mission report for gomushroom (part 3 of 3)

[capn_planet]

Back to Part 2



My answer
“What the fuck just happened, Nino? Where is Mana-chan!? She was-and then the shadows-and what was that?”

“C-calm down, Jun-sama!” Nino says, ducking Jun’s every haphazard punch. But he won’t calm down. Not when it’s this important.

“Since when do you call me Jun-sama!?” Jun hollers, so angry and so tired and so desperate for information. Nino catches one of Jun’s fists with his hand, but doesn’t prepare for the other and Jun manages to land a punch to his jaw. Nino skids back on his elbows, but Jun can’t stop his fists from trembling. He can’t stop his whole body from trembling. All he wants to do is find Mana because she doesn’t deserve to get swept into this war. She just wanted to save her father.

“Jun-sama!” “Emperor!”

Jun turns to see Sho and Nino hobbling toward him, and it’s just about the last straw. “You’re supposed to protect me, right? Keep me safe? Well what about Mana!? She’s just a little girl! Who’s keeping her safe? How could you-”

He stops. Sho has one arm around Nino’s shoulders and Nino has a hand around Sho’s waist, keeping him upright. They look like hell. Sho is sporting a deep red gash from his temple to his cheek and one of his legs is scorched black. One of Nino’s arms hangs pathetically at his side, limp and broken, but that’s not what really concerns Jun at the moment. He glances from Sho to Nino to the person with Nino’s exact same boy-man face Jun just punched out. “Um.”

He breathes.

One, his name is Matsumoto Jun.

Two…there are two Ninos. There are two Ninos.

“What the fuck.”

“Time,” the Nino on the ground wheezes, “Manipulator.” Said Nino raises a hand in greeting, which the standing Nino returns with his good hand.

“Jun-sama!” “Are you all right!?” “Where’s Mana-chan?” A-chan, Kashiyuka, and Nocchi skid to a halt in front of them, panting and out of breath. They are sporting large bruises and scrapes all over their bodies, but they seem at least in better condition than Nino and Sho…and the other Nino.

“Tell me what’s going on now-now.”

“That’s sort of what I’d like to know as well,” Sho coughs, staring curiously at the Nino on the ground who is slowly rising into a seated position.

“As we are pressed for time, I’ll be brief.” He rubs at his chin and takes a deep breath. “I am the Ninomiya Kazunari from ten years into the future of the refracted universe. I brought Princess Mana here to aid in her quest to save her father from an untimely fate. She is a very precocious child. With extensive research, she was able to recognize this moment, this upcoming battle, as the best chance to save her father’s life…” Nino trails off, staring at the smashed glass vial on the ground.

Jun resists the urge to punch him a second time. For now. “Then how did you lose her in the first place!? How did you leave her alone to get kidnapped?”

“She ran from me the moment we landed in this time and cloaked her presence so that I could not detect her-I’m sure you know all about that…”

“What?”

Future!Nino blinks, then shakes his head. “Sorry, never mind. Look, I came looking for her the second I could pinpoint her location, but this was only minutes ago when her cloaking spell was weakened…”

“Well,” Sho cuts in, crossing his arms and furrowing his brows in thought. “There’s no doubt that the Shade has targeted this Mana-chan through…her proximity with Jun-sama. The simultaneous attacks on me and Nino, the girls at the house, and Mana-chan and Jun-sama seem too perfectly timed to be a coincidence. The Shade’s target was Mana-chan, and their target was acquired.”

“Could you not talk like that,” Jun says, digging his fingers into his temples. “Mana-chan is not a target.”

“…My apologies, Jun-sama.”

“And don’t-no, never mind. There’s no time for that. We have to save Mana-chan.”

“We?” Both Ninos raise an eyebrow and Jun clenches his hands into fists. Not the time. “You do realize that the Shade has probably taken Mana-chan back to the refracted universe, where you refused to go.”

“Of course I realize that,” Jun snaps. But there’s fact number three-he will never, ever forgive himself if anything happens to Mana. “Look, I can’t promise to be your hero or save your world or whatever…but if you help me save Mana-chan. If you’ll lend me your strength to make sure she gets home safe-I’ll do anything.”

Future!Nino smiles and takes his hand. “That’s good enough for me.”

Present!Nino rolls his eyes in an “I told you so” manner, but takes hold of Future!Nino’s other hand. On Nino’s command, everyone begins to link hands, forming a circle. Sho bumps his shoulder against Jun’s lightly and holds up a hand, a silent request. Jun smiles lightly and takes it. There’s no reason to die with grudges.

“Everyone ready?”

Jun nods, looks to Future!Nino’s face and then Present!Nino’s face and then frowns at a sudden realization. “Do you just never age?”

“Time Manipulator!” Both Ninos cackle as they lift their linked hands to open up a wide fissure in the air. And then it feels like his spine is being ripped inside out and all the air is being sucked out of his body, but despite the pain Jun swears that if the Ninos’ stupid hyena laugh is the last thing he ever hears again, he-

The best thing about universe travelling is that it apparently doesn’t take very long. Jun feels his feet slam against solid ground before he can even finish his thought. The worst thing, Jun quickly learns, is that the initial pain is nothing to the growing and lingering searing sensation that rips through his entire body and magnifies with every flinch and breath. When Jun can finally open his eyes against the pain, he sees a face that makes his heart ache. “Satoshi…”

“Welcome home, brother.” Satoshi smiles, and it is enough to dull the pounding in Jun’s head and bring tears to his eyes. Until Satoshi lifts his hand and aims a very real and very large gun at Jun’s forehead.

Everything will be all right
He’s playing soccer in the park with his friends. He doesn’t recognize any of their faces, ruddy and round and slick with sweat, but he figures they must be his friends. Jun kicks the ball too hard and too fast and it skirts past the park fence and into the streets. At a wave of complaints, Jun tells them to calm down and jogs to retrieve the ball. It’s on the other side of the street. He looks both ways before sprinting after it, tugs it loose from the grate and waves the ball over his head as he calls out to his friends. They’re cheering and laughing and just as Jun reaches the middle of the road, he notices something large and dark in his periphery. His eyes widen and his mouth opens, but no sound comes out of his mouth. It feels as if the entire world will be swept into this coming darkness.

He doesn’t remember what happens after that, just remembers waking to the sounds of a blaring ambulance. He cracks his eyes open and sees his mother sobbing over him, clutching at his hands so tightly that he’s surprised it doesn’t hurt. No, wait, everything hurts. It hurts so much that he feels numb. “M-Mom? Are you okay?”

“J-Jun-chan!?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“What?”

It comes back to him in pieces. The park. The ball. The road. “It was my fault. I was bad. I ran out into the street. I’m sorry. So please don’t cry, Mom. Don’t cry. Stop crying.” He tries to smile, but somehow it only makes her cry harder.

“What could you have been thinking, Jun-chan? Why didn’t you look both ways?”

He doesn’t tell her that he did, that there was nothing in sight when he crossed the street. He doesn’t tell her that the truck didn’t look like a truck, not really, even though all the doctors said it must have been a truck. In his dreams he recalls the scene vividly, and it looks more like a giant shadow sweeping across the road and blocking out everything, swallowing him whole.

He has nightmares for two whole weeks, but refuses to tell his mother about them. She cries herself to sleep every night as it is.

He really, really hates the sound of his mother crying.

They move from Chiba shortly after that.

Truth
It was a setup. He should have known. All this about a long lost brother and being the prince of some alternate universe-everything was just a ruse to get him here and kill him for whatever reason Jun will probably never understand.

This is not the life he wished for.

“Satoshi” stares him down, tilts his gun a fraction of an inch higher and pulls the trigger. The sound reverberates in Jun’s ears long after he dies. He closes his eyes and falls to his knees and when the screaming finally stops, he realizes that the sound isn’t coming from his mouth. He whips his head around just in time to see a spider-legged Shade dissipating into nothing.

“Welcome, Jun-sama,” Sho says, but it’s not the Sho still holding onto Jun’s hand. Next to Satoshi are an unfamiliar woman and a-another Sho. This Sho is wearing glasses. And some kind of robe. And some kind of metal, pointed hat with dangling chains. Like a robot pope hat.

“There’s two of you, too?”

Pope!Sho adjusts his glasses. “Well, that’s-”

“Sho-kun!” In a flourish of lace and skirts, someone sprints past Jun and tumbles into Sho’s arms, breaking the circle of linked hands. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Ah, Satomi-chan…”

“But hasn’t that Sho been here the entire time?” Jun asks, pointing at the Sho who is wiping his glasses with the sleeve of his robe.

Future!Nino pats him on the back. “I know it’s a lot to take in all at once, but, well-Sho can split his consciousness into separate entities. The split consciousness appears as a kind of hologram when separated from the consciousness remaining in the body.”

Satoshi runs a hand clean through Sho’s midsection as if to prove Nino’s point. The image of Sho wavers. Consciousness!Sho frowns and moves away. “This may not be a physical body, but that’s still considered rude, Satoshi-sama.”

Present!Nino continues, “It’s how we were able to keep tabs on the situation of this universe…and also how they were able to keep tabs on us.”

Of course. Freakish invasion of privacy or not, this works to his advantage.

“So you know about-”

“Your Mana-chan who was kidnapped by the Shade, yes.” Satoshi nods gravely. “We’ve only just managed to track the location of the Shade’s main base and-it’s not going to easy to find her. I’ll be frank: you could die trying. We all could.”

The woman beside Satoshi frowns and crosses her arms. She is wearing lavender robes much like Sho’s, but when the sleeve lifts, he notices with a start that one of her arms is in a sling.

“I’m willing to take that risk. So what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

“Do you really think you’re going anywhere right now like that? Your knees haven’t stopped trembling since you landed here.” The woman in the lavender robes looks him over disdainfully. “You don’t even seem to care that you are the only one right now who hasn’t been injured by the Shade, yet you look even worse than the lot of them. Do you not care about anyone other than yourself and this Mana-chan?”

Jun flinches. She’s right. He’s so selfish. How pitiful of him to offer everything in his power to them when he can barely stand on his own two feet right now. It comes again, that familiar wrenching in his gut, and the keen urge to vomit.

“Erika,” Satoshi warns quietly. Erika lifts her chin defiantly, but doesn’t say another word as Satoshi turns to Jun. “It’s true that you’re in no shape to go after the Shade as you are right now-and we will need you in top form if we want to get out of there alive.”

“But-”

“Do you really think the Shade would go through the trouble of capturing the girl if all they wanted to do was kill her?” Satoshi sends him a pointed look. “If they wanted her dead, she would be dead. Period. But she’s not dead.”

“Then?” Jun asks, hope swelling in his heart.

“She’s a bargaining chip.”

“A what? For what?”

“You.”

Complete silence, except for the light sniffles from Satomi.

“Why me?” Why? He’s a prince, sure, maybe he’s starting to believe it now-but isn’t there another prince standing right in front of him? Someone more capable of saving this universe? So why is he needed at all? Why Matsumoto Jun?

“Satomi-chan and I will tend to everyone’s wounds.” Erika’s words are soft, but commanding, and leave no room for argument. She turns on her heel and heads out of the leftmost exit of the throne room. The rest follow in suit, and even A-chan, Kashiyuka, and Nocchi-the girls with no sense of personal space-only spare him a brief glance before leaving him alone with Satoshi.

“Who is that?”

“Erika,” Satoshi says, smiling as the door swings shut. “She’s great, isn’t she?”

That’s not quite the word Jun had in mind.

Satoshi’s smile dims a fraction. “I’m sure you still have a lot of questions, but since we’re pressed for time, I hope you don’t mind talking as we make our way to the armory.”

“Armory?”

“Did you expect to fight with your bare hands?” Fight? He didn’t expect to fight at all, to be honest. “Besides, Aiba has been wanting to see you.”

“Aiba?” The corners of his mouth itch upward at the name.

Satoshi leads him out a different exit, one directly behind the two thrones in the room, and into a dark, winding hallway. Satoshi isn’t carrying a candle or a lantern, and just as the door closes and Jun is about to panic a little as they are left in perfect darkness-the walls thrum to life, glow with a pale purple light. Jun runs his hand along the surface and it’s warm to the touch.

“You were always afraid of the dark, so Mom enchanted the walls to glow.”

“M-Mom did?” Jun balks. “Mom was here? I was here?”

“Nino didn’t explain anything properly, did he?” Satoshi looks sad and Jun hates it. He hates that look. “Yes, Mom was born and raised here…and you also lived here until your sixth birthday.”

“Sixth…” Jun trails off because this is important. He knows it is-realization is like a punch to the gut. “I was here until twenty-four years ago.” He staggers, falls against the wall with his hands and Satoshi has to help him stand on his own two feet again. He looks at Satoshi wildly, desperately. It’s not possible. It’s…

“I think it would be best to explain everything from the beginning. Sit.” Satoshi slides against the wall onto the floor and pats the space next to him. Jun obeys, sits, numb.

“In the beginning we didn’t even know of the existence of the other universe. But when the first Shade…appeared, that’s when we started to learn that there was life outside of the world we knew. So much untapped energy and potential. They craved it, desired the power that the other universe could offer, so they tried to break the barrier.”

“When the Shade appeared? I thought they were always around.”

Satoshi smiles weakly. “That was so long ago that most people don’t even remember the birth of the Shade. To them, the Shade has always been around.”

“Birth…”

“With the Shade seeking to destroy the delicate balance between the two worlds, a great war broke out. And just when it seemed like there was no hope-a hero appeared. He slayed the Shade and peace resumed in our world. But…it came at a cost. The barrier between the worlds was never the same, and though we struggled to retain the balance, Shade began to rematerialize from the negative energies seeping through the barrier. Since then, the Shade has existed to destroy the balance and reclaim the power they had lost, and we have existed to destroy the Shade and maintain peace and order in both worlds.

Then, thirty-two years ago, Hamada Masatoshi, on a mission to track down a Shade threat…fell through a crack between the barriers-and found himself in the other universe.”

“Hamada.” Jun’s head snaps up. “That’s-”

“That was Mom’s older brother,” Satoshi confirms, nodding his head. “Looking back on it-that was probably the first sign that something was about to happen. No one knew what happened to Masatoshi until he returned two years later. He was fatally injured by the Shade upon his return…and he didn’t make it. But when Dad sent out the troops to find and destroy the Shade that took his brother-in-law’s life-they found nothing. No trace of Shade.

No one understood what had happened.”

“Satoshi, what happened when I was six?” Jun asks, feeling that awful, gut-wrenching feeling snaking and coiling inside of him, wrapping around his throat…

“On your sixth birthday…we took a boat out to sea.”

Jun gasps for air.

“J-Jun!?”

“It wasn’t a dream.” But Jun isn’t asking, he’s screwing his eyes shut and trying to will away the images of that day on the boat, of the sun and the skies and the water and the…

“You remember?”

Jun nods, but doesn’t open his eyes. “What happened next?”

“Jun, if you’re feeling unwell, maybe we should-”

“What. Happened. Next.”

Satoshi sighs and continues after a moment of silence. “It was a miracle Dad got to you in time at all. If he hadn’t…I don’t even want to think about that.” Satoshi takes his hand and squeezes it, as if to reassure himself that Jun is real, alive, here. “But Mom couldn’t get over it. She was so afraid for you, of what this would mean for the rest of your life here.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Shade had been hiding, laying in wait for a chance. When it took you…it drew some of your blood.” Satoshi hesitates. “A lot of your blood.”

“What does that mean?” Satoshi looks away and Jun furrows his eyebrows. “Satoshi, what does that mean?”

“It means… the Shade drew strength from your blood. Enough strength to start a war. But Mom knew that they would never leave you alone. If they ever took you away again, they would gain enough strength to win the war. To finally break through the barrier between the worlds for good. They also knew,” Satoshi licks his lips nervously, “that your blood-your power left unchecked, would be the only thing standing in their way.

So one night, Mom took you in the middle of the night and crossed over to the other universe. Hamadas are natural magic users, so she was able to cover her tracks and your presence for these last twenty-four years. What she didn’t know was that by crossing over, she would further weaken the barrier between the two worlds, letting in a flood of negative energy from the other side.”

Jun takes a sharp breath. “So the war twenty-four years ago-the reason everyone has suffered all this time…”

Was him.

The reason he is the key to winning this war is simply because he was the cause of it.

It’s his blood.

Literally.

“It was my fault.”

“There’s no way you could have-“

“Your entire universe was plunged into war while I-I was living a peaceful life on the other side. Because Mom-” Jun’s trembling all over and he doesn’t know what to think or what to believe anymore.

“No one blames you for any of this.”

“How could you not!?” Jun shouts, covering his face with his hands he is so ashamed. “Stop defending me-defending Mom. All she did was lie to me for my entire life, uproot me from every home I ever knew, destroyed the lives of all these people because of me. If Mom hadn’t, if she hadn’t-I should have just died and been done with it-”

Satoshi punches him in the face. “If Mom hadn’t taken you, who knows what would have happened. You could have died, they could have taken every last drop of your blood and obliterated both universes twenty-four years ago.”

Jun stares, pressing a hand to his stinging cheek.

Satoshi mumbles an apology, unable to look him in the eye. “It’s not your fault that the Shade was targeting you-you were just a kid, what could you have done? What’s important is that you are alive now-you are the only one who can save us now.”

“How can I save anyone? I-”

And then Satoshi’s arms are around him and his embrace is so warm and so familiar that Jun’s heart aches all over again. “It’s in your blood.”

Jun can’t help it, he laughs into a sob. “But it’s in your blood, too.”

“It’s not.” He shakes his head. “I’m not a Matsumoto, not by birth or blood.”

“What?”

“Hamada Masatoshi, when he slipped though the universe crack…fell in love with a human. When he found his way back to this universe, on the verge of death, he managed to bring a child with him. Me. Mom and Dad raised me as their own child.”

“You’re…but?” There are so many competing emotions in Jun’s head that the first question he can think of is the one that comes out. “What happened to Dad?”

Satoshi sighs and removes his arms from around Jun. “A year ago he sensed your presence. By then Mom’s magic must have been weakening-it takes a great amount of energy and skill to be able to hide the presence of a Matsumoto. So he took Sho and crossed over to the other universe to search for you. If he could sense you, even faintly, he knew the Shade would be able to sense you, too.”

“And?”

“To this day I made Sho swear to never tell me what happened.” Satoshi glances at his hands ruefully. “I think it would be too painful for him. But Sho stayed in your universe to find you and keep an eye on you, to make sure nothing would happen.”

“If you knew where I was…why didn’t you try to bring me here sooner? Why wait a whole year?”

Satoshi smiles patiently. “If you were happy in the other universe, and safe, I didn’t want to do anything to ruin it.”

“So when you sent Nino and the girls…” Jun trails off, shaking his head. He wanted answers for so long and now that he has them, it’s too much. He bumps his knee against Satoshi’s, thoughtful, lost. “Mom passed away this year.”

“I know,” Satoshi replies quietly, “Sho told me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Satoshi stands and stretches his arms over his head. “I can’t even begin to imagine what you must be feeling right now, but…”

Jun nods and follows Satoshi’s lead, stands and touches his hand to the wall. It glows warmly.

“Satoshi…what are Shade?”

Satoshi doesn’t look back when he replies. “Shade were born of a faction of the Matsumoto clan driven mad by the desire for power. When they found that power in negative energies, it corrupted their souls so much that they became…monsters.”

Firefly
Jun sets his bag by the foyer, slips off his shoes, and dashes into the kitchen, where he knows his mother will be hard at work preparing dinner for them. He’s right. For a moment he watches the line of his mother’s back, the slight hunch as she expertly slices fresh cucumbers from the garden. The scent of steaming rice fills his senses and makes him feel like he’s truly home.

“Mom, Mom!”

“What is it, Jun-chan?”

“How come you don’t wait for me to make dinner, anymore?” Jun asks, hoisting himself onto a stool across the counter from his mother. She looks up at him and smiles.

“I know you’re studying so hard, so I thought you would want to relax once you got home.”

“But I like helping!” Jun says, picking up a knife to help out.

“No!”

He drops the knife back onto the wooden cutting board and stares. His mother’s cheeks are flushed red and she looks so, so scared.

“I-I’m sorry Jun-chan. J-just let me handle dinner from now on, okay?”

“Okay.” He doesn’t understand, but he’ll do whatever he can to make his mother happy.

“Thank you, Jun-chan.” The smile is back on her face and all is right with the world again.

“By the way, mom, can you sign this?” Jun asks, suddenly remembering the piece of paper folded and stuffed hastily into his pocket.

“What is it?”

“Our class is going on a school camping trip.”

The glass platter his mother is holding crashes onto the floor.

“Mom!”

“No, no, no, no, no.” His mother falls to her knees, hiding her face with her hands, and there is glass everywhere, tearing into her skin and dripping blood onto the kitchen tiles.

“Mom! Get up! What’s wrong?”

“Jun-chan, no. You can’t. You can’t.”

“Mom?” He reaches for her but she bats his hand aside and he doesn’t know what to do his mother is crying and shaking and bleeding and she won’t let him help. “Mom, please, what’s wrong?”

“Jun-chan, I’m sorry. You can’t go. You can’t go.” She clutches desperately at his shoulders, fingers digging into his arms until his knees buckle from the pressure and he feel pricks of glass all over his knees but his mother won’t let go.

“M-Mom, it hurts.”

She presses her forehead against his and warm tears run down his face as she sobs and sobs and holds him tightly in her arms, rocking him, pleading with him.

You can’t go, Jun-chan. Don’t leave me alone. You’ll get hurt. You can’t go. I need to keep you safe. You can’t go. Stay safe. Please. Always stay safe. Don’t put yourself in any danger. Stay safe. Stay safe. I love you. Please stay safe. Promise me you’ll be safe. Promise me you’ll stay alive. I love you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…

Jun doesn’t go on the camping trip.

Hero (refrain)
By the time Satoshi finally leads him down a spiral staircase and to the end of a long hallway, to a pair of giant metal doors with no handles, Jun’s eyes are red and swollen with tears, and everything hurts. He watches through squinted eyes as Satoshi lifts a panel on the side of the door and takes out a pocket knife, quickly pricking his thumb with it. A pinpoint of blood grows into a small bead. “Safety precautions,” he supplies as Jun looks on, before pressing his finger quickly against the panel. The doors light up white and hot and the surrounding walls tremble with the sound of grinding gears.

The armory looks more like a mad scientist’s laboratory; multi-colored wires hang from every corner of the ceiling, loop and crisscross the floor and spark where they are left exposed and unbound by electrical tape. In every direction there are either desks stacked with piles of papers or bookcases filled haphazardly with books and scrolls alike. Several giant whiteboards stand in the very middle of the room, filled with numbers and symbols in some sort of equation Jun will never understand. On far side of the room is a large, metal, cylindrical tube.

Jun would be hard-pressed to call this an armory at all except for the lines of weapons gleaming along the walls; spears, swords, daggers, maces-every weapon imaginable.

“Aiba? Aiba, where are you?” Satoshi calls, navigating his way through the wires and the mess with practiced ease. Jun frowns and steps carefully over large sets of twined wires, jumps a bit when one sparks particularly violently at him. He backs away from the sparking wires and bumps into the cylindrical tube which, upon further inspection, has a small, glass viewing window in the front. Jun peers into it and sees fog, wipes off the glass with his hand and then screams when he sees a human face floating within the murky depths.

Satoshi charges toward him, guns raised and expression grim. The expression eases into a smile when he glances through the glass. “Ah, you found him.”

“He’s dead!”

“Nah, just experimenting.” Satoshi knocks on the glass. When Aiba doesn’t even twitch, Satoshi shuffles around the tube until he finds a connecting wire. He kicks it loose and the lights on the tube flicker and fade.

“Should you have done that?”

“Sure.”

The water in the tube begins to drain away and color blooms on Aiba’s face. Satoshi wrenches the tube door open, and Aiba emerges with a gasp. He’s dressed in an oversized lab coat and dripping wet from the goggles atop his head to the tips of his sandaled feet.

“Ah, Satoshi-sama, good morning!"

“But it’s nighttime.”

“Eh!?” Aiba checks the watch on his wrist. “But my watch says seven in the morning, Satoshi-sama.”

“You were just submerged in water, idiot!” Jun growls impatiently. He blinks and then covers his mouth with his hands, but Satoshi laughs and Aiba’s smiles simply grows wider-and glows.

“Ah! Jun-sama! You’ve returned!”

Before he knows it, Jun is swept up into a sopping wet hug and he’s not sure what to do. He pats Aiba awkwardly on the back and his hand comes away wet with something that smells suspiciously like formaldehyde.

“I guess my timer didn’t function properly,” Aiba says cheerfully. “What day is it?”

“Wednesday.”

“Ah, I guess I’ve been in there for two days.”

“You must be hungry.”

“Starving, what’s for dinner?”

The nonchalance of this conversation is absurd.

“Is something wrong, Jun-sama?” Aiba asks, looking the picture of innocence.

“Ah, I guess we should get down to business,” Satoshi replies, misinterpreting Jun’s silence. “We need a weapon.”

Aiba brings a hand to his chin contemplatively, before his face lights up. “Ah. Maybe something like Satoshi-sama?” If Satoshi moved competently across the floor, Aiba moves gracefully, ducking under low-hanging wires and rearranging shaky stacks of papers to get to the other wall. He returns with a small gun, barely larger than Jun’s hand. He hands it to Jun with an expectant face.

“No offense, but do you think this tiny thing is really going to-” Jun’s pinky grazes the trigger and the gun explodes in a shower of white, hot pellets. Satoshi dives over Jun and Aiba backs up as the pellets ricochet and bounce off and across all the weapons lining the walls. It takes several minutes for them to finally fade away.

“You may want to rethink the wall of weapons,” Jun grumbles against Satoshi’s chest.

“Most people aim before they fire.” Point taken. But instead of a snarky smirk, Aiba’s face looks-encouraging.

He continues to smile even after Jun destroys bits and pieces of his room, and even despite Jun swinging a mace into the row of whiteboards in the center of the room.

“Do you really think I can save anyone like this?” Jun turns to Satoshi while Aiba looks for another weapon. He’s torn between feeling smug that he was right all along-that he can’t save anything like this-and feeling a bit depressed that…he can’t save anything like this.

“Aha!” Aiba cries from the wreckage of a particularly large bookshelf as Jun winces and silently forgives A-chan of all the harm that befell his home. Aiba returns looking triumphant and reverent, holding a weapon in his arms with both hands. “This was Hitoshi-sama’s weapon,” Aiba says quietly. It’s a broadsword. The kind real heroes wield. Aiba places it into Jun’s hands as Satoshi watches. It’s not quite heavy, not quite light, but he can feel it thrumming with power, pulsing, as if in tune with his every breath. With every beat of his heart. He removes it from his sheath and raises it with his hand before swinging down quickly.

It feels-right.

“I don’t think we need to look any further,” Satoshi says with a hint of a smile on his face. “It’s in your blood, after all.”

Aiba laughs and it reminds Jun of the ocean, of lazily lapping waves.

“Paper boats,” Jun blurts out, recalling a fragment of a dream. “We used to race paper boats in the ocean.”

“Y-yeah. We did.” Aiba blinks and looks away, rubbing at his eyes. “Though it wasn’t much of a race.”

Jun wishes he could say something more, recall something else, but his memory remains at sea.

“We should get something to eat before tomorrow,” Satoshi cuts in softly.

“Could I-could I stay here just a little bit longer?” Jun asks, staring at the sword in his hands.

Satoshi nods and though Aiba doesn’t seem at ease with the idea, Satoshi slings an arm around his shoulders and leads him away. “You know the way, right?”

“Yeah. Yeah I think so.”

“Don’t step into the tube, though!” Aiba warns before the door shuts behind him.

It’s in his blood.

It always comes back to his blood.

He lifts the point of his sword to his chin and sighs. If his blood is spilled, will that be enough to make up for everything?

Will that be enough to bring peace to the world he once took it from?

“You know that’s not how you’re supposed to be using that, right?”

“Erika-san?”

She crosses the distance between them to gently pry the weapon from his hands with her good arm and expertly swings the blade once, then twice, before thrusting straight at Jun’s heart, the tip hovering not even a centimeter from his shirt. “That is how you use a sword.”

She sweeps the blade away grandly before offering it back to him.

“If you can handle a sword like that with one hand, I’m sure glad you’ll be on our side tomorrow,” Jun jokes weakly. Erika shoots him a look.

“I won’t be going with you tomorrow.”

“R-really? But why?”

Erika glances at him through hooded eyelids. “Do you know anything about how a kingdom works, Matsumoto-sama?”

“Uh, well, there’s a castle?” When she doesn’t reply, he adds, “And a king?”

“Precisely.” Erika looks slightly less condescending. “And do you know what the king’s job is, Matsumoto-sama?”

“To rule over his kingdo-?”

“To protect his people.” She brings a hand to her temple and shakes her head. “You choose to risk your life for the sake of one girl, but do not think of all the people you are leading to potential slaughter by charging into the Shade’s lair without a single thought. Do you know how many people have died trying to scout that area? Do you know how many months of planning it took?

Even the very people who have been risking their lives to save you, to get you to this universe-have you repaid their kindness with anything more than anger or disrespect? Selfishness?”

“I-”

“I am not going tomorrow, not because a mere broken arm would stop me, but because Satoshi has requested that I stay behind for the sake of his people. To continue to watch over and protect them, should he,” Erika breaks off, voice trembling. She does not look at him. “Satoshi may not be the Crown Prince, he may only be the acting King, but he is ten times the man you will ever be. He…”

“He does things that he might not want to do, because it’s the right and noble thing,” Jun whispers. “I’m not trying to take Satoshi’s place, Erika-san.” He knows already that he is not fit to lead a kingdom. He knows already that he cannot do anything with his power alone.

She seems a little placated at that, crosses her good arm over the one in the sling, and Jun notices two things at once.

A glimmering on her left ring finger, and the slight rounding of robes over her stomach.

“Erika-san…are you pregnant?”

Erika’s eyes widen and Jun wildly fears for his life knowing what she can do with a sword and not wanting to find out what she can do with an entire room lined with weapons, but then her lips break into a relieved sort of smile and she nods. “I am.”

“C-congratulations,” Jun manages, after he is sure she will not cut out his heart. “Who’s the father?”

“Have you really not a single guess?”

Jun blinks.

“My fiancé.”

Jun blinks twice.

“Your brother.”

“…What!?”

Erika raises an eyebrow at him. “He doesn’t know yet, though.”

“Why?” Jun asks, because he can’t imagine Satoshi being anything other than thrilled by the news.

“I only found out a few days ago myself, but I didn’t think it would be wise to tell him about it. Not when-”

Oh…right.

“Not when there’s a war to end.”

Erika nods, touching her belly with a small smile. “He must put the needs of his people first. If I were to tell him-”

“I understand,” Jun says, because he does. Satoshi is a true hero, as is Erika. She is making the same choice his mother could not, while he-he is simply following in his mother’s footsteps, risking so many lives for the sake of a single child. One more deserving than him, at least.

“Bring him home safe, Matsumoto-sama.” Erika’s eyes are dry, but her lips are trembling. “Please.”

“I will.” He averts his gaze so that he won’t see the tears fall, partly out of kindness, but mostly out of selfishness. “I promise.”

For the first time in a week, Jun finally feels like he understands.

Something more precious than words
“Jun-chan, are you happy being my son?”

The words catch him off guard. He turns to see his mother’s back as she cuts vegetables at the kitchen counter, shoulders hunched, weathered, worn. She looks so small.

“Of course, mother.”

“I tried to do everything for you, but.” Her voice breaks into a hiccup. “But maybe I was wrong. Maybe I couldn’t keep you safe by myself. I was selfish. I shouldn’t have left. I’m a terrible mother.” When Jun walks over to her, her knuckles are white against the knife, hands clenched so tight he’s afraid she will bruise. “I didn’t believe in a tomorrow, in a future. In him. I didn’t believe that we could ever be safe-happy again. I-”

“What are you talking about?” He eases her grip on the knife and takes her in his arms, pressing their foreheads together.

“Do you regret it? This life I’ve provided? Are you really, truly happy?”

“Of course I am.”

“Am I-am I a bad mother?”

Jun swiftly presses his forehead against hers and shakes his head. “There is no other greater mother I could imagine.”

She sniffs and he chuckles. “Aw, Mom, don’t cry.”

Sleepless body
Jun can’t sleep. He’s in his old bedroom, Satoshi says, but it’s neither comforting nor nostalgic. Just cold. The complete silence of the night is foreboding. Even the wind chimes hanging by the window do not make so much as a tinkle.

He rolls over onto his stomach, pressing his face into his pillow.

One, Erika is Satoshi’s fiancée. His pregnant fiancée.

Two, Mana-chan came ten years into the past in order to save her father, who died before she was born.

Three…

Jun clenches his hands against the unbearable silence.

…there is no one who can sleep in this kind of situation.

His door is open just a fraction, letting in a shaft of pale purple light, and Jun stare at it, transfixed. Until voices carry through the stillness. He rises from the bed and creeps out the door, tiptoeing down the hallway until he finds the source of the voices. One of the Ninos and Ohno are talking quietly on the steps to the second floor. Jun recedes behind the corner of the wall and, well…

“Do you really have that much faith in him?” Nino asks, voice laced with disbelief.

“You don’t?” Satoshi replies, amused.

“After Aiba described how he shot that gun?” A huff. “I can’t say I was thrilled when you told me to go fetch him. I’m not your dog, you know.”

“I know.” Satoshi chuckles. “But who else could I entrust him to?”

“Sho. He knew about this for a whole year before you told me.”

“Sho is a good listener. You would never hear me out until things were desperate.”

Silence. Then, “What makes you place so much faith in him? You don’t even know him anymore.”

“He’s my brother.”

“He’s little more than human in terms of usefulness.”

“Hey…”

“I’m not sorry, you know what I mean. You were trained. He…”

“Within him-”

“Yes, I know. You already explained the link between his blood and the Shade.”

“That’s not it. What I meant to say is that within Jun lies the will of-”

Jun leans forward and the floor creaks.

Well, shit.

The silence stretches on and on. Jun wonders if he should hightail it back to his room and pretend he was never there, but then Satoshi calls, “Can’t sleep, Jun?”

Jun reveals himself sheepishly. “S-sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“Sure you didn’t.” Nino narrows his eyes and Jun knows that this is Present!Nino. “If you can’t sleep, shouldn’t you at least practice not killing yourself before the Shade can?”

“Nino,” Satoshi warns. Nino closes his mouth, miffed. “Is everything okay, Jun?”

“Silence is worse to sleep to than any storm,” Jun remarks wryly. Satoshi laughs and Nino raises an eyebrow.

Sho and Aiba appear from bottom of the stairwell, arms are laden with food. “Ah, sorry to intrude,” Sho says diplomatically, staring between the three faces. “This one was hungry again-can’t believe he managed to stay locked up in a pod without food for two whole days.”

“I need energy to be energy!” Aiba exclaims through a mouthful of noodles.

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Sho grumbles, as Aiba drains the soup from the bowl and trades it for the bag of dried plums in Sho’s hands.

“Want one?”

Everyone declines but Jun, who nibbles on a plum absently as Aiba inhales the entire bag.

“We can…leave,” Sho says after a measured pause, and Jun realizes he is still asking for permission, for forgiveness.

“No, please stay.”

Aiba plops down cheerfully onto a step and Sho dusts one off before sitting down as well.

“Tomorrow will decide everything, huh?” Aiba murmurs, leaning back against the stairs, wisps of his tangled hair grazing Jun’s knee.

No one replies, but perhaps no one really needs to. This kind of silence is less oppressive, less grating on his ears. Jun doesn’t realize his eyes begin to droop until Satoshi mentions it.

“We should all get some sleep,” he announces. It’s a dismissal from this momentary reprieve, from the reality of tomorrow. Everyone rises and climbs the stairs back to their respective rooms. Satoshi watches them carefully, and in that one look Jun knows that the loyalty Satoshi commands from his men, from his kingdom, has been earned and not given. His people are loyal because Satoshi puts them above everything else.

“Satoshi…”

“Hm?”

Jun hesitates. Satoshi has been the only one who has been honest with him from the beginning. He should tell him what he knows, about Erika-about the baby. He should tell him about Mana. He should tell him to stay, to protect his people from his rightful place as King. But then he remembers Erika’s sad smile, the strength and resilience behind her decision. Erika made her choice, and Jun will make his.

Satoshi turns to him with a tiny smile. “We’ll face tomorrow with a nice spirit.”

“W-where did you hear that?”

“It was Dad’s favorite phrase.” He ruffles Jun’s hair with his hand and laughs. “You look a lot like him. Well, if he had hair. And was more handsome.”

Jun doesn’t know what to say to that.

“Get some sleep, Jun-chan.”

The endearment slips out, but Satoshi doesn’t seem to notice, or care. Jun steps forward and wraps his arms around his brother. His mother passed away after a lifetime of misguidedly trying to protect him, his father passed away trying to find him; Jun will not allow Satoshi to die.

When he returns to his bedroom, Future!Nino is sitting beside his bedroom door, staring up at the ceiling. He lolls his head to the side to look at Jun.

“Can’t sleep?”

Nino rolls his head back to look up at the ceiling.

“Did Satoshi tell you how your dad found his Royal Guard?”

“Huh?”

“He was ten when he first felt it-dad described it as…an incredible feeling. A feeling of euphoria, a sense of near completion. He ran out on his lessons and broke into the forbidden forest because he knew that someone was waiting for him…two really goofy looking someones. They were a pair of stupid boys.”

Jun blinks.

“When he was twelve, he felt that surging feeling again, swam across a river and hiked up a mountain to find his last guard only to find…another really goofy looking guy. He was always upset that the three born to live and die by serving him, the three whose blood beat for him…were men.” Nino laughs, shaking his head. “He always wished for girls.”

Jun blinks again.

“So, which one of ‘em do you like?”

“Huh?”

“A-chan, Nocchi, and Kashiyuka,” Nino elaborates, sticking his pinky out.

“I-I don’t, I mean, what?”

Nino chuckles again and rises to his feet. “Sorry, I thought that would make you laugh, but I guess it wasn’t much of a joke.”

Nino was trying to make him feel better? “You’re different in the future…nicer. Why?” He frowns. “It’s creepy.”

Future!Nino smiles, but his smile is not so crooked nor Cheshire-like, just wide and yellow and very broken. He brushes against Jun’s shoulder as he leaves, but doesn’t look back. Only raises a hand in farewell. “Get some sleep, Jun-sama.”

In bed once more, Jun closes his eyes and thinks of tomorrow.

He doesn’t remember sleeping much, if at all, but wakes to a stiff neck, an aching back, and thin, girly arms thrown over his chest. His nightshirt is littered with tiny wrinkles, as if they were gripping on to him so tightly as to not let him go. It’s sad, but sweet.

“A-chan, Kashiyuka, Nocchi,” he says, shaking them gently by the shoulders in turn. “Let’s go.”

Always
“Mom?”

She raises her head at his call, but her eyes are glazed over and unfocused. He moves his index finger from side to side, willing her to concentrate on it. She follows him to the right before her eyes drift off again. She looks paler than ever.

“Mom, focus, please. Remember what the doctor said?”

She looks at him blankly.

“Let’s state three facts about yourself, okay? Any three facts. Start with the basics,” Jun pleads, holding onto her hands. Her veins are thick and green against her hollowed hands. “Start with your name.”

There is a flicker of recognition in her eyes.

“One,” Jun prompts, giving her hands a light squeeze.

She rolls her head to one side and Jun bites his bottom lip. “One, your name is…?”

“H-Hama-”

“No, Mom. Matsumoto. Your name is Matsumoto Rin.”

“Matsu?” Her eyes are rolling to the back of her head.

“Matsumoto. You told me to always have pride in this name-you said you would never give it up for as long as you live, even if Dad-Dad…”

She lifts one of her hands to his cheek feebly. “Matsu…Matsumada…Matsumoto…Rin.”

“Good, Mom. Good.” Jun breathes a sigh of relief. “Two, today is your birthday.”

She blinks at him with wide, watery eyes.

“I made a cake. Blow out the candle and make a wish-for anything you want. For what will make you most happy. Remember? We do this on every birthday.”

He lifts cake in front of her and she lets out a pathetic wheeze. The flame barely flickers. He places it back on the table.

“What did you wish for?”

“M…Matsu…”

Jun presses his forehead against his mother’s. “Three…you will always be the greatest mother in the world.”

She stares at him with unblinking eyes as the tears roll down his cheeks.

Storm
He is surrounded by so many unfamiliar faces in battle, so many unfamiliar faces protecting him. There was no time for speeches or words of encouragement when the army congregated in front of the castle in the morning; the Shade brought the fight to their doorstep. Satoshi only had time to command everyone to protect Jun, to make sure that he made it to the water’s edge no matter what the cost. Jun doesn’t even have the chance to take out his sword because no matter where he turns, no matter how many Shade appear, someone is protecting him and Jun hates that even in the midst of battle he is relying on everyone but himself. Satoshi reaches the ocean first and everyone dives in on his orders. He leads the way, swimming against the current and striking at Shade with the butts of his guns. Jun’s sword feels heavy and useless against on his back, but Nocchi and Aiba, the only ones who can do much damage in the water, send chunks of ice and beams of light at every attacking Shade.

They swim deeper and deeper and just when Jun thinks he will run out of oxygen, they submerge under a rocky protrusion and resurface in a dark cavern. It’s complete black save for the bangles on their wrists that glow a faint, familiar purple.

“Duck!” Jun screams as Shade materialize along the tops of the cavern walls, hissing and dripping down upon them. Sho takes Jun by the waist and opens his umbrella. It glows bright red and a giant beam of light lights up the entire cavern, destroying every last Shade.

“Scatter!” Satoshi barks as another swarm of Shade materialize from every inch of the wall, closing in on them in a tight circle.

“Jun, take the girls and go straight. Keep going no matter what happens!”

“What!? No!” Jun hollers back, so startled that he actually manages to slice a Shade with his sword. It’s not a hollow whoosh against smoke like he expected. The Shade has a weight, a matter, and cutting through it feels…exhilarating.

“Do it!” Satoshi hollers, shooting at the line of Shade in the far end of the room, clearing an opening in front of the only other exit. “For Mana-chan!”

Jun stabs another Shade and bites his lip. Mana may be running out of time. “…Okay. A-chan, Nocchi, Kashiyuka!”

“Yes, Jun-sama!”

Jun charges forward, slicing through anything he sees in front of him. Nocchi stays closest to him, striking down any Shade that he comes too close to him. Kashiyuka’s wind arrows keep the Shade from attacking from behind and A-chan raises her katana and bring it down quickly, making a trail of fire to light the way in the darkness. At A-chan’s cry, Jun misses his step and sends his sword clattering in the darkness. A pair of glowing red eyes gleams in front of him and Jun backs up, trying to find his sword with the faint glow of the bangle. A roar reverberates in the cavern, sending rocks and debris falling down, and just as the Shade in front of him opens a mouth as large as a truck, something whizzes past Jun, slicing off some of his hair and embedding into one glowing eye of the Shade.

An…Ace of Spades?

The card is followed by a King, Queen, Jack, and when the Royal Flush is complete with a ten, all five cards explode in a violent explosion of yellow light.

“What are you doing?” Present!Nino barks, chucking Jun’s sword back at him. “Move!”

“We’ll cover you!” A-chan shouts, swinging her katana down and lighting a path of fire for him to follow into the darkness. “Save Mana-chan!”

“I will!” Jun manages, before sprinting ahead, alone. He follows A-chan’s trail with confidence until it dwindles down to mere flickering flames. He stops when he realizes that he is in complete darkness. Not a single Shade had attacked him for the entire way.

Thank you for coming straight to me, Matsumoto Jun, the walls rumble and his blood runs cold.

It was a setup.

Jun grits his teeth and wills his voice to remain strong. “W-who are you?”

That is the wrong question to be asking, little Matsumoto spawn. We are Shade. We are powerful. We are all.

“You’re nothing,” Jun growls, shaking his head. “You believe you are powerful, but you’re not.”

The walls reverberate with a cacophony of cackling. Jun shudders to the very core of his soul.

You believe you are brave, but you are a coward.

Jun takes a step back, but finds his foot sinking into the ground. “You will not win this war.”

What will stop us? A little boy with borrowed powers?

Something curls around his ankles, up his legs, wrapping around his entire body and his arms, snapping the wrist bangle in two. It slides off and Jun feels so weak, he can’t breathe, his grip on his sword loosens and the darkness is snaking around his neck, around his jaw, prying his mouth open, forcing its way inside and he can’t stop it.

You will be the death of your people, Matsumoto Jun, the end of two worlds. You will help us obtain true power. You should be happy that your existence will have some meaning. The voice is inside of him, is taking over, seeping into his blood and making it run dark and black and why fight it? It would be so much easier to stop now, wouldn’t it? Didn’t he believe everything would have been for the best had he died in the first place?

Because you’re my hero… Mana’s voice echoes in the darkness and Jun bites his bottom lip and draws blood.

“I was hoping…you’d do that.” Jun splutters. It takes a great deal of effort, but his hand twitches, reaches for his sword-Hitoshi’s sword.

What? H-how could you-

He understands now. His favorite picture book. The three Royal Guards born for every Matsumoto. The fear he harbored as a child, the corruption of the true power of the Matsumotos.

Water.

He draws it from the atmosphere, a great wall of rushing water.

Air.

The water swirls around him, around his sword, drowns out the pitiful cries of the Shade.

Fire.

Everything burns around him, and the Shade’s hold on him loosens enough for Jun to raise his sword.

The will of a storm. Relentless, all consuming, unwavering.

The sword slides straight into his heart.

“This war is over.”

There is nothing to be afraid of anymore. He tries to lift his leg, but his limbs are heavy and weigh him down until he falls flat onto his back. The darkness is fading, fading…

f

a

d

i

“Hey, Emperor? Why do you keep repeating the word ‘fading’?”

Why can’t he just die his heroic death in peace?

Jun cracks an eye open with a great deal of effort. “I’m trying to die here.”

“Then you’re not doing a very good job.”

Nino is looking down at him, but his face is not as irritating as usual.

“Future…Nino?”

“At your service.” He bows, and Jun lifts his hand weakly, wishing it would make contact with Nino’s face. It barely twitches on the ground.

“Since when…do you call me…Emperor?” he splutters, tasting blood on his lips.

Future!Nino smiles, but doesn’t reply, takes from his pocket a glass vial filled with a shimmering purple liquid. “Here.”

Jun gasps and swallows a mouthful of blood. “How did…”

“Time Manipulator.” He crouches down next to Jun and offers him the vial. “It’s yours.”

“No,” Jun coughs, shaking his head. “Satoshi. Give it to Satoshi. Make sure he survives. Make sure he goes home to Erika and…”

“Satoshi-sama is not going to die,” Future!Nino says quietly.

“B…but.”

“Satoshi-sama is a long-range weapon specialist,” Future!Nino says slowly, as if this explains everything.

It doesn’t.

Future!Nino huffs. “Which means he specializes in attacking the Shade from a distance. He barely has a scratch on him.”

“Good, good…” Jun mutters, closing his eyes slowly. “Then Mana-chan will…”

His eyes snap open. “Wait, if Satoshi won’t die…Mana-chan’s father is…”

Future!Nino watches him with a growing smile, holds the vial toward him. “Drink up, Jun-sama.”

“B-but If I survive…won’t Mana-chan have no reason to come back into the past? Which means I will never cross over to this universe. Won’t it create a time paradox?”

“Time Manipulator, Jun-sama. It means you can leave everything to me. I will not let your decision have been made in vain.”

“You’ll disappear, won’t you?” Jun asks softly. “You won’t be this nice to me in the future if I survive.”

Future!Nino smiles and tips the contents of the vial into Jun’s lips. “Goodbye, Matsumoto Jun-sama…”

Don’t cry
“Jun-chan?”

“What is it?”

His mother is seated by the window, watching as the rain slowly lets up and rays of sunlight begin to peak through cloudy gray skies.

“What do you want?”

“For what?” His mother is lucid, which is rare, but promising. “My birthday?”

His mother glances at him with a smile. “No, with your life. What do you want for your life, Jun-chan? What would make you happiest?”

“For you to get better,” he says immediately, because it’s true. He wants her to remain lucid, to remain sane. He wants her to get better.

She laughs sadly. “Forget about me. Think about yourself, Jun-chan. What is it that you’ve always wanted?”

“I-I don’t?”

“Hmm,” his mother sighs, staring out the window once more.

“Are you okay, Mom?”

“Jun-chan, what I want more than anything is for you to live your life to the fullest. I want you to be happy, Jun-chan. I want you to face every tomorrow with…a nice spirit.”

“Why are you talking like this?” He finally has her back, but she talks as if she will be leaving him for good. He can’t help it-the tears stream down his face.

“Oh, Jun-chan,” she says, lifting her hand to tousle his hair affectionately, “don’t cry.”

Truth (refrain)
Jun wakes up to-nothing. No pain. No girls. Nothing. He opens his eyes to a pure white ceiling and he wonders if this is heaven. Or hell.

Purgatory?

Purgatory is supposed to be white, right? Or gray. Or something.

“What the hell are you talking about?” a familiar voice drawls, and Jun decides instantly that this must in fact be hell.

“I heard that.”

Jun turns to his side and sees Nino’s scowling face. His arms are crossed and he’s leaning his chair back on its back legs, bumping it against the wall.

“Present, right?”

“How’d you know?”

“Future!Nino is nicer.”

“Oi.”

“Am I dead?”

“Did you want to be?”

“…No.”

“Hmph,” Nino says, but there’s a weird, little smile on his face. “Ten years ago in another lifetime, Matsumoto Jun woke from the last battle with the Shade with no injuries. No one knew what happened in the last battle, but it didn’t matter. The Crown Prince was unharmed and peace was restored to the world.

After a year, however, he started to manifest symptoms. The Shade had seeped into his blood. It was changing him, corrupting him. He knew that if this continued, he would one day transform into a Shade himself.”

“Should…should you be telling me this?”

“This is where everything changes. This is where the future begins anew.” Nino smiles and offers him a hand. “Welcome home, Matsumoto-Jun-sama.”

Jun takes it wordlessly, stares at their links hands after Nino shakes them firmly.

“What is it?”

“You’re…not being a dick. Are you sure you’re not future!Nino?” Jun asks, part of him hoping the answer will be an affirmative.

“Oi.”

Maybe not.

But he doesn’t have a chance to feel sad, not when someone is tacking him back onto the bed. “Jun-chan, you’re okay!”

“M-Mana-chan!?”

She’s sobbing her little girl heart out into his chest, muttering, “I knew you could do it, Jun-chan, I knew you were my hero.”

“I wish I had had as much faith as you did, Mana-chan.” Jun laughs, smothering her with his arms. “Or, should I say…daughter?”

Mana looks at him with watery eyes and squeaks. “I-no, that is!”

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” He smoothes the hair away from her face. “But one thing I can’t quite figure out is…who is your mom?”

“Jun-sama!” “You’re awake!” “We were so worried!” Three voices chorus at once and both Jun and Mana turn to see A-chan, Nocchi, and Kashiyuka standing in the doorway. Within seconds they, too, are clinging to his arms and sobbing uncontrollably and Mana laughs and scoots over to the edge of the bed.

“Princess, it’s time to go,” Nino says boredly, but it’s not the Nino still clacking his chair against the wall. It’s…

“Future!Nino! You’re still alive!?”

“Of course, Jun-sama,” he grins, leaning against the doorframe and shuffling a deck of cards in his hands.

“B-but you said goodbye and…”

Nino smiles patiently, but Jun beats him to it. “I know, I know. Time Manipulator.”

Nino salutes him with a wink. The cards disappear into thin air.

Wait.

Video games.

Magic tricks.

A boy Mana likes.

“I’m ready, Nino,” Mana says, beaming sweetly at him as she slides off the bed. Jun catches her quickly by the arm and shakes his head. “Not Nino. Anyone but Nino.”

Mana just blinks before pressing her forehead swiftly against his. A final farewell until they meet again.

Wish
My name is Matsumoto Jun.

The clock ticks seconds into minutes into hours until it is almost midnight and Jun has been staring at a flickering candle in the center of a small cake for what feels like forever.

Tonight I turn thirty years old.

His mother had ordered it months ago from his favorite bakery in Chiba, and it had arrived on his doorstep today in smushed condition. The only legible word left on the cake reads, “Happy.”

What I want most for my life, what would make me happiest is…

He blows out the candle.

…adventure