With Ryou & Kai:

"Do you think we'll catch anything?" Kai excitedly asked.

"I don't know; we'll have to wait and see. First, we have to get bait and fishing poles—and maybe a net for if you want to keep fish for food and such." Ryou told Kai as they walked up the road.

"I don't think Mai would like that very much; she'd feel bad for the fish." Kai stated once they made it to the bait and tackle shack up the road.

"Probably not." Ryou agreed with a smile.

"So, what are we looking for?" Kai asked, following Ryou around.

"You know—I'm not a hundred percent sure; I haven't been fishing since I a few years older than you. I know you need a smaller fishing pole; I need a taller one. And we need bait and such." Ryou honestly answered as they looked around.

"Can I help you with something, Sonnies?" An older man, who assumed to be the shack's owner, asked in a shaky tone, whistling his "Ss."

"Umm… Just about everything, I guess. But nothing too expensive; we're just spending two or so hours fishing for fun." Ryou answered.

"You sound just like your father, Mr. Shirogane." The older man noted with a smile, still whistling his "Ss."

"You knew my father?" Ryou asked, kind of shocked.

"But of course; I never forget a face. You and your parents would come here every summer until you were eight. Now, I see you have your own little one. Let's see… Here we go." The man replied, pulling out two older—looking poles; one taller and the other shorter.

"I have a twin sister as well." Kai happily announced.

"Oh, and where might she be?" The shop keeper asked with a kind smile.

"She's not feeling well." Kai answered, looking down, knowing better than to give personal information.

"Oh, poor thing. I have some great-grandchildren about your age, but they're always glued to their phones, computers, and other doohickeys. It's always so nice to see young ones out like this. But anyway, these were yours and your father's when you were younger. As promised, I kept them safe in my cabins. Now, as much as I loved your and your father's patronage; take those with you when you leave. I'm too old for this anymore; it's time for me to retire. I bet you have pretty little wife as well, don't you?" The old man replied with a smile.

"Oh, I don't have a wife—just a girlfriend; we're not married yet." Ryou calmly answered.

"Oh. Well, pretty little girlfriend. I don't know if your wife and little girl would be interested in fishing but have a rod for the both of them—on me." The old man insisted with a smile, handing them two more fishing rods (both pink), a net, and bucket of bait.

"Ok. Thank you. So, how much do I owe you for everything else?" Ryou asked, reaching for his pocket.

"Nothing; it's all on the house. I mean it; I owed your father for saving my life way back when. It's just time for me to retire; I can pay him back by giving you these." The man insisted with a smile before a younger lady came in.

"Grandpa, what are you doing in here? You know you're not supposed to be in here." The lady scolded, sighing, before noticing Ryou.

"Oh, wow… Ryou Shirogane?"

"I was just paying him back for what I owed his father." The old man informed his granddaughter.

"It has certainly been a long time; you're not so nerdy-looking anymore. You got hot." The woman declared, staring at Ryou; she was practically drooling.

"Thank you." Ryou replied, unsure.

"Oh, you have a little one of your own." The woman noticed Kai.

"Yes, he does. In fact, he has two; I have a twin sister. She's at home sick—with Mom and Grandma." Kai immediately became defensive, noticing how this lady was looking at his dad; he didn't like it.

"Ok, Kai; calm down." Ryou instructed.

"Excited one, he is. So, you're married, huh? Well, that's a shame." The lady spoked, still looking at Ryou.

"Well, it was nice seeing you both—again. Have a nice day and stay safe." Ryou told the man and his granddaughter before ushering Kai out of the building.

"You should've been nicer to him when you were younger. Then maybe you'd be that little boy's and his sister's mother." Ryou and Kai heard the old man scolding his granddaughter.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… Come on, Grandpa; let's get you home." The granddaughter grumbled, leading her grandpa out of the shop. At the same time, Ryou and Kai walked down a pathway.

"What was that all about?" Kai asked after a few minutes.

"Who knows? But you don't ever have to worry about someone or something like that; I love only love you, your sister, your mother, and your grandma." Ryou firmly informed Kai as they made their way down.

"Good. I mean, if you didn't love Mom, that would be ok; you both deserve to be happy. I mean, I'm happy you love Mom and all, but it's not up to me. But if you weren't happy with Mom and wanted to be with someone else, it can't be someone like that lady." Kai demanded, referring the lady back at the shop.

"Oh, don't you worry about that; that'll never happen. Clearly, people like her really don't change. By the way, some people can change. I don't really remember her too well—but I do remember being bullied by someone like her when I was younger out here. Well, I was bullied quite a bit when I was younger. But we're not going to talk about that right now. Right now, we're going to get ready and fish—before the weather changes." Ryou told Kai when they made it to the secret spot; there was no one else there.

"Why isn't there anyone here?" Kai asked as they started setting things up.

"Private family property. Along with the summer house, my dad purchased this area." Ryou answered.

"Why?" Kai asked, confused, looking at an empty area.

"He wanted to make a secret lab or something like that so that he could work while Mom and I were asleep." Ryou answered.

"What happened?" Kai asked, looking at the beautiful scenery.

"Umm… I'm honestly not sure about that." Ryou honestly answered; he wasn't sure as it was never explained to him.

"Foundation, mostly. But another reason was because spending time with my family was more important." A man with short brown hair, pale blue eyes, and glasses answered, walking over to them.

"Dad?" Ryou asked, shocked.

"Not just Dad." A woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes spoke up with a smile.

"Mom?" Ryou asked, still shocked.

'I thought they weren't supposed to show up until later.' Ryou thought to himself, looking at his parents.

"I know that look. We found out you were alive a few months ago; we couldn't believe it. We searched the house high and low to no avail. Then, all of a sudden, we hear that you and Keiichiro are alive. Is he here as well?" Jin explained and then asked.

"I know this must be a shock to you. We weren't supposed to leave America to come here for another two days; I just couldn't wait any longer. Eleven years: we thought you were dead for eleven years. Then we find out you're alive. We were already forced to wait another four months because your father's previous bosses wouldn't let him quit whatever he was working on and leave. So, when he finished a few days ago, I pretty much demanded we come here. Is that my little grandbaby? I heard you were a father now." Ami explained before noticing Kai.

"Isn't there another one? I thought we were told you had two kids. Two boys huh?" Jin asked, looking from Kai to Ryou.

"Yes, I have two; they're twins. Their names are Kai and Mai Shirogane; I have a boy and a girl." Ryou answered, still in shock.

"So, they do have our last name; I was kind of wondering. Wait. A girl? My side of the family hasn't had a girl on our side of the family in generations." Jin stated, incredibly shocked.

"What about Holly?" Ryou asked, clearly confused.

"Holly is my cousin—and she was born Hikaru—a boy. She knew at a young age she wasn't meant to be a boy and started going by Holly at twelve. Her mother was crazy and lost custody of her for some time, so dad took her in. She lived with us until she moved out on her own. Then for roughly four years, she spent time and babysat you a few times—until she trusted her mother for the last time. So, while she identifies as a girl; she was not born as such. I know she has five or six kids now—all adopted. Her partner is also transgender—female to male, I think. I'm not a hundred percent sure because I haven't met her partner." Jin explained before taking a breath and changed the subject.

"But anyway—you have twins. A boy and a girl? How old are they now? I understand you didn't get them until they were older because their mother kept them from you. How does that all work? We've already been told that they are one hundred percent your kids; they have your DNA. So, I don't need to ask that." Jin asked, looking at Ryou.

"And just look at him; he looks a lot like you, Jin. He has your hair color and our Ryou's eyes. Where's the little girl?" Ami excitedly asked.

"Ok… Hold on a second. I came out here to take Kai fishing, and that's what I'm going to do. I will answer all of your questions; just let me get him set up first." Ryou stopped his parents when he noticed the sky was starting to slowly clear up.

"Such a good daddy!" Ami happily exclaimed, tightly hugging Ryou.

"Mom…" Ryou moaned, embarrassed. However, it would be a lie if he said he didn't miss his mom's hugs.

Ten Minutes Later:

"Yes, he's a good dad—but he still doesn't know how to set up a fishing pole." Jin noted, chuckling a little as they watched Ryou fail miserably at trying to set everything up.

"Go help him." Ami ordered her husband.

"But this is so much fun…" Jin jokingly argued before going over to Ryou.

"Three generations of boys." Ami happily took pictures.

Five More Minutes Later:

"This is nice… When do we get to meet our granddaughter?" Ami asked, enjoying the breeze on her face while Ryou and Kai fished.

"I suppose when we head back—assuming you come with. You'll get to meet Ichigo and Sakura as well." Ryou answered as they sat there.

"Of course, we're coming with. Who are Ichigo and Sakura?" Ami answered and then questioned, interested.

"Ichigo is their biological mother, and Sakura is her mother—so, their biological grandmother. So, before I tell you anything; what do you know?" Ryou answered and then questioned, looking at his parents.

"We know you didn't get them until later. How could you let their mother near them with how she was with them?" Jin asked, annoyed while Ami sat there, watching them.

"Ichigo is their biological mother. Like me, she didn't know about them until they were three. You guys have spiritual powers; you can talk to ghosts and such…" Ryou started, only to be interrupted.

"Your mother can do all that; I can't." Jin stated, watching Kai.

"Ok… Well, Ichigo's family—the females in her family all have those abilities as well. With each new generation, the one with the abilities is stronger than their mother and grandmother before them. Sakura was very shocked when—well, we all were shocked when we found out they were also Ichigo's. But she was even more shocked because Ichigo not only has a girl, but also a boy; I guess they haven't had a boy on their side of the family in forever. So, maybe that's why we have a boy and a girl; your side of the family hadn't had any girls for God only knows how long, while her side hadn't had any boys for God only knows how long. But anyway, family issues. When Ichigo was little, she was in some kind of accident and then her grandmother, who is dead, tricked the doctors into believing she had ovarian cancer. They took her eggs and put them away for if she could find someone who'd be willing to carry them for her. Well, Maya, who I thought was their mother biologically, stole all of Ichigo's eggs, had them implanted into her, got me drunk on what I thought was the anniversary of your deaths—and we went from there. Obviously, two of the eggs survived, whereas the rest of them didn't. Ichigo, even if they weren't hers—I was going to have her adopt them after we got married. No, we're not married yet; she still has another year of school left. But Ichigo and her mother are super thrilled they are biologically Ichigo's; it gives her the chance to be a mother—even if neither of us got to raise them from birth. Granted, I really wish I had known about them at the time; they would've never been abused by Maya, physically, emotionally, mentally, and I'm sure other. So, to answer your question: neither Ichigo nor I, were not present in their first few years. I got them shortly after they turned three." Ryou explained.

"Abused? Who would abuse a little child?" Ami asked, shocked, becoming increasingly upset.

"I know… I don't understand how anyone could something like that to anybody—especially a child." Ryou sighed.

"She was a sick woman, who can't hurt us anymore." Kai muttered, concentrating on the rod, waiting for a fish.

"Should we be talking about this around him?" Ami asked, looking at Ryou.

"I gave up trying to keep things from him—well, certain things. He'll just put the pieces together and figure it all out anyway." Ryou answered.

"Hey, I think I caught something!" Kai happily exclaimed, standing up.

And he did; Kai caught a small fish that he threw back—after Ami got a few pictures.

"So, he's pretty smart then?" Jin asked, watching his grandson—something he thought they'd never have. He sure as hell certainly never thought they'd have a granddaughter as well.

"Oh, yeah. When he starts school, in the next three months, he'll be in an advanced kindergarten with a few other students like him. Poor Mai, she's going to have such a hard time with that…" Ryou answered and then sighed, looking up at the sky.

"She's not intellectually on the same level?" Jin asked, looking at Ryou.

"She's not stupid. But yes, she's slower than most kids her age. She will be in regular kindergarten, where she'll be monitored to see where she'll need to be academically." Ryou explained.

"Meaning?" Jin calmly asked.

"If they'll put her in special education classes: Individualized Education Program. Or I.E.P for short." Ryou explained with a sigh.

"Yeah, I know what that is. They're sure?" Jin asked, watching Ryou.

"Uh-huh. But it doesn't bother me; I love her either way—no matter her disabilities." Ryou answered with a smile.

"Disabilities?" Ami softly asked.

"Kai has OCD; he's starting to get over his PTSD. Mai—well, she still has PTSD, along with ADD, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and falls over—often. And then, as of recent, we found out she has autism. But none of that matters to me; I love them both just how they are." Ryou explained with determination.

"That poor child. And they're only three?" Ami asked, upset.

"They're four and a half now—but will be five in a week. I do believe Ichigo jumped the gun on family vacation, but here we are." Ryou answered.

"What do you mean?" Jin asked.

"School doesn't start for another three months. When the twins asked what was going on a few weeks ago, Ichigo said we were taking them on a family vacation before school started." Ryou answered.

"If you don't mind—and I don't mean to offend you or anything. Because it's clear you love your children. But do they know why Mai has all the things she has?" Jin slowly asked.

"Well, I don't really know; I don't think I ever asked. I know her brain is a little smaller than what it should be, but it is one hundred percent healthy. So, to me, that's all that matters." Ryou answered after thinking about it.

"That woman drank, smoked, and took several different pills while she was pregnant with us; I overheard her parents talking to someone one night. She also got into a car accident and went into labor two weeks early. I also know I'm also to blame for her issues." Kai spoke up.

"Your sister's health issues are not your fault…" Ryou started, only to be interrupted.

"Yes, they are. I took up too much space inside of the womb and squished her." Kai argued, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Kai, that really isn't your fault; it's impossible to be your fault. That's just how it all worked out. If anything, you protected your sister to the best of your ability while you were in there. I personally don't remember being in my mom's womb, but I know it's a tight fit. You add the fact that there are two of you, it's an even tighter fit. If anything, it's Maya's fault if she drank, smoked, and took pills she wasn't supposed to while pregnant with you two. You and your sister are healthy, and that's all that matters. Sometimes, when twins are in a womb, one needs more space, while the other one doesn't need as much. And sometimes, they can share equal space—though I really don't know how. But anyway, the point is, you needed more space than your sister. Her health issues are not your fault. Do you understand me?" Ryou explained and firmly asked.

"Yes." Kai replied, sniffling a little.

"My little boy is all grown up!" Ami happily cried, hugging Ryou and Kai.

"Mom…" Ryou moaned, embarrassed.

"Oh, hold on a second; I think Ichigo's calling." Ryou said, pulling out his phone when it started ringing.

"Hello?" Ryou answered his phone.

"Ryou…" Ichigo nervously started.

"Ichigo, what's wrong? Is Mai awake?" Ryou asked, worried when he heard Ichigo's tone.

"Well, Koji called. He found their original birth certificates a few days ago and got all that changed; my name is now officially on them. And their birth names are Kaichi Riku Shirogane and Mairi Sora Shirogane. Please don't be mad at me because I made this decision without you. But when Koji asked, I told him we didn't want to change their names; we wanted to keep them as they were. I didn't want to take that away from and confuse them—especially Mai. And no, she's still asleep." Ichigo started explaining.

"That's great news. And that's perfectly fine; I didn't want to change their names either. And hey, I got a few months to make decisions for them without you. Granted yes, no one knew you were their mother; either way, you deserve that. If you had wanted to legally change their names, that would've been fine—so long as their last names stay Shirogane; it's fine. So, what's the bad news?" Ryou happily responded and then asked right away.

"Well, I asked him about that Mr. Nikos…" Ichigo breathed.

"What about him?" Ryou asked, becoming agitated, but tried to stay calm; he could hear in Ichigo's voice that he wasn't good.

"He's a registered sex offender—more specifically a pedophile. Koji said if we see him, to call the cops because he's on the run; he has several warrants against him." Ichigo continued to explain.

"He escaped from jail or prison? What about Mai; did he do something to her?" Ryou asked, getting Kai's and his parents' attention.

"No, he didn't escape from anywhere; he was just caught with three other little girls. Apparently, all three of those little girls looked like Mai. Koji explained that they walked in on one of their sessions to him doing stuff to her—to our Mai…" Ichigo started explaining, tears running down her cheeks. There had to be; Ryou could hear her voice quivering.

"So why wasn't he in jail after that?" Ryou asked, annoyed but tried to remain calm.

"Mr. Nikos put Kai in a sleep-like trance, so he'd have no clue what was going on and would continue to trust him. He did that so that he could keep Mai coming back to him. And poor Mai… She didn't say anything; she was probably too afraid. Along with what she had to go through with Maya before that." Ichigo cried over the phone.

"Yeah… She was traumatized." Ryou sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Ok. Well, I'll see you in a little bit, along with Kai—and my parents." Ryou spoke after a minute.

"Your parents are here?" Ichigo asked, shocked.

"Yeah, that was my reaction as well. But yes, they're here. So, we'll all be there in a bit." Ryou told Ichigo, about ready to hang up.

"Ryou, wait!" Ichigo called over the phone; Ryou had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"What is it?" Ryou asked, confused.

"There's more to it. After he was taken into custody, a Ms. Grazer took Mai in for questioning. She wasn't very nice and ended up shaking Mai so hard that she had mild whiplash. And when her neck snapped back, her head hit a wall, putting her in a coma for over a week. Koji said he thinks that may be why she's so developmentally delayed—as he put it." Ichigo explained, upset.

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense. Ok, we'll be there after a bit." Ryou was more talking to himself, but Ichigo as well.

"Yes, of course. See you soon. Love you." Ichigo responded.

"Love you too. See you soon." Ryou replied before they hung up.

"Dad, is something wrong? Does this have to do with Mr. Nikos?" Kai asked when Ryou sighed while placing his phone in his pocket.

"It's nothing for you to worry about right now, but yes; it has to do with him. I'm not going into details, but he's not a good man; he was putting you to sleep so he could hurt Mai. But for now, that's all you need to know. Ok? When you get older, I'll explain it all to you." Ryou sternly told Kai.

"Ok. Do they know our real names now?" Kai asked, changing the subject.

"Yes. I can tell you, but to me and your mother; you and your sister will always be Kai and Mai. But your birth names are Kaichi Riku and Mairi Sora Shirogane. But unless either of you are in trouble, we will call you Kai and Mai. Now, let's head back; I don't think your mother feels very safe right now." Ryou calmly told Kai.

"Ok." Kai replied, dragging his net and pole with him.

"Do you want me to take those for you?" Jin asked, looking at Kai.

"Sure." Kai replied, handing Jin his things.

"Can I carry him?" Ami asked, looking at Ryou.

"Umm… You'd have to ask him; he likes to walk. Actually, Kai; you can walk up the hill, but after that, you have to let Grandma pick you. I think traffic picked up." Ryou told Kai.

"Ok." Kai agreed as they started walking back to the summer house.

Fifteen Minutes Later:

When Ryou, his parents, and Kai got back to the house, there were three police cars—and they could hear Mai screaming.

"What's going on?" Ryou asked as they made their way up to the house.

"Please stay back, Sir." The office calmly but firmly instructed.

"This is my house. What is going on?" Ryou asked again, demanding an answer this time.

"We have a hostage situation going on. Barret Nikos broke in and is holding four people hostage: one has been shot." The office replied, explaining what was going on.

"Four people? It should just be my girlfriend, our daughter and my girlfriend's mother. Kai, stay back!" Ryou questioned before yelling at Kai to keep him back.

"Well, there's a man in there as well; he has short, spiky, dark black hair, and gray eyes." The officer explained.

"That sounds like Grandpa. But I thought he left." Kai stated, confused.

"I'm not sure who he is; we just got a call that there was fighting going on, and that, someone matching Mr. Nikos was climbing in through a window." The officer explained.

"STOP FUCKING CALLING ME THAT! I'M NOT YOUR FUCKING GRANDPA!" They heard a man, sounding like Shintaro furiously yell.

"What the hell?" Ryou asked, becoming agitate, listening closely.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! Because we have no relation to you! YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER!" They heard Ichigo yell.

"For crying out loud, Ichigooo! Just give him what he wants, and we can all get out of here!" They Shintaro yell again.

"Are you crazy?! That pervert wants Mai! I'm not letting him anywhere near my daughter!" They heard Ichigo yell, before hearing a door slam.

Inside:

Earlier

Ichigo and Sakura were in the kitchen, talking and drinking tea.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Sakura sighed, looking out the kitchen window.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked, confused until she looked out the window.

A taxicab just dropped Shintaro off; he was stumbling with a bottle of booze in his hand—until it went flying at the taxi.

The taxi driver was the one who called the police: him and someone who was walking back to their house.

"HEY! WHERE ARE THE LITT-hic-LITTLE GOOD-FOR-NOTHING SHITLINS! IT'S TI-hic-TIME TO BURY THE LIT-hic-LITTLE SHLITS!" An unbelievably drunk Shintaro belligerently yelled.

"How did he get that drunk in just a few short hours? Did he just call my children "good-for-nothing shitlins?" What even is a "shitlin?" Why did he come back here?" Ichigo asked, agitated.

"Oh, trust me; when your father drinks, he can't just stop at one or two. He keeps going until someone stops him. Normally, I would say don't take what he says too seriously in this state, but with what he said earlier… Yeah. He's drunk; he doesn't know what he's saying. Sometimes he makes up words. He heard some comedian us "shitlin" before. Make sure you have your phone just in case we need police or someone." Sakura told Ichigo, going from serious to warning.

Right after she told Ichigo what to do, Shintaro slammed the door open, glaring at his wife and daughter.

"What are you doing here, Shintaro?" Sakura asked with malice in her voice.

"What do you think -hic- think I'm doing here? I'm here to -hic- get my family back! MY wife and MY daughter. I need to -hic- -hic- -hic- save them from those mistakes they call children." Shintaro slurred his words, hiccupping here and there.

"Excuse me?! My children are not mistakes; they're little miracles—my little miracles!" Ichigo yelled, pissed off.

"The boy maybe. The girl not so much. -hic- She's Daddy's little -hic- demon." Shintaro told Ichigo; she would've gone after him if it weren't for Mai screaming for Ryou and her.

Mai woke up, confused as to why she was in a big bed surrounded by blankets and not only her stuffed animal but Kai's as well.

She didn't know exactly what to do because she could hear Shintaro angrily yelling that she and Kai were mistakes; she could also hear him slamming things.

"D-D-Da-Daddy! Mommy! DADDY!" Mai screamed, frozen in fear when she saw Mr. Nikos crawling through the room's window, she was in.

"Pumpkin, Daddy's not here right now; he took Kai—YOU… What are you doing here?!" Ichigo started telling Mai before she noticed Barret stuck in the window. She didn't even think; Ichigo just grabbed Mai and ran out of the room.

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, concerned.

"Mr. Nikos was climbing through the window; he was going to try to take Mai. We need to get out of here." Ichigo answered, holding Mai close to her.

"No one is going anywhere until I get Mai." Barret informed Ichigo, shooting a gun in the air.

"You're not putting your filthy hands on my daughter. Fuck you!" Ichigo snapped, pissing Barret off.

"You fucking slut. Give me the girl!" Barret yelled, shooting his gun again.

This time, the bullet hit the wall, ricocheting off of it, and ended up grazing Mai's shoulder—which only made her start screaming.

Trying to be sneaky, Barret slowly stalked around the room; he threw a knife at Ichigo, hoping it'd be enough for her to drop Mai. He didn't count on her barely dodging the knife—let alone at all. However, that's what happened, and Ichigo only received a minor cut on her.

It was nothing too serious, just a little cut; Ichigo was more concerned that Mai's shoulder was bleeding.

"Mom!" Ichigo yelled, holding Mai closer to her when she saw Sakura tackle Barret.

"Get her out of here!" Sakura yelled.

"Dad?" Ichigo asked, watching as he stood in front of the door—drunk as fuck.

"I'm not moving." Shintaro told Ichigo.

"Mai needs a hospital; her shoulder's bleeding—and it's not stopping." Ichigo told her dad, almost pleading with him.

"Well, if you'd watched the bullet, you would've been able to avoid that." Shintaro told Ichigo.

"What are you saying?" Ichigo asked, holding Mai close.

"The bullet ricocheted off the wall, to a pan, and finally to the mistake." Shintaro told Ichigo.

"Grampa?" Mai asked, hurt and confused.

"STOP FUCKING CALLING ME THAT! I'M NOT YOUR FUCKING GRANDPA!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?! Really? Really? Fine. Don't fucking talk to me, Ryou, or either of our children because we have no relation to any of us! YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER!" Ichigo yelled back.

"Don't give me that shit! Just give him the girl; she's who he wants." Shintaro slurred his words.

"No!" Ichigo yelled, backing up; she had just made it to the stairs and started heading up them while Sakura did her best to keep Barret at bay.

"For crying out loud Ichigooo! Just give him what he wants, and we can all get out of here!" Shintaro yelled, watching Ichigo run up the stairs.

"Are you crazy?! That pervert wants Mai! I'm not letting him anywhere near my daughter!" Ichigo yelled, making it to a room, slamming the door behind her.

"Ok, Pumpkin—just sit right here. Everything is going to be ok." Ichigo told Mai, setting her on the bed Sakura slept in; she then pushed the bookshelf against the door.

Once the room was as secure as Ichigo could make it, she ripped some of the sheets and tied it around Mai's shoulder to keep her from bleeding out.

Just then, they heard a gunshot go off.

After a few seconds of silence, Ichigo heard feet running up the stairs; they weren't either of her parents. She knew that it wouldn't be long when she heard Mr. Nikos start slamming doors open.

'Window! It's our only chance.' Ichigo thought to herself as she quickly made her way to the window, unlocked, and opened it. Using two candle holders, she was able to keep it up.

"Come here, Pumpkin. Listen to me very carefully. I'm going to stick you out this window; you need to crawl a little that way and sit still. Don't move anywhere else. Do you understand me?" Ichigo sternly told Mai—a little out of breath.

"Ye-yes, Mommy." Mai answered through her tears; she was terrified.

"Don't worry, Pumpkin; everything will be ok. I'll be right behind you. And as soon as we're safe; we'll find Daddy. You have to be brave for not just me, but for Daddy, Kai, and Grandma as well. Ok." Ichigo tried ago.

"Yes, Mommy." Mai answered after taking a deep breath just before Ichigo got her outside.

"Good girl. Here you go. Don't worry; I'll be right behind you." Ichigo praised Mai as soon as she was firmly on the roof and went to where she was supposed to go.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are! You have nowhere to hide, and nowhere to run! Just give up and give me my sweet little prize!" Barret yelled, banging on the door.

"That's what you think. And that'll never happen." Ichigo quietly said to herself once she was on the roof, outside the window.

Once she was firmly on the roof, she knocked he candle holders out of the window, causing the window to slam shut.

"Come here, Pumpkin; hold on tightly to me. Look, there's Daddy and Kai. Just hold on, and we'll be on the ground in a few minutes." Ichigo instructed, picking Mai up.

Mai held onto Ichigo for dear life as Ichigo held her close to her.

"Mommy!" Mai cried, scrunched against Ichigo when she reached for a tree branch.

"Is that them?" Ami asked, pacing back and forth; she saw two figures in a tree, climbing down. Well, she could clearly see Ichigo; she could only vaguely see Mai.

Ryou was over there within seconds.

"Yeah, that's them… Ichigo, please be careful. Mai, just hold on." Ryou quietly pleaded, watching from afar with his parents and Kai.

"Everything's going to be ok. Have faith in Ichigo and Mai." Ami told Ryou, placing a hand on his shoulder while Jin held Kai back.

"Right. Come here, Kai." Ryou told Kai just before picking him up.

"Let's go, men!" The officer in charge yelled as soon as he saw Ichigo and Mai in a tree.

About halfway down, Barret opened the window and started firing his gun.

Three bullets left.

Three shots fired.

Three bullets lodged in a tree.

Ichigo heard him open the window—heard him cock his gun; she barely had time to think as she jumped to a different branch.

The bullet just barely grazed her shoulder.

The other two bullets missed wildly.

Ryou just watched, horrified.

"Mmmm!" Mai cried into Ichigo's chest, scared, tightly holding on, not realizing they were on the ground.

"It's ok, Pumpkin; we're on the ground. Look; Daddy and Kai are coming. Should we go meet them?" Ichigo asked as calmly as she could, trying to calm Mai down.

"Ichigo! Mai!" "Mom! Mai!" Ryou and Kai yelled at the same time, meeting Ichigo and Mai about halfway.

"Mmm? Daddy!" Mai cried, reaching for Ryou while Kai clung to Ichigo's leg.

"What happened?" Ryou asked right away, noticing Mai's shoulder.

"I don't know. I had just hung up the phone with you and was talking with Mom when Shintaro came bursting through the door—extremely drunk. I don't know how he got that drunk in only three hours, but he managed it. Then while he, Mom, and I were fighting, Mai woke up, screaming, and crying. And then there he was—that Mr. Nikos man. And it just went from there. He went to shoot something; I don't know what, but the bullet hit the wall. We didn't think anything of it until we heard something hit something metal and then Mai started screaming that something was burning. Dad said the bullet bounced off the wall, hit another wall, then the hanging metal pan and finally across Mai's shoulder. Once I was able to get her upstairs, I blocked the door and wrapped her arm the best that I could. That bastard seen it; he saw the bullet moving and said nothing!" Ichigo screamed, upset.

"Ichigo, calm down; it's ok. What about you? How are you? What happened to you?" Ryou asked, noticing the minor cut on her arm and the bullet graze on her shoulder.

"He threw a knife at me, but I was able to doge it for the most part. And this just happened when he found Mai and me halfway down the tree. But I'm fine. What about my mom? Did she come out yet?" Ichigo answered and then asked.

Before Ryou could answer her, two cops came out, dragging Mr. Nikos with them while an EMT ran inside with a stretcher.

"Mom?" Ichigo worriedly asked when they saw the stretcher. However, instead of being wheeled out on the stretcher, Sakura walked out—well, limped is more like it.

"Gramma!" Mai cried, seeing her first.

"Mom!" Ichigo cried, running to her, along with Kai.

"Oh, Ichigo… Are you and Mai ok?" Sakura asked, holding Ichigo's face in her hands, looking at her.

"Yeah, we're fine; she's with Ryou right now. What about you? Are you ok? Were you shot? I heard a gunshot." Ichigo panicked.

"I'm fine; he just slammed my head down on the ground and then slammed me into the stairs. Your dad is the one who got shot." Sakura answered Ichigo.

"Why? He was trying to help Mr. Nikos." Ichigo asked, confused.

"Excuse me? Your dad did what?" Ryou asked, hearing that last part.

"I'll explain it later—when the kids are asleep." Ichigo told Ryou, holding her head.

"The man—Mr. Nikos thought your father wanted Mai for himself—or to share her, so he shot him once in the center of the chest." Sakrua explained, a bit emotional; she had been married to this man for the past twenty-odd years. But then again, after everything he said earlier.

"Ok, girls—come on; we have to get you to the ER." A cop told Sakura and Ichigo as two different ambulances were waiting.

"Ok, Baby; you have to go with Mommy now. Don't worry; I'll be right behind you. Kai and I will meet you at the hospital—along with some surprise guests. Be a good girl. Not you; you're coming with me, Grandma and Grandpa." Ryou told Mai before kissing her forehead; he then told Kai, picking her up.

Three Hours Later:

"Daddy, I'm hungry." Mai softly told Ryou as he carried her and Kai out of the hospital with Ichigo and Sakura next to them.

Mai only had a small graze on her shoulder and a small nick on the bottom of her arm from a loose roof tile; she only needed eight stitches.

Ichigo had somewhat of a matching graze on her shoulder but only needed twelve stitches because it was slightly bigger. She also had a decent cut on her arm that needed to be cleaned and bandaged, and a mild concussion.

Sakura had a few small cuts that just required cleaning and bandaids; the worse thing she had was a concussion.

Jin and Ami stayed back to clean up the place.

"What do you want?" Ryou calmly asked.

"Chicky samwich from Wac-Donalds?" Mai hesitantly asked.

"Yeah, that's fine. Do you want fries and something to drink?" Ryou asked when they got to the van.

"Banilla shake?" Mai softly asked.

"I suppose. Kai?" Ryou asked, getting them in their car seats.

"A double cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate shake?" Kai asked.

"Ichigo, Sakura?" Ryou asked when they got into the van.

"A double chicken sandwich with a medium fry and a sprite, thank you." Ichigo answered, leaning in her seat.

"I'll just have some soup when we get back." Sakura answered, holding her head.

"Ok. Kids, please keep your voices down; Mommy and Grandma have headaches and aren't feeling well right now." Ryou told Kai and Mai, backing out of the hospital parking lot.

By the time they got back to the house, it was nearly five at night; everyone except Sakura ate. Mai and Kai passed out in their seats shortly after they finished their food.

At least Sakura was back there; there would've been ice cream everywhere otherwise:

Mai fell asleep, holding her shake, which was still half-full; that started falling out of her hands.

Kai had put his in his cup holder, but they hit a pothole, and his knee came up and hit the cup.

"Welcome home." Ami happily yet quietly greeted.

Ryou called his mom just before they left the hospital to let them know what was going on.

"You must be Ichigo." Jin politely noted, reaching his hand to her.

"Yes. You're Ryou's dad—Kai and Mai's grandpa." Ichigo replied, shaking his hand.

"Yes. You can call me Jin; this is my wife, Ami. You must be her mother." Jin replied and then introduced his wife with a smile.

"She is so beautiful! I'm so happy my baby boy found someone who makes him so happy!" Ami happily exclaimed, hugging the life out of Ichigo.

"I'm Sakura, Ichigo's mother—the twins' other grandma. I'm so glad they have other family alive; they need that." Sakura greeted and then sincerely told Ami and Jin with a smile.

"I'm so glad you don't hate us." Ami responded with a smile, shocking the others.

"Why would I hate you?" Sakura asked, confused while Ryou placed Kai and Mai on the couch.

"Mmm…" Mai lightly moaned, rolling on her side after Ryou covered her with a blanket.

"Because we just showed up out of the blue, wanting to see our son and meet our grandchildren." Ami answered, looking at a shocked Sakura.

"That's perfectly fine. I'd be the same way if I were in your position. As long as they're happy, I'm happy. Just don't try taking them away from me and we'll all be good." Sakura replied with a soft smile.

"Of course." Ami and Jin agreed.

"However, now that there are two sets of grandparents—well, a set of grandparents and a grandma… My husband isn't in the picture anymore. But anyway; we should probably figure out some kind of schedule or something so that each grandparent gets equal time." Sakura suggested.

"I couldn't agree more!" Ami excitedly agreed.

"Is something wrong, Ryou?" Jin asked, noticing Ryou sigh after putting his phone away.

"Yeah, I'm fine—just worried about Mai. School sent me a text…" Ryou sighed.

"What's going on? Did she not get in? They said she made it in when we saw them last." Ichigo asked, looking at Ryou.

"The board of education decided to show up and look everything over inch by inch; they want ALL kids to retake the entrance exam thing. But this time, it'll be different." Ryou sighed.

"So, now what? What do you thinks going to happen?" Ichigo asked, looking at Ryou.

"I don't know. But I don't think it's anything good; I just have a bad feeling." Ryou sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Mmmm…" Mai moaned as she and Kai slowly started waking up.

Mai sat up, hair all over the place while Kai had had drool running down his chin…