The whole week passed normally. Going to testify was much calmer than I thought. I only had to say that a stranger pulled Uragiri into an alley with a knife and that he defended himself. I said he had no other choice, but the control he had during the fight tells me otherwise.
Suddenly, I felt a small pain on the side of my left index finger. I looked at the carrot I was cutting, then the small thread of blood coming from my hand.
My mother turned to look at me and took out a small bandage. "Oh, sweetie, what were you thinking about?" she asked while covering my finger. "Nothing."I turned to continue cutting the carrot.
She came closer and asked playfully: "Fufu. Are you sure? I think you were wondering if 'that' boy would like the food." "Ehhh?No, Mom. How could you think that?" I cut the carrot faster. "Yeah,yeah, of course." She turned and continued with her own task.
I tried to concentrate more on cutting, but my mind was still in the clouds. By the time he arrives, the food won't be ready. I guess my father wants him to help with grilling the meat to see if he's worthy or something like that. While I was cutting, a message came to my phone: "I'm almost there."
Seeing it, I got excited. I grabbed my phone and left the knife on the table. "Mom, Uragiri says he's close. I'm going to wait for him to receive him." My mother just nodded and continued with her task. I stayed near the door for two minutes, until I heard the doorbell. I quickly opened the door of my house.
Taking a look, I could see Uragiri in jeans and a blue shirt with a dark green hoodie open over it. "How is it? I think it's the best I have."
I nodded slightly. "A thousand times better than Thursday's clothes." I stepped aside for him to pass.
He entered without much drama. He turned his head back to look at me. "Where are your parents?"
"My mom and I were cutting vegetables. My dad is lighting the charcoal," I said while pointing towards where they were.
His eyes opened wide. "Is it going to be a barbecue?"
"Yes, but we'll eat inside," I mentioned while walking towards the kitchen.
"Say hello to your mother for me, I'll go check on the grill." My mouth fell open hearing him. He didn't even look back as he went to look for the patio door, a place he didn't even know where it was.
---
I've arrived at Himari's house. This place is impressive, although not more impressive than the one I plan to live in in the near future.
I soon located the door to the patio. When I went outside, I saw Himari's father taking out the meat. I approached him.
"Good afternoon, sir. My name is Uragiri," I said while bowing.
He turned slightly towards me, then gave me a huge smile. "Good afternoon. I'm Himari's father, Sotu Gover."
Gover. I didn't know Himari's last name; she probably forgot to mention it.
My gaze fixed on the grill. The charcoal was scattered everywhere, while a small flame was struggling to survive. I approached the grill. "May I adjust it?" I asked while pointing at the fire.
A small laugh came from his mouth. "Of course."
I grabbed several pieces of charcoal and placed them around the flame, then grabbed some oil that was nearby and opened it, pouring a little onto the fire. An explosion occurred in the flames; the charcoal was starting to catch fire. I placed the grate on top when the flame calmed down.
"Wow, do you know a lot about grills?" Sotu approached me, leaning over to see the grill.
"Yes," I said while inspecting the meat. "Heh.I have a challenge for you, Uragiri. You and I will make four pieces of meat total: you'll make two and I'll make two. We'll divide each piece in half and put half from each one on all the plates, that way we'll see who makes the better meat." He had a huge smile while describing his competition.
"Sure," I said without much drama.
I grabbed my pieces of meat and placed them directly on the grill; I waited for 30 minutes to flip them, then waited another 30 and took them out to season them. When I finished, I put my pieces in a container, where I cut them in two halves.
Soon I went into the house, where I noticed a very pleasant smell, so I headed towards where it was coming from. I found Himari and her mother with several bowls full of fruits, vegetables, and snacks. Then I directed my gaze to the oven, where a cake was.
The two women turned and saw me, so I bowed. "Good afternoon, I'm Uragiri. I'm sorry I didn't have the opportunity to introduce myself earlier. I had the issue that my passion for the grill overcame my reasoning," I clarified while bowing.
"Oh, such fancy words came out of your mouth," she mentioned while laughing softly. "It's surprising that my daughter told me such bad things about you."
Himari quickly turned towards her with horror in her eyes. She was about to speak, but I did first: "I'm not the type of person who usually gives a good first impression; I guess your daughter got carried away at first."
Upon saying that, I saw the girl stare at me with a mixture of anger and something else I can't differentiate.
"Since you've apologized appropriately, I won't hold a grudge. Do you know how long until the food is ready?" asked Himari's mother.
"No, it depends a lot on how long your husband wants to cook his meat."
"Well. I suppose that will be soon. Himari, come, let's set the table." The mother started walking towards the living room after grabbing some plates. Himari followed her example.
I went back out to the patio, where Himari's father was gathering things, having everything ready. While moving the container with the meat, I noticed his wrist, where a large scar was visible. This, along with the boxing-related awards, tells me he's a retired boxer.
"Mr. Sotu, I'd like to ask: were you a boxer?" I pointed to his wrist as I said it.
He looked me straight in the eyes and then responded: "Yes, I was very good, but I couldn't adapt to the fact that 'Power' was born, so I became weak; so much so that a guy with enormous Power talent almost broke several bones in my hand and wrist. They had to operate on me because of it," he mentioned while rubbing his fist.
Power... This emerged in 2027. Surprisingly, it wasn't something invented in "That Time I Fell in Love"; Power arose one day like any other. Records show that a hot red beam of light passed through the world, then we could use it. In fact, I have the theory that my Return By Death is a special mutation of it, since Power can take the form the human desires, it's just complicated to achieve it.
More than 30 years have passed since that event. Now that I think about it, couldn't merging realities be a mutation of it? Nah, I doubt it; the necessary amount would have to be overwhelming...
I felt a small pinch in my heart, as if it shrank.
I didn't talk more with Himari's father; we both went to eat. I won the competition in the end; even he liked my meat.