Chapter Text
"Sensei," the child looked up at him with curious eyes, mouth full of white stains, her small hands gripping tightly the cone of her vanilla ice cream as she licked the liquid melting down its side.
"Hmm?" He turned his head to the right and looked down at her. The mess that she was in made him chuckle before pulling out his handkerchief, sweeping away the stains that spread all across her face.
Satoru had never thought that she was this messy as a kid.
"Did you," she licked her ice cream first before she continued, "come from the future?"
Satoru blinked.
Of all the questions he'd expected, that wasn't one of them.
They said that kids around this age often say things that they can't fully comprehend yet. They really had a way of asking impossible questions as though they were the simplest things in the world.
Despite this common knowledge, Satoru can't help but get himself caught off guard at her question.
He finished the last bite of his ice cream and dusted his palms together, brushing the crumbs from his hands.
He looked at her with a soft smile, "What made you think like that?"
Despite his soft smiles, she frowned at him as she lowered her gaze, tracing circles against the cone with her thumb.
That sight immediately made the man frown too.
"Hey," he called her, gently moving his hands up and down her hair. "What's with the frown?"
She swats his hands off her hair with a pout. "Because you always go away."
He can't blame her. He really does go away every so often because he has some errands to do, but Satoru never really mentioned to her what is it.
"You never want me to go with you!" She huffed, crossing her arms, making the half-eaten ice cream fell on the ground.
"Sweetheart, you know that kids are not allowed in there," he cooed at her.
"You never tell me where you work."
"Is that why you think I'm from the future?"
"Hmph!"
Aww, how cute. Who knew that a little shit could throw a tantrum like this. She's got some wild imagination too.
If this were any other kid, they'll definitely get a bump on their forehead.
"Alright," rising from his seat, he bent down and scooped the child into his arms. "Come here."
"No! I don't want you anymore!" The kid let out an indignant protest, wriggling relentlessly and pushing against his chest, but his grip remained firm.
"Hush now. We're going to the mall. I'm gonna buy whatever you want, okay?" He bribed her as he walked down the streets, carrying her in his arms while rubbing her back in slow soothing circles.
The frantic wriggling slowly faded away. She slumped against his shoulder with a defeated sigh, apparently deciding that struggling any further wasn't worth the effort, especially after hearing the promised trip to the mall.
Now, who wouldn't say yes to that?
"Tada!" He pulled off his hand that was covering her eyes. The view made her gasp excitedly.
Arcade.
Her favorite place of all time, despite never winning a single thing at the claw machine. It's not her money anyways, nor her parents.
It's his money.
"That one!" She pointed at the unicorn plushie that was tucked at the side of the claw machine.
"Okay!" The man leveled his enthusiasm that met hers.
They've been playing for hours now, almost emptying all of the machines.
Their hands were full of stuff toys not until an employee offered them a cart in which they gladly accepted and dump everything they had been carrying into it.
After five attempts, Satoru finally caught the one she wanted.
"Yehey!"
"Yay!"
She crouched down, lifting the flap of the prize chute and grabbing the unicorn stuffed toy that was almost as big as her.
"Wow! It's so huge!" She lifted it up and hugged it close to her, squishing her face on its softness.
His lips curved into a gentle smile, giving her head a quick tousle.
For sure, another plushie will be added on her collection, sitting on top of her bed.
There were currently three of it, it will soon be four as soon as they get home, her temporary home.
"Are you hungry? Do you wanna eat?" He asked her, not receiving a response as she was too focused on playing princess dress up.
He pressed his index finger on her soft cheeks before giving it a gentle pinch. While the latter whined as she swats his hands away, eyes glued to the screen in front of her, her hands tapping on the buttons.
He called her name again, "Come on baby, you have to eat."
He tilted his head into her field of vision, frantically waving a hand in front of her, trying to draw her attention away from it.
"Toru! Move your hands away! I cannot see Snow White," she said, tilting her head to the side.
The smile on his face faltered for a moment before he caught himself. That name hadn't crossed his ears for years.
It belonged to another time, to someone who had left him behind.
Only one person had ever called him that.
"..What did you just say?"
The child hesitantly raised their gaze, faced with the man's unreadable expression, she nervously gulped as panic crept across her face.
"I'm s-sorry, sensei! I didn't mean to call you that!" she swallowed hard, fingers fidgeting at the hem of her shirt, drifting down her gaze on the ground.
She was scared as heck.
At a young age, she was taught by her parents to treat her elders with respect. They even reminded her of it before moving in Tokyo.
Her parents knew that she might never be as academically gifted as the children at Kosei, but they believed that kindness would always matter more than intelligence.
Having respect was worth far more than a brilliant mind is.
But it seems like she slipped up.
That's fine though, a child is prone to mistakes.
The child's timid apology pulled him back to the present. Guilt settled in his chest after realizing that she had mistaken his question for anger.
The panic in those little eyes made his heart sank.
Blinking the memories away, he quickly softened his expression.
"No, no," he said at once, his voice gentle. "You don't have to apologize."
Before she could shrink away any further, he gently pulled her into a hug. One hand came to rest against her back, rubbing slow, reassuring circles.
"I'm sorry sweety," he murmured, giving her a gentle squeeze as he wiped the tears streaming down her little cheeks. "I wasn't mad at you."
He waited until she finally relaxed before he pulled back, a faint smile tugged at his lips.
"How about I make it up to you?" He asked. "Would a trip to the toy store help? We'll get everything you want."
He and his damn money.
She gave a tiny hiccup, sniffling as she scrubbed the remaining tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.
The mention of his yet again, another bribery, was enough to earn a timid little nod from her.
There he went again, solving every problem with his wallet.
He spoils her too much, don't he?
The child's tiny hand reached for his again.
"To-- sensei?"
Her voice seems to sound farther away this time.
"Sensei?"
The warmth around his hand began to disappear.
"-ru."
The arcade lights dimmed.
The noise faded.
"-toru."
The little fingers slipped from his grasp.
"Satoru!"
His eyes flew open.
His breath heavy.
The fluorescent lights above him replaced the colorful glow of the arcade.
He looked at the voice that called him.
Suguru.
"It starts in two hours," he reminded.
Satoru didn't give him an answer. He stayed in his position for a while and eventually stood up to get himself ready.
This was his worst December so far.
The winter air a bit colder than he remembered.
Every street corner seemed quieter.
Every Christmas decoration felt strangely out of place.
Somewhere deep inside him, there lingered the aching certainty that he had forgotten something precious.
He couldn't explain why, but he had woken with the dull ache of having just said goodbye to someone whose face he could no longer remember.
He was certain he had a dream.
Though it was gone, the emotion remains. He forgot the details of it, but the unexplainable feelings linger.
"Satoru." Suguru called him once again, gaining his attention. "Let's go."