章 52: Chapter.52: Truth
In their room, Rumi woke from her sleep to see her brother wasn't there. She almost panicked thinking he was gone till Tsurara nestled her face for comfort.
"Don't worry little one. Master is only eating with the others. He said he'll be back once he's done." Rumi was shocked to see Tsurara talking now, the feeling of shock went away quickly though as she held her and began petting the soft fur on Tsurara's head.
Rumi put her down to stretch her arms out and go get a snack herself, she could hear her stomach growling loud to where even Tsurara was chucking at her.
"Tsu-Chan, can you tell Onii-Chan I went to get a snack if he comes in here before me." Tsurara nodded her head and went back to taking her nap.
Rumi went to the mess hall where she was given a yakisoba sandwich and a bottle of milk. Koutetsu wasn't there, she missed him leave earlier when she used the restroom before heading inside the mess hall. She went to eat her food at the table when she saw Megumi eating her meals by herself. As usual, she was ill-mannered in her eating and like always covered her food with mayonnaise and hot sauce. Everyone who was still in the dining room was disgusted with her sight, as always she didn't care what people thought of her, her priority was eating the food not the opinions of others.
Megumi finished off her sukiyaki bowl letting out a loud breath before making her way to the pork buns when she noticed Rumi sitting across from her giving off a gleeful smile.
"Huh? Rumi? What are you doing here, shouldn't you be with your brother?" Megumi asked her surprised Koutetsu left her alone.
"Sensei, you have sauce on your face." Rumi pointed to her own face to show Megumi where it was. Megumi touched her cheek, she saw the sauce on her fingers. Megumi felt embarrassed and wiped it off making Rumi giggle at how silly she looked.
"Oh little one. Can't you call me Onee-Sama?" She said with a playful voice. Rumi didn't answer she ate her sandwich in response. "*sigh* Guess not. You and brother are very similar ya know. Thank god you don't have his attitude."
Rumi looked up at Megumi as she continued eating her pork buns.
"Nay, Sensei, what was Onii-Chan like when he was a kid?" Rumi asked. Megumi looked at her hesitant to answer at first not wanting to tell her Koutetsu's past without his permission.
"Maybe you should ask him that. It's not really my place to talk about it." Megumi didn't want to tell her because she remembered when they trained all the hate and pain in his eyes during those days. She didn't want Rumi to follow that path. Rumi put her sandwich down, she gave a look of innocence and longing. She wanted to know more about her brother, but the Major refused to tell her anything. Even the info she could get in the records was very little, Major Komon purposely left things out to keep his history clear from others. Save for the medical records she had no control over, Rumi wanted to know more about him.
"Please. I want to know how he was. He looked so empty before saving me and there's something I haven't told him, I want to but I'm afraid he'll do something bad for my sake if I do. Please tell me, Onee-Sama."
Megumi felt an arrow hit her heart. Rumi was asking her with such determination to know about his childhood. Megumi couldn't win, it was the cuteness that got her, the child innocence she had to know the truth for the right reasons. She sat her half-eaten pork bun down to explain everything, from when Akane died, to Mana leaving before Rumi's birth, the days of training, everything up until she left when the military school let her go. Rumi sat quietly hearing everything with her hands held together tight. She was trying to hold back looking sad hearing everything Koutetsu went through.
She had a hard time recovering when Shiro came after her and Mana. There were times Rumi had night terrors from it, even wetting herself at one point because of how afraid she was. She recovered hearing hope when she remembered her brother was out there after her trauma didn't interfere with her memories for the short time it was messing with her head. Major Komon talked more about Koutetsu to her against her better judgment because it helped Rumi recover faster before any permanent mental scaring could be done.
She told her only the important parts before she ran away, even showing her the video of his obstacle course challenge when he unlocked his blue flames. His improvement over the time he stayed at the school in getting his powers under control from the Esper mind strength and physical superiority to the Caster's magic control, sparked her to recover more which lead to her True Skill Darwin helping her mind to asses how to handle trauma better and what to do to when it would creep on her.
"Cruel, it's too cruel." She said sobbing rubbing her eyes. Megumi felt bad for her, she was afraid this would happen if she told her everything. Megumi patted her head with a gentle face to calm her, it was Deja Vu for her when she was training Koutetsu. Megumi felt warmth now that the Bloody Reina personality was gone, it was new territory for her to be honest with.
When she was with Koutetsu she tried her best to feel the same, it was more difficult during those times as she still had that unquenchable thirst for fighting making her emotions hard to distribute evenly. But for now, she wanted to be a big sister for Rumi, more so she wanted to know the details of her birth and why Mana became a surrogate, something about the details didn't add up.
She had passed by Koutetsu before the attack happened to ask about Rumi and where she came from. Even his explanation sounded far-fetched, there was no way a mom recovering from trauma would just suddenly up and leave her child behind to help a childless couple. There was more to it, and she wanted to know.
"Rumi, there's something I want to ask. And you need to be honest, because if you lie to me then I can't trust you to stay with your brother anymore. Tell me, what really happened to your mom and why did she leave Koutetsu to be a surrogate." Rumi looked up at Megumi as she said this. She could see in her eyes that if she lied Megumi would do something to punish her and take her away from Koutetsu. She didn't want that, she lost Mana already, and losing her brother would be too much. Megumi grabbed a large beer to drink waiting for Rumi to talk, even when she drank her beer and ate a meat bun in front of Rumi she never took her eyes off her for a minute. Rumi knew she couldn't lie, even with Darwin, Megumi would definitely win against her without effort.
"Ok, I'll tell you. But please, don't say anything to Onii-Chan. He won't be able to stay calm if he hears this." Rumi pleaded to Megumi. She didn't want to tell Koutetsu the truth because he would probably end up killing the women who got ahold of Mana. Megumi nodded while she chewed on her food, Rumi took in a deep breath as she tried to tell the story without emotionally breaking herself in the process.
"When Momma was trying to get better she went to a support group for people who had survived horrible things. Momma said she was doing good talking with the people and the counselor, but she didn't know it was a bad group in disguise. Momma didn't know but the counselor was playing tricks on her, she said there were days she didn't remember going to the group, and she didn't remember the names or faces of the others in her group save for two women. The women were bad people, they did something to Momma to make her leave Onii-Chan against her will. Momma doesn't know what they did but she said she felt like she had no will of her own, like she had to help them out even though she didn't want to."
Megumi didn't like where this was going. She knew Mana left abruptly, but Koutetsu didn't question it because he wanted her to recover on her own without him meddling more than he did at the obstacle course. But hearing this, she knew this was a trap right off the bat.
"What else happened?" Megumi asked as calmly as she could be.
"Momma said they told her to leave with them, leave Onii-Chan behind. She did as she was told obediently, she left with them to their home in secluded place. Momma was made to take a bunch of tests and medicines, she was feed well to stay healthy, and was not allowed to leave the house. They saved money for her to stay saying she would be rich and free after she helped them out, but Momma had to give them a boy. They wanted a boy not another girl in their family, since momma gave birth to Onii-Chan they said she was perfect for them. Momma got pregnant with me, she was given a lot of shots they made for her, but when the doctors found out I was a girl after all that the mean ladies decided to get rid of momma. That contract they wrote for her, it was only if she got a boy, they said they would make her forget the bad the things they did and she be rich after it with no bad memories of everything that happened so she couldn't sue them for what they did. Since no boy was resulted the contract they wrote was no longer needed as an insurance policy, they wanted her to disappear and start again with someone else. They had the power to do so and make it look like it was a natural accident. But we were saved, a really nice Onee-Chan helped us. She was really pretty, she helped momma escape and gave her all the money they promised for her along with the copy of the contract."
'Someone helped Mana escape? If what Rumi is saying is true then that means it has to be someone with very high connections, highly intelligent enough to make a legal contract that would avoid suspicion of foul play with her mental health, and the ability to manipulate her memories that's diabolical in the extreme. But who is the woman that helped her out, I'll need to ask that as well. Just a hint could help me identify who she is and why they would help Mana.' Megumi pondered this question heavily.
"Who saved you Rumi, did your Momma say what she looked like exactly? Was there anything she was wearing or using that was out of the ordinary?" Megumi asked her so she could have the details needed to identify Rumi's savior.
"Hmm, she was tall, I think she was around the same height as Onii-Chan or an inch shorter than what momma described in her memories. She had short black hair with colored tips, I think momma said they were like rainbow-colored tips. She had on an overcoat that was white with a crest on the shoulders, it had a crucifix with a crying woman's face in the middle. I think momma said she carried a wooden sword with her like a bokken. From what Momma said she told her that the reason she was helping was because she was going to destroy her family and their sins. After that momma went into hiding because she was afraid they come after her and it would make Onii-Chan cry. She raised me and wanted to come back to Onii-Chan when she felt were safe. But then the bad pale lady came and took momma. Komon Oba-San came for me and then helped me know more about Onii-Chan. The bad ladies heard momma was gone and about my skill, they wanted to take me back but thanks to their own contract that the nice Onee-Chan gave to momma they couldn't take me back right away." Rumi looked at Megumi, she had tears coming down her eyes. Megumi kept her composure not looking angry or sad for her sake. Rumi needed the feeling that someone was on her side.
"I wanna….I wanna stay with Onii-Chan. I don't wanna go to those bad ladies. I wanna stay with Onii-Chan. I wanna…..I wanna…. I wanna stay with Onii-Chan." Her tiny hands were trying to keep up with wiping off her tears. Skill or not she was still a little kid, intelligence aside, human emotions were still stronger than that. She was only five years old, she didn't need to be in any part of this. Megumi held her head as Rumi tried to stop crying.
"Rumi, you're secret's safe with me. But, you'll have to tell your brother eventually. He must miss her just as bad as you do. To Remember, she was his only Momma left too. The pale lady took his other one away fr om him just like she did now to you. Go to himhm and spend as much time with him as possible. You don't have to be afraid of being honest with your feelings." Rumi felt comfort in hearing that. The soft-spoken way Megumi talked was like hearing the Buddha speak words of love. She had come a long way since her Bloody Reina days, she was able to embrace her softer emotions better now thanks to Koutetsu ridding her of the bloodlust. Rumi got up from the table to hug Megumi, she was taken by surprise but hugged her back. Looking down at her she saw the image of young Koutetsu when he was happy that she gave him his gloves for his birthday. It brought her much joy seeing that look since it was the first time she did something nice for someone other than herself.
Rumi grabbed some sweets before she ran off to meet her brother back in their room, Megumi stayed behind saying she was going to finish her food. Rumi waved goodbye to Megumi with Megumi doing the same back keeping her composure. When Rumi was out of the room Megumi took another sip of her beer before she crushed the bottle in her hands. The glass and liquid dripping down her hand, her teeth clenched in anger at hearing everything. The description of who saved Mana was all she needed to know who exactly the people where who took advantage of Mana.
'Those sons of b*****s!!! I can't believe they would stoop that low, even lower than that old hag Yozora would go to. The Sasaki family, that's the ones who did it. Just from what Rumi said that was the oldest daughter, Sasaki Kotori who saved Mana. Kotori hates her family, she became estranged from them when she joined the Church of Jeanne and became their lead warrior saint. If anyone would help Mana it is her. It's no surprise they targeted Mana too, she birthed a male Prime Caliber, other than her mental stability at the time she would have been perfect for using as a surrogate since the current leader of the family is sterile and her partner has miscarried many times before. I know Koutetsu said that Mana had miscarried before him too but she was healthier after that like his birth fixed her. Taking advantage of her wouldn't be a surprise, rich couples did that a lot with teenage runaways before it became a hassle. But taking advantage of broken women by messing with their minds and making plans to cover their tracks, they thought of everything without any empathy. Damn them! How dare they do this to my tiger cub, I don't care if my flames have gotten weaker now and that I'm not as strong as I once was. I'll burn them all to ashes if they ever come for them, no one is ever gonna hurt my cub or his sibling ever again, I swear it!'
Megumi squeezed her hand hard not caring about the tiny pieces of glass digging into her skin the tighter her fist was being made. She witnessed the pain he went through, even causing it more when she ran her hand through his heart during their match. Her personality and emotions didn't just change, they made her feel the guilt of the pain she caused to him by her own hands. Megumi would make it her resolve that if the Sasaki family did come for them, she be there by Koutetsu's side ready to kill at least one of them if needed.
Back in Koutetsu's room, he was watching an episode of Windbreaker to distract himself when Rumi walked in carrying the two custard-filled pastries for them to eat. Rumi jumped up on the bed to give Koutetsu the sweet snack while she ate hers watching the episode alongside him.
The two continued to be silent as the moment of them being near each other was enough for them to relax their troubled feelings about their current situation. Rumi began to remember Mana, and how she kept up a smile even when she was in pain. She was looking at a picture of herself with Akane and young Koutetsu, Rumi had asked her who they were when she told her the answer. A moment when Mana wasn't just honest but was happy again after everything she went through.
"Momma, who's that?"
"That's me, that's my, was my wife Akane, and that. That's your big Brother."
"My brother?"
"Hmm mmh. His name is Koutetsu. One day when you're older and we're safe I'll take you with me to meet him. You'll love him, he's my pride and joy just like you are. You're both my treasures, I can't wait to make you both breakfast in the morning together. I can't wait for that."
Rumi closed her eyes to hide her eyes from watering again, holding tight to Koutetsu as she continued watching the show with him through the rest of the night.
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