To The Future

Valentines, a day for people to share their love for one another. Starfight even has some limited items you can gift others. I’m well aware I have no admirers, and certainly no girlfriend. It normally doesn't bother me, but this year, for some reason, it stung.

February 14th 2019

After school, Seiji and Hanabi were the first to leave, with Ryuuji, Steve, and Sun at the school gate. The couple is currently waiting for the hired driver. Since this is their first valentine’s together in a decade, Steve wanted to do something special.

“Are you sure you don’t want to join Ryuuji?” Sun asks.

“I’m kind of afraid of what Steve has planned. Besides, I don’t want to interfere.” Ryuuji

“If it’s what Sun wishes then I won’t argue.” Steve

“Go have fun. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Ryuuji pushes for them to leave.

When the driver pulls up, Ryuuji forces a smile until they’re out of sight. He lets out a sigh, “Now what?”

He could just go back to Seiji’s apartment, it’s sure to be quiet for a while. He could be more active and go for a walk, or take it easy and play Starfight. There’s also another vacant place he can visit.

Ryuuji contemplates for a moment before turning right, walking in the direction he used to after school.

I don’t know why dad’s apartment suddenly popped into my mind that day. It’s not like anyone will be there either. Maybe the loneliness finally hit me and I started to miss him.

Ryuuji goes up the elevator and stops in front of apartment 316. Out of habit, he still carries his key on him. After the hacking incident he even started putting it in his wallet.

He inserts the key and opens the door. The TV was most commonly the only light he would see, but today he’s met with darkness. Ryuuji walks in and takes his shoes off, turning on the light right after. To his surprise, the stained couch and all of the trash is missing.

“He actually cleaned up before he left, huh.” Ryuuji considers his father was incapable of doing so on his own, so Scott probably helped out.

Ryuuji sits on the floor with his back against the wall, staring into the vacant living room. He’s not really sure what he expected. He knew there would be no one here and nothing to see. The loneliness still lingers.

If there’s one thing he finds comfort in, it’s the familiarity he feels from simply being here. For just over half a year, this was what he called home. Much of that time was filled with frustration, and he barely interacted with his father, but he can’t deny he misses some aspects.

When Ryuuji was still living with him, even though he was a hopeless drunk, he at least knew that he was there. That he was okay. Right now, he has no way to even contact him. Left with nothing other than silence. Similar to before, he can only hope he will return.

“I have to figure out something to eat.”

Ryuuji then remembers Hanabi gave him chocolate this morning. She said there was extra from when she made some for Seiji. Considering they’re all oddly shaped, broken pieces, what she said was probably true. At least she was nice enough to put it in a bag wrapped with a cute pink bow. He takes one bite and says in a low tone, “Delicious.”

I sat there for a few good hours, staring off into space, eating delicious chocolate. I wouldn’t have minded staying there for the night, but with how my friends are, they’d probably send out a search party if I didn’t return. Spending time at home like that was strangely reassuring.

In the following weeks, I tried to hide that I was feeling down, but I doubt it worked. They were all skilled at picking up on it by that point. Even so, no one said anything or questioned me. Time continued to pass, and then it was late April  just over one year since this whole mess started with no word from my dad.

April 22nd 2019

In the hall on the way to class, Steve reaches out to Ryuuji, “Can you come over tonight?”

“Sure, I need to this week anyway.” Ryuuji says after contemplating.

“Awesome!”

Despite this being the only time he asked on a specific day, I agreed and took a ride with Steve to his home. I didn’t put much thought into it since I did so once a week anyway.

After walking in the front door, I glanced to my left and was shocked by what I saw. It was a sight I couldn’t forget.

Ryuuji’s father, Akihiko, is leaning back on the couch with his legs relaxed, complaining to Scott. When he notices Ryuuji, he looks at him with a scowl.

“Ryuuji! I was told you haven’t been saying here like you said. What happened?!”

“Aki, I told you not to bring that up right away.” Scott says as he shakes his head.

“And I told you to stop calling me that. We’re grown men, enough with the childish nicknames.”

Remaining silent, Ryuuji can only look at the father he hasn’t seen in months. Concerned, Akihiko lowers his voice.

“Are you okay?”

After taking it all in, Ryuuji grins, “It’s about time you got back, dad.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, son.”

After 6 months of rehab, my dad finally returned. We decided to eat dinner with Scott and Steve before going home for the night, leaving my things at Seiji’s in the meantime.

I didn’t expect anything right away, but after arriving home, my dad and I talked through the night as if to catch up on everything then and there. I told him about my job, school, and my friends and all the incidents that led to our meeting, highlighting how much they helped me. In response he said;

“Sounds like they helped you more than I could have. I’d love to meet them.”

I tried asking about his rehab, but he didn’t want to talk to me about it. He simply described it as a difficult experience and it made him regret turning to alcohol all the more. He also mentioned Scott helped him get through it, adding that he probably would have taken longer to recover without him. ‘The friend you never asked for, but helped you more than you could have imagined.’ I think is how he put it, and I knew exactly what he meant.

From the moment I saw him again, I could tell my dad changed. The person who was once outgoing and unable to hide his feelings, became more stern and stoic. It was as if he lost the ability to smile, though he could still feel all the same emotions. It was weird at first, but then I thought back to how much this all changed me, so I guess it was inevitable. Deep down, he’s the person who raised me.

We ended up talking until late into the night. Due to that and the fact that we were home together after so long, my dad suggested I skip school the next day so we could straighten up around the house. Though he would only allow it this once. No way I was going to refuse that. We decided to continue living here at least until I graduate since it’s so close to school.

After we finished unpacking his room, we grabbed my things from Seiji’s, went shopping to stock the fridge, and by the time we were done, it was almost time for bed. Before sleeping, my dad and I had one more conversation,

“I’m going back to work tomorrow and have no intention of losing my place in the company ever again. Since you just started your last year of high school, I suggest taking a break from working to focus on your studies. Don't feel pressured to join Komi just because it's labeled as a family company. I will support whatever career you decide to follow.”

Leaving me with those heavy words all I was able to say was “I’ll consider it.” It’s not like I didn’t care about any of that, but at the time my mind was preoccupied. I wanted to be sure to get a lot of sleep because the next day was a very important one.

April 24th 2019

Ryuuji is in the kitchen making a quick breakfast for him and his father. As he’s finishing up, the front door opens and Scott pops in.

“Aki~ I’m here with your ride!” Scott says, then noticing who’s in the kitchen, “Oh, good morning Ryuuji.”

“Wait, how did you unlock the door?” Ryuuji asks rather than greet.

“I still have a key from when I helped your dad.” Scott says, holding it up while grinning from ear to ear.

I have to find a way to take it back or else this will be a regular thing. A mission Ryuuji is determined to complete.

Akihiko rushes down the hall as he puts on his suit jacket. “I thought you told me you were only sending a driver to get me each morning?”

“I never said I wouldn’t be coming as well~” Scott hums as he continues to showcase his key.

Disgruntled, Akihiko whispers, “I have to find a way to get that key back.”

“Please do.” Ryuuji concurs.

Akihiko wants to avoid being late on his first day back and only takes a cup of coffee, planning to get food at work, but still thanks his son for making breakfast. After watching them leave, Ryuuji looks at the meager plate of food he made, thankful there isn’t too much since it ended up being all for him.

He eats quickly and leaves, excited for the day he’s been waiting for. He passes the school and goes right to the train station, watching as each passenger exits while searching for one specific person. Once in sight, he waves and shouts her name, “Sun!”

Once she notices Ryuuji, Sun smiles and approaches him.

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to give you this.”

Ryuuji hands her a wrapped, custom cookie that says ‘Happy Birthday Sun’ written in icing. Delighted, her smile gets brighter.

“You remembered? Even through all this?”

“Of course, I promised I’d make it up to you after all. And for the record, I didn’t need Steve to remind me either.” Ryuuji is proud of that fact.

“This is really thoughtful, thank you!”

Ryuuji observes her joyful reaction, not needing anything more than that.

As they walked, they wound up talking about how Ryuuji’s dad was doing. Steve told her that he had returned, but she wanted to give them some space and didn’t reach out, choosing to wait until they saw each other at school.

“He’s not the same as before, but he’s acting more like a father again and that’s enough for me.” Ryuuji says.

As they get close, they see Seiji and Hanabi, as well as Steve who is holding a small gift. Sun immediately shows off Ryuuji’s gift, causing Steve to freak out.

“No way! How could someone other than Sun’s boyfriend give her a gift first? That should be illegal!” he shouts.

“You snooze, you lose.” Ryuuji brags.

“My parents first gave me a gift this morning, actually.” Sun points out.

“It’s all about the effort. You should have thought of going to pick her up yourself.” Seiji says.

“Yes! Seiji picks me up at home on my birthday and it always makes me happy!” Hanabi says.

Hearing their reasonable statements, Steve pouts. “You’re right! My first time in years seeing Sun in person for her birthday and I blew it! Ahhhh!!”

Watching him overreact as always, Ryuuji begins to laugh uncontrollably. He tries to apologize as he wipes away tears of joy, but he can’t stop himself.

Irritated by his laughter, Steve wants to yell at him to stop, but this is the happiest he has ever seen Ryuuji, leaving him unable to retaliate. He instead ignores him and hands Sun her gift with a smile.

“Here, Sun. I’m sorry I wasn’t first, but Happy Birthday.”

“The order doesn’t matter silly.” Sun says as she opens the present. Inside the small box is a phone charm shaped like a sun with a yellow gem at its center.

Steve raises his arms as he shouts, “You are the sunshine of my life–” but he’s stopped when Sun jumps to hug him.

“I love it! Thank you!!”

They’re at school, but none of that matters. Sun is too happy to care about what any onlookers may think. Last year, she only received a present from her parents and an online ‘happy birthday’ from Steve, all while dealing with the new student, Ryuuji Takomi’s bragging at school. Compared to that, this birthday is a thousand times better.

Ryuuji calms down and wipes away the remaining tears, looking up to see everyone’s happy faces. To him too, this day is a thousand times better than last year.

“Are you all done causing a scene?” Seiji asks.

“How rude, it was a simple display of affection. And I seem to recall having witnessed several moments between the two of you.” Steve says as he waves his finger.

“This isn’t a competition.” Sun repeats what others have always said.

“It seems like everything is with him…” Hanabi says.

“Just with love. I can’t beat Hargrave in Starfight, but real life is different! At least it should be.” Steve says.

“Would you shut up with that already.” Seiji complains.

That was the most I had laughed in a long time. Or more accurately, the first time I felt comfortable laughing like that in a long time. The changes are finally over and it felt like I could finally enjoy life again, with some amazing friends by my side.

~EPILOGUE; to the future~

Since I was told to start considering my own future, I asked everyone if they knew what they wanted to do after graduation.

Sun said she wants to be a counselor of sorts at a school. Apparently my situation pointed out to her how flawed the school system is. If it happens here, it’s sure to happen elsewhere too. Even if she could only help a few kids, she feels it would be worth it. I suppose I should be happy I helped in some way.

Hanabi didn't hesitate to say she wanted to join Komi Company. She claims to have a lot of good ideas that would be good for the game in the long run. It would be amusing to see my dad have to deal with her.

Seiji still has no idea what he wants to do yet. For now, he said as long as Hanabi is happy, then it didn’t matter as much what he does. Well, he still has two years to decide. I told him with his smarts, he can make it anywhere.

Steve of course also said Komi Company. He was originally satisfied with working at his dad’s gaming distribution company, but now he’s attempting to beat his sister in getting a position there. This also means he can always live with Sun as well. Though I don’t see how the two are connected.

As for me, for now I just plan to focus on getting the best grades I can. Whether I decide to follow in my dad’s footsteps and work for Komi Company, or follow a different path, I’ll figure it out on the way, just like I did before. Except now I have a better idea of what to do.