PART IX
The man's frame filled the doorway. His scowl darkened the room with its ferocity. He was a monstrous presence. He was a tower of imperial authority. He was...
::Doumyouji's father..!::
Tsukushi heard herself swallow, blood pounding in her ears. Her body went a little limp, and she squeezed Tsukasa's hand for support. She had wondered time and time again what sort of man his father could possibly be, and looking at the man for the first time she realized two things. One, he was exactly what she'd expected; and two, despite that, she still felt her world reel in shock at his presence. His appearance in the room seemed to jar the very universe, set everything a little out of tune, accelerate the motion of those gears that moved time and space through infinity. He was the very definition of regal - almost to the point of being divine.
And he was angry.
Doumyouji Takehiko flew across the room with the speed and urgency of a supersonic jet with a fire on its wing. With two strong bearlike hands he grasped Kaede by both arms, and whipped her around to face him. "Enough of this, Kaede! Have you lost your senses?" He spoke to her roughly, intently, breathing the words into her pallid face. Tsukushi's mind whirled at his firm grasp and stern expression, unable to think anything but a sort of wordless amazement at his lack of fear.
"Is this why I gave you control of the corporation? So you could pay for bribes, lookalikes, and special police to control our son's dating habits? Since when is that part of your job description?" Tsukasa's eyes widened as his father's words hung in the air, and Tsukushi could almost hear his question - how did he know all of that? But then, in the hallway behind the open door, Tsukushi glimpsed a mousy shadow with short blonde hair, skittering about behind the doorframe. And all questions were answered.
"Unhand me, Takehiko," Kaede seemed to come back to herself, though her voice was ragged with outrage. "I am taking care of my family as I see fit. That is more than you manage!"
"That is unfair and you know it," Takehiko answered, low and even. "This is not why I gave you control, Kaede. I know the whole story now. You know that I've always been opposed to that way of living - to the control our parents insisted on having over our lives. How could you return to that?"
"I have been thinking about Tsukasa. I have ALWAYS been thinking about Tsukasa!" she insisted. "I do know what is best for that boy, Takehiko. No matter what you or anyone else may think, I have been looking out for him."
"Even though he himself may have something different to say on the subject?" His tone stung with bitterness. "What on earth led you to place such little trust in his will?"
"Because he is far too much like you!" Kaede cried out, and then hung her head. Takehiko stared a moment, then released his hold on Kaede's shoulders. Instead, he cupped her face in his hands, tilting her gaze up to meet his eyes.
She trembled with frustration and anger. "If you gave away all your power to me so readily," she went on in a low voice, "what might he give away, without even thinking about it?"
"Kaede," Takehiko said gently, "have you forgotten? I gave it to you because I had faith in you. Please don't show me now that my faith was misplaced."
"And what if I do?" Kaede barked. "Would you wish on your son, then, the same disillusionment? Would you allow this girl to hurt Tsukasa in the same way... that I've hurt you?!" And at these words, the iron woman's steely eyes began to fill with tears.
Tsukushi had remained where she was, afraid to move or even breathe during this entire exchange. Somehow she had the feeling she was witnessing something she ought not to; that this was a private moment between a married couple, and she was embarrassed to be intruding on it. But when she saw the unthinkable... the woman she'd always seen as an unthinking, unfeeling demon, with tears, those unmistakable signs of humanity, in her hawklike eyes... she couldn't help but let out a small sound of surprise.
At this, the man's eyes turned in her direction. Immediately she felt small and scared again, as he probed her with a long serious look, and then began a slow, deliberate walk toward her.
"Stand up, young woman," Takehiko said.
"Y... yes, sir!" Tsukushi answered on reflex, rising to her feet. Her heart was hammering madly. This man was, in his own way, more frightening then Kaede had been... perhaps because she knew he was actually examining her for herself. No matter how horrific Kaede's glances had been, they had always reeked of bigotry, and that made them all the easier to defy. But this man... her husband... was like some great judge who had come down to test her true merit. Tsukushi took hold of all her life experiences, everything she'd been through, and squeezed it into one hand. She let the memories flow through her, sculpt her, change her. She would prove herself worthy. Worthy of Tsukasa, and worthy of herself.
Takehiko gazed at her for a long while. He stood barely a breath away from her, scrutinizing her face. She continued to stare at him, afraid to flinch or show her fear. Finally, he spoke. "What is your name?"
"Yes, sir... Makino Tsukushi, sir," she said, loudly and awkwardly perhaps, but without faltering or stuttering.
"And Makino-san," Takehiko said slowly, with the air of a man who never had to hurry his words because he knew the world would always listen, "what are your intentions concerning my son?"
At this, Tsukasa gave a little sound of surprise. Tsukushi remembered his presence in the room, and took a deep gulp as she realized her answer would affect him as well. Her mind warned in all its various voices to be careful. But the clear, clear tones of her heart overwhelmed them all, and there was no hesitation as she began to speak.
"I have no intentions," she said, her voice growing louder as she realized what her words were. "I am a high school student. My only wish is to get through the next two years of high school and graduate."
...just two more years of patience.
To get through the next two years quietly and graduate... that's my only wish.
Those were the words that had started it all. The silent prayer that had never been answered.
And then, like the flash of red when she opened her locker that morning, he had burst into her life.
And then there had been garbage thrown at her and emergency staircases and secretly taken photos and scarves tying her to a car and bubble baths and moonlit nights on beaches and airplanes to New York and beauty pageants and New Year's wishes and strange bespectacled boys and tiny burnt cookies and fiancees and threats and lookalikes and love...
...and it was then that she knew what she wanted.
It was what she'd always wanted.
Over all that time, over everything that happened, she realized, her dreams were still the same.
And that's why she'd survived.
And that's why she was who she was.
"I want to go to university, graduate, and get a job so I can take care of my family and make them happy," Tsukushi said, feeling as though a thousand suns were rising behind her. Doubt and fear washed away like grains of sand swept away by the waves. They were things of the past. But she was speaking of her future now, and whatever problems might arise then, her vision of it was suddenly, brilliantly, clear.
"I have never had any intention or desire to get money by any other means than earning it. My life and my worth are my own, and I do not need to lean on anyone to support it."
Tsukasa sucked in a breath behind her. Even without seeing her face, he knew her expression, and it stunned him. He clutched a fist, trying to control himself, as a rush of feeling washed over him again and again. His head swam as though he were riding an endless roller coaster, constantly accelerating down a huge slope, rocketing down toward madness. He was falling in love with her all over again. And again. And again.
"But..." she paused. He looked up.
"But I love Tsukasa," she said.
The world stopped and stared.
"I love Tsukasa and I want to be with him."
For perhaps the first time in his life, Tsukasa was unable to control his tears. He tried desperately to swallow them, but it was no good. His life turned to liquid and he had no choice but to let it flow.
But Tsukushi was smiling. "That's all," she said.
It seemed an eternity and a half before either of them moved. Tsukushi stood straight, but tense, muscles locked in place with resolve and no small element of agitation. She was still battle-ready, and she still had no idea what was coming next. As for Takehiko, he had continued to gaze at her as her last words faded away into the air, his expression dark and stern. His face was a perfect mask. Not a single thought or emotion crept through its opaque seriousness.
Then slowly, ever so slowly, like creeping dawn comes to the edge of the horizon and lets a single ray of light illuminate the sky, the corners of his lips turned upwards.
"Then, be with him," he said.
Tsukasa sucked in a breath. Tsukushi still couldn't move.
It was only when Takehiko's huge warm hand came down to rest on her shoulder that she felt a shudder go through her body. Her muscles relaxed in spite of themselves and a sigh escaped her lungs. A hopeful smile lit her face.
"If you hurt him, you will have me to answer to." Takehiko's voice was stern, but his eyes were bright.
"Thank you very much," Tsukushi managed to say. The smile stubbornly widened into a grin, and try as she might, she couldn't wipe it off her face. Her heart was singing. Was this it? Could she truly dare to hope that all the things she'd suffered through until now were finally, completely, at an end? The thought was so extraordinary that she barely knew what to do with herself.
Takehiko walked over toward Tsukasa. "She seems like a very good woman," he said to his son, who had wiped his tears away and was staring straight ahead with glassy, fixed eyes. "I hope you know how to take care of her." He gave a low chuckle and reached out to him.
Tsukasa stirred, barely.
His father put a friendly hand on his shoulder.
And Tsukasa burst into action.
"Don't touch me!" he burst out, swiping Takehiko's hand away with an animal growl. "Don't mess with me, damn you!" His fists tensed, he rose to his feet, glowering expression frozen on his face, breathing heavily, eyes on fire. Tsukushi whirled and gasped. Takehiko stumbled backwards.
"Tsukasa...?"
Tsukasa's rage boiled around him like a red steam rising from his body. He made another giant, violent sweep with his arm, forcing Takehiko back another step. "You heard me!" he shouted. "Don't you try to come in and play hero now. If you were going to do this, why didn't you do it months ago? Before Makino went through hell and back!"
"Doumyouji...!" Tsukushi said in a hollow voice. His sudden burst of anger had rooted her to the spot, and she didn't know what to think.
Takehiko repeated his son's name once more. But Tsukasa wasn't done. "You disappear from our lives for years at a time and you think I'm just going to say thank you?? If you're such a goddamned good guy, where the hell have you BEEN!"
"Tsukasa..." Takehiko said for the third time, and Tsukushi realized as she heard the name escape his lips that he looked truly surprised. He had turned ashen, and his hand shook as he made a halfhearted gesture toward Tsukasa, then himself. "....Wait a moment," he said in a hesitant voice. "Wait a moment, Tsukasa..."
At the sudden change of expression, Tsukasa stopped his ranting. "...What?" he said, his own features going blank.
"Do you mean to tell me..." Takehiko slowly regained his strength. His voice lost its confused vibrato. "Do you mean to tell me that you would have WANTED to see me?"
Tsukasa blinked. There was a long pause.
And both their eyes turned to Kaede.
She had been standing, useless and forgotten, in a corner of the room. Her arms folded tight around herself, nails digging tightly into the flesh of her arms as if trying to keep herself alive with the pain, she had watched all that had gone on with a look of horror. Now, with the stabbing glances of both men piercing her, she seemed to shrink back into the woodwork, trying her best to turn chameleon and disappear.
"You damned bitch," Tsukasa said with fire in his tone. His words built up into a frenzied shout. "What... did... you.... DO!?"
"Wasn't it you who told me," Takehiko said, more calmly than his son but with similar flame behind his words, "that the children never wanted to see or hear from me again!?"
Tsukushi stepped backwards, out of the fearsome triangle of stares, and moved to the side, just watching. Her pulse raced, and she had trouble swallowing. Her mouth felt dry. This was all too much. It was all just too much.
"You were the one who said it," Takehiko said. "They were so disgusted with my actions that they didn't even want to argue the matter. If I was going to just give the company away, they said, then I was giving away the family name, and they'd rather not hear from me ever again. Kaede, those words broke my heart!" he cried out. "As glad as I was to leave you control of the empire, you made it clear that the children's response to my decision was such that I shouldn't even attempt to explain - that it would be better for both of us if I just left them alone...!"
"Takehiko..." Kaede spoke up, reaching out as a drowning man does to a faraway ship. "Let me explain..."
"Be quiet!" Takehiko roared, and the floor shook. "You could play games with my son's life, even with my life, but how could you stoop so low as to destroy my relationship with my own children? Tsukasa," he said in a sudden, earnest tone, turning to him. "Can you ever forgive me? I had no idea. I truly thought that you..."
Tsukasa didn't speak. He looked down at the floorboards ruefully, vacillating between extremes of emotion that collided with one another like clamorous bumper cars. Finally, he looked up with a face full of perplexedness. "Has she really... had control of the whole thing...?" he began. "I thought you were still..." In front of his father, he seemed once again to turn into an anxious schoolboy. The intimidating Tsukasa, thoroughly intimidated himself. Tsukushi thought to herself, despite the seriousness of the moment, that it was really quite cute.
"It seems she's lied to us both," Takehiko said. He shook his head slowly. "Kaede," he said, facing once again the pale ghost of a woman who had frozen herself against the mahogany panels of the walls, "I still don't understand why you've done all this. But..." He paused briefly. "I remember the woman I married, and I'd like to see her again. It seems we have a lot of healing to do."
He sighed heavily. "But for now, Kaede, please let these two do as they wish. We have a lot to talk about, you and I. But as for Tsukasa, he has his own life to live." His voice ached with sincerity, and Tsukushi felt tears come to her eyes. Kaede trembled. The maple leaf in a windstorm. "Let these children be," Takehiko finished. "Please."
The rolling rumble of his voice seemed to fill the room, and like an expectant drumroll, it made the whole world take in an anxious breath. The Please resounded off the woodwork, reverberated through the house, made its presence felt everywhere. And as its vibrations stirred within Kaede, she slowly, silently, hung her head, turned away, and ran from the room.
The moment she was gone, Tsukushi trembled and began to fall. She felt the weight of the world falling suddenly from her shoulders, crumbling, and she wanted to crumble along with it. The sigh of relief in her heart was so deep, so profound, that she almost lost consciousness. It was over.
Tsukasa was at her side in a moment, his fingers griping her waist and arm tightly. "Hey!" he frowned. "Makino, get a grip!"
Tsukushi passed a hand over her forehead. She felt like she'd been doused in cold water, all shivers and chills. "I'm sorry," she said, trying to regain control of her faculties. "I'm okay."
"Don't start swooning on me," Tsukasa lectured her. "Swoony girls are pathetic."
"Who are you calling swoony?" She was on her own two feet again in a flash. "Who was the one who fell over crying for Nee-chan when I kicked him in the face!?"
"You are not being cute, you know!" Tsukasa retorted.
"Uncute is fine by me!"
Takehiko laughed richly, and the pair remembered his presence there. Tsukasa straightened up and turned to him. "Oyaji," he said seriously. "It's all right now, isn't it? For Makino and me."
Takehiko smiled brightly. "Please, you two. Don't stay here a minute longer," he said, his rich, warm voice enveloping Tsukushi like a flood. "You have somewhere else you'd rather be, I'm sure."
"Otou-san..." Tsukushi's eyes filled with tears. She raced forward and embraced him, crying. He chuckled at the sudden, fresh warmth against him. "Thank you so much," she said.
"Be happy," he replied softly.
Tsukushi stepped back a pace and looked up at the man. "Yes, sir," she said.
And she turned to Tsukasa.
He was smiling, a brilliant, beautiful smile. Tsukushi's heart leapt. How she loved that smile. And now she felt it had opened up, as though the flashes of joy she had seen from him in the past were merely sunrises of emotion. Now, day had finally dawned in his heart, and she was there to share in its warmth. Happiness filled her.
He held out his hand to her. "Shall we?"
She nodded.
And off they went. Hand in hand, they ran, down the stairs, across the gardens, through the gate, and away. Leaving the Doumyouji house far behind. With the new future just behind the horizon, Tsukushi and Tsukasa walked off into the sunset.
-to be concluded-
The man's frame filled the doorway. His scowl darkened the room with its ferocity. He was a monstrous presence. He was a tower of imperial authority. He was...
::Doumyouji's father..!::
Tsukushi heard herself swallow, blood pounding in her ears. Her body went a little limp, and she squeezed Tsukasa's hand for support. She had wondered time and time again what sort of man his father could possibly be, and looking at the man for the first time she realized two things. One, he was exactly what she'd expected; and two, despite that, she still felt her world reel in shock at his presence. His appearance in the room seemed to jar the very universe, set everything a little out of tune, accelerate the motion of those gears that moved time and space through infinity. He was the very definition of regal - almost to the point of being divine.
And he was angry.
Doumyouji Takehiko flew across the room with the speed and urgency of a supersonic jet with a fire on its wing. With two strong bearlike hands he grasped Kaede by both arms, and whipped her around to face him. "Enough of this, Kaede! Have you lost your senses?" He spoke to her roughly, intently, breathing the words into her pallid face. Tsukushi's mind whirled at his firm grasp and stern expression, unable to think anything but a sort of wordless amazement at his lack of fear.
"Is this why I gave you control of the corporation? So you could pay for bribes, lookalikes, and special police to control our son's dating habits? Since when is that part of your job description?" Tsukasa's eyes widened as his father's words hung in the air, and Tsukushi could almost hear his question - how did he know all of that? But then, in the hallway behind the open door, Tsukushi glimpsed a mousy shadow with short blonde hair, skittering about behind the doorframe. And all questions were answered.
"Unhand me, Takehiko," Kaede seemed to come back to herself, though her voice was ragged with outrage. "I am taking care of my family as I see fit. That is more than you manage!"
"That is unfair and you know it," Takehiko answered, low and even. "This is not why I gave you control, Kaede. I know the whole story now. You know that I've always been opposed to that way of living - to the control our parents insisted on having over our lives. How could you return to that?"
"I have been thinking about Tsukasa. I have ALWAYS been thinking about Tsukasa!" she insisted. "I do know what is best for that boy, Takehiko. No matter what you or anyone else may think, I have been looking out for him."
"Even though he himself may have something different to say on the subject?" His tone stung with bitterness. "What on earth led you to place such little trust in his will?"
"Because he is far too much like you!" Kaede cried out, and then hung her head. Takehiko stared a moment, then released his hold on Kaede's shoulders. Instead, he cupped her face in his hands, tilting her gaze up to meet his eyes.
She trembled with frustration and anger. "If you gave away all your power to me so readily," she went on in a low voice, "what might he give away, without even thinking about it?"
"Kaede," Takehiko said gently, "have you forgotten? I gave it to you because I had faith in you. Please don't show me now that my faith was misplaced."
"And what if I do?" Kaede barked. "Would you wish on your son, then, the same disillusionment? Would you allow this girl to hurt Tsukasa in the same way... that I've hurt you?!" And at these words, the iron woman's steely eyes began to fill with tears.
Tsukushi had remained where she was, afraid to move or even breathe during this entire exchange. Somehow she had the feeling she was witnessing something she ought not to; that this was a private moment between a married couple, and she was embarrassed to be intruding on it. But when she saw the unthinkable... the woman she'd always seen as an unthinking, unfeeling demon, with tears, those unmistakable signs of humanity, in her hawklike eyes... she couldn't help but let out a small sound of surprise.
At this, the man's eyes turned in her direction. Immediately she felt small and scared again, as he probed her with a long serious look, and then began a slow, deliberate walk toward her.
"Stand up, young woman," Takehiko said.
"Y... yes, sir!" Tsukushi answered on reflex, rising to her feet. Her heart was hammering madly. This man was, in his own way, more frightening then Kaede had been... perhaps because she knew he was actually examining her for herself. No matter how horrific Kaede's glances had been, they had always reeked of bigotry, and that made them all the easier to defy. But this man... her husband... was like some great judge who had come down to test her true merit. Tsukushi took hold of all her life experiences, everything she'd been through, and squeezed it into one hand. She let the memories flow through her, sculpt her, change her. She would prove herself worthy. Worthy of Tsukasa, and worthy of herself.
Takehiko gazed at her for a long while. He stood barely a breath away from her, scrutinizing her face. She continued to stare at him, afraid to flinch or show her fear. Finally, he spoke. "What is your name?"
"Yes, sir... Makino Tsukushi, sir," she said, loudly and awkwardly perhaps, but without faltering or stuttering.
"And Makino-san," Takehiko said slowly, with the air of a man who never had to hurry his words because he knew the world would always listen, "what are your intentions concerning my son?"
At this, Tsukasa gave a little sound of surprise. Tsukushi remembered his presence in the room, and took a deep gulp as she realized her answer would affect him as well. Her mind warned in all its various voices to be careful. But the clear, clear tones of her heart overwhelmed them all, and there was no hesitation as she began to speak.
"I have no intentions," she said, her voice growing louder as she realized what her words were. "I am a high school student. My only wish is to get through the next two years of high school and graduate."
...just two more years of patience.
To get through the next two years quietly and graduate... that's my only wish.
Those were the words that had started it all. The silent prayer that had never been answered.
And then, like the flash of red when she opened her locker that morning, he had burst into her life.
And then there had been garbage thrown at her and emergency staircases and secretly taken photos and scarves tying her to a car and bubble baths and moonlit nights on beaches and airplanes to New York and beauty pageants and New Year's wishes and strange bespectacled boys and tiny burnt cookies and fiancees and threats and lookalikes and love...
...and it was then that she knew what she wanted.
It was what she'd always wanted.
Over all that time, over everything that happened, she realized, her dreams were still the same.
And that's why she'd survived.
And that's why she was who she was.
"I want to go to university, graduate, and get a job so I can take care of my family and make them happy," Tsukushi said, feeling as though a thousand suns were rising behind her. Doubt and fear washed away like grains of sand swept away by the waves. They were things of the past. But she was speaking of her future now, and whatever problems might arise then, her vision of it was suddenly, brilliantly, clear.
"I have never had any intention or desire to get money by any other means than earning it. My life and my worth are my own, and I do not need to lean on anyone to support it."
Tsukasa sucked in a breath behind her. Even without seeing her face, he knew her expression, and it stunned him. He clutched a fist, trying to control himself, as a rush of feeling washed over him again and again. His head swam as though he were riding an endless roller coaster, constantly accelerating down a huge slope, rocketing down toward madness. He was falling in love with her all over again. And again. And again.
"But..." she paused. He looked up.
"But I love Tsukasa," she said.
The world stopped and stared.
"I love Tsukasa and I want to be with him."
For perhaps the first time in his life, Tsukasa was unable to control his tears. He tried desperately to swallow them, but it was no good. His life turned to liquid and he had no choice but to let it flow.
But Tsukushi was smiling. "That's all," she said.
It seemed an eternity and a half before either of them moved. Tsukushi stood straight, but tense, muscles locked in place with resolve and no small element of agitation. She was still battle-ready, and she still had no idea what was coming next. As for Takehiko, he had continued to gaze at her as her last words faded away into the air, his expression dark and stern. His face was a perfect mask. Not a single thought or emotion crept through its opaque seriousness.
Then slowly, ever so slowly, like creeping dawn comes to the edge of the horizon and lets a single ray of light illuminate the sky, the corners of his lips turned upwards.
"Then, be with him," he said.
Tsukasa sucked in a breath. Tsukushi still couldn't move.
It was only when Takehiko's huge warm hand came down to rest on her shoulder that she felt a shudder go through her body. Her muscles relaxed in spite of themselves and a sigh escaped her lungs. A hopeful smile lit her face.
"If you hurt him, you will have me to answer to." Takehiko's voice was stern, but his eyes were bright.
"Thank you very much," Tsukushi managed to say. The smile stubbornly widened into a grin, and try as she might, she couldn't wipe it off her face. Her heart was singing. Was this it? Could she truly dare to hope that all the things she'd suffered through until now were finally, completely, at an end? The thought was so extraordinary that she barely knew what to do with herself.
Takehiko walked over toward Tsukasa. "She seems like a very good woman," he said to his son, who had wiped his tears away and was staring straight ahead with glassy, fixed eyes. "I hope you know how to take care of her." He gave a low chuckle and reached out to him.
Tsukasa stirred, barely.
His father put a friendly hand on his shoulder.
And Tsukasa burst into action.
"Don't touch me!" he burst out, swiping Takehiko's hand away with an animal growl. "Don't mess with me, damn you!" His fists tensed, he rose to his feet, glowering expression frozen on his face, breathing heavily, eyes on fire. Tsukushi whirled and gasped. Takehiko stumbled backwards.
"Tsukasa...?"
Tsukasa's rage boiled around him like a red steam rising from his body. He made another giant, violent sweep with his arm, forcing Takehiko back another step. "You heard me!" he shouted. "Don't you try to come in and play hero now. If you were going to do this, why didn't you do it months ago? Before Makino went through hell and back!"
"Doumyouji...!" Tsukushi said in a hollow voice. His sudden burst of anger had rooted her to the spot, and she didn't know what to think.
Takehiko repeated his son's name once more. But Tsukasa wasn't done. "You disappear from our lives for years at a time and you think I'm just going to say thank you?? If you're such a goddamned good guy, where the hell have you BEEN!"
"Tsukasa..." Takehiko said for the third time, and Tsukushi realized as she heard the name escape his lips that he looked truly surprised. He had turned ashen, and his hand shook as he made a halfhearted gesture toward Tsukasa, then himself. "....Wait a moment," he said in a hesitant voice. "Wait a moment, Tsukasa..."
At the sudden change of expression, Tsukasa stopped his ranting. "...What?" he said, his own features going blank.
"Do you mean to tell me..." Takehiko slowly regained his strength. His voice lost its confused vibrato. "Do you mean to tell me that you would have WANTED to see me?"
Tsukasa blinked. There was a long pause.
And both their eyes turned to Kaede.
She had been standing, useless and forgotten, in a corner of the room. Her arms folded tight around herself, nails digging tightly into the flesh of her arms as if trying to keep herself alive with the pain, she had watched all that had gone on with a look of horror. Now, with the stabbing glances of both men piercing her, she seemed to shrink back into the woodwork, trying her best to turn chameleon and disappear.
"You damned bitch," Tsukasa said with fire in his tone. His words built up into a frenzied shout. "What... did... you.... DO!?"
"Wasn't it you who told me," Takehiko said, more calmly than his son but with similar flame behind his words, "that the children never wanted to see or hear from me again!?"
Tsukushi stepped backwards, out of the fearsome triangle of stares, and moved to the side, just watching. Her pulse raced, and she had trouble swallowing. Her mouth felt dry. This was all too much. It was all just too much.
"You were the one who said it," Takehiko said. "They were so disgusted with my actions that they didn't even want to argue the matter. If I was going to just give the company away, they said, then I was giving away the family name, and they'd rather not hear from me ever again. Kaede, those words broke my heart!" he cried out. "As glad as I was to leave you control of the empire, you made it clear that the children's response to my decision was such that I shouldn't even attempt to explain - that it would be better for both of us if I just left them alone...!"
"Takehiko..." Kaede spoke up, reaching out as a drowning man does to a faraway ship. "Let me explain..."
"Be quiet!" Takehiko roared, and the floor shook. "You could play games with my son's life, even with my life, but how could you stoop so low as to destroy my relationship with my own children? Tsukasa," he said in a sudden, earnest tone, turning to him. "Can you ever forgive me? I had no idea. I truly thought that you..."
Tsukasa didn't speak. He looked down at the floorboards ruefully, vacillating between extremes of emotion that collided with one another like clamorous bumper cars. Finally, he looked up with a face full of perplexedness. "Has she really... had control of the whole thing...?" he began. "I thought you were still..." In front of his father, he seemed once again to turn into an anxious schoolboy. The intimidating Tsukasa, thoroughly intimidated himself. Tsukushi thought to herself, despite the seriousness of the moment, that it was really quite cute.
"It seems she's lied to us both," Takehiko said. He shook his head slowly. "Kaede," he said, facing once again the pale ghost of a woman who had frozen herself against the mahogany panels of the walls, "I still don't understand why you've done all this. But..." He paused briefly. "I remember the woman I married, and I'd like to see her again. It seems we have a lot of healing to do."
He sighed heavily. "But for now, Kaede, please let these two do as they wish. We have a lot to talk about, you and I. But as for Tsukasa, he has his own life to live." His voice ached with sincerity, and Tsukushi felt tears come to her eyes. Kaede trembled. The maple leaf in a windstorm. "Let these children be," Takehiko finished. "Please."
The rolling rumble of his voice seemed to fill the room, and like an expectant drumroll, it made the whole world take in an anxious breath. The Please resounded off the woodwork, reverberated through the house, made its presence felt everywhere. And as its vibrations stirred within Kaede, she slowly, silently, hung her head, turned away, and ran from the room.
The moment she was gone, Tsukushi trembled and began to fall. She felt the weight of the world falling suddenly from her shoulders, crumbling, and she wanted to crumble along with it. The sigh of relief in her heart was so deep, so profound, that she almost lost consciousness. It was over.
Tsukasa was at her side in a moment, his fingers griping her waist and arm tightly. "Hey!" he frowned. "Makino, get a grip!"
Tsukushi passed a hand over her forehead. She felt like she'd been doused in cold water, all shivers and chills. "I'm sorry," she said, trying to regain control of her faculties. "I'm okay."
"Don't start swooning on me," Tsukasa lectured her. "Swoony girls are pathetic."
"Who are you calling swoony?" She was on her own two feet again in a flash. "Who was the one who fell over crying for Nee-chan when I kicked him in the face!?"
"You are not being cute, you know!" Tsukasa retorted.
"Uncute is fine by me!"
Takehiko laughed richly, and the pair remembered his presence there. Tsukasa straightened up and turned to him. "Oyaji," he said seriously. "It's all right now, isn't it? For Makino and me."
Takehiko smiled brightly. "Please, you two. Don't stay here a minute longer," he said, his rich, warm voice enveloping Tsukushi like a flood. "You have somewhere else you'd rather be, I'm sure."
"Otou-san..." Tsukushi's eyes filled with tears. She raced forward and embraced him, crying. He chuckled at the sudden, fresh warmth against him. "Thank you so much," she said.
"Be happy," he replied softly.
Tsukushi stepped back a pace and looked up at the man. "Yes, sir," she said.
And she turned to Tsukasa.
He was smiling, a brilliant, beautiful smile. Tsukushi's heart leapt. How she loved that smile. And now she felt it had opened up, as though the flashes of joy she had seen from him in the past were merely sunrises of emotion. Now, day had finally dawned in his heart, and she was there to share in its warmth. Happiness filled her.
He held out his hand to her. "Shall we?"
She nodded.
And off they went. Hand in hand, they ran, down the stairs, across the gardens, through the gate, and away. Leaving the Doumyouji house far behind. With the new future just behind the horizon, Tsukushi and Tsukasa walked off into the sunset.
-to be concluded-