Chapter 25: The Melting Point of Ice
Tatsuya and Ichika left the hotel in silence.
The drive home, usually quiet in a warm and familiar way, carried a different weight tonight. This silence was not peaceful-it was heavy, thick with thoughts neither of them could put into words.
They didn't glance at each other, didn't speak. Some silences comfort. This one carved deep.
Their home welcomed them like always-a modest Japanese house, all wood and soft edges, quiet and lived-in. It was the kind of place built for memories, not impressions.
Ichika stepped in first. Tatsuya stayed behind to park the car in the garage.
By the time he entered, she was already in the kitchen, preparing tea. She greeted him at the door with a soft nod, and he returned the gesture without words. Routine carried them. She handed him his cup, and they drank quietly.
Then a bath. Then dinner.
No fuss.
Just the kind of rhythm that comes after fifty years together.
Sitting across from her at the table, Tatsuya finally broke the silence.
"...Today was hard."
Ichika nodded as she ladled reheated leftovers into two bowls. "It was."
He leaned back in his chair, sighed through his nose. "You want to talk about it?"
Her hands didn't pause, but her expression flickered.
"...That's unusual, you know," she said, voice soft. "You asking."
"I'm trying." He scratched the back of his neck. "They say talking's good for a relationship."
A faint laugh escaped her lips. "Fifty years in and you're trying relationship advice now?"
"Better late than never."
She handed him his bowl with a knowing look. "You were proud of Koji today."
Tatsuya blinked. "What makes you say that?"
She sat across from him, folded her hands. "Come on now. I've lived with you longer than I've lived without you. I see the corners of your eyes, the way you crossed your arms but didn't speak."
He chuckled. "So I'm that obvious, huh?"
"No, not to most. But to me?" She smiled gently. "Clear as day."
He looked down into his food, smile tugging at his lips.
"Let's eat," she said, more cheerfully now. "We'll check on Nino-chan in the morning."
Later, in bed, the darkness made things easier to say.
Tatsuya sat beside her, back propped against the wall.
"...Do you think I was too harsh today?" His voice was low, unsure. "Too strict?"
Ichika turned her head to look at him.
He didn't meet her gaze.
"I just... I wanted Koji to stay grounded. To keep the family from breaking apart. He held it together, but I saw it. That sadness under his eyes. He's always been like that-silent when he's hurting."
He sighed. "So I stayed firm. Figured someone had to be the one holding the threads together."
Ichika didn't answer right away.
Then she whispered, "You did the right thing."
He swallowed. "I wanted to cry, you know. Just let it all out."
"Then why didn't you?" she asked quietly.
"I couldn't. Someone had to stay composed."
She turned to him fully. "You think I didn't want to cry today?"
"You didn't even flinch."
"I couldn't afford to. As a mother, you learn that showing weakness can break a child. I didn't want them to see me fall apart. Not yet."
He looked at her then. Really looked.
"All these years..." he said.
She smiled tiredly. "We held it together, didn't we?"
"You did good, Ichika."
"So did you."
He reached for her hand and held it gently.
"You can cry now," he whispered. "I'll be here. You've always been there for them. Let someone be there for you."
Her shoulders trembled.
A breath. A sob.
Then another.
She cried-not loudly, not messily-but quietly. Soft and raw. The tears she had been holding back all day fell freely, dripping down her cheeks, onto her lap, to the floor.
Tatsuya reached out, wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. One hand rubbed gentle circles on her back, the other rested in her hair.
He cried, too. Silently. For her, for Koji, for Nino.
For the years spent being strong.
But he made sure she didn't see. Because right now, she needed him whole.
In the hush of their shared sorrow, they clung to one another-not as husband and wife, but as the last two pillars of a family too burdened to fall.
Love, after all, isn't just joy.
Sometimes, it's just holding someone through the storm.
A quiet reminder that the world had changed, and they had changed with it.
Ichika leaned her head on Tatsuya's shoulder, still sniffling faintly. Her voice, when it came, was low-almost a murmur.
"...Tatsuya. What are Source Users, really?"
His breath caught, just a little. He didn't look at her when he spoke.
"No one knows. Not really. Some say it's in the blood. Some say it's inherited. Others claim it's from trauma or divine punishment." He exhaled slowly. "The truth is, even the ones with the powers don't know where they came from."
Ichika's brow furrowed. "And Spiritualists...?"
"Different. They're born with what they call a 'resonance.' They can bind to a spirit-usually a soul that didn't pass on properly. Sometimes it's someone they loved. Sometimes it's a killer. Depends on the bond."
Ichika lifted her head slightly. "But the Starlets... those hybrid humans. They're made, aren't they?"
Tatsuya finally turned to look at her, eyes tired.
"Yes. Made."
"...Where?"
He hesitated. Then:
"In the Lament."
She stilled.
"The Lament? You mean that tower-like structure underground? Isn't that whole area called the Underworld?"
He nodded.
"It changed," he said, voice distant. "Used to just be ruins -abandoned labs, chemical spill zones, lawless slums. Then about five years ago, someone showed up. They started organizing the chaos. People called them the Devil with Red Hair."
Ichika frowned. "That name..."
"No one knows who they are. No photos. No footage. Not even a voice recording. Just rumors." He tapped his temple. "But what they did? That was real. They brought order to a place the world gave up on."
"Salvation," Ichika whispered.
He nodded. "Exactly."
She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and looked toward the window, as if she could see the Underworld from here. "Can people still... hire them?"
Tatsuya let out a low chuckle. "Not them. They've gone silent. But what they built is still running."
"...Agencies?"
He nodded. "Assassination, extraction, protection, blackmail, disappearance. You name it. All legalized under the table. All filtered through agencies. You don't even know who you're hiring, just that they'll do the job."
Ichika's face twisted, not in judgment but weariness. "That's what the world has come to?"
Tatsuya leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "The strong rewrite the rules. The rest of us just try to protect what we can."
They sat like that for a while, just breathing, letting the storm pass in small gusts.
Outside, the wind howled faintly against the wooden walls. Inside, an old couple remained awake-not because they feared the dark, but because they knew what it once tried to take from them.
"Do you think," Ichika said softly, "that the Devil with Red Hair ever meant to become a savior?"
Tatsuya's answer came after a long pause.
"No one sets out to save a broken world. But maybe... they just couldn't watch it break anymore."