Disclaimer: I am not Koge-Donbo, I do not own Kamichama Karin, nor do I pretend to.

I also do not own Frankenstein, whose rights most likely belong to whatever studio has so utterly annihilated it with their countless movie adaptations. Read the book, kids. xD

(A/N) This is the beginning of my attempt to straighten up all of the loose ends of this series, for myself. It bugged me how many of them there were, especially because I really liked this series. However, I am also thankful for it, because that gives me plenty to write about! Hope you like it.

"It was the secrets of heaven and earth that I desired to learn; and whether it was the outward substance of things, or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my enquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world." - Frankenstein Mary Shelley


The evening fog was beginning to descend on London that cool September night as the four of them made their way to their cars. The seven o'clock movie had just let out, and they chatted easily, winding down their 'double date night'. It was the first time they had all been out together since Himeka was born. Suzuka and Kazuto Kujyou walked hand in hand, close together to keep warm, excited to get home to the baby daughter that they both adored so much.

Kirihiko Karasuma walked to Kazuto's right, hands buried deep in his pockets, eyes shaded by his mop of dark hair, and talked quietly with Kazuto in Japanese about general things going on at work. His wife, Kira Karasuma, walked on Suzuka's left, arms crossed over her chest to trap her body heat, her long light brown tresses framing the soft features that were mirrored so perfectly in her own young daughter, Kirika.

She and Suzuka talked about their kids; how Suzie was adjusting to having a new baby in the house, Kira sharing wisdom that stemmed from her experience as a first-time mother raising twins, who were now almost four. The two women spoke in English to each other, smiling and laughing easily like old friends do. But something was nagging at the back of Suzuka's mind. Something was not quite right about Kira tonight.

Part of it was in the way she kept throwing furtive glances at her husband. Another was the distance between them, both physical and otherwise. All night, Suzuka realized, she and Kazuto had always been in the middle with the other two flanking. And although she didn't mean to do it, she found herself comparing the way Kazuto had his arm around her now, keeping her warm, how he had casually held her hand during the movie, and how he had brushed her hair to the side when they had sat down to dinner, to the cold indifference that Kirihiko was showing his wife. She hadn't seen him even go near her once the entire evening. She couldn't remember them saying a word to each other, either. For the first time she wondered what their home life was like. It was obvious that they were having problems, but Suzuka didn't dare ask Kira right now.

They had reached their parking places and parted to their separate vehicles, Kira waving to Suzuka and saying cheerfully, "See you in a minute."

They would follow the Kujyous back to their house to pick up their kids, where the babysitter was watching Himeka, Kirio, and Kirika. Suzuka waved goodbye in return and slid into the passenger seat of their familiar Volvo. She waited for her husband to get in and rev up the engine, then cranked up the heat, rubbing her arms to get the chill out of her bones. September wasn't usually this cold.

"I think we're heading into an early cold snap," Kazuto commented as he backed carefully out of the parking space. He waited for the Karasumas to do the same before heading out onto the highway. They drove along for a few minutes in silence, the radio on low, tuned to the single Japanese broadcasting station where the announcer was rambling out a plug for some concert going on in Kyoto that month.

She didn't know why, but Suzuka spoke barely above a whisper when she asked, "Do you think they're okay?"

She knew that her husband would understand who she meant; his silence made her think that he must have noticed it, too. He replied by asking, "You mean Mr. and Mrs. Cold-Shoulder? Sure. They probably just had a row or something."

He paused before adding, "After all, it's not like they were ever a perfect match."

His tone was light enough, designed to wipe the frown from her face, but despite the joking she could tell that he was troubled as well.

"Not like us." Suzuka said it teasingly, although she was only half-joking. Right now, her life was as close to perfect as she could have ever hoped for it to be. She just wished that her friends' could be the same. When Kazuto rolled his eyes at her, she smiled for him, but just as quickly relapsed into seriousness when a new thought hit her.

"You don't think they'll split up, do you? Those poor kids…"

Her husband opened his mouth to reassure her but, finding no good answer, closed it again. After a moment's deliberation he settled with, "It's up to them. It isn't our business what they do with their lives, love. All we can do is be good friends, and be there for them if they need us, and hope for the best."

He didn't look at her, but kept his eyes on the road. Suzuka nodded solemnly in reply even though he couldn't see it, and stared down at her hands clasped in her lap. She knew that he was right, and there was nothing else they could do but wait and see what happened. They passed the rest of the fifteen minutes' journey in silence, the headlights of the Karasuma's black compact tagging along behind them.

Soon they were pulling up their long gravel driveway, getting out of their cars and heading up the front steps. The Kujyou's house was a good-sized Victorian, nestled on an acre of land and attended by several large oaks that provided shade and protection from the outside world. They had both fallen in love with it immediately because, although it was just a few minutes outside of town, it had the feeling of being miles away, hidden deep in their own private forest.

The lights were on in several of the windows, and the soft yellow glow illuminated the porch as Suzuka fumbled in her purse for her keys. She was just turning the key in the lock when a loud shriek emitted from within. This was immediately followed by a chorus of wailing cries, so she shoved the door open and all four of them ran inside.

Just as they entered the foyer, a mane of red hair appeared at the top of the stairs and rushed down to find out what the commotion was. The source of the crying seemed to be coming from the cavernous living room on the left, and it was for this that Kira immediately dashed.

"Mama!"

Kira stooped down to receive her daughter, who had come flying into her arms with one hand clasped tightly over her head.

"Kirika! Are you all right? What happened?" Kira asked urgently, trying to pull away Kirika's hand.

Ana Nishikiori, who had arrived at Kira's shoulder, looked into the room and gasped in horror. She ran forward to grab her young son, who held four inches of light brown hair in his tiny fist, a pair of construction paper scissors discarded at his side.

Kirika finally dropped her hand to reveal a large chunk of hair missing, the short piece that was left sticking out at an odd angle. She fell into a fit of renewed sobs, burying her head in her mother's shoulder.

Ana had picked up her son, admonishing, "Micchiru! When we get home, you are in so much trouble!"

She turned to Kira, her deep blue eyes wide in apology, "I am so, so sorry! I only left them for two seconds to put Himeka down, and they were sound asleep! I never imagined he would do something like this!"

Kira smiled up at her, saying calmly, "It's okay. It's only hair, it will grow back. No harm done."

"No harm done?" Kirihiko asked sneeringly, finally breaking his silence. "She looks like a freak. We can't send her to preschool like that!"

Kirio, who had woken up with all of the noise but was sitting silently on the couch, got up when his father spoke and wandered over to his sister and mother. Kira took his hand as she stood to face her husband.

"She does not look like a freak!" Then she paused, a worried frown appearing on her face. "But the other children might make fun of her. I'll just have to cut the rest to match, I suppose." Kira brushed what was left of her daughter's once-long hair to the side, muttering, "It's going to be pretty short though…"

Ana broke in, "Again, I am really sorry. I don't know what I'm going to do with this fellow when he's older… he's going to be a terror for his teachers!"

She chuckled good-naturedly before plowing on in her heavy accent, in good English tradition. "So, catastrophe aside, how was the movie?"

Kira snagged the change of subject like a life-vest. "It was good. I really liked it."

Suzuka re-entered the room then after having sneaked off to check on Himeka during all of the commotion. She immediately launched into full-scale movie review mode, telling Ana everything that she liked and didn't like, while Kazuto pulled Kirihiko to the side. "Come here, I want to show you something."

Kirihiko followed his old partner to a door in the wall next to the stairs. It opened inward to reveal another set of stairs leading to the basement. Kazuto led the way down them, flicking on a light switch at the end. The room wasn't very large, but it was filled with stacks of papers, books, and a wide array of equipment. What drew Kirihiko's eye, though, was the tank on the far wall that seemed to be emitting a faint blue glow. Kirihiko drew in a sharp breath when he saw what it contained.

"My God… Kujyou, you've done it!"

When they emerged a few minutes later, the living room was empty. Kazuto opened the swinging door to the kitchen to find his wife and Kira inside, Kirika still in her mother's arms, and Kirio standing beside Suzuka, looking as if he was about to fall asleep right there.

Suzuka was shaking her head, and when she saw her husband, exclaimed, "Ana left without pay again! I forgot to give her the money in all of the excitement, and she ran out the door before I remembered. She can't do that! They need the money…"

"And I forgot too! Can you believe that?" Kira interjected. "Here," she said, setting Kirika on the counter and pulling out her pocketbook.

"You aren't really going to write her a check, are you?" Kirihiko was leaning in the door jamb, glowering at her. Kazuto had moved over next to his wife, one hand on the small of her back.

"Don't worry about it, Kira. I'll write her a check and send it to her tomorrow, okay?" Kazuto said, throwing Kirihiko a side-long glance.

"What, you're going to pay her for us too? You don't have to do that, Kazuto."

"I want to. It's not a problem, really. Just get this one home before he falls asleep in my kitchen," he said quietly, giving Kirio a gentle pat on the head.

Kira smiled gratefully as she picked her daughter up off the counter. "Thank you," she said softly, and grabbed Kirio's hand. "Come along, Kirio-chan. Let's go home."

"I'll walk you out!" Suzuka offered brightly, and followed her friend out of the kitchen. Kirihiko let them all pass, but lingered in the doorway, giving Kazuto a long, calculating look.

"I'll talk to you later about…" he left his sentence there, and Kazuto nodded in acknowledgement. With that, Kirihiko turned on his heel and walked out the front door, leaving his wife and children in the entryway where Kira was still saying goodbye to Suzuka.

"Well, I guess he's leaving without me, so I'd better go," Kira said laughingly as she gave Suzuka a one-armed hug and a light kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you later, okay? We should do this again soon!"

"Absolutely!"

And within minutes they were pulling out of the drive, the pricks of their headlights disappearing into the gloom.

"What a crazy night!" Suzuka exclaimed as Kazuto closed and locked the front door. "That Micchi sure is a handful!" She smiled contentedly and started to head up the stairs when she noticed her husband's expression.

"What's wrong?" She stopped at the bottom step, and he walked slowly over to her, his eyes distant.

Without a word, he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, kissing her full on the mouth. She was surprised at the suddenness of it, but couldn't deny how good it felt. So she just ran her fingers through his dark hair and kissed back. They lingered like that for a few minutes before finally breaking apart. Kazuto cupped her face in his hand and looked her directly in the eye, his dark eyes deadly serious.

"I love you," he whispered. And Suzuka burst into a fit of giggles.

"What?" he asked, surprised and a little hurt by her reaction.

"I just… I'm sorry. You were just so serious about it," she laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I am serious," he said, but smiled in spite of himself at her infectious laugh.

She gave him two short kisses and said quietly, "Fine. I love you too." Then she dropped her arms and started back up the stairs, saying, "Can we go to bed now?"

He raised an eyebrow and grinned mischievously before chasing her up the stairs, Suzuka muffling her squeal so as not to wake their sleeping daughter. They raced to their bedroom and shut the door quietly behind them.


(A/N) The end got a little fluffy, didn't it? Oh well, it's cute! Haha. The beginning is kind of slow… but don't worry, it gets much better from here! Also, in case anyone was wondering, I am aware of Kirio and Kirika's origins according to the anime/manga. What I will say about it is this: all will be explained in later chapters, so read on!