Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Lion Heart ❯ That Little Furball! ( Chapter 2 )

Lion Heart: Chapter Two: That Little Furball!

***

"Oi! Satoru-san!" a man with a navy blue uniform called from the front gate. He was seated on a bicycle with a hefty bag slung over his shoulder, holding in his hand several half sheets of white and red paper.

Satoru glanced up from his sweeping and smiled at the mailman. "Good afternoon, Michii-san. Anything for this family?"

"Yes, you have mail. Not a lot, and forgive me for prying, but it seems that you have a letter here with no return address." The postman Michii offered the bundle to the eldest brother with a laugh on his face.

"I'll still take it," Satoru told the mailman as the envelopes passed from the older man's hand to the young adolescent's. "Surely it's not a ransom note."

"You're getting better at making jokes," Michii teased kindly. As Satoru was shuffling through the mail, seeing what the family received, Michii began speaking with a less lighthearted tone, "How is your family doing without your father? Is your mother doing any better?"

Satoru sighed. "Mother's been doing worse. We're all trying to be supportive of her."

"I see," Michii nodded. "Well, give your mother my regards. See you later, Satoru-san."

As Michii peddled down the road, Satoru opened the envelope that the mailman had been referring to earlier: the one without a return address. Awkwardly enough, it was addressed to him--not the Shidou family, not his mother or father. That was the only assurance he had as he began reading, but that assurance trampled away after he finished reading.

Satoru-san,

Tell your mother and... the family that I will not be able to come back when I promised. Also, please tell Kakeru-san that I'm very sorry. I just cannot return yet.

~Your father

P.S. Don't expect me around Christmastime, either. I fear that-

"Father," Satoru shook his head, neatly folding the letter back up and replacing it in the envelope, "you're only two weeks late--for Hikaru's birthday."

***

It was sunset by the time Masaru was informed of the letter their father sent.

He had no idea what his older brother had been thinking, but somehow he managed to convince Masaru that it was time that Kakeru and Hikaru found out why their father really left.

Satoru had said that to spare them too much questioning, they would tell them the truth when the two eldest siblings told them that their father wasn't coming home at all for the rest of the year--perhaps even longer. Since Satoru had already told their mother, it was going to be even easier for him to share the news with the two youngest siblings; unfortunately, for once, Masaru had not been with Satoru at that time. Telling Kakeru and Hikaru was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done in his ten years of life.

Kakeru and Hikaru were knelt obediently in front of Satoru and Masaru. The middle brother was the only one of the four standing as he wandered from the window to the door and back to the group again.

Why isn't Satoru telling them? Masaru stopped his pacing at the window and glanced back worrisomely at his younger brother and sister. Isn't this supposed to be easy for him? The tension is growing here... and I know what's going on!

As Masaru shuffled to the door, Satoru calmly said, "Masaru, you're making us anxious. Why don't you sit down?"

"You were waiting for me, weren't you?" Masaru muttered lightly, sitting cross-legged on the floor next to his elder brother. He was still an outcast.

Once again, there was silence, and Masaru wondered what Satoru was planning. This was supposed to be as easy as telling Kakeru and Hikaru what was going on with their father, either comforting or calming them down, and then go back to their daily chores. Satoru shouldn't even have to think about choosing the right words to say; he was good at picking the right words randomly without little, if any thought at all.

It was little Hikaru who first gathered up her courage. "Um, what did you want to talk to us about? We aren't in trouble, are we?"

Masaru chuckled. "I don't know. What did Kakeru-kun force you to do today that would get you two into trouble?"

The eight-year-old Kakeru gave Masaru a dirty look that spelled, "Why is it always me?"

"Masaru," Satoru broke into the lighthearted mood with a darker tone, "I think it would be wise to tell them what's up with Father."

Kakeru and Hikaru tensed with discomfort, and Masaru tensed with irritation. "You're mean, Satoru! Why do I have to do it? You're the oldest one! You're the one who got that letter in the mail this afternoon!"

"Letter?" Kakeru asked meekly.

"Masaru, please."

"Wha- wha- why?" Masaru ceased his whining once he realized that he had no choice. This must be another test of Satoru's! I must pass! You really are mean, older brother! "Um, we got a letter in--no, wait. Satoru got a letter in the mail today from Father, and, well he's not going to be back at all--"

Kakeru jumped to his feet. "What?! You mean he isn't going to be back even for Christmas? Not for my next year's birthday when I turn nine? When Hikaru-chan turns seven? He--he's not going to be back ever?!"

"I didn't say--"

"It's bad enough that he broke his promise!"

"But--"

"Why isn't he? WHY? Did I do something wrong? Does he hate me now?"

"Kakeru-kun!" Masaru stood up quickly, resting his hands on Kakeru's shoulders to calm him down. The youngest brother already had tears streaming down his face. "Kakeru-kun, please listen. I was just getting to that part, and Father will be back! We just don't know when."

"He--he still broke his promise," Kakeru sobbed as he slumped to the floor again.

Masaru took a quick moment to examine Hikaru's condition. Her body was still apprehensive, but her face was covered with sorrowful features.

He struggled during his search to find the right words to wipe the tears off Kakeru's face and to prevent the tears from coming from Hikaru's eyes, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't! The worst that could happen was Kakeru hating Hikaru for their father leaving and Hikaru blaming herself; the best that could happen was Kakeru understanding and Hikaru... blaming herself.

There was no way to prevent the tears coming from Hikaru's eyes. It was not possible.

"All we know is that Father won't be back for the rest of the year," Masaru mumbled, the volume of his voice decreasing every three words. "And why he won't be back, uh, we weren't entirely honest with you as to why he even left."

"Huh?" Kakeru and Hikaru stared at Masaru intently just as the middle brother looked away. He didn't care if he was going to fail Satoru's "test"; he just didn't want to be the cause of Kakeru or Hikaru's grief.

"Satoru," he whispered, "I can't. I can't tell them. Please. Please do it for me."

When Satoru's silence indicated a positive, Masaru trudged to the sliding paper door. Since all the rooms in the house, with the exception of the kitchen and the bathroom, had doors to each other, the inner hallways, and the backyard, he found himself in the garden of the Shidou Kendo School. Masaru sat down on the wooden planks that separated the rooms from the garden, pressing his palm to his chin.

I hate this. Why do I have to be so weak? Maybe if I had kept going on with kendo instead of giving up on it, I would have been stronger. Or maybe if I meditated like Satoru does. I have no good qualities about me! I'm useless. Useless!

"He WHAT?" Kakeru's voice ripped through the quiet void Masaru wasn't quite enjoying. Hikaru's tiny gasp was barely noticeable over Kakeru's outburst.

He told them. Please, Kakeru-kun, it's not Hikaru-chan's fault! Please realize that! Satoru, I hope you got to finish your sentence.

"He left because Hikaru-chan beat him in kendo? That can't be the only reason! Is it?"

"I..." Hikaru muttered, her voice quavering.

Hikaru-chan, Masaru threw both of his hands to his head in frustration. It's not your fault! It's not your fault!

"It really is the only reason?! That's it? That's no good reason! That... he... I... I HATE HIM!"

Masaru heard the thumping of footsteps behind him and simmer down to his right. He turned and saw Kakeru running towards his room, and behind the middle brother, he heard Satoru yell, "Kakeru! Come back!"

As he jumped up to his feet, Masaru took a glance into his older brother's room. Hikaru was shocked, and Satoru knew he had to stay to comfort her. The look on the eldest Shidou brother's face pleaded for Masaru to talk to Kakeru while he tried to calm Hikaru's heart.

Masaru nodded and, without further hesitation, darted after his little brother.

"Kakeru-kun! Wait!"

***

Thank you, Masaru.

Satoru sighed as he looked at his little sister. "Hikaru..."

The six-year-old trembled with her fists clenched tightly against her thighs. "He left because of me? It's because of that day when I beat him... he left. Kakeru-oniisama..."

Hikaru choked on her words and shifted her gaze to the floor. Satoru respected her privacy and kept his distance, but he was already close enough to touch her if he needed to.

"Hikaru, don't blame yourself. It isn't your fault," Satoru said sincerely. "Father has his own sense of honor that you probably can't understand at your age."

"But Kakeru-oniisama..."

"He doesn't hate you."

Hikaru snapped her head up, her face wet with tears. "But Satoru-oniisama, Kakeru-oniisama hates Father! He hates him and it's all my fault! It's my fault that Father broke his promise, it's my fault he left... Kakeru-oniisama should hate me! Everything that happened..."

Satoru placed a hand on Hikaru's head, shuffling her hair a bit. "It's not your fault, Hikaru. Father left because," he hesitated; did he really want to make up a white lie? "Father left because he wanted to provide a better challenge for you. He couldn't do that here since you are the strongest person in the family; you are the only one who could give him a challenge. He doesn't want to do that to himself, but to you so that you can become even stronger. None of us hate you, Hikaru. We all love you."

"But if I didn't beat him in kendo..."

"Father was proud of you that day. That was why he left."

Hikaru was silent. Satoru stood and headed for the door that led to the inner corridor of the house. "Come on, we should help Mother with dinner now."

"Um, Satoru-oniisama?"

Satoru turned back to his little sister, who was in the same position as he had left her. "Yes?"

"Maybe I should quit doing kendo," she said. "So that when Father comes back, he can beat me, and then he'll stay. Kakeru-oniisama wouldn't hate him, and Mother can be happy."

The eldest Shidou brother's frowned. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes."

"Hikaru, if I were you, I'd think this through a little more," Satoru suggested. "This may not be the wisest decision. Father may want you to keep practicing."

"But if I beat him again, he'll leave again!" Hikaru protested. "Kakeru-oniisama will hate him again and maybe this time, me too!"

Satoru sighed. "Hikaru, I strongly suggest that you think this over. If, by tomorrow morning, you still want to do this, I won't keep you from doing it. But please, Hikaru, I want you to think about what you're doing."

Hikaru fidgeted with her pants. "Promise not to tell Mother or Masaru-oniisama or Kakeru-oniisama until tomorrow morning?"

The eldest Shidou brother smiled. "I promise."

***

"Oi, Kakeru-kun," Masaru peeked into his little brother's room intently. It was empty, but Masaru knew he had seen Kakeru run in here. "Hey, little brother, I need to talk to you."

Nothing.

"Kakeru-kun, come out from wherever you are and talk to me!"

This time, Masaru was met with a sniffle, which seemed to have come out of the closet. Masaru tiptoed to the end of the closet that wasn't clogged up with a futon and toys (he wasn't in the mood to be bombarded) and threw open the rice paper door.

"Kakeru-kun!" the middle brother sang.

"Leave me alone," Kakeru snapped from the bottom shelf of the closet. He was huddled in the corner, hugging his knees tightly.

Masaru frowned. "How cold, Kakeru-kun! And just when I came to give you some brotherly comfort after what you just found out!" When the younger brother did not respond, Masaru crawled inside and sat next to his brother. "You know, you shouldn't have stormed out on Satoru like that. It was rude."

"If Father was really doing work business, I would've forgave him."

"Well, in a way, this is pretty much work..."

"No, it isn't!" Kakeru buried his head in the center of the ring his arms made. "He can come back anytime he wants to! He broke his promise on purpose! I hate him!"

"Kakeru-kun..."

"And why he left is just making Hikaru-chan feel bad!"

"It's not like you're making it better," Masaru scowled before realizing what he had just said. Whoops. It wasn't supposed to come out like that! "Um, well, because of your rudeness when you ran out of Satoru's room, Hikaru-chan thinks you hate her too!"

Kakeru brought his head up and glared at his older brother. "No, she doesn't."

"Hikaru-chan feels guilty because of you! Do you not feel any shame?" Masaru couldn't believe the words coming out of his own mouth. He was supposed to be comforting Kakeru, not making him feel bad! "Ah, well, Kakeru-kun, um, if Father had died, would you have felt the same way as you do now?"

"If he died, I wouldn't care."

"Don't think about now, think about before you knew why he left!"

Kakeru hesitated. "No," he muttered slowly. "But you and Satoru wouldn't have told us why he left if he had died, would you?"

"Well..."

Masaru didn't know the answer to that question, but he would bet anything that they wouldn't have. It wouldn't have mattered at that time.

But would Kakeru-kun really not care if Father died now?

"I don't... I'm not sure," Masaru admitted.

Kakeru nodded as if he seemed to understand, but by the concern on his face, Masaru could tell that something else was on his little brother's mind.

"Um, after dinner, I'll need to talk to you and Satoru," Kakeru finally said. "This is something I want to keep secret from Hikaru-chan until we get it--if we get it."

"Eh?"

***

The next day, while Hikaru was helping her mother do the laundry, the three Shidou brothers headed downtown to pick up a gift for Hikaru. On the way home, Masaru was the least pleased of the trio.

"I can't believe you actually agreed to this, Satoru."

"It makes Kakeru happy."

"And it's going to make Hikaru-chan happy, too!"

"You know, when Father gets home he's not going to like this."

"That's his fault for breaking his promise and hurting Hikaru-chan's feelings."

"Oh, so this is a form of revenge, is that it?"

"Masaru, watch where you're holding that bag. The food might spill out," Satoru warned.

Masaru pouted as he shifted the contents of the plastic bag. "Actually, I can't believe Mother even agreed to this. Is she seeking revenge against Father, too?" The gift yipped happily in response. "Ah, so she is, eh? How did you get to know such a thing?"

"Kakeru, wrap the end of the leash on your arm so that if he runs, we won't lose him."

"Okay."

Masaru frowned at his older brother. "Just because the pet store owner called the dog a "he" doesn't mean it is a "he"! Right, boy, girl, whatever you are?" Masaru said, petting the puppy in Kakeru's hands. "OUCH! You stupid furball! Ow ow ow..."

Kakeru laughed at his brother's misfortune. From the corner of his eyes, Satoru saw that the young puppy had claimed Masaru's hand as his lunch. "Look at that! He doesn't like you very much, Masaru!"

"We can tell easily if the dog is a girl or boy by looking at the bottom of his body," Satoru informed Masaru once he managed to get his hand free. "You can check if you want."

"Uh, no thanks. I'll just take your word for it." Masaru inspected his hand. "Good. Not bleeding. Say, what's its name going to be?"

Kakeru glanced at his brother curiously. "I thought we were going to let Hikaru-chan name him."

"Huh. Okay then. I guess I'm calling it "it" until we get home. Where are we going to keep him?"

"You just called him "him" instead of "it", Masaru," the youngest brother pointed out dangerously. "Well, why don't we keep him inside the house? I'm sure Mother wouldn't mind, and it would make Hikaru-chan extra happy!"

Satoru frowned. "Actually, Kakeru, we have to housetrain him before he can stay inside. We don't want him "using the bathroom" inside the house, do we? Since he's still a puppy, he doesn't know what's wrong from right yet. We'll have to train him."

"He has to stay outside? We should've bought him a doghouse," Kakeru said, glancing up at the sky momentarily. The youngest brother soon noticed that they were almost home and perked up with excitement once again. "Satoru! Please hold him for me. I have to get Hikaru-chan!"

Kakeru placed the brown puppy into Satoru's arms and freed his left arm of the tangled leash. As he darted off to the house, Masaru muttered, "Well, there's no turning back from here."

"You thought it was a good idea last night," Satoru pointed out, tying the leash around his arm.

"That was last night. I think Father may have been lying when he said that he was allergic to animals," Masaru pondered. "After all this stuff we bought, owning a pet might not be so easy. And a dog! Why not a cat? At least cats know where to use the bathroom at!"

"Masaru, we're home," Satoru told his younger brother once they reached the front gates of the Shidou household. Masaru huffed irritably while the two brothers waited for their younger siblings to come out.

They didn't have to wait much longer. Kakeru soon ran out of the home dragging a surprised Hikaru behind him.

"Wh- what's going on, Kakeru-oniisama?" Hikaru asked once the two younger siblings met up with the two older ones. Satoru took this moment to set the puppy down, and as if the canine knew what was going on, he immediately jumped on Hikaru, sending her to her back. "A... doggie? A doggie?! Is this for real, Satoru-oniisama?"

Kakeru laughed. "It's not your imagination, Hikaru-chan, I promise!"

Joyfully, Hikaru giggled as the puppy began licking her face. "Really?"

"I told you it would work," Kakeru sneered at Masaru playfully. The middle brother did not object for once; a grin was plastered on his face.

Satoru found that he, too, was smiling for the first time in almost three months. It felt good to see his little sister--his only sister--in her happiest mood.

"What's his name?" Hikaru asked as she sat up, petting her puppy's head who was sitting in her lap, wagging his tail blissfully.

The brothers exchanged glances, hoping that Hikaru wouldn't see. We know what she means, Satoru sent the mental thought to his two younger brothers, even though they'd never get it. We forgot that she treats animals just like humans.

"Eh? You guys forgot to ask his mother?"

It was Kakeru who first came up with something to say. "Of course we didn't forget to ask! His name is... uh... Hikari!"

"Gee, that's real original, naming the dog after Hikaru-chan," Masaru muttered. Satoru gave him a Look, but Hikaru was oblivious to what her ten-year-old brother had just said and the look that her fourteen-year-old brother gave him. Kakeru ignored Masaru completely.

"Hikari? That has the same meaning as my name!" Hikaru cheered. Hikari, the puppy, began bouncing in her lap and running around her before settling back down again. "Hm? You want to play with me? Okay!" She glanced at Satoru questioningly. "If it's okay with you."

Satoru smiled. "Of course it's okay. Let's stay inside the gate so that Hikari can get used to our house. Maybe next week the six of us will go down to the park together."

"Six of us?"

"Hikari and Mother included, of course."

Hikaru giggled in agreement and jumped to her feet. "Yeah! C'mon, Hikari, you want to play fetch? You don't know how? I've seen how some other kids and their doggies were doing it, and it's really easy! I'll teach you!" She glanced at Satoru, Masaru, and Kakeru once again. "Thank you, oniisama-tachi!"

As Hikaru ran with Hikari through the yard, Kakeru turned to them once again. "I told you it would work. After all, she always wanted a puppy, right?"

Satoru smiled as Masaru ruffled Kakeru's hair. "Summer vacation ought to be longer. I think you get smarter during break rather than at school!"

"At least I don't have trouble with my homework."

"OI! That's only because you're in third grade!"

"OW! Going on fourth next week! OW! Quit it!"

Satoru chuckled while Masaru and Kakeru continued to bicker. The worst that could've happened, as Masaru had warned him before they told the two younger siblings about their father, was Kakeru hating Hikaru for their father leaving. The least worst thing that could've happen was Hikaru blaming herself. While Hikaru still did--and consequently quit kendo--and Kakeru only hated their father, Satoru knew that the two children will be able to go on with their lives.

After all, that was all a man needed to get stronger.

So why wasn't their father putting his defeat in the past?

**To Be Continued**