Momo had tried not to get her hopes up too much, but it had still been crushing to read Momiji's text a couple hours after she left Koshiro's office:

'I'm sorry, but I could not get him to change his mind. I will talk to you again soon, but you try to get some sleep.'

She hadn't expected Koshiro to change his mind easily...but she had still hoped.


There had been no looking at pictures after that, no talking about her trip. Momo had tried to look and sound normal when she had gone to Sabine and apologized, but told her she had a headache and was actually going to go to bed early. It had been a long day, after all, and the excitement of travel had likely just caught up to her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, meine Momo! But don't worry, we can perhaps do it tomorrow, instead," Sabine had said with a warm smile. "You make sure to get plenty of rest, und feel better in the morning. Gute Nacht!"

"Gute Nacht, Mama."


Momo had gone back to her room and even got ready for bed, but she knew sleeping was a lost cause. Before she got Momiji's text she was a barrel of anxious nerves; after, she was an angry one. She didn't understand why her father was so dug in, and she had no idea where even to start in trying to counter him.

It was complicated, he'd said...and she could understand that. Just looking in that box was complicated, it hardly surprised her to know the rest of it was complicated, too.

He said he'd done what he did to keep them all safe. Safe from what? From each other? From Mama's condition, whatever that was?

He said she couldn't tell Mama, that what they were discussing could literally mean Mama's life.

How? How could it mean her life? Physically? Or mentally?

It wasn't about Momo, he'd said. She could believe that, to a point; Momiji had been out of the house years before she was born. So maybe yes, it wasn't because of Momo herself that everything had happened, but she was still collateral damage.

Shouldn't it be easier for her to actually know, this way? She certainly thought so, but clearly Papa didn't.

He had been afraid of what Momiji might have told her. Combining that with Momiji's caginess and the way both of them had carefully probed to figure out what she knew, the part or parts she didn't know were clearly significant.

Momiji hadn't hesitated in the slightest when she pushed to know the rest. He had told her if it was up to him, he'd have told her in a heartbeat. If he was so willing, then it had to mean that whatever they were keeping from her wouldn't be too...traumatic. Even if he wanted her to know the truth, she felt sure he would have struggled if that secret was truly too much for her, or too much for him.

But Momiji believed in her; it was their father who didn't.

And Koshiro hadn't budged from that viewpoint, not even after talking to Momiji. Momo fully trusted that Momiji had done his best, so knowing that Koshiro had dug in was profoundly disappointing, even if wasn't entirely surprising.

Their father had never been the best at being flexible.

Still, as disappointed as Momo was when she snuggled into bed, she could console herself with one thing: she might not have gotten all she wanted just yet, but she had still gotten Momiji.

He was her brother; they both knew it; and they always would.


The next morning, Momo was prepared as she headed down to breakfast.

"Guten Morgen, Mama," she said, walking up to the table where her parents were sitting and kissing her mother's cheek.

"Guten Morgen, Momo," Sabine said cheerfully, echoed by Koshiro. Her father was studying her over his paper, but Momo ignored him, focusing instead on her mother as she sat down in her usual spot and reached for a roll and the butter.

"How is your head, meine Momo?" asked Sabine as she poured her daughter some juice, and Momo smiled.

"Better, Mama, thank you. A good night's sleep was clearly all I needed."

"I'm glad to hear it! Then perhaps this morning, we could all sit down und you could show us those pictures from your trip, ja?" Sabine asked, smiling. But before Koshiro could say anything, Momo quickly answered.

"I'd love to show them to you, Mama, but I don't think Papa has the time today. Last night when we talked, he made it clear he has a lot of things to deal with right now that I can't interfere with, so I won't." She was her usual smiling self as she spoke, but her gaze was fixed on her mother, without sparing so much as a glance at her father.

Sabine was admittedly surprised, and she frowned in response. "What is this? Koshiro, did you bring home some work this weekend that you never told me about?" she asked, turning to look at her husband.

Koshiro's tone was neutral, and Momo wondered if he was looking at her. "I'm sorry, Mausi, you know how I hate to disappoint you. But Momo is right, and while I'm sorry, I appreciate her understanding that sometimes I have to do things that she'd rather I didn't."

He wasn't even talking to her, and he was still talking down to her.

Sabine sighed. "Ja, it is always disappointing when we can't do things we planned. But I'm sure if your father has to cancel, it's for an important reason, meine Momo," she continued, smiling at her daughter. "But you und I can still look at them together, und still enjoy ourselves, ja?"

Momo's return smile to Sabine was genuine. "I'd love to show them to you, Mama! I'm sure it will be a lot of fun."

Shortly thereafter, Koshiro rose from the table and tucked his paper under my arm. "I'll be in my office. You two have fun."

"Tschuss, Papa," Sabine said cheerfully, and Koshiro once more glanced at Momo. But she was simply eating her breakfast, her expression serene and her attention on her mother.

"Mama, what all did you have going on today?"


That was the beginning of what soon became an all-too-obvious war of attrition. Momo was almost painfully polite to her father...when she absolutely had to be. But she didn't look at him, didn't speak to him any more than necessary. And while Sabine was initially oblivious, it didn't take too long before she was also clued in that something was going on.

"Is something the matter, meine Momo?"

Momo had looked at her innocently. "No, Mama, everything is fine."

"Are you sure?"

Momo had blushed slightly at her mother's slightly censuring tone. "Yes, I'm sure."

"You und Papa haven't had a disagreement?"

"No, Mama. You know that no one disagrees with Papa," Momo had said, then kissed her mother's cheek. "I'm going to go work on my homework. I'll see you later!"


"Koshiro, did something happen between you und Momo? What did she want to speak to you about last night, when she wanted to see you alone?"

Koshiro had been expecting this conversation from the moment Momo had first avoided him that morning, so he was ready when Sabine appeared, frowning, in his office.

"I'm so sorry to concern you, Mausi," he said, giving her an apologetic smile. "And I'm sorry that Momo is worrying you, I have to say I'm honestly surprised to see her behaving so very immaturely," he said, sighing. "But I'm afraid our little girl is growing up," he said, smiling at her, "and you know how moody teenagers can be when they don't get their way."

"But what is she upset about?" Sabine asked, looking at him anxiously. "What did you two discuss?"

"Without breaking Momo's confidence, there is something she wants to do," Koshiro said, reaching out and taking Sabine's hand. "And while she was mature enough to ask my permission, she has not been mature enough to accept my decision, which isn't what she wanted."

Sabine's frown deepened. "What did she want to do?"

"Something that she shouldn't, and, as I say, I'm not at liberty to say anymore, Sabine," Koshiro said. "But you can trust me when I say I have my reasons for telling her no, and I told her that. She's still having a difficult time accepting my answer, and what we are seeing is the result. I'm sorry it's upsetting you," he repeated, "But I'm sure once she's had time to get her disappointment out of her system, she will start to calm down. She's always been a very mature and responsible girl, and I know she knows I only want the best for her."

His wife studied him for a moment, then smiled. "You have only ever wanted the best for her, Koshiro. For her, und for me, too," she said, her affectionate smile lighting up her face.

That smile had always gone straight to Koshiro's heart. He had missed it so much, during the long years when it was absent...

He would do whatever he could to keep that smile shining.

"Yes," he agreed, smiling back at her. "I always have."

And he always would.


"Momo, may I come in?"

Momo had welcomed her mother to her room, turning around in her desk chair to study Sabine as she walked into the room.

"I just spoke to Papa, mein Liebling, und I have to confess I'm a little surprised."

"Surprised?" Momo asked, already wary, and Sabine nodded.

"It isn't like you, meine Momo, to act this way. To pout, und to sulk, just because you can't get something you want."

Momo had had to fight back the urge to scowl. "What did Papa tell you, Mama?"

"That you asked for something and he said no," Sabine said, then smiled gently. "I can understand you being disappointed not to get something you want, Momo. It is always hard, no matter how big or how small. But surely you can understand that we can't always be getting everything, ja?"

Momo nodded her head, doing her best to stay calm and seem mature. There were definitely gaps in what she knew; she had no idea how many of them there were, how big they all were, or how connected they were to one another, but she knew they were there.

And she knew they involved her mother.

More than a full day after her conversation with her father, she was still angry with her father, angrier than she could ever recall herself ever being in her life. But that was her father, not her mother; Mama was the innocent party in all of this, the one person who truly had no idea what was going on.

Who couldn't have any idea what was going on.

'This isn't a game, Momo! This isn't something for you to toy with, this is potentially your mama's life!'

Whatever it was that she didn't know, Momo would never do anything to hurt Sabine. But she also wasn't going to give in, and the sooner Koshiro understood that, the better.

"I know, Mama, truly, but Papa isn't being reasonable. You know how much I respect him and trust his judgement," or how much she had, anyway, "but this is something...very important to me, Mama. Very important," she said, her eyes filling with tears in spite of her best attempts to hold them back. "I wouldn't be digging in like this if it wasn't, but it is, and Papa...Papa just isn't being reasonable, or right!"

Sabine was frowning, and she sat down on Momo's bed. "Suppose you tell me what you are asking for, Momo, und maybe I can talk to him about it."

Momo's eyes flared, then she sniffled. "It's something...private, Mama. I'm sorry, and I truly wish I could tell you," she said, hurrying to get ahead of the bewildered and confused look on Sabine's face. "It's so nice of you to want to help, but it's...it's something I can only talk to Papa about," she said firmly.

Sabine's frown had deepened. "Are you sure you can't say, meine Momo? You know you can trust me, just like you can trust Papa."

How wrong that statement was, Momo thought. She did indeed know she could trust Sabine...but she couldn't trust Koshiro.

"I know, Mama, and I do trust you, it's just...very complicated."


"I already told you no, Momo, and that's not changing," Koshiro said, his jaw set and voice level as the two of them faced off that night over his desk. "You can pout and sulk and give me the silent treatment all you want, it won't change my mind and certainly won't give me a high opinion of your maturity level."

"You don't even have to say anything, Papa," Momo practically pleaded, staring into his eyes. "Momiji can tell me, you won't have to say a word!"

"I said no!" Koshiro repeated angrily. "I've told you, and I've told Momiji; he knows my feelings on this, and he knows to respect them," he said, scowling at Momo. "You'd do well to learn from his example, Momo." Then his expression softened.

"I don't mean to be the villain here, Momo," he said, and Momo had to resist the urge to make a comment. "I promise you, none of this is how I wanted any of this to be. Nothing would have made me happier than to have us all here together, all four of us," he said, his voice choking up slightly. "Were that possible, it would have made me happier than anything."

Seeing him tear up made Momo tear up too, and she grasped for his sympathy as though it were a lifeline.

"I know you did what you had to do, Papa, truly," she said, wiping her eyes. "I don't doubt that, I promise, and I don't judge you for it. But that was in the past," she emphasized. "Even if we can't all be a family and live together, even if Mama can't know or ever know, surely I can know, now, what actually happened. Don't I deserve to know the truth?"

"It's not a question of deserving, Momo," her father said heavily. "Just like it's not a question of age, or a question of wanting. It is a question of prudence, and of safety, and as I have told you, the answer is no. You know he's your brother now; isn't that enough?"

He sounded almost pleading, a sound so foreign that it pulled at Momo's heart. Her father didn't plead, and never had...

But she wouldn't let herself be swayed by it.

"No, Papa, it's not enough," she responded, sniffing. "It's a lot, and I am happy about it, yes, but I want to know, to understand," she repeated. "None of this is right, Papa! It's never been right, for him to be excluded. There are so many things I don't know; do Grandpapa and Grandmama know about him, at all? What were they told, when Mama had to forget him? How have you kept this from the other Sohmas when we all live on the estate? Who all knows Momiji is your son? He was three when Mama forgot him, and he moved within the estate, there have to be people who knew you all as a family! How did you keep it from Mama, with so many people involved? What did you tell them?"

Koshiro's tears were gone and his expression was steeling up again. "I've told you, Momo, I'm not changing my mind. All you need to know is that what we did was a last resort; had we had any other choice, we would have taken it. But we did what we had to do, and ever since..." his voice caught unexpectedly, and he took a deep breath to steady himself.

"I've given you my answer, Momo, and it's time you accepted it and we all moved on."


"I just wish I understood, Momiji, that's all! I've told him I won't say a word to Mama, or to anyone else, just like I haven't said a word to anyone about...us," Momo said, her voice choked up as she held her phone close.

She could practically feel Momiji's smile, just through his voice.

"You are so fierce, Momo; so fierce, and so determined."

She laughed at that, a choked-up laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. "Well, I am determined, Momiji, and maybe a little fierce too," she admitted, earning a laugh from him.

"Maybe?" he asked teasingly, and Momo laughed a little more confidently.

"Ok, not maybe. But..." she trailed off, then sighed.

"You've known about us for my entire life, Momiji, and you've always known the reasons. I just want to understand them, myself. Papa keeps saying he did what he had to do, that he had no choice. That he did it to keep us safe and take care of us. But how am I supposed to trust that when all I've ever known has been lies? If he has valid reasons, why can't I know them? I've spent so much time trying to think about what could have caused this, and..."

Momo sighed, sitting back on her bed. "I've done some looking online, and I can't find anything about memory suppression, especially not intentional memory suppression. I have no idea what happened to Mama, or how they did it, or why. I've tried to guess," she said quietly, "But everything I have guessed is...horrible," she admitted. "The only reasons I can think of that she would need to forget her child...they are all terrible, Momiji!"

She had wished, numerous times, that she'd taken pictures of the things she'd seen in the box. Her father kept the keys on him now; she knew that, because she'd resolved to go back in and look at everything again, only to find that the keys were missing.

She hadn't been surprised.

But she had done her best to remember what the letter said, and she knew it had talked about Sabine making 'a full recovery' and how she needed to stay away from Momiji and not 'be reminded she actually has a child.' The only things Momo could think all involved her mother's mental health, and they had been terrifying.

Had Mama...tried to hurt herself? Had she tried to hurt Momiji? Had she succeeded? Had something happened that pushed her so far beyond the bounds of what her mind could handle that she just...snapped?

Or had it been something more sinister? Had Koshiro seen whatever was going on and made that decision for her? Had Sabine...had any idea what was coming?

As twisted as it was, the fact Momiji was a boy and Momo a girl only made everything more confusing. In one of her darker speculations, Momo had wondered if something had gone terribly wrong when Mama was either pregnant or a young mother, something that had made her refuse to ever go through it again and Koshiro had done...something...to have her memories wiped so he would get a second chance at parenthood. Except none of that made sense when his firstborn was a son and picture-perfect heir.

Momo felt admittedly terrible, thinking such things about her father. He loved Sabine so much that even the idea that he would do something like that to her was abhorrent...but all she had to go on was speculation.

"I don't think anything could be as awful as what I'm imagining at this point, Momiji," she said quietly, "And even if it is...I still want to know."

"I know, Momo," Momiji said, his voice gentle. "And I promise you, I am working on it."

Momo smiled. "I know. I promise, that wasn't meant to be a complaint. I...understand how hard this has to be for you."

Momiji was quiet for a minute. "Don't you worry about me, Momo. I am happy, trying to do this for you."

No matter what the consequences.