Izumi recovered from his shock and exclaimed, "You can't do that, it's ridiculous!"

"Not that I completely disagree, but I don't think you have any right to protest Izumi-san," said Hikaru's uncle Kaoru from where he sat on the edge of the next desk over.

"Kao-ji-chan!" Hikaru was startled to see him.

"You don't have any idea what kind of guy she's dating! He's 27 and she's just a child!" Izumi declared angrily.

"Takeshi Kiri," Kaoru replied calmly, "I've met him, and I've been listening for a little while, and I think Hikaru is right, her sex life is none of your business."

The second agent piped up, "Even if you haven't had intercourse yet, it doesn't mean he hasn't done anything sexual to you. Or seen you naked."

Hikaru stared at the agent scornfully, "He's my boyfriend, of course we've done sexual things, we've kissed hundreds of times. And I made sure he saw me naked, there's no way I can build a long term relationship with a man who can't handle my scars."

"What scars?" demanded Izumi.

Kaoru stared at him in disbelief. "You've been living with my niece for four months and don't know what scars? That sure says a lot about which guy she trusts." He stood and hugged Hikaru.

"Why are you here? Hikaru asked him.

"Your mother called, in tears." He frowned at her. "She said you declared you are moving out and that you'd decided to skip school to try and get Takeshi-san released from whatever Izumi-san had done," Kaoru explained.

She nodded.

"You can't just move out, you're under age, you have to have a guardian," pointed out the first agent.

"I can," Hikaru replied. "Either by having my mother sign on an apartment with me, or by staying with my uncle, I don't have to stay in the same house."

Kaoru gazed at her in surprise, but didn't refute her assumption directly. "Well, we'll have to have a family meeting," he said calmly. He wondered how long she'd been thinking about how to move out.

"Hikaru?" Kiri said from behind them. He stood next to the small lawyer, looking completely exhausted.

Hikaru ran to him. Kiri caught her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Hikaru," Kiri said.

"I didn't think about protecting you at all," she continued.

"Hikaru," Kiri repeated.

"I didn't find out until this morning," she explained.

"Hikaru," Kiri asked a little exasperatedly, "do you trust me?"

Hikaru nodded.

"Then believe me when I say this is not your fault. I know exactly who's fault this is," he told her, hugging her tightly.

Hikaru protested, "But I never even considered."

Kiri said quietly, "Hikaru I love you like crazy, but if you have a fault, I think it's taking too much responsibility for things."

Hikaru stared at him doubtfully.

"It's not your responsibility to protect me, if anything, it's mine to protect you because I am older," he said hugging her against him again.

He saw that she was going to protest, and he added, "Me being older is simple fact Hikaru."

She nodded reluctantly.

"And we both know who caused this," he said firmly.

Hikaru sighed. "You look exhausted?" she asked worriedly.

Kiri said, "I'm so freaking tired." He laid his head against her shoulder and leaned on her a little. "The police informed the people sharing holding space with me that I was a pedophile, and then made sure to check on us frequently, and made plenty of noise doing it. I haven't really slept since about 4am yesterday, between the travel and everything."

Hikaru hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry," she said.

Kiri laughed and gave her a wry look. "Not your fault," he repeated.

Hikaru asked Kiri, "Even though you're so tired, will you come to my family meeting?"

"Yes, of course," he replied. Though he looked at his lawyer and then asked, "When?"

Hikaru looked at her uncle.

"Tonight?" Kaoru asked.

Hikaru said, "We're doing the opening at Yukito-san's place tonight, we play until 9pm. Is that too late?"

Kaoru shook his head. "9:30 then," he said. "These folks," he indicated the children's services people with a wave, "agree to let the rest of the charges drop, contingent on your mother verifying our words," he added.

Hikaru sighed again and said, "Thank you." After a moment she added, "I better go back and do my afternoon classes."

Kiri and Kaoru nodded in unison.

Hikaru asked the lawyer, "Do you think you could have it written up by tonight?"

The lawyer nodded, "A basic version at least, I'll send it with Takeshi-san, we have a bit more paperwork here too."

Kiri looked at Hikaru curiously, but she didn't enlighten him. Instead she kissed him and said, "Tonight then? You and Kao-ji-chan decide where?"

Kiri nodded. After glancing at her uncle for confirmation, Hikaru went back to school.

--

During the break, she gave a short, quickly whispered explanation of her absence to Risa and Shizuoka. They were as incredulous as Hikaru felt. She had no idea how things had gotten so crazy.

After school she pulled her guitar case out of her locker, and her stage clothes from Risa's, since the lockers were too small to keep it all in her own. Then she headed for Ryuske's place, where they were to meet up. 

She got dressed in his bathroom. And when she came out, asked if he had anything she could eat.

Ryuske gave her a long look and said, "Sure." He found her a candy bar, a piece of cheese and some crackers.

Rin and Hatsuharu showed up shortly after. They all helped load Hatsuharu's drums and Ryuske's keyboard, they carried the smaller instruments in their arms, as they climbed into Hatsuharu's mini-van.

At Blue Moon, Yukito's bar, the bouncer Alex was on duty. Hikaru stopped to talk to him a little.

He told her, "Things are tight, but I resigned from the other door job," he shrugged and added, "apparently the police got enough corroboration from other employees of the owner's son bringing kids in through the back that I wasn't brought up on charges or fined for letting minors into the bar."

Hikaru told him, "I'm glad, I'm relieved that they've never contacted me about my part in the incident either, and my performing license seems safe. Does it have to be bouncer work?"

Alex said, "No, but my ugly face and my size put people off." 

Hikaru bit her lip thoughtfully. "Give me your contact info, I'll pass it on to a guy I used to work for," she offered.

He did, then she went around to the back entrance and joined her band onstage.

Before they began, Ryuske surprised her by stepping up to her and placing a hand on either side of her face. Hikaru stared at him, so close she could see the texture of his eyeliner.

She'd only ever seen him without his eyeliner once, and when she'd asked, he'd told her he always wore it because someone he loved had told him he was beautiful in it. Hikaru thought he was beautiful either way, though the makeup certainly created emphasis.

Ryuske said, "I don't know what's going on with you today, but for the next three hours, it doesn't exist. Focus on the music Hikaru."

Hikaru opened her mouth to deny being distracted, but thought the better of it and simply nodded.

Ryuske released her and went to check the equipment connections.

They played the three hour warm up and then turned the stage over to a touring band, 'The Corbins'.

Hikaru pulled out her phone to ask where she should be heading, and found there were already messages from both her uncle and Kiri waiting. She said goodnight to her band, and took the bus downtown.