And finally...we see Okinawa meeting his birth parents for the first time as spirit figures.

Chapter 25: Spirit Parents

As the day winds to a close, it was filled with much excitement and joy all mixed in at the same time and as Okinawa makes his way to his grandparents' house, he was warmhearted by these eight baby panda cubs and it made him realize how truly precious life is. He lets out a deep sigh as he walked towards the backyard and just gave a few moments to himself, realizing how lucky he is for everything that happened in these last few days.

And he hopes that there will be one day that he'll get to see his birth parents again and to let them know how much he loves them and fully appreciate him for the life he's got and before long, a glowing bright light flashed around him and Okinawa shielded himself from it to avoid being blind, but he felt someone's paw on his shoulder and when he turned around...he was caught by surprise when he saw Sakamoto there.

"Okinawa...my son." Sakamoto said, smiling.

Okinawa widened his eyes at this and realized that this is not a dream; this is really his birth father, a spiritual figure standing there and he lets out a silent gasp and whispered, "Dad?"

Sakamoto nodded his head to confirm it and Okinawa said, "Are you an angel?"

"A spiritual figure. We figured that we would see you in person for the first time...just standing here." Sakamoto replied.

Okinawa rose his eyebrow for a minute and asked, "We?"

"Yes, we."

Then, Okinawa turns around and sees his birth mother, Bao-Yi right behind him and for the first time in his life...all of the wishes of wanting to see his birth parents have finally come true and he remained silent for a few seconds to wrap his mind around the reality of it and then, he turned to them and he said, "I've been dreaming about this my whole life. I've always wanted to know who I am."

"We know you've wanted to see us for the first time." Bao-Yi added.

Okinawa looked at his mother in the eye and he could see some of the compassion, beauty and enchantment in her and that it instilled in him as well and he said, "You're just like what everyone else in this valley described...just wonderful and beautiful."

"And you got your father's eyes too." Bao-Yi pointed out.

And then, Okinawa went towards his birth father and he looked at him and he could see the strength and heart of gold that goes along with it and he said, "Everyone in the valley has said many great things about you...including Azuko. It's like...you're everyone's hero."

Sakamoto smiled at that assumption and he said, "I have never thought of myself as a hero. I always say to myself that I'm a giver and all I do is give people hope, love and courage. It is what your grandfather has taught me growing up to remain humble and appreciative as possible and even when life throws at you in the most deepest way, you hold on to what's important."

Okinawa nodded his head at that and Bao-Yi couldn't agree more and she said, "That is why I married your father."

There was still one question Okinawa needed to answer...

"There's one thing I don't understand. Why did you give me up to Azuko? Didn't you want me?" asked Okinawa.

Sakamoto knew that it was a question that was bound to be answered and he closed his eyes for a second and said, "Of course we wanted you, son. Your mother and I loved you with all our hearts, but the Mongolian war had gotten worse and worse and we were told to give you up so you wouldn't have to know about it. It literally broke me down, knowing I was gonna have to do that...but me and your mother would do anything for you."

"It broke your father's heart so bad when we gave you up. It broke mine as well...but we had never stopped loving you, so we gave you to Azuko. Your father was really saddened by the fact that we gave you up, but he's never one to harden his heart. He knows that you'll always have us in our hearts and that one day, we will meet again." Bao-Yi responded.

"And we made a promise that when you got older, we'd meet each other again so we could get you, Xing-Fu and Zeke together. And from those last few days, we saw that you've become more like brothers...and you've grown up into a young adult. Just like we hoped you'd be." Sakamoto said, with a smile.

Okinawa smiled at that and he looked at his dad in the eye and said, "I just wanted to let you guys know that I really love you and I'm appreciative for the life that I've been lucky to have."

"We can tell. Azuko's been raising you well. We are so proud to call you our firstborn son." Sakamoto said, almost in verge of tears.

Okinawa felt the same exact tears coming down his face and said, "And I'm proud to call you my parents."

Okinawa reached out to them and hugged them both so deeply and Sakamoto felt every ounce of emotion pouring out of him after all those years and it felt like he got his child back. Sakamoto then whispered, "I love you, Okinawa."

"I love you guys too." Okinawa whispered.

They let go for a second and Bao-Yi got close to her son and said, "Whenever you miss us, know that we'll always be in your hearts right beside you."

"You're...you're leaving?" asked Okinawa.

Sakamoto sighed and he replied, "Yes, son. We just wanted to come and see you and we're proud of you becoming the young man you are. And we'll be happy to see each other again someday."

Okinawa blinked his eyes a few times as they saw his parents slowly fading back to the skies and after that, everything turned dark...but to Okinawa, seeing his parents in person was one wish that came true and he was happy to see them and he knows that he still loves them a lot and he whispered, "I'll keep you with me in my heart, mom and dad. Always."

Soon after that, Okinawa turns to see his grandparents, Musaki and Zeke standing there and he said, "Hey, guys."

"We saw pretty much everything. We would've wanted to be there, but we decided to let you have your moment with them." Kuriyuka added.

Oak came to his oldest grandson and he said, "Your parents loved you more than anything in the world and to see you grow into a wonderful young man. And you've done that so well."

Zeke and Musaki came by his side and Musaki told him, "Now all three of us can finally be a family."

"Just like we are now." Zeke added.

Okinawa puts his arms around his brothers and he said to them, "I feel like I'm part of this family and I'm lucky to be here with you guys."

"So are we." Oak added.

Oak came in for a group hug and as they hugged each other, Okinawa looked up at the sky and thought to himself, 'Mom...dad...I love you guys. And thank you...for everything you've done for me.'

Does this not pull your heartstrings? Stay tuned for more!