Black Flower: Anew

Thanks so much for the positive feedback everyone. I'm having fun writing this and hopefully you enjoy reading it. The build is slower than I wanted in this one but it sets it up for the next.

*****

Linda survived the night, completely unaware of the ripples her presence caused. She slept well into the next evening; Tomiko and Shouichi never left the room. Their voices were hushed not to wake her even as their conversations sharpened and dulled like a well used sword.

"She's the wife of Cole?" Shouichi asked again as he studied Linda and remained kneeled next to his sister.

"Well ex wife now. That man deserves to be buried alive." Tomiko wiped away a tear as she looked at the bandaged wound.

Her brother wrapped and unwrapped one of Linda's twists around his finger. The more he studied her, the more fragile she seemed and the more murderous he felt.

"Tomi." He reached his other hand for his sister's and held it tightly before letting it go in favor of her shoulder so he could hold her close. She buried her face in Shouichi's shoulder and cried again.

When they were children, the adults would say that Tomiko held the emotions for them both. They were born as twins but never treated as such. He was older by 3 minutes at most, but it could have been three years. He was the older brother, the protector and now again it was time to be quiet and strong for her.

She cried herself to sleep and he held her as she rested against him, taking the time to study Linda more. Her face still carried a hint of softness high in the cheeks as if she'd never quite lose a cherubic innocence. Her lashes were long and curled in mostly the same direction with an errant one here or there. Full lips closed in a soft cinnamon pink despite the fact that all her makeup was washed off. It must have just been their natural color.

Those lips spread and coughed and dark brown eyes fluttered open. She sucked in air and whined, touching the bandage with a trembling hand then groaned softly. Her head turned in their direction and her eyes locked onto him with soft surprise but need.

"It hurts." Linda's voice was hoarse and her eyes scanned him and Tomiko.

Shouichi was a little mesmerized at first. Seeing her move after being so still for so long was dizzying but he nodded at her statement and shook his sister. Tomiko rose and looked toward the palette immediately then did a double take.

"Lin!" She leaned over her and stroked her cheeks. "Lin... you made it."

Linda laughed then immediately regretted it and tears streamed down the sides of her face. It all hurt so badly. Not only the wound, but her body ached. It was like one throbbing mass. Kuro entered after being retrieved by the boss's son. He kneeled next to Linda's form with a small cup in his hand.

"Who am I?" He studied her face and looked over her, checking her hands and around the wound.

"Kuro-sama." Her voice was hoarse but it roused a smirk out of him.

"Good girl. Drink this." He eased a hand under her head and lifted it to assist her. She finished it without complaint and he eased her head back down. Kuro looked over at Tomiko. "She needs to eat and your father will be here shortly."

Tomiko nodded and bowed her head, speaking politely in Japanese. "Thank you for everything Kuro-san."

Linda watched them but the strong pain reliever began to affect her. Her eyes blinked once and then twice and when they opened again she was looking at a new man. He was well dressed like the man she saw with Tomiko and well aged like Kuro. Behind him was another man: bald, quiet, and menacing. She wasn't a fan of constantly being in her underwear around men now.

"I see you have finally awakened. I am Tomiko's father." His voice was strong and commanding in a natural way as if he was meant to lead from birth.

"It's nice to meet you." Linda tried to be as polite as possible as she craned her head to look at him. They were such a tall family. "I'm Linda."

"I know who you are."

She flinched at his abruptness and gritted her teeth at the bit of pain from such a sudden movement.

"I won't be cruel to you; if Kuro trusts you then you are to be trusted. Do you need help?" He looked down at her, his voice monotone and his face emotionless.

"Yes."

"Why not go to your family?"

"I have no family." The question was easy to answer in a cold way.

"Mother?"

"Dead."

"Father?"

"Dead?"

"Grandparents, cousins, uncles, friends?"

"Dead or nonexistent."

"Good, this makes this easer." He reached back and the bald man handed him a folder. He squatted down next to her and showed her a gruesome picture of a young black woman dead on the ground. It must have been extremely traumatic because her features weren't recognizable.

Linda had seen traumatic things by simply being married to her husband, she didn't look away. "Who is this?"

"Linda Cole. She was shot and while running to a hospital she was unfortunately hit by a semi. There will be a closed casket funeral because of her misfortune. Her husband has been notified." Tomiko's father tucked the picture away.

"And this Linda Cole, what about her family?" Linda's eyes slid to him and he smirked. She was a smart girl.

"They have been compensated. This girl was not the nicest one and her death was during a very bad thing that they don't want to come to light. Instead they will get to say she died of an aneurism and was cremated. You will need a family and you cannot stay in Tomiko's shop."

Kuro cleared his throat, entering the room before bowing deeply to the boss. "She is my family."

"Is that so?" The boss switched to Japanese. "That is quite the responsibility. She could turn out to be a burden. Have you talked to your wife yet?"

"I am willing to accept that and yes. She is in agreement." Kuro answered back then switched back to English. "This is my eldest daughter, Hana."

"Hana..." The boss grunted his approval. He turned back to Hana who now lay where Linda Cole once did. "You have been away from your family for a long time Hana. You must purify yourself and return to their values. Understand?"

Linda was trembling and a tear of gratitude ran down her cheek. "Y-Yes sir."

"Hai Fukui-sama" Kuro corrected.

"Hai Fukui-sama." Hana bowed her head as much as she could and Boss Fukui nodded at her effort and left with the bald man.

Hana looked over to Kuro. "Thank you so much Kuro-sama."

He nodded at her and smirked only slightly. "It is Otousan now."

"Thank you, Otousan."

*****

In the dead of night, nearly 24 hours from her arrival, Hana was carried from the sushi restaurant to a van, hidden within a black bag.

Kuro and another man rode in the front as Shouichi and Tomiko rode with the bag. When they were far enough from the restaurant, Kuro reached a hand up and tapped the roof of the car.

Tomiko unzipped the bag and Hana gasped for air before whimpering and having to settle herself down. She looked in between Tomiko and the young man whose name she still didn't know. She opened her mouth to talk to him but Kuro spoke first.

"Shouichi, Tomiko, this is my eldest daughter Hana. She has been away from my family for a long time so she is not used to anything as of now. Please be kind to her and show her around after her purification."

Hana nodded quietly. "It's nice to meet you, Shouichi. You too, Tomiko."

They both nodded back to her but now Tomiko grinned and hugged her friend gently. "That's a beautiful name. I have always loved that name and planned to name my daughter as such. Now I can say I named her after you."

Hana laughed then winced and quieted again. Shouichi studied her and moved her and his sister so they could still touch but there would be no stress on her wound.

"Thank you." The new daughter of Kuro smiled at him softly. "Are you Tomiko's boyfriend."

The whole car seemed to crack up at the mistake, a well needed joke after a sleepless stretch. "I am her older brother."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok." Tomiko soothed. "He looks more like our mother. He's pretty, right?"

In her old life, Linda would have never called any man "pretty" but to Hana, Shouichi was downright gorgeous. His complexion was gilded ivory and so smooth he seemed unreal. Wavy ebony hair was smoothed back from his face and every time a car passed on the road, the headlights would shine on his caramel colored eyes. The combination of his high cheekbones and lush pout of lips softened the seriousness of his face.

Hana stared then noticed she was doing so and looked away. The van turned down another street and she was sure she had no clue where they were.

"Hana," Shouichi's deep melodic voice broke the sudden silence of the car and he turned to smirk at her. "Kuro Hana? Your name is Black Flower."

"It seemed suitable." Kuro spoke from the front seat and for the first time Hana realized that "Kuro" was his last name and now hers.

"It is." Shouichi nodded as the van pulled into an open garage connected to a nice house. Hana was gingerly carried within.

"Everyone is still asleep," started the other man.

"I am not." The woman's voice was heard before she turned on a light so that she could be seen. "Let me see my daughter."

Hana studied her new mother. She was in a silk evening robe with her long dark brown hair pulled over to one side. She was beautiful and not that much younger than her husband. Her eyes were shrewd and dark but softened as they fell upon her. "You have grown pretty, Hana. Welcome home."

"Thank you..." Tomiko whispered the rest into her ear to help. "Okaasan."

The woman nodded and guided them up the stairs to the bedroom that had been set up. They eased her into the bed and the woman sat near her good side.

"Have you eaten?"

Hana nodded. "Yes before we left."

Her new mother touched the hem of the cheap wrap dress they found for her. "We will measure you for clothes in the morning and begin preparations for your purification but rest now, alright?"

With another nod, Hana smiled and Kuro gave her another small cup of the medicine that had been brought with them. His wife stood and ushered everyone else out. "Thank you, go home, our daughter needs to sleep. She will accept visitors only after the ceremony. Good night. Thank you. Good night."

The Fukui children had become used to Rei's pushy manner. She was their nanny for years before marrying Kuro and starting her own family. They took their leave along with the other man with the van away from the Kuro household.

*****

Hana woke the next morning to two kids staring at her. The eldest, 13 at most, was a boy in a school uniform with his legs crossed and one elbow resting on his knee with his head in the palm of that hand. The younger was a girl, likely 10, also in uniform and lying on her stomach with her chin in her hands.

"Oneesan, are you always a late sleeper or is this because you got shot?" The girl asked curiously and the boy pushed her.

"Don't ask rude questions."

Hana blinked and stared at the two. "I... What?"

Rei entered the door with a tray and made an annoyed noise. "Hey, let your sister rest. Go eat breakfast before school."

The kids grumbled and reluctantly left the bed to trudge out the door. Rei set the tray down in their place. "You have to eat it all, we have a lot to do today and you're going to need your energy."

"Hai Okaasan." There was less pain today as Hana gingerly reached for the utensils and her first bowl and began to eat.

Rei nodded in appreciation and left her to it.

*****

Hana stood barefoot behind a large gold basin that was set on the floor of a temple. Behind her stood her family and Fukui's who had come to watch her. She wore only a long plain white cotton dress as a priest chanted before her. Her twists were removed and her hair had been washed and pressed. It now hung flatly just around her mid back.

In the past week, she'd been measured and fitted for just about anything she could have imagined. She'd learned that her brother and sister were named Kou and Suki respectively and would invade her space at any moment they could: Suki to get her hair brushed and Kou for homework help or just sheer boredom. And finally it was time for her purification.

She was soaked in incense firstly, desperately fighting the urge to cough out of fear of disrespect as well as causing her wound more pain.

It was healing well, closing up nicely, but it could still be quite sensitive. Then she carefully kneeled and extended her hands over the basin as she had been trained. Warm water poured over them until the priest stopped. She pulled her hands back and covered her face with them before tipping her head over the basin.

As the water poured over her neck and down over her hair, she wondered what was the point of doing her hair if they were going to wet it but she let it go. When the water stopped, she lowered her hands and looked up at the priest.

"Kuro Hana, you are clean."