Hana looked at the two before her, unsure how to start.
"There was something you wanted to tell us?" Kuramochi prompted, attempting to make the woman more comfortable. Glancing to Ryousuke, he cleared his throat. "Does it have to do with Haruichi?"
"Yes and no." Taking a deep breath she nodded and began. "Searching the warehouse more thoroughly, we found the substance used to…'preserve'…the children. I'm not going to go into the details, as we're not entirely sure on them either, but it's something we've never seen before. While discovering that, we also found something interesting.
"It was a journal, from a very long time ago. We assume it was by the father of one of the girls who we deemed one of the first. In it, he explains that his daughter had gotten lost and found this strange lake. He'd warned her to stay away, but she had continued going back, eventually falling in and becoming the first 'preserved' child.
"The father was horrified this happened but had no way to reverse the effects. He attempted to warn the others so their children wouldn't have the same fate, but instead others looked to him as a priest of some sort. People started to come to him with their sick children that were said to not be curable, so they could remain alive until a cure was found.
"We're not sure when it switched from saving children to simply 'collecting' them. From what we can tell, after the father died, the lake became a legend that eventually died out, but we think someone believed it and searched for it until they found it and then started their 'collection'."
Falling silent, she let the two digest the news.
"So all this started as something to help children?" Kuramochi summed up. Hana nodded.
"Even if it started with good intentions, it doesn't change the fact that those bastards' took Haruichi."
"Ryou-san…"
"I thought he was dead Youichi. I thought I'd never get to see him again. I…I thought…" Standing up, he went to the window and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. After he was sure his voice was level did he ask, "Have you found them yet?"
Hana bit her lip and looked down. "I…no, not yet. We're still looking, and we won't give up until we find them. I can promise you that." The pink haired male nodded.
Shifting in the uncomfortable silence, Hana asked, "Ho…How is he? Your brother I mean."
"He's adjusting. He's still not sure what happened, and the fact that everyone he knew is suddenly a lot older than him is a little difficult for him to grasp at times. He's doing better though, seeing as how he regained control over his body." Kuramochi glanced at Ryousuke whose eyes were trained at something in the distance before back at Hana.
"Where is he now?"
"Ah, he hasn't been feeling very well, so he's sleeping now. The doctors' told us his immune system is a little lower than normal, but it's nothing to worry about."
Hana nodded and stood up. "Well, that's all I wanted to let you know. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, and I'll be going now."
Kuramochi nodded and stood up as well, showing her to the door. He stopped her before she left and bowed slightly. "Thank you, for everything. It may be your job, but it still means a lot, especially since you came all the way out here just to let us know what you found out."
"No, I'm sorry that I upset Kominato-san."
"Don't worry about Ryou-san. He's happy to have Haruichi back, but is terrified of losing him again. He's keeping him in a sort of protective bubble and this just brought up memories he'd rather forget. So don't worry about anything, it's not your fault." Hana nodded and thanked the man for his hospitality and time before turning and leaving.
Heading back to find his lover, Kuramochi smiled as he leaned against the doorway. Ryousuke was sitting by Haruichis' bed, replacing the cold cloth on his forehead and tucking him in. It was times like this that the brow haired male felt as though he and his lover were parents to the teen.
Grinning, he wondered if he should bring up the topic of adoption now or later. After all, he was sure Haruichi would enjoy having a little brother/nephew to look after.
So we finally come to the end! This is now officially over, so let me know what you thought!
