It's a Secret

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By: Ryoko

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Track 00:05:00

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"Shigure . . . is the child fairing well there?"

"Umm . . . sure . . . I think so . . . umm Hatori?"

"Yes?"

"I meant to call you earlier regarding this . . . but uhh . . . Hatsuharu and Yuki found something on that girl that greatly disturbed them both . . . and umm . . . well . . . "

"Like what?"

"Scars and burn marks . . . all over her back and neck . . . what made them edgy is that they couldn't possibly tell what they were from . . . I mean . . . the scars were from cuts with a knife . . . but they couldn't determine the tool used for all of the burns. They were AWFUL, and looked really painful . . . or so Yuki said."

"Is that so? Damn it." He averted his eyes toward the door behind him- Akito's room.

"Other than that, how is she doing?"

"Fine, I guess. I haven't spent much time around her. It seems like she's practically inseparable from Hatsuharu though. She follows him like his shadow. So I think she'll be alright."

"I hope you're right. Anyway . . . the reason I called . . . I need you to deliver a message for me . . . tell Hatsuharu to keep the girl away from the main house until I call and tell them it's okay."

"How come?"

"I'm not having such a great time trying to keep her presence a secret. Akito is already asking about a foreign 'air' in the family. Hatsuharu knows that if he asks, I won't deny it, but I can't keep on lying to him . . . "

"I see. Well . . . Thank you Hatori." Shigure sighed. "Even if I end up paying a price for another boarder . . . I will. I don't care how much heat I have to take."

***

"Well . . . what do you like to eat? I guess since you'll be staying with us for awhile, you might as well pick out something you like?" Tohru kneeled down in front of the child, smiling with the usual air-headed smile she used when no other expression was handy.

Ashura looked up, questioningly, at Hatsuharu, tightening her grip on his hand.

"It's okay. We've got plenty of Shigure's money to waste. C'mon. Pick anything you want." He urged.

***

"How's she doing over there?" Momiji asked, sitting on the bookcase by Hatori's desk.

"Fine. At least I can trust Shigure to SOME extent with Yuki, Kyou and Tohru around . . . "

"I feel so bad for her . . . "

The doctor looked toward the pile of papers on his desk, not really reading what they were, just staring at them blankly.

' "They found scars and burns all over her back and throat . . . " "Maybe a knife . . . but the other tool is unknown . . . " ' The conversation kept playing over and over in his head.

"Maybe she WAS a runaway . . . " he murmured to himself. Momiji looked at him with worry, overhearing the sentence.

"So she WAS?"

"Huh? Oh! No . . . I'm . . . not sure . . . I just don't think her parents cared for her a whole lot . . . "

"Why . . . do you say THAT?"

He sighed heavily, staring at the floor.

"Hari?"

"Hatsuharu and Yuki found scars and burn marks all over that girl's back. The scars were probably made with a knife . . . but they don't know how the burns got there. So . . . I'm thinking that maybe . . . she WAS a runaway."

"I did too . . . when Haru explained to me how he found her . . . I thought she would be. She looked so sad . . . and . . . lonely . . . she didn't seem to even know what love WAS until he held her in his arms. And this morning . . . when she and him were leaving . . . she actually smiled as he picked her up and started to cry when she leaned on him. It was like . . . she didn't know what was going on . . . like she'd never felt anything like that before . . . "

"She's no older than six . . . how could parents possibly NEVER show their child affection like that?"

"If you could tell how somebody's parents are by the way they look, I'd have to say that her parents were pretty sadistic. They seem so awful. I don't even think she WANTS us to find them."

"Even so . . . we're going to have to. It's not her decision."

"But Hatori!"

"I found several ads for missing children . . . and three of them fit her description. Maybe we're wrong . . . maybe her parents DO care a WHOLE LOT about her . . . especially if they are looking for her . . . "

"Even if they are good people . . . why would she want to run away from them . . . if she had a good reason?"

"She could have been kidnapped, you know, Momiji."

"But what are the odds of that?"

"You've got a point. But the facts are still the facts. I'll contact them tomorrow."

"Hatori! Don't!"

"Momiji. I'm sorry, but it HAS to be done. Hatsuharu isn't going to like it either, but it still has to be done. Trust me, I don't WANT to, but I've got to. Some things you just HAVE to do sometimes."

"How could you . . . after what you saw . . . and what those two FOUND on her . . . how could you still want to return her?!" Tears began welling up in his eyes, no matter how hard he forced them down. "Hatori . . . "

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