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When the news reaches him it's through a long and tedious conversation, and there are a lot of insults thrown around and a lot of banging at walls—"how could you"s and "never talk to me again"s and "just—just go, Noreen." But as she's leaving, she turns to him, eyes downcast. Says in a quiet voice, "They're hereditary, you know."
Then she leaves. He's left in darkness once again. Key starts crying from the other room. It's a broken sob, and it's loud—crying to cry, or something like that. Edina always was better at this parenting thing, but now…now.
Key is a ticking timebomb. Most discover their tamas when they're young (tamas, Noreen had meant, tamas are hereditary and Dino had known that) but maybe Dino can keep the child from learning of his tama at all. It's safer, that way. Perhaps a bit selfish, and he knows Noreen would disapprove, but he does not plan to speak to her for the rest of his life, and he does not plan on letting Key's body become his coffin.
—
Key grows up and loves gorotama and talks about it every single day.
At first, Dino pretends not to know about it, which earns him a long and winded explanation about things he already knows, and he smiles and nods along and says, "Yes, that's nice, Key, but, uh, don't you think that sounds a bit dangerous?"
And Key, who is currently in the middle of stabbing his food with a fork, looks up and says, "No. Why?"
And he's so much like Edina it hurts.
There's news that comes a week later, some player getting severely injured during a game. The players are injured all the time, of course, but— "This time it's different!" the newsies cry. "It's the captain of the Dragons!"
Dino stops in his tracks, shakes his head, reminds himself it's not her, and moves on.
Key brings it up at dinner. Dino says, "This is what I meant when I said the sport was dangerous."
Key's face kind of twists at that, and something akin to fear rises up in his eyes, just a little. A spark of hope ignites in Dino's chest. This is the closest he's ever gotten to getting Key away from that sport.
But Key's at the age where he thinks dangerous is cool. "He's the captain, Dad. He can come back from anything." Then he shrugs and says, a bit remorsefully, "Besides, it's not like I'll ever get to play."
Dino's silent for a moment too long.
"I don't have a tama. Remember?" Key asks, a bit sardonic, which is still the most sardonic Dino's ever heard the kid get.
He's still smiling, but it's a bitter smile now. Either way, they both know, Key is happy to be watching the sport from the sidelines. (Or, well, he can't actually do that. He's happy to …. to hear about the sport from secondhand sources).
"Unless," Key mutters. Then he looks up at Dino. "Dad, I've never seen you use a tama. But that's because they're illegal over here. Right? Do you—do you have one?"
"No."
"Oh." Key deflates, but it's clear he was expecting that answer, anyway. He glances over at the portrait of Edina. "And there's no chance Mom had a tama, either?"
"No chance," Dino lies. Key sinks in his seat, so Dino adds, "Hey, cheer up, kid. I wouldn't want you playing that sport, anyway. It's much too dangerous for you."
"Fine," Key mutters. But it's clear he'd been wanting to say something else since the start of this whole discussion, and he kind of hangs his head and asks, "So, if neither of you had a tama … then, uh, what's with all that gorotama gear hidden in the closet?"
Dino stills. He thought he'd gotten rid of all that.
His silence must indicate to Key that it was the wrong thing to say, so Key quickly adds, "Okay, look, I'm sorry I was in there, I was looking for something else, I didn't mean—"
"Key." And Key snaps his mouth shut, awaiting some kind of punishment. But punishing him for asking about gorotamawould raise more questions than anything else, and the kid's too smart to go so long without figuring something out. "Key, it's fine. Really. All that gear is from … well, your mother … she was a gorotama fan, too."
Key looks up. "She was?"
"Yes," Dino says. He chuckles, adds, "Maybe that's where you got it from."
Key also chuckles, a bit softer. He smiles, says, "You know …. I think that's the first thing you've ever told me about her. Can you … tell me more?"
Dino stops. "I—maybe in the morning, Key. You've got a long day tomorrow. I want to see you awake an hour before dawn, and…"
And so the first thing Key ever heard of his mother would probably be the last, and it wasn't even really the truth.
—
It's a few years later, and it's a mistake to take Key out to town when there's a gorotama match going on, but Dino didn't have much of a choice that particular day. Luckily, it's going to be a quick in-and-out, and Key will remain in his sight at all times, so there's nothing to worry about, really.
"I can't believe we're going to the Mestras stadium. The stadium! It's the coolest thing ever!" Key says for maybe the fifth time.
Dino sighs. "Key," he says, "for the last time, we're just delivering the squashes. Then we're going right back to the farm."
Key's smile doesn't fade. In fact, it doesn't seem like Key actually heard him at all, which is exactly how it was the last four times that Dino made this clarification. It would be endearing, how excited Key is, if it weren't so dangerous. He wishes he could just tell Key the truth and that would knock some sense into him, but the kid is too much like Edina. It wouldn't knock any sense into him—in fact, he'd probably want to play gorotama even more.
"Right," Key says, like he didn't hear what Dino just says, "but we're going to be there at the same time as Kal Asterock's best players are playing a game! Like—wow."
Dino chuckles, just a little. "Why are you so excited?" he asks Key. And he knows this is just pushing Key to say even more, but he likes the sound of Key's voice. Even if that's not the impression he gives Key. "It's just an exhibition game between a bunch of kids."
"A bunch of kids?" Key looks offended. "Um, do you know how important this school is to gorotama?"
(Yes.)
"The best players in the world come from Kal Asterock," Key continues.
"Yes, you've only mentioned it about a hundred times."
"The Roses. The Shadows. The Bards. And the best of them all…"
"The Dragons," Dino interrupts, slumping in his seat. "Yes, you've mentioned them as well."
Because of course Key is a Dragons fan. Some twisted strand of fate and the comedic timing of this shitty universe, and Key Nagatatsu is a Dragons fan.
"But, Dad, it's going to be so cool seeing the stadium…" Key continues, and this is when the commentary is going to start, probably, because Key's dream job is to give a play-by-play of every single gorotama game on the planet, and this is when Dino starts to tune him out. Just a little.
—
Except then Key's incredibly animated gorotama commentary somehow manages to knock all the squashes over, and the one job Tournefeuille gave them was don't fuck up the squashes, so Dino hereby shuts down all talk of gorotama. Which Key looks incredibly dejected at, but it's for the best.
Four things happen in a matter of five minutes. One: Key somehow manages to make the captain of the Dragons (no, not the dead one, the current one) incredibly mad, which results in him being threatened with the dragon claw tama thing. Dino attempts to talk down the guy—Ragno, as Key called him—but that does not go over so well.
Two: When the Dragons leave, like the self-centred idiots they are, somehow even more squashes get fucked up. Now Tournefeuille is going to kill him. And Key looks like he's on the verge of tears.
"I did try to tell you," Dino says, resting a hand on Key's shoulder. "Gorotama players aren't worth your time."
Except now Key (Key, of all people) thinks being talked down to is cool, apparently, because everything is cool when a gorotama player does it, apparently.
Did that sound bitter?
Three: Tournefeuille is, very rightfully, incredibly mad.
About his reputation. He's one of those entitled idiots that Dino hates working for but does so anyway (without complaint,because Dino is not Key or, for that matter, Edina).
"I—I'm so sorry, Tournefeuille," Dino hastily apologises. "I'll go back and get more squashes."
"You will?" And suddenly Tournefeuille is no longer acting like he is going to drop dead.
Dino and Key exchange a look.
"Well, suddenly I'm feeling much better," says Tournefeuille with a smile. Then he looks very pointedly at the remaining squashes. "But I should probably avoid any heavy lifting. Uh, just to be sure."
Four: "Key," Dino says with a sigh, "while I'm gone, help Tournefeuille with the squashes. And under no circumstances are you allowed anywhere near the stadium."
Then he leaves.
—
Dino had hoped against hope that Key would actually listen this time. Or, at the very least, that Tournefeuille would keep him busy and prevent him from trying to get a glimpse of the game.
Neither happened.
Dino recognised that dragon in the sky. He'd know that dragon anywhere.
—
The stadium is totally destroyed. Which Dino doesn't actually care about, unlike the horrified gorotama fans he has to push his way through, the ones who seem to care more about the quality of the arena and what it could mean for future tournaments than the lives of the actual players.
When he finally pushes past all the fans, he has to run past all the players. Key is nowhere to be seen.
Fuck. Key just used his tama and now he's nowhere to be seen. If he's not already dead, then he's definitely on the verge of it, or being shipped to Kal Asterock because "it's his destiny" and "they're hereditary, you know." Fuck.
There's a girl, a blonde with tears in her eyes who introduces herself as Ssyelle Tournefeuille, and she is much nicer than her father, and much more helpful, too.
"He's alive," she assures him. "They just took him away on a stretcher." She points him in the right direction.
Dino has to have a winded discussion with the authorities to convince them that yes, he can take care of Key and no, he would not like to enroll Key as a first-year, and no, he absolutely would not be paying any money to rebuild the stadium. They're the ones who decided to play the game here; it's their problem. End of discussion. Goodbye.
(But he catches Noreen's eye as he's leaving with a barely-awake Key, and he knows that they've crossed the point of no return.)
—
He's not mad at Key. Of course not. Only a completely insane parent would see their child knocking themselves unconscious with a dangerous weapon and have their first response be anger.
Dino will get mad later. Right now, Key's health is all that really matters. He's tucked away in bed right now, although he seems wide awake, really.
"How you feeling?" Dino asks him.
"Well, less crispy." Key smiles at his own joke, which is the last straw.
Dino sighs through his teeth. Stands, arms akimbo. "Key," he says with a scowl, "this is no laughing matter. You deliberately disobeyed me and went to the stadium. You don't understand—you could've been killed!"
Key's kind of grinning. "Technically, you told me to help Tournefeuille, so…"
"Do you realise the trouble you've caused? They had to cancel the game." (And you knocked youself unconscious. Could've died. But that's not really getting through to you.) "I hope you've learned your lesson."
"Oh, Dad, definitely," Key says. He's still kind of grinning, vibrating with excitement. "I am never gonna think about gorotama again. Like, ever."
Edina was also terrible at lying.
There's a knock at the door before any more words can be said.
—
"Aren't you going to invite me in, Dino?" she asks.
He's silent.
"I came here to talk about Key."
"The answer," he says gruffly, "is no."
"Still as stubborn as ever," she observes, as if she's not the stubborn one. She adds, though, "If Key doesn't learn to use his tama, it could be fatal. He might not be so lucky again. You know that as well as I, Dino."
He does. He really does.
"I can handle my son's tama," he tells her firmly.
Except then Key blows up half of the house. Which doesn't really help to prove Dino's point.
—
It was foolish, Dino supposes, to think he could keep the lies from Key this long. Stupid, to think Noreen Sugoi wouldn't worm her way back into this family's lives and tell him.
"He's a dragon striker," she says, watching Key, and Dino's heart leaps a little. She adds, "Just like his mother."
Key's eyes go wide. It's probably the first time his smile has totally and completely dropped in ages. "Wait—did you just say I'm a dragon striker like my mom?"
His voice cracks on the last word.
Fuck.
Noreen turns to Dino, stunned. "You haven't told him about his heritage?"
Dino looks away, defeated. Noreen takes this as her cue to tell Key about it herself.
"About Edina?" she continues. "How she led the Dragons to win the Banner's Helm?" Then she adds, "How she gave her life for the school?"
Right. Because that's what happened.
"What?" Key asks, voice dry. "Dad?"
Fuck.
"We'll talk about this later, Key," he lies. He catches Noreen's smug smile. She thinks she's won. He knows what will come next: would you like to join Kal Asterock, Key? (Would you like to hand your life to us, and let us throw you around a stadium as much as we wish? Would you like the field to become your grave?)
"It's clear," Noreen says to Key, "that the same magic that flowed within your mother's veins is within you." To Dino, "He should come to Kal Asterock."
There it is.
Key gasps in delight. He seems to have forgotten the part where Edina died because she went to Kal Asterock.
"Attend the trials, and join the Dragons," Noreen continues. "It is his destiny—"
"I don't want him anywhere near that place," Dino finally interrupts. Because he's the only person here with even half a mind.
"If he doesn't learn how to use his tama," Noreen reminds him, again, in a more desperate tone, "well, you know just how dangerous that could be."
And—wait.
And she doesn't want him dead, and this isn't out of some kind of honour-driven thing that most other gorotama players are all about. She's doing it out of love, or desperation, or something. She really, really does not want him dead.
"Dad, please," Key begs. "I want to go to Kal Asterock and be a dragon striker."
And it's not like Dino can hide the truth from him anymore. At least, not this one.
"I won't stop you," he finally says.