86 Options and A New Student 2 in 1 (1/2)

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Kazuya already got an introduction about his grandfather from Kyouko inside his research center.

”You did great and I commend you for trying to protect Mei but always put safety first okay?” Kyouko praised her son and was proud that he had acted so bravely. She wasn't aware that her father's current state was the result of her son's attack so she assumed that he had gotten himself injured before he came back.

”I will mom. You don't need to worry about me too much because you already know what I can do” he confidently smiled at his mother who witnessed his prowess for the last two years. ”I have to be honest though, I was the one who beat up grandfather to that state because I didn't know who he was and I saw him trying to sneak up on big sis when I arrived” he came clean.

”You caused Dad's injuries!?” she was shocked. Kyouko may have looked down on her father as a parent but she looked up to the old man's toughness. This had always been a trait that her father was known for.

”Yeah…” Kazuya scratched his cheek awkwardly. Kou might complain about it sooner or later so if it was better if she found out about it now.

If there was one thing that Kouzuki Kou taught her daughter, it was how to defend herself. Kyouko may appear to be a gentle mother but she used to train under the Shiroyuki dojo when she was younger and had to spar numerous times with her father when she was younger. This only stopped once her mother had gotten sick and both father and daughter often spent time at the hospital.

”Great! Good job!” contrary to his expectations, his mother praised him for it. Kyouko was proud that her son was able to do what she only wished she could have done after her father dumped everything on her and left.

”What's the matter with you Mei? Why have you been thinking about all this time?” Kyouko turned to her assistant who was startled at her boss's call. ”Did that old man startle you that much?”

”I…” she tried glancing at Kazuya but noticed that the boy had turned towards the door.

Kazuya had sensed that Kou Jirou and Tomoyo were standing outside his research facility, It was locked with a formation that not only prevented them from entering but also protecting all sounds coming from the inside to be heard outside the building. They have been standing there for a while now so he turned to the door wondering what the three were up to.

*Creak…*

””!!”” both Kazuya and Mei were a bit startled. Only the two of them knew how to unlock the door from the outside. It required a simple mana sequence but it was something that they didn't expect to be opened by any one aside from them.

”Kazuya” a serious expression could be seen on Kou's face as he entered the building.

”(Could this be him?)” he tried to hide his surprise but he could barely hold it in. Was his grandfather the predecessor he's been looking for all this time? If so, his efforts in searching for him with no result for all these years would make some sense.

A person of Natsu's intellect can easily figure out that the basic lock he created was a spell created by the elves. He could hardly believe that he was actually blood related to his own predecessor. His brain went into overdrive thinking about how to tell this person about how he had failed because it would have been much better if his predecessor was a stranger instead.

”Your grandpa is sorry” Kou kneeled down and hugged his grandson. This snapped Kazuya out of his thoughts.

”Huh?” he was confused about what was happening.

”Dad?” Kyouko felt the same way. She didn't know why her father was acting like this.

”You too Kyouko” Kou turned towards his daughter with tears gathering in his eyes. ”Jirou already told me about what you two had experienced these past few years and I'm sorry that I wasn't here. I just felt lost ever since your mother died and had been very selfish and caused you a lot of grief”

Kyouko couldn't believe she was receiving an apology from her father all of a sudden so she couldn't react. An apology was the last thing she expected from her selfish father but now that he had given it, she froze and didn't know how to react.

”Shut up” Kazuya pushed the arms holding him away and broke free of Kou's hold. He felt annoyed because not only did Kou not attach much importance to the lock he just broke, but his lack of presence in their previous life could have possibly have been prevented if he were there.

”I may not have my memories but I refuse to acknowledge someone like you as my grandfather” now that this person was in front of him. Kazuya expressed the thoughts that he didn't realize he had. ”That apology will only mean something if you plan on doing something about it. Mom and I refuse to accept it until you swear in your name that you will start acting like a proper parent and grandfather”

”Kazuya…” Kou was taken aback by his grandson's words. Jirou was not kidding when he said that this grandson of his thoughts were sometimes like an adult's now that he's experiencing it for himself.

”Not only that… you must stay in this house and help protect it from now on” he glanced at Jirou for a moment and gave him a look. The old man pondered for a bit before giving a nod. Kazuya wanted him to tell Kou about the threats that have been looming around. Jirou would have to tell him more than Komori knew but he knew that he could push the responsibility of being behind the secret company towards Kazuno Mei.

”If you can't promise those things then don't even think of seeing or calling me your grandson” This may have been a little forceful but it was a gamble that Kazuya was willing to take. ”Mom has been used to your absence and I have no memories of you so it's up to you to decide which is more important” He turned around and pulled his mother who was followed by Mei and led them towards the magic training room.

Unlike the main entrance to the building that was made when Kazuya had limited mana, the trap door leading to the magic training room had a lock that was at an advanced level. Even if Kou really was Natsu, he would need some time to decipher the lock if he decided to go after them.

He left them alone to make them realize that Kou needed to think about things before talking to them again. This was both a test and a gamble that he presented his grandfather. This was a choice that would determine his life and death. If he chose his adventures then Kazuya wouldn't try to stop him because of his decision to give up on his family. If Kou chose his family on the other hand, that would give this grandfather of his to be treated like the real grandfather he never had.

”Do you want to stay over our place today old friend?” Jirou offered. ”Looks like you have a lot of things to think about”

Though Jirou thought that Kazuya had been a little too extreme, this was the perfect way to deal with this troublesome friend of his. He may have indeed been lonely but that doesn't excuse his actions towards his family. This was especially because of the length of his travels and lack of contact. He wasn't there when they needed him the most and Jirou thought that his grandson's last words hit him the hardest.

*pat pat* Tomoyo who had been silent this whole time tried to comfort Kou the best way she knew how. Kazuya wasn't there anymore so she didn't need to hold back and approached Kou after he had been on the receiving end on Kazuya's tongue lashing.

”What a sweet girl” Kou tried to muster up a smile and patted her head back. ”Do you like my grandson Tomoyo-chan?”

*nod nod*

”I see…” Kou wasn't a stranger to the tragedy that befell this girl and her parents. If his grandson had caused this girl to become attached to him then he might not really be as bad as he initially thought. ”would you like this old man to become your grandfather in the future?”

*nod*

”haha” he gave a light laugh. ”I see… I'll stay over your house today and think about it then. How could I give up on having such a good granddaughter-in-law in the future” he comforted himself and finally stood up. ”You had something to tell me right?” he turned towards Jirou.

”Those keen senses of yours haven't dulled I see” Jirou smiled. This was the Kou he knew.

”I returned to ask you and some of our friends to join me on an expedition of some mysterious ruins I discovered by accident but it looks like something more interesting had appeared” he walked alongside his old friend and headed for their car.

Inside the training room, Kyouko had just gotten an explanation of how this mysterious basement came to be. She initially thought that it was her father who built this hidden room but she was surprised that it was her son who slowly did it in a span of two years.

”Mom…” Kyouko heard her son's voice and turned towards him. ”The shock isn't over yet so don't be too surprised okay?”

”!!!??” Kyouko almost lost her balance. She heard her son's voice loud and clear but his mouth nor lips didn't move in the least bit.

”You should be familiar with telepathy right? This should be something similar” Kazuya began to explain the 'whisper' skill to hear and taught her how to use it patiently. The skill itself was easier to use between family members because of the similarities in their frequencies so Kazuya was able to connect with Kyouko even before she could actually activate the skill by herself.

”L-like this…?” Kyouko concentrated although she was a little skeptical about it.

”Yes. I can hear you now” Kazuya spoke with his mouth this time.

”Y-you'e teaching Kyouko the whisper skill!?” Mei was the first one to react.

”You knew about this?” Kyouko was surprised that her assistant knew about this before her.

”Big sis awakened the ability naturally and I heard her voice in my head that time and since I knew about the skill, I explained it to her”Kazuya spoke before Mei could explain.

”Since when?” Kyouko looked at her assistant and pressed her for an answer.

”Since… before the incident two years ago” Mei came clean since Kazuya already told her about it. She knew that Kyouko would feel depressed about it but she didn't have any idea what Kazuya had in mind so she just went with the flow.

”Two years… you two kept such a thing from me for two years!?” this time she looked at her son and gave him a stern look. This time she was mad at him.

”It's not like I wanted to hide it from you but big sis awakened the skill naturally and had already met the requirements for activating it normally. I had to wait a little before I could decide to teach you but when you've met the requirements, I really couldn't think of the right way to tell you” he explained.

”What requirements are those?” she was still skeptical about her son's explanation.

”If I were to base it on just the 'whisper' skill. My connection with mom should be better than my connection with big sis because we share the same blood. The mana requirement for it wasn't met by mom at the time so I decided not to tell you about it”

”Mana?”

”I think I should be the one to explain this to her” Mei interrupted. ”Your explanation of it will take a little longer for Kyouko to understand so I should do it instead”

Kazuya kept silent and let Mei do what she wanted. He was still a little angry at her for her earlier actions but he knew that he couldn't really stay mad at her for long especially since she had already realized and was reflecting on it.