The Abandoned Omega

Chapter Ten

The sun had not yet risen above the horizon as the alarm beside his bed began to chime with irritating and persistent tones.  He appeared to ignore it regardless for a little while, but in reality, he was counting to thirty in his head and only when he had finished did his arm finally stretch out and pressed the snooze option.  He did not really need to do this, he was awake now and would have to crawl out from the warmth the duvet provided shortly, but at this moment there was no need to rush.  Just wait, a minute or so more.

He heard what he was waiting for before he saw it, small footsteps running in the hall, a light switch clicking on and artificial light from the hall poured through the space between his bedroom door and its frame.  Said door swung open and more light shone over him, but he pretended to be asleep, simply peering through narrowed eyes.  Those small footsteps continued their race over, though there were less than five paces from door to bed and then the occupant beneath the duvet felt a weight fall heavily upon him.

"Oof!" He cried out dramatically, "help, bedroom invader!  Who can save me?"

Giggles rained out from a top of him and the boyish voice attempted to deepen and sound serious as he stated; "Don't fear, citizen!  The Kungfu Guardians are here!"

"Thank you, Kungfu Guardian," Jun said, as he sat up in his bed and pulled his son into his embrace.  "I feel so much safer now!"

"Really?" Kei asked, tilting his head.

"Really," Jun nodded.

"Really, really?" Kei pressed with a grin.

"Really, really, really!" Jun squeezed him slightly and Kei giggled once more.  "Now go get dressed for school, I'll make you some breakfast."

"Scrambled eggs, please!" Kei requested as he ran back out of his mother's bedroom and to his own.

Jun shook his head.  Apparently, Abhi's favourite breakfast was scrambled eggs, so now it was Keiichi's favourite as well.  He would have to claim that he was out of eggs tomorrow.  Too much of even a good thing, became not so.

Keiichi sat up the table not ten minutes longer wearing his cute school uniform, of a white polo shirt, school sweater and navy trousers.  When Kei had first worn it, Jun had taken lots of pictures, almost resulting in them being late for Kei's first day of school.  But he couldn't help it, Kei looked like an adorable tiny adult in his neat uniform.  Jun placed the toast, eggs and fresh juice upon the table, watching as his small son managed to devour every bite, while he ate a single slice of toast, before getting himself ready for the day.

*****

Keiichi met Abhi in the playground and his mother became almost forgotten, almost, because there was still a quick last minute hug to be received before the two small boys entered their classroom with their schoolmates.  Jun gave one last wave goodbye and sighed.  Time to return and open the florist shop for the day.  Now it was finally December, the rush to purchase gifts and toys for Christmas would now truly begin in earnest and he would be no less busy.  Wreaths and table decorations could be purchased from the florist, not to mention flowers for graves; a lot of people would visit their long lost loved ones before and after the holiday....

Jun's train of thought came to a sudden halt and he felt the colour drain from his face as even his steps faltered.  Standing just outside the school gates, staring directly at him was someone he didn't think... and perhaps hoped not to see again.  Was this karma for his lie, for failing to keep his promise to Keiichi over the weekend?  Kazuhiko had found him and was clearly waiting for him.

His mind in turmoil, he could not read the expressions upon Kazuhiko's face as he managed to finally walk numbly towards him.  He followed the last of the parents through the school gate, stepped to one side, the side Kazuhiko was waiting upon and paused.  His eyes fell, downcast, unsure what to do, uncertain what to say.  Kazuhiko also remained silent for a couple of minutes, but as soon as it became apparent that there was only the two of them still lingering around, he found his voice.