After seeing Ryuma lowering his head in shame, unable to look them in the eye, Kazumi's eyes instantly filled with tears. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "Don't do anything like this again, my son. Never," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You are our only son. You are our only child. If something happens to you, then how are we going to live?"
Ryuma felt a heavy wave of guilt settle in his chest as he heard her sob. He simply remained silent, resting his forehead against her shoulder.
"Well, he is taking advantage of this fact only," Raito interjected, his voice firm as he watched the two. "He has gone totally out of hand just because we pamper him as our only child. Well, I have decided. Ryuma, from today onwards, you won't even talk about becoming a ninja. You will become an honest farmer like me. Being a farmer is not a bad thing. You can live a life in peace. What is the life of a ninja? Just fighting and killing, nothing more than that. Got it?"
Ryuma gave a slow, quiet nod, keeping his head down and offering no argument.
Seeing the boy's complete submission, Raito's stern expression softened. He took a slight breath, his tone shifting from anger to a quiet, earnest warmth. "Well, I know that you want to become a ninja because you felt bad for me; felt bad that my standing is not very high in the clan just because I am not a ninja, and no one in my family is a ninja. And I am just an ordinary farmer. So you wanted to become a ninja so that you can give me and your mother a good standing in front of the family, a matter to make us feel proud. But you don't have to. I never see myself as some loser or someone who has achieved nothing in my life. I have such a good family, you and Kazumi. I am living a good life, and I can fulfill all your needs. That is enough for me. When I was in my youth, I definitely dreamt of becoming a powerful ninja or a powerful samurai, but as I lived, I learned one thing: living a normal life is not so bad, okay?"
Even though Raito spoke every word straight from the bottom of his heart, a quiet doubt lingered in his mind. He was fully anticipating that Ryuma wouldn't listen. He expected the boy to interrupt him at any second, to shout that being a ninja was everything, that power was all that mattered, or to stubbornly argue as he always did. But to his utter surprise, nothing of the sort happened.
Instead, Ryuma lifted his head to face his parents. A faint, almost melancholic smile touched his lips as he met their eyes. "Well, I understand, Father," Ryuma said softly. "Today, I fully realized that I'm just not cut out for being a ninja at all. After getting saved by Kakashi and coming back from the very brink of death, it hit me: I'm just not good enough. Rather than giving you and Mother a reason to be proud, my foolish attempts to become a ninja are only causing trouble and giving you more worries." Ryuma paused, taking a steady breath before continuing. "Now that I've finally realized this, I've decided to let go of my obsession. I promise you both that from today onwards, I will never try to become a ninja, nor will I ever speak of it again."
For a long moment, silence fell over the room. Both Raito and Kazumi sat entirely stunned, completely caught off guard. Whenever they had tried to reason with him in the past, Ryuma would stubbornly brush their words aside, arguing fiercely for his dream. To hear him surrender that lifelong obsession so easily was surreal.
Raito and Kazumi exchanged a bewildered glance before Raito turned his attention back to his son. "Well," Raito murmured, his tone a mix of relief and reflection. "It seems the saying is true: when people stand at death's door, they reach realizations they were blind to before. I am just glad you have finally come to understand this."
Kazumi whipped her head toward her husband, shooting him an annoyed glare. "So, you think it's good that our son jumped into the river to take his own life?"
Raito's eyes widened, and he frantically shook his hands and head in defense. "No, no! I didn't mean it that way at all! I just meant it's a good thing that he came to this understanding on his own. Why would I ever want my son in harm's way?"
As soon as Kazumi heard his frantic explanation, the sharp anger fading from her eyes, her tense expression softened. Turning back toward Ryuma, her tone grew gentle and encouraging. "Well," she began, taking a step closer, "it is not like you have to lose hope completely, my son. Your father also said that if you still wish to become strong and gain proper self-defense skills, we can definitely send you to a dojo to learn swordsmanship. A few members of our clan run reputable swordsmanship dojos, so enrolling you won't be an issue, and we can certainly afford that much."
Ryuma gave a subtle, tired shake of his head, declining without a moment's hesitation. "I'm fine, Mother. Really, I don't need to train at a dojo or anything like that. I am completely fine as I am. Please, don't worry about me."
Hearing his dull, passive response, Kazumi let out a quiet sigh. It seems Ryu has truly hit rock bottom, she thought to herself, watching the lifeless posture of her son. He seems to have lost all desire to become strong altogether, losing interest in everything. While it breaks my heart to see him give up his old spark, it is still far better than his reckless dream of becoming a ninja. This will ultimately be for the best for his future and safety.
A tender smile returned to her face as she reached out to gently pat his shoulder. "Well, okay, if you say so. We won't disturb you any further now. You just lie back and rest well. Once dinner is prepared, I will bring a warm plate up to your room."
Ryuma simply gave a faint, wordless nod in acknowledgment. Satisfied, both Raito and Kazumi turned and quietly stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind them and leaving Ryuma alone in the stillness of his room.
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