Disorganized organizational family for CrystalLip

[KsshqKla]

Haruka was lost, well she knew where she was... just not where she was going. She was at her parent's funeral. She had on a black dress, and her long blonde hare was tied in a pony tail with a large black ribbon. Her deep green eyes were red from the tears she had cried. She was actually more scared now than sad, she had cried so much when she finally understood what had happened. But now at 8 years old she was alone... she had no clue how such a small girl like her standing only 4' 1'' ...

What was she to do?, Who could she turn to now?... her mommy and daddy were all she had...

"...remember when...good..."

As the funeral progressed, Vance found his attention lapsing. He focused on other things. The warm kiss of the sun. The floral scent of daisies and lilies. The muffled and unmuffled sobs from The Affected.

Vance stood at the back of the ground, giving him a good view of the people gathered. There were the mothers and wives and daughters whose eyes and nose were red. There were the iron-faced fathers who put on a front facade that was only compromised by the subtle wiping of the eyes when they thought no one was looking.

Then there those like him, who simply stood and watched as though they were one of the stone statues that littered the graveyard.

Vance wondered if they were numbed from shock and pain, or if they were just detached, only present because of social and familial obligation. Vance knew which one he was.

"cent...Vincent!"

Vance blinked. His face tightened when he realized that the speaker at the podium was addressing him. He realized it was his turn to speak. Vance walked down the path that split the audience into two halves.

The man at the podium--a brother from That Side--hugged him tightly before stepping down and taking a seat in the front row, which was filled with his father's relatives and family members on Her side.

Vance pulled out some papers from his inner coat pocket and flattened them on the podium. He only glanced at the script when it was time to turn pages, having memorized their contents. They were only there for appearances.

One advantage to having memorized his speech was that Vance could observe the sober crowd. At the saddened faces and broken postures, Vance wished he hadn't practiced the speech beforehand, if only for a chance to rest his eyes on something less emotional.

Eventually, Vance's eyes fell on the little girl seated in the front row. He knew who she was, but it was his first time seeing her since six years ago (which also happened to be the last time he was Dad or Her).

It might have been her height or maybe even the meekness that came with death and grieving, but Haruka didn't strike Vance as an eight year old. But then, Vance interacted with few children so he had no one to compare her to.

As Vance finished his part and headed back to his spot, he wondered what the next page of Haruka's life would be. He shooed the thought away. She had plenty of family here in Japan. It would be fine.

Hours later, Vance was proven wrong.

The family crowded around a large dining room table in a house that would soon be distributed to one of them. The conversation was about where Haruka would be moving to. Vance's eyebrows had risen and his nose pinched as he heard them all shift responsibility back and forth.

The conclusion became clear--the ones who would be most capable of supporting and caring for Haruka (and honestly the ones who had the most responsibility to do so) either "couldn't" or didn't want to.

Vance was silent as he listened to the discussion happening around him.

[KsshqKla]

Haruka wasn't in the dining, she had uses her small size to sneak away, which was probably for the better. ... considering what was being discussed. ... or well what was being said. She was hiding in her parents old room.

In the dining room the family was basically split in two major sides. The main and branch family. The branch family felt it would be best for Haruka to live in the Tsubaki Shrine with the main family due to the members of the branch family not having the 'resources' to support her.

It erupts with the head of the main family standing up, being an elderly man, he slams his cane on the table in a rage "I WILL NEVER ALLOW THAT BLONDE POISON WITHIN THE SHRINE WALLS! I WILL SUFFER NO MORE OF THAT POISON TO OUR PROAD LINE! LET HER ROT IN SOME DITCH WERE SHE BELONGS! Saying his verdict he starts to leave.

One woman shakes her head "... it's a shame such things still happen..."

In the wake of the head's departure, Vance thought he understood why his grandparents eventually settled in the UK. The family was incredibly toxic, although it was disguised (or perhaps genuinely believed) to be tradition. The family, which was divided into a main branch that managed the resources for the entire family and set rules that the branch family had to follow, rejected Haruka because she was born to a UK citizen and because she lacked a traditional Japanese upbringing.

Then the branch family--well, Vance didn't have a good read on them.

Vance stood up, drawing attention from the others.

"Sorry you have to go through this," one said.

Vance awkwardly rejected the apologies. "I'm going to take one last look around before I leave, if that's alright."

It was, and so Vance explored the house. He had only ever visited it twice, and he had never planned to visit it a third time. But there he was, drifting from room to room, taking in the lived in nature of the home. Vance's last stop was the master bedroom.

Which wasn't empty. Vance almost jumped out of his skin at the sight of a figure shifting in the dark. He wasn't good with ghosts or scary movies.

It was Haruka, he recognized, after a moment. When had she come up here, he wondered?

He said nothing, though. What did one say to a stranger of an eight-year-old that had just lost their parents? At eight, Vance didn't even know if Haruka would be able to really process what was going on.

[KsshqKla]

Nothing really stood out that much in the home, it was as normal as any other.

The hallways had various photos, a few showed the extended family, but most were of Haruka and her parents, and many showed Haruka either very close or clinging to her mother... and though their were a couple with just Haruka; and she looked happy... there just seemed to be very few of them.

Haruka's room was painted in bright pastel colors, with several stuffed animals haphazardly laying on her bed. Near her bed was a rocking chair placed beside a bookshelf on the wall. A corner of the room is empty save a wooden stool.

Haruka was laying on her parent's bed, curled up hugging a silver colored wolf plushie, about a foot long. She hadn't noticed anyone coming in. "Hic, L-Luna, I miss mommy, sh-she'd know h-how to s-stop all this hic f-fighting. M-mommy c-could f-fix anything... but, but hic no one c-could h-help m-mommy."

Vance almost cringed at the sobbing.

Crying was so childish, he thought. Then he actually cringed at his own thought. It was an eight year old girl who had just lost her parents and had no one who wanted her. Of course she was crying.

Vance stood there, awkwardly. He wasn't good with kids or with emotions. He thought about going downstairs to get someone more familiar for Haruka, but honestly the family didn't seem to be a good support.

Very slowly, Vance sat down on the bed, stiff. Then he awkwardly patted the girl's shoulder. "There there," he said, cringing at his own choice of words. He was 22, not 10.

[KsshqKla]

At first Haruka was startled, she looks up and freezes, her deep green teary eyes waver slightly with fear, she didn't know if it was one of the adults that hated her. Though when he tied to consul her that fear vanishes.

What might have been awkward to him, in that moment it meant the world to her... as it told her at least he wasn't one of the adults that hated her. She relaxes a little, shifting to sitting on her knees while on the bed, hugging her plushy she bows her head a little.

"Sniff um th-thank you. hic" Her voice is soft, and a little hoarse form sobbing.

Vance withdraws his hand when Haruka shifts. His people-touching had reached its limit for the moment. He observed the girl, whose head was bowed in gratitude. She was very polite and well-mannered for her age. Dad must have had a hand in that. Only he would teach a kid to act like that.

He wondered if she would retain it with those people downstairs, who didn't seem to care at all how their words and actions affected others.

"You're welcome," he said, because what else could he say. Vance's eyes rested on the stuffed animal. "Er, so what's his name?" he asked, gesturing to the toy.

[KsshqKla]

Haruka wasn't positive on what to say either... the recent adults she had been meeting had left her a little gunshy so to speak. Normally she was a lot more carefree, but ... well that was really hard to be right now.

She hugs her stuffie when he asks her about it "Um, th-this is hic Luna, m-mommy g-gave her to me hic t-to p-pwotect m-me when hic I g-gotta be, be , hic a-alone," Her lower lip starts to quiver, as fresh tears from in her eyes.

And she was crying again.

No class Vance had ever gone through prepared him to comfort crying children. What was he even supposed to do? Hug her?! That was a common method of comfort, he rationalized. But he also didn't want to offer empty comfort. Even if he made her feel better now, it didn't change the fact that soon they'd be parting ways.

There was some shouting downstairs. Vance didn't pick up the whole conversation, only bits and pieces. But considering what he had heard downstairs in person, he could piece it together. His stomach rolled at the word orphanage. Dad and Her owned this house, had plenty of assets, and the people down there were just going to take the money and dump Haruka at a children's home.

Fu...fudge them. Vance's cheeks warmed from distaste from the situation and also embarrassment from his childish way of avoiding a curse word.

"I see..." said Vance when he realized he had gone quiet. "Does Luna like planes?" asked Vance, suddenly, surprising even himself. Knowing himself, he knew where he was taking this, but he didn't understand why he was doing so at all.