A/N: Just got a job for the summer which means some cash is finally going into my wallet. My apologies for this very late chapter, but well, life happened, know what I mean? But I'm back on track. This new DOA title for the Nintendo 3DS, I am officially intrigued. Wonder if they'll make a 360 port.

Disclaimer: Dead or Alive owned by Team Ninja and Tecmo. Tramps Like Us owned by Ogawa and Tokyopop

Kunoichis Like Us

Chapter 21

Alex hated hospitals. They smelled like someone dumped a vat of ether in the halls and the lab coats and scrubs everyone wore made him feel out of place. A doctor with graying hair and glasses hanging on the tip of his nose brushed past him without as much as a glance.

He pulled at his shirt, trying to get the wrinkles to disappear. Normally he would not care so much about his appearance, but the person on the other side of the door was someone he knew deserved respect, not because of what he was going through but because of who he was. Jiro Shimono, Seiji's father.

Alex sucked in a breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in." A voice that sounded like tires on a gravel road called out.

Alex entered. Mr. Shimono was in the hospital bed, staring out the window. The sun was leveling out on the city horizon and cast a golden sheet of light in the room.

"Uh…hello, Mr. Shimono." Alex said; his voice softer than usual.

Jiro turned his head and gave the teen one of his smiles that showed his silver fillings. His shaggy hair almost engulfed his head with a beard that had to be over a year old.

"Hey there, son. C'mon on in and take a load off." The man sat up straight. "It's been a while since you and I had a chance to talk."

Alex pulled up a chair and sat down. "So…Mr. Shimono, how are you? I heard that you collapsed at work."

"That? Nah, that was just exhaustion. I'm gettin' old." Jiro waived him off. "Used to be able to pull a double late night shift, no problem. But now …" He trailed off a bit as he lost himself in the moment. "With what I got if I so much as sneeze, I have to go see the docs and go through mind numbing tests all day. Worst part is that they have the nurses wear these ugly things where ya can't enjoy the sight of them walking away."

"You're a married man, Mr. Shimono." Alex said flatly.

"That doesn't mean I can't look, kid." Jiro's laugh came from his belly. "Tell me, how's your family doin'?"

For thirty minutes, Alex gave all the information he could to Jiro, although he carefully left out parts about Kasumi, Nanako, and anything else he felt was 'too personal'. Jiro listened intently, laughing at times when he talked about his mother and father. Whenever Jiro smiled or laughed, Alex could see all the wrinkles on the man's hard face.

"So, tell me, have you gotten yourself a girlfriend yet?"

"Uh…" Alex tensed, wishing that his face did not become so hot. "Sort of…I mean, I'm not real sure."

Jiro chuckled and slapped the boy on the shoulder. "That's a big yes. Good for you, son. I had a feeling you'd get yours someday. What's she like? Tell me her name."

Alex blinked. "Didn't Seiji tell you?"

Jiro's face relaxed a little. "No, me and my boy don't talk much except about work. We're not fighting or nothin', it's just…well I guess some things are hard to talk about with his old man. Anyway, tell me about this girl? Is she cute?"

"She is. Uh…her name's Nanako."

The smile fell completely. "Nanako Izumi?"

Alex felt a heavy weight in his chest. "You know her?"

Jiro nodded. "Seiji told me all about what happened. He's real worried about you."

"Yeah." Alex cast his eyes down. "I know. He's a good friend."

Jiro let out a long exhale, pursed his lips, and nodded. "Well alright then. If you want to be with her, than by all means."

"You're…not going to chew me out about seeing her again?"

"Nah." Jiro reached out and tussled Alex's hair. "I bet you've already gotten the third degree from my son, I don't think you need to hear it from me too. But tell me, do you love her?"

"I…did, but now…I just…she seems like she's on the level, but a part of me that isn't sure." Alex said.

"I know what you're going through. Before I met the misses I never knew what girl was the one for me." Jiro looked at the foot of his bed. "The heartbreak, the mind games, its never fun. But I can say that it was all worth it because in the end, I met the love of my life. And let me tell ya, being in love and having someone love ya is the best feeling in the world, bar none."

Usually Alex hated hearing 'love' speeches. All it ever did was create a burning pit in his stomach and an instant mindset of 'yeah, sure, whatever'. But Seiji's father was someone Alex listened to. Jiro was there when his father was away. Alex remembered one time years ago when he and Seiji got into a fight with some boys and Jiro took time off work to pick them up from school, lectured them about using violence, and then bought them ice cream when he found out they won.

"How will I know?" Alex asked. "I mean, if she's the one?"

"That, my boy, is something you're gonna have to find out on yer own." Jiro said. "Everyone does. But don't beat yourself up over it. You're young; you've got all the time in the world to find love, so what's the harm in having fun while you look, eh?"

Alex did not feel any better, but he tried to smile.

"So…I hear you've got a girl living with ya." Jiro had an excellent dirty old man smile. "Why don't we talk about her?"

Alex groaned and rubbed his eyes.

A few hours later, Alex found himself at the Shimono residence. Since Jiro was at the hospital, Seiji had to step in as chef. Although his friend loved to make the family noodles, he hated having to do it for a living and Alex had a sneaking suspicion that his best friend invited him over to vent. At least he made some ramen for the two of them.

"And there was this one guy, he wanted his order with peanut butter, not peanuts, but peanut butter." Seiji said like the man had asked him to kill his first born son. "Who the hell wants peanut butter with ramen? It's a travesty."

"Yeah." Alex replied, unsure what else to say. "Sounds crazy."

"I finally got it through his head that we didn't have any peanut butter, but he held up the line for almost twenty minutes. By the time the lunch rush was over it was practically dinner time." Seiji picked at his ramen bowl. "This is my first meal since breakfast man. I don't know how my old man does it."

Alex was looking for a cue to work in his topic and he took it. "Speaking of which I went to see him today. He's in good spirits."

"Yeah, I saw him yesterday." Seiji rubbed his eyes and yawned. "He's a tough old coot, he'll be back on his feet in no time."

Alex fumbled with his chopsticks that sat in his bowl. "Hey, Seiji, mind if I ask you a question?

"Shoot." Seiji shoveled in a heap of ramen.

"Have you ever been in love?"

Seiji coughed, gagged, and nearly spat out his noodles. "Wow, where did that come from?"

"I'm…I'm just curious." Alex wanted to take back his question so badly, but it was already out there, may as well stick to it. "You know."

Seiji's stupid smirk stung Alex, making his face even hotter. "Well, I did love this one girl…well a certain part of her."

"Seiji." Alex almost yelled. "Will you be serious?"

"Alright, alright." Seiji chuckled before he got a far off look in his eyes, just like his father. "Well, ok, I'll tell ya. But you have to promise me that you won't tell a soul."

"Of course."

"Ok." Seiji sighed and looked around even though no one else except Ami who was currently hypnotized by the dancing cartoon cats and dogs on the television. "I was once, with Mrs. Kayabuki."

"Mrs. Kayabuki?" Alex repeated. It took a full second for his memory to come to him. "Our kindergarten teacher? Our married kindergarten teacher?"

"Hey, she was very attractive back then." Seiji retorted. "And nice. Don't tell me you didn't like her too."

"We were five years old, dude." Alex said, still astonished. "And she was, what, in her thirties?"

"That doesn't mean anything." Seiji bristled. "It was my first love, no lust involved. It's special, ya know?"

"So, how did you feel?" Alex continued. "I mean, how did it feel?"

Seiji stirred what was left in his bowl. "It's…I dunno. When you're with the woman you love, you feel…energized, happy, alive. When you're apart you're anxious, nervous, you want to be around her. But that was when I was a kid."

"Don't you fall in love now?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, well, it's hard to separate love from lust." Seiji shrugged and laughed. "At least with me."

"Right, of course." Alex rolled his eyes.

"But I suppose to sum it all up, when you're in love, you're happy with her in your life."

"I see." Alex said softly, slipping back into his funk.

The apartment was quiet on account of Alex's mother staying with his sister for the next few days. Alex had noticed that his mother had already reorganized much of the apartment which perplexed him. True Kasumi was now considered a member of the family, but he did not know why his mother wanted to deep clean and rearrange so much. She mentioned something about having things with a more 'feminine touch', though he was not sure on how moving everything in the kitchen around qualified.

Kasumi's gift had taken center stage on his mothers table of knickknacks. And Nanako's gift had gone up on the family book shelf.

Dinner was eaten in mostly silence, a simple meal of grilled eel with a strong soya sauce on top of rice. Both Alex and Kasumi tried to start a conversation, but it fizzled after a few minutes leaving the awkward silence and the sound of chewing.

"Sumire confessed her feelings to the boy she likes." Kasumi blurted, her voice higher than usual. Obviously she just said the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Sumire? You're friend?" Alex asked, keeping the conversation going. "Who'd she confess too?"

"Shunji Ito. A senior. You don't know him, he's in another class." Kasumi explained. "He's in the Karate club, pretty big guy, decent grades, plays the drums."

Alex almost asked how she knew all this but decided not to. "I'm surprised that she had feelings for someone, I mean, she's always in clubs or something and she's always so serious, I can't remember seeing her smile or laugh."

Alex wanted to say that she also watched over her group of friends like a mother hawk, but did not want to offend her in front of Kasumi.

"They say the same thing about you." Kasumi edged in. "And I know you have more to you than what most people see."

Again with the statements that could come from a child's show meant to boost self-esteem. And again, he refused to say any pithy remarks.

"It's just weird, in my mind." Alex pushed the last chunk of eel around in his bowl with his chopsticks. "The tough Sumire bashfully asking out a boy. Seems so…I don't know, wrong."

"She's still a girl and girl's can have feelings for boys. It's natural." She said with a smile. "Love finds a way."

"Is it love?" Alex asked cautiously, resisting the urge to groan. "I mean, how do they know that it isn't some stupid short-lived crush?"

"You don't know." Kasumi said. "But as my mother once said, that's part of the adventure of life."

"What did he say?" Alex asked after a long pause. "You know, what did Shunji say?"

Another smile. "They're going to the movies Friday night."

Nanako was surprisingly energetic during their date. She spent most of the day wandering the streets of Shinjuku with him in tow, looking at clothes and make up and whatever else came to her mind. Nanako had on cut off jean shorts with a black top and knee high black boots and her glitter skull cap. Hours of shopping had only lead to a handful of purchases for two shirts, a pair of acid washed jeans, and a tube of lipstick. They stopped at a sushi place for dinner, Nanako's treat despite Alex's insistence that he could pay.

"Nah, don't sweat it." She told him as they plopped down at the conveyor belt where plates of various types sushi came through. At some sushi restaurants, the food was placed on the belts and taken by the customers at their tables. The bill was given based upon how many plates a customer had and their colors.

"It's just…you're always paying for me. I feel like I'm mooching off you."

"You paid for dinners when you stayed with me a few weeks ago." Nanako leaned her head into her hand. "Don't tell me your guy pride is hurt because your girlfriend is taking care of you?"

Alex leered at her. "Don't be stupid. I just wanna put in my fair share."

Nanako erupted in laughter and gave him a playful shove. "I'm just givin' ya shit, don't be such a stick in the mud." She picked a plate of rolled sushi. "I kinda like having to pay sometimes. Having the guy pay for everything always makes me feel like I 'owe' him something, ya know?"

Alex sighed and grabbed a bowl of miso soup.

"Tell ya what, how 'bout we hit one more store? That lingerie place down the block?" She smiled wickedly. "You know, get something the both of us will enjoy?"

Even though she had loosened him up somewhat after their…intimate moment at her apartment, Alex was still uncomfortable about talking about such things with Nanako. He looked at his meal, his mind swirling. "Do you remember when you told me about why you broke up with me the first time?"

The smile vanished from her face, replaced by a look usually reserved for children about to see the dentist. She turned her attention to her own plate. "Yeah, I do."

"You said that I was the first guy who told you that he loved you and meant it." Alex said just to make sure. "I was wondering if…have you ever said it to someone?"

He drank some of his soup before he turned back to Nanako. Her face relaxed a little. Instead of foreboding, she looked like she had a moment of revelation. She set down her chopsticks, turned to face Alex, took his face with both hands, and stared straight into his eyes.

"Alex Kane." She said clearly. "I love you."

Alex's breath caught itself in his throat. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. His entire thought process ground to a halt.

"There?" She asked without sarcasm. "Feel better?"

It took almost a full minute before Alex's brain worked through the muck and got the gears turning again. "Ye…yeah, I mean that wasn't…I wanted to know if you…"

Her look turned worried.

"Yes." Alex finally answered. "I do. Thank you."

Her smile was new to Alex. It was not sultry, mischievous, or antagonistic. It was…sweet. She leaned him and kissed him deeply. Some of the shock made Alex passive, he complied with the kiss. His heart slowed and the weird feeling, the tension that held his body together melted away, replaced by a calming warmth that spread from his chest. When she pulled back, it left him dazed for a brief moment.

"And thank you." She said, licking her lips. "Hmm. You got pork miso? I think I'll give that a try."

With a blush, Alex returned to his soup. He felt the niggling itch at the back of his skull that came with someone staring at him. He turned and saw two elderly women watching him with cutesy eyes, fawning over the couple in love no doubt.

"How cute." The old woman with the glasses said to the other.

Alex politely waved, turned back to his meal, and rolled his eyes.

School the next day was drab. Kasumi had started hanging around her friends more often. Sometimes she would leave the room during breaks to visit them. It was nice to see her acting more like a normal girl, but he also felt…left out since she used to stay with him in the classrooms. A stupid feeling, he was not some puppy that whimpered for attention.

He had gotten up to use the restroom. As he walked he thought about Nanako's words and kiss. Usually her kisses were overpowering, but the one she gave at the restaurant was different. And what she said to him, did her decree change things? Was this being in love? Or was he trying to paint a simple incident with a romantic brush? Maybe he needed to stop thinking like a love struck school girl.

He pushed open the door to the men's room. Someone was leaning over the sink, splashing water on his face. A few small bottles were around the sink including face wash and hair gel.

Huh. Alex thought. Someone brought the works.

The guy stood and wiped his face with a cloth. When he took it away, Daisuke looked straight back at him.

"Yo, Alex." Daisuke smiled. "What's goin' on?"

"What the…" Alex quickly regained his wits and glared. "What are you doing here?"

"Me? Just checkin' up on scene here. Looking up old girls I know and findin' some new ones." He tossed the cloth on the counter.

"And you're washing yourself in the school's restroom?" Alex asked, unsure on whether to walk out. "Don't you have a bathroom at home?"

"Yep. But it's a good idea to do a little cleaning up now and then. Not everyone has great skin, you gotta keep vigilant about this shit otherwise its pizza face city." Daisuke squirted some gel into his hand and ran it through his hair. "And the trick with gel is to use it subtley. Too little won't do anything and too much will make you look like your hair is greasier than a fast food joint."

"Thanks for the fashion advice." Alex said in his best sarcasm. "Do you really think that you can sweep some girl off her feet with a good complexion and nice hair?"

"Looking good is half the battle," Daisuke ran a comb through his hair. "What really gets a girl wet is a guys' confidence."

Alex took noticed that aside from Daisuke no one else was in the restroom. Alex became nervous as that meant that there were no witnesses either.

"Lemme give you a little heads up here, pal." Daisuke smugly said. "Ya know how women always say they want a 'nice guy', a 'gentleman'? Well guess what? That's all bullshit. That's the femi-nazis and those man haters who are trying to castrate us further by spreadin' lies."

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked like he was talking to a crazy person off the street.

Daisuke shook his head. "You see, women don't want the 'nice guy' because the nice guy is you," Daisuke lightly jabbed Alex in the chest. "A fuckin' doormat. Always going along with what she says, what she wants, never contradicting her, never pushing what he wants. You don't respect someone like that, so how could a woman want that?"

Daisuke returned to the mirror, checking his hair. "Women want a man who doesn't take shit from anyone, someone who'll stand up to them, challenge them. Look at nature, the women want the alpha males. It's fuckin' genetic. You act like you can take on anything and the panties practically fall off."

"There's confidence and then there's arrogance." Alex countered. "And how can a woman love a man who loves himself more than her?"

Daisuke chuckled, like he was told off by a toddler. "You'd be surprised. But that leads us to your other problem. You see, you have this whole image about being helpful and kind to women and about never pushing her into anything, because that's what a gentleman does. More bullshit. Men are supposed to take charge, show that he's interested in her, shows that he wants to fuck her, and shows that he's not someone she can boss around, otherwise you'll be stuck in the stupid 'friend zone'."

Alex wondered just why Daisuke was telling him all this. Maybe the guy just liked to hear his own voice.

"So, tell me, are you the man in the relationship?" Daisuke gathered up his supplies and put them in a backpack.

"Huh?"

"Are…you…the…man?" Daisuke said more slowly and slung the bag over his shoulder. "Have you two gone anyplace you wanted to go? Done anything you wanted to do? Watch shows you like? Or do you only do what she wants to do?"

Alex almost shot back, but then found himself stumped. He could not remember going someplace he wanted to, or watching something he wanted with Nanako, or anything else. She was usually the instigator.

"Just as I thought. You're the toy she plays with. Next thing you know she'll put make-up on you and tie pretty ribbons in your golden…"

Daisuke reached up to touch his hair, something bullies did to make their victim uncomfortable and to show dominance, if mom's earlier articles about the insight of school bullying were true. Alex's body reacted and smacked it away.

Daisuke blinked. Anger flashed through his eyes. Before Alex had time to mental process that a fight was about to break out, the anger vanished, replace with an amused glean.

"Well someone has some fight in him." Daisuke chuckled and shook his struck hand like it was wet. "But that doesn't change the fact that you're afraid to take charge, to not be a little kid holdin' mama's hand."

"We're not all like you." Alex said in low tone. "We all don't see relationships as a power struggle."

"Yeah. Look where that got ya." Daisuke shot back.

"You lost her too."

The two stared at each other. Daisuke's spiteful smile grated on Alex's nerves as he was still unsure if a fight would break out.

"She burned you before, Alex." Daisuke suddenly said without hostility. "What makes you think she won't again?"

A moment passed. Alex knew the sympathetic look from Daisuke was just an act.

"I don't." Alex said. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to try and see where it leads."

Alex turned and left.

Daisuke watched the door close and shook his head. "If you leave everything to chance, Alex, sooner or later you're gonna lose."

Kasumi was standing in front of the door when Alex stepped out. A displeased look was on her face.

"Is he…?"

"Yeah." Alex said in defeat. "He's in there."

She turned back to the restroom door, anger brewing in her eyes, and her hands flexing into fists. "I warned him…"

"Don't." Alex placed a hand on her shoulder and led her away. "Forget about him. It's alright."

Alex tried to shake Daisuke's words, but they stuck like refrigerator magnets and pulled violently at his heart.

Seiji had invited Alex and Kasumi over for a hot pot meal, a stew like meal where a hot pot of water is placed at the center of the table and individuals can place in meats and vegetables and eaten at anyone's leisure. Originally it was supposed to be a welcome back party for his father, but as per usual the old goat went right back to work with mom just as the doctors let him out and it seemed like a waste to have such a large meal with just himself and the munchkin. Kasumi had to bail out because of a sudden get together with her friends, something about a 'debriefing' with Sumrie after her date. Girls and their gossip, he supposed.

As soon as Seiji opened the door to let his friend in, he could tell that Alex was in one of his 'moods' again. Seiji never liked it when his best friend turned on his mopey mode. Ever since Alex changed from unstoppable ball of energy to surly teenager, it was tough to see the happy side of him. Sometimes he wished he could crawl into his friend's head and throw all the emotional garbage into the trash and get the go-getter back. But he knew there was no turning back the clock. Life moves on with or without you.

"You alright dude?" Seiji said, hoping to get through Alex's shell. He balanced his little sister on his knee and feed her small portions.

"Yeah." Alex rubbed his face like a tired old man. "Just a trying day. I ran into Daisuke."

"Oh?" Seiji asked with raised eyebrows. "What happened?"

"Nothing really, he just spouted more of his usual bullshit at me." Alex said while looking at the table.

"I see." Seiji knew there was more to it. "Well, I wouldn't-"

"Sometimes I wish I was you." Alex suddenly spouted.

Seiji almost thought he was joking. "What?"

"I mean, I wish I had your confidence. You're ability to keep cool around girls." Alex started, never making eye contact.

"Dude, what are you-." Seiji tried to interject.

"You're ability to not tear yourself apart for every decision you make." Alex continued, not really hearing his friend. "How you don't hate yourself for things that you aren't in control of. How-"

"ALEX!" Seiji yelled and slammed his fist on the table. His friend jerked, like he was slapped in the face. Ami started crying.

"Damn it." Seiji said through clenched teeth. "Ok, I'm gonna take Ami to her room, I'll be right back." He jabbed a finger at his friend. "You don't go anywhere."

Seiji carried his little sister into her room, rubbing her back, telling her that it was alright and he did not mean to scare her. She sobbed and clung to her brother, saying how friends should not fight and she did not like to see her brother angry.

"I'm not angry, shrimp." He set her down in her bed with chibi-sized animals. "In fact I'm going to go talk to him right now and get back to being friends again, ok?"

Ami wiped her eyes. "You promise?" She held up a fist with her pinky standing.

Seiji smiled and hooked his pinky with hers. "I promise. Now give me some time with your second brother so we can snap him out his dumpy attitude, ok?"

Ami nodded eagerly and went to work on her dollhouse, rearranging her furniture for third time today. Seiji went back to the kitchen, closing his sister's door behind him. Alex never moved from his spot. Seiji sat back down, trying not to get angry again.

"Look man, I don't know where this pity party is coming from, but it's gonna stop, right now." Seiji said firmly. "I'm sick and tired of seeing and hearing you beat yourself up. Stop comparing your life to others, alright?"

"Besides, my life is hardly a bright, shinning rainbow." Seiji leaned back in his chair. "I gotta dad with the big C, my family is running itself raged trying to pay bills, and I got a best friend who's turned into this self-hating thing. How do you think I feel when I see this, eh?"

"Sorry." Alex mumbled.

Seiji sighed and tried to resist the urge to strike his friend. "Look, I'm gonna tell ya something. A little secret of mine."

Alex looked up and for the first time without a scowl or the look of a beaten down old man.

"I kinda envy you, man." Seiji said with a smile. "You've got a family that's doing alright for itself, you've got a girl who cares for ya living in your home, and you've still got your innocence."

"My what?" Alex raised a lone eyebrow.

"You're innocence. You're virginity and all that. I don't know a better term so stop looking at me like that. Think about it, you want your first time to matter. You're not trying to lose your virginity just so you can lose it. You want to look for that special someone. You're gonna experience something great for the very first time and with someone who you care about. Do you know who popped my cherry?"

Alex shook his head.

"Haruka Yamaguti."

"Haruka?" Alex said, utterly astonished. "The girl with her front teeth turned inward?"

"Hey, she looked alright from behind." Seiji smirked. Alex rolled his eyes. "But yeah, not a moment I look fondly on. We're at a party at this one guy's house when his parent's were away. Beer was involved, and this was before I built up a tolerance. She came on to me, liquored up pretty good herself. Next thing I know we're in a room, ripping each others clothes off. Took me a bit to get it up, ya know, still pretty buzzed." The smirk faded. "Five minutes later it's all over and she crying. The next day I felt like crap and I'm not talking about the hangover." Seiji leaned back in his chair, mulling around the past in his head before he continued. "She and I never really spoke afterwards. I was a little scared too because we didn't use a condom, but we lucked out." Seiji shook his head slowly. "Fuck, if given a chance to do it all over again, I'd hold off."

Alex sighed. "No one ever feels sorry for the virgin."

"That's because there's nothing to feel sorry about." Seiji said honestly. "I don't know what's eating you now, but you gotta realize something, you can't let the little things bother ya, or you'll be bothered your whole life."

Seiji's friend could see that his friend was mulling around in his head.

"Yeah, I suppose." Alex said more somberly than Seiji wanted him to say. The look in his eyes told Seiji that Alex was far from being in higher spirits.

The television blared on, but Alex was not paying attention. Everything that he absorbed from everyone's speeches had churned and brewed within his mind as he tried to make sense of it all. Was he in love? Was what he had with Nanako even called love? And if so, why did he still feel the same? Why did he feel miserable since, as Seiji pointed out, his life was blessed?

The creepy, sinking, nostalgia of his old life had started to hang in the air like an old fart. He found himself becoming agitated and wondering when Kasumi or his mother would return.

Being alone meant being alone with his thoughts and his thoughts were driving him up a wall.

The front door closed. Normally such an occurrence would have been difficult to hear, but the sound echoed like an explosion in the silent home.

"I'm back." Kasumi called out as she slid open the door between the sitting room and the rest of the home.

Alex had to override the urge to get up and go to her. He was not some lonely dog, bounding up to his owner when they came home. "Hey." He called back. "How was your day?"

"It was pleasant." Kasumi plopped down beside Alex on the sofa. "Sumire is quite taken with Shunji. They're going to go out again next weekend."

"That's good." Alex replied offhand. He noticed that his heart had slowed and his stomach was not so tensed as before.

"What are you watching?" She asked.

Alex shrugged. "Don't know."

"Mind if I watch it with you?" She smiled.

The smile suddenly made the violent storm in his head fade, like a strong wind pushing out the rain clouds.

"No." He smiled back, an honest smile. "Not at all."