𝐈𝐄𝐆𝐎: 𝐂𝐒 || 𝐖𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬

『 CHAPTER 3 』

"Wandaba, don't tape his mouth," Fei said.

"Huh, why not?!"

"We still need information."

Alpha's gaze slid from Wandaba and Fei to Sangoku and Tenma. His insides were tumbling with fear ⸺ fear that he didn't want to be feeling ⸺ for his earpiece had been confiscated and broken.

Oh, how the turn tables against him. No, wait, Alpha realised, it's supposed to be oh, how the tables turned against him.

"Um, you still haven't explained to us what's going on..." Tenma began.

"Oh, right." Fei cleared his throat. "You see, right now, you two are experiencing a time paradox."

"A ... time paradox?" Sangoku repeated.

"In which your memories have been altered and future events, which is your present, have also been altered, all because important events in the past has been changed, too."

"Ah, I see."

"I didn't really get that." Tenma frowned.

Alpha wondered what was the correct way to respond to that reply. Fei smiled in concern.

"Well, I don't blame ya!" Wandaba said. "Time travelling is indeed a confusing matter!"

"So, this, time travel thing ... is it ... the reason why Matsukaze and I have different memories about the present ... about [Nickname]?"

"Positive," Alpha cut off Fei. They all glared at him. He didn't say anything else afterwards.

Wandaba sighed. "Come on, you three, especially you two." He gestured to Tenma and Sangoku. "Take a seat and buckle your seat belts. It's time for you to know what happened to [Surname] [Name] when the timeline had been altered."

He got to the front seat. Once he sat on the driver's seat, with one paw on the wheel, and another on a lever, which he pulled.

The Inazuma TM Caravan zoomed to a timeline 10 years later.

♡ ┄ ♡ ┄ ♡

They arrived in Okinawa of the 10 years later.

Alpha was dragged to follow them as they exited out of the car, still tied up. He looked around, and recognised the place. This place was ⸺

"Over there." Fei pointed to a black house the streets of Okinawa.

Wandaba shivered. "Must we really go in there?"

"Hey, you said yourself you wanted to show them what happened to [Surname]."

Sangoku stared at the house. Without saying anything else, he walked the sidewalk to there. Tenma soon jogged behind him, then the rest. (In Alpha's case, he was dragged over by Wandaba and Fei.)

When they arrived, Sangoku was the one to ring the doorbell. The bell ding, though eerie, was familiar to Tenma so he wasn't that scared. (Alpha also wasn't frightened by it. Neither was Fei. The two seemed more intrigued by the choice of a spooky doorbell ding.)

They waited for a while, then a voice, rather raspy, came from behind the door:

"Who's there..?"

Sangoku nearly gasped. "Yuukoku-san, is that you? It's me, Sangoku Taichi."

Multiple locks were opened. The door swung opened, and appeared a dishevelled Yuukoku. He wore his signature eyeband, albeit sloppily, but his silver-ash hair was down and not up.

"Sangoku ... you ..."

Sangoku waved with an awkward smile.

The man before them stared through his eyeband. And then, he shook, choking back his tears with a welcoming smile he could barely muster. "I'm glad ... you came ... and visit ... even though ... I never did, even though, I never ⸺ I couldn't have brought her to you..."