A/N: *Hides from pitchforks and torches and being tarred and feathered* G-go on... There it is. Go read! *throws chapter at mob*
(*hopes people are still reading this when it hasn't been updated in over a year*)

Previously...
Houtarou finally remembers, putting everything together piece by piece, which leads him to discover that Kurosawa Kohei is his biological father, and he has grown up in the care of his aunt and uncle. However, this only serves to make him feel betrayed, and he sets off to meet his biological father with a little help from Satoshi. Once he arrives, however, Kurosawa maipulates his emotions until Houtarou agrees to leave with him. Satoshi, who was waiting for his friend outside the cafe, soon realizes his friend has disappeared after Tomoe calls to warn him. Satoshi calls on Eru and Mayaka. Together the three of them track him down in the bus station just as he is getting ready to board. After a heated arguement, Houtarou makes a tough decision.

"You need to decide, Houtarou-kun; no one else can decide what's best for you except yourself. Just accept the truth and come home."

Home. Where was that now anyway? He wasn't sure he even knew. He felt sick; what was he supposed to do? He couldn't think straight. Who was he supposed to trust?

"Houtarou-kun."

His heart stopped at her voice. Slowly he lifted his head to meet her gaze. She had stepped closer to him and, bending slightly at the waist, she was offering her hand to him, a smile on her lips.

"Onegai, Houtarou-kun. Let's figure this out together, ne?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to compose himself. Blinded by emotion, he would never be able to make a rational choice. Taking a deep, shaking breath, he opened his eyes again, all emotion pushed aside. Voice once again void of all emotion, he spoke quietly. "You're right. I'm the only one who can decide what's best for me.

"Let's go home."

Chapter Ten
Castle of Glass

Houtarou rolled onto his side with a heavy sigh. He was supposed to be asleep, had even convinced the other three that he was asleep, and wanted nothing more than to actually be asleep, but he wasn't. As much as he wanted to simply close his eyes and forget the world for a while, his restless thoughts still wouldn't let him be.

Had he made the right decision?

How angry would his aunt and uncle be with him when he saw them again?

And, despite everything else, he still felt hurt and betrayed and angry and - he wasn't even sure what else, but he really wished it would go away. It was a pain that ran bone-deep, made it hard to breathe and impossible to relax, and continuously frustrated him the more he tried to think about it and pin it down. It made him want to scream at the top of his lungs but completely drained him of any energy he had left to do so at the same time. All in all, he really just wanted to be able to stop thinking for even just five minutes.

He sat up with a groan, resting his forehead in his hands. Why did this have to be so hard?

From the direction of the doorway, he heard the distinct sound of someone clearing her throat. Knowing he was busted, he slowly raised his head and glanced towards the now open door - not that he didn't already know who it was. Why did it have to be her of all people?

"What happened to wanting to sleep, Oreki?"

He turned his face away again, his gaze fixed on the floor in front of him. With the door now open, he could hear the distant sounds of someone cooking in the kitchen down the hall as well as someone speaking on the phone somewhere closer, most likely in the hall. Sighing quietly, he addressed the presence still standing in the doorway. "What do you want, Ibara?"

"Chi-chan asked me to check in on you, see if were actually sleeping like you made us think." She paused. "Obviously not, though."

"Well, sorry for not really wanting to talk to anyone right now," he bit out sarcastically before he could think about what he was saying.

He heard her huff, followed by the door clicking shut, before she entered his peripheral vision. Uninvited, she plopped down next to him on the futon. "Alright, spill it. Go on; just start rambling."

He raised an eyebrow. "Give me one good reason why I should talk to you."

"Because sometimes just spewing everything out - even if it doesn't make any sense - can help you wrap your head around it. You can't deny it: you're frustrated, and you won't be able to sleep until you get it out of your system."

"You sound like you know me so well," he scoffed.

"News flash: you're not that hard to read."

Houtarou chewed at the inside of his bottom lip. It really might help, but… The knot in his chest constricted painfully. "Gomen," he whispered, barely audible, "but I really don't want to talk about it."

She sighed into the brief silence that settled over them. "At least tell me this much, ne? What made you change your mind about going with him? It seemed like the logical part of your brain finally kicked in, there, in the end, so you must have had a reason."

Closing his eyes for a moment, he sighed. After she had skipped school to go clear across town for his sake, he supposed he owed her that much. "I shouldn't have gone in the first place. Too many things still didn't add up, but I pushed them to the back of my mind in the end. I guess… I was just so angry at my uncle that I didn't want to consider those inconsistencies as significant." He shrugged. "The three of you showing up kind of forced me to think about them again, though."

"Like…?"

"Well, from what I understand of the educational system, it shouldn't have been that simple for him to start teaching here. He talked like he has always been constantly employed, and you can't just leave in the middle of a term like he would have had to do. And if he had known somehow he would be teaching here then it only makes sense that he would have been here at the start of the term.

"He also said that he saw my aunt and uncle flying out and that was when he called me. He said he had been on business as well, but then he also told me that once he had switched to teaching he had never gone back to business. So if he didn't mean a business trip, what business could he have possibly been on as a teacher?

"And there's the fact that he was going to take me back to Kawasaki. If he was living and working here, then the wife and daughter that he also mentioned to me would be here. So why would we be traveling so far so suddenly? It just doesn't add up at all."

"Now that you mention it, it seems odd that they would even hire a new teacher in the middle of the term. I wonder why…?"

Houtarou nodded. "I'd thought of that as well, but I don't have an answer." He shook his head. "Either way, he was obviously lying about something."

"Was there anything else besides that?" Mayaka asked.

His frown deepened. "While it wasn't really an inconsistency, something he said bothers me…" He trailed off uncertainly. Just how much did he really want to tell her?

"What did he say?" she inquired hesitantly.

He looked away, ashamed, and the look wasn't lost to Mayaka. "I… My parents…" He couldn't finish his sentence, the words getting lodged in the back of his throat. He tried to take a deep breath and almost choked. He brought his hand up to his face, rubbing at his eyes wearily. "I...really just want to sleep…"

Mayaka sagged slightly. That hadn't been what he had started to say and, judging from the look on his face, his thoughts were not on even remotely pleasant topics at the moment. "You don't have to tell me, but maybe talk to Fuku-chan? He was on the phone with your si- I mean, your cousin last I knew, but when he gets done talking to her maybe…?"

He swallowed harshly. No; he would get it over with now. If he could tell Ibara Mayaka of all people, maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he was thinking. "They were never married," he whispered, his hand falling limply back to his lap. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her stiffen, but she didn't react outwardly otherwise. There was no going back now. "When we were talking in the cafe earlier today," he continued softly, "he referred to me as his eldest son but also as a horrible mistake. He said he was excited to get to talk to me, but, I don't know, Ibara; something just didn't feel right about it. He admitted to having sincerely loved my mother, but…" He shrugged. "I guess it kind of stung that he never said that about me. For his reason of trying to find me, it was simply to make amends and take responsibility." He shook his head. "I don't even really understand why it bothers me so much."

"I do."

Houtarou jerked his head up at her tone of voice. It wasn't rare for her to be easily angered, but angered for his sake? He couldn't remember a time. All he could do was stare as her hands clenched into shaking fists.

"I do," she repeated quietly, her voice dripping with venom. "You're not a mistake, Oreki. His reason for trying to find you…" She trailed off, shaking her head. "That's the worst reason I've ever heard. Just because you feel responsible for something doesn't mean you actually care about it - or love it. Your uncle was probably right when he thought Kurosawa had ulterior motives…"

Houtarou turned his face away again, her unspoken words resounding clearly, loudly in his mind. Your father doesn't love you; he never has and he never will.

But there is someone who does, his mind reminded him. Remember what Akihiko said when you confronted him yesterday? And he was supposed to be leaving for the United States today, but instead he's on his way here…

"Ibara," he asked quietly, "do you know when my aunt and uncle will get here?"

"Eh? I'm not sure…"

The door clicked open then, revealing Satoshi. "I just got off the phone. They left as soon as they knew where you were. Tomoe-chan thought they'd get in around eleven or midnight, depending on the traffic."

"Sou ka." Silence weighed down uncomfortably on the three for several moments before he sighed. "Satoshi, gomen'nasai. I know it's not enough, but, really, I am."

"For what? Houtarou, I can't say that I wouldn't have done the same thing, so you have nothing to apologize for."

"But -."

"Nope. I don't want to hear it."

Houtarou sighed. "I still want to apologize for dragging you all into this. I guess my uncle was right; I should have just left it alone." He gave a wry smile. "Honestly, I kind of wish I had just let it go. After all, in the end, I just made trouble for everyone. Gomen."

"Oreki-san," Eru spoke from behind Satoshi. He moved aside to allow her access to the room as everyone turned his or her attention to the girl.

"Ah, Chitanda…"

She shook her head with a smile, cutting off yet another apology and changing the subject at the same time. "I made dinner. Let's eat before it gets cold, ne?"

Satoshi quietly closed the door behind him and returned to the kitchen where the girls were cleaning up from the meal. "He's finally, actually asleep. Let's just hope he stays that way… Any word from your folks yet, Chitanda-san?"

She nodded once as the trio moved to sit back down at the table. "They just messaged me to say they won't be back until tomorrow evening now, so we shouldn't have to explain anything to them. What about you, Fukube-san?"

He crossed his arms on the table top. "Well, I'm definitely in trouble for skipping school, but my parents understood why I did." He shook his head and sighed. "I wonder what's going to happen when Houtarou's aunt and uncle get here…"

"We'll just have to explain the best we can," Mayaka sighed. "Though it definitely helps that they already know the situation. I think… I don't think it'll turn out badly. They'll probably just be happy enough that he's safe."

Satoshi's phone vibrated in his pocket, and he quickly fished it out and read over the message. "Tomoe-chan says they're about twenty minutes from Kamiyama so they need directions…"

Eru held out her hand. "If you want, I can give them. I'm used to it so it'll probably be faster for me to type it out."

Gladly, he relinquished the device. "I can get just about anywhere in town, but I'm horrible when it comes to giving directions."

She quickly tapped out directions, pressed 'send,' and handed the phone back. "They'll be here in about half an hour then," she mused. "They made pretty good time."

"Well, I'd bet anything they're pretty anxious," Mayaka stated. "I wouldn't doubt that a few speed limit laws were probably broken, at least by a little bit."

Satoshi chuckled a little. "Even knowing how strict his uncle can be, I bet you're right." He paused. "Do you suppose we should wake Houtarou up when they get here?"

Eru frowned. "Unless they want us to, it'd probably be better to let him sleep, don't you think?"

"Let him sleep," Mayaka agreed with a chuckle. "His energy reserves are probably all used up after all of this."

Houtarou was startled awake by the hand clamped over his mouth and the sensation of cold metal buried into the side of his head.

"Don't scream; scream and I shoot."

He felt his stomach drop and his heart rise into his throat at the same time. Glancing around, it took him a moment to gather his bearings, to remember that he was in the Chitanda's home. He should have been safe and warm and very much asleep at that moment, but he was definitely not dreaming up the familiar voice and face above him or the gun pressed into his skull.

Before he had a chance to register just what was happening to him, he had been hauled to his feet and was being dragged towards the sliding doors of the guest room that would lead outside. The cool night air whipped around the bare skin of his arms and legs the instant they stepped outside, quickly jerking him into reality. I'm being kidnapped.

The man hauled him around the side of the house and out through the gate, all the while never moving his hand from Houtarou's mouth or the gun from his head. It wasn't until the man had bound his hands and feet and shoved him into the back of a black sedan that Houtarou realized the identity of his kidnapper.

"Why are you doing this, Otousan?"

"I have my reasons. Now just sit back there quietly, and don't try anything funny, got it?"

Anxiety was quickly settling into Houtarou's chest. He glanced at the clock on the dashboard; the time read just after three in the morning. "My aunt and uncle are here. As soon as they see I'm gone, they'll know what happened."

"And by then we'll be far, far from here. They won't find us anytime soon, Houtarou-kun."

Anxiety was quickly turning into panic. "What are you going to do with me?"

He could see the man's vile smile reflected in the rear-view mirror. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Houtarou eyed the door, chewing on his bottom lip. If his feet weren't tied, jumping out would be an option, but, as it was, he'd just be caught again immediately since he would be incapable of running away. If he could just get his feet untied without drawing any attention… But how?

Kurosawa Kohei noticed the direction of his son's gaze. "Don't even think about it. Even if you could get your feet undone so you could run, jumping at this speed would either kill you or injure you to the point that it would make no difference as to whether or not you are bound."

Houtarou knew he was right. A glance at the speedometer told him he would probably be a pancake on the side of the road if he tried, but he wasn't having any success coming up with any other plan of escape either. But maybe… Maybe if he sat still long enough, he would still have a chance. They would have to stop eventually to at least fill the tank with gasoline. He might get a chance then. He just had to be patient and wait…

He closed his eyes and sighed. I suppose I had this coming. Uncle Akihiko, Aunt Midori, please find me soon. I want to come home.

Please. Please find me soon…

~Waiting for the Dawn~