Disclaimer: I do not own Digimion
"We need to talk" Damien said in a hoarse voice. The rain had made his cloths soaking wet, but his current state of mind made him oblivious to this. The vibe emitting from Damien made the hair on Hotaru's neck stand up. At that instant, Susumu, Tai and Kari walked in through the door, chatting about their days' events. Upon seeing Damien standing in their living, their smiles faded. Susumu took in the sight before him; Damien stood in the middle of the living, his hands at his sides, rolled into fist, and a small puddle formed on the carpet where he was standing, Hotaru stared at him utterly confused, and his wife stood close behind his daughter, with an expression of mixed confusion and fear. Then a realization suddenly hit him. "Shit!" Susumu muttered under his breath. The event he had been fearing of for the past 17 years was finally unfolding in his living room, threatening to rip his declicate family apart. Susumu took a few deep breathes to steady himself.
" Damien, are your parents aware of where you are?" Susumu asked firmly as he lessened his tai, and placed his briefcase on living room table.
Damien nodded. "They are on their way over here" Damien said urgently. He had called both of his parents at work and told them to come to the Kamiya's apartment immediately, and then hung up before either of them could ask any questions.
"While we wait for them, Tai will give you some dry cloths to change into. Go with Tai." Susumu said, looking at his son. The teenager nodded at his dad, his head exploding with questions. What was going on, and why was Damien acting very weird.
"No it's okay." Damien refused stubbornly. He just wanted to get this off his chest; his mind was exploding with questions.
"Young man," Susumu said with an authoritive voice. " You are getting water all over the floor my wife worked so hard to clean. On top of that you will get pneumonia, and I will not have than in my house. So you will fallow my son, and change." Taken by surprised by Susumu's tone of voice, Damien quietly fallowed Tai into his room. Tai had not heard his dad use that tone since they were kids, and Kari was in the hospital.
What's going on, his wife asked with his eyes.
Susumu shook his head in desperation. How was he going to explain this to his wife and children? Most importantly, how was he going to explain this to his daughter? He looked over at Hotaru, who had just sat down on the couch next to her mother. Susumu noticed her skin getting paler. If she gets sick because of today, I'm going to make sure Akihiro ends up in a hospital bed as well. Just as he said he thought about them, there was a knock on the door. Susumu mentioned Kari to get the door. Kari opened to let in a frantic Emiko and a deeply worried Akihiro, still in his doctor's coat.
"Is Damien here?" Emiko asked looking around frantically. She felt like her head was going to explode because of her son's behavior. "I'm right here." Damien said as he emerged out of Tai's room, wearing one of Tai's pants and shirts.
"Damien! Did you get soaked in the rain? Damien what the hell is going on? " She said frantically going towards her son.
"I'm fine." Damien with a dry tone as he pushed her away. Emiko looked at her son with a hurt and confused expression. Never in her life had her son pushed her away like that. They had always been close.
"Now, Damien, what is the meaning of this?" Akihiro asked angered. He didn't understand his son's rash behavior. More importantly, he did not want to have a fight with his son in front of Susumu of all people. "You run to Susumu's house without a word, then you call us, demanding that we leave our work immediate and come here. You were not raised to behave like this young man! Let's go home and discuss your foolish behavior" Akihiro demanded as he grabbed Damien's hand.
Damien aggressively pulled his arm away from his fathers' grasp. "Raising me? IS that all you did Doctor?" Damien shouted at his dad, glaring at him furiously.
Akihiro, looked taken back , surprised at be shouted at by his son. "Damien!" his mother scolded. "Let's go home honey, and talk about what's bothering you." She said, trying to hold her son's hand.
"No mom. I'm tired of being fed lies. That's all that's ever said in our family. Everyone in this room deserves to know the truth."
"What truth? Tai asked. Tai was confused on what his family had to do with Damien's problem.
"Take a seat kids," Susumu said to Tai and Kari calmly. "Let Damien explain what he has to."
" Go on Damien." Susumu said taking a seat next to his wife, and nodded at Damien to carry on.
Damien took a deep breath trying to calm down. He could feel his blood boiling. He came over here in a such rage that he hadn't really thought out what he was going to say. Now that he had everybody's attention, he could feel himself getting nervous. He decided to focus on Kari, who was sitting next to her mother . "Hotaru and I just completed a science project demonstrating how genetic testing works. For extra points, we decided to show the similarities between us, and our families. "
"Yes, that's right." Yuuko said. "Hotaru told me about this, and asked if she could take hair off all of our hairbrushes. "
As he said that, Susumu reached over and took his daughter's hand, and looked at her apoplectically. He wished Yuuko had told him about Hotaru's project. He would've been able to protect his daughter from learning the truth this way. Akihiro, having finally made the realization that Susumu made when he first saw Damien standing in his living room, let out aloud grown, and put his hands over his head. Everybody else, unaware of the past, looked at Damien , still confused. Nobody was more confused than Emiko. She was first shocked by her son's behavior, and now he husband too was acting odd.
Damien took a another deep breathe, and continued. "We thought it would've been a good example because I'm adopted and Hotaru is not. I just received the results today. "
"Why'd it take so long?" Hotaru asked as Emiko asked " What did it say?"
"It said that both you and Dad have been lieing to me my whole life, and I'm assuming that Hotaru has been lied to as well!" Damien said sharply at Emiko.
"Dad?" Hotaru said questionly at her father. Susumu squeezed his daughter's hand. "Let him continue honey." He said to Hotaru and his family.
" I don't understand!" Emiko cried, driven to a desperate state by the confusion. Susumu merely stared blankly at Damien. Damien glared at his mother, furious that she was still lying to him.
"You guys told me I was adopted. Actually, wait! I'll start off with Hotaru's results. "Damien looked at Hotaru. He hated how she sat between the people she believed to her father and mother, and even worse he hated that Susumu was holding her hand, like she was daddy's little girl. "You and Tai are fraternal twins right?" He said rhetorically. "Yeah, why do you care?" Tai asked rudely. He did not like the tone Damien took with his sister. Damien chose to ignore Tai. " Fraternal twins have the same genetic similarities as siblings. So you, Kari and Tai should have 70 -80% genetic match. Kari and Tai's genetic similarities show that they are indeed siblings, but they both only have 25% similarity with you, meaning that they are your cousins. "Hotaru squeezed her father's hand. She was finally hearing out loud what she had been thinking since she was a child. "As Hotaru's parents , " Damien nodded at Susumu and Yuuko. "She should have 50% similarity with both of you. She has 25% with Mr. Kamiya, and no genetic relation at all to Mrs. Kamiya. Which means-"
"I know what that means." Hotaru said curtly, cutting Damien off.
"Damien why are you telling them this? " Emiko asked. She understood what Damien was implying, but she didn't see the connection between the two families. She felt that it was rude of her son to break the news to the Kamiyas this way. Yuuko had taken Hotaru's other hand in hers, and Kari had placed her arm around her mother's shoulders, offering her support. Tai stood behind them, and he placed his hands on Hotaru's shoulders. He want punch Damien for ruining the peace of his family , even though he was confused at what he was hearing. He wished sooo bad for his parents to say something; for them to Damien that he was wrong.
"You want to know who Hotaru has the greatest genetic similarity to?" Damien asked, his question directed at his father. Emiko looked at the two of them, her mind about to blow with confusion. "The genetic similarity between me and Hotaru is 87%, making us siblings. Since we're the same age, with the same birthday, I'm assuming we're twins. What was more surprising DAD, " Damien said, saying the last word sourly. " You're biologically related to both of us. 50% to be exact."
" What?" Emiko said, " I don't understand, what's going on?" Emiko stuttered confused, refusing the truth to make since.
" He's OUR Biological DAD!" Damien shouted. " He's biologically my father mom, and I have a sister! A twin sister!"
"No, that can't be" Emiko said, shaking her head, as tears starting flowing down her cheeks. Finally, a truth that escaped Damien's eyes, finally hit him.
"You didn't know mom?" He asked quietly. He truly thought his mother knew. He now felt terrible for hurting her, and being rude.
Tears ran down Emiko's cheeks. She stared at the man she thought was her soul mate. He looked down at his shoes, his head bent in shame. This was the man she trusted more than her elf. HE had made her happy, and he was the person she went to with everything. Now he sat before, as a stranger.
On the other side of the living room, Susumu got off the couch in a swift movement and knelt before his wife and children. "Can you four ever forgive me? I know this isn't an excuse, but I was trying to protect my family. I-"
Yuuko shook her head, with a sad smile at her husband. Susumu looked at her frightened at what her answer would be. Yuuko was his best friend. It was because he had her at his side, that he became the man he was today.
"Susumu, you never lied to me. I remember the day when the twins were born" She said, looking straight into her husband's chocolate brown eyes. Susumu looked at her today with the same expression he had the day Hotaru and Tai were born. " I was exhausted from giving birth, and when I woke up, you handed me two new born babies, and said as a question, Yuuko we have twins. Tears started flowing down both Susumu's and Yuuko' face. "I knew I was pregnant with only one child, but I never questioned you. When you placed Hotaru and Tai in my arms, I knew that no matter what the circumstances, these were my babies, and I wouldn't have let them go for anyone. I never questioned you, not even for a second. So no, Susumu I don't forgive you, because there is nothing to forgive. I know everything you have ever done was for the well being of your family. And our children should know that too. "
She turned to Hotaru and said gently "I know your upset, but I want you to know that I don't care what any genetic test garbage says. You are my daughter and, you are my flesh and blood. " Hotaru nodded at Yuuko, blinking hard to keep the tears away.
"Hotaru, I'm so sorry. I've always wanted to tell you the truth, but I just never could bring myself to do it. Every time I tried to even tell you mother, I always thought, why should I, she's my baby girl. " said Susumu, looking up at Hotaru uncertainly. It would break his heart if Hotaru hated him right now. Hotaru got off the couch and sat next to her dad to face her father at eye level.
"I don't care dad. You, mom, Kari and crazy over protective Tai is all I need. Dad, you are the best father any girl could ever have. I'd be the luckiest girl if I could find someone whose even half the man you are." She said, unable to hold the tears back. She wrapped her arms around her father's shoulders. Susumu hugged his daughter tightly, thanking the gods for blessing him with the most wonderful loving family a man could ever have. Damien watched his sister embraced Susumu, and anger rose up like flying dragon. It angered him that she wasn't as mad as he was. She too had been lied to. His whole world had been ripped apart, and she was acting like nothing changed.
"Are you stupid?" He shouted at her, " THEY LIED TO YOU. He's not your father," He said pointing at Susumu." And she's not your mother, and that isn't your brother! I AM! And that man over there is our father!" Damien shouted. " Do you have no pride? You've been lied to your whole life!"
" Will you SHUT UP!" Hotaru yelled back. The Kamiyas' looked at Hotaru in wonder and shock. Not once in their memory had Hotaru ever yelled at anybody." This is my mother" she said, looking at Yuuko." This is my sister, and my this is my brother who would protect me with his life if he had to. And most importantly, THIS is my father. No one else. He is the man that would drive 6 hours every weekend to spend it with, regardless of what he has to do. He is the man that would stay up all night if I even had a slight fever. So, no Damien, I don't care what any genetic test has. I know who my family is."
Hotaru then turned to parents and said calmly, " I know this isn't the best time, but I really don't want to stay here anymore. Can I go to Matt's ? I'll be home in time for dinner. " She asked her parents. Yuuko looked at Susumu. They both stared at her daughter, touched by what she did. I have great children Yuuko thought. Susumu nodded, "Okay, but take your sister with you."
Without a word to anyone else, the two girls crabbed their belongings and left. Damien just stared at Hotaru, hurt by what she said. How could she not care? HE was her brother; didn't she want to know him? Susumu looked over at Damien and Emiko. His heart went out to them. Akihiro ,he had stopped caring for months before Tai and Hotaru were born.
"Damien, take a seat." Susumu said. Damien obeyed, and sat down next to his mother.
"Susumu?" Emiko asked, finally pulling herself into composure , "who's their mother?" This was the question she was most afraid to ask. She did not want to know the woman her husband had cheated on her with. Susumu looked down, hurt even now by his memories
"It's Hitomi isn't it?" Yuuko asked after her husband's silence. Susumu gave his wife a sad smile and nodded. "Hotaru has her emerald green eyes." Yuuko said , sharing the same sad smile as Susumu.
"Your sister Hitomi?" Emiko asked. "How could that be?" Susumu looked at Akihiro, detesting the sight of that man. " Aren't you going to tell her?" Susumu asked. Akihiro opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
" Akihiro and my sister were secretly dating for years. " Susumu explained. " They kept it from everyone, even Yuuko and I. When I confronted them about keeping it from me, Hitomi told me Akihiro was afraid of my reaction. I should've known then he was a coward. Suddenly they broke up, and Akihiro and you started dating. My sister was heartbroken. I was upset, but my sister urged me to let it go, and she went back to Tokyo. You were Yuuko best friend, so I decided it was best to just let it go as well. A month after the two of you started going out, my sister returned, and she was pregnant. We approached Akihiro, and told him. He said he would take responsibility, marry my sister. He said he was going out of town for a few days, and he would tell you the truth. Instead he went straight to my brother. The person that both Hitomi and I were trying to keep this away from, and Akihiro knew this. My brother who's childish hatred for Hitomi because his father chose her instead of him, decided to get back at Hitomi. He told your father about the situation. Your father then made a deal with Aki. HE would pay for Akihiro's medical school in America if he married you, and offered my brother a high amount of money to start his own school. MY brother in turned promised, Akihiro that he would give the baby to Akihiro to raise. They didn't know it was twins at that time. All Aki had to do was marry you and keep you happy. Which I guess he thought was to keep the truth away from you. " He shoot Akihiro a dirty look
"So Aki returned, and broke my sisters' heart again. The only good thing he did was he was honest with us and told us how he struck a deal with your father and my devil of a brother. When we found out she was having twins we decided to keep that hidden from everyone else. That's why I had so many business trips when you were pregnant with Tai." he said apologetically to his wife. "I had to go take care of my sister. By some miracle, my wife and sister went into labour the same day. When Damien was born, my brother took him and gave it to you guys. Then they tried to take Hotaru. My sister knew that if she kept Hotaru, Iwoa would try to take her away, so we decided that I would raise Hotaru as my own. I threatened that I would tell you the truth if they took Hotaru, and they left Hotaru alone. But Iwoa still managed to separate me from my daughter for a while."
"Where is your sister now?" Emiko asked, mostly for the sake of her son. She knew he'd want to meet his birth mother.
Susumu shook his head. "I have no idea. I don't even know if she's in Japan. She disappeared a few days after giving birth. Yuuko and I have looked everywhere." Susumu said sadly. Yuuko noticed the look on Damien's face fall.
"Damien," Yuuko said softy. "Please don't be upset about Hotaru. She is a very head strong girl; she might come around if you give her some time. We're your family too." Yuuko said kindly.
Damien shook his head sadly. He had always wanted a sister, and a link to who he was. But it felt like every word of rejection that Hotaru shouted at him was like knives to his heart. She chose Tai and Kari over him. Susumu left like he could understand how Damien felt. It was what he had feared for many years. Since her birth, Susumu had feared that Hotaru would want nothing to do with him if she ever found out the truth. But his daughter had made him the happiest father with her words. At that moment, he knew that he had been a good father to all three of his children. Even though he felt bad for Damien, Susumu was secretly glad that Hotaru wanted nothing to do with him.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" Damien asked harshly at Akihiro.
Akihiro looked up at Damien. He felt like his whole world lay crumpled at his feet. "You have to understand," He said to his wife and son," there are reasons why I did what I did."
"What's there to understand?" Emiko said, shutting him up with a sharp tone. "You married me for money, you betrayed your best friend who taught you to be a brother, you abandoned a woman who needed you, you lied to me our whole marriage, and above all, you told your OWN flesh and blood that he wasn't yours."
"Emi please" He said as he leaned towards his wife.
"No Akihiro!" She said putting her hands up signaling him to stay where he was. "I want you to leave. Go to the apartment, and gather you belongings. When we get home, I don't want you there anymore. Please find somewhere else to stay." She said without emotion.
"Emi, please," Akihiro started to say. Emiko interrupted "Please," She said shaking her head. Akihiro looked around the room, and could see that he wasn't wanted here by anyone.
At Matt's apartment, the girls sat crossed legged on the living room couch. They had just filled Matt and TK ( who was sleeping over) on what had just happened. Matt looked at Hotaru, wishing he could talk to her alone. He could only imagine what was going through her head, and how she was feeling.
"I always had a weird feeling about Damien's father." Matt said. " He always acted odd when he was around you."
"What are you going to do next?" Tk asked gently.
Hotaru shook her head. " Nothing." She said. " I just want to forget like this happened."
" Hotaru," Kari said quietly, placing her hand on Hotaru's knees." I just feel so bad for Damien. He seemed like he really wanted to get to know us. He must be so lonely and confused right now." Hotaru smiled at her sister. It was just like Kari to think and worry about others.
"Are you going to talk to Damien? " Matt asked.
" When we left, he wasn't really in much of a mood to talk about. I know this is self fish Matt, but I just want things to be normal. I don't want to think about it." Hotaru explained. Things were just happening too fast for her to process.
"I understand big sister. I just have one question . Aren't you curious on who your birth mother is, and why she gave you away? " Kari asked, voicing the question she had for some time.
"Well, I…." Hotaru stopped and took a deep breath. "From what Damien said, I think I've figured it out."
"What? Who?" Kari asked surprised, wondering who it was.
" Aunt Hitomi. I've seen pictures of her at grandmother's house. She has my eyes, I guess. Her father, had black hair like mine." Hotaru stated, shrugging it off like it wasn't significant.
They heard a knock on the door. TK opened it to see Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya, and Taichi. "This looks just l
like my old dorm room doesn't it Yuuko," Susumu said as looked around . His wife gave a small smile, still feeling a bit dazed from the day's events.
The brothers quickly cleared an area and apologized for the mess.
"Don't be silly boys. My dorm room was a lot messier than that." Susumu said smiling. "Most days , you couldn't even see the floor."
" This is Matt's apartment when it's cleaned dad. You should see it when he doesn't know he's going to have guest over." Hotaru said teasing
Susumu went and gave his eldest daughter a huge hug.
"Are you alright honey?" He asked.
"Yes dad, I am. We're all going to be alright. "
"Sweetie, we're here if you ever have any questions or if you want to talk You all of you guys can talk to us about anything." Yuuko said, looking at the teenagers in the room.
Hotaru shook her head. " I know all I want to know. I meant what I said, Dad. I have my family, and I don't want any more additions or replacements."
Yuuko came and embraced her eldest daughter as well " I understand sweetie. But sweety, I hope you can find it in your heart to make room for Damien. Just think about things from his perspective ok?
Hotaru nodded
Unable to forgive and get past Susumu's betrayal, Emiko filed for divorce. At the end of school year, Emiko and Damien returned to America, where Damien started going to Yale to study premed. With help and support from her family, Hotaru mastered the courage to reach out to Damien. With time, Damien too became a part of the Kamiya family. Emiko and Damien visited Japan every summer, while the Kamiya's visited them in the US during Christmas. Hotaru, Tai, Sora, Matt and Izzy all went to University of Tokyo. Hotaru finally explained to her father why she did not want to study medicine, and chose to study genetics.
Hotaru, Sora, and Kari stood outside the Airport Terminal waiting for the plane from America to arrive. Sora and Tai's wedding was in twoo weeks, and the girls were at the airport to pick up Damien, Emiko and Mimi.
"Did you see the ring Izzy picked out for Mimi? " Sora asked Hotaru as they waited.
" Yeah." Hotaru said smiling. Six years, had deffinately changed Hotaru's appearance a bit. Her hair had grown, and now was up to her waist. Mimi had forced her into buying a very expensive curler, which despite how much she protested in buying, she loved. Matt also loved her hair curled. She was also a bit tanned, from spending 1 month in Brazil doing research toward her PHD. Thanks mostly to Matt's encouragement, Hotaru had speed tracked her bachelors and masters degree, and was currently working on achieving her masters.
"Did he tell you what he engraved in the ring?" Hotaru asked Sora. Izzy had been planning to ask Mimi to marry him the day after Tai and Sora's wedding.
"No, what?" Sora asked.
"To my soul mate, love Koushiro" Kari said smiling.
"That's so cute. Mimi's the only one that calls him his full name too." Sora smiled.
"Yeah that's when he knows he's in trouble. " Hotaru said.
Sitting in the waiting area close to wear the girls were standing, a middle aged woman in a black business suit, surveyed them intently. A phone vibrated from inside her Lois Vuitton handbag. Her nicely manicured nails picked up the phone, silenced in, and put it back into the bag. She then got her D&G glasses from her purse and put them on. They completely covered her emerald green eyes.
Here is the next chapter. I hope you liked it