The Pains of Guilt

Chapter 7

Twilight POV

As I pulled up to our destination, I realised that I have no clue on what I'm going to say to Toshi. It's too late to back out now so I might as well see this through to the end. It’s not as if I had a choice because the wonderful thing that I'm supposed to call my brain decided to make my legs move without my permission and before I knew it, I was ringing the doorbell. Thanks a lot brain.

Dear merciful Moon Goddess, please don't let he-who-will-forever-remain-dead-to-me answer. My prayer was kind of answered when Toshi answered. He really grew up. Hell, he's really been hitting it up in the growth department. He's got the five inches that make me have to look up when I have to talk to him and a little on the lanky side but he'll probably grow out of it. He should be around 13 now. But at least he grew out of looking like a certain someone a lot. Sure, I can't pick him up like I used to, but it's a small price to pay. I mean, I can but that would be awkward and look very weird.

"Hi, how you doing?"

Did I seriously just start things off with that after I practically disappeared without a word and show up three years later with his niece, the same one that he never knew existed? Wow, ok. Seriously, if my oh so lovely brain decided to make me move unwilling then it should have at least had the decency to come up with better things for me to say while it was at it. Either way, the damage has been done.

"Mom!"

Puberty is clearly not showing him any mercy with that sort of but not quite scratchy sounding voice. I actually had to keep myself from laughing. It would’ve also been a little mean since he didn’t ask for that to happen.

"Gwammy!" Natsumi exclaimed happily as soon as their mom came to the door.

"What a nice surprise. Come in. Something told me that this is what Takumi was talking about. You don't mind if I take her off your hands for a while, right?"

"Not at all."

I was left with an extremely dumb stricken Toshi. I should probably explain everything before he freaks out or something. But where to start?

"Look Mama, Gwammy put pwetty wibbons on hair."

To say it was adorable would be an understatement. But then my mood took a complete 180 turn when you know who joined the scene. You know that moment when someone enters the room and everyone goes quiet? This was one of those moments.

"Mama, him papa?" She asked.

"Yes he is." Unfortunately,

Takumi POV

She moved from behind Twilight’s legs and hesitantly walked over to me. I bent down to her level.

"Hello there."

She didn't respond, only looked at her feet nervously.

"Mama said you're Papa."

"Yes I am." I smiled at her.

"Ok. Look lot like I or does me look lot like you?"

"Whichever one you want it to be." I chuckled. "Who's your friend?" I asked, gesturing to the minion plushie she was clutching.

"Fwank. Papa, can you make Mama happy so me can get little bwothew or sissew?”

"Uh..."

"Don't look at me. As if I'd put that idea into her head."

"Look who decided to visit us for once." My dad said.

"Gwampy!" She ran towards him.

"There's my favourite one-year-old." He picked her up. "You're growing up fast. I could've sworn you were only a few days old yesterday."

"Wait, you guys knew?" I asked. I’m trying to not get angry but it’s hard not to when you find out that your own parents were also keeping something like this from you. Twilight I can understand, sort of, but my parents? Not at all. Especially my mom, who looked very much guilty and also couldn’t look me in the eye.

"Toshiro, take Natsumi outside." He said.

Twilight POV

"Yes." His dad answered calmly. "Since the few weeks before she was born."

"That explains why you guys were acting weird sometimes. But why..."

"Because I made them promise not to." I cut him off. "It was a little unfair on my part so you have no right to be angry at them. If you want to be angry at someone then be angry at me. At least the feeling will be mutual and it wouldn't matter to me anyway."

"Why?"

"Oh, I don’t know." I rolled my eyes. "Maybe it’s because I obviously hate you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to check up on Toshi and Natsumi because I really can’t stand to be in the same room as you."

What I found was an interesting sight. Toshi and Natsumi were just sitting there in silence, specifically an awkward silence. They probably didn't even know what to do with each other.

"Hey." I sat down in between them and Natsumi rested her head on my lap.

He only hummed into response and kinda looked a little awkward. But given all the information he had to take in, who can blame him?

"Tsumi, you can go back to papa if you want."

"Ok." She got up and went back inside.

I was about to try and lighten the mood until he decided to speak up.

"So... I’ve had a niece this whole time?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I would've told you sooner if it wasn't for the possibility that Sora would've forced to you tell her everything and then spill the beans later on."

"That's a little more understandable. It’s kinda weird that I became an uncle at 10. You don't mind if I ask you something, right?"

"Not at all."

"If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to know why you and my brother broke up. He didn't give any of us a clear explanation so I was hoping that you would."

"I'm not surprised that he didn't. It would have probably sent your parents to an early grave and you wouldn't have seen him the same way ever again. All I can say is that he knew what he was doing when he chose Matako instead of me."

"Did you say Matako?"

"Yes."

He had this weird look on his face. If I had to describe it, I'd say it was like a cross between sympathy and uncertainty. Whatever he's thinking can't be good and something tells me that I don't want to know. But there's a part of me that, for some strange reason, wants to. I'll most likely regret this but I have to know.

"Am I missing something?" I asked.

"You don't know?"

I shook my head. What am I supposed to know that's so bad that he's acting this way?

"I am so sorry."

"For what?"

"That's the name of the girl he proposed to a week ago, they're getting married at the end of the year. And I’m pretty sure that she's the same one that you're talking about."