Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Custody ❯ Hers and ours ( Chapter 27 )

The day had gone on happily. Momiji had a great time, despite the heart wrenching knowledge that those were his last moments with them in a long time or more likely, ever. Momo couldn't stop noticing that it took Momiji just a second too long to laugh with them, and that he had this strange look in his eyes the whole time. The story of that morning was still in the back of her mind, but she just didn't have the time to think about it all day.

 

She was looking for Momiji at the moment. He was nowhere in sight and some of her relatives had just come to visit. Momo knew that they wanted to meet him, and that this Christmas visit was just the perfect cover-up story for their real intentions. Momiji didn't know it, but he was going to have to go back in with her so that she could introduce him to her family.

 

He was standing outside, watching the setting sun. He had that sad look in his eyes again, but as she looked at his profile bathed on the soft dying light of the sunset, the only thought that crossed her mind was how handsome he looked at that moment. She was surprised to find him wearing only his new sweater, with no coat or anything else over it. It was almost freezing, but he didn't seem to mind.

 

-“Aren't you cold?” -Momo asked shivering slightly under her thick coat.

 

-“I'm not, but I can see that you are…” -he pointed out. “You should get inside, or else you're going to get sick.” -he warned half-joking, looking at her from the corner of his eye, his full attention on the sky.

 

-“I came looking for you. I was worried.” -she explained between shivers.

 

-“What for? It's not like I'd leave without telling you.” -he joked. She laughed.

 

-“One of my aunts is here visiting with her family. They want to meet you. Can you come back in so that I can introduce you?” -Momo was smiling mischievously, imagining their faces when they saw him up close and realized how handsome he was. She didn't notice him tensing up or the way he had to breathe slowly trying to calm down before going in with her.

 

-“Sure, let's go!” -he answered a little too enthusiastically, but Momo didn't notice, being so happy at the moment.

 

He went in with her. As soon as they arrived at the living room he was able to identify Momo's aunt immediately. `Our aunt', he corrected himself.

 

The woman smiled to him and then she and Grandma exchanged looks. He panicked, even if he didn't show it as he shook hands with her after Momo introduced him to her and her family. Her husband was there, as well as a couple of children a little younger than Momo, all of them clearly resembling each other. He was so preoccupied with what they could say that he didn't notice the shocked looks of his aunt and uncle exchanged when they saw him closely or the proud way Grandma nodded in confirmation of their suspicions.

 

-“Is he our cousin too, Mutti?” -asked one of the children, whose name he couldn't remember. He pleaded with his eyes to his aunt, but she didn't seem to notice, as she had already turned her face to her child.

 

-“I don't know. You have to ask him if he wants to be.” -Momiji had a hard time figuring out her words. At that moment his thoughts were all chaotic. However, his smile never faltered.

 

It was the same smile he had reprimanded Momo about just a couple of days before. Her smile.

 

He broke out of his thoughts when he realized that he was expected to answer. He didn't understand the double meaning of the question, but he gave the right answer, if the relieved sigh of his adult relatives was any indication.

 

-“Sure!” -was the only word that he could come up with.

 

Momo left to the kitchen to get something, and he suddenly felt vulnerable standing there, in the middle of all those strangers. He knew that the adults were scrutinizing him, looking for similarities between him and them.

 

Brigitta decided to join Momo in the kitchen to get whatever it was they were getting. As soon as she disappeared, his aunt hugged him without a word, followed by her children. His uncle gave him an appreciative look before hugging him too in a more manly way. Momiji was so shocked by their actions that he could only hug them back without a word. Strangely enough for him, the situation was not as awkward as he had always imagined it to be. It was more like a welcome.

 

-“You look just like your mother.” -half whispered his uncle. His aunt agreed. Momiji could only nod in reply. The fear could be seen clearly on his face, and the ever present smile faltered for a moment.

 

-“You even have that same smile Momo and your mother share.” -his uncle said mostly to himself. Momiji looked at him with a confused look.

 

-“That's right. I'm sure that you've noticed: just look at the way Momo smiles whenever she's nervous or lying. That's the one.” -his aunt explained. Momiji took the information in and stored it for later analysis. He knew that smile; he just never thought that he had it too.

 

The children were looking at him silently with something akin to admiration.

 

-“Are you really Japanese like our uncle? You don't look like one!” -the boy finally asked. Momiji smiled, amused at the question.

 

-“Of course I am! I'm Momo's older brother. Pleased to meet you.” -he said in Japanese before bowing formally. He laughed at the way they were looking at him once he stood up straight once more. That was the moment when they all finally felt at ease with each other.

 

Momiji was relieved when he realized that they had apparently decided not to mention his relation to Momo. They didn't question him about his past or his parents either. They just wanted to meet him before he left, his aunt explained.

 

They spent the next couple of hours just talking. The children and later Momo too, questioned him about his life in Japan, his friends, his family and school. He mentioned his work, but he didn't feel like talking about it so he didn't elaborate on that topic. He explained it all the best he could, stumbling a little with just a few words that he didn't know the translation for.

 

He had a great time talking about the world he knew: about his home. He didn't notice Momo's sad face when he mentioned his family's New Year traditions and festivities. His words reminded her that he was leaving in less than two days, and that it would be a long time before he visited again. They also made her realize that she didn't know many things about him, and she wished to have the time to learn.

 

 

Momiji's dreams were interrupted at 4:00 am the next day. A sleepy Momo was shaking his arm. He sat on the bed, and while he tried to focus her face he felt something hard in his hand.

 

-“It's for you.” -half yawned Momo. “Someone called Ritsu. He says he's our cousin.”

 

He noticed Grandma standing at the door, looking half-asleep herself. He smiled and half muttered a slurred `good morning' before picking up the phone to answer.

 

-“Rit-chan-san?” -asked Momiji, using Tohru's nickname for his cousin and business partner. Momiji knew that the only person Ritsu allowed such liberties was Tohru. It was fun to hear him get upset so early in the morning. He realized that his dear old cousin had him on the speaker, if the echo of his voice and Tohru's muffled laughter in the back was any indication.

 

-“Very funny, Usagi-chan.” -replied Ritsu with his own nickname for his younger cousin and unofficial adoptive brother.

 

-“You do realize what time it is now here, don't you?” -Momiji was awake now and he couldn't stop noticing the time. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Grandma leaving to her room while Momo decided to curl up in bed next to him. He pulled the covers over her with one hand while he heard the answer.

 

-“I know, and trust me: I checked the time. It's just that it's already noon here and I needed to ask you some things.” -Ritsu's voice carried the ever-present apology, but he had improved greatly on that. It was a long time since he had an apology fit like before. -“Besides, I wouldn't be doing this now if only you had remembered to turn on your mobile phone. I've been trying to reach you since yesterday!”

 

-“I'm sorry. It's just that yesterday was Christmas day and we were kind of busy here. Even Momo's aunt came by with her family.”

 

-“Really? That's great! So, how's your aunt? Is she nice?” -Momiji checked on Momo. She was asleep, and being a heavy sleeper he knew that she couldn't hear what he said.

 

-“She is. Her husband and children too.” -Ritsu could hear his smile all the way to Japan as his cousin spoke. That made both Tohru and himself smile too.

 

-“Your uncle and cousins…” -corrected Ritsu. “Remember what we talked about when you told me about your grandmother before you left? Those people are not Momo-chan's family only. They are your family too.”

 

-“I know! It's just that I'm not used to the concept of a family outside the Soumas. These people are all strangers to me… At least they were.” -Momiji recalled how he felt when he talked with them. They were not strangers anymore. Momiji decided to change the topic. “Anyway, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?” -he questioned as he rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand.

 

For the next two hours Ritsu and Tohru filled him in about urgent matters that required his attention. Momiji gave instructions and agreed on actions to take with his partner. For the first time in days he felt like a business man again, his mind clear and sharp as he processed data and solved problems in his head without writing anything down. Ritsu did the same on his side of the phone, and Tohru took notes and made a couple of suggestions.

 

 

-“I don't care what he says! Tell him that I am the administrator, and that he has to do as I say whether he thinks it is convenient or not! -Momiji raised his voice, something not as uncommon as most people thought. He never yelled, he just raised his voice a little, but the way he said things emphasized his words effectively. By now Tohru and Ritsu were used to his temper and outbursts, but it was enough to make the up to that moment half-asleep Momo wake up completely. She didn't move though, afraid of disturbing him.

 

-“That was my parents' house. I'm telling you that I don't care how much they're offering, it's not for sale!” There was a moment of silence while the people on the other side explained something. “No, and that's final. In any case, that would be my sister's decision, and I don't think that she would want to do that.” Momo was shocked. He had a sister? She decided to hear the rest of the conversation, even though she still had trouble understanding what he said as he was speaking in Japanese, and very quickly too. Fortunately for her, after almost three weeks hearing him speak, she was reacquainted with the language enough to keep up with him.

 

-“No, I haven't told her yet.” -she felt his eyes on her again checking if she was still sleeping. She was pretending to be, but he didn't know that. He continued. “Because, Tohru, she won't believe it. I'm sure that you've noticed that she's very oblivious.”

 

`Who is he talking about? Is he talking about me?'

 

-“I've tried! I've tried to tell her many times, but I always stop before I get to do it.” Another pause. “I know. I keep replaying in my head what you told me at the airport about being selfish, but I just can't do it! I told her indirectly yesterday, but she will never figure it out.” He was frustrated. She could hear it in his voice.

 

This time the pause was longer, and Momo had time to realize that he was really talking about her.

 

-“We never had a chance and you know it, Rit-chan-san. I really believed that this was the opportunity I had been waiting for, but…” There was another long pause. Momo was afraid to move or make any sound that could make him cut the conversation short.

 

-“I'm going back alone.” He sounded so tired and defeated that Momo felt guilty once again. She knew that she was the reason why he felt that way, but she couldn't go back on her decision now. She was doing what was right… or wasn't she?

 

-“Of course I asked her, but she doesn't want to go back.” Momo could hear a faint voice from where she was, so she guessed that they were raising their voices back in that office in Japan. Momo felt like she was being stabbed every time she thought that he was going back to his country the next day by himself.

 

-“I know that I'm her guardian and that I could make her go back home with me, but I don't want to do that.”

 

`He's my guardian?''

 

-“The fact that he left the custody of Momo to me doesn't mean that I can do whatever I want regardless of what she wants…” Momo noticed his tired voice trying to defend himself.

 

-“There's nothing I can do about it.” Someone back in Japan made a comment. “I've made a decision about this. Maybe I'll tell her later, but right now I just can't…” There was another comment, this time longer.

 

-“Can we talk about something else? She's sleeping right next to me and…”

 

Another comment from who she could barely make out was Ritsu. Momiji laughed at whatever it was he said, and then another long silent minute followed.

 

-“I know that you care, and I appreciate it, but there's nothing you can do to help me this time.”

 

She couldn't hear what they said on the other side of the conversation, but they were trying to emphasize something… vehemently.

 

-“I agree, it is unfair, but it's just the way things are. I just wish I knew this back then when I said yes.” Momo was just too confused at that moment.

 

`What is he talking about?'

 

-“Yes, I'll be there at that time… No, it's not really necessary. I can just take a cab or… Okay then. I'll be looking for you. Are you taking your cat with you, Tohru?” He was teasing Tohru? “Okay then, I'll wait for you at the airport. Thanks.”

 

Momo heard the faint click of the phone as he turned it off. She felt him lay back down on the bed with his arm bent over his forehead. She pretended to be still sleeping as she hugged him under the covers. He hugged her back tenderly.

 

-“How am I going to leave you behind when I don't want to do that!” -he whispered in Japanese so quietly that Momo didn't understand what he said. He then kissed her head and relaxed with her in his arms.

 

Momo could never get enough of the feeling she got whenever she was with Momiji. At that moment, lying in bed and having her arms around him she felt safe and loved. She knew without a doubt that he would do anything to keep his promise to her. He would always protect her. She wanted that feeling and that moment to last forever. She wanted to be able to hug her `onii-chan' anytime she wanted. He was so warm and strong… She was going to miss him… a lot.

 

`Why can't we be together like this forever? I don't want you to leave me!' -was the last thing she thought as she finally fell asleep for real.