"What?" Ichigo asked, slightly confused—but mostly shocked.
"Kohana's clothes got lost somewhere, so she doesn't have any. Aside from Jexi and Kilala, I don't think she has anything. Anyway, she needs new clothes and I have no clue what she likes or what her sizes are. Neither Ryou nor I are going into a changing room with her to help. I was just wondering if you'd be willing to go to the store with us to help her pick some things out. If you're not busy, that is." Keiichiro explained, looking at Ichigo.
"Sure. Just let me call Masaya, so I can cancel our plans. Then I have to call my parents to let them know I might be late tonight." Ichigo answered, looking at Keiichiro.
"If you already have plans, we'll figure something out; I don't want to ruin your night." Keiichiro spoke up.
"No, it's fine; I was looking for an excuse to get out of going to some opera. I love Masaya, but I've seen three different operas already. I'm kind of getting sick of them. But could I ask a favor?" Ichigo insisted before asking.
"Sure, what is it?" Keiichiro asked.
"Could we stop by Lettuce's? She left her sewing stuff here—again." Ichigo asked, holding up Lettuce's sewing kit.
"Yeah, that's fine. Let's find you something to eat." Keiichiro replied and then told Kohana with a smile when he heard her stomach rumble again.
"If you want to get her something to eat first, I can drop this off at Lettuce's, then come back." Ichigo suggested.
'I can wait.' Kohana signed, but neither Keiichiro nor Ryou saw.
"Either way." Keiichiro replied.
'I can wait.' Kohana signed again.
"Umm." Ichigo started.
"What is it?" Keiichiro politely asked.
"Your sister keeps saying she can wait." Ichigo answered, watching Kohana's hands.
"You know sign language?" Ryou asked, shocked.
"Yeah. My grandpa is deaf, so I had to learn at a young age to be able to communicate with him." Ichigo answered, slightly glaring at Ryou.
"So, you knew what she was saying earlier, then?" Keiichiro asked, looking at Ichigo.
"When that other girl was signing with her?" Ichigo asked, looking at Keiichiro.
"Yes." Keiichiro answered, looking at her.
"No, I couldn't see their hands; I was looking away. It wasn't any of my business." Ichigo seriously answered.
"Ok. Kohana, you need to eat." Keiichiro started, hearing her stomach again.
'But your friend—she's got to be places.' Kohana signed.
"Oh, I'm fine. My mom just texted me back and said it was fine, so long as I was home by ten at the latest. I'll make it to a friend's house to give her her sewing stuff back. Then I'll be back here hopefully as you're finishing whatever you're eating." Ichigo calmly replied.
'K.' Kohana signed.
"Ok. Well, I'll be back." Ichigo informed, quickly making her way to the door.
However, once she opened it, the door hit something—or rather someone.
"Lettuce, are you ok? Na no da." They all heard Pudding ask right away.
"Lettuce? Oh, my God; I am so sorry! I didn't realize you were right behind the door!" Ichigo exclaimed, alarmed.
"I'm ok. I got halfway home when I realized I forgot my sewing kit; so, I came back." Lettuce replied, holding her head for a second.
"What are you doing back here? Na no da." Pudding asked, looking at Ichigo.
"I forgot my bag; I had to come back to get it. I noticed Lettuce's stuff as well; I was going to bring it to her. What brings you back?" Ichigo explained and then asked one of her youngest friends.
"I ran into Lettuce and just followed her; my siblings are on a trip. Na no da." Pudding happily answered before noticing Kohana; she just couldn't help herself and ran up to her.
"Hi, I'm Pudding; it's very nice to meet you! Keiichiro's awesome! I'm sure he'll be a great big brother! Na no da!" Pudding happily exclaimed.
'Thank you.' Kohana slowly signed, watching Pudding.
"Thank you, Pudding. She also says thank you." Keiichiro told Pudding.
"You're welcome! Na no da!" Pudding replied with a big smile.
"Oh, how rude of me. Girls, this is my younger sister, Kohana. Kohana, these are three out of the six girls who work here, and our friends: Ichigo, Lettuce and Pudding." Keiichiro introduced the girls.
"It's nice to meet you; I'm glad you came back. You and Keiichiro deserve this." Ichigo stated with a smile.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. You really do look a lot like Keiichiro." Lettuce noted, noticing a lot of similarities. Of course, she also noticed differences, but more similarities.
"Keiichiro is great! And he makes delicious cakes! Na no da!" Pudding happily exclaimed.
"The other three girls that were here earlier are Mint, Zakuro, and Berry; they work here and are some of our friends as well." Keiichiro explained.
"Well, let's get you something to eat. Then, we'll have to find some kind of shoes; you can't go into stores without them." Keiichiro calmly told Kohana.
'I know.' Kohana signed as they walked into the kitchen.
"Oh? Have you ever been shopping before? While you were with them?" Keiichiro asked, looking around the kitchen.
'No; they were afraid I'd run—or someone might recognize me, or something. Other girls got to go, though; they always brought home special stuff. They weren't very nice girls; Haru would often scare them or something.' Kohana sadly explained.
"Don't worry; we'll get you some things." Keiichiro calmly promised, digging around with Ryou while the girls stood in the main area. Well, Ichigo and Lettuce stood; Pudding was running all over the place, doing tricks.
'I don't need anything special. I just need some clothes and some food and stuff for Jexi and Kilala. You and Mr. Ryou have already said I get to live here; I couldn't ask for anything else. It wouldn't be right. Oh, and maybe a mat or something to sleep on. And I can figure something out to pay you back for the cat food, clothes, and such.' Kohana slowly signed.
"Kohana, you don't have to worry about any of that; we'll take care of you and whatever you need. A mat? You didn't have a bed?" Keiichiro asked, looking at her, holding some bread.
'No. Just mats. Well, a mat and a towel to cover up with. Well, except for Haru; she slept on the floor because she insisted, I have her mat as well. Other girls didn't like that; Haru said they were jealous.' Kohana signed.
"You really like Haru, don't you? She helped you a lot? Will—or can you eat chicken tacos? They have chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and if you want, you can add sour cream." Keiichiro asked and then explained when he found some leftover dinner from last night.
'I've never had tacos before; they always fed us steak, pork, or chicken with rice. I can't eat pears, pineapples, coconuts, dragon fruit, avocado, guacamole, jack fruit, shellfish, popcorn, licorice, jellybeans, or cotton candy. I also can't use Shea butter. Doctors say I'm deathly allergic to Kodeen, Sulfa, and Predneezone.' Kohana signed, thinking, trying to remember how to spell the medications, but misspelled Codeine and Prednisone, but Keiichiro understood.
"Ok… Well, I'll heat these up. What about Haru and Chihiro; you three are close?" Keiichiro slowly asked, trying not to upset her. He didn't know what would trigger and cause her to start crying or, worse—hyperventilate.
'Chihiro was nice; we were friends and she helped me a lot. But Haru and I—we're more like sisters; she was always the nicest. She always protected and kept me safe as best as she could.' Kohana signed.
"Why mats? Why not beds—or even cots?" Ichigo softly asked.
'Only Ma'am and Sir and their kids could have beds. The only time we were allowed to use beds, was when it was time.' Kohana distantly signed before kneeling on the floor with tears running down her face.
"I am so sorry." Ichigo immediately apologized, feeling guilty
"It's not your fault, Ichigo; it was just a question. But let's not talk about that right now. We'll talk about it, but not right now. Kohana, your foods heated up. Do you want to eat?" Keiichiro sternly insisted before changing the subject by calmly asking if Kohana was ready to eat.
Everyone could all tell Kohana was becoming increasingly upset.
'K.' Kohana signed, slowly standing up.
"I'll let you add what you want for sour cream. Come on." Keiichiro gently told Kohana, leading the way.
'Thank you.' Kohana signed as she sat down.
"I'll be right back; I'm going to see if I can find you some kind of shoes." Keiichiro let Kohana know with a soft, sad smile before heading upstairs.
"Oh, Ryou; could you please stay with and watch her?" Keiichiro asked in a way that Ryou could tell he knew how he felt. Or rather, how he was starting to feel.
"Sure." Ryou calmly replied. But inside, he was freaking out; this was his best friend's little sister—and he was already starting to feel something for her. And he didn't even know her, for crying out loud.
'Did I do something wrong?' Kohana signed, looking up.
"No. Why would you think that?" Ryou questioned, watching her hands. Ryou knew the alphabet and several words; he just couldn't put sentences together unless the person were slowly signing. It was just faster for her to spell things out.
'He seemed very upset.' Kohana signed.
"*Sigh…* He is, but not at you. He's upset because you were hurt, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. He's upset because he cares about you; he couldn't do anything to protect you. He's upset because the both of you lost twelve years you should've had together. However, I think he's happy you never forgot him; you are incredibly important to him. Ultimately, you are his only living family, and he thought he lost you." Ryou explained.
'But it wasn't his fault. None of it was. It wasn't his fault I got upset and ran away; it was… Never mind.' Kohana signed before stopping and started eating again.
"Any luck?" Ichigo asked, looking at Keiichiro when he walked back down.
"No. All the shoes I found were men's and too big; I don't have any other smaller female shoes." Keiichiro sighed.
"What size shoes do you wear? Do you know?" Ichigo asked, looking at Kohana; she shook her head no.
Ichigo then pulled a chair over and set it in front of Kohana.
"Can I see your foot, please?" Ichigo asked, confusing Kohana. Still, she put her foot up.
Ichigo sat against the chair all the way and then put her foot up against Kohana's.
"What are you doing? Na no da." Pudding asked, confused.
"Your foot is a little smaller than mine, but I think I might have something that'll work for you." Ichigo noted before she started digging through her bag.
After a few seconds, she pulled out a pair of sandal flip-flops.
'What are those?' Kohana asked, looking at the flip-flops.
"They're just summer shoes. I hope they work for you until you can find your own." Ichigo calmly answered with a smile.
'Thank you.' Kohana slowly signed.
"You didn't say Kohana ran away." Ryou spoke, looking at Keiichiro.
"She didn't; she was taken from the mall while I was at school. Kohana, what is it?" Keiichiro replied, looking at Ryou, and then asked when he saw Kohana shaking her head.
'I've never been to a mall; I've heard of them, but never been.' Kohana signed, looking directly at Keiichiro.
"I remember that day; Mom, Dad, and you dropped me off at school and then they were taking you to the mall to get something for Uncle Goro for all his help." Keiichiro calmly explained, looking at Kohana.
"Who's Uncle Goro?" Ryou asked, looking at Keiichiro.
"Uncle Goro was one of Dad's best friends; they grew up together. Mom, I don't think really cared for him, but he was dad's best friend and was always nice to me and Kohana." Keiichiro explained.
'NO!' Kohana angrily signed.
"Kohana?" Keiichiro asked, confused.
'Goro was a bad man! So was Daddy! The day I was taken, they hurt Mama because she stopped Goro from hurting me. Goro said all he wanted to do was take pictures and make a video during the morning or afternoon—like at night. Mama told me to run—go to school because she taught me how to get there.' Kohana signed, upset as tears blurred her vision, shocking Keiichiro; he sank to his knees.
He could see in her eyes that she wasn't lying.
'I'm sorry. I tried to get to school; I only made it to the trees and statue.' Kohana slowly signed, calming down a little, taking deep breaths.
"No, I'm sorry; I should've seen something was wrong. But why didn't you ever say anything about Goro coming to your room at night?" Keiichiro asked after apologizing. He didn't need to ask what he did; he had seen enough fictional crime shows and nonfictional crime shows to know.
Looking back now, Keiichiro should've known what was going on: all the signs were there. He should've known—especially when she started wetting the bed again.
'He said it was our secret. Mama said to get you; I tired, but I failed. Mama and Daddy—they died because of me. I couldn't get to you.' Kohana signed, standing there, shaking before she started crying; she could no longer control her emotions.
Keiichiro immediately got up and pulled her into a hug, rubbing the back of her head.
"No. You didn't fail; you were taken by bad people before you had a chance to get to me. You were almost there. You were so close. None of that was your fault. You did exactly what you were told. You're not responsible for Mom and Dad's deaths. As bad as the past was, some good things came out of it all." Keiichiro explained, rubbing her back, looking at Ryou.
"She's asking what." Ichigo told Keiichiro, watching Kohana's hands, which were around Keiichiro's waist and back.
"As unfortunate as all that was; if it never would've happened, I would've never met Ryou or any of these girls. And the best part of all of this is, you were found and brought back to me, very much alive. Yes, we lost twelve years and are pretty much strangers. Still, we can get to know each other and build some kind of relationship. And hopefully, along with Haru and Chihiro, you can make friends with Ryou, the girls, and maybe the guys here as well." Keiichiro told Kohana, comforting her as best as possible.
'I can still be friends with Haru and Chihiro; I can still see them?' Kohana asked, pulling away from Keiichiro.
"Of course. I wouldn't take them away from you unless they were bad influences. The three of you went through a lot together. And from what I understand, they did a lot to keep you safe. Well, and now there are other reasons. But we'll get to that later. When we do get to that, you can tell them they have a job here. We'll explain it to you when everyone is here, together. I do have one condition though; you have to at least try to make friends with the girls here. Don't worry about communication; until you're ready to start talking, we'll teach the others the alphabet in sign language. Until then, you have me, Ryou, and Ichigo to translate." Keiichiro explained with a smile, holding her shoulders.
'K. You have a girlfriend?' Kohana asked, looking at him.
"No. I used to; but none of us ever worked out. I've had two different girlfriends. But anyway, you should finish eating; we have to get to the mall or something." Keiichiro answered and then insisted, standing up.
'K.' Kohana signed with a soft smile.
"Girls, please stay with, and keep Kohana company. Ryou, please come with me." Keiichiro instructed, heading upstairs.
"Ok." The girls and Ryou replied, doing as they were told.
With Ryou & Keiichiro:
Ryou's Room:
"I promise I won't go after her; she's your sister." Ryou promised right away.
"Ryou, stop. It's ok; just give her time, and if she's interested, you can ask her out. But not right away. I've known you for the past eleven and a half years; I know you. You're a great guy. And in all honesty, if it at all possible, I'd rather her be with you than scums. Which as unfortunate as it is; she, without proper guidance, will end up with someone who might hurt her. No, I'm not saying we force her to be with you; I want her to be able to choose, but I want her to be safe and happy." Keiichiro calmly yet seriously explained; he already had a feeling Kohana liked Ryou. But at the same time, he wasn't sure and would have to talk to her.
"Ok. I need to tell you something about Kohana." Ryou started.
"What about her?" Keiichiro asked, looking at Ryou.
"I've seen a picture of her about five years ago." Ryou replied, looking directly at Keiichiro.
"How did you see her picture?" Keiichiro asked right away.
"Some guy was showing them off; I was fourteen—a year before the project was completed. I contacted the police, but the girl… Sorry. Kohana was never found. I never spoke up; so, for that, I'm sorry. The man did go to prison, but he never gave anyone up. Her eyes were reddish-brown, and her hair was lighter with blonde highlights—and she had on a lot of makeup. The only pictures I'd ever seen of her were of her ages three and down. If I would've known it was her, I would've told you." Ryou answered, apologizing.
"You did tell me when the police brought you home. I remember talking to the man, but he didn't tell me anything either. I wanted to talk to and push him more, but the police wouldn't let me; they wouldn't let me see the picture either. God, I should've pushed him more." Keiichiro sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"It's not your fault." Ryou started.
"It's not your fault either." Keiichiro sternly countered, interrupting Ryou.
"But there is one thing that's kind of bugging me." Ryou spoke up, looking at Keiichiro.
"What's that?" Keiichiro curiously asked.
"In that picture, her hair was lighter with blonde highlights, and she had reddish-brown eyes. Now, her hair and eye colors are natural; it looks like her hair hasn't been dyed in months—maybe even years." Ryou answered, looking at Keiichiro, puzzled.
"Yeah, now that you say that." Knock. Knock. Knock. Keiichiro started but was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.
"Yes?" Both men called but received no answer.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"That's gotta be Kohana." Keiichiro sighed, walking to the door.
Sure enough; when they opened the door, Kohana was standing there, red in the face.
"Is something wrong?" Keiichiro asked, concerned while Ryou stood there, staring at her, thinking how adorable she looked.
"U-u-I he-hear yo-you." Kohana stuttered, struggling to speak, even redder, shocking the men.
"What do you mean?" Both men asked, confused, then shocked because they realized she has the hearing of a cat. They assumed it was a cat because her mark was the same as Ryou's and Ichigo's.
"Ma-man wi-with umm…mes-messy dee-deep, dar-dark gre-green ha-hair a-a-and dar-dark bl-blue eyes?" Kohana asked, horribly stuttering about a man; she described the man Ryou had seen.
Ryou noticed that she'd swallow very lightly here and there while talking, but she swallowed hard when she was done.
"That's the man who showed me a picture of you, I'm guessing; yes. Can you please hold still? I'm not going to hurt you; I just want to see something." Ryou replied and then instructed, walking until he was in front of Kohana, making her blush.
"Please look up." Ryou kindly instructed.
Kohana did as Ryou told her to; he carefully placed his hand on her throat, gently feeling here and there.
"That's what I thought." Ryou spoke after a minute.
"What is it?" Keiichiro asked, looking at Ryou.
"I never noticed it before because she didn't talk, but when she speaks, she swallows more. And then when she's done, she swallows hard. You don't talk because you don't want to. You don't speak because it hurts, doesn't it?" Ryou asked, causing Kohana to look down.
"It's not your fault. There's damage there. I don't know exactly what kind of damage without the proper x-rays and such, but there is damage. That same damage, which makes it harder for her to talk, could possibly be why she has a harder time breathing as well. But I could be wrong." Ryou explained.
"Do you know what happened?" Keiichiro asked, looking at Kohana.
"N-no." Kohana softly answered.
"Does it hurt all the time or at all?" Ryou calmly asked.
"N-no, dr-dries out." Kohana softly answered.
"Well, maybe later we could take her downstairs to get some x-rays." Ryou suggested.
"Yeah. Did you finish eating?" Keiichiro agreed and then asked, looking at Kohana.
"Ye-yes. I-I-I ge-get t-t-to kn-know Ry-Ryou?" Kohana answered and then softly asked, looking down at her feet.
"Of course." Keiichiro replied with a smile, shocked.
"Rea-really go-good hea-hearing. Fe-few ye-years n-n-now." Kohana managed to get out.
"Yes. We're going to have to explain it to her. Might as well be now. We can tell the other two at a later time. And this way, we can see what she is and all that." Ryou told Keiichiro, confusing Kohana.
"Yeah, I suppose." Keiichiro sighed, looking at Kohana; this was the last thing he wanted for her.
"Well, let's head downstairs; it'll be better with the other three around as well." Ryou insisted.
"Right." Keiichiro agreed, letting Ryou lead the way with Kohana between them.
"Are we ready to go?" Ichigo asked.
"Not just yet. We need to talk first. All of us." Keiichiro sternly told the girls.
"Ok. What's going on?" All three girls asked, confused, looking at Keiichiro, Kohana, and Ryou.
Just as Ryou and Keiichiro were about to say something, Zakuro, Mint, and Berry came running in.
"What's wrong? Is everything ok?" Zakuro was the first to ask, out of breath.
"What's the emergency?" Mint asked out of breath.
"It had better be important; we're supposed to be on a date." Berry complained as Masaya and Tasuku walked in behind them.
"No emergency." Keiichiro replied, slightly confused.
"What are you talking about?" Ryou asked.
"We got texts saying come to the café. EMERGENCY in big bold letters." Zakuro answered, watching the guys.
"We did as well." Masaya and Tasuku calmly added.
"No, we didn't send anything out." Keiichiro repeated, looking at the girls.
"Neither did we." "Na no da." Ichigo, Lettuce, and Pudding replied.
"Don't look at Kohana; she doesn't have any of your numbers." Keiichiro told the girls when he noticed Berry and Mint looking at Kohana.
"Can we go then?" Mint questioned, annoyed.
"No, not yet. Since you're all here, we have something important we need to talk to you all about." Ryou answered Mint and sternly stated, causing Berry to groan in annoyance.
"Let's hear them out. This is your younger sister?" Tasuku calmly insisted and then asked Keiichiro.
"Yes. I'll introduce everyone in a little bit." Keiichiro calmly replied as Ryou stepped forward.
Just as he was about to say something, there was a loud bang on the door. When it opened, everyone stared in shock, and Kohana fell to her knees…