<< It's been 4 years since Gorgo's imprisonment, it's the beginning of summer 2010. >>
Baldur's footsteps echoed dully on the sidewalk, drowned out by the urban bustle and the tireless rush of traffic. It all sounded like a disorganized symphony, difficult to enjoy.
He scratched the back of his neck mechanically and let out a tense sigh. Every step was a battle against himself, an opportunity to turn and leave.
He pulled out his phone. The screen was still showing the message:
" Hi, Dad... How are you? It's been a while, hasn't it? I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming over for lunch... and seeing your grandson."
Baldur swallowed. It felt strange, as if his armor had cracked from the inside.
Nine years. Nine years since his son had closed the door on him. And now… he invited him to cross it again.
Tokyo was particularly noisy that day. Or maybe it was her own ears amplifying the sounds, increasing the dryness on her tongue.
He stopped in front of a house with a modern design, in keeping with the city, although it still retained a traditional warmth that made him feel… nervous.
He reached out and pressed the button on the wall. The doorbell rang with a delicate, elegant melody.
"I'm coming!" a female voice answered from inside.
The door opened, revealing a woman with a kind face and calm eyes. Her skin was delicate, her movements gentle. She was wearing house clothes and a white apron, which had the occasional stain.
A faint smell of burning floated in the air.
"Sir! How have you been?" she greeted him with a big smile. "Excuse the smell... I'm trying to cook, but I'm having trouble chopping the vegetables and watching the meat at the same time..."
"Hello, Neiko. Greetings. It's been a while," Baldur replied, smiling back as he entered and took off his shoes respectfully.
—Don't worry... it happens to even the most attentive of us. Do you want me to help you?
"No, don't worry... I can do it myself," Neiko replied, waving her hand gently.
"Come in, make yourself at home..."
Baldur took a step forward. His eyes lifted to one of the hallway walls, where several framed photographs hung.
Images of her son hugging Neiko. Snapshots of her little grandson, playing, smiling. A little girl also appeared in several of them, joining the family.
He even found some photos of his late wife, which made his chest tighten.
But in none of those images… was he there.
The silence deepened. And the house, which had seemed warm seconds before, now felt alien.
As if it hadn't left an empty space, but simply... one that was filled.
Baldur stopped before a small altar decorated with dried flowers and an unlit candle.
He took one of the photos lying there between his fingers: a portrait of a serene adult woman with a kind expression that seemed to transcend time.
"It's nice to know you were a good mother, Misatta..." he murmured with a slight smile, running his fingers near the glass, without actually touching it.
"Forgive my clumsiness, sir!" Neiko's agitated voice came from the kitchen.
"Hanabi! Kaaru! Grandpa's here!"
Baldur blinked.
"Hanabi? Grandpa? When...?" he asked, confused.
"Takuma didn't tell him?!" Neiko blurted out in anguish. "Not even by text message? God... that man. I'm so sorry! I had no idea..."
"Get lost..." comes a shout from the room above, causing Baldur to lower his head slightly.
―Oh no… that boy, too…― Neiko murmurs, releasing her hands and going to the stairs ― Excuse me, sir, it wasn't your intention…
"I can't blame him... he's also gone through his disappointments... " Baldur mentioned, looking at the ground as he took off his bamboo hat.
— I have a granddaughter I haven't met yet… This is going to be difficult… —Baldur thought silently, feeling his trembling hand tightly grip the wrinkled dogi.
He never imagined going through something like this. Not now. Not like this.
"They're almost down," Neiko announced as she returned from the dormitory. "Hanabi was still asleep, and Kaaru was practicing."
"And... Takuma? Is he in your office?
" "No, sir... excuse me," Neiko replied, bowing her head respectfully. "I wanted us all to be together, but... Takuma decided to take overtime at work so I wouldn't be present."
Baldur looked at her, confused.
"Did you want to…" "I sent the message… from my husband's phone," she confessed, her voice barely shaking. "I figured if I sent it to you, you wouldn't want to come."
He paused and lowered his head even further.
"I'm sorry… really."
"Why did you invite me anyway? Why not cancel? I would have understood coming from my son...
" "Takuma is a lost cause, but I want your grandchildren to be able to connect with you. Especially Hanabi. She deserves to know who their grandfather is... and what he represents." "A fraud? I hope she doesn't find out too late. The disappointment is horrible."
The voice came from the stairs, young, cold and full of judgment.
Baldur turned his face and saw him: a 13-year-old boy, Kaaru, with his back straight, his arms in his pockets, and his eyes full of judgment.
"Kaaru, one more word and I swear I'll...!" Neiko warned, barely peeking her head out of the kitchen.
"Fine, I'll shut up..." the boy muttered, annoyed, frowning as he sat down at the table, making it clear that he had no intention of approaching the visitor.
"How have you been, Kaaru?" Baldur asked, trying to lighten the mood.
—Better than you, for sure.
PHAP!
A slipper flew through the air and crashed directly into his forehead.
"Who taught you those manners?" Neiko shouted, without leaving the kitchen.
Baldur's gaze turned toward the stairs.
Step by step, a sleepy little girl came down, rubbing one eye with her right hand as she shuffled slowly.
The old man's heart stopped for a second.
He was bigger than I had imagined. At first glance, he must have been about eight years old.
Eight years… One year after Misatta left. One year after his son cut all ties with him.
"Hello, Grandpa..." the girl murmured, her voice soft, still heavy with sleep.
The old man's gaze lit up when he saw that innocent smile and the little girl's sleepy eyes.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Grandpa..." Hanabi said, lowering her hands from her face and looking at him tenderly.
"Grandpa?... You already knew me?" he asked, sounding incredulous.
"Mom showed me pictures and stories about you," she replied with disarming innocence.
Baldur turned his gaze to Neiko. She met his gaze and gave him a proud smile. For the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to smile back .
"I feel sorry for them..." Kaaru murmured from the table.
WHAM! WHAM!
Two slippers flew through the air and crashed into his head. One came from his mother. The other from his own sister.
—What did I tell you, Kaaru?! —Neiko shouted, indignant.
"Even Dad says to be respectful to the guests!" Hanabi added, frowning.
Baldur burst out laughing, stood up, only to then kneel before his granddaughter and say:
"Hello... Hanabi, it's a pleasure and an honor to meet you. My name is Baldur..."
"Hello, Grandpa Baldur," the girl repeated with a laugh. Upon hearing the words, Neiko couldn't help but smile, and Kaaru turned her gaze to the side.
Neiko, with a slender smile, placed the food on the table.
"Kaaru, please set the table," she asked politely. The boy clicked his tongue in annoyance, but silently stood up to comply.
Dinner was peaceful, almost relaxing. Baldur chatted with his daughter-in-law and granddaughter about everyday things, rediscovering a certain warmth he hadn't remembered. Kaaru, for her part, ate in silence without participating.
The okonomiyaki was delicious that afternoon.
When she finished, Kaaru stood up and headed toward her room.
"Kaaru," Baldur called softly, "your mother told me you're practicing something… may I ask what it is?"
The boy stopped, looking at him for just a second.
"No," he replied emotionlessly, and went upstairs without looking back.
"Forgive him, Mr. Baldur," Neiko said, sighing. "It's not just you… it's like that with my husband, and even Hanabi. So young, and so rebellious…"
"Kaaru is studying a style of karate called Kasutai ," Hanabi commented matter-of-factly.
Baldur raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"I've never heard of that style of karate… Lord Baldur, are you familiar with it?" Neiko asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"Wow... I didn't expect that revelation," the old man murmured, resting his elbows on the table.
"What is it?" Hanabi asked excitedly.
"It's a style of karate developed at one of the elementary schools, the Fire College, to be specific," Baldur explained. "It's a style focused on channeling fire..."
"Oh! Kaaru said she'd be staying at a dojo during the holidays to train more," Hanabi added.
Baldur stared at the ceiling for a moment, as if searching for memories. His gaze became thoughtful… as if something had ignited inside him.
"If the Water Pillar is a coward who doesn't act for the common good... then I will become the Fire Pillar, and I will show you that we can be heroes. Not cowards like you..." a small Kaaru had said, his fists clenched.
"Hanabi and Kaaru have always shown an interest in martial arts," Neiko explained. "Takuma never agreed, so Kaaru trains in secret… and Hanabi only reads manuals."
"My room has more furniture than Kaaru's, I risk hitting it," Hanabi added with an innocent smile.
"Wow... they're very diligent. They take after their father..." Baldur commented with a melancholic smile.
"Grandpa!" Hanabi interrupted suddenly, as if something important had crossed her mind. "Mom told me many times that you practiced karate all the time! I have a lot of questions!"
The girl's excitement threw Baldur for a moment.
"Oh... well, of course, tell me," he replied, trying to hide his surprise with a smile.
—I'm reading a book about the Wado-Ryu style, and I don't understand what Tai Sabaki means . I know the style is about precise dodging and counterattacking, but that's not clear to me.
Neiko couldn't help but giggle at the old man's stunned expression.
"I told you they were interested in martial arts!" she exclaimed, amused.
After a short, enthusiastic laugh, Baldur adopted a didactic stance, raising a finger as if he were about to reveal a secret.
"The term Tai Sabaki comes from an ancient language called Japanese, and it means 'body movement,'" he explained with a warm smile. "It refers to how we use our bodies to evade attacks with precise stances."
Then, his eyes shining, he continued,
"When we evade properly, we generate internal energy, as if the body were charging up. The more we dodge, the more energy we accumulate… and that energy can be released in a single, precise counterattack."
Hanabi blinked several times, confused, trying to process what she had just heard.
"Oh... I think I went a bit off topic with that explanation," Baldur admitted, placing a hand behind his head in embarrassment.
" Tai Sabaki ... is simply how to dodge properly, so you can counterattack better.
" "Aaaa h!" Hanabi exhaled with a smile, finally understanding.
"You know what?" Neiko said with a smile as she served slices of cake. "Daughter, since your brother is spending the holidays at that Fire Dojo , why don't you go to the Water Dojo ?"
The question lit Hanabi's face like a bonfire, while Baldur choked on his cake.
"Are you serious, Neiko?" Baldur coughed, hesitant. "And Takuma? What will he think of all this?"
"Who cares what your son thinks now, Baldur?" she replied conspiratorially, lowering her voice and winking. "It's no one's fault that they're not here to oppose it."
"I want to go!" Hanabi shouted, jumping in her seat. "I want to learn!"
"Come on, sir," Neiko insisted, laughing. "I want Hanabi to pursue her interests… and live with her exemplary grandfather."
Baldur smiled nervously, looking at his cake as if searching for answers.
"Thank you… but… it's a mistake to call me 'exemplary'…"
Hanabi wasted no time running to her room. In just fourteen minutes, she was downstairs with her bag packed, dressed and ready for the trip.
"It was easy!" he announced with a smile. "Everything was right where it should be."
He looked back at his mother, who gave him a knowing smile.
Baldur didn't need to ask any more. He understood silently.
Neiko had already planned everything from the beginning. For the first time in a long time, he felt deeply grateful.