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Ryunosuke spends the first sunrise away from England alone on the deck of the boat taking him home.
It’s been twenty-four hours since they departed from England, as evidenced by the sky spilling into oranges and purples. Just like it did reflected onto his and Kazuma’s swords.
He leans his elbows on the railing and stares absently back in the direction of England. If he squints, he can nearly see the blurry figures of Iris, Sholmes, and Kazuma, steadily growing smaller but still waving persistently. Ryunosuke suspects they continued to wave long after the boat was out of sight. Iris and Sholmes, at least. Maybe Professor Mikotoba too. Sholmes’ presence seems to make him lighter, looser, more carefree. Ryunosuke regrets not staying to see more of it. As Iris and her coveted stories told him, they are quite a pair.
But he has to return to Japan. Professor Mikotoba was right. It’s time.
Soft footsteps pad on the deck behind him, nearly too quiet for him to notice. Ryunosuke turns, one hand on Karuma’s hilt. But he drops it just as quickly.
“Sorry to startle you, Naruhodou-san,” Susato says, stepping up to the railing beside him.
Ryunosuke lays his hands back on the railing. “It’s no trouble,” he says quietly, his voice slightly scratchy from disuse. “I should have expected you would wake up soon.”
Susato smiles slightly, although not as much as she usually would when teasing him. “I am the one surprised today, Naruhodou-san.” She sighs, turning to face the water. “If only you would wake up this early for cases.”
“Maybe I will in the future,” Ryunosuke replies lightly. “Although I make no promises, Susato-san.”
“I will continue to try to wake you, then,” Susato says. Her gaze stays trained on the horizon, but her smile widens. That counts as a win in Ryunosuke’s book.
It’s easy to forget he’s not the only one grappling with homesickness for two places at the same time. Kazuma is Ryunosuke’s best friend, that’s true but he is Susato’s brother (a role Ryunosuke would like to take for himself, if he’s being honest) and they knew each other for much longer than Ryunosuke and Kazuma did. Betrayal stings no matter where it’s coming from.
Ryunosuke’s feelings about Kazuma are a tangled mess of hurt and hope. They will take time to sort out; just the opportunity that their return home gives them. (Could that have been Professor Mikotoba’s intention? He was always so clever. Either way, he was right to suggest Ryunosuke return. And he was right to know and hope Susato would follow.) He wouldn’t expect Susato’s feelings to be any different.
Susato has always been a private person. She’s never been too keen to share her feelings with Ryunosuke in particular - not only is it improper, at the beginning he was a bit too similar to Kazuma to chance closing the gap between them. But he’s no longer just a replacement for someone stolen away too soon. They are friends, and they can share the burden of their pain. He just has to let the right time come.
Everything is about finding the right time, isn’t it.
He takes a breath. “What do you intend to do when we return, Susato-san?”
“I promised I would follow you, Naruhodou-san.” Susato’s voice is quiet yet steady, like the subtle but constant waves beneath the boat they stand on.
Ryunosuke rubs a hand behind his head, smiling abashedly. “Ah! Sorry, Susato-san! I did not mean to imply that you would go back on your word.”
“I did not think you would,” Susato says, smiling and shaking her head fondly. “At least, not intentionally.”
Ryunosuke snorts, letting his head drop towards the railing. “I see. Well, thank you, I suppose.”
He clears his throat, raising his head to the horizon once more. “I only meant… You spent so long preparing to be Kazuma’s judicial assistant in London. Now that that dream is fulfilled, what will you work for now?”
“Hmm.” Susato fiddles with the hem of her sleeve, eyes glazed over with thought. “Well, I will continue to be your judicial assistant, of course. I quite enjoy it.”
Ryunosuke smiles wryly. “I should hope so.”
“I would like to pursue the path of a lawyer, as well.” Susato’s head is turned away from him at this point, and she stares as pointedly as is polite at the ground. “For the future.”
Ryunosuke drops his gaze, smiling fondly. “Maybe I could become your judicial assistant, then.”
Susato smacks him lightly. Ryunosuke chuckles and counts his lucky stars she spared him from the Susato Takedown. Neither of them have it in them today. “It takes a lot of work, Naruhodou-san! We shall have to start studying right away.”
Ryunosuke slumps. “Ah… I shall consider it,” he says nocommittally. When Susato laughs, light and quiet as it may be, it’s almost enough of a triumph to wash away the struggles of the past few days. Almost.
“I am looking forward to seeing the rest of my family.” Susato’s smile turns into something loving and affectionate. “And Haori.”
“Me too,” Ryunosuke says, although he suspects she is far away in thought now. It’s much better than wallowing, though, so he’s happy to let her daydream. “I would like to meet this Haori of yours as well. She sounds quite lovely.”
“I believe you two would get along,” Susato says softly, absently.
“You already know Kazuma quite well, so it’s only fair,” Ryunosuke says. He laughs, but it’s rather forced.
Kazuma… Everything comes back to Kazuma in the end.
Susato sighs, the idealistic glint gone from her eyes. She clicks her tongue absentmindedly. “I suppose.”
They slip into silence. Ryunosuke’s breath forms tiny clouds in the air, fogging up his view. The ocean sparkles behind it.
For a while, the only sounds on deck are the waves crashing gently against the hull of the ship and the wind rustling through their clothes. Ryunosuke closes his eyes and lets the rays of sun fall against his face, warm and cold at the same time. The chill is nearly piercing, but it feels natural in the wake of all his conflicting emotions.
Susato slips her book out from the sleeves of her kimono. The movement is thoughtful and silent, as comes from years of practice. Susato always has some information to share, after all. “Naruhodou-san, Mr. Sholmes lent me a poem before we left.”
Ryunosuke tilts his head in curiosity. “Did he?”
“Yes.” Susato nods, short and succinct, but not dismissive. “I did not get the chance to read it until last night. Truth be told, I wished to save it. If I never read it, I would still have a piece of London left.” She laughs slightly, tipping her head. “Isn’t that silly?”
“I don’t think so,” Ryunosuke says, smiling softly. “But I take it you did read it?”
“I did,” Susato says. She leans over, flipping her book open. A page falls out, adorned with Sholmes’ trademark messy scrawl. “I believe you would benefit from reading it, Naruhodou-san. Just as Mr. Sholmes thought I would benefit from reading it myself.”
Ryunosuke hums in interest and leans over, bridging the gap. “You have stayed too long in this place,” he reads, nearly absentmindedly. It takes a moment for the meaning of the words to hit him, but when they do, the impact hits like a carriage to the chest. He lets out a small, low gasp, lips parting. “Turn your face to the future. Believe that you can cross this sea and survive.” He turns to face the sea, glittering turquoise in the early morning light. “Susato-san…”
When Susato meets his gaze, her eyes are shining with the same unshed tears Ryunosuke feels pricking at his own eyes. “Do you see now, Naruhodou-san?”
Ryunosuke wipes his eyes, biting his lip. “I do. Thank you for sharing that with me, Susato-san.”
Susato nods, dipping her head gracefully. She moves to shut the book, but seems to think better of it, gazing fondly at the writing. The page flaps in the wind, making the words nearly illegible, but they’re already burned into Ryunosuke’s brain.
The clouds are burning orange fire, reflecting blazes onto the aquamarine waves below. Colors light up the world. It makes their boat, and Ryunosuke himself, feel small and inconsequential by comparison.
He can’t help but wonder if Susato feels the same way.
For a few minutes, they stand facing the sea, not towards each other or away. Their shoulders brush ever-so-slightly, in congruence with the early-morning wind rushing at their backs.
Ryunosuke reaches out a hand. Without breaking her gaze from the skyline, Susato takes it.
“Thank you for coming with me,” he says.
Susato smiles down at the railing. “To London, or back home?”
“Both,” he says. “I never could have gotten to where I am without you.”
“Nor would I,” Susato responds almost immediately.
Ryunosuke glances back at the sky. The sun is higher now; high enough that its rays strike the deck and illuminate it in golden light. Just like their time in Britain, sunrise has passed. Time moves along, steadily ticking along like the clocks in Lord Stronghart’s office. And as much as a part of Ryunosuke wishes it would stay still, he finds that he’s happy to move on. His time in Britain has run its course.
It’s time to go home.