"Are you sure you know we're you're going?" Evan asked Ritsuka as they wandered the streets. There were people walking around with gear on. They noticed Ritsuka and the others, only to be wary when they set their eyes on Lee Seng. Some turned and watched, while others simply continued on their way.
"Don't worry." Ritsuka reassured the group. "I know where I'm going. We're almost there. All these people? They're on the same side as my family."
The group eventually found their way to one of the smaller buildings in the city. People stood guard, recognizing Ritsuka and instantly letting him through. He pointed behind him and told the guards the rest were with him and they nodded, only to see Lee Seng and grow wary.
Ritsuka stepped inside the suburban house that had turned into a base camp. There were people going about their day, coming and going to missions, checking maps, surfing the internet and running errands. A tall Japanese man stood in the middle of the living room turned "war room" and was looking at the large map sprawled across a large dining room table.
"Yo, nii-san!" Ritsuka waved. The smaller crowd looked over at Ritsuka, acknowledging him.
"Oh, who's with him?"
"Did no one stop the one with the ears?"
"That's Lee Seng… The Creator's son."
"What? No way… He didn't have ears like that."
The chatter was all the same, but Ritsuka's older brother looked up from the tablet in his hands and acknowledged his little brother.
"I thought you weren't coming back for a while. I guess you found your friends?" The older brother asked, handing the tablet off to someone. He looked away at Ritsuka's group and looked at his members. "Excuse me for a bit. Everything looks fine for now. Let me know if something comes up."
"Alright, Detective."
Ritsuka's brother circled the map table over to Ritsuka and gave him a hug. "I'm glad you're okay. Are you hungry? I think there's leftover lunch upstairs." Ritsuka nodded and looked over to his friends.
"Oh, right." Ritsuka squirmed his way out of his brother's hold and turned his attention to his friends. "These are my friends. You know Evan, already."
"Hiya Ryu." Evan waved. Ryu Yamada was much taller than Ritsuka by a couple inches. The Japanese man must've stood at least 6' 2". His skin was a couple shades darker than Ritsuka and he wore a button-up shirt and black slacks with dress shoes. Ryu's hair was short and simple unlike Ritsuka's. He was eye-catching.
Ritsuka continued, pointing at Calis. "That's Calis."
"Hello, sir." Calis nodded. Ryu nodded back. Ritsuka's finger moved over to Lee Seng. Ryu's eyes followed, most curious about a humanoid with Fox ears.
"And that's the infamous Lee Seng Chang. He actually found me on the way back up the mountain."
"It's nice to meet you two and it's good to know you guys are in one piece." Ryu stuck his hand out and shook each member with a firm grasp. There was something about Ryu that intrigued Lee Seng. His energy was extremely refined. It was nothing like Lee Seng had felt before. "When Ritsuka said that he was friend's with the Creator's son, I thought he was kidding. Are you guys hungry? You must've come a long way if you came straight from the mountains. Follow me."
Ryu led them over to the stairs and climbed them. The top was another living room situation. Everything in this house looked expensive. Ryu led them over to the second living room and motioned for them to sit.
"Sit here. I'll grab some food." Ryu excused himself and wandered down the second floor hallway.
"Is this one of your houses?" Lee Seng asked Ritsuka.
"It's Dad's law firm." Ritsuka answered.
"It's like an actual house in the middle of the city."
"It sticks out like a thumbtack if you ask me." Ritsuka shook his head, clearly voicing his opinion. "But it brings in people so I can't really complain."
"Your dad's a lawyer? He must do well to afford something like this." Calis commented looking around.
"You should've told me my son was here! Ahh, Ryu, so busy trying to do things but you forget to say the important part!" A woman's voice came down the hall. A middle aged woman who was probably in her fifties wandered into the living room with Ryu. Her hair was black with graying white hairs. She was at least 5 foot 5 inches and wore expensive business-like attire. Ryu was carrying a bunch of food and set them onto the coffee table while the woman sauntered straight up to Ritsuka. "And you! Why didn't you call?" She pinched Ritsuka's cheek. Rituska screamed in pain.
"Mom!" Ritsuka shouted. "Stop! It hurts!"
"You're such a big oaf! This shouldn't hurt you! You know what hurts? You just left like I was okay with it! You didn't even say goodbye to me! I had to learn from your stupid older brother that you left!" Madam Yamada squeezed her child's cheek and then wrapped her arm around his head and pulled his head towards her stomach, suffocating him.
"Mom! Stop!" Ritsuka shouted. "I was right to leave! You would've made big theatrics about it so I left!" Madam Yamada didn't like that and grabbed her youngest boy's head and shook it.
"I have two wonderful children and then the middle two are crazy. It's no wonder why you like Jiro so much!" Madam Yamada pushed Ritsuka's head away, freeing him from his torture. She muttered to herself and noticed three more people watching. "Oh, who are…"
"They're Ritsuka's friends." Ryu whispered to his mother. Madam Yamada's eyes lit up and a smile grew on her face.
"Oh, you brought friends? Why didn't you say anything, Ritsuka?" Madam Yamada's words were sharp yet friendly. Evan chuckled and stood up first.
"Hello ma'am. It's nice to see you're as fiery as ever." Evan moved over to Madam Yamada and wrapped a hug.
"Oh, Evan! It's so good to see you!" Madam Yamada embraced him. "Is your family alright? Are all your workers alright?"
"Fortunately, the workers are all right. I didn't get to see my parents." Evan answered. The two pulled away and Madam Yamada slid her hands up to Evan's elbows.
"Ah, it's so great to hear! I hope my son isn't too much work. You'll have to excuse him he—"
"Mom! I didn't do anything wrong!" Ritsuka complained. Madam Yamada and Evan laughed. Evan stepped out of the way, allowing the other two to be seen.
"There's two more with us. The others split immediately after getting to the city. They all wanted to find their loved ones." Evan explained. He pointed at Calis. "That's Calis. He was with Lee Seng when we reunited."
"Hello, ma'am." Calis nodded.
"Hello dear." The Madam smiled and stuck her hand out. Calis shook it.
"It's nice to finally meet Ritsuka's family."
There was a peculiar look in the Madam's eyes. "I don't think my son mentioned you before. What's your relation with my son and the rest?"
"Oh," Calis pulled his hand away and nodded. "I originally worked under Lee Seng as a bodyguard. We became fast friends since we were close in age." He motioned to Lee Seng.
"And Lee Seng is…" Madam Yamada's eyes landed on Lee Seng. His appearance was normal for the most part. She didn't seem shocked by his ears. She stuck her hand out and Lee Seng took it, giving a nice squeeze and shake.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm Lee Seng Chang." Lee Seng introduced himself. The Madam and Lee Seng pulled their hands away and she nodded. There was an inquisitive look on her as she studied Lee Seng for a bit longer. She gave occasional looks to Calis, taking in her son's new friends.
"It's good to meet you both." The Madam smiled. "I see Ritsuka wasn't lying when he said he made friends with the Creator's son. I thought he was kidding but you are here in front of me today." She stopped for a moment and then looked at Ryu. "Ryu, weren't they described as terrorists or something?"
"Y-yes, but there wasn't any proof." Ryu answered.
'I forgot about that.' Lee Seng thought. Ritsuka, Evan and Lee Seng's faces grew stiff at the mention of that. They had all forgotten about it and Ritsuka's mother was now bringing it up.
"It was nothing like that, Mother." Ritsuka stood up and locked arms with her. "They labeled us wrong."
"And you disappeared for two whole years!" Madam turned to look at her youngest son. "You know how worried I was? Your older siblings continued to tell me that you could never be a terrorist. There wasn't a bad bone in your body and you would come back!"
"He didn't tell her about that?" Lee Seng whispered to Evan. Evan sighed and rolled his eyes.
"He always forgets to mention it… and now we awkwardly listen." Evan whispered back.
"Why didn't you mention this when you came back with Jiro?" Madam Yamada asked her youngest son. "And now I have to yell at you in front of your guests! Argh, this isn't over, Ritz!"
"Mom!" Ritsuka shouted. She shook her head and Ryu piped up.
"You all must be hungry. We should fill your stomachs, right, Mother?" Ryu looked to his mother.
"I suppose so. This conversation isn't over." Madam sighed and pinched Ritsuka's face. He screamed as his Mother moved over to Ryu's side and motioned at the food. "Please, eat first."
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