As it stormed, the group sat inside Maxi's cabin, feeling the swaying of the ship as the wind and rain moved it.
There wasn't much room for eight people on the ship. Even so, he couldn't bear to part with it. This would just have to do until the group could figure out a plan.
Maxi stood, allowing his guests to take their seats. Xianghua and Kilik sat side by side at the end of the sofa. Leixia was sandwiched between her mother and her brother, while Natsu sat beside Xiba on the arm of the sofa. Mitsurugi sat on the floor with Taki in front of him. His arms wrapped around her, but it was more of a safety precaution than an affectionate behavior. Still, Taki seemed to enjoy it.
"I'm sorry I left," Xianghua broke the silence as she spoke to her children. Neither knew what to say, and the silence couldn't help but be mistaken for hostility. "Leixia ... I'm sorry for everything I've put you through recently. You were right. I, of all people, should have known. I want you to be happy."
"I am happy," she softly responded as her mother stroked her hair and kissed her forehead.
"Natsu, is everything alright?" Taki looked up at her apprentice, whose expression lit up with worry and contemplation.
"I know everything will be fine," she tried to convince herself, but her lack of confidence shone and Taki pressed for more details.
"If you're worried about something, Natsu, it's best to get it off your chest."
"Well, it's just that ... when this is all over ... will you still need me?"
"Natsu, I'll always need you," Taki reminded her. "I've watched you grow up. You're family to me. Don't ever think you're unimportant. What's bothering you?"
"I just feel conflicted. Ever since I found out the reason Mitsurugi was looking to marry. I only said I would because I was suspicious and needed a close eye on him. But after finding you ... it just feels wrong, but at the same time, it feels like I'm supposed to. You need my help, if not now, eventually you will. But I feel like I'd be betraying you. I want what Leixia wanted. To marry for love, not some arrangement."
"You are under no obligation to marry me," Mitsurugi reminded.
"I should have never allowed this to happen," Xianghua piped up. "I've stolen my daughter's dream ... the same dream I had. Leixia, you deserve to marry someone you love. I can't apologize enough for resorting to marrying you off to Maxi. You deserve to marry the one you love, which I was never able to do."
"But I do love Maxi," she announced, which seemed to surprise everyone except for Natsu. Internally, Maxi panicked but reminded himself that he was in control over everything that happened on his ship. The marriage was a done deal.
"You ... you love ... Maxi?" her mother questioned, confused as to how that could have happened.
"Yes," she answered in short, smiling at Maxi, who smiled back at her.
Xianghua simply told herself that Leixia was too young to understand different types of love, but upon realizing that her daughter did not regret her marriage to Maxi, felt a boulder rise from her shoulders in knowing that the right decision was made to correct the previous arrangement. It was a highly unusual situation, especially with him being three times older than his wife, but Xianghua couldn't have been happier for her daughter. Even if her heart told her that she was confused about love. If Leixia was content, that was all that mattered to Xianghua.
"He makes you happy?"
"Yes, mom. So happy," Leixia added.
"Maxi," Xianghua spoke up. "Thank you for everything. I just want you to know that there is nobody I trust more with Leixia than you. I'm so thankful for what she has with you."
"... Really? You honestly mean that?" Maxi seemed a bit surprised that she was okay with the relationship, but tried to pull off the gentleman act as much as possible.
"Yes. I'm so happy," she asserted.
"Great! Can I call you mom now?" he joked.
"Absolutely!" Xianghua exclaimed, but quickly gave in when Maxi pulled his eyes back in surprise. "Just kidding!"
"So, you think you can help me?" Taki changed the focus to Kilik, who was busy rolling his eyes at Xianghua's playfulness with Maxi.
"I may have a remedy. We will need to test them out individually, so it may take some time just to see if anything even works," he explained.
"Any way you can help us, we will be eternally grateful," Mitsurugi made sure to mention.
"I think we should all get some rest for now," Kilik declared. "We'll begin testing tomorrow. Is that acceptable for you, Taki?"
"Yes, thank you, Kilik," she responded.