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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Sept 13, 2010 21:55:50 GMT -5
Hoshi supposed he had known this was going to happen from the beginning, that he wouldn't have the courage to tell Hitoshi or Hitomi the truth, and they would end up inevitably finding out anyway. And that somehow, it was going to end up a thousand times worse than it needed to be.
And so Hoshi sat on his bed, his stomach tying itself in knots, trying to work up the guts to track down Ellie and tell her what was going on...before she heard it from someone else.
It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her. It wasn't even necessarily that he was afraid of how she would react, because a very significant part of him had faith that she really liked him, and that she would forgive him, even if it took a bit of time. But every time he so much as thought of telling her, he seized up, and immediately changed the subject.
He was supposed to meet Ellie in the lobby to go to lunch, and by now, he was about thirty minutes late. He kept trying to bring himself to pick up his wallet, but couldn't bring himself to move from where he sat on the bed.
Instead, the wallet lay there in the floor. Like the rest of his problems, a part of him rather hoped that if he just ignored it, it would fix itself on its own.
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 13, 2010 22:04:54 GMT -5
While waiting for Hoshi, Ellie had entertained herself by showing card tricks to children in the lobby. When she glanced up at the clock and noticed that half an hour had gone by.
Curious, and worried, Ellie made her way up to the room that the professor was sharing with Hitoshi and Alex. She paused at the door. Maybe he was feeling ill.
"Hoshi?" She rested a hand lightly against the door. "Hoshi, are you feeling okay, hun?"
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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Sept 13, 2010 23:34:45 GMT -5
Hoshi tensed. It was now or never, it seemed. He sighed and pushed himself off of the bed, and made his way toward the door. He almost left the wallet where it was, then thought better of it, and grabbed it off the floor and stuffed it back in his pocket.
He opened the door slowly and gave her a soft smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah, I'm... I'm alright, I think."
He reached one hand up to brush her hair behind her ear, and though it was a rather absurd moment for it, he couldn't help but appreciate just how beautiful she looked. Though he hadn't lied to her -- technically, at least -- it hurt him to think that he had kept something like this from her for so long. He owed her the truth.
He brushed his lips against her cheek in a light kiss, then gave her a slightly more genuine smile. "I'm sorry for being late. Something came up, and...well, I think there's something I need to talk to you about. Would you come in for a few minutes?"
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 14, 2010 9:55:04 GMT -5
Ellie's eyebrows rose. That I think worried her a bit.
His second smile reassured her, though, and she nodded. "It's fine. Alright." She stepped into the room.
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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Sept 14, 2010 10:30:55 GMT -5
"Sit with me for a few minutes?" Hoshi took a seat on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to him. He felt...strangely calm, now. He could do it.
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 14, 2010 11:14:59 GMT -5
Ellie pursed her lips slightly, curious. She took the proffered seat, holding one of Hoshi's hands in both of her own as she smiled up at him.
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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Sept 15, 2010 20:52:29 GMT -5
"I have a confession to make," he said quietly, holding her hands tightly in his, as though he were afraid she might run away if he didn't...or afraid that he might run away, which, in Hoshi's experience, seemed far more likely.
"Remember back at the beginning of the year, when we first talked?" He gave a slight, sad smile. "We talked about our lives, our families... You told me about your son, and I told you had a complicated past. You didn't push me about it any further.
"But I think..." He sighed softly. "I think it's time I told you the truth, if you think you're ready to hear it."
He paused for a moment, looking her in the eyes to judge her reaction thus far.
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 15, 2010 21:26:18 GMT -5
Ellie ran her thumbs over Hoshi's knuckles. She nodded. Yes, she did remember. She had harbored a curiosity in the back of her mind since then, knowing that she could wait for Hoshi to confide in her.
Now that he was, she took in a quiet breath and watched him. She met his eyes and nodded.
"I'm ready."
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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Sept 16, 2010 10:31:19 GMT -5
"I..." He considered it, and decided to address the most immediate issue first, then work his way backwards. "I have children. Two of them. They'd be about the same age as Kemekin now, and..." He hesitated for a moment. "They're attending Dunehelden, as a matter of fact. I'm fairly sure you know them."
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 16, 2010 13:19:01 GMT -5
Ellie's breath caught in her throat. She blinked. Who...?
A few names ran through her head. There weren't that many Japanese underclassmen. And fewer still had siblings. The shock of this new information was not helping.
After what seemed a full minute of silence, Ellie finally stammered out the only two names that seemed to fit sensibly into the equation. "H... Hi...toshi and Hitomi...?"
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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Sept 16, 2010 21:59:33 GMT -5
Hoshi nodded, glancing down at her hands. He loosened his grip on her fingers some, conscious of how tightly he was holding them.
"Hitoshi found out this morning." He sighed softly. "I left my wallet in the room after I had left, and Hitoshi found it. There were old pictures -- one of me and their mother, and a Christmas portrait from when they were nine." He ran one hand through his hair nervously. "They're actually the reason I came to the school. I just...wanted to make things right. But I could never figure out how to tell them."
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Post by Hitomi Gilespi on Sept 16, 2010 22:06:00 GMT -5
Hitomi had already talked to Hitoshi that day, which meant she was well aware of the news. It should have been a shock, but really...it made sense, in a way. Hitoshi hadn't told her much, and she hadn't pushed it. He was upset, and understandably so. Instead, Hitomi decided she was going to get the truth from the source.
She stood outside the professor's door, hesitating. She wanted to know the truth, but what if she didn't like what she heard? How would she deal with it? She considered briefly just turning around and forgetting about it. Maybe if she just pretended things were still the way they were...
But she remembered something her mother had said that night in her dreams, about meeting her father and forgetting him, and she knew what she had to do. She blinked back tears, and when she was confident that she was no longer about to cry, she rapped three times on the wooden door.
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 17, 2010 22:31:04 GMT -5
Ellie's brow knitted. She had been watching Hoshi's eyes, but when he glanced down, she looked off to the right, out the window.
"Did... Had you never met them before?" She bit her lip, willing her mind to form coherent sentences. "How could you stay away from your own children for--"
There was a knock on the door. Ellie blinked at the door, then back at Hoshi.
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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Sept 18, 2010 21:18:26 GMT -5
Hoshi opened his mouth to respond -- he had no illusions that Ellie wouldn't question him, after all -- when he heard the knock at the door. He winced slightly. He doubted it was Hitoshi. If it was lucky, it was Alex; if he was unlucky, it might have been Tristan. And he was in no frame of mind to deal with that right now.
"Just a second." Hoshi smiled apologetically, then, made his way to the door. He hesitated for a minute, then opened it just a crack.
"Oh!" He blinked, taken aback. "Hitomi. I..." He paused. It was possible the girl was looking for Hitoshi, and as cowardly as it was, if she hadn't already heard the news, he didn't want to be the one to break it to her. "If you're looking for you brother, he left a while ago."
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Post by Hitomi Gilespi on Sept 18, 2010 21:23:46 GMT -5
"Actually, I...um." Hitomi bit her lip and twirled a piece of her long hair between her fingers, her gaze flitting anywhere that wasn't the professor. "I actually just talked to my brother, and he told me about...about this morning. And I was just hoping...that I could talk to you about it, if you--um."
She glanced up behind the professor, catching sight of the healer, and blushed. She hastily looked away, studying the door frame intently. "Unless this is a bad time," she said meekly. "I...I don't want to intrude."
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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Sept 18, 2010 21:41:40 GMT -5
Hoshi glanced back at Ellie, then up at Hitomi again. He owed her an explanation just as much as he owed one to Ellie, if not more so, and if she was willing to listen... Maybe he could start to patch things up.
"If Ellie doesn't mind," he said, peering back at her, "I think you've come at a perfect time, Hitomi. You deserve to know the truth, as well."
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Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros
Keme
Beloved School Healer
So many things I'd say if only I were able; but I just keep quiet.
Posts: 503
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Post by Elliestraaeln Evans-Barros on Sept 20, 2010 14:35:11 GMT -5
Ellie smiled warmly at Hitomi, nodding her consent. She still wasn't entirely sure about how she felt about what Hoshi had told her, but with Hitomi there, she would have someone to share the burden of shock.
Or whatever she was supposed to call that feeling. Regardless, as she watched the girl, Ellie fought back the urge to pull Hitomi into a secure hug.
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Post by Hitomi Gilespi on Oct 24, 2010 17:10:07 GMT -5
Hitomi hesitated, then nodded. She was unsure whether it would be more or less strange with the healer there, but it would certainly make her feel less alone.
She took a seat on the bed beside Ellie and pulled her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs.
"So, um..." She bit her lip, not sure what to say, or if she should say anything at all.
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Post by Hoshi Yogo on Oct 24, 2010 20:54:09 GMT -5
Hoshi pulled a chair over beside the bed and took a seat. He wrung his hands together, staring rather intently at the floor, and decided where to begin. This was going to be awkward, however he handled it.
Hoshi ran his tongue over his lower lip. "My sophomore year of college, I enrolled in an exchange program with the American university Cassandra was attending. We dated for most of that semester." He hesitated for a moment. "I had to go home for the summer, and the day before I left we...said good-bye." He glanced up at Ellie. "That was the first time, and the only time.
"We emailed a bit back and forth, but about a month into the summer, her responses got shorter. She avoided most of my questions about her life." He frowned. "I was worried. I thought she was upset at me.
"I managed to transfer back to the university. Part of it was Cassandra, I admit, but I liked it in the United States. I think I would have transferred even if we hadn't been dating. When I came back, though..." Hoshi frowned slightly. "She told me we had to break up. She didn't give me any explanation, and when I pushed, she got angry at me. I thought she had found someone else.
"She dropped any classes we had together, avoided the places we used to hang out, and on the rare occasion we found ourselves in the same place, she pretended not to see me. I was confused, and I was hurt." Hoshi shook his head.
"She dropped out of school not long after, and the following semester, I managed to get a substantial scholarship to a school in Seattle. I didn't hear from her again for almost ten years."
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