Part II
Suzume, now safely tucked behind closed doors, let her tears fall. She had choked them back all the way home from her older sister's house and had a terribly sore throat as a result.
She had done her best, damn it! She tried so hard to be a happier person, trying to coax Ayame out of the bitter and stiff shell she had created for herself. Suzume pounded a fist against her bedroom wall, ignoring the sharp pain that ran through her hand.
"Suzume-chan? Is that you?" Her husband. Oh, she didn't want him to see her like this, so vulnerable and weepy over nothing! She wiped her tears furiously with the back of her arm and plastered a smile on her face. Natsu's footsteps came closer, quickly as if he feared for her. The shoji slid open so sharply it was almost pushed off of its track and Suzume met the concerned eyes of her husband.
"Suzume-chan? Are you okay in here?" he asked, seeing through her façade and detecting immediately that she had been crying. Suzume did not answer, instead she found herself walking quickly to the other end of the room, busying herself with opening drawers and toying with the flower arrangement beside the futon. Pretending as if nothing at all was the matter, that was her game.
She had to survive too, didn't she?
"What did she say to you, Suzume? What did she say that has you so upset?" he asked angrily, once again resisting the urge to storm over to the young female doctor's clinic and shaking some manners into her.
"Natsu dear, always concerned over nothing! She just wasn't feeling well today, that's all. I'm only crying because I hurt my ankle a bit on the walk home," Suzume lied smoothly, ignoring her guilt. Natsu narrowed his eyes suspiciously while glancing down at her ankle.
"Which one?" he asked, coming over to examine it himself.
"Oh fine! It's just that I can never seem to crack her defenses. She pretends I'm only a nosy neighbor, when I'm the only real family she has left now! Why can't she be my sister again?" Suzume broke into sobs again, covering her face to hide her shame at the outburst.
Natsu's arms encircled her in a warm embrace and he dropped a tender kiss onto her earlobe. He said nothing for a while, letting her cry it out. When her chokes and gasps began to subside, he spoke again.
"Ayame-san cannot be a sister to you right now. She has no love in her heart, only hate for herself and the way life has cheated her out of something everyone else has attained so easily. My mother told me these things; she had a brother who lived in darkness and despair for a very long time. All you can do is let her know that you are here and she has your love."
She could not respond to that, her throat was too constricted and she feared she may explode into tears again if she uttered a word. Her husband only tightened his hold on her and smiled gently.
"Did you tell her our news? Does she know yet?" Suzume shook her head, looking into his eyes so she wouldn't have to explain it, hoping that he would get her message through the fear in her eyes. Natsu sighed and placed a warm and gentle hand on her abdomen, caressing the life underneath.
"What if my baby is dead, too? What if I—" Natsu hushed her with a passionate kiss, but Suzume saw through it, felt the fear so strong in him that it made her heart wrench.
His tears wet her skin as he made love to her.
*
Ayame strolled leisurely through the market, stopping to gaze at the stands and shops. Mentally she tried to convince herself that she was not headed in the direction of the dojo, that she had not let her curiosity get the better of her and she most certainly wasn't interested in gossip about the Kamiya Dojo.
Of course, she wasn't a bit surprised when she found herself standing outside the Kamiya gate, her empty tofu bucket still clutched in her hand. Even from her position outside she could hear the shrieks and laughter of children playing inside. She ignored the tug at her heart.
Those sounds used to come from me.
Steeling herself, she knocked on the gate. She waited a mere two seconds before deciding they were busy and started to walk quickly away, nearly jogging. She had knocked, hadn't she? She wasn't a coward!
Before she could even get five steps away the gate creaked open and Yahiko stood before her, at first not believing his eyes. Realization dawned slowly on him and he smiled a bit awkwardly.
"Konnichiwa, Inoue Ayame-san!" she winced at the formality, but bowed and smiled in kind. The ritual was interrupted, however, by a small boy running through Yahiko's legs and nearly knocking him over. Another boy followed close behind, and soon the chase was neck and neck.
"I'm gonna get'chu!" One of them shouted, and the other laughed derisively.
"Hey! That hurt!" Yahiko protested, rubbing his leg and scowling like a petulant boy. Ayame found herself laughing for the first time in a very long time. Things hadn't changed so much for everyone else, it seemed. Only for her.
A feminine voice sounded from beyond the gate, calling her children back but to no avail. Tsubame came into sight and gasped quietly at the sight of Ayame.
Masculine laughter followed her, coming from someone Ayame did not recognize at first, but somewhere deep in her memory a young face emerged.
Her heart beat became rapid and she didn't know why, for no rational thought entered her mind. The only sound that escaped her was a small whisper of a name.
"Yutarou?"