~ Third Person Pov, Back Home ~
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Home never felt like this...
Not to mention the fact that he was practically tired mentally as well. There was just too much to keep up with in this place. Now he was wondering if he should just run, and run far away...
"You're back."
He looked up, seeing Yukari again. She must have heard him come in; not that he was being particularly quiet in the first place.
"Yeah, I'm back. I sorted out what I had to." he said to her, taking off his shoes in the process.
"That's good, I suppose... Also, I wanted to tell you that the project is coming along well. It should even be finished in about another few weeks or so."
'Finally... Some well needed good news,' he thought.
"So... about this morning. I wanted to continue our discussion."
Of course, he didn't want to tackle it, but ever since that talk with Setsuna, he had some well-needed questions too.
...
"Sure... What do you want to talk about exactly?"
"It's about what you said before you left... About this whole scenario being quiet fast to begin with. Truth be told, even I'm not used to it myself." she said.
"You're right... But, I want to ask you something before I answer that question...."
She nodded.
He walked inside further, "Tell me... Did you love your ex-husband?"
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She looked at him like she was surprised, if not slightly offended too... He felt that he needed to tread carefully with this line of questioning.
"I did, or had. Why do you ask?"
He sighed, "I just, wanted to make sure of something... So let me ask you this; between me or him, which feelings would you say are stronger."
She didn't answer at the same time, which made sense—the question was heavy.
"That answer to that is, complicated..."
"Simplify it for me then." he asked. He needed to press the issue, and feel her out.
"..."
"Alright then... I am in love with you, but I also loved my husband... if you can understand what I mean." she responded.
The answer to that wasn't what he expected it to be, but unfortunately, he got the gist.
"So... You're saying, I was essentially your love at first sight; while your husband was the man you came to love...? Correct me if I'm wrong."
"You aren't wrong."
"Great, that means... you're infatuated by me, by definition then?"
She slowly nodded, hesitantly.
"I see where you are going with this, but I'm not just attracted to you physically... As much as I thought that was the case initially. It isn't." she added, instantly shooting down his hypothesis.
"Oh...?" He acted surprised. But no matter how he wanted to twist it, as much as he couldn't believe it, he could confidently say it—this woman was actually in love with him. He'd never actually seen this before in his lifetime, but it definitely made sense, especially since falling in love at first sight was very rare...
She looked him in the eyes. "Love, simply works that way, funny isn't it? I think, it's best I told you a story that was passed down from when I was younger." Yukari then sat down, and clasped her hands.
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"When I was much younger, my mother had told me a story about my great-great ancestor, Tsumugu. The founder of the wall that surrounds us, the people of the sea... But, that doesn't matter much to the story at hand." She said.
Ayano didn't know why, but he felt as if he felt as if he should listen to her...
"My great-great ancestor, Chisaki had someone she was in love with at first. However, due to certain incidents during that period of time, that relationship never came to be for her. Eventually, she decided to stay with Tsumugu due to her new circumstances, and time the passed again, with her growing older because of it; now being a young woman in her late teens, had lived with my great ancestor Tsumugu; who apparently loved her the moment he laid eyes on her. Based on the story, they had met when they around 14 years old, quite young..." She said, smiling to herself.
"...I've got two questions. First, who was the person Chisaki even in love with? And second, why didn't it get to work out exactly?" Ayano asked, curious to see where she was eve going with this kind of story.
She placed a finger on her lip, "Well, to answer your first, his name was Hikari... Both he and my great ancestor Chisaki were childhood friends so to speak, along with the rest... And, as for why it didn't work out, well, it's because Hikari himself was in love with his other best friend, Manaka."
Ayano looked at her questioningly. "Sounds like quite the love triangle..."
She smiled, "Oh~ You don't even know the half of it. I'm just condensing the entire story... But, to cut it short, my mother once told Hikari that -I love the you that loves her- This, was all before the incident that happened between them all, separating the group of friends. Still, Chisaki had know that Hikari was very much in love with Manaka, and she loved that side of him that does so.... Eventually, after the incident, my Chisaki had grown an interest in Tsumugu, since she was with him for multiple years, but it wasn't ever exactly love... Moving along, he confessed to her, albeit indirectly, and they eventually lived their life..."
Not understanding so far, he kept quiet.
"Many years passed again, and they had children, and eventually grandchildren, but... Throughout that time, there was one last thing in particular that my great ancestor Chisaki had said, and it was that even though she had grown to love my great grandfather Tsumugu, she still ended wondering what kind of life she would have lived with the person she was truly love with..." She said, pausing for a bit, before staring off to the side.
"Though, not to get it distorted; I heard she had loved my great grandfather, dearly; but her first ever love was something she wished would have experienced in her long life; In truth... I heard she said it hadn't completely left her, and that, your first love never truly does, what you can do, is accept the fact that it just couldn't, or can't truly be."
Ayano hearing this shook his head for a bit, asking. "Yukari-san, why are you telling me all this, exactly...?" Not truly getting what she's trying to say right now, but he knew it had some form of meaning to it.
He just couldn't grasp it completely...
She sighed for a moment, "What I'm saying, is that... I just wanted to try. But, I also knew that this kind of relationship would never really work out; most like it almost never does, it's even worse when you factor in how sudden it was. It's the curse of being a realist... However, I also didn't want to lead a life that my great ancestor Chisaki held; in her story, she didn't try with her first love, but I refused to allow that kind of opportunity to pass me by.
...Regardless, this was mostly about my daughter... I know, I may not have a chance with you..." she paused, voice thinning for the first time since ever, "...But, if anything, I want you to help protect her, Ayano... That child, she might not even realize it yet, but... if anything happens to me, I want you to help protect her to the best of your ability, Ayano, please."
"Yukari... I never asked for any of this..." he said quietly, feeling burdened.
"I... know you didn't..." Yukari replied, much softer now. "That's why I'm asking you this, not as a potential partner, or even as someone who ever had the right to want more from you—but as a mother."
"I'll... protect her..." he said at last. "I can't promise what'll happen between us, or what direction this all goes in—but I'll protect her as best as I can. That much... you have my word."
Yukari exhaled, a slow release of the weight she'd carried.
"…Thank you," she said, standing. "That's all I needed to hear."
She stepped past him, walking toward the staircase, but paused for a moment just before turning the corner... "I'm sorry, for all this Ayano. For putting you in the position to answer questions no one your age should have to consider."
He shook his head, "It's, fine Yukari... At least you were honest with me... Head up stairs, and get some rest. I've got some training to do myself."
She lingered for a bit longer, as if she wanted to say something more—but thought better of it. Instead, she gave him a small nod, then disappeared up the stairs, leaving Ayano alone...
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He sighed to himself, trying to digest everything he heard today
'Well, that was... Intense...'
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END