"Are you sure you want to do this?" Carly pressed. "You're only ten; you shouldn't rush into a decision like this."
Erika haughtily stared her mother down with those intimidating eyes. At the young age of ten, she was already a force to be reckoned with. As she had shed her baby fat, the sharp, high cheekbones that she had inherited from her father had become much more prominent. She had also gotten her height from him; she had had a growth spurt this past year and was now just a centimeter or two shy of Carly's height. The doctors all predicted that she would hit the 180-centimeter mark before she was done growing.
"I've wanted to do this all my life," Erika said calmly, abruptly cutting into Carly's thoughts.
She was not the same girl she had been before Jack's accident. She had…hardened, somehow. It was like she was determined to carry on her father's legacy at any cost. Had it really just been two years ago that she had been screaming frantically at the arena? Not even Carly was sure how much of this persona was really Erika and how much was an act so she could further resemble Jack.
Carly and Erika had never been very close, and they both knew that well. Carly knew she could probably have done more to bond with Erika, but most of the problem was that they just didn't click. From her first months of life, Erika had seemed to be Jack's spiritual match. This had not gone unnoticed by the media. They'd already done several photo shoots together, often with matching outfits. This was all innocent fun, of course, but Carly had heard some awful rumors about how other people interpreted this. Certain unsavory drawings in the darkest reaches of the Internet….ugh. Carly had been trying to figure out if she could sue anyone for that. She wanted to keep Erika sheltered from it, which would be hard if Erika had her own life and career so early.
Kiryu had approached them about a contract for Erika to model his clothing line…which was also called "Kiryu," fittingly enough. Kiryu was another person that Erika seemed to instinctively get along with. She was supposed to either call him "Uncle Kiryu" in English or "KIryu-ojisan". However, she would often "accidentally" call him "Kiryu-jiisan" instead. It mortified Carly, but Erika always got away with it.
Carly and Jack had discussed the matter, and they (and their lawyers) had told Kiryu that they would not even consider this offer unless there were no super-short skirts, exposed cleavage, bare midriff, or suggestive poses involved. Kiryu had accepted these terms…but while this appeased Jack, Carly was still a bit reluctant. In the end, however, Carly had given her consent.
It sounded horrible…but they could actually use the extra money. Jack had successfully completed his rehab program, but he was still out of work. He had gotten several offers for TV commentator positions, but kept turning them down because he thought they were beneath him. They were also supporting Martha, whose health was failing, and then there was Rosie. Her seizures had come back, and they seemed to happen most during moments of very negative emotion. They'd taken her to all the best doctors, to no avail. Aki had even suggested that latent psychic powers were the cause, but of course that wasn't something that could be medically diagnosed and treated.
Carly still had her job, of course, and she had about a billion yen in savings spread across various banks. They could still live comfortably for quite some time, but if this kept up they might have to sell their dream house and get a smaller one.
Even so, both she and Jack had spent hours talking to Erika to see if this was what she truly wanted to do. Erika had never wavered, so now they were about to board a train to downtown Neo Domino to sign the contract. But Carly decided she had to do one last-minute check.
"Mother?" Erika asked tersely. Carly started as she realized that she had let herself get lost in her thoughts yet again.
"Yes, Erika. Now remember, if you ever feel uncomfortable, about anything, you tell me and Daddy right away."
"Yes, Mother. You've already told me this, like, seventeen million times!"
Carly bit back a reprimand. Really, it didn't seem like there was any more that she could say that hadn't been said before. Erika was probably as nervous about this as she was, in her own way.
"Well, will you at least let me hug you?"
"Fine."
They quickly embraced, then walked in silence to the waiting car that would take them to the train station.