Rakka eda ni kaerazu
~ Fallen blossoms do not return to branches ~
-- a Japanese proverb
Chapter Seven: Family Ties




Summer, Present
Kanagawa, Japan
On a train
Michiko and Kogure sat in silence. They had left Fujima's house and were on their way home. Michiko had not spoken since she had bid Fujima goodbye, and her expression was crestfallen after she had turned away from the Fujima residence.
Kogure did not bring up the subject, hoping that Michiko would.
The train moved along its tracks, hinges of all sorts making a terrible creaking noise that filled Kogure's head. Funny, trains were not usually this noisy.
Michiko looked out of the window, at the trees whizzing past. One word ranked first in her mind: betrayal.
Summer, Present
Kanagawa, Japan
Park near the Kogure residence
"Kogure-kun, this isn't the way home," Michiko suddenly asked, when she found herself in the middle of a park, surrounded by trees and flowers, not streets and cars.
"It took you quite a long time to notice."
"What's the meaning-" Michiko started, but was interrupted by Kogure.
"What's the meaning behind your fainting just now. You weren't telling the truth when you said that it was Fujima's looks," Kogure said sharply.
Michiko looked at Kogure. Very fiercely.
He looked back, equally obstinate. Wanting to know the answer as much as she didn't want to tell him.
They glared at each other for what seemed like ages.
Just when Kogure was about to fold, because of the sheer waste of time, Michiko's eyes lowered and she said, in the softest whisper imaginable, "I'll tell you."
Kogure and Michiko sat down on a bench in the park. She was careful not to look into his eyes.
She began the story.
Michiko's narration
I come from a family of three. My father, Kawasaki Taro, died in an aeroplane crash when I was five. He was flying to Australia. On business. My mother was a homemaker, who gave me a lot of love and care. She was always happy, always smiling.
My father died, his body lost somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. I remember the funeral. I also remember something very strange. My mother's eyes were always dry. I was crying like a baby, because I knew he would never keep all his promises – of bringing me to the snow city, of taking me to America, and all his other promises. I never bothered about my mother's absence of tears, just remembered it. Now, it seems so significant.
Because the man in Fujima's family photograph is my father.
The bombshell had been dropped. Kogure was stunned. Speechless. The implications of what Michiko had said were sinking in.
"Kawasaki-san…"
She merely nodded. And continued.
Michiko's narration
He was always going to Australia. And once, I heard my mother quarrel with him one of the nights before he left. I never found out why, because everything was perfectly normal the next day. Now, looking back, maybe she found out…
Fujima's mother is not Japanese. It shows in his looks, and it shows in the picture as well.
Suddenly, Michiko's voice broke, and she shuddered, taking in a deep breath. Trying to continue, she said, "When I saw the…the…the picture…"
She only got so far. In the next moment, her tears were unstoppable.
Kogure felt so sorry for her. The worst thing was the fact that Fujima was around the same age as her. While Kawasaki Megumi was carrying her husband's child, he had another woman, another child.
He awkwardly put an arm around Michiko's shoulders, hoping that the simple human touch could convey what words failed to.
She inched closer to him. A source of comfort, a source of help.
"Kogure-kun, I don't know what to do…" she said between tears and shuddering gasps of air.
"It's okay. We'll think of something. You'll be fine. Don't cry." Kogure's soothing voice repeated words of comfort over and over, hoping that the girl would calm down.










Author's Notes:
I took longer than expected to finally post this chapter, because I was really unsatisfied with the way it turned out the first few times I drafted this. So here is the final piece I posted, and I hope you like it!

If you're wondering, I had a hard time making this chapter happen because it was very saddening. Very. To me, at least. It was like putting Michiko through torture, and she is my brainchild after all. *sobs*




Replies:

tensaispira: Small Fujima would be kawaii!!!! I want to "go back in time". LOL!

DiaBLo: Not the shortest I've ever written. One reviewer pointed out that a chapter of 'With Eyes That See' was only 25 sentences long. *grin* Count yourself lucky you can just zap to reading the whole of that fic now! With this one, well, you'll just have to suffer in silence. ^__^

Nellie: Michiko's dad. Hmm... Betrayal! But it is sad that he died.

Joy: Nani? You can relate to her experience? Have you lost your father too? *rurouni's eyes fill with tears*

renei: It's me. Definitely! ^__^ This one's longer though. And took a much longer, more agonising time to write!

iron kitty: Thanks! Same to you!





That's it for now, reviews please! *broad grin*


~rurouni