Chapter Text
"Thank you, come again."
As the last customer walks out the door, Sojiro sighs. Not from a long day from work, but from the sheer joy that he's found his purpose in life.
Ever since his heart got changed, he's been doing much better emotionally, thanks to Monsta X helping him out with cleaning Leblanc and coming to terms with the deaths of his children. It has been an emotional rollercoaster for him.
Seeing that there are no more customers left, he decides to close up shop early and quietly walk out of the shop, locking the door so that it's secure. Then, he goes to his house to get his car.
As he was driving, he remembers fondly of the times with it. When Wakaba and Futaba were alive, he used to take them everywhere, whether it be picnics, family outings or whatnot, he did it all with them.
And when Akira was alive, he remembered taking him to Shujin when the kid was serving his probation, and then again when he finally got out of juvie. Those were some good memories.
And now, he's going alone, to the place that he knows.
He has arrived at the cemetery, parking nearby as it's pretty close. As he walks by a young girl who was ready to leave.
"Good afternoon, Sakura-san. Are you here to pay your respects too?" she asked.
"Yeah, I am. Have you?"
"Yes. It's been five years since my parents passed away. I come by every year to talk to them about how well I'm doing for myself."
"I feel the same. I think it's a routine for me to go up there every now and then to visit my family too."
"Your family?"
"Yes. At the time, it was just my wife that was here. And now, my daughter is there too."
"Oh… I'm so sorry, Sakura-san."
"It's fine, and I'll be fine too. I had a lot of help to get me to where I am at this point."
"That's good to hear. Well, I won't keep you here for long. I gotta go."
"Take care."
"You too."
They part ways, going to where they need to be.
Sojiro finally makes it there to find Wakaba and Futaba's graves next to one another.
"Hey Wakaba, Futaba. Sorry that I haven't been able to visit you for a while. I had… some problems to deal with on my own. But I'm okay now. I had a lot of help."
He addresses to Wakaba first.
"Wakaba, do you remember the day that we first met? It was from our old government jobs. But what I believe that we first met is through curry. I had no idea that we would get along so well together. And one thing lead to another, that's when Futaba came into my life as well."
He turned to Futaba's grave.
"And you, Futaba, my little bundle of joy, have been the greatest thing to ever happen in our lives."
His expression becomes dour, seeing them both next to each other again.
"You know… It's been… really hard for me these past few months. Not only did I lose you, Wakaba, but I also lost you too, Futaba. I have so many regrets to this day, though I am slowly getting by thanks to the help I got. I haven't had the confidence or the courage to say this, but I'm ready now, and it's time to rip off the band aid."
He clears his throat before going.
"Wakaba, I'm sorry for not believing you and sticking up to you. When you said that you felt like you were going to die, I didn't believe you entirely and wrote it off as a joke. And when that happened, I… I really wished that I'd believed you immediately. And the reason why I took custody of Futaba was… redemption. I had hoped that by taking good care of her, I would make it up to you for that mistake. Ahh, if only you were here now to hear me say this…"
He then turns to Futaba.
"Futaba, I'm sorry that I wasn't a good father figure to you. Ever since your mother died, I just let you be a shut-in because of how big of a mistake that I made to her. And because of that, all I could do was just give you food and do nothing as you suffer. Sometimes, I even questioned whether or not I was the right person to raise you."
"But…" He smiles wryly. "Despite it all, I still love you both, and I know Akira would say the same thing too. Though I may still have some regrets about how I handled the situation, but I will never regret meeting all of you. You gave me so much joy when you were all still here. And the moment I join you, we'll be sure to make up for a lot of lost time."
"But you know? I think I still have some years left in me, so I'll keep on living, for all four of us. Be sure to tell Akira that for me, will you, Futaba? I'm sure he would want to hear this."
He places his fist next to his chest.
"I'll be okay. I'll keep on going so that I can keep the memory alive through curry and coffee, and through the Phantom Thieves. Thanks for listening to me. I'll visit you again soon."
Sojiro places the flowers left for them and quietly leaves the cemetery.
Even though he's growing old himself, he feels young again thanks to releasing the pain he's been holding for years.
And now, he will continue on, making curry and coffee as best as he can until he can find another person worthy of carrying the mantle.