‹Gin›

"Do you have your two guest rooms available?"

Out of the blue, Mom asked in the middle of the lunch as we are having a meal with Rin in my house for a change.

I still haven't moved, by the way. It's just that the already quiet street we live in seems way quieter. Mom was the only one in our family house as Anna is at her college as usual, Aunt Sumi went out for another trip while Uncle Shuu is out for work, and then Kei unfortunately had to go to a two-week business trip even in the middle of their planning for his and Ane Shiina's wedding in a few months. Finally, they settled for a date and invitations are soon to be given out.

Because of the sudden emptiness in the neighborhood, I decided to use my own kitchen as I haven't really used it aside from doing inventory. It just so happened that Mom caught me on the kitchen and she decided to help while Rin was in the living room studying for the semester she missed little by little in preparation for her completion exam.

She missed both of her midterm and final exams which in normal circumstances would have her grades take a hit, but CCI fortunately have a system for make-ups. While her studies may be under a scholarship with the Kagurazaka, she still had to pay for an extra fee for the written and practical exams, and for her to be evaluated.

Anyway, as for my answer to Mom's inquiry…

"Well, Kei cleaned up the room before he left so there's really no one in here apart from Haku watching over the house. Is something up?"

Sakato family fun fact: Our family seems to have an obsession on putting things back the way they were when they first saw it. The best examples for that would be when we use hotel rooms and such. We would go as far to take a picture of the rooms first before we use, and by the time we are done with it, we get the urge to get it back to the way we first arrived at it. Probably the only time I don't do it is when Rin gets mad at me for being too meticulous. Take our Kyoto stay a few years ago for example—one sign she's really mad is when she turns around and let out a loud sigh.

Silly me, that was quite a tangent.

"I initially just wanted to ask you about it but I set it aside when I saw you making lunch. I also wanted to see if your house is clean anyway.

That said… a friend got into contact with me a few days ago asking if there's anywhere they could stay here in Cotona, coming from Hitoretsu."

"The northern beach, huh… When are they going to be here?"

"Three days from now. I think they'll be here for a week."

"I don't think I have anything planned for the next week so I'll probably be able to attend to them since… I'm unemployed… haha…

I can let them stay here."

"Alright. I'll let them know asap. I guess I'll come back tomorrow to help you clean up since I don't want to disturb you two right now. I've also been watching a drama so there's also that~"

Thus, Mom came back to the family house.

"I feel like Auntie has caught on to us…" Rin uttered vaguely while drying out the dishes.

"Tell me if it bothers you, okay?"

"As if it does, Potato. I'm stating the obvious. Like I told you already, I like how it is between us anyway."

"That's nice to hear," I say as I put my chin on her head after drying my hands. "This much is fine, right?"

"Yup. Grab me on my waist and I don't know where my kick will land especially when you're behind me."

"I got it," instinctively, my legs closed.

"Meow… (Hard to believe this is the same Aruji from a few years ago… I couldn't even imagine you being this forward if it was back then.)"

"Oh, right. Are you going to be fine with guests here for a while?"

"Mrow. (I can handle it, but I probably won't be staying out much. If you won't do it, I'll learn how to set up the automatic feeder myself since you procrastinated on it.)"

"Crap. I forgot about that, sorry. Well, I'll entrust my room to you since I'll come from next door to take care of them."

▪ ▪ ▪

And just like that, three days passed.

Apparently, our visitors went by the bullet train from the station in Hitoretsu straight to Cotona. Both Dad and I presented to drive them from the station to here but it seems they already organized a ride for themselves. Even at 11 in the morning, the temperature could already rise up significantly as it is already April, and so I let the guests come in immediately while I carry their luggage in.

"It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Sakato."

"Oh, please~ just call me by my name, Sora.

Anyway… this girl is Sora Aobana, and with her is Kyo Uchizawa. Sora, Kyo, from the left is Amano, my husband as you already know, Gin here is our second son and owner of the house, while Ringo Akanami would be our soon-to-be daughter-in-law-"

"Auntie…!!"

"…And Haku is Gin's housemate. I hope you all get along well.

With that, Amano and I will leave for a bit to let you two rest. You can find us in 280 which is just a few blocks from here."

"I take it that you can handle the rest, Gin?"

"Yup."

…

"So once again, my name is Gin. Nice to meet you two."

"Nice to meet you."

I really didn't get to see them as they left the car but now that they are settled in, it gave me an impression that they are quite an interesting duo.

Sora Aobana, not to be confused with the Kagurazaka, gives off a sophisticated and casual vibe at the same time. I don't really mean to look at her a bit too much but she is quite a beautiful young woman the same way I describe Yuzuri-san, especially with that waving jet black hair that extends a few inches before her waist, and dark gray eyes that is not something you see everyday in Orio.

But on the other hand, Kyo Uchizawa is also unique, appearance-wise. He boasts a natural brown hair and very unusual lime green eyes. But even with that, he still looks very much Orion-born. That being said, he gives off a strange feeling that I can't put my finger on. For some reason… I have an urge to just… pat him on the head?

Perhaps it's the somewhat bright expression he has, but call it intuition as I can't remove the familiar feeling I get from him.

Well, I say that they are an interesting bunch, but at first look, one would also be confused if they see us because of our hair which they also seem to be curious about. I could already see Sora stealing glances at Rin while she sips on her glass of iced tea.

"Uh, if it's not rude to ask, what brings you two here in Cotona?"

"Frankly, we just wanted to explore the country," Kyo immediately answered. "We haven't really had the opportunity to see a lot of Orio even though we've been here our whole life."

"Hmm. Spring might be a better time to go down here. We've been to Hitoretsu before and we can tell it's hotter here than there in summer.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy your vacation. We've been planning on going back to Japan for a break too since it's still spring there."

"Ooohh, we would love to go there too in the future. How is Japan like? I've heard that Mr. Amano is Japanese so that would make you too."

"I guess… well, I've only been to Kyoto myself so I couldn't really say a lot. I've basically lived here my whole life too and only getting to consider the North as a second home. As for Tokyo, we've only been there for a few days but it was really packed with people.

Oh, if you two know a bit of Japanese, it would really help. A lot of places nowadays have things translated in English but getting to speak the language a bit is a big plus."

"We'll take note of that."

"Oh, I really should be preparing for lunch… You two must be hungry from the trip."

"Is that really okay…? We were planning on eating out."

"I'd rather you two rest for now. Besides, I think we can make something better than ones from outside. Gin and I have quite an experience!"

"You can count on us."

~ ~ ~

Nothing beats the satisfaction from the faces of those you serve your food to.

"Thank you for the great lunch!" Sora thanked now that her expression has significantly shifted to a brighter one compared to her somewhat collected look. "Are you a chef by any chance?"

"I guess, yeah? You might have visited us back in Hitoretsu when Giotto's was there for a bit."

"As for me, I'm still a culinary student," Rin interjected.

"Oh, we did go! We don't know if we saw you, but the food was great!"

"That's a relief to hear. How about you two? If it isn't too much to ask, that is."

"I'm currently a senior web developer but I also make apps too, while Kyo is an interior designer."

"Already a senior developer? That's amazing… You look like the same age as Rin."

"Um, how old is Ringo?"

"I'm 21…?"

"I am actually 26. The same with Kyo. I guess I get this impression quite a lot. Haha…"

I freaking jumped the gun, huh.

But seriously, if you would look at her, she doesn't look her age! Man, the Asian genes really have blessed her, I guess.

"By the way, I might be the owner of the house, but I actually don't live here currently. Rin just got out of an illness and I was taking care of her and opted to just live with her parents for the time being. I will just be next door, though, at 276.

Haku doesn't talk much, but if there's anything you need or want to ask, just knock on his room.

And while we're at it, I'll give you two a tour of the house before we leave."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

▪ ▪ ▪

It took some time to get Sora and Kyo convinced that they really have the house for themselves in the week they are staying at. Since I'm basically around the neighborhood, I decided to come back to the house in the mornings to make breakfast for them while I asked for their schedule as I also presented to make food for them when they are not out on their excursions.

But on their third day of stay, I had to be out in the afternoon to go to the Capital as there was something I had to take care of, in which it was related to a concern I had to attend to regarding my bank account when Rin was still undergoing physical therapy.

Well, it turns out it really wasn't anything serious as I thought it would be. Still, I had to go to the Capital for a special meeting as I was called upon it, yet I still don't know why exactly.

I thought that I would be driving to a bigger branch of the bank I'm registered to but instead, I parked to a rather large house owned by the branch manager of the said bank—Yohan Horach-

Ahem, I'm sorry. His name now is Yohan Mizuno.

I was utterly surprised to be received by Ryota's mother, Miharu Mizuno upon ringing the house's doorbell. It seems that while I'm dealing with my own stuff in the past few months, Ryota and his mother have apparently moved to Yohan's place right after the death of Joseph Horach.

Finally, their chaotic family have found peace, and I am happy for them, especially for Ryota who had to suffer just simply being the son of the one of the sickest criminals of this country.

All that being said, I heard that Ryota is still under watch when he steps out of their private residence, as after all, the shadow of Teardrop is still beneath him.

Afterwards, though, I was led directly to Yohan's home office as he had been expecting me.

"Thank you for coming today, Mr. Sakato."

"It's nice meeting you, Mr. Mizuno."

Technically, this isn't even the first time I am meeting him, but it just so happened that at that time, I was on my mask with Makoto and Detective Artecus conducting an investigation. Nonetheless, we shook hands firmly with nothing of the past holding us down, and I sat on the couch nearest to his desk.

I have my own guesses as to why he called for me, but I wouldn't want to get ahead of him on what he really wanted to tell me.

"First of all… I am very sorry for what you went through because of that man."

So he started with the elephant in the room.

"Um, I don't mean to doubt you, but I would really appreciate it if you tell me how exactly you knew of my connection with your late dad."

If anything, I was a little mad and I guess a little distrusting of him.

"I… when I first found out about his death, I went to his personal house and saw some evidence of him targeting you. It seems that when he escaped from prison, he used his house to hide for a while.

Frankly… it sounded as if he was obsessed of you."

"Is that really all of it?"

I was aware of how sour my expression has become and it seems that Yohan caught on to it. Slowly, he pulled the drawer of his desk and and handed me a folder.

Upon opening, I immediately took grasp of my counter earpiece as to make sure that any tampering in the room would be jammed.

The folder contained several documents with a few of them having my photographs of me as I am in the outside world and as an Exile. What is worse is that there was also an incomplete notes of me being a Medical Child, although they seem to be handwritten

"His informant was apparently together when they attacked you. Detective Artecus was very adamant that your name must not be publicized. He held a private questioning with the people of the underworld in the asylum and that was where he found out that the informant was one of them. If you wish to know more about it, the detective apparently recorded the investigation so you can approach him.

I did not really have your contact information, so the roundabout way of meeting you is when I found that you were registered to our bank's branch in Ginga. As to why I couldn't meet you eventually, I was busy attending several court hearings."

"I see…"

From there, he continued on, and I listened now that my doubts of him were removed.

With the death of Joseph Horach, Yohan had to deal with all the legal and judicial processes about his father and his other family. The government had seized Horach's properties and Yohan had to go through hearings regarding them. Some of the liquidated assets that Horach got through legal ways was transferred to his name while those that came from taxes from when he was a senator, other non-current assets including estates, and remaining assets that were found to be from the underworld were seized and recovered.

As he was a prominent figure in the underworld, he also held information about black markets, smuggling routes, and other networks that were also uncovered and taken care of with the police, and presumably with the spies in the shadows.

Afterwards, Yohan was able to finally settle the issue regarding his other family, being Ryota and his mother. In the process, he changed his name in the registry and welcomed his new family to his home.

"It must have been a few rough months for you."

"They really were… But aside from that… I only heard details from Ryota of what happened that night. I did not get the full story as he was very insistent on keeping things in the dark… but all I know is that you were almost killed.

For that, I would like to compensate for the damages that man had caused you. I know that no material thing could pay for what happened to you, but this is the least that I can do to make up for it."

"You really didn't have to go that far, Mr. Mizuno…"

"Still… it's not in my conscience to not just do anything about this."

"…"

He then pulled out a piece of paper and slid it towards the other end of his table.

It was a check, it turns out.

"Mr. Mizuno… am I seeing this correctly?"

"Yes… I would appreciate it if you were to accept this as a token of apology. And please don't hesitate to use it as you see fit."

"Mr. Mizuno… are you seriously just going to hand out 30 million Laxes just like that?!"

"Please don't say 'just like that'…

I have a good reason for fighting in the court to take some of the assets that that man had. None of them would remain in my pocket as I am slowly finding the people and organizations that he victimized, and I am giving it back to them. Frankly, I could not trust the government about it, as it could be put to the wrong places again so I took it upon myself to account them.

I know that is a lot of money, but this is the least I can do to help back those that suffered because of him."

I gave it a lot of thought right then and there. This was a very similar case to when the Kagurazaka's visited us, but I don't think the same situation would play out in this case. It seriously does not sit well with me that there is suddenly a huge sum of money being shoved in my face, and even if I do not have a stable work as of the moment, I am not entirely worried with my financial status… but I received some advice from Takezo Kagurazaka himself.

He himself encountered a situation when he was still in Japan that proved to him that there are people that are genuinely with a good heart and would want to help others out. When his company was just a start up, a business partner nearly brought the venture he put his blood, sweat, and tears to almost its downfall. In the end, there were apparently miscommunication and mismanagement that occurred without the CEO of his partner company's knowledge, and everything was settled peacefully.

But even after that, his business partner while feeling guilty about it had insisted in repaying him for all the damages he had caused to the point that he was followed all the way to Orio even after a few years when he was already quite successful. He gave up in the end and accepted the compensation which he then used to invest in his own company.

While it is still up in the air whether Yohan really knows if I was the Exile that came to him with the detective, he struck me back then as someone who wanted nothing to do with what his father was doing. He knew about the murder of her own mother, but it seems that the aftermath of the Cotona Square incident just opened his eyes to the real colors of that man.

Once more, I gave his proposition a lot of thought.

Instead of thinking of ideas to reject this one-sided offer, I began thinking about how I could utilize it. The money could be used to finally flood-proof the family house and renovate it, and even after that building a few apartment units would still be considerable. Even then, there would be some that will be left.

But while the sights of them are becoming clear, I had to dial it back in inside my head, as the last thing I would want now is to make a reckless decision.

"Then… is it possible to hook me up with credible nonprofit organizations that the Kagurazaka Conglomerate supports?"

"Why the mention of Kagurazaka suddenly…?"

"Let's just say that they helped me big time quite recently. I figured that with this opportunity I can give back to them even if by a little bit."

"I understand that, but…"

"What I'm saying is that I will accept it, but I will donate a third of the amount to Kagurazaka-backed NPOs. Well, after I discussed it with my family, that is.

I can't thank you enough, Mr. Mizuno."

"No worries. I'm more than happy to give back. I hope that this will help you in some form or another."

"If the time comes, I suppose."

~ ~ ~

As sundown approached, I was invited to have dinner with them as I was already in their residence anyway. While I was not able to see Ms. Miharu when she was still in the hospital, it seems that he is feeling a lot healthier now, and I could say that Joseph Horach had no right to eat food this good.

On the other hand, Ryota seems to be doing better. His expressions have really gotten softer than ever. I also did remember him taking in a lot of injuries, but it seems that they have all healed already. With this… I suppose Teardrop is finally gone as an entity.

By the time it was past 7 in the evening, I took off to the roads of the Capital to drive back home. As always, the main roads of the Capital is still full of traffic even at this hour, and while I was starting to get annoyed with it, I immediately stopped by a flower shop that was about to close and grabbed a bouquet to give to a certain someone, as it has been something that I have not done in a while.

Almost an hour later in several traffic jams, I was finally able to get to the expressway and I was finally back in Cotona.

For the remaining drive, I stopped by a convenience store to grab myself a drink and a few packs of microwave popcorn to bring home just because. I also routinely check the car's tires every time I go for a long travel just to make sure as I am still somewhat anxious when I am on the road, but not to the point that it is a hindrance.

It's times like this where I just want to travel on foot, and by that I mean leaping my way back home especially in the dark, but I just could not leave a car. With my mobility, maybe I really am a man of the night.

But I guess a car's one upside is that it has AC, though.

"Excuse me… are you Mr. Sakato?"

(!)

"…! Oh goodness, that scared me…!

Wait, Ms. Sora?"

"Um, sorry for suddenly surprising you…"

By the looks of it, it seems that she is on workout clothes from what I can see with the somewhat lackluster illumination outside the convenience store.

"Wait, um… Are you alone right now? It's almost 9pm… isn't it dangerous to be alone this late?"

"I was coming back from running… I used to always do this back at home so it developed as a habit. I'm sorry for worrying you, but I can handle myself in unexpected situations, I guess."

"If you say so… If you want, why not hop in the car? I'm on my way back home anyway."

"If you're okay with it. Thank you."

That really gave me a scare.

Ever since emerging from the Void, my senses have been sharpened because of how solitary it can be inside the Room. That enabled me to usually sense someone approaching me…

But I did not pick up anything from Sora: not even a sound. Perhaps she also one that has Minimal Exposure, but I really didn't want to bring it up at this point.

Instead, I just tidied up the back seats of the car and moved the flowers to the front seat.

"Alright, you can get in now."

"A bouquet… are you giving it to Ms. Akanami?"

"Yeah. Sometimes I'm not really that good of a boyfriend to him, so I ought to do this from time to time."

"I see. I wish there's also someone that would give me one," she playfully said.

"I don't mean to pry, but isn't Kyo just right there?"

I only saw it faintly from the rear-view mirror, but I could see a smile on her face just slightly illuminated with the passing street lights.

"We're not… really."

"Oh?"

"It's just that we've met in our university, and we've been very close friends since then. It's also the fact that we were both orphans that we found something mutual. Maybe you could say… we're more than friends at this point?

The thing is… we've never really talked about it. I don't really have particular feelings towards him, but I'm open to that since I'm not seeing anyone. Maybe it'd also be nice to settle down or something."

"I see…"

(!)

For a moment, I suddenly lost focus from the car and it felt like a lightning coursed through my brain.

Suddenly, a memory emerged from me.

"Uhh… I-I heard from my mom that before my uncle was diagnosed of cancer, he was visiting some orphanages as he was also an orphan himself. Have you by chance… met him back then?"

"…

Yes. I became friends with your mother when I found out that her maiden name is Kurogane. Back when I was still really young, I was an orphan here in Cotona. I didn't have a lot of memories of this place, but I have met Mr. Eijiro before. A memory of him that struck me the most is when he was crying. I only met him a few times, but I remembered his name at least, which is how I found Mrs. Senna."

"…"

Uncle Eijiro's memories suddenly emerged within me, as I am still a coincidental existence of him.

Sora was saved by my uncle from falling down quite a height… desperately, as it reminded him of himself when he was separated with our family.

Even as a child, Sora already had a rich black hair. Who knew she would grow up as a really beautiful woman. Back then, she was a clumsy one with messy hair. She would always fall down, but it was her clumsiness that made her loved by her siblings in her orphanage-

…

You know… would this still even be called a Freudian slip?

"I honestly never met him when he was still alive, but it's great that you met him at least. Even though he's not around anymore, he left a very big impact on us.

Ah man, just thinking of him makes me a bit emotional. Haha.

Enough of that… I hope you find a good partner for you, Ms. Sora. And if it actually happens to be Kyo… I think you two are suited for each other, honestly."

"Look at me now getting a pep talk when I'm the older one here."

"Don't say that. Ahaha."

"I have to say though… I feel like you resemble him, from what I remember."

"Really…?"

After that, the two of us continued having random conversations that somehow turned to me talking a lot about Rin, and then ending up with us playing shiritori in English until we got back to our home sector.

With the car finally secured on my space for the day, I opened the door of my house with the first thing I saw being… Kyo's… bum…

Still, it was sort of spectacular. Somehow, we found him on top of the semiwall that just beside my entranceway, balancing himself on fours over a concrete wall of only a few inches thick. Meanwhile, Haku was just there watching and clapping his hands in amazement.

"A-Ah… welcome back…"

Surprised, he was indeed, but he did not even show any signs of losing his balance, and gracefully hopped down to the floor with minimal sound.

"Don't knock the TV over, Haku."

"We didn't."

"I didn't even think to bring this up at all, but Kyo surprisingly has a really good sense of balance…" Sora whispered, and proceeded to whack Kyo's head.

Just like the time they first arrived here, Kyo has given me a strange vibe. It's nothing that is really serious or off-putting but something tells me that it's a very familiar feeling. But again, I can't put my finger on what exactly it is.

And besides, my brain is too tired to think about it further.

"I'll be locking the door on the way out. I guess you won't be needing breakfast tomorrow since you'll be out early. Also, please be careful when running at night, Ms. Sora."

"I'll take note of that."