Chapter 53: Hakanai

  “Is it tiring to use a crutch?” Ace gestured at Kazuya’s residual limb. “You’ve been walking with your prosthetic for quite a while now. It must be hard to go without it all of a sudden.”

  Kazuya shrugged. “It’s muscle memory. Besides, Mr Stumpy has been with me all my life,” he gave it a light smack, “I’ve known to live my life around it.”

  Kazuya sighed wistfully as he looked at his prosthetic that lay in pieces because Leonhart was tinkering with it. “But I’d love to have Simon back.”

  “Simon?” Ace raised his brows. “You named your prosthetic Simon?”

  “Simon, the leg. Yeah.” Kazuya said it with such a straight face that Ace could not tell if he was serious. “He’s a real stand-up guy.”

  Kazuya cracked up, holding his ribs as he flopped down onto his back laughing. Ace groaned, rolling his eyes. He had walked right into the joke.

  “That was terrible,” Ace chuckled.

  “No, it was good!” Kazuya flashed him a small smile, then glanced over at Leonhart, who was muttering to herself while holding up a bolt to the light. “Hey, Eulie! How much longer until Simon's back in action? Some of us have places to be,”

  “Places to be?” Leonhart did not even look up. “We’re literally stuck here until who knows when.” She turned the bolt over slowly, as if even that small movement required too much effort. Her shoulders slumped as she spoke with a small voice, “We don't even know what happened and what's happening…”

  Kazuya and Ace sighed, the reminder of their situation settling over them like a heavy blanket. The past two weeks at Poppy Manor—approaching three—had blurred together into an endless cycle of concerned faces and careful questions. First Lady Meng checked in daily, her visits punctuated by Dr. Farid's droning monologues and Felix's tired refrain of “Have you been sleeping well?”. The counselling sessions, the wellness checks, the constant adult supervision—it all blended into a monotonous routine that left them feeling more trapped than cared for.

  The most infuriating aspect of it all? The adults’ reticence about what happened that day and Dante’s condition. Dr. Farid had repeatedly assured them that Felix would arrange a time to explain everything. “Dante is being cared for by the best of us,” he had also reassured them.

  Even Dr. Lee, who had come to whisk away Jude, hardly addressed them when he dropped by their room.

  Ace wanted to rip his hair out. What he had witnessed mere days ago could scarcely be packaged into mere theory. Buildings vanished, he thought wildly. There were giant monsters and planets in the sky, and I was at the centre of the Sun!

  Ace flopped onto his back, joining Kazuya. He let out a long, drawn-out sigh that seemed to deflate his entire body. He could only pray with the same two hands that broke in Dante’s ribs in an attempt to resuscitate him. Ever since that day, he hardly caught a wink of sleep. Whenever he called out to his friends, they were all awake as well, gripped by the same nightmares.

  But they all tried to get by the best they could. Leonhart lost herself in Kazuya’s prosthetic, her cheerful demeanour gone. Kazuya had his books, which he requested from the Poppy Manor’s staff. Jude did stretches and worked out. As for himself, Ace scrolled mindlessly on his phone until the words on his screen morphed into meaningless shapes.

  But every so often, his mind drifted to Dante.

  And there it was again—that familiar knot of anxiety tightening in his chest. Is Dante okay? Is he awake? Why won't they tell us anything? The questions swirled endlessly into a tornado of worry.

  Ace sighed again, placing his forearm over his eyes. Perhaps time would pass by faster if he actually slept.

  But a gentle knock sounded at the door, quiet enough that he almost missed it.

  Ace flew upright, swivelling his body toward the door as it opened. Felix stepped in, this time with Nova on his shoulders. It was busy cleaning its front paw with its bubblegum pink tongue. His hair looked less greasy, but the dark circles had sunk deeper around his eyes.

  “Hello,” Felix flashed them a wide grin as he rubbed his palms together. “Hope you guys slept well because today’s going to be a great day!”

  Felix’s enthusiasm fell dead on arrival, punctuated by Nova’s soft meow. He laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “Uhh…” He cleared his throat and beckoned for them to follow him. “Just come with me—”

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  “And where are we going?” Ace asked.

  “You’ll see!” Felix clicked his tongue. “Well, come along! There’s no time to waste!”

  With a groan, everyone followed Felix, trudging through the halls of the sprawling manor.

  ***

  Ace sighed inwardly when he saw Dr. Farid sitting in the front row of the seminar room. But when he thought it was going to be another one of his lectures, he spotted Shun sitting in the corner of the room. Shun’s arms were crossed tightly, resting on his potbelly. His lips were curled into a tight pout with a cigarette hanging out from the corner.

  “Good morning, children,” drawled Shun from his darkened spot as they shuffled into the row behind Dr. Farid.

  Dr. Farid shot Shun a dirty look. “I think everyone would appreciate it if you'd smoke outside,” he said.

  “Hmph.” Shun huffed, blowing smoke from his nostrils. “Not until your protège repays his debt for ruining my entire sensor setup,” he shrugged off Felix’s glare. “And besides, I was so curious about this lovely and special lesson that I invited myself here.”

  “And where did you hear this from?” Felix asked, his brow spasming with irritation.

  Shun wiggled his lips and pointed the cigarette at Dr. Farid, who buried his face in his hands.

  Lesson? Ace cast a look at Kazuya and Leonhart, who were equally puzzled. “Since the cat’s out of the bag,” Felix said as he dipped a shoulder to let Nova hop onto the table, “I’ll be conducting a special supplementary lesson that would… serve as an explanation for what happened that day.”

  “Oh great!” Shun interjected. “A sense of closure!”

  “But before we can start,” Felix spoke through gritted teeth, ignoring Shun. “We have to wait for one more per—”

  The doors to the seminar room creaked open.

  Everyone turned to look.

  Ace nearly jumped out of his seat as he watched Dante enter, the clack of his crutch accompanying every heavy step he took.

  “His arms!” Kazuya exclaimed, his hands cupping his mouth in awe.

  Dante's arms, by some miracle, had been made whole once more. Aside from the sickly pallor of his face and the slight limp he seemed to have, Dante was here with his head held high. His usual outfit—a burgundy turtleneck with pants and a blazer—complemented his usual phlegmatic self. The only things that were absent were the replicas of his Regalia.

  Felix was smiling from ear to ear. It was as though the sun had risen in the room.

  Of course he would be elated.

  It was obvious to everyone that Felix was hopelessly in love.

  “Do you need a chair?” Felix asked.

  Dante waved him away, choosing to sit on the corner of a table.

  It was also quite apparent that it was currently one-sided, though Jude had pointedly mentioned The Rose.

  The Rose. It was yet another elephant in the room.

  At this rate, we can open a zoo, Ace thought.

  Dante leaned forward, inhaling deeply. His clothes hung loosely on him, and Ace found his face to be more gaunt.

  “Good morning,” Dante said, setting aside his crutch.

  There was a loud crash as Leonhart jumped out of her seat and over the table. In two leaps, she closed the distance between herself and Dante. She threw her arms around Dante, hugging him tight.

  Dante let out a grunt, catching himself by holding onto the ledge of the table. His crutch fell over, smacking against the floor.

  “Eulie!” Felix exclaimed, but it did nothing to deter Leonhart.

  Enigma washed over Dante in waves. His arms were raised, unsure of what to do.

  “You're alive! You're alive!” Leonhart pressed her face into Dante's shirt. “I'm so glad! I'm so—”

  Leonhart dissolved into tears. She practically shrank into Dante. For a moment, she was neither the spunky sixteen-year-old nor the sarcastic mechanic, just someone who needed someone—an anchor—to hold onto.

  The sharp edges of Dante's eyes seemed to soften. He let his arms fall to his side, allowing Leonhart to pour her heart out.

  Ace wished he were just a bit younger so that he could do the same.

  When Leonhart pulled away, she left wet streaks on Dante's shirt. “Thank you,” she mumbled. “For everything.”

  Dante glanced away, the tips of his ears reddening. He said nothing. His shoulders were tense beneath his jacket, and he kept his gaze fixed somewhere over her head until she stepped back. He merely nodded once and looked away.

  Leonhart wiped at her face as she walked back to her desk. Felix rubbed his hands and cleared his throat. He opened the lesson with an apology, explaining that inquiries from the higher-ups had kept him away.

  “I would like to clarify that I’m not using this as an excuse,” Felix said. “For today’s special lesson, I’d like to take you through everything from the very beginning.” He turned to face Dr. Farid, who had risen from his seat. “The way you should have learned about this.”

  Dr. Farid stepped forward with a goblet in hand. He gestured for Felix to stand closer to Dante. Felix complied, stepping beside him. Dr. Farid held the goblet out, and they took it together—Felix's hand beneath, Dante's above.

  With that, the lesson commenced.