บท 64: 64. Journey

Rei woke up the next day rather quickly. He rubbed his eyes and noticed the time was 6:30 and there was still 1 and half an hour left before they left for Tokyo. He slowly got up and did some stretches to relax his muscles. He slowly made his way towards the bathroom and got to work.

He slowly took his bath taking his time and wore some fresh clothes after it. He went back to his room and took out a small bag from the shelf. He started to pack some pairs of clothes he needed for 2 days and went towards the hall.

He kept his bag on the couch and went towards the kitchen. He heard the sound of the chopping board being used and saw Narumi cooking breakfast for them. He slowly went and started to help her in silence. Narumi continued to cook as it was normal for Rei to help her whenever he had time.

Halfway through he hears the doorbell ring. He stopped helping her and went to see who was ringing the doorbell so early in the morning. He opened and saw Izumi standing with a bag in his hand shivering slightly.

Izumi quickly got in and Rei closed the door. He looked at Izumi and asked confused, "Why did you come so early? There are still 30 minutes left."

Izumi felt a bit better and said in a tired tone, "My dad dropped me as he had some work early in the morning nearby."

Rei nodded and both of them went towards the dining room. Rei made Izumi sit and went towards Narumi to tell her about Izumi, "Oba-san Izumi came a bit early as his dad has some work here."

Narumi nodded and continued to make an extra portion of breakfast with Rei's help. They set everything up in the dining room and Shirogana was already there looking fresh.

Izumi stood up and thanked them, "Sorry for imposing suddenly like this Mr and Mrs.Kamizato."

Shirogana waved his hands denying it and replied with a smile, "It's alright Izumi. Don't feel nervous eat as much as you want." and started eating.

Izumi smiled and started to eat with them. After eating all of them went to the hall and Shidoy was also present along with Sora who woke up to send them off. Narumi looked towards Sora and reminded him, "Take care of the house properly. Call us if you need anything."

Sora nodded and all of them went out. This time they were taking 2 different cars as Narumi had to come back with Rei and Izumi. After packing all the luggage into the cars, Rei sat with Shirogana while Izumi sat with Narumi and the two cars drove off.

Rei felt the drive was very slow and he continued to look out of the car in silence. He looked at the fresh fields they were passing by and felt peaceful. After a while, Shirogana was the first to break the silence, "How is your training going on Rei."

Rei simply nodded and replied not turning his head, "It has been going really well Oji-san. I am making quite some progress."

Shirogana nodded and said, "That is good Rei. If your foundation is solid then the rest would be easier to practice,"

Rei nodded and remained in silence. After hesitating for a few minutes Shirogana asked Rei, "Will you be alright after seeing Tensei's grave, Rei."

Shirogana was worried about Rei remembering what happened during the funeral. Rei completely broke down at that time and it was too painful for Shirogana to witness it again.

Rei remained silent for a while looking out of the window, thinking about the right answer. He could feel the concern Shirogana was feeling and felt blessed to be around him. He slowly answered looking out of the window, "I will be alright Oji-san I am alright now. I am ready to face Otou--san and tell him about everything that has happened."

Shirogana nodded and continued to drive. Rei turned the radio on and listened to the songs being played in complete peace. After 4 hours of driving, Shirogana pulled over at a diner to have their lunch. Behind them Narumi also pulled over, seeing Shirogana's car.

Both of them got out while Narumi got out from her seat while Izumi slowly walked towards them yawning. All four of them went inside and sat at a corner. Rei took his phone out and texted Mizuki and Keiko.

Izumi peeked over and saw Rei was chatting with 2 girls. He nudged Rei with his elbow, gaining Rei's attention. Izumi goes closer to his ear and whispers, 'Which one of them is your girlfriend?"

Rei looked at him and shook his head. He replied, " Both of them aren't my girlfriend."

Izumi chuckled at Rei's answer and said, "You should find one soon Rei."

Rei shook his head and replied, "It is too soon and I am not interested. Anyway, it's not like you have one." looking at Izumi.

Izumi smirked and took his phone out. He opened his gallery and displayed the screen towards Rei. Rei saw a photo of a girl on the screen. He had brown eyes with a matching chestnut short hair. She had a wide smile plastered on her face looking a bit goofy.

Izumi kept his phone back inside his pocket and asked with a grin, "So how is my girlfriend?"

Rei didn't believe she was his girlfriend. He waved his hand and said, "She might not be your girlfriend. You can't fool me."

Izumi replied with a serious expression, "She is my girlfriend. Her name is Akiyama Rin. I met her when I moved away from Tokyo. We both are neighbors so we got close. She became my girlfriend this year,"

Before Rei could answer the waiter served their food and Shirogana said, "Ok now stop talking and start eating. We still have a journey ahead of us."

Both of them stopped talking and ate the food. After eating all of them got back into the cars and continued back to Tokyo. Rei slowly slept while looking out the window. After a while, he woke up when he felt the car coming to a halt. He wiped his eyes trying to get rid of the drowsiness and asked, "Are we here Oji-san?"

"Yes get down, Rei," replied Shirogana getting out of the car. Rei looked out of the window and saw the same house he lived for a week 2 years back before he moved to Kami.