Chapter 4: The Yankee
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Please review. I look every day to see if this story has any reviews it saddens me that it's still sitting at two reviews. I hate asking people to review but unless I know what everyone is thinking I can't improve the story.
The days following the funeral were difficult for Tohru. She had heavy decisions to make. She needed find a job and a place to live. She needed to clean out her house and sell her property. She needed go through Kyo's things.
Arisa Uotani had never been one for sappy things. She knew what had to be done and gladly put off going to work to do it. She took time off explaining to her boss the situation.
"My friend just lost her husband and she needs help. She has a little boy she has take care of and she needs to move. Would it inconvenience you if I took some time off?"
"No, you go where you are needed. I'm sure I can work something out for you, Arisa," her boss had answered.
"Arigato."
Arisa couldn't bite back the feeling of déjà vu in the pit of stomach. This reminded her too much of when Kyoko died. The fact that they had been forced to come and remove all of Kyoko's things had been startling enough.
She remembered the shocked expressions on Tohru's face when she found a box of her father's clothing in the back of her mother's closet. Kyoko had been unable to part with a lot of her husband's things. There were pictures of the young couple together. There were several photos of Katsuya and a baby Tohru.
Arisa couldn't help but wonder if Tohru would do the same thing with Kyo's things. Would she keep Kyo's old karate clothes? Would she keep the DVD of the play because it would be a way for her to hear Kyo's voice? Kyoko had kept the tape from their answering machine.
"Hey Tohru," Arisa shouted as Tohru sat down on the couch.
"What is it Uo-chan?" Tohru asked trying to keep the tears from being heard in her voice.
Hikaru sat on the floor hugging his mother's feet.
"Did you ever listen to that tape Kyoko-san had?"
Tohru's eyes widened in surprise.
"No, I never did but I still have all the things of his that she kept. When I first left home I had paid for them to be put into storage. When we moved into this house we brought them with us."
"Do you think that we could listen to it?"
For the first time since Kyo's passing Tohru smiled.
"I would like to hear my father's and mother's voices. I forgot what he sounded like," she said.
Quickly she moved towards the linen closet. Hikaru was forced to let go but he followed her curious. He knew little to nothing about his grandparents except for Great-grandpa Honda and Grandpa Kazuma. His mother had told him that her mother was the famous red butterfly but he didn't know what that meant.
Tohru pulled down the box carefully. She rummaged through it and finally found the tape.
Her hands slightly shaking she put into the tape player.
What are you doing Katsuya?
Nothing much.
I know you're lying. You're up to something.
I'm not up to anything Miss with no Eyebrows.
Very funny but I know you better than you think I do. You are always up to something.
That's not true.
Yes it is.
Is not.
Is too.
Is not.
What did you do before you had me to argue with?
I argued with myself but it was pretty one-sided.
You think you're funny?
No but you do.
You are impossible.
Thank you.
It wasn't meant as a compliment!
But I'm still taking it that way.
You are recording this on that tape aren't you? You are going to make this our message machine greeting!
Why Kyoko I have no idea what you're talking about. Would I do an underhanded thing like that?
Yes you would. Now hand me over that tape.
You'll have to take it from me.
Katsuya!
His voice was deep and Tohru could remember it more clearly now.
"To think you made this woman called the red butterfly, this feared women, faint. You're really something Tohru."
"That was my grandparents on the tape?" Hikaru asked slightly surprised.
"That was my parents," Tohru answered.
Arisa was grateful for this moment but she knew that they had to get to work.
"Hikaru, would you start sorting through the things in your room. You know get all your dirty laundry together so we can do wash."
Hikaru did as his aunt told him.
Tohru's eyes remained fixed on her bedroom door. She hadn't been in there since Kyo died. She hadn't wanted to go in there. Now she would to face a room that would always remind her of Kyo alone.
"You don't have to go in there yet," Arisa said.
"We're moving at the end of the week," Tohru replied softly.
Arisa's eyebrow quirked. "Where will you go?"
"Akito and Shigure have offered me his old house. I didn't want to take it but they said that it was as much mine and Kyo's as anyone else's. They didn't want to sell it outside of the family and this way it stays within the family."
"Aren't you worried that it will remind you of Kyo?"
"Arisa, I don't want to ever forget him. I love him and I always will. Most likely I'll never fall in love again so the memories I have of him are precious. I want to raise Hikaru in a place that Kyo has been. I want my son to know about his father. I don't want him living with faded memories attempting to piece together the type of man his father was."
Tohru looked down at the ground for a second. Should she ask?
"I was wondering if you and Hana would like to move in with us—you are always complaining about your apartment and this way you have a big enough space plus I think Hikaru and I would get lonely without you it will work out because they are not charging me for the place though the mortgage is paid off so you and Hana could save money for a better place to live and things you need and this way--"
"Yes," Arisa said cutting off Tohru's rant.
"Yes?"
"Yes, I'll move in. I'm sure Hana will too."
"Arigato," Tohru said as she hugged her friend.
"It will be for a little while though until you don't need us anymore."
"I'm always going to need you and Hana but I know what you mean."
She glanced at the bedroom door and with a heavy heart she opened it to find--everything unchanged.
It's as if nothing happened. It's as if I'm going to walk through the door and find him waiting for me.
His dirty clothes were still in a pile. His side of the bed was still a mess. The room was as it had always been. It was as if his very presence was in the room and she could feel him near her. She could smell him all over the room.
She sat down on the bed and sobbed. She would have to be strong for Hikaru, for herself, and mostly for Kyo. If she gave up she was failing him like Rin said.
Slowly she moved towards the closet. She would start there and work her way to the more difficult parts of the room.
I'll never stop feeling lucky. I'm so lucky that you love me. Why did you choose an idiot like me?
Kyo, you are my most special person. Don't you ever forget that.
To be continued…..