Chapter Text
Ranmaru was walking home that day, he'd met up with his teammates earlier that day to play a bit of soccer with them before he had to leave for work.
It had already been a few months after everything— with fifth sector, with the whole time travel and El Dorado, and with everything about aliens being real and having to play soccer against them that will determine their planet's fate.
He was tired between doing his best academically and athletically, he had to take care of his sick father as well. Not even spending the day with his friends was able to get his mood up which frustrated Matsukaze even more and tried even harder to cheer up the second year and his insistence to make him laugh successfully got Ranmaru to crack a small smile.
As he walked he passed by the she streets overflowing with children, filling the air with their laughter, parents behind them— exhausted but gleaming with that content glow— while elderly couples were walking hand in hand. The bright Christmas lights shone bright, as if smiling in satisfaction at seeing so many excited and happy people.
He gripped the box in his hand, it was a gift for his father from Shindou. For years his father has been suffering from alzheimer's disease and he's been getting worse recently, from being unable to intake food, to his speech being limited and being unable to leave his bed on most days.
For most of his life, his parents had been financially supporting them but with his mother walking out on them years ago along with his father's health declining when he was only 10, he'd been taking up a job at Rairaiken just to support them both.
He couldn't bother Takuto with his financial problems, it was stupid and he didn't want to seem like a terrible friend and use Takuto for his money so he never asked. But Takuto wasn't an idiot, Ranmaru knew that, but he still tried to stop the guy from sending him thousands of yen daily which he failed at since everyday without fail Takuto would slip money in his bag and Ranmaru didn't even notice until after getting home.
He was frustrated yet at the same time relieved— frustrated that Takuto would send him outrageous amount of money yet relieved that he would be able to pay for everything both he and his father needed— he loved Takuto with all his heart and appreciated how he noticed even without Ranmaru saying anything.
As he continued to walk the streets, he kept a solemn look on his face. The glimmering decorations doing nothing to cheer him up. Truthfully, Christmas had once been Ranmaru's favourite holiday.
He remembered being unable to sleep on Christmas Eve, already imagining opening his presents the next day with Takuto. His parents had to tire him out by letting him play soccer with Takuto in their small backyard after dinner. And it helped not only in tiring both children out but also in helping them grow their love in playing soccer.
He remembered the Christmas mornings, bothering his parents to wake up so that he could finally open his presents.
He loved Christmas.
He loved the toys he would be given, the way it snowed heavily in Inazuma, his parents being by his side as he threw snowball after snowball at Takuto before he could react, and most of all the decorations.
He loved the way it shone brightly when he looked at them, like scattered stars stitched together in contrast with the night sky. The way they held such a glow akin to that of a child's smile. Bright and colourful, he loved it.
Loved.
That was it. Ranmaru loved it once but not anymore.
Not since his mother walked out on them that day.
He remembers getting up from bed, running to his parents bedroom but strangely he found neither of them there. So he rushed down the stairs and found his father crying on the couch with a piece of paper in his fingers. When Ranmaru reached for him, his father suddenly got up, slamming his hands down the table before wobbily making his way back upstairs.
When he went to read the note, it wrote:
To My Husband,
I apologise for leaving you but I can't take it anymore. I'm tired of caring for you. I'm tired of having to constantly remind you who I am— of who Ranmaru is. I'm sorry but I found someone else. I'm sorry, Ranmaru, for leaving you but I had to. I can't take this relationship anymore.
I'm sorry for leaving this burden on you.
Your Wife
If she was truly sorry she wouldn't leave this burden on him. A ten year old boy. To care for his sick father.
Ranmaru shook his head, ridding all those thoughts from his head before finally noticing that he was home. He grabbed his key and stepped inside, leaving his shoes by the door and his bag on the couch he called out.
"Papa, I'm home!"
He shrugged his jacket off, throwing it on the couch before he walked up the stairs, turning left to his pare— father's room. He gently opened the door, walking up slowly to his father's body, unmoving on the bed.
He let out a sigh, cracking a small smile as he gripped tightly on the box in his hand.
"Papa? Takuto brought you a gift, he.. wanted to ask how you were.."
When Ranmaru stepped forward, the box in his hands dropped to the floor as he got a closer look at his father. He rushed to his side, feeling every part of him and trying desperately to shake him awake.
But there was no use. His father's dead and he wasn't even there for him.
His knees grew weak, nails sinking into his palms as he let out a scream followed uncontrollable sobbing.
Four years ago he hated Christmas because of his mother, he hated Christmas because it reminded him of who left but now his father had left him as well.
To everybody the Christmas lights were a symbol of hope, of happiness. To them it gleamed like tiny beacons of joy.
To Ranmaru they burned like candles left for someone who would never return.