Why was she crying?
Why?
And who would make someone cry like that, and just walk away?
He was lying in his bed, his mother had already kissed him goodnight, and he couldn't sleep. The questions kept buzzing around his mind, knocking into his skull and jostling him from his very core. He couldn't find an answer. He wouldn't find an answer. He didn't want to find an answer.
Somewhere, in the paint on the ceiling, was the image of a girl, only five years old, a girl he knew very well, kneeling on the floor crying. He had stared at her for so long, trying to find the words to comfort her – finding none.
He couldn't say I know what it's like, because he didn't.
He couldn't say It's not like you're the only one in the world who has a mommy like that, because hie wasn't one of the ones who had parents like hers.
He couldn't say She doesn't hate you, because Palone-san may very well hate Lexi. He didn't know.
She had stopped crying, eventually, and had gone home. That didn't mean he still didn't see her. She was right there – on his ceiling.
When I command her attention, I speak English to her. Just like when you command her attention, you speak Japanese.
When she speaks English, she's her mommy's...
You can only command something that belongs to you.
...but when she speaks Japanese, she's mine.
Mine.
What if I make you mine, all the time?
What if you were never your mommy's again?
Would you stop crying?
Would you?
If I make you Japanese, you'll never cry again, right?
And your mommy wants me to give you a Japanese name anyway...she must want you to be Japanese. (She must want you to be mine.)
All right then, I'll give you a name. A totally Japanese name. A name that makes you belong to Japan. (A name that makes you belong to me.)
I know, I'll name you after the city. 京都 の 子. Kyoto no ko. You'll belong to the city, you'll belong to Japan...(and you'll belong to me.)
But that's not really much of a name, is it? People will still look at you weird if you say you're "Kyoto no ko."
But, hey, you know, "Kyoto no ko" can be shortened. Yeah, that's right. Instead of "Kyoto no ko" we can just call you 京子. "Kyoko." That way, when people ask "Who are you?" you can say "I'm Kyoko." That's not a weird name at all...(and only I will ever know your real Japanese name.)
Sometime after that thought, he fell asleep content, ready to see her again so he could tell her about her new name.
A/N: I hope everyone's computer can read Japanese characters. I promise, there will only be a few left though, so it's not that big of a deal.