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School Rumble (Broom and I)

"I feel better now...I think." Mei answered as she wiped a corner of her mouth. She would need to start carrying mints from now on, she supposed. "It just came out of nowhere, it's probably nothing." She wondered if morning sickness could be triggered by feelings. If so, she'd be in for a rough pregnancy. "At least you got an excuse to take a break from being with Manzen, right?" She smiled a bit, although she probably shouldn't have joked about that. She was worried about him...and how he was taking all this.
 
"...Yeah," Komoku muttered. "Masami seems happy to meet him, good for her, I guess. Makes her the better person than I am." He didn't want to know him, he didn't want to know anything about him. He gave up on them, it didn't matter what he said, that's what the result was. He just handed them off, without them having any choice.
 
Mei just stared at him for a moment and sighed softly. "Just because you're still hurt doesn't make you a bad person, or less of a person. Things like this take time to get over, if you ever do at all. I can tell that your father does care about you and Masami. The way he looks when he sees you...I don't think my father has ever looked at me that way. If it's meant to be, you'll forgive him, but no one is going to judge you if you don't." She told him before slipping her arms around him.
 
"I don't, and I won't," Komoku grumbled, glancing away from her a moment. "But if Masami wants him around, I'll...behave, or whatever." he groused. "But I won't like it, but I'm not going to stop her from getting to know him if she really wants to." Which she did, which...puzzled him, a lot. "He reminds me too much of myself, which can only be a bad thing if you ask me."
 
"There are some...very noticeable similarities. But there are differences as well, Komoku. You aren't him, you're you. So if you're worried about anything in particular," Something like, whether or not he could be a father when his own couldn't. "I wouldn't worry too much." She finished before drawing back and moving so that she could look into his eyes. "You're doing okay by tolerating him for Masami's sake. That's enough for now."
 
"Easier said than done, and you know that's true," Komoku muttered. "Or your Dad wouldn't piss you off so much, would he?"
 
She was silent, although her expression said it all. Honestly, she wasn't even angry at him anymore. Everyone told her to be, but she just couldn't be. She hadn't seen him since they had argued the first night, and sometimes she felt tempted to...but she would have much rather him come to her. "What's bothering you so much, Komoku?" This wasn't about her, this was about him...she wouldn't let him deflect onto her own issues.
 
"What," Komoku said irritably. "Finding out your parents aren't...dead, or...or gone, or something other than 'dropping them off with someone else' wouldn't bother you?" he muttered. "Look, I loved Auntie Rokujo and the old man, alright? They were my family, but they couldn't help me with...me," he said. "And then that son of a bitch waltzes in here, starts talking about how much we're alike? Fuck him." he said, glancing away in annoyance. "I could beat the shit out of kids my age, Mei. I did it a lot, I did it because it felt natural. What do you tell your aunt growing up about that? 'Hi, Auntie. I like beating the shit out of people.'? That fucking asshole has no right to even look at me like he does, not after everything I went through, because I had nobody. I didn't have anyone to explain the world to me, I had a pair of hands and a talent. And now I'm...what, I'm supposed to just shrug my shoulders and think everything is fine?" he grumbled.

"I killed a guy, Mei. I murdered him, and I don't give a fuck. Doesn't that bother you?" It didn't bother him, at all. He could do it in his sleep, and that, in it's own way, bothered him now. Now he...had something, he had Dujae and Sejae, they had someone, they had something more than just beating the snot out of idiots. They had a life, something real. And now he was going to be a Dad because he was too fucking horny to not be one. So now what? Now what was he supposed to do? How was his kid going to be raised when he didn't have a moral compass?
 
"Of course it bothers me, Komoku..." Mei answered with a pained expression. "It has always bothered me, but that didn't stop me from falling for you. It doesn't make me love you any less. You said it yourself, you didn't have anyone to help you before. Now you do, so...I just thought that that was enough for you to not take a life again unless absolutely necessary. I thought I could be...your conscious for you. If you didn't know right from wrong, I wanted to guide you and help you become a better person. We're all lost, maybe you're more lost than everyone else. But that doesn't mean there isn't any hope for you. If people thought you were hopeless, you'd be alone right now."
 
Komoku sighed, arms around her a moment. "Well," he muttered. "If you're going to be that way, I guess I don't got a lot of options, do I?" he sighed. "You're a pretty scary angel on my shoulder, you know that?"
 
"I thought you liked that." Mei said with a small smile before pressing her lips against his, for a brief moment before whispering into his ear. "And if you feel like there's a devil on your shoulder, I'll deal with him..."
 
"I'll keep that in mind," Komoku said faintly, giving her a gentle nuzzle. "Now, let's get back out there, I think Auntie Roku would be a little upset if I bent you over the sink." he smirked lazily.
 
"So would I." Mei pointed out with a playful roll of her eyes before she took his hand and stood up. Hopefully her stomach settled enough that the food smell wouldn't have her running back. It was strange, she couldn't help but place her hand on her stomach. She had a feeling her baby was going to be torturing her more throughout the coming months. They were definitely going to be a trouble maker.
 
Komoku settled his hand over hers too, giving her a faint grin. "Feels like they're going to take after me, aren't you lucky?" he joked, moving out of the bathroom with her. Where the sight of Aunt Emi speaking with Manzen and Masami both greeted him. Masami seemed so...happy to meet him, even after everything. She always was so mature compared to him, really...which means that maybe, he did his job.

...He was here for Masami, and he'd just have to swallow his pride and deal with it.
 
The evening went better than the first evening Komoku had met his father. He still wasn't happy, but that was okay. Mei offered to tag along whenever Masami wanted to see Manzen, and that was the end of it. She didn't tell Manzen that she was carrying his son's baby, she did not feel like it was her place to say. She would let Komoku call the shots regarding his father.

The week went by a little too fast, and before she knew it, it was time to resume the tournament. Everyone had healed accordingly, and they were ready to fight in more ways than one. The stands were already filled with people despite it being a few hours before the tournament...it was even more packed than before. Did the committee end up reselling tickets for the second half? Mei wouldn't put it passed the adults to make as much profit on this as they possibly could.

She sighed and went straight to her office, since it was the only real way to get away from the noise. It was a bit of a walk from the stadium but she didn't care. She just needed to mentally prepare herself for what might happen...Komoku's fight was the last one so she'd be worried literally all day for him.

When she opened her office door, she found a large bouquet of White Tiger lilies on her desk. It hadn't been there the day before...so she had to wonder how they managed to get in here and who they were from. She lifted them up from her desk and saw a small card, which had two bold words on it.

I'm sorry.

She didn't have to guess from there. No one knew her favorite kind of flowers except for her father, and the letter confirmed it. She put the flowers down and then pulled out her phone. She...she had to call him. She wanted to forgive him even though no one else thought she should. Yet she could not bring herself to dial his number for some reason..
 
"Mei?" Jana said faintly, shifting into the office. She didn't knock, mostly because she never had to. Anyone else who did that got glared down into the floor, and...what could Jana say? She liked being a special person. She spotted the flowers curiously, and shut the door behind her, heading closer. "What's up, sweetie? The fights are going to start soon." Flowers? Komoku? No, Komoku was a surprising sweetheart, but he probably had no idea how to manage flowers.
 
Mei looked up at Jana with a strange look of guilt on her face. She sighed and put her phone back in her sweater pocket. No, this wasn't something she could call about. She had to see his face, she had to be sure that he was actually sorry. "They're nothing..." Mei responded with yet another sigh. "Just...a way for my father to ask for forgiveness."
 
"...Okay," Jana said, brow raised faintly as she headed over to the desk. "And? Talk to me, Boss," she teased, sitting on the corner with a smile. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
 
"I think I need to see him, Jana." Mei answered honestly as she leaned back on her desk. "I need to know if he's being genuine. I don't want to blindly forgive him, but I also don't want to be mad at him for the rest of my life. He said very cruel things to me, I know that, but...I don't think he's that bad of a person."
 
"Well, that's your choice," Jana murmured. "Although I can't imagine why he's being so sincere, considering he crapped on everything you care about," she reminded. "Is that something you really want to forgive?"
 
"Yes," She began as she crossed her arms. "I've forgiven my boyfriend for murdering a man, what kind of person would I be if I couldn't forgive the man who has given me everything over the course of my life for slipping up and making one mistake? As long as he's being sincere about it, I'm not sure what the problem is. Maybe the old me would have held the grudge for a long time, maybe forever...but you and everyone else taught me not to be like that, to give people chances. What makes my father so bad that he doesn't deserve to be give that same chance?"
 
"I don't know, Mei," Jana sighed. "Komoku did a horrible thing, but he's never been dishonest about who he is. Your Dad gives me a weird vibe, I don't feel like everything is even, you know? And the thing with Megumi...haven't really seen her doing much more than hang out with Mom, something's not right about all this."
 
"What do you mean by that..?" Mei asked with a tilt of her head. "When has my father ever been dishonest about who he is?" She was trying not to get angry...maybe Jana would never understand what her father meant to her, but this was why Mei wished she could have just been alone. She knew Jana would be more worried about her than she would about how she actually felt. Komoku would probably be the same way, but...she wished they could at least be supportive of what she wanted to do, rather than make her feel bad about it.
 
"Nothing," Jana sighed, tapping her forehead a moment in thought. "Just...tell me before you do it, okay? I want to be there for you at least," she murmured. "If you wanna mend things with your Dad, then I'll help you." Even if she didn't like it, which she didn't. If she wanted to do that, then Jana would help...but she didn't see the point, personally.
 
Mei was quiet for a moment before nodding. "That means a lot, Jana. Thank you." She said softly before taking a seat at her desk. "I see it too. I know my mom hasn't been home for a long time. Maybe a part of me feels guilty for that. I don't know what's going on and Mom won't talk, but I know my father will if I ask."
 
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