"Hello Keiko. Good of you to finally come." His face and tone were the same, but as far as Keiko had remembered, it had always been like for him. "You took longer than usual. Something hold you up at school? Perhaps on the way here?"
“I did have to speak with a teacher and the President … I’m sorry. I thought it could get it done faster than I did.”
Then the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong
“You didn't tell me you were bringing guests.” Aiko said in a low voice for only Keiko to hear.
“I didn’t know I was either.” Keiko said confused. Then she remembered something. “Oh! You’ll never guess who I ran into on the way here. I saw,” Keiko would have continued, but then the term ‘Speak of the Devil’ came into play. “Miuru!”
“Hello. What business do you come to these estates on?” Keiko simply stood behind Aiko, blending into the background. If Aiko was speaking, she had no place to interrupt. Did he not know who Miuru was? Keiko was sure he had to have a feeling that she was one of the Zodiac. Now that Keiko recalled it, wasn’t Miuru’s father the family doctor?
Had the two really gone this long without meeting in person? Sure, neither were the most sociable … but that seemed crazy. Then again, Aiko and his father were in Keiko’s earliest memories. Of course Akio was just a baby.
And her parents wanted her to be a part of the family. She had heard many of the maids in the Estate claim that her parents only did so for the position it gave them. They were now a part of the ‘elite’. Keiko thought it was gibberish. Her parents loved her and who she was; even without the curse they would have loved her. Maybe they were a little … precise on what they wanted her to do, but it’s not like Keiko had any plans herself. Like her parents wanted, she would become a Sohma lawyer and stay in the Estate. It made things easier for everyone. Keiko didn’t mind studying as much as they asked, it was to help her. And she adored all the instruments she was able to own and play.
It wasn’t like they made her stay in no matter what other than to go to school. They trusted her enough to live in her own place inside the Estate. Keiko never had to ask to hang out with her friends or family. Mainly because she never really felt like she wanted to. Hanging out was in her comfort zone, but going places she had never been before along with the possibility of bumping into someone was definitely a no for her.