starter for @redgiven's thoma
"thoma-niisan, do you...ever miss your parents?"
the question from the teen comes out of a rather left field, after hakuji was doing a dance practice at the kamisato estate--at the behest of the pretty lady ayaka, who wanted to see how different the style of dance hakuji had been trained in was compared to hers. both, in the boy's mind, are beautiful forms of dance, but in the end both of them had sore feet. ayaka had stepped inside after wishing hakuji well and he'd been intending to head off as well, but the kamisato housekeeper thoma had come out with some snacks.
look, hakuji's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when it's free food made by thoma-niisan. if he could cook half as good as thoma, hakuji's sure he could pick up a steady job at one of the fancy restaurants in the city.
but, as hakuji polished up his second rice ball, a question had floated to the front of his mind, and he'd blurted it out before he could stop himself. embarrassed, now, the teen claps both hands over his mouth, blue eyes wide in shame.
"i am so sorry, that just came out, i-" comes hakuji's muffled explanation, considering he hasn't moved his hands from his mouth the entire time. however, despite the randomness of the question, it's one made out of a genuine curiosity--and, perhaps, a sharing of experiences. it's well-known that hakuji was essentially being raised by arataki itto, and considering that itto has said (multiple times) that he found the kid in his fruit sack one day, it's easy to draw the conclusion that no hakuji had been abandoned by his parents.
he lowers his hands, lowering his gaze as well and plopping his hands in his lap. "i just--i was thinking about my own parents, and i know that i have itto as a dad now, but sometimes i just think about my biological parents and it really bothers me."
there's also the whole issue of the temple of silence, and the fact that his birthmother may have been an assassin, and that the fatui found out about him so fast and made him dance in the palms of their hands. but, within the confines of the kamisato estate, where the walls (metaphorically) have ears, hakuji will hold off on telling thoma about those parts for now.
