Bad Luck for Bad Luck?
Part 5: Mika's Problems
By five o'clock, Tatsuha and Ryuichi were long-gone. Eiri and Shu had managed to have some private time, call take-out, and drag a chair from the study into the kitchen so that Mika could sit at their little kitchen table and eat with them. Now it was just a matter of waiting for Mika and the food to arrive at the door. Eiri was sprawled over the couch, arms draped off the back. Shu was curled up in a ball next to him, head resting against his chest. They were watching a not-so-funny comedy show on TV.
Mika was the first to arrive at about 5:15. She didn't bother to knock or ring the doorbell, either. She never did, unless the door was locked. Eiri heard the door open and slam shut, followed by the distinctive clatter of high heels hitting the wood floor with force. Whoa, he thought, this should be interesting. Shu sat up a little and put his feet on the floor. "Uh, Eiri? Maybe I should— "
"You're not going anywhere," he stated.
"Aw, but she's your sister . . . and she doesn't even really like me!"
"Too bad," Eiri told him. Shuichi muttered something else, but he didn't catch it. It didn't matter; they were both stuck with her. Mika came in carry a valise and unzipping it as she walked. Her eyes looked hard and dangerous. She set the opened valise on the coffee table in front of Eiri, shoving his ashtray to one side. The papers she revealed had official-looking letterheads. He raised one eyebrow in an unspoken question.
"H-Hi, Mika-san," Shuichi greeted her. When her eyes moved to him, he shivered.
She focused on her brother. "These are your copies. I have copies and so does my lawyer. I'm not playing games with Tohma anymore."
Eiri reached for his cigarettes and lit one. He hadn't planned to have another before dinner, but he wanted one now. "Why give these to me?"
"I want you to take care of anything— any details that come up. I trust you to deal with it. I don't want to see him, or talk to him. I'll be out of reach. I'm going home— to Kyoto." Eiri had tried that once—hiding out in Kyoto— but he hadn't escaped. Somehow, Eiri doubted Tohma would be as persistent about finding Mika as Shuichi had been about chasing Eiri.
With trepidation, Shu asked, "Uh . . . you're leaving Seguchi-san . . .?"
"Brilliant!" She applauded him sarcastically, with long, slow clapping. "Eiri, how do you put up with that?" He raised his eyebrows. She wasn't usually this nasty about Shu to his face. His lover looked like her words had stabbed him; there was a really hurt look in the kid's eyes and they started to fill. In another minute, he'd be sniveling all over.
Eiri stood up. "Mika, you don't need to come here and take your problems out on him." Shu snuffled, watching brother and sister stare at each other over the coffee table.
Mika looked pouty. "I think he's living with someone," she said, baldly. "Tohma hasn't come home— at least not when I'm there— in over a week. A lot of his clothes are missing, too." Two silent tears fell from one of her eyes.
Eiri wasn't quite sure what to say to that. In a way, he was glad Mika was coming to terms with the idea that Tohma could never be what she wanted him to be. He felt sorry for her that it had taken so many years to come to this conclusion. Then again, he could hardly criticize. . .
Shu's eyes were big with surprise. ". . .But, who? He must be somewhere in Tokyo, 'cuz Seguchi-san has been at NG, everyday, same as always!" Mika turned her back to them and her hands came up to her face. Mika would have been completely certain of her facts before ever going to her lawyer. She would have been thorough about all the details. She knew.
"Let's go to my study," Eiri told her. "Shuichi, a tissue?" Shu gave him a handful. Eiri walked around the table and passed them to Mika. The doorbell rang. "That's probably the food."
"I'm on it!" Shuichi vaulted himself off the couch and went to get the door. Eiri thought the kid was a little too glad to get out of the room and away from Mika.His sister collected herself and used the tissues. Out in the hall, Eiri heard Shu having a brief conversation with the delivery person. When the kid came through the living room, he made a wide circuit around them, heading for the kitchen with the steaming take-out. It smelled good. Eiri realized he was hungry. Then he remembered he hadn't eaten lunch.
With Shu in the kitchen, Eiri said to Mika, "It's someone at NG, someone we all know. Isn't it?"
Mika nodded. "Sakano-san," she whispered. "After all this time . . . I don't even know how long . . ." She pressed the tissues into her face and sobbed. Eiri patted her back, awkwardly. Again, he was at a loss for the 'right thing' to say. He knew there was no 'right thing' to say, and he still tried to come up with something. His task was harder because this didn't surprise him. They both knew Tohma's essential nature. Those two men had been close for a long time. It didn't take a huge stretch of imagination to see them as more than friends.
Eiri asked quietly, "You don't want Shuichi to know?" She shook her head 'no'. He shrugged one shoulder. If Shu figured it out, fine, but Eiri wouldn't tell. "Okay. You should eat something, then." Mika blew her nose and nodded. They walked to the kitchen.
Shuichi watched them both with wide, alert eyes. He had set the table, opened all the little white take-out containers, and poured three bowls of won-ton soup. "Mika-san, can I get you something to drink?"
"Water, please." He nodded and fetched it for her. She threw away the tissues and sat in the third chair— the one that didn't match the other two. Eiri grabbed a beer and settled in his usual place. Light caught on little drops of water hitting the window. He hadn't noticed the rain earlier. Maybe it had just started. Using his chopsticks, he dished up beef and broccoli and rice.
"Here you go!" Shuichi set the water down in front of Mika and sat in his own chair with a glass of juice. "So, uhm, Mika-san? What will you do in Kyoto?"
She was helping herself to sweet and sour chicken. Eiri had ordered it for her because he knew she liked it. Her chin came up a little. She set the container down. Her lips thinned and a small frown appeared between her brows. "I don't know." She took a bite.
Shuichi looked across the table at Eiri, pitying Mika. It was obvious that Shu didn't know what to say, either.
Mika looked straight ahead, out the window. "It's raining," she stated indifferently. A smile twitched at her cheeks and she laughed, bitterly. "It's raining," she repeated. Eiri thought she was cracking. She set her chopsticks down and stood up, kicking her chair back. "Good bye. I guess I'm not really hungry." She left the kitchen.
Shuichi looked at him. "Go on!" He urged. Eiri frowned. Shu huffed, "she needs somebody, just go tell her good bye!" Eiri frowned a little harder at Shu, but chased his sister out into the hallway. He stopped in the living room long enough to pull some tissues from the table in the living room, because he expected Mika would need them.
Mika stood in the foyer with one long leg bent, as she pulled on the sling strap of her high heel shoe. She was crying again. "Mika . . ."
She looked up, putting her feet on the floor and straightening in pride. "It's really over." She gave him a half-hearted smile through her tears and shook her hair back. "Now this dutiful daughter will go back to her father in disgrace." Eiri held out the tissues and she took them, hugging him. "Thank you, brother. Good bye."
He hugged her back. "Good bye, Mika. You know where to find me." She pulled away, nodded, and blew her nose. She understood his offer. Picking up her handbag, she stuffed the tissues in it, flashed him a false smile, and left. In that moment, Eiri hated Tohma. He thought about the swords Ryuichi gave him as 'family protector'. They were displayed in his study. In the Sengoku o-Togi Zoushi 1 he might have challenged Tohma with a blade, to defend his sister's honor. That was seriously out-of-fashion today. Too bad. Somehow, the stack of legalese sitting on the coffee table didn't seem like just compensation. He would take care of it for his sister, as she knew he would.
For now, he would be grateful for what he had. Eiri went back to the kitchen and ate dinner with Shuichi.
1 This is alternately called the 'feudal period' or 'warring states era'.
Author Notes: Big secret revealed, especially for those who read the other fic: Yep. Tohma x Sakano. Surprised? I liked them together in Remix 1 and the pairing makes so much sense when you collect pieces from the manga and put them together . . . Poor Mika.
BTW- I know that at the end of the manga series, Mika & Tohma have a child. I thought about mentioning how now that Tohma had an heir, he didn't need his wife anymore (ouch!), but I don't have enough information to write about the child, so I'm conveniently skipping it.
