The Equation of Hearts

√𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟻ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩ

He ended up cleaning it, and Adonis returned that evening rather agitated. He stormed in while Kato was sitting with Antonio in the living room and the pair saw the state of him. To be honest, Kato nearly forgot it was him who put Adonis in such a state, where his whole shirt and waistcoat were covered in blood and he had a splitting headache from his mild concussion. "Sir," Kato stood up and went over, Adonis massaged his forehead and raised his hand to keep Kato away. He seemed extra annoyed at him. So maybe he had an inkling of what happened. Without proof though, what could he do?

"I need a pint." He sighed heavily.

"Dad what happened!?" Antonio rushed over, seeing the blood.

"Feels like I got hammered, kid," he chortled and went into his room. Elena screamed from the other side of the door, going to help him. And that led to Athena and Bianca rushing out of their rooms to see what had happened. The Sun had fully set and Kato went to break his fast, seeing the new chef from before cooking. Kato did a brief assessment on him and then turned away. He wasn't sure why he had to do a small check on him, but he did. He broke his fast rather gracefully and returned while swallowing his water, seeing all four kids in there trying to see if their dad was okay. He was comforting them all. And Kato had to give it to them, they seemed to love their father appropriately - they found the room to express it despite the suffocating ego Adonis had.

It reminded him of when his dad would get nosebleeds and all four of them would be there to help him. And he would be trying to get his wife and Camilla to stop crying. In a way, the families were never too different. But why was Elena always so different? Why was she hiding herself away in this world? He watched with a feeling of dread how she sniffed and Adonis kissed her forehead to comfort her.

It was conflicting. His father would never express his love by physical means in front of his children. Which only added more weight onto Kato's chest - how had he seen this man kiss his mother more than his own father? She was happy with his father, wasn't she? The second-guessing was getting to him, he felt nauseous looking at them. "Where were you..." Kato suddenly asked absently, facing Adonis who turned to face him. After a long pause of silence, he looked back to his wife,

"No idea kid," he shrugged, "woke up in a room, place was a mess, face and head hurts. Whatever happened before is a blur." He shrugged.

"I can go investigate if you'd like," Kato offered,

"You should dear, it isn't often someone can just overpower you-" Elena paused and looked at Kato, who stood still and maintained eye contact.

"That does narrow it down to a few people." Odele analysed.

"So Uncle Soji and Uncle Sora?" Bianca tilted her head, "but-"

"It can't have been them." Kato shook his head,

"Why?" Athena looked at him, he didn't interject often, because he didn't speak,

"I was with Uncle Soji at the shooting range for most of today. Uncle Sora was with us before leaving... for the dojo." He lied. He didn't know if Sora had a dojo or there was one, but it made sense.

"It isn't worth investigating." Adonis raised his hands to cool down the tension, "I just need a few shots. Fancy a drink my dear?" He wrapped his arms around his wife. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck,

"Of course, seeing you make my drinks is charming even today." She grinned as he did. Kato didn't recognise them, so he turned away and went to his room. He changed out of his uniform he had given himself to what he trained in, usually. That black form fitting vest. And his army grieves. He fixed on his holster as the door slammed open, he turned to see Elena standing at the doorway as he laced up his boots. "Where are you off to?" She seethed quietly.