The Equation of Hearts

√𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟸ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩ

The pair sat down in the room and Irū looked at the screens. She looked at her brother and hummed, curiously watching him press a key and the screen went black. They waited in silence until Tenshi appeared there, fixing his crown,

"Ah, sister." He greeted her with a nod. Irū tilted her head.

"A king? My goodness."

"As you are an empress." He smiled and she smiled in return.

"So a regal, more renaissance time period. How are we talking to him again?" She looked at her brother,

"Spent all day with Yae trying to get a laptop for this guy." He muttered, "he figured it out fine. We calculated the kid's progress together. He helped explain it. I look young..." He mentioned.

"I can't be calling both of you Tenshi." She realised.

"Call me my regal name, Shinichi." The king offered from the screen.

"Alright then." Both siblings said,

"Tell us about Kato." Tenshi sighed and leaned back in the heat.

"Kato, my third child. Prince and head of the royal guard." He closed his eyes and crossed his arms, "trained by Soji, his uncle, and Sora. Though he'd rather swords." He shrugged easily and the pair looked at each other,

"So that's why he beat Sora here." Irū concluded,

"Of course. You've seen the scar on his chest haven't you?" Shinichi tilted his head, "he got that from his final exam... fighting Sora and actually exhausting the man." With a slight, prideful grin. He was a force to be reckoned with, therefore.

"Must have been rough." Tenshi mumbled at the memory of how violent Sora could get,

"They gave us heart attacks." Shinichi chortled.

"My, is my brother always so expressive?" Irū smiled,

"Of course not. I'm glad to see my son after the illusion of 9 months being 4 years." He modestly nodded,

"Handled it better than he did." Tenshi muttered,

"It felt longer for him. And I suppose he wasn't sure if I was okay the whole time. He didn't know if he was helping until today. I think... I should thank you for saving him." Shinichi relaxed and whispered, "I can't be there to help him come back as I have in the past." He muttered.

"What does that mean? We want to know because we want to help." Irū claimed and he sang his sigh,

"He's been training since he was 5. He wanted to. We always told him he didn't need to. And sometimes he would come back to us and say he couldn't. We'd always tell him he didn't have to. But he always went back." Shinichi looked up and wondered with ease, "so it's in his disposition to commit. But I know he needs a break. If he doesn't come back to us now, at least let him have a break." He whispered. Irū nodded,

"Oh, he will. Treating him was like carrying more boulders on my shoulders." She claimed, "how should we help him?" She looked at her brother.

"...Let me think." He leaned back and sighed, "he... needs a family that loves him." He complained, "he's spent 4 years seeing his family not exist. He's spent 4 years just labouring. He just... needs family time." He decided. "What does he like? I'm not sending a kid back to his dad as just a husk." He crossed his arms. Shinichi hummed,

"He liked doing favours for us. Something small like getting us books or getting us gifts. He... likes Irū's piano playing... he likes the acoustic guitar. If he's sad, he'll avoid you or overwork himself. Sometimes both. I don't know what else to say, he's been growing as a person by himself." He chortled cynically, "he... likes being useful. He got that from his mum." He shrugged, "so... please... be grateful for him being there." He requested. "And... finally... before I leave," he looked back, "make him feel human." He waved farewell and the screen went black.