Walking down the street, Cirrus stops by a street food vendor.

"Hey, how much for three?"

"60 valis," said the old woman.

"Hmm… Aight, you can keep the change." He hands her 100 valis.

"Thank you for the generosity!"

She grabs three sticks of meat and hands them to Cirrus.

As Cirrus was going to grab the meat sticks, they struck.

"Haaaaa!!!!!"

"Raaaaa!!!!!"

Cirrus took a step back; he quickly grabbed Haku's sword and Retsu's fist, throwing them to the side as if they weighed like paper.

"Oof!!"

They both fell on their butts.

"Are you playing with those youngsters?" The lady looks at Haku and Retsu before getting back up.

"Just a little game." He takes a bite of the meat. "Oy! Make sure you eat!" he said, tossing them the food.

They caught the food as he walked away.

"He’s tossed us to the side as if we were nothing!" Retsu said, taking a bite.

"If it were Mom, I would know how to get a lick in, but Dad... he’s a whole different beast."

"Yes…" Retsu takes another bite of the food. "Your father looks to be full of openings, but that’s not the case."

"We have time to spare. Let’s see what his range is."

The two boys ate and then moved again. Retsu, who knew these parts, led the way. 

 

2nd attempt.

Cirrus sits on a bench, enjoying the sights.

"Ah…" He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "A nice, lovely day."

A few moments pass when they struck again.

"Haaa!!!"

"Raaa!!!"

Cirrus grabbed them without looking at them and threw them in front of him.

"Oof!!"

"Isn’t it nice, boys?" Cirrus crossed his legs, smirking.

"Ugh! Do you have eyes behind your head!" Haku shouted.

"Naw, I use my ears. You two are rather loud."

"We were walking on grass!" Retsu said. "We walked slowly!"

"I have very good ears. Ooh! Ice cream!" He got up to the ice cream man. "Hey, you two want some!?" He shouted.

They look at one another.

"… I kinda want ice cream." Said Retsu.

"Yeah me too."

They came up to get some ice cream.

 

3rd attempt.

Cirrus walks down a road. When he reached the corner, they struck again.

"Haaa!!!"

"Raaa!!!"

"Hup!"

Cirrus jumps over them and continues to walk.

"Not yet!!" they shouted.

They turn sharply and swung at him.

"Ooh! Moon Pies!" Cirrus walked forward, avoiding their attack by a hair’s width.

He walked up to another vendor.

"How does he keep doing that!?" Haku shouted.

"He is very deceptive," Retsu added.

Needless to say, they always fail in similar manners.

 

4th attempt.

While walking down the street, Cirrus came across a cardboard box.

"!" He walked up to investigate it. "It seems unopened?" he looked around.

The streets were rather busy, yet why was this cardboard box in the middle of the sidewalk?

Clack~

Clack~

"Hm?" Cirrus looked below him to see a large black ball. "What’s that?"

Mokumoku~!! Mokumoku~!!

Mokumoku~!! Mokumoku~!!

Mokumoku~!! Mokumoku~!!

The ball dispersed a massive, thick amount of smoke.

From the box, Haku emerged, swinging his wooden sword. All the while, Retsu jumped down from above with a stomp.

Whoosh!!

Thud!!!

Bwoosh!!

They lightly blew the smoke away as it slowly dissipated to find Cirrus gone.

"Dammit, he escaped!" Haku said.

"Yes, he has… um, do you have that potion? I think I stomped too hard?" Retsu said, feeling a sharp pain in his foot.

"Here you go." He hands up a potion and Retsu pours it on his foot.

"That feels better." Retsu looked around. "Where could he have—Hm?" He looked to his side to see something that caught his eye.

"What is… Huh?"

They both look at a standing cardboard box with a Paz idol poster.

"… Dad, are you inside it?" Haku asked with his wooden sword ready.

"… No," Fafnir said, replicating Cirrus’ voice using her unique biology.

"Come on out, we know you are in there."

"No… this dad is not in here."

"We can hear you."

"Nuh-huh!"

"Dad, come out. We don’t wanna ruin this… what is this art style?"

"It is very vibrant and unique. Her eyes remind me of a cat by how large they are," Retsu said.

"What are you guys doing?" Cirrus said behind them.

"We are trying to—!?"

They both turned to see Cirrus eating some steamed buns.

"Kept you waiting, huh? Yeah, I just popped over and got some steamed buns. They ran out of chicken, so they had pork. Who were you guys talking to?"

"…" They look back at the poster and take a step back as if it would explode.

 

They kept trying till sunset when they realized they had made it to the hotel.

"That was fun! Did you enjoy the sights, Haku?" Cirrus said, glancing at a dead-tired Haku and Retsu.

"B-break!!" they both said, falling to the ground.

"Hmm…" Cirrus looks at the sun as it sets. "Now that our little match is over." He picks them both up onto his shoulders.

"Whoa!"

"You can rest here, I’ll go and—"

"Retsu!!" shouted Chang’e.

"L-lady Chang’e!" he said, a bit startled by her shouting.

As the goddess ran up to Cirrus, he put Retsu down. Ai came as well.

"So this is Hou Retsu, huh?" Ai said, looking at him.

‘He has his eyes, hm!’

"That is my name, Mrs. Kyūjouno." He said politely.

Retsu knew who Ai was, as she was also a very famed person within Chyong for her swordsmanship.

"I can see he has potential very well. Cirrus was taking him with us for training and education."

"R-really!" Retsu said, surprised.

"Then what we were doing was a waste of time." Said Haku.

"What was?" asked Ai.

"Dad made up a game where we had to hit him once and he’ll take Retsu to Yamato."

"Fufu! Cirrus, that’s a rather cruel game. You know only me, along with Art’s support, could get hits in."

"I never said it was fair, but they tried their best to win. Anyway, I’m going to get ready. I assume you got dinner reservations?"

"Yes, and what of the next ship to Yamato?"

"Two days from now seems a storm is coming tomorrow. If he wasn’t a seasoned sailor, I would have laughed it off, but…oh well." Cirrus went off with Haku still on his shoulder.

While Ai talks with Chang’e and Retsu, Cirrus heads back up. When he arrives at the room he could see Artemis, Malion, and Calli dressed up.

"Dad, hurry and get ready!" shouted Calli.

"I know, I know. Are the clothes ready?"

"There on the bed for both of you." Said Artemis.

"Alright, a quick bath and we’ll be ready."

"W-wait I’m coming to!" Haku said.

"Your sweaty too. Besides, you're my son. It’s not weird…or is it?" He raised an eyebrow and thinks about it.

"Uh, it’s kinda weird," Haku said.

"Nonsense," Malion said. "How is it any different from those summer days when you could barely walk and your father held you in the pool?"

"Besides, it’s a nice way to bond with one another," Artemis said.

"Wait! Wait!" Calli began to try to undress. "I wanna go—Gak!"

Artemis got her collar.

"Oh, no you don’t missy! You are already bathed and changed! Malion, let's go." Artemis picked her up and held her tightly.

"No!!! Dad, I wanna come to~!"

They leave the room.

"… Hm. Anyway, let's go. It’ll also save us time." Cirrus said, taking his clothes off.

 

A while later in the tub.

"Ahh~," Cirrus said, relaxing in the warm water.

"…" Haku was across from Cirrus.

‘He has so many scars…’

Haku looks at his father’s scars, riddles with small and large scars across his body. He wonders what kind of things did he experience and face to get so many?

"Um… dad where did you get that big scar?" he points to the scar on his left side.

"This…" he looks at it. "I got this when I was 8… I fought against someone far stronger than me and this is the result. How lucky he was a bit too prideful in his chances of winning. I’ll tell you the rest when you're older. It’s not something one of your age should hear from their father."

"W-was it something bad?"

"…" Cirrus remained silent for a few seconds, thinking of an answer. "That will be up to you to decide when you are older and you have experience."

"O-okay…"

Talking to Cirrus was spotty as best from what Haku could surmise, given that his father was more hard to read than his mother. It’s given that Cirrus is less expressive than Ai, yet when he does it is always with warmth.

‘Maybe I should talk to him about space? Or maybe Fuyukusa?’

"Dad, what is Fuyukusa like?"

"It’s a lovely place that your mother was born. It was a small village, but over the years, it grew into a metropolis on par with Orario."

"Were you also born there?"

"No, I was born in the west of Orario, hence my last name your godparent gave me."

"Aunt/Uncle Fels gave you the last name Zephyr?"

"That, oh no, that was your godfather."

"And who is that?"

"When you’re older."

Another roadblock.

"Okay… What about your parents?"

"I never met my father as far as I know. He’s long gone. My mom, on the other hand, well, she left me at an orphanage. Lucky for me, that’s when my true parent came and picked me up."

"Aunty/Uncle Fels, right?"

"Yes, and your grandma, Lenoa. They both raised me."

"So, did you never try to learn anything about who your dad is or where he is?"

"Hakushika, my name has spread far and wide. Even my mother’s name and title were known far and wide, albeit it’s sketchy, depending on how far the people in question live. Should I go to a random city and say my name so they would know who I am? For 12 years, not one person had come saying their my father, so as far as I know, they are most likely dead or something."

"Oh…" Haku felt a bit sad at the fact even his father doesn’t fully know and assumed he must be dead.

He knows his father’s life wasn’t easy, but he couldn’t think about a life without a mother and father. He felt a small bit of joy knowing that he had someone to call Dad and even 3 people he can call Mom.

"I’m… I’m happy you're around Dad. Even if it’s partially because of work."

"I’m happy as well." He made a sweet smile. He reached for his hand and messed with Haku’s hair. "But I would be happier if I can spend more time with my kids. Lucky for me was on vacation for the new year."

Haku’s face brimmed with happiness.

"Really!"

"Of course." Cirrus looks out the window and sees the moon. "Ah fuck! We need to get ready for dinner!"

"Calli is going to be mad!"

"Quick, start scrubbing!"

They quickly washed up and dried themselves off.

As they get dressed, Haku saw that his father was putting on cologne.

"Pchit! Pchit!"

He sprayed some on his wrist. The smell was faint, yet pleasant. It wasn’t the scent he recognized as his father. Usually, he always had a rather distinct sharp, strong, metallic scent that stood out anyway but the smithing district in the east section of Orario. There, his scent hid amongst all the other metallic and smoky scents in the area.

He watched his father gently rub the cologne on his neck.

"Dad, couldn’t you just spray the cologne on your clothes?"

"No, you spray a little on your wrists and rub it gently on your neck, so it isn’t so overwhelming. But if you do smell bad, spray some in the air and walk through the cloud. Never spray it on your shirt like some unstylish person."

"Ah, okay. Do you know how to tie a tie?"

"Yeah, hold on, I’ll show you."

After a quick lesson on how to tie a tie and they left.