Chapter 9: The Norstein Family Name
Franz Norstein knew he wasn't always the brightest bulb in the room, or honestly the brightest bulb in most any situation, but he did his best to keep his intentions within a clear conscience... at least to the best of his abilities... Within the limits of his circumstances...
Needless to say, more often than not, he ended up not making the impacts in life he truly wanted rather than actually getting his ideal results. Yet life would still carry on, regardless of his actions and regardless of his... inactions. Regardless of his lack of ability to follow through with his convictions to the bitter end...
He deplored that part about himself, and he detested how long it took him to become aware of his shortcomings in the first place.
It had taken him far too long...
For far too long, he'd relied heavily upon his noble name to get through most of his life. With just the power of his noble name, he had access to the best education, the best connections, the best experiences mankind could get... He'd grown up assuming everything in life would be laid out for him, and he only had to go with the flow in order for all things to land comfortably on his lap.
The common course of a nobleman such as himself was to travel and study abroad during his time in college. For two years, he would immerse himself in a completely different culture, and afterwards he would return to Austria with much broader perspectives, in order to provide better for his family... or so went the noble intent. Franz had elected to go to Japan for this period, enthralled by the country's beautiful sceneries in nature.
His mother had also happened to travel to Japan as an exchange student during her younger years, and HER mother had done the same. The Norstein attraction to Japanese culture seemed to run deep within the family. For generations, the Norsteins had connections with the Japanese, ranging from politicians to businessmen, so it was only natural for Franz to continue those relations.
There were no objections to his choice. Franz had the best tutors prepare him for the exchange.
Or... he had thought they had all been the best, until he met a certain someone in class during his time as an exchange student.
She was a native Japanese, but she was unlike any of the others. While all of Franz's other classmates only ever tried to communicate with him in Japanese or rudimentary English, she skipped all such hurdles and caught Franz's attention with his hometown language. Her fluent handle on Austrian-German was what captivated him from the start, but the spark she carried with every other minute thing she did was what kept him from ever looking away.
When he thought to impress her with his knowledge, she would always have a way to impress even more upon that knowledge. Yet there was nothing malicious or conceitful in the way she presented her knowledge to him. It was just the way she was, her natural being. There was nothing 'manufactured' about the way she went about her business, either. She was just a lone being with an endless thirst for knowledge. She had so much to share of her own experiences, and yet she always took interest in what Franz had to share as well.
In the simplest sense, she turned all his perspectives in life upside-down. All the things he had previously thought were mundane details to be ignored in life, she was able to transform into a lesson to hold to heart.
He loved that about her. Being with her made him realize how much was still missing from his life-even being surrounded by the 'best' in all classes couldn't compare to what she had. Franz could only realize his lack of completion because of her.
Soon enough, Franz reached a point where he could no longer bear to even imagine himself without her. Thus, he asked for her hand in marriage during his second year as an exchange student. Despite still being a student herself, Franz guaranteed she wouldn't suffer any strife for the rest of her life under his care. He stood to guarantee her happiness.
The two hadn't even so much as kissed back then, but it was all the obvious that they were smitten for each other. She accepted.
He truly thought he had the power to grant her a lifetime of happiness back then. He tried to change the gears of his life to focus solely on her, as his heart desired. He used his Norstein name to take residence within a mansion in Japan, to welcome a new member of the family soon to come...
It all happened so quickly, he didn't even have time to tell anyone back in Austria about what had transpired during his schooling. It wasn't until the final trimester of her pregnancy, when Franz's 2-year exchange period was about to end, when the rest of the Norstein family finally found out...
He thought it would work out. They were already husband and wife under Japan's law. He had established residency in Japan with a specialized Norstein mansion, and they were already in the last stretch before welcoming a new Norstein to the family. He'd taken so many steps into adulthood over his two years as an exchange student, he was sure his family would be proud to see his progress.
Instead... They refused to acknowledge the marriage, let alone acknowledge the upcoming child. Franz's orders were to immediately return to Austria after the exchange period was over, and to never see the Japanese woman ever again.
It all came as a shock, and Franz froze up in the presence of his mother as she threatened to disown her son for his 'miscreant behavior' against the Norstein name.
Of course, there were plenty of hush dealings to go along with the whole upheaval, with agreements that the Norsteins would continue to send financial support to Franz's to-be 'illegitimate' son and the mother... As long as the mother held up her end by moving out of the Norstein residence (the Norsteins agreed to keep the residence out of convenience as it was 'cheaper' to keep and use for business, rather than demolish or sell the property), and never again initiating contact with the Norsteins moving forward...
Franz didn't have the will to go against the demands of his mother. In the end, he didn't have the will to go against anything his family demanded. He was back to letting things happen to him, just going with the flow and never straying from the path already outlined for him.
And just years later... The one person who had sought to change that part about him would no longer be on this earth.
He had abandoned her and the child. Unwillingly, but nonetheless abandoned.
Yet despite everything, he still kept fond memories of her silently within himself. The way she dazzled him with her knowledge of all things, the way her elegance was beyond anything he had ever seen compared to any of the nobles who claimed elegance... Back in those days, Franz was the one trying to impress those around him as he flaunted his status as a noble exchange student in Japan. However, in her presence, it took all in his power just to be able to hold a candle up to her fire.
Those were such beautiful times... Unfortunately short-lived.
And even those precious memories were tainted by his mother's piercing words. "Surely, she had an easy time seducing you, considering that you were so young and naive."
Words coldly uttered in front of him... And in front of Tohma.
Absolutely unacceptable... If he had had the courage to speak up about it back then. But he didn't.
Instead, he remained silent. He turned away from both his mother... and his son that he had met for the first time only days before.
Again, he could only stand back and watch. Watch as others judged him, watch as those around him went on to make good on their ambitions. Watch as his son carved out his own purpose in life...
To see his son graduate from university... with a PhD, nonetheless, at age 13... in his mind, he wanted to jump for joy and smother the young Norstein in hugs to show how proud he was. If things had been different... However, he was quite conscious of his son's scathing judgment of him. He knew that he had deserved such an outlook, considering his past actions and complacency. There was an emotional wall between them, preventing Franz from presenting his true feelings to his son.
But he still had room to change. The crisis with the Digital World nearly destroying the Real World brought forth a kind of awakening for the father Norstein. Up until then, he had done everything with the intention of holding up the Norstein legacy and maintaining its noble reputation.
Yet in those moments when life and death were within arm's reach of each other, Tohma proved to him that there was more to life than just a legacy of a name. The Norstein legacy was still important, but Franz had come to terms with what was even more important to him.
What they shared wasn't just a noble bloodline... It was a family. A family, with each member having their own wishes and longings for life.
In the past, Franz had made the choice to abandon his true wishes, even at the cost of leaving behind the only woman he ever truly loved. But Tohma was not him. Tohma shouldn't need to suffer the same way he did.
Franz never tried to force Tohma into dealing with nobility unless he absolutely HAD to. He knew to let Tohma focus on being who he wanted to be, and he knew Tohma was studying to help Relena. Even though Relena was born from a different mother, her sibling bond with Tohma was something special...
Franz understood early on that Tohma had an element of tenacity unlike anything he'd ever come across. The way Tohma's deep connection with his half-sister led up to his accomplishments that granted him a Nobel Prize... The fact that he was about to embark on his next goal to peacefully unite two parallel worlds... Taken out of context, everything sounded ridiculous coming from a single human. Actually, even with all the context, it was still ridiculous. But this was simply how Tohma was.
Over the years, Franz took it within himself to passively dismiss his mother's demands for Tohma to carry on the Norstein lineage. He quietly withstood his mother's demands to make another successor become a reality as soon as possible. He understood that she was just old fashioned, and she wanted to see the progress of future Norstein generations with her own eyes while she still could. He understood that, but...
Not long after Relena's condition was confirmed cured and her rehab had drawn to a close, Franz had a private conversation with his son.
In that conversation, Franz brought up the existence of an arranged suitress for his son. In response, Tohma stated he would sooner leave the Norstein legacy than go along with an arranged marriage.
The young Norstein had made a bold move. Especially as Franz recalled certain moments during the Digital World crisis, when Tohma seemed to carry all his pride with the Norstein name... In retrospect, it was Tohma emphasizing his connection with his family... With Franz, with Relena. It was the Norstein FAMILY that he cared for and wished to protect.
To Tohma, there was only one other member of that family, and it was Tohma's mother.
Even Relena's mother... Had passed away not long after giving birth to Relena. Tohma had never properly met her, as he hadn't even been acknowledged as a full Norstein back in those times.
There were no others.
No... there were others, no matter how much he inwardly denied them. One in particular, Franz's mother... Tohma's grandmother.
"This is all coming from her orders, I presume."
"Yes," Franz answered simply. Masking the answer would only serve to upset Tohma even further.
Tohma never saw eye-to-eye with her.
Franz's mother only saw Tohma as an outsider deep down anyway. It wasn't until he won his Nobel Prize when she finally acknowledged him as a 'proper' Norstein, and by then there was obviously no sign of sincerity from the move. Even if she tried for an extensive period to get Tohma to comply to noble standards after Relena's birth, it was all out of her insistence in having the Norstein legacy carried onto another generation in some form or another. She never saw Tohma as his own human being. To that end, she never saw ANY of the other Norsteins as fellow human beings for as long as Franz had known her... certainly not even her own son.
"I'm well aware that Relena was originally supposed to be the successor until Grandmother found out about her condition... Immediately after birth."
Franz opened his mouth as if to say something in return, but he couldn't bring himself to actually say it. Tohma gave him a look of exasperated sympathy.
The younger Norstein had been ready to impart certain personal memories to his father for some time, and this seemed to be the time to do it.
"It's strange. I went through a long, long trail of thoughts in my head back during those times, as I didn't hear about Relena's condition for myself until some time later. Regardless, the fact that someone could be better accepted into the 'family' just by being born... It never sat right with me. When I finally met Relena for the first time, all by herself in her baby crib, at first, all I could think about was how she had so much more of a family to care for her than I did at the time. I was in the mindset that you only took me in out of obligation, and in actuality, I was truly alone with no family. I was frustrated with it all back then... Upset about being in a place where I didn't feel like I belonged and having no one truly wishing I was there."
"Tohma... It's my fault you felt that way. I'm-"
Tohma raised a hand at elbow's height to stop his father. "No, apologies won't do anything at this point. This was all a long time ago. Just keep hearing me out for now."
Franz was already quite resigned at that point, so he kept his mouth shut and listened.
"I was going through all that... But here was Relena... As someone born as a 'worthy' Norstein, she had her life of happiness completely set for her from the start. For that fleeting moment when I first met her in her crib, when no one else was around... I was envious of her. Envious of this infant with no developed volition of her own yet. Envious enough that I still remember the sensation of gripping those cold crib bars to this day..."
The older Norstein looked at his son with apprehension, but Tohma sent him a small, reassuring smile.
"But then... Relena smiled and held my hand from between the crib bars. She somehow managed to wipe away all those terrible thoughts I'd had just moments ago, just with that simple interaction. When I later learned about her condition... I knew I had to do something to keep that smile going. The rest is as you already know it."
Franz slowly nodded. "So that was what happened... You fought so hard for her, to help her keep that happiness in her life."
"Yes, and to grant her freedom from her ailment. She's the reason I understand freedom as I do today. I'll be as clear as I need to in order to communicate those freedoms. Do you get why I'm even bringing this up, Father?"
"I do... Now that Relena no longer has her condition, she's capable of carrying on the Norstein name. Yet despite that, Mother is insistent on you succeeding the name even now. And you have issues with that."
"The main issue lies in that... Relena regaining physical normalcy just gives Grandmother an easier grip to wrap her reins around the entire family. Even if I refuse, she has another option she sees as available to her now."
"You make it sound like she only sees you two as-"
"Prize horses, yes. That's how ridiculous this can and WILL be when you think about it."
"She would never..."
"Has she ever once in your life been an ally to you? Or was it always for the Norstein name?"
"...She's just concerned for the family given her age..."
"She was already unrelenting in her demands when I first met her, and age hasn't treated her any better, Father. You should know even more than me that she won't see things differently."
"Still..."
"Bottom line is... Relena's only just gotten freedom for the first time in her life. I won't let anyone take it away from her. But I'll do it in a way that doesn't compromise my own freedoms as well."
Franz could only make another sigh. He wanted to support his children, to give them everything they truly wanted. However, he had obligations coming from the family name to keep in consideration, and he couldn't simply abandon those obligations after upholding them all this time. He recognized that this was one of his main weaknesses, not being able to act when he felt like he needed to... Yet at that moment, he still had no idea what to do.
"If Grandmother still thinks the Nobel Prize was achieved as merely an act of offering to the Norstein name, then she has understood NOTHING about me after all these years." Tohma's last words to his father in that conversation were all he had left to say about the subject, for the next few days he had to dedicate his time to prepare for Masaru's return.
And once again, Franz was left trying to figure out how to do what was best in the end.
Do what was best... For himself? For his son? For Relena? For his mother? For the Norstein name?
For who?
.~.~.~.~
Tohma was fully aware that he'd gone off on a long, one-sided rant when he last spoke to his father, but over the years, he had come to realize that Franz was still the verbally meek man he always was. There had been a few instances when his father had been able to speak out beyond his expectations, but in the overall scheme of things, the old man was still very much acting as just another cog in the wheel of nobility. Once his father's authority cards had stopped working on him, Tohma found that he had a much more productive time just cutting down to business when it came to important talks.
In the most cynical perspective, receiving the Nobel Prize worked against him, as it made his grandmother even more determined to arrange a suitress. Now that Tohma had proved himself to be 'a worthy noble', even though that had never been his intent, his grandmother had magically found more reasons to want him to represent the Norsteins within the world of nobles. In order to do that, he would need a suitable 'partner'.
A wife, selected against his will.
But simply put, Tohma wanted no part of an arranged marriage. He wasn't going to repeat the same mistakes as his father.
At least not all considerations were cynical when it came to his father. He had a feeling that his father understood him, deep down. His father never conveyed any intention of making Tohma suffer the same fate as his own; he only presented the implications of it as he was pressured to do so.
...Perhaps Tohma had to get the dust to settle on his life before he could ever get a long heart-to-heart with his father. He had a feeling that spending that time would be cathartic for both of them. Until then...
.~.~.~.~
A few days after Masaru confirmed his interest (ie demanded) to go to Austria with Tohma, he set foot outside Japan and the Digital World for the first time. By the time they had landed, the sun was already starting to set, so the two of them went to Tohma's private villa a short distance away from the main Norstein mansion.
It was a small house by Tohma's standards (but it was still bigger than Masaru's place in Yokohama), nestled in the midst of the bustling streets of Salzburg. It had two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a large roofed balcony on the second floor, a spacious living area with a working chimney, a kitchen with bar-style seating, and another spacious study area where Tohma did most of his work. Last but certainly not least, there was a workout area in the basement, including a whole boxing ring, just like the one Tohma had back in Japan. That made it a second personal boxing ring...
Tohma outright admitted that he had arranged the location to get away from the noise of the nobles whenever he was in Austria. A quiet place without interruptions from the nobility was essential for his research, and most of all, he'd be out of the judging eyes of particular people...
Sure, there weren't interruptions from maids and butlers going in and out all the time (although Tohma noted that his butler and a maid would come over a couple times a week to do housework), but since the villa was smack dab between a barista cafe and a lunch restaurant, they would often hear the murmurs of people outside, people coming and going, socializing in various manners. Tohma said it was a welcome white noise as he worked in his study, or it was easy enough to play some music over it. Masaru inwardly agreed when Tohma played a track on his music system while giving the house tour. Even a simple piano tune was enough to cover up the outside murmurs.
"It's also a great boon at night, as those places close up when the sun is gone... This area gets extra quiet. It's quite remarkable."
Still, the villa setup didn't lend itself towards Masaru's goals of getting face-to-face with the other Norsteins right away. Tohma quickly assured him that the refuge was absolutely necessary. Either way, nothing would start immediately, as they just had a long flight, so Masaru simply made his way onto Tohma's bed once he settled in enough to get ready for sleep.
"So what's a good way to do this? Just drop in and say hi to your family, tell them you're in good hands and there's nothing to worry about?" Masaru kicked back on the bed as Tohma joined him on the other half. He idly noted that the bed was smaller than the one in Tohma's mansion back in Japan, as well as the room itself. But it was still a king-sized bed... And it was still a big room.
"Did you forget our plans already, after all the practice we did?"
"No, of course I didn't. But in the end, we only went through the starting intros and other baseline junk... none of the actual meat in between. Sure, you'll be the one doing most of the talking... but I want to set the record straight with them myself, too. Once they hear from the both of us, I'm sure they'll understand."
"There's no way it'll be that easy with my grandmother... And just how do you expect to communicate that to them, with only Japanese and your fists that you shouldn't be using?"
"Guts and determination!"
Tohma sighed. "As I still expected. Lend me your phone."
"Huh?"
"I'll ask my family to speak in Japanese when we're with them, but they're far more accustomed to speaking German and may slip into it at certain points. So I'll teach you to use the phone's auto translation functions that I just upgraded with my customizations."
Tohma fidgeted with Masaru's device for a couple minutes before he handed it back.
After a few grueling, hand holding tutorials, Masaru successfully translated some sentences Tohma threw at him in German. The brunet's eyes glittered once he experienced the result. His phone was able to transcribe Tohma's gibberish and display a Japanese translation of it even while Tohma was still speaking. On top of that, he could have the phone read the translation out loud to him... And even more, he could do the reverse by speaking to the phone in Japanese and have the phone relay the message in German. Tohma noted that English translation was an option as well.
"Whoa, this is wild..." Masaru looked at the phone in his hand as if he were looking at a new Digivice all over again. "But wait... If I could just use something like this, why did you have me study all that time before we got here?"
"It's still better if you can do at least the most basic things without having to rely on tools like this. And the technology's not perfect; it has plenty of limitations..." Tohma put out a short sigh of hesitation. "Things get misconstrued easily with machine translation, even with all the customization I've put into yours. I'm not genius enough to perfect machine translations anytime soon with how expansive each language can get. But I'll have you know that what you have is years and years ahead of what the current market can provide."
Masaru peeled his gaze from the phone back to Tohma.
"We don't have to head into the Norstein mansion right away tomorrow or anything like that, do we?"
"Not necessarily... Why do you ask?"
"Was just thinking it'd be better if I got some extra practice using this before diving into noble land..."
"Mm, sure... But we shouldn't keep my grandmother waiting too long. She knows that I was only supposed to be in Japan for one week, so she's expecting to see me soon."
"Got people stalking your schedule like that, huh? Yeesh... Do you ever catch a break?"
"Not when there's still so much left to do. With all the extra precautions we have to take when it comes to the Digital World, that just means there's that much more work I have to manually supervise-"
"I'm tired of business this and business that... That's all that's happened since we met back up." Masaru pointedly set the phone down and gave Tohma a serious look. "I'm finally back here in the human world with you, but all we've done is go through all these weird meetings or study... and then get silly with each other every night."
"Silly..." Tohma repeated unceremoniously. He went red. "Not every night..."
"Well yeah, you've been too distracted these past couple days to even get in the mood, but... Man, it's my first time overseas in the human... the Real World. You say that there's still so much left to do... Well, that should include taking a break once in a while to really cut loose."
"I had a good break with you back in the Digital World..."
"And that was the Digital World! There are things we can only do now that we're here... And we should do them."
"What exactly do you have in mind?"
"I dunno, I've barely even thought about being here until just a few days ago. There were plenty of things I could think of back in Japan, but we can save those for another time. Right now, we're here. Even if you don't have any plans in mind, I'm fine taking a day to just wander around town with you. Keep it loose and casual, aye?"
"Loose and casual, you say..."
"You gotta know what I mean by that by now, right?" Masaru jeered in Tohma's direction. "We'll do... non-noble things."
Tohma's typically tired-looking eyes had looked even more tired than usual for the past few days, but at that moment, they seemed to regain some light of life as Masaru's words settled in. Tohma gave a slow, resounding utterance. "Yeah."
Masaru grinned, although not with a full-powered smile. It seemed he was finally feeling a bit of jet lag after losing half a day to an airplane ride, yet he was still excited all the same for the prospects ahead. Nonetheless, it was such a warm smile...
"For one full day, before we do any family business... Make up for all those meeting errands and yucky studying you made me do... That good with you?"
"Yeah..."
"Then it's settled. We're going on a date tomorrow."