CH330

CH329
Ryuu 
 
If her acceptance of what I did and how, or at least her silence about it, weren’t enough to draw me back in everything, the memories would have been.  
They weren’t the kind of memories that meant I had lived them, but they felt just as real. Sometimes there were just little feelings, like a turn of phrase that would creep into my mind that felt right but also out of place. Sometimes it was a scent or a sensation that made my scales ripple beneath my skin and threaten to rise from beneath the tattoos. 
But then, sometimes when I looked at her—really looked—I’d get these flashes that felt like more than memories. They felt older, heavier, like fragments of another life drifting up through the thin veneer of this one, breaking through. It made the air between us hum and my whole body sing with a yearning to complex and near overwhelming to ignore.  
Once, while she dozed, I sat beside her and caught myself reaching for her hand without even thinking. I stopped before I touched her, fingers hovering just above her skin, and something flickered behind my eyes. A voice. A name. A promise.  
It was maddening that just as I reached for it, it would melt away into nothing. 
I got Yusuke to keep looking into her past. I didn’t want her to know, though I was sure she suspected that I was. It wasn’t mistrust. I just needed to understand and I could tell she just wasn’t in a position to talk about it yet.  
Yusuke didn’t turn up much more than he had before, to my dismay, so I told him to ensure that Adele was paying her fines and her interest in one go as I headed into her room. She was awake, curled up in my jacket with it buttoned all the way up. She seemed pale. She must have had a nightmare.  
“That’s the jacket I was looking for this morning,” I said, coming in and setting the tower of food on the table. “Care to trade?” 
Her eyes were glossy, but she nodded, unbuttoning it and sliding it off as I slid off the one I wore. As I handed it to her, her gaze dropped to my wrist and her eyes lit up. She caught my hand gently, staring at the bracelet there.  
I was frozen. It was the first time that she’d ever initiated touching me, and the first time anyone had really taken an interest in the bracelet, though I wore it relatively often.  
“Did you make that yourself?”  
I looked down at it, lips twitching at the sight of it. Woven leather and obsidian beads, scratched and worn with time, but still whole.  
“…Yeah,” I said after a beat. “A project, with my younger brother.” 
Her eyes lit up like she knew something, like she’d just pulled a thread she hadn’t even meant to.  
But before she could say more, I leaned forward, cupping her chin. Her eyes were tired. Dark circles. She hadn’t slept peacefully the night before. I’d been away. I supposed she’d woken up alone and probably watched the door until she couldn’t stay awake any longer.  
“You should get more rest, Ren.”  
I kept my voice even, but my pulse was racing.  
“Probably.” She dropped her gaze. “But... can we eat first? Maybe we could... I mean if you wanted to talk about your younger brother?” 
“Which one?” 
She smiled, sitting back while I pulled out the containers. “Which ever one annoys you the most.” 
“Sano,” I grinned. “But only because we’re closer in age. Kaito is still young enough to just be adorable.” 
I settled in beside her bed, relaxing. “He doesn’t ask for much other than quality time.” I lifted my hand. “The bracelet thing being one of many such outings.” 
“It sounds like a lot of fun. Do they match?” 
“We do indeed have matching bracelets. He wanted to wear his today and thus I am wearing mine. As is Sano.” I shook my head. “Though he makes a whole fuss about it. He wouldn’t deny Kaito anything.” 
“Little brother privileges.” 
I nodded. There was that. But there was also the fact that we were basically Kaito’s parents, since there was little chance that he would ever remember much of them.  
She nodded. “I can see you as an older brother. What about the other people I saw you with? Are they family too?” 
I should have nodded “Family of a sort. Yusuke has been my best friend since I was a kid. And his sister, Ara, is a troublemaker, bar none. But she helps run the family business. They are... as much family as I have had since our parents died... save the illustrious Lady Haruka.” 
She went still. “Oh, I—” 
“She knows exactly where you are. She's the one who called me, actually. She made it clear that you would have your job as soon as you were ready to come back and get it.”  
Though I didn't want her working anyway. I didn't see the need for it. If she really needed to work for something to do, I could find her something else to do, but in terms of the safest things to do in the city that would not cause trouble or draw interest, it was probably the safest thing for her. 
“I unfortunately promised to have dinner with them this evening—” 
“Oh, don't be ridiculous. You've already been here so much. You should spend time with your family. I'll be fine.” 
She dropped her gaze to her hands, clenching them and unclenching them. She only did that when she was trying to be considerate. I hated it, but I shook my head. 
“I’ll come back if it’s not too late after.” She smiled gratefully at me then looked away, almost scowling as her face reddened with a flush. “How about a game of chess before I go?” 
She wrinkled her nose at me. “One game?” 
I grinned at her. “Do you really think I'm going to let you win so easily? Best two out of three at minimum.” 
“Deal.” 
“Now, how about you tell me exactly how you got to be so scrappy?” I settled in my chair with my bowl of food. “From what I was told, you put up a hell of a fight.” 
She smiled and took away. Her eyes turned distant, and her lips twitched into a smile.  
“My father...” She tilted her head, “and necessity. I didn’t grow up easily... and being in and out of shelters made me get better quickly.” 
I nodded. “Tell me about your Dad.” 
Her eyes brightened. “He was hilarious and very kind.” 
The longer I listened to her talk, the lighter her voice seemed. She sounded younger, less jaded, and her eyes sparkled with memories as she told me about her father. It was good to see her like this. But there was something about what she was saying that was poking and prodding at the back of my mind. From what I had been able to turn up about her family, about her father, she wasn't telling the truth. Or rather, she wasn't telling the truth that I could find, and that was intriguing. 
After all, there was no way a benevolent doctor would have been running a company that would have caught Hotaru’s eyes.  
So who exactly was she talking about?