[87.5] Reunited at Last

I pulled Cyrus inside, startling both him and Caldwell. The poor excuse for a door shut behind us.

Caldwell was visibly shaking, "Y-Y-Young M-Master… I-Is that really y-you?"

Cyrus scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Hello Caldwell… It's been a while."

Caldwell finally recovered from his shock and realized I was beside Cyrus. When he saw us holding hands, he gasped in horror, "YOUNG MASTER!? YOU'RE CHEATING ON THE LITTLE MISS!?!"

Cyrus would have smacked him, but since he was in such a good mood after meeting him again, he only felt his face twitch, "No. I would never-"

Caldwell started dramatically crying, "I left you for a few years and you come back to me depraved and a rogue… How could my sweet young master become such a person!?"

Cyrus's smile started to fall, "Caldwell. If you let me explain-"

"-MY YOUNG MASTER'S MORALITY HAS FALLEN!"

"Caldwell!!" Cyrus shouted back, "This IS Reika!"

Caldwell's eyes turned hazy before he shook his head, "...Who?"

Cyrus mouth dropped, "Reika!"

"...Who?"

I chuckled as I watched him try to explain.

Looks like Cyrus is suddenly realizing what it means when they say I exist yet don't exist.

It feels better when it's not me that's shouting in frustration.

I ignored their argument and glanced over at Chief Gonza who was staring at me. His expression was strange as if he was trying to complete a difficult mental puzzle in his head. 

Eventually, he spoke in an uncertain tone, "Are you… My niece?" 

My face lit up, "Uncle Gonza… Do you recognize me?"

Caldwell heard this and froze, "Eh?"

Gonza hobbled over to me, nearly falling, but I was quick to catch him. He reached out and touched my face with an amazed expression, "I don't recognize you at all."

My expression abruptly crashed, "..."

However, he didn't pull away his hands as he spoke, "You have no face, what's there to recognize?"

I spat out in irritation, "Then why do you think I am your niece?"

A gentle smile that could melt icebergs crossed his face, "I just know."

My eyes started to sting from tears. I cried out as I hugged him, "UNCLE!!! I'm so glad you know it's me!!! No one else knew except Cyrus! My own mother tried to attack me!!!"

Uncle Gonza rubbed my back to soothe me for a bit before adding, "Actually, I've been having more prophetic dreams lately. In them, I saw a girl with a blurred-out face and I kept calling her my niece so I just assumed that was you."

My crying abruptly cut off, "...Uncle Gonza."

"Hm?"

I stepped out of his hug not even caring if he was going to fall. Luckily, Caldwell swooped in to grab him before he got hurt.

I crossed my arms and stepped over to Cyrus, "I forgot how unreliable he is."

Uncle Gonza started to cry, "Niece! I didn't mean that!!!"

Just then, the door was thrown open and two owls flew inside. They took the shape of demons looking similar to Caldwell.

"My grandson is here!?!"

Cyrus flinched and looked over at me in shock. I merely nodded softly to encourage him.

He slowly looked back at them as if confused about how to proceed, "You're… My grandparents?"

His grandmother suddenly grabbed his face while sobbing, "What kind of woman did my son marry!? Her genes are way too strong! I can barely see my son in you!!!"

His grandfather spoke submissively, "His aura seems rather gentle like Sy's."

She shook her head, "Gentle? I'm getting ferocious."

Cyrus offered a polite smile, "I've been told I look just like my mother."

Watching them all chat in excitement, I walked over to Chief Gonza and took him from Caldwell. Caldwell gave me a look before rushing over to join his mother in playing with Cyrus's face.

"Uncle Gonza." I took his arm and put it over my shoulder to help him walk, "Let's not disturb their reunion."

He nodded to me and allowed me to escort him outside. I pulled him over to a wooden bench that Caldwell had made for him and sat down beside him. We both looked up at the moon together.

After a while, I spoke in a soft voice. "Della didn't recognize me."

He flinched, "Y-You… Why are you calling your mother by her name!?"

"Is she my mother? Perhaps I was just a placeholder for her… I can't even return to my old body, so how can I even say I'm actually her daughter?" My lips lifted somberly, "But I can't really blame her… Even though I called her my mummy, I was using her as a placeholder too. Back then, I considered myself a Kang… Even though I desperately wish I didn't."

Chief Gonza sat beside me, listening patiently. He asked in a soft voice, "Then who do you consider yourself to be now?"

I closed my eyes forcibly, "I don't… I don't know who I am."

"You… You're whoever you want to be."

"But I don't want to be me." I opened my eyes and then gazed back into his face. In the reflection of his eyes, there was a blurred-out face staring back. My voice cracked, "You said you saw me in a prophetic dream. Have you seen me in others?"

He shifted uncomfortably, "T-That… Prophetic dreams shouldn't be taken too seriously. Humans aren't meant to-"

"-Uncle." I quickly cut him off, "Do you see me?"

He crumbled under my insistence, "I… I do not. After the war, you completely disappeared from my dreams." 

I looked down at my hands which were covered in gloves, "Huh…"

He quickly spouted out, "O-Oh! But that doesn't necessarily mean anything bad! It could mean I just haven't dreamed of anything with you in it!"

"Then have you dreamed of Cyrus after the war?"

He gave me a few more nervous glances before adding, "W-Well yes… I have a dream where he is holding the hand of a small boy. The two don't look alike, but the boy did call him Papa… So…"

A smile finally warmed up my cheeks, "...That's good."

"You're not mad???"

I stood up and placed my hands behind my back, "Why would I be mad?"

It's probably the best news I've heard all day.