There was a time when Kyoko couldn't please people enough. That wasn't to say they showered her with demands, Cinderella-style, but that she always wanted to do more. If they asked her to clean the tatami mats in one room, she'd sweet the entire wing. Serve dinner to one room? Why not every room in the corridor?
She never thought of that as bad – she was being helpful, after all. There was no such thing as overdoing it.
And then she learned that there was, and once it happened, her life became less stressful. It was a nice discovery, as far as those went. But she didn't think much of it until she returned to the Fuwa Ryoken, where people still expected her to go out of her way and do the work for them.
Once or twice, Kyoko caught Setsuie-sama giving her a disappointed look, but the older woman would have preferred to cut her own tongue before she said something straightforwardly. Instead, Kyoko got a lot of heavy sighs and hints that she was not having her priorities straight.
Well, what does she expect of me, Kyoko thought. I'm not a little kid anymore, am I?
But she couldn't bring herself to be really mad at Setsuie. After all, she'd come back to Kyoto on her own volition. There was nothing to be done about that.
It had been pouring ever since morning. The rain had forced the guests indoors, and she was drafted into serving tea to the bedrooms. Fuwa-san was feeling better, which was a relief, and there was thankfully enough work to keep her thoughts away from that embarrassing phone call earlier in the morning. She would have forgotten all about it too, but the person who had spoken to her wasn't so quick to dismiss it.
She was carrying a tray down the hall, past the office, when a quarrel caught her attention. Two people were arguing, and one of them sounded like Sho's mother.
"I told you she came back," the person who sounded like Setsuie said. "But you wouldn't believe me."
"With your track record, madam, I had all the reasons to be suspicious. The girl's been gone for quite some time, and you told me yourself there was no indication that she would be coming back."
"She did, and you will see for yourself, but in good time. You cannot drop in here unannounced and expect me to just take you to her. She needs to things explained to her."
"Yes, and I'll be glad to do that for her."
"I cannot let you do this. Even if she ran away in Tokyo, I'm still her legal guardian, and I have a say in what happens to her."
At this point, it was pretty clear who "she" was, but Kyoko had no idea what those people were talking about. For a moment, she thought about leaving – eavesdropping was not polite, after all – but then she remembered that this was something that concerned her directly.
So she knocked on the shoji screen and slid it aside. Fuwa Setsuie and an older, unfamiliar man, turned to look at her. For a moment, Kyoko's heart stopped under a flood of embarrassment, but she jumpstarted it again.
"I apologize," she said, sounding too formal even for her own taste. "But I overheard what you said while I was passing in the hallway, and I prefer not to eavesdrop. Who is this person, Fuwa-san?"
Sho's mother opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She coughed, and tried again. "Kyoko-chan, this does not concern you. I'll explain later – Kato-san was just leaving."
"I am most certainly not," Kato-san said, before bowing to Kyoko. "It's an honor to finally meet you, Mogami-san. There are no words to express how happy I am that I got in touch with you today."
"Pleased to meet you too," Kyoko said, noticing how her guardian looked like she might be sick. But Kato-san spoke before either of them could formulate a thought.
"Some tea, I think, is in order. Fuwa-san, could you arrange for that?"
"Of course," the woman muttered, still dazed. Kyoko, however, had other ideas.
"Wait, I'm still on the clock. Room five wants their bill, and room seven needs their tea served…"
Kato-san frowned. "I was told you weren't working here anymore."
"I wasn't, but…"
"In that case, you can surely take a break." And, to punctuate that statement, he took the tray she was holding and handed it to Setsuie. "Can we use your office, then, Fuwa-san?"
He didn't say much while they waited for their tea, other than to confirm that he was a lawyer and that, yes, he was indeed looking for her. He even quoted her full name, birth date and the name of the hospital she'd been born in, just to make sure she was convinced. Other than that, though, he was very careful to sidestep her question, especially when Setsuie-san came to serve them.
Which, in itself, was a pretty big deal. The okami performed tea ceremonies on request, yes, but running around like a common waitress? That was something unusual, and Kyoko could only think of two reasons why she did it: one, to debase herself, and thus make up for some transgression without letting anyone notice, or two, because she didn't want anyone to know Kato-san was here.
Both of which, of course, were ridiculous. Nonetheless, the lawyer didn't speak until after they were well and truly left alone.
"First of all, thank you for your patience, Mogami-san," he said. "I understand that this must be very confusing to you, and I will do my best to explain things to the best of my ability. Please forgive me if this has caused you any distress."
"That's alright," she said. "But… Kato-san, could you tell me what your relation to me is? I don't think I know you…"
"No, you wouldn't. Your mother only hired me after she entered the last stages of her illness, and I believe that at that time, you were already in the care of the Fuwas permanently."
Kyoko stared at him. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but then her head was suddenly filled with the words mother and illness.
"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, when she regained her ability to speak. Kato-san winced.
"You didn't know?" he asked, and his face darkened. "I'm very sorry. I knew there were things you weren't told, but I thought at least… I'm so sorry."
"What did you mean? What's wrong with my mother?" Kyoko asked, panic creeping into her voice.
Kato-san looked like he was wishing the earth would swallow him whole. Then, bowing his head, he said:
"She's dead, Mogami-san. She succumbed to an illness seven years ago."
And with that, Kato-san told her the story that her guardians had kept from her for all these years.
Mogami Saenahad always dealt with high levels of stress, given her line of work as a businesswoman. However, it wasn't until she started suffering from chronic migraines that she went to see a doctor, who discovered a highly developed tumor in her frontal lobe. The tests showed it was nefarious. The operation prospects were not too pretty. So Saena dealt with the problem with her trademark efficiency – she arranged for her daughter to be looked after and went about settling her affairs.
Kyoko listened to that account with a mixture of horror and fascination, while her mind went back. She remembered her mother's bad temperament, how her mood would darken without reason, how she always sent Kyoko away because her childish antics gave her a headache. Even as a little girl, she knew that if her mother asked for the blinds to be drawn, things were bad and Kyoko was to remove herself from the premises as quietly as possible.
All of these little quirks never seemed out of place, given how openly Saena criticized and disapproved of her, but now they came back to Kyoko with a startling clarity. Were those early signs? Or just another manifestation of her mother's bad temper.
"I'm sorry I delivered those news to you like that," Kato-san said. "I really thought that your guardians had told you."
"No. They never said a word," Kyoko muttered, while wondering how she had been so stupid. Nobody abandoned their kid without at least leaving a way to get in touch. If the Fuwas had had a number for her mother, surely they would have kept her up to speed about Kyoko's grades... not to mention, let her know when she'd ran off to Tokyo. "But I don't understand – why would they keep something like that from me."
The lawyer coughed. "I do not know what your guardians' motivations were, but their track record hasn't been that good, Mogami-san. And, unfortunately, there are quite a few things about your mother's passing that are important to you, and cannot be put off."
"Important things? Like what?" It seemed odd – after all, dead or not, the woman had clearly despised Kyoko. But Kato-san insisted.
"Well, first of all, prior to your mother's diagnosis, her health record was spotless, which is why she was given a considerable life insurance, in addition to the money she made in her line of work. You are, of course, beneficiary to all of that – your mother arranged for you to have access to a quarter of that money on your sixteenth birthday, another quarter is payable to you when you turn eighteen, and the rest – when you turn twenty-five, or if you get married, whichever comes first."
She blinked. "What do you mean by considerable?"
He told her.
She didn't believe him.
He repeated the sum again, slowly, and explained that yes, the decimal point really was before that number, and not another one. And then, to make things perfectly clear, he got a bank slip for her to look at.
She was stumped. "I never knew."
"I got the same impression," Kato-san said, dryly. "It's worth noting that I only found your going to Tokyo after I contacted your guardians about opening an account for you, a little before you were due to turn sixteen. Until that time, they received the allowance they were granted for looking after you, and never gave me an update about your new… living conditions."
Well… that made some sense. If the Fuwas needed the money…
"It's my fault," she said. "I never told them my new address. They only found my phone when they tried contacting their son."
"Be as it may, they lied, Mogami-san. You cannot take responsibility for that."
"They didn't mean it. They're nice people, Kato-san. Surely…"
The lawyer held up a hand to stop her.
"Mogami-san, I am neither condemning them, nor congratulating their deed," he said. "I am only telling you the facts, and their relation to what is going on here. I should also tell you that, in addition to setting aside an allowance for them, your mother bought a share in the Ryokan, in order to get your guardians out of a problematic financial situation. That share is managed by our firm, but you will be given control of it come your eighteenth birthday."
Kyoko opened her mouth, then closed it. Her head was brimming over with information that threatened to spill out. Nothing made sense – her mother, whom she had always considered as cold and cruel, had arranged for her live a safe, comfortable life. Her guardians, who she had remembered with a lot of fondness, had kept secrets from her. The next thing she knew, somebody would tell her that Sho actually wanted to marry her.
Then her thoughts came to a screeching halt.
"You said that I will receive my full inheritance if I marry," she said, slowly.
"If you marry before you turn twenty-five," Kato-san said.
She felt like she might be sick. Things came back to her even faster. Her training. The tea ceremony. The hints Setsuie-san had dropped about an eventual marriage with Shotarou.
"And my guardians knew about this?"
"They were informed of it before they took you in."
She closed her eyes. The world had gone very quiet. She recognized the feeling, that calm before the storm, and for once, she was ready for it.
"Thank you, Kato-san, for telling me this," she said, channeling every bit of Mio's refined manners. "And I apologize for causing so much trouble to you. I'm afraid that my work in Tokyo makes it impossible for me to stay for a longer period of time, but perhaps we can arrange for another meeting soon?"
"Of course," he said, taking out a business card and handing it over to her with a bow. "You are in your full right to pick someone closer to home to represent you, but we would be honored if you continued to use our company for the time being. Also, if you could give me a call with your bank details, I can arrange for you to access the portion of your inheritance which is rightfully yours."
"That is very considerate of you," she said.
"No, it's my pleasure. Your mother was a very respectable woman – perhaps not the most affectionate, but she was an admirable professional. I was about to write to a detective in Tokyo to seek you out, if you didn't turn up before your eighteenth anniversary."
Kyoko made no move to indicate her feelings about that particular bit of information, just nodded politely. "Thank you."
"And there's one last thing," Kato-san said. He removed a large envelope from his briefcase and handed it to her. "These are some of your documents, Mogami-san. Your mother thought it best to entrust us with them, but as you are almost of age, I believe they should be given to you. There is also a letter from your mother, which I was instructed to give to you on your sixteenth birthday."
She clenched her teeth. Finally, she bowed.
"Thank you. I shall contact you if I have any further questions."
He bowed in return. "Thank you again for your time. And, once more, I'm glad that you're healthy. I hope you have not encountered too much trouble in Tokyo."
"No trouble at all," she lied through her teeth. "I'm actually quite happy with my job."
"I see. And what is that, if I may ask?"
Kyoko smiled. "I'm an actress. I played Mio in Dark Moon, and I also have a role in Box-R."
Kato-san's eyes widened. "You know… I can easily see that."
When he was gone, Kyoko sat in the office for a long time, teacup in her hands. Her reflection was serene, but only because she put so much conscious effort into keeping her temper in check. Her first instinct was to go, grudges ablaze, and demand an explanation from the Fuwas, but she had learned from her previous experience that it wouldn't go well.
But what else could she do?
There were too many feelings, too many conflicted emotions, that she was paralyzed. She desperately needed to let some steam out, yet she had no idea whom to turn to.
And then she remembered that she had forgotten to call Tsuruga-san.
For a minute, she thought about dismissing him, but even in her depressed state, that wasn't an option. She thought about what might have happened in her absence, and with visions of blood and death on her mind, she dialed his number.
Nobody had died, but the tone of his voice and his hinting at problems had sealed the deal for her. When Setsuie ventured into the office, Kyoko was on her feet, gathering the papers Kato-san had left her.
"Kyoko-chan," Sho's mother began, but the younger woman cut her off.
"Fuwa-san, I'm sorry, it seems that I have to cut my visit short," Kyoko said, bowing curtly. "There's some trouble at work which requires my immediate return."
She was already calculating her route. Thankfully, most of the things were still packed – all she had to do was slip out of her uniform and throw something on. She could spring for a cab, and catch the three o'clock train. She could change into her Setsu gear in the bathroom.
Sho's mother followed her as she walked briskly to the living quarters.
"Kyoko-chan, please, let me explain," she said. Kyoko didn't think she had heard Sho's mother sound so desperate. Pausing at the threshold of her room, she turned and face the older woman head on.
"I will give you some advice, and I hope that you will take it – be persistent, when calling Sho. He will eventually pick up, and he will eventually listen. I wish I could help you, but I cannot stay."
"Why? Because of what that man said?"
"No. Right now, there is somebody else who needs me," Kyoko said, her eyes darkening. "And this time, it's really a matter of life and death."
Melodramatic? Yes. But it did get the job done. Thirty minutes later, she was on the train.
A/N And that's chapter seven. I should probably let you know, I completed Camp NaNo, though I wish I was happier with my WIP than I am. Also, next week, I might go offline for about ten days, so updates might not be very speedy. But I will do my best to give you as much of this story as possible, so there's that.
Thank you for all the reviews. Do you think we can have some more?