CHAPTER 23:
“You've finally figured it out. We thought it might take you longer”
“What's the point? Why draw me out here in a random bar in the United States?”
Shirou’s face remained unaltered. He turned his gaze towards the dark skyline
“”You think we don't know about what you're really doing?”
“Oh honey, I told you not to bring this on him so suddenly”
Kuse rubbed the back of her head while sighing
“What?”
It felt as if screwdrivers were being driven into his feet. Haru couldn't move a muscle
“You're telling me you guys knew all along!?”
“Sweetheart calm down. Of course we knew. We didn't want to tell you because it was too early, please, let us explain”
“Then why did you abandon me? Why did you leave without leaving behind anything?”
He had to clench his teeth. Hurt and anger overwhelmed him so much so that tears pricked at his eyes
“Do you think we have been standing with our arms crossed this entire time? We have been trying to protect you”
“Protect me? I can't be killed! You told me you knew about the supernatural. Or did you miss that detail?”
“On the contrary. That's what we are trying to help you with. You don't understand it yet, but you are the center of the supernatural now”
Haru then slammed his fist against the wall behind him
“I'm not clueless. I know that already. Couldn't you just leave a note? A message behind? Something!”
“I knew that this would be how you would react. You're getting overly sentimental”
“Overly sentimental my ass. I don't care that I'm 17. I deserve to know what's happening to my own damned family”
With a turned gaze, Shirou walked up to his son
“I agree that family is important, but you're old enough to control yourself”
“You-”
In a flash, Kuse stepped in front of her son and husband
“Stop that. You, mister, should be more apprehensive. And you young one shouldn't curse at your father”
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“Your father and I have been working out asses off just to keep away the watch of the ethereal kingdom first off”
“You what?”
A scoff escapes Shirou’s lips as he spoke
“Anyways. What we are really here to discuss is not about us leaving but something much more important”
Haru took a step back. Crossing his arms
“Spit it out”
“Since you know about the upcoming war, let me make you an offer. We will train you what you need to know about magical concepts. Surely you will accept”
“...”
“Absolutely no. To hell with it, I say”
It couldn't be helped, Kuse let out an audible gasp. Like she had taken offense to that response
“Young man! How can you say no to your parents when we are trying to help you? We've done literally everything possible to keep you safe”
Meanwhile, Shirou stood there with an unreadable expression on his face
“I see. So you choose defiance…but why?”
“Why would I train with someone who doesn't even bother about my mental state?”
“That's irrelevant when you have such immense responsibility”
Haru grabbed his father by the collar and twisted it
“Don't give me that crap. Just because I can do certain things doesn't mean I don't have the capacity to feel”
Then Shirou grabbed his son's arm and yanked it away
“Fine. If that's how you want to be, then so be it”
“Hey! You don't need to be so rough with him”
Kuse tried to restrict his temper, but it didn't work this time
“Tch. How dare you pull your hands on me? What happened to you? You used to care for me”
“It's time to grow up son”
“Let's try to calm down now. The last thing we want is for this to get heated, look kid, your father and I want to support you but you are being too stubborn about it, it's not too late to change ”
(Wait a minute…something is off…)
“How do you even know about the supernatural? You never acted like you knew”
This was what they had been waiting for
Groggily Shirou let out a sigh. This time, he stayed silent
“That's because your father was the previous host of the imaginary codex”
Haru's stomach twisted suddenly. Like a knife being pushed past the guts. His pupils shrank, and he choked on his saliva
“And you hit that away from me all this time?! Do you know how much that would have helped me?!”
Kuse winced at the screaming. Although she couldn't blame her son either
“That is true…I was once like you. The only difference being that I had access to the full extent of it”
“This is bullshit! I refuse to believe that I'm learning all of this. I just know.can you begin to imagine how hard it has been for me to adjust to this new reality?”
“Of course we know. That's why we never told you. We wanted to keep you safe”
Shirou stepped back to where Kuse was, almost protectively
“I think we have said all that we need. We should leave”
Kuse gave her husband a lingering stare before sighing
“Sorry sweetheart but our time is up”
She pivoted and turned around with melancholy in her eyes
“You're leaving again?”
“Unfortunately we've got some hunting to do”
With that, they teleported away to god knows where with kuse touching Shirou’s shoulder
“Damn It all…Damn it hell”
Haru grabbed his own collar and twisted it aggressively
“I still don't have the answers that I'm looking for. This is going to be a long ass journey”
He continued to monologue out loud to himself
“I don't even know if I'll see them again”
As he took in the dark skyline, he used a rune card to teleport back to base. No flashy moves this time
The base was chaotic as usual
It had only taken about 10 minutes for Haru to finish the ordeal. So, no one even noticed that he was gone
After that argument, he didn't want to bother anyone
Silently retrieving to his own room for comfort
There, he laced on the bed, looking at the ceiling
(This sucks. Why does my life have to be so messy?...)
He simply couldn't take it anymore
“This is so stupid. Why do I have to suffer for others? Why do I have to be a scapegoat?”
He was so angry that he was basically hollering words
Standing up, he grabbed the metal frame of the bed with both hands
“This isn't my fault. This was never my fault…how should I have known what this would entail for me when I trusted Sylvia?”
“Where were my parents then? Now they want to look after me and not when I need them the most. Goddamnit!”
He kicked the metal frame off the bed. Again and again
“No I'm not a child, and neither am I stupid. I shouldn't be trusting a stranger, but come on! I'm a nobody! This is my only chance to change my life”
But was the suffering worth the recognition?
That question haunted him
Haru tore up pages of notebooks and scattered notes and drawings all over the place in blind rage
He clutched at his own head with both hands
“Is the pressure finally catching up to me?...no, I need to be tougher than this”
“Maybe father was right”
He then put a hand to his chest as he clenched at it
“No. I shouldn't be thinking like that”
“I can't think straight…all this anger has clouded my mind”
“Why? This has never happened to me before…nothing makes sense anymore”
He tried to calm down. Taking in deep breaths and wiping off the sweat but it didn't work
“Ever since I was selected. And I didn't even know at the time”
“But this anger. It seems from my parents”
As if remembering the past, he stopped clutching his chest
“I'm not alone anymore, and I've made my decision…I might regret that decision later on, but it doesn't matter now”
Haru settled back into bed. Now staring at the mess he made
“Shit. Now, even my room is a bloody mess”
He tossed around in bed
“I'll clean it up later”...
