Cars departed and arrived between the buildings, just like the people on their feet.
Nagazora was such a busy city, "one that never sleeps" as they say. Here, some places of the city looked as if they weren't made of construct materials : people were so naturally working inside that it seemed they became part of the building itself. Funny idea, I know ,but that's what I honestly thought. Considering some of those buildings were only months old, it's pretty amazing that people could work inside like that. Humans are a lot about adaptability, I guess.
Class is over for the week, so I decided to take a stroll into the town. One of my habits when I want some fresh air, but got no destination in mind. Walking with the crowd, going wherever the flow takes you can be relaxing, as long as you don't get lost.
...
When he was in the middle of those kinds of strolls, Ki often reflected on something.
By nature, humans were similar : similar likes, dislikes, and opinions could be found on people of different origins, cultures and/or countries. If those people began a conversation, depending on the previously mentioned similarities and other factors, perhaps these strangers could go from being 'stranger' to each other to 'acquaintance' and then 'friends' quite smoothly.
If this was true, it meant that on the populated street Ki Tengo is right now, there were probably quite a number of people he could form a good connection with. And despite that, he would never get to know them all. Maybe none of them. Even if it wasn't on the hurried street, occurrences where such people weren't in such a hurry but didn't befriend each other in the end ,despite a good chance of that happening, existed everyday. Even if two of these similar people were placed in an environment where they both lived in a closer proximity of each other : neighbor, classmate, coworker..., it still did not mean that they would automatically bond. Humans are not such easily predictable creatures on the social side, after all.
'If that is the case, then...what makes people connect with each other ? If humans are creatures that must live in society, then how are those social bonds decided ? By ourselves ?' ruminated Ki as he made his way further into Nagazora. 'Or is it by fate ? But what is fate ?'
He groaned and ran his fingers through his hair as he picked up the pace. 'I don't get it. Why am I thinking of this so often ? This is not going to benefit me at all. Yet, it happens anyway.' Even feeling this action was pointless, he still kept thinking about that question.
This was important. It had to be, else why was it plagging him so much ?
His reflections were suddenly interrupted by his phone vibrating. He got it out of his pocket and saw the caller : his mother.
"Hey mom. Need something ?" said calmly Ki as he answered the phone call.
"Hello Ki. Hum, just help to buy some groceries, it's fine if you can't." requested his mother.
'Odd...her voice seems kind of...stressed ? ...or rushed ?' he realized.
The instinctive alarm 'my mother is in trouble' blared inside his brain. 'Bad news. I have to finish this and quickly go back.'
"Sure ,I'll go get them. See you later !"
"Thanks a lot, Ki. Later !"
Ki hung up and took a quick look around him, noticing the shop at his right. 'I'm lucky. Seems like everything I need will be there'.
He smiled as he made his way in.
...
'Shopping for groceries is really a shot in the dark sometimes.' sarcastically thought Ki as he neared his home, plastic bags in his hand.
It could take him a ridiculous amount of time to search and buy everything, or he could just find everything in less than half an hour. How annoying.
"I'm home !"
"Welcome back, Ki !"
Ki looked at her face as he gave her one bag of the groceries. His mother's greeting didn't feel false, but a shadow seemed to be present on her face. 'Good thing I got a plan prepared.'
"Hm ? What about the other bag ?" His mother cocked her head, seeing that he didn't give her the other bag.
"I bought those for something else. Don't worry, the one I gave you has the groceries you need." said Ki as he smiled.
"Hmm... Well, I guess it's fine. Thank you, Ki. " While she was a little suspicious, she didn't pursue the issue and thanked him with a smile as she entered the kitchen. 'That, or she is so occupied with her problem that she doesn't feel like it.'
Ki's worry increased. He went up the stairs ,entered his room, changed into more comfortable clothes, and waited for his mother to get out of the kitchen to execute his little plan.
...
...
I, Yukina Tengo, sighed as I sat on the sofa in the salon. I just got out of the kitchen, finishing to prepare the meals for the diner.
It's not like today was a bad day : my new workplace was fine, and the coworkers inside good people. Minus a few problem due to the unfamiliarity at the beginning of the month, it's been a great month overall. But my problem has nothing to do with my job.
This day was sure to be ruined with how it began, though. Indeed, because today ,me and Tatsumi had received one of the most terrifying news possible. Concerning our own son, no less.
Said son who had just decided to appear, startling me from my thoughts as he set down something on the table.
"Ki ?! W-weren't you in your room ?"
"I entered in the kitchen more than 5 minutes ago, though." he answered with a wry smile. I missed that. Which meant I was that much out of it...
"Here, a little something that I saw by chance." Ki grinned as he showed me what was on the table : A mug filled with tea, and a small plate of sweets. Wait, that smell...Don't tell me-
I took the mug in my hand and brought it close to my face. That scent !
"Darjeeling tea ! And those are the sweets from at Assia !" I shouted in excitation as I recognized them. I took a sip of the tea and some sweets immediately. Both were SO good. A true "piece of heaven", as the slogan said.
This was the best. Relaxing in the sofa while having this quality time with the best tea and snacks was the best !
...Wait a minute.
I jerked my head back at my son who had a big smile on his face. "There's no way you just happened to come across my favorite delicacies specially today, right ?"
"The world is a place where funny things can happen, ya know ?" Ah, that cheeky answer. I get it now.
To be honest, I didn't even need to ask. He probably caught on me not feeling great since the call and thought of putting this in place since then. His smile reduced to a smaller one. His face began to show hints of worry.
...I know. At moments like this, Ki would want to know what is troubling me. To help me, offer words of care ,or simply listen if I need him to. Seeing him like that quickly brought back memories from years ago to the surface of my mind.
...
The town where we previously lived in had a small tradition of sorts. Once a month, adults of the town would organize a small party to get to know each other, discuss of problems in the community, or simply have fun with friends. Those meetings took place late, so I only went there once Ki was 10 years old and once my husband was back from work. There was no way we could leave our child asleep in the house alone.
I had my fears but they were unfounded. Thankfully, I quickly found myself actively talking with the mothers and fathers present. We had chosen indeed a good place. That's what I thought.
The topics came to our children after some small talk, obviously. And that's where I learned it.
"So Tengo-san, to sum it up : your boy doesn't shout or throw a tantrum that often ?" a middle-aged man ,father of two children, asked me.
"He does, but very, very rarely. I think the last time was...8 months ago ? I guess he's rather calm. He's always been like that, so..." They looked at me with round eyes.
"How do you do it ?" the parents asked me. "What's the trick ?"
They didn't mean anything bad. I knew their questions were genuine. But I just couldn't understand. I was ignorant. When they told me of how their small children behaved, I was astonished. Children usually cause much more of a headache to their parents.
And it's not only that. Ki asked for few in general. Be it food, gifts or clothes (actually, scratch that one. He doesn't have any care for clothes or fashion.). And I realized-
that me and Tatsumi were the ones being spoiled here.
...
I feel the same right now. This sort of situation didn't even happen that often. But it hurt : I felt like, as a mother, I somewhat needed to do better. But even without that, there was no way I could tell him the truth.
No, because of this, I couldn't tell him.
"This day had just been long, sweety. Thank you for taking care of your poor mommy !" I pulled him into a sudden hug and began to tickle him. I couldn't let him know it was a lie.
"Eh, sto-Pff, hahaha, cut it o-hahaha!" He escaped the torture rather quickly. Years of this shaped him after all, hehe.
We continued our small time together until we finished the sweets and tea. Ki almost got half of them, by the way, that glutton and his sweet tooth. We cleaned up and he went to rest upstairs.
However, just as he was in the middle of the stairs,...
"Hey, mom ? Be sure to rest ,okay?" He threw the question my way with a slightly more serious face than earlier.
"...Yeah, don't worry." He broke eye contact 3 seconds after I finished speaking and went in his room this time. My smile dropped as soon as I heard his door closing.
My lie was seen through. No surprises here, he's not that dense.
...
I, Tatsumi Tengo, closed the door of my house. I got back from work a bit later than usual today. I..I needed some time to clear my head.
"Good evening dad. You're back later than usual." My son, who just went down the stairs, said to me.
"Good evening, Ki. There were just too many cars on the road today." We then quickly talked as I set down my coat and bag in a closet. After that was over, and I was about to go into my room, my son got closer and whispered. "...I don't really know why, but mom is a bit depressed. I'm not sure if it's something serious at work or not, but she won't tell me what's troubling her. Talk to her, okay?"
I expected the end of the discussion to come to this. I refrained from sighing and ruffled his hair.
"Got it, Ki."
"My hair is now a mess, though."
"That's the point, son." We both laughed at that as he went upstairs. I felt like I needed a bit of that routine to help me right now.
When I opened the door, Yukina was on the bed holding some papers, her head down. I'm sure she isn't reading them. We both cannot forget about what is inscribed on these papers, even if we want to after all.
I sat beside her and hugged her without a word. She returned the hug without a word, letting go of the papers that fell on the bed. And slowly, she began to sob in my shoulder.
My mind drifted back to this morning.
...
Tatsumi and Yukina Tengo were inside of an elevator in the ME corps building, tightly holding each other's hand. The elevator opened, having reached the highest floor.
In front of them was Raiden Ryoma's office.
Both squeezed the hand of the other, exchanged a look and proceeded forward. The door opened automatically. It closed behind them once they passed.
"Long time no see"
Familiar faces to the two guests told them those words. Einstein, Welt and Raiden Ryoma.
Yukina and Tatsumi felt nostalgia amidst their trepidation. Those were people they hadn't seen for years ,after all.
...
Devastated. It was indeed a good word to describe the state of mind the couple harbored after leaning the fresh news of this month of observation on their son.
"There...There must be an error ! It has to be ! I-I...Maybe the devices are mistaken, ...or damaged !? This is-This is just..." Yukina cried out in the small office, her face twisted by anxiety and anguish.
"I'm sorry, but you know that these results aren't mistaken. We placed the devices that got them together, after all." Einstein refuted her. She flinched at the reasonable argument. "B-But...!"
"These results aren't decisive enough. You can't expect us to believe them." Tatsumi interjected.
"Why is that ?" Welt calmly asked.
"They are way too irregular, that's why ! You want us to believe that our son is...is...going to become a Herrscher because of this ?!" His calm facade crumbled too, revealing his shock and denial.
"You know the warning signs don't lie. While it is true that they have been irregular and almost nonexistent for a long time, aren't they in the process of regularizing ? That is something those documents clearly report."
On a logical viewpoint, Yukina and Tatsumi would agree with him. That Ki Tengo's situation was becoming more and more worrisome. But they weren't thinking rationally anymore.
"Then...if we get him far from Honkai energy then-!"
"How would you do that ? Can any of you two assure that there's no way that he is ever going to get caught in an Eruption ? Like 5 years ago ?"
Yukina's legs gave out. Tatsumi barely managed to support her, feeling like he was going to crumble any second himself, gritting his teeth. Tears pooled in their eyes.
The other three in that room felt compassion and pain at seeing their old friends like this. Yet, they were powerless to alleviate their pain.
...
The world that Yukina Tengo and Tatsumi Tengo had wanted to get away from more than a decade ago was coming back. Their son himself was involved. Both of them felt as if a cruel joke had been played on them.
Fate was a terrible mistress.