The fluidity of the sea and its people (Khr X Pjo)

chapter 10

Takeshi seemed strangely energetic this morning, as if he knew Percy was going to be meeting with him soon.

Tsuyoshi loosened his shoulders and stroked his son's hair. Takeshi let out a small babble and stretched his small finger towards his father's.

It had been a few days since his encounter with Sally Jackson, and her son, Percy.

And subsequently, today was their children's planned playdate.

Tsuyoshi remembered how excited Percy had looked, and how Sally had let out a quiet sigh of relief, an ocean worth of weight seemingly falling off of her shoulders after they had agreed upon a date.

And while Takeshi was asleep at the time of the agreement, Tsuyoshi swears he saw his child's lips curl upwards.

He looked towards the old clock handing from the apartment wall. It was the only type of wall furnishing the place had come with.

Eddie never seemed like the type of guy who cared enough to add anything more the bare necessities, and a few furnishments around the three-bedroom apartments that be rented out.

He probably doesn't, Tsuyoshi thought as he glanced back at the clock, 2:55.

He and Sally had agreed that they would meet at 3, for their children playdate.

Tsuyoshi smiled. He was glad that his son would finally make a friend. 

He and Mokona had discussed the issue of Takeshi's schooling a while ago.

He was rather against the idea, afraid of Takeshi being targeted while at school, by his former associates.

Tsuyoshi however, also knew Mokona wanted Takeshi to have an early start to his education, but she had understood where he was coming from.

This had resulted in them compromising on sending Takeshi to preschool when he turned four.

Of course, they had also agreed that if there were any signs of his former life, Mokona had agreed to homeschool Takeshi until elementary.

In the end however, nether of their plans would come to fruition.

Tsuyoshi was naive to assume his former Oyabun wouldn't send someone to kill her. He had believed the omertà would protect Mokona, as she was a civilian. That was why they had worried extensively about Takeshi's future, because he was Tsuyoshi's son, instead of worrying about Mokona's well being. 

They were all so naive.

A pair of footsteps alerted him to someone coming to his door. One had steady steps, while the other had much lighter steps, almost like the other person was skipping.

The clock read 2:58.

Knock knock.

He opened the door. A warm smile greeted him.

"Hello, Tsuyoshi, Percy here is very excited for his first playdate."

He watched as Percy tugged energetically on his mother's sleeve, practically bouncing off the wall in his eagerness.

"Mom, mom, can I see Taak-shi yet?"

Sally let out a sigh, Tsuyoshi suspected she had to deal with these types of questions all morning.

Watching how animatedly Percy was moving, Tsuyoshi stepped aside. "Takeshi is also very excited to meet with you," he directly his attention towards Sally, "please, come on in."

Percy would've bounded across the room if Sally hadn't stopped him. She grinned pleasantly towards Tsuyoshi, happy for the chance at respite.

"Thank you for inviting us. Now Percy," with this she looked towards her son with a mock-stern attitude. "What do you say to Mr....," Sally trailed off, now realizing she didn't now Tsuyoshi's last name.