Hellloooo! I'm sorry I took so long! My drive to write just kinda vanished there but now it's back and here is another chapter! Wow, I'm surprised people actually agreed with me on my views, I was sure I would get some hate (especially from Tsurara fans cause their so many and some of them are friggen intense! Not that Tsurara fans are crazy, but when there are a lot of them it's only natural for there to be kooky ones!). I would also like to mention to please remember, everyone has opinions. It's our differences that make us unique and special! Well anyway, I give love to all of my fans, especially my reviewers so please, enjoy!

Chapter 11: Old Men, and Older Men

Thirty minutes. In less than thirty minutes the sound of a soft screech made its way unnoticed to the people who were riding the train. Rather than the actual go and stop of it, they were more concerned with where it went and where it stopped. The amount of thirty minutes was a far shorter commute from work to home than it used to be for Atsushi Ito, but that's because it wasn't going to his home. Home was being renovated; do to strange and unfortunate mishaps. Where Atsushi resided now was a small apartment, which he skillfully calculated to be closer to his job. It also was in walking distance of the train stop which was even more convenient. Before he knew it, he had already reached his temporary home. What surprised him though wasn't how long it took, rather what he found. Sitting in front of his door, huddled close together from the cold was his daughter Wakana. After hearing his footsteps Wakana looked up to see her father, happy that he was there.

"Oh, you're back! It was much quicker than when you would leave for home" The girl said as she stood up.

"How long…"

"Hmm?"

"How long have you been here?"

"Oh? Ah, ha, ha, about… an hour?" Wakana said sounding quite embarrassed.

"Why did you come so early?" Atsushi asked in a rather worried and upset tone, which surprised Wakana.

"Ummm, well I didn't know how far this area was from my apartment. I didn't think it was this close, so I ended up coming a bit earl-"

"It's freezing, don't you know that! If I had known you were coming I would have left a key in the mailbox or something. Geez, don't you think?" and while opening the door Atsushi hurried his cold and stunned daughter inside, closing the door as quickly as he had opened it. The apartment was small and overall plain. There was one table in the first room, a bed and a lamp in the second, a kitchen and a bathroom. The beige walls only accented the loneliness of the rooms, as a slight slither of light crept through the shaded windows. That light would disappear soon though, as for the blood orange sun would dip under the horizon in only a few moments. Atsushi sat his daughter at the table and went to the kitchen, only to come back feeling awkward. "...Is there anything you want?... Do you like coffee?" The older man asked, unsure of her answer and embarrassed after realizing he was unsure of her answer. "Um, do ya have tea?" Wakana asked quietly as her eyebrows sloped so that the middle was higher than the rest and an uncertain smile formed lightly on her lips. "Tea, you want tea? Okay, just wait right there" and sternly he said the last part "don't move", before he disappeared back into the kitchen. Even though he said 'don't move', it lacked the amount of backbone it needed to actually be intimidating, so when Wakana heard her father yelp she didn't hesitate to go to him. Wakana found her father flicking his hand as a small puddle of hot water surrounded one of the two underused tea cups. It didn't take long for her to figure out what happened. "Ssshhit that was hot!" Atsushi turned to see Wakana standing next to him now, evaluating the wound. Feeling as though he had to say something in order to lighten the feeling of stupidity he was feeling in front of his daughter, he tried to explain himself, "… I… haven't done this in a while. Serve tea, I mean… I guess I got too nervous" His voice was low but it didn't matter, Wakana wasn't trying to listen anyway. Instead, she lightly grabbed her father's hand and put the red fingers under the running cold water of the sink nearby. Wakana calmly told him to stay there as she cleaned the spill and put some ice in a cloth for the injury.

Atsushi was about to protest as he began the move away from the sink but when Wakana noticed, without saying a word, she pushed him back to his old position and continued on. After she fixed the tea Wakana put the cloth with ice on her Father's hand and brought him to the table, then walked back to the kitchen and reappeared with the tea. She placed the cups, one for her, one for him, and sat down, taking sips of the hot liquid. All was silent now, and when finally Atsushi took a sip of the tea a gruff sigh escaped his lips and warmed the room, melting away the tension. Wakana was the first to talk, "How's your head, is it feeling better?" Out of instinct Atsushi began to rub his forehead, which had so recently adorned a large bump. "Yes, I can finally work again"

"That's great!" but after Wakana said that she looked up to see a sudden grave seriousness ever so slightly contort her father's face. "You… should just live here" and the room became silent again. "This place is only temporary though" Wakana reminded him with a smile but Atsushi ignore the remark and continued, "This place is by your school, so it won't be much of a bother… It's dangerous to be on your own…" and though he didn't say why Wakana knew what he meant. It had been a while since then but it has never left Atsushi's mind, the moment that proved all his wife's fears true. Wakana wondered if when he woke she would tell him something "It had been an earthquake!" or "A burglar broke in!" but nothing gave a realistic excuse. If it were an earthquake the other houses would have been hit, and a burglar would have taken some things instead of trashing, if they were even capable of making a place as bad as that. Atsushi was a level headed man though and calmly understood that nobody would ever believe him no matter what he did so instead of trying had moved on. "… But I don't think… you really helped the situation" Wakana timidly and softly replied. Instead of getting insulted at what she said, Atsushi understood that it was the truth and so he just sighed and tiredly said "Perhaps you are right" as he went back to silently drinking his tea.

Determined to break the returned silence Wakana spoke again, trying to change the subject. "How is work?"

"It's fine. It's just my hands don't work as well as they used to, and the new kids are troublemakers"

"Have you considered retiring?"

"What?" Atsushi asked as if the word was completely foreign to him.

A bit louder this time Wakana repeated the word, "Retiring."

"Retiring?" Atsushi mumbled to himself while rubbing his wrinkled mouth, before looking back up at Wakana and asking, "Why?"

"Well, there isn't so much reason to now. I mean you have all this money saved up and I am working for most of my things. You already paid off my school so there isn't much to really worry about. You are always so busy working, don't you want to do things you haven't done before, maybe just taking it easy"

Atsushi wasn't getting it though, he never really thought of these things before. He thought and thought and thought but it only ended with the result of him shaking his head and mumbling "I just don't understand" to himself as he stood and took both the empty cups with his good hand and brought them to the kitchen. Wakana only looked down and sighed, only wondering what she should do for her father. While placing the cups in the sink Atsushi saw his hands and realized he never notice how wrinkled they had gotten. He was feeling old, as if time had come out of its hiding place and suddenly greeted him. On the other hand not too far away a well-known Hanyou was feeling better than ever.

It has been a while since Rihan has felt like a kid. In fact, the only other time he has ever felt like this was when he was a kid, and that was several hundred years ago. Going through his old belongings Rihan found his childhood in a worn out and musty box about his arm length long and wide. Laying inside were not the only belongings he had as a child since most of them were thrown out but they were enough to bring him back again, to better days. To days where innocence was all that existed and where responsibility didn't fall on his shoulders, crushing him with its weight. All that was forgotten for the path to Rihan's childhood memories was blocked by darkness; by pain. It was only now that Rihan could experience these pure feelings again, without being distracted by the bad. Rihan took some of his old clothes into his hands, which could only ever fit him if he was cut in half, and tenderly smiled a nostalgic smile. Unbeknownst to Rihan was the pair of ancient eyes carefully watching him. With Rihan leaving the house more and coming back happier and happier, it was hard for Nurarihyon not to notice his son's unusual behavior. This was especially, considering the rumors that had been coming in recently. That the old man's son has been seen lately on many occasions alone in the night with a girl, specifically the same girl. Nurarihyon continued staring, serious yet perplexed, until he decided that instead of asking his son of anything about it he would just let the situation unfold on its own. It was probably far too fragile for his meddling anyway, so after a last glance the old man disappeared, as did the different feeling of everybody, as they got lost into the darkness of the black sky.

I actually started writing this a while ago (like a really long time) but with big things like a research paper and other project… well, to put it simply, I was swamped (and I'm not even in honors!), but now that the big stuff is over I think I'll start posting more frequently again. Also, for any of you who might care I am officially 17 (March 1st BABY!) and therefore (well actually, hopefully) more wise and a better writer (yes, this is something that just changing from 16 to 17 automatically does). I hope you enjoyed and please stay tuned for the next chapter!