Chapter Text
The rain continued to pour down outside, but she stood still in the cold hallway. Soaked to the skin, she had run all the way from school yet it seemed like all the adrenaline from the rush had deserted her. Her clothes were dripping wet -the doctor had wasted time by offering her a towel and a seat, but she'd refused - so the blonde couldn't help but shiver. The doctor kept talking to her, professional and attempting not to let his tiredness make him callous in his handling of her. Who cared what he said now? It was over. Her father was dead. Her precious father. What was she going to do now? The doctor's words mumbled and became nonsense. Collapsing in a dead faint, she vaguely thought that hospital floors were hard and cold. Otousan.. You promised you'd never leave me. Why'd you go..?
~.~
She woke up in a white room, her mother and brother hurrying to stand over her, asking her how she was, if she wanted a drink and other things that were pointless. Blinking her blue eyes a bit, she tried to focus and remembered what had happened. The memories hit her like the force of a truck. Taking deep breaths to try and calm herself, the dainty blonde merely shook her head, signalling she needed some time.
"Yamato... Things will get better, sweetheart." Yamato's eyes hardened as she glared weakly at her mother. Get better? How? Her mother could be so... Ugh, whatever. She pushed herself up (with the unwanted help of a red-eyed Takeru) and looked around. Finding her mobile, she fumbled to open it. The screen flashed brightly and told her it had only been three or so hours since she'd first arrived at the hospital. Three short hours that had changed her life completely. Time certainly was a fickle friend, wasn't it?
Yamato was released later that night after numerous tests, warnings about depression and she'd had to listen to the doctor tell her family again about the circumstances of her late father's death. Afterwards, Natsuko had dragged her tired body to what she called her new home. She'd scoffed and glared a bit more, but didn't have the will to fight. The blonde singer was on shaky grounds with her mother and as much as she loved her brother, they had two different personalities, two different sets of goals and plans for their lives. Living with them wouldn't work. Why take a chance at something you know you'd fail at?
But that was the position she was stuck in at the moment. It wouldn't be for too long, at least. She'd graduate it a month and then she could get a job and go her own way. Shifting, azure eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, still covered with glow in the dark stars from when a kid had used this room years ago. Putting her right arm behind her head, Yamato tried to sleep, but after waking up from dreams filled with happy memories for the third time, she turned her effort to staying awake and ignoring times that had passed.
~.~
A week later and Yamato still refused to leave the apartment. In a situation like this, Natsuko would usually call Hiroaki, but considering that was impossible now, she was stuck. That coupled with Yamato's distantly angry attitude hurt tremendously. She was hurt and needed to be brought back to her usual self - as a parent, it was Natsuko's duty to do so. But she had no idea how.
Sadly, neither did Takeru. Yamato wasn't even talking to her beloved brother, leading to more difficulties with the stubborn girl. However, despite the difficulties Yamato presented them with, Takeru had managed to glean small amounts of information from his stubborn sister. Naturally, she was distraught at the loss of her father. Even though he was often busy and they didn't speak much, the two had held a special and strong bond. She was also nervous. Yamato had banked on being able to live at home and only have a part-time job so she could focus on her band. Now, she had to choose between the 'right choice' of going to university and getting a real job, or following her heart and staying with her band.
The last bit of information had confused Takeru, so Natsuko had to explain. Yamato was a girl, yes, and Takeru knew that. Why was she only dressing like a girl now? The younger blonde hadn't know why she had always dressed as a boy and he had to treat his sister as though she was a brother, however. Even Yamato hadn't known until just before she had gone to summer camp all those years ago. The truth was that it was for the girls own protection. In his youth, Hiroaki hadn't been the most sensible and responsible person and he had never really grown out of that, to be honest. In his younger years, however, he'd gotten mixed up in the wrong crowd.
Takeru had whispered a question, "The Yakuza?", in a slightly awed and frightened way. The older woman could only nod. "He didn't do anything bad. Just some gambling debts and petty things. But your father tried to chew more than he could handle. In the end, they attempted to use me and threaten my safety. To win me back, he offered his first born girl. I have three brothers and am the only girl in my family in three generations; Hiroaki has a similar family situation. We never thought we'd have a girl. Well.. Really, we hadn't been dating that long and, to be honest, we never thought we would last. Actually, after that incident, we broke up and I told him I never wanted to speak to him again."
Her younger son nodded and thought for a moment. The younger blonde then noticed his sister attempting to hide around the corner. Natsuko confirmed she'd also seen her silently when Takeru pointed her out and the boy continued. "Why'd you get back together then?"
"We met again closer to when we were finishing out degrees. He'd seemed to have calmed down and offered to take me out as an apology. I obviously said yes. That was when we started our relationship again. Obviously, things went on from there. We were both dismayed when Yamato was born." Takeru's eyes widened and he started to speak, but he was quickly cut off by his mum. "Not because we didn't love her, not at all. We were so pleased, but how were we supposed to protect her? We ended up deciding to raise her as a boy. No one was any wiser to her true gender. All our relatives just thought we were protective and doting when we said we'd look after her and refused to let others be too close to her."
Smiling sadly, the tired looking woman finished her tale. "It worked for so many years. We had stopped being so paranoid. Yamato's so smart and she handles herself well. She never complained and understood the seriousness of the situation. Your sister is such an amazing person. I know I would have been so resentful and angry all the time. She never rebelled though."
"How'd they find out though? Otousan had been hurt really badly.. They would have been so angry. How do you know they won't come back?"
"I have no idea Takeru. I wish I did. I wish for so many things, but I can't change the past, no matter how much I want to. I doubt they'll come back. They got their revenge. Perhaps not in the way they wanted, but they got it nonetheless. Perhaps they'll think that this shock loss will hurt us just as much..? I wish I had the answers for you both."
Turning away from where she had been eavesdropping, Yamato stalked back to the tiny guest room. That was all old information - she hadn't learnt anything new. But she had been honest with Takeru when she told him she was going to dress more feminine from now on. Her father had died to keep her safe. It probably wasn't the smartest idea to taunt such evil bastards, but she had nothing to lose. She agreed with her estranged mother - they wouldn't be back. And if they were, she'd face the bastards head on.