Bakemonogatari

'A Thousand Miles, A Thousand Days'

Disclaimer : I do not own Bakemonogatari.

He was then back in Japan, only to face yet another bitter truth in his seemingly endless life. In front of him was one of many tombstones he had visited, carved with a name do familiar that he could cry for her. Not that it was the case.

'Araragi Karen'

From what he could remember, he was never one to show affection towards her. She was never a sister he could adore; she was short-tempered, had a sharp tongue, and far from the word 'cute'. Yet he could not remember far way back to the past, back to the day they still frequently fight each other. Those days were long gone, and this sister of his had gone through quite a normal life; recieving the adequate knowledge and degree, finding a partner that accompanied her through her life. One could say that she had a happy life, and it all ended today.

A wispher of prayer, then he walked away.

He is still trying to figure out what he had forgotten about that sister of his. As he walked, he then caught a glimpse from the corner of his eyes. Another tombstone. In front of that tombstone, an old lady was praying while holding red flowers that he failed to notice. She was accompanied by a man around 30, but he did not care about these things. Then the name carved in the tombstone had already caught his attention. It was yet another familiar name.

'Kanbaru Suruga'

'Oh, the basketball girl,' was all he could remember upon reading this name. He did not even remember the fact that he saved the life of this person. He was always that kind of man; the one who always save people indiscriminately, and walk away as if nothing happened. Again, he tried to recollect his memories from that time, the time when he still easily carry on living. Only the Oshinos popped up in his mind.

"I do still have debts to pay." he mumbled.

It was the Oshinos who had made him went to many places in the world, made him tried hard just to find a person that had saved him from the verge of undying. Yet up till then, Araragi Koyomi was still unable to pay 5,000,000 yen. His savior might forget about that debt, or even forget about him, but he had driven away those thoughts long ago. He believed that Oshino Meme was waiting for him somewhere in this world.

"Koyomi?"

Only then he realised that the old lady and the man was staring at him, probably noticing his mumblings earlier. And now that he stared back at them, he paid attention to those two's figures. The long purple hair that he always remembered, the blue eyes that he always adored, reminded him of his life way back. Even though he had forgotten most of it, the part of Senjougahara Hitagi never wavers from his memories. The surge of lost memories that took place after that had made everything clear again to him.

"Ah, I believe you are an acquintance of my mother?"

He failed to reply the question of that man. He was simply dumbfounded by looking at the man, who resembled him too much. It had been so many years since he met this man, and the last time they met, this man was still a cute baby. He was there when this man was born to this world, he was there when they named him.

"Let me introduce myself: My name is.."

"Senjougahara Kuzuki." They both said in unison.

It was him who gave that name. The day this man was born, the day he left his tsundere wife and his little baby, he finally completely recollected it. It was him that decided that he was to go, it was him that told Hitagi to reuse her name 'Senjougahara', and it was him who named the child. All that decision was simply because he became more mature once he realised that he was a father.

What followed that turn of events was an awkward silence. He was then thinking rapidly about many things: Should he reveal his identity? Or should he left his only son fatherless? What would his reactions be if that man is to know him as a father? Would he be happy? Or angry? What about Senjougahara? Would she let him go once again? Or would she ask for him to stay? All these probabilities gushed through his mind.

Of course, the man named Araragi Koyomi was not one to abandon his family. He used to send some of his income to his lovely wife, though he did not have that much of income. His jobs were mostly labour work, and he did not have the wage similar to those who sit on a chair and press the computer keyboard everyday. However small he gains, he would send most, if not all, of his money to his family in Japan, leaving little money for him alone to survive.

"You haven't introduced me to him, have you, Senjougahara?"

The old lady fell silent. Kuzuki looked confused at first; he did not know that there were even things the mother of his kept from him. Then at almost the same time, Senjougahara and Araragi smiled to each other, their eyes filled with bliss. Though she is now an old lady, his love did not falter; for him, Senjougahara is Senjougahara, however old she was. However, that was why he left – the fact that she would age and he would not.

"I figured out that you need to do that yourself..."

Kuzuki, his mind still puzzled, now stared at Araragi for long time then, longing for explanation. Araragi hesitated, trying to buy himself some time to brace for anything. Then, he pondered about how he would introduce himself. It seemed that he and Kuzuki looked to be around the same age, so a casual introduction was, fine?

"Hi, I'm Araragi Koyomi. Your father."

It wasn't fine. It needed a lot of explanation.

Well, I was writing this because I have some free time (not that i have a lot), Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari are cool, and I only see 10 fanfictions in this section. Thanks a lot for reading, and I'll appreciate reviews (do i sound too formal?).