ABIENCE || tokyo rev.

[ ✯ SIXTEEN ✯ ]

"Oh, god, I'm so glad that you're alright and safe." Baji Ryoko stated, smiling through her tears. She held onto the younger boy with such a comforting grip that Kazutora couldn't help but melt into her embrace, feeling a sort of motherly affection that he never even received from his own mom. "How have you been?"

"I've been alright, Ms.Baji. How have you been?" Kazutora returned the question, breaking away from the hug once he was permitted to do so. Baji Ryoko was pretty much the female version of Keisuke, if Y/N was being honest with themself. Except that her hair wasn't as thick as his and was certainly not as long.

"That's so good to hear, and I'm alright myself, dearie. Why don't we sit down and have a chat?" Ryoko asked, but her son was the one to deny it.

"Ah, sorry mom, but we have some stuff to talk about alone. Kazutora can come to talk to you later or—" Keisuke was cut off by the sharp glare that he received from his mother, gulping nervously to himself, "you know what, yeah, you two can catch up. Me and him can talk once you're done."

Ryoko then smiled, turning to face Kazutora, who was still trembling where he stood, "How has your mother been doing? I haven't spoken to her in years, and although I don't exactly like her, I am still worried about her mental health."

Y/N couldn't help but return the smile at Ryoko's considerate words, safely ignoring Keisuke's deflation as he slumped down onto the nearby couch, "She's been doing fine, thank you."

"Is she still drinking?" Ryoko wondered.

"Ah, I believe she is, yes," Kazutora confirmed her worries, which made the older woman frown, "but uh! She's doing better! I've made sure to remind her to not get carried away whenever she starts drinking in the mornings." He then added, not wanting to upset Keisuke's mother in any way.

Keisuke glanced between them, having only now remembered that Kazutora's mother actually drank alcohol at an uncomfortable frequency. Kazutora rarely, if ever, talked about his home life, and the only reason why the Baji family was even slightly aware of it was because of a meet some years in the past, where Keisuke and his mother were there to witness Kazutora's mom drinking while sitting down on her front porch, as Ryoko had promised to come by and pick Kazutora up to play with Keisuke at the Baji's residence. It was an awkward day that day, especially with how stiff Kazutora was about avoiding the topic. That was the only time that Keisuke could remember meeting Kazutora's mother outside of seeing her in court after he and Kazutora broke into Shinichiro's shop, and even then, no words were spoken to her on Keisuke's part.

"Well, I'm glad that she has it under control," Ryoko replied to Kazutora.

After the emotional reunion of the Baji family and the Hanemiya boy, Keisuke brought Kazutora into his bedroom, which granted them the privacy that they had originally come here for. Keisuke's room was a bit messy, with a few stray shirts laying around and his bed unkempt, but Kazutora didn't mind any of it. It wasn't his space, after all.

The two boys were sitting down next to each other on top of Keisuke's bed, silence filling the tense atmosphere. There was a hoard of thoughts floating around in both of their minds, and neither of them knew who should say something first.

Eventually, after a few long minutes of disquietude, it was Keisuke that decided to say something. "So," he began, settling on a topic, "what's up with you and Valhalla?"

Y/N remained quiet for a short few seconds, organizing their thoughts. How exactly were they supposed to explain this to him? Keisuke was important to their plan, after all, so it was important to word it in a way that will push the plot in the direction that it needs to be. How it was supposed to be.