Chapter Text
Tomoko sat quietly in the airport, anxiously bouncing her leg up and down. Her eyes scanned the pages of the book in her lap without really reading it. Every other minute, she’d reach the end of the page she was on and realize she hadn’t processed anything she’d just read. She couldn't keep her mind focused and eventually, she gave up and shut the book, opting to just sit there checking her watch again and again. After what felt like hours, she finally heard a large flightful of disembarked passengers exiting the terminal.
Her head perked up and she scanned the sea of unfamiliar faces. Above the crowd, she could see the heads of tall men in uniforms. As the crowd dispersed into the baggage claim hall, she was able to spot the person she was here to meet. At the center of the ring of men was a 4 foot tall, seven-year-old child, clutching a stuffed dog to her chest with one hand. She held on tightly to the hand of a kind-looking young woman with box braids. The woman wore a warm smile, while beneath the large opaque sunglasses, bucket hat, and face mask, the child’s features were almost entirely concealed. All Tomoko could really see was fair skin and a short black bob. As the two and their accompanying bodyguards approached Tomoko, she shot up out of her seat, somehow even more nervous than before.
“Thank you for taking time out of your day to meet us here, Higashikata-san.” one of the Speedwagon Foundation employees greeted Tomoko, while others left to locate the child’s luggage on the carousels. The young woman, whom she had spoken with on the phone several times since this decision had been made, was one of the girl’s tutors.
“Pleasure to finally meet you in person, Higashikata-san! I’m Jules!" the young woman beamed and shook Tomoko's hand with a strong grip. The two women had spoken on the phone at length when these arrangements were being made, but Jules hadn't been able to attend the funeral, so this was their first time meeting in person.
“Shizuka, this is Tomoko! You spoke with her on the phone, remember?” the young woman urged the girl to greet Tomoko.
Tomoko had spoken with Shizuka on the phone on several occasions. At those times, she’d seemed to be okay with the idea of moving to Japan and living with her and Josuke. However, now that she was really here and there was no going back, reality may have set in and given her cold feet. Not that she could tell for sure, with the sunglasses concealing the girl's eyes, but it seemed she wouldn’t even look at her.
“Hi Shizuka, I'm Tomoko, it's nice to meet you!” Tomoko crouched down to match the little girl's height and greeted her gently. She extended her hand, offering a handshake, but the girl remained frozen and silent.
“Shizuka.” Jules whispered and rubbed her shoulder gently. The girl reluctantly reached out and placed a limp little hand in Tomoko’s, allowing her to shake it.
“Hi Higashikata-san.” she spoke softly beneath her black mask before returning her hand to her teacher's pant leg.
“You don’t have to be formal with me, honey. You can just call me Tomoko.” she told the girl, but was met with more silence.
Tomoko drove home from the airport with one of the Speedwagon Foundation employees in the passenger seat and Shizuka and her tutor in the back seat. The man and the young woman spent the ride going over Shizuka’s daily routine with Tomoko while the girl played a game on her DS with headphones on. She had taken her sunglasses off to see the screen and Tomoko could see her in the rearview mirror.
“We haven’t put in her contacts since the funeral. She hasn’t been up to going through her routine everyday. I hope it's not too alarming.” Jules, having noticed Tomoko’s stare, said from the back seat.
“No, no! It’s not!” she lied, “It’s just that this is the first time I’ve been able to… you know, see someone’s ability.” That part was true. None of Josuke’s repairs around the house nor his friends’ “party tricks” prepared her to see two hollow black holes in the face of a little girl.
Fortunately for everyone, the Speedwagon Foundation had at least been able to develop dye for her skin and hair that worked very well, albeit semi-permanently. The processes for her eyes, teeth, and the inside mouth, however, required daily application and maintenance.
Tomoko pulled her car into the garage, the van transporting all of Shizuka's possessions parked in the driveway behind her. The little girl had her sunglasses back over her eyes as soon as the car engine switched off. For the next several hours, Speedwagon Foundation employees were in and out of the house, carrying boxes and furniture through the front door and up the stairs. Josuke had moved into the bedroom downstairs so that Shizuka’s room would be on the same floor as Tomoko’s. Meanwhile, Shizuka sat quietly at the little table in the kitchen with a bowl of pretzels and a cup of juice, tapping away on her DS screen.
“How’s she been doing since we last spoke?” Tomoko asked in a hushed tone, regardless of the fact that Shizuka still had her headphones on.
“She’s been… quieter since we started packing her things up,” Jules sorely smiled, glancing between Shizuka and her glass of water on the counter beside her, “But please, don’t take it personally! She’s still adjusting.” She attempted to reassure Tomoko.
Tomoko completely understood that. To witness the declining health and subsequent passing of both her adoptive parents at such a young age, without anyone else she was particularly close with to take her in, Tomoko could hardly imagine how she was coping with it. She wouldn’t blame the girl if she didn’t really want to be here.
But Joseph had been the love of Tomoko’s life, and even after his death, she would do anything for him. This child had meant the world to him in the last 7 years of his life, and he would want her to continue growing up surrounded by love and support, so Tomoko was going to do everything in her power to make that happen.
"She might warm up to my son more quickly than me. Kids always love him instantly." Tomoko decided with a chuckle. As if on cue, a boisterous voice travels through the foyer and into the kitchen.
"What's going on, mom? You finally kicking me out?" He says as he walks through the kitchen doorway, only to be immediately met by the sight of a small startled girl staring back at him through sunglasses.
"Josuke! I told you Shizuka would get here today!" Tomoko hissed at him with a finger up to her mouth, signaling him to lower his voice.
"Huuuh? It’s Saturday already?” he frowned. Whether due to his occasional airheadedness or the odd hours of his job as a paramedic, he apparently lost track of the household schedule this week. A smile quickly spread across his face and he sat down in the chair next to the girl.
"Hi, Shizuka-chan, I’m Josuke! You probably don’t remember me, but-" Josuke started.
“I remember Josu-nii.” Shizuka said plainly. Josuke clutched his hand to his chest, touched that she even remembered the nickname she called him when he came to visit Joseph in America. She was only 4 at the time. The little girl began talking a bit more once Josuke had sat down with her, just as Tomoko had suspected. That was certainly a relief.
After a couple hours of commotion, the Speedwagon Foundation employees had emptied their moving truck and were preparing to leave. It had just started to get dark, the sun was just spots of light shining through the trees and the clouds had taken on shades of pink and purple. Tomoko had made dinner for the four of them and now Shizuka was watching cartoons in the living room.
"When is she going to start school?" Josuke asked. He stood at the sink washing dishes while Jules went over paperwork with Tomoko at the table.
"Next Wednesday will be her first day." Jules answered, "We thought she'd be more comfortable starting with a shorter week."
"Then in the meantime, she can get settled in." He said to himself.
"And Tomoko, you'll get a few days to practice getting her ready in the morning." She added. Tomoko nodded silently. She finished signing the final document and sat back in her chair.
"I can take her grocery shopping with me on Monday… and we can go visit the school Tuesday afternoon…"
"Getting out of the house a bit each day will be good for her, too." Jules gathered up the papers, slid them into her bag and stood up, "Thank you for bearing with me today, Higashikata-san. I'm sure this has all been a lot to take in."
Tomoko and Josuke saw Jules off at the front door. Though she’d be returning the next day to help walk Tomoko through Shizuka’s routine, it was a bit daunting to have her leave.
“Jules!” Shizuka shouted. She ran up to the woman and pulled on her sleeve. “Do you have to go?” she asked in English. Although they couldn’t be sure what she said, Tomoko and Josuke had no doubts about what she meant. Jules knelt down so she was at eye level with Shizuka. She, too, said something back in English. Whatever it was, it seemed to calm the girl down a bit. When the door shut, Shizuka immediately said she was going to unpack her room and pattered up the stairs.
She spent the rest of the evening in her room while Tomoko did laundry and Josuke went to sleep early for his shift in the morning at the hospital. When Shizuka's bedtime arrived, Tomoko came up to her room to get her ready for bed. The door was closed and she didn't have the forethought to knock like she normally would.
"Let's keep your door open from now on, Shizuka, just in case- AHHH!!" Tomoko opened the door and shrieked upon seeing a small headless body sitting on the floor. Another startled scream in response came from the figure, and it rapidly began fading out of sight from the neck down. The laundry basket she was carrying fell from her arms and spilled out onto the floor.
Awoken by the commotion, Josuke came running from his room to see what was the matter. He saw his mom, standing frozen stiff and shaking, and looking inside the room saw what appeared to be a gaping hole in the floor looking down into the kitchen. The front of the dresser, the corner of the bed, and a patch of one of the walls also seemed to be missing. The sound of sobbing emanated for the orb of invisibility.
Josuke brushed past his mom into the room. He held his hands out in front of him, blindly searching the air, feeling for something. Even as his own arms began to disappear upon entering Achtung Baby's range, he paid it no mind and continued searching. Finally, his hand bumped the top of her head.
"Shizuka?"
Tomoko snapped out of it and came to Josuke’s side, reaching out in the area of his hovering hand. When she felt fabric beneath her fingertips, she pulled the little girl into a hug. It was fumbling and awkward, considering she couldn't see her, but that didn’t matter.
“Shizuka, sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Tomoko said with a strained voice. Slowly, the structures around them, the floor and the furniture, faded back into sight. Though Shizuka continued crying, her little hands came up to clutch at the woman's shirt and she buried her tear soaked face in her shoulder. Tomoko just kept repeating 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry'.
“I probably just traumatized her.” Tomoko lamented, anxiously pacing the kitchen. Josuke sat at the table, folding clean laundry and placing in the basket.
“I think you’re exaggerating, mom." He sighed. Earlier, after a couple minutes of comforting, Shizuka stopped crying and calmed down enough so that everything around her became completely visible again. Her body however, remained transparent for the rest of the time she was awake. Watching her toothbrush appear to hover in midair and move back and forth as she brushed her teeth was surreal.
"I'm sad to say it’s probably not the first time something like this has happened to her.” Josuke said, and he did have a point. From what they'd been told, Shizuka still had almost no control over her stand ability. Just like when she was a baby, Achtung Baby activated instinctively, and the strength of its effect corresponded with her level of distress. The only exception was when she slept, during which time her body and everything in direct contact with her skin remained invisible until the moment she woke up. Joseph theorized that it was a defense mechanism.
"It's not really like you to act like this, mom. You know you're amazing with kids, right? Your students adore you."
"Yeah, I know… but it's different with her." She sighed. Josuke didn't have to question any further. This situation was different. Shizuka was different.
That night, Tomoko awoke to a knocking on her bedroom door. Startled, she sat up quickly and looked around. Josuke hadn't knocked on her door at night since he was a small child and it took a moment for her half conscious brain to remember that there was a different small child in the house now.
She glanced over at her alarm clock to see it was 2 am, then quietly called out.
"Shizuka?"
The knob turned and the door slowly creaked open. A floating set of purple pajamas peeked through the crack.
"Higashikata-san… can I sleep in here… please?" Shizuka whispered, barely audible, no lips to be read.
"Of course you can, sweetie." Tomoko replied. She scooted to one side of the bed to make room for the girl climbing in with her. Tomoko hadn't expected Shizuka to settle in as close to her as she did, and facing her. When she pulled the covers up over her little body, the only thing Tomoko could see was the imprint of her head in the pillow. Carefully, she brought her hand towards that spot until she felt soft hair under her palm.
It felt like Shizuka may have flinched, but in the moonlight streaming through the window, the glint on strands of her black hair began the shine.
The girl's visage materialized downwards starting from Tomoko's hand, like water being poured over her head. When her face filled in, she was averting her eyes shyly, but her expression was soft and tired. Tomoko stroked the girls hair until her eyes closed and she fell asleep.