And I'm at over 200k! *Dances* It's definitely a landmark moment for me, I'm so happy! So happy, in fact, that the shower of bombs is thus beginning! So onwards with the nest chapter and let's watch the fireworks begin, ne?

Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty Six

Confessions

He wasn't upset.

Heisuke scowled as he browsed through his phone, flipping through the numerous text messages he'd sent Saya over the last year and the brief replies he'd sometimes gotten back from her, if at all. Was it because she was busy having fun...with that guy? The wave of annoyance that followed his thought was startling in its intensity. Sure, he was good looking he supposed. And she was obviously comfortable with him, considering his arm had stayed draped over her shoulders the whole time...

We never promised anything. It was stupid, he realized, to be bothered by the thought that she'd found someone during her year away considering how he'd spent the last year, but...there was something there. Or there had been, before she left. He was sure of that. Heisuke had been up all night last night, thinking about it, but he was 100% sure he hadn't imagined the...tension that had always surrounded them. It had intensified that day in the airport terminal, but he'd been content to wait until she returned for his answers. Because she would return, he knew, and in that he'd been right.

Heisuke had taken his time to really think about his own feelings in this last year. He'd thought about Chizuru, and the way his heart twitched when she so much as looked at him; he even thought about the other girls that he'd gone on dates with and had small flings with, but they were barely worth thinking over and easily forgotten. He definitely thought about the feelings he had for Saya despite the multitude of reasons he could think of to not go near her, but in the way he still did anyway, drawn back like a moth to flame.

"You seem vexed, Toudou-kun." In the rear view mirror, he saw Sanan glance back, his gaze thoughtful. Other than Kin, there was no one else actually in the car as they drove to the house that morning. Souji and Chizuru had gone with Mitsu in her car that was just ahead of them, so Heisuke actually debated getting their advice. Sanan wasn't one to mock others over their feelings, nor was Kin for that matter. And while he could talk to Souji about it in theory, the reality of it was it just seemed too...weird considering his history with the girl in question.

"Maybe a little." As clearly as he could, Heisuke rehashed his thoughts as clearly as possible, though he wasn't sure he'd accurately done so once he finished explaining it. From the way Kin was looking at him though, they at least got the general idea of it.

"Oh, I don't think she's forgotten." Kin looked as if she wanted to laugh, though it wasn't directed at him. If anything, she looked like she was wanting to laugh at Sanan who was steadfastly staring at the road despite a twitch that was starting in the corner of his right eye. "And I agree with you that Souji is probably not the best choice for you to talk this out with, considering the circumstances. I can't say I know who this new guy is, but I remember the way Saya would look at you before she left. You weren't imagining it."

"That's what I thought, but..." His shoulders slumped visibly, leaning between the two front seats and resting his chin on Kin's shoulder. "Maybe it really didn't mean anything at all?"

"I can't say I'm a master at relationships, Toudou-kun," Sanan started saying, pointedly ignoring Kin's snort of laughter, "but I'm a fairly accurate reader of people in general and Saya-san is too much like her parents. Neither Chizuru-san nor Okita-kun are the types who would physically show affection unless they meant it. I believe she is the same way."

"Then what the hell is with that guy?!" He scowled as the irritation came again, annoyed. He'd made peace a long time ago about losing his chance with Chizuru. He really was OK with it. With Saya, it was different. She clearly reciprocated at least some of what he felt...had said as much in her typically vague and teasing way. And though he hated admitting it, the expectation was there in the moment she'd kissed him in the airport that when she returned...

When she returned, that they might give the whole dating thing a try, so long as he sorted his own feelings out first.

And he had. The girls he'd messed with paled in comparison to her in his mind. And Chizuru...he would always love her, but he was starting to understand what Sano had meant when he said the feeling...changes. Morphs into something just as strong but less consuming. Heisuke still hadn't formally told Chizuru about his feelings, which he suspected Saya would disagree with him over, but he knew he liked her in the same way he liked Chizuru. Even before he'd known all the weird stuff and she was just Fujiwara Shiori, the cute new transfer, she was the first girl he'd really liked in a way that had come even remotely close to how he'd liked Chizuru.

So the appearance of this random guy was really annoying him.

Jealousy. He could even hear Saya's voice now, her tone borderline mocking. It's called being jealous, Heisuke.

"I don't know what the deal is, but that is why some of us are going to see her today, right?" Kin's smile was reassuring as she patted his head like one might a disgruntled puppy. "You, Souji, and Chizuru have questions for her. She asked specifically for Keisuke to come, which seems a little odd to me, but at least today is his day off. And Mitsu and I just want the chance to get to know her better." Her smile turned wry as she added as an afterthought, "She is our niece, after all, in our odd little family that is. And I take care of my family."

"It's become somewhat...larger from a few years ago though, wouldn't you say?" Sanan noted in quiet amusement. "You've all but adopted Shiranui into the fold this past year."

"He's funny," Kin said defensively. "Besides, I think he's been kind of lonely, so it's good he's sticking around and living with Sano and Shin now that their delinquent friends are gone from that apartment."

"Ah yes, them." His tone alone spoke volumes about what he thought of the men in question. "What was it again? Possession with the intent to sell?"

"I thought the solicitation charge was the most amusing myself," she laughed, eyes alight with the type of mean-spirited humor Heisuke usually attributed to Souji rather than Kin. He showed it more, at any rate, though clearly she was just as bad. "Especially considering it wasn't even a woman like they thought, as it turned out."

Only a friend of theirs… Even Heisuke had to chuckle over that though. Ah well, they were assholes anyway.

They arrived at the familiar old house not long after that; just seeing the familiar iron gate and vibrant flowers of the garden he remembered Mitsu spending hours in made him nostalgic. The colorful blooms were peeking over the wall, vivid and beautiful against the bricks as if to say hello to them in greeting.

"I expected it to be in worse shape after being left abandoned for so long," Mitsu murmured as she got out, a soft smile on her face. "Glad to see it's at least being taken care of."

"For which I have no credit once so ever."

"Saya-chan!" Chizuru all but launched herself in a tackling hug at her, visibly teary-eyed.

"I missed you too, Mother." She welcomed the hug with one of her own, though slightly less exuberant. She traded greetings with everyone, going so far to even hug Souji when he awkwardly opened his arms to her, until she had no one left to greet but him. The smile she sent his way was definitely more subdued than the one Chizuru and Souji had warranted, but it was no less warm with a hint of her usual teasing twinkle as she said simply, "Heisuke."

"Saya-chan." There was so much he wanted to say, but the only thing he could make himself say was, "Been a while."

"Indeed." For a brief moment, Heisuke thought he might be seeing things, but her eyes definitely did a slowly, leisurely progressive look from the bottom up on him. Twice. He wasn't sure whether to blush or laugh and settled on a midway mix of the two. "You look good."

This girl… He shook his head amusedly. "You haven't changed, have you?"

Her smile widened. "Not in the ways that matter. Please, come in. Obviously, I don't need to show you around at all…"

"Yes…quite the surprise to find out you were the one who bought this house." Mitsu hummed thoughtfully, eyes narrowing. "I was told the buyer paid the price straight, too."

"It makes things easier," was all she said with a shrug. "I've got too many names I've lived under; the last thing I need to be worrying about is mortgages and which name is on which."

"That makes a fair amount of sense," Sanan was saying, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I imagine this is hardly your only establishment…"

"Soushi-chan and I had many houses." Heisuke was watching for it the minute she said his name, so it was easy to see the darkness that crossed her face as she thought of her brother. Still raw over it then. "Part of the year I've been away was to…sell some of them. Take care of his affairs, mostly. Some were just his, others are just mine. Most were shared, but I've no need for dozens of homes that stay empty for years at a time."

"Dozens?" Souji's eyebrow arched, clearly impressed. "Save up, much?"

Saya grinned at him cheekily. "We were always very good with our financial affairs. Stocks. Investments. Had to get creative a lot since the old fashioned way of making money wasn't always an option."

"Creative, eh? Is that how we describe it nowadays?"

Heisuke's eyes narrowed. The mystery guy. He turned a corner at the end of the hall as he came out of what used to be Souji's room…and he nearly choked at the state of dress he was in.

Or undress, as the case may be.

Souji slapped a hand over Chizuru's eyes as she yelped, startled and flustered, and even Sanan looked annoyed, though he didn't attempt to shield Kin's view as she boldly continued looking forward, clearly entertained by it all. Mitsu merely averted her eyes, head shaking, but Saya? She put her hands on her hips and sighed in annoyance, "Don't you have any sense of propriety?"

"Since when did you start caring about propriety?" he snorted, clearly amused and unaffected by her steely-eyed gaze as he crossed his arms and made no attempts to go and find a more appropriate set of clothing…anything was better than the solitary towel wrapped precariously around his waist. "That's not the Saka-chan I remember."

Heisuke's eye twitched, but he reigned in his temper and instead looked at Saya expectantly. "Saka-chan?" he prompted when she said nothing.

"That's what he's always called me," she sighed, her glare melting into a look of exasperated resignation. "Since when I met him, I was going by the name Ichinose Sakato. And yes, creative is how I'm explaining that particular venture, now would you go find Ryo-chan and put on some proper damn clothes already, Junya?"

Junya grinned, bowing low and ducking into Souji's old room. "As the lady wishes." He even winked and blew her a kiss before his head disappeared, barely dodging the rock she threw at the spot where his head had been.

Junya…Heisuke was still annoyed by him, but the name tugged at his mind persistently as if there was something he was needing to remember. Something important about that name. "Why does his name sound familiar?" he mumbled, scowling in frustration as it nagged at the edges of his memories persistently.

"Probably because you have a fairly decent memory." Her tone was an odd mix of exasperated, annoyed, and fond as she stared at the door of the room he'd ducked into briefly before motioning them into the living room instead. "I'll explain more in depth once he and Ryo-chan join us, but you're probably remembering that name because I've spoken it to you before, Heisuke. I've told you about him before."

Told me about him? His irritation receded as his brain tried to remember what she was talking about, frowning pensively. She's told me very little about other people she's known except…"Oh!"

It was Souji's turn to look annoyed, head bouncing back and forth between them. "Mind elaborating for the uninformed here? It's not polite to talk about things not everyone knows about, Kid."

Saya ducked her head at the mild rebuke, though she didn't seem particularly bothered by it. "My apologies. Junya was the name of the first one of my friends that Kento killed back in the day. Cut off his head and left it on my doorstep for me. I ran into him during my travels in the last year, as you can see, and imagine my surprise when he recognized me." Her face twisted downwards in a part-smile, part frown. "For reasons that elude me, he has his memories, as does Ryo, his younger brother in this time and another of my ill-fated friends. Ryo is the reason I actually asked you to come, Sanan-san."

Sanan's eyebrow quirked. "Is he ill?"

"In a manner of speaking." Her voice was barely a mumble as she looked at the ground, fidgeting and uncharacteristically uneasy. "Please make yourselves comfortable. You'll…see what I mean soon enough."

Heisuke didn't bother hiding his sigh as he plopped down on the floor, watching her back retreat into the kitchen. Why do I think I'm not going to end up liking this? Can't exactly ask her about everything when she looks like someone just hit her while she was down, either. I waited a whole year for you, Saya-chan…I guess waiting a little longer for my answers won't hurt.

You'll see, she said. Souji stared at the boy in front of him, shaking his head. He saw, alright, and all he could think was that it was a rather sad situation.

Guilt. It was written all over Saya's face and practically radiated off of her every movement as she watched the young man who'd joined them that, physically, was no different from them. Early 20's, though his rounded features made him look younger than what he was, with shaggy brown hair and matching eyes. Souji always looked at people in the eyes when he met them because the average person couldn't make their eyes lie. Good or bad, honest or a liar…the eyes spoke volumes about the character of a person.

All Souji could see in Ayakashi Ryo's eyes, however, was confusion. Chaos.

Madness.

Of course, Sanan is like a kid who just received a brand new toy now. The colonel had been examining him for several minutes now, supposedly taking vitals and other such basic information. In comparison to his earlier flirty attitude, Junya was sitting back with his arms crossed looking fairly serious and very worried as Ryo continued to mumble quietly to him, apparently oblivious to anyone around him.

"He's like this all the time." Saya's lips were pinched as she stared at him, visibly troubled. "Most of their deaths were clean…Junya's, for instance, was rather painless."

"I never even realized what happened," he agreed, though his face twisted oddly as he spoke. "Seriously, this is beyond weird, talking about this stuff…"

"Join the club," Souji muttered, just loud enough for Heisuke to hear as he stifled a laugh under a loud cough.

"I take it to mean Ryo-san's wasn't?" Chizuru's gaze was sympathetic as she stared at the boy. "Clean, I mean."

"Oh no." Saya's lip curled in a snarl of distaste. "Kento's lackey...the one Kin-san killed? He tortured him to death. Made him suffer horrifically. The average human never remembers their past lives though, so those with bad deaths only get…echoes. Someone who died by falling off a cliff, for example, might be irrationally afraid of heights in their next. For someone who remembers it all?" Saya motioned towards him with a heavy sigh. "I…actually found Ryo about 3 years ago, shortly before I came back to Japan, by accident. It was a stroke of luck, really, but with Kento around I wasn't about to replay history all over again. He was placed in a sanitarium when he was a child because his family thought he was crazy."

"To be fair, his prattling does sound pretty nuts to the average person," Junya pointed out ruefully. "I wouldn't have thought any different, except he kept mentioning her name a lot. Saya. I didn't put it together until after she broke him out that the person he kept muttering about and the one I recalled in my memories were one and the same."

A sanitarium? Souji couldn't quite keep his lip from twitching as he stared at her with amusement bubbling in his chest. "You...broke an inpatient out of a sanitarium, Saya-chan?"

Saya's face flushed as she averted her eyes, coughing and muttering, "I suppose...in a way...err..." It was endearing to see her actually flustered, fidgeting as she was under Chizuru's scolding stare. "It wouldn't be...incorrect to call it such."

"She retrieved him before the proper paperwork was filled out," Junya clarified, grinning merrily, and Souji's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he began getting an inkling as to what their previous connection was.

"How did you say you knew Saya-chan again...?" he pondered out loud, arching a pointed eyebrow at him.

"Through her 'creative financial endeavors'." The phrase amused the hell out of him, clearly, hie eyes staring straight at Saya's annoyed ones as he added, "Back in the day, we used to call it good old-fashioned thievery though."

"Saya-chan!" Chizuru's tone was shocked and dismayed as it cracked in the air like a whip, though her ire quickly turned his way as he couldn't hold it in any longer and started laughing. "Souji!"

"It wasn't like I stole anything big," she protested hotly, staring daggers at Junya who just continued giving her that shit-eating grin of his. "It was the easiest solution in the first few years after I went on the run following the Kazama Clan Massacre. Soushi was still adjusting and I couldn't go out where I might get seen. Between prostitution and thievery, the latter was a far more appealing choice."

"You'd have made a lot more doing the former though." Junya's tone was the voice of pragmatism, even as Saya's eye twitched and she moved to grab a nearby chair to crack him with, were it not for Heisuke who none-too-subtly grabbed onto her shoulder and kept her seated. "Just saying, Saka-chan. Even when you dressed as a guy, you were never ugly."

She scoffed, though there was no mistaking the slightly pleased grin that curled her lips. "Why don't you go do something useful? Like make breakfast?"

Junya's eyes trailed towards Ryo, humming to himself thoughtfully before conceding with a slightly dramatic sigh, "Oh, fine…"

"Let me help you!" Kin was on her feet in a blink, clearly eager to help with something she knew how to do best. "It's not as if I can do anything in here for the moment."

His smile widened. "I will never say no to the presence of someone so lovely, Kin-san."

Souji watched the two disappear out the doors, shaking his head. He reminds me of the Idiot Trio, but combined into one body. With him gone and Sanan still occupied with the other boy, it left just him, Chizuru, and Heisuke with Saya. Mitsu, he noted, had disappeared at some point, though he was willing to bet she was probably in the garden. "So now that we have a few moments…why the vanishing act, kid?"

"I needed to get away from Japan…and the memories for a while." Saya drew her knees up to her chest and frowned, sinking lower a bit under his stare. "It was…complicated."

"I wish you'd have told us," Chizuru told her with a sigh. "I was afraid you weren't going to come back…"

Silence stretched out following her voiced concern…longer than was normal and Souji narrowed his eyes as she steadfastly avoided looking at any of them. Even Heisuke, sensing her shift, narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion. "You didn't actually…?"

Saya looked at her feet and muttered so quietly, Souji almost didn't understand her fully. "It…crossed my mind…"

And…there goes Heisuke. He sighed as his friend stood up quickly and stormed outside, slamming the door shut behind him with a loud crack. She shot a miserable look at the door before sighing again, her shoulders sagging.

"Please stop looking at me like that, Mother." Chizuru's heartbroken expression bothered her as much as Heisuke's furious one did, while Souji tried not to give any expression at all. "Has it not occurred to you that it might be better if I didn't hang around?"

Her protest was quick and vehement. "Never! Why would you think that?"

"Because we're her past. And she's ours." Souji shot a pointed look her way, arms crossing as he arched an eyebrow at her. "That about right, kid?"

"Pretty close," she admitted with a wry downturn of her lips. "It wasn't that I didn't want to come back...I just thought maybe it was better if the past stayed there and I didn't...interfere. You could both be normal people without the phantom kid hanging around like the specter of Christmas past."

"Normal..." Souji murmured, snorting. "That's hilarious. Really. Even presuming you didn't come back, our normal has never been everyone else's 'normal'."

Chizuru nodded emphatically. "I did tell you his idea of sweet talk is threatening to kill me, right?"

Souji's eye twitched. "Are you ever going to let that go?"

Chizuru smiled at him smugly. "Probably not, no."

He could see the amusement in Saya's eyes as her head shifted back and forth between them, eyes rolling skyward. "You both seem to be closer than before," she noted idly in amusement. "For what it may be worth, I'm sorry I considered it."

"I get why you did, kid." Moving to sit beside her, his hand resting lightly on her head. It felt...natural for him to do so, and she actually leaned her head onto his shoulder in response. "Neither Chizuru nor I ever considered a situation where you weren't here though, so put it out of your head. You're stuck with us."

Chizuru sat on her other side, boxing her in between them, and Saya laughed as she grabbed onto her arm pointedly. "I would be very sad. You don't want to make me sad, right?"

"Perish the thought." Saya turned to stare at the door again, sighing, "He's really mad at me, isn't he?"

Mad was probably an understatement, Souji mused with a shake of his head. He and Heisuke had something of an unspoken mutual agreement that they were just going to ignore the uncomfortable parts of whatever kind of relationship he had budding with Saya. He wasn't entirely clear on the extent of said feelings or whatever, but he knew they were deep enough that Heisuke had thought about her. A lot. He also knew it grated on his every last nerve that she'd never really answered him, while Souji had at least received periodic little check-ins when he'd message her just to make sure she was alive. Even I thought she would've kept in closer contact with him instead of me.

"He's missed you a lot," Chizuru pointed out with a small smile. "Maybe you should find him, Saya-chan? I'm pretty sure Sanan-san is going to be working with your friend for a while longer."

Her gaze shifted to where they were, hands fisting briefly before she relaxed and nodded. "He might do better if he can't hear or see me anyway. I'll...be back."

Souji wanted to laugh as he watched her walk purposefully out the door, clearly a woman on a mission. It wasn't quite a run, but it wasn't a leisurely stroll, either.

"Poor Saya-chan..." Even Chizuru had to giggle as she actually settled herself into his lap, much to his delight, arms wrapped securely around his neck. "Heisuke-kun doesn't stand a chance, does he?"

"Not really, no." His lip twitched as he noted, "I never would've pegged him for the jealous type though...who knew?"

Sanan loved mysteries. He also loved puzzles, which was part of the reason he'd decided to keep with medicine even after his memories had resurfaced. Illness of any kind was simply a puzzle waiting to be solved; if done correctly, the outcome was beneficial and patients got better. If done incorrectly, patients stayed the same or, in a worst case scenario, died. And while he made every effort to avoid such fatal outcomes, Sanan didn't fear losing patients to death the way most did.

Of course, this isn't illness. The minute he'd observed Ayakashi Ryo, he knew that. Whether or not he was crazy was another matter entirely, but Sanan did lean more into agreeing with young Saya's assessment of him. He wasn't crazy when he went in, but years of confusion over violent memories? May have driven him to madness.

"You've been looking at him like a lab rat for several hours now, doc." In sharp contrast to Ryo, who seemed unwaveringly polite in both words and actions, his brother had no such tendencies and reminded Sanan sharply of Harada and Nagakura on their worst days with maybe a dash of a young and impetuous Toshizo thrown in for temper. "Any ideas? Saka-chan had a lot of faith that you might be able to help him, here."

"Saka-chan…" Ryo blinked, rolling the name off the tip of his tongue like a child trying to pronounce a name for the first time. "Funny name. Saka…not Saka. Lie. Lie. Not Saka. Saya. Saya…where's Saya?"

"She stepped out, Ryo-chan," Junya told him lightly, setting down a tray of snacks to go with the tea Kin brought out behind him. "She'll be back."

"She tried…" Ryo stared off into the distance, unseeing as he visibly sank back into the memories his mind was dragging up. "She tried. Too far gone though. I remember. She was angry…and sad."

That's the first semi-lucid sounding sentence he's spoken this whole time. "What do you remember?" he wondered, aware that even Souji and Chizuru were listening in, curious. "What else do you remember about her?"

"Likes games." He scratched his head, poking at one of the cakes his brother passed to him. "Likes to pretend. She pretends a lot. Someone new all the time. Liked being herself best though. The one person she didn't get to be with anyone." He sighed heavily, "I just wanted to help…"

Sanan glanced at Junya for perspective, but he shook his head with a shrug. "He knew her over a decade after I did, from what I've been able to pick up. I've got no idea what he means any more than you do."

"I'm sure you did." Hesitantly, Chizuru was the one who actually spoke up, coming to kneel in front of him with her usual concerned and sympathetic expression. "You were good friends, right?"

"Ah." He smiled brightly – a very boyish expression that made him look even younger but positively transformed his face. "We had fun. Helped me on my projects." He blinked, as if the thought had just occurred to him. "What happened to my projects…?"

Sanan chuckled under his breath lightly. I'm not even surprised that Chizuru-san has a knack for this. She had a naturally comforting way about her and always did seem to inspire others to say more than they intended to. At least, he'd always seemed to divulge more than was intended whenever they spoke back in the day. "I'm sure Saya-san can tell us when she returns," he assured him, smiling when Chizuru shot him a sheepish look. She moved to get up and move back towards Souji, but Sanan shook his head and silently motioned for her to continue. "You're doing better than I was. Just keep him talking," he whispered encouragingly.

His hunch proved correct, though he only distantly paid any attention to what he was actually talking about. Chizuru – and Souji, for that matter – were clearly far more invested, though it amused Sanan to no end to watch the latter attempt to pretend he wasn't actually listening to every word. It is a view at the child both are so desperate to know all over again. The one who was a friend to both of these men who are burdened by memories they shouldn't have. Ironic that the father is learning about his own daughter the way she did about him. Stories from others.

"Something amusing to you, Doc?" the nickname was…better than Frankenstein, he supposed, but Sanan still felt a twitch in his eye as he turned his attention to Junya, the young man's gaze unusually serious.

"Several things, in fact," he confirmed, though he didn't elaborate on that. "Saya-san was correct in her assumptions; he's definitely lost in his memories. They switch between the past and present, almost interchangeably, and he can't seem to tell what is what. It's led to a lot of confusion – especially since, to him, she hasn't changed in appearance at all. Considering his last moments of life were so traumatic as well, he simply isn't…adjusting to them as easily as the rest of us seemed to."

"So there's….nothing you can do?" His expression was that of someone being told his brother had a terminal diagnosis – a crushed despair at the finality of a disease.

"Me personally? No. Your brother requires a certain….gentle touch I do not possess." It didn't bother him knowing that, though the look Kin shot him made it clear she would likely protest his assessment of himself. "Chizuru-san is actually better suited to helping you rather than I am." He motioned to where she was still talking to him, listening to him ramble about a project of some kind. "What he needs is help sorting his memories out. He seems capable of doing so easiest by talking of them. You can hear it already, can't you?"

Junya blinked, glancing towards Ryo and just…listened. "He…almost sounds normal right now, yeah. So just…talking helps?" He sighed, looking oddly troubled for someone being told a solution that was fairly simple. "Then we probably have a different sort of problem, Doc, since Saka-chan won't talk of the past at all. At least, to me or Ryo-chan."

Guilt. He didn't need to talk to her to figure that one out. "You may want to speak of it with Okita-kun. He may actually be the best one to help in that regard."

Junya eyed him wearily. "Him, huh? So is he really…?"

"Her father?" Kin finished helpfully, amusement dancing in her eyes as she watched him cringe. "Yeah."

"So weird…" He shook his head in clear disbelief, but Sanan watched him wander off, clearly intent on doing just as he'd suggested.

"You didn't tell him the whole truth, did you?" Kin didn't speak until he was well out of ear shot and it was just the two of them, her gaze knowing.

"I told him what he could change." He stared at her ruefully, bemused as he always was by how easily she could see through him sometimes. "He cares a great deal for the boy, obviously, even though they had no relation to one another prior to this life. Would it help him knowing Ryo is likely in a lot of mental distress due to the state of his mind when he died?" All of their awakenings had been similar, in that respect. You remembered the very last moments of your life quite vividly in those first moments…as well as the state of mind you were in.

For him, it was a fortunate thing, since his state of mind had been fairly…peaceful. He'd been ready – had made peace with his end. Hijikata's – and Heisuke's too, for that matter – were particularly bad ones, though. Both had wanted to live – hadn't wanted to die – and they'd 'awoken' in a great deal of mental turmoil as those feelings crashed down upon them like a wave. They'd taken the longest to adjust of the others, but eventually the mind began processing everything it was suddenly being told and their emotions stabilized. He'd just had to remind them, frequently, what was happening.

For a boy whose last moments were of terror, pain, and agony though? Who'd spent 10 years dealing with the sudden onslaught without anyone to explain what was happening? It was amazing to him Ryo wasn't climbing up walls and drooling at the mouth. It certainly didn't surprise him that his family had thought him crazy and finally resorted to institutionalizing him.

"I suppose not," Kin finally digressed with a sigh of her own. "Anyway, Mitsu-nee wanted to talk to you about something. She seemed pretty…anxious."

Ah, it's time then. It was a relief to hear, honestly, and he touched Kin's shoulder gently as he nodded once. "I will go talk to her."

"You promise me whatever is up with her isn't bad?" Insecurity flashed across her face – a rare expression he almost never saw her show.

"I won't know until she tells me," he pointed out, "but if it's what I think? No, it's not bad." Though it's probably prompting some bad memories. Sanan bent over to kiss her cheek before he opened the door and made his place to the one spot he was sure Mitsu was hiding.

Sure enough, he wasn't disappointed.

"So are you going to finally talk about it?" He joined her in the garden that she'd spent hours tending to in their youth, surprised to see that it was still much as he remembered it.

"This was always the one place I could clear my head," she mused thoughtfully, standing in the middle of it with her head turned up to look at the sky. "It was always very peaceful being here, so it annoys me even more that even being here in this place isn't helping one bit." Arms crossing, she turned her body towards him just enough so that she could stare at him straight in the eyes. "You know what's wrong. Kin keeps looking at me like I'm a bomb about to explode. You're the doctor. What the hell is wrong with me, Keisuke?"

"Right to the chase, hmm…?" He smirked, which made Mitsu narrow her gaze at him in clear annoyance. "You've always been an intelligent woman, Mitsu-san. You know what's wrong with you. I have my suspicions, but you need to be the one to tell me. It's not real until you tell someone, ne? Though I'm both surprised and flattered you decided for it to be me you eventually spoke to."

"You're a real bastard, Keisuke," she snarled, but he only smiled wider in response.

"It has been said before," he said contentedly, unbothered by her mood. "It doesn't make me any less right."

"That's why it's so aggravating," Mitsu growled, though her glare fell to the ground at her feet.

"Say it, Mitsu," Sanan prodded, not unkindly. "Make it real."

It was, in his recollection, the only time he'd ever seen her cry. The tears fell in large droplets to the dry ground beneath her, nourishing the very plants she so obsessively tended to. She didn't weep or scream or wail, however. Such wasn't her way. And though she began to shake, he didn't offer her a shoulder to lean on.

It wasn't his she needed to lean on in the first place.

"I'm going to be a mother again, Keisuke." Unlike most who would be thrilled, all he could see was a blinding terror in her face as she looked at him as if he could tell her it wasn't true. "I'm pregnant."

"Oh, come on Heisuke!"

He ignored her, of course. Saya really did expect any less from him…but really? She'd been chasing him for a while now and she was feeling less guilty and more annoyed with every step she continued taking. Which wasn't to say she had to continue chasing after him…but it didn't take a genius to figure out what sort of message that would give him. And that it was the kind of message that was the complete opposite of the truth.

So was not answering his messages at all, though. Her conscience, of course, had the odd habit of sounding like Sen-san. Especially since you got so close to him before that.

Something Soushi-chan did warn me about. As it still did, just thinking about her brother made her chest ache in ways that defied words. She'd spent the last year selling the houses they owned that she knew she could never return to. Like she had some that were her favorites, he'd had his, and she could never bring herself to return to those without him. Just going to them to see if there was anything she wanted to keep had been like a stab in the heart because each corner had a memory of him she couldn't escape. No wonder it seemed like Mother hated that secluded house sometimes. I never did understand that.

Saya had to pause after a few more minutes of running after him, his familiar head of hair quickly getting lost in the sea of people out and about. It was nearing late afternoon, so many were probably on their way home to see their families and have dinner.

None as odd as my own family. She'd thought of them a lot, while she'd been away. And like she had during those days in Kyoto, she'd watched parents with their children pass her by and reflected on how she could never go back. No matter how much she wished it, she couldn't get those years back. Soushi-chan won't come back. She'd sank into a dark hole of depression, for a while. It was during that time she remembered Ryo, stuck in that equally as depressing institution, and she'd come up with her plan to get him out.

You owe him. Saya had felt a renewed sense of purpose the more she thought about it and embraced it gladly. And on the more selfish side of things…she really had wanted to see him. Badly. Of all her friends, Ryo was the only one who'd known everything. Only he and Junya had even known she was a girl. It made sense, in an odd way, that she'd have found those two out of all of them. They'd always been the closest to her. Junya, her partner in crime – literally, in some cases – and Ryo, the only one who probably qualified as being called her 'best friend'. It was a clichéd term thrown around all too easily in this era, but Saya put a lot of meaning when she used phrases like that.

She came to an outright stop on the foot bridge, leaning on the banister to stare at the river water. Maybe I shouldn't be chasing Heisuke. Everything I am makes him uncomfortable. I'm part Rasetsu – one of the things he hates the most – and the biological child of a man who was his brother in arms. A man reborn in this time as one of his closest friends. Flirting with him is fun, but maybe that's all it should stay. Harmless flirting.

"You know, it terrifies me when you get that look on your face." His voice, so close she could feel the warmth of his breath, made her head jerk up sharply, nearly smashing it into his in the process if he didn't shift it to the side when he did.

"I thought you were running away from me," she noted dryly.

"Storming away, not running," he clarified. He was still annoyed, obviously, but much of his anger seemed to have evaporated as he regarded her with those same green eyes of his that really couldn't hide anything worth a damn. Part of his appeal. "It was slightly concerning when you suddenly stopped, since you went through the trouble of following me this far."

"You did storm a good ways away from the house," she agreed. Far enough that they were probably better off calling a cab if they hoped to get back in time for dinner, truthfully. "I stopped because I got to thinking."

"Yeah…that's what terrifies me." Heisuke leaned against the railing next to her, sighing in exasperation. "Worrisome things pop into your head when you think."

"Like not coming back?" Saya hazarded and was awarded by his fierce and immediate scowl. "Yeah, I thought you were pissed about that, but it wasn't just that, was it?"

"I don't get you," he said after a long moment of silence, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. "You…I mean…a year ago…why? Just…why?"

Why? She'd asked herself that, too. Flirting and teasing were almost second nature for her – she barely had any conscious thought of doing so when she did. Junya, Ryo, Heisuke…it was a way of showing her affection for them. For friends. With some, though, it was also in real interest. Junya…way back when. Daisuke too, who'd had the ill-fated luck of even trying to return said interest. Logic said she should probably stay away from Heisuke, who very well could've been an 'uncle' to her if fate had seen fit to go another way. But it didn't. And I like him. He liked me too…as Fujiwara Shiori, anyway. I just don't know what he thinks of Okita Saya.

The 'me' who really matters.

"I should think that was obvious." Saya looked him straight in the eyes as she said simply, "Because I like you."

His face flushed, though it was hard to tell if it was anger or embarrassment that made it do so. Both, maybe? "You say that, but then you'd have gone away without a word?" Lower, he muttered under his breath, "You kiss someone when it means that little…?"

Heat raced up her neck as she could feel her own fresh wave of irritation climb. "Of course not! That was…!" A spur of the moment thing, admittedly, and REALLY foolish on my part probably, but… "I don't just kiss anyone! What the hell do you take me for!?"

"I don't know!" he exploded, standing so close she could feel his breath against her skin as he heaved heavily in frustration. "What am I supposed to think? I...thought about you all the time! Heard your voice in my head wherever I went! But when I tried to talk to you, I never got a word! I figured you were upset, so it was fine, but then Souji tells me you'd answer him whenever he messaged?" That was definitely hurt in his voice and eyes, though the intensity surprised her. It shouldn't, though. He's the type who feels things deeply. "What the hell am I supposed to think, Saya?"

She cringed, her body jerking as if he'd hit her. He's got me there. I did ignore his messages. I just… "I was upset. I'm still upset. I can't even begin to explain how much it hurts still when I so much as even think about him! We were together for nearly 200 years, Heisuke. He was more than my little brother…sometimes he was all that really kept me sane. My one constant while everyone went away or died around us because fate wanted to be funny by making me to live long beyond everyone else! But I was fine, because I wasn't…" To her mortification, she could feel the tears burning at her eyes. "I needed to find a way to be OK with being alone. Because everyone dies. Mother…Souji-san…they'll die again too. And I know they want me here. I just…it seemed the wiser choice for a while."

"I suppose we all think crazy things in our grief, which I can get over, but that doesn't answer why you all but ignored me!" His jaw clenched as he stubbornly glared at her in righteous indignation.

"I didn't want to answer anyone for a while," Saya mumbled, looking away. "It was too tempting to cave in whenever they kept asking for me to just come home."

"I wouldn't have done that!" he protested. She didn't need to see his eyes to know he meant it, either.

"I…know that." There was no good way to explain why she'd all but ignored him either, except with the truth, but...

"Are you…blushing?" Heisuke stared at her, shocked out of his ire by what was probably an unusual sight to him.

The embarrassment was almost painful and that just pissed her off. Almost angrily, she snapped out, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I couldn't risk it? That if you even once asked, even in jest, I wouldn't have been able to say no?"

Slack-jawed was the only way to describe his expression in response to her admission, but all Saya could do was scowl harder the more he kept staring at her with that dumbfounded expression. In frustration, she spun on her heels and stormed off, aggravated by her own admittance to weakness. I said too much. Admitted too much. Especially if you really did plan on not making him anymore uncomfortable! I shouldn't have said anything AT ALL…!

"Geeze, would you wait up a second?" His arm latched onto hers abruptly, halting her and almost making her spin from the force of it, and he was breathing pretty heavily as he bent over for several moments trying to catch his breath. "Oi, you walk fast when you want to…"

"Please just ignore everything I said…!"

"The hell I will!" He met her eye squarely, flushing darker even as he did so. "Would you just be quiet for a second so I can think?"

"Will you make me if I don't?" The teases and taunting tone came easily, though she didn't feel playful so much as defiant as she stared at him. This man who'll die before me too, one day.

"Oh for…" He didn't finish his thought as he tugged her closer with a sharp tug of her arm, pulling her so close even wind couldn't pass between them. It made her realize he'd actually grown some, she thought distantly, before he bent down and kissed her, almost bruising in their intensity. Saya didn't realize they'd even moved until she felt a wall hit against her back, her throat oddly dry as he finally pulled away from her, his eyes lowered in a heavy-lidded gaze that made her shiver.

"Okaeri nasai." It was…not quite what she'd have guessed he'd say, but it shocked her enough that it allowed her brain to start working again which was…good. Preferable, even. "I didn't get to say it properly last night and…"

And there's still a lot that needs to be said. Right. Still, Saya felt a warm feeling in her chest regardless as she licked her lips thoughtfully. "Thank you, Heisuke. I…Tadaima."

Heisuke couldn't quite meet her eyes, blushing as heavily as he was, but Saya couldn't really bring herself to say anything either considering she felt pretty damn warm herself. "We should probably head back…"

"Indeed. I think mother may have called at least half a dozen times…" Awkward was the understatement of the year for the tension that was suddenly there between them, like an oppressive little cloud, and Saya shook her head as it stretched out almost tangibly and tried to cover them. This won't do at all. Purposefully, she gave him her most sensuous smile and snickered, "I may have to go away more if that's the welcome I get…"

He sputtered, taken off balance, but the awkward tension that tried to take over evaporated like smoke, and Saya smiled widely in satisfaction. There's still a lot we need to talk about, but for now…

Well, I've got time.

And so wraps Chapter 36! Had to get Heisuke and Saya on the same page again…those crazy kids. XD. No declarations of undying love, but they've got their own ideas on how their relationship is. So please look forward to its progression, especially now with Junya and Ryo in the picture again! Initially, I wasn't going to have them show up at all, but when I began thinking about Saya at the beginning of Part 3, there was one crucial thing to her development as a character that frustrated me. Her baggage, unlike everyone else, isn't something she can work through by just talking it out with anyone. Not with how she is. Her guilt over the deaths of her friends affected a lot about her, so I realized I did need at least one of them to join the story because she was never going to REALLY let go unless specific people were around to give her closure…made all the better because there are other roles I intend for them to fill as well. Perhaps one of which might light a proverbial fire under a certain captain's ass…? Heh. Oh, the plans…

And the mystery with Mitsu is revealed as grenade #1 is launched onto the field! Of course, there are issues obviously at play here considering she's freaking out over what should be a happy occasion, but I suppose it is Daddy-to-be Hijikata's turn to figure those out, ne…? Though she has to tell him first!

I have a lot more in store, of course, and plenty more grenades as well, so please keep tuned in! And I hope Junya and Ryo (who yes, I totally keep envisioning Ikeda-kun and Matsuda-kun when I write them…) become just as well received as Mitsu, Kin, and even Saya have been.

As always, feedback is always appreciated!