Music Playing: Little Human by Marius Nitzbon
I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize but, as soon as I picked it up, I heard Mako's voice. My blood ran cold when she told me more about what happened. She told me that Ryuuko's contracted an illness and needed to be hospitalized but she told me that, to buy some time, she had to produce a guardian of some kind so they could go and find "Memory".
I got there as quickly as I could have and was met by a social worker and the doctor working on Ryuuko's care, with a blond haired girl telling them, "See? Homegirl's got a guardian." The girl went to join Ryuuko and the others, while I talked with the doctor, Mako, and the social worker. "Yes, Ryuuko has been living with us, since she was at least three. I don't know how old she is but I know she's been living with us since she was Mako's age at the time we took her in. " I told them, before telling them, "We're the only family she knows."
The social worker then asked Ryuuko if she knew me and Ryuuko said, with as much strength as she could muster, "Yes." I showed them all of the proof that I had that Ryuuko had been staying with us since she was little, though, I didn't have much in the way of legal documents outside of her school records. Most of the proof I've had were photos that show her with our family. So far, from what I could guess, the social worker accepted it but only on principle.
When they left to go discuss things, I turned to the others and asked, "Okay, what happened?" Mako told me that they were looking for Memory, whereupon they met Nui (the blonde), who agreed to tell them more so long as they took Ryuuko to the hospital. As Mako told me, Ryuuko is very sick, though she doesn't know too much about what Ryuuko's got, regardless, Ryuuko's depression and her lack of appetite wasn't helping matters.
I asked if they found "Memory" to which Ryuuko just cried, before she started coughing. The others couldn't really find the words but Nui managed to get out, "Well, that's some of the probs, like, we either had to produce a guardian or find her next of kin." After that, Mako found the word and told me how things went for during their search.
She told me that four of them were Memory's old classmates, who were looking for her, too. She promptly said their names were "Nonon", "Gamagoori", "Uzu", and "Houka" and that "Nui" was an acquaintance of Memory's. She told me what they did manage to find out about Memory and it was that she had the surname of "Kiryuuin". She also said that Nui told them that Memory, with Ryuuko, was running from a bad a situation. For last one, I said, "I already knew that, Mako."
She also showed me the sketch that the Four drew up based on their descriptions of Memory and Ryuuko. I didn't know what the girl looked like but I definitely recognized the sketch of Ryuuko, telling them, "Yes, that's what Ryuuko looked like the day she was dropped off at our house." Sparkling but uncertain eyes, shrubby streaked hair, and rather rosy cheeks, perhaps a little bit of dirt on her. Thinking about it, I think she might have been dropped off wearing a red bow.
We would talk for a long time about what we should do but I knew Ryuuko wouldn't be so apt to give up on finding her sister. We came to the agreement that I'd stay here and look after Ryuuko, while the others go out and find Memory. Ryuuko, clearly, was very distraught, as she wanted to go with them to find her sister but, between being attached to tubes and being bedridden, she couldn't.
That night, as the doctor coordinating Ryuuko's care told me, Ryuuko's health seemed to be further declining.