Pardoned

by A. O'Hara

After spending four years in prison, Moroha is granted parole and has to learn to cope in the outside world as well as deal with the estrangement of her family. But before anyone else can forgive her, she has to forgive herself. ONGOING

4. Connections

She sprinted as fast as she could down the plain, white brick hallway, adrenaline pumping through her veins, urging her muscles to move as fast as they could carry her.

She was being hunted down. Pursued. Chased. She could hear the assailant's footsteps echo off of the walls behind her, as they got closer and closer.

She kept running. This hallway felt like it was neverending, as though she had been running forever.

It was an endless stream of nothingness and white. So, so white.

As she rounded the final corner she skidded to a stop, the soles of her shoes squeaking loudly against the floor as she did so. Moroha had nearly run into the brick wall ahead of her, and she stared up at it incredulously. She had hit a dead end, and she hopelessly banged her fists against it. As though that would get someone's attention. As though that would help her. As though that would save her.

The footsteps got louder, and eventually stopped as they came up behind her. The new presence was unmistakable.

The youkai aura could have smothered her, it was so strong.

Hesitantly, she turned to look over her shoulder, shaking as she did so.

Green met brown.

Those eyes terrified her.

And just as suddenly as their gazes met, green orbs went painfully round. Moroha clenched her eyelids shut, turning back towards the wall and covering her head as she was suddenly sprayed with an unknown liquid.

All she could hear were the sounds of desperate gargling and choking, the youkai behind her resisting death and holding on for dear life. The sounds of someone's lungs filling up with fluid reverberating loudly off of the walls.

The sounds of someone's lungs filling up with blood.

When Moroha's eyes opened, the walls weren't white anymore.

They were red. Red red red.

When she turned around, and took in the scene before her, she screamed.

Moroha woke up with a loud gasp, shooting straight up from the futon and instinctively grasping the neckline of her nightshirt in a near panic. She was drenched in sweat, and her heart pounded furiously within the confines of her chest. Her eyes were as big as saucers and she had to mindfully breathe, to consciously slow herself down. If she didn't, she would begin to panic and hyperventilate.

Holy fuck, she thought to herself, rubbing the seams on the neckline of her shirt to distract herself. It's been weeks since I had a dream like that…

It wasn't the first time this had happened. Far from it. For a period of time, Moroha used to have night terrors almost every evening she slept. It had been so long since the last one that she thought she had finally moved past it. She'd hoped that maybe, once she was finally out of the institution, she wouldn't have these kinds of horrible nightmares anymore. As though leaving the prison would be her magic fix.

Moroha tried her best to fill her head with thoughts of just about anything else in an attempt to distract herself. But no matter what she tried, her racing mind's eye would be filled with the images and memories of her face. A face that was so close and familiar, and yet so far away.

Kikyo… Kikyo!

"Moroha-sama?"

The tiny voice calling into her room managed to pull Moroha out of her brooding, and she was thankful for the sudden distraction. It was early morning and the sun was just beginning to rise, and she watched the tiny flea demon jump across the room to her futon, only illuminated by the sunrise. Myoga landed on her shoulder, but he made no attempts to suck her blood.

"Are you alright, Moroha-sama?" He asked, his voice soothing and kind. "It sounds as though you were having an awful dream…"

"Myoga-jiichan…" She greeted, the rise and fall of her chest becoming slower and finally returning to normal levels. "I didn't mean to wake you up, or startle you."

"Nonsense!" Myoga assured her, and she could feel his little hands pat the side of her neck. "You are safe here, nothing bad is going to happen to you."

Myoga didn't know what she had dreamed of, or what she had been through, but in that moment it did not matter. The hushed assurances from the youkai had their desired effect, and the tension finally left her shoulders. She let out a relieved sigh as her muscles loosened and began to relax. She took in a breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth, a rush of calm finally washing over her.

Myoga's presence at that moment was more important than he could even comprehend or imagine, and for the umpteenth time since Sesshomaru had been gone, she soundlessly thanked her uncle for having the insight to send Myoga to stay with her in the first place. And as the little demon jumped from her shoulder to her knee to look up at her, deeply concerned, Moroha couldn't help but praise her luck. She was beyond grateful to have the flea youkai here to keep her company.

---

Summer of 2010

"You dare to defy me?! You will never escape the Crucible of Kodoku! Prepare to die! Mwahaha!"

Moroha's eyes were focused on the pixels as they danced across the screen, her mind fixated on the game as she processed the scene unfolding in front of her. She was winning this boss fight already. Moroha expertly dodged the red attacks and parried the blue ones, fingers gliding across the keyboard in order to ricochet the blasts off the wall and cause damage. She was going to defeat this hidden enemy — one that was known for being notoriously difficult, according to everyone in class — and complete the secret dungeon. Hisui, Rokuta, and Nanasuke hadn't even gotten to this part yet.

Once she beat it she was definitely going to rub it in their faces. Moroha would have bragging rights at school for weeks to come and was unable to help the stupid, lopsided grin on her face the more she thought about it.

Moroha relished in that idea, tapping the buttons on her keyboard as her character ran and counterattacked the boss. Her classmates and even Hisui had teased her about not having the game before they were let out on summer break. But now she was dominating it, the weeks of reading tips and tricks in magazines while enviously listening to her classmates and friends talk about their strategies were finally paying off.

The sudden ding! that resounded from the speakers pulled Moroha out of focus.

TAIJIYAH (17:21:54): You wanna play? Test that new computer out?
BENIYASHA (17:22:08): ya after this
TAIJIYAH (17:22:11): Okay.

As happy as she was that he wanted to play — she hadn't seen Hisui in what felt like forever, much less seen him alone without his knucklehead high school friends tagging along — the task currently at hand was her priority. She had to keep her head in the game. Moroha analyzed the current situation in front of her while the boss began morphing into its final stage. If Moroha messed up now, she would have to start all over again. She had to concentrate, to completely focus, to not jinx herself. If she could just get figure out her foe's attack pattern and hop up on that ledge to a better vantage point, she could nab them from above and—

"Oi, Morocchi!"

Too late. Her father's loud voice instantly pierced through her focus from the void of background noise she had managed to block out, causing her to visibly jump in the chair. She hadn't even heard him come into the room. The sudden interruption caused Moroha's fingers to slip on the keyboard, making her miss the jump and land right in front of the KO move from the enemy boss. The brief sound clip of her character woefully dying followed by melancholic Game Over music played from the computer speakers, the monitor becoming dark red with pixelated guts and gore.

"Oh come on, Oyaji! I was in the middle of a battle!" Moroha couldn't help letting out a low growl, feeling moderately irritated over losing due to something so stupid. "Now I have to start all over again. Can you not knock?"

"Keh! I did knock! Clean the shit out of your ears and don't let your brain become zombified by that thing," Inuyasha leaned against the wooden door frame as he crossed his arms. "Are you planning to sit in front of that computer the entire summer? You've been holed up in here since yesterday."

She opened her mouth to respond, but another beep indicating a message rung out from the computer speakers. Moroha let out an annoyed sigh, air rushing through her nose as she turned her chair around to face the screen again.

TAIJIYAH (17:23:20): Just let me know when you're ready to play.
BENIYASHA (17:23:25): yeah gimme a few mins, dad just came in
TAIJIYAH (17:23:28): lol, Alright.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Inuyasha teased her as she kept her focus on the monitor, typing away on the mechanical keyboard, "The lights are on, but no one's home—"

"Yes, Oyaji!" she finally snapped back with levels of sarcasm only a teenage girl could muster, swiveling the chair around so that she faced her father once she was done. Moroha hoped her face conveyed how unimpressed she felt. "I am planning to sit in front of this thing the entire summer. That's why I bought it."

Normally Inuyasha would have bitten back with his own smart-ass remark, willing to banter in order to steer themselves off the path towards an argument. He opened his mouth to retort back, but no longer paid attention to the conversation they'd been having as soon as he caught sight of his daughter's desk. The topic immediately shifted from time spent in front of the computer to the disaster zone that currently surrounded it.

"Moroha, your desk is a fuckin' pigsty…!" Inuyasha suddenly dropping her nickname for her full one caused her to bristle and go quiet. He walked up to the side of her to point over her shoulder at the state of his daughter's desk. "Why'd you let it get like this in here? Couldn't be bothered to pick up after yourself, huh?"

Her father certainly wasn't wrong. Her desk definitely was in the state of disarray that he described, now that Moroha took a good look at it. Cups, plates, candy wrappers, random school papers, trinkets, and knick-knacks were scattered all over, her new keyboard barely peeking through the disarray. The area was in even more chaos than usual due to the variety of tiny screws and tools lining the piling heap, leftover from putting all the computer components together the other day. Once the machine powered up to life Moroha become so engrossed with it that she just… procrastinated on tidying only to eventually forget to clean everything up entirely.

"Oh whatever Oyaji, this is why I don't let you in here. It's not like there's much," Moroha muttered, bending down from her chair to pick up the metal screws one by one. Some of the smaller pieces had fallen down onto the floor below, and Moroha was thankful her father hadn't just so happened to step on any of them when he came marching in here. Inuyasha would have given her quite the — admittedly, deserved — earful if his bare foot had landed on that walking hazard.

"Doesn't matter, I shouldn't have to tell you. How old are you now? Almost fourteen? Your mother told me you leave it like this in here all the time. Shouldn't this be common fuckin' sense by now?" Inuyasha snatched the garbage off the flat surface of the desk as his daughter crouched near the other side, still plucking pieces off of the floor. "Your mother and I have a lot of other shit to do. I work all day, your mother helps me with that, she goes to the shrine to help Jii-chan and does her own job on top of that. She doesn't have time to be your maid either."

Moroha knew her father meant well, that he was only concerned for her mother's wellbeing, but her irritation deepened to frustration.

"It's not my fault she feels the need to be in three places at once…" Moroha muttered under her breath as she finished picking up everything off of the floor, rising from her crouching position. "And I do tidy up, Oyaji. I sweep for Natsuko every day. That's still cleaning."

Natsuko was the landlady of the building they lived in who knew Kagome through her son, Jinenji, although Moroha wasn't sure of the details behind that. A few years ago she offered Moroha a measly daily wage to sweep the foyers of the building block, citing old age and aching bones as the reasons for no longer being able to do so. Every day, she would rant about one day returning to her family farm out in the country so her son could take care of her. But with each passing day she was still here, and she would have the money in hand for Moroha. Moroha highly doubted the old crone would ever leave Tokyo.

"Natsuko pays you to do that so it doesn't count, shithead. It's the least you could do around here to help your mother out," Inuyasha watched Moroha collect the various dishes that were sitting on her desk, nodding towards the computer before tossing some of the candy wrappers on top of her stack of plates. "Should I be worried about you having this thing? Is it going to be a problem?"

"No," Moroha replied, anxious now that the computer had been brought into the conversation. She decided it would be in her best interests to back down, although the prospect of it being taken away further fanned the flames of her vexation. Moroha stood up from her crouching position, all of the screws from the floor now piled in the palm of her hand. "You don't need to be worried. Part of the reason I even bought this was to study for school, anyways."

"Keh!" Inuyasha nodded towards the screen, which displayed the messenger with the game running in the background. "Yeah, whole lotta studying going on in here."

With her back being turned him Moroha rolled her eyes hard, deciding to ignore him as she worked on the task at hand. She figured that the more time she spent arguing with him the less time she ultimately was able to spend playing on the computer. She was thankful that Inuyasha didn't take the topic any further, especially when school was concerned. Moroha pushed her failing grades and low ranking to the back of her mind.

"Anyways, I came in here to ask a question," he continued, crossing his arms, "Weren't you over visiting the shrine the other day?"

"Yeah…" Moroha put the screws inside of the small, clear plastic baggy they were originally packaged in, "Why?"

"Did you happen to see a card on the ground? Blue and white?" Inuyasha walked back towards the bedroom door while Moroha tied the plastic bag shut, pausing to turn back towards her before exiting. "Souta lost one the other day and can't find it. Wasn't sure if you happened to see it."

A blue and white card, on the steps of the Higurashi Shrine…

"N-no," she turned her heating face away from him as she continued cleaning up her desk, moving on to organize the piles of loose school papers. "I didn't see anything."

With all that money at her disposal, she could buy anything she wanted…

"Well keep an eye out if you're around their neck of the woods again, wouldya?" Her father's voice faded as he walked away from her bedroom and towards the living area of their apartment, "He's gonna call the bank and cancel it. The last thing he needs is for someone to steal it and spend money on it."

All her problems melting away, one by one with each flash of APPROVED on the register…

Moroha walked across the room to follow him, hovering in her own doorway as he made his way down the hall. "Well, if it's a credit card the store or the bank will be able to reimburse him, right?" The dread that was filling her was causing her throat to constrict and her chest to get tight. "It's credit for a reason."

She could deal with the consequences later…

"That's not how that works," Moroha watched Inuyasha as he turned the corner, the volume of his voice gradually fading as he walked further away from her bedroom, "You have to repay the money you spend on those things. They're no good. If they took any money Souta'll have to file a police report to get any of it back."

But, the reality was…

Moroha's face flushed red with panic, a deep feeling of dread filling her to the brim. Her apprehension was so intense that she felt nauseous, as though she would vomit out her insides at any moment. Moroha wasn't fully able to even wrap her mind around what she just heard. Her eyes immediately wandered to her backpack, where a small blue and white credit card was nestled in the front pocket inside of her pencil case.

… later was now.

A police report?! Fuck, fuck, FUCK! Moroha thought to herself in a miserable panic, crossing her room and falling to her knees as she went to search for the card in the innards of her knapsack. Underneath her desk were the receipts for the components she had bought, unceremoniously piled in a plastic shopping bag. What the fuck am I going to do?! I can't give it back to Souta and say I found it somewhere else, no one will believe me! Should I tell Oyaji? Should I tell Mama? Oh Gods, that will be even worse than the cops! Maybe I ought to—

Her thoughts were cut off by beeps indicating incoming messages, and Moroha let out a growl as the noises did nothing but add to her urgency and agitation. She stood up, hissing a little as her knees burned from rubbing against the carpet, and leaned over her desk to read the messages.

TAIJIYAH (17:28:30): You coming back?
TAIJIYAH (17:33:06): Hello?
TAIJIYAH (17:34:41): I have to run out soon, I won't be able to stay on and play for much longer…
TAIJIYAH (17:38:45): I joined the queue for a PvP game, maybe we'll play another day…

Upon seeing Hisui's DMs, she felt a tinge of guilt. Moroha felt disappointed to have missed him, she really did, but he slipped easily out of her mind now that she was preoccupied with the new reality of her situation. She swiped the bag of receipts from underneath her desk, shaking the bag and emptying all of the contents out onto the floor. Moroha examined every single one and, much to her horror, all of them included 'NO RETURNS' in their fine writing.

"Oi, Morocchi!" Inuyasha called from the other side of the apartment, making her visibly jump as she hurriedly stashed the receipts back into the bag in case Inuyasha decided to peek into her room again. "What do you wanna eat tonight? Do you wanna go out later? I'm starving!"

"I-I don't know, one second!"

Shaking a little, Moroha exited out of the messenger window, giving way to the Crucible of Kodoku end screen. As Moroha observed her character laying in a puddle of their own pixelated guts, spewing blood with the ominous 'GAME OVER' hovering above their head, she couldn't help but profoundly feel that the imagery was a perfect analogy of her own future, given her current situation.

---

"We have to go to the meeting, it's almost nine."

It was still too early in the morning to listen to the pitch of Takechiyo's voice. Moroha had been here for two hours already, sorting through claims and signing off on the mundane reports since close to 7:00 AM. Not even the bitter taste of coffee had made being up that early in the morning any easier, and her nightmare from earlier was the cherry on top of the cake. But, it was the day before everyone was off for Golden Week. She had only been at the Taisho Corporation for a little over a month now, but the vacation was still very much welcome. Once she was done work, she would have a quick check-in visit with Jyubei and then her vacation would officially start. She figured that the earlier she started and finished her work the sooner she could leave, as long as she kept at it.

"Already?" Moroha grumpily stamped the report she was working on, hitting the sheet a little harder than she intended to. Usually, she didn't care about going to the morning meetings — it at least gave her ten minutes to think about whatever happened to be on her mind in relative peace — but today this was nothing but an unwelcome disruption in the way of her work. She was on a roll, and this interruption would do nothing but break her concentration. Moroha only hoped she could maintain the momentum again when she returned. The sooner she was out of here, the better.

"Yeah, I know. I don't want to go either, it's a waste of time," Takechiyo hopped down from the chair and stretched as soon as his feet hit the floor, "I dunno why they can't just send an email. Are you coming, Riku-san?"

Their supervisor hummed a curt noise of acknowledgment as he stood up. Riku had been quiet all morning, which was extremely unusual for him. He wasn't grumpy, just withdrawn. Normally, he would chatter as he sipped his morning coffee and worked on auditing all the paperwork Moroha and Takechiyo had piled on his desk from the day before. But today he stayed hidden behind his computer monitor and the numerous stacks of paper on his desk. When Moroha did catch a glimpse of him he seemed as though he was deep in thought, a brooding expression on his face.

The tanuki gave Riku a strange look, and Moroha assumed he had noticed their supervisor's strange behavior as well. Moroha hurriedly signed the last signature on the report she was working on, but by the time she stood up Riku was walking far ahead of them towards the open office area. Takechiyo jumped onto her shoulder as she strode faster to keep pace.

"Is something up with Riku-san?" Moroha whispered to her co-worker perched on her shoulder, keeping her voice low so no one else would hear their conversation. "He's been weird today."

"I'm not sure, but it's not just you," Takechiyo answered her as she rounded the corner, leaving their secluded corner of the office and walking up to stand directly beside him. As Moroha walked up from behind Riku, the tanuki's voice grew louder as Takechiyo addressed him. "Hey Riku-san, what's the matter—"

The inquiry went quiet as her co-worker tightened his hold on Moroha's blouse, his question promptly answered as the individuals standing at the front of the room came into view. There were four standing there; one was a tall, unkempt green youkai with bulging yellow eyes wearing a suit that looked a few sizes too small for him with a crooked tie. The figure standing beside him was a tall, pale woman with bold stripes on her face which was outlined by dark blue hair. The most notable feature about her was the large, white-feathered wings on her back. To her side was a much shorter and older man, who had small horns on top of his forehead and a long face. He brushed his hair back in such a way that made his face look even longer than it already was naturally. Finally at the far end was a man with long dark hair and red eyes, standing with his arms crossed in a business suit. Amongst everyone else, who was dressed in business-casual clothes, he looked far too formal.

"Yeesh, they're all here together…" Takechiyo muttered under his breath, standing higher on Moroha's shoulder so he could see what was going on beyond the crowd of people. The tanuki looked over at their supervisor. "I guess you're in for a real treat today, huh?"

Riku said nothing as he studied the four figures standing at the front of the room. He did not look pleased.

"Takechiyo, who is who again?" Moroha nudged the shoulder her co-worker sat on in order to get his attention. Aiya had mentioned them to her a week or two before, but she had been caught up in her own personal issues that she had hardly been paying attention. She was kicking herself for that now. "They've never been together all at once since I've arrived. I forgot their names, already."

Takechiyo shifted his weight to regain some grip, and Moroha assumed he was about to answer her question when Riku suddenly cut in. He tilted a little more closely to her and subtly pointed at the row standing at the front of the room.

"That one there is Shirokuma Totetsu, who is in charge of sales and customer service. He's about as good at his job as you would assume by looking at him…"

As his finger slowly dragged along the line of people, Moroha wished it was possible to compartmentalize their names in her mind similar to a filing cabinet, so they'd be easy to pull out and remember later.

"… and the lady beside him is Yukinari Kyuki, who is the head of HR in our district. If you ever get called into her office mentally prepare yourself, Higurashi-chan. She's not as nice as she makes herself out to be. The cranky old bat beside her is Yasumoto Konton, he's in charge of coordinating the engineers on projects in the prefecture's bigger cities. He's about as pleasant and engaging as talking to a brick wall, and you'll want to bash your head off of one by the time you're done with him. And, finally, the fellow beside him is…" Riku brought his hand to his chin in contemplative thought, "I… have no idea. Normally you would see Kiuchi Tokotsu here. Thankfully the gods have shown us mercy and put the bright idea of retiring in the fool's head, so no one has to put up with him anymore. I am assuming whoever is standing there is the new replacement."

"I don't know who that other guy is either, but… I couldn't have said it better myself!" Takechiyo quipped from atop her shoulder. Before she could ask any other questions, Riku continued on his spiel.

"You haven't seen them together all at once because they barely are together all at once. They're disorganized, incompetent and they fight like cats and dogs," Riku leaned a little closer to Moroha, lowering his voice. "And there's only one thing you need to know about them, Higurashi-chan, and that one thing is that they're all complete and utter morons."

"Wow. Uh, that's quite the introduction Riku-san," Moroha responded now that she was able to get a word in, "Have they ever considered letting you introduce the new employees to everyone at orientation before? You're delightful."

"He's right, though!" Takechiyo agreed with Riku, one hand clutching the fabric of her top tightly as the other made a flailing motion to emphasize the urgency of what he was saying to her. "Try to avoid them if you can!"

Moroha highly doubted anyone standing up at the front of the room would ever need to discuss anything of importance with her, though. Not many people came by their closed-off area of the office, and in the grand scheme of things, her job wasn't terribly important anyway. Anything anyone needed to discuss with her could be done through Riku. She didn't interact with any of the customers or clients on the phone, didn't attend any meetings, and was not responsible for directly supervising anyone. Hell, she didn't even have her own business card. What reason would she ever need to speak with them?

Moroha couldn't help but ask, "Have you had to deal with them before, Takechiyo-kun?"

He flushed red before responding, "N-No!"

Liar, she thought. Moroha could tell that he had spoken to them before considering how flustered he was, but she didn't press any further. She wondered if the tanuki had gotten himself into trouble or if something happened on account of management's own incompetency. By the way everyone described them around here, she was willing to bet on the latter. But just as soon as she was about to reply the sound of a female voice resounded across the floor, assisted by the use of a microphone.

"Good morning, everyone!" Kyuki greeted. Her mouth was too close to the mic, causing her voice to screech and reverberate loudly throughout the room.

"Good morning!" Echoed everyone else in the office, taking a deep bow as they did so. As Moroha straightened herself back up, she couldn't help but sigh. If she were working right now she would be that much closer to getting out of here and enjoying a week of time off.

"It is finally the last day before we all leave for Golden Week. Put your all into your work today, and we all hope that you and your families enjoy this time spending the holidays together, and return refreshed," she paused briefly to allow some people on the floor to politely applaud before continuing, "You'll also notice a new face walking around the office. This individual is serving as Kuichi-sama's permanent replacement as the finance manager and has transferred all the way from Osaka. He's only been out of school for a little less than a year but has shown great potential. Coincidentally, Kuichi-sama is his father—"

"Of course," Riku muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "Nepotism at its finest. Absolutely distasteful."

"—so please give Kuichi Jakotsumaru a warm welcome if you see him. He was going to wait until after Golden Week to make his first appearance, but he chose to… surprise us all today."

Kyuki's tone implied that she didn't sound all that excited or impressed about the situation either. But polite applause erupted again as the man in the too-fancy business suit gave a small bow, a smug smirk on his face. Moroha couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about Jakotsumaru that she didn't like. It was a rare occasion for her intuition to lie.

"Isn't that the job you applied for, Riku-san?" Takechiyo inquired, sounding a little sad. "I'm happy you aren't leaving us, but… still! You deserved it more than anyone else!"

Riku didn't say anything in response, keeping his eyes forward as he studied the new addition standing at the front of the room. As Kyuki continued reading the news and updates from each individual department at their branch, the pieces of the puzzle fell together, and it immediately made sense why her supervisor had been in such a sullen mood all morning. She would have been disappointed too if she was passed up for something like a promotion in lieu of an under-qualified family member.

As Kyuki continued reading the news and updates from each individual department at their branch, a figure holding a stack of folders and papers appeared out of the corner of Moroha's eye, coming up from behind to stand alongside her. The figure peeked around Moroha's peripheral vision to catch their attention, giving a little wave and a big, warm smile.

"Good morning, you guys!" Tamano greeted, keeping her voice low in order to not interrupt the morning announcements. Despite her quiet whisper, her voice sounded entirely too chipper for this early in the morning. When Tamano's eyes caught hers, Moroha could have sworn a light blush crossed her cheeks. "H-Hi, Higurashi-chan!"

"Hey," Moroha addressed, quickly eyeing the paperwork her co-worker was carrying and letting out a small sigh. Oh Gods, there was even more to do. Would this day ever be over? "Is that for us?"

"Yes," Tamano confirmed, handing the stack over carefully when Moroha reached out for it. The receptionist tucked a piece of her long hair behind her ear before adding, "The day before vacation always feels like the longest day with the most work, doesn't it?"

"Tell me about it. It feels like today will never end." Moroha agreed, wincing a little as Takechiyo's claws dug into her back as he switched from one shoulder to the other to be closer to Tamano. His weight shifted as he leaned over Moroha's shoulder, getting a good look at the additional work for the day. "And as long as you keep being the gift that keeps on giving, it never will."

Moroha could almost hear the tanuki roll his eyes as Tamano chuckled, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth as she did so. Their little inside joke still refused to die, and as long as it annoyed Takechiyo she would continue to keep it alive for as long as possible. Getting under his skin got Moroha through the day, no matter how long it ended up being.

"I promise that is it for the day, Higurashi-chan!"

"Don't speak too soon," Riku chipped in, looking as though he had perked up a little from them joking around. His eyes remained locked on the four managers at the front of the room as the meeting was beginning to wrap up and people headed back to their desks. "I've heard they're going to make us do stuff from home over the holidays."

That caught Moroha off guard. Up until now, everything at work had been done from the office. Back home in Tokyo she still had her computer, but since she had been released she hadn't bought any electronics, let alone a laptop. She couldn't even remember if she was allowed to have one. If she wasn't, how would she explain that to Riku? Would she have to have Sesshomaru or someone else step in? Would she have to quit?

"Really?!" The tanuki exclaimed in a hushed whisper, his voice becoming shrill from his annoyance. "What big brain idea will these idiots come up with next?! It's a vacation for a reason!"

"Mm. Their presence is, truly, a gift to us all today."

"… Ugh," Takechiyo groaned from her shoulder, shaking his head as Tamano began to giggle even harder. Moroha couldn't even repress a smirk at that one. "You're all so corny. I'm happy I don't have to hear any of these dumb jokes for a whole week after today."

"I have to disagree, Takechiyo-kun. I think our jokes are a-maize-ing."

"… Riku-san, that was even cornier!" The tanuki bantered back, bouncing off of her to land on their supervisor instead with a small oof. "How do you come up with this stuff?"

Moroha couldn't help but feel relieved when his weight was off of her shoulder, moving it in a circular motion to get some of the feeling back. Takechiyo was heavier than he looked. It didn't help much, as she shuffled the heavy load of folders and papers in her arms. As the two of them began to head back towards their little corner of the office and their voices faded away, Tamano's laughing finally died down. The meeting was over, and everyone was beginning to head back to their workstations.

"I'm sorry to laugh at you all, Higurashi-chan. I'll do my best to help you today!"

"Thanks. I hate that they'd spring that on us at the last second," Moroha mumbled, shifting the paperwork in her arms again. "Now I have to look into getting a laptop."

"You don't have one?" Tamano's eyebrows sprung upwards, "Did yours break?"

"Uh, yeah," Moroha fibbed, not wanting to get into the exact details of why didn't have one, or worst yet, why she wouldn't be able to get one. She would have to ask Jyubei about it when she saw him later on. "I'll have to go looking tonight."

"There's a store near the station that's really good! I got mine from there used," Tamano exclaimed, pausing for a few seconds before adding, "I-If you do get one, you'll have to add me so we can chat more. Outside of work, I mean."

Moroha studied Tamano's face. Was she blushing? She figured Tamano was still just shy and awkward around her, but at least it was in an endearing way."Yeah, sure. I'll add you once I get it."

"Oh, great!" Her face lit up as she quickly reached into her pocket to bring out a small piece of paper. She put it on top of the stack of papers, the tiny piece falling forward on the top of the pile to rest against Moroha's chest. "W-We can play games if you want to too. Whatever works best, Higurashi-chan!"

Moroha couldn't help her eyebrows raising as she looked down towards the piece of paper, where a username scribbled on it in pen. Did she write it down for me in advance? Was she planning to give it to me the whole time?

"Sure, I'll let you know."

Tamano giggled nervously again before turning on her heel, walking back towards the front desk with a noticeable spring in her step. "I'll talk to you later!"

"Yeah, see you. Try not to leave any more gifts on my desk, okay?"

The receptionist flashed her a large, beaming smile before turning a corner and falling out of Moroha's sight. She turned around, heading back to her own seating area and running the conversation with Tamano back over in her head. Was it just me, or… was that premeditated?

She put the stack of folders on her desk once she reached it, scooping up the scrap of paper. Moroha unceremoniously flopped back into her chair, ignoring Takechiyo asking where she had been. Moroha furrowed her brows, quietly running a finger over the lettering of Tamano's username. Being able to continue her work momentum without distracting thoughts was now, undoubtedly, long dead in the water.

---

Summer of 2010

Stealing the credit card hadn't been something she had sought out to do intentionally. It had just… happened. Though, at the time, coming across the blue and white piece of plastic at the top of the steps of the Higurashi Shrine felt like nothing short of a miracle.

"Moroha… this is really bad…" Kagome whispered under her breath, more to herself than to her daughter, as she looked over the mid-term exam tests that Moroha brought home to her. The teachers required one of her parent's signatures so that they knew she was failing. Moroha had considered forging it, not wanting to listen to the inevitable lecture she was in for from her parents, but the last thing she needed was to anger the teachers. They were already on her ass enough as it was about her tanking grades. "Haven't you been studying?"

"Yeah." Lie.

Moroha was always adamant to herself that she inherited neither her father's natural, intuitive intellect nor her mother's studious nature. Moroha lacked any motivation to study, and oftentimes when she did she would end up getting distracted with something else. And, Gods, school was just so boring. It was hard to pay attention to something that didn't hold her interest. The only subject she had decent marks in was history, since it was the only thing in school she had first-hand knowledge about. How could she not, with her mother working at a museum and her grandfather being the priest of a shrine? Kagome would have seriously ripped her head off if she failed that one.

It came as no surprise to her when her mother came into the room an hour later holding a list of cram schools in her hand, demanding Moroha choose one to study at over the course of summer break. Come hell or high water Moroha was going to get into a decent high school, and that was that. It pissed Moroha right off — "Summer vacation is for hanging out and chilling, not studying! Why are you doing this?!" — but no amount of complaining, arguing or resistance on her end was enough to change Kagome's mind on the matter.

"Keh! Sorry kid, she's not wrong," Inuyasha told Moroha when she came to him, hoping he would jump to her defense, take her side or at least convince her mother to put off cramming until regular school started again. "You did this one to yourself."

Even then she knew that he was right. All of them were right. The rest of the students in her year had gotten serious about studying long, long ago and Moroha was lagging desperately behind. Seeing her name that close to the bottom of the list of students ranked according to grade was… alarming, to say the least. If this didn't wake her up, she wasn't sure if anything could.

Moroha found the card on the day following her argument with Kagome. It was the first day of summer break, the humid July heat hanging heavy in the hot air although the sun had barely risen above the horizon. It was early in the morning and Moroha intended to visit her great-grandfather, to do radio exercises with him and the Elder Association who visited the shrine grounds each day. She hadn't seen Jii-chan or anyone on that side of her family for more than a month now. Getting caught up in the whirlwind of day-to-day life and the disaster that had been this past school semester made the time apart feel much, much longer.

As soon as she was able, she jumped on the subway to make the trip and visit. There was no excuse now that she had the free time, and it would be good to get her mind off of school and into the mindset of a vacation. Once she arrived, gazing off at the Goshinboku in the distance as she waited for someone to answer, her grandmother came to the door. She hugged and greeted Grandma Higurashi only to learn, much to her disappointment, that Jii-chan and the Elder Association weren't even supposed to be at the shrine grounds that day.

"He and Souta went out for appointments, dear. I'm not sure when he and your uncle will be back, so no one is coming here today," Grandma Higurashi said, her face brightening before adding, "You should come inside and catch up though. It feels like it's been a long while, hasn't it?"

It had been, so she did. Moroha sat cross-legged at the low table in the kitchen, her elbow on the table and her chin resting on her cupped hand as she watched her grandmother prepare the kettle for boiling water. The room was filled with the scent of food and soup that was being prepared for the evening meal later on, which made Moroha's mouth water and her stomach growl quietly. Every part of the shrine house felt so cozy and comfortable, and even sitting here in the little kitchen filled her with a sense of nostalgia. She wasn't sure if it was just because it was her grandparent's house, but being on the shrine grounds filled her with a sense of ease.

"And how have things been?" Her grandmother asked as she idly walked about the kitchen to prepare tea, lifting the kettle off of the heat as soon as the steam made it whistle. "Do you have any plans for the summer?"

"Nothing so far," Moroha admitted, removing her chin from her hand and leaning back with her arms outstretched. "I was hoping to hang out with Hisui but he's busy with his new friends."

"It's his first year of high school this year though, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Moroha replied in a dreary tone, unable to help but feel a little jealous as she imagined her friend's face. Moroha didn't have the guts to tell him that she missed him. Hisui was more of a brother to her than a friend, although she only admitted that fact to herself in private. Gods, how long had she known him now? Since what felt like forever, it seemed. "Since he started this year I've barely seen him, and every time I ask to hang out he's busy. It sucks. He and everyone else play some stupid computer game together, but I don't have my own so I can't play."

"That's too bad, dear. Maybe one day you'll be able to. But, if you have some free time, you should keep coming around the same time you did today," Grandma Higurashi said as she prepared the tea, pouring water from the boiling kettle into two teacups. "Jii-chan and everyone will be thrilled to see you! They ask about you all the time. Jii-chan might ask you to help him out around after, though…"

"I don't mind doing that," Moroha replied, leaning back onto her hands as she thought about her great-grandfather. Her grandmother hummed happily in acknowledgment. "If he asks, I mean."

"That's great, dear! He will be glad to have you come around."

Moroha figured the conversation would turn in another direction, maybe towards how everything was going around the shrine or any drama amongst the Elder Association members. There was always gossip when it came to them, the old coots had nothing better to do. But Moroha was completely caught off guard when Grandma Higurashi blurted out her next question.

"And what is going on between you and your mother? She told me you and her had a fight the other day…"

"She already told you?" Moroha audibly groaned at that, rolling her eyes at her grandmother's turned back she added milk and sugar to the hot beverages. "Yeah, she's mad at me because I did bad on my midterm exams," she confirmed under her breath, her tone quiet.

'Bad,' Moroha scoffed, that's just putting it nicely. I fucking bombed them. The conversation and resulting argument with her mother still fresh in her mind, Moroha's eyes fell to her hands in her lap. She recalled it for what felt like the umpteenth time since it happened. She hated that she was still mulling over it, no matter how many times she told herself it wouldn't matter and would eventually blow over.

"She's just worried about you," her grandmother picked up the mugs from the counter and moved to join Moroha at the table as she continued, "next year you'll be ranked for high school entrance exams based on your grades. She just wants you to do well for yourself, dear."

Moroha couldn't help pressing her lips together into a thin line as the irritation bubbled inside of her again, eyes remaining downcast as her grandmother placed her mug in front of her. "Are you going to give me a speech about it, too? Give me a list of cram schools?"

"Of course not," Her grandmother replied, giving Moroha a small yet sweet smile as she brought her teacup to her lips. "I'm sure you'll be able to turn it around for the better."

After the conversation with Grandma Higurashi and helping her with some tasks around the shrine, Moroha left feeling even worse than when she initially showed up. She dragged her feet along the ground as she walked towards the torii gates leading back to the streets of Tokyo, arms sore from helping her grandmother do some heavy lifting. She took a moment to look at the Goshinboku, remembering how its comforting presence helped her find her center in the past. But not even the serenity of the tree was enough to ease her worries today.

"Mrow!"

Between her and the Goshinboku laid Buyo, staring at her intently with his large, round yellow eyes. His ears flicked in her direction, licking his paws as he continued idly observing her. You've let him get fat Jii-chan, Moroha thought as she crouched, clicking her tongue and rubbing her thumb and index finger together. "Tsk tsk tsk, come here Buyo! Come here!"

The cat was never able to resist a single iota of attention. Buyo sprung up and ran towards her immediately, eager to be pet, and Moroha couldn't help but laugh at his saggy belly swinging in the wind as he trotted along. For a cat that was older than her, he was still quite active and spry. As soon as Buyo reached her feet he let out several long and loud meows, demanding her to pet him as he rubbed against the bottom of her legs.

"You don't care if I have shitty grades, do you? You just care that I have claws to scratch your butt with!" Moroha rubbed his head with one hand and scratched the area right in front of his tail with her other. He loved when she itched him there, enjoying the sensations her dull claws brought to him. Buyo purred loudly, the muscles on his back twitching from her ministrations before the cat finally plopped down onto his back, exposing his belly.

When she finally stood and raised her eyes to regard the tree one last time before leaving, something on the ground where Buyo had been laying caught her eye. He must have been laying on a piece of paper, Moroha thought to herself as she walked across the shine yard in quick long strides. Moroha nearly tripped over Buyo as she did so, the cat jumping up and darting in front of her once she stopped petting him. She mentally cursed whoever thought to litter on her family's property as she approached the object, picking it up between her claws.

It wasn't a piece of paper, but a blue and white plastic card. Was it a gift card to a store? She glanced it over mindlessly before shoving it into back pocket of her shorts.

Whatever. Finders keepers, losers weepers, she thought as she walked through the torii gate and down the shrine stairs. As she turned the corner and walked towards the direction of the subway station, she rested her hands behind her head as she mulled over her situation again. The conversation with her grandmother had made her feel even worse.

What am I going to do about cram school? She pondered, walking up to a convenience store on the corner of the intersection and walking through the automatic sliding doors. Moroha shivered as she stood in front of the refrigeration units, the hum from the appliances filling her ears as she idly debated on which onigiri she should get. I don't have my own computer, I don't know the teacher, I don't know the kids, I don't know the material, my summer break is going to be wasted… What the fuck am I going to do?

She plucked a salmon onigiri off the shelf — She couldn't go wrong with a classic, could she? — and as she walked up to the register she searched through her bag with one hand, looking for any of the cash that Natsuko had given to her for sweeping.

Come on, she seethed, unable to feel for any kind of banknote. Every time I don't need money there are bills all over the place…! After a few minutes of rustling through her belongings, she gave up, her stomach lightly growling as she looked at the rice ball with envy. She nearly resigned herself to putting it back on the shelf and leaving, but she suddenly remembered the newfound item in her possession.

Would that gift card work here? Moroha wondered, pulling the plastic card out of her back pocket before hesitantly approaching the register. "Hey," Moroha greeted the cashier, making a waving motion with the hand that held the card, "Can I use this here?"

The clerk stared at her as though she had just grown two pairs of heads. "You can use that anywhere."

With that assertion, Moroha put the rice ball unceremoniously on the counter, and it hit the surface with a tiny thump. "Then I'm using this to pay. And don't bag the food, I'll eat it on the way."

With a nod the cashier confirmed the price, "That'll be one hundred and fifteen yen."

Moroha quickly tapped the card on the debit machine, dancing in one place as she waited for the transaction to go through. She wasn't even sure if it would, but a second or two later 'APPROVED' flashed on the screen. I can't believe that worked, she thought, turning to walk off. But the information appearing on the screen next made her immediately stop in her tracks, nearly taking her breath away.

REMAINING BALANCE ¥2,112,169

Even after the message had flickered and the 'Welcome!' message reappeared, Moroha stared at the machine in complete and utter shock. Did she just see that correctly? Maybe the decimal point was off by one? Or was it all in her head? Had school driven her so insane that she was finally seeing things?

"Have a good day Miss," the clerk said, giving her a strange look but not saying anything further. Snapping back to reality Moroha have them a quick, small nod before snatching the onigiri and hurriedly making her way out of the store. Now her appetite was at the back of her mind, and she didn't even notice her stomach lightly growling as she studied the card in wonder. It was more money than she had ever dreamed of having in her life, let alone right in her pocket.

What should I buy? She pondered to herself, bringing her hand to her chin as she contemplated her options. Moroha couldn't believe her incredible luck. What do I need right now?

The question made her frown, the more she considered the answer. What she needed couldn't be bought with money. She couldn't bribe her teachers for better grades, she couldn't buy herself straight A's, she couldn't buy her way out of cram school, she couldn't buy her way back onto her mother's good side, and she couldn't buy her mother well-deserved peace of mind…

Then it occurred to Moroha: She may not have had enough money to buy what she needed… but she certainly had enough money to buy whatever she wanted.

It was like autopilot guided her to the station and directed her towards the back streets and underground malls of Akihabara. Moroha decided she was going to build her own. It was so easy to spend the money on the card. It almost didn't even feel like she was spending real money. Moroha bought the components without any care in the world, no inhibitions holding her back. Hell, it was so convenient and easy that after a certain point it hadn't even felt like she was spending real money. It was easy to rationalize.

And, if luck was on her side, buying everything she wanted right now would eventually get her what she needed.

Later that evening, Moroha sat in her room piecing the components together, listening to the DIY video tutorial blaring from her phone. She had barely even noticed the small knock coming from her door.

"Come in," Moroha muttered absentmindedly, not taking her eyes off her project.

"Morocchi?" Kagome called into the room, cracking the door open to check on her. Once she saw the computer parts laying across her daughter's bedroom floor she opened the door fully to let herself in. "What are you doing in here?"

"I'm building a computer," Moroha's told her matter-of-factly, tapping her phone screen with the pad of her finger to pause the audio.

"Why?"

"Well…" Moroha stood up and looked down towards the floor, "I thought hard about what you said the other day. About cram school and stuff, so… I bought this. To help me study."

"How?" Kagome asked incredulously, looking at all the metal pieces on the carpet. She didn't sound angry at all. In fact, Moroha could have sworn that Kagome sounded impressed. "How did you even pay for it?"

"I saved the money Natsuko gave me," Moroha fibbed. It felt weird to keep the truth from her mother, but as her mind wandered to the magical card that was nestled in her bag Moroha promptly decided she would keep that tidbit of information to herself.

Kagome raised her eyebrows. "Really? You saved all of that money? After all this time?"

"Y-yeah."

Moroha hoped the white lie didn't make itself obvious on her face when she looked back up again, not able to help but feel nervous. But those feelings immediately went away as soon as she looked up from the floor, and saw Kagome's expression. She looked absolutely delighted, her happiness shone through her eyes and she smiled widely. Moroha didn't think she would ever be able to forget it. Kagome closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her daughter in a hug, which Moroha returned.

"I am so proud of you, Moroha," Kagome told her, giving her a quick peck smack-dab in the middle of her forehead. Moroha felt a burst of warmth go through her chest as Kagome pulled back. "I really am."

I was right, she foolishly thought as she returned Kagome's smile, I'm going to be getting what I need out of this after all.

---

"… and we won't be able to meet up again until after Golden Week is over. It's going to be ten days long this year to commemorate the new era and emperor, so I won't see you until then. We'll arrange to meet up the following Friday."

Moroha stood in front of Jyubei's desk, observing him while he kept his balding head buried in a pile of papers. He was so entranced on getting the paperwork done that Jyubei had barely looked up at her the entire meeting, preferring to multitask instead. She figured he was trying to get everything all done so he could leave for his own holidays as soon as the last parolee came through. Not that Moroha could blame him, not one bit — once this meeting was over and done with, her own vacation would officially start.

"Could you do the honors before you go?" He asked while over into the desk drawer to pull out the all-too-familiar plastic cup. Moroha plucked the drug test from his hands and she observed it for a brief moment, twisting the cup around before asking, point-blank, the question that was on her mind.

"Jyubei-san, am I allowed to have a computer?"

Moroha wasn't sure if it was the question itself or the manner in which she asked it, as it caused the parole officer sitting in front of her to look up from the papers he was signing. Considering the answer with a loud hum, the large man leaned back in his chair and ran his hand across the tussled hair that still remained on his head.

"The conditions of your release don't mention Internet access or computer ownership, so it's no issue. Just know it can be subject to a search warrant if we call for it," he recalled idly, making a clicking noise with his tongue and chuckling to himself, "I'm surprised you're just asking me that now though. You've been out for nearly six weeks, but most people your age ask me about having a computer on their first day free. You kids can't keep your eyes off a screen nowadays."

"My work is asking me to get it. But until now I've been able to keep myself busy without one," Moroha told him as she walked towards the office door, resting her hand on the doorknob but not turning it. "My phone has worked well enough, anyway. And I also figured, just, with so much time off coming up…"

"…you'll have the clock to run out," he finished for her with a nod, "It won't be an issue. Good on you for checking first."

Jyubei's confirmation sealed the deal for Moroha. As soon as she left the Offender Rehabilitation Centre she marched straight for the used technology store that Tamano had told her about. Moroha recognized it, having passed by the place multiple times on her way back and forth from work. She wasn't looking for anything new or fancy. As long as she could do whatever work was assigned to her, browse the Internet, talk to who she needed to talk to, and play Crucible of Kodoku, of course, she would be happy. The game was nearly ten years old now — they had to have something that could run it.

She had at least six weeks worth of wages sitting in her bank account. Other than clothes and daily necessities, Moroha hadn't spent her money on much of anything. Moroha saw it as a huge accomplishment, considering she had a habit of spending money as though it would burn through her pocket if she didn't. It helped that there was not much to spend her money on in Shisato to begin with. If she had been in Tokyo, with so much to see and do all the time, she wasn't sure if she would have been able to pull it off.

Her excitement died a little as the thought of Tokyo came to mind.

Deep down, Moroha wished she could call and tell her parents. To let them know that she had earned it with her own hard work and money. That she had worked hard and managed to save. That she didn't have to lie, cheat or steal to obtain it. Moroha wondered if they would even be proud.

---

Summer of 2010

Inuyasha remained ghost-quiet, her confession hovering darkly in the air. His ears were pressed flat against his head, his knuckles turning white from how tightly he had his fists clenched. Moroha wished he would say something, anything, to her to indicate how he felt or what she should say or do next. But as every quiet second passed, she felt her stomach become heavier and heavier, as though the organ was being filled with rocks one-by-one.

The words had kept echoing in her head — police report, police report, police report police report police report — and she barely slept the night before, spending most of the night tossing and turning as she battled with her turmoiling thoughts. She had raked her brain over and over again, trying to come up with any excuse or reasoning that would get her off the hook or, at the very least, not make her look like someone who was a completely awful person. But no matter how she tried to rationalize it to herself, she couldn't come up with anything reasonable to say. Moroha was done for. She had done it with the best of intentions, she really had, but now, every time she looked at the new computer she was filled with a profound and incredibly urgent sense of guilt.

By the end of the night, as the sun was beginning to rise, Moroha decided she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she didn't confess. She had to tell someone.

She had debated on circumventing her parents and directly telling Souta and Grandma Higurashi on her own accord. But Kagome kept in contact with them nearly every single day — her mother was bound to find out much sooner rather than later with that approach. Grandma Higurashi would spill the beans in a second. Moroha was not ready to face the inevitable disappointment and the reaction once she learned that Moroha had, essentially, stolen from her own family.

Every time Kagome's proud and pleased face from the day before flashed in her mind, Moroha felt even worse.

And now, as she stood alone with her father in their living room, her anxiety and dread had increased tenfold from where it had been the previous night. Now, it was out there. Put out into the universe, now tangible. Moroha wrung her hands together, waiting for him to say something. It was not like him, at all, to be silent.

"… Moroha," he finally addressed her, his voice sounding like it was painfully grinding through gritted teeth. The use of her full name and the tone of his voice made her heart pound even harder. He sounded beyond livid. "You better have money stashed somewhere that I don't fucking know about."

She pressed her mouth into a tight line, drawing her lower lip between her teeth before she finally breathed out, "No, Oyaji. I don't."

To describe the reaction as a complete and utter meltdown would have been an understatement. The conversation immediately devolved into a screaming match, Inuyasha yelling directly into her face while she hysterically howled back through her tears. The words coming out of Moroha's mouth weren't even comprehensible, she was so distraught. At one point he even grabbed her shoulders shook her, and Moroha thought her neck would break with how much force he used. Moroha had grabbed his shoulders too, mostly to balance herself but also to return the favor, although her shaking was not as strong and much less enthusiastic.

"I can't believe you would do something like this… Do you even fucking realize…?!" It wasn't so much a question as much as it was a statement, venting the anger that was aimed intensely towards her. He had never, ever been physical with her in the past, but their emotions were coming to a hot boil. Inuyasha was so beside himself with fury that Moroha wondered if he would actually hit her this time. "Are you naturally this fucking naive?! Or are you just playing dumb right now?!"

"Stop it!" They were the first words Moroha had been able to legibly force out through her crying since this began, and her hands held her father's shoulders even tighter. He had insulted her intelligence for the umpteenth time since this all began, and it fueled the fire even further. She had to get it through to him that his assumptions were wrong. "Oyaji, calm down and stop—"

"Calm down? Calm down?!"

His grip on her shoulders unconsciously tightened, and Moroha hissed through her teeth at the sharp, stinging pain of his claws. Inuyasha's talons were dull, not in any kind of fighting form, but there was so much pressure on her skin that she swore blood was starting to bead from the shallow flesh wounds.

"Why did you do this?" Her father interrogated, staring at her dead in the face and shaking her once more. Their mutual eye contact made Moroha's face twist up, and her features collapsed as her sobs picked up again. Her cries felt like they were ripping through her entire body. "What the fuck were you thinking?!"

"I bought the computer to help me with school!" Moroha screamed, her voice rising several octaves in her desperation to reach him, to make him understand. "I'm failing and I didn't want Mama— or either of you — to be angry with me anymore! I thought I was doing a good thing!"

"Well look at all the good it did you, you fucking fool!" Inuyasha mocked her as he shook his head vehemently in disbelief. "You had one problem to begin with and, oh, what do you know? You ended up with two. I can't fucking believe this shit…! What fantasy world do you live in where money just falls from the sky out of nowhere, Moroha? Are you stupid?"

Moroha took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down, although it didn't do much good. This conversation was going nowhere, it wasn't productive in the slightest. Inuyasha was going to curse and yell and call her an idiot until he was blue in the face. He was known for being hotheaded, but this whole situation was becoming far too intense, far too heated. She wanted the conversation to end before they said something neither of them could take back. Moroha wanted to face the consequences of her actions so it would be finally over and done with. She needed to steer the discussion towards its end, so she blurted out the next thing that came to mind.

"So what are you going to do, Oyaji?" Moroha pleaded, ignoring his insult. "Are you going to tell the cops? Are you going to get me in trouble?"

His eyes widened further as he stared at her, dumbfounded by her unexpected question. It took Inuyasha a moment to process what she asked before his expression darkened.

"Is that the only reason you told me? Because you thought you were going to be found out eventually? Are you even sorry?"

Moroha swallowed nervously before responding, "You mentioned Souta was going to file a police report and— and it just scared me, alright? It scared the crap out of me—"

Wrong answer. Oh Gods, was that the wrong answer. Growling, he reoriented the both of them so Moroha's back was facing towards the sofa and shoved her backward onto it before walking away. 'Manipulative' was the only word she was able to catch as he muttered under his breath. She landed hard against the couch, bouncing forcefully onto the cushions while letting out a small grunt upon impact.

He hadn't hurt her physically at all, but a snarl ripped through her own chest once she fully understood what just happened. Moroha didn't react fast enough to bombard him, and Inuyasha was already stomping down the hall by the time she got up onto her feet.

"Don't manhandle me!" Moroha seethed, jumping back on her feet to parade right behind him. The volume of her voice increased tenfold as she shouted down the hallway at him. Moroha wasn't going to take that lying down. She was absolutely furious now. "You can't do that to me! That's not fair!"

"Really? You wanna talk about fucking fair?" Moroha could hear his muffled voice from the other side of the apartment. Was he in her bedroom? "Was spending someone else's money without permission fair to you too? Just shut the hell up and quit talking, Moroha. I can't even look at you right now."

Yes, he was definitely in her room. Moroha speed-walked down the hall in quick, long strides. She nearly hit her arm on the doorframe to her room in the process but didn't notice in her urgency to get to Inuyasha and see what, exactly, it was that he was up to. Her father was already causing a racket, if the sound of her chair being shoved to the side and nearly falling over was anything to go by. Once she reached the room, he was on his hands and knees under the desk, roughly pulling on wires and shoving her belongings — including the bag of receipts — out from underneath it. For someone so eager to give her trouble for the state of her room the day before, he sure had no problem recreating the mess himself.

"Oyaji, what are you doing?!" Moroha cried, hovering behind him to get a better look at the commotion. She winced when Inuyasha pulled on a cord particularly hard and the computer screens suddenly went black, no longer powered up. "You're going to break it! Don't do that!"

"So? I'm going to end up paying for the fucking thing. It's mine, I can do whatever I want with it." He retorted, moving to stand back up from under the table. In his hand, he held the white power bar, which was needed to safely plug everything in. "Where the fuck is Souta's card? Huh?"

"It's in my pencil case— Hey! Hey! Be careful with my bag!"

He wasted no time, flipping the bag upside down to empty the contents. He caught the case with his hand as it came tumbling out, paying no mind to everything else that spilled out onto the floor. Within seconds he had the credit card in his hand, and before she knew it Inuyasha was zipping past her, his gait tense and angry.

Undeterred, Moroha followed behind him while continuing to mouth off about the rough treatment of the computer parts and her belongings. Her father was tuning her out though, equally undeterred by his daughter's angry shouting. Inuyasha turned the corner to go into the master bedroom, and before Moroha could follow behind him the door was slammed in her face, denying her entry. She was stunned that the door didn't come off of its hinges, considering how much force he used to shut it.

"Will you listen to me now?! You never let me finish, I'm trying to tell you my side of the story and you purposely ignore me!" Moroha called out, quickly bringing a hand to wipe off the wet tears on her cheek before continuing. If the only way she could reach him was by making the same amount of noise, then so be it. "I've been stressed out. My teachers ride my tail all the time about my grades too, and I'm worried I won't get into the high school Mama wants me to go to… I bombed my exams! I'm at the bottom of my class, Oyaji! I won't get another chance if I screw this up, so I… I built the stupid thing so that I could study and do better!"

Moroha could hear his rustling on the other side of the wooden door, but he chose to remain silent. She couldn't help but wonder if he was even paying attention, or if he had finally decided to just ignore her completely. She decided to try another angle.

"When Mama and I argued the other night it was awful, it really bothered me. I hate it when she's disappointed in me, or when she's angry at me. I know she's been working hard, and I didn't want to upset her or cause her to worry any more than she already does. You get that, don't you? You tell me not to cause trouble for her literally all the time! You gave me a hard time about it the other day, remember?"

Her mother had always been an understanding and loving person, her warmth always something Moroha could turn to when she was upset or just wanted to be in the soothing presence of someone else. Kagome was always there for everyone when they needed her, even to the detriment of herself. She worked harder than anyone else Moroha knew. But when she was legitimately angry… No one, not even her father, desired to be on the receiving end of that tirade. Surely, he had to understand!

"Oyaji, are you even listening—"

The door swung back open again, and Inuyasha reemerged without the power cord. She took a step back as he marched past her, and he gave her a hard look as he did so. Inuyasha looked even more irate than when he initially walked into his and Kagome's room. She quickly trailed behind him into the main space and was surprised when he walked into the genkan, sliding his feet into his shoes. He hadn't mentioned he had anywhere to be that day.

"You aren't sorry for what you did," he scolded her, tapping the tip of his foot against the ground to make sure his foot was fully inside the sneaker, "You're just sorry you got caught."

"That's not true!" She trilled, feeling even more desperate. Where was he even going? Was he going to go tell her mother in person? Was he leaving to let off some steam? Her anxiety grew exponentially as he began to put the second shoe on. "If I had known the trouble it was going to cause I never would have done it!"

Inuyasha stared at her with an astonished look on his face and he slightly shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? You're missing the entire point—"

"What point?!"

Inuyasha didn't respond to her outburst. It was clear that he was done with the argument. A clawed finger was now hovering in front of her face, making a jabbing motion with each word he spoke.

"Don't leave this apartment. Don't turn on that computer. I swear, if I come back and you're not here or if you're on that fucking thing, I will throw it out the damn window. By the time I'm done sharpening my claws on it you won't even recognize the piece of shit!"

"Where are you even going?" Moroha asked, staring at him as she internally fumed and reached up to rub the angry tears off of her red, hot face again. "Why are you leaving?"

Inuyasha continued to ignore her, leaving her question hanging. He gave her one more biting, bitter look before stepping out into the main hallway, the loud sound of the door slamming causing her to visibly jump in spite of her expecting it. The silence she was left standing in, somehow, felt louder and even more damning than their arguing had.

---

After he had left, Moroha went back to her room, buried her face in her pillow, and sobbed her guts out. She was still furious and completely exhausted from their fighting. She played the argument back over in her head, struggling to understand what point she had missed as she laid there, feeling nothing but sorry for herself. Moroha kept her face buried into the softness of her pillow and succumbed to sleep around twenty minutes later, although it barely felt like she rested at all.

Inuyasha returned around two hours later, and Moroha woke up to him shaking her shoulders which were still a little sore from earlier. At least he was gentle this time, in an attempt to not startle her. Being suddenly woken up caught Moroha off guard, and she watched him with anticipation of what was going to happen next, willing the grogginess from her sleep-hazed brain away.

After giving her a couple of seconds to orient herself, Inuyasha shoved the cell phone in his hand towards her. "It's for you."

She gave him a confused look, moving herself up onto her knees so she was kneeling on the bed. As she rubbed the crust from the inside corner of her eyes she took the phone from him, bringing the device to her ear. She had no clue who was on the other end, and swallowed nervously before saying, "Hello?"

"Uh, Moroha-chan? It's me!"

It was Souta, and the sound of his voice over the phone caused her to start crying heavily all over again, the waterworks rushing out of her like a rapid river. She sobbed as talked her way through her side of the story again, stumbling over her words and even letting out a couple of hiccups at one point. It felt less like talking and more like blubbering, and the words were falling out of her mouth so fast that Souta had to ask her to slow down and repeat herself a few times. But nonetheless, Moroha was grateful that at least one person was willing to hear her out.

Her father stood over her with his arms crossed, merely observing their conversation, but it just added to Moroha's anxiety. Moroha assumed he was standing there to make sure she admitted her wrongs and apologized, but she was scared she wasn't going to say the "right thing" again. It was unneeded pressure, to have him watch her and hover around like that, but on the other hand, it wasn't as though she could ask him to leave.

After a few minutes of rambling and sniffling, she paused long enough to catch her breath and ask, "Are you going to tell the bank and the police? I'll do literally anything else to make it up to you!"

"No, Moroha-chan!" Souta exclaimed, sounding genuinely surprised. "Your dad compensated me so you'll have to talk to Inu-noniichan about repayment, but… We're going to keep it within the family and deal with it amongst ourselves. I wouldn't call the cops on you, regardless!"

Thankfully, Souta was much calmer about the situation. She would have to deal with her father, sure, but she was at least thankful she was going to remain in Souta's good books. Relief washed over her, hitting her like a tsunami. Her uncle was so laid back about it that it was a little off-putting, but Moroha was going to take any ounce of goodwill that was tossed her way. It was about time someone finally threw the dog a bone.

"I'm really sorry for the trouble I've caused," Moroha finally said, hesitant as she continued on, "I should've handed the card in as soon as I found it."

She wanted to elaborate even more but cut her sentence off when Inuyasha suddenly extended his arm and motioned toward the cell phone she was using to talk. "I still need to talk to him," he told her simply but curtly.

Moroha regarded Inuyasha from the corners of her eyes, not willing to look at him directly, before turning her attention back to the call, "Oyaji wants to talk to you."

"I figured. Don't worry too much about it, okay Moroha-chan? I accept your apology, we were all young once and we all have to learn," Souta sounded way too cheery about the situation, but Moroha wasn't going to argue. "As far as I'm concerned it's been dealt with."

"I'm really relieved… Okay… Here he is. Bye-bye."

Moroha unceremoniously put the phone into the open palm of Inuyasha's extended hand, careful to not accidentally hit the END button or any of the numbers. Once he took the phone she breathed a sigh of relief, moving from her knees to lay back down on her stomach, the side of her face resting against her feathery pillow again. She listened to his footsteps as he walked out of her room, but he didn't walk much further down the hallway. His voice became more hushed, but Moroha could hear him perfectly well.

"Hey," Inuyasha greeted her uncle, "Before you hang up, I wanted to say… keep this between us. Don't say anything to anyone, alright?"

That was perplexing, and Moroha was not sure why he would ask Souta to not mention anything. Does he want me to tell Mama? She wondered. Moroha kept her eyes focused on the wall in front of her as she shifted uncomfortably in the bed, listening to Inuyasha wrap up the call and hang the phone up. There was only one other logical conclusion. He must want to break the news himself. He's planning my execution, personally.

Moroha knew she was being overdramatic, and she would have laughed at herself if this entire situation didn't already make her want to cry.

And just as quickly as he left Inuyasha was back, leaning against the doorframe and not stepping entirely into her room. Moroha turned her head to look at him, but didn't say anything at first. She was exhausted and wanted to be left alone. She wanted him to say his piece and get it over and done with, although he seemed to be just as inclined as she was to not speak first.

After a few seconds of silence, Moroha finally broke and asked, "So…? What's next?"

"Keh! What's next is that you're going to be working for me this summer," he told her, crossing his arms. "To pay this shit back."

Suddenly the vigor and energy she had been feeling before sprung back into her, and she raised her head from the pillow. Now he had her attention. "Do you want me to give you the money from sweeping?"

"You won't pay me back until you're fifty years old, at that rate," he barked sarcastically. Moroha wasn't sure if that number was entirely accurate, but now wasn't the time to banter with Inuyasha about it. "You'll work with me. At Shikon-ya. The wages you would have made will go towards paying me back."

Of fucking course, she cursed to herself. What else was she expecting? Shikon-ya was a ramen shop he, her mother, Sango, and Miroku owned and ran together. If Inuyasha knew anything, it was ramen. Shikon-ya was one of the few business ventures he had invested in before she was born, and it was wildly successful with locals and amongst tourists. There had even been discussion amongst the adults surrounding the idea of opening a second location. Moroha was proud of it, even though she personally had never put any work into it. But that was definitely about to change. Moroha imagined the hot, steamy kitchens and the lines of people waiting for food that ran around the block, and internally groaned.

"Aren't I a little young to be working there?" She asked tiredly. "I'm only thirteen, Oyaji."

"Well, you were old enough to steal the money, weren't you?"

Moroha didn't have a retort to that, so she remained quiet.

"… Keh. You'll start with me tomorrow morning," he told her curtly, finally turning from her and walking down the hallway. "Don't fuck this up, too."

---

"Have you been good while I've been gone, A-Un?" Rin cooed through the computer screen, giggling as she continued talking. "You haven't gotten yourself into any trouble, have you?"

Moroha leaned out of the window, half of her body suspended in the air as she held her new purchase as far outward as she was able to stretch. She was trying to hold the laptop as close as possible to the dragon youkai's face, who had come to the window of Moroha's room as soon as he heard Rin talking out loud through the speakers. Normally, the beast was unable to hear anything as she and her aunt talked on the phone, but this time he had been able to pick up on their conversation. A-Un's devotion to her aunt still impressed her, even a few weeks later.

"Well now I can't see you, your nose is in the way! You're too close!" Rin laughed at A-Un again, bringing her hand to her mouth, "If you keep me on the speakers he'll probably stay near the window, Moroha-chan. He may have thought I came back."

The dragon youkai was nearly prancing in one spot, tilting his heads and puffing loud breaths of air through his nose every time she talked, indicating his happiness and excitement. One head threw itself back and upwards while the other leaned in close to the screen, examining the object which held Rin's voice. It was amusing to watch him interact with her aunt on the screen. A-Un was probably confused too, being able to hear the woman speak but not able to sense any kind of scent or aura.

Moroha pulled her body back inside so that she was no longer hanging out the window, relieved now that the windowsill was no longer pressing into her stomach. She set the laptop on the ledge of the window, and after a few moments of adjustments, Rin was able to see her through the webcam again.

"Well, the computer is much better than our phones, isn't it?" Rin idly asked, resting her chin on her hand as she watched her niece through the screen. In New York it was nighttime, leaving her aunt's grainy image illuminated solely by a dim lamp that was next to her. "It's easier to see and hear you!"

"I know," Moroha agreed, crossing her legs and leaning back while supporting herself by her arms. "I had to get it for work, but it's good for this kind of thing too. It's felt like forever since we've actually seen each other."

Moroha had meant it as small, idle chit-chat but felt a twinge of guilt at Rin's mouth twisting into a small pout. It had been a couple of weeks since she and Sesshomaru had left for New York and, with Myoga's company, Moroha had been functioning better than she initially expected. The flea demon always talked enough to distract her from whatever thought loop she would find herself inevitably caught up in, and would even stay until after she had fallen asleep. Despite Myoga being a pain in the ass sometimes Moroha found herself grateful for his company. But no matter how many times she relayed that to her aunt, Rin would always express her guilt about not being able to bring her along.

"We'll be home in a week or so, Moroha-chan. We'll be leaving New York and arriving back in Japan next Monday, not this one coming up, so we'll just miss Golden Week, but…" Rin's face perked up to the bright, happy smile Moroha was used to. "We'll make up for the lost time, I promise!"

"Next Monday, huh?" Moroha echoed, a tiny little grin passing over her face at the idea of her aunt and everyone finally coming back. It was Saturday morning now, so she only had a little over a week left to wait. It would be nice to wake up to a house with some noise and activity in it again, although she was thankful they weren't around to hear her nightmare from the morning before. "I thought you all would have wanted to stay for longer."

"Well, between you and me, Moroha-chan…" Rin trailed off, shifting the computer in her lap to get into a more comfortable position before continuing, "… I'm not a big fan of New York. I miss the house, and Japan, and everything else. I want to plant my flowers, and I think Sesshomaru-sama wants to get back home too. He's not really the city type. Kimi-sama insisted they both go out together tonight and she nearly had to drag him out."

That didn't surprise Moroha in the slightest. The thought of her uncle interacting with his mother, who sounded like the total opposite of him, still amused her greatly. He doesn't seem like the anything fun type, Moroha thought to herself. "I can't blame him, though. Cities stink."

Rin giggled, nodded in agreement before continuing. "They kind of do, don't they? We must just not be used to it anymore. And now that the girls have graduated we just have to finish up the last of the packing, so there isn't much of a reason to stay, even though Kimi-sama insisted we all should—"

An overhead light suddenly flicking on and the sound of a door opening and closing cut Rin's sentence off. Her aunt looked off-screen at whoever just entered the room, and her expression immediately brightened. Moroha had to strain to hear it, it was so faint, as an unfamiliar female voice piped up in the background.

"Oka-san, who are you talking to?"

"Towa-chan!" Rin greeted, the pitch of her voice rising with excitement. Her aunt's expression brightened as she made a waving motion, seemingly beckoning Towa to come over. "You're home! I'm talking to Moroha now, you just caught us. Come say hello!"

"What? Really?!" Towa replied with enthusiasm equal to Rin's, her cousin's voice getting louder as her footsteps approached. "She's on the computer? Now?"

It had been nearly a month and a half since Moroha had been released, and even still she had not spoken to her cousins. Moroha was willing to run with the excuse that "she figured they were busy with exams" if anyone asked why it had taken her so long to say anything to them. The reality was that the idea of talking to Towa and Setsuna after all these years had left her with a fluttery feeling of nervous-yet-excited butterflies in her stomach. Moroha wasn't entirely sure if they would get along, or if they would look down on her considering her situation. Or, worse yet, pity her.

It was only a matter of moments before Towa was beside Rin onscreen, eagerly placing herself on the couch beside where her mother sat, the impact causing everything to bounce a little. But from the way Towa's eyes widened upon meeting her own, and from the excited and elated look plastered all over her face, Moroha's worries — at least where Towa was concerned, anyway — were definitely misplaced.

"I'm so glad we're finally talking!" Towa exclaimed, giving a lopsided smirk as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. "I'm sorry I haven't gotten around to reaching out yet, it's just with school and graduating and everything else…"

"Oh, don't worry about it," Moroha assured her, a bit relieved that Towa was going to take some responsibility for not reaching out yet either. "I've been busy settling in too. Life's been crazy."

"Tell me about it…" Towa's tone was comically exasperated, as she leaned back and rubbed her arms with her hands. "I can't wait for a break. Are you staying with us for the summer at least, Moroha-chan?"

That question caught her off guard. Now that Moroha thought about it, she had no idea how long she would be staying with her aunt and uncle. Did they want her out by a certain time? Would she have to start saving for an apartment? Look for a guarantor? Could she stay with them indefinitely?

Cautiously, she replied, "Yeah, I was planning on staying for a little while, if I'm allowed."

"Moroha is welcome to stay with us as long as she needs to," Rin assured them both, as she also leaned back against the sofa. "She's been great company when your father has gone away, Towa-chan. I think you two will get along great!"

Moroha couldn't repress the reddening of her face at that assertion, but she was also relieved to know her aunt, at least, wasn't fed up with her yet. She was about to reply to Rin when Towa suddenly cut her off.

"Oh, we're going to have a blast this summer, Moroha-chan! We can go swimming, go hiking, go into town… There are lots of things we can do while you're here! We need to make up for lost time! It's been how long?"

Now that Moroha was listening to them both talk simultaneously, she couldn't help but notice that Towa had a friendly vibe and speaking pattern similar to Rin. Their cadence was almost identical. Even now, as she was looking at them side-by-side, their features were the same even though their eyes and hair were different colors. She wondered if Towa had a human night and, if so, how uncanny mother and daughter would both look beside one another then.

But Towa didn't give Moroha a chance to get a word in, leaning forward to observe her cousin on the screen more closely. "You must be excited to finally have a laptop too, Moroha-chan!"

"Eh, kind of?" Moroha admitted, resting her chin in her hand as her elbow rested on her crossed knee. "I had to buy it for work because management sucks and wants us to start doing stuff from home, maybe. But I can play my game on it too, at least."

"You play games? What game do you play?"

"Do you know Crucible of Kodoku?"

Towa gasped excitedly and loudly, her eyes going round and wide as her jaw dropped. "Yes! I looove Crucible of Kodoku! What character do you play?!"

"The priestess," Moroha told her, recalling the hours she had spent perfecting her technique and strategy with the character. "Always."

"Jealous! That's one of the hardest support roles to play, I'm awful with her. I play the warrior. I just like getting into the fray, swinging my sword, and killing bad guys. You know?"

Moroha couldn't help the fiendishly delighted smirk on her face at that. It was one of the easiest classes, but definitely up there in terms of fun. "Can't blame you, but don't go too overboard with him. If you get too crazy you'll never get past the lower levels."

"I've never beaten it. Maybe it's because I suck," Towa admitted, a tiny frown crossing her features. "Have you gotten to the end?"

"Yeah. Many, many times."

"That's it then," Towa said firmly, getting up from her seat and exiting the frame of the screen. "We're playing."

"What? Really? You wanna play now?"

"You heard me!" Towa's fading voice called to her in the room as she walked away, presumably to get her own computer ready. "We're going in hot, girl! Get ready!"

Moroha lifted her chin from her hand, now setting her hands in her lap. Had Towa always been this energetic? Or was she misremembering things? Her cousin was certainly as nice as she remembered from when they were kids.

Moroha's attention turned back to Rin, who had been silently listening to them during their conversation about the game. She had a small, satisfied smile on her face, although Moroha immediately felt bad for excluding her.

"Sorry, Oba-san. We got a bit excited, there…"

Rin shook her head, her smile widening. "I'm actually really glad, Moroha-chan," she told her niece in a calming tone. Her aunt looked relieved, almost. "I think the computer will be good for you. It will be nice to reconnect with people again, won't it?"

Moroha nodded, giving Rin a small smile of her own back. Talking to people from the past again once she got back out on the outside had been one of Moroha's greatest concerns. So much so that she had gone out of her way to actively avoid it. After talking to Towa, however, she was feeling much better and more confident. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Yeah, I think it will be."

At that moment the door opened again, and Towa came back into the room with long, eager strides. Within seconds she was beside Rin again, her own laptop in hand. She set it on her lap and quickly opened it, "What's your username, Moroha-chan? I'll add you right now!"

"It's 'Beniyasha,'" Moroha told her. "B-E-N-I—"

Towa looked as though she was about to comment when they were both interrupted by a loud, deep snort coming from the direction of Moroha's window. The shihanyou quickly looked up again to see A-Un trying to poke both of his heads in, noises of deep breathing creeping through his bridles. The dragon youkai let out another confused grunt, eyes scanning the room eagerly.

"I think he heard Towa-chan," Rin told Moroha, giggling at the youkai's antics. "He's probably looking for us again."

"Oh, A-Un is there?" Towa questioned, immediately distracted from what she had been doing. "Can you face the computer towards him, Moroha-chan? It's been forever since I've seen him!"

Moroha let out a small breath from her nose, her stomach still sore from being pressed into the windowsill only a few minutes ago. But the women on screen and the dragon youkai's eager and excited looks won her over immediately, and she couldn't say no to them. Moroha noiselessly picked up the laptop, letting half of her torso suspend itself out the window again as she held the laptop in the air as close to A-Un's face as possible. She couldn't help but feel amused again once the women started cooing while the youkai pranced in place for a second time, overjoyed to see them.

---

Summer of 2010

This is the worst summer break of my life.

Moroha chided to herself as she removed the noren from the doorframe, the fabric of the sign hitting her face as it nearly fell down on top of her. She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach it. Moroha just managed to land on her feet as she clumsily stepped backward off of the stool, almost falling flat on her butt before catching herself and regaining balance in the nick of time. The glare from the illuminated sign above her head was also shining into her eyes, further disorienting her.

Without a fucking doubt, the worst summer break ever. At least we're closed, now!

While it was getting late and most of the family-owned shops in the area were closing, there was still a buzz on the streets as people meandered about, enjoying their Friday night. This city never slept, no matter what time it was. Throughout the day as she worked, Moroha watched everyone as they walked by, wondering where they were on their way to, what they were doing, and envying their freedom to do so. And sure, she knew she was being overdramatic about it. She knew that, if she hadn't gotten caught, that she probably would have spent her days sitting in front of the computer instead of enjoying the city like she was craving to do now. But the point was that they were free. They weren't working. Better yet, they weren't working for their father who was hellbent on making their lives miserable while giving them the coldest of cold shoulders.

Ever since their confrontation earlier yesterday he had barely spoken to her. When he did, she could feel all of the intense, negative emotions he was feeling being aimed directly at her. It made Moroha want to cry all over again.

Even her mother had noticed the undeniable static between them as they ate dinner together the night before. The tension could've been cut with a knife. Inuyasha had kept his eyes locked on the food in front of him while he noiselessly ate, his brows were furrowed so intensely that one would be concerned that his expression would end up permanently etched that way. Moroha, still red in the face from all the sobbing she had done earlier, was also dead silent. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed her mother was watching her.

"Are you two alright?" Kagome asked innocently, looking between them as they both poked at their food. "You're both awfully quiet. Are you two fighting?"

He's going to tell her, Moroha thought helplessly, feeling the waterworks about to turn themselves on again. It felt like her stomach had lept up her esophagus to rest in her mouth. Her tongue tingled unbearably with anticipation, and her shoulders ached from the tension they held.

For the first time since the call with Souta earlier, both her and her father's eyes flickered to meet one another's. Moroha kept her lips in a tight line, determined to remain silent.

This metaphorical bus was already about to launch itself off of the cliff, so she may as well let her father take the wheel and drive them both off the edge.

"… Keh. No," Inuyasha gritted out, not taking his eyes from his daughter's. "We're fine."

Fine? If her mother hadn't been watching them both so intently, Moroha's eyebrows would have flown up in surprise, but she was mindful to keep her expression neutral. Inuyasha broke eye contact and cast his eyes back downward. She was so jittery that she wondered if she would actually puke. She couldn't even manage to eat a mouthful of food, instead kneading the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks.

"Oh, alright then."

The ten seconds of silence that followed was excruciating, but Moroha was thankful her mother didn't press him any further. But suddenly his voice broke through the silence again, and her father was staring her down once more.

"Moroha's going to work for me this summer. Earn a little money."

Is… that all you're going to tell her? Moroha's eyes widened in disbelief as she returned Inuyasha's gaze. She was frazzled and, frankly, confused as all hell. Had her pleas really reached him? You're not going to say anything else?

Kagome looked genuinely surprised. "Really? Wow, that's great, Morocchi! What brought that on?"

At that question her father broke eye contact again, returning his focus to eating. It took Moroha a second to snap out of it, to register that her mother had asked her a question. There was no good reason or excuse to give her, so she blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"… I have nothing better to do, I guess."

Inuyasha's expression told her that what she said wasn't believable at all, and if it had been in any other context Moroha would have burst out laughing at the look on his face. Thankfully for her, her mother was willing to believe in the very best of her at this moment. Moroha still couldn't believe that he really wasn't going to say anything.

"That's good Morocchi, but won't that get in the way of cram school?" She looked concerned now, "I don't want you to push yourself too hard…"

"Don't worry," Inuyasha answered Kagome firmly, giving his daughter another pointed look that dared her to say otherwise. It sounded more like he was spitting out the words like venom than saying them normally. "She'll manage."

After that, the conversation had thankfully turned in another direction. For the remainder of the meal, Moroha was in a daze as her parents mindlessly chattered away.

Why didn't you say anything, Oyaji?

It was only later that night when her mother had gone to bed, when she caught him in alone the kitchen, that she had the guts to ask him why he had done that. To inquire about what, exactly, had changed his mind.

He was quiet, keeping his back turned to her before simply replying a few seconds later, "… Get the fuck outta my face, Moroha."

She avoided him like the plague for the rest of the night, not willing to poke him any further. It was, literally, better for her to let sleeping dogs lie.

And now, she was here.

Moroha growled to herself as she kicked the wooden stool to the side, a little harder than she ought to have. It had been a long day, and working in a hot steaming kitchen in the middle of summer while being ordered around by Shippo of all fucking people had put her in a rotten mood. There had never been a time where Moroha wanted to be just about anywhere else more in her life. Normally she loved bantering with the fox demon — she had known him since she was born and he was a dear family friend — but being amicable with just about anyone today was not written in the stars.

"Do whatever Shippo tells you, kid," Inuyasha warned her that morning after walking ahead of her in near silence the entire way there. "If I catch wind of you causing problems or not doing what you're told, you'll be fucking sorry."

There was no real threat behind it, if last night's dinner was anything to go by. Inuyasha was known for being overdramatic and uncouth to those closest to him. Nonetheless, it had set the tone for the rest of the day, and it pissed Moroha right off.

She dug around her pocket for the small metal key that would open the machine that was used to take orders, grabbing the paper rolls needed to refill the tickets with the other hand. When Moroha was unable to find it she switched to the other pocket which, much to her frustration, also did not have the key. Moroha growled in annoyance again, trying to figure out where it could have been left. They're going to kill me if I lose this. I swear, I grabbed it before I came out here—

"… Moroha?"

A male's voice cut through the bustling noises of Tokyo. When she turned to look over her shoulder she was surprised at who was standing there, although, given the circumstances of where they were, she shouldn't have been shocked at all.

"Hisui?" Moroha questioned incredulously, turning away from the ticketing machine to face him fully. This was certainly a welcome distraction from what she had been doing. Her frustration over the key immediately simmered down. "What are you doing here so late?"

"What are you doing here so late?" He retorted, and Moroha couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course he'd answer her question with a question. "I came to see if Ma was here, but… Are you working here now? Like, actually working here?"

"No, Hisui. This is actually my idea of a good time," she responded sarcastically, shifting her weight from one food to the other and resting her free hand on her hip. "I love sitting out here in the sweltering heat in an ugly uniform fighting with the ticket machine on a Friday night doing all of the work Shippo doesn't feel like doing. It's great fun, you should try it sometime!"

"Geez, sorry!" He laughed it off, crossing his own arms. Hisui had always been good-natured, and anything Moroha flung at him was like water off a duck's back. "I was just surprised to see you, that's all."

"Yeah, well, get used to it. I'll be here all summer," she looked downwards towards her feet, kicking the dirt on the ground before continuing, "Your mom isn't here, by the way. I don't know where she is."

"Oh."

There was another awkward silence between them. Moroha shifted uncomfortably at the empty pause before asking, "How are things between your parents, by the way? Are they getting along alright?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Hisui's mousey tone at that question led her to believe that the complete opposite was true, that things were tense between Sango and Miroku again, but Moroha didn't add anything else. Sometimes, if one of their spats really bothered him, he would open up and vent to her a little bit, but today didn't seem to be one of those days. Hisui seemed glad to drop the conversation, so Moroha didn't press any further about it.

The older boy quickly changed the subject. "Aren't you going cram school too? To get ready for exams?"

"… Yeah," Moroha muttered. She was going to have absolutely no free time this summer, and she was dreading it already. When she didn't have enough time to lounge and enjoy herself it drove her batty. Leisure time was important and no one could ever tell her otherwise. "I'll go there in the mornings and be here in the afternoons."

"Gods, cram school is rough. I don't blame you for hating it, I did too. Once I got into high school I was glad I didn't have to go anymore, but it really helped my grades! To be fair, I couldn't imagine working on top of that too… Are you going to be able to play Crucible of Kodoku with us sometimes, at least? Let some steam off? We need our support priestess!"

Moroha's frown deepened. Inuyasha had taken the power bar underneath her desk in his fit of rage the other day, and she hadn't bothered trying to look for it. If he caught her peeking around the house for hiding spots, or if she found another way to power the computer up, she found it highly likely that he would move from screaming at her to outright strangulation. Even if Moroha wanted to play with every iota of her being, she wouldn't be able to. If she wanted to keep her head, that is.

"… No, probably not."

"Aw, right after you got the new computer too. Talk about bad timing, huh? That's too bad. If you do get time though, you'll have to sign on and let us know. We actually found that secret room in the lower depths of the cavern when we played last time. You know, the one with the ultra-rare treasure? Oh man, if you get that, your run will be an absolute breeze—"

Hisui cut himself off and looked toward the doorframe of the restaurant, observing the figure hovering in the doorway. Moroha followed his gaze to see Inuyasha walking out, looking none too pleased with what he was witnessing. Moroha muttered an obscenity under her breath, cursing her awful luck. Of course he had to walk out here as soon as we were talking about video games…

"Inu-ojisan!" Hisui greeted enthusiastically, eyes widening along with his grin. "I didn't know you were here today too!"

Inuyasha's golden eyes were already fixed on Moroha's face, and he only acknowledged Hisui with a quick glance out of the corner of his eyes, not even bothering to face the younger man entirely.

"Hisui," her father greeted simply but firmly, his attention immediately turning back to his daughter. "Moroha, do you realize how fucking long you've been out here? I asked Shippo where you were and he told me he sent you to do the ticket machine over fifteen minutes ago!"

Moroha shook her head vehemently, "No, Oyaji, it's been more like five minutes."

"No, it hasn't been."

Moroha rolled her eyes, throwing her hands in the air and letting them fall back down to hit her thighs with a small slap. It was useless arguing with him. She would have gotten more results out of debating with a brick wall. She gave Hisui an exasperated look before turning back to Inuyasha, but before she could retort with her side of the story, her father cut her off again.

"Consider this to be your last break," he scolded her stiffly, his tone even making Hisui wince. To anyone who didn't know the situation, Inuyasha must have sounded overly harsh and aggressive. "With how long you've been doing nothing but dicking around out here, it may as well have been one."

"I was looking for the key to the machine!"

"Keh! You should already have the key on you. Moroha, you better not have lost it—"

"I didn't!"

The irritation was oozing out of every pore, her aggravated state causing Moroha's voice to crack on the last syllable that left her tightening throat. Why did he have to be such a fucking asshole? Why did he always find something to give her a headache over? He took any reason to give her shit. Despite everything, it just didn't feel fair. At this rate, she almost wished that he would just… fuck off and tell her mother everything that happened so that she, at the very least, wouldn't have to put up with him anymore.

Anyone else could have talked to her that way and she would've barely paid it any mind, but whenever her father acted this way or yelled at her, it felt like she was teetering on an emotional edge. It bothered her, deeply, whenever he was the one to behave in this way, and she had no clue why. It perturbed her that Inuyasha was able to get under her skin like that, despite how much she tried to internally talk herself down.

"No Inu-ojisan, this is because of me," Hisui said quickly. He must have picked up on the immense distress Moroha was enduring at that moment and chided in to come to her defense. "I came looking for my mom and starting blabbering to Moroha while she was in the middle of doing her work, and the conversation kind of got away from us… But, really, it was my fault that she was outside for so long. Not hers!"

Inuyasha turned his head to regard the younger boy, before looking back at Moroha to give her another hard, pointed look. It was obvious that her father seriously doubted that version of events.

"Hmm."

"I mean, she's working and going to school, Inu-ojisan. What's another couple of extra minutes during the day, right?" Hisui was not going to leave Moroha hanging out to dry, so he kept going. His expression optimistically brightened, "I wouldn't be able to balance all that. I kind of admire how responsible someone would have to be to take all of that on—"

"Keh!" The noise came out of her father like a bark, the fiendish tone of it causing the hairs on Moroha's arms to bristle. "Yeah. 'Responsible.' Good one. Did y'hear that, Moroha?"

That just served to confuse Hisui even more, and he looked at Moroha with a pitiful expression on his face. The previous assertion from him caused Moroha to go red, humiliated since Hisui one-hundred-percent had the wrong opinion and impression of her. He probably would nag at her as much as Inuyasha had if he knew the reality of her situation and what she had done. Still, Moroha couldn't say anything. She wouldn't dare tell Hisui that he was wrong.

Moroha wished she was doing this because she was a stand-up individual who worked hard, because she had the ambition and the drive. But nothing could have been further from the truth.

Feelings of shame assailed her cheeks in a reddening rush as she and Inuyasha exchanged knowing looks. Moroha guiltily looked back down towards her feet, not able to confidently look either of them in the eye at this point.

---

"Aaaah! We did it! I got the achievement, too! Aaaah!"

Moroha winced at the loud scream and burst out laughing herself at Towa's reaction, the music from the final cutscene of the game mingling the sounds of the final boss being defeated. The boss groaned, sputtered, and finally exploded. The pixelated warrior and priestess celebrated on-screen amongst all the guts and gore, just as happy about their win as Moroha and Towa were in real life.

"Moroha-chan!" Towa exclaimed, her voice elated and joyful. "That was awesome! We did it! You really know your stuff! I didn't think we were going to make it!"

"Ha! Of course we were going to make it!" Moroha's tone was dripping with smugness, "Do you know how many hours I had to spend in front of a screen to get this good? Let me tell you, the number is embarrassing."

For the past several hours they had been playing the video game together. The first couple of runs had been rough — Moroha had to reacquaint herself with the game as Towa learned and practiced the tips and tricks her cousin relayed to her — but eventually, with the right mix of item drops and minibosses, they had plowed through the final levels of the Crucible, emerging triumphant and victorious.

It had been forever since Moroha had been able to hang out with a girl her own age like this. There were women the same age as her at the institution, of course, but there were always limitations to what they could do and what they could say. There was always a guard looming over them, watching their every move. But this interaction was uninhibited, it felt freer than free. The two of them naturally got on well, and within an hour of playing and chatting, Moroha was joking around and teasing her cousin as though the two of them had been close for years.

Myoga had come into check on them and even participated at one point, mashing one of the buttons on the laptop's keyboard during a particularly hard match at Moroha's request. But, seeing that the young woman was occupied and in good company, he left to attend to his own business for the rest of the day, citing that he would be back the following morning as usual.

How long ago did he leave? Moroha wondered, quickly swiping her finger over the glass screen of her phone to check the time. She was surprised to see it was quite late in the evening. Time certainly flew when fun was being had. She had been so preoccupied with everything that was going on that she hadn't paid a crumb of attention to the clock, and the flea demon had left her and the estate hours ago.

"Towa, what time is it in New York?" Moroha asked, bringing her mouth a little closer to the mic. "Have you been up all night?"

"Yeah. It's like… around eight-thirty now? In the morning?"

"Oh my gods. Go to bed, you fool!"

Towa laughed lightheartedly at Moroha's teasing. "Yeah, I guess I should go to bed, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess you should!"

"I'm surprised Jaken hasn't come in to give me trouble about it, to be honest!" Towa said sheepishly, letting out a loud yawn right on cue. "I'll hit the sack. Do you want to play some more later today? Or tomorrow for you, I guess? If you have time? I mean, there are secret rooms to explore and weapons to find…"

"Sure. But, don't you have to pack?"

Moroha could almost hear her cousin shrug, completely unbothered. "I'll do it later this week, this is way more important. Have a good night, Moroha-chan! Let me know what time works for you! I'm around all day."

"I'll be around all day too," Moroha replied, clicking through the menu as she prepared to exit the game. "Just message me when you're good. Now go to sleep!"

"Alright, see you then!" Towa let out another drawn-out yawn, letting out a quick "Bye!" in the midst of it before completely signing off of the voice chat feature.

Moroha chuckled, watching Towa's avatar fade and go into offline status. There were a few notifications that had popped up while she played the game, and she idly clicked through them. News about brand new titles coming out, a message letting her know that Tamano had accepted her friend request, a few more requests from co-workers who had noticed Tamano added Moroha on their feed…

And then she froze, eyes going wide at the large number one towards the side of her screen, indicating a private message had been sent to her while she was playing. Moroha had been so preoccupied with what she was doing that she didn't notice that the message had come through in the first place.

She recognized the avatar immediately. He hadn't changed it, after all of these years. Cautiously, she clicked the message bubble.

TAIJIYAH (20:02:49): Is that really you…?

Moroha stared at the screen, eyes wide with alarm. As she looked at her avatar and the large green dot beside it, she realized that she completely forgot to put herself in offline status. He, and anyone else on her list, would have been able to see what she was playing, and how long she had been playing it for.

Hisui was the last person she had been expecting to hear from today, if ever at all. She frowned deeply as she stared at the DM, unsure how to respond. Or if she even should.

What is he thinking right now? Should I say something back? Should I block him? Is he going to say anything to my parents?

Her last thought filled her with apprehension and she swallowed the lump in her throat as she scrolled up, looking over the previous conversations they had together before she was arrested all those years ago. The message history on the application did not disappear, ever, even with the new hardware she was using. Moroha couldn't decide if that was a blessing or a curse as she read their previous chat history.

TAIJIYAH (01/14/15): I told you to avoid that group of people because they were bad news, and now look where you're at. You're getting to the same low point where they've always been. Is that really how you want to live your life? On that level of degeneracy? I warned you to stay away from them years ago for a reason.
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): wow judgemental much
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): go fuck yourself
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): a real friend wouldnt have told on me like that
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): i invited you to come and party and you fucked me over
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): and now my dad hates me because of you
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): it was rough for so long and we just finally got back on decent terms
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): SO FUCK YOU

Gods, how humiliating. Reading this conversation back to herself made the heat rise to her face, her hurtful comments igniting her embarrassment until it felt like an out-of-control flame was raging underneath her skin. She knew from the erratic way she had been typing that she had either been drunk, stoned, or high at the time. That made her feel even worse.

Moroha had been caught up in the whirlwind of partying, skipping school, and hanging out with 'friends' at the time. She remembered the feeling of being completely untouchable, being under the impression that she was more worldly than everyone else and therefore better. She had been on top of the world and no one could've reached her.

That notion tumbling down quick, and hard. Reality would hit Moroha-of-the-past like an out-of-control transport truck speeding down the highway only a few months after this conversation occurred.

Hisui did try to warn her all those years ago, and she had brushed him off. Never listened. She wished, desperately, that she had.

TAIJIYAH (01/14/15): I didn't "rat you out" Moroha. We're all worried about you. I'm REALLY worried about you. You keep doing crazy things and none of us know what to do or how to react. I didn't know who else to tell or reach out to.
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): yeah so the first one you "REACHED OUT TO" was my dad
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): great idea idiot
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): here's a better idea for next time
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): keep your nose out of my shit and mind your own fucking business
TAIJIYAH (01/14/15): You wouldn't have listened otherwise. Are you kidding me right now? I don't even feel like I'm talking to the real you anymore. I'm trying to be a good friend and be there for you, but you keep pushing me away.
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): wow what good friends I have
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): leave me alone forever
BENIYASHA (01/14/15): asshole

Moroha wished she could have grabbed the girl of the past from beyond the screen to shake some sense into her. Beat it into her, even. She felt… disgusted. Disgust was the only adjective that was appropriate for what she was felt as she read it all back again.

As she scrolled back down to the present time of their chatlog she noticed right before his most recent message, the one that Hisui had sent tonight, that there was another, even more recent DM. There was no notification when she signed in due to it already being marked as read, likely due to the application being left open on her computer back home at the time of her incarceration.

TAIJIYAH (10/05/15): 💔😭 I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I love you like I love my sisters and I could have done more… but now it's too late.

Moroha didn't know how many times she read it. Her eyes scanned the emojis, the words, and the meaning behind them over and over again. The date the message was sent made her heart pound fiercely within her chest.

That was a few days after I had been arrested.

She didn't know if he had sent it to her with the intention of her reading it within a few days, hoping that she would get released. Or, maybe, he had intended it as a final goodbye message for her to stumble upon years later. Moroha wondered if he had changed his mind about her since then, and no longer wanted to fix their friendship. That, without a doubt, would have been the most devastating outcome at all.

You're the last person who should be sorry, Hisui…

Moroha couldn't avoid it anymore. She had to talk to him. To, at the very least, tell him it was okay. That it wasn't his fault.

It will never be too late…

She brought her fingers to the keyboard.

BENIYASHA (21:39:01): yeah bro, it's really me.