Keep Me In Place[SLOW UPDATES]

Chapter 24

"We'll have to," Mikey smiled as Draken entered the room," Or her ghost will be after us for throwing it out."

"That thing?" Draken chuckled as he reached for the toy and you handed it to him. "Yeah, I still remember it. I can't believe she still has it after all these years."

"Emma has always been a sentimental girl," Grandpa Sano acknowledged from the door.

"And this is," Draken's eyes landed on a teddy bear on her bed," The last birthday present I gave her..."

The room went quiet as you all let the weight of those words sink in: nobody was used to speaking of her in past tense yet, even doubting if you would ever get used to it.

"I...I'll go get dinner ready, you guys finish packing up all her things that we're going to donate."

You stood up as they all nodded, making your way to the kitchen and beginning to prepare the ingredients for miso soup.

Once you were finished and everyone was sat around the table, you said your prayers and began eating.

"Manjiro should start learning how to cook too," Grandpa Sano noted," I'm too old to do all the housework and Emma had been taking care of everything, so he has no idea about housekeeping."

The three of you noticed how he didn't say "my idiot grandson", and felt a pang in your heart.

"I can come help out once in a while until he can do everything efficiently enough," you offered.

"But we can't really ask that of you, (y/n)," he took a sip of soup from his bowl, then looking up smiling he said," Though it would be amazing: your cooking is delicious."

"Thank you," you smiled," And it would really be nothing. Akina is starting to learn how to do household chores too, so it will give her some practice if I came here once in a while and she took care of our house."

"Let's see how your parents feel about it first, shall we?"

"Of course! But I don't think they'd really have a problem about it."

"(y/n), Draken, don't forget about Izana's funeral tomorrow will you?" Mikey reminded as you and his grandfather stayed smiling at each other, basking in the emotional significance of this moment in you twos bond, though it felt like it lasted too long for Mikey.

"Sure," you continued your smiling with the old man as he and Draken sweatdropped.

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Future Time:

"She agreed with Draken that Mikey changed," Takemichi told Kazutora," But I find it hard to believe her. No, more like...I refuse to believe her."

"I don't know, Takemichi-kun," Kazutora looked away," (y/n)'s probably the last one among them to see Mikey. If she tells you that he's changed, he's probably changed. But you should ask her when you're both alone if you want to learn any more news from her."

So here he was in your apartment, holding the cup of tea you had made for him and waiting for your response to his answer.

"To answer you Takemichi, I have to tell you about something I found out way before you left the past to come back here. It was on the day of Izana's funeral, I think, and I and Draken lost Mikey among the crowd of people going home..."

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Present Time:

"Where did Mikey go off to?" Draken asked as you searched around for the short boy.