Limitless

Chapter 43: Goodbye...

I forgot to say this a chapter ago, but THANK YOU FOR THE 2K READS YOU ARE ALL AWESOME AND I LOVE YOU ALL!

Also happy late birthday to Chihiro 🎂

If I say it now, I've said this more than once: I HATE WRITING ENDINGS!

One week.

It has now been one week since Junko was sent to the depths of space. There has been no sign of her really coming back. She truly was gone. The morning after everything had happened, the group held a small memorial for Tsumugi, the real one that tragically died. Even if they didn't know the real one for as long as they thought they did, they collectively agreed that it would be wrong to just forget her like that. It was the least that they could do. While at first everyone thought that Tsumugi wasn't real at the start, now they knew the truth, they hoped that she was at peace, wherever she was.

After a couple of days, when everyone felt like they were fully recovered from the fight, they started to plan what they needed to do next. The Momota household was too small for fourteen extra people to stay for a long time. And there was another factor to take in. Even though White and Junko were dead, whose to say that any of the other scientists managed to escape? It was a small risk, but one that no body wanted to take. So they thought that it would be best to keep running, maybe even find the families that they need to see again. As much as they wouldn't like to, everyone had decided that it would be best to split up. It was too dangerous to be travelling in such a large group. They don't want to risk repeating what happened on the train. Tenko, Himiko and Angie decided to travel to Angie's island home. Keebo and Miu decided to go to Tokyo so Miu could set up her own inventing business under an alias. Rantaro went to search for his sisters, with Kirumi and Ryoma volunteering to help with the search. Shuichi, Kokichi, Kaede and Maki left as a group to search for Shuichi's uncle. They thought that maybe he might help with tracking down any staff that escaped the Facility alive and make them pay for their crimes. Gonta left on his own, returning to the forest where he felt more safe. Kiyo also left on his own to continue with his work in anthropology.

And Kaito was left behind.

As Kaito sat down at the table, he couldn't bring himself to eat his breakfast. He just said goodbye to Shuichi, Kokichi, Kaede and Maki. He knows that he'll be seeing them again, so to speak. Before leaving, Miu made communication devices for everyone to have. At a specific time and day, every week, everyone was to contact each other to make sure everything is still alright, there are no problems and to catch up. But it wasn't the same. Kaito was so used to being with other people like him that life felt almost empty without even one of them being with him. Also...

"Why so glum? Cheer up. Things can go back to normal. Well, almost." Kaito's grandfather grinned, trying to cheer the teenager up.

...there was something else plaguing his mind.

"Gramps, Grandma...I...I can't stay..." Kaito finally said hesitantly, gripping his fork tightly in his hand out of nerves.

"What?!" His grandmother exclaimed.

"But you just came back!" His grandfather added, looking just as shocked and appalled as his wife.

"I know, but we don't know if those scientists are still out there. After what happened with Junko being here, it's not safe for you if I stay." Kaito explained, trying to maintain eye contact with his grandparents. He also tried hard to not get as emotional as he would like. His grandparents had a mixture of anguish and confusion on their faces. "Please, try to understand. I don't want to leave, but I have to."

"No! You can't!" Kaito's grandmother shouted, desperation evident in her voice. She turned to her husband who remained silent. "Dear, tell him he can't leave!" Kaito looked at his grandfather. The old man didn't seem to listen to his wife, nor pay attention to anything else that was going on right now. His brow was furrowed as he was deep in thought. After a tense minute of silence, the elder finally looked up at Kaito.