Chapter 33: Duel/Bet
When we got home the first thing grandma told me to do was to take a bath, because according to her I smelled radioactive water.
When I finished bathing I put on clean clothes, some shorts, a t-shirt, and headed for the dining room where it seemed that Grandma Aoi had made dinner.
After everything that had happened today, I was starving.
"Itadakimasu!"
I sat down at the table and gave thanks for the food picking up my sticks, as if I didn't notice the piercing gaze of Grandpa, who was looking at me waiting for me to be the one to start talking, which I'm not going to do..... for me we have nothing to talk about....the questions I have I know he won't answer them.....
Focusing on the food in front of me without raising my head I started to eat my dinner without saying anything else until grandpa ran out of patience and...
"Sora... don't you think it's time for you to start talking?"
Uhmmmmmmmhm(full mouth noise).
"OK, grandpa I understand your concerns... I will NOT let Harvey get close to Grandma again.... I was worried about the look on that degenerate's face too!"
"Ara-ara, Musashi was that what you were worried about, I'm not interested in younger men, I didn't know you were the jealous type after all these years."
"..... Aoi" said my grandfather holding his head with his hands somewhat exasperated by Aoi-Obasan's comments following me joking tried to lower the tension grandfather had from everything that had happened today....
"Sora, you know how worried we were and your m-Tch...., about what foolish thing you did? How could you even think of doing something like that son...
Sora, I can't understand you and that worries me. You have the potential to succeed no matter what field you choose... but seeing your actions today..... what good is all that potential if you waste it... on THIS!!!"
As if he couldn't control his emotions anymore grandpa shouted as he turned on the Tv appearing NEWS 54 which was just covering the chase that had happened today, with images of me with my face covered by the mask with lights, while shooting water at the Ncpd cars and the images of me throwing the EMP grenades
"Hey grandpa ..."
Hhmmm "tell me Sora... "said grandpa as he sighed.
"Did you have it calculated?"
"What?"
"You know, your upping your pitch, putting in the right timing on the news and showing up just when they were counting the chase...."
"....GHmm!"
"No Grandpa, don't growl at me I'm serious, I thought it was amazing, I'm not saying it as a joke, I'm giving you my sincere kudos, I mean you timed yourself with the news, plus the rise in tone at the end..... has been... perfect.
Grandpa, you have reached almost an artistic level in your scoldings, I honestly when I realized it, I couldn't not say anything, to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, Grandpa!"
"FUfufuHaHaHaHaha!"
"Tch don't laugh grandma I wasn't kidding, now grandpa is going to think I was laughing at him....."
"SORA STOP IT! Don't you realize the consequences of your irresponsible actions, you know how close you came today that you would have ended up hurt or dead.... AND SO ARE YOU Aoi! if you're going to behave like this it's better that Sora and I continue this conversation in the training room with a bokken in our hands."
"Musashi, I'm behaving like this, just because of you, look how you are behaving, it looks like you are going to declare the fifth Corporation War!.... do you think with that tone you are going to get this boy to open up to us and tell us what is wrong with his head to behave as he has done....
So my dear ..... shut up sit down and eat.
Now that we have all calmed down and laughed too. Sora don't you think you have something to tell us?"
"I-I'm sorry for my comportment... I should have put on a hood."
BAAM!
"SORA!!!"
"WHAT!"
" Grandpa, Grandma, I love you!... That's why I'm not going to lie to you saying that I'm sorry and I won't do something like that ever again, because it's not true, I don't regret anything I've done, today I had a great time!!!, even at times when... I thought I was going to die, I do not regret anything.
"Ojii-san, Oba-san in the future... I want to be a MERC! this is how I want to live my life.... to do what I want when I want, free to live a life with my heart beating so hard it hurts in the process being a reminder of what it means to me to really live."
"NO!" shouted Aoi-Obasan with disapproval and fear in her voice and you found grandpa"....." Keeping silent as he stared at me.
"Today I had my first life-to-death combat.... I almost died because of the cop who found us after jumping off the bridge.... he had something going on I'm not going to tell you... and he ended up shooting me."
"...."
"Sora don't think I'm going to accept your wish to be a merc, but there are more important things now, what do you think happened to the policeman to make him end up shooting you and you don't want to tell us?"
"grandpas, who is my mother?" I said almost interrupting grandpa's question.
"So-Sora, like I told you; that's something I'm not-"
"..."
"What do I have in my body?"
"...."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Grandpas, if you are not able to be honest with me.... how do you expect me to be honest with you? I love you, that's why I'm not going to lie to you, but just like you don't tell me everything I do the same.
Ojii-san, you've never been good at lying, look at my damn nose...that was one of the reasons I broke it. It's healed now it's only been 1 hour.
I know you think that I'm not ready to know all those things and that by not knowing them you protect me.... but I know more than you think."
I said while I took off the adhesive bandage I had showing them my nose that just an hour ago I had broken and bloody. with the wounds of not having been able to dodge all the shots of the green eyes, I was unconscious and I do not know how long it took the wounds to close....
With what I said Aoi-Obasan also made a surprised face almost wanting to turn to grandfather and break his united forehead.
"When the cop shot us I thought I was going to die.....judy was going to die... with those thoughts something inside me shifted, saving me...NO!...saving us!, Ojii... that thing, it made me feel a hatred that almost consumed me.... but also.....(smile) I felt strong..... full of possibilities, it was a feeling almost intoxicating, when I moved with my sword almost attached to my body in a slow-motion world making some sword moves I had never seen, no swordsmanship you have taught me could compare to it, even your personal one Grandpa ..... they were subtle but fierce like streams of water..."
"
"Sora..... do you still remember those moves?
"What?"
"Answer.... do you still remember that `fierce swordsmanship like streams of water' that you're so full of?"
Leaving me a little surprised by my Ojiisan's unexpected question, I closed my eyes before answering so I could remember the moves I did when I felt semi-possessed... trying to remember the moves leaving everything else behind, just focusing on reliving all the moves I did along with the feeling my arms and legs had that when I remembered them and saw them in my mind seemed like I was dancing while following the holographic lines that guided each move....
Almost making me get lost in this feeling while I had my eyes closed repeating over and over again the sequence in my mind trying to reconstruct as much as I could that fencing unknown to me.
When I opened my eyes, my grandfather stared at me seriously without changing his expression, however, Aoi-Obasan ..... covered her mouth with her hands in surprise, almost shocked when she saw me.
I was distressed to see her react like that, my eyes burned, but not as much as the first time.... but I felt them...ignited/ON.
Snapping me out of my thoughts and making Oba-san react as well still a little scared. Grandpa stood up and said.
"Sora follow me and show me... show me that swordsmanship" said my grandfather as he grew a wild grin like I had never seen him.... the grin Grandpa made gave me a chill along with a sense of danger that reminded me of the one I felt in front of the green eyes.
But this time I didn't get scared.... this time this feeling of danger made my heart beat fast, fast enough to make my tired body and mind from all that had happened today, would also encouraging, making me form, like Grandpa, a wild smile, thrilled like a wild beast at the hunt.
"Let's have a duel/bet, with you it's silly to talk, if you win I'll tell you what's in your body, if you lose you have to tell me where you got the EMP grenades or where you built them, I know you have some secret place where you hide all the things you don't want us to know, along with what you think happened to the cop who shot you, what do you say Sora you won't be afraid will you?"
"HeHe came on old man! Finally, you make things interesting "I said as I too got up from the table excited by what Ojiisan was saying.
"You come too Aoi, if Sora wins you too will know what Sora's mother put in her son."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone