LOST AND FOUND
by: VivianKai
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PROLOGUE:
Two Worlds
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The love of a family
is the world's greatest blessing.
…
The shrill of bell announced the starting session of pre-school. Naoki Shinju stood at the gate of the building, a sweet smile spread over her lips as she greeted each of the children who ran passes her with an energetic exclaim of good morning.
When the woman thought the last student had arrived, she started to pull the gate close when a loud shriek of protest stopped her.
"Hold the gate!" A feminine figure got down from her car, moving in a quick pace to the seat beside hers. A raven-haired boy jumped down from the car, grabbing the woman's hand before the pair rushed to the gate.
When the duo finally reached by the gate, the child pulled his mother into a tight embrace. The woman did not hug her child back, but instead she tousled his hair gently with a smile. After a few exchanged words from the pair of mother and son, the boy ran into the classroom where his fellow classmates were waiting.
Naoki turned to the mother and tried to meet eye contact with her. Despite the warm smile pasted on the older woman's face, she looked exhausted and dead – and Naoki could only wonder how broken the mother was with all the unfortunate incidents happening on her.
"My condolences on what had happened to your daughter, Tsunemori-san."
Akane Tsunemori said nothing, but her smile quivered upon hearing those words. Watching the brunette woman furrowing her brows, Naoki continued. "I have a set of homework Akemi should complete by the end of this week." She waited for a reaction – yet nothing, except for troubled expression on the mother's face. "This is just to make sure she doesn't fall behind the class when she is back."
Her last words caused Akane's eyes to widen in surprise. Then, a small smile curved up on the corners of the brunet's lips.
"…Thank you, Naoki-sensei."
The teacher gave a nod as she watched Akane enter the car and left.
Once the car sped off, Naoki pulled the gate close and returned to her class.
The entire day at pre-school was going without a hitch – until drawing time came. Naoki gave each of her students a paper and a basket of crayons to let the children's imagination run wild. They were allows to draw whatever they wanted as Naoki peered down to look at each of their drawing.
The teacher was about to make a comment on a child's drawing when an exclamation was made at the table beside her.
"You're lying! You can't have only one mum!"
"I don't have a dad. I only have a mum." The other replied in a bitter tone, the crayon in his hand never lose its grip as he continues to color his drawing.
Naoki walked over to the two boys and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
"Kusama-kun, it is very rude to invade other's privacy. Now, leave Kei-kun's drawing alone and show sensei your drawing."
"Where is your other mummy? Shouldn't you have two mummies if you don't have a daddy?" Another girl sitting across the table questioned out in curiosity.
"… I only have one mum." Kei Tsunemori repeated his words sharply through clenched teeth.
"Children, that's enough." Naoki sternly looked at the girl and boy who had been shooting Kei with insensitive questions to make sure they understand she was serious with her warning.
"But Naoki-sensei, isn't it weird Kei-kun only have a mum?" Kusama exclaimed out.
Naoki sighed out, not really knowing how to handle the situation before her. The teacher caught something coming before her sight in a quick pace, but the woman did not have the time to react. Before she knew it, a fist connected to Kusama's left cheek and he was send back and away from his seat. The boy crashed against the bookshelf, the back of his head hitting the cement floor hard.
For a five year old, Kei punched hard.
Akane was sitting on the edge of her couch, folding up a set of tiny t-shirts and shorts when her wristcom started to ring. In the beginning, the woman pretended not to hear the ringing as she wanted to place all her focus on folding the clothes neat. However, by the fifth ring, the brunet abandoned the rest of her laundry and lifted her arm up, where her wristcom was attach on her wrist.
"This is Akane speaking."
"Are you a guardian of Kei?"
By the sound of the caller's voice, it does not seem to be good news.
"Yes, that would be me. I am Kei's mother."
"Kei-kun got into a fight this morning and -"
'There was more than a fight?' The woman gave out an inaudible sigh, feeling a headache approaching. "… and?"
"He destroyed a few books."
The inspector slapped a hand over her forehead upon hearing the news. She had warned the boy, telling him the umpteenth times this morning that he could not tear pages out from the books just because he likes them.
"I am very sorry of the troubles my son had caused, Naoki-sensei. I'll be at the school in half an hour."
After exchanging goodbyes with her son's homeroom teacher, Akane immediately hung up. A tight frown tugged on her face as the woman stood up from her seat. Akane understands her son's passion in paper books and the boy always had the bad habit of tearing down any interesting pages of the book.
She had predicted something like this would happen, which is why she had given him a set of strict rules. Apparently, the boy was too excited and had forgotten the promise he had made with her. Grabbing her bag on the couch, the brunet threw the door closed on the way out.
The carpet floor first caught her eyes because it was bright blue. There were small chairs and tables scattered around the room. Sitting on the far end of the room on one of those colorful chairs was a timid silhouette.
The child who had been staring out at the window felt a presence and turned his eyes towards the door. The thin line of the boy's mouth immediately stretched into a wide grin when he saw the familiar brunet woman.
"Mum!"
Akane had planned to look mad, but her displeasure dissipated into thin air upon seeing the cheerful smile of her boy.
Kei's face was covers in bandages and bruises. The boy must have been trying to hold back his tears and look strong before her, because the woman could see the red puffiness at the edges of the boy's navy hues.
Akane approached Kei and knelt down so she could look straight at her son. "You got in a fight with your friends?"
The cheerful grin faded instantly as the boy averted his gaze from his mother. "They're not friends."
"… and you destroy a few books in the process of the fight?" Akane ignored the unhappy comment as she continued.
"Kei, I'm not happy."
The boy's shoulders instantly stiffened upon hearing the strict tone of his gentle mother.
"You promised me you will take good care of the books, not tearing them out."
"B-But Mum…"
"I don't care if it was unintentional, you should not rip them out." Akane sighed as she laid her hands on her knees. "I was just planning to take you out for dinner, but you had broken our promise."
Suddenly the boy made a face that could broke an adult's heart at the sight.
"S-Salisbury steak…?"
The child managed to whimper out in a shaky tone as Akane nodded slowly.
"I-I'm sorry, mum…"
"No is a no."
"Salisbury steak!" Kei exclaimed. "I want it!"
"Next time, not today." Akane turned her gaze away from the teary boy before her. She feared she might felt guilty upon seeing the tears cascading down her son's cheeks. "Come on, let's go home. We need to tend your wound and you are going to tell me everything about your fight."
The woman extended her hand and wait. The child wiped the tears off his wet face before he reluctantly took the awaiting hand. Akane collected his backpack and swung it on one shoulder before making her way out from the room with the whimpering child behind her.
The ride back home was a quiet one. Once they arrived home, Akane had ordered the boy to take a quick shower while she searched for the first-aid-kit. No words were spoken between the mother and son as Akane tended Kei's wounds.
"… They asked me questions because I only have a mum."
Akane stopped rubbing the alcohol-coated cotton on Kei's bruised cheek as she tilted up to look at her boy. Her eyes doubled in size upon hearing those words as she gently bite on her lips. "… How did they know?"
"There was no Dad in the family portrait I drew." Kei frowned as he looked aside.
A sigh escaped through Akane's parted lips as she dipped the ball of cotton into the bottle of ointment "You were supposed to keep that as a secret, Kei. It was no wonder you got teased."
"Why, mum?"
"Hmm?"
"Why… why don't I have a dad, mum?" The boy gritted his teeth as he peered down. "I don't get it. Up until now, I thought it was normal that I only had a mum. But everyone had a Dad… or at least two Mums… and they told me about all those fun things their parents did with them. "
Akane turned her gaze up at her boy. Her hazel brown hues suddenly lose their brightness as she slowly whispered; "Is mum ...not enough for Kei?" The raven-haired boy tilted his head up at his mother. Sometimes his mum fell into these phases and his uncle Gino had told him it was her quiet time and he should not disturb her. Kei was still three back then, so he didn't exactly knew what it mean – which is why his uncle Gino had concluded his words all in one simple sentence.
Your mother is sad.
Kei is sad too when he saw his mother deep in thought and gazing out at the night sky with a cigarette in her hand. She never smoked in front of him and she never smells of nicotine. But he had noticed her slipping a box of cigarettes into their grocery bags from time to time.
Kei looked straight at his mother who was still deep in her thoughts as he gently tugged on her sleeve.
"Mum, I am hungry."
"H-huh?" Akane snapped out from her thoughts as she looked at her child. A small smile stretched on her face as she nodded her head.
"Me too. Let us have dinner. I had ordered ramen for us."
Kei nodded with a beaming smile upon seeing his mother recover her mood. "Yeah, ramen tasted the best when they are hot!"
NEXT CHAPTER:
"Unexpected Meeting"
...
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee, mum?"
...
"Where are you going?"
"I need a smoke."
Ending Note: Akane's daughter; Akemi will be revealed in the next chapter. Just so you know, this is a re-write and upgraded version of 'My Pride, It's YOU!'. Yes, I am the author and I am KawaiiNekoNami. This is going to be my new account because I have lost the password to my old account. Also, this fic will be updated weekly so stay tuned!