Epilogue

EPILOGUE

14 YEARS LATER
JANUARY 21, 2064

[Tezuka Kejinto - 37 years old]
[Ryu Mitsukai - 37 years old]
[Katuo Kejinto - 14 years old]
[Siko Mitsukai - 14 years old]

Tezuka takes a sip of his coffee as he is reading a news article on his smart tablet at his kitchen counter.

“Ready for tonight?” Akane wraps her arms around Tezuka’s waist from behind. “You’re drinking coffee again? Are you that nervous?”

Tezuka gives her a charming smile. “Should I be? I got more than half of the world’s support, didn’t I?”

“You’re giving me a fake smile again.” Akane rolls her eyes.

“Well, that’s how I got everyone’s votes when I got nominated.” Tezuka shrugs his shoulders, his usual scowl returning to his face.

“Well, it's election day to officially elect the next President of Earth, after all!” Akane places a kiss on Tezuka’s face cheek. She takes a peek at the article he is reading. “...is Katuo still sleeping?”

“Yes.” Tezuka takes another sip, as he makes a quick adjustment of his tie. “He got kicked out again yesterday.”

“What did he do this time?” Akane rubs her forehead and snatches the mug from Tezuka’s hand.

“He stood up to other kids for throwing rocks at, uh, another freshman. He beat them up.” He answers. “I had no idea until I read the news article just now.”

“And, why is he not grounded? He’s expelled from all of the schools in the D.C. area!” Akane yells angrily.

“Even so…” Tezuka takes the mug back from Akane’s hand and takes the last sip. “It’s thanks to him that I got popular votes. He’s in the news everyday. People love him.”

“People are weird like that!”

“Why are they weird?” An 8-year-old girl with lavender ponytail hair comes into the kitchen. She grabs her lunch box.

“Nothing, Perra.” Akane gives her a smile. “Get in the car, ok? I’m taking you to school.”

“Ok!” Perra exclaims and turns only to bump into her older brother. She yells angrily, “Hey, Katuo! Watch it!”

Katuo rubs his messy black hair sleepily. He blinks his dark green eyes, as he yawns loudly, “Whatever.”

After Perra leaves the house to get in the car, Akane decides to ask, “What did you do to get yourself expelled yesterday?”

“You didn’t receive a call from my school?” Katuo shrugs his shoulders and opens the refrigerator. “I kicked some idiots’ asses for picking on a freshman student. If it wasn’t for me, then the poor student could have gotten detention for being late to his class.”

“Look at yourself! You got kicked out of every school in the D.C. area! If your father loses tonight, then it’s because of how you acted in front of the media!” Akane yells angrily. She turns to Tezuka. “Well?! Why don’t you say something to him?!”

“Gotta go!” Dodging Akane’s question, Tezuka quickly grabs his suit jacket, already on the way to the front door. “I got a full schedule waiting for me. Isn’t Perra waiting for you?”

“Oh right!” Akane turns to Katuo and gives him a hard stare. “You’re grounded. You can’t go anywhere today! At least until one of us gets back!”

“Whatever.” Katuo takes a bite of an apple.

~*~

“Oh! You’re home, Mr. Captain!” Rosa says cheerfully, as she throws herself into Ryu’s warm embrace. “It’s been months since the last time we saw you!”

“Surprise!” Ryu laughs. He takes off his formal black suit with several military badges. “I miss you guys! And, of course I would never miss Tezuka’s big day!” He looks around at the small living room. “Where are the kids? Shouldn’t they be back from school by now?”

“Oh! They should be here in a few minutes.” Rosa smiles at him. “Well, then! Shouldn’t you get ready for Tezuka’s speech?! He would love to have you at his side during his speech!”

“That’s if he wins tonight!” Ryu flashes a big grin. 

“Welcome back, Uncle Ryu!” Katja exclaims, as she closes the front door. She takes off her coat and enters the living room. “We had no idea that you would be back already. Ketsu picked up Siko from school. They stopped by at a new anime shop, but that shouldn’t take them long. But then the snow is really coming down...”

“How do you like your university so far?” Ryu asks.

“It’s awesome! Ketsu and I love it! But Ketsu missed Siko so much and was so glad to be back, so that he could spend more time with Siko --”

“Hey, sis!” A yell comes from the front door. “I didn’t miss him that much!”

Rosa giggles at Ketsu’s bashful face. 

“I missed Ketsu too!” Siko snickers, as he and Ketsu join the rest of their family in the living room. He scratches the back of his silver-haired head. He pouts. “Too bad that he is going back to school tomorrow.”

“I will be back for summer before you know it!” Ketsu playfully punches Siko’s upper arm.

“Oh! Before I forget…” Ryu turns to Katja and Ketsu. “Your father is coming back tonight in time for the election results. Do you want to come with me and see him?”

“Sure!” Katja exclaims.

“No thanks.” Ketsu looks away from Ryu with a sour look on his own face. “He will leave tomorrow, won’t he?”

“I… I don’t know,” Ryu says softly. 

“Ketsu!” Katja snaps at her younger brother. “It’s our only chance to see him tonight! Who knows how long it will be before he comes back?”

“Y-yeah! I would love to see him too!” Siko says, trying to be cheerful. “I can go with you if you want me to.”

“No.” Ketsu walks past Katja, heading for his bedroom that he shares with Siko. “I don’t want to see him again. Not ever.”

“Oh my.” Rosa sighs lightly, watching Ketsu climb up the stairs. “I’m making dinner. How about we all get ready?”

“Mom, I think I’m staying with Ketsu.” Siko gives her a smile. “We can watch the election results on television anyway.”

After he leaves for his bedroom, Ryu’s smartphone suddenly rings. He checks it and notices that it is none other than Akane Kejinto. “Uh… I gotta take this, okay?”

When he puts on his coat and goes outside, he finally answers his nonstop ringing phone only to get a loud brawl from Akane.

“Where the hell is Tezuka?!” comes a screech.

Ryu has to hold his smartphone at his arm’s distance, protecting his ears from Akane’s yelling. “U-uh, what do you mean?”

“He’s gone!” Akane cries. “I went back to his office, but his co-workers told me that he never got in today!”

“C-calm down, Akane,” Ryu says almost nervously. This is so unlikely for Tezuka to take off suddenly. Especially on election day! “Maybe he’s nervous.”

“Hell with that! He was happily drinking his coffee this morning!”

“O-okay.” Ryu laughs nervously. “Where was he last seen?”

“How should I know?! He just got in his car and left. That’s it!”

Ryu does not say anything for a few seconds, having deep thoughts. He answers, “That’s alright. I think I know where he is.”

“W-what! Where --” Click.

Ryu puts his smartphone away. He sighs at the thought of having to use aguila energy once again. He loathes it because it reminds him of the past.

When he opens his eyes, the pupils nearly disappear behind the bright aguila energy. It turns out that Tezuka is not too far.

~*~

“I hate my father.” Ketsu is looking at the ceiling. “He’s never been there for me.”

“But Ketsu.” Siko sits on the bed next to his older cousin. “Uncle Knapp is the Universe Warrior. He has his duty… To protect the universe. I mean… I think it’s amazing!”

“Yeah, but he basically dropped me and my sister off and just said bye.” Ketsu lets himself fall back on his bed. “I was always waiting for him to come back, you know? I was hoping… that when he came back, he would stay here. But every time he called, he always came up with excuses. It hurts every time.”

“It’s been five years since he left,” Siko says. “I know you’re mad at him for leaving, but he may only be here for one day. Or maybe… he will stay here forever? You never know!”

Ketsu sits back up and glances at Siko briefly. He checks his smartphone. “It’s almost time for the election results. Let’s watch, then?”

“Sure.” Siko grins. “I hope Mr. Kejinto wins!”

~*~

Tezuka has been sitting in the snow for the past few hours with his knees pressed against his own chest. His mouth blows a small cold mist. He is staring at a photo in his gloved hand with heavy sorrow in his blue eyes.

“Tezuka, here you are.” Ryu walks over to Tezuka and sits on the snowy ground next to him. He hands a thermal bottle of coffee to Tezuka who happily accepts it. He takes a quick peek at the picture. “Ah, you still have it as well?”

“I should have smiled.” Tezuka frowns at the photo. “So then, maybe… I would not hate this picture.”

“Well, I love it. I’m pretty sure Sky feels the same way.” Ryu takes the photo away from Tezuka who yells ‘hey!’ “I would never think that it was the first and last photo that Sky ever took with us.”

Tezuka takes the first sip of his hot coffee and looks away from Ryu. “He did say that it would be our last picture…” He scoffs. “How ironic.”

“Sky, Danielle… and Zack.” Ryu leans backward a little with his hands still on the ground behind. “It was because of them that Earth was saved. We would never have known that Leon had been manipulating us all along if it were not for them…”

He hands the picture back to Tezuka and gets up from the snowy ground. He wipes the snow off his bottom. He reaches out one of his hands with a small smile on his face. “Everyone is worried about you. The election results must have been announced by now.”

Tezuka shrugs his shoulders but not without a big grin on his face. He takes Ryu’s hand and stands up easily. “Who the hell cares? You know I’ve been winning for the past few months.”

“Yet you’re here obsessing over Sky.”

“Shut up!” Tezuka playfully punches Ryu in the arm. His blue eyes soften. “I was just thinking about how… I mean, if Sky was here… would he be here to celebrate this moment? Win or loss?”

“Hell yes, he would!”

Tezuka and Ryu quickly turn to a sudden voice. “Knapp!”

“Hiya!” Knapp waves his hand. “I sensed your presence nearby! What are you doing here instead of giving your speech at your party?”

“Party?” Ryu asks.

“Tezuka won!” Knapp exclaims in excitement. “He is going to be the President of Earth! I’m honored to be the first to congratulate you!”

~*~

“Katuo!” Siko exclaims excitedly, barging into the Kejinto’s three story house and startling one of the maids. He quickly apologizes to her and runs into the large living room. “Ah, I see that you’ve already heard! Isn’t it amazing that your father will be the world’s leader in April?”

Katuo scoffs, as he turns off his television after looking at his father’s grinning face one more time. “How is he supposed to run the entire world if he cannot even raise me properly? He dumped me in the middle of the forest once!”

Siko laughs. “Well, I think he’d do very well. My father was always telling me stories about the war back in their time --”

“Aren’t you supposed to be with Ketsu tonight? At my father’s party?”

Siko pouts at Katuo for changing the subject so suddenly. “Ketsu is at home. Why can’t you be happy for your father? He worked so hard to get where he wanted to be. Because of the two wars in a row, the Earth’s population got reduced by over 1/4. Half of the United States was entirely wiped out, and radiation is still taking even more lives today. He had always known how scarce life can be.”

“Siko.”

“What?”

“Let’s just go and meet Ketsu at your house. I’m joining you.”

“Ok!” Siko smiles at him.

 

-END-