[English] ~𝒟𝒶𝓇ℯ 𝓉ℴ 𝒟𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓂~ Kenma x OC

Chapter 28: Remember yesterday, dream of tomorrow and live in today

The next few days flew by. Besides training, I spent a lot of time with my friends. I had neglected them quite a bit over the last few days. Now that so much had been resolved, I felt liberated and motivated to do something with them. We went for walks together or played volleyball together, although the latter often degenerated into a bitter fight for victory. Still, it made me smile. I had missed this feeling so much. People who felt like home. For the first time in weeks, I could finally breathe properly again. On the last day of the training camp, Kenma and I went out alone. I wanted to show him the temple and then visit my father with him afterwards.

"I missed that." 

I looked at Kenma curiously. He didn't answer directly. 

"Your smile. I've seen it so rarely in the last few weeks." He laughed quietly as I twisted my face into a grimace. 

"Kenmaaaa." I hid my face. As so often, he couldn't help looking at me with that deep look. I immediately felt exposed. 

"Stop that!" 

He acted innocent. "What?" 

My cheeks blushed. "Don't stare at me like that." Kenma grinned at me. I saw that he wanted to grab my hand, but changed his mind. We couldn't and didn't want to risk any more social media scandals.

-------

When we arrived at the temple, we performed the usual rituals before looking around. There were some souvenirs to buy, as well as some beautiful religious statues. We took in the sight for a few minutes before moving on. On the way to the cemetery, I picked up some fresh flowers again and tied them into a bouquet with my bare hands. Kenma watched me while I did so. 

"Would you like to tell me about your father? I'd like to know what kind of man he was." I gave him a quick look. "You don't have to if you're not ready for it." He gave me that typical Kenma grin that I secretly loved but would never admit. If he knew, he would tease me with it until the day I died.

I thoughtfully sorted the flowers in my hand. "Dad was the only person I could relate to." 

I recalled the hours we spent together in my head. A small smile crept onto my lips. "He was a bit scatterbrained and a terrible cook, but he was one of the most loving people I've ever met." 

Kenma and I continued on our way to the cemetery. I told him about some of the experiences and trips I'd taken with my father. When we walked through the small gate, any tension I'd previously suppressed had disappeared. I felt ready to face my father again. Was that perhaps his intention? Was that perhaps why Kenma had asked me about Dad?

I carefully disposed of the wilted flowers and put the new ones in. 

"Hi Dad." I folded my hands and prayed to him, then stepped to the side. 

"Dad, this is Kenma..." Kenma folded his hands too and said a quiet prayer, then stepped back next to me. I felt the lump in my throat again. Knowing that my father's ashes were buried in the ground just a few meters in front of me didn't feel right. 

"Everything OK?" Kenma touched my arm inconspicuously with his hand. I nodded. 

"It's just weird that he's... no longer here." He nodded understandingly. 

"It will get more bearable with time, I promise." It felt so incredibly good to have him standing next to me. 

"Thank you for coming with me today." 

He smiled gently at me.

------

That same evening, I was invited to dinner at my aunt's. Well, to be more specific actually, Kenma and I were invited. Apparently he had left a lasting impression on them. I couldn't blame them, it hadn't been much different for me when I first met Kenma. The twins also came to dinner. Atsumu winked at me while Osamu helped prepare the food. I also offered to help, but was pushed out of the kitchen in protest. I ended up playing a few rounds of UNO in the living room with Kenma, Atsumu, and my uncle. At 6:30 p.m., Osamu called for us.

My aunt had cooked a delicious rice dish called butadon*. My mouth was watering. 

"Enjoy. There's more, so don't hold back your appetite." There was a pleasant silence for a while. "We wanted to discuss something with you, Izumi-chan." My aunt put her chopsticks aside. 

I looked up. "Is it about Dad's inheritance?" She shook her head. 

"No, dear. Not this time." She looked at Osamu. 

He nodded and took over. "We've given some thought to your living situation." Oh yeah? I was curious what he was about to say. 

"I would like to make a suggestion."

------

This time there were no problems on the way home. I even got off at the right station! What a joy. I was much less excited about what was waiting for me at home. I was only at the end of the street and  I could already clearly see the black SUV. Great. I trudged up the street without motivation. I was alone again. A window opened on the first floor of the building. 

"Izy!" My heart skipped a beat, then I opened my eyes wide. 

"OMG, ROSE!" What was she doing here? How had she gotten here? I didn't understand the world anymore. Without paying any more attention to the SUV, I ran to the front door and unlocked it. My suitcase made an unpleasant noise as I threw it in the hallway but I didn't really care. I slipped off my shoes and hurried up the stairs. Rose fell into my arms on the last step. Her red curls tickled my nose. 

"IZY!" She squeaked excitedly.

"What are you doing here?!" I laughed out loud and hugged her even tighter. 

She grinned. "Surprise! My parents and I are on vacation here. Hikaru let me into the house." 

My heart was racing with excitement. I was so happy to see her! "I missed you so much!" 

We slowly separated from each other. "I missed you too, sweetheart." Our eyes fell on the abandoned suitcase lying down in the hallway. Rose giggled slightly. "Still like before. Drops everything when you see me. Come on, let's get it up before anyone gets angry about it. And then you tell me everything. And I mean EVERYTHING! I want to hear every detail."

-----

* Here you can find a great recipe for the above mentioned dish. The website also has some other great recipes from Japan. Enjoy browsing :D (Note: As I'm a native German, the recipes are in German, whoops. If you need help with translating, just leave me a comment :D)

Link: https://1mal1japan.de/rezepte/butadon/#rezept