he'll miss."
"Oh, trust me. I'll make sure he wished he noticed me sooner," she said with a wide smile. Instantly, she cringed. That came out sort of wrong. "Uh, I mean, uh, I'm sure he'll miss me."
Taki kissed her cheek. "I hope so," he said. "You have so much to offer people, Itsuha."
"Think so?"
"I know so."
The girl sucked in her bottom lip and scraped her teeth over it. That was the encouragement she needed. When her father put it all that way, then there was no reason to think it couldn't work out. It gave her a month to make a move on Tohma.
"Okay," she hugged him again. "Thanks, Daddy."
"You're welcome, sweetheart." He kissed the top of her head. "It'll all work out. I promise."
Five months later
Taki exited Kikusui station in Sapporo's Shiroshi ward and was immediately pelted with the brisk falling snow. The man unfolded his umbrella and held it up to keep the snow off him. His heavy coat and leather gloves kept him warm as he walked the three blocks to his family's apartment in the district. It was just a little past six o'clock at night now after he put in a long day at the office due to the firm being tasked with designing a new replacement for the Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena, which had been the main arena for the 1972 Winter Olympics.
He and his family had lived in Sapporo for four months now, and this was his first taste of the famed Hokkaido winters. So far, it didn't feel much different from Tokyo, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he experienced the full brunt of Sapporo's winter. In his mind, Taki felt he had made the right decision to move to Sapporo. It was a much more freeing experience to live in a relatively smaller city than the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.
"Dad!"
Taki looked behind him and saw Wabisuke coming across the intersection to meet him on the corner. The now sixteen-year-old wore the uniform for Sapporo Asahioka High School and a blue and grey scarf that his mother had made for him. He had joined the school's debate club and usually had meetings until five-thirty, but then had to take a long subway ride home.
"Hey there, teenager," he said with a smile, patting the boy's shoulder. "Have a good day?"
Wabisuke nodded. "Yeah. I won today's mock debate at our meeting."
"Way to go. You'll make a heck of a lawyer some day if you're that good."
"We'll see."
Taki held his umbrella over the two of them. "Let's see what your mom's got cooking tonight."
Father and son resumed their walk down the snow-covered streets until they reached their house. It was a fairly big two-story house that was more than enough for a family of five with a modern, sleek dark red exterior and a cozy interior.
"We're home," Taki announced as he and Wabisuke entered the foyer and removed their shoes in the gekan.
"Welcome back, you two," Mitsuha called from the kitchen.
Wabisuke went up the stairs to his bedroom to change out of his school uniform while Taki passed through the living room to get to the kitchen. Itsuha sat on the couch talking on the phone with a wide smile on her face. Must be talking to Tohma again, Taki thought. Around this time, they would always talk for close to an hour. He still couldn't believe his little girl had a boyfriend now.
"Hello, Mama," Taki greeted his wife with a kiss on the cheek as she cooked at the stove.
She giggled and returned the greeting before kissing him on the cheek. "Hello, Papa. How was your day, partner?"
Taki shrugged with a wide smile. Even after all this time, it still never got old being called a partner.
"Fine," he said. "We're finalizing the design for the new arena. Hopefully we'll have it done by the end of the week."
"That's exciting."
Taki went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He sat down at the table and sipped. Though it had been four months since they moved, he had to ask.
"Honey, are you happy here?"
Mitsuha craned her head to her left to look at him and nodded with a sincere smile.
"Like I said, dear, I'd support you no matter what you chose," she replied. "If you're happy, then I am too."
"No, I really mean it. I know you wanted to live in Tokyo your whole life, and now we're here. Are you honestly happy?"
"Taki, dear," his wife came to the table and took his hand in hers. She stared at him with conviction in her brown eyes. "This has surpassed even my wildest expectations. I love being here. It's not congested, it's not overwhelming, we have our own house, and you're here along with our precious children. I have everything I could ever want."
Taki smiled at her, and she smiled back. They just lived in that moment for as long as they could. Surrounded by his family and each other, Taki never felt more fulfilled and happy at any point in his life until now.
"I'm glad to hear that," he finally said, leaning over to give her a kiss.
His wife's lips still tasted as sweet as Hokkaido milk after all these years. Mitsuha rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand before he took hers in his. Their wedding bands shined in the lamplight above the table, which made him smile even bigger.
"I love you," Mitsuha said.
"I love you too," he returned as she got up and went back to the stove to finish making dinner.
"Kids, dinner!"
And they lived happily ever after XD I've really fallen in love with this family writing this. If you guys want to see some more of them, and of the kids, maybe I can work something out in the future ;-) Hope you all enjoyed it and leave a review telling me what you think.
See ya.