In Pathos

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Chapter 1

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Kyoko sat straight and unmoving as she waited. Waited for the voice that would finally end this ordeal. The men and women seated on the pews around her waited minute after agonizing minute along with her. Anticipation hung heavy in the air. Any moment now.

Her eyes darted to the ornate oak door to the front, willing it to open. The silence that abound reminded her heavily of the church she used to go to back in her hometown. Except that instead of the pipe organ that played music in the background, she heard pens scribbling furiously on paper and documents being shuffled. And instead of the white robe donned by parish priest, the man emerging from the door was wearing black.

She had to remind herself that this wasn't a place of faith and divinity. This was a place where sin and depravity were laid bare. This was a place of judgment, where men bask in the glory and the power of being able to play god. Where truth and lies hung equally on the balance, and good and evil walk hand in hand.

It had been a difficult one to start with. A kidnapping. It was always hard when a child was involved. But what made it so complicated was that the opposing parties were the biological parents of the kidnapped girl, and that the plaintiff was a prostitute, while the defendant, a respected university professor.

At first glance, most had sided with the father's decision to forcefully take the child. However, as the case progressed, layer after layer of hidden motives and personal desires were peeled like the skins of an onion. And as they got closer to the core, the tears started coming more easily.

Questions were raised on the reasons why the father had waited more than ten years to act despite rejecting the mother when she had first informed him of the pregnancy. And why it had been such a coincidence that the professor's wife had been enthusiastically reconnecting with friends and acquaintances associated with social services and adoption agencies just before the child was taken.

It was later discovered that the couple's inability to conceive had put a strain on their relationship over the years, and that the wife had wished to adopt despite her husband's protests. Rather than caring for an unrelated child, he had decided to take the one that he already had.

Ultimately, Kyoko did not care about these details. Instead, she was looking at the mother who was desperately fighting for the right to keep her daughter. Admittedly, she did not have the best circumstances, or the best resources, to rear a child, but the love between them was undeniable.

The child in question was sitting quietly beside the court-appointed social worker. Clad in a pink lace-trimmed dress, the girl looked every inch the innocent victim. She kept swinging her stockinged feet and looking longingly at her mother, as if asking how much longer she needed to wait until they could go home.

Both parties were asked to stand. Finally, the jury had come to a decision. It had been a long and tiring journey, but the end of the road was almost at hand. Kyoko felt her throat constrict. She hoped against hope that beyond the scandal, the custody battle and the paternity suit, people would see the simple truth that she saw. That nobody had the right to separate this devoted mother and her daughter.

The past few days leading to that moment had frazzled Kyoko's nerves. She had become emotionally invested in the case. Like always.

The judge read the verdict and handed it back to the jury. Kyoko bit her lip. The jury stood to announce their verdict.

For a moment Kyoko thought she might have gone deaf. There was a split-second of complete silence before the room erupted into chaos. Only one word registered in her confounded mind. Guilty.

Amidst the mixed shouts of jubilation and the final pounding of the gavel, Kyoko slipped silently out of the courtroom. She felt a mixture of relief, vindication, and an odd sense of loss. The latter was an emotion she felt at the end of every case, whether they won it or not. Perhaps it was because while the case was ongoing, she had something to focus her energy into, and now that it's finished, she had to find a new purpose and move on.

She walked towards the water dispenser at the end of the hall. She needed a moment to compose herself and disassociate from the recent events. She took an empty cup and watched the air bubble up within the inverted bottle as she flipped the spigot and cold water started to flow out. As soon as the plastic cup was full, she took a swig and sat down on the nearby bench. Cradling the half-empty cup in her hands, she leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Miss Mogami!"

Kyoko sat up as she heard her name being called. The source was the woman clad in a simple black pantsuit striding purposefully towards her. Just a while ago, the same woman was pale as a sheet as she awaited the outcome of the battle between her and the father of her child. Looking at her now, nobody would suspect what she had just been through.

In her arms she carried her daughter, streaks of tears still fresh on both of their faces. Kyoko allowed herself a smile as she remembered how the woman had vowed to leave her current "job" and finally set up the store she had saved up for years once everything was all over.

As she stood up to meet the two, she felt a newer, more foreign emotion. Envy. Oh, how she wished she had… But then again, there was no use hoping for the impossible.

"This… all this wouldn't be possible without your help." It was more a statement of fact than anything else. The woman was really unbelievable. She continued, "I don't know how to thank you. Talk is cheap, I know, but I – we – owe you one. One the size of the Atlantic. If you need, anyth—"

"I didn't do too much," Kyoko cut her off. "If anything, you owe your lawyer," at this she glanced at the tall man standing quietly to the side, "more than me, Miss Kotonami."

Dedicated to LilyandIvy. A little something for up until I get my next break from my post-grad paper labors.

Standard disclaimers as follows.

Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. If symptoms persist, consult your doctor.

And yes, I'm still lightyears away from owning Skip Beat.