Makoto silently moved into the large apartment, leaving her things in the car for the moment. She removed her shoes, a habit Makoto's mother instilled in her child at a young age, and moved into the apartment proper. The sitting area was empty and Makoto turned toward her aunt. Silently, Chika raised her hand and motioned toward the hallway. Makoto moved down the hall toward the only door that was open and heard faint speaking.

Makoto peeked into the room and saw two women there. One was her mother, reclined in her bed with a blanket over her legs. Her auburn hair was stringy but pulled into a bun at the back of her head, some wisps falling about her face. The other woman, sitting in a chair beside the bed, Makoto didn't know but assumed, by what she could understand, was her mother's doctor come to make a house call.

The frail woman in the bed turned, catching movement by the door and her pale face split into a radiant smile.

"Mako-chan!"

Makoto blushed at the old pet name and stepped into the room, scratching the back of head nervously. "Hi, Mama."

The doctor turned back to Makoto's mother and smiled. "This is your daughter, Sachiko-san?" Although spoken in Japanese, Makoto picked up on most of it.

Sachiko smiled and held up her hands toward her only child, beckoning her into the room. Makoto walked over to her mother and bent down, wrapping her arms around Sachiko's shoulders. She's so small, Makoto found herself thinking. She wasn't always this thin.

"Mako-chan," Sachiko said as her daughter pulled away, "This is Dr Mizuno."

Makoto turned and, remembering her manners, bowed to the doctor. When she stood back upright, she took in the other woman's appearance.

She was older, possibly as old as her mother. Her dark, blue hair was long and pulled back into ponytail that rested at the base of her neck, not like how Makoto wore hers at the top of her head. She wore a pair of glasses, a simple black cord hanging around her neck. She smiled warmly at Makoto before turning back to Sachiko.

"So there is no discomfort?"

"Not right this second," Makoto's mother replied. "Although I am out of the pain killers you prescribed."

"I'll call you in another," Dr Mizuno said kindly. She had a yellow pad in her lap and made a few quick notes. "If there's nothing else, then I'll be going." She turned to Makoto, smiled and turned back to her patient. "You seem to have more important matters to take care of just now." Dr Mizuno placed the yellow pad into a black leather case and then stood. "If you need anything, call my office." Her expression grew concerned. "I can't do much for you now, but I would like to make you as comfortable as possible."

Sachiko smiled and nodded to the doctor. "Thank you, Dr Mizuno. If I need anything, I'll be sure to call." And with that, the doctor left.

Makoto moved to take the seat the doctor had just been in and she smiled sadly. She finally took in her mother's weak state and she felt her eyes water and throat burn. This woman had, at one point, been robust and full of life. Now, in just a matter of months, had seemed to wither away.

"None of that, Mako-chan," her mother scolded playfully. "I'm fine."

Makoto's eyebrow arched and she gave her mother a flat look. The elder Kino simply laughed and it melted her daughter's heart.

"I'm fine for today," Sachiko said. "Is that better?"

"No," Makoto sighed. She moved from the chair and laid upon the bed next to her mother, resting her head on the woman's chest. She wrapped her arms around her mother and held her as tightly as she dared to, fearing she would break the woman. Sachiko undid the hair band holding her daughter's hair up before gently brushing her fingers back through Makoto's auburn hair.

"You should rest, Mako-chan," Sachiko said softly. "You must be very tired from your trip." Her answer was a grumble and her daughter curling up beside her even more. Sachiko chuckled. "I'll be here when you wake up. I promise." Then she added with a fierceness Makoto had missed being away from her mother for several years, "I'm not so weak yet."

Makoto moved to protest but a large yawn escaped her. Sachiko laughed and nudged Makoto out of her bed. "Go, your room is down the hall. We can talk when you've had a chance to rest." Then she smirked, "we need to discuss the feast you're making me."

Makoto looked down at her mother, smiling. "A feast?"

"Hai. You will cook me something." Sachiko smiled warmly. "I have missed your cooking, Mako-chan. Almost as much as I've missed you."

Makoto bent down and hugged her mother again.

"Go, get some rest and we'll speak soon."

Makoto chuckled and yawned again as she made her way into and down the hall. Her aunt smiled at her as they passed.

"I brought your bags up while you were with your mother," Chika said. "They're in your room." She gestured to the room she had just exited.

"Thank you, Aunt Chika," Makoto smiled. And with that, Makoto entered her new room and collapsed onto the bed.

"So what's your plan of attack tomorrow, Mako-chan?"

Makoto looked up from her plate and across the table at her mother. Makoto swallowed her bite before answering. "Figured I'd go get my ID taken care of and bank account set up, then head over to the bakery." Makoto pushed the food around on her plate, hesitant. "When was the last time you were in there," she finally asked.

"At least a month," Sachiko answered.

"But I'm there nearly everyday," Chika said. "If for nothing more than book keeping. Can't trust those idiots to do it." She looked at her niece and smiled. "It'll be nice to have you in there, running the business for your mother."

"And for herself," Sachiko added. She smiled at Makoto then. "I hope you enjoy owning the bakery as much as I have."

Makoto smiled outwardly but inside cringed. While she loved her mother and wanted to take over the family business, as it were, she still hadn't decided if she'd be staying in Japan after her mother...

Makoto coughed and wiped at her eyes quickly before taking another bite of her dinner.

"Are you alright, Mako-chan?"

Makoto smiled at her mother and nodded. "Swallowed wrong, is all."

Her mother and aunt gave her a look but didn't press it.

"So," Sachiko began, "What did your girlfriend think of you moving to Japan?"

Makoto looked over at her mother, one eyebrow raised. "What girlfriend?"

"Your girlfriend," Sachiko said again then sighed. "I can't remember her name. I have no memory for names."

"Jennifer," Makoto offered, trying to hide her smirk.

"Hai, Jennifer," Sachiko said cheerfully. "How is Jennifer-san doing?"

"Considering we broke up over six months ago, I haven't a clue," Makoto said, taking a sip of water. She nearly choked laughing at her mother's face. "It's fine, Mama, really."

"How can it be fine," Sachiko asked. "You'll be all alone at this rate!"

"Mama," Makoto said, chuckling. "I'm not even thirty yet-"

"And you're still not married," Sachiko said, her voice slightly high. Didn't her daughter realize how bad the situation was? Surely Makoto would die alone at this rate.

"It'll happen when it happens, Mama," Makoto said, trying to calm her mother. "I'm not too worried about it."

"Spoken like a realist," Chika said, smirking at her niece. "Unlike your mother..." At this, Chika shot a disapproving glance at her sister.

"You're one to talk," Sachiko shot back. "You're in your fifties and never married."

"No one held my attention," Chika said. "Not everyone can be as lucky as you and Michael-san."

Makoto laughed as the sisters argued. She stood and took her now empty plate and glass to the kitchen, washing them off in the sink before placing them into the dish washer. She stepped back into the dining area and began picking up her mother and aunt's plates, doing to them as she had done hers.

After Makoto had finished clearing the table, she came back to see her aunt helping her mother back into her room. Makoto moved to the other side of her mother and, placing an arm around her, took most of her mother's weight. Chika moved ahead of them then to open the bedroom door and fix Sachiko's covers before Sachiko herself could hassle with it.

Sachiko sat on the bed and Makoto gently raised her mother's feet to the bed and Chika covered them for her. The dinner, simple as it was, and the 'argument', playful as it was, had taken its toll on her and she seemed to weaken considerably.

"I just need some rest," she said in regards to the worried expression her daughter wore. "You do, too. You have a busy day tomorrow," she gently reminded.

Makoto nodded and hugged her mother gently. "Goodnight, Mama. Love you."

"I love you, too, dear," Sachiko answered, settling into bed and shutting off her bed side lamp. Chika and Makoto moved out into the hall, Makoto shutting the door gently behind her.

"I'm heading home," Chika said. She smiled up at her niece. "If you need anything, call me. I only live two floors up."

Makoto nodded and saw her aunt to the door before turning in for the night.