It was the middle of the night and both Ryu and Erza were currently crossing the sea between the main island of Caelum and the western island. When they arrived at the port town called Soran: they were advised to go during the night when the large sea serpents that inhabit the water would be most likely sleeping and unlikely to disturb them. So they bought an old fishing boat and set sail as soon as night fell. But the loud creaking from the boat as well as the rocking between the waves didn't let Erza sleep, so she got out of the small cot that came with the boat and made her way to the deck: seeing Ryu wide awake by the helm. "Are you okay?"
"Just fine. I just wanted to stay awake in case something decided it wanted a midnight snack." Ryu explained, leaning on the ship's wheel. "Couldn't sleep?"
"This thing makes much noise." Erza admitted as she walked over to him. "You have been driving everything since we got here, I'm starting to think you have no trust in my driving abilities."
"Oh really? Now is when you think that?" Ryu rolled his eyes at what she said, only for her to forcefully push him away from the helm and take control of it herself. "I was kidding."
"Well if I'm awake then you can go to sleep for a bit and I'll steer the boat." Erza said as she held the ship's wheel tightly in place. Ryu rolled his eyes again and stood up, patting his legs clean.
"Have you ever steered a boat before?"
"Magic boats yes, manual ones like this: not really."
"I can tell because you're doing it all wrong." Ryu said as he walked over and stood behind her. He placed his hands over hers and Erza began to blush due to the position they were in. "You can let it go because I've got the boat balanced right now. If you feel the boat begin to move right then you make her go left, if she starts to go left then you make her go right."
"She?"
"Well most fishing boats were named after women, so yes I call this boat a she." Ryu said as Erza let go of the wheel and noticed the boat was still moving straight. "The waters are calm so you can be a bit lax with the wheel, just don't take your eyes off of it for too long."
"Then go sleep for a bit."
"I'll sleep later. Just let me enjoy this view for a bit." Ryu said as he walked to the front of the desk, admiring the ocean as it reflected the night sky above them. Erza sighed and walked over to him, joining him as well. "I really don't know how to thank you for keeping me company."
"Well you hired me as an escort, but now I'm your travel companion since nothing's really bothered us."
"Except for those drunks at the bar."
"Right. Oh well, they had what was coming for them."
"What was coming for them for hitting on you, or what was coming for threatening to blow me up like a firework?" Ryu asked raising an eyebrow and facing her. Erza looked at him and winked, giving a playful smile as she did.
"You decide."
"Whatever." Ryu chuckled quietly as he shook his head. After a moment in silence together, he began to laugh more. Erza raised an eyebrow at how he was acting before Ryu composed himself. "Sorry, it's just funny how things turned out."
"What is?"
"Well, here we are on a long trip that's lasted a few weeks already. But when we first met: you and I practically had heart attacks thinking we slept together after my sister's wedding." Ryu admitted, causing Erza to blush again as she had pushed that memory to the back of her head.
"R-Right...that was an awkward morning."
"You're telling me. I thought you were one of my sister's friends since you wore the same dress as them."
"Oh and you were happy about that?" Erza asked, making Ryu laugh at her question.
"Happy? I was prepared to have my head torn off and put on display by my sister." Ryu said as he scratched the back of his head. "At least with you I had a sense of relief."
"Relief? Why relief?" Erza now turned her head away from him as the word "relief" made it even worse.
"Because I wasn't going to die." Ryu said bluntly, and Erza punched his arm softly in response.
"I-Idiot."
"I think if anything actually happened between us, I'd be the luckiest guy in all of Ishgar." Ryu said quietly as he turned around to go take a nap. "Good night, Erza. Wake me up in a few hours." Ryu waved over his shoulder as he went down to the cot. But Erza had heard what he said and now she could feel the world spinning and like her heart had jumped in her throat.
"Ryu. Time to wake up." Ryu grumbled, feeling something shake him in his sleep, and opened his eyes. Once he could see, he saw that it was already sunrise and Erza was standing over him.
"What time is it?" Ryu yawned and got out of the cot, stretching once he was standing up.
"It's a little bit past six, but it's also good news that we're close to the shore as well." Erza said as the two walked up to the deck, seeing a beach in the distance. Ryu looked around, hoping to see a dock to park the boat, but there was nowhere nearby for them to leave the boat.
"You should've woken me up sooner." Ryu yawned as he rubbed his eyes.
"Why would I do that? You needed your rest." Erza replied as she patted his back, before walking over to the helm to continue steering their boat.
"I was just fine, I could run on an hour or two of sleep."
"Yeah, and I'll believe that when pigs fly." Erza rolled her eyes at what he said, before letting out a loud yawn herself. "You've used up so much magic power since we bought that Magic Vehicle that I wanted you to sleep to get more of your strength back." Erza added before Ryu walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Then you should rest up a bit. I'll park the boat on the beach so you can nap for a few hours." Ryu suggested, but Erza shook her head and tightened her grip on the wheel. He sighed, figuring it was going to be a bit difficult to convince her otherwise. "You know, we could always try to take this thing straight back to Fiore from here."
"I think I'd rather swim than try to take this all the way from here back to Hargeon." Erza replied, making Ryu laugh and nod. The boat was good enough to cross the small distance between islands, but it definitely couldn't take them all the way back to Fiore when their task here was done. "But we could always ask if your father's family can provide us with a way back to Fiore."
"That's if we even receive a warm welcome." Ryu muttered, but Erza heard him and nodded in agreement. As they neared the beach, the two braced themselves as the bottom of their boat began to drag onto the sand and begin to rumble violently. But Ryu lost his balance and fell forward, crashing into Erza and both of them landed on the ground. Once the boat stopped shaking, signaling that they had stopped, Ryu pushed himself up and shook his head. "That was a nasty hit." He muttered before looking down, blushing when he saw that Erza was right under him with her eyes closed.
"You're telling me." Erza grumbled before opening her eyes, blushing when she saw the position they were in too. The two quickly jumped to their feet and cleared their throats, pretending like nothing had just happened. "I'm going to grab our stuff."
"Good idea."
"So, should we be expecting another week long journey since we have no car now?" Erza asked as the two walked away from the beach, leaving their stranded boat behind. Lucky for them they swapped their suitcases for backpacks when they arrived in Soran, so now they were carrying all of their items on their backs instead of having to carry or pull them.
"I doubt it. But I'll ask for directions to the Hino Estate when we find someone to help us." Ryu replied, shrugging as he was hoping not to spend another week traveling. Especially now that they were on foot. But luckily there was a small vacation resort on the coast of the island that the fisherman who sold them the boat had told them about, so the two decided to head there for directions, as well as to eat something else besides jerky and fruit. "I wonder how my brother and the others are doing."
"They're probably in the guild hall goofing off since I'm not around." Erza said as she could imagine Team Natsu and Ace all sitting in the guildhall just talking and eating. She was going to make sure to call Mirajane when she had a chance to make sure they weren't slacking off.
"Alright so you're going to use your magic to levitate before you hit the ground." Natsu said as he and Ace stood at the very top of the largest tree they could find, balancing themselves on the branches as best they could. Ace looked down, seeing the amount of branches that he could hit before he could even consider floating. Lucy, Lisanna, and Wendy looked up, gulping as they hoped Ace wouldn't need medical attention from the younger wizard.
"I don't think this is a good idea." Ace muttered, but Natsu simply grinned and patted his back.
"Nonsense! It's gonna be alright!" Natsu accidentally put too much force on his last pat, causing the branch Ace was standing on to snap and break under his feet. Ace could only yell, cursing Natsu as he somehow managed to hit every single branch on his way down before landing hard in front of the three girls at the bottom. "Is he alright?"
"I'm going to kill you, Natsu!" Lucy yelled, making Natsu scratch the back of his head confused.
"Maybe we should try a cliff instead-"
"NO!"
"I'm sure they're doing alright." Ryu said, chuckling as he thought he should try to communicate with Ace when he had the chance as well. The two continued walking before a thought began to poke Erza's brain, so she decided to ask Ryu about it to help the time pass.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Just one thing?"
"I'm still trying to piece together everything from what your mother had told me and everything you told me. Can you please explain it to me more?"
"Like what?"
"Well the story of how your parents met and when your father changed his name. I'm still having a hard time trying to understand it because the story your mother tells me doesn't seem to piece together well with what you told me yesterday."
"Oh, that's fine. When my Dad went to study abroad: his family gave him a house with staff like maids and cooks. When the head cook slept with that guy's wife, that was when my Dad decided to go looking for a solution so his staff could still eat. And that's how my parents met. Then when my parents were going to get married: my Dad played off changing his name like he didn't want the Hino name to affect the business, but in reality he didn't want to tell my Mom about his family being against their marriage and cutting all ties with them by changing his whole name." Ryu clarified the story between Lyle and Celina for Erza, making her nod as she finally understood.
"I see. And do you hate the Hinos for that?"
"Hm?"
"Do you hate them? You seemed bothered when you spoke about them."
"I was just bothered because it's not something anyone would like to say. But I don't harbor any good or bad feelings towards them, it's hard to have an opinion when you haven't officially met someone." Ryu admitted, digging his hands into his pockets. As far as he was concerned: he felt the same way about his father's family as if they were a group of strangers.
"Fair enough. I won't push for more details." Erza said and Ryu looked at her confused.
"Why not? You're with me right now, so you can ask whatever you want to know." Ryu said before realizing what it sounded like he had just said, causing both of them to blush. "I mean traveling with me, so as my companion you can ask anything."
"Y-Yeah...I got that." Erza said as she looked away to hide her blush from Ryu. But when she did: she saw a young man sitting next to a broken carriage. She tugged at Ryu's sleeve, pointing at the man and the two silently agreed to go see what was wrong. They hurried over, seeing the young man with a Communication Lacrima next to his ear as he looked very frustrated. But what caught Erza's attention was the slight similarity between the young man and Ryu, except that the man had dark brown hair while Ryu's was blonde. "Is everything alright?"
"Hm? No, as you can see my carriage is busted and the animal I had pulling it ran off too." The young man said, gesturing to the front of the carriage that had a wheel broken off to the side of it as well as a pair of snapped reins in front of it.
"Wow. Were you driving?" Ryu crossed his arms, looking at the damage done to the carriage, before turning his attention to Erza. She chuckled in amusement, before pushing him as hard as she could to the floor.
"Ow."
"We can give you a hand if you'd like." Erza said, ignoring her companion who was on the floor glaring at her.
"I appreciate it because my Dad isn't answering." The young man said, thanking Erza for offering to help. "My name is Kagaya Hino, and you are?"
"Erza Scarlet, and this clown on the floor is my companion." Erza said, shaking the man's hand. But then it dawned on both of them what he had just said. "Hino? As in the Hino family?" Ryu jumped to his feet, standing next to Erza as they looked at Kagaya in surprise.
"Yes. My father is a General in the Caelum Military. If you help me get home: I'll be sure he compensates you in any way you'd like." Kagaya said as he noted the fact the two of them looked like travelers. So they would probably like something such as money or somewhere to stay, which was going to be easy for them to provide anyway.
"Actually, if you can help us get an audience with the head of your family: that'd be even better." Ryu spoke up this time, keeping his attention focused on the man he now knew was one of his relatives.
"That'd still be my father. Or is it my grandfather you'd wish to speak to?" Kagaya was answered by Ryu shrugging.
"It doesn't matter. We're just here to speak with one of them." Ryu said, trying to keep their reasons as vague as possible. Kagaya squinted his eyes at the man, noting that he seemed familiar. But he had to put his suspicions aside because they were offering to help him, so he'll worry about that when they get back to his family's estate.
"Thank you for your help." Kagaya thanked the two as now they were on their way to the Hino residence. Ryu had decided to help him fix his wheel by replacing the broken axel using one of Erza's spears...definitely an idea that was going to cost the man more than he expected. Meanwhile Erza had decided to track down the animal that was pulling the carriage, and it turned out to be a large Armadillo that Kagaya revealed to have been one of his pets. It didn't take a lot to bring it back, she just had to requip to one of her heavier armors to carry it back when it rolled up into a ball to get away.
"It was no problem. If anything you're lucky we came along when we did." Erza said before looking next to her, seeing Ryu sitting with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. She cleared her throat and jabbed her elbow into his side, making him wince in pain as he thought she actually broke one of his ribs.
"Y-Yeah...great timing honestly." Kagaya awkwardly laughed, seeing the way Ryu glared at Erza who just ignored him in return. Whoever these two were, they were interesting to say the least. But there was one thing he was certain about: if the guy sitting across from him was with this red-haired beauty, he was lucky as hell. "So, what brings you two to this part of the country? Here to visit the resort?"
"Like I said, we're here to speak with your family." Ryu spoke up, brushing aside Kagaya's question. Erza elbowed him again, silently reprimanding him for the way he was speaking to his relative. But that time she for sure broke a rib or three, because now he was holding his side in pain.
"But why? Do you have some kind of business with them?" Kagaya said before noting the blue Fairy Tail mark stamped on Erza's left arm. "Oh, you're wizards. So you must be here on some kind of guild business then?"
"Huh? No, this is a more personal matter for my friend here." Erza said as she reached and grabbed the hunched over Ryu's collar, sitting him up next to her. He shot her another glare, growling as he knew how he could get her back for those hits. Meanwhile Kagaya looked at the man in front of him, confusion more than evident in the way he was studying his appearance. He did seem very familiar, he just couldn't put his finger on it. He didn't even know this man's name, all he knew was the woman who's been assaulting him's name.
"I see. Well I'll have you know that my father is not a man to be trifled with. So if you have any sort of grievance, I will make Niffy stop right here to save you the trouble." Kagaya said, ready to snap his fingers and make his pet stop. But Erza raised a hand and shook her head in response.
"I doubt it's like that. Just allow us to speak with him and you'll see we mean no harm." Erza said, wondering when Ryu was going to chime in. But the man was still glaring at her as he was about to make her pay for those cheap shots. And the entire time all Kagaya could think was:
'What a weird couple.'
"Welcome to my family's compound." Kagaya said as they all exited the carriage. It took an hour for them to arrive, and the two looked around at the interesting design choice. The architecture reminded them of the eastern part of the continent as the large house in front of them was surrounded by a large wall to separate it from the land around them, as well as the house being one story and more spread out than multiple floors. It even had a large training area in the front that looked like it was meant for swordsmen as it had multiple training dummies placed in one area. "Cool right? My great-grandpa was a swordsman and he based this place on his master's dojo."
"That's...interesting." Ryu mumbled, looking around at the place his father once called home. He would've assumed that from how the Hino family sounded, they would've been living in somewhere more luxurious like the mansions he had visited, but this was more down to Earth than he expected.
"Let me go see if my father's here, that way we can solve the mystery of why you folks are here." Kagaya said, leaving the two by the carriage as he ran inside of the house. Erza looked at Ryu, amused by the way he was admiring his family's home. So she walked up to him and decided to prod his brain a little.
"Something on your mind?"
"It's just...weird. I expected so much more, something more extravagant, and this feels like the complete opposite." Ryu admitted, looking at Erza as she stood next to him.
"I have to admit: this is probably a family thing." He raised an eyebrow and she chuckled slightly. "I felt the same way about the way Lucy told me about your family, then I saw a pretty big house surrounded by farmland and I realized I had to fix my biases." Erza explained herself, making Ryu roll his eyes and shake his head.
"I doubt you're right but whatever." Ryu continued to look around, admiring even the training area as he noted how beat up the wooden dummies looked. But he stopped when heard footsteps on the gravel behind him.
"I didn't know we had visitors. May I-" He heard the gruff voice of an older man behind him, and Ryu turned around to see who was talking to him. His eyes widened as he saw an older man with long raven and grey hair tied up in a ponytail behind his head, wearing a black and gold uniform with multiple medals attached to the man's left side as well as a katana strapped to the man's waist. But it was the man's similarity to his father that caught his attention the most as he looked a lot like Lyle before he got sick. "...who are you?" The man asked, squinting his eyes as he glared at Ryu suspiciously. Erza ran to Ryu's side, noticing the man beginning to reach for the sword on his side. They were right in not expecting a warm welcome, so she had to prepare herself for a fight against this man.
"You look just like-"
"I asked: who are you?" Ryu was cut off by the man in front of him, lowering his voice angrily as he got into an attack stance. Erza placed an arm in front of him and got ready to requip into her Clear Heart Clothing, seeing as the katanas she wielded with it would make it a fair fight. But before both of them could continue, the door to the house slammed open and an even older man with long white hair and bear wearing a white and blue kimono appeared with Kagaya at his side.
"Ryu!" The older man called out, making both of the men in front of him turn to look at him.
"Yes/Yeah?" The two asked at the same time, surprising both of them as they turned to look at each other. They blinked in surprise before the other Ryu sighed and relaxed his body.
"Yes father?" The older Ryu asked, bowing to the man now revealed to be Kagaya and Ryu's Grandfather.
"Calm yourself, we have guests according to your son." He then turned his attention to Erza and Ryu who were standing to his right. "Interesting." He muttered to himself as he walked over to them, placing his hands behind his back as he kept his attention on Ryu. "Who are you two?" Before Erza could respond to him: Ryu placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling that it was his turn to speak. He took a deep breath as he walked towards his grandfather, clenching his fists as he did his best to keep himself composed.
"I'm Ryu Falkner, and this is my friend Erza. We've come a long way to see you, sir. Same with your son as well." Ryu said as both of them bowed in respect to the older man. The older Ryu gulped slightly as Kagaya noticed how uneasy his father began to feel. Was this guy a secret love child of his Dad or something?
"I see." The man said as he began to stroke his beard. This young man was certainly disciplined and respectful, and from what he saw: his companion was the same and protective of him as well. Well it was time he introduced himself as well. "I'm Tsukasa Hino. Nice to meet you two. Now both of you stand up straight, I have some questions for you two." Tsukasa said, placing his hands behind his back once more. "You share the same name as my son and share a resemblance to all of us. Am I to assume you are his son as well?"
"Not at all, sir." Ryu cleared his throat and ran his hand through his hair, now it was time to make his identity known.
"Then let me ask, how old are you?"
"I'm 28, sir." Ryu replied, and now it all began to make sense for Tsukasa. His age, his looks, even his blonde hair should've given it away because his youngest son's wife had blonde hair.
"I see...you're Lyle's son." Tsukasa said, reaching out and placing a hand on Ryu's chest. He felt his eyes well up slightly, remembering the last time he saw his son almost 30 years ago. The young man standing in front of him was the spitting image of his father, and he felt both a sense of pride and regret now that he knew that this was his first grandson...the child he never got to meet.
"Yes." Ryu placed his hand on his grandfather's, holding it tightly as he could see the pride and pain in his grandfather's eyes. Kagaya jumped and stared at his cousin in shock. This was his Uncle Lyle's son? Why was he suddenly here and not his father?
"You're Lyle's kid? And he named you Ryu too?" Ryu Hino walked over, holding his sword tightly as he felt a sharp pain in his chest at the sight of his nephew. He hadn't heard from his little brother in so many years, he didn't even know he had a son, and here he was...and he was named after him too. Why couldn't Lyle come bring him himself or at least tell them? Why did he have to nearly attack him to find out this was his nephew?
"Yes, Uncle. It's going to be a little confusing while I'm here."
"Don't worry about that. You two come inside, I'll go get your grandmother so we can all speak." Tsukasa grabbed Ryu and Erza's hands leading them inside.
After bringing them inside: Tsukasa led them to a meeting room with a small table in the middle of it. Ryu, Erza, and Kagaya all sat in it while Ryu Hino stood outside of the room, not wanting to join them for their conversation. Then after a few minutes of waiting: an older woman with long white hair wearing a white kimono walked in, holding onto Tsukasa's arm as he led her in. Once she was inside, her eyes widened when saw Ryu sitting down.
"You're Lyle's son?" The older woman asked as she sat down across from Ryu and Erza. Tsukasa sat down next to her and patted her leg, as if he was trying to tell her something.
"Yes, grandmother. I'm Ryu Falkner, son of Lyle Falkner." Ryu said, bowing his head to the woman.
"And who is this young lady? Your sister?" She turned her attention to Erza who immediately shook her head.
"No ma'am. My name is Erza and I've accompanied your grandson to come visit you."
"I see. I am Christina Hino, matriarch of the Hino family." The woman's voice was stern and cold, almost lacking any sort of emotion to it. Tsukasa's voice was warm and calming, close to Master Makarov's in Erza's opinion. But Christina's was almost spine-chilling to both of them, but they weren't about to tell her that.
"How is your father? Did he marry that bumpkin from Fiore after all?" Christina asked, crossing her arms as she glared at Ryu's blonde hair. He took a deep breath, hiding the fact he was gritting his teeth from the way she spoke about Celina. But he kept himself composed as he wasn't about to make a scene so quickly. "I would imagine she had something to do with that idiotic Falkner name."
"Yes he did."
"What a foolish boy." Christina muttered, making Ryu's blood begin to boil even more.
"What did your father do, Ryu? What became of him after he married your mother?" Tsukasa asked, taking charge of the conversation. Erza mentally sighed in relief, fearing Ryu was going to explode if his grandmother was the one who kept talking.
"He started an agricultural business. He became quite successful and his business expanded to most of Fiore, even becoming a major supplier for the capital city." Ryu explained, feeling more relaxed by his grandfather's presence.
"He always was a smart boy. I'm happy he made a name for himself and started a family." Tsukasa closed his eyes and smiled as he remembered his youngest son always excelling in his studies and always being the one to brighten the mood in his home. Lyle was a special child, there was no doubt about that in his mind. "Is it just you?" Tsukasa asked, secretly hoping that the men in front of him weren't his only grandchildren.
"No, sir. I'm the oldest of four siblings." Ryu's response shocked his relatives in the room, even his Uncle who was listening outside. Tsukasa felt so happy he could cry, Christina was shocked that her son produced more than one child with that farmgirl, and Kagaya was ecstatic that his family was actually so much larger than he thought. "After me: my parents had twins, a boy and a girl. The boy is Keith and the girl is Fabia, and she's also the only daughter."
"Twins? How lovely." Tsukasa smiled as he hoped he would have the opportunity to spoil his only granddaughter.
"That's quite a shock." Christina muttered as she covered her mouth.
"That's awesome!" Kagaya practically had stars in his eyes from the news.
"And the youngest of all of us is my brother Asemu." Ryu finished telling them about his siblings and he was taken aback by the shocked look on his grandfather's face.
"Asemu? I see." Tsukasa whispered as he closed his eyes, feeling even more proud of his son. "Asemu was my father's name, and he was very attached to your father. He would be happy if he knew your brother was named after him." Tsukasa explained, remembering the times Lyle would play with his grandfather as a child.
"Thank you for telling us about your family. But why have you come here now, Ryu?" Christina asked, composing herself as she continued to keep her stern expression. But deep inside, she was excited about the news that she had four more grandchildren to love. But she wasn't going to show that to the people in front of her. "Your father clearly cut ties with us when he married that farmgirl. So why have you come here after so many years?"
"He asked me to." Ryu replied, dreading what he was going to have to tell all of them.
"And he couldn't have come himself? Honestly that boy loves pushing my buttons. Almost 30 years without as much as a letter, and now his oldest son suddenly appears on our doorstep?" Christina said, raising her voice as Ryu felt his breath begin to shudder.
"Christy, calm down." Tsukasa said as he placed his hand on his wife's, only for her to pull it away as she continued to direct her rant at Ryu.
"I will not calm down, darling. He could've come back home after begging to study abroad. We could've set him up with a woman that would've been more suited for our family's standards, he could've made a name for himself here instead of in some other country across the sea." Erza looked down and saw that Ryu was clenching his fists during his grandmother's rant, even noticing that he was beginning to tremble. Before she could think about what to do, she had instinctively reached over and grabbed his hand to try to soothe his anger. But when he turned to look at her: she could see in his light blue eyes that it wasn't anger he was feeling, but pain. Even Christina's words managed to begin to sound more hurt than angry at Lyle, so all they could do was let her say everything she had to. "And now it turns out he even changed his name for that woman?! Preposterous! Does your father think he's so much better than us that he could change his name and cut us all off, leaving us wondering how he was doing or if he was even alright all these years?! Tell me Ryu, tell me why your father would ask you to come here after so many years?!"
"Because he's dead!" Ryu snapped as tears began to flow from the corners of his eyes. All of the Hinos listening froze from what he just said. Lyle Hino...no, Lyle Falkner was dead, and they never knew. "He passed away two months ago. He got sick two years ago and he did his best to last as long as he could, but he got worse and worse. And then one night he went to sleep and never woke up. I was the last person to talk to my Dad...I can still hear him promising to see me in the morning, only for him to break his promise and never wake up." Ryu's tears began to flow even more as he thought about the last time he saw Lyle. "And now I'm working in some boring and frustrating job to take care of his business, trying to take care of the family he started, only for him to ask me in his will to spend a whole month coming here to talk to all of you. I don't know why he asked me to come, I wish I had the answer for you...but I still came here and I'm telling you all of this because he can't. I wish he could, I wish he could tell you everything you want to know...I just wish my father was still here for all of us." Ryu found it difficult to speak as his sobs began to make his words hard to understand. Erza let go of his hand and embraced him, letting him cry into her shoulder. This was the pain he was feeling the entire time, and now he was finally able let it out. The silence that suddenly enveloped the room was then broken by Christina laughing, making all of them look at her as if she was psychotic.
"You really expect me to believe my son is dead? Oh please come up with a better lie, because that one is going to make sure you burn in hell. My son is most likely alive and well because he was meant for greatness, and great men don't let some illness bring them down." Christina continued laughing, making Erza and Ryu glare at her. But Kagaya and Tsukasa knew better and decided to let her keep talking. "Your father cut ties with us because he hated us. He didn't want to be what we wanted him to be. But all we wanted him to be was successful because he comes from an illustrious family. So why did he have to run away to be with that bumpkin? Why did he have to cut all ties with us? Why did...why did he hate me so much?" Christina's laugh began to change as she began to tremble, finally letting her real emotions out as her own tears began to fall. "All I wanted was for my son to be successful and have a bright future. He was a Hino...he could've become such a great man...so why did he have to leave the way he did? I only ever wanted that for him because I loved him." Christina's laughed finished changing into sobs and she buried her face into her hands to hide them from her family.
"Ryu...was your father happy?" Ryu turned his attention to his grandfather, and his tears began to flow even more when he saw his grandfather was crying as well.
"Y-Yes. He was so happy." Ryu choked out, making Tsukasa smile as he remembered the day Lyle was born and he held him in his arms for the first time.
"I'm glad..." Tsukasa whispered as he reached for his wife's hand and held it tightly.
"Was he a great man? Did people respect him?" Christina asked, trying to stop her tears but they wouldn't. It was almost like a dam had burst and she had no way of stopping it. Ryu stood up and walked over to his grandmother, kneeling down to look her in the eyes.
"He was the greatest man I ever knew. Everyone he met loved and respected him. I promise you: you would've been so proud of him." Christina looked closely at Ryu, seeing her son's face as if he was still with them, before letting out a loud sob and burying her face into his chest. Ryu held her tightly as he thought he finally understood why Lyle asked him to come here: it was for them. He then reached out for Tsukasa and pulled him in, and all three held each other tightly to comfort one another. Erza watched them and smiled as she felt relieved that Ryu was finally able to open up about his pain and begin to mend his broken family. Meanwhile Kagaya took the hint and exited the room, deciding to relay everything he just heard to his father who wasn't around to hear them.
"Dad?" He walked the halls of the Hino home, calling out for his father, but he got no answer. "Where are-" He then reached the entrance to the house, seeing the door wide open and his father standing in their front yard looking up at the sky. "Dad, I have to tell you something important."
"He was my brother, Kagaya." Ryu said as he kept his attention at the clear sky above him. "We would play together out here, train swordsmanship together, and even study together. Then he moved away and we never heard anything from him."
"That's just it...Uncle Lyle is-" He stopped talking when his father turned around, seeing he was crying as well.
"I know, son. I know. And he even named your cousin after me. That's an honor I don't deserve." Ryu said as he turned around and looked up at the sky again.
"Do you want me to stay with you?"
"No. Be with your grandparents. I'll be okay." Ryu said, doing his best to stay composed for his son. But Kagaya decided to ignore his father's request and walked over to him, placing a hand on his back as he decided to keep his heartbroken father company.