“You’re leaving?!?”

Yamada shouted as Kimua pulled him down to his seat on the table, they were eating in the lunchroom as he nodded. “Yes, I’m leaving, I got approval from the Head Administrator.” Kimura replied to his question, drinking his juice box. Once he finished it, He picks up his tray of half-eaten food and began walking to the trash, dumping it into the bin.

Yamada grew concerned about him, although they had gotten off at the wrong foot at the beginning, Yamada felt like something was off with him leaving for a week. He walked out of the cafeteria as Fujiwara, Yun, and Suzuki were looking at the swinging doors he went through, all of them concerned. Kimura walked along the path, heading away from the academy building and heading towards the dormitories.

It’s just one week…

He took some deep breaths as she walked into the building, going up to his room and opening it, grabbing his backpack. He pulls out his phone and sends a text, putting his phone away right after as a portal opened right in his room, right in front of him. Kimura took a deep breath as he walked in, the portal closed behind him, leaving his academy emblem behind on a shelf counter.

On the other side of the portal, He stood at the front of the large gate, pushing a button as the gate opened. “I hate this house…” He commented, walking to the mansion as he knocked at the front door. Click! Creeak… The door opened as his older brother, Aki. “I didn’t think you’d arrive Makoto.” He seemed surprised, Makoto sighed as he replied, “What does the old man have to say…” he asks, wanting to leave as fast as possible.

“I—” Before Aki could talk, A loud voice comes from behind him.

“AKI!! IS THAT MAKOTO! TELL HIM TO COME IN!”

“—S-Sure thing Dad!” Aki replied.

“Seriously…You need to come in before my ass is cooked…”

“Ehh…you seem like you’re handling it.” He scoffs with a smug smile.

Aki seemed to reach a boiling point as he grabbed Makoto by the shirt and dragged him inside, almost throwing him inside. “Hey watch the shirt!” Makoto commented as he pats the wrinkles out of his dress shirt. “MAKOTO!!!” A commanding voice came from behind as he immediately stopped as he remembered where he was.

His father, Kimura Kenji, walked over to them as he stood at 6ft with black hair and blue eyes. Makoto sighed as he looked at his father, seemingly uninterested in what he was going to say. “What is it now Pops…” Makoto asked, seemingly wanting to leave back to the academy. Kenji sighed as he replies, “Makoto, it’s because we had gotten more information on your mothers’ whereabouts.” He seemed quite surprised at his father’s excitement.

Kenji had a big smile as Makoto puts down his bag and willingly listens to his father’s findings. He listened to Kenji as he was explaining it for a good while. Makoto didn’t seemingly care about his mom, as he was getting more and more annoyed by his dad.

“Why can’t you grasp at the fact that mom isn’t coming home.”

“She is coming home; she is just lost Makoto.”

“Dad…when will you give it a rest, your way past your prime.” Makoto grew concerned.

“Son, I will never accuse myself of being past it, I’m just as nimble as ever!” He flexed his arm with a big smile.

Makoto sighed, looking around as he asked, “Where’s Keiko?” as a sudden cold shoulder fell upon him. He quickly turned around as he was lightly karate chopped on the head by Keiko, his older sister and oldest sibling. “Dad’s rambling off again, I need you to stay here so I can go do my job…” she seemed annoyed as if she listened to his conversation a thousand times now.

“Well, I don’t want to be here, I still have school!”

“Oh, cheer up Makoto, I already called Haven Academy, They were surprised to hear from me but they informed me about you leaving for a week.”

“That’s because I informed it was going to BE a week.” He shrugged frustrated at his father’s obliviousness.

“Well besides that, let’s all go to the coffee table, I have the folder.” He holds up a yellow folder as they follow him to the coffee table, sitting around it.

Kenji and Keiko sat beside each other as Aki and Makoto sat on the other side of the table, Kenji opened the folder as he pulls out six pictures of their assumed mother. One of the five images showcased her with another man, holding hands as they strolled through a park as they were seemingly a happy couple.

Keiko, Aki, and Makoto looked at the images as they each picked up one except for Kenji. They then heard him silently get up as he walked to the backyard. They looked over at Kenji as he expected good news, Makoto looked down at the images, they were worse than he would have imagined. Makoto sets the picture down on the table as did his older siblings. Keiko was seemingly thinking about it as she was the only sibling to be old enough to roughly remember their mother.

“What is it Keiko?”

“Mom isn’t that kind of person to hop on other ships so easily…” she commented, looking at the images.

“So? What does that have to mean?”

“Mom’s a grounded person, but I’m the only one who could really remember.”

“Then why would dads provider give us these photos…”

“Can’t you use your eyes Makoto. Look here.” She pointed at one of the images as she pointed out a glitch in the image.

Aki and Makoto took a closer look as most of the images were the same thing, having glitches in the photos. “These images were clearly taken to cover up for something else, they’re fake photos.” She points out again, they both deadpan look at her as she raises an eyebrow at them. “What?” she replied to their deadpan faces as they pointed to the backyard.

She looks over as Kenji is curled up sitting upright as he seemed downed by the images. She groans at it, “God…fucking damn it…” she resented the idea as she gets up and heads over to the back, opening the door and feeling the immense depressive aura he was letting off. “damn dad…you should brighten up a bit…” she sounded overall concerned as Kenji didn’t reply.

“Dad…the images are fake; we found some glitches to them…”

“I’m a failure of a father that’s what…”

“Don’t say that dad. C’mon we’ve been over this for so long now.” She tried to comfort him, walking out, and sitting beside him.

“Makoto hates me…Aki doesn’t want me around…and you’re living by yourself Keiko…”

That…is true sadly enough…

“Makoto and Aki just have it hard since they’ve never been with mom since they were young.”

“Is that so…?” He looks over to her as he wiped his tears.

“I’m sure dad, deep down we all care for you and mom, we just hate to show it sometimes.”

This made Kenji smile a bit as he looked at the pool remembering when it was just him, their mother, and Keiko in the pool together. He sighs, wanting to just have some family time with not only Makoto but also with Aki and Keiko as well. He found a new resolve as he looked over at Keiko, replying, “Thanks Keiko. I needed this talk.”

Keiko smiles at his father, her job being a college therapist as she deals with these kinds of things daily. Keiko leans to hug her dad as he does the same hugging back. Keiko lets go of the hug as Makoto and Aki were listening in on their talk, being seen as they were leaning on the glass window right next to the glass framed door beside Makoto. Kenji walked back inside as he helped Makoto back upstairs into his old room.

His room was left untouched except for cleaning as their maiden, Ms. Kurokawa, had been keeping his stuff clean and tidy since he left the house. He saw how clean his room was, including his complex gaming setup and his computer. “Thank you for keeping my room clean for all these years Ms. Kurokawa, I don’t know how I could have kept it clean myself.” He bows politely to Ms. Kurokawa.

“It’s nothing Mr. Makoto, but unfortunately, this will be my last day helping you and your family Mr. Makoto…”

“W…What…?” Makoto seemed disheartened by the news as he asks her, “W-what’s going on Ms. Kurokawa!” scared that she could die.

“I’m retiring from all my years working for your family Mr. Makoto, In my place tomorrow will be my daughter, Kurokawa Fumiko.”

He lets out a sigh of relief to know that Ms. Kurokawa isn’t dying, but still saddened at her retirement. “We’ll hold a retirement ceremony for you Ms. Kurokawa.” He promised as she was touched by it smiling with enlightenment. “Mr. Makoto, you and your family have provided my family with enough kindness to keep us all happy…I hope my daughter will be happy to work as your new maid…”.

He bows again as Ms. Kurokawa bows back in respect as Kurokawa heads downstairs, Makoto walks into his room as he’s filled with nostalgia, seeing his anime posters and his track posters from his old school. He sets his bag on his bed as he lays down on it, looking at the ceiling as he saw his poster for Anime Expo 2027. Has it really been two and a half years…It felt like yesterday… he then sat up as he looks at his collection, seeing only five figures on his bookshelf and seeing the other three on his computer desk.

He smiles a bit from joy as he takes a deep breath, exhaling it out. It’s…Nice to come home again… he lays back down on his bed as he begins to doze off and fall asleep.

* * *

“C’mon Kimura! You’re going to be late!”

“I’m going I’m going!”

Kimura is running down a street as two other kids were running with him, he was in the back as he was barley able to keep up with him. He was huffing and puffing heavily, reaching their school just fifteen minutes before the school day started. Is…Is this Kankuri…? He thought to himself as he could see himself from a third person perspective, he was as transparent as a ghost, seeing himself at his old school as they ran into the school building.

I was…so bright before…

He watched his younger self as he followed himself into the building, seeing that he was having the time of his life from two years ago. SKRREEET!!!! He heard tires come to a halt as he turned around to see a group of four to five vans appear as armed and espers came out of the vans, their faces covered.

This was the day that the incident happened…

He heard gunfire as he could hear the alarm go off, screaming as students scattered along the halls trying to reach their homerooms, the sound of staff members trying to stop them from intruding any further to no avail as he hears screaming of students being grabbed, crying, whimpering, and calling out for help.

He covered his ears to muffle it as he hears the explosion being thrown back into his younger perspective as he was on the ground, seeing his two friends being put in the back as his ears ringed, he can see his friend say something but couldn’t hear what they said. He saw the cars pack up as they drove off, he then finally woke up and jolted up in a cold sweat.

His breathing was impaired as he struggled to get a good grasp as he dug into his bag, bringing out an inhaler as he took a puff from it, sighing with relief. He puts his inhaler beside him as he wipes the cold sweat off. Why…Why do I keep coming back to that…nightmare…