The Witch's Husband

by LostInTheMystery

Twin brothers, twin problems, are faced with the issues of a food shortage and dark intent that lurks around them. Left alone in the woods, they face death when they come upon, of all things, a witch – in a house made of candy. Is this a blessing to the starving village or is the witch looking for more?

5. Home Again, Home Again

Chapter 5: Home Again, Home Again

Akako didn't like going to bed early but she didn't like them being awake before her. She made sure to get up at dawn, like the humans, and hated the daylight so much. It was so much easier to go around at night. She yawned, checking out her younger self in the mirror and changing her outfit up a bit. She molded it into sleeveless, deep red shirt that went across her chest only and a deep, thick black shirt that skirted across the floor. She couldn't help adding a touch of 'witch' and keeping a black cape that hung about her. Happy with her look, she went to the kitchen. She decided to start breakfast without asking them. It was easy enough to make a porridge her own way, with spices that human's didn't know existed that made it sweet, a hint of cinnamon to finish it off. Of course she needed break with that, so she made some flaky rolls they could dip in and had it all set and ready, pretty proud of herself. She normally only cooked for one.

Saguru woke up, almost surprised to smell the faint sent of food cooking already. He heard Kaito sleeping beside him and winced. He had hoped to wash his clothes before she woke up. He nudged Kaito as he climbed out of the bed. "Kaito, are you coming?"

myself: "Mmm, coming? Where are we going?" Kaito wiped his eyes, blinking them a few times as he stretched.

Saguru rolled his eyes and dropped a pillow on his head. "Breakfast, unless you want to eat that instead."

Kaito yawned and pushed the pillow out of his face. It seemed kind of early for breakfast but they had gone to bed kind of early too and, without chores, it was getting hard to tell what time of day it was. "Coming, I'm coming."

Saguru had no idea what to ay when he saw her but maybe she would be busy again, or go back to sleep and he could wash his clothes then. He stepped onto the kitchen and took a deep breath. "Wow, it smells so good in here."

"I hope so. I'm not sure what you eat for breakfast that I don't, so I hope this is good enough." They woke up faster than she thought they would and she busied herself getting bowls, the pastries already on the table. "Sit, it's ready."

"Mmm." Kaito closed his eyes. The food always smelled and tasted so good. Witches were better at cooking than he would have thought, being alone and stuff.

Saguru felt his face warm a little again as he headed for a seat. "Thank you and this looks wonderful."

Akako laughed to herself, setting the bowls on the table. She wasn't sure if she was talking about the house, the table setting, or the food, but she liked to think it was a mix of everything - including the contents of said house. "Here. I hope you like it." She placed the bowls on the table foe each of them, sitting down with her own and not used to feeling so short as she ate.

Saguru started to eat, finding the pastry tasted just as good as it looked. The porridge was another thing. He had no idea what she put into it but it was very different than any he had ever had. "This tastes like you put your house in it or something. I never thought porridge would taste anything except bland unless fruit was in it."

"I don't think eating candy all the time would be good for anyone. It's just some sugar cane and spices. I've never had bland porridge before, and I hope I never do." Akako ate another bit before looking over at him. "Did you want some fruit in it? I'm not sure how well it will taste with the sweetness."

"Oh, no, this tastes great as it is I was not trying to insult you or anything, I just never expected it to taste like this on its own." Saguru put another spoonful in his mouth to avoid putting his foot in it again.

Akako smiled. "I didn't take it as an insult. I'm sure there are some ways I like food that you don't. Besides." Akako tapped the table, a few strawberries appearing on a plate. The later was the only thing made of candy. The berries just needed to be moved from one place to the other. "These would probably taste just fine in there." She pushed them over to him, taping her finger again once they were there and watching them fall apart into evenly spaced pieces so he could simply put them in. "I was wondering. Your brother's leg will still take a week or so to heal completely, though he should be able to move around on it now decently. I could get us to your village today if you wanted, through my own means of course. I wouldn't want either of you to grow tired or Kaito to hurt himself.

Kaito looked up from his food, most of it gone. He hadn't been looking forward to walking on his leg for a while still. Putting weight on it still hurt. If she could get them there though, he did want to talk to mom and dad, let both of them know they hadn't died or anything. Saguru was being flaky about that though, and they'd only been resting a full day and some. He put his head back down, taking another pastry and letting his little brother decide.

Saguru had glanced at Kaito and bit his lip but his mind was made up when she said it would take over a week. Father would send for them by then and he did want to clear the air with mother first, instead of bringing it up after. "That would be perfect. Ummm, before we leave, I..." Saguru felt embarrassed now. How did one ask a stranger, or, still new friend, that one wanted to do laundry? Saguru nibbled on the strawberries, trying to think how to say it, when his hand missed the plate just enough to tip it and send a couple onto his lap.

Akako wasn't used to dealing with boys, young or old, and she wasn't sure what he was trying to ask. She didn't need to wonder long when some of the juice from the berries stained his already pretty stained shirt. She wasn't sure what part of the filth came from the forest and what had already been there. "You want to bathe, huh? Go ahead. If you don't mind though, I think the clothes your both wearing should be burnt. I can make you new ones."

Now Saguru was as red as the berries and all he could do was stare at the almost empty bowl in front of his and wondered if he could disappear.

Kaito pulled at his clothes. Looking them over, they were pretty dirty. Mom wasn't there to wash them and they had both slept in the forest. "Thanks. Think I can get something that looks like this though?"

"Sure. I might change it up a bit, but I wouldn't want you to have something on you wouldn't want to be wearing." Akako got down and nodded to them. "Both of you can actually bathe together, if you don't mind. My tube is on the larger side and neither of you is very big. I'll be in the main room waiting."

"What about, I mean, I think we should take our clothes with us, so we can get dressed before coming out... right?"

"That's why I said you can take a bath together. I'll have your new cloths ready by then and neither of you will have to be standing around naked waiting for them. Or do you want to bathe first?"

Saguru was confused now. How would they get the clothes before leaving the bathroom if she was doing them while they bathed? "I mean, if we bathe before they are done, how will we get them? Are you going to fly them into the room like you did to the seat cushion?"

"I could. I was planning on the house taking them in so I didn't have to open the door but if you boys don't mind me seeing you in the tub, I could show them to you."

"No, no, no, I had no idea the house could do that. That will be fine. Thank you." Saguru jumped down from his empty bowl, flushed with embarrassment ad heading to the bathroom ahead of Kaito.

Akako laughed and looked at Kaito. "He does still remember that I'm older than the two of you, doesn't he? Leave the dishes. The house will get them. Go shower before he finishes before you."

Kaito smiled and nodded, feeling a lot more comfortable for some reason. Maybe looks did have something to do with it because, now that she wasn't towering over them, he felt much better about talking to her. "Sure. Thanks for taking us back by the way. Saguru might need help when we get there though. I think we're both a little mad at mom and, like you said, you're older. If you could make sure we don't do anything bad, that would be great." He got down from his seat as well, still using the stick Saguru had found for him. "Thanks again, for the clothes and food and everything."

"You're welcome. I'll see you both afterwards."

…

Saguru looked down at the new clothes and knew he would feel bad if he ruined them. They were nice and he could not believe she had made these so fast, maybe out of thin air because there was no way she had larger men's clothes to shrink to fir, He looked over at Kaito and chuckled. "All that black and grey on you makes you look more somber than you are."

"Yeah, but it's harder to get dirty, so I'm good with it." Kaito noticed that his were all monochrome and Saguru had all the colors. That was weird because he normally wore the colorful stuff, but black was a lot harder to get dirty, and he did get dirty a lot more often. "I wonder if she could make money and food the same way."

"Making food maybe but making money is wrong, it is counterfeiting and that is a bad thing." Saguru would never want something like that. He would rather earn it the right way than cheat like that.

"Yeah, but she's a witch. How would she make money? I don't see them working in shops or the mill or the fields." And this witch seemed really well off.

"Maybe she harvests the food herself or something. You could ask her." Saguru smirked and headed out the door and toward the main room.

Kaito was going to. He went outside with Saguru, seeing Akako sitting on the couch and putting a book down. "Hi. Thanks for the clothes." That was coming first. "Can I ask where you get all the stuff like this and your food and stuff? Do you have money?"

Akako smiled. "Money, some. I don't use it much. As for food, everything in the forest listens to me. If I need something, even out of season, I can grow it. It's as simple as that. Your clothes were made the same way, from the insects and the labor of everything around here. Cotton and silk are the easiest to get a hold of."

Huh. That was pretty interesting. He supposed that if she could get all the food and clothes she wanted, there really wasn't much need for money.

"Are you both ready to go?"

"Yes," Saguru replied, checking his clothes again. He had thought they were nice but silk?

Akako nodded, getting down and leading them both outside. "Walking on short legs will take too long and I said I could get us a ride. How do you feel about deer? They're not as well trained as horses but they're much easier to find. All you have to do is hold on." Riding in on a broom wasn't exactly subtle and she didn't want to get killed. She pushed the door open to outside, showing off the three fawns that were not a year yet in this world, *though large enough to easily carry them. "I made their antlers grow a bit early this year, though it won't harm them. It will give us something to hold onto."

Saguru caught his breath. He had never seen deer this young in person, let alone this close. "Will their parents be angry with them for smelling like humans? I read that some animals will reject their young if humans touch them."

"Some will. These deer are under my spell and I have used deer before. I make sure to return them the way I took them." Akako touched the back of one, tapping it so it lowered it head and she was able to get on. "Don't worry about it. I never harm the forest."

Kaito didn't like the way she said 'the forest' but this was too cool. He quickly got on the deer, using the stick to help himself up, and then realizing it was going to be too hard to hold while riding so he through it towards this house. "Awesome!" He said the word so much recently but there was no word better.

Saguru mimicked her hand gesture and was surprised when it reacted the same way. He climbed up and settled on the deer's back, petting it like Kaito had their cow to make sure it stayed calm.

"Let the deer do the work and you just hold on." Akako nodded her head forward, the deer taking the silent command to move forward. They'd have to get off before they reached the end of the forest but the fawns would remain until they traveled back.

Kaito had been nervous about talking to mom but, either way, he had promised he'd take care of her for dad and he would. The deer was just so awesome that he couldn't help petting it and touching it and holding the horns, probably scaring the poor thing but the deer didn't seem to mind.

Saguru found he enjoyed this a lot and wondered if he could ride horses soon. The sunlight shining through the leaves made everything look colored in green and gold. He had no idea how long they had to travel but he did try to start guessing based on the sun.

Kaito didn't notice until sitting on the deer started to become uncomfortable how far they truly were from the town. For all he knew he and Saguru had started walking in the wrong direction, but his brother had seemed so sure he didn't want to say anything. His butt was sore by the time the deer slowed down and he was able to see a house, not their own, through the treeline. He got down, looking back and forth between the other two. "We won't tell anyone or anything but your clothes..." Kaito wasn't sure what to say about them but, even small, Akako still looked very much like a witch.

"Oh, right." Akako spend all of a second making her cape vanish, her shirt growing longer and her skirt turning into pants. She twirled, her long hair and body no longer either shown off or half hidden. "Is that better?"

Kaito shrugged. They all looked too clean to be coming out of the forest together and the new clothes were going to be a hard thing to brush off. Some mysterious person helping them seemed like a good enough reason. His eyes met Saguru's. "Are you going to be okay?"

Saguru took a deep breath and nodded. He recognized the place and looked at Kaito, giving him a smile that may have been a little forced but it was still great to be home. He started toward their house, his stomach twisting but now that he was here, he felt like it was autopilot. He was going to go to the house and ask mother what she had been doing.

Kaito nodded to the witch. This was between them, for the time being. She didn't need to follow. He was sure that he couldn't tell her not to do something if she wanted to do it though, and followed after Saguru until they were both in front of their front door. "She should be done with breakfast now, if she's in. Without the cow I'm not sure if she'd be in the area if she's not here." Kaito wanted to knock on the door but he had some strange inkling that Saguru should be the one doing that. It was harder on his brother than him, though Kaito could only guess why. "Go on."

Saguru exhaled, pushed open the door a little and looked around. "Mother? Are you here?"

Sharon had been doing most of nothing for the time being, having fed the few animals that remained and having eaten what she couldn't save. She heard Saguru and the door opening, the creak something that ingrained in her the compulsion to stand and great whoever it was there. She got up in a rush, fearing she had lost a productive son that could very well help the family survive. She wasted no time spotting him and taking him a hug, noticing Kaito just behind him. "I was so worried. What did I tell you!" Her cheerfulness turned to anger and she switched from hugging him to holding him by the shoulders and looking him over with some steal in her eyes. "I told you to stay here!"

"I followed because I did not want Kaito to miss a meal when I knew he had helped more than me. I lost track of you... why did you leave him there, hurt like that?" Saguru teared up a little and stared her in the eye, hoping she had a good answer.

Sharon let out a sigh. "You're too young to understand." As long as Kaito was back there was no point in having this argument anyway. He was another mouth to feed but maybe she could see if they could, indeed, work somewhere. He was always the one to get in trouble though and, it seemed, get Saguru into trouble. If there was one more mistake she would make sure he didn't come back. "I'm glad you're both safe now though. What happened to you? Where did you get those clothes?" There was no way that, if Saguru had followed her, both boys could have made it so far out of the forest on their own and come away so clean.

"We were found and helped by a new friend. They gave us new clothes this morning. I still want to know though, since Kito did nothing that day to be punished for."

Sharon took in and let out a breath. "That was the first time I've had to punish you in a long time. Unfortunately, I found that Kaito is a bad influence. You following me when I distinctly told you not to only helps prove this. I'm not sure what I was planning aside from getting him away from you. It seems you're both going to make that impossible though." Sharon made sure not to let go of Saguru. While she had been more than worried she had lost him, he had disobeyed her. She looked over at Kaito, no reason to fault him for the same aside from the fact that he hadn't stayed where she'd wanted him either. That didn't seem punishable, at least not in front of Saguru. She shifted her hold to his arm and pulled him inside. "You worried me. I hope you know that."

"I was worried too, that was why I followed and I thought you would be in the barn so I would be right back." Saguru took a deep breath and let it out. "What would father say about it?"

"Your father can make his own decisions when he's here. Right now it's me and the both of you. Kaito, close the door." She didn't think she had to tell Saguru he was going to get punished again but he had left on his own, clearly not listening to her, and this was how you had to teach children to listen.

Kaito hung back, confused and afraid. He wanted to walk back out but some ingrained need to listen to his mother overroad his sense of self-preservation. He walked in and shut the door as he was told, a few tears in his eyes. He was getting Saguru in trouble again, and he'd only done it because he'd asked him to. This wasn't something he'd forgotten or something he could take back. "Mom, please. He was just worried. I was too."

"Kaito, you should know well enough that 'sorry' and 'please' don't help when you've disobeyed your parents." She usually simple had Kaito lean over when she punished him, though she was unsure if Saguru would actually listen to her now. He had some spark of rebellion in his eyes that she hadn't seen before, likely placed there by his brother. She let him go, seeing how much of a punishment he should get. "Saguru, bend over." She at least made sure he was by the chair so he wouldn't fall. "I told you to stay and you didn't. This is what happens to bad children who don't listen. I thought you knew that by now."

"What about punishing someone who did nothing bad? Just tell me what you meant to do with Kaito, why you left him, bleeding, in the woods a full night away from town, and I will accept any punishment you say." Saguru had tears in his eyes but they were more from anger than anything else. He needed to know or he would never be able to trust his mother again. It was too much and she was refusing to explain this time. She usually said what they had done wrong first.

"I told you, he needed some time away from you." Sharon had no reason to explain herself further to her son. "What would have happened after that, I can't be sure. You ran off and things changed." She wasn't giving him another chance.

"He would have died out there! You could have sent him to a neighbor for a bit or something! You left him in the woods!"

"I left him where he belonged! If he wants to act like an animal, he can very well get treated like on!" Sharon didn't spend much more time going for her yarn that she'd had sitting on the side instead of rope. There was none laying around. "And the same can be said of you."

Saguru's eyes widened. He had been afraid of her leaving him there but Kaito had almost convinced him mother would tell him it was wrong and correct him. She would explain a plan or that she was going to return not long after or something but lost her own way. This, that she intended him to stay there... he was in to much shock and hurt to move when she grabbed him. "You... that would have been murder."

Sharon tied him up to the chair as before, getting her cane once more. He had not complied so his punishment would be harsher, as it would if this were Kaito. What she was going to do with both boys from now on, she wasn't quite sure. She'd figure it out later. "I never said I might not have gone back. I don't know what I would have done, and it's not murder if I don't kill him." She pulled Saguru's pants down, trying to leave the impression that he should not disobey her again.

Kaito felt himself actually shaking, pressed up against the closed door and tears in his eyes, for multiple reasons, falling down his cheeks fast and not as silent as he would have liked them to be. Mom didn't care if he died... That hurt, somewhere inside. Was he really that bad of a kid? The others around town liked to play around and explore too. Sure he went a little farther than most but he never meant any harm... Hearing Saguru get hit made him wince, though there was no where to run away to now. Against his better judgment, he did the only thing he could think to do and ran forward to protect Saguru. He promised dad he would and, while Saguru was in the wrong, Mom was too. The cane hit him, though it didn't hurt as badly on top of his clothes. The part that hit his head stung a bit more. "Stop it..." His voice was far too soft, even to his own ears. "You're both wrong. Can't we settle on that?" He just wanted things back the way they were.

Sharon hadn't been sure what to do with Kaito. Going against her gave her the little tilt of the scales that she needed, grabbing his arm as she had Saguru, seeing a repeat of what had only been a few days ago coming. "You do not get to tell me what to do."

Kaito was crying still, trying to pull away from her. The harder he fought though, the more it hurt. He gave up once he was tied down again, just crying. He didn't know what to do anymore.

"Kaito," Saguru gasped, squeezing his eyes shut. "No." He had no idea when mother changed like this but it was not right. It was not what he remembered. He tried pulling at the yarn but he was shaking too much as it was.

Sharon disciplined both boys, making sure she had gotten her point across. They were both once more hers and she'd figure out what to do with them later. Having to get scissors to cut them away from the chairs, she merely lifted both, knowing she was forcing them into an uncomfortable position to sit on them, but having no other way to deal with them as she tied their hands behind their backs. She let out a breath, eyeing them both. "I'll treat you how you act. If you continue to disobey me, you will get more of this. If you're both good, I'll let you go and you can help me around the house. Do you understand?"

Kaito was hurt and tired, his tears never really stopping, though he'd stopped being as noisy about it. His body was shaking slightly and it was all he could do to nod his head, unable to look up at her or his brother.

Saguru kept his gaze on the floor, knowing he would not be able to look at her with any sort of trust again. No matter what she said, he had read enough to know leaving Kaito in the woods, especially hurt and bleeding, was close enough to murder. There was another word for it but he could not recall. His throat was too constricted to say anything. He was very glad he had said nothing to her about Miss Akako because mother was not predictable anymore. He nodded, figuring just a few days and father would send for them. He fully planned on sending a letter to him as soon as he could though, to know what he thought about this, but he hesitantly nodded.

Sharon left both boys alone as she went outside. They all had to think on what they would be doing next.

It took Kaito a while and a few shaky breaths after mom was gone before he was able to speak. "I'm sorry." He stayed looking at his legs, the new material not as fasinating as he made it seem to hold his attention so well. "We shouldn't have come back. I promised dad I'd watch over you both though. I don't know how I'm going to do- do that. But I'm sorry."

Saguru shook his head and looked over. "I would have come for you anyway. I just thought maybe I was wrong this time. I wanted to be wrong. You had nothing to be punished for, you should have... I guess you did what I did." Saguru was silent for a second before continuing. "I will write to dad as soon as I can. Someone in town has to know where he headed, maybe he can tell us what to do."

Kaito was out of it, most of it simply from being overemotional for too long. He shook his head though. "No, no you can't. He left because we don't have enough food here. If we call him back, it will just make things worse."

"Mother is off. What if she does it again?" Saguru wished Kaito would look at him but if he had to do it himself, he would. "It would be worse not to have you."

Kaito withdrew on himself a little more. It hurt. He paid it no mind. "Well... there's a witch in the forest if she does it again. I'll be fine."

Saguru teared up again and shook his head but it hurt too much to try and shift to reach over. "I would not be... brother."

"There's nothing else we can do." Kaito never felt so utterly defeated before. He had one job, and easy job that he had readily promised, and he couldn't keep up one end without failing the other. "We just need to be good. If something goes wrong, you'll follow me again. I know you will. I'll follow you too, if she takes you anywhere. We'll just wait for dad."

Saguru took in a shaky breath and nodded with a soft 'alright'. He still wanted to write it all down, in case they went 'missing' again, so father would know where they were and why.

Kaito closed his eyes, resting where he sat, as painful as it was and as upset as he still was. He couldn't fight it when there was nothing there to keep him awake. Mom coming in and tapping him on the shoulder woke him. He saw Saguru's eyes opened as well.

Sharon looked down at her children, making sure both were awake. "Alright. Since neither of you can be trusted you're to stay inside the house. It's already dark out and I don't want you wandering. You're to go right to your room and you are to stay there until I come get you."

Saguru exhaled and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am" He had no idea why but he could not call her mother when she acted like this.

Kaito nodded, nothing to say so he didn't speak. He didn't want to say the wrong thing, even if he did have something to say.

Sharon cut the yarn holding them to the chairs. "I am glad you're both back." And she meant that. This wouldn't be the first time that she'd be sending Kaito to bed with no lunch or dinner, but it would be a first for Saguru, as far as both meals. Maybe that would teach him something. "I'll see you in the morning."

Kaito got down slowly, his body hurting, his leg not making moving any easier once he touched the floor. He gently touched his wrist, walking to the bedroom without any fuss.

Saguru stayed close behind Kaito, tears of pain falling again at moving but Kaito, he knew, was worse off again. He slid a hand in his pocket and blushed, having thought it would be funny for Kaito, now it was all he could do to make it up to him. He slid it beside Kaito with a faint smile. "I was going to sneak it to you later, to tease you, but I figure you can have it later."

Kaito smiled, something he hadn't felt like doing and something he thought he wouldn't do for some time to come. He reached out, taking the handle off the toilet that had to have come from the witch's house. He broke it in half and gave the other part to Saguru. "I did dare you."

Saguru was almost relieved to see Kaito smile again and it made his lips turn up a little too. "This evening at the same time." He could not eat anything at the moment but having it comforted him a little.

Kaito nodded. If it had survived being in Saguru's pocket all this time, it would survive a little longer. He let out a breath and curled in on himself under the blanket. "Thanks."

Akako couldn't walk in on the family. For one, she'd have to work magic if she wanted to intervene. That would have gotten her into all kinds of messes. The second was, she hadn't wanted to intervene. He tapped lightly on the window of the boys' bedroom, hoping it would gain little attention. She could have done something with magic now, but she didn't want them to scream either.

Saguru had just started to head for his bed when he heard the tap and looked up. "Miss Akako." He stepped over and wondered if the window would be quiet. He lifted it just a little before speaking. "I thought you may have left."

"I had assumed you were coming back with me after you entered." Akako was still short and she had to use a bit of magic to make herself float an inch or two. "Were you coming back with me or not? I took it from the way you didn't come back out that there'd be no plans for me staying here."

Saguru shook his head, holding the window ledge and wishing he could lay down because it really hurt to stay standing. "She is... off. It is not safe here. I am sorry that you were left outside but it is better since I never mentioned you and I will not either. We should have waited for father instead but... you should leave before she sees you."

Akako smiled like a cat. "If I don't want someone to see me, they won't see me." In that second she took the time to actually turn herself into a cat, making room for herself on the window ledge. "So were you planning on coming back with me or not? I can get you both of here easily. Ever hear stories of creatures stealing children from their beds? It really is quite easy."

Saguru looked at Kaito, then the door. "I do not know how far the two of us can go but... will you still help us contact father, please?"

Akako jumped in the room, going for the bed and sitting, turning mortal again as she did. "What seems to be the problem?"

Kaito was startled, backing away a bit. He had heard Saguru whispering but not what he'd been saying or who he'd been talking to. The witch lady just had more and more surprises. Wow, she actually turned into a cat!

Saguru blushed and shifted. How could he tell her they had been punished when the reasons were legit but he knew they were skewed. Just saying they were punished or caned for disobeying was one thing but the fact there was no way he could sit on the deer to return either.

Kaito was confused for a few reasons. Akako being in their room was one of them. Saguru blushing about it was another. The fact that he had been asked a question and wasn't answering was a third on a long and growing list. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to get the both of you back. I hadn't expected you both to stay after you had spoken with your mother about the prospect of me helping, or your father's location. Now I find you both here with some unknown reason as to why you can't return with me."

Kaito's head fell a little. "Mom's... mom's a little different. I think it might be because dad left but I don't know. I'm not sure if we made it worse when we were gone but I told dad I'd look after her and I can't just leave."

"Oh? I remember no mention of you planning on staying here if she couldn't be of help. I suppose I can't just steal you away, though I'm sorely tempted to." Akako thought about it. She could, and without their consent, but that wouldn't get her any closer to what she wanted and needed. "Will you staying here actually be doing her any good?"

She had... had as good as tried to get him killed. Kaito didn't know if his presence would be helping or hurting. His eyes fell again. "I don't know."

"So do you want to leave?" she asked again, looking between the two of them. "Or not?"

Saguru bit his lip and looked over at Kaito before dropping his head. "Kaito, I think it may be what she wanted. Maybe she is the one that needs space." Saguru clenched his hands, torn between waiting for father and getting them both away from a mother who had surly lost it after father left.

Kaito looked Saguru in the eye. He was just as hurt and scorned as he was. He needed to know something though. "She's our mom. She needs help. She needs... She might need us. I can't be sure. If we leave, will it really help? If we stay, isn't there a chance we can make this better? I don't know. I mean, I'm not sure I should know, but I do know that... she's my mom. And, as much as I'm scared, I love her."