A Father's Embrace

Chapter Two

Divorce

"I don't know why she puts up with him," Maiki fumed as she strode down the long corridor. "It's probably been going on at least twice as long as I've known about it!"

"And your mom won't leave him?" the girl walking next to Maiki asked with a hint of skepticism.

"Heh! She thinks she can't afford to leave him. Either that, or she's just too afraid to. I've tried to convince her to leave him, Izumi. She just won't listen to me."

The two girls entered a classroom labeled "Trigonometry Rm. 204" and took their usual seats. The bell rang as the last few students filed into the classroom. Once everyone was settled down, the instructor rose from his desk with a stack of papers in his hand.

"I'm pleased to say that everyone did well on the test on Monday," the professor stated loudly as he began to hand out the graded test papers. Maiki rolled her eyes. 'Heh. So it takes three days to grade test papers when you've got an answer key?'

As she waited for her test, she absently picked pieces of fuzz off of her black vest. Like her vest, her pleated skirt was also a solid black color, leaving her blouse the only article of her clothing that wasn't black. Instead, it was white. The school dress code required that the girls wear black skirts and white blouses. However, the color of their vest was optional. As for the boys, they were required to wear black trousers and a dress shirt in a color of their choice. Maiki had chosen to own only black vests, despite her mother's attempts to get her to wear colors that were more appealing. Izumi was the exact opposite. Like today, for example, she wore a bright pink vest.

"Hojo-san," the professor replied smoothly as he placed Maiki's exam face-down on her desk, then walked on to the next student. Acting as though she didn't really care, she slowly turned over her paper, eyes drawn to the number scribbled in red at the top.

"Maiki! You got a ninety-three?" Izumi squealed. Maiki jumped slightly at her friend's high-pitched voice, having not realized she was leaning forward to look over her shoulder. "You must have studied really hard for this test. I was up studying for hours on Sunday night, and I only got a seventy-eight."

Maiki stuffed her test paper into her notebook before anyone else decided to steal a glance at her score. "Heh. I didn't really bother studying," she muttered. 'How can I when I have to listen to mama cry every night?'

"You didn't study at all?" With a sigh, Izumi sat back in her seat. "Your so lucky, Maiki. I wish I was as smart as you."

Maiki shook her head in disagreement, but the movement was so slight, no one noticed. 'I'm really not that smart. Otherwise, I'd have figured out a way to talk mama into leaving Nanashi.' She turned her head to the side to stare out the large windows, taking in the sight of clear, blue skies. 'If I were truly lucky, mama wouldn't have to suffer any longer with him.'

"Mama! Papa! Look!" cried out an excited four-year-old as she ran towards her parents with a wide, happy grin.

"What is it, Maiki?" her father asked curiously, kneeling down as the girl ran into his outstretched arms.

"A bug! A bug!" she squealed, lifting her left hand to show Nanashi the tiny creature in her palm.

"I see! But do you know what kind of bug it is?"

Maiki lowered her hand to stare at the insect crawling across her fingers. Her smile faded and her expression turned to one of concentration as she tried to answer her father's question. After a few moments of pondering without being able to provide an answer, Nanashi answered for her.

"It's a ladybug. See how it has black spots on it's shell?"

Maiki nodded. To her surprise, the ladybug suddenly opened it's shell, revealing it's opaque wings. After a moment, it launched itself into the air, the toddler watching in wonder as it flew into the deep blue skies. When it finally disappeared from view, Maiki did not cry. Rather, the wide grin returned to her face. With the snap of a camera, Kagome took a picture of the happy moment; her beautiful daughter in the loving arms of her husband. She lowered the camera, winding the film. A sense of contentment filled her.

The memory blurred into a pool of misshapen, vibrant colors. Kagome blinked, exiling a tear from each eye. With two soft taps, the drops landed on the plastic of the photo album that protected the image from such a long time ago. Kagome sighed. How happy she had once been, all those years ago. Even though they were struggling financially at the time, they had at least had each other. Back then, they were a family. A true family.

Before Maiki was born, Kagome had dropped out of college. The pregnancy was proving to be exceptionally hard on her, and during the last four months, her doctor had ordered her to strict bed-rest. She still lived with her family on the shrine, but Nanashi had come by everyday to see how she was doing. Everyday, he brought her a different remedial gift from his parents' shop to help her through the pregnancy. Nanashi would stay with her until late into the night despite his early classes the following mornings.

Kagome had thought that after her daughter was born, she would resume her college classes. However, that never happened. Her home at the shrine was small as it was, and having another person living there made it all the more crowded. Kagome's bedroom was far too small for all the baby things she needed for Maiki's care. The new mother had no choice but to get a job so that she could afford a place of her own. As Maiki approached six months old, Kagome was looking into renting a cheap apartment a few blocks from the shrine. It was around this time that Nanashi proposed.

Now engaged to be married, Kagome decided to share an apartment with her new fiancé. They ended up moving into an apartment that was close to Nanashi's university. Unfortunately, this placed them a bit further away from the shrine than Kagome would have liked. During the day, Nanashi attended medical school. He held a part-time job on the weekends. Meanwhile, Kagome worked full-time during the week. At times when neither Kagome nor Nanashi were able to be home with Maiki, Grandmother Hojo offered to take care of the infant.

One year after the engagement, Higurashi Kagome became Hojo Kagome. She continued to support her husband and daughter until Nanashi graduated from medical school, and was accepted at his first job as a doctor. Within a few short years, Nanashi had earned a two promotions at Tokyo Hospital, increasing his salary drastically. They soon bought the house they were still living in to this day. But this meant they would be moving even further from the shrine. Shortly thereafter, Kagome no longer needed to work. She became a stay-at-home mother, focusing her energy into raising her daughter. Maiki prospered. She had loving parents and a good home. With her daughter content, Kagome was also content. And yet, she couldn't deny, that even back then, she had felt empty inside. As if a very important part of her life was absent.

The front door opened and slammed shut, indicating that Maiki was home from school. Kagome tried as best as she could to hide the upset expression from her face. She snapped the photo album closed and stuffed it into one of the cardboard boxes surrounding her on the living room floor. Maiki's stomping footsteps grew louder as she entered the room from the kitchen.

"Ugh! I can't stand the nerve of some people! Just because I prefer black doesn't make me a Goth or a freak!" she bellowed, but stopped her tirade as she took in the sight of her mother packing things into boxes. "What's going on?"

Kagome stifled a sob. "We're moving."

Maiki's eyes grew into wide saucers. "We're moving? All of us? Or…"

"No. Just you and me."

The corners of Maiki's mouth tugged into a near-grin. "You mean, we're leaving Nanashi?" she inquired enthusiastically. She couldn't believe it. It was almost too good to be true. Still, something didn't feel quite right. Her mother. She seemed… distraught.

"Sort of."

"What do you mean, 'sort of'?" Maiki demanded, her tone falling into suspicion, realizing that it must be too good to be true after all.

"Your father-"

"Nanashi."

Kagome sighed, holding in another sob. "Nanashi… He called me from the hospital today. He said… He said he's divorcing me."

"WHAT? On what grounds! Mama! You've done nothing to him! How can he divorce you? You're the one who's supposed to be divorcing him!"

"He said…" Kagome began, but trailed off.

"Said what?"

"He said… that I haven't… fulfilled my duties… as his wife."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Maiki demanded.

"He wants a son… to pass on the Hojo name. And I haven't given him one. I'm getting old. I'm almost thirty-seven… I know there are many women my age who have children, but…"

"But nothing, Mama! It's not your fault!"

"Maiki. Please… It… it is my fault."

"Mama! Stop blaming yourself for this! You know that you couldn't have another kid! You couldn't after I was born. Don't let him think that it was your fault."

"Anyway," Kagome tried to shift the conversation a bit, blinking away the salty liquid in her eyes. "We're moving tomorrow. We'll be moving in with Nana for a while."

Maiki nodded. Even though the shrine was on the other side of Tokyo, she was willing to uproot herself for her mother. Not that she really had a choice at this point. Moving across the city meant that she would have to transfer schools. Probably to the one her mother had attended at her age. Which meant it was also the one that Nanashi had attended as well. Maiki cringed at that thought. Unfortunately, her mother saw it.

"I'm sorry, Maiki. I didn't mean for this to happen to you. I just want you to be happy."

"Mama, I am happy," Maiki reassured with a voice much gentler than what she had been using before. She knelt down beside her mother, wrapping her in a comforting hug. Odd, that it was the child who had to comfort the parent, rather than the other way around. "I'm happy that we're moving on. I'm happy to know that you'll be happy once he's out of our lives. You'll see."

Izumi - fountain, spring