One and a half years later…
Tatsuha served tea for her father. She's still in her school (boy) uniform.
Since she was a little, she learned to use a boy's voice, so people can't tell her true gender. Knowing the rules of her family, she never asks or complains about it. At least to her father…
That day was the beginning of summer and the end of spring. The weather's so warm, so the old monk let the sliding door open wide, while the youngest daughter of the Uesugi family sat down near her father in the living room.
"So…"
Tatsuha looked at her father, when he spoke breaking the silence between them. "Eh…? What…?"
Genjou glanced at his daughter. "You said you want to continue your studies… in University… right?" The oldest Uesugi said after he sipped his tea.
"Oh! Yes! Here, dad! I already had my final exam marks from my teacher! He said my marks are so good! And most of my teachers said I can continue my study to Faculty of Medicine…!"
Tatsuha's father raised his eye brows and patted her shoulder proudly. "Really? That's so good! Where will you continue your studies?" He sipped his tea while Tatsuha gave him her marks on paper from her school.
"Toudai! In Tokyo!"
Genjou almost choked his tea when the tomboyish girl cheered and showed her dad the Toudai form paper.
"Eh? Why not here…?"
Tatsuha looked down at the form, she smiled a little. "I think, if I want to take a good one, why not the best one…? Besides, brother and sister are there…"
The old man fell silent at his daughter's words. The older Uesugi realized, his children have their own paths to reach their dreams. So, he doesn't want to push his children more and ask them to follow his ego, like he did with Eiri before.
He smile and patted Tatsuha's head. "Good luck… I hope, you can find your destiny there…"
Tatsuha smiled wider with a little blush on her face. She's so happy, knowing her father supported her choice.
Genjou sighed while he looked at the form paper on Tatsuha's hand. "But…, Actually, I'm a little bit worry… Where will you stay when you have the Toudai tests…?"
"Well, brother's house is the nearest place to the university than sister's… so I'll stay there…"
Genjou nodded. "I hope he'll let you to stay there…"
Three days after… Tatsuha went to her brother's place. Shuichi greeted her husband's 'little brother' on the front door.
"Tatsuha…! Long time no see…!"
Tatsuha gave her a smile and hug. Shuichi huged her back, and pulled gently. She observed Tatsuha from her feet to her head. "Is this just me…, or you didn't grow much…" Tatsuha gulped and gave her a nervous chuckled. "I…Ummm, maybe… My growth is not as good as the other boys…" The girl rubbed her head.
Now's Tatsuha's turn to realized, after a year… Shuichi changed so much. She looks so mature now. She was on her white dress with a V shape shows her neck. She looks skinnier than before. Tatsuha knows, Shuichi was really hard working this year. She must face all the gossips and issues with more patients.
And what most amazed Tatsuha is how Shuichi shut all the gossipers' mouths, and proved to everybody, that she's the most suitable person for Eiri with all of her hard work. No one can underestimate Shuichi and 'Bad Luck' now.
Shuichi was puzzled when Tatsuha stared at her. "Tatsuha-kun…?"
"Eh? A, ah! I'm sorry… Is… my brother home…?"
"Of course…! Come in!"
Tatsuha went to her brother's office. As usual, he's in front of his laptop, typing his novel. Tatsuha greeted him, but Eiri just gave her a sign from his eyes to let her sit near him. Tatsuha told him about her plan to continue her study in Tokyo Daigaku and asked him to let her stay there for some times. Well, Tatsuha had her brother's answer just right that time…
"No!"
"What? But… why?"
She stood after heard the answer. But Eiri just keep typing.
"Nii-chan! Why not? I'll just spend some nights in here…!"
Eiri keep typing with his eyes on the laptop. "You said, you would stay here as long as summer vacation, and that's about 3 months, you said 'some'? Why don't you just continue your study in Kyoto Daigaku?"
"It's too far from our home…" pouted Tatsuha.
"Well, duh…! Tokyo is farther than Kyoto Daigaku…!"
"But at least I can find a place nearer, when I go to college…!"
Eiri said nothing, he stopped typing and looked at his little sister, but Tatsuha kept trying to defend herself. "Look, I want the best for my future, so why not the best one? Besides my teachers say I can do it! I'll go to Tokyo Daigaku!"
"Hah…! This is the first time I heard you talking about your future…"
"Nii-chan!" Tatsuha gripped her hands.
"And I don't know if you can be this serious about your studies…"
Eiri's mocking tone made Tatsuha more pissed. But she was still silent when Eiri stood right infront of her.
"Look, Tat… Tokyo is a really dangerous place… you know nothing about this big crowded city… And more importantly, you have a secret to hide… Your identity as a girl…" her big brother said with a quiet tone at the last sentence.
"I hate that ancient rule! Why must the daughter of Uesugi family…!"
"Sssshhh!"
Eiri silenced his little sister. He closed his office door. "Are you nuts? Don't you think Shuichi and Riku will hear you?"
Tatsuha hung her head low. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I hate my life…" she pouted and leaned on Eiri's desk. The blonde haired novelist says nothing. He could see his sister so disappointed and tired. Eiri couldn't help himself, but hugged his sister and kissed her hair. Tatsuha was surprised a little at his sudden act. Tatsuha fell silent when she felt Eiri's big and warm hand stroked her head lovingly.
She closed her eyes and smelled her brother's scent from his shirt. The scent of cologne and little bit of detergent from his shirt. "It's so difficult to be a Miko in our family… Especially the youngest one…" She pouted while Eiri still hugged her.
He sighed and kissed her hair gently, "Well… it's a stupid religious tradition in the Uesugi family you must follow… I don't have any idea either about it… 'The daughter of a priestess family must be a Miko…, and if her family let her to marry, she must stay in the temple to keep her virginity, until someone from another priestess family took her as his bride…'"
Tatsuha rested her head on Eiri's chest while her hands hugged her brother.
"That's why dad hides your identity… He knows you will not be able to stay at temple in the rest of your life… until you marry someone…" said Eiri when he knew Tatsuha already calmed down.
"Nee-chan is so lucky… She engaged to Tohma-nii since she was 11 years old… So she could go anywhere as herself since she was a kid…" Tatsuha sighed.
Eiri raised his eyebrows and pulled away softly. "Uhm… as I remember… it wasn't too smooth for her…"
Tatsuha pulled her brother and looked at his eyes. "What? How…? I thought…"
"Well, I was 5 years old that time… but I still remember…" He rubbed his head.
"What? Tell me…!"
Eiri had his hands crossed on his chest, while he told Tatsuha about Mika and Tohma's past.
"Ah-hem… That time… Since the beginning, Mika said she didn't want to be a Miko. Dad granted her wishes with one condition. She must be engaged with a man he chose for her. She hated everybody in a time when she knew she was being engaged with someone she doesn't know… But Tohma came to her, when she cried near the pool in our backyard… Tohma said to her… 'What if we start this as friends…? Marriage is so far from now…' Mika stopped crying and nodded… You know? When they were in high school, their friends always teased them and that made Mika ashamed. Tohma always protected her… while Mika always tried to look cold to him… Tohma always smile for her and showed his attention to her… She was so tsundere that time…" Eiri couldn't hold his giggle, but he tried to continue the story. "So they married after those years…"
Tatsuha never knew about Mika's stories from before. She always looked so confident and cool.
Well, no doubt Eiri knows everything about Mika, they're so close. Tatsuha is 7 years younger than Eiri. Their mother was gone after giving Tatsuha birth.
When she was 5 years old, Tohma and Mika along with Eiri moved to America, leaving Tatsuha with their father in Kyoto. After the Kitazawa incident, Eiri and Mika lived in Tokyo. But Eiri quickly separated from Mika and Tohma's house when he started his job as a novelist. Tatsuha feels so lonely, and know nothing about her brother and sister.
"Well, at least she has someone who loves her and she loves…" the black haired teen said.
Eiri looked at his sister again.
"Me? How can I find someone if I keep myself as a boy like this…?" Tatsuha laughed cynically to herself.
Eiri fell silent. He stroked Tatsuha's cheek and kissed her forehead. He hugs the girl again. This time tighter than before. She feels a little bit weird with her brother's act. He looks more sensitive and more… emo?
"I'll always be on your side, Tat…" Eiri whispered on Tatsuha's ear, yet the girl didn't catch what Eiri just said. It looked like he whispered more to himself.
"Eh? Did you say something…?" Tatsuha pulled him away gently. Eiri just looked at Tatsuha's eyes deeply.
"Eerrr… Onii-chan, you scared me…"
"… Sorry…" Eiri turned his eyes to the window.
Both of them just stared at other spots and made no noises. The atmosphere makes Tatsuha uncomfortable, since Eiri's office room was so dark. The only light just came from between the curtains and from his laptop. She looked at her brother's face, yet she could only see her brother's shining sharp eyes and his blonde hair.
"Say… why don't you tell dad… that you don't want to be a Miko…?"
Tatsuha hung her head low. "I can't… Dad is getting older… I think… I cannot leave him… So I decided to stay with him and accompany him as a Miko… I don't want to make him disappoint, since you and onee-chan don't want to life as priests in our temple… But…"
Eiri raised his eyebrow. Tatsuha hurriedly tried to find words to correct her answers. "I, I didn't mean you and onee-chan made him sad…! No! I just…! I mean…!"
"Yeah… yeah… I understand what you meant…"
Silent covered the air again…
"Onii-chan…"
"Hn…?"
"Please… let me stay here…"
"I SAID NO!" Eiri's sudden high tone makes Tatsuha surprise.
"It's dangerous in Tokyo, Tatsuha! Why don't you understand? I'm so worried about you…! Now, go back to Kyo…!"
Eiri discontinued his words, when he saw a shine from Tatsuha's face. The teen couldn't hold her tears anymore. She was pissed, disappointed, and angry…
"Why can't I have my own life…?"
Eiri tried to say something, but Tatsuha's cracked voice and sniffles make his voice lock in his throat. He made his little sister crying. "Tat…"
"I HATE YOU!"
Quickly, Tatsuha opened the door and ran from the room.
Shuichi was accompanying Riku to his room. The little boy really loves reading books, especially when his mother reads the stories for him. Her voice is the most beautiful voice in the world.
Noises from Eiri's office made Shuichi curious. So she left the boy to see what was happening in her husband's favourite room. "I'll come back, dear… okay?"
"Okay, mama…" Shuichi gave him a quick kiss on his forehead and went to downstairs.
"Eiri…?"
Shuichi saw Tatsuha ran to the front door, but Eiri just stood on his office room. A sad emotion showed from his face. "Eiri…? What's wrong with Tatsuha…?"
While Eiri told his wife what just happened Tatsuha already left her brother's house with her motorcycle.
Shuichi stroked her husband's hair gently.
"Don't you think you're too harsh to your brother…?"
"But… this is for Tatsuha's sake…"
Shuichi closed her eyes and kissed Eiri's head. "I don't know why you're so protective of him…"
Eiri just gave her a weak smile. Shuichi looked at Eiri's eyes.
"Are you worried about something…? This isn't like you at all…" she said.
Eiri rested his head on Shuichi's shoulder. The lady quickly understood, her husband didn't want to talk about it. Shuichi sighed and continued stroking Eiri's hair.
Mika heard a sound of music from her purse. She gave Tohru, his baby toy and checked her cell phone. The screen showed Shuichi's name on it.
"Shuichi…? Hello…?"
"Hi, Mika-san… I'm so sorry, am I bothering you…?"
"No, of course not… Tohru and I are waiting Tohma on his office… What's wrong…?"
"I… want to ask you something…"
"Sure…! What is it…?"
Shuichi tells her everything about what just happened between Eiri and Tatsuha, just like what Eiri told her before. "I don't know… if this is just me or not… but somehow… I feel Eiri changed… He`s too protective of Tatsuha…"
Mika fell silent. She was unsure what she must say to her. But she tried her best to not too… suspicious…
"Errr… Ummm… He is… just… eh, um…"
"Mika-san…?"
"Ah, e, umm… He's over-protective to his little brother… that's all, dear…"
"Are you sure, Mika-san…?"
"Of course! Eheheh…! He's always like that…!"
"Oh… okay…"
When they finished the conversation, Mika sighed and turned off her phone. She stared at her phone long enough, while thinking about her little brother. "What should I tell Shuichi and Tohma about him…?"
"About who…?"
Mika jerked up when a man's voice could be heard from the door. Her husband was back from his meeting. Tohru raised his hands, asking Tohma to hold him. Tohma walked closer to his son and lifted him. Mika chuckled nervously when Tohma looked at her. "Do you want to say something to me…?"
"Nnn… no! No… There's nothing…" Mika brushed her long brown hair behind her ear.
But Tohma wasn't satisfied with his wife's answer. Mika felt so awkward, when she heard a sigh from Tohma. "Mika… you can tell me everything, whatever's bothering you… I'll try my best to help you…"
Mika fell silent. But she hurriedly adds a cheerful smile on her pretty face. "Thanks, Tohma! But I'm just fine…!"
Tohma blushed when she hugged him tightly suddenly. Mika's cheerful smile was so suspicious for the President of N.G. But he didn't want to push her more.
"I'll tell you one day… but this isn't the right time…" said her. Tohma looked at Mika's eyes.
"Please… give me some time… Then I'll tell you everything…"
Tohma couldn't say anything, yet he just nodded to her.
TBC ^^
R&R please...
Next! The trio of ASK appearance!
Thank you very much for lacie411 (Deviantart account) as my beta-reader.
Since I read some fanfics about Taki x Tatsuha on , here... The titles are 'Sleepless' and 'Roommates'... I started to love this pairing! xD
And I must said the author of those fanfic are my inspirations! xD I really love you, guys...! ^^