EPILOGUE ~ Finding Closure

Ryô shook his head and stood up, gathering his courage. He had been dithering for a good twenty minutes on the park bench opposite the building that was the source of his anxiety. But he hadn’t come all this way for nothing. He crossed the street, forcing himself not to check the address on his paper yet again, and looked for the names on the intercom. Worried for a moment when he couldn’t see any, he eventually realized he had to scroll through the list on the screen. He went through the list several times before selecting "Desmond-N," the closest match to what he was looking for, and then waited, his heart pounding.

He was taken aback when, after a long pause, a child's voice answered him.

"Ye-es? Hello...?"

Fearing he might have made a mistake, he nonetheless launched into the speech he had carefully prepared in French, wanting to be sure.

"Hello... I... am... Saneda Ryô... I... am looking for Seishi De-mon... Daruboa."

"You know Seishi? You are... a friend? You talk funny."

Ryô analyzed the sentence and attempted a reply.

"Yes... a friend... Japanese..."

"Oh... Okay! Konbanwa!" the young speaker exclaimed cheerfully.

Ryô smiled. He clearly hadn't made a mistake, but... a child?

"Konbanwa. Is... he there?" he asked.

"He's coming soon. I’m opening! Chot-to mat-te..."

"Ano! I..."

He stumbled over the French. He didn't want to intrude, and if Seishi-san was not there... The click of the door unlocking sounded. He couldn't help but shudder at the thought that this child was opening the door to a complete stranger. Still, he mused, he wasn't at the apartment yet...

"It's on the se-cond floor," the voice continued.

"Thank you," he said, stepping inside.

He couldn't refuse now. Heart pounding, he went up, wondering what he would find and what he would say, especially if... Seishi-san's wife? didn't speak Japanese.

Ryô was utterly baffled. He had, of course, imagined all the possible turns Seishi-san's life might have taken, but... actually facing reality was something else. A child already old enough to talk like that... It had only been five years, he thought with a pang in his heart.

*Already* five years, he corrected himself. So much had changed for him... And clearly for Seishi-san, too.

Back then, he honestly hadn't expected that it would take him this long to work up the courage to contact Seishi-san again.

Reaching the landing, he spotted a little boy watching him from a half-open door. He frowned. He couldn't imagine Seishi-san ever leaving a child unsupervised like that.

He smiled and stepped forward, studying the child. The boy had extremely blond hair and didn't look mixed-race. Then again, that trait hadn't been immediately apparent in Seishi-san himself.

"Yanni? Yanni, who was it?"

Ryô stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a male voice speaking Japanese to the little boy.

"Yanni?!"

The boy was pulled backward and abruptly disappeared from view.

"Yanni, really! How many times have we told you? You must not open the door like that to people you don't know!"

Ryô waited in silence, relieved nonetheless to see that the child was not alone. He chided himself. It was none of his business, but... call it a professional quirk. It wasn't Seishi-san's voice, though... it seemed almost familiar.

"But he's a friend of Seishi," the child protested.

"Yanni... Just a moment, please," the voice suddenly called out in French, apparently addressing him.

"And he's Japanese, too!" the child added.

"Oh..."

This seemed to catch the attention of the mysterious... what, the child's guardian, babysitter? Seishi-san didn't have a brother, so... Who...

"Okay," the stranger sighed, "we'll talk about this later, Yanni. Here, go put that dish towel back in the kitchen, please."

"O-kay," the child grumbled.

Finally, the door opened, and the man in charge began apologizing profusely, this time in Japanese. His apologies died on his lips when the two men found themselves face to face.

Ryô was stunned. Even though he had considered the possibility before, after finding a child at Seishi-san's place, the man standing before him was the last person he had expected.

They stared at each other for a long moment before his host was the first to break the silence.

~*~

 "Saneda," Soma murmured.

The face he had glimpsed years ago had matured, and his frame had filled out slightly, yet Soma would have recognized him anywhere. He had haunted his nightmares for far too long.

Soma fought down an instinctive urge to slam the door and barricade himself inside the apartment, to keep Saneda away from everything he held dear... though that would have required Sei to be there, too.

But perhaps it was for the best. He did not yet know why Saneda was at his door, but even though he himself had been granted a second chance after leaving Sei, the circumstances were radically different now. Regaining his composure, he gave a slight bow. There was nothing he wouldn't face for the two most important people in his life. He had proven that before, and he was ready to do it again.

"Saneda-kun, what a surprise. I'm glad to see you again. Seishi isn't here yet, but please, come in..."

"I’m the one who should apologize for dropping by unannounced like this, Noguro-san. I... I wouldn't want to intrude."

The young man betrayed little emotion, but Soma sensed he was torn between embarrassment, surprise, and curiosity. The shock had undoubtedly been mutual.

Soma led his surprise guest into the living room and had him wait on the sofa while he hurriedly prepared some tea.

Yanni tugged at his trousers.

"So you know this man?" he asked. "Whoooo is he?"

"Yes, he really is a friend of Sei's, my little Yanni. You remember how Sei went all the way to Africa to treat people?"

The child nodded.

"And the children!"

"Yes, well, this gentleman was with him."

"Oh..." He thought for a moment. "And the bad guys, did they hurt him too?"

"Yes. But luckily, it wasn't serious, and..." Soma sighed. "He helped treat Seishi."

The child’s eyes went wide.

"He’s a 'doctor' too? I’ll go see..."

Soma just barely managed to catch him.

"Yanni. This man might not want to talk about the bad guys and all that, so don't pester him about it."

The boy pouted but nodded.

Soma placed a plate of small cakes in his hands.

"Go on, you’re the one serving. And be polite so Seishi can be proud of you."

The child puffed out his chest and nodded vigorously before walking off, holding the plate with great care.

Soma watched him go with a smile. He wasn't the favorite at the moment. "Seishi" was definitely the magic word.

He frowned. Too much, if that was enough to make the boy open the door to a stranger. He straightened up with a sigh. Now it was his turn to put on a brave face for this unexpected visitor. He picked up the tea tray and "stepped into the ring."