Disclaimer: I don't own Summer Wars

A/N: This is for the broken families and the ones that are together for Thanksgiving.

Tired

I hung up the phone after saying goodbye to my mother. She was telling me about how much she missed me and how much she wanted me back home. College life was tough, but it'll be worth it. I plan on writing a book about our war in Oz, but I need to hone my skills before I can do anything. But being a literature major requires a lot of reading. I'm glad I had the time to talk to her or else I would've missed so much.

When I hung up, I noticed that Kenji was quiet; quieter than usual. He was as his small on his computer, typing away blankly. I wanted to say something, but he opened his mouth. Instead of words, the only thing that came out was a sigh.

"Kenji…" I finally say.

"Yes." He answered, not looking from his computer.

I sat down at the couch behind him. Let me explain, Reader. Our relationship kind of hit the ground running. We started dating three years after the whole Oz thing and got an apartment together months later. I know you're probably thinking two things: what took so long to get together; and why did you guys get an apartment so soon. Well, Kenji's a shy guy, so he never officially asked me out.

Those years, we were just strong friends. But that day three years ago, he somehow grew courage. At the time, we just finished watching a movie with Sakuma. When the credits started rolling, I went to go use the bathroom, but Kenji stopped me for some reason.

"Natsuki, can I talk to you a moment?" He asked. I heard Sakuma snickering in the background.

"Sure." I nodded as we stepped out of the small study room. It wasn't easy because it's hardly ever clean.

As soon as Kenji closed the door, he took a breath. "Well, it's just that… I really… You see…" He started rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Will you…" He tried again. "Will you…be mine?"

I gasped. And before I could answer (if I could answer), I hugged him tight. He pulled away for a second before kissing my lips. It was our first kiss.

Now, when I tried to kiss him, I couldn't reach his lips, so I settled for his cheek. "Natsuki, I'm kind of busy." He said.

"Are you okay? You seem pretty…distant."

He sighed and pushed himself off of his seat. "I'm just… I'm going to get some tea." I watched him go inside the small kitchenette and fish for a clean mug. Don't judge us, Reader. Who has time to clean when they have so many classes to study for?

"What is it?" I asked. "Is school getting stressful?"

"No." He said, scratching away at the inside of the cup. "I'm…going to court in a week."

My heart skipped a beat. "What? Why? What happened?"

I saw him shaking as he set the mug down on the counter. "It's…my parents… They're getting divorced."

I gasped. I've never really experienced divorce or how it could break a family. I couldn't even imagine a family breaking since mine is so tight and secure. "Why?" I asked. "Do you know?"

He shook his head. "I just know that…" A tear rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry." He said, wiping it.

"No, no, it's okay." I said in an almost whisper.

"It's just that…my father said to me that…there was no point." It was the first time I saw tears coming out of his eyes. I was hard to see him so vulnerable and hurt. "He said 'There was no point in staying together if you're going to leave.' He said that to me, and now…I may not see them together. I may lose one of them." He put his hands down on the counter. "I think it's my fault and…" He stopped.

I slid my hand next to his, holding onto his pinkie finger. Kenji held onto it with his as he hiccupped a little. When I finally laced my fingers within his, he covered his face with his other hand and let the tears freefall. Some landed in his mug. Every so often, he would let out small gasps and hiccups.

"It's not your fault." I whisper. "Things like this happen."

He nodded, wiping his eyes. Then, he hugged me just as tight as I hugged him those months ago. I hugged back just as tight. "Thank you." He whispered. "I'm a little embarrassed to cry like that."

"Don't worry about it." I said. "You needed it." I kissed his salty cheek.

"I'm going to wash my face." He maneuvered around me, still huffing and puffing.

I made his tea for him, and he went to bed early.

About a month later, everything was getting finalized. Kenji was never okay in the meantime. He kept to himself and got as much schoolwork done as he could. Most nights were quiet unless I opened my big mouth, asking how the case was going. But the more I asked, the worse it got. Eventually, his mother was losing more than she thought. But I asked anyway.

"How are things going with the divorce?"

"It's almost over with." He said in a small voice. It was as if he was shy around me all over again. "My mom lost everything. Her job, her home, her son…gone."

"She didn't lose you."

"I live here now. This apartment's under my name too, so my mom can't get custody of me if I'm no longer a child."

"Technically, yes. But you still have her." I put my hands on his shoulder as he stared at his computer screen. "You are still her son. She's still your mother. No matter what."

He nodded. "I just hope it works out for her."

I didn't say anything for a minute. I just stood there, watching him sadly do his homework. "Kenji, if there's anything I could do, would you tell me?"

He nodded.

When I looked closer, he was actually looking at cheap apartments. Some going at about half of what we pay to just a few thousand yen off. The whole time, I felt bad. What could I do? Sitting there wasn't helping anyone. Instead, I got on my computer and logged into Oz.

CHALLENGER: SHINOHARA

OPONENT: KING KAZMA

It wasn't hard to find him. He kept his title despite the stress of high school weighing him down (if it did).

FIGHT!

My avatar moved quickly, using the various Kendo moves, but King Kazma was quicker. His rabbit feet were practically in four different places at once! In almost no time flat (about five minutes), I was out.

"Can we talk?" I asked him.

"Shoot."

"What do you do if your friend's parents are getting divorced?"

"Nothing. That's their problem."

"But what if your friend is gravely affected by it?"

He didn't reply for a minute. The Rabbit King just looked around. "You do what it takes to make him happy. Get him as far away from the house as much as possible."

"You think that will work?"

"I wouldn't want to be in the same place as yelling people or any evidence of them fighting."

"True." I thought about it. Could it really be that simple as to just get Kenji out of the house?

"Tell Kenji that I wish him luck. He'll need it."

"How do you know?"

King Kazma shrugged. "If it was someone else, you wouldn't have come to me."

My avatar looked down. Then I bowed. "Thank you."

I signed out after our goodbyes. As soon as I did, I wanted to try out what Kazuma said. "Do you want to go out this weekend?"

He turned around. His beautiful, sad eyes met mine. It was kind of haunting how they weren't smiling or awkwardly avoiding me. "Like what?" He asked.

I shrugged. "We could just go on a walk." I knew that if it was that simple, he would have to say yes.

Fortunately enough, he cracked a small smile that faded just as quickly. "Okay."

I smiled. "Great!"

That Saturday morning, we got ready as soon as we got up. Morning walks are always the best, in my opinion, so a walk a nine a.m. wasn't too bad. As Kenji got ready, his cellphone began to vibrate loudly on the kitchen counter. I didn't think he heard it, so I picked it up before it went to voicemail.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hello, who is this?" A woman asked. She sounded pretty tired.

"I am Shinohara Natsuki, a friend of Kenji's…"

"Oh…!" She exclaimed. "Oh, yes… Yes, I remember." There was a pause. "Is Kenji there?"

"He's not available at the moment." I lied. "May I ask who's calling?"

"I'm his mother." She said. "And I…really wanted to speak to my boy."

I nodded as if she could see me. "Let me get him."

"Wait!" She stopped me loud enough for me to hear after I had taken the phone away from my ear. "Wait a minute."

"Yes?"

"Kenji…is he doing okay?" She asked. "I don't want to bring him such news if he isn't okay."

I looked at his door. There were no signs of him coming out any time soon. "He's getting there." I told her. "We're actually going on a walk today so he can get his mind off things."

She sighed. It reminded me of how Kenji was over the tea mug. "I'm sorry. I'll let you do that."

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

She didn't say anything, so I assumed that she nodded. "It will be."

"Is there anything I could do?"

"You're a sweet girl." She gave a small laugh. "I do…though, have to ask. I hope it isn't too much trouble."

"I'm sure it's not."

"May I… Well, I… I need a place to stay for a little while, and I don't have much money. It's embarrassing, really, to ask your kids for something so big."

"I understand."

"But I need a place to stay." She said. "I lost so much. My job, my home… If you could just give me a place to sleep, even for a little while, I'll be forever grateful."

I didn't say anything.

"Please, Natsuki." She said. "Or if you could just help me find somewhere to stay, I'll be forever grateful."

I took a breath. "Let me talk to Kenji about it. I'm sure he'll say yes." I said. She thanked me a thousand times before hanging up. Once Kenji came out, he actually had a smile on. It was very childish and innocent which made it harder to tell him the mature, dark content that I had to tell him. So I didn't.

"Shall we?" He opened up his arm for me to wrap mine around.

"Let's do it!" I hugged his arm and headed out the door.

We took a walk wear there were plenty of trees. There were plenty of dead leaves and children kicking them. Kenji loved seeing them. I could tell by the way he smiled. As he was too distracted, I strayed away from him, a mischievous smile spreading on my face.

The second he didn't feel me near him, Kenji turned around with the quickness. "Natsuki?"

"Hey, Kenji!" I called. As soon as he followed my voice, I kicked a bunch of leaves towards him.

He waved his arms about until all of the leaves had a place to fall. "Alright! You got me!" He laughed. Once I closed my eyes and started laughing harder than I should, I got a face full of leaves.

"Oh, you asked for it!" I threw more leaves at him. It went on like this: a couple of twenty-something-year-olds playing in dead leaves, laughing, kissing, playing. It made Kenji happy, which did the same for me. It was actually a side of him I've never seen before, and I couldn't get enough of it.

Once we had our fun, we continued our walk. I held onto his arm as he had both hands in his pockets. It was getting colder outside, almost Christmas weather. But then Kenji's cellphone rang, and I felt my heart go into my stomach.

"It's…my mom…" He said.

Before he could answer, I said "Wait. There's something I need to tell you." I made sure I talked fast enough so she wouldn't hang up. "Your mother has nowhere to go and she's hoping that we'd help her find a place. Maybe even with us…"

"Hello?" He answered just in time. "Mom, hi. We were just talking about you."

I couldn't hear what was on the other side.

"I see." There was a long pause. Kenji swallowed and shoved his hand in his pocket. "Yes… Yes… I know…" Watching was just as tough as listening. That childish look in his eyes dimmed quickly. "Yes. It's no trouble." He hung up the phone after saying "I love you."

"Good news?" I asked.

He smiled a very unsure smile. "Uh…I guess… She'll be coming over soon. But don't worry. She'll only be here for a week or two, and after that, she'll be out of our hair. It's just until she can get back on her feet."

I just smiled and said "Whatever needs doing."

Let me tell you something, Reader. I probably spoke too soon. It was the day Kenji's mother was supposed to come over and I was nervous! I drank a little sake (that I kept for special occasions) to calm myself down a bit. It was just a sip, so it wasn't enough. There was a knock on the door and I took another gulp.

Kenji came out of his room with his usual polo shirt attire, but he also added a tie. He tightened it before he opened the door. "Welcome, Mother." He bowed. "Please let me take those bags of yours." He grabbed a few suitcases and went off.

The woman stepped inside. She looked just like Kenji but with a few wrinkles, girlish features, and long hair that went down her back and kept together with a small ponytail holder at the end. She smiled at me and told me hello.

I smiled back and bowed. "Welcome."

She bowed too. "Thank you." She said. "You must be the Natsuki my son's been telling me about. I'm Aika. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine."

"I don't mean to be rude, but can you show me to my bed. I could really use a nap." Her smile faded. Then, she took off her shoes and walked passed me.

"Yes ma'am." I said before grabbing the other bags and trying to find Kenji who was in his bedroom. We actually arranged to have her sleep in his room. Where Kenji would sleep was another question. "Right this way." I pointed her in the direction.

Aika opened the door and saw that Kenji was just finished making up the bed. "How nice." She said. "But isn't that your girlfriend's job?"

I gasped a little and looked at Kenji. He just looked at me and back at her. "We actually share a few responsibilities." He told her. "You'll be sleeping in my room."

"Thank you, son." She said. "But where will you sleep?"

"The couch." He answered almost immediately.

She made a face. Let me tell you, Reader, that this face had so much judgment and it was right at me. I could practically smell her disapproval. "This is your room?"

"Uh…yes." Kenji answered.

"How come you don't have the master bedroom?"

We exchanged a glance. "Well, it's because Sempai's older than me. Also, she has more stuff. It only makes sense to…"

"So she's the master of the home?"

"No." We both said.

"We're just…partners!" I said.

She gave an "Ah" and sat down, looking tired again. "Thank you both so much for this."

"We'll let you sleep now." I said, taking Kenji's hand. "Do you need anything?"

"No," she shook her head, "thank you."

As soon as we stepped out, I gave him an awkward smile. "She seems nice."

He sighed. "I probably should've mentioned that she's a little traditional. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." I said again. "Whatever needs doing, remember?" He nodded.

Again, Reader, I shouldn't have said it so soon. The rest of that day, she criticized me for not cooking, not cleaning, and making Kenji do everything else while I sat around and read. I never told her that it was my homework or that I had a week to read the novel before we move on to the next one. Reader, if you are expecting or wanting to take a novel course, prepare yourself to lose your social life to read eight or nine novels (on average).

And it doesn't stop there. It goes on like this for nearly a month. Yes, Kenji said a week or two. Maybe he meant "month" instead of "week." As far as I knew, she wasn't trying to find a place or a job. Anyway, it's always the same thing (Why don't you cook for him? Did you clean the house before going to work? Can you run an errand for me? Do you dream of marrying my son?) The last question always comes out of nowhere. Meanwhile, I always answer with the same reply (I'm sorry. Maybe tomorrow. I don't have time today. Yes, what do you need? Maybe someday.) I tried making peace the best way I knew how, but being this passive isn't really in my blood.

So, I took matters into my own hands. It was on a Sunday when I told her "I may have found you a job!"

At the time, she was cooking something, not looking up from the pot as she stirred. "For me?" She asked.

I nodded. "It's pretty good too! I know how much you love kids" – I really didn't – "so I found you a job at an elementary school."

She stopped and looked at me. "You don't say."

I nodded again. "Yeah! It's actually where I work part time, but this job will be full time from seven to three-thirty." I knew the minute she got the job, it'll be another step closer to her being out of my hair!

"What do I have to do?"

I handed her the application. "It's a receptionist job. All you really have to do is take calls, forward them, make them, and other things of that matter. What you really need is to know how to type and good communication skills."

Finally, after so long, I managed to get a smile from Aika. "Thank you."

"No trouble at all." I smiled back. "If you need help with anything, you know where to find me!"

She nodded, looking at the application. "Thank you." She said again before going back to cooking. That was the moment, Reader, that she didn't seem like she hated me. She just seemed lost and sad. It haunted me the way Kenji did.

I looked down at the pot. "It smells great."

"Thank you."

"Do you mind showing me?"

"Showing you what?"

"How to make it." I answered. "If you don't mind."

Aika looked at me. Then she smiled again. "I don't mind."

I smiled back. This time, it wasn't just to be polite. "Great! Where do I start?"

Once we did, I saw that Kenji was watching. He was peaking around the corner from his desk. I didn't acknowledge him because his mother didn't seem to notice. Instead, I just gave him a nod.

Our relationship still had its ups and downs (more downs than ups), but I knew one thing was for certain: Koiso Aika was not right. I know it's impolite to judge, but she's almost always tired despite the many naps she takes, her mood always shifts so easily, and I really get the urge that she hates me and doesn't even bother hiding it. Once, she used my hairbrush and left it in the kitchen sink. Reader, I kid you not when I tell you that it was stuck in the garbage disposal. Then, there were ripped pieces of paper all around my bedroom doorway. It was blank paper that had some kind of writing on it. Plus, all of my pictures of my family were slammed down against the mantle with some frames left broken. That one made me cry.

"I'm sick of her!" I vented on Oz through my cellphone, just leaving from work. "She's making it very hard for me to live with. Did I tell you that she called me 'unfit for marriage'?" It's true!

"It's better than being called fat, right?" King Kazma said as he practiced before our match.

"No, because if I was being called fat, I could still be married and have kids like I wanted since I was a girl! Besides, she said I needed to watch my weight last week."

"Ouch."

"Why don't you get rid of her?" Sakuma asked.

"Because she has nowhere else to go and she's Kenji's mother." I told him. "But I've been trying to find a place for her."

"Oh, yeah…" Sakuma muttered. "I remember Kenji telling me how critical she could be."

"And he just sits and takes it?"

"He is Kenji after all." King Kazma said. He suddenly turned to look behind him, then to his sides. "I have to go. Mom's calling me."

"Me too. I'm going inside." I said. "It was her first day on the job and I know it can't be good."

"Who knows? Maybe it was a good day!"

I shrug. "We'll see. Bye." I signed off and opened the door. "Hello, Aika." I greeted.

She was on the couch, looking at nothing, until she looked back at me. "Where were you this whole afternoon?"

"I was at work."

"I didn't see you all day."

"I have school all day." I told her even though I thought I already did. "I only work at the elementary school during the after school program." I showed her my ukulele and set it down by my door. The best way to get children's attention is through music. As if on cue, Kenji came home with a small bag.

"Hello." He greeted almost out of breath. "Natsuki, I got you a new brush." He said, taking it out of the bag.

"Thank you, Kenji." I kissed his cheek.

"And I got one for you too, Mom." He said, taking out the same brush that was a different color from mine. "This way, you won't have to borrow Natsuki's."

He handed it to her, but she didn't say anything. She opened the package with shaky hands and felt the bristles. Then she turned towards me. "I…want that color. I don't want the blue one." She pointed to my pink brush.

I nodded, opening it for her. "Here. We can trade."

She handed the brush to me and made a fair trade. Then she brushed her thumb against the bristles.

"Um, Mom, how was work today?" Kenji asked.

She stared blankly for a second. "I…it was…good." She gave us a weak smile. "I did everything they told me to do and I ate an apple for lunch. The other teachers are very nice."

"That's great!" I said, but she went back to a blank stare.

"Yes." She said.

Kenji looked at me with worried eyes. All I could do at this point was scratch my head. "Maybe…I should get dinner started." I said. "Would you like to help me, Aika?"

She looked at me and slowly shook her head. "I think I'll take a bath and go to bed. I'm not very hungry."

"Mom, you didn't have breakfast and you had only an apple for lunch. You have to eat something." Kenji said.

She didn't say anything. She looked blankly at her hands, brushing the bristles. Then, she burst into tears and ran into her room. I looked over at Kenji to see his reaction. He just sighed heavily and rubbed his fingers through his hair.

"She's probably just tired." I said.

Kenji nodded. But instead of leaving it at that, he went over and knocked on her door. "Mom? Mom!" He tried knocking, but the woman wouldn't come out. And that made me nervous.

When I finished cooking dinner, I made a plate just for her. I knocked on her door, but she wasn't inside. The only way I know that was because I opened the door. Then, I remembered that she said that she was going to take a bath. But that was a while ago.

"Aika, your dinner's getting cold." I knocked on the bathroom door, but there was no answer. In fact, there was no sound. "Aika?" I opened the door that wasn't even locked. "Aika are you…?" I dropped the plate.

I couldn't believe my eyes, Reader! Aika was under the water! I ran as fast as I could, pulling her out and screaming her name, hoping she wasn't dead. Finally, she gasped for air and coughed a bit.

"Aika…"

She looked up at me. "Where am I?"

"The bathroom."

She looked around as if she didn't believe me. I fished for a towel and handed it to her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, turning around as she put it on. She didn't answer. She just went to bed.

I didn't tell Kenji about what happened. I didn't tell anyone. Instead, I kept it to myself and kept my distance away from Aika. Whenever I got too close, I got yelled at for not being perfect. If Granny or Aunt Mariko were here, then they'll teach her a thing or two! This time, she yelled at me for being incompetent for reading when there was so much housework to be done. "What is Kenji dating you for? You can't take care of him!"

I wondered why Kenji wasn't back from grocery shopping. But in the meantime, I lost my patients and yelled back. "He can take care of himself! We can take care of ourselves! And if it bothers you so much, why don't you do any work?"

"I'm your guest! Do you let guest do your work for you?"

"You are not a guest! You live here! Which, by the way, you said you were only staying for a week or two. It's been three months! You're taking advantage of us, of Kenji, and I don't like it!"

Aika's furious frown instantly dropped, which confused me. "I have nowhere else…"

"I know." I calmed down.

"…and I just need a place to sleep. I just…" She sat down on the couch.

I felt so bad then. Family was always my number one priority, but here I am, wanting to kick a mother out. But it wasn't all bad, Reader. I tried to find her a good home to stay in. I knelt down and put my hands on her knee so I can look into her eyes. "Aika," I said, "are you even trying?"

She looked straight ahead. "I would start, but I get wrapped up sometimes." She answered. "But what's the point if I'm not going to live for that long?"

"What?" I asked. "You mean you aren't going to be living here for that long?"

She looked down at me. Then she gave a fake smile followed by a faker chuckle. "What did I say?"

"You said there wasn't a point if you're not going to live for that long."

She laughed. "No, I mean…" She shook her head. "Is Kenji almost done? I want to get dinner started."

At that moment, all I can do is shrug. Maybe she just needed a bit of help finding a place to call her own. Maybe then she will get her confidence back.

That night, I looked into a few places instead of reading. Some far, some near, but they were all cheap. Later, I picked five places and printed out the details of each home. Once I was finished, I set them aside and got ready for bed. But fortunately for me, Kenji came in with a couple of flowers.

I smiled. "What's that?"

He twirled the two roses in his fingers. "It's something they do in America. The guys give their girls flowers because…"

"No, I mean, what are they for?" I asked with a giggle.

He closed the door and kissed my lips. "They're for you for being such a good girlfriend." He kissed me again. "Thank you so much. I know it's not easy."

I set the flowers on the nightstand. "You have no idea!" I was going to talk to him about his mother's behavior, but I didn't want to open a can of worms while he's trying to be romantic.

"Listen, I've been thinking of you all day and…" He started blushing. "I miss you."

"Really?"

He nodded. "We've known each other for years and we've been dating for a while, and we've never done this…" He kissed my lips. "…for a long period of time, I couldn't do this…" He kissed my neck. "…and we haven't kissed with tongue."

"Where is this coming from?" I asked. The sudden change in character was interesting and unsettling at the same time.

"Sakuma."

"That explains it."

"And…I want to do all of that stuff. But…" He looked at the door.

"She's fine." I said. "She's just cooking."

Kenji hesitated before leaning towards me. It was as if we were in middle school again, trying to kiss for the first time. Then again, I am Kenji's first girlfriend. I decided to help him out by starting the kiss. It wasn't too long until we were making out for the first time.

I guess I was a bit into it when I started pulling off his shirt. I could feel him getting warm with embarrassment as he helped me take it off. Then, I did the same to my shirt. We continued kissing as we wrapped our arms around each other. He got on top of me, and unfortunately, that's as far as we got until my door swung open. Aika gasped in shock but then was blazing angry!

"You…! You…! What do you think you're doing?" She asked as I fished the floor for my shirt.

"Mom, I can explain!" Kenji said, waving his arms and grabbing his shirt.

But her attention was dead on me. "You…! Stay away from him, you little slut!"

I gasped and held my breath in that position. "Mother!" Kenji raised his voice.

"You get away from him, you whore!" She grabbed Kenji's wrist and tried to pull him away dramatically, but Kenji stayed put. I always knew that he was stronger than he looked.

"Mother, stop." He told her. "It's okay."

I wanted to say that it wasn't, but I was too in shock from what she called me. Kenji held onto his mother tightly. She tried to get free, yelling "Let me go! Don't touch me!"

Kenji looked at me apologetically before taking Aika to the living room. I'll tell you, Reader. If there was a time I ever wanted her out more, just then was that time. I wanted her out of my hair! I grabbed the papers I've printed and headed to the living room when there was a knock on the door. By the time I got out there, Kenji had already opened it.

"Dad…"

I only peaked at who was at the door. He was a tall man by how Kenji was looking up at him. The man mumbled something. The whole time, Aika was staring wide eyed.

"Norio…" She said, walking towards the door. "Norio, haven't you caused us enough trouble?"

"I wanted to see how my son was doing and to ask him if he got any of my checks." He said. "I didn't know you stooped so low as to crawling to our only son for handouts."

"What else am I supposed to do? You took my life away!"

"You're blaming me? Quit victimizing yourself! You are just as much to blame as I am or he is!" He pointed to Kenji. He just stood still. "Now I'm beginning to suspect that you've been stealing them."

"Oh, are you surprised?" She asked. "You are such a terrible person for what you did to me! Leaving me on the streets, making me beg like some kind of dog! Who does that?"

"Next time, get a better lawyer."

"With what money?! Should I have taken the money you handed out to those prostitutes?"

The man lost his temper and stepped inside. Then, he took his hand and slapped her with the back of it! I watched her drop to her knees and hold her cheek as she wept.

"Father!" Kenji gasped. "Why…?"

"I gave that money to you. I gave it to you because I thought you needed it for school. But now I know you're giving it to this charity case. I am severely disappointed in you, son." He stepped out and walked away.

Kenji took a deep breath and closed the door. I was frozen as Aika stood on her feet, still crying. Kenji looked at her as tears rolled from his eyes too. "I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean for you to find out this way."

"You lied to your father…for me…" She said in between sobs. "You are the greatest son I can ask for." Aika hugged him tightly as he hugged back.

And that's what family is. Despite what happens, it is whatever needs doing. And Aika needed Kenji now more than ever. From how she was treated during and after the divorce and how she was behaving, it was no wonder she was so depressed. But why did it take until now for me to realize it? She didn't need her own place to feel confident. She needed help.

I dropped the papers in the trash and joined their family hug. Our family hug.

I told Kenji the next morning what I knew. Aika showed all of the signs of major depression, so we tried to find her some professional help. We knew it was expensive, but my family was more than willing to help. The money from the new hot spring was used wisely.

She still lives with us, but under better circumstances.

"Kenji, Natsuki, breakfast is ready!" She called. "Hurry or you'll be late!"

I rushed in with my laptop and book bag. "I'll be a little late coming home. I have a test to study for, and I'm a little behind on my reading."

Kenji came in with his bag next, taking the breakfast. "Thanks, Mom."

"Kenji, before work, can you stop by and get some milk?" She asked. "I forgot to get some yesterday. My prescription should be ready by then too."

"No problem." He said.

"Oh, I almost forgot that I waxed the floor in the bathrooms, so please be careful." I said.

"Okay." Aika said. "And make sure you guys gather your trash tonight so I can take it out in the morning."

"Is there anything else I need to get at the store?" Kenji asked writing down a few things.

"Nope." I answered. "I'm late. I'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight!" They both said and went their separate ways. And that's our typical mornings.

I know what you're thinking, Reader. It's pretty hectic in the mornings! But after that, after everyone is home, we would settle down with dinner and a game of Koi Koi. And neither of us was tired.

That's the end! I hope you enjoyed it. If you could leave me a reply telling me what you liked, what you didn't like, what you wanted to see more of, etc. would be more than helpful!

I want to go further with this story if someone sends me comments!