milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Time in Milliways is weird.

It is perhaps because of this that the Momiji poking his head into the bar door, tonight, is significantly younger than the one that's up in his room in the Bar, at the moment. This one looks perhaps early elementary school age, though, apparently, the rabbit-boy's tendency to act younger than he ought to cuts across age limits, as he has one thumb jammed firmly in his mouth and a bunny doll dangling in the crook of one arm.

He looks utterly confused. He knew the Sohma house was big, but no one had ever mentioned this part of it to him! None of these people looked like family members, anyway. Weird.

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Hey, Mia? Momiji's just kind of going to cling to the back of your shirt for the next forever or so with the hand that's not busy with his cookie. Just to make sure you don't escape before he gets to find out about the giant birds and dragons.

"Really?"

She smiles down at him.

"Really. I think you would like the dragon I know. His name is Nall and he's very nice."

She leans down so that she's face to face with him.

"You'll have to behave, of course. He doesn't like it when people pull at his wings, at least while he's small. You don't have to worry about that when he's big enough for rides, of course. Then you can hold on as tightly as you want."

"Wo-ow..."

The boy gawks for a while longer, before announcing proudly:

"My older cousin's a dragon! He's really cool...he's a doctor, too!"

"Oh, yes? I've heard a little about that, but I've only met a couple of members of your family. I didn't know before that the dragon was a doctor. I do seem to remember hearing that the dragon is actually a seahorse."

She's trying to be careful about telling him what she knows.

"A seahorse? Weird!"

Momiji hadn't heard that one, yet. Poor Hatori, now he's going to have a bunny-boy clinging to him with wide eyes, asking him about things he doesn't want to talk about.

"Ha'ri'd make a funny seahorse."

"Oh, his name is Ha'ri?"

Someone else she would like to meet sometime.

"Yes, I've heard that, anyway. Since I've not met him, I don't really know for certain. But dragons are odd creatures anyway. Where I live, when they're little, they look like winged cats."

"Welll...Hatori. Ha'ri's good, too, though."

He gets away with it, at least.

"Back home, they're big lizard-y things. We don't have real ones, though, I don't think. Except Komodo dragons, and they're not really real ones."

"Hatori Sohma," she says, testing the full name. "Doctor Hatori Sohma," she corrects herself. "It sounds very fitting."

More smiling at him.

"Where I live, dragons have scales, fur, and feathers all together. And when they are grown, they have horns. And all of them can talk, and they are very fond of fish. Why, give Nall some fish and some scritches behind his ear, and he practically purrs like a kitten."

"Hee."

Mia's dragons sound cuter than the dragons from home.

"We've got a kitten, kinda. His name's Kyo, but I don't get to see him much. I don't know if he purrs, either."

"I've met Kyo before. He's nice to me."

She won't say how old Kyo was when she met him. She doesn't want to blow the bunny's mind.

"Well, he's a kitty! He should be!"

There's a big grin on Momiji's face. He hasn't known Kyo long enough to notice the less than joyful demeanor of the boy.

"It's been a while since I've seen Kyo, though. And I'm afraid I don't know many other members of your family. Kyo tends to talk a lot about Yuki, though."

Does the bunny perhaps know about the rivalry?

"I don't get to see Yuki, much."

That draws a little pout, because he's pretty sure that the Rat stays at the Sohma house, too.

"He's really nice, though. I guess Kyo must like him a lot!"

Sooo...apparently the answer to that question about the rivalry is no.

"You're so lucky," she says. "I don't have any cousins. Or aunts and uncles. Or brothers and sisters. Not even a father."

But even with her misfortune, she's smiling bright.

"But I am going to get married, and when that happens, I'll have an uncle and cousins in my family."

Not to mention a husband, but she's found that kids don't tend to like hearing about that part.

"Uh-huh...I've got a lot of cousins. Almost everybody around back home is a Sohma, too."

When she mentions getting married, he brightens and grins...and probably the creepiest thing about it is how honest his expression and tone are, even as his eyes start to fill with tears at talking about not having family. If one isn't looking particularly closely, one might not even notice.

"Do you get to wear a really pretty dress and stuff...?"

"I haven't picked it out yet, but I plan on wearing a really pretty dress."

As she says this, she notices a tear that strays from his eyes.

"Oh? What's wrong, Momiji?"

The little rabbit-boy shakes his head weakly, trying to wipe at his eyes without it being too obvious why he's doing it.

"N-nothin'...I bet your dress'll be great, though."

She crouches down to eye level with him.

"You can tell me," she says, forgetting the dress for now.

"It's just..."

He looks for the first time like he honestly might try to bolt off, rather than talk about it, but, in the end, he just heaves a little sigh that tosses all of his small frame and shakes his dead.

"...Don't get to see mama and papa at home, anymore."

Now Mia's eyes are really wide with concern.

"Why not?"

"Well...well..."

He stammers for a moment and grips his bunny tight, burying his face into it for a second.

"Ha'ri made mama forget about me, 'cause she was sick. So I had t'go live at the Sohma house. And papa can't come visit much, 'cause he has to stay with her."

For a moment, it's a look of fear that crosses Mia's face before the tears start welling up in her eyes too.

"Me too," she says, quietly. "For a while, not long ago, my mama was made to forget about me too."

"Oh..." The rabbit-boy very nearly hugs her at this, before remembering at the last second that this isn't the best idea. Still, he has a look of almost disbelieving hope on his face, now.

"Did she remember you...? Later?"

She nods.

"But it hurt her at first. She gets headaches sometimes when she remembers things, and she doesn't remember everything. Really, I'm just glad that she is alive and back to her old self."

She very nearly hugs Momiji back, and just might soon if she loses herself.

"Uh-huh..."

He wishes his mother remembered him, again. He wouldn't want her to have headaches, but just knowing who he is again would be really great.

Except...and he looks absolutely horrified as he says this...

"I...I don't think she loved me, before, though. She might not, if she remembers..."