Chapter Thirty-One

I'll Never Let You . . .

Iroha and Piko had learned to match Yuki's hurried pace when they were headed home. The most important thing in her life right now was getting home to see Rin, because there was so little she could do for her mother beyond staying close to her. She wished there was something more she could do, but Iroha always clammed up whenever Yuki tried to ask about her auntie and Rin. She hoped that, eventually, someone would let her in on whatever it was that was hurting her mothers, but, until then, this was all she could do for Rin.

She slipped once or twice on the ice, but, each time, Iroha would grab her arm and steady her. Yuki could feel the urgency pulsating from her mother; Iroha wanted to be home just as much as Yuki did. However, now that Iroha had the child stopped, she informed Piko and Yuki, "An old friend on mine and Rin's is at home, alright? Her name is Aria."

Yuki peered up at her mother, wondering, "Is it good for Mom to see people right now?"

"Aria's our friend from high school and university. She knows Rin very well."

Yuki could see that her mother was holding back some information, so, as she pulled away and began walking by Piko's side again, the girl questioned, "Does she know my auntie?"

There it was. Iroha had clammed up. Her expression grew guarded, and all she responded was, "Yes," before picking up her pace and walking ahead of the children. It was frustrating, to say the least. Yuki let her frustration show to Piko, who smiled sympathetically. It was probably hardest for him right now. He wasn't a part of this family, after all, and he was incredibly conscientious of this. No one had heard from Miki, though, and Lily had already been interrogated by someone looking for the teacher. She said that it wasn't safe for Piko to stay at her place, whatever that meant. Neru had had a tizzy fit, but they couldn't do much about it. Haku's place was so small that it was entirely out of the question, too, with her multitude of visiting relatives.

It was all so frustrating. Yuki felt absolutely useless. She had no idea what to do to help. Iroha wouldn't tell her what she could do. On top of that, it was still so hard to believe that her auntie, who had visited her so many times when she'd been in the orphanage, was the cause of such strain in Iroha and Rin. How could it be that that person who'd always been dear to her was so different than she'd thought? Yuki still didn't believe it, not that she'd tell anyone that.

Piko had wondered about it to Yuki, so Yuki had told him as much as she knew. Well, not everything. There were some things that Yuki could never share. It was her fault that Len had died, after all; how could she ever share that secret?

Yuki dismissed the thought for now. It was too painful when she remembered that. Instead, she thought back on her recent school days.

Luckily, Neru and Haku either hadn't noticed the change in atmosphere around Piko and Yuki or simply hadn't deemed it appropriate to ask. Mizki, Yuuma, and Ryuto had swung by quite a few times this week, but Yuki had taken care to avoid the topic of his mother despite Ryuto obviously being concerned about it. That was another thing that bothered her. Why hadn't Gumi ever mentioned that she had a son of her own? Then again, she'd never said much in particular. She'd simply been there, most commonly when Len had been there, as well.

There was too much to think about, and the answers simply weren't being given to her no matter how much she thought. Her head hurt.

. . .

Yuki's impression of Aria was biased, founded on simple jealousy. It was petty, but she took an immediate disliking to the woman upon seeing her with Rin. She and Rin were talking already despite Yuki having worked all week to try and get some words out of her mother. Yuki had been polite and civil, of course, but she didn't try hard to get close to Aria and merely poked at the parts of their supper that she knew that woman had cooked. It was childish and immature, but she couldn't help herself.

Piko, on the other hand, was all over Aria, which only served to heighten Yuki's jealousy. He kept blushing when she spoke to him, infuriatingly enough, and Yuki was getting sincerely ticked off. She wasn't that pretty or that special. Why did Rin and Piko like her so much?

Aria stayed over for the night, and she was there when Yuki woke up. She tried to hustle Yuki toward the kitchen to eat breakfast, so Yuki headed back to bed, instead, as Piko followed Aria with a hop in his step. Iroha came back to get Yuki a few minutes later. Yuki expected herself to be scolded for behaving like a brat at a time like this, but Iroha acted the same as she always did upon awaking Yuki before dashing back into her own bedroom to finish preparing for work. Begrudgingly, Yuki trudged out into the hallway to get ready for school. Before she even started, however, she noticed something that everyone else was too busy getting ready to notice. Rin was headed toward the door, oddly enough, so Yuki tiptoed over to see who she was getting it for.

Yuki didn't miss her mother freezing stiff when she opened the door to Gumi. Yuki froze, too, unsure of what she was meant to do. Should she be getting Iroha over here immediately, or should she run to her mother's side? Should she slam the door shut in her auntie's face? Faced with the decision, panic overcame Yuki, and she simply stood there.

"What are you doing here?" Rin questioned, her voice anything but firm as a weak flow of words hesitantly made its way out.

Gumi was smiling sweetly, a smile she'd never before shown Yuki, but that only seemed to worsen Rin's pain. "Come on, Rin dearest, you can do better than that," Gumi informed her. "Where's my 'hello'? I did come all this way to see you, you know." When Rin remained silent, Gumi let out a chuckle. "Alright then, Rin dearest. I know you meant to say it."

Rin's voice was so soft and quiet that Yuki could barely hear it. "How did you find me?"

Gumi tilted her head to the side, a vague hint of questioning in her gaze. "As in your apartment or your new life?" She smiled teasingly and replied, "Well, I could answer both of those with one little story, but I'm afraid it might break your heart."

Rin's hand tightened on the fabric of her housecoat, her knuckles pressing lightly against the skin of her chest. "I don't believe you."

Gumi chuckled softly once more and remarked, "And that's before you've even heard the story." Her eyes twinkling with mischief, she questioned, "So, would you like to hear the story?"

Rin started shaking her head. She looked so powerless. Yuki tried to run to her, but she couldn't manage to control her limbs. She felt like she was watching a television show; no matter how much she wanted to run to Rin's side and protect her, she was simply part of the audience. There was nothing she could do to help her mother, absolutely nothing.

"Too bad," Gumi sighed, grinning with a faint hint of malice. Yuki drew back, startled by this expression. She'd never seen Gumi like this before. She wanted to believe that this woman was still the same one who'd visited her all those years, but how could her beloved auntie ever wear that expression? "It's a great story."

Rin went silent for a moment before asking in a voice that tried to be firm but wavered far too much to be even close, "What are you doing here?"

Gumi smiled and lifted her hand up to stroke Rin's cheek, but Rin smacked her away before she had the chance. Gumi's smiled faded for a moment, hurt shining in her eyes. Yuki flinched, hating to see her auntie in pain. Her loyalty to her mother refused to waver, though. It was Rin that was most important. Slowly, Gumi smiled again, and she said, "I just wanted to hear your voice, Rin. I've missed you."

Rin stayed absolutely silent. She'd taken one step back, staying as far as she could from the woman on the either side of the door's threshold. Gumi watched her with a tenderness Yuki hadn't seen before now. Were Gumi and her auntie really the same person?

"I want to be back in your life, Rin," Gumi insisted, her eyes quietly shining with desperation and longing. "You've always been the most important person in my life. I know I made mistakes, but I can make up for them."

Rin took another step back now, her voice sounding more like a growl now as her strength returned to her, just a little. "That's not what you can call 'a mistake', Gumi. Get out. I don't want you in my life."

"Please, Rin," Gumi begged, her eyes showing heartbreak to the onlooker. Yuki froze, her heart searing with sympathy for the woman, but Yuki knew that she had to always be on Rin's side. "You must be lonely now that Len's gone. I'll stay with you, I'll—"

She had reached for Rin again, but Rin had pulled back and screeched, "No!" Yuki felt the wind press against her as Iroha dashed by, finally noticing Rin at the door. The coral-haired woman pressed herself between Gumi and Rin, and Yuki quickly dashed toward her mother. She met Gumi's eyes for just one moment, but she couldn't stand what she saw there. The heartbreak, the pain, it was all there, but now anger shone brightly, the barest hint of madness gleaming brightly in those bright green eyes.

"Get out of here, Gumi, and never come back," Iroha ordered firmly, glowering at the greenette.

Gumi's eyes flamed with rage as she explained, "Rin and I are just having a talk, Iroha. Leave us alone."

"Like hell I'll ever leave you alone with her again," Iroha spat, thoroughly disgusted by the sight of Gumi. Yuki wished someone would explain everything to her. It wasn't fair. Wasn't she a part of this family, too? How was she supposed to help if they left her in the dark?

"What did I ever do to you, Iroha?" Gumi shouted, her foot slamming against the welcome mat as she finally took a step forward, entering the apartment. Yuki felt a hand grabbing her, and she was pulled away by Aria. She dragged Rin with her, and, while Gumi was focused on Iroha, the pink-blonde woman shooed the two of them back into the kitchen, where Piko waited.

"What did Rin ever do to you, Gumi?" argued Iroha. "If you really cared about her, you'd stay the hell away from her!"

"Gumi, just leave," Aria ordered as she left Piko, Yuki, and Rin in the kitchen in order to stand by Iroha's side. "You're not wanted here, not even by me."

It was quiet for a moment before Gumi murmured, "So Len even stole you from me, Aria? Have I lost everyone?"

"Len didn't steal me from you, Gumi," Aria informed her, her voice trembling with anger. "You lost me all on your own."

"That's bullshit!" Gumi exclaimed. Yuki winced, as did Piko and Rin. "Len stole you all! Everything I ever had, Len stole from me! He took you, he took Rin, he took Yuki! Iroha, too! Now that Len's gone, you're stealing everything from me! It's not fair! It's not fair, not fair, not fair!" Her voice had gone shrill in that last repetition, and her heartache was so palpable that Yuki was near tears. Was it such a sin to want to be loved? "Now I don't have anything, and it's all thanks to you!"

Then came the sound of the door being shut and the heavy silence that followed.