BLOOM [OHSHC]

Chapter 19 - Brains, Influence, Money

🏵

The California House buzzed with life...

For maybe the first time ever.

Ellis did not like all of the extra people in the sterile house. They distracted Michiyo from her job, kept her up at all hours of the night, and blatantly disregarded the rules the Kimura family set forth on the premises. The little one was too loud and the tall one was too quiet. He had a sneaking suspicion that they were there on purpose... but that purpose eluded him like steam through his fingers.

On the other hand, Hugo loved it. He was sick of the house being empty and clinical and cold. He was sick of following Megumi and Kazuo Kimura around and dealing with the whiplash of their two-faced personalities. Kind one moment, and vicious the next. He was sick of the gamut of facetious celebrities drifting in and out at all hours of the day and night, none of which were real friends of the family. He was sick of seeing the girls suffer for their parents' selfish choices. And the surprise guests helped with all of those things simultaneously.

Honey's infectious optimism and chaotic joy filled the house with more laughter and light than had ever been there before, while Mori's stoic calm kept everyone level-headed enough not to break anything or cause any lasting harm. The guest room in the west wing finally served its purpose for the first time ever.

Laughter rang in the halls.

🏵

As our group ate leftover cake and tea for breakfast (and Mei ate her liquefied breakfast beside us) the security system rang. Hugo volunteered to check the alarm, shoving one more bite of strawberry cake in his mouth before standing and taking his leave.

"It's probably just a peacock wandering too close to the fence again," I explained, attempting to assuage my friends' concern with a shrug. I piled white hair on top of my head in a nest-like messy bun. "No big deal."

Honey's face lit up, and I inwardly cursed at myself.

That was definitely the wrong thing to say.

"Really?!" Honey beamed, eyes wide with wonder, "I wanna see! I've never seen a peacock in real life!" But without waiting for an answer, he took off down the hall, chasing after Hugo to go see the fantastical, damn-near-fictional bird.

Mei got up silently and followed after him.

Across the breakfast table, Mori and I made equally tired faces at each other, sipping our cups of coffee in unison and sighing.

"So... what's on your plate today?" Mori grumbled, eyes still half-closed with sleep. He looked moments away from slipping back into his dream, as if only conversing with me kept him alert.

I stared into my cup of black coffee, trying to recall my chaotic schedule. "Filming, I think, for most of the day. Nothing else that I know of. How about you and Honey?"

His mind seemed elsewhere, studying me almost, as we sat and talked in the sunshine. "Work... I think," he managed to mutter. When he noticed me watching him, Mori gripped his coffee cup tighter and eyed the half-eaten piece of carrot cake he'd been nibbling on for breakfast.

"Well hey, maybe after work tonight, Mei and I could take you and Honey to some of our favorite places in town. You know, show you the good stuff in LA, not just the tourist traps," I suggested as I pulled my legs up into my chair.

Mori nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Sure. Sounds fun."

But before we could talk about anything else, a commotion came from the hall, with a screech of giggles from Honey and Mei to accompany the noise. Mori and I shared an equally confused look, but our silent question answered itself after only another moment.