After finally telling Hisato about his father, she felt an immense amount of weight leave her chest. It made talking about Makoto to him a lot easier, able to say things about him instead of pretending he never existed and she was just a virgin Mary. Hisato became a bit more understanding when his mother was reclusive and out of it at times. Now knowing why made it a lot clearer for him to give his mother space.
She didn't want it to be like this. But she couldn't keep it from him forever. It may have felt a little early to tell, but now, seeing how Hisato was after that conversation, he seemed a little more open. He talked a bit more to her and grew more sociable than when they first moved into town. It was hard to tell if it was just him settling in or hearing of his father let his true self show now knowing why he was here on Earth. Hisato had a lot of smiles, ones that Yukari thought she'd never see again in her life. She thought she'd lost those, alongside hope, for the rest of her days until she lay in her end. But waking each morning to them helped her along till the day they could meet their maker.
It had felt like forever since she ever talked about those past days, when their lives was all they had to their names. She couldn't ever say she missed the Shadows and the ever-living fear of death itself, but she did miss the days when he was alive and everyone was one big family because of him. It all felt like a dream. She felt immensely thankful of him for making it that way. But she wished the dream lived on and the nightmare was the only thing to leave. Afterall, those dreams were all there was left of him. Thinking of him brought along the weight of those days of fighting for the souls of themselves and the whole world. And then, the final times she held an Evoker to her head and a magic key that was her final chance to lay her eyes on him...
December 26th, 2017
Takeba Residence
Noon
"Come on, Mama! Let's go!"
The mother let out a chuckle as her son hopped up and down at the back door. Dressed from head to toe in winter gear, Hisato was bundled up and ready to head out without her.
"Give me a minute," she tried to not laugh at her little marshmallow, but a snicker let itself out. Pulling her gloves on and tugging them down just in case, she watched as he opened the door, his excitement not waiting any longer. He ran out into their backyard, leaving her rushing to catch up before anything awful happened, but still took time to close the sliding door behind her.
His ecstatic laughs filled the atmosphere as he let the snow crunch under his quick feet. Liking the sound, he halted and stomped in place, just to hear the sound. It soon compacted below, making him move to another spot to continue. Yukari took the chance to watch him in his smiles and giggles.
Hisato turned to her, waving his arms at his mother. "Let's build a snowman, Mama!" Before letting her answer his question, he bent down, picked up snow and began to roll into a ball on the ground. His eyes glowed with the wonder as the farther he rolled it, the bigger it got. Yukari got onto her knees and began to do the same, preparing to make the very bottom. They circled the yard, passing by each other. Each time they passed, he gave his mother a big grin. Within the passing of 20 minutes, she had made the base and he'd finished the middle.
"Okay, help me get yours on top of mine," Yukari and Hisato lifted his massed ball, with the mother doing most of the lifting, and carefully placed it on top. Once they stood back to see, he clapped with joy.
"I'm gonna start the head now!" Hisato ran off to the other side of the yard that had snow untouched and began to roll. Yukari stayed behind, watching as he enjoyed himself. It was almost hard to believe that, even at this age, this was his son. Sure, what her college classmate told her was believable, but since she never experienced it with her own eyes, she had a hard time seeing it. Makoto being as energetic as this boy when he was that age was... strange to her...
"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,"