Lament of the Moon S&H - Ch.08: Dancing no Bara - Ep11
#11 of LoM 08
After a little asking around at Burgstein University, Sasuga found out that they were holding a little memorial ceremony at one of Kyle's relatives' house, since his home was being closed off by the police as they were still envisaging the crime scene. It was kind of disheartening for her to visit her old university again, especially just to know where they're holding Kyle's memorial, but she managed to stomach it. With Panja accompanying her, the two went to the address. When they arrived, they noticed some people coming in and out of the decent-sized, single-floored house, most likely family friends and acquaintances paying their respect to the anguished family. Sasuga also happened to see some of the university's students that she recognized there and that made her hesitant. What would they do if they saw her? Would they still remember her for those incidents with Katherine and Onyx's attack?
"If you don't want to do this, we can go back. Nobody will blame you," Panja said to the kirin after sensing her anxiousness.
"No. I'll do it. I have to," Sasuga replied in resolve.
"You have guts, girl. I don't think I'd have the courage to do this if I were you," Panja said encouragingly, commending her on her bravery and placing a hand over her shoulder, as Sasuga smiled back at him. "Okay, I'm right with ya," he then nodded to her and she nodded back, entering the house. The moment they went inside, they were greeted with peculiar looks from some of the guests, apparently wondering what business this female kirin and big muscular white lion brought them here for.
"Yup... we'll sure blend in nicely here," Panja cringed.
"Let's just find Kyle's family so we can leave quickly," Sasuga whispered back at Panja, feeling uncomfortable too, and the lion couldn't agree more. Luckily, they spotted Kyle's folks standing not too far away from the front door and went over to them. There was a couple of middle-aged cats, both were multicolored and looked very similar to Kyle, so Sasuga quickly figured they were his parents. They looked so distraught and devastated, their eyes reddened from shedding so much tears over the lost of their only son. Seeing Kyle's parents reminded her of her own adoptive parents, with them also used to be kindhearted feline cats, and that what made it even more heartbreaking for the kirin. She mustered enough courage and went over to meet them, with Panja following her closely.
"Um, hello. My name is Sasuga Temple, I'm one of Kyle's friends. I mean, I used to be his schoolmate in the university," Sasuga greeted the couple, introducing herself.
"Oh, welcome. Thank you for coming. I'm sure that Kyle would be happy to know that you've come to his memorial," Kyle's father, a plain white cat with brown spots and long thick whiskers that made him look like a mustache, said with a soft smile.
"I'm... I'm sorry for your loss," Sasuga said regrettably.
"My condolences, sir, ma'am," Panja followed, bowing courteously.
"Thank you. Kyle didn't have many friends, so it's very comforting to see some you caring enough to come," Kyle's father said.
"He was such a good and kind boy... how could this have happened? He's not supposed to die... not this young... he had so much to live for..." Kyle's mother sobbed in grief, the black and white furred feline covering her tearful face, as her husband patted her shoulder comfortingly. Sasuga almost tore up with her, but she held her composure.
"I'm sorry, I know this might not be the best time for this, but I want to ask you something, about Kyle," Sasuga addressed the parents, as they looked back at her inquiringly. "How have Kyle been in the last few days? Have you noticed anything odd or did he say anything out of the ordinary? I haven't seen him for more than a week, so I've been wondering..."
"Um, no, I don't think so. He's been pretty normal, I guess," the father replied.
"Wait. Come to think of it, he's been kind of off lately," the mother than said.
"Kind of off?"
"Yes, like, something was bothering him but he wouldn't tell. Kyle has been mostly closed to himself and spends most of his time in his bedroom studying or using the internet, but he usually still likes to spend time with us. But about a week ago, he hasn't been quite as talkative and locked himself in his room for most of the day. I was getting worried about him, but I just figured it was just a simple phase, like he's been rejected by a girl her liked or something and he didn't want to talk about it, so I didn't want to bother him. He just ate dinner silently, used his pills and went back to his room until going back to school in the morning," Kyle's mother explained and something caught Sasuga's attention.
"Pills? You mean those vitamin supplements?" Sasuga asked.
"Yeah. He'd been taking them daily more than once, for the last couple of months. I was kind of worried he was getting addicted to them and I was going to ask him to stop using them, or at least slow down. They weren't exactly cheap. But why are you asking all of this, anyway?" Kyle's father than said to the kirin.
"Does it have anything to do with his death?" the mother asked in concern.
"Oh, no, no, I'm just curious! Like I said, I haven't seen him for a while and wanted to know how he's been, maybe try to figure out how this happened. Sorry for bothering you. I'll make sure to attend the funeral. Again, my deepest condolences," Sasuga answered and then apologized and took her leave with Panja soon after, leaving the ceremony and Kyle's family to mourn on their own.
"You're okay, Sassy?" Panja checked on his kirin friend, sensing her a bit shaken up.
"Yeah... I'm fine. It's just... hard to take it all in yet. That he's really gone..." Sasuga muttered, fighting back the tears as she was picturing Kyle's smiling face in her mind. Panja wrapped his big arms around her and hugged her gently.
"It's gonna be alright, sweets. I promise you, we'll get who did this. Just be strong, okay?"
"Okay..." she whispered as Panja warming hug comforted her.
"Let's take a walk. It's a fine day and it'll clear up your mind," the white lion then said with a smile and Sasuga looked up at him and smiled back with a nod. They took a stroll through the city, walking along the sidewalk within the district, without sharing much of anything. Kyel's death still occupied Sasuga's mind and she couldn't get it over with no matter how hard she tried, and Panja knew she was struggling with that and wanted to help her out, but he didn't know how.
As they passed a street corner, Panja's eyes caught something interesting across the street and it gave him the idea he needed.
To be continued...