Life After Death

The Remembering

"Mama,"

Yukari looked up from her thoughts and over to her son across the backyard. He was looking in the direction of the street. Then he turned his head to her and pointed.

"I think there is someone at the door," he concluded to her.

This took her into a bit of confusion, till she then heard...

"Hey, Yuka-tan? You back there?" A familiar voice rang from that direction.

Is that...?

"Junpei...?" She called back, curious to see if he knew they were outside. Footsteps in the snow could be heard after, lightly in a gentle pursuit. Moments later, a... somewhat familiar face popped out, along with another not far behind.

"There you are!" Junpei's voice rang out, a smile spreading across his stubbly cheeks. Now certain, he rushed, as fast as the snow would let it him, over to her. The other person behind, who could now be seen holding a small child, came dragging along, a bit uncertain. As he approached, she could clearly see it was still good 'ol Junpei. Except since they last seen of one another five years back in Inaba, he had grown a bit more facial hair, surpassing what was on his chin. His hair was still longer than from their days in Iwatodai, but now more tamed and yes, still covered by a baseball cap. Along with that, his clothes looked more of a dotting, suburban dad than she'd ever thought he would. Speaking of dad... that child in the other person's arms...

"I didn't expect to see you anytime soon," Yukari replied with a smile, Hisato now joining the rest of them beside his mother. "And I'm more surprised to see you, Chidori," She turned to face the girl of nearly the same appearance from back in the day. This time, her long, red hair was braided and tied together with white ribbons, but still bared a bit of a similar hair band to hers from before. She still wore quite the flowy dress, but now more plain with simple laces and a bit of embroidery. How could she not be cold in it? And in her arms...

"Do I... know you?" Chidori took in responding in a bit of an unintentional bitter tone, looking closely at Yukari.

"This is Yukari Takeba," Junpei took the initiative in telling her. "She's one of my close friends from back in high school. You met her before you lost your memories, so that's how she knows you,"

A bit of a calmer look rested onto her face, along with a bit of a smile. "I see..." But she was a bit apprehensive. Junpei took the attention off of her and to Hisato's curiousity on the ground.

"It's good to see you little guy!" He knelt down in front of the boy and gave him a warm smile and wave. "You probably don't remember me, but I took care of you for your mother when you were just a little bundle of joy. I'm Junpei Iori," he held out his large hand to take Hisato's small one.

Without hesitation, her son took Junpei's hand and gave it a courteous shake. "Nice to meet you again, Mr. Iori," Hisato said with a small smile in return.

Junpei gave a bellowing laugh. "No need for formalities," He took his hand and ruffled Hisato's blue hair. "Call me Uncle Junpei," Hisato gave him a quizzical look, but gave a nod anyways.

"Junpei..." Yukari miffed, but still managed to let a smile break, as he stood up.

"You're not the only one with a cute kid anymore, Yuka-tan," Junpei ignored her remark, grinning as he lifted his left hand. "After Chidori remembered me, we got hitched and soon we had this little bundle of joy..." He turned to Chidori and she carefully handed the small blanketed bundle to him. Once securely in his grasp, he turned back to Yukari, getting close to show the small being inside the blankets.

"Neoma's her name," He said with fondness, a new kind of smile spreading. Neoma had a bit of hair atop her head, which could be seen as from her mother, while her eyes were her father's. She squirmed a bit in his arms, seeming a bit overwhelmed. "She was born almost a year ago now... Seems like times gone by so fast since then," To Yukari, it seemed he was more focused on Neoma than her.

She had thought about this before. How the existence of the Dark Hour and S.E.E.S. was fate for most of them. If it wasn't for them, Junpei and Chidori wouldn't have met--and neither would Makoto and herself. It was hard to imagine how things would have played out if things didn't go the way they did. They probably wouldn't even be here, for starters. A lot of things would really have been different. No fighting. No death. A lot of people would be still here if it wasn't for the acts of their seniors. For example, her father wouldn't be...

"Yo.... Earth to Yuka-tan...?"

Snapping out of thoughts, she could first see Chidori holding Neoma in the distance as she watched Hisato show off what they had made of their snowman so far. As soon as she looked at Junpei, he resumed talking, but this time in a low, uneasy voice.

"We-- I'm thinking of moving us back into Iwatodai, but..." He looked over to his wife, taking a good long stare before turning back. "A lot of bad things happened there... My father is still there too... It's just..." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at his wife once more. He seemed a bit withdrawn, his face giving a gateway into how he felt inside. Biting his lip, he turned his gaze back to Yukari.

"I guess I don't want any of those things to be re-lived," He looked around, eye wandering. "But at the same time... I feel such strong feelings towards the place. Do you know what I'm getting at here?"

It was her turn to bite her bottom lip. "Yes..." She managed to mutter her response. "I guess that's why we're around the area... " She too looked over to her loved one, playing in the snow as Junpei's wife watched with a magical wonder. Between her family and Junpei's half of them were innocent to all the bad things from then, while her and Junpei knew all about it. Oh, how she now wished that she never knew of those bad things. To be reborn into a better life...

"What wonders one dead man can do to the people he left behind," His words echoed a somber feeling in her heart, and most likely his own as well. For her, they were more relatable. Makoto's son was her son and all she had left of him beyond his belongings. Just as they did, the remnants of his soul left many lingering emotions. It was all on them to do something with them...

Junpei shifted his hands in his pockets and cleared his throat. "We might follow your lead and move in nearby," He brought the conversation back to a lighter topic. "It seems to be doing well for you. Having a little more old company around wouldn't bother you, will it?" Soon, he was a little back to his old self, giving a short wink accompanied with a cheeky smile.

Yukari couldn't help but give a short laugh and smile back. "No, I wouldn't mind at all," she looked over to Hisato, who was now approaching with Chidori. "I think I'd be nice to have an old friend around. There's a lot to catch up on and talk about," Hisato gave her a big grin when he stood before her.

"Thought I'd never hear you say anything that nice to me," Junpei teased, elbowing her in a playful manner. "Well, once we settle in, I'll take you up on that suggestion, Yuka-tan!" He gave yet another toothy grin, smirking all the way.

"Can't wait till then, Junpei,"