I never take this long to write chapters.

And I'm not even happy about this chapter.

:/

China - despite being a huge country composed of a myriad of cultures, was truly Kensou's home. Although the streets of Shanghai were a far cry from his hometown down in Guangzhou, the slight rudeness of the waitstaff, the streams of (abiet accented) Chinese that flowed around the restaurant… Yeah. Home.

He and his heavily pregnant aunt were sitting across from one another in a spicy noodle restaurant in the heart of Shanghai this sunny morning. It was a small family owned place, complete with blinding white tile, horrible buzzing fluorescent white lights, and Beijing opera playing from the radio in the corner. Athena, or anyone on the tour for that matter, would never step foot in this place - but Kensou knew that the best food wasn't always dressed up in some fancy restaurant. He had never eaten here before, but his Aunt had proven her taste in restaurants time and time again.

"-ugh, Ken, you're lucky you never have to be pregnant. I'm telling you, I can hardly get up in the morning, this baby is so heavy…"

"Haha, well it will be over soon, right Auntie? When is he due?"

"Heh, another two weeks? I'm excited, but also… eugh. Hubby said he's been reserving a bed in the best hospital in Shanghai for me, but still…"

The food arrived, and the air became spicy and smelled heavily of sesame oil and chives. Kensou dug in and listened as his aunt chattered and fanned her noodles. He felt bad that he was so relaxed here. Back with the tour, he'd been so high strung, you could shave cheese on his nerves. Sure, Iori made him crazy - but that was expected, and Kensou only needed to spend a few hours per day in the company of that lunatic. Unfortunately, Athena was also driving him to the brink of snapping, and she was with him almost constantly. Her behavior had gotten worse ever since Rock Howard butchered the last performance smiling. She took out some of her frustration on Iori, but she could only vent so much yelling. Kensou got the physical part.

She threw me against a wall… urgh. I'm still sore.

Frankly, coming out here to get a break from her was like a breath of fresh air. That environment had become so toxic to him, he wanted nothing more than to spend the whole day wandering around Shanghai and avoiding the supposed love of his life. He was even down to listen to his long winded aunt ramble on about her unborn child to avoid spending time with his girlfriend.

"My Xiao Baozi has been kicking too! He's big and strong, and I'm pretty excited. Me and hubby have already picked out what private school he's going to, and college, and..."

Kensou smiled and nodded, not really listening. It seemed that Aunt Kam didn't really care if he was paying attention or not. She obviously hadn't been out and about too much since her pregnancy neared completion, and she just needed to talk and get stuff off her chest. One might say, she could just call up some of her lady-friends, but Kensou knew that because her family business was… sketchy, not many normal chinese housewives were willing to befriend her. After all, what if they accidentally offended her? The fact her husband was a high ranking member of the Triad was enough to put everyone on edge.

"Auntie, that name… surely-?"

"Ohhh, nonono, don't be silly - I know I keep calling him Baozi, but we just couldn't decide on a name yet! I know we only have a couple of months left, but I couldn't find anything I like! Aiya… anywho - how about you Ken? How has your Japanese girlfriend been? Better?"

Kensou cringed and rubbed the back of his neck. His Aunt, thus far, had become his only confidant concerning his problems with Athena. His parents thought he was a terrible son for abandoning them and the business they had built to chase his love - which he admitted, he was. His friends? His pursuit of Athena's heart had been so all consuming he hardly knew a person he could call as good friend. Sure, KOF meant he made tons of acquaintances, but almost all of them saw him as nothing more than an extension of Athena. He was glad he had Aunt Kam.

"Oh, not really. It's been worse lately..." He sighed into his noodles. "I just need a good break. We didn't talk to each other at all yesterday. I mean, she just vents at me… she isn't even mad at anything I did, but I still take the punches."

Aunt Kam furrowed her brow. Her face went serious.

"Oh, Ken… I know you don't like to hear it, but she's not good for you! You need to find a nice girl, and a job for that matter… you mentioned that you might want to take a job with my husband, right? He's in the finance division, but the Tria-... ehm, the 'company' always likes people with the … fighting mentality."

Kensou suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"You know what, I'll even let you live in one of our apartments here in Shanghai. I think we have a couple of empty ones near city center that we haven't found tenants for. As long as you take care of the place, then I'm sure it's no problem."

Kensou sighed and listened. His aunt always tried to solve his problems - that was her personality - and honestly, Kensou just wanted someone to listen. Regardless, she was the only person who seemed to care about his plight at all, so he took what he could get.

"I'll be sure to ask hubby about it, is that okay with you Ken? He also has a lot of connections in the company, just name a position, and I'm sure he can get it for you. I know you've only met him briefly, but this is nothing for him. Really. And he'll definitely help you, okay? I wanted him to come today to meet you, but he's busy right now."

"Oh, Mr. Kam usually goes everywhere with you. Is he in a work meeting right now?"

Mrs. Kam was always eager to ramble, and Kensou was eager to draw the attention off his conflict with Athena. He asked the question just to change the topic, and his aunt jumped on it.

"Hubby? Oh, he was really excited about something or another… 'Taking out the competition' was it? Something to that effect. I wasn't really paying attention, but I'm happy for him. I overheard him chatting with his boss about it, and..."

Kensou yawned and slurped down the rest of his lunch. He was only halfway listening. He murmured absentmindedly.

"Oh, I hope he stays safe… he needs to come home to be a dad, right?"

Ms. Kam chuckled.

"Oh, hubby knows that. I made him promise me to be extra careful - not that he ever isn't. He's an accountant by heart, you know. And he won't make mistakes. Anyways, you don't need to feel bad about it, since those filthy japanese scumbags will absolutely deserve everything coming for them. Have you heard about how they work?! They burn people alive, and saw them in half if they don't cooperate. Typical northern savages. Ah… but enough about that. Do you want another bowl of noodles? You should try this flavour!"

I wanted to write something about Rock and Iori on the way to Shanghai hotel (the previous evening), but for some reason writing is hard? what is lifee