Somehow, Someday

Chapter 3

"Where are we going?" Tsumiki hadn't been lying when she said it was far. It was further than anywhere Megumi ever bothered going. He kicked a pebble on the sidewalk and watched as it skipped twice against the concrete before rolling onto the road. Megumi stuck his hands in his pockets as he gazed down the long road, looking at nothing in particular.

"There!" Tsumiki skipped a few steps, getting ahead of him, and stopped in front of an extensive set of stairs on their left.

Megumi looked towards the top of the hill, confused as to why Tsumiki would want to come to a place like that.

Tsumiki rocked on her feet and pumped both her arms. "Today's the day!" She turned back to face him. "Take as many breaks as you need," she said before she brought her attention back towards the steps. She looked down as she slowly took each step.

Megumi swallowed his sigh before sauntering to the base and began his journey up. He glanced at Tsumiki through the corner of his eyes as he passed her, but continued on at his own pace. Megumi felt something off when reaching the top, but couldn't explain what or why. He turned back just as Tsumiki climbed the last four steps. Her breathing was loud and unsteady.

Tsumiki's hands landed on her slightly bent knees as she leaned forward to steady her breath. Three deep breaths before standing straight. "See it's not that baaaad!" She jumped in fright as she saw Megumi in front of her.

"Be careful!" Megumi outstretched an arm and grabbed her forearm before she fell down the stairs.

"Thank you," she said even as she looked back and forth between the stairs and Megumi. "You're so cool Megumi! You did it on your first try."

Megumi rubbed the back of his neck, not having anything to said to that. It was easy and didn't really require much energy. "So why are we here?" He couldn't understand why Tsumiki would want to spend time at a shrine, or why he had to tag along.

Tsumiki grabbed his hand in hers and dragged him towards the house on the right. "You have to meet them!"

The dread built up. Megumi was cautious around people, but he didn't voice his disdain because of how bright Tsumiki glowed. Her spontaneous energy. The glitter in her eyes. Her smile as bright as a flashlight. She deserved to be happy, and this clearly made him happy.

Tsumiki raised her free hand to knock on the door is an upbeat rhythm.

A girl with short black hair opened the door a little cautiously before throwing it open. "Tsumiki!" She slapped her hands over her mouth as she peeked back inside her house. Turning back to Tsumiki, she loudly whispered her enthusiasm once more. "Tsumiki!" She placed her finger in front of her mouth exaggeratedly. "Shh. We can talk or play, but we need to be quiet. Souta and Mama are sleeping."

Tsumiki nodded and whispered back, "Okay," bringing her own fingers to her lips to replicate the girl.

The girl's attention was finally brought to him. It was only natural, as he must have been largely hidden by Tsumiki. She was watchful to the point Megumi didn't think she would speak to him. "Hi, I'm Kagome." Kagome's eyes shifted between Tsumiki and him.

"Megumi," he replied. He carefully watched for a reaction. Megumi wasn't sure what he would do if she made fun of his name. He wasn't one to go lightly on others, but it was clear this person brought Tsumiki joy. Thankfully, he didn't have to make that choice. If Kagome had a problem with his name, she didn't mention it.

Tsumiki linked his arm in her own. "He's my brother!" Her words washed away any caution Kagome exhibited as she welcomed him inside with as much zeal as offered to Tsumiki.

"Your brother?"

Tsumiki eagerly nodded repeatedly in confirmation.

"Then our home is your home, Megumi."

Megumi's stress rose. He felt like a fish out of water. It went beyond never being there before. Beyond Tsumiki's ease of navigating the house and rules while he remained lost on the side. It was the effortless consideration and kind gestures. The inclusion. The openness. Megumi felt like an intruder. Someone who trespassed into an imaginary cover where he shouldn't exist.

"What colour do you want?" asked Kagome.

"It's fine. Paint without me." Megumi sat at the table with them but split his attention between Tsumiki and Kagome enjoying themselves talking about things and people he didn't know about, and staring at the wall in the other direction.

"We can do something else." Kagome looked his way, but Megumi refused to look at her.

"Megumi," came Tsumiki's soft voice. She took his hand in hers and—

"Ew!" A wetness touched him.

"Hehe." Tsumiki grinned and showed her paint covered hand. Green paint coated her hand, matching the paint on his own.

Megumi still couldn't relax, but he was pulled in, if only a little.

He reached over and wiped his finger on the tip of Tsumiki's nose. His own form of payback. Kagome giggled at Tsumiki's now green nose, and Tsumiki touched her face at the action, accidentally adding more paint to her face from her own hand.

It wasn't the worst way to spend time. They painted for a while, then cleaned up when they were finished. Megumi thought that would be it, but the two immediately went onto the next thing which turned out to be a puzzle. He thought the picture was from a movie, but he couldn't be sure. It just reminded him of a poster he saw plastered around before.

"Mama!" Kagome rushed to her mother the moment she noticed her descending the stairs.

"Thank you," her mother said as she handed the baby to Kagome. Kagome rocked and cooed the baby as her mom's attention turned to them. It made Megumi want to fade out of existence. "Have you been well, Tsumiki?"

Tsumiki nods and eagerly kicked her feet, her legs being too short to reach the floor. "Yeah! Mom got married, and we moved, so I don't live as close, but now Megumi's my brother."

"I see. Sounds exciting. Just know you're still welcomed here anytime. Same with you."

Megumi turned his head away.

"Are you staying for dinner or do you need to be home?"

Megumi could tell from the tone that the woman was searching for something. What that something was, he didn't know. What irked him more was Tsumiki's response.

"Mom's on a honeymoon, so we can stay."

He wasn't sure what he was angrier at. How casually Tsumiki believed it, even though the girl had pretty much been dumped at his door. Megumi wasn't even sure their parents had gotten married. There was a half-assed excuse of a letter, but he didn't even know who wrote it. He considered it a happy accident on his end, but Tsumiki shouldn't have been so forgiving. At the very least she shouldn't believe they were away on a trip when it had been months. It was just as absurd that another adult added to the list of not questioning anything.

"I can help cook. Megumi won't say it but he hates red bell peppers…and a lot of sweet things," said Tsumiki.

Megumi tensed. It was best not to inconvenience others.

"You know the answer. I'll cook and you can keep playing." Her firm tone made it clear that Tsumiki's insistence on cooking didn't extend only to him. It was more of a surprise at how quickly Tsumiki backed down.

"Let Mama cook and say hi to Souta." Kagome squeezed her way in between Megumi and Tsumiki's chairs.

Megumi hoped she didn't try to pass the kid to him. He picked up his glass of water as a defense mechanism, because if he had something in his hands, he clearly couldn't interact.

"He's cute!" Tsumiki squealed and gushed to the calm infant.

"Souta, this is Tsumiki and this is Megumi—hey no!" Souta was in grabbing distance of a puzzle piece and immediately tried to bring it to his mouth. Miraculously, Kagome swiped the piece away from Souta without dropping him. "He's learned he can grab things and won't stop," explained Kagome.

Megumi blanched as he felt a tug at his hair. The suddenness caused him to drop his half-filled glass. It hit his leg at just the right angle that it fell to the floor and shattered. "Souta, no! Sorry Megumi. C'mon Souta. Let go of Megumi." Kagome's voice pleaded with the being that clearly wouldn't understand her. As if to spite them, the baby tugged harder. Tsumiki giggled. "I'll give you a toy, so please let go. There. Like that." Kagome twisted so Souta couldn't reach him anymore at the first opportunity. "Don't move, Megumi." He was only going to clean up the mess he made. "It's sharp." No duh. That's why it needed to be cleared. "Mama! There's broken glass." Kagome kept out of reach, but her eyes stared into him as if she believed she had the power to freeze him.

.

Megumi found some solace when introduced to the cat, Buyo. He ignored the girls complaining that the cat gave him more attention. Megumi melted into the nuzzles and he evened his breathing at the same tempo as Buyo's purrs.

Having eaten dinner with so many people was an odd experience. He was happy that nobody pressed too much when he didn't want to speak, but having the option to was weird. His chest felt heavy. A desire he had long squashed down arose in his mind before he suppressed it again.

He opted to stay inside while the two went outdoors after dinner. He wondered how much longer they would play.

Seeing Tsumiki happy made Megumi question whether Tsumiki should stay with him. She knew these people, and they made her happy. They obviously adored her, too. Wouldn't it be better?

The front door opened, but only Kagome entered. She looked at him, then looked around too suspiciously for anyone. "Good, you're alone."

Huh?

Kagome shifted from one foot to another as she thought of the words she wanted to say. "I'm really happy for today. It's been a long time, so I was scared. Oh. Don't tell Mama I said that." Her head tilted, but her expression radiated joy. "But Tsumiki really likes you, so I'm glad she has you…You do like her too, right?" Kagome tacked on the question as if she just remembered the possibility affection may be one way.

"Of course I do." Megumi's curt sternness came out at such a stupid question.

Ignoring his tone, Kagome clapped her hands in delight. "That's good! Tsumiki always wanted a brother or sister."

Had she? Even if it was with someone like him? Even if it was in a household so destroyed, it couldn't even be called broken? Megumi recalled their first meeting and how quickly Tsumiki took on the role. Yeah, even with someone like him. "She's a good one." He had problems with good people as much as he had problems with bad people, but he was willing to deal with that if it meant Tsumiki stayed in his life.

Kagome hummed in agreement. "You can also come here whenever. Not just as Tsumiki's brother, but for yourself." Kagome brought a finger to her chin in a thinking pose. He wondered what tv character she was emulating to do something so unnatural. It was easier to ponder that then deal with whatever unexplainable feelings he had. "And I still need to find a way to thank you."

"There's nothing for you to thank me for," said Megumi. He hadn't helped in any way.

"You didn't bring up cursed energy around grandpa. Saying thank you isn't enough."

"What?"

"Grandpa gets wild if you mention cursed energy, or sorcery, or anything to do with that."

"No, what are you talking about? What's cursed energy?"

Kagome blinked curiously. "You don't know? But it's all around you."

"Are you going to tell me or what?"

"And I thought I was the clueless one. Cursed energy is…hmmmm…an energy source for things like magic and seeing curses. I don't really know how to…" Kagome fumbled with her words.

Megumi didn't really understand, but her words made sense of something. He could summon dogs. He always accepted it as something he could do that others couldn't see. He couldn't explain how he knew how to summon them, but he could.

"It's fine if you don't know. You can ignore me."

Megumi was already in the middle of summoning one of his dogs, wanting to know if someone else could see what he saw.

Kagome stopped her ramblings to gape at the white dog. "Cute," was the word that escaped through her lips as she slowly approached the dog and rubbed its ears before petting him more thoroughly.

"Can you do it too?" Megumi was curious. If magic voodoo could form animals, he wouldn't consider it a bad thing.

Kagome shook her head. She was hesitant to answer. Megumi noticed she wasn't good at hiding her thoughts or intentions. "Different people, different powers or something like that. Oh, but Mama can't see and I think Grandpa can't see. It doesn't matter. If you don't tell grandpa I still owe you. Not forever. Just until…"

She had been the one to bring up the topic, but she was leaving a lot out. Megumi wouldn't press. It's not like it mattered. It was nice to know someone else could see what he saw, and the rest didn't matter. "I won't say anything." After all, if her grandfather got that upset at the mere mention of it, wouldn't him saying anything threaten Tsumiki's happiness? And then he would never get to snuggle with Buyo again.

"You're the best! I need to hurry back to Tsumiki, but when you want something, let me know." Kagome rushed to the storage bin and pulled out two jump ropes. She waved at him one last time before she returned outdoors.

Megumi got comfortable on the couch when he was certain he was alone again. He petted his dog a few times before vanishing him. His eyes lingered on the ground where he had been.

Something he wanted?

As if he had anything like that.

.

Kyoka didn't know how much to ask. She was happy that Tsumiki wasn't alone, but she was displeased that another kid was in a similar situation. Knowing Haruko, she did something hasty.

She could only hope Haruko would change her life around with her new marriage, even if it sounded like a horrible start. Their friendship may have been falling apart for a while, but she wanted to hold on to hope that something would change. That her friend would return. For the sake of everyone involved, Kyoka desperately hoped so.

Kyoka could help in the meantime. Even with the death of her husband and mother-in-law, and with the tiredness that came with caring for Souta, she would do what she could. However, even she had her lines and her line with Haruko was barely held together. All but one fiber had broken and even that one was barely hanging on.

Kyoka poured herself a cup of coffee. It had been a few days since those two kids visited, but they remained on her mind. Why couldn't Haruko have taken her offer back then?

She went through her morning routine. She cleaned while the others still slept. She prepped ingredients to make cooking easier. She changed Souta's diaper when he woke up, then fed him. She made small talk with Baku before he left for his morning walk.

Kyoka noticed Kagome wasn't up yet. Sleeping in occasionally was a good thing, and it offered her more peace, but she shouldn't sleep in too late. Kyoka walked up the stairs and knocked on the door before twisting the nob to peek her head inside. "Kagome, it's time to wake up."

Kagome wasn't in bed, but the mess of blankets showed signs of her not sleeping well.

Kyoka glanced down the hallway, but the bathroom door was open. "Kagome."

She rubbed her eyes. Was she so tired that she forgot Kagome leaving for the haiden? Kagome had been eager to improve in time for school next month. Kyoka picked up Souta, as to not leave him in the house alone. She exited her home and crossed the property. Kyoka opened the door to the haiden and no one was there. Not an item left out as any sort of indication she had been there.

She shut the door and approached the trees. "Kagome!" There was a plot of trees, but it wasn't deep, so she knew her voice carried across. "Kagome! It's time to come inside."

Fear striked as she still got no response.

Kyoka returned indoors and put Souta safely down in his playpen as she scavenged the house, checking every nook and cranny.

Panic slowly overtook her. The front door opened to her relief, only to become devastated once more when it was her dad that walked through and not Kagome.

Kyoka began her search level headed, but she was now frantically thinking of scenario after scenario, each one worse than the last.

"Dad, I— I don't know what to do?"

"What's wrong?" Baku rushed to Kyoka's side.

"Kagome, I can't find Kagome anywhere."

Baku stood alert. "She has to be somewhere. I'll find her."

Kyoka watched his back as he left the room in search of Kagome, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. She brought her hands to her eyes as she cried.