A long night reminiscing on the past. After chatting with the girls for a while longer and then making sure they were fine, Kai gathered his gift for Tsuki, along with a giant care package of wrapped baked goods and gifts from the girls and headed home.
Parking his car in the garage to his house, Kai walked inside his home. Carrying the bags in his left hand, he opened the door with his right and absently called out. "I'm home."
Silence.
Nothing but a dark and empty house.
But of course. Tsuki was staying over with Meggie, so the only one at home was Kai.
He walked in and set the bags down on the floor before turning on the lights. After that, he closed the door behind him and locked it. When that was done, Kai took a look around.
A nice, suburban home in a peaceful neighborhood. Perfect for a family and raising children.
Except the only one there was him. Him and Tsuki.
Kai picked up the care package and walked over to the kitchen to put the baked goods away. Cakes, cookies, pastries... After going through the bags and seeing the colorful and carefully wrapped boxes, Kai couldn't help but smile. "Those girls put too much effort into this."
'Well, it just shows how much they care for you, right?'
A soft whisper. A hauntingly familiar female voice from just behind him.
Kai flinched and spun around. The boxes in his hands started to fall, but he quickly steadied them and set them on the countertop. After that, he scanned the room.
He had only turned on the lights in the living room, so the house was mostly dark. Even so, he could see everything around. And there wasn't anyone there but him.
Kai frowned and then muttered, "Was it just my imagination?"
Elise. That was who he had just heard.
But it was impossible.
Kai let out a bitter laugh and he said, "Maybe the girls were right. I really do need to relax more..."
Or maybe it was just the time.
Now that he thought about it... wasn't it around Christmas when he first met Elise? Maybe the stress and free time were just pulling out all of those issues-
"It wasn't your fault, you know?"
Kai froze.
That time he was sure. A crystal clear voice. As if someone was talking from right behind him. A voice he thought he would never hear again.
Elise. It was Elise.
But it couldn't be Elise.
So Kai didn't turn around. He wanted to. He desperately hoped that it was real. But... But he knew it couldn't be.
And because of that, he let out a sigh and went back to put the wrapped baked goods away. Pointedly avoiding looking behind him, Kai turned to the bag at his side to pick out some more boxes. At least, that was what he intended.
But before he could grab one-
"Here, Mister Yakuza."
-A beautiful blonde woman with a bright smile held one out towards him.
Kai's eyes widened.
Elise giggled and said, "What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"E-Elise...?"
It was impossible.
It should have been impossible.
It was absolutely, completely, a hundred percent impossible for her to be standing there. But...
Elise nodded, her smile fading a bit while her eyes teared up. "That's right. It's been... It's been a long, long time, Mister Yakuza." She walked forward.
Kai flinched and stepped back.
Elise reached out to grab his hand.
Warm. Not cold like Kai expected if it was a ghost. And it was also solid. Meaning that he wasn't hallucinating things.
"...Am I dreaming?"
Staring at Elise, Kai couldn't help but wonder.
Tears ran down Elise's cheeks and she shook her head. "If you are, then I am too. And if it is..." She stepped forward and hugged Kai. "...Let me dream a bit longer."
Kai tensed, caught off-guard by the contact.
It was real. Her slender and warm arms. The soft scent of lilies.
Kai's vision blurred and then he hugged her back. "I'm sorry." He lowered his head and then started rambling. "I'm so sorry, Elise. I should have come back to visit. I shouldn't have been so focused on revenge. I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry...!"
"It's fine. I already knew my Mister Yakuza was like that. But... It was a bit lonely, you know?"
Kai sobbed and held Elise close.
She patted his back, trying to cheer him up. But it didn't help much considering that she started crying as well.
-----AI|IA-----
Standing just outside of the slide doors of Kai's house, Titor pulled out an old flip phone from his pocket. After opening it, he held it up to his ear and said, "It's me. Operation Realta Nua is a success."
Silence. And then a long sigh echoed from the other side of the phone call. "First a time traveler, now a mage of flowers?"
Titor looked up at the starry winter sky. As he did, a shooting star flew across. Seeing that, he smiled and said, "When you wish upon a star, it doesn't make a difference who you are, you know?"
"...I still think you're enjoying roleplaying too much, but as long as things get done, I guess it's fine."
Titor lowered his gaze and turned around, staring through the glass doors. Seeing Kai and Elise holding each other tight, he shook his head and started walking off. "In order to meet, two miracles must occur. One must keep waiting, and another must keep pursuing... Since those were fulfilled, it's only natural to grant that wish, isn't it? There's enough causality built up to allow it."
"There better be. I would rather much not have a giant mess spring up on me over Christmas."
Titor walked out along the streets to Kichijoji and said, "You worry too much... Ah, and are we still on for the hotsprings trip after Christmas?"
John sighed and said, "I wanted to. But it turns out that Suzume's adoptive parents own that place and she's reserved it for Prodigy to celebrate. They also want to stream over there, so it looks like you're in for some overtime."
Titor clicked his tongue and said, "Making me do all of the work... Don't you have any shame?"
"I threw that away when I rejected everyone but Yue."
"Ah. True. Shameless bastard."
"Yep. But anyway, we'll still be doing a Christmas party to exchange gifts, so don't stay up too late with Amadeus."
Titor's face warmed up and he said, "T-That's none of your business what we do!"
"True. You aren't 'me' anymore."
Titor chuckled and said, "Be careful now. I might turn on you and say something like, 'I am a shadow, the true-'"
A vortex, suddenly ripping open in front of Titor. From it, a figure that Titor had never seen before, but one that he remembered from John's memories emerged.
"...Self. Crap. Just had to jinx it."
A towering old man with regal emerald robes stood in the middle of the road. He dusted off his clothes and then looked around with sharp green eyes. "Hm. The air in this realm is quite hostile to foreign presences... How fortunate that We were invited. Though for both the laws of existence and the suppressive power to be this resilient... Just what manner of being created these lands?"
"...Oi. You're joking, right? Titor?"
Titor hung up on John and slipped his phone away. As he did that, he started walking away, pretending he didn't see the Jade Emperor.
Right. All that he had to do was keep walking, and then-
"Hold! You, mortal!"
Titor froze. But then he slowly turned to the old man and tilted his head. Mustering up all the acting skills he'd been polishing since taking on the role of John Titor, he put on his best confused face.
The Jade Emperor walked over, holding his hands together in his sleeves. Looking down on Titor, he said, "This regal self seeks the abode of his peerless daughter and her foolhardy husband."
Titor cleared his throat and spoke up in English. "Sorry, man. I don't speak Chinese."
The Jade Emperor tilted his head before speaking in English as well. "This regal self is unaware of the language you call 'Chinese.' However, communication should be possible at this point. Or are you such a simpleton that you cannot understand even when this regal self translates to your native tongue?"
'So this is how that guy feels when I talk, huh?'
The Jade Emperor was talking in English. But unlike what Titor expected, he didn't sound like an old Chinese elder speaking. Instead, while the Jade Emperor had the appearance of an ancient Chinese Emperor, his voice came out in a posh and suave English accent. Like Sir Ian McKellen.
Titor laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that. I understand you now. But for an old man like you to know English... You're pretty good, huh?"
'How the heck do I react around this guy?'
Should Titor just take him back to meet John? That would be the smart thing to do, right?
...Right. Yeah, that was the best thing. Let that guy sort things out.
The Jade Emperor nodded and said, "Good. Then this regal self will question you once more. This regal self seeks the abode of my peerless daughter and her foolhardy husband." He paused and said, "...Perhaps it would be best to seek our foolhardy son-in-law first? This is his homeland, so his name should ring louder than our beloved daughter."
Titor tilted his head. "Who are you looking for again?"
The Jade Emperor looked up at the sky and then shook his head. "No matter. This regal self arrived later than expected, so We will seek them out come the morning. For now... Mortal. Direct us to the nearest inn."
...Alright. So maybe causality *wasn't* completely enough to bring Elise back to life without creating a mess.
Good to know.
...Hopefully dealing with this Chuuni old man was the worst of it-
Aaaand that was a flag.
Dammit.