[ic] as i walk through the valley where i harvest my grain

[pancakeboy]

They don't have time to hang around the Dojima house till the kids deign to return. So eventually Akechi sends Hawk a text, as you do.

Hello, Hawk. Are Akira-kun and Moth with you?

Comments

[aspiringhero]

[ Wow! He doesn't usually get messages from Magpie first. ]

Yes.

[pancakeboy]

[It's true. He probably ought to text more, but he doesn't.]

Very good. Could you all come back to the house, please? Right away.

[Hm, that's not worrying at all.]

[aspiringhero]

[ ...Goro stares nervously at his phone for a moment. ]

Okay.

[ It takes a few minutes, but thanks to the compressed distances, it's not too long before the kids appear at the door to the Dojima house again. ]

[pancakeboy]

[And Akechi's sitting on the couch. He looks rather severe, but offers Hawk a smile, as the knot of kids disperses in different directions.]

There you are. Welcome back.

[aspiringhero]

[ Goro cautiously approaches the couch. ]

Hi. ...Um.

[ He doesn't quite want to ask, What's wrong? Maybe nothing is wrong after all. Maybe they're safe unless he asks. ]

[pancakeboy]

[But nothing can be that wrong, surely. Look, he's smiling, even if he feels tight as a drum inside himself.]

I was wondering if you'd like to come to the bookshop with me. How does that sound?

[aspiringhero]

[ And yes, Goro relaxes a little at the look on Magpie's face. ]

Oh. Okay!

[ For a second it looks like Magpie's gotten away with it. But then Goro frowns. ]

Why did everyone have to come back?

[pancakeboy]

Ah, that's what I was hoping we could talk about. [He doesn't miss a beat. It never pays to underestimate Hawk; he's rather proud.]

But I see no reason we shouldn't get some books and dessert out of it too. What do you think, shall we go?

[He gets up, in that way that means, from an adult: we are going. Besides, he wants something else to read himself.]

[aspiringhero]

[ Goro nods and falls in behind Magpie. Something is going on, he can tell that much. But he takes his cues from the adults in the room, and so if Magpie is calm, it can't be that bad. Right...? ]

[pancakeboy]

[In the entrance, he steps into his shoes, picking his blazer from its hook and pulling it on, and keeps an eye on Hawk to do the same.] All ready?

[aspiringhero]

[ Goro bends down to carefully pull on his shoes. Then he makes sure he has his phone, because he forgot it one time and Crow got worried. ]

Yeah.

[pancakeboy]

Then away we go. [And they step outside, into the really-not-very-wilds of Inaba, heading down the street towards the magic door—the tall Akechi and the small one, the magpie and the hawk. His skin prickles with stress, all down his arms and down his spine.]

So what were you up to with the others? Anything good?

[aspiringhero]

[ He perks up at the question. ]

We were Feathermen! We had to steal the Gem of Power from each other's home bases. Whoever gets all three wins, except if someone else has your Gem of Power you have to take it back first so you can have power again, and if you have someone else's Gem of Power you can use the safe zone...

[ He continues in this vein, describing what is in essence an incredibly intricate three-person version of capture the flag using river rocks. ]

[pancakeboy]

[It does sound incredibly intricate. It also sounds a lot like games he devised himself at this sort of age—you're Red Hawk, you're Feather Owl—except that he'd never had anyone to share those games with?]

Sounds like a cool game. Whose idea was it? [He suspects the answer will be that they all made it up together.]

[aspiringhero]

[ This requires some thought. ]

Kind of mine. But kind of Moth's? And Aki-chan helped with the gems...

[pancakeboy]

[Confirmed.] Ah, yes, the gems sound a little like Akira-kun. Wasn't there something about a floatie at the beach?

[aspiringhero]

He tagged my floatie. And Crow said it counted. [ He pouts a little. ]

[pancakeboy]

Had you agreed in advance that floaties count? [Obviously not.]

[aspiringhero]

No! [ Magpie is on his side! ...Maybe. ]

[pancakeboy]

[We-ell, we'll see.] Then you were both right. And both wrong.

[aspiringhero]

...We can't both be right.

[ We can't be right and wrong, is another objection he could have raised. But it's more important that one of them is right (him), and one of them is wrong (Aki-chan). They're rivals now! ]

[pancakeboy]

[As they walk, he offers Hawk a gentle tap on the head, with one gloved finger.]

Broaden your mind. Right and wrong are both relative. If the two of you didn't agree on the rules, then each of you had your own rulebook, yes?

[aspiringhero]

[ Yes, but one of the rulebooks was right. Or maybe neither one was right? But they weren't both right, because they said opposite things. He frowns up at Magpie in confusion. ]

How are they relative?

[pancakeboy]

Each of you thought you were right. [They're just turning the corner, towards the glowing blue door.]

And, of course, that the other was wrong. So from your perspective, you were right, and Akira-kun was wrong. But what did Akira-kun think?

[aspiringhero]

He thought I was wrong and he was right. [ It was easy to see that. ] But that's because... because he was wrong. But Crow didn't think so.