Chapter 24: Breaking point.
After Suzuki finished taking care of Tarazunes wound , the others in the room looked at each other . The sitting position consisted of ; me , father and iruma sitting in one position while mother , Rukia and Miko sat opposite of us.
Suzuki was checking if Tarazune had any other injury other than the ones on his hand and head. While emiya was helping his mother with what she needs. The room was silent and the said silence was akin to a knife that was on all of our necks.
I looked at Rukia who had her hands knuckled up and was looking down , her eyes showing a mix of guilt and anger which were towards her self. If this kept on going on then her hands will turn pale in a minute.
I was also sure that Nino from the inside was able to hear what was happening here but the people from the outside were unable to hear what was happening here. The walls in the building were able hold voices inside them. The building is more known as a place where important meeting would be held. Important figures around the world would come here and stay here.
Criminals were also welcomed here. This place had done many illegal activity. But first I need to take care of the damage that was caused in the family and need to tape down the crack that had been created in the family.
"Lets start with one thing. The information will not be leaked from this room. We can't fight with those source users both in strength and influence as they hold influence and strength far more than us. I think that won't be much to ask am I right?" I spoke , placing pressure on the room , on everyone here present.
I got some nod and 'yes' in whispering tone from everyone in the room. Feeling satisfied , I looked at the boy who's face was covered with depression.
The concept of depression isn't something that should overlooked. It will eat a person from the inside. Eat them and kill them .It acts as a road blocker to a person's life . An individual is unable to grow if he is depressed. Although some people have used depression to make themselves stronger , it's only for a limited time. One way or another they reach to the point where they will be unable to hold on to the rope that helps them being sane.
So one should remove the concept of depression from their mind.
It is proven scientifically that depression causes many physical changes which are bad for health. It is also a bad thing for the brain as the brain it self is unable to continue to work smoothly.
"I think it is our time to leave." I got up from my sit and announced this. I got stares from everyone in the room.
"..Are you serious..?" I was asked by my mother.
"Yes I am. I will book room's in this hotel for ourselves. So let's go and stay there. We should give Nino privacy that she deserves. It will her her heal."
"We can't! Something might happen! She might do something!" Came from my wife who was set on stone to stay here.
"He is right. We shouldn't stay here. The girl had grown up and she should try coping with these emotion. And if something happens we can come here." My father supported my decision. I didn't expect anything other than this from him.
"Then one of us should stay here. So who should take care of it?" Iruma voiced his opinion ,"I mean if something does happen we won't be able to come here immediately though."
'He has a point.' I nodded my head while thinking that.
"So maybe I should stay here...."Rukia said as she stood up. Her legs trembling and almost fell down but mother caught her right time. Due to the stress and crying she doesn't have any strength.
"I think I know who should stay...." emiya , for the first time ever since the time he came here , said something.
All of us looked at him thinking the same thing 'who could it be..?' maybe me but that's not something he could say. His subtitle fear for his grandfather won't let him. Mother is also out of the options. He won't say his mother because she hadn't slept for 3 nights due to her doing a risky operation where even though others left she stayed behind and kept on sitting beside her patient and didn't move nor slept no matter what.
'He won't volunteer himself will he...?'
That thought came in my head but I dismissed it because emiya isn't the type.
'Miko then...'i thought.
"Its Tarazune-san..." he said while looking at Tarazune who looked at him with shock on his face and a raised eye brow.
"Do you have any reason why him specifically?" His mother asked him.
He nodded his head,"I have heard that he had spent many nights without sleep due to the pressure of his class , also I heard that he had worked since 3 AM so I don't think it would be much problem.."He was probably talking about the cafe.
"So Tarazune are you okey with this?" I asked him who nodded his head.
"Yes. I am ready and I have spent countless night without sleep."
"Alright then it's settled we are leaving and Tarazune will stay here."
I started walking towards the door , "Lets go home. I will stay here because I have to leave near by branch to take care of something early in the morning."
••••••
Everyone left and Koji walked towards his hotel room. He placed his bags on the bed and went towards the bathroom to take a bath. He brushed his teeth and went towards the bed and sat near the edge.
He was going through some photos on his phone and while doing so he came across a photo of Nino and himself. In that photo Nino was only 8 years old , smiling with full enthusiasm.
He started remembering the time when he brought Nino her first toy which was a teddy bear. At that time Nino was just 6 months old.
Another memory came in his mind when Nino said her first word which was 'dada'. He was so happy that he was unable to express it. It sure was embarrassing.
Another memory flashed in front of his eyes where Nino was taking about how she wants to be like her mother , lawyer and punish bad guys. At that time he smiled and patted her head. He was glad that Nino found a goal.
Another memory came where it was a 8 year old Nino showing her the first test she took. She got 99 out of 100 and he gave her a treat.He was really happy that she was working hard.
Another memory flashed and there is was a 17 year old Nino telling Koji and Rukia that she fell in love with a guy and told them her plan and he laughed so much that his stomach starter to hurt. He was damn sure that she will be the one controlling girl. And he agreed seeing no problem on her part of investigation or what he would call stalking.
To shake these feeling off he walked towards the living room. 'I really need a beer...'.
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.
.
As Koji found himself alone in the dimly lit living room, the weight of the day's events crashing down upon him like a tidal wave. With each passing moment, the facade he had meticulously maintained for the sake of his family began to crumble, revealing the raw vulnerability hidden beneath the surface.
He sank into the armchair, his body trembling with the effort of holding back the flood of emotions threatening to engulf him.
He chugs in the beer in one go. But it still didn't do anything.
For so long, after his father , he had been the pillar of strength for his family, the rock upon which they leaned in times of trouble. But now, faced with the harsh reality of his daughter's suffering, he felt utterly powerless, adrift in a sea of despair.
All those memories that flooded in his mind, each one a painful reminder of the innocence lost, the dreams shattered by the cruelty of fate. He could still see her face, so full of hope and promise, now twisted in agony by the horrors she had endured. And with each passing second, the weight of his guilt grew heavier, threatening to crush him beneath its suffocating embrace.
He buried his face in his hands, the tears flowing freely now, unchecked and unbidden. In the solitude of the empty room, he allowed himself to grieve—for his daughter, for the life that had been stolen from her, for the father he had failed to protect her.
The sobs racked his body, each one a painful release of the pent-up anguish that had been building inside him for far too long. He felt as though he were drowning in a sea of his own making, swallowed up by the darkness that threatened to consume him whole.
But a part of him a glad that he wasn't emotional in front of his family. He was being like this on his own.
That's how he is.
'Maybe I should ask for help. No soirce user would help me nor will a Starlet or a Spiritualist.'
'But there is him. The man without a name. The man known as Nameless. I should ask for his help.' Wiping his tears off , Koji thought to himself.