YAMI NO MATSUEI - DESCENDANTS OF DARKNESS

THE SHADOWS OF MY PAST

Chapter Thirteen - Getting to Know You…

It was a good day.

Tsuzuki-san and I had a lot of matters that were cleared out from the long "to-do" list on his end. I created forms for him to fill out and a system wherein all that he needed to do was to place his receipts in an envelope every month.

After Tsuzuki-san and I worked together with getting him organized, I also advised him to do his expense tallying every Friday so that all that he needed to do was to do a weekly update. This advice was given in hopes that once the fourth Friday would hit, he would simply turn in his expense reports without making all parties concerned feel as if they were pulling teeth from him.

I do hope that Tsuzuki-san would be able to keep up with what he learned today because I would not be looking forward into going through those boxes of receipts and making sense out of each once ever again.

Time flew quickly and lo and behold, it was already five 'o clock in the afternoon.

When Tsuzuki-san and I got ready to leave, we exchanged knowing glances as confirmation that we would definitely be having dinner tonight at his apartment. The original agreement was for Tsuzuki-san and me to walk straight to his home, but I wanted to be a little more prepared for the evening.

So I gave Tsuzuki-san a note which said….

--

I'll drop by at your apartment by 7:00 p.m.

I need to tie up a few loose ends at home.

Looking forward for tonight.

--

And so instead of walking home together towards Tsuzuki-san's place, we went our separate ways as soon as we reached the door. We exchanged casual goodbyes, our words which were overheard by many as they too headed out the door did not have any indication that Tsuzuki-san and I would be seeing each other later on.

I went straight to a vintner's shop here in Meifu and browsed through the white wine section. I chose a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc to compliment the seafood linguini that Tsuzuki-san was going to prepare for our dinner tonight.

As soon as I got home, I then made a "dish garden" with red and yellow roses along with a variety of plants from Mako-san's garden. I figured that it would be nice to bring something along with the wine to thank Tsuzuki-san for being so friendly towards me.

Where did I get the money to buy wine when I was not expecting a paycheck until the end of this week?

Mako-san was generous as always to give me some money to tide me over until my first paycheck, but I did promise him that I would pay him back. He kept teasing me about not holding back too much on my spending while I pointed out that I was just being frugal.

As I sat down and finished the "dish garden" for Tsuzuki-san, I glanced and saw the dear old man looking at me with a knowing smile escaping from his lips. In turn, I grinned and told him, "All right, Mako-san… I know that look…."

"Nothing," replied Mako-san as his smile became warmer still. "I just had never seen this side of you before."

Shaking my head as I continued my work, I told the old man, "I did this all the time for Mother and you. Don't tell me that you've quickly forgotten."

"Not while whistling a happy tune, though…."

Blinking for a bit, I then asked Mako-san, "Me whistling? Was I whistling?"

"Yes, you were. I'm happy that you're fitting in quite nicely here in Meifu. You better not be stingy when you give details about your first date. "

I felt my cheeks burn for a minute there while I shook my head to alleviate my embarrassment. "It's just a casual dinner between two friends, Mako-san. Don't make it more dramatic than what it is."

"Well, he is handsome and you'll always have my blessing if something happens along the way. I'm sure that Konoe will do the same…."

"Mako-san…."

The old man just laughed and once again I felt my cheeks heat up much warmer than it did earlier. I know the dear old man too well. Judging by his laugh, I just gave him a death glare - not that I would carry out anything against him. To us, I guess it was similar to a child pouting whenever his father needled him far too many times and far too severely.

"Now hurry up, Seii-kun. You don't want Tsuzuki-san to be waiting far too long. Give this to him as well."

Mako-san then lifted the linen napkin which covered the contents of another small wicker basket.

I peeked in there and I smiled because I knew how good it tasted. "Honeyed bread. I knew it. I could smell it as soon as I walked inside the house."

"Go ahead. Get a slice."

Giving Mako-san a glance, I asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. A slice wouldn't ruin your appetite. Go ahead."

I took a slice of bread from the middle of the already-cut loaf, broke a piece from the slice that I took, and then tasted it….

Then I could not help but take a subtle yet contented sigh as I ate the bread.

Yes, indeed… The smile from my lips became wider. I knew that I hardly show that smile to anyone save for my loved ones…such smile that reflected the comfort and trust that I have to freely express what was going on in my mind and emotions.

The old man gave me that fatherly smile - one of those smiles driven by nostalgia. "Brings back good memories, doesn't it?"

Then the smile became warmer still as I gazed into Mako-san's eyes and told him, "Yes… It does bring back good memories. You made this every time that I begged you to make it - especially when I was a little boy. I ran to your house at night after catching and putting some fireflies in a jar. Every now and then, you'd have some in a basket like this. But when you noticed how much I loved it, you made it more often for me. It was even still warm when I got to eat it with you."

"Well, if you're still up for it then maybe we could have some over tea tomorrow night."

While I put the wine bottle inside the wicker basket and made last-minute arrangements to leave, I asked Mako-san, "Tomorrow night? Why not tonight?"

"Because I think you won't be home for the evening, which is quite all right."

Caught off-guard with the comment, I genially inquired, "What does that supposed to mean?"

Mako-san patted me on the back. "You're an adult and it's high-time that you have a life outside of your work and home. I don't think that you ever enjoyed sharing sake with someone other than me, or even gave yourself a chance to do things that a bachelor would commonly do. It wouldn't hurt to do something irresponsible for a change. As long as you're safe, it's quite all right."

"But what about training?"

"We've been training, Seii-kun. If we can't do it in the morning before dawn hits, we could definitely do it at night." The old man then looked at the wall clock and told me, "Now go on and don't make your friend wait. Have a good time and take care."

"All right…" I said before I gave Mako-san a hug.

The old man lightly chuckled as he hugged me back and patted my back once more, "What is this for?"

"For being there, just as always…." I whispered back before I drew away from the old man who became my father for as long as I could remember. I gave him a grateful smile…the same one that I gave him when I first managed to smile long after Father died. How could I not do that, especially since he gave me a valuable gift by bringing to life the word "home" for the second time around?

I then bade Mako-san goodbye and headed my way to Tsuzuki-san's apartment with dish garden, bread, and wine in tow. As I drove to my destination, I could not help but smile.

The old man was right -- I had been whistling a happy tune and I did not realize this until now.

--

"Come in!"

As I came in the apartment and took off my shoes, I told Tsuzuki-san, "These are for you."

Tsuzuki-san gave me a lighthearted smile as he saw me prop the dish garden at the middle of his coffee table and then presented him with the bread and wine. "Thanks, Tatsumi. You didn't have to go out of your way."

"I insist. It's my way of saying 'thank you,' especially since I'm so new to Meifu."

"Well, why don't you relax? Dinner's ready. I do hope that you'll like it. I've perfected my secret recipe all this time. You did say that you like seafood and Italian food, didn't you? I do hope that you have a lot of room for food because I made a lot for us. I also made garlic bread."

Giving Tsuzuki-san a warm smile, I replied, "Then let me help you so we could start our meal."

"Oh no, no… Please just sit down and I'll bring it here. I'll be right back."

As I sat at the dining table and waited, I noticed that Tsuzuki-san had already set up the table with white linen tablecloth, matching white linen napkins, modest silverware, crystal wine glasses, and nicer-than-usual plates -- all of these things reflecting how much he had prepared for tonight.

I could not help smile every now and then. There was something about him that comforted me…made me feel "at home" with being around him. For a person who did not trust too many people, this was very unusual for me. It was a rarity and so refreshing to be with people who I did not have to put up my defenses for.

Konoe Kacho was one of them. Tsuzuki-san was another….

There was a wonderful aroma that came from the kitchen. It did not smell like seafood linguini but nonetheless, it smelled good. I could smell the distinct scent of aniseed among other things. Mako-san and I respectively cooked seafood linguini before. I also had it before in restaurants. Nonetheless, I dismissed the curious thought thinking that maybe Tsuzuki-san's version of the dish came from another region of Italy or Sicily.

I looked forward to taste Tsuzuki-san's cooking. Maybe I could learn a new recipe from him and try it at home for Mako-san to taste.

Or maybe not….

Tsuzuki-san came in with such a big and happy grin escaping from his lips, his amethyst eyes lit up with such enthusiasm as he declared, "This is my secret recipe. Let us eat!"

And then Tsuzuki-san laid the huge platter before me, that smile of his becoming warmer and much more enthusiastic than a minute ago.

What stared back at me - as in literally stared back at me - definitely did not look like seafood linguini. The linguini looked like semi-unraveled balls of thick starchy strings which were flattened on the platter with greenish seafood sauce on top.

I definitely emphasize the word seafood because there was a variety of seafood in there - such as squid wherein its tentacles and eyes looked as if they were staring back at me. Although there was a lot of shrimp and mussels in it, the squid's presence in the sauce was just too overwhelming for me.

And there was a strong presence of aniseed in the sauce as well as parsley - lots of parsley. It did smell fragrant when the dish was at the kitchen but now that it was here on the table just a few feet away from me, the smell was so overwhelming that it made my head spin.

But how could I tell Tsuzuki-san who was smiling at me with such child-like exuberance that this "thing" that we were about to eat was not seafood linguini.

To tell Tsuzuki-san the truth, I do not even know what the dish before us was call nor would I know if there could be any name to call the dish because it looked weird.

"Please, guests first…" said Tsuzuki-san as he stood up and took my dish, my host intending to put a lot of that "thing" in my plate.

"Not too much, please. Let me try a little bit first," I told Tsuzuki-san.

When Tsuzuki-san took a glob of what he called seafood linguini on my plate, the overwhelmingly nauseating smell of all the herbs put into the sauce just made my senses reel.

Then I had my first bite of Tsuzuki-san's cooking. And what did it taste like?

How could I put it mildly?

The way that Tsuzuki-san's cooking looked paled in comparison to how it tasted. The words awful and toxic did not even cover the way that it tasted.

Seconds later, I was having such a violent coughing fit as the food went down the wrong way. My eyes scanned for a glass of water or any fluid to grab and wash down whatever was stuck in my throat but there were no fluids readily available.

Everything just happened too fast. All that I felt was nothing short of suffocation, the coughs making the blood pound in my ears. I had to walk away a few feet from the table. I was too preoccupied with my struggle to breathe although I did hear a chair being moved loudly across the floor, followed by sprinting steps stopping behind me, and the sound of my back being vigorously rubbed and patted as if I was choking.

My coughs soon lost their force and breathing became more of a struggle. I could not talk. I could not cough. I could not breathe.

Eventually, I felt arms wrap around me from behind…their owner doing the Heimlich Maneuver on me.

Soon, I lost my balance and I felt someone trying to break my fall.

My knees fell weak when I got too dizzy from failing to cough out the obstruction in my throat and suffocating at the same time. Something cushioned my fall and rolled along with me on the hardwood floor. My now-raw throat became rawer as whatever blocked my windpipe finally pushed out of the obstruction lodge against my windpipe.

Everything became blurry as I took a large gulp of air, my vision spinning and getting blurry. It seemed that someone was hovering over me. Someone was calling my name…or it sounded as if someone was calling my name…

Shortly thereafter, all of my senses dimmed and everything slowly but surely went pitch black.

End of Chapter Thirteen

Normal Disclaimer

Yami No Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness) and its characters are copyrighted properties of Matsushita Yoko. This fan fiction and the original characters (Mako-san, Inari, Chief Satori) that appear within this fan fiction belong to PJ Zatken.