Realizations of the Granddaughter

When Tsubine tried dragging her from room to room, Ryoko became impatient. "Stop it." she said and grabbed his wrist, leading him out of the Fourth Division until they were some place quieter. They found a small courtyard where most people likely took walks to relax. Ryoko ended up pacing back and forth for a few minutes, but she was freaking out. She kept flailing her hands, biting her nails, and pulling at her hair. At times, she took deep breaths, as if she suddenly was punched in stomach. "God damn it..."

Tsubine was just trying to find somewhere private. Not his fault that the Fourth was busy. He followed with no resistance—but rolled eyes instead. The courtyard was fine, he supposed. Tsubine let her pace. Something was wrong, and it wasn't until she finally stopped that he spoke up. "Sooo... what's wrong?"

"Everything!" she popped up, then crouched, holding her face. "Grandma... Grandpa's gone... Aunt Lilith, Uncle Kaito... Cousin J. gave me something I don't think he meant to give me." She stood up and paced again, stopping, and facing him. "I'm scared. I'm so fucking scared." She crouched again, gripping her hair tightly.

Tsubine, not exactly knowing how to comfort her, just stood there as she began the most depressing calisthenics. "You... sure have a big family. I don't think there's more than I can say or do except express my condolences for your grandfather's loss. I didn't know him well personally, but he was a great man. Lilith is... going to be fine. Kaito, I think so as well." Tsubine knelt down beside her. "So let's focus on what I might be able to help you with. What did J give you?"

"They're not really family, but I call them that because my family is actually pretty small, and they all care about me. And Grandpa warned me about these things; I just didn't get to say goodbye... And that's actually not the worst part..." Ryoko said as she pulled out an old leather bound book, her father's journal. She showed it to Tsu, but not for him to take. She kept it close, overly protective. "This belonged to my Dad. Most knew him as Fu Endo, the previous Captain Commander. This..." she pointed at the book, "was his personal journal, where he kept secrets no one knew he had." Ryoko began panicking, breathing quickly and wiping every tear that made an appearance, not allowing a single to grace her cheek. "Secrets... that can ruin our world. I read it. I read it all, and I don't know what to do... I don't have anyone to talk to..."

Tsubine understood the feeling. He did reach out for the book, but she held it closer. Instead, he listened intently. He thought for a long moment. "If it's that bad, your best option might be to burn it." Tsubine shrugged. It may not be right, but it was his honest opinion. "How bad exactly are we talking about?"

Ryoko thought about burning it. She could hide it and never speak of it again... until she saw Lilith, until she saw Kaito, until she saw the plethora of people that were mentioned in her Father's journal. Unless she ran away, she could never live knowing all she knew. "They have a daughter..." she said, but Tsu needed more than that. "Who's they?" Ryoko hugged herself, the journal between her arms and torso. "Aunt Lilith and Uncle Kaito... They have a daughter."

Tsubine's blue eyes went wide. Then... he narrowed them. "You sure about that? Lilith said sh—something that makes me think that's... not right." He nearly spilled the beans on one of the more private conversations he and Lilith have had. "If it were true... do you know how old she is? And... where is she?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Why would I lie? This journal was locked in the Captain Commander's vault, so why would it be a lie?" Ryoko looked down to the journal, sitting down on the concrete as she flipped through pages, "It happened in ten fifty-three, so she's obviously an adult if she's even still alive... There's no name or location here, just that someone named Otoha used a kido to seal Aunt Lilith's memory away after the baby was born. I think Uncle Kaito was out with the Edge the entire time because it does say he wasn't aware she was pregnant..."

"Not saying you're the liar here, Ryoko." Tsubine countered, then let her read. He recognized... none of the information. "...Her kid is about as old as I am." Sudden fear ran through his mind as he ran through the myriad of women he had kissed—or more. Thankfully, none of them looked like either Lilith or Kaito. He let out a sigh of relief. "That's a damn evil thing to do... You... should tell Kaito first." He held up a hand to stop a protest. "Both of them need to know, and either you tell them or I do. But Lilith has her own emotional trauma. Let big guy know first. He'd probably be the best to break it to her anyway."