Epilogue: Old Man Arima

"Everybody say cheese!"

"Cheese!"

The shiny black Canon camera mounted on the tripod was set to burst, and for good reason. As soon as the shutter finished clicking, Gaku felt his grandson squirm out of his grip and dash back into the park.

"Takeda, wait!"

But as soon as the other grandchildren—or great-grandchildren, from the perspective of the eldest reunion attendees—saw Takeda's blue-shirted, blonde-haired form sprinting back to freedom, the tinder box was lit, and they all stampeded after him.

"I want to go on the swing first!" a brown-haired, brown-eyed girl wearing athletic attire shouted.

"Race ya to the seesaw!" another blue-eyed boy dressed in a superhero outfit challenged his companion.

"Gah, come on!" Gaku fumed, sighing in defeat.

"Son?" a gravelly but gentle voice said to his right. "Is everything alright?"

"Sorry, dad," Gaku groaned. "I was just hoping to get perfect pictures for you and mom."

"You've done more than enough, son," Kousei said, his lips cracking into a small smile. "Go on. Enjoy the day with your wife and children."

"Thanks pops," Gaku said, giving his father a hug. Unlike past times, however, he didn't squeeze too hard.

His father was eighty-six years old, after all.

As Kousei sat back down on the bench, he took a deep breath and basked in the warm sunshine that blessed the Towa Hall Park. An occasion like this where all of the children, grandchildren, and their family members were all in one place was a rare commodity.

So Kousei made sure to enjoy every minute of it.

His son, Gaku, now sixty-two and the CEO of a prominent railway company, had married a tall, beautiful French opera singer after having met her on a business trip to France. Kaoto, for her part, had been proposed to by an average-height, brown-haired man by the name of Asahi during her time in grad school for Nursing. Kousei recalled the reservations he'd had about Asahi at first. But as he watched his son-in-law help Kaoto clean up the badminton set, he was glad that Asahi had proven him wrong.

Over by the merry-go round, Tsubaki and Watari were helping their daughter Hana give their twin great-grandsons a spin on the play structure. Takeshi and Emi sat at the picnic table and recounted their love story to their great-granddaughter, whose big eyes full of childish curiosity and wonder lit up with amazement. Their son Himari, a stoic but caring gentleman with thick glasses and a red baseball cap, sat by Takeshi to make sure he didn't fall over.

Kousei chuckled to himself. Growing old was a part of life. That was just a simple fact.

It had seemed so far off back when he was still a young, naïve, passive middle-school boy.

And yet, here they all were now.

Old, gray-haired, and sentimental.

Kousei and his friends had gone through many of their own impressive adventures here in their own timeline. Him and Kaori, for example, had performed in countless countries. France, Germany, Ireland, Brazil, Egypt, and South Korea just to name a few. Wherever they went, their music reached their audience, leaving an unerasable trace of happiness on their souls.

Tsubaki, though she'd kept up her hobby as a vocalist, had become a great Olympic athlete, leading Japan's softball team to victory for a total of eight years before retiring.

Watari had worn the Police Officer uniform honorably for many years, and eventually fulfilled his desire to enter a unit that combatted human trafficking. More specifically, Watari had cracked down on human trafficking rings connected to the Porn Industry following his ascension to Chief of Police, and rescued many victims plus brought the unfiltered truth of the industry's evils to the public. Many ignorant fools had slandered Watari across social media platforms, calling him a "meddler" and "fool". But Watari had stood firm, crushing any traces of the Porn Industry wherever and whenever he could, going on to mentor other young men as to how they could overcome their own addictions.

Takeshi and Emi, for their part, had also gone on to become renowned classical pianists, performing in various famous venues worldwide. Takeshi had even taught at the Manhattan School of Music for a time, while Emi had tutored many great students at the high school level. 

Such was the way of music. Always moving, never ceasing, and never failing to connect people whether young or old, rich or poor, man or woman.

Kousei felt his mind start to wander as he began to think back on all the other missions he'd had with the Guardians of the Multiverse through the years. He had visited more cities, countries, and planets than he could count during those times. One mission that had been particularly nerve-wracking was the time he'd had to bring peace to the planet Krypton following a bitter civil war started by the maniacal House of Zod. Kousei still had not forgotten the strength behind Superman's handshake. That guy was stronger than even Omni Man!

There had been a few missions where the Watcher had bid Kaori to come along as well, and those had always turned out to be the most memorable. Kousei laughed to himself as he remembered Kaori's child-like excitement on the mission where they'd helped to bring peace to a world full of talking animals.

And not just any kind of talking animals.

These creatures were masters of Kung Fu, led by a silly yet daring Panda named Po!

Upon arriving to Po's home village, Kaori had spent hours playing with, hugging, and cuddling all the irresistibly cute baby pandas. Kousei had been there for every second of it, as the only alternative would've been to incur the wrath of his wife by appearing insensitive. At first, he'd groaned and gritted his teeth through the whole ordeal.

But now, looking back, he was glad he'd been there.

From the humble yet disciplined swordsman Tanjiro Kamado who fought demons head-on to the confident dragon-riding Viking Chief Hiccup, Kousei had met many kinds of warriors, fighters, and heroes on his missions. They'd shaken his hand, ate with him and the other Guardians, and even taught him lessons he'd taken back home to his own children.

And Kousei was beyond grateful for it all.

"Aren't you coming, dear?" a voice said behind him.

Kousei felt his heart begin to flutter.

One thing hadn't changed.

The sweet tone of Kaori's voice.

Even now, in their old age, she was his weakness. All it took was one look from her lovely, dark eyes that sparkled with wise compassion.

He squeezed her hand as he brought it to his lips and kissed it. The old lovebirds were silent for a moment before Kousei spoke.

"You go on, Kaori. I'll just watch this time."

Kaori smiled at her husband as she walked over to the gray, domed play structure, holding her melodica in her left hand. By now, her hair had gotten much shorter and faded into a pale gray.

But Kousei didn't care.

She was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Making her way over to the igloo-like play structure, Kaori summoned all the little great-grandchildren over to her as she raised the melodica to her lips. Once all of the children had their various instruments—recorders, shakers, and plastic drums—at the ready, Kaori gave them the cue as she began playing the all-too-familiar melody.

Do-FA, Do-Fa-SO, Do-La, Te-Do DO!

Te, Te-Te-Te La So Fa, La FA!

Do-FA, Do-Fa-SO, Do-La, Te-Do DO!

Te, Te-Te-Te La So Fa, La FA!

Kousei felt tears coming to his eyes as he gazed upon the heartwarming scene. The first time they'd met, it had just been him, Kaori, and three other unknown children in this exact spot. The same play structure, the same melody, the same captivating look from her eyes as she'd turned to face him.

Now, here it was again. Only this time, it was Kaori, their great-grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren of their friends joining together into one harmonious song.

Beside him, Kousei heard Watari hobble over and sit on the bench. The two best friends shared a sentimental look. Not too long ago, it was them who had been the wild, young ambitious members of their families.

Now here they were, watching the future generations work together to play something beautiful.

"Stop looking so grumpy, ya old fart," Watari joked him. "You're acting like an old man."

"You're one to talk," Kousei rebutted, and the two men chuckled.

There was a small pause before Watari spoke again.

"So, you're really still not gonna tell me about it huh?" Watari asked. "How you and Kaori managed to not get divorced?"

Kousei smiled to himself as he looked upon the glorious sight of his wife leading the children forward in music.

"No...I don't think I will."

.....................................

The Watcher felt his own heart welling up with joy as he looked down on the happy sight. He'd seen every great triumph, every timeline of joy, every heartwarming thing one could possibly think of across many timelines.

Even then, he still felt his spirit be moved by the simple yet amazing melody.

"So, how's he holding up?" Strange Supreme said beside him, returning from his meditation session.

"I believe he is more than content, Stephen," The Watcher said, gesturing to the window that looked into Kousei's universe.

The Watcher and Strange Supreme exchanged a grateful glance as they saw not just Kousei's well-earned happiness, but the happiness of his friends and all their children.

"Well done, dutiful Guardian..."

"Kousei Arima."