“To be patient is not solely to endure, Ame.” Tatsumi, with one hand holding the sword, twisted the other sword before flinging it away. Ame was losing the sword she had held and it became her loss.
“I still don’t understand that.” Ame stared at Tatsumi as if he were giving her a cryptic message.
“That understanding is too shallow. I cannot possibly acknowledge such understanding to be the whole thing.” Tatsumi glanced at the sword that was still on the arena.
The exchange he had with Ame was meaningful. It made him know the purpose of each of his swings, his stances as well as each movement of his body. But he still noticed that Ame was impatient so he still voiced his advice.
“And you are too temperamental. Disarming me the instant you find an opportunity is not giving me a face.” Ame protested.
“Well, the fact that I am still teaching you things means that I can regulate my temper well, don’t you think?” Tatsumi said with a smirk on his face.
“Fine. You win.” Ame then walked to grab the dropped sword while Tatsumi looked at his wooden sword and contemplated his recent action.
‘I think I have grasped enough to be called a swordmaster. But the pinnacle of this is actually still far away. Lacking strength is only the main issue but I think what I lack is a proper technique to channel this understanding.’ Tatsumi thought as his black eyes shone with a certain understanding imprinted into his mind.
‘Sword style…’
“You are great. I know that, but why do you often contemplate things?” Ame asked him after she brought the wooden sword and stood in front of him.
“Oh, it is because you can gain so much insight doing that. Who knows, maybe you should try it too, rather than brute forcing things with a practical lesson?” Tatsumi was pulled back from his trance and replied.
He also looked around and saw that his bag had been dropped near the wooden sword shelf while the rest of the club members looked at him like he was some sort of master.
He also did not forget to see that Sora was also among them, looking at him, almost worshipping him.
Tatsumi and Ame went to Sora’s side and were finally able to continue their previous discussion.
“Well, should we continue our discussion?” Tatsumi asked and Sora nodded. They then talked about the details of the manga and that caused the others to feel a bit left out.
It was as if there were only the two of them while the rest of the world could just move on their own, separate from the two.
Edward then went in their direction, clearly wanting to know something important.
“Why did you try to help me?” Edward asked. Tatsumi turned his head to look at him and a knowing look appeared on his face. Sora was a bit timid and could only let the event roll despite not wanting to.
“Because you need help and you are within my range.” Tatsumi replied almost nonchalantly. His expression was one of sincerity, though, so Edward frowned.
“I don’t know what you mean exactly by that.” Edward said in exasperation. He did not understand why the junior had gone so far as to slightly give him a place and occasion to vent.
“You needed help and I helped you. That’s all there is to it.” Tatsumi answered.
Ame who was on the side could not help but roll her eyes to the side. She would not believe that kind of reasoning since she knew Tatsumi.
‘You definitely have a good reason for doing what you did.’ Ame thought to herself while watching the two interact.
“Whatever the case, you have helped me. Can I still receive your help?” Edward asked.
“As long as you need it, though.” Tatsumi replied softly. He did not want to keep helping someone. He hoped that Edward could weave through his problem. That was why this was a help from him. He did not want to solve the problem completely; it was beyond what he wanted.
“Thank you, for that.” Edward closed his eyes and then looked at Tatsumi and let out a small smile.
Tatsumi nodded, having seen the usual expression on Senior Edward and was satisfied.
After a bit of a sparring session, Tatsumi was done for the day at the school. He still had work to do so he said that to Edward and Sora since he knew that they wanted to keep him. But still, he still had work to do.
Tatsumi then went to the school gate and Ame followed.
“Why are you following me?” Tatsumi asked in confusion. There should be nothing more to discuss and he was pressed for time.
“Nothing. I just feel like it.” Ame replied.
Tatsumi went silent. He did not know how to get away from her if she truly followed him.
‘Well, I just need to ignore her. My job needs me and not even she will be able to stop me!’ Tatsumi thought and then decided to ignore Ame completely.
He assumed that she wanted to do some observation of him but he could not prevent it at all. So he went from the school to his workplace.
After arriving, he could see that Ame still followed him. Worse, he realized with clarity that even the boss was permitting her to be there.
‘Oh, crap! I forgot that she has me like a fiddle!’ Tatsumi wanted to get rid of her but realized that Ame had basically influenced even the local business. He knew that to be the case since every customer service representative greeted her warmly.
Furthermore, she should also know about his entire routine. Tatsumi had almost forgotten about that fact but seeing things firsthand proved that to be the case.
Tatsumi first helped the others with their related task. He knew how hard it had been for them to do that, especially since most of them had entered middle age. It reminded Tatsumi about Feng Mo and he did not like leaving them be.
As much as his existing bad temper, he could still relate to people and knew that he needed to help them. That was why he could hold himself back from letting it out. In fact, he respected them as they sometimes gave him life advice.
Then he needed to sell the newspaper to the population.
Tatsumi glanced at his boss and knew that he had the same smile as when he treated a valuable guest, when Tatsumi asked about someone who followed him.
He fully gave up on getting rid of his tail. Instead, it would be more productive to do things in his way. Enhanced by the Ether flowing inside his body, Tatsumi was sure that he could do some heavy labor for a few days.
That was why he tried to sell the newspapers to the loyal customers before he went to the crowd to sell them. He was used to the process that time passed by quietly. When he noticed, the violet sun was already setting and he needed to return.
“Fortunately, I managed to sell them all. It looks like the news is interesting to people. But I am afraid that sometime in the future, this business would not be able to rise ever again.” Tatsumi thought about the recent inventions and realized that time would wash away the past and bring with it newer, better things.
“I suppose that’s the way of development. Even I cannot resist it.” Tatsumi said to himself as he returned to the building where the boss was usually located.
“You’re done with your job?” the boss asked for confirmation even though he saw Tatsumi coming back without any newspaper on him.
“Of course. I am used to the weight of numerous papers.” Tatsumi stated.
“Then this will be your salary.” The boss just placed the paper money on the table and Tatsumi grabbed it as usual.
He knew that the amount was exactly the same when he had been successful in selling the newspaper.
“I don’t think I can do this job long term, boss.” Tatsumi said honestly what was on his mind.
“What do you mean by that?” The boss became curious and asked.
“Well, numerous discoveries will change the way we live. I am concerned that the current popular newspaper may become outdated and eventually become obsolete. You know, like carving something into the flat surface of a stone or marking the days passed by carving a line to signify that a day has passed.
“That is why I will probably not be working here one day.” Tatsumi said in one big breath.
The boss understood that Tatsumi was young and probably could see more things than he did, so he nodded in understanding.
“Then work here until that day comes. Don’t worry about us. You can still visit us when the time comes, right?”
“Yes. Thank you so much for your consideration.” Tatsumi said this while feeling that the corner of his eyes became a bit wet.
-
After leaving the building, Tatsumi felt that he would soon get into something more meaningful. Perhaps he would find a more suitable job or invest in the new energy that could change civilization.
‘That is still far away. But it is not wrong to plan ahead.’ Tatsumi thought as he finally could return home along with his hard-earned money.
He was still thinking about planning his future when he found that there was no one following him.
‘So she finally left. Good, now I just need to relax and review the lesson I got at school.’ Tatsumi happily whistled away with his body relaxed.
Then he arrived at his home safely and went directly to his room to place his bag and prepare himself for a bath. After bathing, he returned to his room and looked at the scribblings in his notebook, realizing that his learning was actually being repeated.
“It’s true then. I should not concern myself with it for a while. Let’s do some energy circulation, then!”
Tatsumi placed the pot containing the plant that produced Ether on his lap while he sat cross-legged on the bed.
He then tried to feel the Ether before proceeding to feel the refinement effect on his body. Circulating the energy from his heart to the rest of his body took quite a while since he also needed to take into account the smallest pathway in his body before then reversing the flow in the second half to return every energy flowing in the body to the heart.
He just did it like how blood flowed so it was easy to emulate. But perceiving the Ether in his body was still not easy as he still had moments where he lost grasp of the sensation, although it was reduced to just ten percent every time.
‘One cycle is done.’ Tatsumi noted that and even had placed the sign that said not to disturb him on the door outside.
He noted that the Ether became slightly pure during the cycle and his body was refined at the same time. The loss of Ether then could be alleviated by absorbing the Ether in the plant slightly.
But before he went further, a knock on the door interrupted his thought.
Then a voice came from outside.
“Brother, let’s eat together!”
“Nene, wait a moment!” Tatsumi had to change his mental state before coming out of his room.
Only after adjusting was he ready to come out. He opened the door and saw the girl who had grown alongside him in the ten years he and the orphanage were in the Hinon Federation.
She tied her long black hair into a ponytail as her face was actually quite pretty up close. But Tatsumi only looked at her as a sibling and nodded in agreement.
“Yay, brother came out!” Nene then grabbed his hand as he was carried to the dining room.
There was one large table and dozens of chairs where people already sat on it. Tatsumi could see familiar faces there, growing up with him.
“You are here!”
“Come eat with us!”
“Actually, the dish is something that comes to our address.” Hua Fei moved through the dining room, preparing dinner while adjusting for everyone and also helping Feng Mo.
Tatsumi, who heard that, became alert. Curious, he decided to ask.
“Who is it that sends us this luxurious dinner?”
Nene, who was already releasing his hand, then turned to look at him and said, “Isn’t it one of your classmates?”
“Who exactly? I have several, you know.” Tatsumi asked for clarity.
“You know…a girl beautiful enough to become a celebrity visited us along with these dishes. She said her name is Mikazuki Ame. Isn’t she the heiress from the Mikazuki family? How did you know her?”
“What!?” Tatsumi was shocked to find out that Ame did all of this. He understood that she went to his home to help herself familiarize with his family.
“Did she come in late afternoon?” Tatsumi asked but he could hear the answer in his mind.
“Yes. She also said that she is giving us these dishes for helping her with her studies. Is something wrong?” Nene became alert, seeing the change in expression on Tatsumi’s face.
“No, just eat then, since she was giving the dishes to you all. No need to worry about it. It is just her way of saying thanks.” Tatsumi had to calm down and make the situation as stable as possible.
“But she knows you, brother.” Nene narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Tatsumi for the relationship he had with Ame.
“Of course, we are classmates. At least we know each other. Okay, now is the time to enjoy the dishes.” Tatsumi then sat down on one of the available chairs and faced the dishes.
It was actually the lobster and crab seafood combo. Seeing that caused the saliva in his mouth to overflow and threaten to flow out of his mouth.
“Alright. Now that everyone is here, let’s enjoy the food that was given.” Feng Mo said with a smile as she and the others were preparing to eat.
And then there was no then, they just grabbed the nearest dishes that they could grab. The situation was actually quite harmonious as they managed not to mess things around, due to their consideration for each other.
Everyone was satisfied with the dishes and felt full. After dinner, they could do their own thing before sleeping.
Tatsumi went to the rooftop where he could see the stars in the sky, along with the red moon. The wind blew softly through the rooftop and caused his skin to feel the sensation of coolness. There, he could calm his mind and find himself as the silence could cause his mind to delve into himself.
That was the moment when he could contemplate about himself, his life, his drive, as well as his purpose for existing.
‘Alright. This is a discussion. I want to know about myself. Perhaps this is a lot since I often do this but I want to do this as much as possible.’ Tatsumi said to himself but he knew that it was for the others who were connected to him.
‘You burdened yourself for thinking about that matter. Please decide for yourself the best way out of it!’ Kudungga commented a reminder.
Tatsumi knew he had to face it. He was interested in someone but someone else was interested in him.
‘The best way out of it is if I can discuss it with all of them.’ Tatsumi calmly answered. He knew that only through communication that this issue be solved. Concealing it only made things worse for himself and the people involved.
‘Then what are you hesitating for? Just do it confidently.’ Goto came and added.
‘I am scared. Just thinking about the possibilities makes me afraid to make the move. The difference between them and me is significant. My status doesn’t compare to theirs at all. I feel like I’m unworthy of them.’ Tatsumi confessed to what was holding him back.
‘Typical problem for a couple. But do you think they would care for such things?’ Kudungga advised.
‘They will not care but what about their family? I don’t care about others but if their families are not willing to let me, then all of this will become more difficult.’ Tatsumi added.
‘Communication is key.’ Goto added.
‘Should I go for it? Planning to also discuss this with their families?’
Tatsumi was in thought as he closed his eyes and let his feelings flow through his body.
‘I should do it. Whether I like it or not, I have to face this head-on.’ Tatsumi finally settled his feelings and mind with this.
Then he pondered the reality he was in. He did not expect that reality was like that and he even thought about manipulating reality, just using the knowledge that he currently had.
Then he remembered the article he had read. That was actually what Charlene had shared with him and it changed his view of the reality he was in.
‘Well, the first time I laid my eyes on that article I couldn't believe it.’ Kudungga honestly confessed.
‘But then I decide to consider the possibility that it is a better view of the current reality we are in. Please do this more often. The others and I also have things to be corrected and increase our knowledge.’ Kudungga asked of him.
Tatsumi knew that those in the Afterlife wanted sustenance and it was actually the new and fresh knowledge that every sentient living being had. That was why he kept trying to discover things on his own as much as possible for this.
The knowledge that he had received from them was paid for by this action. It was a mutual benefit granted by the grace of Father God. Tatsumi just had only one question.
‘For what purpose did he create the Afterlife?’
Even as he asked that question, no one answered him. Not even Charlene knew this for sure and the Father God remained silent.