Hello people, it's me Leon (Kal-El Fornia) again. I was asked if I could do a sibling chapter, and I'm not sure if I touched on that, but I can do one when it can fit appropriately. Same with the chapter about Yamato and Taichi arguing about nothing in particular.

Sorry for the wait, I feel like it's taken me a long time to update.

Quote of the day:

"One bright autumn day, I learned of Grandpa's demise. Hence I took a leave of absence, packed my bag, and rushed home. Only to find a little girl I had never seen before."

— Daikichi Kawachi, Usagi Drop

The plan, to put it in a way that Yamato never would, had gone swimmingly. Jou had been given his money as was per his agreement with Yamato, the Yagami family and company had been picked up and brought to the home that supposedly belonged to Taichi and the rest of them, Daisuke and Takeru had kept their mouths shut about revealing that this wasn't the place where they actually lived, and they had just finished the dinner that was held in celebration of how well everyone's lives had been trudging along. Yamato was now out on Jou's balcony, which was the only place where he felt comfortable in the somewhat stranger's home. He remained silent as he went on to add another cigarette onto the foundation of the countless he had already smoked throughout his life, and there was an odd feeling that was stirring in Yamato's heart, as he stared out at the cityscape of this unfamiliar part of Osaka.

"Yamato?" a soft voice came from behind him, interrupting his lonely thoughts.

When he heard his name he stood up from the railing, and turned to his newest midnight companion. Usually he would ignore and pretend not to hear a person when they interrupted him in his alone time, but as a sign of respect he couldn't do that to the woman who was now in his presence. He stood there and gave Yuuko a smile when he saw her close the sliding door behind her.

For a moment, he considered tossing his cigarette. "Yes, Yagami-san?"

Yuuko's eyes were as soft as her voice, and she watched him for a moment before approaching the young man, an infinite tenderness shining in her soul. "Can we talk?"

He nodded and watched as the woman walked passed him to rest against the concrete railing he himself was just at, perhaps finding it a beautiful night to lean against the balcony. Following her lead, he went back to his original position as well. He said nothing, but wondered what this was all about.

What Yuuko decided to ask was almost an accusation. "What is this business with Sora?"

Nodding, Yamato now he knew what this was about. Truthfully, Yamato had been waiting for Yuuko to bring up the situation with Sora and ask him about it for a while now, and to be honest he was a little surprised that it had taken this long of a time for that to happen. He considered lying to her and telling her that Taichi had miraculously become straight even though that's not how things actually worked, but he decided against it, not really feeling right in lying to the woman when Susumu wasn't around.

"Taichi," he paused not really sure how to say what he wanted to. Yuuko knew what Taichi was, and also knew of his shame, but it was still strange for Yamato to talk about it with her, "he struggles with things. I just figured he could use a little less pressure."

Yuuko sighed, and wondered when something as simple as love had gotten so complicated. It was something that had never been easy, but when she was a young it was just boy meets girl, dates girl, marries girl, and starts a family with girl. In her day for the most part people didn't even consider the possibility of boy meets boy; the possibility of boy loves boy.

Yuuko's heart trembled, and for a moment of time she felt just like a girl again. "Did he put you up to this?"

Yamato shook his head, frowning at the truth of it. "It was my idea. He didn't even know about it until I announced it."

She felt like smiling for a moment, but didn't seeing as what Yamato had done was something that was more bittersweet than anything else. He had always been a lovely boy, even more so when she had taken him and Takeru in as surrogate children, and she was at least glad that Yamato was now watching out for her son in the same caring way that she had watched out for him. She looked at him, and even though by his expression she could tell nothing about how he felt, she knew that this was hard on him.

He wasn't her son by blood, but she still had that mother's instinct when it came to him. "This is because of Susumu, right?"

"Yeah," Yamato shrugged, more a boy in that moment than a man.

The light on his cigarette was dim, and deciding that Yuuko wasn't going to say anything about it, Yamato took a drag and released the smoke into the night air. Were the motives behind his actions really that obvious? He thought on that, and began to smoke again, not really wanting to answer the question himself.

The flame on his cigarette was bursting with life.

"How long have you known us, Yamato?" Yuuko almost accused the young man beside her, not understanding how the two boys could not simply tell Susumu the truth about just how far their mutual affection went for one another. As if she hadn't loved the both of them with all her heart? As if Susumu hadn't been a father to the both of them?

How long hadn't he known them? He glanced over at Yuuko and hated the distressed look that he saw on her face. Honestly, it was harder to remember a time when he hadn't known the Yagami family rather than a time that he did. Even before he had lived with them they were a part of his life, and himself a part of theirs.

Life was strange like that. "Since I was a kid."

"Then you should know that we're good people, and good people are always there for their families no matter what. I know that Susumu won't be happy with what Taichi is struggling with, but he'll love him all the same."

He knew that it wasn't intentional on her part, or at least he didn't think so, but Yuuko had just reminded him of Natsuko. Good people are there for their families no matter what. Natsuko had left.

"I know that, it's Taichi that won't believe me."

She was glad to hear that Yamato at least knew about how she and Susumu would treat the subject of Taichi coming out, but the fact that her own biological son doubted them was a bit saddening to hear. Didn't he know that his parents loved him? "He's always been stubborn like that. Once he gets something in his head, there's no use in ever telling him otherwise."

Oddly enough, Yamato chuckled at that, and probably even stranger, Yuuko laughed along with him. So that's what they did, they laughed and laughed despite the fact that they actually didn't have anything to laugh about. "You know, sometimes I wish that I had a mom like you."

He had said it to make her happy, and knew that this was accomplished when he saw her smile that same type of grin that he had seen plastered on Taichi's face so many times before. He returned it as she reached over and grabbed the cigarette from his hand only to simply toss it off the balcony. He looked at her, but couldn't say that he recognized that tender look on her face as she began to fiddle with his hair.

"You do."

Let me know what you guys think. I noticed that they made the review bar a purplish blue so that it's easier for people to notice. Weird.

I hope you like this chapter as much as I did.