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Something Borrowed (Part Three)

"You have to stop crying." He put his wife at arms length and stared at her trying to open up their near telepathic bond.

Okami-san could pretty much hear what he was saying. She had to stop crying, she had to pull herself together, and if Kyoko was to know this, if she was at all ready, her friends would need to be strong for her.

Ren led Kyoko back down the stairs to say good bye to Taisho and Okami-san; he had no idea good bye would have so many facets that night.

Taisho told Kyoko the story of the boy at the river, then showed her the newspaper clipping, and winced slightly when he told her that her paternal grandparents were dead.

Kyoko sat with a glassy stare for a long while and then began to cry.

Ren enfolded her in a comforting embrace and then felt the arms of Okami-san and then Taisho encircle all of them in a big bear-hug.

There was a hiccup from the center of the group and then something muffled against Ren's chest.

Taisho, Okami-san, and Ren all let go but stay very close. Kyoko rubs her eyes and sniffs.

"You're wrong."

Okami-san's brow furrows with worry, "No Kyoko, we checked. You don't have any family left."

Kyoko holds back more tears and smiles, "No, that's where you're wrong. I have so much family. I have Yashiro and the guy's from Bridge Rock for brothers; I have the President, Mr. Sawara and every other man and woman who has helped me along the way for aunts and uncles; I have the girls from Box R and Dark Moon and Moko for sisters."

Okami-san smiled at the young girl, "And now you'll have a mother and father with the Hizuri's."

Kyoko looked at Ren. "If it wouldn't offend him, I don't think I want 'father' to walk me down the aisle."

Ren smiled at his fiancé. "You could never offend him."

Okami-san looked back and forth between the young couple, "But Kyoko, if Kuu Hizuri doesn't walk you down the aisle you'll have no one to give you away."

Kyoko smiled at the elder couple, "That's where you're wrong again. If you don't mind, I would like the both of you to give me away."

Okami-san nearly cried as she shook her head and hugged the young woman. "Of course we will give you away, we love you."

The ceremony went off without a hitch. The bride and groom had their first dance; both sets of parents had their respective dances, mother (in law) and son (in law) and father (in law) and daughter (in law). The bouquet was tossed and somehow, Yashiro caught it, of course the part that was expected was his blush and squeal. The cake was cut and Kyoko nearly cried at having to slice up the 'cutiful' decorations and as she ate it anyone at table one could her at times mumbling something about edible pearls, sad white sugar lace, and the fate of sparkly white chocolate butterfly wings that looked as though they were those of fairies. At the end of the night the newlyweds ran out to a shimmering white limo that would take them to the airport where they would board a flight to Scotland, to stay for three weeks in a highland castle, courtesy of the president, of course.

Okami-san watched all of this with love overflowing from her eyes. Taisho grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. She wiped her eyes with one of the lacy handkerchiefs the little girl named Maria had been handing out. "I just feel someone should go and talk to him."

Taisho simply said with determination, "Hmm."

The train clacked against the rails on its way back to Tokyo.

Okami-san fiddled with her purse as she put away her coin purse, she had just paid for a sandwich and two juices for her and her husband's lunch. "I feel bad that it was in such disrepair."

Taisho resettled in his seat across from his wife, "You fixed it up enough, with the flowers and incense."

Okami-san smiled at her husband and cut the sandwich in half. "I think you fixed it up more, with that note."

Taisho just said, "Hmm," and took his half of the sandwich from his wife.

Back in Kyoto on a small tombstone where the scent of incense lingers, there is a bouquet of flowers and a note that reads: Hello Zero, you may not remember me, but I remember you. You are not 'nothing', a number higher than nine needs a zero to make it a ten. You never got to meet her, but you had a daughter. She looks just like you and to describe her I would need many zeros because she is always a perfect ten, puts one-hundred percent of herself into anything she tries, and she is one in a million. My wife and I gave her away at her wedding this week, I hope you don't mind. We won't keep her as our daughter forever, we're just borrowing her.

Well that is the end. Please comment if you liked it and comment if you didn't, every opinion matters.

See you next time my lovely readers,

Era Dubois