DISCLAIMER: I have no TIME to worry about the fact that I don't own this. Grah.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the SOLE chapter I wrote while I was gone this summer. Yep, in six weeks, I came out with exactly ten pages of material. Sigh. I'm disappointed in myself. Although with my lack of private computer-age I don't really think I can blame myself that much. I neeeeeeeeed my computer to be private; if it's not, I always think someone's peering over my shoulder, reading what I'm writing. And I know people wouldn't understand fanfiction, so that compounds it. Also, I only like to show my stuff to select people... See my problem? I wrote the first nine pages on my roommate's computer, but then it malfunctioned, and she swore it was my fault and forbid me from using it again. It wasn't, it was her computer's fault, because she never turned it off so the poor thing never got a break. Sigh. After that it took me three weeks to get up the nerve to finish it in the library.

Not much actually happens in this chapter, mostly set-up stuff and mush (I was in way too sugar-high a mood when I was writing this to do anything -dark-). So the tone from 26 is almost NOWHERE to be found. Saaaaaaaaaaaaaap abounds. Don't say I didn't warn you. Don't think I have too many other notes on this chapter. ~shrugs~ Transition chapter, mostly, I guess. Not the best I've done, but not the worst either. Okay, on to replies!

Sano-kun, I never claimed to be the all-encompassing-kanji-knowledge-person ^_^ I got my info online, and until I learn Japanese or Chinese (Japanese is a much more realistic possibility at this point) I can't tell for sure what the kanji mean, or even if the ones I found are the ones Watase-sensei wanted to use. However, I have the feeling that FY uses the Japanese meaning of the kanji, because this IS for Japanese readers, so maybe that explains some stuff. And thanks you Nuri-chan ^_^ Your help is always appreciated.

Flying heart, no! I don't want you to go away! ~huggles~ I always say "Down boy/girl" when my friends are excited! And yes, Amefuri's here ~grins~

Skittles, I WILL argue with you! You know I will! Because I don't believe it! And don't faint on me! ~fans her with newspaper to give her air~

~cracks up~ CLAMP... Amefuri as a water person? Whoo boy, not the way I pictured him. One thing with wind people (and I say this being one myself) is that we tend to run around and change at the drop of a hat and we have a short fuse sometimes. Water is more calm and in control. Amefuri changes pretty fast, and has a temper, so wind makes more sense. ~cracks up at the thought of a water-Amefuri~ Also, Hikou already "has" that power, and I didn't want to repeat things. And yes, what are the siblings to doooooooo?

Chibigreen, thanks! You and Emily should support each other ~grins~ Beat it in me to write that Karasuki story (which I completely scrapped and started over, by the way, and seems to have much more potential). And I'm glad Amefuri's motivations are understandable; I try hard to have my characters behave like real people. Guess it worked!

Kris, I'm the Incarnation of Pure Evil. You expect me to be anything else? ~calmly pries Amefuri away and sets him loose, watching him run away~ And Kris ~grins~ did I ever say we DIDN'T have a lot in common? We'll just have to wait and watch with Amefuri, though, even I don't know how he's gonna turn out. And that thing with him touching Subaru... Didn't happen ^_~ Tokaki has way too much of an overactive imagination when it comes to Subaru, that's what, and he imagined it. Siiiiiiiiigh... And stay tuned for everything else your mentioned. It'll come up sooner or later.

Hey Lib, since you seem to have a handle on him, you wanna try writing it? ^^;;;; I'd have to "approve" it (sorry, but I could send you his specifics and you could fill in the details), but I think you'd do it right. I've just got so much on my plate right now - including five or six new story ideas! I'm even forgetting some of them! Gah! And yes, the wedding's gonna come up, though not 'til after a few other things. And NO there's not just three days left! Heck, did the Suzaku people's story end after Suzaku was summoned? Don't answer that...

Well, Bashou, you asked... ~whacks her hard~ And yes, that was the Tokaki-proposes-in-three-seconds part, but I DID lengthen it. Look at the old copy, it used to be THREE LINES long. Now it's... a lot longer, not sure just how much, but a lot. I always meant to go back and rewrite it, but didn't get the chance until a couple weeks ago. So while it might seem too short to you, it's a LOT better than what I had. ~grins~ And despite you having disappeared off the face of the Internet world, you're still all that. And yeah, I'll read when I have the time) and be brutal. You know I will, especially since you asked. And you shall not dress Mits in drag, for if you do, I will calmly switch out his clothing and turn you into a statue.

Draconsis, sorry for making it sudden! I'll try to put in more explanation as to why he blew up that fast later! ~grins sheepishly~ I've gotta go back and fix some things anyway...

Lena, you're heeeeeeeeeeeere! ~glomp~ It's been awhile! Well, no angst here, but your Sap Meter should be off the chart.

Lanen, thanks for saying they act like real people! Like I said, that's one of my BIG things, because a lot of times fanfic characters don't... And it gets on my nerves. And... rootbeer? Ugh ~sweatdrop~ And go ahead and glomp ff.n, it's not getting a lot of love lately...

Keimei, it took you two -days-? Wow... Guess I write more than I thought. Although that shouldn't surprise me, my writer's copies occupy two binders... Hmm. And I'm NOT THAT GOOD! Sheeeeeeeesh, people, I'm not! I'm really not! But I'm so gald you like the characters, and that Bashou's found another person to drool over Tokaki with ~grins~ She'll really be happy. And I'll keep it up! I promise!

Flying heart (again) - every seishi's kanji means several things, at least in Japanese. For example: Miboshi's means "basket" but also (weirdly) "to sit with legs crossed". Besides that being really head-trippy, it's the only one I can remember ^_^ So I think that ONE of the meanings for Amefuri is "rain net". Maybe it'll make sense then.

~cracks UP~ J. Liha, what is it with you and the boys I write about?! You want glomping rights on Amefuri or something? And yes, I'll make you a Tokaki clone. I got the original, which is the best to clone from (sorta like burning CDs). And of course you couldn't HAVE the original, since Subaru would kill both me and you. But a clone's almost as good! And of COURSE nothing goes smoothly in my stories! That would defy natural laws! And Tsumura-san died because I (as horrible as this sounds) need Inoue and Kokie in other places for later plot developments. Sometimes you just have to.

And Elwing... ~grins~ No more? Well, here's more! And yep, you're caught up! ^_^ Hopefully you'll see more of Amefuri later (he really doesn't belong in this chapter) and find out more about him. He's complicated. And yes, congratulations! ~gives Elwing a prize~ You're the only one to figure that out! Yes, her uncle's health WAS indeed what Inoue was upset about a few chapters ago! He was going progressively downhill. She didn't want to burden Subaru when she was sick, though, and didn't have anyone else to talk to, so she ended up talking to Tokaki. Good for you for spotting that!

Sheesh, these responses are getting to be chapters in and of themselves! I bet a lot of people just look for their own name and then skip all the rest. Oh well. Have fun!



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"Uncle… He's gone… He's just… gone…"

Tokaki wordlessly reached out and pulled Kokie into a tight hug, offering our "little brother" comfort as best he could. Inoue sobbed once, choked, and buried her head in my shoulder, crying uncontrollably. I glanced helplessly at Tokaki as I enfolded her in my own arms, wondering what we could possibly do to help them. They really were orphans now, with all of their family gone. He gave me a similar look in return; he had as little idea about what to do as I did. At the moment there really wasn't much we could do, except offer them comfort in the only way we knew how.

The siblings cried themselves out on our shoulders as we stood there on the veranda. When they calmed down enough to hold their heads up again, we led them into our room, sat them in chairs, and poured them tea from the ever-present pot. The warm drink seemed to revive them a little, and we finally dared to ask how it had happened.

Inoue discreetly wiped her eyes with her sleeve before beginning, only sniffling once in awhile. "He wasn't doing too well before you all left, but even then I didn't think… I couldn't go down to check on him every day, even thought Heika gave me more free time to look after the family. I was only able to get down there once, but our neighbor said he would check up on him every day for me… And then yesterday…" She bit her lip against the memory, as if the physical action could fortify her. "Yesterday the neighbor came here and demanded to see me… And he… he told… me…"

"Shhhh," I whispered, pulling her into another hug. "It'll be all right."

"But how can it be?" she sobbed, clinging to me as if I was the one stable support she had left. "How can it be? We're alone, we don't have enough money, we'll have no place to live-"

"All of that can be taken care of," Tokaki replied briskly, placing an arm on Kokie's shoulder. "Heika will let you stay at the palace until something more substantial comes along. The entire country owes you both a debt of gratitude - one for being a seishi and the other for getting him to us. You can live well off the taxes as long as you want."

I sighed lightly. He was trying, but still…

"And then you can come live with us."

"WHAT?!" chorused our three voices.

"Tokaki-san, we couldn't possibly-"

"There's no way we could-"

"Yes there is," he interrupted smoothly. "And I won't take no for an answer. You two are almost like family and there's no way in hell I'm gonna see you turned out on the streets. If you're worried about money, then sell your uncle's old place and use that for yourselves. We're not taking a bit of it."

Kokie and Inoue just stared at him, speechless and too stunned to move. I also watched him, but with a slight frown on my face: I would love to have them live with us, but there was the slight problem of the fact that we didn't have anywhere to live ourselves. We couldn't promise them everything and then deliver nothing; that preyed on their feelings and their trust, and I wouldn't have that.

""Now you both get a good night's sleep and get your energy back. You're going to need it soon." Tokaki managed to get them to stand and walk through the door, steering them in the direction of Kokie's room. "And don't worry about a thing. It will all turn out fine." He gave them one last push inside the room, then returned to ours and shut the door behind him.

"What were you thinking?" I asked quietly, not angry but for the first time seriously considering if he was out of his mind. "We can't have them live with us."

He looked at me in surprise. "I thought you'd love the idea. You're attached to both of them."

I shook my head. "No, I mean we can't have them live with us. We have no money ourselves, no place to live - we're not even married yet!"

"Is that what all this is about?" I nodded. "Well, seems like I'll have to straighten a few things out… Come over here and sit with me." He crossed the room to take a seat on the bed, and I rose and joined him, watching him closely. I could almost detect, even in the serious atmosphere and with the serious subject matter, the familiar jokester light in those hawk-like eyes. "First, we have plenty of money - for awhile, at least, and hopefully longer. You know the allowance we all get?" I nodded; every week Heika set aside for each of us seishi an amount of money to do with as we pleased. Mostly it went to travel expenses, and it seemed an ungodly amount to most of us (Tatara and I seemed to be the only ones used to having even a fraction of that much money at once). "I've been saving it all since I got here. I knew that whatever I did after this I'd need money to help me get started, so I took the opportunity when it came, and I have a lot built up now."

"But that's not enough for two of us to live on past a month, much less four."

"Sweetheart, there's more." He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I wasn't gonna tell you until the deal was settled, but now seems like as good a time as any, and maybe it'll help you see that I'm right. Heika's gonna give me a job."

I blinked.

"He is. He's approaching most of the seishi over the next day or two and asking them if they'd like to work in the palace after everything is over. Not as servants, but things where we can actually put our talents to use and get well paid. I'm going to help train the palace guards. He wants Tatara to look after the gardens, and Karasuki to do… something, he didn't quite say what. With what I make, or we make if you take him up as well, we can easily afford a nice house, in a good part of town, with enough room for every seishi and most of their families. How's that?"

"I think…" I replied slowly, "that I just may love you for that."

"And for a lot of other things," he said before he kissed me.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~




It was two days before the ceremony. All of us seishi (or almost all) would have normally been inside the shrine, helping clean and prepare, feeling anxious about the summoning to come and the worry of if it would work or not, as we'd done the day before. However. It was very apparent that we knew little of the rituals used to prepare the shrine, and we'd finally been banned from the area by the attendants who were actually doing the work. They claimed we were getting underfoot too much.

So in order to take our minds off things, Tokaki and I were taking a trip into the city. The fighting was still going on, of course; it wouldn't stop just because we'd left and then returned with the last seishi. But you could feel the hope gradually spreading through, as whispers heard from the guards at the palace gates spread through the multitudes of people, whispers that said We have them all! We finally have them all!

Tokaki almost seemed to have the same kind of fame that I had picked up in my hometown; many people knew him for a seishi and greeted him happily, almost reverently, as we strolled through the market together. He grinned at all of them and gave them some returning comment that usually made them laugh. Once I saw two girls about Inoue's age eyeing him in that prospective way some females have, but I kept my mouth shut. No use getting into arguments over something he couldn't control. But he seemed to notice them as well, and a slow grin spread across his face. I was getting ready to restrain him from going after them when he slid his arm into its familiar place around my waist, pulling me to his side, where I fitted comfortably. I smiled up at him and he smiled back - and out of the corner of my eye I saw the two girls walk away, defeated.

"They've got nothing on you," he said lowly in my ear.

"Glad you think so," I replied.

We walked aimlessly until we came to a jeweler's stand, where Tokaki suddenly halted, peering over to look closely at something. Still being somewhat attached to him forced me to have to bend as well, and I got a fairly good look at what he was peering at. It was a necklace, made of gold, with five teardrop-shaped pendants of dark stone. It looked strangely familiar, but I couldn't figure out why.

"Ah, are you interested in this beautiful necklace?" a moderately deep voice spoke from behind the stand. Large yet capable hands reached forward to lift the necklace from its resting spot in the display among rings, bracelets, and other necklaces, and the thin, carefully worked metal fell like liquid over his fingers. "It is one of my private marvels, something any woman would be proud to own. Would the lady like to try it?" the merchant asked, putting his hands in front of my face, the necklace still draped over them. "I think it would suit you well."

I looked at Tokaki and he nodded, so I untwined myself from him and took the necklace from the merchant's large hands, undoing the clasp. I slipped it around my neck and nervously tried to smooth it, not quite used to wearing something that was obviously very expensive. Tokaki reached forward and adjusted it a bit so it was centered, then took a step back and nodded. "It does suit you."

"Ah, I knew it!" the merchant said happily, clapping his hands together. "And it really is a bargain."

Then he named a price that I could have sworn was worth more than all the clothes on my body.

I started reaching for the clasp, suddenly afraid I would break it and we'd have to pay the astronomical damages. "No, we couldn't-"

A familiar callused hand was laid on the back of my neck over my fumbling fingers, effectively stilling them. "We'll take it," Tokaki said, reaching up with his other hand to place more than a few coins in the merchant's own. "Thank you very much." He steered me away, I still wearing the necklace, even as the merchant counted the coins now in his palm.

We were a couple of streets away before I could even think of speaking coherently. "What- How- That was so much money-"

"Don't protest," he teased, bending over to give me a quick kiss and not caring that he nearly walked into a building doing so. "I told you, I have money now. I've never been able to spoil anyone, so you're reaping the rewards. Besides, we're getting married, aren't we?" he asked in a light-hearted whisper. "We need something to make it official."

"Oh, Tokaki…" I sighed, then gave up and just started laughing. It was too wonderful a day to worry about finances, and now it felt like I really was, in a way, his. The necklace somehow made it absolute. And better.

We had gone a few more streets, hands entwined, when I suddenly realized where I'd seen the necklace before: at that same stall, months before, when I had first gone to the Tsumura house with Inoue, the day I'd met Kokie and Suzuno had been taken. I had to laugh at the irony of it all. Tokaki looked at me questioningly, but I just smiled and kept it to myself.

Abruptly, Tokaki left the well-peopled streets for a small alley, tugging me along behind him by our joined hands. I followed, somewhat puzzled, as he led me down a bewildering maze of alleys. In two seconds I was hopelessly lost. "Tokaki, where are we going?" I asked helplessly.

He just turned back to grin at me and continued the bizarre journey. I was desperately trying to figure out where we were (I got lost easily, but I didn't like not knowing where I was) when we suddenly emerged into the sunlight and the much reduced crowd of people. I recognized exactly none of it.

Tokaki did, though. He strode forward, me trailing after him, to the door in the low wall across the street. The wall was in obvious disrepair, cracks in the stone showing through the fading paint, tiles missing from the little roof on top. He pushed open the door without bothering to knock, and as I entered I could see that the house was as shabby as the wall surrounding it, all on one low story. It wasn't very large either, and there was no other building in the small yard the wall encircled. But somehow the building seemed content with its surroundings, and so did Tokaki.

"I know this place isn't glamorous or anything, not like where you live, but this is it. This is where I grew up." Tokaki gestured around the tiny yard, somehow taking in everything in the wall, and the street outside it as well.

"This is it?" I asked dumbly, looking around again. "This is…"

"I know it's nothing compared to your place-"

"-Strange," I finished. "I never thought I'd see this place." I hadn't; in fact, I'd never really given much thought as to where or how Tokaki had lived before coming to the palace. I'd known he hadn't been rich, it had been just him and his mother and brother and there was no real way they could have had much money, but… I hadn't really expected him to bring out his "humble origins" as some people would call them, and certainly not now. "It's unexpected, I guess."

"Well, you're not the only one who's gonna be surprised today," he said, a strange half-smile on his face. "Come on, I'll show you around."

He led me through the door, which stuck at one point and he got going again with a practiced flick of the wrist and jolt to the frame. Inside, the feel was somewhat like what had been in the Tsumura home, except smaller. But it was comfortable. "Hello?" Tokaki called, letting go of my hand to open the first door we came to; the room beyond was empty. "Anybody home?" No answer. "Anybody?" He looked back at me after a moment, a bit confused, and shrugged. "Guess not. Here, let me show-"

"Lanva-kun?" came a female voice from the back of the house, over the sound of a shutting door. "Lanva-kun, is that you?"

His face brightened. "Okaa-san, I'm up here!"

"Just a second dear, let me put down these vegetables." More sounds of several things dropping came floating out to us, and a minute later a woman who looked a few years younger than my own mother came out of what I assumed was the kitchen, the last door on the hall. She was taller than me, but not by much; she was only about Kokie's height. She was thin, but you could immediately tell she was solid and wouldn't break under strain. Her hair was as white as her son's. "What brings you back this time?" she asked, brushing dirt off her skirt. So far she hadn't seen me. My eyes widened as I actually comprehended the fact that this was going to be my mother-in-law, and I tried to duck behind Tokaki out of nerves.

He just stepped aside and took a firm grip around my waist, as much to keep me from running away as to just hold me. "I have someone for you to meet."

How could he be so calm?!

"Who, dear?" She brushed the dirt off her hands as well and finally looked up, and I could see her dark red eyes widen a bit in surprise. "Who's this?"

Tokaki gave me a slight push in the small of my back and I stumbled forward, vowing to get him later. He was leaving me to deal with this on my own! I gave him a just-you-wait glare, which he replied to with a mischievous smile. I turned back to Hahm-san and swallowed nervously, then managed a fairly decent bow. "I'm Tamure Doulin, ma'am."

"Doulin, Doulin… Where have I…?" She glanced in her son's direction and he nodded calmly.

"I…" I knew it was a risk, but I felt like this had to be said. "I'm also Subaru."

"Ah," she said firmly. "Now I understand."

I didn't ask what she understood; I was a slight bit too nervous.

"Well, what brings you two up here?" she asked, stepping forward a bit and opening another door. "Is something happening at the palace?" She held the door open and gestured for us to go in before her. We stepped into a comfortably, if sparsely, furnished multi-purpose room; it clearly served as the main eating area in addition to where they entertained guests. I sat down nervously, Tokaki flopping next to me as Hahm-san closed the door. Hahm-san… It suddenly hit me that very soon I would be Hahm-san, and apparently a small goofy smile spread across my face because Tokaki's mother gave me a strange look. "Or is it something else?"

"Thought you might like to hear the news, if you haven't already," Tokaki said easily beside me. "We found Amefuri at last. The summoning will happen in two days. And then everyone will be safe."

"Oh, thank Byakko!" she cried happily, impulsively running forward to hug us both. "I'm so relieved! It took so long, I was beginning to give up all hope!"

Tokaki grinned. "It was never that desperate, although sometimes it sure felt like it. But we have other news as well."

"What is it?"

To my horror, Tokaki looked at me. "Why don't you tell? You haven't said much yet, for once."

I let the jab go by, as there were slightly more urgent things to be dealt with. "Why me? She's your mother."

"But she's gonna want to hear it from both of us!"

"Hear what?" Hahm-san asked, slightly impatiently. I could see her foot start tapping on the floor.

Tokaki just shook his head. "Well, Okaa-san, it's important. You see, we… To put it bluntly, we love each other and we're getting married."

She just stared at him, wide-eyed.

"I'm… not… joking," he said slowly, separating each syllable and enunciating clearly as if he were talking to a deaf person. "I'm serious. I asked, and she said yes."

"Is this true… Subaru?"

I nodded, reaching for Tokaki's hand, which he willingly gave. "It is. I said I'd marry him. And I'm going to, because I love him."

"You do know of his… colorful past, don't you?" she asked, looking directly at me. I suddenly saw where Tokaki got his piercing eyes, even if they weren't the same color.

I nodded again, gripping his fingers tighter. "I had to, since he tried to pick me up the first time he saw me. But… We got to be friends, and he's a wonderful friend to have around." I could swear that Tokaki sat a little straighter and taller at that point. "And then a lot of stuff happened, and he was always there for me, and… I realized I loved him and I wanted to spend my life with him."

She looked from one of us to the other, carefully, but I could see the joy beginning to creep into her face. "And you're both serious about this? You know what you're getting into, you're not doing anything rashly, and you are entirely certain that you want to be with each other forever?"

"We're certain," Tokaki told his mother. "I've never been so certain of anything in my life." I nodded in agreement.

Suddenly she smiled, and it was one of the most wonderful smiles I'd ever seen. "Then Byakko bless you both. Oh, Subaru, you don't know how long I've been waiting for this!" She came forward again to hug me tightly, and this time I was happy enough to hug her back as well.

"Welcome to the family," she whispered.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~




She served us a basic but very delicious lunch, and Tokaki mostly kept quiet as his mother and I chatted and got to know each other. By the time the meal was finished, I felt quite at ease with her and wondered why I'd ever felt nervous.

"By the way, where's the scamp?" Tokaki inquired as we cleared the table.

"Scamp?" I asked, puzzled.

"His little brother," his mother clarified. "We call him 'scamp' sometimes. We used to call Lanva 'monster,' because he was." She threw her tomato-red son a grin. "She's your fiancée, she should know all about you. I can tell her more, if you like."

"Not on your life!" Tokaki protested.

She gave me a look that promised I'd hear more later. "He should be back when he gets hungry; he and his friends went to cause havoc again this morning."

"That's good, he's carrying on the family tradition."

"Not too many people are happy about it. Still, he's a good boy, all in all." Suddenly she straightened from the pile of dishes and cocked her head as if she heard something. "In fact… here he comes now."

I very distantly heard the sound of the door in the outer wall slamming, then much more distinctly the front door slammed and feet pounded down the hall. "Okaa-san! Okaa-san, we got 'em we got 'em!" A boy about twelve with Tokaki's lanky build but surprisingly dark hair skidded into the kitchen, nearly whooping with joy. "You shoulda seen it, he never knew what happened, the whole cart just came apart- Aniki! You're here!"

"You think I had somewhere better to be?" Tokaki demanded, grabbing his brother and putting him in a headlock to ruffle his hair mercilessly. The boy yelped and flailed loudly, trying to get away, but couldn't break free. Hahm-san didn't treat it as if it were anything out of the ordinary, which it almost definitely wasn't.

After a couple of minutes, Tokaki let his brother go, and the boy dodged quickly out of the way, his arms flung up to protect his head. "Damnit Aniki, why d'you always do that?!"

"Now now, watch your language in the presence of a lady," Tokaki replied idly.

"What lady?! Ack!" he yelped, catching sight of me for the first time. "Who're you?"

"Don't mind your brother, he could use a few lessons too," I said with a wicked grin at Tokaki.

He groaned. "Is every female against me now?"

I just ignored him. "I'm Tamure Doulin, or Subaru."

"Subaru?! Another seishi?!"

I looked at Tokaki. "Is everyone gonna react like this?"

He shrugged. "Might, might not. Depends on the person. Tell her your name, kid," he said to his brother.

"I'm Kinji," he said excitedly. "I'm older than I look! I'm almost thirteen!"

"He's picking up your habits, Lanva," their mother muttered.

"Why're you blaming me?!"

I shook my head and hid a laugh; things definitely weren't boring around here. "I'm sorry, you're a bit too young for me."

"Oh," Kinji said, deflating dejectedly. "Damn."

"Besides, you pull any moves on her and I'll have to kill ya," Tokaki told his brother.

Kinji snorted. "Kill me? Why?"

"She's mine," he replied idly.

Kinji's jaw dropped open, and he stared at his brother with wide eyes. "Are you serious, Aniki?"

"Do you consider the fact that we're getting married proof of my seriousness?"

"WHAT?! MARRIED?!" the boy yelled, then moaned and slumped over. "Why d'you have all the luck?"



~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~




The Hahm household was still in chaos when we escaped. "Is it always that excited in there?" I asked Tokaki once his mother and brother could no longer hear us.

"Usually," he replied casually. "You get used to it. It's fun. Come on, this way!" He grabbed my hand and broke into a run, forcing me to run after him, dodging alarmed people and ducking under outstretched arms that were trying to catch us and stop our reign of chaos. Once I got my feet under me it was fun, and I ran along with him, laughing and dodging and generally feeling like a kid.

A few minutes later we pulled to a stop, and I could tell that we were in the "money" section of town: all the buildings were large, in good repair, and the streets were much wider. I glanced at Tokaki, wondering what he was thinking of now. He shook his head and led me through the streets again as I was by now hopelessly lost (again). Everything was very grand and some were extremely ornate, and I kept craning my neck to look at things. Tokaki looked back at me once and caught me gawking like a child at one building with lots of gold trim on it, and he burst out laughing. "You act like you've never seen stuff like this before!"

"Well not outside the palace! You don't expect it out here!"

"Actually, you're kind of right," he admitted. "Town houses for the nobles here, mostly. Not many of them actually have people in them."

"Why are we here?"

He looked back again and grinned. "I want to show you where we're going to live."

My jaw dropped as Kinji's had earlier, but Tokaki took no notice of it and kept weaving through the crowd. The further we went the more I noticed a decrease in the gaudiness of our surroundings: the buildings were still large, most with two stories, but they looked sturdy and serviceable, built to last, not show wealth. Tokaki drew to a slow halt in front of a gate whose door was hanging open, showing a bit of a large courtyard inside and a two-story house, and even a lot of trees. "Is this it?"

He nodded, folding his arms over his chest and looking up at the high wall and the roof of the building visible above it. "Yep. It's not inhabited now, one of the nobles actually owns it. He's a good guy, though. We'll have to clean it up, but everything we need is there, especially since we're gonna have the kids living with us as well."

"Are…" I started hesitantly. "Are you sure we can afford it?"

He gave one firm nod, still looking at the roof. "Positive. I know that guy actually; I taught his son martial arts and some weapons work. He likes me, and he's said that if I ever needed anything to come to him and he'd try to help. He'll let us pay bit by bit also, sort of like renting it, but the money will all go to the final purchase."

"You've really got this all worked out, don't you?" I said, impressed.

He finally looked down and grinned. "Started working on the arrangements the moment we got back, if that's what you mean. Think about it," he whispered, taking my hand and pulling me inside the open door in the wall. "A place of our own. Our home… Possibly even our children's home…"

I just smiled and kissed him.

We broke apart reluctantly a few minutes later; we both knew that we were in no place to start anything serious. Tokaki tried to cover up his "frustration" with a brisk shake of his head. "Feel up to visiting one more place?"

"What is it?" I ventured cautiously. The day had given me enough surprises as it was.

"Something very special to me. Nothing bad, I promise you." He gave me a grin and left me with that enigmatic answer.

I didn't mind, so we once again found our way through the maze of streets that led back to the poorer section of the capital (he still leading me). We stopped once, at a vendor, and he purchased a large amount of a very sugary candy, one of the kinds Masame liked.

I eyed the bag dubiously. "Is that dinner or something?" I could already feel the potential stomachache.

"Not for us, definitely," he replied with an expression that matched my imaginings. "But let's go, we're almost there."

"Where is there?"

"Find out!" he laughed, and ran off. I yelled after him and proceeded to chase him flat out, not caring if I looked undignified or not. He jumped a stack of crates and pulled a sudden right into an alley, vanishing from my sight. I ran after him, and… he wasn't there.

I stared at the back wall for a moment, wondering if it had swallowed him or something, when I realized that it wasn't a dead end, but rather a bizarre turn. One of the buildings was newer and didn't quite fit in with the architecture around it, cutting off the clear turn and only leaving a opening large enough for a normal-sized person to get through if they turned to the side. I did so immediately after I figured it out, and sure enough there was Tokaki across the street, in the yard of a building that had no surrounding wall.

Recognition hit me upside the head at once: it was the same alley, and same building, I'd followed him to the day I'd flipped out and run away, the one with all the children. Since then I'd occasionally been trying to think of an explanation for everything that I saw, and the only thing that I'd been able to come up with was that maybe they were his kids from previous flings. But it was a pretty bad theory; the oldest child I'd seen had to have been Masame's age, which meant that he would have to have been a father at ten. Somehow I didn't think even Tokaki was that bad. He glanced back to see what was keeping me, and I hurriedly pulled myself the rest of the way out of the alley and crossed the street to stand next to him. "What is this place?"

"Shh," he whispered, watching the front door of the building closely. "It's part of the ritual."

The door he was watching crashed open with a BANG and a mini-flood of humanity came pouring out. I recognized at least three of the children from when I'd been spying before, and there were four others who I weren't sure if I'd seen or not. "Lanva-sama! Lanva-sama!" they cried joyfully, their voices a mass of cheerful noise. They all charged at us recklessly, but also every one of them pulled to a sudden stop when they noticed that no, their Lanva-sama was not alone. Fourteen eyes stared straight at me.

"Who's that?" one girl asked. I was almost sure she'd been the older girl who I'd seen before. "What's she doing here?"

"Kids, this is my friend Doulin. She wanted to meet you all." Tokaki gave me a push forward, and I stumbled to get my feet underneath me, trying to keep my balance. I ended up a bare two feet from the kids, all of them still watching me intently, curiously, and one or two slightly angrily. I was stealing their Lanva-sama's attention, after all. But he didn't notice, instead began rattling off names. "Doulin, this is Mizuki, Ryushi, Ayame, Utamuro, Tsuya, Rieko, and Naizen." He pointed from left to right as he named them, and they each bowed as he pointed at them. Mizuki was the eldest girl I'd seen before, but I couldn't remember if Ayame, Tsuya, or Rieko was the younger girl; all three looked very similar. Ryushi was definitely the boy who I'd pegged as a Tokaki-worshipper, though. Naizen and Utamuro were too small to have gotten those ideas into their brains yet. "Kids, say hi. I think you'll like Doulin, she likes children."

"DINNER!" A new female voice exploded out of the house. "Come eat or get left out! Dinner!"

Without fail, every one of the seven children turned their backs on us and ran into the house as enthusiastically as they'd run out.

I looked at Tokaki, once again slightly overwhelmed. "What's this all about? Who are all these kids?"

He gestured at the building, which seemed to look even smaller now that I knew there were at least eight people in there. "This place is an orphanage. All those kids' parents are dead, mostly from the war. Omori Tai, that woman who just yelled, takes them all in and cares for them. People around here give her money and clothes to help, and she raises them well. Every one of them's as respectful as can be."

"Something they definitely didn't learn from you," I teased him.

"Did I ever claim they did? I just come around every once in a while and take care of the kids, let her have a day off. She's raising eleven on her own."

"Eleven?!"

He nodded, grinning at my shock. "Yep, eleven. Now you see why the community supports her." He sighed a bit and looked back at the house, a little sadness coming into his eyes. "Those kids were never rich to begin with, farmers' or low-ranking soldiers' children mostly. Siblings died of starvation, they were living in the streets until Tai found them and brought them here. Thanks to her, they'll have a chance at life when they get older."

"All right," I said, stepping back and crossing my arms over my chest with a determined look on my face. "Who are you and what have you done with Tokaki?"

"Tokaki's dead. I'm his evil twin," he said with a straight face.

"Oh yeah? Prove it," I dared him.

"How?"

I smirked slowly. "Don't touch me at all for a full day."

"WHAT?!"

"You lied, you're Tokaki."

He just grumbled and went inside, leaving me to follow him, laughing my head off. I had a very useful weapon in my hands, a very useful one indeed…



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AUTHOR'S NOTES II: Well, how many of you are drowning in sap now?

Like I said, this was the ONLY chapter I got written at my summer program, and since I got back from that, I've only gotten about four-five pages on Chapter 28. So much happens in that one, or gets set up, that I wanted to take my time and get it right. And then I got writer's mountain... and then my entire life got taken up with college things and AP classes and drama etc... So no, it's not finished. It probably won't be finished soon, either, so I am now officially placing this fic on a AIWI basis [Eye-we basis: As I Write It basis]. Yeah, no more regular updates on Market, I'm sorry to say. But the fact that it lasted for six months makes me proud. I'm definitely not abandoning it (I would NEVER do that!), but for now I need to get a lot of stuff sorted out in my life, both for this year and next. So... It'll come when it comes. When I find the time.

On a slightly less depressing note, those kids from chapter 18 finally got explained! And we meet Tokaki's family! Oh, to anyone who liked Kinji - I'm sorry, Bashou claimed rights on him back in June. Ask her nicely and she might let you glomp him. The Hahms will definitely be back, as will the Tamures, so that should be fun. See ya all! ~huggles~ You all are so great!