Monday afternoon, August 30 – Ichinose Residence
Although they were a long way from where the typhoon passed through Japan just south of Hokkaido, the skies and seas were still choppy enough that Tomoya had to cancel the last beach trip of the summer. Although the kids were disappointed, they were happy to be home. They were also delighted to be able to see their friends again, so they didn't take the loss of the beach trip too bad.
When the boys and Michiko talked about the extra time they spent with their Hokkaido relatives, Tomoya was happy for them but felt nothing melancholic or nostalgic. At least, not until they talked about going out to visit the field of flowers near the old lighthouse park. Overlapping images wafted into his consciousness. His mind's eye saw both the memories of the flowers from the height of a child, and the later memories of seeing it again with Kotomi and Kyou on the trip when he reconnected with his grandmother at the lighthouse park.
"Tomoya-kun, are you okay?" Kyou asked from where she had the blue-eyed Shuji in her lap. The look she had seen on his face was haunted and sad.
"I'm fine. I was just remembering that same field of flowers." he was about to say more but his phone started buzzing in his pocket. The screen showed it was Kobayashi-hakase.
"Hakase, I'm glad you called. I wanted to thank you again for having arranged those wonderful vacations for us." Tomoya said as soon as he answered the phone.
"If by us you mean yourself and Kotomi-chan, then you're welcome. "But, you should know that the trip for all the others was already put together by Kyou, Yuki, and Yukine. When I mentioned that I wanted to send you and Kotomi away for your honeymoon, Kyou-chan proposed this other trip for the ladies and the kids."
"Will wonders never cease?" Tomoya asked. He had guessed that Yukine was in on this, but he wouldn't have guessed Kyou too. Nor would he have guessed his cousin Yuki, but now that he thought about how the trip did focus on Hokkaido, that did make sense too.
"But, fishing for praise is not why I called. We may have a problem." Kobayashi's voice now dropped to a concerned tone.
"Oh?" Tomoya got up from his chair in the den and wondered into the empty dojo where he could concentrate more on the conversation.
"The Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has heard about Kotomi's big project and will be visiting soon." Kobayashi warned.
"How soon?" Tomoya asked. He also wondered why Kobayashi didn't say the MEXT, instead of that outrageously long title.
"End of this week at the earliest. Maybe not until the beginning of next week." Kobayashi answered.
"So, before the next test is run." Tomoya tried to figure out the timing. Why would anyone from the government want to visit now? During a test would be a much better time to see something tangible.
"We should prepare a response in case… in case the Ministry is thinking about taking over the project." Kobayashi suggested.
"So, you think that's their plan?" Tomoya asked.
"I don't know. But the ramifications of Kotomi's work are… huge. So, we shouldn't ignore that possibility." Kobayashi said.
"I see." Tomoya had an idea but it would take some work to get ready. "How likely do you think it is that the MEXT would try to take this away from Kotomi?"
"I don't know about taking it away. They might try to control it to the point that she is reduced to the functionality of a contributor only." Kobayashi considered Tomoya's question and told him, "I believe one of those two possibilities is very likely."
"I think… I have a plan." Tomoya could see it coming together in his mind. He would need Youhei to help make this whole thing truly sneaky and Kyou to reality check it. But he was pretty sure he could pull it off if he needed to.
"What do you need?" Kobayashi asked.
"I'll need the fastest flight you can find from Houston to Tokyo leaving tomorrow." Tomoya said.
"I can arrange that." Kobayashi didn't bother asking for details. He was a smart man and he could see the predicament now. Even though it was only late Sunday night in Texas, a lot of work would need to get done for someone to make a trans-Pacific flight leaving Tuesday morning. The person would not arrive in Japan until mid-afternoon the next day.
They both knew they would be cutting it close.
As soon as he was off the phone with Kobayashi-hakase, Tomoya was making an international call and hoping she wasn't already asleep.
.
Wednesday morning, September 1 – Aoki Elementary School
"Rise… bow… be seated." The sole fifth grader led the class as Kyou entered the room with the tallest girl many of the students had ever seen in real life. Fortunately, Aoki Elementary was one of the newer schools, so Yuki didn't have to duck her head when she came through the doorway. At almost 180 centimeters, Yuki looked like a giantess to the kids in the classroom. Kyou had seen many people as tall as Yuki and Mei – and even taller, back when she was in college in Texas, but here in Japan, Yuki seemed unbelievably tall… for a girl.
"Class, this is a very good friend of mine. Her name is Okazaki Yuki and she is going to be observing this class for a while." Kyou told her students.
"Are you a teacher?" one of the second grade girls asked.
"No, I just graduated from college not too long ago and I'm still deciding what I want to do." Yuki answered.
"You sound funny." a first grade boy giggled.
"Well, I'm originally from Hokkaido, so I might sound like I have a bit of an accent to you." Yuki explained.
"Hokkaido? Really? Did you ever see one of the farms where they have cows?" the fifth grade boy asked.
"Sure. I grew up in a farming area so I saw lots of cows, pigs, sheep, horses, and chickens too." Yuki was glad that she could talk about something that would interest these children but the teacher had to put a stop to it before Yuki was overrun with questions.
"That's enough for now." Kyou interrupted the kid's avalanche of questions and gazed around the room, "Yuki-san will be able to answer all kinds of questions at lunch if you want, but right now we need to do some school work. Can any of you guess what I am going to ask for first?"
"The summer projects?" one of the second grade girls asked.
"That's right." Kyou was glad that someone remembered the warning that she had given them on the last day of summer break. She had told them that the first thing they would do when they got back would be to check the summer assignments. She did notice a look of sadness or resentment on the fifth grader's face though. Moving over to his desk, she asked him quietly, "Huyu, did you finish everything?"
"Yes, sensei." Huyu thought the teacher wanted to look over his work first so he started to pull it out of his pack.
"Was there a problem with the assignment?" Kyou asked.
"Huh?" Huyu looked up at his teacher and wondered why she would ask him that. "No, sensei."
"You looked like something was bothering you just now." Kyou was certain of her suspicion; she was good at reading body language and this boy's face conveyed his feelings like a flashing neon sign.
"Oh yeah… I couldn't get anyone to study with me over the summer." Huyu grumbled, "They all think I'm stupid."
"Hmmm?" Kyou had thought that he was talking about the other kids in his class at first, but he was the only fifth grade student in the room. Then that would mean... "So, it's the kids from your old class that are avoiding you? Well, that would be their loss."
"Huh?" the boy wondered at his teacher's words.
"You are probably the best in all of fifth grade, and better than most in sixth grade at language arts, history, and science. A lot of your former classmates would have benefited from having you in a study session with them." Kyou laughed it off. "They will learn their mistakes soon enough. You just keep doing your best and before Sports Day comes around, you'll be having student's coming to you for help."
"I doubt it." Huyu brought up the thing that bothered him the most, "They know I'm dumb. They all know that I'm still doing fourth grade math."
"So they think you're a math idiot?" Kyou asked slyly.
Several students and the teaching assistant gasped. For a teacher to call a student an idiot was against all kinds of rules. Sure, there were teachers that did it, but they usually did it in private where nobody else would hear it. Never out in front of the whole classroom.
"What if I proved to you that you are not a math idiot? What if I was able to prove to you that you are actually a math prodigy instead?" Kyou smiled at the stunned boy.
"B… but I'm still doing fourth grade math… and I'm in fifth grade?" Huyu countered. It seemed to him that was proof enough that she was wrong.
"True, but it's not where you are, but how fast you're learning that proves to me that you are definitely not an idiot." Kyou lectured to the whole class with Huyu's progress as an example, "In the middle of June we went back to third grade math and found out what it was that tripped you up. Once we got past that, you finished third grade math around the middle of July. That means, you finished half a year of math in one month. Granted, that was material you had gone over once, but this time you understood it! From the middle of July until now, we were interrupted by the summer break, but you are still more than a third of the way finished with fourth grade math. Do you know what that means?"
"Um… no?" Huyu thought it all sounded terrible so far but he could tell that Kyou-sensei was thrilled. The fact that she was thrilled was like a contagion and he was starting to feel excited too, even if he didn't know why yet.
"That means, if you keep going at this pace, you will finish with fourth grade math before the end of this month and start on fifth grade math. By the time the winter break is here, you will have caught up with your former classmates and passed them! By the time this year is over, you will probably be halfway finished with sixth grade math." Kyou smiled at the now excited look on the boy's face.
"Do… do you really think so?" Huyu gaped.
"I do!" Kyou now turned to the rest of the class and told them, "That goes for all of you. Every single one of you is doing well. Even if you're still catching up in a subject from a lower grade level, it is the rate of improvement that I am looking at and you are all doing phenomenally well. I am proud of all of you!"
"Thank you, sensei!" the class gushed. All thoughts of her being a mean teacher for calling someone an idiot were dashed as they basked in the excitement of their own achievements, and the glow of her pride.
Kyou checked her barometers in the back of the room. Shuichi and Shuji were both giving her a thumbs up signal. Kyou smiled broadly and that smile was real. She was putting the things she had learned to work and they were showing significant results. Those results may not be as spectacular as Kotomi's science project, but they were important nonetheless.
The rest of the morning was spent going over the summer projects and letting the kids do their presentations. The younger ones talked about insects and butterflies. The third grade girl had stayed at a beach house with her family over the summer and had put together a presentation on seashells and starfish. Sure, the things that the younger kids did were things that the older kids had already seen, but they paid attention and clapped nevertheless. When lunch time finally rolled around, all of the students wanted to eat in the classroom since they had a lot of questions for the tall friend of their teacher. Yuki would discover that these children were fascinated with anything she could tell them about farm animals, and how deep the winter snow was in Hokkaido. Oh yes, they had lots of questions.
.
"This school doesn't look any different than my old school." Maiko sounded bored as she walked down the long sterile looking hallway. The people in the administration office had given them the directions to the room, but two of the three people in the party already knew the way.
"It's not the place that makes it different. It's the people." Tomoya said sagely. He had heard that quip before and had been amazed at the simplicity of the phrase. He understood it all too well, having lived through two years of uneventful and even despised high school life only to have it all change for the better when he met a new group of friends in his last year.
"I guess… I just want to play with Shuichi and Shuji!" Maiko chirped.
"Maiko-chan, you're not here to play." Fuko reminded her niece, "Remember what you promised Onee-chan!"
"I know. I know." Maiko sounded bored, "I promised Okāsan that I would behave myself and be a good student."
Tomoya could hear the bored overtones in Maiko-chan's response. He wasn't aware of her being a discipline problem, but he decided it would be a good idea to give her another reason to behave herself in her new class.
"Maiko-chan, have you ever seen Kyou-chan when she is angry?" Tomoya asked.
"No." Maiko answered.
"Do you know what a yōkai demon looks like?" Tomoya asked.
"Um… yeah. There was a parade of demons at the Jigokudani festival." Maiko replied brightly, then shivered, "Some of them were really scary looking."
"Well, if you don't want to see something even scarier than that, you better not make Kyou-chan angry." Tomoya warned the little girl.
"Tomoya-kun, that's mean! Kyou-chan is a very good person!" Fuko demanded.
"She is a good person and she is as sweet as candy when she's happy. But Fuko-chan, you have seen her when she is angry… haven't you?" Tomoya cocked an eyebrow at the short ikiryo girl.
"Ulp… yes. Fuko has seen… that." it looked as though all the blood was draining from her face as she remembered what an enraged Kyou looked like. Then Fuko turned to her little niece and suggested, "You should do your best. Don't make Kyou-chan angry, okay?"
"Um… okay." Maiko had thought her aunt and Tomoya-san were just being funny, but Fuko suddenly looked very worried. She wondered just how scary Kyou-san could be, but decided that she would rather not find out.
Kyou was waiting at the door of her classroom for them to arrive. Tomoya had texted her as soon as they had finished with all the paperwork and they were on their way to her classroom. She had a cheerful look on her face and squatted down to get eye level with Maiko-chan.
"We're having our lunch time right now so you can go on in and have lunch with the boys. We'll do the introductions when lunch is over, okay?" Kyou could see the little girl's delight that she would get to go in and have lunch with Shuichi and Shuji now.
"Yes!" Maiko yelped and ran into the room.
Standing back up, Kyou gave Tomoya a twisted smile.
"You know, when these hallways are full of kids, you can barely hear yourself. But when they are empty… like now… voices carry." Kyou smirked.
"Do they?" Tomoya asked uncomfortably.
"So I look like a yōkai demon, huh?" Kyou demanded an explanation.
Fuko looked pleased that Tomoya had been caught. She still didn't like him from the time he abandoned Ushio in the dying Illusionary World, so if he was about to get a punishment… all the better.
"The words may have carried, but they got jumbled along the way."
"Oh?" Kyou challenged.
"In fact, I said that you were scarier than a yōkai demon… if someone is foolish enough to make you angry." Tomoya said as he reached out and touched her face, "But in terms of looks? You were always beautiful Kyou. Even when you were mad at me, I always thought you were exquisitely beautiful… and I still do."
Kyou's mouth opened to say something but froze as her face burned a fierce red. She finally looked away to try and hide her blush.
"Exquisitely huh? When did you learn to use such pretentious words?" Kyou pouted.
"Law school." Tomoya chuckled, "Lawyers are nothing if not pretentious."
Tomoya would have liked to keep making Kyou blush, but his peripheral vision saw something beyond her in the classroom. A poster-board displaying numerous seashells and starfish. Quickly moving to block the doorway he turned to Fuko.
"Ah, Fuko! We've dropped off your niece so I guess you should be running along now!" Tomoya said quickly.
"What do you mean?" Fuko asked.
"Well, the Performance Club has been worried about you since the summer break started and this is the first day back to school. So you should go see them at lunch and let them know that you are all right." Tomoya said helpfully.
"Silly Tomoya-kun. Fuko is already there!" Fuko turned to run down the hallway and faded out of sight.
"What was that all about?" Kyou had a look on her face as if Tomoya had lost his mind.
Tomoya simply stood aside and pointed into the room at the poster-board.
"What? It's just a display of seashells and starfish… Ohhhhhh." Kyou blushed a bit at the fact that she had completely missed that connection. "So, I guess you're off to Tokyo now?"
"Yeah. I should get there in time to meet her at the airport." Tomoya checked the time on his cell phone and it still looked good.
"All right. Remember to get a cab when you get back to the station. She's going to be exhausted so don't make her walk!" Kyou warned as she headed back into her classroom.
Tomoya thought about reminding her that he has made that flight several times and knows perfectly well how tiring it is. But he also knew how Kyou liked to get the last word in a conversation, so he let it drop.
.
Friday morning, September 3 – The Mayor's Office
Tomoya stood in the Mayor's office with a calm expression. Along with the mayor, chief of police, Kobayashi-hakase, his own special guest, and a few other city functionaries, he was there to greet an important visitor from Tokyo. Fortunately, he had now been here several times so it was a familiar surrounding for him. He knew most of the people in the room, so this visit by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, or the MEXT, was not as nerve wracking as it might have been.
Of all the people present, it was Tomoya's guest that stood out the most. At 177 centimeters, she was taller that most of the other men in the room, but the oddity didn't stop there. Her glimmering white floor length dress stood out amongst the dark gray and subdued blue business suits. But there was still more. Her long red curls of hair framed green eyes on a freckled face that found everything she observed to be amusing.
The Mayor exchanged pleasantries with the Minister as soon as he arrived and began the introductions for everyone else in the room, until he got to the young lady. Not having to have spoken English since his college days, he handed the American's introduction off to Tomoya.
"Minister, how is your English?" Tomoya asked the older man as he studied the tall red head.
"Pretty rusty… and I didn't bring an interpreter with me." he said sadly.
"Allow me to translate for you then." Tomoya switched to English and gave the Minister's title, then back to Japanese and announced, "Melissa Rothchilde representing Marsh University."
"Marsh University? Well, that is a fairly prestigious school isn't it? And what business does Marsh University have with me today?" The old man smiled, but the challenge was on his face too.
"Marsh University is Ichinose Kotomi's alma matter you know." the Mayor put in.
"I still don't see what this has to do with any discussions we will be having." the tone of his voice was letting them know that he was a busy man and this delay was not pleasing to him.
"Allow me Minister." Tomoya got the man's attention, "Marsh University is willing to fund the project and is promising complete control to Ichinose-hakase, as long as they are allowed to have some of their people also working on the project and the results are shared. They are even willing to pay for the entire project to be moved back to Texas if necessary. We thought you might be able to convince her of the benefits of having the project stay here… in Japan."
"It sounds to me like this should be decided with Ichinose-hakase, and I don't see her present." The minister tried to forestall the talks that he now saw as being far more complex than he had originally planned for. He had been briefed that Ichinose Kotomi was a reclusive person who had difficulties dealing with strangers and disliked confrontations. This task was supposed to be a walk in the park. And yet, the minister had the suspicious feeling that he was walking into an ambush.
"I represent Ichinose-hakase in all these matters." Tomoya said calmly.
"And you are..." the Minister had heard the name during the mayor's introductions, but he wanted to know why this young man was representing the absent genius. He seemed far too young to be involved at an important meeting like this. The problem with the young is that they don't have the experience to understand other people's motivations. Without that, they don't know what's really going on. But, that just makes them easier to manipulate.
"Okazaki Tomoya. I am her lawyer." Tomoya bowed.
"I still don't see…" the Minister started to object.
"And her husband." Tomoya added.
"Oh… then I guess we do need to talk." the Minister seemed to concede the argument, but he thought he could still get what he was after if it was just the young lawyer husband to deal with. The problem, as he saw it, was that the young man was surrounded by the town's elders… and Kobayashi. While recalculating what he stood to win and lose, he looked around at the faces in the room. Someone here is responsible for taking what should have been an easy task, and making it impossible. Kobayashi-hakase… I've run up against him before. The delightful looking young woman is nothing but a distraction. So which one of these men schemed to shut me down? The Mayor is an idiot. Surely not the young husband! He is too brash and inexperienced to have set up something like this. So, either the Chief of Police or Kobayashi. My bet is Kobayashi. Very well old man. You may have won this round but I'm not out yet.
.
Tuesday morning, September 7 – Ichinose residence
Four days after the meeting with the MEXT, several friends gathered in the Ichinose house to prepare for the oncoming storm. In this case, it wasn't a figurative storm. Severe Tropical Storm Malou would be passing through their little part of Japan and all of the weather related side effects were predicted. Flood waters, high winds, and mudslides would all be possible. Schools and businesses were closed as a precaution. Kotomi's house was fortunately on high ground without being on the side of a hill. So, the only thing that they were concerned about was the high winds.
#I am not worried too much. I have been through several storms in this house and it is very reliable.# Tomoyo said to the red headed American in English.
#Thank you for your kindness, but I am more concerned about damage to Kotomi's trucks. Many of the instruments on those trucks are rather sensitive, so if something happens to the garage they are housed in… it could be a major setback.# Melissa replied.
#I forgot that you are one of the few people that understands all this technical wizardry of Kotomi's.# Tomoya admitted.
#I am still learning. I would like to stay here and learn directly from her, but I am sure that the college will want me to come back soon.# Melissa said wistfully.
#I wish I could understand all of this like you.# Tomoyo smiled, but Melissa could see that the platinum blond thought it was a failing that she couldn't comprehend Kotomi's strange science.
#You are remarkable in your own endeavors. The Mayor thinks very highly of you, you know.# Melissa recalled some of the Mayor's praise at the dinner she had attended during the Minister's recent visit. #I am also very impressed with your English. It is far better than my Japanese.#
#You studied Japanese?# Tomoyo was surprised.
#I took three years of it in college… after I met Kotomi-chan.# Melissa explained, #She was so incredible. I was a grad student when she was a Freshman, but she had this huge project she was heading up. Everyone wanted to be part of it. I got a chance to work closely with her and I found out that she would lapse into Japanese when she was deep in thought or when she was under a lot of stress. So I signed up for Japanese classes to better understand her.#
#I am enjoying this opportunity to speak English with a native speaker but, if you would like, we can speak in Japanese.# Tomoyo offered.
"So you understood what was being said in the Mayor's office?" Tomoya asked the red-head.
"Yes… well, most of it. I get lost when people speak quickly." Melissa replied but was then distracted by the sound of footsteps. She looked up with the others to see Kotomi coming down the stairs in a maroon and gold yukata.
"Oh!" Melissa was instantly on her feet, "You look beautiful much in kimono, Kotomi-chan!" Melissa's eyes were wide and her hands wringing next to her face in excitement.
"Technically, that is a yukata." Yuki smiled slyly at the excited red-head and took her hand as she stood up, "Come on. You're the same height as me. I think I have a yukata that will fit you."
"But," Melissa looked embarrassed but explained anyway, "It fitting Melissa not. Melissa too thick."
"We'll see!" Yuki was aware that the American girl was almost thirty kilograms heavier, but yukata's are incredibly flexible when it comes to fitting different body sizes.
"We won't see them for a while." Kyou smirked as she sipped her coffee.
"Oh?" Tomoya handed his wife a cup of coffee when she sat down next to him.
"Last weekend she bought a bunch of extra-large yukatas at an End-Of-Summer sale." Kyou replied.
"But the end of summer is not for another two weeks?" Kotomi pointed out.
"True, but retail stores will have their End-Of-Summer sales before the kids go back to school so they can start setting up the Fall selections." Kyou explained. "It is a very busy time for them."
"Speaking of very busy times… Nagisa and your sister move back tomorrow, don't they?" Tomoya asked Kyou.
"Yes!" Kyou sounded like an excited little girl who knew she was about to get a nice present.
"Do you need any help moving her into the Furukawa place?" Tomoya offered.
"Oh no you don't, Okazaki Tomoya!" Kyou said with a huff.
"What?" Tomoya asked innocently.
"You just want to see my sister's panties!" Kyou teased. She expected to see him blush. She certainly didn't expect Kotomi's comment.
"Tomoya-kun has already seen Ryou-chan's panties." Kotomi said.
What?" both Tomoya and Kyou gaped.
"When I asked you what it was like to have a sister, you told me that you wear a lot of each other's clothes… even the panties." Kotomi explained, "Therefore, if Tomoya-kun has seen your panties, then he has seen Ryou-chan's panties. And, Tomoya-kun has seen your panties many times."
"Ah!" Kyou could feel the heat on her cheeks and knew that she was blushing all the way up to her ears. She was just barely able to get her eyes up to look at Tomoya and could see his face was in a blush too.
"Kotomi-chan." Tomoya concentrated hard to be able to talk through his embarrassment.
"Yes, Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi still didn't know why the two of them were blushing so hard, but she was sure that she hadn't said anything factually incorrect.
"It is um… embarrassing… when you say that." Tomoya tried to explain to his pure wife.
"How so?" Kotomi asked.
"Well… you see… how would you feel if we started discussing the panties you are wearing?" Tomoya tried to help his uncomprehending wife understand by using empathy.
"But Tomoya-kun, I am wearing a yukata. I am not currently wearing any underwear." Kotomi told him.
"Eeep!" Kyou's blush intensified as it was infused with guilt. Years ago she had jokingly told Kotomi that she wasn't supposed to wear anything under her yukata…
It was too much for Tomoya. He banged his head into the table in front of him to try and get some semblance of control back in his life.
.
Sunday morning, September 12 – Furukawa Residence
"My little girls have come home! I'm the happiest father ever!" Akio wailed as he embraced the lavender and chestnut haired girls after coming in from the bakery entrance.
"Dad!" Nagisa complained, "We've been here for four days. You're the one that just got home!"
"That's true." Sanae sided with her daughter, "You're gone from here as much as she is. I get so lonely in this house by myself, if it wasn't for the occasional visits from Tomoya-kun…"
"Huh?" Akio let go of the two girls and glared at Tomoya across the room. "What occasional visits?"
"Well, I…" Tomoya was about to explain that he recently rushed over to fix a water leak under the sink in the hallway bath. But Sanae was in a mood to have a little fun.
"He came over a few nights ago to fix a… plumbing problem." Sanae sighed, "He's really good with his hands."
"Sanae… I'm good with my hands too, right? Sanae?" Akio followed his smiling wife into the kitchen.
"Your mother and father is much funny." Melissa giggled.
"I was hoping you wouldn't understand all of that. Sometimes they are so embarrassing." Nagisa moaned.
"Welcome home Auntie Nagisa!" Shuichi, and Shuji said exuberantly. Their little sister said it as well but more quietly. She hadn't seen Nagisa or Ryou for some time and was shy with them again.
"Oh, it's so good to see you too!" Nagisa knelt to hug all three of them but little Maiko-chan held back against her father's leg. It was so wonderful to hug them. She could feel their youthful energy radiating from their small bodies as the two boys hugged her back.
Maiko saw something then. A look of love and acceptance was how she would describe Nagisa's face if she knew the right words. But there was something else. Something like a faint sadness in Nagisa's face and eyes as she hugged the two vital young boys.
Maiko was too young to understand about Nagisa's frail body, or the life choice that meant that she would never have a child of her own. But she could tell sadness when she saw it and she suddenly felt very close to the chestnut haired woman. When her older brothers finished their hug and moved away from Nagisa, Maiko discovered that she wasn't scared any more. Furtively at first, she bravely stepped away from the safety of her father's leg and reached out to Nagisa.
Nagisa knew about little Maiko-chan's shyness, and she knew how amazing it was for the little girl to do so much. She opened her arms and gave Maiko the happiest smile when the little girl stepped into her embrace.
The boys were as stunned as their parents and watched agape while their sister hugged Nagisa-chan. But not for too long. Both of them remembered their duty and now looked up to the woman who looked so much like their Kyou-mama. Sure, she was a little shorter, had blue eyes, and had shorter hair, but still…
"Welcome home Auntie Ryou!" the two boys called out to their Kyou-mama's twin.
"Eh?" Ryou was snapped out of the same shocked stare that others were having while they watched Maiko-chan and Nagisa. Now she was looking at the two smiling boys that seemed happy to see her. They were looking at her with only the purest of intent, but she could only remember the things she had said so many years ago.
Kotomi-chan's boys. ...they are Kotomi-chan's boys. They're also Tomoya-kun's boys, but they're not yours. Onee-chan, you have to remember that. Onee-chan… they're not yours! Tomoya-kun is married to Kotomi-chan, not you. He is the one having sex with her, not you. She is the one having his children, not you. Those children belong to them, not to you!
"It's good to see you boys too." Ryou knelt and hugged them but there was no real affection there. She still could not think of them as her sister's boys. Nor could she think of them as her nephews. A part of her wanted to explain it to them and disabuse the boys of the misunderstanding that Kyou was related to them in any way. But she also knew how much that would hurt her Onee-chan… and her own relationship with her sister would be shattered. Ryou looked up into the eyes of her sister to see… worry.
So, she thinks I might do it. She thinks that I'll bring down her little house of cards so easily. Oh Onee-chan, if your relationship is that fragile, then it isn't a real relationship in the first place. Can't you see that? Are you in such deep denial that you can't discern reality from this warped existence any more? Some day, it's going to all come crashing down. Some day, you will realize that you've been living a fool's existence. And then what? Will you be happy that I said nothing all this time then? Or will you be mad at your little sister for not doing something to force you to escape from this folly?
Ryou had thought that her father would have done the damage necessary to pry her sister away from Tomoya and Kotomi, but he hadn't. Deep inside, Ryou knew that it would have to be her. And when she did what had to be done, it was likely they would never speak again. So far, Ryou had decided that it was too high a price to pay for her sister's salvation. So far…
But I'm back home now. Back where I can check up on you… watch over you. I won't let anyone ruin your life. I will…
"Auntie Ryou?" little Michiko now stood in front of the still kneeling Ryou. She had the deep purple hair of her mother, but her eyes…
Her eyes are like looking into a mirror! Ryou had seen the little girl before, but it hit her now how much it felt like she was staring back into her own eyes. "Long ago, Onee-chan told me that looking into your eyes made her feel like she was looking at me."
"Huh? Onee-chan?" Maiko-chan was confused.
"Kyou… Your Kyou-mama is my older sister. So she is my Onee-chan." Ryou explained.
"Then… I guess I should love you too… since I love Kyou-mama so much! Right?" Maiko's logic was childlike and without many gray places. She was now looking to Ryou for approval.
"Why…" Ryou was tempted to explain the finer points of trust and love. Knowing that the child's trust was already violated since they had obviously never told her that Kyou was not really her mother, she refrained and asked a different question. "Why do you love Kyou-mama so much?"
"Because she loves me so much!" Maiko giggled as if the question was the silliest thing she had ever heard.
"Yeah, that's it isn't it?" Ryou felt the heaviness lifting from her heart. Such simple words. Such honest love freely and openly expressed. Only a child could do such a thing. These kids really love Onee-chan because Onee-chan really loves them. I guess… that's not… such a bad thing.
.
Sunday afternoon, September 19 – Crossroads Bar
Takeo and Hiroki opened the door for the two slimmer figures wearing hoodies down low over their faces. As soon as they were all inside, Yukine and Tomoyo threw back the hoodies and stripped them off. It was still technically summer time and the upstairs party room was much too warm to be wearing a sweater.
The rest of the boys were all there and had already stripped down to their undershirts in the room's stifling heat. They didn't look like they had been fighting, but they looked none too pleased.
"What's going on?" Tomoyo asked.
"Boss…" Isamu worked his jaw as if he were about to say something he really didn't want to say, "we have to talk."
