Chapter 20

Oyama Town Hall Subashiri Branch, Subashiri, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka

May 12, 2013

11:25 A.M.

Ohta Ichigo

“Pardon me Kurumi, Ichigo. I will now take my leave,” Izanami said at the very moment that the three of us reached the entrance to the parking lot that also served as the front porch of the single story, expansive structure that is the Subashiri Branch Oyama town hall.

We both looked at Izanami, who gave us a smile in return.

“Where are you going?” Kurumi asked.

“I’ll visit Konohanasakuya at the top of Mt. Fuji. She is currently trying to heal her wounds from yesterday.”

“What wounds? When yesterday?” I asked while trying to recall anything about enemy soldiers attacking Mt. Fuji.

“The wounds she suffered from being attacked by High magic Skinchangers on top of Mt. Fuji. It happened right around the time Kurumi wore...oh I forgot to thank you Kurumi.”

The sheepish looking goddess turned towards Kurumi and bowed her head to her.

"Kurumi, thank you for wearing that ring at that very moment. If you had been any later in doing so, my granddaughter would have died."

"No, it's alright. That's what friends do for each other," my wife beamed at Izanami. And then she followed it up by asking Izanami about Konohanasakuya-hime.

"She's my granddaughter, through my son Oyamatsumi. I'm also sorry for not thanking you earlier."

"No problem, no problem. How are you going to go to her? Walk?"

Izanami smiled and shook her head.

"I said this earlier. If I ask my children to do something for me, they will try to do it."

Izanami then knelt down and patted the asphalt street.

"Yamato, please be a dear and take me to Konohanasakuya."

A moment later the asphalt under the goddess’ feet cracked. Then the asphalt started to split apart, to end up getting pushed out of the way by a small mound of earth that lifted Izanami a few centimeters up into the air.

“Izanami, please don't tell me that is what you're going to use to get to the top of Mt. Fuji," I told the goddess in a tone filled with exasperation at the thoughtlessness of the person I'm talking to.

As Izanami asked me what was the problem Kurumi pinched my back, expressing her displeasure with me in a manner that Izanami won't see.

"You do realize if that mound of your goes across town towards the volcano in that manner, you're going to cost this town thousands if not millions of yen in repair costs for the broken asphalt, right?" I pointed out to Izanami.

Izanami blinked, and then she looked down at the mound at her feet.

"Yamato?"

Several moments passed, with Izanami looking down at...Yamato and seemingly having some kind of mental conversation with him while Kurumi and I watched on. And then Izanami nodded and looked back at us.

"Yamato says he will fix the broken street himself. And he swears that everything he damages will be as good as new once he fixes it."

"I don't want to sound distrusting, but can Yamato show me?"

I winced as the mound under Izanami moved, smashing apart the asphalt road and leaving behind a trench in the street. And then the broken asphalt...melted into a smoking, stinky and black colored slurry that quickly leveled itself into a flat surface.

Around five seconds later the slurry had hardened back into an undamaged asphalt road.

"Uhm...Yamato asks if that is good enough. It does look good enough, right Ichigo?"Izanami asked.

"It does look fine," I conceded.

With my concession given, Izanami gave her farewell once more. Then she and the mound under her started moving away, at the same time leaving behind the stink of asphalt in the air.

“Well, that was...interesting,” Kurumi commented once Izanami was out of sight, while staring at the magically repaired road.

“When has anything involving these magical beings not been interesting?" I replied in a deadpan that made my wife chuckle in amusement.

"Now that's over with, shall we go see our parents?"

I blinked at Kurumi's sudden topic change...and realized that I was no longer feeling any kind of trepidation. And that made me suspicious about the act that Izanami just pulled.

"Was that whole thing with Izanami done on purpose to stop me from thinking nervous about Dad?" I asked my wife.

The confused look and the 'what' that she replied with laid my suspicions about the antics earlier to rest. And with that I took a deep breath, took hold of Kurumi's right hand in my left, and then led the way towards the Town hall's entrance.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oyama Town Hall Subashiri Branch, Subashiri, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka

May 12, 2013

11:26 A.M.

Ikeda Kurumi

As equal parts disbelief and amusement filled me at Ichigo's idea that Izanami was actually planning that whole silly thing earlier to ease my fiance's nervousness, we walked through the white wood and glass doors of the town hall and entered.

I was immediately thankful that Ichigo and I had decided to go to the Police Koban instead of the town hall branch.

There were futons, pillows and blankets everywhere in the hallway, where the patients and patient relatives from JGSDF Camp Fuji Regional Hospital and piles of...donated clothes, I presume, were laying or sitting on. There were people who I presume are town hall staff gingerly stepping around all the patients, relatives and sleeping objects while distributing water bottles and packaged bread from the plastic baskets that they held.

It was...not too noisy, to be fair to the town hall. Instead of a din of voices there was a constant background level of murmurs and whispers. Also, all the futons and the pillows and blankets looked so fluffy and comfortable...as if they are brand new. And the patients and their relatives actually looked happy instead of despairing.

But still, the space issue, the fact that they are literally sleeping in the hallways and the only lighitng available coming through the windows...never mind.

"I don't see Mama or Mother and Father," I said.

"Let's split up and look for them. I'll go left, you go right," Ichigo replied.

After a minute or so of me searching through semi-shadowy packed hallways and asking people left and right, a disheartened looking Ichigo came to get me, telling me he found them first.

Another minute or so later, I found Father and Mother and Mama, in the furthermost hallway from the main entrance filled by only the three of them and the occasional passing town hall personnel.

Father, now dressed in an unbranded white shirt and blue jeans, sat on the floor of the hallway with closed eyes and visibly gritted teeth while Mother, still in the loose fitting, thin white shirt and worn out blue jeans she was wearing yesterday was hugging...no. It was more like she draped herself over Father’s right side, as if she was trying to become his blanket from the world.

Nearby stood Mama, currently dressed in a pink long sleeved shirt and a yellow cotton pants. She was leaning her back against the wall of the hallway and looking at me with a sad smile.

"Good morning Mama," I whispered as I went forward to hug her.

"Good morning to you too, anak," Mama whispered back. "What took you so long to get here? Kentaro went to give all three of you breakfast more than an hour ago."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don’t know how long it took me, but I explained everything that happened this morning to Mama. From Major Suzumoto visiting us to when Izanami left us at the gates of the town hall earlier.

By the end of my storytelling she looked...resigned.

“Well, that’s life,” Mama softly sighed. “Sometimes you’re on top of the world, other times you’re at the very bottom.”

“At the very least we can get a lot of payment from the JSDF,” I whispered, reminding Mama of what we stand to reap for Ao’s cooperation with the JSDF.

“True. But...while you did try to get whatever you can, you should have also explicitly stated Kentaro's treatment as part of the package anak as opposed to saying a generic ‘free health care’ for you all," Mama gently complained.

"I'm quite sure the Self Defense Forces will cover Father's medical expenses even without me including that in our demands. He is crippled in the line of duty."

“How? His insurance card and identity papers went down with the Ohta house in Matsumoto, remember? You need those if you don’t want to pay all the medical expenses yourself in a Self Defense Forces hospital, remember?"

After a few seconds of serious thinking about it, I had to conclude Mama had a point. I recall that when I was admitted to the Self Defense Forces Hospital Yokosuka due to entering labour, Father gave out his insurance card at the counter as fast as possible.

With no insurance card…

"I'll ask Major Suzumoto later this afternoon regarding that topic."

Upon hearing that Mama smiled, said ‘Good’ to me, and then turned to look at where my fiancé and my parents in law were with a saddened expression on her face.

I also looked in that direction, to see Ichigo at Father’s left side, holding his left arm with both hands and just softly whispering to Father with a very concerned look on his face while Father nodded from time to time, and looked...

“Mama,” I whispered as I looked back at her. “Why did Father looked so angry earlier?”

“Isn’t it because he’s frustrated?” Mama quickly replied back. “Just a few days ago he can talk normally, and walk normally. Now he can’t carry his part of any conversation fast enough, he can’t pronounce some words right, he can’t even walk without shaking a little.”

“Then…did he snap at Mother earlier?”

“…he did. And then he realized what he did, and just shut up and looked angry with himself.”

“Oh…was Mother – “

“Shocked? No, thanks to the doctor’s forewarning last night. And...”

“And?”

“…well…let me quote Yuki last night. She said ‘I want to get the pain over as fast as possible.’”

"...Mother was baiting Father into snapping?”

“Yeah.”

“Because she wants to ‘get the pain over as fast as possible’?”

“Yes.”

“…that is so…”

“Just like Yuki? I know. That’s why I’m best frenemies with her,” Mama whispered with a smile.

After that sentence several seconds of silence passed between Mama and me, due to running out of topics to talk about. And in that time, Ichigo continued whispering to his father.

“Oh, right. Did Kentaro tell you what he and Hayato talked about last week?”

I sighed, and replied that Papa did tell me about it earlier this morning.

“Good. How does everyone living with us until Ichigo joins the JSDF sound to you?”

I was unable to stop the uneasiness I felt from showing up on my face, something that Mama took note of but didn’t comment on.

“Mama...personally, I’m not enthusiastic about it. The entire family had already established ourselves in Matsumoto. Father was already planning out his retirement there, Mother is now a well known and respected member of the Jukendo circle in Matsumoto and a regular at the neighborhood women’s association. Ao has friends among children her age in the neighborhood and is looking forward to kindergarten, and Ichigo and I have arrangements with our classmates and teachers at Matsumoto Agatagaoka High.”

“But you and Ao will move wherever Ichigo is assigned to once he finishes basic training, right?” Mama asked me with raised eyebrows.

“If everything went as planned, we would only move from Matsumoto around three years from now because that is when Ichigo would finish Basic training..”

“Ah. So you want those three extra years of residential stability?”

When I nodded, Mama asked what was the plan now that our house was destroyed and Father has brain damage and is unlikely to hold down his job.

“Well, for all intents and purposes Ao is now the Ohta family’s breadwinner. That means we will all move wherever she is needed. How about you and Papa? Yokosuka is under occupation by the same people who we had fought against yesterday?”

“To be safe? We could do as my Lolo Enrico and Lola Flor did during World War Two. Hide in the mountains, or as we call it in Filipino mamundok.”

"Then why don't you two come with us? Wait, actually...please come with us. I insist."

"Can we?"

"I'll firmly ask Major Suzumoto to allow you and Papa to come with us."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oyama Town Hall Subashiri Branch, Subashiri, Oyama, Sunto District, Shizuoka

May 12, 2013

11:31 A.M.

Ohta Ichigo

“And that is why you shouldn’t worry, or get angry.,” I said in as confident and reassuring a manner as I can. “Dad, did you understand all of my explanation? Anything I have to repeat? It’s alright to ask, there is nothing shameful about it. Remember that I also asked questions about Kurumi’s pregnancy repeatedly from the same doctor. Remember that?”

It took Dad a few seconds to respond. And when he did, it was...disheartening to see him exert effort where none was needed before yesterday.

“Stop...coddling me. I can…farww you.”

Just as I did since I met Dad this day, I ignored the slurring and tried to mentally decipher the slurred words before I responded.

‘Farww should be follow.’

“Dad, please understand that you are currently sick. And sick people must have their needs considered all the time. Anyways, you’re not going to be coddled forever because brain injuries heal, they need time.”

“Time we…don’t hff. Where will…we get…cash?”

‘Hff should be have. And here we go again.’

“I said that Ao will perform contractor work for the JSDF as a…very powerful fortune teller. She will get paid for however much and whatever we ask for.”

“And what…did you…ask for?”

“Free housing, free healthcare for us and our parents, a free ride for any school and college for Ao, and two hundred fifty thousand yen per month.”

Dad stared at me for several moments longer than he needed when he was trying to talk with a brain injury.

“Only that? One mil…yen a…month. You and…Kurumi should…get free…college too. Wee?”

“Mil should be shorthand for million. Wee…badly pronounced why?’

“Because we don’t want to look greedy and create bad feelings with the Self Defense Forces.”

The look of disdain that slowly showed up on Dad’s face made me feel bad.

“Stupid. The…Self Defense…Forces…not poor. Meet…the Major…again. Talk gen. Remember. One mil yen. Free titon.”

‘Gen…again? Titon must be tuition.’

“Alright Dad, but I’ll do that later. This is time I want to spend with you.”

“Now Ichigo. While there…is still…time.”

Mom, who had been silent all this time while clinging to Dad, suddenly decided to speak up.

“Your father’s right. You should go and ask Major Suzumoto for a revision of the demands before he can send your earlier demands to his superiors. Otherwise you really will look bad if the revised demands got to their ears after your earlier demands.”

I sighed.

“Oh alright. Will you and Dad be alright here while I go visit Major Suzumoto?”

“We’re alright. We have Magdalena and Kurumi here to watch us, isn’t that right dear?”

After a second or so Dad slowly nodded his head, albeit with a reluctant look on his face.

“Alright. See you later Dad. Mom.”

I slowly stood up from sitting by Dad’s left side, and turned to look at my wife and Magdalena. Only to see them already looking at me with a smile.

“I heard everything Ichigo. Go,” Kurumi sent me off with a smile. “We’ll watch over Father and Mother.”

“Alright. See you all later then.”

After saying that, I turned around and started to retrace my steps back towards the entrance of the Town Hall.