Birthday Bash 2024
Prompt Three: Long Lost Relative
A/N: This is based off a plot point from Threnody by Missmi on YouTube.
Requiem Part One
"I grow a little more afraid of myself every day. Even though I shudder to think of what parents might say if I had any to report what I did to that soldier, I wouldn't mind getting doted on while I heal from the attack. I'll have to relearn how to shoot, and I'll have to move my head around a lot more to keep anyone from taking advantage of my blind spot. I guess I'll have to use my ears more as well."
"Ren has been wonderful, don't get me wrong, but I can't help but wonder if he'd be as doting if he knew the truth about me. I have so few secrets from him, but this one will make a bigger difference than the scattered scraps I call my past. I just wish that I had the simple comfort of-
"Incoming call! Incoming call!"
Haru took a second to wipe the tears from her eyes before checking the I.D. A sad smile appeared as she tapped on her phone. "Well, this is a surprise," she purred into the phone, hoping to cover up her newly broken heart.
"I didn't want to get your hopes up in case the meeting ran longer than my assessment. Mind giving me permission to visit my lady?"
"Oh, I don't know," she pretended to sigh while quickly switching apps on her phone until tapping on the one that would let the building's door open for him as a guest. "I could be doing something nefarious up here."
"Ha. I'd love to see your idea of nefarious. See you in a few minutes."
Haru couldn't resist beaming happily while getting up from her work desk, cracking her back into an acceptable position and using a handkerchief on her nose and eyes to mask the kind of content she had been listening to. She could hear the recording of her own voice try to pick up where she'd left off, but she flicked at her phone to keep it silent.
She could listen to it later, even if she could practically recite the story by now.
Baron still managed to knock on the door to her apartment before she could reach it, making her wonder yet again just how fast he could run with the right motivation.
Haru couldn't help glowing at being 'the right motivation' as she unlocked the door and threw it open so she could throw herself at her boyfriend.
She still couldn't believe how she'd landed someone like Baron as he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and swung her once in the hallway. He was the sort of person her friends took one look at and would assume he'd only go out with models or someone with money. Heck, he was the sort of person that made you think that 'baron' was a title instead of his name.
He beamed at her like she was a princess before the expression turned dark. "You've been crying," he stated without a trace of uncertainty.
"Don't worry, no one did it to me," Haru explained, wishing that it wasn't so easy for him to read her moods. She took his hand and led him into her domain. "Well, other than me, anyway. I can't really blame my grandma if she isn't around. How does tea sound?"
"I brought my blend," he offered while opening his inner coat pocket for one of the handmade teabags she'd given him for his birthday. "But what does your grandmother have to do with your tears if she came into the conversation?"
Haru moved into her tiny kitchen and filled her kettle with water while answering. "I was listening to my great-great grandmother's diary. I did a voiceover of it while in high school, and… well, it's not exactly a happy tale. I was at the part where she was beating herself up for killing the guy that put her eye out in the war and wishing she had parents to nurse her back to health."
"That is gruesome," Baron agreed worriedly, taking the needed steps to capture her from behind with a hug. "Do you do this for every family diary?"
"This one's special," Haru admitted, flushing at how conceited she was about to sound. "I was named after this grandma, so it's a bit personal to me. Mom had a lot of respect for her and wanted me to be as tough as her if I ended up alone for any reason."
Baron gave her a comforting squeeze. "Not while I have breath."
Haru blushed and grinned like an idiot before turning around to hug him back now that the kettle was warming up. "You could even blame this grandma for us meeting. She's the reason I pushed myself to be that good of a shot, no matter what I'm shooting with."
"Then I'm indebted to her," he wasted no time concluding, sweeping her off her feet so that he could carry her to the couch.
Once again, he decided that side by side was too much space between them, so he sat with her on his lap. "Why don't you tell me a bit about her? I'm going to need to be familiar with her story at the very least."
Haru snuggled comfortably into his embrace before beginning. "There's not a whole lot to tell about her childhood. Her parents died when she was a baby, and she's not sure if she had any siblings or if it was wishful thinking. Either way, it was easy to lose information back then, especially since she was tossed between orphanages like a hot potato until she got fed up, ran away, and joined the army as a man at the ripe old age of fifteen. She's not even sure that the family name she went by before marrying her best friend from the army is her real one, since the boy that told her wasn't much older, and she was pretty small when she heard it."
Baron's expression grew troubled. "What a terrible notion. What did she think her family name was?"
"Nakashima."
She was wrapped up in his arms, so there was no mistaking the shudder that ran through her boyfriend's body. It was strong enough to make her look up at him with alarm.
Baron was normally on the pale side, but now he looked as white as a sheet. "Haru… would you mean it's entirely possible that her last name was actually 'Nakajima'?"
Haru blinked. "More than possible. If anything, I'd be surprised if they got the name that close."
"Haru, where did you say your grandmother was from?" he asked while sounding a bit too interested in the answer.
Haru couldn't resist a bitter laugh. "She was tossed between orphanages so much, that's a bit hard to determine. She's from the same general area as the Miyaki province, but other than that, it's anyone's guess."
Baron's worried look increased. "Would you happen to have a picture of her?"
"Right there," Haru responded, pointing at a very old portrait in a corner he didn't normally notice.
Much to her surprise, he actually slid her off his lap to immediately inspect the portrait.
There were little traces of familiarity between Haru and her great-great-grandmother, but mostly it was hard to determine more than that it was very easy for her to masquerade as a pirate with a black eyepatch and she wasn't one miscreants wanted to misbehave in front of.
"Is everything all right, honey?" Haru asked worriedly, standing up to move closer to him.
Baron was staring hard at that portrait, as if hoping to find something he couldn't put a name to. "I know someone with the family name Nakajima. He's from the Kimi province, not far from Miyaki. I also know that he's obsessed with an old family mystery that refuses to be solved." He slowly turned to look at Haru, now trying to find the unknown thing in her. "His ancestor was kidnapped after the parents were murdered because a deranged couple wanted to replace a son, and the baby sister left behind for daring to be born a girl. He could never find out what happened to that baby sister, who happened to be named 'Haru'."
Haru's mouth fell open in surprise. "You don't think…?"
Baron heaved a worried sigh. "He's still sensitive about the name, so I've had to be careful about bragging about you in front of him."
Haru bit a fingernail in thought. It seemed almost too much to hope for, but what if this was a common thing that happened back then? She already knew that her name wasn't exactly unique, but…
"Take a picture of Grandma," she ordered, turning on her heel and nearly running to her little kitchen. It only took a second to find the smallest size of Ziplock she had.
"It seems unlikely that he'll be able to tell much from this," Baron answered worriedly as he pulled out his phone to obey her.
"It's a start. I don't even know if a DNA test would work between us with how many generations have happened since, but Grandma would want to know." In the time it took Haru to say that, she was already in her little bathroom and carefully peeling a layer of her own hair from her hairbrush to stuff into the Ziplock. "If nothing else, it will keep our consciences clear."
"I can also guarantee that if Hashi finds out I did anything but immediately try to alert him with my suspicions, he'd have my head as a decoration," Baron confirmed as Haru approached him while zipping up the little bag. "Actually, Haru, would you happen to have a digital copy of her journal?"
Haru gave him a surprised look while handing him the bag. "Which do you think he'd want? Photos of the original pages, the typed easy to read version, or my audio?"
"All of it. Everything," Baron begged, gently scooting her close to her computer and pressing a bit on her shoulders to coax her into sitting in front of it before pocketing her hair sample. Familiar with her setup, he reached around her to open the window to her email and type in an address she didn't recognize.
Haru couldn't keep her heart from pounding like mad as she started attaching files. "It'll take me several emails for everything, but it shouldn't be a problem. You probably have more than enough pictures of me in case he sees a resemblance."
"I could drown him in those," Baron assured, still sounding worried. "Also, dear, could you request some vacation time as soon as possible? He will want to see you and get to know you. Even if I'm wrong, I'd love to take you on a nice quiet vacation anyway."
Haru smiled up at him with a melting look. "Both sound wonderful. I'll put in the request after I finish flooding his email."
He beamed happily before leaning down for a kiss. "I had plans to take you out to lunch, but I really should tell him what I think, and let him work through his emotions before involving you."
She couldn't resist a laugh while sending the first email off. "It's a bit late for that, hon."
"Just trust me, dear," he assured her. "If I'm right, Hashi is very likely to forcefully adopt you as his own little sister."
Haru's vision clouded a bit from the cheerful thought. "If you think we'd get along, tell him I'm less then upset with the idea."
"I'll tell him. I'll take you to dinner later," he promised, stealing another kiss before forcing himself to leave the apartment, lock it tight after him, and run down the hall and staircase that stood between the door and his own car.
Once inside the relative privacy, Baron took a deep breath before forwarding both the ancient picture and the latest one he'd taken of Haru.
It had been during a late Sunday brunch, and Haru had looked particularly divine as she gazed out a window pondering one of his questions about her work.
Baron didn't lower his phone or take his eyes off it once the deed was done. "Ten, nine, eight, seven-"
Hashi was already calling back. Taking in a deep breath, Baron tapped on the screen, but wisely did not put the phone against his ear.
"Why didn't you show her off to me before?!" his mentor demanded angrily, already sounding like he was ready to stuff Baron's head as an example.
"Before my lovely mate told me a bit about the great-great-grandmother she was named after, I thought it would be rubbing salt in the wound," Baron answered gently, knowing that he'd very much poked the proverbial bear with his actions. "Incidentally, the first part of your sister's diary is already sitting in your inbox for you."