Vol 2. Chapter 1: Nana

“Oi.”

Hmmn…? Wha…? Is there someone at the door…?  I kinda hear knocking and a voice, but it’s muffled…

“Oi, kiddo.”

There it is again… Weird… I’m sure it hasn’t been that long since we all fell asleep… so no one should be up right now… Still, gotta open my eyes… it might be an emergency—huh? Where… where am I? This is not my and Nerinne’s room… Wait… what am I saying? I know this place… this room… that old door…

“Oi, kiddo, ya up?”

And that voice coming from behind it… So gruff yet so full of love… that’s her voice. The voice of someone who is very dear to me. How important, you ask? Well, she pretty much raised me alongside Gramps, so that important.

Also, I think I know what this is. Although, I’m sure that I was too mentally exhausted to have lucid dreams. Then again, here I am, floating around my childhood room as a very naked and voluptuous ghost, heh. Now, you may have noticed that, besides the waifu posters on the walls, there’s almost no weeb or nerd stuff anywhere in this room. Like, not a single thing. Heck, there’s even some very suspiciously empty shelves. Well, if I’m right, you’ll see why soon enough. Trust me.

Now, back to this lucid dream of mine, since past me was too heavily asleep to reply to the person on the other side of the door, she’s going to resort to a more… close and personal approach to waking past me up. And that’s going to start in 3… 2… 1…

There. The door clicks open and in walks one of the most important women in my life, going directly towards past me’s bed and getting ready to not only pull the bedsheets off of it, but also past me, heh. All as she said, “oi, kiddo, wake up.”

She was in her 60’s, was tall, had brown skin, and dark brown curly hair in a pixie cut, which was surrounded by a black bandana with fiery flowers as a pattern. Her outfit was that of a biker’s, so a sleeveless denim jacket over a white t-shirt of her favorite metal band, some old but trusty jeans, boots, the works, and over all of that… a black apron with the legend ‘BEST GRANDMA’ written by yours truly in fiery letters filled with flowers! That should be enough for you to guess her identity, but I’ll formally introduce her to you anyways. That badass woman was none other than my grandmother, Nana.

“I said… WAKE UP!!”

“UWAAAAA! Ouch! Ouch! My butt!”

And she just did what I said she was going to do, hehe. She just pulled both the bed sheets and past me off the bed in one fell swoop! Spooking the crap out of past me and making him fall on his butt! Hahahaha! Oh, but don’t worry, he’s fine.

“What gives, Nana?!”

See? Fine! Yeah, he might be pouting at Nana all annoyed and with fake tears, but he is alright, I assure you. He is me after all.

“Don’t give me that look,” said Nana, not buying past me’s fake tears. Not even for a second. Man, that was so frustrating back then, but now, seeing it like this, it’s… nostalgic. Anyways, that was just the start of her usual combo. Here comes the next part, heh. “You stayed up all night watching those Chinese drawings again, right?!”

They are not Chinese—“They are not Chinese! They are Japanese! How many times I need to tell you that?!!” That’s right! You tell her past me! How dare she be so effective at teasing us that she even managed to get me too?! Hahahaha!

“Bahahaha! I know, I just like seeing ya get all riled up about it! Bahahahaha!” Exclaimed Nana, smugly laughing her ass off while pointing at past me, making him react in the same way I do when Nerinne riles me up. As in…

“Grrr…Nana…”

…that. I’m so loving this dream, my weebs. Next she is going to turn around as if to leave the room and say, “bah, stop growling like a dog and get off the floor already, I need ya changed and in the dining room in 5 minutes or less. Otherwise yer breakfast will get cold.”

And in turn I, err… I mean, past me would look at the small clock on his desk, see that it’s 7 am, and say, “but it’s too early, Nanaaa… and it’s a Saturday…”

But Nana wouldn’t budge. She never did. Instead, she would turn around once more and while smiling smugly she would defiantly say, “so? Got a problem with me waking ya up early on a Saturday, kiddo?”

As such, past me would gather his courage! His everything! And he would make a stand right there and then against Nana’s tyranny! All in the name of the highest of callings! Go ahead past me! Say it! Say it all! “This is the day where I can turn into a shut-in without problem! I already bought snacks and have a pile of manga and comics to go through! I am not leaving this room today and there is nothing you can do about it, Nana!”

You tell her, past me! You got this! That is what I would like to say, but nope, he didn’t have it. In fact, it only took one look from Nana to make him realize that he really didn’t have it. Why is that, I hear you ask. Because of the look she just did, it gave even this very present me the chills. And no, it’s not because the chancla was coming or anything of the sort. It’s what comes after that look.

First she would ask,  “hoooh~~? Is that a challenge?” Said question was laced with a confidence that only a master tactician would have after their enemy fell for their trap. Hook, line, and sinker. Then came the smile. But it wasn’t just any kind of smile. No sir. It’s a smile that has stayed with me even after all these years. Her ‘resistance is futile’ smile.

And it’s so effective in transmitting its meaning that it doesn’t take long for past me to shudder before it and sputter a terrified response. “That smile…! Don’t tell me…!” Heck, it even made me shudder too! And I know what’s about to happen!

“Look around, kiddo! What comics and mangas are ya talkin’ about?” She declared, dropping a bomb on little past me as she smugly pointed to the empty shelves, the empty closet, and even… the empty hole under the loose tile near the bed.

“No way… They can’t be all gone…!”

“Keep searching all ya want!  You won’t find them here. Hehe.”

Oh Nana… Nana, Nana… Just how many carefully planned weekends did you unravel…? How many planned ‘sick’ days you ‘cured’…? How many seasonal breaks did you break…? Too many for me to count. And all done with a different prank, if you can believe me.

“Even my secret stash…?!!”

“Pfft, that was the easiest to find, kiddo.”

But one thing never changed, that smug, endearing smile that showed just how much she was enjoying her time with her grandson, with me. And seeing her again like this, so clearly and so lively, I can’t help but feel a very deep joy. Contrary to past me, who was clearly not having a great time as he lamented his loss with a sad “uuu… my manga… my comics… my snacks… my dreams of being a shut-in… all gone…”

Still, I feel you, me of the past! I feel you so much that I’m anime crying in your honor! Specially since Nana is about to unleash her ultimate on you and finish you off!

“Oh please, it’s your own fault for having such a heavy sleep and not realizing when your treasures are being stolen right under your nose, ya lil’ Smaug! Kuhahahaha!” She cackled as she delivered her ultimate and ruffled past me’s hair as her reward.

Meanwhile, past me looked down in defeat and said, “you are evil, Nana…”

As for why I was so heavily asleep, well… If I’m not misremembering, I was dreaming of being on a happy date with my waifu at the time! So of course I would be heavily asleep! I was fully immersed! And can you blame me?! Waifu quality time is important!!

In any case, hearing what past me said, Nana went and ruffled my hair even more. Then, she leaned towards me, flicked my forehead and said, “and you are a sore loser, kiddo! Now, do as I say and maybe I’ll tell ya how you can get yer treasures back before supper.” She did so with a smile. A caring, grandmotherly smile...

“Fine…” said past me, accepting his defeat as any desire to keep ‘fighting’ her was extinguished by that very same smile. What did I say? Truly futile…

My childhood was filled with warm moments like this one… It’s why I told the Gods that I met later in life that I was really blessed with a loving family, and why I went out of my way to thank Yawue for it.

Although, in a bit of a sidenote, I don’t know why, but it feels kinda weird to see my original appearance when I look so different now. Oh, and hearing my original voice when I’m narrating with a different one is weird too!! I guess that’s what spending two very dense months in a different body can do to self-perception, huh.

But hey! That also means that my original seiyuu has returned! That’s great! Welcome back man! I told you that there would be some flashbacks where you would shine once again!! So please! Stop camping outside of the studio!!

Hm? Oh dear, I got distracted for a moment and my past self has started to change his clothes. Yeah… no one wants or needs to see that. So, let me try and flash forward the dream a bit. Yep, fade to white just like that… A bit more… Aaaaand… There…! Phew, changing scene totally skipped, along with the uneventful going down the stairs.

Now we’re in the dining room. And well, I say dining room, but it’s also the kitchen. It’s not small, but it’s not that big either, I’d say it’s cozy. Especially with those light orange walls filled with photos, those nostalgic wooden shelves and kitchen cabinets packed with all sorts of stuff, from weird plates my grandparents would get on their travels, to seasonal cups, mugs and the like. Do you see the one that is shaped like a dragon skull? Yeah, that one was my favorite for a long while, heh.

And of course, who could forget that biiig, shiny silver stove sandwiched between the old but reliable fridge and the kitchen sink? Not me. As you know, Gramps was one hell of a cook, so he was always making lots of different dishes to please everyone, thus a normal stove wasn’t enough for him. Huh, now that I think about it, I guess that’s the reason why the castle has a row of them.

“Here you have it, pulled pork sandwich and orange juice, just like you like it.” Anyways, let me welcome you once again to my childhood home’s dining room slash kitchen, where Nana just served past me the best, most delicious breakfast possible. I’m so jealous and hungry right now!

Meanwhile, past me responds to such feast with nothing but a silent stare of suspicion towards Nana. A well founded one at that. But we’re getting a wee bit ahead of ourselves here, let’s hear what Nana has to say about it. “What? Isn’t that your favorite? Why are you acting all suspicious of me?”

“Because every time you make them it means that I will be turned into a slave for half a day…” answered past me with the weight of past experiences supporting his argument.

Still, he went ahead and took a sip of his orange juice as he waited for Nana’s answer, but there was no need to wait, for Nana immediately cackled and unashamedly said, “ha! You’re goddamn right! So eat up!”

Haaa… in case you’re wondering, yeah, this was pretty much my routine for all weekend mornings. I’d get a woken up early, I’d be fed a delicious breakfast, and then I’d be turned into a slave… fated to share some time with Nana… oh, such, a terrible, terrible fate whose memories I cherish so much now…

Also, while I referred to Nana’s outfit as that of a biker’s, that still doesn’t do justice to who she was. So yeah, if you think that Nana was the rebel of her family, the ‘yankee anego’ of her life’s manga, the leader of her own biker gang, then you’d be right on all counts. Because that’s who she was. An honest to goodness badass. Heck, the only reason why she’s wearing her denim jacket here rather than her leather one was because of the heat from cooking. That’s it.

Now, I can already hear you asking, ‘but Auros, does she have an obsession like yours or are you the only crazy one in your family?’ And to that I’d say, that’s rude, I’m not crazy, when have I ever acted crazy? But also… yeah, she does have an obsession of her own. Although, hers doesn’t have anything to do with waifus or anything like that.

No, her obsession is more about a… way of living. If I were to summarize it in a couple of concepts, then the first one would be ‘rebelliousness’ and the second one would be ‘hard work’. In her younger years she rebelled against a lot of things, but she also worked very, very hard for those she loved taking care of. That is who Nana was… That is how she lived… Anyways, let’s continue watching.

“And why didn’t you wake up my little sister this early, Nana?” Asked past me before taking a big bite off that thick… juicy… pulled pork sandwich… which looks so good… Seriously… I want some now…

“Hah? Why would I? I need ya, not her. Besides, lil’ Nat has ballet practice at ten, and that’s a big enough workout on itself. It would be bad if I tire her before it.” Answered Nana before she also took a bite off her own pulled pork sandwich, bringing back lots of memories to me. Memories of us always doing this at 7 am all weekends without missing a single one… until we did… Now I do that with everyone at the castle but… I won’t lie and say that it doesn’t sting when I look at the other end of the table and not see her there, smiling as she eats…

“Still, it’s not fair…” said past me as he moped like the teen he was. And I get it, at that time I really wanted to just lock myself in my room and have fun…

“So? Who told you life’s fair, kiddo? Not even the big guy up there said it once in his book full of ramblings.” Ouch. That’s Nana for you, always so… blunt, and doing so while using a half-eaten pulled pork sandwich to point upwards, as in towards the heavens.

Still, that’s fine. Past me was used to it, he even loved Nana for it, I still do. That’s why he only raised an eyebrow at that before saying, “errr… I don’t think someone who thinks of herself as a devote believer would refer to their holy book like that, Nana.”

“Oh please, that thing may have had its uses back then, but now they are just ramblings of some old man out of touch with the present. And I say that as an old timer myself, bahahaha!” Having met the Guy, what Nana just said makes me feel a bit bad for him…

“As I always say, Auros, if you want to believe, do it on your terms! Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Yeeeah, no. I only believe in my waifus. They at least are cuter than an old man looking at everyone from the sky.” Oops, I totally forgot that I said something like that! I’m so sorry, Yawue!!! Wait... could this be why he didn’t tell me who was besto waifu back then?! Dammit!

“Hahahaha! Yeah, yeah, you do whatever you want, kiddo. Now, if you’ve finished eating, go brush yer teeth already. We have lots to do.”

“Okeeey,” said past me as he got off his chair and went to brush his teeth, but not before giving Nana a kiss on the cheek as thanks for the breakfast, making her smile.

“Heh, yer welcome, kiddo.”

Yeah, past me may have been peeved by Nana ruining his plans for the weekend, but he still loved her a lot. And he never forgot to make sure that Nana knew. In a way, past me reminds me of my daughters since they are like that too, always making sure that we know how much they love us.

Hmm… You know, I’ve been wondering why I’m having this dream now of all times. Could this be that trope? The one where the isekai protagonist has a dream that is seemingly unrelated to the plot of the volume, but then it’s revealed to be very essential later on? If it is, then that’d make it a… CHEEECK! But still… I can’t think of anything here that has any relation to the coming ‘building a city arc’, not even tiny clues. Huh… so then, what is it?

Oh well, maybe that’s not the point of this dream. And even if it doesn’t have any clues or whatever, I am fine with it. After all, maybe the totally non-existent author just wanted to add more backstory to yours truly? And if that’s the case, did you weebs ask for that? Really? I’m flattered, but you really don’t need to do tha—and I just felt the angry stare of my former seiyuu…! L-Let’s just say that that’s great and if you want more, you can totally ask for more! Yeah! So stop looking at me like that, dear former seiyuu of mine! Ah, would you look at that! The scene changed once again! Let’s check it out!

And just like Nana declared while they were eating breakfast, past me’s fate as her slave has become true, for there he was, carrying all the gardening tools that Nana used to tend to her garden. Also, yes, that house you see on the right side of the garden is her house.  No, it’s not because my father, her son, is a mother-con or something like that. The former owner of my childhood home was looking into selling it and he told my father that he would give him a great discount, as he had known him since he was a baby. So, my father, being who he is, pounced at the deal like a cat does to catnip and bought the house. Nothing better for him than to save money he could use to fuel his own obsession… Even at the expense of other things… Ah, sorry, I got a bit sidetracked.

“Nana,” said past me as he followed his grandmother out of the garage and into the garden proper.

“Yeah?”

“Where is my mother?” He asked in a serious yet still somewhat hopeful tone despite knowing the answer already…

And that is… “She is probably at work, kiddo. If not, she is probably eating some breakfast with a client.”

“Oh…” lamented past me, disappointed. But not disappointed enough to stop him from asking about his other parent… “And my father?”

“Work too, kiddo…” answered Nana, looking at past me with sympathy, clearly seeing the sadness in me. That’s why she always said things how they were, as that was better than empty hopes and, most importantly for our family, empty promises. “You know how he is; he shouldn’t have to work today, but once something historical catches his attention and triggers his obsession, he won’t stop until he has written a paper about it.”

You probably noticed by now, but my family has this weird thing where everyone except my mom has an ‘obsession’, something we pour our everything into, or at least that is how we call it. Some of us can balance it, even if that sounds surprising coming from me, but others… others can’t… or won’t.

Hm? That creaking noise! Man, I was so distracted explaining our obsession thing that I almost missed Nana opening the garden’s gate! Now, I know that it sounded a bit ear piercing, but you must understand that for me such noise is nothing if not nostalgic! After all, I grew up hearing it, so it became one of those things that made this childhood home feel like, well, home. And it’s been a while since I heard it, so it’s a welcome thing for me.

Of course, what lies beyond that creaky gate is even more nostalgic for me! So much so that it is the inspiration behind the castle’s garden, even if it was hard for me to make it at first. Still, thanks to my darling Nerinne’s help, we ended up creating a garden that is just as beautiful as this one, full of flowers and greenery! But there’s one thing that differentiates the two, and that’s the fact that lots of the plants here are technically supposed to be small, but here in Nana’s garden, they’re huuuuge! I mean, just look at that telephone plant over there! Or that night jasmine! They’re giants! Seriously, it’s good to see this garden again…

“Kiddo, yer parents might be too ‘busy’ to spend a Saturday morning with ya, which is bull… but hey, I’m here. I’ll always be here, Auros.” Said Nana, picking up from where their previous conversation left off, turning to past me and placing her hand on his shoulder as she… sensed that I still felt pretty bad about the whole thing and genuinely wanted to cheer me up. “And hey, don’t forget about your Gramps too. He is always with ya.”

“Yes, Nana. I know he is here. He is everywhere,” I answered as I pulled a certain pocket watch from one of my pockets and… and… held it close to my heart. I will never forget it. Even if I somehow lose my memory… I will still remember. Oof… sorry, it got a bit hard to narrate for a moment there… what a rollercoaster…

“Atta boy,” said Nana, proud as she gently tapped my cheek with that callused hand of hers. I said that, but for me they never felt anything but gentle and warm. “Now, let’s get to it, kiddo! Time to pull those annoying weeds out! By the way, if you don’t pull more weeds than me, I won’t tell ya where yer stuff is!”

“Wah?! You’re joking!” shocked past me, is shocked. Then again, I should’ve expected that from the moment she hid my stuff. Still, it did the trick. I was no longer sad.

And it was all thanks to Nana, who didn’t stop at that and kept egging me on. “Nuh-uh! I’m not! So you better get started now or I’ll win!”

“You…! I’ll make you regret this, Nana! You’ll see! I’ll win!”

“Bahahahaha!”

Yeah, I was no longer sad. I was… motivated and filled with righteous fury, for I needed to beat her and reclaim my waifu hoard!! Nothing else mattered! And she was so happy about it. Heh...

Hmm? What’s that? If her obsession is being rebellious, then why was she the stay-at-home grandma, you ask? Well, it’s because it wasn’t always like that. Gramps used to be the one to stay at home and take care of us while Nana was out doing what she did best, but then he… suddenly passed away and my parents couldn’t—wouldn’t—take care of us in the same way he did.

For a brief time, I was ‘the man of the house’, taking care of everything while also raising myself and my baby little sister. When Nana got wind of that, she immediately stopped her work helping troubled youths around the country alongside with her gang and she, heh, she came back like a hurricane, storming in and cussing out my parents for not doing what they promised to do.

Thus, Nana took it upon herself to take care of us. No one told her to. No one forced her. She made the choice on her own, which is yet another thing I love her for. Even if pulling weeds under the blazing sun was a pain… You don’t believe me? Hear past me out.

“Maaan… I’m so tired… I just want to lie on my bed and read some comics while the ac is on…”

“Bahaha! Yeah, this heat is quite a bastard! But hey, ya gotta keep pulling those weeds or you won’t see your stuff today, kiddo!” Exclaimed Nana as she pointed at her own pile of weeds, a massive pile of weeds.

“I know…” said past me, not giving said massive pile anything but a glance as he tiredly continued adding weeds to his own pile, which was not that far from Nana’s in terms of size, all as a small smile formed in his face. Despite everything, I was having fun.

“Hey, kiddo.”

“Yes?”

“Do you like this garden?”

That sudden question… Now I remember… This was right when I was about to become a senior in high school. I was 16 at the time.

“What kind of question is that, Nana?”

“Just answer,” she said in a strangely serious tone that came out of the left field, at least that’s what past me felt. Well, among other things… You see that question made it all come back to me. I was struggling with something back then. Well, something besides everything you’ve seen already.

“It’s the garden you and Grandpa cultivated together, of course I like it,” I answered honestly and with no hesitation, for that was truly what I thought, what I still think.

“Heh,” she chuckled, proud and… grateful. “That’s right. We worked quite hard to get it how we wanted. But it was fun. It was quite fun…”

Even then I could make out a hint of melancholy in her voice, even when she was actively trying to hide it for my sake. Knowing that, I just went on. “Yeah, I can imagine that…”

“Kiddo—no, Auros, I know that you’ve been struggling about finding yer path in life, yer own… something,” she said as she sat on the grass, hitting the nail on the head for past me and saving this present me the explanation. “Hear me out, sometimes the process of finding that something is a bitch. It’ll take many tries, and you’ll feel frustrated every single time you don’t find it.”

“Gee, thanks Na—”

“Uh-uh, I’m still talking, Auros. Let me finish, ok?”

“O-ok…” Awkwaaaard, but you knew damn better than to interrupt Nana, past me. And you still went for it. Can’t blame ya though. Up to that point that was doing the opposite of what Nana meant with that talk, but as she said, she wasn’t done. So, past me sat on the grass too and simply listened as Nana went on.

“Good. Now, despite all of that, I know that you will find your own something. It will make you work hard for it, but you will find it, Auros,” said Nana with a certainty that you could say that she had seen the future, and I’d believe you. “And that something will make you smile while working. Hell, it will make everything that you go through worth it. Who knows? Maybe it has something to do with your obsession, maybe not. Maybe you’ll find it after you finally get a girlfriend? Heh.”

“Nana… heh…” chuckled past me, unable to even start brooding thanks to Nana not missing the chance to tease him even when delivering a peptalk. Seriously… she was so good at being that person, you know? The one that helps you out when you feel bad, when you feel lost.

And man did I feel lost back then. I mean, I suck at drawing, hard, so being an artist was out of the question… A writer? Pfft… as if! Maybe now that my mind is so twisted that it sounds like a light novel narration, but back then it was also a no… Animator? Maybe? Programmer? Perhaps? So many possibilities… So many what ifs… Good and bad. And as I saw that the time to make a choice grew closer and closer, I started to feel the pressure. A very heavy and asphyxiating pressure. Nana knew that. She noticed that. Even when I tried my hardest to hide it and not worry anyone.

“Look, Auros. Don’t put all that pressure on yourself. It ain’t healthy. So what if Lucina has it clear that she wants to become a chef? So what if Ash already picked a college? Ignore them. You go at yer own pace. Never let the pace of others dictate yers. And if the school is pressuring ya, I’ll just go there and tell them to shove that pressure up their asses,” said Nana letting that biker crassness of hers shine before going back to her more serious yet caring tone. “You decide your future, Auros. Remember. Your terms. Not theirs. Never theirs. Of course, I’ll have you working part-time while you figure it out, but hey, take your time.”

Hearing that, past me couldn’t help but laugh. “Heh… hahahaha! What was that, Nana? You tell me to do it at my pace, but then you tell me that I will be working part time if I don’t figure it out by the end of my senior year?”

“Of course! No grandson of mine is going to turn into a… what did you call it…? A noot?”

“Hah,” I chuckled, “a neet, Nana.”

“Yeah, that! Also, your Grandpa figured it out while he was working part-time. So why not try that yourself and see if it does the trick for you too?” Said Nana with the utmost sincerity. She wasn’t mentioning it for any other reason than her genuinely thinking that it could help me figure things out. And I had no reason to doubt her. After all, I looked up to Gramps as much as I looked up to her. As such, past me’s answer is quite obvious, don’t you think?

“You’re right. If it worked for Gramps, then maybe it could work for me too. Thanks, Nana. You’re the best.”

“Heh, and don’t ever forget it! Still, no problem, kiddo. Love ya,” she said as she gave me a big, warm hug. One that I didn’t know I needed, but I sure did. This talk was the one that put me on the right path… on the path that led to where I am today… That’s why… thank you, Nana. Wherever you are right now, I hope you know just how much I owe you… and how much I love you…

And hey, I found that ‘something’ not once but twice now… back there it was my collection that I funded with my job and now, what I am doing in Arte… That’s why… Nana you were right… You were so right… Ugh… feeling out of energy all of a sudden… consciousness fading away… maybe… another… dream…

Zzzz…zzz….

To be continued… (cue chibi Nana showing chibi past Auros that she took his stuff to help him out with dusting them, knowing that doing that ate up a big chunk of his weekend. They shared the snacks)