entranceway | video/action;

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[Souji is, surprise surprise, in the di-- Actually, this time he's in the kitchen. For a change of pace. He's got the device propped up on something so that he can talk at it hands free. Sitting in front of him is a piece of the rainbowiest rainbow cake a person could possibly make.]

Today is my sixth anniversary.

[He nudges the cake a little toward the camera.]

So I made cake. There's plenty of it, so I'll leave it here in the kitchen in case any one wants to have some.

[With a smile that seems quite tired, he shifts the cake to one side, and glances after it. With his gaze still cast away from the camera, he asks:]

How long have you been here? Do you want to go home? [He looks back at the camera again, his expression more thoughtful than tired now.] I'm kind of...doubting myself in that regard.

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[Minato nodded once, acknowledging what Souji was saying to him, especially that last part. He appreciated that.]

What have you thought of already?

[Souji had to have thought of something or had some ideas.]

Well, I'll finish high school. And go to college.

[Those seem like givens.]

[Minato ate the rest of his cake and nodded.]

Is that what you want to do?

It's what's expected.

[He realizes that doesn't answer the question, though.]

I think I want to do those things. Or at least it's what I think I should do.

[But that was different from actually wanting to do it.]

And then what after that?

[He shook his head. He didn't know.]

...It's hard to even imagine going to school without the others.

[Minato tried to picture it, the opposite way though, the others not having Souji there. It was easier for him to think of it that way.]

Why can't you stay in Inaba?

It was agreed that I'd only be there a year while my parents were away.

[He had to keep up his side of the agreement, even if the reasons he'd made it were no longer valid.]

When you're 20, you can move out?

[He'd be an adult and could make his own decisions.]

[Souji nodded. He could probably move out even before then, depending on where he wanted to go to college.]

I'm kind of looking forward to that.

Plan for it. If you've been abandoned, you have a right to abandon them back.

[It was only fair. Now that Souji was old enough to do so, he should.]

... Did you want more cake?

[Minato wanted to continue this conversation away from the kitchen.]

[Souji was going to respond to that statement, but the question stopped him. He looked at the crumbs on his plate and shook his head.]

I'll cover the rest up.

[He should make sure it was kept fresh for anyone who wanted some.]

[Minato nodded and then left the kitchen with Souji once the cake was taken care of.]

Do you agree?

[He waited for Souji to respond since even Minato thought it was harsh.]

[Souji frowned to himself.]

I don't think of it that way. As abandonment.

Mn, they gave you what you needed, not what you wanted.

[Minato hurt on Souji's behalf, even if he shouldn't have. It was just a sensitive subject for him.]

When you go back, you'll have to face that again.

[Souji nods. He knows that and he's not looking forward to it. But he can't speak badly of his parents, either.]

It won't be that different.

[Different from his year in Inaba. But not at all different from the rest of his life.]

[Minato led them outside of the mansion. He wanted at first to go to the lake, but headed to the ocean instead.]

Do you see why I worry about your future now?

[Souji walked alongside Minato, his eyes on the sky in the distance. He nodded in response to that question.]

I understand.

[It wasn't necessarily an unreasonable worry.]

[Minato held onto Souji's hand.]

Did you want me to worry?

I don't ever want you to worry.

[Worry was a source of stress and Souji wanted things to be easy and calm for Minato.]

I know. But I want you to be happy, and if it means leaving your parents, you should.

[They left Souji. Why couldn't Souji just leave them either?]

I probably will when I go to university.

[What he doesn't say--at least not yet--is that living in his parents' house, even when it was empty, might be better than living alone. Though on the other hand, living alone by choice might be better than being alone because his parents were simply too busy to be around.]

You'll still think about them even if they don't think about you.

[Besides throwing money at him sometimes even they even remembered that they had a son.]

I don't know that they don't think about me.

[Souji wasn't sure why he felt like he needed to defend them. Probably just because they were his parents, and for no other reason. He owed them a lot, whether they were around or not.

He shook his head.]

It doesn't really matter. I'm not really considering them when I think about my future anyway.

[For all Minato knew, sure, his own relatives thought about him too. But how much of a burden he was to them. What was worse, no to be thought of at all or to be considered an inconvenience? But he was going to let it go. It wasn't as if he could do anything about the two people who did provide for Souji.

Minato pointed over to the dock where they could sit. Like before. Like old times, if they had those.]

What'll you do after you graduate from the university?

[It wasn't that far off either, considering. Finishing the last year of high school and finishing university work was shorter than Souji's entire stay in Wonderland.]

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