"Hey, do you have any idea why this bacteria reacted the way it did?"

"No clue. That's why I assigned its evaluation to you." Morinaga sighed in exasperation as he stared at the numbers on his computer screen. It always amazed him how cruel and demanding his senpai could be.

"Alright, well how do you expect me to come up with a valid conclusion when the data is completely illogi-" A sudden knock on the door stopped his annoyed rant mid-sentence and Morinaga looked up in mild surprise; no one had visited the pair since they had moved into the new apartment. Then again, they weren't exactly telling everyone they knew their address either. Looking back from the door, Morinaga found Souichi staring expectantly at him; his hands still poised at his own keyboard.

"I got it." A few joints cracked as he stood from the table and Morinaga winced slightly in discomfort. Making his way over to the door, he opened it cautiously; unsure of anyone who knew where he was. 'This could be Dad's agents for all I know…' The door inched open and a flash of familiar ebony hair caught Morinaga's eye. A dawning of recognition hit as at the couple that stood before him.

"Yori?!" That same, ever present smile widened with Morinaga's own; the grin just as lopsided and cheerful as ever.

"Hey, Mori, long time no see."

"No kidding! Come on in." Yori entered the living room to Morinaga's beckoning; a tiny frame latched to his hand following him inside.

"I see you brought Maki along too…" Morinaga felt his smile fade slightly in confusion and worry; slaves were never meant to leave the mansion. Something must have happened. 'Did Yori just leave with her…?'

"Yup," Yori's smile did nothing but grow as he looked down at the miniscule girl; her wide, green eyes shining up at him, full of trust and love. Leaning down slightly, he stage whispered to her, "psst, why don't you go say hi to Souichi-kun while I talk to Mori…" A small shake of her head was Maki's only response as she released her companion's hand and nearly skipped over to where Souichi still sat at his computer.

Souichi looked up, his eyes widening slightly in recognition at the little girl standing before him.

"Hi." Hands clasped behind her back; dainty feet rocked back from heel to toe as Maki swayed in what seemed like a cheerful but nervous manner. Clad in her usual sundress, she resembled a grade schooler on her way to church; her small, soprano voice adding to the effect.

"Hi…" Souichi honestly had no idea what to say to the child.

"You wear glasses now." Maki stated assuredly.

"Yup…" A moment of silence that Souichi could consider nothing less than awkward followed in which he struggled with what he should say to this peculiar girl. 'What can we possibly talk about? Dresses and unicorns…?' His eyes glancing up to where Yori and Morinaga were whispering in the corner sparked an idea. He had always wondered about this.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Maki beamed as though his taking an interest in her was the best gift Souichi could have given.

"Okay…so, how old are you exactly?" 'Slavery and kidnapping may not be all Yori's guilty of…' Maki tilted her head to the side, looking confused as to why it mattered. Souichi found himself hoping he hadn't offended her; then realized that it would probably mean her leaving and the uncomfortable moment ending…

"I'm seventeen." That child-like voice did not match her words and Souichi had to take a minute to let the information sink in. In his blank stare, Maki smiled angelically.

"You're seventeen?!"

...

Meanwhile, as Souichi and Maki were attempting conversation, Yori pulled Morinaga to the other side of the room; his grin all but disappearing.

"How did you find us?" Morinaga asked, a slight amount of apprehension lacing his tone. 'I'd like to trust Yori, but how do I know my father didn't blackmail him into coming here to trick me…?'

"Oh, that. I know you go to N University, so I just went to the office there, told them it was a family emergency and that I needed your address so I could contact you." He seemed to be telling the truth; there wasn't even a trace of nervousness in his explanation.

"Ah, that makes sense, I guess. So what happened? You finally got Maki out? Didn't you have family issues that kept you from leaving?" Yori waved a hand dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, but that's not why we're here; I wasn't lying about the family emergency…Mori, it's your dad…" Morinaga's muscles instantly tensed at the mention of his father. He hadn't been able to think of a plan to get back at him for what he had done, but was working on it in his free time.

"…What about him?" Yori looked slightly taken aback and Morinaga wondered if all the rage inside him was showing on his face.

"Well…Something happened…"

"So I've gathered. What exactly?"

"…The mansion's gone. Everyone; gone." It took a second for that statement to process in Morinaga's mine.

"…What?! How?!"

"One of Morinaga-sama's personal slaves escaped. She ran through the woods and got lucky. Found the nearest town before night even fell. Then she reported everything. There was a full blown investigation; police were everywhere. You'll probably end up hearing about it in the news before long, if the government doesn't try to cover it up; I just felt like you should know before it's plastered in the headlines."

"Well thank you. So how did you guys get out? And do you know what happened to my father? My brother?"

"Well, all I really know is the process the authorities went through. The rest are rumors. Anyway, the police showed up, arrested everybody not in chains and put each and every slave in interrogation. They were asked three questions. Are you here against your will? Were you sexually molested? And, if so, can you name or visually identify your molester? Or at least that's what I've heard from some of the freed slaves I know. If they answered yes, they either gave the name of their master or, if they hadn't even been on a first name basis, they would be shown the arrested men and told to point out the man who raped them. Now, if they answered no, they were asked to name their partner and he was let go. And they could leave."

"I'm guessing that was Maki's answer?" Yori's smile appeared again full force.

"Yeah, but I had stopped restraining her a long while ago so, when they found her, she wasn't even confined. So technically they didn't have anything on us."

"That's good. I'm glad you got out."

"Me too. And, about your dad and brother…every single one of their slaves pleaded against them. Apparently they were horrible masters. And your dad especially had so many of them, the charges against him are enormous. He's facing definite life, maybe even the death penalty…" Morinaga's initial reaction was immediate relief. If his father was dead or in prison, he could not hunt down and endanger Souichi anymore. And that was a huge weight off his shoulders. Clasping his hand on Yori's shoulder, Morinaga felt his smile grow as the news began to really sink in. 'I don't have to worry about opening the front door anymore. He's safe…we're safe.'

"You have no idea how great that is." Morinaga said with short burst of relieved laughter. Yori smiled too, placing his own hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Well, you're handling this news a hell of a lot better than I thought you would. I'm glad it helped. I do have a question of my own now, though." Morinaga took a quick glance behind him to check on the two others in the room – surprised to find Maki sitting in Souichi's lap as he showed her something on his laptop – and turned back; dropping his voice just in case Yori's question was...sensitive.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"So…what exactly happened that day in the infirmary? Is Souichi okay? God, he looked like something had ran him over, and I don't think you would do something like that to him…I was going to ask you this before, but you disappeared not long after." Morinaga fought his shock at Yori knowing about the incident and thought back to that day. It was all just a blur of anger, immense worry and depression. 'But I think Yori and Maki may have been in the infirmary when I got there…'

"Um…let's just say that there's a few reasons why I'm glad my dad's gone…and that's one of them." Yori's eyes widened; his smile gone with the appalled expression.

"You're dad did that?! But one of the biggest rules was 'don't touch another's slave unless given permission'…"

"Yeah, but not everyone else had a homosexual relationship with their slave. I think he blamed Souichi for my sexual orientation…and took it out on him. Twice."

"Man, I would be happy he's gone too, in that case. I got to tell you, I thought you had gone a little insane, getting all happy about your dad's imprisonment."

"If it means Souichi's safe, I'm going to be overjoyed about it." Yori laughed lightheartedly.

"I understand. It's obvious you love him a lot. Speaking of our loves, it looks like their getting along great." Maki was laughing hysterically at something Souichi was doing with the computer, his own mouth curled into one of those rare smiles that Morinaga lived to see. He could not stop his own chuckle as he responded.

"Looks like it. So, do you want to stay for dinner? Watch a little TV or something?"

"Yeah, sure, we don't have anywhere to be until tomorrow."

"Great."

Watching Souichi interact and socialize with mutual friends – seeing his smile as everyone laughed brightly around him – made Morinaga feel the most content he had been in months. 'This is how things are supposed to be. This feels like a normal relationship. Things are finally right.'