Allo minna! Sorry this took so long, but school just started, so I've been a bit busy. I'm a freshman this year.. -_- Gomen nasai for making everyone wait ^^ยบ Anyway, I'm skipping around a bit, I know, but I'm about to fast-forward into the future a little further. It's time the inevitable took place. Yes...but even I don't know how this is going to turn out in the end, so this'll just be fun for us all! I bet it'll be one hell of a ride though, ne? ^_~
Disclaimer: *points to prolouge* It's there, trust me
The Unforgotten Son
By: Rei_Firestar
Chapter Three
~/Five Years Later\~
Five years.
Five FUCKING years, and those two were still together!
Needless to say, Setsuna was not a happy camper.
She had decided it would be easiest to just let the feelings between Chibi-Usa and Tohru dwindle back down to friendship. No one could expect to find true love at 10, almost 11 years-old. At least she didn't think so. That didn't stop those two, though. If anything, they grew increasingly closer to one another over the years.
The years? Oh yes, the years. The past five years of Setsuna's life had been the bane of her existance. She was frightened of having to live without knowing what would happen at first, but she just assumed she'd get used to it after a while and those feelings would go away. It didn't quite happen that way - rather than feel better with each passing day, she instead grew more and more paranoid. It had been a year ago almost that she finally began to accept living with the unknown.
She had told everyone that one of Meikyu's tests of apprenticeship was to gaurd the Time Gate alone for seven years. It worked, thank God. No body questioned her about how dangerous a test it would be, and she was glad. She wanted to keep things as simple as she possibly could. She had enough problems to deal with.
The icing on top of the cake, however, was obviously having to watch Chibi-Usa, who was almost as close to her heart as Hotaru, date her brother without her knowing who it was. She knew that this relationship would end in tears for someone, and it was only a matter of time until then.
Setsuna could now only hope for the best...
But she was expecting the worst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Usa! Usa, where are you!?"
Tohru ran a hand through his dark shaggy hair and blew upward, causing a few of his bangs to flutter. He looked back and forth through the trees but could find no trace of his girlfriend. He swore sometimes that she never really matured past 10 years old. She still loved to hide from him.
He sat down on a rock, tired of wandering around. He bent over a bit so that his elbows rested on his thighs and his chin set upon his interlocked fingers. He sighed slightly and looked around as much as he could without sitting up again.
A pair of dainty arms slid around his waist suddenly, startling him a bit. He felt someone lay their head on his back. He smiled and laid his hands on top of their's as he sat up a little.
"Boo," said a feminine voice. Tohru craned his head and looked over his shoulder. He was greeted by a mass of long, pink hair. He smiled.
"Hey, Usa."
She looked up at him and smiled, then leaned up and kissed his cheek.
"Happy birthday, sweetheart," she said, smiling wider. "Sweet Sixteen has come at last."
He smiled back. "Eh, don't worry. You'll get your's soon enough."
She giggled and let go of his waist. She walked around so she was in front of him and sat at his feet. She smiled up at him and said, "So, what do you want for your birthday this year?"
"A car would be nice. I just got my liscense so my own car would be cool."
"I thought my mom gave you one?" she questioned. He shook his head.
"She gave my MOM one. At least we have two cars so I can get around by myself."
Chibi-Usa nodded.
"Speaking of your mom, how's she doing? I think I need to pay her a visit."
"Oh she's doing well. She's pretty happy right now because Daddy just got home from a month-long business trip."
"That's nice."
"Yeah. It's nice having Daddy home."
"I bet," Tohru said just a little sadly. Chibi-Usa picked it up.
"Something the matter?"
"Nah. Sometimes on my birthday I think about my dad. Mom never told me who my dad was."
"No one knows who he was except her. She doesn't tell anyone. Mother doesn't even know, and you know how close they are."
Tohru laughed slightly. "Yeah, I know. It's kind of strange, isn't it? We both know my mom is in love with your mom, but your parents are completely oblivious."
"She hides it well. We wouldn't have even known if you hadn't read her diary all those years ago."
"Yeah, but once we found out, it was pretty obvious. I mean, just watch how my mom acts when she's with your's. It's almost funny."
"Actually, have you seen the way my mom acts? It's like she likes her too."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
Chibi-Usa shrugged. "Whatever makes her happy. I mean, I know she loves Daddy, and if they got divorced or something I'd be upset, but if Mother was happy, I'd be okay with it."
"Well there's one good thing about them not being together."
"What's that?"
Tohru grinned. "If they were together, then we couldn't be together."
Chibi-Usa grinned too. "Point taken. You ready to head back?"
Tohru nodded and stood. He offered his hand to his girlfriend who took it and hauled herself to her feet. Hand in hand, the two began to make their way back to the palace. Once on the palace grounds again, Chibi-Usa tugged Tohru her direction rather than letting him go back to his end of the building.
"Where are we going?" he questioned.
"You said you wanted to pay her a visit. What better time than now?" she answered with a grin. He smiled and they continued on down the path. The two began to chat idly over a few things, but were interupted by a deep, feminine voice calling out, "Hey squirt!"
The two looked up from their babblings and discovered Haruka and Michiru walking up to them, Haruka with her arm around her wife's waist. Michiru smiled as they neared.
"Ah, Tohru, I haven't seen you around in a while. How are you?"
"Pretty good, yourself?"
Michiru nodded as a response. Haruka smiled at the boy.
"Big day today, isn't it?" she asked. He grinned and nodded. Haruka grinned as well, and said addressing the two, "Well, Chibi-Usa's birthday isn't for another two days, so she isn't legal yet. Don't worry, in two days you two can finally fu-" She was cut off by Michiru's swift hand clamping itself over her mouth. Due to the blushes the teens adorned, though, it was pretty obvious they got her message regardless. Haruka smirked to herself behind the hand, silently claiming victory.
Michiru tugged Haruka a few steps forward and the two began walking again. "We'll see you two later, okay? Happy birthday, Tohru!" Haruka nodded as if saying the same thing. Tohru thanked them, and they headed off on their merry way. Chibi-Usa and Tohru did the same.
It wasn't much later that the two were standing at Neo-Queen Serenity's bedroom door, waiting to be beckoned inside. "Come in," a feminine voice called out, and the two teenagers entered the room. Serenity was sitting on her bed while Endymion stood near her, messing with his cape. They both smiled at the kids.
"Well, lookie here. It's the birthday boy. How are you doing?" Endymion asked, straightening his vest.
"Pretty well, Mr. E. It's good to see you again, but it looks like you're getting ready to leave again?" Tohru questioned.
"Actually-"
"Daddy..." Chibi-Usa groaned.
He held up his hands in defense. "Hey, it's just for one night. I'm going to a dinner in Paris. You like French food?"
"French fries count?" Tohru butted in with a smirk.
Endymion chuckled. "You tell me. Either way, after dinner-"
"Wouldn't it be more proper to call it supper?" Chibi-Usa asked.
"Dinner, supper, ta-may-to, ta-mah-to," the king shrugged. "After supper, if that makes you happy, we have a small meeting. I'll be catching a plane right after that. I'll only be in Paris for four hours."
"When will you be back, sweetheart?"
"Tomorrow night. Time zones are murder." Endymion checked his watch. "My plane leaves at 4:30. I must take my leave." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his wife's lips. "Goodbye, dear." He came over and kissed his daughter's forehead. "Be good." Endymion then turned to Tohru. "Happy brithday," he said as he stuck out his hand.
"What, I don't get a kiss?"
The king laughed and patted the boy's shoulder. Then, without another word, he left the room. Serenity sighed slightly at his departure, then turned to the kids.
"So, did you two want something?"
"Nah, just dropping by to hang out," Tohru responded, placing his hands in his pockets. He looked over Serenity's outfit and almost pitied her. It seemed everyone in the palace was dressed in normal clothes except the king and queen. She must've had a good dozen dresses that were all designed the same because it looked as if she was constantly wearing that one white dress. The same with the king, Tohru noticed. He looked over at Chibi-Usa and was glad she rebelled against such a strict dress-code.
"Ah, well that's nice. It's been a while since you paid me a visit."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Sere."
'Mr. E and Mrs. Sere' were the nicknames he'd given the royal couple. He had stopped calling them 'Your highness' several years ago - at their request, believe it or not.
"That's okay," she said with a laugh. "So, sixteen at last. Are you happy about that?"
"Sure am. I'm hoping my mother got me a car. I'd really like a car."
"I bet."
"Cars make good presents. I like presents."
Serenity laughed and looked over at her daughter. "Not very subtle, is he?"
Chibi-Usa grinned in response, but Tohru took on a hurt appearance.
"Did you expect me to just come out and demand a gift?"
"You might want to try that with your mother," Serenity suggested. "She'll drag it out forever if you don't, trust me."
"Mother's changing the subject," Chibi-Usa stated in sing-songy innocence.
Serenity mock glared at her daughter then smiled and picked up what looked like a shoe box covered in silver wrapping paper off of her bedside table that Tohru had failed to notice earlier. She patted the spot on the bed next to her. Tohru sat next to her and Chibi-Usa sat next to him. He lifted the top off of the box and peered inside.
"Wow..!" he said, lifting it's contents. It was a book, and a thick one to boot. On the hard cover the title was engraved: 'The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe.' "Thank you, Mrs. Sere!" he said and embraced the woman. She smiled and hugged him back.
"You're welcome, Tohru. I'm glad you like it. You're like a son to me." She grinned. "And I'm sure one day you will be - at least a son in law. Oh, wouldn't that be fun?"
The two teenagers looked at one another and blushed slightly. Despite his blush, Tohru's eyes held aloft a different expression. 'It wouldn't be for Mom.'
Several hours later, just as the sun was about to set, Tohru decided it was time to take his leave. Chibi-Usa followed him from the room, claiming she had a birthday present for the boy herself. The teenagers stopped outside the girl's bedroom door and she took her lover's hands. He smiled down at her.
"So, what's this present you said you had for me?"
She grinned. "This."
Chibi-Usa leaned in and kissed her boyfriend passionately. He hesitated in surprise for only a split second, then returned the kiss with his own bountiful fire. He took a few steps foward, pressing the girl's back against the wall. The kiss intensified when Chibi-Usa slid her tongue past Tohru's lips and into his mouth. As she reached a hand up and tangled her fingers in his hair, he slowly ran his hand up under the front of her shirt. She groaned into his mouth, making it pretty obvious what his hand was doing under there.
And this was exactly the scene Setsuna was met with when she turned the corner.
"Hey!" she screamed at them. A few long strides and she was almost right between them. "What are you doing!? Break it up, you two!"
The two pulled apart, but not as quickly as Setsuna had wanted them to. Tohru grinned down at his girlfriend, who giggled and turned to enter her room. With a quick wink to Setsuna, Tohru broke into a run toward his mother's room. Setsuna felt her stomach churn slightly.
'I hate this.'
Forcing herself to calm down, Setsuna turned around and headed back down the hall a little ways. In her hurry to break the two teenagers apart, she had gone right past Serenity's bedroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tohru slowed his run down to a walk as he entered the hallway to his mother's room. He wondered briefly about Setsuna and why she was so mortified to find them making out. The thought brought him to notice that she had never really approved of their relationship, but he never understood why. 'Maybe I'll ask her about it later,' he told himself.
Tohru stopped outside his mother's bedroom door and grinned. He flung it open and entered the room grandly, his arm's spread wide, his gift from Serenity in his right hand.
"All right, where's my car?" he demanded playfully.
His expression changed when he saw his mother sitting at the foot of her bed, head bowed and fingers tracing an envelope. His brow knitted in a mixture between confusion and worry and he walked over to her.
"Mom?" he questioned, sitting down on the bed in front of her. He set his book aside and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"
Rei let out a soft sob and wiped her eyes before looking up at him. When she met his eyes, she looked back down. "Tohru, I..." she trailed off.
"What is it?" he questioned softly.
"I...Tohru, you...you're not my real son..."
The boy's jaw went slack. "What?" he asked, not really believing what he had heard. Rei held the envelope out to him. He took it in both hands shakily and fumbled over trying to open it.
"Sixteen years ago, a woman brought you to me," she tried to explain as Tohru continued to try and force the envelope open. She did her best not to let her voice break as she spoke. "She told me that your real mother and father couldn't take care of you. I had lost a son, about two days before she showed up. She told me to take care of you as if you were the son I lost and to never tell anyone about it. I don't know what's in that envelope, but the woman told me to give it to you. It's a gift from your real parents."
Tohru finally managed to rip the top off the envelope and pull out the sheet of paper inside. There was only one word written on it.
Motoki.
"Motoki..? Is that...my real name?"
"Son, I'm-"
"No!" he yelled, jumping to his feet. Hot tears filled his eyes and it was all he could do not to let them fall. "I'm not your son! You LIED to me, for SIXTEEN YEARS! How can I forgive you for that!? You are NOT my mother, and I am NOT your son! I'm not Tohru!" The boy tore the sheet of paper in his hands into two halves and dropped them, letting them flutter to the ground slowly. "But I'm not Motoki either...I'm nobody..."
Rei went to stand and embrace the boy, but he stepped away from her.
"You stay away from me..." he said, pointing a finger at her accusingly. "Stay AWAY from me!" With that, he turned on his heel and bolted from the room.
"Tohru, wait!" Rei yelled after him, but he was already gone. Tears ran anew down her face. Knowing she couldn't catch the boy, epsecially since she had no clue as to where he was going, she decided to find Setsuna. She headed toward Serenity's room in a dead run. It was time for their weekly meeting, and she knew that's where Setsuna would be.
Disclaimer: *points to prolouge* It's there, trust me
The Unforgotten Son
By: Rei_Firestar
Chapter Three
~/Five Years Later\~
Five years.
Five FUCKING years, and those two were still together!
Needless to say, Setsuna was not a happy camper.
She had decided it would be easiest to just let the feelings between Chibi-Usa and Tohru dwindle back down to friendship. No one could expect to find true love at 10, almost 11 years-old. At least she didn't think so. That didn't stop those two, though. If anything, they grew increasingly closer to one another over the years.
The years? Oh yes, the years. The past five years of Setsuna's life had been the bane of her existance. She was frightened of having to live without knowing what would happen at first, but she just assumed she'd get used to it after a while and those feelings would go away. It didn't quite happen that way - rather than feel better with each passing day, she instead grew more and more paranoid. It had been a year ago almost that she finally began to accept living with the unknown.
She had told everyone that one of Meikyu's tests of apprenticeship was to gaurd the Time Gate alone for seven years. It worked, thank God. No body questioned her about how dangerous a test it would be, and she was glad. She wanted to keep things as simple as she possibly could. She had enough problems to deal with.
The icing on top of the cake, however, was obviously having to watch Chibi-Usa, who was almost as close to her heart as Hotaru, date her brother without her knowing who it was. She knew that this relationship would end in tears for someone, and it was only a matter of time until then.
Setsuna could now only hope for the best...
But she was expecting the worst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Usa! Usa, where are you!?"
Tohru ran a hand through his dark shaggy hair and blew upward, causing a few of his bangs to flutter. He looked back and forth through the trees but could find no trace of his girlfriend. He swore sometimes that she never really matured past 10 years old. She still loved to hide from him.
He sat down on a rock, tired of wandering around. He bent over a bit so that his elbows rested on his thighs and his chin set upon his interlocked fingers. He sighed slightly and looked around as much as he could without sitting up again.
A pair of dainty arms slid around his waist suddenly, startling him a bit. He felt someone lay their head on his back. He smiled and laid his hands on top of their's as he sat up a little.
"Boo," said a feminine voice. Tohru craned his head and looked over his shoulder. He was greeted by a mass of long, pink hair. He smiled.
"Hey, Usa."
She looked up at him and smiled, then leaned up and kissed his cheek.
"Happy birthday, sweetheart," she said, smiling wider. "Sweet Sixteen has come at last."
He smiled back. "Eh, don't worry. You'll get your's soon enough."
She giggled and let go of his waist. She walked around so she was in front of him and sat at his feet. She smiled up at him and said, "So, what do you want for your birthday this year?"
"A car would be nice. I just got my liscense so my own car would be cool."
"I thought my mom gave you one?" she questioned. He shook his head.
"She gave my MOM one. At least we have two cars so I can get around by myself."
Chibi-Usa nodded.
"Speaking of your mom, how's she doing? I think I need to pay her a visit."
"Oh she's doing well. She's pretty happy right now because Daddy just got home from a month-long business trip."
"That's nice."
"Yeah. It's nice having Daddy home."
"I bet," Tohru said just a little sadly. Chibi-Usa picked it up.
"Something the matter?"
"Nah. Sometimes on my birthday I think about my dad. Mom never told me who my dad was."
"No one knows who he was except her. She doesn't tell anyone. Mother doesn't even know, and you know how close they are."
Tohru laughed slightly. "Yeah, I know. It's kind of strange, isn't it? We both know my mom is in love with your mom, but your parents are completely oblivious."
"She hides it well. We wouldn't have even known if you hadn't read her diary all those years ago."
"Yeah, but once we found out, it was pretty obvious. I mean, just watch how my mom acts when she's with your's. It's almost funny."
"Actually, have you seen the way my mom acts? It's like she likes her too."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
Chibi-Usa shrugged. "Whatever makes her happy. I mean, I know she loves Daddy, and if they got divorced or something I'd be upset, but if Mother was happy, I'd be okay with it."
"Well there's one good thing about them not being together."
"What's that?"
Tohru grinned. "If they were together, then we couldn't be together."
Chibi-Usa grinned too. "Point taken. You ready to head back?"
Tohru nodded and stood. He offered his hand to his girlfriend who took it and hauled herself to her feet. Hand in hand, the two began to make their way back to the palace. Once on the palace grounds again, Chibi-Usa tugged Tohru her direction rather than letting him go back to his end of the building.
"Where are we going?" he questioned.
"You said you wanted to pay her a visit. What better time than now?" she answered with a grin. He smiled and they continued on down the path. The two began to chat idly over a few things, but were interupted by a deep, feminine voice calling out, "Hey squirt!"
The two looked up from their babblings and discovered Haruka and Michiru walking up to them, Haruka with her arm around her wife's waist. Michiru smiled as they neared.
"Ah, Tohru, I haven't seen you around in a while. How are you?"
"Pretty good, yourself?"
Michiru nodded as a response. Haruka smiled at the boy.
"Big day today, isn't it?" she asked. He grinned and nodded. Haruka grinned as well, and said addressing the two, "Well, Chibi-Usa's birthday isn't for another two days, so she isn't legal yet. Don't worry, in two days you two can finally fu-" She was cut off by Michiru's swift hand clamping itself over her mouth. Due to the blushes the teens adorned, though, it was pretty obvious they got her message regardless. Haruka smirked to herself behind the hand, silently claiming victory.
Michiru tugged Haruka a few steps forward and the two began walking again. "We'll see you two later, okay? Happy birthday, Tohru!" Haruka nodded as if saying the same thing. Tohru thanked them, and they headed off on their merry way. Chibi-Usa and Tohru did the same.
It wasn't much later that the two were standing at Neo-Queen Serenity's bedroom door, waiting to be beckoned inside. "Come in," a feminine voice called out, and the two teenagers entered the room. Serenity was sitting on her bed while Endymion stood near her, messing with his cape. They both smiled at the kids.
"Well, lookie here. It's the birthday boy. How are you doing?" Endymion asked, straightening his vest.
"Pretty well, Mr. E. It's good to see you again, but it looks like you're getting ready to leave again?" Tohru questioned.
"Actually-"
"Daddy..." Chibi-Usa groaned.
He held up his hands in defense. "Hey, it's just for one night. I'm going to a dinner in Paris. You like French food?"
"French fries count?" Tohru butted in with a smirk.
Endymion chuckled. "You tell me. Either way, after dinner-"
"Wouldn't it be more proper to call it supper?" Chibi-Usa asked.
"Dinner, supper, ta-may-to, ta-mah-to," the king shrugged. "After supper, if that makes you happy, we have a small meeting. I'll be catching a plane right after that. I'll only be in Paris for four hours."
"When will you be back, sweetheart?"
"Tomorrow night. Time zones are murder." Endymion checked his watch. "My plane leaves at 4:30. I must take my leave." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his wife's lips. "Goodbye, dear." He came over and kissed his daughter's forehead. "Be good." Endymion then turned to Tohru. "Happy brithday," he said as he stuck out his hand.
"What, I don't get a kiss?"
The king laughed and patted the boy's shoulder. Then, without another word, he left the room. Serenity sighed slightly at his departure, then turned to the kids.
"So, did you two want something?"
"Nah, just dropping by to hang out," Tohru responded, placing his hands in his pockets. He looked over Serenity's outfit and almost pitied her. It seemed everyone in the palace was dressed in normal clothes except the king and queen. She must've had a good dozen dresses that were all designed the same because it looked as if she was constantly wearing that one white dress. The same with the king, Tohru noticed. He looked over at Chibi-Usa and was glad she rebelled against such a strict dress-code.
"Ah, well that's nice. It's been a while since you paid me a visit."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Sere."
'Mr. E and Mrs. Sere' were the nicknames he'd given the royal couple. He had stopped calling them 'Your highness' several years ago - at their request, believe it or not.
"That's okay," she said with a laugh. "So, sixteen at last. Are you happy about that?"
"Sure am. I'm hoping my mother got me a car. I'd really like a car."
"I bet."
"Cars make good presents. I like presents."
Serenity laughed and looked over at her daughter. "Not very subtle, is he?"
Chibi-Usa grinned in response, but Tohru took on a hurt appearance.
"Did you expect me to just come out and demand a gift?"
"You might want to try that with your mother," Serenity suggested. "She'll drag it out forever if you don't, trust me."
"Mother's changing the subject," Chibi-Usa stated in sing-songy innocence.
Serenity mock glared at her daughter then smiled and picked up what looked like a shoe box covered in silver wrapping paper off of her bedside table that Tohru had failed to notice earlier. She patted the spot on the bed next to her. Tohru sat next to her and Chibi-Usa sat next to him. He lifted the top off of the box and peered inside.
"Wow..!" he said, lifting it's contents. It was a book, and a thick one to boot. On the hard cover the title was engraved: 'The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe.' "Thank you, Mrs. Sere!" he said and embraced the woman. She smiled and hugged him back.
"You're welcome, Tohru. I'm glad you like it. You're like a son to me." She grinned. "And I'm sure one day you will be - at least a son in law. Oh, wouldn't that be fun?"
The two teenagers looked at one another and blushed slightly. Despite his blush, Tohru's eyes held aloft a different expression. 'It wouldn't be for Mom.'
Several hours later, just as the sun was about to set, Tohru decided it was time to take his leave. Chibi-Usa followed him from the room, claiming she had a birthday present for the boy herself. The teenagers stopped outside the girl's bedroom door and she took her lover's hands. He smiled down at her.
"So, what's this present you said you had for me?"
She grinned. "This."
Chibi-Usa leaned in and kissed her boyfriend passionately. He hesitated in surprise for only a split second, then returned the kiss with his own bountiful fire. He took a few steps foward, pressing the girl's back against the wall. The kiss intensified when Chibi-Usa slid her tongue past Tohru's lips and into his mouth. As she reached a hand up and tangled her fingers in his hair, he slowly ran his hand up under the front of her shirt. She groaned into his mouth, making it pretty obvious what his hand was doing under there.
And this was exactly the scene Setsuna was met with when she turned the corner.
"Hey!" she screamed at them. A few long strides and she was almost right between them. "What are you doing!? Break it up, you two!"
The two pulled apart, but not as quickly as Setsuna had wanted them to. Tohru grinned down at his girlfriend, who giggled and turned to enter her room. With a quick wink to Setsuna, Tohru broke into a run toward his mother's room. Setsuna felt her stomach churn slightly.
'I hate this.'
Forcing herself to calm down, Setsuna turned around and headed back down the hall a little ways. In her hurry to break the two teenagers apart, she had gone right past Serenity's bedroom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tohru slowed his run down to a walk as he entered the hallway to his mother's room. He wondered briefly about Setsuna and why she was so mortified to find them making out. The thought brought him to notice that she had never really approved of their relationship, but he never understood why. 'Maybe I'll ask her about it later,' he told himself.
Tohru stopped outside his mother's bedroom door and grinned. He flung it open and entered the room grandly, his arm's spread wide, his gift from Serenity in his right hand.
"All right, where's my car?" he demanded playfully.
His expression changed when he saw his mother sitting at the foot of her bed, head bowed and fingers tracing an envelope. His brow knitted in a mixture between confusion and worry and he walked over to her.
"Mom?" he questioned, sitting down on the bed in front of her. He set his book aside and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"
Rei let out a soft sob and wiped her eyes before looking up at him. When she met his eyes, she looked back down. "Tohru, I..." she trailed off.
"What is it?" he questioned softly.
"I...Tohru, you...you're not my real son..."
The boy's jaw went slack. "What?" he asked, not really believing what he had heard. Rei held the envelope out to him. He took it in both hands shakily and fumbled over trying to open it.
"Sixteen years ago, a woman brought you to me," she tried to explain as Tohru continued to try and force the envelope open. She did her best not to let her voice break as she spoke. "She told me that your real mother and father couldn't take care of you. I had lost a son, about two days before she showed up. She told me to take care of you as if you were the son I lost and to never tell anyone about it. I don't know what's in that envelope, but the woman told me to give it to you. It's a gift from your real parents."
Tohru finally managed to rip the top off the envelope and pull out the sheet of paper inside. There was only one word written on it.
Motoki.
"Motoki..? Is that...my real name?"
"Son, I'm-"
"No!" he yelled, jumping to his feet. Hot tears filled his eyes and it was all he could do not to let them fall. "I'm not your son! You LIED to me, for SIXTEEN YEARS! How can I forgive you for that!? You are NOT my mother, and I am NOT your son! I'm not Tohru!" The boy tore the sheet of paper in his hands into two halves and dropped them, letting them flutter to the ground slowly. "But I'm not Motoki either...I'm nobody..."
Rei went to stand and embrace the boy, but he stepped away from her.
"You stay away from me..." he said, pointing a finger at her accusingly. "Stay AWAY from me!" With that, he turned on his heel and bolted from the room.
"Tohru, wait!" Rei yelled after him, but he was already gone. Tears ran anew down her face. Knowing she couldn't catch the boy, epsecially since she had no clue as to where he was going, she decided to find Setsuna. She headed toward Serenity's room in a dead run. It was time for their weekly meeting, and she knew that's where Setsuna would be.