Chapter Four
Ask Me Why
On the plane, Kagome looked at her mother. "Mama... why?" She ducked her head, biting her lip. After all the help Mama had been during the past year, she didn't know if she even had the right to ask.
"Hmm. That's a very complicated question, Kagome." Aiko stared at the screen across from her as she organized what she wanted to say.
"I guess, at its heart is that, while Stark-san wasn't in my life long, he left me something that was so very special, that even my husband of eight months could forgive that you weren't his... which he didn't really have to do. Coming from such an old, respected and very traditional family, he could have publicly destroyed my life and yours easily without condemnation. Most people would have been in complete sympathy with him if he had sent you away, or even divorced me for not telling him about the extent of my relationship with Tony before we married.
"However, instead of giving into his anger, he held you in his arms for hours after my confession. And when I woke the next morning, he gave me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and thanked me for 'the most beautiful baby girl in Japan'. Later, after we'd come home, he left the paperwork for your birth on the dinner table where I sat. He'd had you listed as First Daughter." She smiled at Kagome, the love she still felt for her deceased husband in her eyes.
"So, I honored that great kindness and his forgiveness by never bringing up your biological parentage. And, as far as I'm concerned, you will always be the first daughter of the Higurashi family, no matter who I have to turn you over to for your safety."
She lost her breath as her daughter lurched into her and hugged her hard. She smiled gently, running a hand through the long black tresses. "He was a very special man, and loved you dearly, Kagome. I would have let you believe he was your father for the rest of your life. He deserved it. Whether that is right or wrong, I don't know. But he would not put you in danger just to protect our secret."
Kagome gave her a last squeeze, and sat back in her seat, eyes shining with tears. "I love you, Mama... and I know Daddy loved me. So don't worry anymore, I'm not upset-"
Souta let out a loud snore, cutting her off, and they both looked over where he'd passed out on the couch soon after takeoff, one shoe off and a gaming magazine dangling from one hand. Catching each other's eyes, they both began giggling, the tension of the moment crumbling under the humorous sight. As another snore echoed through the cabin, Kagome lost the battle and began to laugh.
Flicking melted ice water from her drink on her face to help quell the hysteria, she choked out, "He's as bad as Daddy was. When did that happen?"
.
.
.
Being listed as First Son or Daughter still has some meaning in modern Japanese society, though not as much as in ancient times. From what I could find on the subject, it is not an automatic designation.
I will never knock arranged marriages as a whole. I grew up around ladies married up to sixty years (some who hardly knew their men at all when they married)- they all told me not to be ruled completely by my emotions, to take an honest look at what kind of man he is. Fluffy love feelings are wonderful, but ephemeral; determination and hard work are what keeps you together.