Chapter 15: Three Friends

Zax sat with his mother and Liz for two hours, until his father came back home. At which point, his father's reaction was slightly less emotive than his mother, but still very much caring.

With his father, Zax sat for an hour longer, discussing the teaching of his Master, the progress of his cultivation and expounding about the members of his Martial household, though not getting into deep details. Keeping it all in a human's simple perspective, yet still sounding bold and adventurous.

Nevertheless, having experienced the same things with their daughter, although moved, Marco and Laylen still managed to digest all their son's accounts.

"Reuniting and rejuvenate the old friendships you had..." Marco repeated, after Zax told him and Laylen about his intention and worries of insufficient time to accomplish them.

"Well, Zax, you have four days. Your friends might be spread across El-Eden, in their different schools, but with your level of cultivation you should be capable of moving around swiftly and freely. In two days you can see all your friends and in the remaining two, why don't you go visit your grandparents? Better yet, it has been a long time since we had a family gathering. In this case, you can spend three days with your friends and in the fourth, meet everyone in the family in one go".

Marco tried to offer a way for Zax to spend his four days at home and has he kept going about what he could do, new ideas emerged in his head, which in turn made him unceasingly and excitedly throw new suggestion to the air.

"Hon, don't be restless". Laylen laughed. It brought her great joy to see her husband enthusiastically converses with their son.

The first time Marco saw Zax, after the three years training in Valgarel, was at the hospital, when Liz was born. Afterwards, when the family got home with Liz and Zax found himself busy dealing with the Dernalder family, up until he had to, yet again, go to Valgarel, both parents and child missed the small window they had together to properly assimilate the lost time.

Now, however, after couple of hours with their son, not only Laylen and Marco were pleased in their hearts, but unknowingly to them, they also started to view Zax less as the child they remembered and more as they young man he became.

"Zax", Laylen turned to him, after Marco realized the similarities between his current behavior and his father's rowdy one and awkwardly stopped talking. "Making a plan just to see people that are your friends sounds ridicules. To my understanding, Serah and Zushi should be at their homes. If you want to see them, simply go". She said in a tone that both advised and admonished the inessential complexity he and his father treated with an ordinary, everyday matter.

"Oh, that's right, Zax, two days ago Serah did call and ask if you are still at home. It appeared that she talked with Anet, and Troel also told her that he saw you. She said that she stays at home for the whole week and asked that if you happen to return before she has to leave, come visit her at her home". Marco recalled the conversation he had and how forcefully Serah made him promise to pass on her message to Zax, in case he would come home again.

"Serah and Zushi..." Since the two were at home, Zax was happy the he might be able to see them at the same time. "Mom, dad, is it okay if I go out?" After the last time he stayed out for a single night, Zax got entangled with so many people and things that by the time everything was over he barely spent a moment in home and already had to leave. Feeling contrite toward his parents, this time, Zax made sure to get their consent before doing what he wants.

"Of course you can". Marco agreed without a hitch.

"Mm..." Laylen, apparently, was a bit pensive before approving. Eventually she closed her eyes and nodded. "But be sure to return by morning, so we could eat breakfast together". In an hour or so it would be dinner, yet Laylen agreed to give some leeway for Zax to spend his time with both his friends and her and Marco.

"Thank you". Zax happily said, getting up from the couch, eager to go see his friends.

Opening the door, Zax heard a small cough behind his back and sensed that something was wrong.

"You are not planning to go wearing these worn out clothes, do you?" Laylen asked with a strict tone.

"Mocca Kart addict!"

After thinking for a short while, Zax decided that there is not a better way to break the icy with his closest friend of the longest time, than calling her by her old and arrant nickname, from outside the apartment building she lived in.

VRRUSH!

The windows in the front of the building of a first floor apartment opened and slid hasty, seconds after Zax's shout.

"Hahaha, Earth's Core Freak!" A curly head, combed to a black ponytail and tied to an elated young woman, barged above the meter tall guardrail of the living room porch and shouted youthfully back.

Zax's and Serah's faces met each other for the first time in just above three years' time, and neither of the two could hold back their eyes from getting moist, and the smile on their faces from stretching to the point of having facial muscles pain.

"Catch me!" Serah shouted. Not waiting for an answer, she grabbed the guardrail and jumped, aiming to fall on either Zax's head or in his hands.

The moment he saw her, countless images of their childhood flashed inside Zax's mind.

Afraid? Embarrassed? Worried? Cautious?

The ominous feelings that Zax initially had suddenly shattered into tiny, meaningless pieces, and then dust, before completely vanishing, the instant he saw Serah.

His reaction bewildered even him, but Zax utterly did not care. He thought calling Serah by her nickname would work as a joke and help reconnect their friendship. Now he just felt stupid. Stupid and happy!

'D level Mist User, Earth's Core Holder' was one of the thoughts that crossed Zax mind after seeing Serah, and before she gave him prior notice...

Zax found out Serah's level of cultivation seemingly at the same time she opened the windows. He used his Soul Sense for a split second during the time he waited for her to answer, in some way, to his juvenile call, only to make sure there was someone in the house.

A E level Earth's Core Holder? At that level, Serah could have jumped from the top floor of the three stories building without suffering too much.

Still, her voice echoed in Zax's ears like the command of a general or an order from his Master. He was so happy that if Serah was not descending toward him, arms spread to the sides; he would have been the one yelling for her to be careful before utilizing Kinetic Force in his feet and explosively jumping to greet her.

"Catch!"

Zax declared the moment he caught Serah.

"Three years, you jerk, Earth's Core Freak! If Anet didn't tell me, then I would have kept thinking that you never intended to return!"

Zax felt Serah burying her face on his shoulder, as she slobbered and an outburst of tears and snot soaked his shirt.

"I'm sorry". Encompassing Serah in his arms, Zax whispered while two thin trails of tears stained his firm expression.

His words were not exactly directed to Serah's ears, but to the general situation that was his fault. Either way, after saying these two words, Serah quieted and only maintained her closeness to Zax.

"Serah, can we go up?" After couple of minutes and a few passersby, the intimate moment began to affect Zax. The shine of his face faintly reddened and a stray thought, which originated from Serah's silence, made him wonder if she comfortably fallen asleep in this awkward position.