Moonrise

Part Five

"I always hoped we'd all be together again," Hotaru said quietly as they all sat around a small table.

Kei was caught admiring the master suite, which seemed to be the thrice the size of the entirety of his flat above the bookshop. He offered a small smile to his mother, and then turned his attention to his family. Reunited. This was way too much to take in, so he simply waited for someone else to start talking. If he learned nothing else on his ten-year flight around the country, it was patience. More than he had in school, anyway.

"Thanks for this," his brother said gently, as if he was worried Kei would get up and leave at any moment. That was still an option, and he knew no one would stop him. "I want to clear a few things up, if I may?"

Kei simply nodded. His mother reached out to take his hand, and he let her, but only for a short time. She looked hurt, but he couldn't let that get to him. Not yet.

"I want you to know that I was never under Grandmother's thumb. Everything was just an act."
"This sounds familiar," Kei muttered, narrowing his eyes at his brother, and then turned them on his dad. "You said you had to act, too."
"True, but while I couldn't keep up the act anymore, your brother could. He had to."
"Why?"
"I had to protect mom."
"But not me?" Kei replied, his voice slightly shaky. He took a deep breath. "Why not both of us?"
"It's going to sound convoluted, Tsuki..."
Kei snorted, and Akiteru raised an eyebrow.
"I was facing a choice. Protect you, or protect mom. I chose mom. She'd need help keeping up her own act, and Grandmother was already suspicious of her. Plus, at the time, mom needed someone close, someone she could trust. Dad was already gone, and declared dead. You were being thrown out. Mom needed me."
"I needed you, too, Aki! I needed you both!" There went his patience. He looked at his mother, who was crying silently. Then, he looked at his brother, and saw one tear fall after another. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Akiteru shook his head. "We deserve it. We failed you, and lost your trust."
Kei sighed. "Not completely."
"Right. You at least trusted us enough to help you as much as we could. Even so, once Grandmother started noticing funds missing from our accounts, and that you were being helped without her permission, that's when we..."
"Stopped everything. With no word as to why."
"We had to lay low, or else we'd be in trouble, too. We both had to keep up appearances. Me as the heir apparent, and mom as the fragile mother who wasn't too smart, and couldn't make her own decisions."
Kei tilted his head back and sighed. "Couldn't be helped, I suppose."
"No. So when she started talking about having you hunted down and murdered, that's when..."
"You recruited my teammates, and clearly some people from other teams around Miyagi, including one that's split between us and Grandmother."
"They told you," his dad looked irritated.
"They did. Well, they told me as much as they were allowed to. Besides, they are family, too."
"I'm glad you see them that way," Aki said with a small smile. "Tsuki..."
"Might as well use my name, Bro. Tsuki sounds weird coming from you."
"You're the one who told me I had to use it. Still a pain in the ass."
"It's my job." He let out a slow breath. "I guess I can finally forgive you."
Akiteru held out his hand. Kei took it and they held on for a bit. "Thank you," his big brother whispered.
"I'm not so stubborn as to keep placing blame on you. Or mom."
"Thank you, Kei," Hotaru said through fresh tears. She reached out for his hand, and Kei took it.
"May I ask something?" Mitsuhide asked, looking down at his hands.
"Sure," Kei allowed.
"How... how did you survive with no money to pay for food or shelter?"
Kei was silent, waiting for his father until he lifted his head to look at him. "Do you really need to ask?" he replied quietly.

Kei gave his mother and brother a sympathetic glance, let his mother's hand go, and took hold of his drink from the table. He sat back in his chair, loose-limbed, slowly bringing an old persona forward. He took off his glasses, his glass hung loosely from his fingers in his other hand, and he grinned suggestively, using the earpiece from his glasses to toy with his mouth.

His family understood immediately. Hotaru started crying again, apologizing for what she thought was all her fault. Akiteru had buried his face in his hands. His father looked pained, but was nodding.

"With no money, no desire to beg, and unable to take a job for any length of time, I did the only thing I could think of," Kei explained, still in his persona of male escort. "I'd go to bars, clubs, anywhere that didn't charge a fee for entry. I found other escorts who gave me tips and pointers."
"Oh, Kei..."
"I did what I had to do, Mom."
"But..."
"If you're curious about my first time, I can honestly tell you that I don't remember it. I was drunk enough to not care, anyway. But, it got me what I desperately needed. Cash. When it was over, I cleaned up and left, taking my money with me. I went to another bar or club, and did it again."
"Oh god," he heard Akiteru moan.
"Some nights were pretty good. I earned enough to stay somewhere decent, buy a train ticket, and move on." Kei shrugged as if that part of his life meant nothing. He was thankful to have left it behind.

"What about your little bookshop?"
"I love that little shop, so before I say anything else, I'm going to do everything in my power to get back to it."
"Are you sure?"
"Very. That place holds memories for me, and I'm not willing to lose them."
"Ah, yes. Kuroo," his father said with understanding.
Kei simply nodded, returning to himself, and smiling softly.
"We met there. He spent time with me there. I can't imagine not keeping that dusty little bookshop."
"Honestly, it suits you, Kei. You always had your nose buried in a book when you were little."
"Right. Well," Kei interrupted gently. "I met the elderly owner, who wanted to retire and live with her daughter. I told her I wanted to start my own shop. We made a deal."
"What else?" his father asked.
"What do you mean 'what else?'"
"What persona were you using with her?"
"Oh, right. I told her I was a graduate of Sendai University, majored in museum studies and minored in library science. She didn't ask for credentials, but I have a photoshopped diploma on my laptop. If anyone asked to see it, and asked why it was on my laptop instead of an actual piece of paper, I just told them most of my stuff was destroyed in a fire."
"You know, it's probably the wrong time to say so, but I'm proud of you, son."
Kei snorted. "Thanks. I guess."
"How much of this does Kuroo know?" Hotaru asked.
"Everything. We started talking yesterday after I ended the fight."
"Speaking of..."
Kei told them about Uriel. If anything, they all started looking quite proud of him.
"Look, I only did what I needed to do to survive. That's all. After this debacle is over, I plan on going back to my bookshop and staying there."
"What about Kuroo?"
"Not something I want to discuss without him here," Kei told them with no uncertain terms. "Not to be rude, but are we done here?"
"Don't you want to stay with us a little longer?" his mother pleaded.
"To be honest, no. There's someone else I want to be with, and he's waiting for me."
"You must really love him," Akiteru said wistfully.
"I do. May I leave?"
"Why are you even asking? Get out of here, son," his father said, smiling.
Kei grinned and wasted no time. He was gone before anyone could think to stop him.

~*~

Early the next morning, Kei, Tetsu, and Yuki made it a point to be with Mitsuhide as they farewelled Oikawa and his team. They wished them luck, gave them food so they didn't need to worry about that part of their expenses, and generally stood around to talk before leaving.

Kinoshita shook hands with Kuroo and Mitsuhide, and was surprised when Yuki just squished him with a bear hug. But he accepted it, and hugged her back, whispering something in her ear. Nodding, she let him go, and he started down the path, telling Oikawa he'd be waiting at the boat.

Next, it was Oikawa's turn, and he made a show of it, as was expected. Taking his cue from Yuki, he just hugged everyone... including Kei, who was so shocked he didn't know what to say.

"If you were ever wondering why I'm even here," he heard Oikawa tell him quietly. "Iwa-chan and I joined voluntarily. I know we weren't friends at first, Tsuki. But maybe later, okay?"
"S-sure," Kei stuttered. "I'd like that."
"Take care. Don't get killed."
Kei laughed. "I don't plan on it. You stay safe, too."
"I will. I can't leave Iwa-chan alone, now can I?" Oikawa let go of him and backed up a few steps. He smiled that charming, bright smile of his, winked, and turned to go without another word.