Rating: PG (I got completely through this one before realizing there wasn't anything "bad" in it! *exaggerated gasp of horror* :p)
Disclaimer: As usual, I'm not claiming ownership of these characters.
The doorbell rings.
It had been a fairly routine day for Kojiro - saying goodbye to his wife as she left for work and to his daughter as she left for school, cleaning up the apartment a bit before settling in to work on projects, Ootachi bounding around at lunchtime, then taking it for a short walk before getting back to work again. But it was at this point that the routine changed, and this unexpected visit would change it forever.
He pulled open the door with a smile, thinking it was maybe Yamato and Kosaburo come to visit with their new son, which they occasionally did in the afternoon. Despite Kojiro's apparent inability to ever pronounce Kosaburo's name quite right, the two of them had become good friends. But this was a single visitor, and Kojiro recognized her nearly instantly.
He was only thrown off for a moment by her clothes - blue jeans and a sweater, casual clothes he had never seen her in before. Her hair was the same, the same fat curls he had remembered wanting to just give a good yank years ago, as a child. Of course he had never done so, realizing quite well exactly how much trouble it would land him in. But her face...
Instead of the haughty and gloating expression he had seen her wear more often than not, what was on her face now could only be described as sadness, pained lines around her haunted blue eyes. He took a step back from those eyes, his lips and tongue feeling thick and unable to form a word.
"Rumika..." he finally mumbled out, still staring in shock. All at once, more words tumbled out in a rush. "Where... how did you... you can't be here..."
"If I can't, then why am I?" she replied with a bitter smile, stepping into the room uninvited and shutting the door behind her. Her eyes never seemed to leave his face, like she was reabsorbing his appearance after not seeing him for so long. Kojiro fought hard to control the panic welling up inside.
"Are your wife and daughter home?" she asked next, the inherent sadness of her face only seeming to grow.
"Wait, wait, hold on... How did you find me here?"
"I had to find you. That's all there is to it. I knew if I asked around enough, I was bound to find you. Someone told me that you, your wife, and your daughter live here." Her eyes were still sad, yet unnervingly calm. Kojiro swallowed hard.
"She... Musashi is at work. And Kae is at school." Rumika nodded briefly, then continued staring. Or maybe a better description would be studying, her eyes continuously scanning his features. Finally he got up the nerve to ask, "And what do you want... with us?"
"I've come to tell you something very important." She paused for a moment, breathing deeply as if to steady herself. "Your parents... They're dead. This isn't a joke or a plan. They had an... accident. What I've been asked to do is to personally give you your inheritance." She held up a black leather case, which Kojiro hadn't even noticed she'd been carrying before. "Everything is in here. I'm sure it will be of use to you." She tried to press it into his arms, but he just stared dumbly.
"This isn't possible," he finally said slowly. "I shouldn't have an inheritance. I didn't marry... marry..."
"You didn't marry me," Rumika finished for him with a slight smile. "It's alright... You don't love me, after all. But I think this shows that your parents did. Very much." This time, he took the case when she offered it to him again. His eyes slid closed as he ran trembling fingers along it's smooth side, his heart sinking ever lower. They were gone now... Really gone... He opened his eyes to see Rumika already turning to go; he quickly put the case down on the floor.
"Rumika..." She turned back, an almost hesitant-looking hope appearing in her eyes. "I'm sorry... sorry if I've caused you any... any pain at all... and..." The slow shaking of her head made him stop.
"I should apologize for the pain I've caused you, my Kojiro-chan. I want you to be happy now, and I can tell that you are happy with your life." In what seemed like a spur of the moment gesture, she stepped close enough to hug him; he returned the gesture after a moment's surprise.
"I love you, Kojiro," she whispered gently. And without another word, she turned and walked out the door, shutting it quietly behind her.
Kojiro stared at the door for a long time before finally slumping to the floor next to the case containing his inheritance. He remained there, vacantly looking at it without making a move to open it.
Which is how I find him when I return home.
Even after he has gone through every detail twice, I am still having a hard time understanding. "But why would they do such a thing?"
"I don't know," he replies testily. "Maybe we should just accept that they did." I realize that he is very upset at the moment; I should back off the subject and accept it, for now. We had looked in the case, and it contains enough money for our own house like we had always wanted, and even then more than enough left over to help Kae through school. I wonder how we are going to explain this to our little nine-year-old, although we have talked to her about her grandparents before. In fact, she should be arriving home shortly from the Grass Pokémon club she attends after school.
I turn my attention back to Kojiro, trying to gauge his emotions. Usually I can see the reflection of his emotions in his eyes, much the same way a pool of water reflects the sky's mood. But now the reflection is murky, an unreadable puddle of rainwater reflecting an angry, overcast sky. Finally, he stiffly gets to his feet to put the case on the table; I follow him carefully.
"Kojiro? Do you want to talk?"
"No... I don't really have anything to talk about right now," he replies dully before retreating to our bedroom, leaving me staring at the door, chewing my lip in indecision. Part of me wants to comfort him, but the more sensible part tells me I should let him be for now. So I sit on the futon in the main room, fidgeting as I think of what to tell Kae.
But it proves to be easy to tell her, once she arrives, due to her largely understanding nature. She nods slowly, but her large green eyes become misty with tears. "Is Daddy going to be okay..." she questions me tearfully. I hug her gently as I fight back my own tears, marveling at her sensitive heart; she had never met her grandparents before, yet the pain is still there.
"He will be alright... He just needs some time," I tell her softly, pulling away so that I can wipe her tears. "Why don't we go fix some supper for him? We do still have to eat..."
"Yes... He might like that," she nods in determination this time. I have to smile at her spirit. Yet as we work together, I realize that my husband may not even care to eat. This is confirmed when I poke my head in the door to tell him supper is ready and he continues to sit tensely on the edge of the bed, not even seeming to hear.
So the meal is largely silent, and I spend most of my time watching Kae's worried expression, which I am quite sure is mirrored on my own face. The case of money had been moved to the top of the refrigerator. I have never had so much money just laying around in my life, and am unsure of what to do with it. I'm only hoping right now that Kojiro will soon snap out of it and talk to me...
At 3:00 a.m., I am still awake and listening to him flopping back and forth next to me in bed. It is at this point that I realize I should do something. Switching on the light next to the bed, I crawl back over to my now bewildered husband and settle myself on top of him, which allows me to look straight down into his eyes.
"Alright, Kojiro... It's either talk to me now, or let me help you get to sleep in a very painful way. Which do you prefer?"
He continues to look startled for a minute before managing to smile a bit. "Musashi... Sorry to keep you awake," he sighs. "I just... just don't know what you want me to tell you..."
"Anything. What are you feeling?"
"Well, I... It's all so confusing. I guess it was always easier thinking that my parents didn't love me... Now it's like, realizing that they must have, at least in some small way, and then I feel terrible... I haven't seen them in years... and now they're gone... should I never have left them at all...?" He now almost seems to be talking to himself, his eyes focused inwardly on his past. I would have given a lot just then to be able to see those thoughts.
I lower my head slowly to rest my cheek against his, slightly surprised that he is not yet crying. "You shouldn't be worried about that. They wanted to choose your life's path for you, and you only wished to make your own way, to find your own happiness. Maybe they just realized that they were wrong, in the end."
I can feel him nod against me. "But Rumika..." He pauses for so long that I think he has fallen asleep; when I look up, however, I see that his eyes are open and nearly brimming over with tears.
"What? What about her... Kojiro?" He takes deep breath, obviously trying very hard not to blink and spill those tears.
"She... My God, Musashi... she told me that she loves me."
My eyes widen in surprise. This is something he had left out of his story. But before I can comment, he continues.
"It was easier thinking she didn't truly have feelings for me, either. Why would she... she..." As he trails away, I wipe at the tears that are finally trickling their way down his face.
"You wouldn't have thought I could have loved you back in Rocket-dan, would you? With the way I treated you?"
"N... no... not really," he manages waveringly.
"Well, people change. Obviously even Rumika. I suppose she finally realized what she was missing out on. So you don't really have to worry about that either. Unless... You don't return the feeling, do you?
"I... No! Of course I don't..."
"Then you don't have anything to worry about," I smile teasingly, giving him a light kiss. "Now, what I think would be best for both of us is if we get some sleep. You'll feel a little better in the morning, I'm sure."
"Alright..." he mumbles. I watch his eyes slide closed, then get up to switch off the light, returning to cuddle close to him again. As I settle in, a thought occurs to me.
"Kojiro?"
"Mm?"
"Who is Kae named after?"
"My mother..." he replies faintly, the words trailing off as he falls asleep. "She was so beautiful to me... when I was... little..."
I smile gently as I drift off as well, thinking of my own beautiful mother, hoping that she would be proud of me now...
