"A little problem called Kyoko Sagura".
The others nodded sagely, harsh shadows cast over their faces, making it seem as if they were pronouncing judgement.
"What's wrong with Kyoko-san?", Shinobu asked, not understanding why the other girls were agreeing with Kitsune. She was a little stiff, but Koichi's little sister wasn't a problem surely, the residents of the Hinata Sou had faced far, far worse. One person in particular leaping to mind.
Somewhere near Mount Fuji, struggling to lug her heavy back-pack up the shear cliff face behind her diminutive but sprightly grandmother, Kanako Urashima sneezed violently.
"Something the matter dear?", a kindly voice called from somewhere above her.
"No,", she reassured the much older woman, wiping her nose and resuming her climb, "Just had the strangest sensation for a second, like someone had shouted my name or something".
"You must be joking", Kitsune said, leaning back against a dusty beam, "That girl has a serious bad attitude, and we all know how easy something like that can rub off on everybody else"
Another sneeze, this time she lost her grip and flailed for a second as gravity tried to assist her to the ground the hard way before finding purchase again.
"God damn it, what the hell!"
"I'm afraid I must agree", another voice, Motoko's added reluctantly, "I don't want to say anything negative of someone who will soon be family, but she left me with a rather negative impression today. No one should grill another person about their private life like that".
Shinobu thought for a second she saw the older woman blush, but couldn't be sure in the gloom.
She thought back on her own conversation today with Kyoko. True she had been rather abrupt, but she had offered support and comfort where few did these days, even her friends, so it fell to Shinobu to stand in her defence.
"I don't think she's as bad as she lets on", the blue haired girl said, feeling distinctly uneasy as all eyes turned on her with varying degrees of disapproval.
"Not as bad, I've seen blizzards warmer than that girl, never would have expected something like that from anyone related to Koichi", Kitsune said crossing her arms and frowning.
"Yeah, something needs to be done!"
Everyone looked at Su a little taken aback. Kaolla Su liked everyone; she had even liked Kanako (or her cat Kuro at least). So to hear her talk even slightly negatively about anyone was unheard of.
"What? She was mean to me. If she didn't want to play all she had to do was say"
"So", Kitsune said scanning the others' faces, "We're in agreement, something has to be done".
"What are you planning to do?", Shinobu asked nervously, not missing the glint in the fox girl's slit like eye.
"Oh you'll see", she responded with a devious chuckle, "You'll see".
The next week was…unusual, for Kyoko Sagura, to put it mildly.
She first began to notice something unusual was happening when she realised that she couldn't hear anything from Su's room.
Normally there would be all manner of strange and dangerous sounds echoing out from the blond haired girls abode, like the racket one would expect to find in an industrial park rather than a dormitory.
Thus when Kyoko found herself able to think peacefully in her room long enough to notice on more than one occasion, she finally became curious enough to try and determine what was going on with the boisterous foreigner.
Rising from where she knelt near her window and smoothing out some minute creases in her dark green kimono, Kyoko padded softly across the hall and knocked on the other girl's door.
No answer.
She rapped again, a little louder this time with the same response.
How strangeIt was at that moment Kyoko became aware of the almost eerie stillness that had descended upon the entire of the third floor, as if the very building itself were attempting to fade from notice.
To a politically trained mind such as Kyoko's the hush was…suspicious. There was something happening beneath this tranquil exterior and part of her felt compelled to seek out the cause even as another urged caution, advising her to simply sit back and watch as things evolved.
The more rational side of her being may have succeed in its council but for two factors. Firstly, she had found herself with little to do but quietly contemplate the riddles given to her by her instructors for focusing the mind in such lulling periods, and secondly, she was blood kin to Koichi Sagura. Boredom was somewhat anther to the Sagura siblings, even if it usually only seemed to drive the elder of the pair to distraction.
Deciding that there was really no more profitable way to solve her time than unravelling a simple mystery such as this, Kyoko moved down the hall at her gliding pace, pausing only briefly to focus on the sounds, or lack thereof coming from each of the rooms.
When her search of this floor yielded no new information, she proceeded by logic down to the next.
This time she found signs of habitation in the form of a gentle conversation echoing from the landlord and his fiancé's room.
Kyoko's brow crinkled slightly as she stood outside the dorm manager's room. It ran contrary to her beliefs, or those she had been instilled with at least, that these two should share a bed before they were wed, but, she acknowledged, not everyone had been raised as she and her brother.
Her hand hesitated over knocking. The tone of the voices within was low, tender even, and though she had no way of knowing, her teenage mind came up with plenty of possible explanations for such whispered words.
Shaking her head before her mind could progress further with its musings, she rapped the door lightly, somewhat relieved when she heard no frantic scrambling, only the rich voice of Keitaro Urashima as he bid her enter.
She bowed as she entered, showing the respect for her elders she had always been taught to show, missing his slightly embarrassed expression and his bride-to-be's amused smile.
"How can we help you Kyoko-chan?", Naru asked when the younger Sagura sibling had finished.
"I was wondering if you had seen my brother, or Motoko-sama", Kyoko said, naming the two most likely to give her answers to where everyone had suddenly vanished to.
Keitaro looked thoughtful for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
"Sorry Kyoko-chan, Motoko is likely attending classes, I think she has a long day today school wise but she should be back soon", he said glancing at Naru for confirmation, "And as for Koichi…well actually I don't know where he is, he sometimes helps me by doing a few chores or cleaning out the hot springs, since that tends to be rather dangerous work when I try to tackle it".
Kyoko could only wonder why Naru smirked as if enjoying a private joke and playfully pecked Keitaro on the check while he rubbed the back of his head as if nursing an old wound.
"Most days he can be found on the roof if he's not working", Naru added, "But sometimes I worry about him. He and Motoko plan to marry one day, but unlike her he seems to have little or no interest in furthering his education or getting a job…I sometimes wonder where he gets all his money from".
Kyoko didn't miss the older woman's implied question, but decided to pretend she had. It was not her place to reveal why Koichi wasn't too concerned about his monetary future.
As for his current funds…
Kyoko almost smiled. Koichi had, ahem, borrowed, a sizable sum from their Father's private coffers in response to his freezing of Koichi's own assets after their last fight.
Their Father had been less than impressed.
"If you're bored Su-chan and Shinobu-chan should have returned from school by now, I'm sure they'll be willing to keep you company for a while", Keitaro suggested adjusting his glasses.
"Arigato Urashima-san, I'll keep an eye out for them", she replied with another polite bow.
Actually, perhaps Shinobu would know something, Kyoko thought as she said her goodbyes and left.
As soon as she was out of earshot Keitaro let out a long breath he hadn't realised he had been holding.
"Well, that was fun", he said with a nervous chuckle, resting back on his palms, "I hope those girls know what they're doing, she seems a nice enough girl to me, a little reserved perhaps, but nice enough".
"That's because you only see the best in everyone, you big idiot", Naru said thumping his shoulder lightly while smiling at one of the many things about her fiancé she had fallen in love with, "but I sort of agree I guess. Motoko was right though, that girl is scarily good at making you feel as if she knows more than she's letting on".
Keitaro sent her a questioning look and she could only hang her head. He was so oblivious to the most obvious of things at times.
Kyoko had decided to work with the information she had been given on her brother's habits, and check out the bathing area first.
It had proven a waste of time. Koichi was nowhere to be seen, and the hot spring was void of any occupants.
Still it had proved a pleasant enough spot to contemplate her reason for coming here, to the Hinata Sou while her body soaked in the replenishing mineral water of the hot spring.
Bathed and refreshed she donned her garments once more and proceeded to search the lower level of the dorm with a figurative fine-toothed comb.
Again it seemed as if everyone had taken a leave of absence without informing her.
This puzzle was beginning to pique her interest genuinely. Urashima-san had told her that Su-san and Maehara-san should be here somewhere, and yet they were not. Either he was mistaken, a possibility, or…
Or perhaps he was deliberately misleading her. She had sensed that there was something the older couple had been skirting around, but she had decided to leave them with their secrets.
Kyoko was in the kitchen when she heard the front door slid open, followed closely by some muffled cursing and oddly enough, the clink clink, of glass on glass.
Moving noiselessly, the dark haired girl slipped into the hallway linking the kitchen to the main living area and moved, wraith-like, up to the intersection that placed her near the living room and peered around the corner.
She had arrived in time to see Kitsune lugging several very large, and very heavy looking bottles of premium Sake up the stairs toward her room.
As the owner of the local teahouse, a place where alcoholic beverages could sometimes be served at specific times throughout the year, it shouldn't have seemed out of place for the fox girl to be in possession of such drinks. However, she was clearly carrying them away from the teahouse, not toward it.
Surely not even Mitsune Konno's legendary Iron Liver could withstand the shear quantity of alcohol now in her possession.
Careful to maintain her distance, Kyoko waited until the sandy haired woman had passed out of sight before silently following, flitting from shadow to shadow.
She held back near the third floor landing, lurking near the top. Kyoko was sure she had just heard someone moving up the stairs behind her…
"Rock Splitting Sword!"
Kyoko let out an involuntary shriek as the thankfully weak Ki blast hurled her off her feet, leaving her slumped and dishevelled against the nearby wall.
"Kyoko-chan?", she heard her blurry outline of an assailant asked disbelievingly.
As her vision reluctantly agreed to return to normal, she saw Motoko standing over her, bokken tied to her waist, her hand extended and a concerned smile on her face.
"I'm sorry about that", the samurai girl said, helping her to he feet and checking her for injury, "I saw someone hiding on the stairs and thought we might have a prowler on the premises".
The grey eyed girl's embarrassment was more than equal to the task of squashing any indignation she may have felt for being mistaken for a prowler, and she reassured the nervous older woman that she was unharmed.
As soon as Motoko left, a quick glance confirmed that Kitsune was nowhere in sight, and gone was her chance to find out what at least one of the Hinata Sou's tenants was doing.
It belatedly occurred to her as she returned to her room to rest after her rather abrupt end to sleuthing, that she had been so ashamed about what had happened that she had let Motoko go without a single question.
Inwardly shrugging, Kyoko reminded herself that tomorrow was another day.
Indeed, another day, another chance for mayhem as her brother had often told her when they were children. She had always liked to think that maxim had applied only to Koichi, who trouble seemed to follow like a loyal puppy or a long lost twin.
However she was rapidly beginning to wonder if it was a family affliction.
She thought back over the past two days since she had been inadvertently attacked by Motoko, thinking she was a criminal stalking around the dorm.
The following day she had attempted to locate the older girl, intent on making up for forgetting to question her when she had the chance. Motoko, she had been informed had the entire day free from university, thus it should have been relatively simple to find her and hold a conversation correct?
Wrong.
For the first half of the day Kyoko could find neither head nor tail of the raven-haired warrior anywhere.
She had attempted to corner her after breakfast but the older girl had all but vanished in a puff of smoke, and when she had returned to the kitchen to ask the others if they knew where she might have gone, she had been greeted by an empty room, the swing door for the alternate exit to the room swaying in an imagined breeze as if everyone had crowded from the room as soon as she had left the table.
Despite this, Kyoko felt no affront, it just confirmed in her eyes that the rest of the residents were involved in something that they didn't want her to know of. Kyoko had allowed herself a small grin at that point, she had been practicing her whole life to see through other's false fronts, these girls didn't stand a chance if they thought to conceal some kind of plot against her.
It was a confidence of self that was to be sorely tested.
A top to bottom search disguised as random wondering, revealed nothing, and most irritatingly, the other housemates had once again vanished.
It was past midday before she caught sight of Motoko disappearing around the far end of the third floor hallway toward the laundry annex.
Putting on a burst of speed she rounded the corner herself and jogged lightly up the stairs, only to find the annex completely deserted.
Upon leaving she had stopped her again turning into what looked like Koichi's room.
She was by the door in seconds, sliding it swiftly aside only to be confronted once more with an empty room.
The rest of the day continued in a similar fashion, with Kyoko half convinced she was either being led on a merry little chase for no other reason than to drive her insane before she could deduce what was happening.
As it turned out, she would look back fondly on that day as probably the calmest for some time to come.
The day after she had decided to try a different track, throwing off her opponents by switching targets randomly.
She had drawn lots and grimaced mildly when the name Kaolla Su turned up. That girl was a little to rowdy for her tastes.
She had waited patiently in the living area, sipping contently on a cup of her favourite tea to pass the time as she awaited Su's return from school.
The allotted time came and went with no sign of the hyperactive Mol-Molian girl.
Kyoko knew that there was no way for them to know what she was doing, but she was still beginning to feel vaguely paranoid.
Eventually the lack of activity began to strain even her patience, and she decided to retreat to her room to re-evaluate her options.
No sooner had she closed her door with a world-weary sigh; than she heard another door open, and felt the floor vibrate slightly with the bounding steps of Kaolla Su.
Not daring to believe her luck, she poked her head around her door. It was definitely Su; no one else at Hinata Sou had brilliant blond hair or tanned skin.
She had clutched in her arms, a plain brown box, packed with something that jingled and rattled as she moved. A new invention perhaps?
Stealing forward, Kyoko began to call out to the other girl as something landed at her feet with a dull thud.
She glanced down as the smoke grenade exploded, covering most of the hall in a think white smog and obscuring Su from view. Not exactly subtle, but certainly effective.
Coughing, Kyoko grit her teeth determinedly. Now she knew something was being hidden from her.
Oh no you don't, she thought, unable to deny that this idle pass time had just entered a new, and more exciting level.
Using the wall to guide her, Kyoko set off in hot pursuit.
There was an odd whistling noise that brought her up short. The noise was rapidly getting closer and she gasped, inadvertently sucking in more of the think smoke as a rocket, about the size of her fist and colourfully decorated with the three eyes of Mol-Mol, ripped out of the fog ahead, flaring straight at her.
She yelped and dropped flat as the missile sailed by overhead, detonating against the wall at the other end of the corridor seconds later.
People of less constitution might have fled at this point, but not Kyoko Sagura. Pushing herself back to her feet, she pushed on, eyes alert for other threats.
She didn't have to wait long. Another projectile soared out of obscurity, this time trailing a fine net in its wake, and only reflexes she hadn't known she possessed enabled her to roll clear of it before she could be ensnared.
Her pretty face coming close to a snarl of defiance, she ran forward once more as the smoke finally began to clear, dodging several more traps as she went.
Kyoko stood panting when she reached the far end of the 'gauntlet', and almost screamed and cursed when she saw that her quarry had vanished.
It had taken a supreme amount of self-control to calm herself and admit defeat, before returning to her room to plan again.
Thus she found herself here, trailing an oblivious Shinobu like some kind of stalker. She had followed her since she returned from school this Friday night, noting everything she did, no matter how seemingly unimportant.
So far the blue haired girl had done nothing particularly note worthy. Truth be told Kyoko thought she was on a fools errand. If anyone here was involved in duplicity and scheming, she doubted it to be this girl, she hadn't come across to Kyoko as someone to who such things would come naturally.
She watched as Shinobu moved through the kitchen, going about her usual tasks.
This is pointless, I should be-Kyoko's thought train was interrupted when the other girl cast a quick, nervous glance around and left.
Unable to account for the sudden departure, Kyoko left her hiding place and followed. She had just stepped out into the hall when the floor seemed to lurch upwards, impacting against her shins and sending her tumbling to the floor.
By the time she looked up Shinobu was gone. Kyoko's face darkened as she stood, this was ceasing to be amusing, she needed to relax and regain her focus.
She was surprised to find that her angry wonderings had led her to the laundry annex, but as she starred out over the stunning view it offered of the town and the sakura trees, she understood what had led her there.
Leaning against the banister, Kyoko sighed heartily, noting with some amusement that she seemed to be doing a lot of that recently.
"Something I can help you with brat?"
Kyoko spun at the sound of Koichi's voice, finding him lounging on the roof, his hands behind his head as if he had been napping and his usual lopsided smile in place.
Typical, the moment she stops searching someone pops up.
"What do you mean?"
Koichi shrugged as eloquently as one can lying down, "You tell me".
Kyoko debated telling him anything. However, he was her brother, and surely wouldn't help any plot against her.
"…It seems that the others have become a tad…scare, of late"
"You mean you think they're avoiding you"
Kyoko almost glared at his bluntness, "…Yes. It seems as if every time I catch so much as a glimpse of one of them, they run the other way".
"I doubt it, I think it's all in your head brat"
This time she did glare at him, unfortunately it had the same effect as it always had, namely it just made him laugh.
"Trust me", he said when his giggles subsided, "You've got nothing to worry about".
"You may believe that but back home-"
"This isn't like that place", he snapped firmly, silencing her for a moment before his face softened, "These are good people imouto, I trust them, and so should you".
Kyoko smiled at him and bowed her thanks; she could always rely on her brother to remind her that there was good in the world, "Arigato Oni-san".
"Whatever brat", he said, looking around as if checking for something before smiling in a way that gave her the distinct impression she had left herself open to something, "Now either get a chest or get out of here".
Kyoko's face screwed up in rage, "Koichi no baka!"
He was still laughing, coming dangerously close to rolling off the roof when she stomped down the stairs back to the third floor.
Kyoko was fuming when she passed by Shinobu's room. So mad in fact that she almost missed the sounds of hushed conversation coming from within.
Her anger fled as she heard her name calling in hushed tones and paused, crouching by the door and pressing her ear against it.
Eavesdropping may have been frowned upon, even in the circles she had been brought up to move in, but it was still an effective last-ditch resort.
"Is everything in order?", she heard a voice, Kitsune's she believed, ask.
"Yep, I got everything out of my room without to much trouble", came a jubilant reply. Su.
"Unless you count the hole you blew in the wall a problem Su", came a stern voice…Motoko's?
"So, Keitaro fixed it like he always does"
"That's not the point Su", came a fourth, hard to hear, voice, one very familiar, "What you did was dangerous, she isn't like Koichi or sempai, you could have really hurt her… I still don't think this is all necessary".
"Look Shinobu"
Kyoko heard herself hiss. So Shinobu was in on this.
Of course, it is her room, she heard the angry voice of her instructor echo inside her mind, Always remember, everyone is guilty until proven innocent, no exceptions, you'll last longer if you remember that.
"For this to work we need everyone to work together, no dissention among the ranks, now are you with us or not?"
"…Yes", was the timid reply seconds later.
Kyoko didn't wait to hear anything more. Rising silently she retreated to the safety of her room.
So much for them being trustworthy big brother, she thought angrily.
Recognising her anger in the way she gripped viciously at the silken material of her kimono, she focused on her breathing until the feeling subsided. She would need to be cool if she was to be on guard against whatever came next.
She would wait, and when they struck, she would be ready.
She wasn't waiting long. Barely an hour after she settled in to make her plans a small piece of paper was slipped under her door.
A quick scan of the corridor revealed no obvious messenger, but that was to be expected.
Returning to her spot by the window, Kyoko unfolded the paper carefully and read the note delicately scribed inside:
Dear Kyoko Sagura,
You are requested to meet with the sender of this letter in the all purpose room on the first floor at nine sharp this evening, no earlier, no later
Yours Sincerely, anonymousKyoko read and re-read the letter carefully, but found no more useful information from it.
Re-folding it she placed it on the small table she had been provided with and glanced at the clock.
19:46
A little over an hour to prepare. There was no question of whether or not she would meet the sender of this letter. She would go, if for no other reason than that to prove that Kyoko Sagura was not one to be trifled with.
Kyoko stood outside the all purpose room at the appointed time, viewing the doors and the silence beyond with open distrust.
She smoothed an imaginary wrinkle out of her plain white kimono and set her shoulders. Whatever lay beyond these doors, she would handle it.
Getting a firm grip on the handle and taking one last cleansing breath, she drew the door aside…
"SURPRISE!"
The cry was deafening, and the sight beyond the door left the grey-eyed girl momentarily slack jawed.
The room had been festooned with decorations and posters of every colour and hue imaginable. Along one wall, a buffet table had been arranged, food of every description arranged around a large crystal bowl filled with red punch. All of the residents of the Hinata Sou were present, grinning at her speechlessness as she starred at banner strung up above it all.
It read: Hinata House Welcomes Kyoko Sagura
"I…I don't understand", was all she was finally able to choke out.
"It's simple honey", Kitsune said stepping forward, "We know from experience how bad things can get around here if you're not welcomed properly into our little family, trust me we do. There are no outsiders in the Hinata Sou, this is our way of saying you're one of the gang, for better or worse".
"How come I never got anything like this?", Koichi asked mock grumpily from where he sat next to Motoko.
"You got me and a bottle of Sake if you recall sugar", Kitsune answered over her shoulder, "That's a party right there".
Koichi seemed to mull this over for a second before smiling and nodding, apparently unaware of the death glare being broadcast between him and Kitsune via Motoko.
"This is almost a Hinata Sou tradition", Naru spoke up, moving over from where she and Keitaro stood to stand next to Kitsune, "Think of it as a 'getting to know you' party".
Kyoko's face must have looked dubious rather than surprised.
"You'll stay won't you Kyoko-san?", Shinobu asked, "We spent a long time planning this to get it just right".
So this is what they were doing all this time…Kyoko's smile was one of her rare genuine ones as she answered, "Of course I will, thank you for this everyone".
Kitsune stopped her as she made to bow, handing her a small cup as she straightened out again, "No need for that here honey, just enjoy yourself, ok?".
Kyoko looked down at the cup she had been handed. Sake.
She looked around at all the smiling and waiting faces.
"Sure", she said, wincing a little as she took a tentative sip of the strong liquor, "Why not".
"Alright then, lets get this shindig started already!", Kitsune shouted, and the dark haired girl couldn't help but smile at her exuberance.
The night wore on. The party goers ate, drank and sang or danced to the music provided courtesy of another of Su's inventions.
Kyoko sat quietly, listening to Keitaro and Naru's stories of life at the Hinata Sou, and their own experiences and adventures, with the occasional intervention from one of the others as they added detail or in Su's case, embellishment, to the story being told.
They were only occasionally interrupted by Kitsune as she made her rounds to ensure everyone's drinks were topped up.
Still the party went on, somewhere near or past midnight by now and out came the karaoke, again thanks to the local girl genius. Kyoko smiled politely through a number of performances, both good and bad, sipping on the drink given to her by Kitsune, the one that, unbeknownst to her, the fox girl had been refilling every time she put it down.
After a rather appalling number by a slightly tipsy Motoko, made to drink as a matter of pride after some comment or other from an equally intoxicated Kitsune, Kyoko herself was urged to the 'stage'.
A strange warm glow in the pit of her stomach and her cheeks well on their way to rosy, she accepted the challenge rather than politely declining as she would have done normally.
It took some time to scan through the pop material to find something more traditional that she was familiar with, but when she did find something, she serenaded the residents with a rare talent she was normally too poised and self-conscious to expose.
Her already reddened checks darkened at their praise and whistles and she murmured thanks as she retreated from the mike, part of her not believing what she had just done.
Why had she just done that? Kyoko was trying to figure it out when she suddenly noticed that she couldn't seem to convince her legs to move exactly as she wanted them to, it was like she was fighting them and only partially succeeding.
Despite having never been drunk, she retained enough of her faculties to understand what had happened. Especially seeing as how an unknowing Kitsune was in the process of refilling her cup as she stumbled her way back to her seat.
My god, I'm drunk! She's been plying me all night!An irrational panic began to descend on Kyoko as the merry laughter around her took on a much more sinister air.
Was this all part of their plot, lower my defences and leave me vulnerable?She began to feel a little light-headed, instinctively reaching out to stabilise herself.
Unfortunately it was at that moment her legs chose to cease pretending to obey her whims, and collapsed beneath her.
Her flailing arms caught hold of the clothe on the buffet table as she went down, yanking it toward her and sending its contents everywhere.
Kyoko could only watch in horror as a wave of red fluid flew from the tumbling bowl, arcing toward where she lay.
It covered her, staining the top of her white kimono, rendering it a light pink in patches.
All noise seemed to stop in an instant, every eye on her as she scrambled back to her feet, drenched and humiliated.
She tried to hold herself up to the sea of starring faces, but could feel herself crumbling. All they would see would be a punch soaked drunk. How proud father would be if he saw her now.
Tears that she couldn't remember forming, streamed down her cheeks as she ran from the room, bouncing clumsily against the doorframe in her haste and almost falling.
When she was gone all was silent.
Koichi began to stand but was surprised when Shinobu hurried past him, blue hair bobbing gently as she chased after the distraught younger Sagura.
Again silence reigned supreme.
"…Well…that seemed like a bit of an overreaction", Kitsune said, still starring at where the two girls had left.
Motoko opened her mouth, but it was Koichi who spoke.
"Not for her", he began quietly, looking around to make sure he had everyone's attention, "Kyoko prides herself on her poise…her dignity… in many ways it's all she has".
"What do you mean?", asked Naru.
Koichi sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "…The women in my family…in my Clan really…aren't given a lot of choice in life, they're relegated to very…traditional, roles. That includes all of the things that go with such a role, beauty, dignity, wit and the like. Our mother was the epitome of such things; all who met her agreed there was never another woman so graceful, so beautiful and wise. Kyoko has often been told how much she resembles mother at that age, so she really throws herself into her role, determined to make the best of what she has been offered in life".
There was a quiet sorrow and bitterness in Koichi's voice the other residents weren't used to.
"So when that just happened", Motoko said, looking at where the empty punch bowl now lay, "and Kyoko-chan couldn't find it within herself to face the situation with dignity…".
"She felt that she had failed to live up to the mother's standard, placed on her by others but carried by herself", Koichi finished for her.
It was the unspoken consensus that the party was over. The residents of the Hinata Sou cleaned up what they were able in a solemn silence, wondering if more good or harm had been done that night.
Shinobu pause outside of Kyoko's room. She could hear the other girl sobbing inside, and didn't know whether or not to intrude.
She softly slid the door open and stepped inside, closing it and looking upon the crying girl inside.
Kyoko was sitting on her futon, facing away from the door, and did not appear to have heard Shinobu enter.
The blue haired girl couldn't find words, having come this far, to comfort the other girl. She was used to being the one comforted, not the other way around, so she settled for the only thing that seemed appropriate.
Padding softly over the weeping Kyoko, she sank to her knees and wrapped her arms around her.
Kyoko stiffened and seemed as if she would pull away.
"Shhh, it's ok", Shinobu crooned, shifting to accommodate the grey eyed girl as she turned around to return the hug, crying softly onto Shinobu's shoulder.
"I failed her, I failed mother", she heard the other girl whimper, only able to make gentle, comforting noises in return as she didn't know what Kyoko was referring to.
"I disgraced myself, and now no one will like me", Kyoko continued to cry.
"That's not true", Shinobu reassured her sobbing charge, hugging her a little tighter, "Everyone makes a few mistakes when they get drunk, it's not you're fault, no one will think any less of you. I don't".
"Really?", came the weak and disbelieving reply.
"Really".
The sobs gently faded, but the hug remained.
"….Arigato…Shinobu-san".
Shinobu smiled in spite of herself at the use of her first name.
"It's ok Kyoko-san, it's ok"
----Author Notes-----
Yay, another chapter down, and quite a challenging one to write, Kyoko was surprisingly hard to get down foer this chapter, hope you all enjoyed it.
Sorry for the late, for me at least, posting, lazy author syndrome followed by writers block