Dull brown eyes gazed down blankly at the plate before them, hands moving in a repetitive rotational motion absently. The plate was held under a run faucet for a brief few seconds, just enough to rid it of any soap suds, before being placed on a rack mechanically. More dishes were treated with similar fashion - pick up, wash, rinse, rack, repeat - until all were clean. Yet the water still ran for a long moment as delicate, but faintly callused hands reached futilely into a sink empty of all but soapy water. Dull brown flickered minutely before blanking once more and the water was turned off in the same robotic motion as the dishes were washed.
Honda Kyouko, age nineteen, mother of Honda Tohru, and wife to the now deceased Honda Katsuya stared into the sky with empty eyes. The sky was dark, its former bright blue eclipsed entirely by the mournful gray of clouds. A deep rumble of thunder echoed resonantly above, a precursor to the storm to come. It was only proper, what was the point of there being a sun when there was no purpose to illuminate?
"Hm? Since when were you so poetic, Miss No-Eyebrows?"
Near nonexistent brows twitched at the phantom voice - for that was all it'd ever be now - whispering almost tauntingly. Dull brown darkened further and Kyouko turned away from the sink, briskly striding out of the kitchen down the dim halls - unlit, too many memories to be seen in the light - taking abrupt, almost reckless turns until she reached the living room. She froze as her gaze landed on three frames perched innocently on a table within perfect view from every angle of the room.
He had chosen that vantage point.
"Whoa! How'd you do that? I can see it even from behind a corner!"
A familiar smile that wasn't quite a smirk graced wine red lips as dark brows rose with mock awe. "You can see through walls? I didn't know you were gifted with x-ray vision."
Kyouko sputtered for second. "Wha...you know that's not what I meant!"
Grey-blue orbs narrowed pleasantly as the smile extended. "I have no idea what you meant, but if you can suddenly see through walls, I sincerely hope you aren't stripping the clothes off me with your eyes."
"What are you talking about?"
"If you want to see beneath them so badly..." A hand swept through short inky tresses before pulling down to loosen a tie, revealing a pale collarbone. The grey-blue orbs fluttered shut as her husband shifted almost like a nervous school girl, exposing the expanse of his neck. "...all you had to was ask."
"What the hell are you talking about? I only wanted to know how you positioned the photo like that! What is wrong with you?" Kyouko shouted angrily, but the red spreading across her cheeks and heat twisting in her stomach spoke otherwise of her anger. Damn it! Why did he always have to mess with her like this?
Low, baritone laughter filled the room and Kyouko could only blush further as arms encircled her waist from behind. "I want the whole world to see how gorgeous my wife and child are. But I am the only one who gets to touch. I can't deprive them of the only sense they can use; it'd be a tragic disservice to the world."
Kyouko's heart beat a little faster. "O-oh? B-but that's not what I asked."
The warm breath of a sigh caressed the skin visible just beneath her ear and tingle went down her spine. "It's just something I learned during my sabbatical before becoming a student-teacher. You want to know what else I learned during that period?"
She jumped a little as a hand landed on her lower abdomen and pressed her into a firm chest. "Y-yeah?"
"I learned how to use the internet to search up picture placements."
Brown orbs blinked dumbly before red practically burned into Kyouko's cheeks and she tried to shove her husband away with little success. "Why didn't you just say that from the very beginning?"
His laughter filled the room again and she could only pout as he held her captive in his arms. Why did she marry this man again? Getting laughed at so often just so wasn't worth it.
Dull brown remained vacant for a spilt second before they narrowed severely and a snarl split lips. "No!" Lightning flashed blindingly just as Kyouko swept her hands across the table violently, sending the frames and a base of flowers shattering to the ground. Glass glittered the floor but it wasn't enough, she would still see, she could still remember. Everything was still the same!
Blindly, she tore across the room, tossing the table to the side - the table he liked to play and cheat at poker with her, tearing the pillows and cushions off the couch - the couch he laid with her on claiming he just wanted to feel her heartbeat, ripping the pictures from the walls - art he'd purchased on a whim becuase they reminded her of her days as the Red Butterfly. Everything reminded her of him!
But he wasn't here anymore. He was gone, and he would never come back. They wouldn't ever play poker again, or cuddle together, or mock the idocy of her naivete. Never again would she simply hear him whisper 'I love you, Miss No-Eyebrows' as he combed his fingers through her hair.
All energy seemed to flee from her body as she dropped the painting she'd just ripped from the wall to the floor limply. Bleached orange strands shaded brown eyes void of all emotion, of happiness and sadness, of hope and despair, just empty. For she had no purpose, so what point was there in feeling?
With no thought in the slightest, Kyouko began to walk across the room, vaguely aware but uncaring of the glass piercing the soles of her feet - there was no more pain, no more aching, and to the front door. She walked past her shoes and coat and opened the door to fierce rain pouring from the mournful skies, a reflection of what she felt beneath the sensation of nothingness.
She stepped out into the torrential rain and wandered aimlessly. Allowing her sightless yet all-seeing eyes to absorb the familiar neighborhood. Their home. The place they chose to start a new life. Away from her disappointed father and appearance-obsessed mother. Away from the gangs she ran too naively for escspe. Away from the countless worthless people who didn't care enough to look past a pathetic facade screaming at them to just pay attention and understand.
It was their sanctuary.
Was.
Kyouko continued to meander without destination or point, without care of her orange strands plastered to her skull, or her clothes so soaked water could only slide off her. Perhaps only minutes passed, but more likely than not, hours later she sat - collapsed - limply on a bench in front of an empty park. With her back only upright due to the support of the bench, her hands were limp at her sides and her head was cocked back slightly on the back of the bench. Her eyes gazed blankly at the unchanging scene before her, giving away no hints to the thoughts, if there were any, in her head.
There weren't any. No thoughts buzzed in her head, merely a numbness as blurry and vivid images of a past that could never be reproduced flashed incessantly behind her eyes. The first day she met him. The words he assaulted her younger self with. The looks she received when she walked past in gang getup. The sneers and disdainful sniffs from her parents when she defied their wishes. The first time she realized someone finally, finally understood. The times she avoided her escape to be with the man terribly unsuited to his role as student-teacher. The beatings that came after. The doubt from all but him when she actually began to work towards making something of herself. The day her parents finally said the words she could see in their eyes every time they looked at her.
The moment when he said he would take her when no one else would.
The day when they exchanged vows and rings, when they signed the marriage papers. The first time she allowed herself to be taken entirely, heart, mind, and body. The slightly disappointing meeting with her new father-in-law. The shock and fear and support when they learned there would be another mouth to feed. The strange moments when she didn't know what to do and he comforted her, helped her. The teasing mockery and polite facade that fell only around her. The happy and content smile that graced perfect lips when he laid eyes on the miracle that was half her and half him. The rare instances he could only laugh helplessly when their darling little girl mimicked his behaviour. The priceless times when Tohru spoke her love and he returned them, promising to always be there...always...be there...for her. For Tohru...
Dull brown suddenly shot wide and lightening struck brightly in the torrent. "Tohru!" Her body lurched from the bench as she began to run.
How could she have forgotten Tohru, her baby! How could she have thought she'd lost all her purpose? Katsuya might've been gone - out of reach, now more than ever - but that did not mean that her reason was completely gone. She and Katsuya had created the most beautiful baby in the world, and she would not leave her behind just out of depression. Tohru deserved better than that. How long had she been like this? A depressed corpse of a person, doing nothing but maintaining what was left behind. How long ago was it that she'd last seen Tohru? A few hours, days ago? Did she take her to preschool? Her grandfather? Did she leave her at home alone? Her three year old child!
Panic began to well in her and she pushed herself to run faster, even as she felt pain blossom in the soles of her feet, as the weight of the rain finally became known to her. In spite of that, she didn't stop - she couldn't stop. The only thing that mattered was her beloved daughter, the creation of her and Katsuya's love, the last important remnant of his presence. And she'd don't the unthinkable, the unforgivable, and left her all by herself!
How selfish could she be?
Upon seeing the house - their home - she pushed herself even harder, almost crashing into the door. She threw the door open, careless of her sopping state and turned wide eyes on the catastrophic sight of the living room. Did I...? She shook her head violently at the thought and continued to move. "Tohru! Tohru, baby, are you here? Please, call mommy if you can hear me!"
There was only silence.
Kyouko felt a heavy weight settle in her stomach and sink, a pain already festering in her heart began to spread. If she wasn't in the house, then where was she? The preschool -
There was an almost imperceptible sound of shuffling, followed by a voice further into the house.
Tohru! She ran toward it without hesitation, sliding down the wooden floors until she reached he source of the sound. And then she heard it, the sweet music that was her daughter's voice talking animatedly. Talking? To who? Her grandfather? She didn't pause to think about it any further and opened the sliding door to the dining room quickly.
"Tohru!" She stepped into the room and relief washed through her like a tsunami at the sight of her daughter sitting at the dining table, fingers wrapped around crayons and doodling on paper. At her voice, she looked up and her eyes - those familiar bright grey-blue orbs - lit up cheer.
"Hey, mommy! Look! I drew, I drew!" Tohru demanded, waving around the crayons to get her attention.
Kyouko's eyes burned a little and she nearly threw herself at her daughter, wrapping the little girl in her arms and pressing her to her chest. "Oh, Tohru! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! What have I done?"
"Mommy?" Tohru said, confused, but returned the hug enthusiastically - it'd been so long since mommy had last hugged her!
"Oh, baby, I'm so glad you're safe," Kyouko murmured, hugging her closer. "Mommy will always be there, I'm so sorry." She pressed a kiss to her child's head, and immediately froze when she felt how damp the strands of her dark hair were. She pulled back slightly and realized not only was her hair wet, but so we're her clothes, though not completely soaked. There was even a towel around her shoulders. "Tohru, why are you wet?"
Grey-blue orbs blinked innocently. "I was in the rain!" She stated as if it were obvious.
Dread began to make its way through her again, invading her relief slowly but surely. "Why were you in the rain, sweetie?" She asked softly, hoping with all her heart it wasn't what she thought.
Before Tohru could speak, another person made their presence known. "Tohru-chan was waiting at the preschool for over two hours before any of the caretakers realized her parent had failed to pick her up," a voice suddenly said. "I was chosen to bring her home."
Kyouko's head snapped up to see a young woman in her early twenties looking at her with no expression as she dried her herself. Her eyes burned again at the information and she looked down, biting her lip hard as she pulled Tohru closer again. So she really had forgotten her, and in the rain too! For two hours! What kind of mother was she? What if Tohru had gotten sick? What if she'd caught what he'd had?
Her breath stopped. What if she'd died of it like he had?
"I..." The voice was hesitant, but attracted her attention effectively. "I know you've just recently suffered the loss of a loves one," the young woman began softly. "You have my condolences, Honda-san. The pain of such a loss escapes me entirely, but I can understand how it would lead to the behaviors it did."
Behaviors? Kyouko would have laughed had the situation been the farthest thing from funny. She had forgotten her child, for who knows how long? She'd destroyed the living room out of a fit of denial. She'd neglected only kami knows what for only kami knows how long in favor of being depressed and incapable of moving forward.
"But I'm afraid while I empathize, I cannot condone such acts to continue."
What? She stared at the young caretaker blankly. What did she mean by that?
The young woman swallowed, clearly nervous, but looked directly into her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I am obligated to report this to Child Welfare Services."
All at once, Kyouko felt her world shatter once again. She was speechless, breathless, unable to formulate a thought at the words. She remained frozen even as the young women repeated her apologies and said her goodbyes to Tohru. Even as the young women let herself out after softly saying she could expect to hear from someone soon.
Then understanding came to her all at once, all too fast.
Child Welfare Services? Does that mean I'm going to...lose...lose Tohru too? I'm going to be left again?
Her breaths quickened, coming in and out erratically, and her thoughts took off on a wild tangent, sending panic spiralling through. Only the soft voice of her child saying 'Mommy?' snapped her out of it. She forcibly calmed her self, taking deeper breaths and shoving the depressing, oppressive thoughts.
Steeling herself, Kyouko faced her little girl, freezing for a few seconds at those eyes before breaking free of their memory. "Tohru," she said, almost whispered, softly, lovingly. "Let's get you washed up, you must be freezing. I'm sorry for leaving you, but I'm gonna make you a warm bath right now. And then I'll make you that tea you like so much before going to bed."
Those eyes glimmered with bright anticipation and it hurt just a little less to gaze into them. "Okay, mommy! I'm finished too!" Tohru announced with a smile.
Kyouko smiled at her tenderly. "I'll look at it in a second. Why don't you go pull out your pajamas to sleep in?"
"Hai, I will!" Tohru said before she slipped off the chair, toddling a little when she touched the ground, but righted herself quickly and skipped away.
Kyouko watched her fondly before standing, her smile falling at the same time. I'm going to lose her. Her hand gripped the back of the chair her daughter had just sat in tightly. I'm going to be alone. She swallowed thickly and turned her eyes downward to the table. Her breath caught at what Tohru had been drawing. It bore little resemblance, since it was made at the hand of a three-year-old, but the drawing was clearly that of her father, Katsuya.
She missed him too.
I was never alone. Kyouko realized she'd been fixed within her own loss of Katsuya, her own depravation of the only person who knew her. So deep in her own self-pity, she forgot she wasn't the only one who lost him that day. She forgot the person who depended and loved him just as much as she did.
And now I'm going to pay for it.
She left the picture where it was, but put the crayons back in their box. Once that was done, she went to the bathroom and ran a warm bath, scented with strawberries amd kiwi. After Tohru's came and settled, she let her sit, knowingly leaving the water low enough Tohru wouldn't drown herself accidentally, and quickly started a kettle of tea. Making tea without the bag was his forte - ironically enough, considering his cordiality was just an act - and he always made it perfectly, unlike her lumpy work. She'd grown skilled at making Tohru's favorite though, after persevering through hours of lessons filled with teasing and mockery from Katsuya.
She returned to the bathroom to find Tohru dozing and quickly helped the girl clean, wash off, then dress. She herded the little girl to her bed and gave her cup of her favorite tea before telling her sleep. She kissed her baby's forehead as her eyes fluttered closed and shut off the light on her way out the door.
Minutes later, she was standing in the kitchen, nursing her own cup of tea, her clothes still logged with water, but that hardly mattered. She was about to lose her little girl, what was she going to do? She had no idea. He might have known, but she wasn't that smart, that knowledgeable about these things. She gritted her teeth in frustration, hands tightening around the glass of her cup. Was she really so helpless without him? Did she really have no one else to turn to?
Maybe Dad would know? Her mouth set into a grim line as she reached for the phone and pressed in one of the few numbers she'd memorized. "Dad? Yeah, hey, it's nice hearing from you too. I'm sorry for how I've been lately but something's happened." She said lowly, the grim truth of the situation apparent in her voice. "I might lose Tohru."
The ensuing conversation was not one Kyouko wished to relive - she'd drawn out a fragment of the stern man she had heard so much about from Katsuya; the situation was quickly evolving beyond anything she'd experienced before. In a nutshell, her father-in-law had told - ordered - her to get her head screwed straight, clean up whatever mess she made, and make decisions focused on the well-being of her daughter and herself, together. Though he didn't neglect to inform her with what he'd seen for the past five months - five months, she'd been like that for five months! - there was no guarantee she'd win the case presented. He would still help in any way possible however, which wasn't much since his health had begun to decline, but he would.
Kyouko ended the call with another apology and promptly collapsed onto the table with a sigh. Everything was crumbling, and it was all her fault, because she was weak. Well, she couldn't be anymore. Her hands tightened into fists. She had be strong, for Tohru, for herself, for them. She wasn't going to lose her little girl.
Slightly more than a week later, the house was clean, the refrigerator and cabinets were stocked, and warm giggles were once again prominent in the household when the long awaited knock sounded against the front door. Kyouko, who had been tickling Tohru after the three-year-old had thrown a fit over not being carried, froze, all enjoyment of the what was becoming a common but perfect moment fading away. No one would be visiting without prior warning, so there was no doubt who was at the door.
"Mommy?" Tohru tilted her head curiously as the fun suddenly stopped.
Her mother smiled down at her and pulled her upright. "Tohru, be a good girl and sit on the couch for mommy, okay? We have company."
"Okay, mommy," Tohru said, and scrambled to to climb onto the couch semi-clumsily, but plopped down quickly into a proper seat.
Kyouko smiled indulgently at how upright her daughter already was, all she'd need to do was cross one leg over her knee and she'd be like a mini-Katsuya. She felt a stab in her heart at the thought but ignored it as she approached the door.
"Who is it?" She asked cautiously. There was still a chance, as small as it was, that it wasn't those who'd come to take her baby.
"Shindou Mastuda and Takahashi Keiko, agents from the Child Welfare Administration, Tokyo branch," a male announced
A cold hand gripped and strangled the heart in her chest, but Kyouko opened the door and gave what could be a smile but was truly a grimace. "I've been expecting you," she said stiffly. She pushed the door open wider. "Please, come inside, would you like some tea or water?"
"No, thank you." The man said neutrally as he entered, taking off his shoes. His eyes moved along Kyouko in appraisal before doing the same to the room.
"Some water would be nice, thanks," the woman stated as she did the same, considerably more casual than the man.
Kyouko nodded to the woman, still stiff, and began to lead them to the living room where Tohru sat on the couch, legs kicking excitedly. Her eyes immediately lit up as her mother entered but she stayed seated.
Kyouko smiled again and gestured toward the free couch adjacent to the one Tohru was on. "Please take a seat, I will be back in a moment with your water. Do you mind a bottle?"
"Ah, no, that's fine," the woman, Takahashi, chirped as she took a seat on the couch, as close to Tohru as possible, Kyouko noticed. The man, Shindou, sat on the opposite end, eyes still wandering before fixing on her daughter.
Kyouko's lips flattened into a line and she hurried to the kitchen to grab a chilled bottle out the fridge. She returned to the living room finding no one had spoke, even Tohru, surprisingly, and gave the woman her water before a seat beside Tohru.
There were a few beats of silence before the man got straight to business. "Honda Kyouko, correct?" Shindou asked, more stated, but she nodded. "You are aware of what charges you are accused of?"
She swallowed, feeling her hands shake a little, and nodded. "Neglect," she said tightly, hands fisting. She glanced at her daughter who was looking between the adults with confusion, but remained silent as if she could feel the tense atmosphere. "Do you need her to stay in the room, or...?"
"She can stay," Takahashi informed her. "We'll be needing to tell her some things anyway."
Kyouko looked at her a bit sharply. What could they need to speak with her about?
"Takahashi," the man barked in reprimand, causing the woman to straighten and scratch her head in what seemed to be a habitual or routine fashion. He gave her a look before turning to Kyouko. "Honda-san, we were contacted by workers at your daughter's preschool that there have been multiple instances that neglect or abuse are suspected."
"Abuse?" Kyouko blurted, bewildered and a bit offended. "I have never laid a hand on her in that way!"
Shindou looked at her with no expression with dark brown, almost black, eyes that were more than a little unnerving. "There more forms than just physical abuse, Honda-san," he told her, and Kyouko almost flinched. She knew exactly what he meant from her own childhood. "There were multiple reports of your daughter, Honda Tohru, coming to preschool in the same clothes or clothes ill-fit, without a lunch or already hungry. Some days she wouldn't say or word or she would cry when someone mentioned certain subjects. There were also days when she was picked up late, from half an hour to an entire one, and not always by the same person."
Alarm and horror raced through Kyouko. She knew she'd failed to do and provide many things during the last few months, but she hadn't known she failed to clothe and feed and just show love for her daughter! She could only thank her father and whoever else helped with all her heart for being there when she was not.
Shindou seemed to notice her surprise but made no comment and plowed on. "After some investigation, we have learned that you have recently been widowed and have since suffered periods of depression that caused these occurrences. You unstable mental state has oscillated between troughs and peaks for the past several months and it appears you have finally overcome it." He looked at her. "If only for a time."
Indignation swelled through her and she spoke before she could quell it. "I will not return to that state ever again! I was hurt by Katsuya's death and forgot some things, but I remember what's important now. I will be there for Tohru no matter what!"
Shindou didn't reply immediately. "While that may be true," he began slowly, "there are chances of relapse. There may be a repeat of what Hozuki Mayumi reported just a few days ago and we can't allow a child to remain in such a dangerous environment."
Kyouko's brows furrowed at the unfamiliar name but she caught on quickly to the 'juat a few days ago'. Hozuki must have been the woman who walked into the house when the living room was ransacked by her. Her hands clenched tighter, turning her knuckles white. "I can get therapy," she said, barely holding the desperate hope out of her voice. "If I get help, can I keep her?"
Shindou exchanged a short look with his colleague, who'd just been watching passively the entire time though smiling whenever Tohru looked at her curiously. "I'm sorry," Shindou said, bowing his head ever-so-slightly, "but the decision has already been made by our higher ups. You have been declared unfit to be a parent in your current state. We were only sent to collect more specific information and inform you of when Honda Tohru's new guardian would arrive."
Kyouko felt her insides go hollow. So she'd never had a chance from the very beginning? "But...but it doesn't work like that, right? I have a chance to prove I can recover, don't I? Isn't there some test or prolonged investigation? This couldn't have been decided that fast!" Her voice was becoming vaguely hysteric by the end and Tohru was beginning to look frightened so she bit her lip to calm down. "Where will she go? To an orphanage?"
Shindou's eyes narrowed a bit. "A relative has been discovered and has shown interest in adopting her," he apprised, purposefully vague.
Alarm pulsed through her again. 'Discovered'? What did that mean? Not her parents, since they had clearly communicated they wanted absolutely nothing to do with her after throwing her out. She had no siblings, and nor did either of her parents, so anyone from her side of the family was out. They had to be from Katsuya's side, but if they were 'discovered', that didn't mean father, did it? It wasn't his little sister, she hated Kyouko for 'tarnishing her brother's reputation', so she was also out. There was no one else.
"Who?" She asked, no, demanded.
Shindou didn't answer and looked to the woman again. She sat forward and pulled out some sheets from the small briefcase Kyouko hadn't cared to notice before. "We cannot be too specific," Takahashi said after clearing her throat. "On behalf of safety purposes as well as their request." She looked to her colleague again, for the go-ahead, before speaking again. "Upon chance, a distant relative of Honda Katsuya received wind of the investigation. He is the nephew oh his aunt, the sister of his mother who passed several years ago."
Kyouko could only blink. Katsuya didn't speak much of his mother, other than that her passing caused his father to mellow from impenetrable steel to soft marshmallow. "How old is he? Is he capable of taking care of her? Will I be able to see her again?"
Takahashi seemed taken aback by the sudden questions and looked helplessly to the man but he offered no help. "I can't give a name but he is twenty-five and has already confirmed being completely capable and willing to care and provide for a child. And if he has trouble, he has a large family to support him." She answered reassuringly. "But I'm afraid that only when you are professionally classified as mentally fit and the family does not protest, you may see Honda Tohru-chan again."
Kyouko sat silently, fists clenched. It was a hard pill to swallow, but she doubted she could change the decision. She suspected there was something behind how fast it was made, but protesting - violently, she wanted to - would only hurt her chances of seeing her child again. She'd already failed Katsuya in one way, she wasn't going to make it worse just because she couldn't accept the truth again.
"When should I have her ready?" Her voice was monotone, but how could it be otherwise when her world was about to be torn away?
"In four days," Shindou spoke up. "We will come here to escort her to her new guardian then. She'll need to have all clothes, toys, anything else she wants to take packed by noon."
Kyouko nodded jerkily.
"May I speak with her for a moment?" Shindou requested, and received another nod. He stood and knelt in front of Tohru. "Hello, my name is Mastuda," he said, voice softer than before.
Tohru looked uncertainly at her mother but received no word to do otherwise so she responded. She slid from the couch and bowed timidly. "I'm Tohru, it's a pleasure to meet you," she greeted politely.
Kyouko winced as her heart was stabbed but hid the grimace before either agent could see and get the wrong idea. Her baby was already mimicking her father's polite manners, but she had yet to develop his sardonic humor. She didn't know how she'd feel if she did.
"You have wonderful manners," Shindou complimented, and she beamed at him. "Tohru-chan, do you know why we're here?" He received a timid shake of her head. "Well I'm sorry to say that you'll be leaving soon. Your mommy's a little sick so you have to stay with relatives for a while."
Kyouko would have thought the curious tilt of her head was adorable hadn't the situation been what it was. "Grandpa's?"
Shindou shook his head. "No, a cousin. He's going to come in a few days so you have to say goodbye while you still can."
Tohru only blinked in a mixture of curiosity and confusion. "Goodbye?"
"Yes, and you have to be a good girl when you go too. You're going to have a new family to spend time with, so you have to be on your best behaviour."
Mommy's sick. Say goodbye while you still can. New family. Kyouko felt her stomach churn at the words but said nothing.
"Will you be a good girl?" Shindou asked.
"Y-yes," Tohru said hesitantly, and jumped a little when the agent ruffled her hair a bit.
"We'll be seeing you in a few days then," Shindou said as he stood. "Be nice for mommy to, okay?"
"I will!" Tohru answered.
Shindou smiled down at her before turning to Kyouko, face blanking again. "You have four days to prepare, failure to be present will be met with fines and imprisonment on charges of child endangerment."
"I understand," Kyouko said, bereft of any emotion. "Would you like me to see you out?"
"No, thank you." The man responded and turned away. "Come, Takahashi, our business is finished."
"Yes, sir." The woman said, standing from the couch. She waved to Tohru once more and bowed to Kyouko. "My sincerest apologies for your loss and...this. I hope you have good day. Goodbye."
The two agents departed and Kyouko couldn't hold back the emotion anymore. Her eyes burned and tears rushed into them, poring out incessantly even as she covered her face. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Tohru! Forgive me, please forgive me!"
She repeated the same words for much longer, even as Tohru hugged her as tightly as she could and murmured 'It's okay' and began to cry too. Only when they were both exhausted, Tohru asleep, and Kyouko wishing she could sleep, she began preparations for giving up her last reason.
Sohma Hibiki never pictured himself as a father. He wasn't exactly what people would call a 'family man', and he was perfectly aware of that. He was the assistant and eventual successor to the CEO of a family owned company, so he was constantly swamped with work, leaving little time to spend romancing some woman pandering for his wealth and status. The fact he was decidedly disinterested and impervious to any such desires made the chance of him fathering any child negligible. Being from the main house discouraged this, but he had already proved himself to be incorrigible.
He supposed that was why he was chosen to adopt a child who was the grandchild to his estranged aunt of many years. The order was something of a punishment for his disobedience - rejecting siring an heir despite being the only son to a main house Elder - as well as a chance to redeem himself. Not that he really needed to redeem anything, he was the perfect son who was already a studious entrepreneur on his way to expanding the company he worked in. His mother, as an Elder, however forced him to accept the offer of redemption - as if he had a choice to reject, it was given by Akira-sama. He had little doubt that he was one of the only choices, after all, he was one of the few uninvolved individuals aware of the curse of their family, so he would be suitable to parent a child who was possibly one of the illustrious cursed ones.
Thus why he was currently awaiting his future daughter at the Child Welfare Services administration building. He wasn't made aware of how they'd first located the girl, but he knew that one of his relatives involved in law recognized the features of her - grey-blue wasn't exactly a common eye color in Japan, but a few Sohma's possessed it due to genetic alterations from the curse, himself included - and investigated further. When learned she was of Sohma blood, predictably, the issue of her being taken away from her family was progressed far quicker than was legal, possible only because of the affluence of the Sohmas.
That was the way the Sohma family operated, dismissive of how they affected outsiders.
Hibiki wasn't overly concerned for outsiders either, but this particular situation involved his new charge. She was a young child, not even old enough to attend primary school yet, so she would likely react negatively to the abrupt separation from her mother, especially after the sudden loss of her father to pneumonia. Of course, she could actually react opposite to distress and take the change in stride, aided by her previous loss, but it wasn't likely. But she was still of Sohma blood, and that made the chance bigger than for another child - Sohma children were always abnormal, just take the recent batch of cursed teenagers for example.
That was another factor affecting the matter. The possibility of the girl being of the zodiac was much larger than usual. A substantial amount of cursed children had been born within the same generation, including God himself. And then another generation only ten years after them, containing both the rat and the cat. There was a chance the full Banquet would be assembling, only two were currently unfound. This meant that no Sohma could be lost to the outside.
Hibiki personally didn't want to be involved with the Banquet, despite being reasonably close to one of the elder zodiac member, but could not refuse. He wasn't apart of those in the family envious of the zodiac's elevated status, nor apart of the sycophants who yearned to bask in the presence of those who could transform into animals and were close to God himself. He liked to consider himself a neutral, unbiased, and unconcerned with anything to do with the curse, but, as the child of an Elder and previous zodiac member, he was also an unwilling aide to whomever among the cursed needed it.
Was that also why Akira-sama chose him? The previous "God" was a kind one, so it wouldn't be a surprise if it was actually the deciding factor. There was little chance of Hibiki ever using a child of the zodiac to lift his already enviable position.
"Ah, Sohma-san, you've already arrived."
Hibiki waded out of his thoughts to look at the social worker addressing him. Finding no need to respond, he merely nodded to the man in greeting.
"You've already signed all the necessary documents, so you can just wait in the front for your ward to arrive." The man informed him. "She should arrive around noon with her things."
He nodded again and glanced at a clock. It was ten minutes till, so he took a seat in one of the semi-comfortable cushioned chairs in the waiting lounge room. The administration building was a nice one, speaking of generous investors, and one would think that was a sign of a good and capable organization, but he could see past the surface impression. The Child Welfare Services were good at their job when it came to spotting abused and mistreated children and then moving them to better homes, but the opulence of the building alluded to the great possibility of some cases being settled with not facts but transactions behind closed doors.
As distasteful as it was, Hibiki felt no inclination to do anything about it. Not exclusively, at the very least. He knew a cousin who was studying child psychology and law, maybe he'd suggest and support them start a new branch company on child health service. And if the company caused the administration to crumble like so many other organizations in competition with Sohma Co., then they just weren't cut out for the business world.
Hibiki was stringing together the connections that could further support this new business venture who happened to owe him when he heard the sounds of a child sniffling. He searched for the source of the sound and his naturally narrowed grey-blue eyes found a small child being lead in by Shindou Mastuda and his colleague in training, Takahashi Keiko. The two managing his case. So that meant the child tearing up behind them was, officially on paper, his daughter. And she had not taken the separation well, predictably. He closed his eyes for a moment, concluding that the child was going to react like an ordinary child, though he wasn't quite sure if that was a good or bad thing.
"Are you my new papa?"
Sohma Hibiki would like to be able to claim that, like the proper Sohma family scion he was, that he did not jump at the sudden closeness of a voice directly in front of him, but he was loathed to lie to himself like so many others in his family. Hibiki wouldn't admit it to anyone - certainly not a certain dog with a twisted sense of humor for one barely a teen - but he almost flew out of his seat when he opened his eyes less than five seconds after closing them, and the child was right there, staring directly into his face with expressive grey-blue orbs.
Hibiki stared at the child for a moment, taking the moment to calm himself and examine her, though the eyes had already given away her blood. She was small, typical of a three-year-old, and had dark brown hair instead of the inky tresses he had. There were traces of tears on her cheeks, but her eyes were nowhere near close to puffy, surprisingly. And taking into consideration what she'd just asked with complete coherence despite the situation, any doubt he'd had about her origins was erased. A Sohma child, indeed.
He uncrossed his legs and flicked a short gaze at the social workers before focusing on the child in front of him. "Hello, my name is Sohma Hibiki and I will be taking you in. It is nice to meet you," he greeted in the dulcet baritone that was his voice.
In a display that further proved her Sohma ancestry, the child wasn't affected by blasé expression and deliverance and instantly inclined into a proper bow. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sohma-san. I am Honda Tohru."
Hibiki stood and her eyes leapt right back up to him, shining with curiosity and innocence. Well, he supposed he was going to learn if he was suited to be a father even without having to involve himself with some gold-digger woman. "Well, why don't I show you to your new home, Tohru-kun?" He asked, and he held out one hand to her.
There was a glimmer of tears for a moment in the child's eyes, but they were quickly blinked away and she smiled a little. "Hai, Sohma-san."
Hibiki peered at her curiously as she put her small hand in his. Brave little thing, isn't she? What made her accept this so quickly, he wondered. "I'll take her things," he said to Shindou and was handed a suitcase he assumed held all the child needed, not that he wouldn't be purchasing even more. "On behalf of the Sohma family, I thank you for your service," he said and bowed to the agents. He was vaguely surprised to see Tohru do the same beside him. "We'll be taking our leave now, you know how to contact us."
He lead his new daughter outside into his Lexus - he refused to be chaperoned around by drivers - and buckled her up in the backseat. Before driving off, he leaned back in his seat and sighed as he took the situation in stride. He was charged with the duty of adopting a neglected little girl after her father had died just months ago and her mother had succumbed to depression. The entire move was forced but there was no reversing it, and as a Sohma, the best action to take was adaptation. The little girl already seemed to have that down, so he'd leave their future relationship to the future when they could sort it out.
Now, all there was to discover was if she was one of the cursed.