Page 65 of Kotori
By the time I return from Korea, she'll be counting the days until she can feel my rope again, my control, my possession. She'll understand that challenging me only ends one way—with her surrender, her submission, her complete acceptance of who she truly belongs to.
Some education requires time to fully take hold. Three weeks without me should prove most educational indeed.
17
Paige
Theclassroomfeelslikea greenhouse in early July's relentless heat. Even with the expensive air conditioning humming quietly, sweat beads at my temples as I watch Kohana struggling through her English composition. Outside, cicadas scream their summer anthem, their persistent chorus a reminder that we're deep into the season now.
"Kohana-chan, try using 'despite' instead of 'although' here," I suggest, pointing to her neat handwriting. "It makes the contrast stronger."
She nods earnestly, her dark eyes serious as she carefully erases and rewrites the sentence. Of all three Matsumoto daughters, she's the most studious, the most eager to please.
It's been three weeks since I've seen their father. Three weeks since he departed for "business" in Seoul without explanation, leaving me here in this beautiful prison with his daughters and my confused emotions.
"Sensei." Mizuki's voice cuts through my thoughts. "We're preparing for Tanabata tomorrow. Will you help us with our tanzaku wishes?"
The question sounds innocent enough, but Mizuki never asks for anything without calculation. Mizuki has watched me with careful, assessing eyes since I arrived to teach her and her sisters. Not hostile exactly, but wary. Protective of her family and their traditions.
"Of course," I answer carefully. "I'd be honored."
Aya bounces in her seat, excitement overriding the heat. "Papa promised he'd be home for Tanabata! He never misses it, even when he has important yakuza business."
"Aya!" Mizuki hisses, shooting me an apologetic glance. "We don't use that word."
The slip makes me hide a smile. Three weeks of relative peace, of settling into a routine without Kaito's overwhelming presence, and sometimes I almost forget what he is. Almost.
"Sorry," Aya mumbles, looking embarrassed. "But he will be home. He promised."
"Then I'm sure he will be," I say, ignoring the way my pulse quickens at the thought of seeing him again. "What are you planning to wish for?"
Tanabata—the Star Festival celebrating the once-yearly meeting of star-crossed lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi. Write your deepest wishes on colorful paper strips, hang them from bamboo branches, and pray they'll come true. As if wishes were that simple.
"I'm wishing for Papa to take us to Disney Sea!" Aya declares, academic pretenses abandoned entirely now. "And for Paige-sensei to stay with us forever and ever!"
The innocent declaration makes Mizuki's shoulders stiffen slightly. "Wishes are private, Aya-chan. You're not supposed to tell."
"What will you wish for, Mizuki-san?" I ask, trying to bridge the tension that's developed.
She meets my gaze directly, something challenging in her dark eyes. "For things to be the way they should be."
The loaded statement hangs in the air between us. She still hasn't forgiven me for suggesting she could choose her own path, for disrupting her carefully ordered world. Or perhaps she hasn't forgiven me for whatever she suspects is happening between her father and me.
"Sometimes what should be and what could be are different things," I say quietly. "Both have value."
Kohana looks up from her essay, eyes moving between us like she's watching a tennis match. "I'm wishing for everyone to be happy," she interjects, her voice soft but deliberate. "All of us together."
The simple wish makes my throat tighten unexpectedly. Happy. Together. As if we could ever be a normal family, as if there isn't violence and obsession and confusion tangled up in whatever this is.
"That's a lovely wish," I manage, gathering their papers to end the lesson before emotion betrays me. "Let's finish early today. It's too hot to concentrate."
Relief floods their faces as they pack up, summer freedom beckoning outside despite the oppressive heat. Hayashi appears at the doorway with perfect timing, bowing slightly.
"Williams-san," she says, her voice betraying nothing as always. "The girls are needed for kimono fittings for tomorrow's celebrations."
As they follow Hayashi from the room, Mizuki pauses at the door, turning back to me with an expression I can't quite read.
"Sensei," she says carefully. "Papa texted that his plane landed an hour ago."
