Chapter 304 Midoriyama Grado, Midoriyama Lize
While thinking of a reason why he needed to get stronger, he realized that he had overlooked a lot of things that happened to him. His first goal of fighting alongside his parents has not happened yet, not to mention the fact that he promised Emma he'll reclaim her planet for her. There was also the revenge that the Black Winged Dragon Ryu Ryoko sought, and even if she wanted to go through it alone, Satoshi took it upon himself to accompany her. There were a lot of things that needed to be done... and there was just not enough time to prepare and get stronger.
"Right now... I should focus on the Official Beast Tournament... and then we can work on improving ourselves. Ah right! I should also start looking for the other representatives... most of them probably serve their own masters by now, huh." Satoshi said to himself.
Up until now, Satoshi was still lying down on the ground. As soon as his fight with Copycat ended, he resumed his relaxed position on the ground. He was supposed to be training, but he figured out that the fight with Copycat was more than enough training for the day.
Not knowing what to do, Copycat also lay down beside Satoshi. She had no idea why Satoshi was lying down in the first place though... but that didn't stop her from copying him.
"How does Ami sound?" Satoshi asked out of the blue.
Copycat tilted her head sideways, wondering what Satoshi was talking about. In that same instant, Satoshi also tilted his head and the two of them locked with each other. Copycat's face turned a nice shade of red as she slowly tilted her head back.
"I uh... I mean, your name, Copycat, are you going to keep it?" Satoshi asked. 'Perhaps her name holds a special meaning in her heart... if she's going to keep it, then I won't mind at all.' Satoshi continued his monologue in his mind.
He totally forgot that his familiars are deeply connected to his mind... and now that Copycat was in close proximity to him, she could read every thought he had. At first, Copycat didn't understand what Satoshi said out loud, but after sensing his thoughts, she understood that Satoshi wanted to give her a new name. She felt her heartbeat spike as her face turned a tad bit redder. "A-Amy's fine." Copycat called out before Satoshi could retract what he blurted out a moment or so ago.
"I... I see..." Satoshi trailed off. It was his turn to get flustered after he realized that Amy could read his mind right now. He stood up and turned away from Amy, hoping that he won't have any weird thoughts while she was around.
.....
Somewhere in America,
An old man slowly shuffled towards the living room, Huffing and puffing with every moment. Of course, he was only pretending to act like an old man. He was, in fact, in optimal health. Despite being sixty years of age, he could still move as if he was in his late thirties. Apparently, he didn't really need to act like an old man, but he found it amusing that most people his age would act like one.
When he got to the living room, he snapped up and a resounding crack could be heard coming from his back. He heaved a sigh and then leaned on one of the cabinets that stood beside the wall. He then opened one of its glass doors, pulling out a family picture that was faded to the point that it had turned yellowish. A satisfied smile appeared on his face as he glanced at the young man in the picture who was holding a baby in his hand while he held his wife's hand with the other. The old man stood beside his son, and his wife stood beside him.
"What an old picture... I hope we can take another one next time. I wonder how my grandson's doing." The old man muttered to himself.
But before he could feel the nostalgia and begin reminiscing, he remembered one unchangeable fact that soured his mood. "That's right... my poor grandson... he's probably having a hard time isn't he... I hope he's not getting bullied at school."
The old man dusted the picture frame that held the yellowish picture in place. A stray tear fell from his eyes. He wiped it. Another one fell, and he wiped it again. Pretty soon, he was crying his heart out as he carefully placed the picture on the cabinet.
"Tatsuki, I know you're a strong superhero... I just hope that you take care of your son just like how you take care of the world. Your wife, I know she plays the part of taking care of both my son and grandson... but I can't help but worry. That's it! I'm going to Japan right now!" The old man clenched his fists and pumped them in the air.
"What are you talking about, Grado? You say that every day," Lize, the old man's wife, heaved a sigh as she lightly patted her husband on the back. "Now why don't you mow the lawn and clear the garden outside? We have visitors coming tonight."
"Sigh... are those old bunch going to come here again for a barbecue party? Seriously, I'm going to burn all of them if they make a mess of the lawn again... or should I just freeze them into oblivion? Blow them away? Drown them? Hmmm..." Midoriyama Grado said as he rubbed his chin. "Lize... cancel that barbecue party or whatever. I'm serious this time. I'm going to go to Japan." Grado continued, steeling his resolve.
"Stop kidding, our son and his family are coming to visit later. Do you want them to see the lawn in such a sorry state?" Lize whacked her husband on the head before she walked away with a 'hmph'.
The news shocked Grado, no less. For a couple of seconds, he just stared at empty air as if everything he heard was just a dream. He couldn't believe that after all these years, his son and his entire family were finally coming to visit. A couple of tears streamed down his cheeks as he sniffled. "I'll finally get to meet my grandson... I hope he's still as small as before. I want to carry him. Why didn't they visit sooner?" Grado said to himself.
"What do you mean they don't visit? Our son visits us every year. As for Satoshi, he's busy with his studies. You do know that he needs to work twice as hard in order to catch up to his peers right? All that because he didn't have a superpower... seriously, what's wrong with society today?" Lize muttered to herself as she heaved another sigh. Just like her husband, she also missed her son and her grandson dearly. Of course, she also misses her daughter-in-law, but she misses her son and grandson more than her.
"My grandson... I miss him so much... but he's working so hard... I hope he's doing okay." Grado sniffled.
"How about you just take care of the lawn first? And then we can prepare a nice feast for our grandson?" Lize calmly said. She could tell that her husband was just stretching out the time.
Grado gulped. He knew that his wife meant business when she started talking calmly. He silently swallowed his saliva before he headed by the front door. As soon as he opened it, he headed outside and flicked his wrist.
A strong gust of wind cleanly cut through the grass. In just a split second, the lawn was mowed. After that, Grado then snapped his fingers and a small tornado appeared on the lawn, gathering the cut grass. His refined control over the wind was so exemplary that he didn't even expend an ounce of his energy. With another flick of the wrist, the gathered cut grass floated toward a nearby garbage can
Creak...
Creaaaak...
Before Grado could react, he was hit with a powerful force to the head. He fell down face-first onto the ground with a thud. The moment he heard the creak, he knew that his wife would react strongly... and now his face was half-buried on the ground.
"What did I tell you about mowing the lawn? Mow it normally! Look, you cut through the brick fence again!" Lize lightly reprimanded even though she was aware that her husband could fix up the fence in an instant with his superpower.
"Heh~ I'll fix it up right away, dear." Grado grunted as he stood up.