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(let’s. make. reality. fictitious.)

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Kazuo remembered a cold wintry day with whitep owdered snow frosting the buildings in TOkyo like sugar frosting. So sweet and delectabl like homemade Christmas cookies that his mother made.She always insisted on Christmas tradition, beacuse it was the only time of the year that they would meet Kazuo’s father. He always made sure to come back home for Christmas, no matter what. Despite waiting by the door, hping beyond hope that his father would be there to sit him upon his knee and tell him stories about what it was like overseas.

“One day,” Kazuo declared. “I will be like father. A hero.”

“Your head is still stuffed with sounen manga, isn’t it, Kazu-kun?” his mother said delightedly, a black haired Japanese beauty named Erika. “You alwyas liked your heroes of justice, didn’t you?”

“One day I’m going to join an organization that will beat up the bad guys and be the heroes of justice,” Kazuo said while pumping his fist up in the air enthusiastically. “Yes! I will be a great hero just like Father!”

“You look just like your father, Kazuo-kun,” his mother said with a luagh, before she finished baking the Christmas turkey. “Be a good boy and go to the playground while I prepare dinner.”

“Will do!” Kazuo said cheerfully, before leaping from the couch into a flip.

His mother laughed.

“Trying to practice parkour like your father?” she asked, while Kazuo grinned sheepishly.

“Well, I’m nowhere as good as him,” Kazuo said. “But one day I will b eawesome and do all kinds of hardcore stuff. I’ll go practice on the playground.”

“Be sure to come hom at six!” his mother called while Kazuo made his way out th edoor and into the playground where he usually went. THe reaon why he went to that playground, however, was not just because of practciing parkour. In fact, he was practricing parkour because he wanted to impress a girl that he liked. She had long, silky black hair that draped past her knees, and she had beautiful violet eyes that were arresting.

Kazuo swooned every time he saw her. He loved her silken black hair. It was as black a raven’s wing, or just as ebony as the deepest darkest part of the night where the lulls of sleep overcame you. She would come to the park everyday at 3:00, swinging on the swingset by herself. No one seemed to befriend her at the park, and Kazuo would sometimes wordlessly sit at the swing next to her while they puhed themselves in a rocking back and forth motion on the swing, just sharing companiable silence with one another. Kazuo got used to this ritual of going to the park and swinging at the swingset while the girl with inky black hair was sitting by herself on the swingset.

Kazuo ran as fast as he could. Sure enough, the girl was there are the swingset. They haven’t spoken to one another yet, though Kazuo thought if he just spent time with her at the park, that was enough. Or maybe she would one dy rewardhim by talking to him. Today might be the dy that she did so.

Kazuo sat in his usual spot, and the girl with black ahir and vilolet eyes turned to glance at him. His heart raced. Then she turned to look on ahead, staring into the distance.

Kazuo decided he’d make the first move. It seemed like they were alwys at astandstill like this,neither one talkng to the other. And Kazuo wanted to chase away the silence.

“Do you wanna come over for Christmas dinner?” Kazuo offered with a bright smile.

The girl looked startled, before she flushed. So she wasn’t so stoic after alll, was she?

“What makes you think that I want to celebrate Christmas?”” the girl said in a haughty tone, and Kazuo laughed.

“You’re talking to me, that’s good,” Kazuo said with an easygioing laugh, before he said. “Well…there’s a spot available if you want. The Christmas turkey isn’t gonna finish itself you know?”

The girl huffed, though she flushed when her stomach grumbled. “You just invite strange girls to your place, don’t you?”

“Well, I consider us friends,” Kazuo said, to whcih the girl looked startled.

“Are we relly?” th egirl said, with her eyes widened.

“Yeah, why do you think that I sit on the swingset with you all this time?” Kazuo said with a grin. “You looked lonesome by yourself.”

“You’re a loner too, aren’t you?” The girl said cautiously.

“You could say that,” Kazuo said. “It doesn’t bother me, but us loners ought to stick together, wouldn’t you say?”

“Hmph!” the girl said with a huff. “I didn’t ask you to pity me or anything like that. Maybe I like being by myself becaues everyone else is stupid.”

“Well,” Kauo said. “You gotta live with them, even if they’re not as smart as you, you know?”

The girl sighed. “I know. I wish that… Iwere just a normal girl. No one wants to be my friend because I understnad things that they don’t. I understand that my parents are going to get a divorce, because they don’t love each other anymore. They’re too stuck in their arguments to take care of me, so I might as well take care of myself.”

“I’m Kazuo,” Kazuo said, holding out a hand to shake. “Yours?”

The girl looked hesitant, before she reached a hand out and clasped his hand. “Tomoyo.”

“Tomoyo,” Kazuo said, tasting her name on his tongue…

—x—

Kazuo woke up, startled. He was having that dream again, wan’t he? He put a hand to his head and shook it slightly. It was a pleasant memory, though there were important things t oe done. And ti’s possible that he overslept. Rikyu might chew his ass out for that one. Kazuo swiftly got dressed and headed out towards where the others were—Rikyu, Shizuha, and Tomoyo. They were all enjoying breakfast, it seemed; and he was late for the gathering.

Rikyu had a little carton of chocolate milk, as did Shizuha. Sheesh, they were such little kids. Kids with super smart brains, but kids, nonetheless.

“Kazuo,” Tomoyo said while patting an empty seat next to her. “Sit.”

Kazuo grinned. “I’m not your dog, Prez.”

“Oh shush,” Tomoyo said while shaking her head. “Just come nad have breakfast. It’s really good.”

“We get a wholesome breakfast!” Rikyu said happily as he began digging into his waffles and syrup and eggs. “The last thing I ate was a military rations, and those don’t come for kids.”

“You did all this, Tomoyo?” Kazuo said, looking impressed.

Tomoyo flushed.

“I did.”

“So what’s our plan today, Mister and Missus Captain?” Kazuo said with a grin.

“We need to ensure the protection of Miss Tomoyo,” Rikyu said. “She became regarded in a national incidetn and has been put into high profile. We’re doing best to keep her anonymous though people are starting to talk. They saw something like out of a sci fi movie orbiting above Earth, and many organizations want to get their hands on that ship. We have it pakrked here in Japan, though I’m sure it’s the talk of the news right now. Along with the ICBM incdient.”

“And whose ide was that, I wonder?” Tomoyo said with a frown, and Rikyu laughed.

“Hey, we get the job done, with style,” Rikyu said with a grin. “But in all seriousness, Shirou is taknig care of everything as we speak.”

“He’s an efficient man, sin’t he?” Shizuha said with a smile, and Rikyu noded.

“Yeah,” Kazuo agreed. “You know, you can be taken underneath Shirou’s legal guardianship as well, Shizuha. After all, siblings hsould be together, right?”

Shizuha nodded. “I’ve arranged the paperwork and everything and got Shirou and Rikyu vouching for me.”

“Very good, very good,” Tomoyo said, before she clasped her hands together and her brow fuurrowed in concentration. Kazuo wondered what was up wit hehr. Though he supposed she might be worried aabout the incidents that took plae niteh world. She really was getting involved in all sorts of antics, wasn’t she? Tholugh she really pulled thorugh for all of them, and Kazuo never felt so proud of her. She weas a strong woman, that was sure, nd thinking of Tomoyo made him want to improve himself too. Kazuo was mostly present midned and thought aobut the pleasures in the now, though Tomoyo made him start thinking about his future. He needed to be serious and think of how everything was ging to play out, wih himself, Tomoyo, Rikyu, and shizuha. They just went thorugh an earth shattering events, and now they would have to live with this to their names.

Thaknfully a war was avoided thanks to Shirou’s negotation skills, though Kazuo wasn’t so sure that they could rest easy yet. It was intuition, but he knew that the guy they encountered before said there were more liek him, lingering in the shadows an recesses of teh world like cockroaches. They gathered in the shdows an trenches of the underworld, but they scatterd when you put the light shining on them.

But how to find them? That’s their top priority. Find the lab guys that enslaved Shziuha and were planning on eliminating Rikyu. He couldn’t allow his adorable Kyu-chan to perish by anyone’s hands.

“You seem deep in thought, Kazuo-san,” Shizuha said as she munched on a waffle, chewing thoughtfully.

“Oh?” Kazuo said whie quriking a brow at the young girl prodigy. “Just thinking about what to do next, really. THis breakfast is really good, where’d you learn how to cook, Tomoyo?”

“I had to,” Tomoyo said as she flushed. “I was living on my own, s oI had to learn how to cook.”

“Compliments to the chef!” Rikyu said as he took a sip of his chocolate milk and then took a syrup drowned waffle into his mouth. He then jumped up onto the table and pumped a fist in the air. “I feel like I can do anything after I ingest a sugary breakfast of cinnamon roll bread and waffles and syrup! Woo! Who else is pumped up?”

Tomoyo quirked a brow. “Rikyu?”

Rikyu started to strum an imaginary air guitar, and Shirou sternlly told Rikyu. “Sit, Rikyu. Don’t get up on the table, that’s inappropriate.”

“Come on,” Rikyu said with a whining edge to his tone. “Grown-ups are no fun. They always tell you what is proper and what is not, and you can’t do this and you can’t do that. Well guess what, I am the Captain!”

“And I’m your father,” Shirou said as he lifted Rikyu and settled him down in his seat. “Don’t make me strap you in this chair or take away your waffles.”

Rikyu pouted. “And take away this blessed opportunity for sugar? You’re the absolute worst!”

Kazuo whispered in Tomoyo’s ers. “Rikyu gets incredibly hyper when he eats sugar of any kind. That’s why he’s not allowed to have any, usually.”

Tomoyo frownded.

“Did Papa Shirou give Rikyu sugar before the ICBM launch or did Rikyu haev a hidden stash somewhere?”

Kazuo laughed.

“Sugar helps him think, but he gets so muc henergy that he’s hard to handle at times. Shizuha thankfully doen’t have that problem…or latl east I hope not. Having two hyperactive child prodigies would drive us all insane.”

“Rikky always loved his sugar,” Shizuha said fondly. “He claims not to like them, but when he indulges himself every once ni a while, he gets like this, you see.”

“Myabe I should force feed him more sugar,” Tomoyo said with a wicked grin. “I will make him super addicted to my whipped cream and syrup waffle combo. Maybe I can spoonfeed him too.”

“I will never degrade myself that way!” Rikyu said, but he giggled as he took another sip of his chocolate milk. “But these waffles and cinnamon rolls drowned in butter are super good. That’s it! I’m making Tomoyo part of the team for morale adn cooking!”

Tomoyo quirked a brow. “You think I help improve morale.”

“Sure, you can be like our mascot,” Rikyu said while wving his hand and Shirou forcibly restrained him into the seat as rRikyu wiggled and squirmed.

“He’s a normal kid after all,” Tomoyo said with a fond smile,and Kazuo took her hand underneath the table. Tomoyo flushed prettily, before she turned away. “Um, well, you guys need someting to eat rather than military rations! Isn’t that more appealing?”

“THe rations are pretty good though,” Rikyu said. “But your cooking is even better, Miss Tomoyo.”

“He outright complimented me,” Tomoyo said while putting a hand over her chest. “I feel so special.”

“Don’t get used to it,’ Rikyu said as he wriggled in his seat. Shirou still kept him restrained. “Though we seriously need to figure out what to do with the spaceship. I’m glad that Shirou negotiated that it belongs to Japan, though if people knew about the people who created that spaceship…there’d be an uproar.”

“Isn’t there already an upraor though? Of your making?” Tomoyo said while raising a brow, and Rikyu handwaved it aside.

“Well, it makes things more fun this way,” Rikyu said, before he finished his plate of waffles and belched. Shizuha giggled.

“You’re so gross, Otouto.”

“Hahaha,” Rikyu said, and he stopped squirming in his seat and looked serious. “Now is not the time to celebtrate though. We must be ever vigilant and looking out for Tokyo’s best interests. There might be more of those lowlives out there, and we’re gonna decimate them all.”

“That’s not something a cute little child should say over a breakfast of waffles and cinnamon rolls and bacon,” Tomoyo murmured, pouting a little “Rikyu, couldn’t you act like a little kid just a little bit longer?”

“I thought you called me an insufferable brat before. Not kid enough for you?”

“When you’re like this, you’re…how shal lI say it? Kind of adorable. Shizu-chan too.”

Shizuha giggled. “Onee-chan, you’re too kind.”

“This is Rikyu’s true side,” Kazuo said with a smile. “He acts super serious, but really, he’s a kid at heart. Look at ikkle Kyu-chan.”

Shizuha finished her mel, and she delicately burped behind her hand. “That was delicious, Tomoyo-san. I enjoyed myself quite thoroughly.”

“See, Shizuha has better manners than you,” Shirou said with a frown to Rikyu. “Why couldn’t you be more like her, Young Master?”

“You were the one who voluntarily handled to have me as your kid,” Rikyu said while sticking his tongue out at Shirou. “When did you become so stuffy and boring?”

“Rikyu, the last thing I want is to be lectured by my own kid. Now. Sit. Stay. Roll over and give up.”

“When you tell me to give it up, that makes me want to do it even more!” Rikyu said. “You will never tel lme to give up something! I will pursue it relentleslsy and prove your wrong! I can do anyting!”

“IT’s good to have self confidence,” Kazuo said. “But osmetimes, Kyu-chan, I am afraid of your capabiities. I mean you managed to redirect an ICBM into space and got us down safely to Earth in a spaceship. What other crazy shenanigans ar you going to pull?”

Rikyu grinned.

“Who knows? But right now, I’m just content with serving this military force and playing heroes of justice with my friends!”

“Well, now that we’ve got everything out of the way,” Tomoyo said s she cleared her throat. “Let’s hope that we dont encounter more bad guys. I don’t know about you, but our education is important.”

“Why do you go to school if you already find the material exeedingly easy, Tomoyo-san?” Rikyu asked curiously.

Tomoyo fingered teh edges of her skirt nervously. “Well. To make friends, of course. I just don’t do well making friends though, but like…and I suppose that I want to share this knolwedge with other people and make them perform better. It’s one step cloesr to changing the world into something perfect, I think.”

“There’s no such thing as a perfect world,” Rikyu muttered. “It’s an impossible ideal that will only drive you into insanity.”

Tomoyo flushed.

“I know, but…ought we at least try? To make the world perfect for everyone, to make sure that everyone has a right to live with freedom and is provided with everything that they need. And…we should rescue all of the people. Not just one, not just a few, but all of them. You see?”

“But saving everyone is practically impossible,” Rikyu said, though his tone was somewhat amirable toward Tomoyo when she spoke of those ideals. “I once had those ideals, too.”

Tomoyo frowned. “I don’t think it’s a naive ideal to strive for. As long as we have this knolwedg eand power, we can reform the world into something better.”

Rikyu chuckled a bit. “Well, in either case, you’ve inspired the purpose of this military organization. So, thank you, Tomoyo.”