File type: Text File (.txt) [Download]
-----------------------------------------
August 26: The End of Sorrow?

Kenji called last night, saying he wouldn’t be able to make it today because of plans he had made with schoolmates that he completely overlooked. I told him it was okay and that in the meantime I would keep them updated on Tatsu-nii. That said, I did add that if ever for some reason his plans would get cancelled, he should head on over to the Midoriya house the moment he could.

Relaying the message to Torahiko, he was initially frustrated at the turn of events, but sighed in resignation as there was nothing that could be done. He also reminded me to go to the inn once work and other things were done, so that we could update each other and talk about other things as well. I wanted to hang up, but my hand wouldn’t listen to me and as the line stayed on for longer than it should, he asked if I wanted to talk a little bit longer with him. Phone bill be damned, we kept on chatting about whatever until neither of us could speak any more because of sleepiness.

The morning after, it was business as usual for the Midoriya group. Or so I thought. Tappei-san was reiterating some instructions for a task and Tatsu-nii, who’d usually make a quip to piss the old dragon off, just gave a dismissive nod. He didn’t even have a smile on him either, which kinda worried me. When Tappei-san slammed his hand on some plywood and shouted, everyone else working there took a glance at them.

“This is the third time now! Get your shit together!” Tappei-san said.

“I’m sorry,” Tatsu-nii said, hanging his head low.

“If you can’t even get this right you’re better off outta here.”

The situation was growing so bad, the moment they were out of sight Tetsuya-san and the rest turned to me to help diffuse the bad air. Akira was getting annoyed that he just wanted things to calm down again so he could properly do his job. Everyone else agreed to the sentiment. I told them that I would try, but no guarantee that it would work.

At the back we heard a crash, something like metal clanging. We rushed to where it came from and saw broken pieces of wood on the ground, and the cracked detached blade of a plane. Tetsu-san couldn’t contain his worry, remarking that the broken pieces were from Tappei-san’s winter plum tree. The old dragon seemed ready to explode, and Tatsu-nii took a step back while apologizing.

That seemed to be my cue to enter the scene. But before I could even finish my sentence Tappei-san yelled at me, practically roaring at this point, to not butt in between them. Terrified, I didn’t know whether to run back or to say anything else, standing there and feeling like my soul left my body for a brief second. He turned back to his son and just when I thought that he would shout again, he spoke in a voice so tranquil it was alarming.

“Go take a break,” he said.

“Huh?” Tatsu-nii replied.

“If you can’t get your head in the work, then you’re better off not showing up.”

“N-No! I can still work!” Tatsu-nii picked up a piece of lumber, looking pained. “Look, I can still work with this one, Sure it’s-”

Tappei-san grabbed him by the collar and looked him straight in the eye. “Enough, Tatsuki. Go. That’s final.”

Looking defeated, Tatsu-nii slapped his father’s hand off of him and stormed off.

Once Tatsu-nii was gone, he turned to the rest of us and ordered us to get back to work, noting we, rather them, needed to go double-time. Why just them? Tappei-san told me my work ended there, seeing as without Tatsu-nii around the place I didn’t have a reason to stay any longer. Chuukichi-kun tried to protest, but it was met with a fist to the head. He added that I would be getting the rest of my pay in a bit, and looked at me as he gestured his head towards the direction Tatsu-nii stormed off to.

I went to search for the dragon and found him by the gate with his back against the wall, staring absentmindedly at the sky. When you’ve found your calling and then suddenly you were told not to do it anymore, it would be natural to feel like your life would be aimless by that point. It was like any remnant of a living soul had left him and all that was before me was a living husk. Heartbreak; it can hurt people beyond more than any punch can, can’t it?

Tatsu-nii tilted his head towards me. “Ah, Hiroyuki, Didn’t notice you there.”

“You okay?” I asked.

“Me?” He snorted and forced out a smile. “Like anything’s ever gotten me down. I’m A-OK right here. God, Pa was louder than usual. Wanna go somewhere? We have all this free time now.”

“Maybe… we can take a look at-”

“Forget it.” Tatsu-nii shrugged. “I’m not flying this summer. I’m glad Shigure-jiisan got the plane back to the base. But… I don’t think I’ll be able to fix it before you go back. It’s useless. Can’t even handle a simple piece of wood. Some carpenter am I right? Time and money, all wasted...”

“Tatsu-nii...”

The air grew cold, and I could neither move nor say anything to him. Just then a light-grey kei car stopped right in front of the gate. Out came Shigure-jiisan with a jolly greeting.


“Perfect timing,” the purple dog said. “I see you haven’t checked the plane yet.”

Tatsu-nii averted his gaze.

“Ah, but I came here for a matter.” Shigure-jiisan went and opened the passenger door on his side, taking out a low table. “Do you mind if I could ask you to take a look at this? It’s been getting wobbly lately, and I’ve been having a hard time eating off of it.”

“Sorry uncle,” Tatsu-nii said. “You wanna ask Pa for that instead. I don’t think I can.”

The dog chuckled. “If I did that, he’d refuse me because of business. You don’t seem to be doing much today here so I’m asking you instead. This is a pretty simple table, nothing complex like Edo Sashimono. Surely you’d be able to fix it.”

I tapped Tatsu-nii on the shoulder. “How about it? We don’t really got anything planned today aside from work.”

The dragon took a deep breath and straightened his back, taking the low table. “Alright, I’ll take a look at it.”

Shigure-jiisan put his hands together. “Thank you. You’re a big help.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, uncle.”

“Oh, just take your time with it. I leave it to your care.” The purple dog went back into his car and rolled the window down. “Ah, one more thing. Regarding the plane, it’s still whole aside from some scratched paint here and there. I’m not sure about the insides but I’m sure it’s nothing too tough to fix.”

And like how sudden he arrived, Shigure-jiisan left the scene.

Tatsu-nii lifted the table and took a look underneath it. “Now how do we start with this thing?”

He looked at every nook and cranny of the table as he took the thing inside the house, laying it down on a spot in the garden. From a distance, I could see Tappei-san looking at our direction. A strange thing, but perhaps it was the old dragon’s way of trying to cheer Tatsu-nii up.

“Looks like one of the legs got worn down.” Tatsu-nii wobbled the table to the direction of the leg he was observing. “Replacing it should do the trick. The construction and finishing is excellent. I wonder if I can take it to pieces easily. Should only take a day or two.”

He looked at the table with a focus so deep, it was as if I wasn’t even there. Probably a thing that came as he trained with the crew. At least, he had his motivation for carpentry back.