"Justin." Maki's father joins me in the back.

"I take it you heard? I'll admit it, that wasn't my finest moment. I'm sure I could have handled it better. What did you daughter call it? My 'perpetually calm manner?' I know I'm not a saint. Being a Great One doesn't make me any less prone to bouts of human stupidity, it seems."

"Walk with me."

"After you."

He and I make our way to the same field where I proposed to Maki, shooting the breeze. When we arrive, his demeanor changes.

"You should respect your parents."

"Respect… my parents? I do respect my parents. I just don't respect them very much at the moment."

"In Japan…"

"We aren't in Japan, so don't try to push any cultural superiority onto me." I take a breath. "I'm sorry, I'm just… stressed."

"In my eyes, the United States of America is culturally backwards compared to my home country. That may be due to it being my home country."

"Sir?"

"Oh, it doesn't matter. I guess it never did with you. When in Rome and all. You opened your home to us, proving that not everyone is bad here. Still, why did Maki have to fall in love with you? One who is stained with kegare."

"Are you referring to Banoi, Rapture, or the Night of the Hunt?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Justin, who are you talking to?"

"Maki? Can't you see your father?"

"There's no one there. You've been talking to thin air since you left." Mom?

Am… am I hallucinating everything? How much was all in my head? When did I start? I usually notice it pretty early.

A Garden of Eyes appears in my peripheral vision, giving me the hint I need. Frenzy. My medicine does little to help with Frenzy. I need a sedative.

"Justin, look at me. Look at me." I look. Her violet eyes, full of worry. Everything else seems to melt away. "Okay, good. Now, hold my hand." I want to, I really do, but what if she isn't real? "Trust me." I reach out and grasp the offered hand. "See? I'm real, so just relax. Take a deep breath." I obey. "It's just you and me. Just you and me."

He's trembling. Fear? "Calm down, Justin, I'm here now. Calm down." I pull him into a hug; smiling at the irony. He's a big, tough Hunter who needs to be comforted by his girlfriend, rather than the other way around. A blue butterfly lands on his head, lowering its wings. More butterflies join it, land all over us, as though they want to join the hug.

The flowers are blooming, revealing more of the blue butterflies, Justin's kin. Blue butterflies with beautiful polychromatic wings. Four similar wings emerge from the base of his neck, growing to his height and width. Each. Those wings beat softly as scales fall like cherry blossoms, turning pink as they fall.

"My wings... my kin. Have you found your home? Or have you come for me?" The kaleidoscope of butterflies beat their wings in time with his. "I see. Thank you." The kaleidoscope continued to grow with every beat, fliting and fluttering around us in a dome. The tears begin to fall.

"I hate to ruin the moment, but these butterflies are kinda in the way. Soooo... yeah, can you ask them to move?"

"Irreverent Izzy, I take it."

"Yep, that's me. Anyway, I just came to tell you that I want in on the Hunting."

I would ask why you bothered to ruin our moment, but you are known as the irreverent for a reason.

"Alright, now that I've said my piece, carry on." We hear him walking away.

"Well, I guess it's about time we go back." The butterflies scatter and his wings vanish.

"When did you get a tattoo?" Centered on the base of his neck, the tattoo in question greatly resembled his wings, only red instead of blue.

"I didn't."

"Maki, when we get back, would you kindly play your piano for me?"

"Sure." I know that smile is real. "Would like me to teach you how to play?"

"Sounds good." When we arrived at the house, Alfred was waiting on the porch with my pills and a glass of water in hand. "Thanks."

"Think nothing of it." Gehrman wheels up to us, dressed for a night on the town.

"Good Hunter, we will be leaving the house to you and Maki for the night. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"This was once a safe haven for hunters. A workshop where hunters used blood to enhance their weapons and flesh. We don't have as many tools as we once did, but... you're welcome to anything you can find. Even the doll, should it please you..." Gehrman and I were smiling broadly by the time Maki finished. Poor Alfred looked so confused and the parents looked scandalized. "I think what you wouldn't do would make my father rather worried." The old man laughs.

"I think you may be perfect for our good hunter. Take care to fortify his sickly spirit. He is a loyal man, but imperfect like the rest of us. Treat him well and he will do the same."

"I don't think you need to worry about us, Gehrman." I wrap my arms around her waist.

"No, it seems I don't."

"Justin, take care of my little girl."

"Oh, don't worry, I will. I'd be a poor hunter indeed if I would take care of her. That said, it goes both ways, just as Gehrman said." Shaking his hand, I look around, making eye-contact with Lady Maria. Ludwig, Simon, Djura, Valtr, Adella, Arriana, Iosefka, Wilhelm, even Micolash are there with her. They look... proud. I don't know about Micolash though.

"Maki."

"Mom."

"I'm sorry we pressured you into following in our footsteps. We thought we knew what was best for your future; I guess we forgot to factor in your happiness."

"Mom, it's alright. It's alright. I promise." Cue the waterworks on both sides. Mother and daughter embrace, silently crying for the other. Her dad goes and joins them. We Hunters give them their space.

I guess this is the parents assuring their daughter that they still love her. After the debacle with my father, maybe they felt the need. Or, this is them symbolically placing their daughter's happiness in my hands. We may not be married, but I guess it doesn't matter.

We may as well be.

Good friends, a woman who loves me, people willing to catch me when I fall. Not bad for an insane boy fresh from a nightmare. Of course, the price of this happiness is estrangement from my parents. Things don't always go well, but I can't focus on that and ignore the good things in life.

Lady Maria, how long have you been watching me? What is it that piques your interest? Well, whatever the reason, I hope you find what you are looking for.

Doll, are you watching me? Thanks to you, I have begun to find my worth in this waking world. I just wish you were here to see it.

I know I'm not perfect, no one is. I try my best and am happy to know that I did so. i can't make everyone happy, I know that. Just as I know that having the ideal of love is meaningless if I am not willing to work towards it.