Chapter 33 – Well hello…
Three days after Toshiro first started training, he woke up, and immediately he noticed that he wasn't in his bed.
"Livy… Did you just make me wake up directly on our training grounds?" Toshiro asked
Livy appeared at his side and said, "Of course, Master. Don't you like it?"
"No. I want to wake up in my bed, and then go to training," Toshiro said firmly.
Livy lowered her head and said, "I understand, Master, this won't repeat itself…"
Toshiro walked up to her, and embraced her saying, "It's nice you're behaving like a normal person, I like it. Don't worry, Livy, I'm not mad."
"Then let's train, okay, Master?" Livy asked cheerfully.
"Of course!"
Toshiro splashed into the warm water, and when he looked around, he saw Mio looking at him with a satisfied grin.
"So, how was training?" she asked.
"As usual, it was fruitful," Toshiro replied. "But I can't show you measurable progress right now."
"You don't cut with a half-made katana," Mio said. "Take your time, and amaze me."
"Oh I will, hopefully…" he stretched himself out. "What a bother…"
"Hey, I wish I could train sixty hours a day!"
"You don't want to, believe me…"
Just as Toshiro and Mio dried themselves, the world around them became monochromatic. Toshiro looked at Mio, who was frozen in time and said, "Kye, what the hell?"
Said person appeared beside him and she said, "Come to the common room, we'll have a chat with Yoshika."
"I hope you're doing something that will be fun…"
"Oh trust me, Toshiro, it will be," she grinned and opened the door.
Toshiro walked out with her, and then Yoshika ran out of the common room.
"Toshiro! Toshiro! Something's…" she slowed down seeing Kye. "Oh, right…"
"What an underwhelming welcome…" Kye sighed. "Okay, I'll get straight to the point. I'm offering you another trip to my world. I'll leave yours in this state, so you can resume where you was once you return."
"And the purpose?" Yoshika asked.
"Fun and… a surprise!"
"Yaaaaaaay…" Toshiro moaned. "Oh well, whatever now… Are we going, Yoshika?"
"Fun is always… fun…" she shrugged. "I'll bite."
"If you're going, then I have to go too," Toshiro smirked. "Okay Kye, let's go."
"Engage warp drive!" Kye shouted and Toshiro's vision faded to black.
When he regained his sight, Toshiro saw that he was inside a perfectly normal Fuso house, something he had seen a lot during his vacation after Romagna.
"This is my humble abode," Kye said quietly. "Rei and Kamiko are living with me, and it's five AM, so don't be too loud, okay?"
"Five AM?" Toshiro asked. "Why the hell did you bring us here at such an unsightly time?"
"We're here to watch some anime before the two wake up," Kye said proudly.
"Uuuuuh… Eh?" Yoshika tilted her head. "You brought us here to watch cartoons?"
"That's not the main point of the trip, but I want you to have a blink at the future," she winked. "First, something rather solemn."
An enormous flat screen appeared out of nowhere, complete with some kind of box under it.
"Wow, that's a TV?" Toshiro asked. "Damn, what year is that technology from?"
"That's a Sony OLED 4K display from 2020 your time," Kye explained. "The box under it is a Blu-ray player, and what we'll be watching is this."
Kye made a small disc shaped item appear, with a hole cut in the middle.
"Hotaru no Haka…" Yoshika read off it. "Grave of the Fireflies? Sounds ominous…"
"It's based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same title," Kye started explaining. "But what happened didn't happen in our worlds, it's placed in the world without Neuroi."
"That one…" Toshiro pondered.
"Yes. It's about the firebombing of Kobe on March 16 and 17 of 1945. I believe Ami told you about it."
"Yeah… What a damn tragedy… You want us to get into depression by watching that anime?"
"Who knows…" she winked and inserted the disc into a slit in the player. "Ladies and gentleman, let's begin."
"Oh, can I join in?" Livy appeared beside Toshiro.
"Of course you can!" both Kye and Toshiro said at the same time, causing a lot of laughs.
"Well, you managed to make Yoshika cry…" Toshiro said with a straight face after the film ended. "How are you going to make amends?"
"Oh don't worry, I have another nice anime prepared," she smiled.
"Hey, Yoshika, come on, don't cry…" Toshiro wiped her eyes with a tissue he made. "That's just fiction…"
"B-But it's so…. Soooo saaaad…" Yoshika bawled.
"We have guests?" a voice known to Toshiro sounded and soon the owner of the voice appeared in the room. "Oh hi, you all. Decided to visit us for whatever reason?"
"Yeah, and your dear mother already made Yoshika cry," Toshiro smirked. "Nice track record."
"What the hell did you show the three, Mom?" Rei asked after noticing the screen.
"Grave of the Fireflies," Kye said with a straight face.
"Oh…" Rei blushed slightly. "I have no questions…"
"Where's Kamiko?" Toshiro asked.
"Oh right, Kamiko?!" Yoshika livened up immediately.
"Heheh…" Rei giggled. "She's still sleeping, but I have a hunch that…"
Rei's words were interrupted by a loud wail coming from further down the house.
"Yep, on the clock…" she sighed. "Pardon me, while I tend to Kamiko. Will you be watching something next?"
"Sora no Woto," Kye said. "You haven't seen that one."
"Oh… Hmmm… Okay then, don't start without me, kay?"
"Of course," Kye smiled and turned towards Toshiro. "So, how was your first direct contact with anime?"
"Heartrending, but I liked it… It's a very good story, but the picture quality was a bit… ehh…"
"I know, but I showed it how it was, Toshiro. I could enhance the image quality without effort, but you know…"
"Don't try to play better than Mozart himself, right?"
"Exactly!" Kye laughed.
"I hope I won't have to cry during the next one…" Yoshika mumbled.
"Results may vary," Kye said. "It's rather peaceful, but it has its moments of drama."
"Sounds of the Sky…" Toshiro pondered. "Is it about music?"
"Yes, music plays a pivotal role in it, but it's not an overbearing theme," Kye grinned. "And the trumpet plays a vital role there, heheh…"
"Trumpet? Girl, I totally forgot about practicing!" Toshiro slapped his forehead.
"You'll have a whole life to practice, Master. Focus on more important tasks," Livy said in a wise tone.
"Well, you sure know how to shoot me down…" Toshiro mumbled.
"Candy?" Kye said and an opened tin of Sakuma drops appeared on her hand.
Yoshika started tearing up momentarily, but Rei appeared in the nick of time.
"Kamiko!" Yoshika cheered and ran up to her.
"Like a light switch…" Toshiro chuckled and fished out some candy out of the tin. "You really have to do that to Yoshika?"
"Oh come on, let me have some fun…" Kye pouted. "Yoshika will profit from today, I assure you."
"Well, I do hope…" he sighed. "You know, Mom always bought me this candy whenever she did get her money…" Toshiro grabbed his forehead. "But why am I even telling this to you…"
Kye put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Because you want to get a load off your heart?"
"Probably…" Toshiro smiled and looked at the girls. "Sheesh… I'll have to go on paternity leave after Yoshika bears her own kids…"
"She'll get used to it," Kye said. "Girls, let's watch already, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Rei said
"It's… peaceful…" Toshiro said after the second episode ended. "There's some kind of war going on, but that town is… serene…"
"A backwater, just like our base in Frankfurt," Yoshika noted. "And just how many cultures did they blend into that one town?"
"I stopped counting after Hispania and Helvetia…" Rei sighed.
"And the girls remind me of something," Toshiro smiled.
"Like us, just without flying and Neuroi, huh?" Yoshika asked.
"Yeah…" Toshiro said melancholically.
Kye clapped her hands together and said, "So, breakfast time, ladies."
Rei looked at the clock and after seeing that it was seven dead, she said, "Oh right, or I'll be late for school…"
"School?" the guests asked surprised.
"The Yokosuka Witch Academy," Kye said. "Actually, Rei, don't tell our guests anything, let them discover about it on their own."
"Well okay…" Rei muttered. "I'll go dress myself appropriately then."
Yoshika sulked a bit when Rei took Kamiko with her, and she asked, "Oh, can we do breakfast?"
"I was waiting for that question," Kye giggled. "Yes, please. The kitchen is fully stocked, so knock yourself out. Just be quick about it."
"Toshiro?" Yoshika looked at him.
He cracked his fingers and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
Five minutes later, Rei returned with Kamiko, dressed in a classical sailor fuku. The whole uniform was marine blue, with a knee length skirt. On the left side of her chest was a small emblem, resembling that of the 501st.
"You look nice!" Toshiro shouted through the sizzling of bacon.
"It brings back memories," Yoshika said with a smile.
"What did you say?" Rei asked, specifically looking at Yoshika.
Toshiro quickly put a lid on the frying pan and said, "Yoshika said that it brings back memories."
"Ah yes, I almost forgot you just graduated middle school, Yoshika."
"And my trip for knowledge kind of got derailed…" Yoshika sighed. "But at least I'm with Toshiro all the time now, heheh… But I will study diligently after the war, that's a must!"
"I'm going to school just for formal reasons, but I have to say it's nice anyway." Rei smiled.
"Where's my grub?" Kye asked impatiently.
"You don't need food," Toshiro shrugged. "Go and get reborn, then we'll talk about it."
"Not in a million years, Toshiro. I have worlds to protect, and you can guess what would happen if I were as selfish as to get reborn again, right?"
"I guess a certain black haired individual would unearth the hatchet…" Toshiro muttered.
Rei looked at Livy, who was sitting at the kitchen table with a happy face.
"You sure are glad you're here, huh, Livy?"
"Of course I am. A trip with Master Toshiro and Mistress Yoshika is something to look for!" Livy replied, gleaming with happiness.
"I think I'll have to leave you with Kye though," Toshiro said. "I do intend to visit the school."
"Oh, but Master, I can go undercover! Besides, I can make it so that even those who met me won't recognize me…"
"That would be a little over the line, Livy," Kye said. "Just put on some nice civilian clothes, and you're ready to go."
Livy nodded, and after a second of pondering, she came up with a rather daring dress, worthy of a modern teenager.
"Ho ho, Livy, I know you're feeling and looking like an eighteen year old, but isn't that a bit too much?" Toshiro asked with a wry smile. "You will have to take responsibility…"
"Any time, Master…" Livy replied with a sultry voice, giving Toshiro goose bumps.
"Livy, behave yourself…" Yoshika muttered. "Anyway, I think breakfast will be ready in a minute, so everyone just sit down."
Fifteen minutes later, Rei went back to her room, leaving Kamiko with Yoshika, much to the latter's enjoyment. Kye pulled something out of her pocket and gave it to Toshiro. It was a small bag, which he opened, and saw that it was full of money.
"Your allowance, Toshiro," Kye smirked. "I can't let you go out for a trip to the city without money, right?"
"But my money is still legit here, right?" Toshiro asked. "I don't need your alms."
"Shut up and take my money," Kye said with a pouty face. "You're my guest, and that's that."
"Well okay…" Toshiro said and pocketed the money.
"Master, will you buy me something nice?" Livy asked.
"We'll see…" he looked at Yoshika, fooling around with Kamiko. "You'll be babysitting, huh, Kye?"
"That's the least I can do for my dear daughter," Kye smiled.
"Okay, I'm back!" Rei cheered as she returned with a bag. "Let's go, everybody. We'll take it a bit slower than my usual way."
"What's your usual way?" Yoshika asked while handing over Kamiko to Kye.
"She runs out of the house like mad with a piece of toast in her mouth, five minutes before eight," Kye snickered.
"Not true! I'm in the disciplinary committee!" Rei protested.
"Heheheh…" Kye chuckled. "Okay you all go already, or you'll really be late."
"We're off then!" Rei cheered. "Bye, Mom!"
"Don't dawdle too long, we still have an anime to finish," Kye said to Toshiro. "Ah, right, your clothes are… here."
Both Toshiro and Yoshika were suddenly dressed with warm coats, with Livy following up on her own.
"How nice…" Toshiro murmured.
The four exited the house, and Toshiro stopped in place once he saw the building to his left.
"Errr… Is that the Miyafuji clinic?" Toshiro asked.
"Yeah, what about it?" Rei asked.
"Keep your friends close, huh?" Toshiro asked.
"Keeping our mortal family tight," Rei shrugged. "By the way, Toshiro and Yoshika are living there too."
"Wait, what?" Yoshika asked. "Shouldn't they have their own home by now? I mean this Yoshika has a daughter, and she's expecting so…"
"Yoshika doesn't want to leave her family, it's simple. But Toshiro has told me that he'll do some renovations on his own," Rei explained. "He actually underlined that last word, heheh…"
"That's my clone!" Toshiro said proudly. "I guess we don't have time to visit now, huh?"
"It's early in the morning, Master, don't bother people now," Livy said.
"I guess you're right…" he sighed. "Oh shit…"
"What is it?" Yoshika asked.
"Yoshika, you remember that your counterpart here is a celebrity, right?"
"Yes, and?"
"We're going into her home city, and it could be a bit… awkward…"
"Aaaaaah… Yeeees… Then think of something," Yoshika smiled.
Toshiro shrugged and made a cap and scarf.
"Isn't that too warm for now?" Rei asked. "It's brisk, but not like that…"
"It's an endothermic material, Yoshika won't feel the difference."
"Ah, if you say so…"
Toshiro wrapped her around and put the cap on her head.
"Hmmm… I wouldn't recognize you right away, that's sure…"
"Heehee, thanks Toshiro!"
They went down the path to the city.
"Your heads are moving as if they're mounted on pivots," Rei chuckled.
"Yokosuka is changing, and it's visible with the naked eye," Yoshika said. "There are unchanged spots, but I doubt it will stay like that for long."
"And the cars are starting to look more modern, that's for sure," Toshiro added. "There are some makes I don't recognize… I already had that during my trip around Berlin, but whatever…"
"Tempus fugit, Toshiro," Rei said. "You can't halt progress, and you know that."
"I'm antsy how my world will evolve…"
"You could have asked Aya, for all I care," Rei shrugged.
"I could have…" he sighed. "Woah, what an enormous building…"
"Ah, we're here," Rei said.
"That's the academy?!" Yoshika shouted.
"My old school was here…" Toshiro muttered. "Shit sure changed…"
"Right? Okay, Toshiro, consult the floor plan once you enter the building, and go to the headmasters office. She'll probably want to give you a tour."
"You're on good terms with the headmaster here?" Yoshika asked.
"Eheheheheh… You'll see!" Rei winked and ran off into the swarming mass of girls.
"I have a weird feeling…" Toshiro muttered.
"Come, Master, you'll be pleasantly surprised," Livy smiled.
They went between the girls coursing around, and they came up before a floor plan.
"You are here…" Yoshika read. "Ah, the headmaster's office is just nearby, let's go."
"We're being stared at like mad…" Toshiro whispered.
"It's mostly because of you," Yoshika giggled.
The three went on to the office, where Toshiro knocked on the door, and after opening it, he was amazed.
"Tomoko?" he asked, seeing a familiar face sitting behind a desk and writing something.
"Toshiro?" she tilted her head. "Wait, the original Toshiro?! And Livy?! Dude, what are you doing here?!"
"Kye dragged me in for a visit, what are you doing here?"
"I'm… Wait, who's that?" she pointed out at Yoshika.
She giggled and unwrapped herself, making Tomoko's eye's go wide.
"Your Yoshika… My, you're…" she looked down lower. "Damn, you're stacked… I'd have a go at you if I was ten years younger…"
"Judging by your counterpart from my world, you would," Yoshika giggled.
"So you're a secretary here or what?" Toshiro asked.
"Yup, the headmasters personal secretary!" Tomoko said proudly.
Suddenly, the door beside her opened wide, and in came Mio, dressed like a state official.
"Toshiro!" she shouted, throwing her hands up. "How nice of you to visit me at work!"
"Work… You're the headmaster?!"
"Hahahaha!" Mio laughed in her usual way. "In the flesh!"
"Damn, that's… quite surprising…"
"This is the ideal job, Toshiro. I can supervise a whole school full of fledgling witches, and I can use my pedagogical talents to full extent!"
"I shudder at the thought of having you as my teacher…" Yoshika laughed dryly.
"Oh look at you!" Mio laughed. "You can see it with the naked eye that Toshiro is influencing you!"
"For better or worse," Yoshika smiled and tucked herself into Toshiro.
"Eh, you two lovey-dovey's…" Mio sighed. "Come on, join me in on my morning coffee, and I'll give you a tour."
"We just had breakfast…" Yoshika muttered.
"I insist…" Mio said with furled eyebrows.
"Y-Yes ma'am!" Yoshika shouted and saluted.
"Hahahahaha! I still have it in me!"
Yoshika puffed her cheeks and followed the rest into Mio's office, which was furnished in a modest style, fitting the place.
"Ehhh… You picked a nice day to come; I predict it to be lax and peaceful…" Mio sighed deeply after sitting on her chair.
"What, keeping children in check is too much for you?" Toshiro asked snidely.
"Toshiro, please… A military unit is, heh, damn child play. Good that my teachers are so… ingenious…"
"Let me guess – you didn't pick just the first from the list, right?" Toshiro asked.
"You'll see," Mio winked. "That'll be part of the tour."
"Surprises behind every corner, thank you Kye!" Toshiro ranted and leaned back on the sofa.
"Ah, I forgot about the…"
Livy snapped her fingers, and four cups of steaming coffee appeared on a table before them.
"Ah, I almost forgot who I'm dealing with…" Mio rolled her eyes and snickered.
"Just saving your secretary the hassle," Livy smiled.
"Yeah, let's just relax…"
"Can you tell me a bit about the history of this place? Previously, in my world, this was the school I attended."
"Would you look at that?" Mio asked surprised. "Ah, but the other Toshiro said the same thing, I shouldn't be so surprised… So, it all began…"
Mio was talking, and the rest were listening patiently, just until the Westminster Quarters chimed.
"Ah, this is the perfect time to give a tour," Mio stood up. "Come on, guys."
The tableware disappeared, and the group exited the room.
"Tomoko, I'll be back in less than half an hour, so if there's something really important, use the intercom."
"Sure thing, boss!" the Fusojin cheered from behind her desk.
Mio turned around to her guests and said, "Oh, by the way, you can drop those coats, we have central heating here."
Livy smiled and their Kye-made coats vanished.
"Now that's one daring outfit…" Mio muttered, seeing Livy.
Tomoko gulped and said, "I'd lay my hands on her…"
"How nice," Livy giggled. "But I'm taken and faithful, sorry."
"Oh well…" Tomoko sighed.
Mio led them along the corridor on the ground floor, right up to a door above witch there was a sign.
"1-1…" Yoshika said. "So this is the first class of elementary school?"
"Yes," Mio said. "Now, let's make ourselves welcome. You stay hidden for now."
She slid the door open, and entered the room. A clamor sounded from the classroom, as the chairs were being slid and the students were standing up. Toshiro quickly masked Yoshika again, saying, "I have a feeling this will be funnier this way."
Yoshika's eyes were looking as they're smiling, and the two plus Livy listened to what was going on inside.
"Good morning Misses Sakamoto!" the children said in unison.
"Good morning, children!" Mio cheered. "And morning, Adolfine."
"Hello, Mio. What do I owe the visit?"
"I bring guests, Adolfine. They want to learn a bit about our facility."
"Ah, is that so? Then call them in, I have nothing against it. I just finished roll-call, and we have hundred percent attendance!"
"Good job! Come on in you three!"
"Cue Toshiro…" he smirked and walked in first amongst murmurs and curious looks.
After a quick glance, he could see that some of the kids were similar to the girls from the 501st.
"Oh, who's the masked onee-chan?" a black haired girl, reminiscent of Mio asked.
"That's… heh, Toshiro, why did you wrap her up?"
"Because I have some explaining to do first, duh?" he looked at Adolfine. "Sup, this worlds Adi?"
"Teaching kids, as you can see," she grinned. "Yes, why don't you introduce yourself first? You don't have to mince words that you're different."
"I don't have to? Well then… Kids, my name is Toshiro Edelweiss, but not the one you may know already."
"You're from a different world?" a blonde, bob cut girl asked.
"Precisely," Toshiro smiled. "The Toshiro you may know is not me. Also, the persons I came with are from my world, so don't get confused once I undo the scarf from this particular person," Toshiro looked at Yoshika.
"Alternative World 101," Mio chuckled.
Toshiro unwrapped Yoshika, and the girls eyes opened wide.
"She looks just like cousin Yoshika!" the dark haired girl from before shouted. "Right, Mom?"
"Not only she looks like Yoshika, she is a Yoshika of her own, Nori," Mio snickered. "This, girls, is Yoshika Miyafuji from Toshiro's world, age sixteen."
Gasps of admiration ventured across the classroom, and Toshiro asked, "So that's your spawn, Mio?"
"Yup!" she answered proudly and started pointing out other girls, "That's Alina Wilcke, Sieglinde Barkhorn, Isabel and Irma Hartmann, Allison Yeager, and Aina Juutilainen. There are of course more girls that have parents connected to the Second Neuroi War, but I won't overload you with info right now."
"The lack of boys is kind of disappointing…"
"Oh don't worry, we have those in different grades," Adolfine said.
"Whew…"
Toshiro saw that one of the girls, Aina, was raising her hand.
"What is it, Aina?" Adolfine asked.
"Can we greet our guests?"
"Of course you can!"
"Yaaaaaaay!" the children cheered and swarmed the three immediately, with Nori climbing up on Toshiro's head.
"First!" she claimed proudly.
"I'm not a mountain!" Toshiro protested with faked anger, making Nori laugh.
"Lady, you're pretty…" Aina said to Livy.
"Why thank you!" Livy blushed and patted her on the head.
Allison was staring at Yoshika's chest profusely and after a few seconds she said, "Nice, but my Mom has bigger ones!"
"I know, right?" Yoshika puffed her cheeks.
In elementary school, but she already knows where the money lies…
"Okay kids, calm down, and return to your seats, we have an important topic to discuss today," Adi said.
A collective moan of disappointment sounded out and the girls returned to their seats.
"Mio, your daughter is wilder than a mountain lion…" Toshiro muttered.
"If you'd see her with Ayame…" she shook her head in disdain. "Well anyway, let's continue the tour. We'll be going, Adolfine."
"Take care. Everybody raise!"
The kids stood up quickly and shouted, "Goodbye!"
The four continued with the tour. Mio showed them the floors of the main building, the dorm, the gym, the cafeteria, and of course the big bathhouse. Toshiro was surprised that Chris was attending this school, but he didn't say a word about it.
Trudy would flip, drop dead, and stand up singing hymns to God if she got here…
When they wound up before the door of the main building, Mio said, "Okay then, this concludes the tour."
"Magnificent!" Yoshika cheered. "I wish there was something like this in our world!"
"Hey, don't you copy this idea!" Mio shouted looking at Toshiro.
"I don't give a fuck, I won't be imposing anything on anybody in my world," he shrugged. "Let the girls do whatever with their kids."
"Pff…" Mio huffed. "Let's compare the results in twenty years your time, okay?"
"Deal," Toshiro grinned. "Farewell, Mio, we're going back to Kye's."
"Yeah, have fun."
As they left the premise of the academy, Yoshika asked, "What now?"
"I think we should go back to Kye..." he pondered, but then Livy caught his gaze. "Ah, right… Oh! I have so much money on me now! Girls, let's go shopping for souvenirs!"
"Yay!" Yoshika cheered and they ran off into the city depths.
Sometime later, they were returning to Kye's home, loaded with shopping bags.
"Wah, we bought so much stuff!" Yoshika said. "Everyone will be happy!"
"And how about you, Livy?" Toshiro asked. "Are you happy?"
"Heheh…" she blushed. "Of course I am, Master."
"So happy because Toshiro bought you a comb that you could have made yourself…" Yoshika sighed. "You're more hopeless than me, Livy."
"The thought counts…" Livy pouted.
"Heh…" Yoshika giggled, but she stopped in place when they were almost at the destination.
"What is it, Yoshika?"
"Ah, nothing…" she mumbled. "Let's continue…"
Toshiro looked at his fiancé, and then at the Miyafuji clinic, quickly piecing together all the facts.
"You don't want to visit yet, huh?"
"Yes… This is not my family, and I can't just barge in, seeking some ersatz comfort…"
"Call your parents once we get back to our world, that's an order," Toshiro smiled.
"Yes sir!" Yoshika shouted cheerfully. "Permission to casually walk further!"
"Granted!"
"We're back!" Yoshika cheered once she walked into Kye's house.
"And welcome back!" Kye shouted from the living room. "Come on, we have stuff to finish!"
Straight to the point, eh?
The three dropped their shoes and went into the living room.
"Well, you sure haven't had qualms about using up that money I gave you, huh?" Kye asked with a shrewd grin.
"Free money, so I might as well burn through it," he shrugged.
After the last episode stopped playing, Kye looked at the three. Livy was still smiling as usual, but both Toshiro and Yoshika were sitting there silently.
"Yoshika?" Kye asked.
"I… I never thought a cartoon could be so… emotional…"
"Here, have Kamiko," Kye gave Yoshika her granddaughter.
"Weeeheee…" Yoshika grinned blissfully.
"And you, Toshiro?"
"I think you know what I want to do now…" he said quietly.
Kye smiled and a trumpet appeared in his hands, complete with a silencer. Toshiro took a deep breath, and shyly played a few notes.
"Go for it, Toshiro!" Kye cheered. "I know you practiced in July!"
Toshiro took another deep breath, and mimicking a certain character, he played two stanzas of Amazing Grace. Kamiko looked at him mesmerized all the time, and when he stopped playing, she started giggling and cheering, like every other child her age.
"Maybe you should branch out with different instruments, Master…" Livy sighed with a mellow face.
"Who knows…" he replied with a sigh of his own. "In theory I'll have a lot of time after the war…"
"Toshiro, remember we have to get some formal education," Yoshika said.
"Well thanks for bursting my bubble…" he muttered. "But anyway, I never felt so good playing the trumpet since Romagna…"
"Yeah, that was a nice prank," Kye giggled.
"Pff… You would probably rain frogs on me or something…"
"The rain was enough," she smirked.
"Waaaaait… You were the one who did that?"
"Even at my weakened state, I was still an Elder God," she shrugged.
"You impersonated God just to pull a prank on me?! This is unheard of!"
"Oh come on, Jehovah wouldn't move her round ass to even send down some brimstone on you…"
"Wait, wait wait…" Toshiro took a deep breath. "God is a woman?!"
"Sure she is," Kye said with a straight face. "A rather beautiful one, I might add…"
"Now I think I know why Ami had a spat with her…"
A knock was heard on the door, and Kye said, "Toshiro, can you get it?"
"Well, whatever now…" he stood up and went to the door, still carrying the trumpet.
After opening the door, he was just a bit surprised.
"Now this feels a tad weird…" he muttered, looking at all five of Kye's guests.
"Oh my, so this is how you look now?" the brown haired middle-aged woman said. "I have to say you are even handsomer than you were," she giggled.
"Heh, thanks…" Toshiro laughed dryly. "This is really weird, you know… I'm acquainted to my worlds Sayaka quite well, and recently Ichiro resurfaced, alive and well…"
"So I've heard…" a man wearing a fedora said.
"Oh don't make it more awkward than it should be," this worlds Yoshika said. "Meet my parents, Toshiro. Those of this world."
"Hello," Toshiro said nonchalantly and looked at the little girl who was darting her eyes between him and Toshiro Deuce. "Hey, Ayame, are you confused?"
"Uh… Yesh…"
"Well, I would be too," he snickered and patted her on the head. "I guess you all were invited here?"
"Yup, Kye told us that there would be a surprise," Toshiro Deuce said. "I don't think you qualify, hahaha!"
"I don't but…" Toshiro stopped sensing somebody behind him. "The one skulking behind me kind of does for Sayaka and Ichiro."
"Um… H-Hello…" Yoshika walked from behind Toshiro.
"Oh my…" Sayaka gasped, covering her mouth. "Just like Yoshika eight years ago… Just a bit fuller here and there… My…"
"This is interesting from a scientific standpoint…" Ichiro looked at the two carefully. "How two theoretically same people can grow differently in different worlds…"
"Come on, Dad, don't freak out Yoshika, she's trying not to collapse right now anyway…" this worlds Yoshika sighed.
Sayaka smiled and waved Yoshika to her.
"R-Really?" Yoshika asked surprised.
Sayaka only nodded with a warm smile on her face. Yoshika quickly ran up to her and tucked herself into her. Ichiro joined the two, sandwiching Yoshika between himself and his wife.
"You may be from a different world, but you're still Yoshika…" Sayaka said softly.
In the meantime, Toshiro walked up to the couple of this world and said, "Jeez, I didn't know my Yoshika was so deprived of contact with her parents…"
"If you'd arrange a meeting of your 501st with their parents, the venue would probably flood with tears," Yoshika giggled.
"Still, my Bro here has it a bit worse…" Toshiro Deuce said. "He has no parents to visit in theory…"
"Yeah…" Toshiro sighed. "Mom hardly counts, because she's technically dead, and I can't freely contact myself with my father… But I do understand that if ordered otherwise, the 501st would probably scramble to their home towns immediately after the war would be over… I saw how Sanya reacted to reuniting with her parents, and how Yoshika reacted when Ichiro returned from beyond the grave… Yeah, the girls may not mention it daily, but I can tell that they're bottling up quite a bit of homesickness…"
"Hey everyone, come in already, it's windy in the house!" Kye shouted suddenly from the inside of the house.
"That's our cue, I think," Toshiro smiled. "Yoshika, come on inside, you can play with both Kamiko and Ayame at the same time then!"
"What?!" Yoshika pushed aside Sayaka and Ichiro. "Really?!"
"Heh, sure," the other Yoshika said. "And I have a small surprise for you two anyway, heehee…"
"Now this is interesting…" Toshiro pondered.
Once everyone was inside, Kye said, "Okay then, who wants to cook?"
"I could but… Did you invite us to come over just for that reason?" Yoshika asked.
"We're all here to have some fun," Kye replied.
"Well, since cooking is fun for me…" she muttered. "Ah, Yoshika, that little surprise for you… And Toshiro."
"I wonder…" Toshiro mumbled.
Yoshika pulled up her sweater, revealing a slightly rounded belly.
"It's my sister, Akane!" Ayame said proudly, patting her mother's belly.
"Can I touch it?!" Yoshika asked vigorously.
"Of course," the other Yoshika giggled.
Yoshika, a bit nervously, placed her hand on her pregnant counterpart's stomach.
"Wah, cold," she shuddered a bit.
"Oh, sorry!"
"No, don't worry, resume, heh…"
Yoshika was stroking this worlds Yoshika's belly gently, saying, "It's incredible how a human being grows… You start from two cells you can't see with your own eye, and then eighteen years later…" she looked at her Toshiro. "You have results like that. By the way, how do you know it's a girl?"
"My little rainbow powers told me…" Yoshika mused.
"Toshiro, when I'm pregnant, I don't want to know, okay?"
"Okay…" he shrugged. "But what about a multiple pregnancy?"
"Uh… Yeah, that I want to know…"
"What, you think you'll fire a scattershot?" Toshiro Deuce asked, grinning slyly.
"Knowing me, one of the kids will be black," Toshiro snickered, giving everyone an occasion to laugh.
He saw that Kye called Ayame over to the Yoshikas, while holding Kamiko, and she asked, "Hey, Toshiro's Yoshika, which of these would you like to play with now?"
Yoshika started looking at Ayame, then at Kamiko, back to Ayame again and so forth. After a few seconds, she moaned with a dizzy expression, "I don't knooooooow…"
Ayame took Kamiko off Kye's hands and said, "How about both, younger Mommy?"
"Mommy?" Yoshika asked confused, but soon a lone tear danced in the corner of her left eye. "Okay!"
"Want a grab too?" the pregnant Yoshika asked.
"Girl, I'll be a grandfather for all I know, I'll have enough touching pregnant women in my life."
"Heheh, but you know, it supposedly brings good luck," she giggled.
"I don't believe in luck anymore, just more or less competent gods," he shrugged. "Want me to help you in the kitchen?"
"That makes three of us," Toshiro Deuce said.
"Oh my, two brawny men alone with me in the kitchen, oh woe is me…" Yoshika said dramatically.
"Hah, I see she's rubbing off you!" Toshiro slammed the other one on the back.
"You know how we influence girls…"
The Toshiro's and Yoshika were doing dinner, while the other Yoshika was playing with the girls, and talking with Ichiro and Sayaka at the same time.
"My Yoshika is brimming with happiness…" Toshiro sighed. "I do hope this stupid war ends soon…"
"You don't know how happy I was when I reunited with my father…"
"Did Yoshika actually tell you how she reacted when her father came up suddenly?"
"Yes, she did, back in Romagna… I kind of understand her though, but the bottom line is that he's alive."
"At least she has her parents…"
"Kye's mortal mother died recently, you know…" Toshiro Deuce said. "We decided to name our kid after her."
"Ugh…" Toshiro moaned. "Whatever… I'm a bit disconcerted that somebody having my DNA will have anything to do with Kye…"
"I think they wrote about you in the Bible, Toshiro," Yoshika said.
"Oh really?"
""Third of the waters became wormwood" rings a bell?"
"If Bro here fell into the ocean during the end of days, all the water would turn bitter," he snickered. "Relax; Kye is really nice once you hang out with her more…"
"Dunno, I'd rather limit my exposure to her…"
Dinner was eaten, and the guests started preparing to leave.
"I'm grateful for you visiting, really!" Yoshika cheered. "Have a nice afternoon!"
"And we're also grateful," Ichiro said. "You've given me, Sayaka, and Ayame a splendid time."
"Indeed," Sayaka nodded.
"It was fun playing!" Ayame cheered.
Yoshika couldn't help herself and she kissed Ayame on the forehead, making her squeal out of joy.
"Take care," Toshiro said with a smile.
Once they exited the house, Kye said. "Okay, now that our guests are gone, I want us to watch another anime."
"What now…" Toshiro muttered.
"Oh don't worry, it's a rather light title, namely Oda Nobuna no Yabou."
"You missed a syllable there," Toshiro said.
"Au contraire," Kye lifted her finger. "But first, I'll explain what a cellphone is, specifically a smartphone."
Both of them tilted their heads, to which Kye giggled.
"It's basically a wireless telephone. The smartphone is an early twenty-first century evolution, with a big screen and high computational capabilities."
"Well, I can imagine that, I think…" Yoshika pondered with her eyes fixed onto the ceiling.
"You'll recognize it immediately," Kye winked.
Towards the end of the tenth episode, Rei appeared shouting, "Tadaima!"
"Okaeri, Rei!" the three shouted back in unison.
"Oka… Oka…" Kamiko tried to join in, but when Rei walked into the room, she shouted, "Okawari!"
"Hah, are you Inko?" Rei laughed and picked her up from Yoshika's lap. "Have you been a good girl?"
"Sure she was," Toshiro said warmly. "Best behaving toddler I ever saw."
"Heh, thanks for everything," Rei smiled. "Oh, you're watching that one? Bleh, I don't like it…"
"I wonder why…" Yoshika sighed.
"Mom, is there some food for me?"
"Of course there is, but you have to reheat it yourself."
"Ehhhh…" Rei sighed, but then something came to her mind. "Toshirooooo…"
"Do I look like a portable heater to you?"
"Well, you're bulky enough to be a stove," she snickered. "Oh come on, just heat me one plate, okay?"
"Yeah, sure…"
He went to kitchen with Rei and Kamiko, and heated up the plate with the food without saying a word.
"Thanks, Mr. Grumpy," Rei giggled. "Have fun with your anime."
"Saru is such an ass-wipe…" he sighed.
"Ugh, I know… But you know what's worse? More than half of the male protagonists in anime are such doormats that I would rather die a virgin than love any of them…"
"Ehhh…" Toshiro sighed even deeper than before and returned to the living room.
"But remember, not every dog is named Spot," Kye said. "Those that aren't total blockheads are usually well defined characters."
"Anime is saved," Toshiro snickered.
"And, how was it?" Kye asked after the last episode finished.
"Kinda fun," Yoshika said. "The girls were nice, heheh…"
"The setting was intriguing, but seriously, I hope this story continues and Saru grows some damn balls…"
"Oh the story continues, don't worry," Kye waved her hand, "But right now, I think you guys should go back home."
"Yeaaah, we sure stayed here long…" Toshiro stretched himself.
Yoshika's stomach rumbled, making her blush. "Whoops…"
"You have a breakfast to eat your place," Kye smiled. "I'll remove the fatigue from you, and…"
Kye snapped her fingers, and a door appeared on the wall.
"This is a door between our two worlds. Only the two of you can see it from you side."
"I see," Toshiro said. "So there won't be any mishaps?"
"No, absolutely," Kye said with a straight face.
"Knowing you, I doubt it… But yeah, Yoshika…"
Toshiro looked around, and he saw that she already took all the things they bought.
"How thoughtful," he said, "Livy?"
"Always at your side, Master."
"Rei?" Toshiro asked a bit louder.
"Shush, you'll wake Kamiko…" she peeked out into the room. "Goodbye, you guys."
"Bye Rei," Yoshika smiled. "Bye Kye."
"Yeah, bye," Toshiro added. "And to you too, Kye."
"Have a nice trip back," Kye smiled.
Toshiro walked to the door and pushed the handle. He could see his room through a thin veil of rainbow magic.
"Here goes nothing…" he said and went through, ending up in his room, albeit with the monochromatic atmosphere still present
Yoshika jumped in right behind him and she asked, "Oh, what's this? Time is still frozen?"
"I'll rectify that, Mistress," Livy smiled. "Just drop the souvenirs, run to the kitchen annex, and assume your previous position."
"Okay!" Yoshika said and ran away.
"And what about me?" Toshiro asked.
"You are free to do whatever you want, Master, because of your increased… mobility so to speak."
"Ah, I understand… Eh, what a day… But Yoshika seemed so damn happy…"
"You're also happy, Master," Livy said warmly. "But as the man of the house, you just shove it underneath the Rug of Indifference."
"Yeah, kind of…" Toshiro smiled. "Time to eat breakfast, I think I'm hungry enough."
"Remember that we have to train, Master," Livy giggled.
"Riiiight…"
I wholeheartedly endorse the three anime mentioned here, as well as the one that was a bit obscurely referenced. ;) Oh, and look, Toshiro didn't bone anyone in this chapter, blasphemy! Gotta fix that soon...
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