The Untold Origins of The Port Mafia

A Doctor and His Daughters Begin a New Life

~ A month after the end of The Great War ~

"You must serve everyone equally to show we're not afraid. Even the lowest of the low-street criminals know they can come here for treatment. We're neutral ground, and that's powerful. People look to us because we have something they don't. The power in that is immeasurable, eventually, someone will take notice and we must be ready when that day comes. You must always be on guard." That's what Mori tells Akiko when they gain reputations for their back alley clinic

The feared Mori-san runs the clinic and his mentee, a much healthier-looking 12-year-old Yosano Akiko works alongside him when she's not in school.

The two have settled in quite nicely, living in the loft across from the clinic.

Mori eventually tells her that Elise is his ability, to which Akiko promptly puts her hands on her hips and says, "Then can't you make her a little less stiff, nobody will believe she's an actual kid if she acts like some sort of tea serving robot, for goodness sake!"

Truthfully, even with Mori, Akiko is a little lonely and wouldn't mind having Elise be more like a sister.

Mori may be a stranger to romantic love, but he knows what it is to love a sibling. He is happy to give Akiko a little sister, but he's spent little time with children besides Akiko and doesn't want them to have the exact same personality, so he settles for going the opposite direction. Elise is now a bright bubbly girl who calls Mori, Dad.

As Akiko doesn't mind having a sister, Mori doesn't mind having a daughter.

Akikio has even caught herself calling him Dad a few times, and every time she looks away in embarrassment. But his heart swells with a feeling he's never allowed himself to feel before. Pride and joy.

He's done something that didn't turn out evil and ruined, he's touched someone's life without corrupting them. He made her better. And that changes everything.

Through her, he's finding little bits of himself again. There is one final piece he knows would complete him but alas . . .

-

'Maybe other people wouldn't think this is perfect. But to me? To me, this is pretty darn good.' Akiko thinks as she, Mori and Elise sit down to dinner. 'I only wish Fukuzawa-san was here. I wonder where he is now?'

"Dad, do you know what happened to Fukuzawa-san?"

Mori sighs, he wishes that they didn't bring him up, the longing sends a sharp pain through his chest. It turns out he may not be as estranged from love as he thought. It's odd for him to think the word, one so foreign to him. He never thought of loving someone before. He hadn't thought that he could . . . but here he is. And he's not sure if this feeling is love, seeing as he's never felt it before, but the longing and heartache are something he wishes he didn't have to feel. It's painful, considering that he will never have the man of his affections. It reminds him of why he sets aside emotion, and yet he can't bring himself to lock the thoughts of him away entirely.

'Ah, Fukuzawa Yukichi. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. If that isn't the biggest understatement.'

Aloud, he says, "I don't know, dear. If I find out, I'll tell you."

-

At night after Elise has fallen asleep, Akiko asks for one more chapter. Mori obliges, but before he can open the book she asks.

"Fukuzawa-san is the one who killed all those big government guys, right?"

Mori smiles at her phrasing, she shares his lack of care for authority. "Yes, he had more part in ending the war than I ever did. Why do you ask?"

"I just want to thank him, is all. He was so nice to me, I miss him. I hope he's okay." She says, sleepily.

'As do I, more than you could ever know.'

"I'm sure I could dig up his address, maybe you could send him a letter, but for now, sleep, Akiko-chan."

Mori does not try to find Fukuzawa, he tries to forget all about the man. Not because of malice, but because he fears what will happen if he does.

Akiko still has some night terrors, but in her bedroom shared with Elise, with plushies and posters and a window showing off the city's bright lights, they don't feel as scary.