#promisedleader

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The Extinct Heart - Farewell, Mama!

At the end of the day, a now sort of listless, sleepy vibe falling over the students still lingering about the school, Tasuku wished his classmates farewell, brushing his hands of chalk dust as he wrapped up his own cleaning duties. It had been a rather eventful experience, the handful of hours spent giving his academia his all rather rewarding, returning to his deck to pick up his sitting belongings. Shrugging on his uniform blazer, he remembered the goods--a batch of specially made cookies--he had baked during Home Ec. immediately wondering what to even do with them..

 I oughta.. bring these over. Yeah... I'm sure Mama would like them..! The idea had come to him almost instantaneously, given that it had been a week or two too long to have kept away from his family. Of course, school and work combined had been tiring him out and keeping him preoccupied, but it was no excuse. He'd be sure to make it up for it somehow or another.. Meeting with the familial redhead at the gate--ahh, of course he would have waited like this...--Tasuku gave a light bow in apology, chuckling sheepishly as he forced them both to part. "Ah, Chrono-Senpai, sorry, I'll have to skip out on heading to Card Capital 2 today... I'll be heading over to Mama's for a visit! I-I mean, y.. yeah. So I'll see you tomorrow. I'll leave my phone on if you need me!" And with that he dashed off towards the residential area, using Jackknife Dragon's buddyskill halfway for an extra speed boost. ---- Arriving at the solemn apartment room, Tasuku dug out his keys, sticking fast to the doorknob before entering jovially. This was definitely going to turn things around.. He couldn't wait to see Aichi's smile after the exciting proposal he had to share!

 "Mama..! I have something for you! Sorry, it's been so long, I..." ... But of course, something immediately seemed so wrong, right off the bat..                                                     "Mama..?"

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The Price of Strength

"--Please, let me down.." Having come to in a very unexpected awakening, how could Tasuku had ever have guessed finding himself in the arms of his precious parent, holding him close, and Jackknife Dragon on the rise and ready to fly them back home...? It was beyond reasoning.. especially with Aichi in his condition right now. Why would he act so recklessly despite his lack of stability? To have step foot outside of the safety of their secluded apartment.. and looking for Tasuku like this? The sentiment was there, wholly it was, but he couldn't permit such a thing. What if he hadn't bumped into Tasuku and Jack first? What if he had met the most dastardly of characters on the way..? He could've gotten hurt and it would have been all my fault..! But as he was lowered to his feet, thinking about his choice words and about to give a long, hard lecture, his Buddy twitched in alert, sharp, slit pupils constricting protectively as he growled deeply.

"Someone's here...!"

"Easy, Jack.." Raising an arm in gesture to command the dragon to relent and lower his haunches, they all stood in wait of the approaching figure; though in the receding moonlight, it wasn't hard to see who it was at all. The shape of that silhouette was unmistakable. 

 "Chrono... Senpai..?" The worst possible guest he could have asked for at this very hour...

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Burden

Even when everything had had time to settle in his mind after his personal confrontation with Void itself, there was still a lingering sense of ultimate defeat. Was there truly no cure..? Was there truly no way to remove the Seed..? Was everything for naught? Was his family forever cursed...?

 "I'm.... home.." Ridiculous. Heavy footsteps making their way inside of that quieted apartment, the few scuffs and callouses from Tasuku's recent skirmish in that alternate plane remained evident on his face and hands, large eyes half-lidded and exhausted. "Mama...?" Just the utterance made his heart sink. How could he ever come to face that kind, kind facade who deserved nothing but the best, and tell him the potentially awful truth he had come across? How could he take away that false hope he had distilled into his precious parent and wipe away any image of happiness they may have potentially had..? "Mama......"

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The Child's Duty

It was another rough day, filled with the travesties of emotions pent up and displaced as a result of juvenile handling. And as much as Tasuku wished to stay with the family he had come to love here, in this verse, there was just no part of him that could ignore the presence laying in wait at his solitary flat. The fragment of the past he had yet come to find a resolution for, the suffering entity laying in wait of his company. The stifled dust of the apartment brought about a small cough from Tasuku as he finally entered inside, closed curtains revealing only a sliver of the orange sunlight outside that spilled through the crack in between the fabric. Propping open the window, to let out some of that stagnant air, brought Tasuku's attention back to the occupant of his tiny cot. And there, sitting against the wooden panel of the bed post, was a pair of eyes he hadn't expected to be awake from their usual slumber.

 "Mama...?"

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The Child's Responsibility [A few days after the initial incident.]

Though he was fearful of falling under the spell of Link Joker and Void once again, Tasuku simply couldn't keep himself away from his original parent's side; at least his vacant apartment was given some use, too and Aichi could rest easily there, undisturbed to others and himself. Of course, Tasuku attempted to look for the Kai Toshiki of their timeline as well, but to no avail thus far. At least his visits weren't under a totally false guise--and if he couldn't admit the love he had for this Aichi, the unadulterated affection he still harbored with all of his heart, well, he didn't deserve to be called a son by anyone. This was the Aichi he had originally come to care for, and he'd do just that, until the bitter end. Entering the flat as quietly as he could, slipping in towards the occupied bed, Tasuku pulled up the usual desk chair and gently placed a hand against the warm lump under the duvet, leaning a bit forward to whisper.

 "... Hey, Mama.. I'm here. Were you lonely..? Sorry..."