“…!”
“Whoops.”
As Masachika stepped out of Yumi’s room, his eyes met Kyoutarou’s in the hallway, and he froze for a moment. However, he swiftly regained his composure, pulled the door shut behind him, then addressed his father curtly, with a touch of awkwardness coloring his tone.
✦ ✦ ✦
“…I didn’t know you were here.”
“Yeah, Natsu called me.”
“Oh.”
When he thought about it rationally, it was inevitable that someone would contact his father, since it was clear that he didn’t. It was only natural Kyoutarou would come to pick him up.
“Sorry for worrying you,” apologized Masachika, lowering his head, but he was immediately met with Kyoutarou’s usual gentle smile.
“It’s okay. You needed this, right?” Masachika felt uncomfortable with the trust and tolerance his father showed him—which Kyoutarou seemed to pick up on—shrugging as he added, “But it’s already late…so we should probably stay the night. What do you say?”
“Huh? Oh…”
He wondered how long he had been speaking with his mother and glanced at his phone, only to find that it was already past ten PM. It wasn’t that he couldn’t go home at this hour… In fact, the Masachika of mere hours ago would have made sure he got back home, no matter what. However…
“…Yeah, let’s do that.”
Masachika glanced briefly at the door behind him before nodding. Perhaps sensing something from that gesture, Kyoutarou responded with a tender smile and motioned toward the stairs.
“Great. Nobody’s using your old room, so you can use that. I’ll do the same.”
“Oh… All right.”
“See you soon.”
“…Yep,” Masachika briefly replied, realizing that they were going to have some sort of talk later. As he made his way to the stairs, the sound of Kyoutarou knocking on Yumi’s door echoed behind him, but he didn’t look back as he continued to descend to the first floor where Natsu was surprisingly already waiting.
“Oh, Master Masachika.”
“…Natsu.”
“Have you finished talking with your mother?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Allow me to take you to your room, then.”
Although he obviously knew where his room was, he kept his mouth shut and followed her.
“You don’t have to worry about Lady Yuki. Ayano and I will take good care of her.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“You don’t have to thank us. This is our job, after all.”
Their conversation carried them to the room, and Masachika stepped inside at Natsu’s gentle insistence. His former bedroom, untouched by his presence for years, remained…exactly as he remembered it, perfectly preserved in the state it had been in years ago.
“Please make yourself at home. You can use the bath whenever you want, and you have a fresh change of clothes waiting for you as well, thanks to your father.”
“Oh, thanks…”
“Not at all. Just let me know if you need anything,” Natsu replied, before exiting the room, leaving Masachika alone to look around one more time.
“…”
The room had muted wallpaper and furniture in subdued tones. The bookshelves weren’t lined with picture books or comics but various study materials. It was a space drained of childhood whimsy and joy. By contrast, Masachika’s current room was far more childlike.
“…I wonder why they left the room like this?”
The room would have served perfectly as a guest room, yet the elementary and middle school textbooks on the bookshelf, along with the small step stool positioned before them, revealed it had remained untouched.
“Maybe for Yuki’s future children?” he muttered, voicing an assumption that he didn’t even believe as he settled onto the bed. The urge to collapse backward tugged at him, but he hesitated to completely relax just yet, because he still couldn’t quite bring himself to see this room as his own.
Everything happened so fast…
First, he went to Alisa’s birthday party and formally introduced himself to her parents. Then, he unexpectedly shared his past with Alisa, and what began as simply visiting the Suou family household led to his first conversation with his mother in years. Before long, he even found himself spending the night.
“If you told me that this was going to happen this morning, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
It didn’t actually feel real. A dull heat pulsed through his head while his body drifted in a restless weightlessness. He wondered if this was because he had cried, or if his mind had simply buckled under the day’s whirlwind of events.
“I guess it’s only natural to feel this way. So much has happened in just a few hours,” muttered Masachika, surrendering to exhaustion as he toppled backward onto the bed, where he was embraced by the firm mattress and soft duvet. It was as if his room had been frozen in time, even though it was clearly being cleaned, seeing as there wasn’t a single speck of dust.
“…”
The cool sheets touching his neck felt strangely pleasant as he found himself gazing up at the ceiling he had known so well in his childhood.
“I’m really back…”
The familiar scent, the familiar sights, the familiar touch—his entire body was immersed in those familiar sensations, their reality slowly seeping into his consciousness. He couldn’t help but marvel at how much had changed in a mere few hours.
But…
In other words, Masachika could have transformed everything in those same few hours if he had simply found the courage to take that first step. His lifelong feud with his mother, one he had assumed would never be mended, could have been resolved at any time and in less than half a day if he had simply put in the effort.
“Well…it hasn’t exactly been resolved.”
Masachika himself hadn’t completely put to rest his lingering resentment toward Yumi. His earlier words of forgiveness and gratitude weren’t lies, at least in his mind, but his heart still didn’t align with his mind’s decision to forgive yet. His negative impression of her had hardened over years, so it appeared that it was going to be a while before it went away.
And Yumi likely hadn’t rid herself of her guilt yet, either. He knew she wasn’t the kind of person who could be told to stop apologizing and simply agree—as if she could forget everything that had happened. If anything, she was most likely wondering how she could have done something so horrible to such a nice person. Masachika understood she probably did feel this way, because that was the kind of person he was, too.
It’s in Dad’s hands now, I guess…
He closed his eyes, contemplating these thoughts…picturing his father, who was likely talking with his mother at that very moment.