Kuon's POV

Everyone just stared at Aoi as she aimed at David. I hadn't seen Aoi shoot before, and, by her stance, I could tell she was just a novice.

"Aoi, put the gun down, and give him the tape recorder," I said through gritted teeth.

She didn't take her eyes off David as she replied, "I'm not going to relay on my last trick, yet, Tou-san. And don't worry, I won't miss."

I glanced at Kyoko, and stiffened. She was grinning wickedly, not a hint of worry or tension. Yuki laughed. I stared at him.

"Tou-san, no need to worry. They have this covered," he said, relaxing.

"They're going to use them, aren't they?" I asked.

Yuki shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever's in that bullet it isn't lead."

I couldn't help a smile. "How 'bout we safe her a bullet?" I asked, glancing at the gun pressed to my skull and back at Yuki.

He smiled mischievously. "Shall we show them how we disarmed Russian mafia goons? Or shall we do it the old fashion way?"

"Whichever you prefer," I said, smiling brilliantly.

David jammed the gun, hard, against my skull. "Who said you two could talk amongst yourselves?"

Yuki frowned at him and muttered, "Let's take him down mafia style."

I chuckled, and spun around. David was caught off guard as I ripped one gun out of his hand. Yuki took the opportunity to grab the other. We grinned triumphantly, pointing the guns at David.

"Looks like the tables are still in our favor," Kyoko murmured loudly, vaulting over the railing. Aoi hesitated, but copied her mother, after dropping the revolver. Both landed on their feet, stunning Kyoko's step-family.

"I think we can go home now," Aoi said, yawning. "I'm done playing. I also need a bath, possibly in bleach. I want to get the fun-sized lecher germs off me."

Kyoko nodded. "I want to get the full-sized lecher germs off. I found bleach doesn't help much. I would say go kiss your boyfriend, but, he's in Japan. Lucky me," she said happily, and kissed me.

I scowled down at her. "I'm not lecher germ remover."

"Nope, you're tastier," Kyoko said, smiling impishly as she kissed me again.

"I see Mio, not my Kyoko," I said, wrapping my arms around her waist.

She shrugged. "Mio is part of me, and you love me."

I sighed, and kissed her. "I'm going to be one sorry man after I marry you."

Kyoko smiled. "You won't mind too much," she said, slipping out of my arms and heading out to the Mercedes.

I chuckled, following her. "We'll call to tell you when the wedding is," I called to Alisa, not even bothering to look back. Aoi and Yuki followed a few feet behind Kyoko and me, chuckling. Life was good again.

"So what are we going to do with the tape recorder?" I asked, unlocking the Mercedes.

They looked at me blankly. "Didn't we tell you it was just a hunk of plastic?"

I dropped the keys. "I went under the barrel of a gun for a piece of plastic?!" I yelled at them.

"You didn't have to, Kuon. You chose to stand by your family. You went under the barrel of a gun for your family, Kuon, not for a piece of plastic," Kyoko said quietly, getting into the passenger seat.

I picked up the keys and climbed in silently. "I don't like being left out of the loop when the people I care about may be injured," I said, starting the engine.

Kyoko smiled softly. "I know, I should have told you before hand, but, I'm just so used to telling only one or two people. It's going to take time before I fall into a new routine."

I patted her hand, "I'm sorry for getting angry at you."

She shrugged. "You deserved to be."

"I don't mean to interrupted," Yuki said, "coughing".

"But can we go back to Yume Ba-chan's? Yuki and I are tired and I don't think we're going to last very long," Aoi said, yawning.

"Sure," I said, putting the Mercedes into reverse.

Kyoko's POV

I don't know why, but, the morning after the dinner with Dad and his family, I felt great. I climbed out of bed and dug a comfortable outfit out of my suitcase. I pulled on a white t-shirt, a pair of black sweat pants, and silver flats. I almost made it to my door before, it flew open. Yuuta and James tackled me to the ground.

"Kyoko Ba-chan, play with us!" they chimed excitedly.

I chuckled. "I'll play with you after breakfast. Right now, I'm so hungry I could eat you," I said growling at them. Yuuta and James flew out the door as fast as they had come. I got up and head downstairs. I probed the kitchen for food and found it empty, save for nine eggs, stale bread, six strips of bacon, a very small package of sausage, half a gallon orange juice, a quart gallon of milk. It was definitely Kuon's sister's house. I grabbed two eggs and set them on the counter while I hunted for a frying pan.

"I thought actors couldn't cook," someone said behind me.

I turned to see John behind me. "That's only the rich ones. I wasn't raised in wealth. I learned to cook, so I wasn't a burden on the family who took care of me."

He frowned. "I thought your mother was alive."

I smiled frostily. "She is. I was dumped on a friend of the family when I entered middle school."

John nodded, and left. Quite quickly. I sighed. You do something out of the ordinary once, and everyone becomes scared of you. I grabbed the pan, set it on the stove, and started to make my breakfast. It took about three minutes to cook, but the twins kept stealing my plate so it took me ten minutes to eat two fried eggs. I set my plate on the counter and whirled to face the two little terrors.

"So what do you want to play?" I asked.

They wore matching Cheshire cat grins. "We want to play at the park down the street."

"Okay, if that's the case, then I need to get my purse. Get your shoes on and wait for me by the door," I said, heading upstairs. I grabbed my purse and went back down stairs. Yuuta and James were patiently waiting by the door.

I narrowed my eyes. "What are you little devils planning?"

They looked up at me with wide, innocent eyes. "What do you mean, Kyoko Ba-chan?"

I frowned, but didn't question them again as we headed down to the park. It wasn't very far from Yume-san's house, but it was crawling with teenage boys. The little devils wanted to throw me into a pack of wolves and see if I could come out alive. If I was them, I'd have been worrying about the wolves.

"Kuon's going to chew you out when we get back," I reminded them.

They just grinned at me innocently. "We didn't make you come, Kyoko Ba-chan. You accepted our invitation."

"You two really are the spawn of Satan," I muttered.

They just grinned and ran off to play on some of the equipment. I sat down on a bench that had a good view of the play ground. Kuon's number one rule concerning the twins: never let Satan spawn out of your sight. And I was starting to follow to those rules.

"Is this seat taken?" a young man asked.

I smiled at him politely, and shook my head.

He returned the smile and sat down. He was around Yuki's age with blonde hair and pale green eyes. "I'm Charles," he said extending a hand.

"I'm Kyoko," I said, shaking his hand.

"Aunt Kyoko!" the twins cried.

I glanced at the play ground and froze. Yuuta and James were standing on the swings as they swung back and forth.

"Yuuta, James, do not stand on the swings!" I yelled, standing up. They just grinned. I gritted my teeth and stomped over to the swings. When I was within four feet of the swings, they sat down properly on the swings.

"Little devils," I murmured walking back to the bench.

"Your nephews?" Charles asked, smiling.

"Yes, and I'm beginning to think the really are demons," I said, sighing.

"Those two are legends on this play ground. No one knows who their parents are, so no one can get them to stop," he said, watching the two.

"Not even their parents can keep them under control. Their uncle seems to be their idol and father figure."

Charles chuckled. "It probably just a stage."

"From what I've heard it's been going on for five years. That's an awful long stage," I said, glancing at the twins. They'd gotten off the swings and were talking with a pair of girls. From the giggles, I guessed it was more likely flirting. Must have been something about the Hizuri bloodline.

"Sometimes kids just don't grow out of things. Sometimes they don't want to," he said quietly. I nodded. Kids needed attention and if they didn't get it in a good why, they did things to get it in a bad way. Yume-san and John-san both worked, so they weren't home all the time. Yuki didn't have that kind of problem anymore. When he was in third grade he was occasionally doing something bad on purpose to get my attention. I took a break from Le Goût du Vin and he started behaving.

"I know what you mean. Sometimes it's the exact opposite. They're extra good because they think you'll love them." That was how I was. Aoi was different. That woman had needed her, she hadn't needed me.

"Yeah, not a lot of those kids stay out of trouble once they get into teen and adulthood," Charles said, smirking at the twins. Great, I was sitting next to a jack-ass or sadist.

I was about to get up when my phone rang. I opened my purse, and dug out my phone. I checked the caller ID and frowned. The number was block.

I flipped it open and pressed it to my ear. "Hello, Kyoko speaking."

"Where are you?" Kuon asked, quietly.

"I'm at the park with the twins," I said, impassively.

He paused. "What are the little devils doing?"

I glanced over at them. "They're flirting with a pair of girl at least five years older than they are."

Kuon chuckled. "Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes."

I glanced at Charles, and smiled. "Okay, bye," I said hanging up.

"Was that their mother?" Charles asked curiously.

I smiled at him. "Nope, but you'll find out soon enough who it is."

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask. I just smiled at him. Yuuta and James must have known something was going on, because they came bounding up to me.

"Kyoko ba-chan, is Yuki onii-chan or Kuon jii-chan coming here?" They asked excitedly.

I nodded. "He'll be here soon. Why don't you two get ready to ambush him?"

Glee shone brightly in their grey eyes, turning them silver.

"Is Aunt Kyoko going to help us?" James asked, hopefully.

I smiled. "Yes, I am. Now, scoot, he's going to be here soon and you two don't want to be out in the open," I said, pushing them towards a nearby tree.

Charles was getting suspicious. "Who exactly is coming?"

"You'll see, Charles. Just wait," I said, glancing at the entrance of the park. I wasn't too surprised to see Kuon walking through it. I waved to get his attention. He saw me and smiled. Not the best reaction, not the worst. I heard Charles gulped beside me.

"I-i-i-is that the C-c-c-c-corn?" he asked, scared out of his wits.

"His reputation still stands?" I asked innocently. The spot next to me was vacant within the millisecond.

"Damn, I was hoping I wouldn't get recognize," Kuon said, sitting down beside me. He didn't see Yuuta and James jump from the tree behind him.

"Wow, flying squirrels!" I said, seeing them jump.

Kuon turned to see what "flying squirrels" I'd seen, and the twins smacked right into his face. He glared at me, pulling them off. "You're conspiring with the enemy, Kyoko."

I smiled. "I would never label my cute little nephews-to-be the enemy."

He wrapped his arms around my waist lazily. "So if I start sending them after you, I won't be a single man again?" he asked.

"They won't attack me, Kuon. They like me," I said kissing him.

He raised an eyebrow and kissed me again. "I can be very convincing you know."