Their New Future | BOOK 2 OF THE ANOMALY SAGA

CHAPTER 14

[Location: Rented Condo in Greece, Athens. Time: 7:01am. The day after.]

"Sir, I have finished the requested patches and upgrades. Would you like me to start the Maiasa Procedure?"

Ryū shook their head as a no, and got up from the seat at the kitchen island. They had even decided to dress up in new clothes. A pale cream oversized shirt, partnered with a gentle almond cardigan and brown plaid cropped pants. Their toes scrunched in comfort in the warm, fluffy slippers as they slid their way to the fridge and taking out some ingredients.

"No, that's alright. Scrap it. Do I have any messages?" They asked to their air, waiting for a response. Circling around the black marble island, they turned on a coffee machine and started brewing their own coffee, a sigh of satisfaction as they opened the bag of coffee beans.

"You have: Two new messages and three new voicemails."

"Save them and read them out."

Ryū's hands skilfully poured the brew into two espresso shot cups and the rest into a comfortable square cup, grabbing the steamed milk and slowly pouring it into said cup.

Proud of their work, they twirled it in their hands and placed it on a wooden coaster and began frying up an easy breakfast. It mainly was fried rice with veggies and egg, which they weren't too fussed about since they couldn't find many Japanese products in this part of the world. They weren't a hardcore picky eater, though they absolutely despised anything fermented or pungent, strong smelling or grapefruits.

Particularly grapefruits.

As the A.I read out the messages, they chowed down on their food, letting out happy hums. Although, their happy mood seemed to dampen fairly quickly as they watched the early waves of the sea out the window, listening to the muffled crashing of water as it brushed up against the warm sand, bringing up a lost memory.

[FLASHBACK]

"Daddy! Look at me, are you watching?" A young Ryū, or rather, Eclipse, called out to her father as she twirled in the sand, kicking it around while she ran across the beach, stopping at the waves which were inching closer. Every time they'd get close, she'd run away before it could brush her tiny feet with its cold reach, giggling excitedly as if the ocean was chasing her.

Haruki heartily laughed as he sat on the large mossy rocks, watching his daughter with pure love. He tucked his short black hair behind his ear, which was ever so slowly turning white from vitiligo.

"Be careful, Ryūjin!" He cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted out, dropping them once he realised that he should let her have fun. A proud smile graced his chiselled features and he had a light stubble growing in, making him look mature, yet he still looked incredibly young, in his early 20s maybe. He wore a simple dress shirt and rolled up jeans, his arms filled with intricate irezumi.

The four year old had her her silky black hair up with a white ribbon holding her messy tresses out of her face, and she moved her hands into a relaxed, outward position as she took a breath of the salty ocean air. The wind had started to pick up as if it was a movie scene, making her white chiffon dress flutter elegantly as she dug her feet into the sand. She looked as if she was 8 years old, her body grew fast and mind even faster. Haruki couldn't keep up, every passing day she was growing faster than he could've imagined, both of the twins were.

Slowly, she circled her feet in the sand, dragging her leg in a circle behind her as she let her body be controlled by the wind, contemporary moves came to her like butter. It was like her body was made for it, so fluid and emotional for her age. Dancing as if she had years of experience, Haruki could only watch in awe.

"Ryūjin? Darling, are you okay?"

[END FLASHBACK]

"Ryūjin?" Haruki softly shook them, his concerned face startling the assassin as they looked at him in confusion as they looked back down at their fried rice which had cooled down.

"Is everything okay?"

Ryū nodded timidly, playing with the spring onions on their plate with their fork. Crossing their legs as they nonchalantly rocked their foot back and forth with the slipper teetering on the end of their toes.

"Yeah, uh... yeah."

"The blonde hair is a very bold move." He awkwardly tried to make conversation, making his child laugh at his pathetic attempt.

"I... I remembered something from the past. My childhood."

Haruki turned to them with attentive ears, stopping the fiddling with his pyjama sleeve.

"The beach. I think... you always used to take me on the weekends, whenever she was gone. Tsuki wasn't there."

They turned back to face the window. The sun had started to rise, the sky slowly turning from subtle oranges and purples to a more solid blue, the burning star peaking through the blinds of clouds to check on humanity.

"I miss those times." They voiced out loud, ringed fingers fiddling with the buttons on their cardigan.

"I really miss the feeling of dancing with sand under my feet."

They barely whispered it out, it was such a simple sentence yet it carried so much weight, a harsh burn entering their nose as their eyes welled with liquid. They reached to their eyes and turned further away from their father, trying to hide their face as tiny sniffles came from them.

"I want to dance in the sand again."