Reconciliation

"Splendid," Mr. Okazaki said. "Can I see your location?"

"Go ahead," I replied.

The glasses recognized the permission request and my approval.

"You're in the Trading District," he said.

"This is where Sanae and Risa live."

"I see…. The car will arrive in five minutes."

"Understood."

"And Kaito, thank you for this opportunity."

"I don't think I'm the person you should thank," I giggled.

He laughed. "I believe you are. I'll see you in ten minutes."

"Sure."

He hung up.

Good thing he hung up first. I wouldn't have known when to do it.

"Did you finish?" Sanae asked.

"Yep. A car will come for us in five minutes."

"What?! Already?"

"He was the one to set the time, but the sooner the better."

"I agree," Risa said.

Sanae stared down at the table. The only time I had seen her that anxious was when she had a panic attack. And, in fact, she was having one. She jumped out of the chair and opened one of the cabinets in the kitchen. She took a pill from a bottle and swallowed it with a chug of water.

We all stared at her, concerned. She sat down again and closed her eyes to calm herself down.

Then I received another call; it was Aya.

Here it comes.

I answered. "Aya, before you—"

"Kaito! Please tell me what happened!"

"I will, but calm down."

"I'm calm!"

"You obviously aren't! Remember to inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale."

A few breathings later, she calmed down. I explained to her what had happened in as brief a summary as possible and told her to watch the video.

"Okay. But we still need to talk in person," she said.

"We will."

"Be careful, Kaito. Defend your company with all you got."

"Aw. I knew you worried—"

"Because it's going to be impossible for me to find another job."

"Really?"

"And because I worry. A little. See you soon."

"See you."

She hung up and I took my glasses off.

We chatted for a couple of minutes in the kitchen, trying to lighten the mood, but nothing seemed to help. Then, a car arrived outside exactly five minutes after the call with the president had ended. It didn't look like it had anything to do with the government, so that was going to help.

Butcher made space for Sanae, Risa, and me to walk through the reporters. We hopped in through the back door. It looked like a normal car.

"Good morning, Mr. Miyahara and Okazaki ladies," the chauffeur greeted. "I will take you to the president's house. Please make yourselves comfortable."

"Thanks," I replied.

The car rose into the air and accelerated towards the city. Once there were no reporters at sight, the car rose even higher to reach the exclusive traffic lines for official services. Then the car's panel—in the center of the dashboard—displayed a message.

Camouflaging?

Even though the message had changed to 'success' after a few seconds, there were no obvious changes. I could only guess that the car had made itself invisible using some kind of HoloForm.

Sanae, Risa, and I were dead silent. I glanced at them and noticed they were holding hands. Then Sanae—sitting beside me—suddenly grabbed my hand and squeezed it hard. It surprised me, but I squeezed hers back.

We arrived at the president's house five minutes later. It looked like a mansion everyone could buy—if they had the money, of course. It was big, but not too big. There was a sea of reporters surrounding the estate. It was already overwhelming to have dozens following you, but I couldn't imagine how it felt to have a hundred behind you.

The car simply flew down and entered a garage. The reporters didn't seem to notice, so the car was probably still invisible. It parked and the chauffeur asked us to get out. A butler was waiting for us. He guided us through hallways, doors, and upstairs until we finally arrived at a living room.

There was an artificial fireplace in the middle of the wall which was made of glass, giving an incredible view of the park in front. In the center of the room, a rug lay on the wooden floor. It had a coffee table on top, which was surrounded by sofas.

Where is the…

Not having finished my thought, Mr. Okazaki arrived: the president himself. He wore a suit without a tie nor a coat. He seemed just as shocked as us.

"Please take a seat," he said.

We complied and sat down at one of the sofas. He then sat on the sofa in front of us. He glanced at Sanae and Risa multiple times before looking at me. Suddenly, he stood up and kneeled down to bow in front of us. His forehead reached the carpet.

"Sanae, Risa, I can't be forgiven for what I did to you; it was the biggest mistake of my life. The only thing I will ask for is your friendship. I don't deserve even that, but I'm going to work hard to deserve it. I'm going to redeem myself not only with words but with actions."

I was shocked, but Sanae and Risa were aghast. Mr. Okazaki straightened up, still kneeling on the carpet. He stared at them.

"I'm sorry. I have been holding it in for sixteen years. Sanae. Risa. Those are beautiful names. I praise the person that chose them. I imagine they were the one to raise you as well. You look just like your mother."

"Shut up!" Sanae yelled. Mr. Okazaki's smile instantly vanished. "That person is called Gorō. You can't imagine the struggles he went through to be able to take care of us, while you were here enjoying life with enough money for a thousand lifetimes and cheating on your wife. You're sorry but you know nothing about us. How do we know you are not doing this only because you feel guilty?"

"Sanae…," Risa said.

Mr. Okazaki looked at the floor for a moment before looking at Sanae again.

"Every day, this guilt has burned me. The mere thought of not seeing you grow up made me want to snatch my heart out and step on it. Even if you forgave me, I would still feel the burning from missing sixteen years of your lives. Mr. Gorō; I will never be able to thank him enough. I'm going to listen to all the struggles he had and I'm going to give him what he deserves and more. Just as I will to you."

Sanae and Risa stared at him, speechless. He then looked down at the floor.

"About the cheating part…, I'm going to explain it. It's not an excuse, I just want you to know the truth."

He stood up and sat down on the sofa in front of us. He sighed before speaking.

"Yes, I was engaged to the woman who is now my wife when it happened, so I did cheat. However, our marriage was never because of love. For political reasons, we were forced to do it. It frustrated me so much that I looked for vengeance with your mother. I had been in love with her for years; ever since I became president. She was the one I wanted to marry, but the rest of the politicians wouldn't approve a marriage between the president and a maid."

"But you're the president," Risa said. "Can't you do whatever you want?"

"I wish it had been as simple as that. At the time, if I had done something they didn't like, they would've destroyed my career and my life with such ease. Fortunately, I got rid of them over time and the government has become a paradise to work in."

"You did it for vengeance," Sanae said. "We are the product of a whim?"

He sighed. "We were young and naive. We were angry at the time, but we had fantasized about having children many times. We knew we wanted it, so the anger was just the key to unlock that lock that prevented us from doing it."

"Did you regret it?"

"Not even once I have regretted that decision. The only decision I regret is abandoning you. We faked your mother being fired and managed to hide the pregnancy. Then, once you were born, I made her abandon you in the Trading District…. God, I can't say it without hating myself."

"But why did you abandon us?" Risa asked. "You could've just quit."

"The other politicians would've destroyed my life and your mother's. It was selfish on our part."

"They are monsters…"

"Were. They stopped being politicians years ago. I made sure of that."

The conversation came to a halt that lasted for a while. Sanae and Risa exchanged a few glances, while I merely sat still.

Should I even be here?

"As you said, we can't forgive you," Sanae said. "You cheated on your wife and abandoned us. But we understand a bit more now."

Mr. Okazaki's eyes opened wide and glistened.

"We can't be friends with someone that did those awful things," Risa continued. "Unless they demonstrate they have changed."

"Which is going to take a long while for you. Very long."

Suddenly, Mr. Okazaki jumped up from the sofa and approached us. Crying, he hugged Sanae and Risa, while I sat still beside them.

This is awkward…. Maybe I should leave.

"Thank you!" he said. "I'm going to do everything in my power to demonstrate it. Starting by quitting being president."

"Eh?!" Sanae, Risa, and I uttered.

Mr. Okazaki stopped hugging them and backed off.

"It would be foolish for me to continue. People don't respect me anymore and I'm a bad example to follow. And I don't need it; getting you back is more than enough."

"What about… Mother?" Sanae wondered. "Do you still talk with her?"

"Of course. We stopped talking for a few years to avoid suspicions, but we have talked every day since. We haven't seen each other in person in sixteen years, though."

"That sounds rough," Risa replied.

"Not as rough as you've had it, I'm sure of that. I promise I'm going to compensate you. First, let's make sure you get properly registered as citizens."

Sanae and Risa glanced at each other, worried.

"Is something the matter?" Mr. Okazaki asked.

"We want to stay with Gorō," Sanae answered. Risa nodded.

"Of course, I wouldn't dare ask for guardianship over you after all these years. I might be your biological father, but he's the one that raised you; he's your parental figure."

Sanae and Risa smiled.

"However, you need to choose your names. It's up to you to keep my last name or use Mr. Gorō's."

Sanae and Risa glanced at each other.

"I like Risa Okazaki," Risa replied.

"And I like Sanae Okazaki," Sanae added. "It sounds nice."

Mr. Okazaki's smile couldn't get any wider.

"Understood!" he said.

How much longer is this going to last?

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, Kaito. We need to discuss some things."