Autumn Leaves Fall and Wither

Chapter XII : Welcome Feast

Kazuha: What is happening?
Gorou: What?
Kazuha: I know something is not right.
Kazuha: I mean, why was Tomo at the hospital?
Kazuha: What about next week? Is he leaving for another city?
Gorou: Kazuha, we are in the same car and you text me?
Kazuha: Yeah, but you're at the backseat, while I am at the front. It's not the point, though.
Gorou: You can ask Beidou.
Kazuha: She said, it's a secret.
Kazuha: I hate secretive people.
Gorou: Don't be.Beidou offered to drive them back. She said, she had been perfectly healed now and could drive them home with no injuries. Of course, Kazuha trusted her. She was her family, after all. But just to make sure, he asked her to drive like a normal person.
"Hey, kiddos, you're flirting with each other or what?" she said, not looking at Kazuha. Her eyes were focused on the road. "You two are so cute! No kidding!"
"How long have you known Tomo?" Kazuha changed the topic.
"Tomo? Tomoya Sasaki?" Beidou rubbed her cheek.
"Yeah, we call him Tomo."
"I've known this guy since I was admitted to the hospital." His cousin's voice was softer than before. "I met him when I was visiting the children's ward-you know, I got bored easily, so I needed to talk and play, and the kids there were so fun to play with. This guy always comes to the children's ward, playing some songs on his guitar and telling stories to them. Sometimes, he will recite some poems. A very nice guy, if you ask me."
"He loves poems," Kazuha agreed. "And singing and playing guitar. Didn't know he was good with kids. So, is it like a charity program?"
"Maybe." Beidou smiled a little. Her eyes were focused on the rearview mirror, looking at Gorou.
"You've been awfully silent, Gorou. Cat got your tongue?" From the mirror, Kazuha saw Gorou facing the window to his left.
"I'm just hungry," the brunette said.
"Then, we can all eat together at home!" Beidou laughed heartfully. "Your dad's home?"
"Yeah, he said he would be home by the time you arrive. But don't trust what he said easily. He tends to make fake promises." Kazuha crossed his arms and shrugged.
"Kid," Beidou reached a hand and put it on top of Kazuha's head, "get along with your father.
Before it's too late."
"I know." He looked down. "I... just want him to trust me and support me to do what I want."
"Ah, Sasaki told me, you two are working on a project, right? About making a song from an original poem. Why don't you tell your dad about it, and then you can show him what you've been working really hard all this time? Maybe then, he will finally support you."
"It sounds like what will happen in a novel or a movie."
The long-haired woman chuckled and then cursed as she pulled the brake in a sudden. She knocked on the horn a few times and glared at the windshield, finding a truck suddenly pulling over without turning its tail light on. "Damn you!! You wanna die?!"
Kazuha exhaled. He turned to Gorou who was still silent and minding his own business. "Hey, let's have dinner at my home. Like we used to when we were kids."
Gorou glanced at him, and nodded. "Sure."
The drive was shorter than expected-thanks to Beidou's expert navigating. And she wasn't kidding when she said that she had been healed perfectly. They parked the car in the garage, and Beidou was excited when the head of the Kaedehara family greeted her directly. Kazuha decided to stay still in the car, watching Beidou and his father interact from the side mirror.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're fine, Beidou," he said, giving her a friendly hug.
"Yeah, me too. Won't do the same mistake again. Promise." She grinned innocently at the taller man.
"We're not going to leave the car?" Gorou asked in a whisper from the backseat.
"Shhhs! I'm waiting for the right moment," said Kazuha, a finger on his lips.
"It seems that you and your dad are getting worse."
"I know." Kazuha could feel his heart stung by the words that left his own mouth. Slowly, he peeked at the side mirror again.
"Kazuha?" His father caught his eyes on the mirror. "I thought you were left behind at the hospital."
Beidou laughed bitterly. "He's just shy."
"And you're bringing a friend home! It's a nice change of pace. Who do we have here?"
Kazuha could hear Gorou curse softly before the slightly older young man scrambled out of the car.
"Hello, Mr. Kaedehara. It's me Gorou Kurosawa. I believe you still remember me."

Sighing, Kazuha decided to leave the car. Fresh air greeted him, but his father's cold gaze was enough to freeze him to the bones. For once in his life, he wanted to have a normal relationship with his dad. He wanted to feel the warmth of a family like Gorou's. Kazuha sometimes believed that this man, whose eyes and hair were the same color as his, was not his real father.

"Ah, how could I forget you, Kurosawa." His father's smile was genuine, but Kazuha could feel emptiness on it somehow. "You are my son's best friend. Of course, I always remember you." "Whoa! It's an honor, Sir." Gorou rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Why don't you join us on the feast that I have prepared to welcome Beidou back?" He left the garage. His paces were steady and full of confidence, hands folded behind his back. "I have to thank you for all these years you've been spending with my son. He's always lonely at home, and all he needs is a friend like you."

Kazuha wanted to say something, but his tongue was twisted. How could his dad speak like that in front of his friend and cousin, as if he wasn't there at all?

Beidou tapped on his back, shaking her head, and signaled to follow his father. She left in a hurry after that.

"Don't worry. Your dad is just ... being a dad," Gorou said after there were just the two of them in the garage. "My dad says embarrassing things about me, too, sometimes. And remember Saburou?
He talks shit about me to everyone all the time."
Kazuha didn't reply. He simply left the garage with Gorou hot on his heels.

As they gathered in the dining room, looking at various foods served on the table, Kazuha secretly checked on his phone under the table. He didn't want to listen to his father boasting about how he had been doing at campus and how his business thrived over the years. Beidou and Gorou were listening, but Beidou was the only one responding to his chatter seriously while Gorou was just nodding and grinning like an idiot. Kazuha was more interested in his phone, in the Golden Sunshine forum to check on the latest news and posts. His thumb stopped scrolling when he got on a post by the admin.
Today, we acknowledge the passing of our beloved sister, DearDendrobium009.

She was known as DearDendrobium009 and Yuriko Fujita as her real name.

She has fought until the end very bravely. A good sister who will forever be missed and remembered for her love of cooking.

May her soul find peace in heaven.

Kazuha's eyes went wide. Another poor soul lost to the battle. His heart sank, realizing how fragile a mortal's life was. Like his mother's. Death was everywhere, and it broke him to know that this person probably hadn't reached her dream before death. Hadn't found the meaning of life before the cold hands of death found her.

His eyes found the bracelet around his left wrist. It was from Tomo. Beidou said, Tomo had been visiting the hospital to play with children there. Did he know about the pain of death? About being left alone in a world full of lies?
"Kazuha, I see you are more interested in whatever it is under the table." His father's stern voice snapped him back to reality. "Would you mind telling us about it?"

Kazuha looked up, feeling his cheeks hot, and couldn't look at his father's eyes. He lied, "Sorry. I was just replying to my classmate. We've got some important assignments tomorrow."

"I see." A smile appeared on his father's lips. "You've been studying really hard recently. I'm so proud of you. The Kaedehara family's future generation is in your hands."
"I..." He glanced at the silent Beidou and Gorou. The air felt so heavy he could suffocate and die right now. He hated talking to his dad. He hated having to look at his dad's eyes directly. He hated this home.

How he wished to disappear right here, right now.
So, he stood from the chair, grabbed his phone tight, dan dashed away.

"Hey! Kazuha! Where are you going?" Gorou's voice was heard from behind.
"Kazuha!" Beidou shouted.

He wished someone would stop him. He wished it was his father. But as he ran through the door, nobody was going after him. Only rage and disappointment accompanied him.