by Suilan Lee
***
“You are still calling your mother by the first name?” Shuji asked when Kyo fell silent.
Kyo sighed. “Yeah, I’ve been working on that. The truth is I left to make peace with Kyo Tatsuya. There are areas that need to be given up, others that can’t be given up. I have lived a full twenty-two years as Kyo Tatsuya.”
“So, this is all about becoming a Kiyoshi?” Shuji shook his head. “Why punish Ryuu-san?”
“I’m not punishing him. I’m testing myself,” Kyo said quietly. “Those first months at that house were hell. I would have drowned without him, but now, this last part, I have to do myself. He’s been holding my hand the entire time; I want to show him what I’ve learned with his help, and that I can stand on my own.”
“Do you love him?”
“Of course I love him. I haven’t told him but I will. This year I seemed to have gained a whole new family. All of them expect something from me, and for a while, I wondered if I was betraying my foster family by taking my mother’s name. But-,” he trailed off.
“But, now what,” Shuji demanded.
“If I’d grown up with the Kiyoshi family, I would have ended up like them, bitter, angry and greedy. My mother constantly has to defend her position because each one of them wants a piece of the pie, and it has all been her work. It’s a hateful environment to grow up in. So, I’m glad to my foster family for showing me a different way of life.”
“This exhibition you’re doing at the new gallery is it going to be under your old name or is it going to be as a Kiyoshi?”
“As a Kiyoshi,” Kyo said quietly. “I made a promise with my mother that if I chose to stay with her, my paintings would be under Kiyoshi. If not, then I’d just leave it as Tatsuya.”
“Was there a moment you thought you might walk away?”
Kyo thought about for a moment. “My decision was made the day my mother found me at the storage room. When I asked Ryuu to help me learn how to be a Kiyoshi, my decision was already made.”
“How are you going to apologize to Ryuu-san? He’s very angry with you right now.”
He would be, Kyo thought as he stood up. “Shuji, please just hold him off for two more days, alright. The exhibition is on Friday. I’ll be ready by then.”
“Fine, for the sake of love declarations I will say no for two more days. But, you had better make sure he apologizes to me for taking his anger out on me. He is very scary.”
Kyo laughed. “I promise, Shuji. I’m going back to work, now."
