Do these questions have an answer?
A/N: This is a companion piece to Angel-Weasel Woman's "Check Please".
Warnings: Mentions of suicide and abuse.
Pairings: Ex-Sorato, Takari
The young blonde girl shoved past her aunt, uncle, brother, and cousins, anxious to be anywhere for the first time in days, previously feeling like she had been nowhere at all. She felt as if her feet had finally landed on firm ground as she looked about the tiny apartment that was now her home.
When the door slammed behind her, Hanako yelped and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Lucian," Takeru hissed at the older of his sons.
Tsukuyomi, the red-headed younger brother of Hanako, rushed over to his sister and quietly placed a hand on her shoulder, "Sis, i-it's okay."
"How many times must I tell you not to slam the door?" Takeru continued, his voice raised.
Tsukuyomi's grip tightened as Kazuki, the younger nephew, stepped past him, carrying their meager belongings to the bedroom.
Hanako walked around the living room, taking in the clean air. She was used to her mother's perfume or her father's cigarette smoke. Her eyes darted around and landed on a small hutch full of angels.
"...what are they, Hana?" Tsukuyomi asked.
Takeru's nostrils flared, "Lord, they are heathens!" Tsukuyomi flinched again as his uncle neared him, "Angels are Gods messengers and protect His children."
"...what about Daddy?" Hanako whispered. For some reason, she couldn't look her uncle in the eyes, not that he seemed to match eye contact with her either.
Takeru did smirk, however, "Well, Hanako, that is because your father is a terrible sinner."
"Don't tell her that!" Hikari snapped.
"The child deserves to know His truth," Takeru retorted.
"A sinner...? A bad guy...?" Hanako mumbled to herself. She had heard a lot over the past week and that was yet another thing that kept coming up. She tiptoed across the living room as she mused. That musing was slowly aggravating her, making her temper rise not unlike her father. She didn't understand why her name had been shouted predominantly over the last few days. She didn't understand why her father had tried to end his life. Was she not important? Even with her mother, she felt she didn't understand. Sora only doted on her and kept Hanako confined as much as possible.
Hanako could still hear her mother screaming desperately in front of their bedroom door. "Yamato, open the damn door!"
After another minute of knocking, Sora eventually sunk to the floor in defeat. However, an eerie silence passed over the house in this time, only amplifying the sound Hanako still heard in her nightmares. A noise, louder than anything she had ever heard. Sora flinched and her eyes widened as she began to cry.
"Sis, what's going on?" Tsukuyomi questioned. Hanako had hid him from it all and he was trying to squeeze past her. As his sister failed to answer him, he insisted further, "Sis. I don't hear Dad anymore. Sis."
The next thing Hanako remembered, although it was still fuzzy, were the paramedics and the police. The sound of the door breaking and her mother's panic were mixed with the comments of the others. "He's lost a lot of blood."
"Gunshot wound to the head."
Sora stood with her two children as she explained the ordeal to the cops, in her own state of shock that anger and bitterness would soon replace. Luckily, her children couldn't see the part of the skull that was now scattered across the end of the bed, or the pale body of their father as he was wheeled out quickly.
Sora held back her children but Hanako wriggled free, crying out for Yamato. Sora snatched her child's arm again, "You can't go to him!"
Hanako opened her eyes and realized she had been crying and was now making Tsukuyomi tear up. Hikari was sighing as the study door slammed in her face. She turned to the children and decided to get them settled in their room for the night.
Amazingly, the children were obedient as hers, except there was something underlying it. Fear. They scurried off like rats.
Hikari bit her lip as she returned to the living room, replaying the entire tale in her mind the only way she could rationalize it. She knew the signs after having gone to many school-sponsored seminars. She had no reason to believe he was what Sora accused him of, but she definetly had a sudden empathy for his pain.
His over-parental nature around Takeru. His unwillingness to trust anyone. His self loathing and promiscuity. The drinking, the trouble keeping a relationship. Why Yamato outright refused to visit Natsuko. She had even heard from Daisuke and Mimi about night terrors.
Unfortunetly, Hikari couldn't shake that fear she felt when she first met him. He certainly wasn't good at comforting anyone and told things as they were: something Hikari didn't understand at the time. She had supposed he was pessimistic at the time, compared to Taichi or Takeru, but no, he had just grown up already. Too fast.
Hikari took a seat on the couch, staring at the photograph of them on their initial final day at the Digital World. She reflected on the first time she had met Yamato.
"If I'm not back in two hours, you guys jet, okay?" Taichi grinned, heading out of the building with Agumon.
Hikari turned back to the strange blonde haired, blue eyed boy she had been left with. She had to admit, his Digimon didn't appear any more of a comfort. However, when the Digimon spoke she felt a little safer, but when Hikari looked back to Yamato, who was leaning against a pillar, she wasn't sure what to do.
Hikari sniffled as she looked again at Yamato. He began to pace and run a hand through his hair. He was definetly distracted and when his eyes finally landed on her... Hikari remembered feeling she had met him before.
"Everyone will be safe right?" Hikari questioned.
"...I'm not sure, Hikari. Taichi's just one kid..." Yamato breathed.
Hikari felt her heart sink and she began to cry.
"You're worried about your family aren't you?" Gabumon scolded, looking at his Tamer.
Yamato took a deep breath and knealt next to Hikari, reaching a hand out uneasily to touch her cheek. The cloth of his gloves felt soft and soaked up her tears, but she could feel him trembling. Why was he scared? He raised the hand higher, brushing back her bangs and smiled. His hand lingered on her for some time and with a frustrated sigh he pulled away.
Even Gabumon seemed confused and when he questioned if Yamato was alright, he just snapped back, "I'm fine. Taichi needs to hurry his ass up."
Hanako had found comfort in sleep, but it was short lived. She pulled the covers over herself as she slept. In her dreams, everything was dark. She could hear muffled voices. Her parents. She could then hear her father crying and drew closer to that bedroom door, fighting against the hands of her mother, holding her back. Hanako struggled. So badly did she want to help Yamato and then that sickening sound filled her ears over and over again. Gunshots.
Hanako shot up in the bed with a muted scream, as if her throat had closed. She caught her breath and glanced around. The boys all slept soundly, save an occasional whimper from Tsukuyomi. "Mom... Dad..." Hanako whispered in the unfamiliar darkness. "What did I do wrong...? Why won't anyone tell me...?"