A/N: Okay, after 3 months of rewriting and revising this chapter so many times that I've lost count, I'm finally back. I think you'll see why it took me 3 months to write this one out when you read it. But I hope its length and content compensates for the time it took me to write.

This chapter will pick up directly where the last chapter left off. Now, please enjoy and tell me what you think on the review.

Disclaimer: I don't own SAO, its characters, or the OSTs. They belong to Kawahara Reki-sensei and Kajiura Yuki-sensei, respectively! Oh, and one of the OST's used in this chapter belong to Takanashi Yasuharu!


Chapter 18 – A Mother's Love – Part 3: Realization.


It was then that I first met your father. I still remember it like it was yesterday.

One day, not long after becoming a middle school student, when I was heading home after class, I saw a boy around my age lying down on the grass, looking up at the sky blankly. He was one of my classmates; someone who sat on the back and the more quiet type. He didn't seem to have too many friends, and it was kind of a rare sight to see him around with people.

I knew pretty much everyone in my class, but he was someone who I didn't know too much about. So, wanting to know more about him, I approached him.

He seemed to only notice my presence when I asked him what he was doing. I sat down next to him and looked up at the sky as well. After a short silence, the boy answered that I didn't need to know.

I was slightly annoyed at his response, but I decided to press on. I told him that I was close to practically everyone in the class, may they be a boy or a girl, and so I told him that I wanted to know about him as well; to be friends if possible.

After another few seconds of silence, he told me that today was his birthday. That answer had me a bit baffled. It was his birthday, so why wasn't he celebrating with his friends or family? Then, as if he knew what I was thinking, he answered that unlike most people, he didn't really have a reason to celebrate his birthday.

(A/N: Play the OST: "You Are Not Alone – Ac.G version." Can be found in the SAO Music Collection)

At this, I was about to ask why that was so, but I barely managed to stop myself from doing it. I didn't even know him all that well, after all, and although that was exactly the reason that I had approached him in the first place, I realized that interrogating him like this wouldn't get me anywhere; it was far too personal.

But then, as if he read my mind again, gave a small chuckle and said that it was alright and he didn't really mind. The reason was because three years ago on his birthday, his mother had left him and his father and went somewhere far away. I thought that he meant that she had abandoned her family and just left. So I asked, slightly apprehensively of where she had gone to. The answer I got was that it was somewhere that she couldn't come back from. Then, he pointed up towards the sky. As I did, I realized what he meant. I sat where I was, dumbstruck. As I was about to apologize, he said that it was alright, and that he was actually glad I had asked. He told me that she had been fighting an illness she had contracted years ago, until it finally ended with her loss on his birthday.

I was stunned. As someone who knew of such losses, I understood him immediately. What was more, he had lost his mother on his birthday… No wonder he didn't like to celebrate his own birthday. It was also the same day his mother had passed away.

Apparently, what he had told me was something that not even too many of his friends knew about. Since he had opened up to me so easily, I wanted to become his friend. So, after introducing ourselves like that, we started to get to know each other. At the time, I didn't have any romantic feeling for him. I just thought of him as a friend.

But as our life in middle school continued, we began to see each other more often. When it came to studying, I was one of the top in my class. And as for your father, he definitely could use some help when it came to studying. So, I don't know how it happened, but your father and I had become close study mates. When we began our third year in middle school, we were seen together quite often that our classmates and friends teased us of being a couple; to which we adamantly denied at the time.

This harmonious life would change again when we became high school students. Even when we became high school students, our relationship remained the same; at least for me. I was content with having him as my closest friend at the time; I wanted nothing more. Even my foster parents knew him well as it was kind of a common sight for the two of us to come to my home to study together, and he was practically a welcomed guest there.

But then, a few months after your father and I became high school students, some changes began to occur. One of them was the appearance of a girl named Kisaki who seemed to know your father well, and tried to get close to him. But I could see that your father was uncomfortable, repulsed even whenever she tried to get close to him.

I later learned from your father that her family and his were currently business partners, and that his family ran one of the most prosperous food companies at the time.

I was surprised when your father revealed this to me. He may have been to my home numerous times, but for some reason, he had always tried to avoid inviting me over to his place. I also didn't even know that he was the son of the president of such a well known company until then, and apparently, I was the first one among his friends to even know this fact. I couldn't understand why he had kept something like this hidden. But apparently he had done so that he wanted to be true friends, not ones bought from money.

And also, he revealed that eversince the death of his mother, his relationship with his father had soured. At first, they sympathized each other, but as time passed, his father began to focus more and more on work, leaving him to be alone most of the time. As a polite but shy child, he didn't say anything immediately, but as time passed, as he got busier with company work, he seemingly started to care less and less for him. In fact, if anything, he seemed to becoming more and more forceful towards him, like putting more pressure on him to study more, forbidding him from playing with friends, as well as not letting him invite them to their house, as well as not allowing him to do gardening and growing plants, which was your father's favorite hobby.

At first your father tried to understand him; tried convincing himself that he was just having a hard time getting over his mother's death, but as the curfews continued, he grew more and more bitter towards him.

After listening to his explanation, I could understand why he had kept that fact hidden. I had briefly met his father once during our last year in middle school. We were heading home together when we ran into his father on the way. Although he introduced me to him, he didn't seem to be particularly pleased with me. If I had to guess, based on what your father had told me about him earlier, it was because I was hanging around him.

As a former street urchin, looks of disgust and reproach was something that I had experience in. Although, receiving such looks when I wasn't living on the streets anymore, as well as having no reason to be looked at like that, I felt offended. As your father left with him, he had said goodbye to me with a slightly apologetic look, and the next day, he apologized if his father had offended me. I told him that he didn't have to apologize.

Besides, I had found a reason to like him even more. Like me, he desired true companionship, not ones bought by petty money. Besides, I too had a secret that I hadn't told him or any of my classmates at the time; my Korean ancestry. I thought about revealing it to him, but decided not to.

Being a Korean in Japan at the time was not an easy thing. At the time many of the Japanese didn't accept the Koreans as one of them and saw them as inferiors; a sentiment that stemmed from Japan's imperial days when they invaded and colonized Korea starting from 1910 until the end of the Second World War.

I too was afraid that I would lose the friends I had made including your father if this secret was revealed; a secret that only my foster family knew at the time.

(A/N: It's kind of similar to the white supremecist's treatment towards the black's in America, or the British treatment towards the Indians and the Native Americans back in the day, or if you want to get extreme, the Nazi's treatment towards the Jews. An unfortunate part of humanity called racism that happens all around the world…)

And so, even after revealing his family, I still remained a close friend to him.

But soon it became clear that Kisaki had no intention of giving up on your father. Not long after your father revealed his background to me, she approached me after school and told me to stay away from him and that he was hers.

Even before your father explained about his family and hers, I already didn't like the girl anyway as she had a tendency to look down on others, especially to people who she thought had low social status and judging from your father's reactions whenever she was mentioned, I deduced that he shared my judgment. So I refused to do as she said, and that I had been beside your father longer than she had; that I was his friend for a longer time. She looked furious at my defiance, but I didn't give her a chance to respond. My answer was final, so I left the scene, not bothering to listen to what she had to say.

But a few months later, things started to take a nasty turn.

My family had run a small but profitable farmer's market and most of its products came from my parent's relatives who owned a farm in Miyagi. I too helped in the market regularly and earned quite bit of allowance, and your father helped too from time to time. I also learned not too long ago that your father's company was a frequent customer of our market, which was the main reason that it was doing well, despite its size. They used our goods to make many of their products.

But a few months later my encounter with Kisaki, bad things started to happen around our market. It started from prank calls and letters, but as time went by, things started to get aggressive, as it escalated to someone throwing a rock into our store, breaking the windows in the process, thefts, and damage to our products.

The events had me and our family worried, as we just couldn't see who was responsible.

But surprisingly, a few weeks after the incidents around my family's store began, Kisaki called me out to the back of the school after class, revealing that she was the one behind the incidents in the store. I was shocked and angry when I heard this, but before I could say anything else, she continued, proceeding to revealing a secret that I had hoped no one would find out.

Somehow, Kisaki had found out about my adoption, as well as the fact that I was Korean. It was apparent that using her family's influence and money, she had done a thorough investigation on me.

(A/N: Play the OST: "A Squabble")

She threatened that if I don't stay away from your father, not only would more 'disasters' come to our store, the whole school would know of my origin; the very thing that I feared the most at the time. I was frozen in place where I was standing. I remember myself shaking in fear, recalling the days I had spent as a street urchin, with the reproachful and disgusted looks being directed to me for merely existing. I couldn't stand being looked at like that again, all alone, rejected, with everyone turning their backs on me simply because of that one little fact.

I had been driven into a corner, lost on what I should do. But then, I heard a familiar voice asking what he had just heard. Both of us turned around and were surprised to see your father come into view around the corner, looking livid. Maybe it was because of my fear, but I thought that his anger was being directed towards me. As I saw him approach us, I braced myself for the worst.

He then started saying that he thought that I had been looking upset for the past few weeks, but now he could see why: it was because of the things Kisaki had been doing to our store. He then continued to ask if the currently unfolding scene was the thing that she had wanted to show him; was this scene what she had meant by 'show him her true identity' all this time?

As I processed his words, I started to realize that those words were not being directed towards me, but to Kisaki. I finally looked up to see your father facing Kisaki, no doubt glaring daggers at her, judging by his voice.

He then continued by telling Kisaki if she had thought that doing something like this would please him, then she had made a big mistake. He said that he had already known that I was a Korean descendent for a while now, which surprised us both very much. He was very angry that she had tried to use this information to blackmail me.

He said that he was disappointed in her and that no matter what happens, he and I were friends. And he finished off by saying that if she does something like this again to me or anyone else, he'd never forgive her. He then took my hand and led me away from the school grounds.

When we were finally reached a point where the school was no longer in sight, he finally let go of my hands. I finally collapsed onto my knees, as my legs had been trembling this whole time. When your father then asked whether I was alright, I asked him with a shaking voice since when he had known. He answered that my parents had revealed everything to him in one of his visits to my home. We'd known each other for a long time and were always beside each other, so they felt like they could trust him. Although he was surprised to hear that I was adopted and how my real family ended up coming to Japan, he didn't feel any differently about me, in fact, he was sorry that I had to endure such a burden alone. Plus, my parents had asked him to keep this quiet and let me reveal it to him when I felt like I was ready, so he hadn't told anyone about it and had waited until I had mustered the courage to tell him.

I couldn't hold back anymore. I was so relieved and grateful. I could do nothing but cry pathetically in front of him. He knelt down and told me not to worry; that whatever happened, he would help me in any way possible, after all, I did help him get through school work. I remember just choking and hiccupping in response.

He also said that in light of what Kisaki had done to me, she could no longer be trusted and that he would talk to his father about her actions and warn him to be wary of the Kisaki's. He would also make certain that Kisaki wouldn't be able to reveal my heritage.

After that day, I found myself thinking more and more about your father. We would meet each other more often and we couldn't really hide it, so our classmate's teasing of us being a couple got worse, although, neither of us could really deny it anymore.

So, not long after, your father officially asked me out, and needless to say, I was ecstatic and so were many of our friends, but to the obvious displeasure of Kisaki. I didn't know what your father had said to keep Kisaki on a leash, but she had given us no trouble even after us becoming a couple had become official. The bad things that had been happening to our market had also ceased. While I was happy that Kisaki had stopped bothering us, I was on edge because she had backed off so easily. What was more, although your father had warned his father about Kisaki, he had just dismissed it, saying that she probably had a good reason to do so. Although your father tried to push the subject, the only response he got was shouts that he was just a kid who didn't know anything and to just do as he was told. And if that wasn't enough, your grandfather had also said that he disapproved of his relationship with me; that I was unfit to be the wife of the heir of his company.

I knew your father long enough to know that he didn't want to inherit the company; that he wanted to live a more free life. But he had always been pressured to marry someone he chose for him. And knowing their already strained relationship, I could tell that your father had no intention of listening to his words. We continued to see each other as if nothing was happening. So eventually, I ceased worrying about it and just decided to continue to enjoy our lives in high school. I continued to achieve superb grades in school, and your father needed my help from time to time regarding schoolwork. And so, we continued to be inseperable during high school, much to the dislike of Kisaki, and your paternal grandfather to some degree.

Our lives in high school continued without much excitement for the next two years, except for a few slanderings Kisaki had attempted with me as her primary target. But thanks to not just your father, but some of our friends who also disliked Kisaki, she was never very successful.

It was only a few days after our high school graduation that a huge incident happened to us.

At the time, my parents and I were invited by your father to a banquet run by his family's company. I would have gladly accepted it, had it not been for the fact that Kisaki and her family would be attending the banquet as well, as honored guests. But I ultimately decided to accept, for I didn't want to miss out on spending time with your father just because of a mere nuisance.

When we were at the party, and your father and I were starting to enjoy ourselves, an announcement was made by the host of the party, your grandfather, with with the man that was Momoki's father. We could already tell that it was something big. But what came next shocked us both to the core. He declared your father and Kisaki Momoki to be engaged.

I couldn't ignore the feeling of instant disgust at the idea, and it was more so because it was Kisaki of all people. When I finally recovered enough to look at your father, he also had a thunderstruck look on his face. It was clear that he was never told in advance about this. But it didn't stop there.

Momoki took the mic and said to everyone that she had caught a family of thieves in action. And as if on cue, the security guards who were in the banquet took hold of me and my parents, much to our shock and confusion, asking us to hand over our belongings for inspection. Your father looked just as confused as everyone. But as the guards started to go through our belongings, things that we most certainly didn't belong to us started to come out, such as valuable looking accessories and money that we had never brought.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Left in Suspense")

We were perplexed. We could suddenly feel the accusationary stares of every single person being directed towards us. It was a very unpleasant situation indeed. We had been framed as thieves in a matter of seconds. We were thrown out of the banquet, with all kinds of insulting words directed towards us. Your father was the only person who didn't believe us to be thieves. He was sure that Kisaki had something to do with this. Thanks to your father though, no police were involved in this nasty incident. But the backlash from this event was massive.

Because the banquet was such a public event, what had happened there didn't take long to spread. Believing Kisaki's words, our family was accused and criticized for the incident, and the sales in our market took a crippling blow. We tried our best to prove our innocence to no avail. What was worse, was that some of the friends I had known believed Kisaki's words and readily joined the others, mainly the Kisaki's and your grandfather in actively criticizing us, effectively deterioriating our relationship. Only your father and a few others believed our innocence. While we were trying to fix this problem, your father was investigating on his own to find evidence of our innocence.

And if that wasn't bad enough, thugs were now openly harassing our store, scaring away what remained of our customers. We tried our best to fix the damage, but with our reputation now in the dirt, the store ultimately closed down and we had to move away. We would go to Miyagi where the rest of my family's relatives lived.

But then, a few days before we left Tokyo, your father visited us. He had found out that we would be leaving Tokyo not too long ago and was not happy about it at all. But he had come with shocking news: he had run away from home. It was no secret to my family that your father's relationship with his father was very strained. But this whole framing incident, as well as the fact he was engaged without his knowledge had apparently put a huge rift between them.

When we invited him inside, he started to explain what had happened. Immediately after we were thrown out of the banquet, he went to Momoki and demanded to know what she had done to frame us like she did. The response was an infuriating smirk. She only said mockingly that it was just as she had said: she just had seen a family of thieves taking what's not theirs, so she had kicked them out.

Deciding not to waste anymore time on her, he had decided to talk to his father alone regarding the matter, but it did little good. He tried to convince him that we weren't thieves and that Kisaki had framed us, but your grandfather, who trusted the Kisaki's didn't listen. In fact, he was shocked to discover that his father had been looking for ways to get rid of me eversince becoming close with the Kisaki's. He had disapproved the fact that we were always together, probably because of my background, but had only tolerated me because of the fact that I had been a great tutor for your father during his studies. Although he originally planned to have private tutors do the lessons in my place, your father had managed to dissuade him for the time being from the fact that I had asked no charge for our time studying together. But with this whole engagement, as well as the fact we had been declared as thieves, it was clear that he wanted to get me away from your father for good.

Speaking of the engagement, he had demanded an explanation from his father. As I had expected, the engagement was unexpected, and undesired in your father's shoes. And so, an argument broke out between the two, not even noticing that everyone could hear the argument.

Furious that their discussion was going nowhere, your father left home to start investigating on his own, despite his father's yelling.

After a few weeks, with not much progress, as Kisaki had covered her tracks well, he finally decided to confront her once again, but this time, he had a plan of his own. After some discussion requiring some patience, he was finally able to make her admit that she had indeed framed us as the thieves by having the real thieves secretly fill our bags with the items they had stolen. He had secretly taped the whole conversation and it could now be used as evidence against her. She had realized one step too late that he had been recording their conversation, and tried to stop him, but he managed to get away from her pursuit.

Then he headed home to see his father and tell him that Kisaki was behind this whole incident to discredit us and that we were framed by her. But your grandfather didn't even try to listen. He never even listened to the tapes, saying that it wasn't even worth listening to, much to his shock and disappointment at his indifference. What was more, your grandfather had already had an idea of what Kisaki had been doing but did nothing to stop it; specifically because they shared a common interest of having me break up with your father. He hadn't cared what method she used, as long as she was successful in separating me from your father so that they could commence with his engagement with Kisaki.

Your father was outraged to hear this. He resisted fiercely and refused to accept the engagement, sparking an unpleasant quarrel which quickly escalated into insults being thrown at each other. He had shown no remorse of what he had indirectly done to us and only continued to support the Kisaki's for the sake of his business. That was the last straw, as your father declared that he had enough and that he was leaving. The moment he leaves the house, they would be strangers. And so, he left home without looking back.

That was why he was there; because he had run away from home. I was stunned and so were my parents. Although I had suspected it, it was no less surprising: Kisaki Momoki had hired people to steal from the guests and put their belongings with ours; a deliberate setup. We were frozen in disbelief at this information. Your father also discovered this fact only today, and thanks to that, his relationship with his father took a turn for the absolute worst.

I felt guilty. It was no secret that your father and grandfather had a strained relationship, and I felt that because of me, it had been broken for good. And my parents seemed to have similar thoughts. But he insisted that he should be the one to be sorry it was because of him that our market went into ruins in the first place. Besides, he had wanted to leave a long time ago and that he had only restrained himself for the sake of his late mother. So we both accepted each other's apologies, and began to think of what to do from now on.

But frankly to us, business going sour was nothing compared what we had already been though. Our store may have gone out of business but we could start over if we wanted to and had the means to do so. We weren't rich but we certainly weren't poor. Moreover, we had each other and to me that was worth everything.

Now that your father had run away from home, he didn't really have anywhere to go, so we invited him to stay with us. And expectedly, he said that he couldn't do that as he had burdened us enough already and didn't want to add to them. He had saved up quite a bit of money from working for us and elsewhere, so he would be staying somewhere else by finding a rental room to live in. We couldn't let him do that, and we insisted that he stay and come to Miyagi with us. We then explained that we had planned to move to Miyagi after my graduation from high school anyway and if he wanted to get away from his father, he would have a better chance of doing so if he was out of Tokyo.

And so, although we were leaving on bad terms, now that your father was with me, I found myself being able to smile through it all.

A few days later we moved away from Tokyo. Actually, my parents went to Miyagi ahead of time but we decided to take a few days to ourselves. We went to Fukushima to relax together for a few days before going to Miyagi. But we would learn much later that this little trip together would become the trigger for a series of heartbreaking events.

When we started our new life in Miyagi together, we started to work together in the farm and after a few years of hard work, we were able to buy a new house for ourselves in the mountain area. Yes… I mean our house; the one where you were born and raised in.

Shortly after our house was purchased, your father finally proposed, to my joy. So a few months later, we got married, and eventually had you a few years later. And so we had this new life together for nearly twenty years. And during those times, your father and grandfather didn't speak, or meet with each other at all. I had mixed feelings about this; while I was glad that no one was coming between us and your father anymore, I still felt guilty about not getting the approval from your grandfather about our marriage. But at the same time, discussing about it was out of the question, given your father's sensitivity when it came to his father. Whenever we saw you growing up, I wondered deep inside, whether your father was thinking about your grandfather; whether he even knew that your father and I were married now and had a daughter together, or whether he even cared anymore.

But we would find the answer to that question with time, as another set of events started to be set in motion.

Do you remember the event that happened when you were in your last year in high school, and you were preparing for your university entrance exam? It had happened about a month before you had to go Tokyo to take your exam. A thief had broken into our house when it had gotten dark and ransacked our house.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Continuing Suspense")

Both of us were out of the house while you had gone to bed early. But as you had testified, you woke up hearing some strange noises, so you went to investigate, only for you to confront the thief, who then proceeded to attack you. Then as if on cue, we had arrived back home only to hear the struggle between you and the thief taking place in the house. We both dashed upstairs to see what was going on and saw you trapped in the thief's grasp, struggling to free yourself. Your father recovered from the shock first and quickly went to your aid and tried to subdue the intruder, but he failed and the thief managed to escape the house.

After the thief got away, we had immediately called the police to have them investigate what had happened. But judging from the mess that he had made, we knew that he had taken a few things. But surprisingly, no money or anything valuable had been touched. All except a few things: some of the cassette tapes, not including the one your father had held onto as evidence against Kisaki's blackmailing had disappeared. So we deduced that the thief's main objective were the tapes.

The only people who knew of the tape's existence were most likely just us and probably people working for the Kisaki's. And frankly, since Kisaki or your grandfather hadn't bothered us for the last 20 years, we hadn't touched the tapes for a long time either. But if the tapes were most likely in their hands, there was no telling what they would do. So, we went to the police station to explain the situation to them and we were informed of a surprising fact: the company that was owned by Kisaki had gone bankrupt for years now and the Kisaki's except for Momoki had been arrested for numerous fraud charges.

And another thing was that one of their charges was fraud and document forgery in an attempt to take over your grandfather's company. And after a lengthy legal battle, the company managed stay in your grandfather's hands, but he soon stepped down from his position of president.

And although Momoki had been brought in for her own crimes, she managed to evade capture and was currently wanted by the police. And after going incognito, and possibly receiving a plastic surgery, the police believed that she had been frauding and scamming all over the country even uptil now, but were never able to catch her. But thanks to this incident, they said that they may be able to catch her this time.

After coming back from the police station, we discussed what we should do. Thinking that Kisaki may be onto us, we couldn't risk staying at our home until the situation had settled down. And after the break in, we thought that you wouldn't be able to concentrate in the house anyway, and you were very serious about the entrance exam as well. Besides, it wasn't like we could tell you that you could be in danger like that, not when you were preparing for something that you deemed so important. So, we decided that you should go to Tokyo when you were able to find a place to stay until the exam was over and you were excited to hear this. So a few days later, after the arrangements were made, you went to Tokyo.

Now that you were sent away and out of potential harm's way, we started to think about what we should do about the break in and the tapes. We stayed at one of our neighbor's home for a few weeks until the police investigation was over. They had offered to let us stay with them, so it was hard to turn their offer down because they were farmers and a friend of ours as well and so their house was relatively close to the farm too.

A few days after you had gone, the news of the break in had spread throughout the town. But soon after, several of our friends that lived in town told us of a rather troubling information: A suspicious looking man wearing a mask was asking around and gathering information about the swindling that was suspected to have been done by Kisaki in and nearby Miyagi quite recently. But what particularly alarmed us was that the man was also seemed to be investigating about us, as well as about the break in at our house. We thought that something serious was about to happen, so for the time being, we decided to lay low. Our friends and we would come back immediately after coming back from our work on the farm, as well as refrain from going outside unless it was absolutely necessary, and be certain to lock up all the doors and windows thoroughly.

A few weeks after that, your father and I were on our way back after working. We were walking down a darkened street with a few streetlamps shining down the road with nothing but rice paddies in the vicinity. Our friends had already went back home before us. It was a cold evening for winter was fast approaching. As we were walking back to our house, your father noticed that someone was following us. Thinking that it may be the thief that had ransacked our home, we thought about running away to call the police. Just as we were about to however, the tailer suddenly called out to us, using our names. But when he did, your father had suddenly stopped in his tracks. When I turned to him to ask what was wrong, I saw his face containing a combination of confusion, bewilderment, fury, and other emotions. He slowly turned around to see an old man with a mask covering his mouth. It was obvious that your father had recognized the stalker's voice. He then approached the old man who had tailed then called out to us and demanded him to take his mask off. And when he did, I was surprised to see that it was your paternal grandfather.

After recovering from our, or rather, my initial shock, we observed his state. And even though your father and I hadn't seen him for twenty years, we could both tell that time had not been kind to him. The man who stood before us was a stark contrast from the proud and well-dressed business man that I remembered. His hair had definitely whitened and face wrinkled from age, but something told us that it wasn't just age alone that contributed to his looks. His clothings were also not ones that I would have ever seen him wear. Instead of a high quality looking business attire, he was wearing rather casual clothes, but they looked a bit old.

After we finished observing your grandfather, your father finally recovered from the shock long enough to ask what he was doing here. I could already tell where this was going; his voice was laced with cold fury. Your grandfather hesitated to answer. As I approached where the two of them were, I saw my father-in-law's eyes; although he most likely didn't see me as his daughter-in-law, given our past together. As I read his eyes though, I saw that his eyes didn't contain anger or resentment but rather, they looked sad.

After a few moment of silence, he finally asked how the two of us had been. At this your father retorted coldly that he should know the answer, given what kind of position he had maintained for all this time. At this, he tried to explain to us what had happened to him to both of us but your father cut in, saying that he didn't need to explain and that we already knew everything, about what had happened to the Kisaki's; that they had attempted to fabricate evidence against him and to take over his company a few years after we had ran away, but after years of legally fighting and gathering evidence against them in the court, he had finally taken his company back. Sighing, he confirmed that what he had said about the Kisaki's was true.

At this, your father asked again coldly what he was doing here. At this, he finally answered that he had just wanted to see us. They hadn't seen each other for nearly 20 years because of their argument over the Kisaki's, and he admitted that your father was right all this time about the Kisaki's and that he should've listened to him when he had the chance. And he also wanted to apologize to me as well, for all the misunderstandings and harassments he and the Kisaki's had inflicted upon me and my family. While I was glad to hear that after all this time, his misunderstanding had been resolved, a question arose in my mind. Judging from what he was saying, it appeared that he had discovered the truth a long time ago, although I couldn't tell exactly when he had discovered the truth. If I had to guess, it would have had to be not long after the Kisaki's had started their attempts to take over the company, and that would have meant a few years after your father had left home. So if he really had known about this all those years ago, then why hadn't he tried to reach out to us sooner?

Then, your father voiced out exactly what I was thinking, although with a lot more anger in his voice. He had known the truth for nearly 17 or 18 years, and yet he had never once come looking for them, so why had he come now, after all this time, he asked. As your grandfather was about to answer, your father cut him off.

I had expected that in the event that your father and grandfather had met together, it wouldn't be easy for them to mend their relationship, especially now that it had been nearly 2 decades since they last saw or even contacted each other. And I was sure that this was one of the reasons that contributed to your father's oversensitivity when it came to his father, and in a not very good way.

He said that if he had thought that he would believe that he had come now just to see his face and apologize, he was gravely mistaken. He found it difficult to believe that the business man who cared and trusted nothing but his own self-esteem so much that he didn't trust his own son's warning and kept listening to the words of liars and swindlers, who would eventually shake up the company's very foundation.

At this, your grandfather again replied that he couldn't argue against that, but again, your father didn't allow him to finish his sentence. But what your father said next after cutting his father off a second time also caught me completely off guard.

He said that he would stop beating around the bush and get right to the point: was he the one that had sent the thief that had broken into our house.

Obviously he hadn't been expecting his son to ask that question, and honestly, neither was I. I was just as flabberghasted as he was at your father's accusation. After recovering, I asked him what he was talking about.

Your father then told me to think about this whole situation: a thief that stole the evidence against an active swindler that was Kisaki, and his father just appearing out of the blue, asking around Miyagi and gathering information about them and her, the timing of these two events were far too perfect to be a coincidence. The man that was asking around Miyagi about us had to be him. As I thought about it, it was true; the timing of the two events was too perfect. It all made sense.

So again, your father asked him if he had sent the thief or not. Although we had an ill-fated relationship, I still had hoped that he would say no. But to our shock and anger, after letting out a breath he had apparently been holding, he confirmed your father's suspicion.

Before I could completely process this information however, I heard a thud and looked to see your grandfather fall to the ground with his hand covering his mouth, which had swollen a bit and starting to bleed. Before he could do anything else, I tried to stop him, begging him to calm down, but he wouldn't listen. He had your grandfather by the collar and pinned him against a nearby telephone pole. I again tried in vain to calm your father down, but he ignored me and continued to interrogate him: What he was planning to do with those tapes, and why come to us now of all times.

Your grandfather finally answered, that he had nothing to say to defend himself and that we had every right to be angry at him; that he knew that saying that he was sorry would be of no comfort to us. But he said that he had to explain everything to us. And so he continued.

It was indeed him that had sent the thief to find the tapes and bring it to him, and he had specifically ordered the man to not touch anything but the tapes. He had found out about the existence of the tapes from the police, almost 15 years ago when Kisaki had been arrested for the first time for theft, she had accidently brought up the tape during the interrogation. At the time, the Kisaki's had started to take over his company, and Momoki was soon bailed out by her family.

And after a lengthy legal battle against them, he had finally won the case and the Kisaki's were arrested, all except for Momoki. And afterwords, Momoki went off the grid and underwent a plastic surgery and assumed several false identities to start a life as a swindler.

Determined to bring her down so that he could make amends for what he and the Kisaki's had done to us both, even after the legal battle, he pursued Kisaki and investigated fraud cases that we believed were done by Kisaki, with the help of several private detectives and lawyers. But even with their support, she was shrewd and cunning, so by the time we thought we had found a proper evidence to prove her as the culprit of those crimes, she covered her tracks well and had destroyed any evidence pointing to her involvement.

He had only wanted to put a stop to Kisaki's fraud streak once and for all. He knew that the means was wrong, but he felt that he needed to stop her as soon as possible. After all, if he had listened to your father, Kisaki may have been brought to justice much sooner. So, that was why he had sent someone he trusted to bring just the tapes, thinking that it could be used as evidence against her. Your father had tried to warn him about the Kisaki's; and that he should have listened.

He then again apologized for not beliving him all this time and that he was just so ashamed of himself that he just couldn't gather up the courage to face us because so much time had passed since our separation.

To this, your father cold-heartedly agreed; that it was too late for amends; not only for the fact that it took 20 years to even try to reach out for him, but also for the fact that he had the nerve to try and confront us after sending a thief to rob our house; that if he was going to reach out to me in such a manner, then it was better that he not reach out at all; that if he wanted to get those tapes, he should have just confronted me from the very start.

At this, his father started to look a bit furious. He tried to defend himself by saying that he had justified his action by explaining to us what he had been upto: to try and bring down Kisaki, contradicting his earlier statement.

At this, your father tightened his grip on his father's collar. It looked like he had finally lost his temper. He criticized him for his hypocrisy in a voice that was doing a very poor job of suppressing his anger, saying that even after all these years, he hadn't changed at all. When your grandfather attempted to retort back angrily, he bellowed, asking him if he knew just what that thief he had sent had done to you; his daughter.

This seemed to catch his attention, for his eyes widened and asked your father what he meant by that. It was then that your father finally revealed that the man he sent to retrieve the tapes had attacked you, and that we had arrived home just in time to see you pinned against the wall, struggling to free yourself and clearly frightened. He said he shuddered to think what would've happened if we hadn't arrived home in time to chase the thief away. He then dared your grandfather to say something to counter what he had just said. A horrified silence was the only response we received. From what I was seeing, I could only deduce that he truly had no idea that the thief had attacked you.

Your father then gave a hollow laugh; it was so emotionless and out of character of him that it was almost frightening to hear. He then started to say something: He couldn't believe that he had even bothered to hope that you would come to us and apologize honestly, and what was more, he dared to even show up after what that wretched thief did to you. It was only then that your grandfather finally said weakly that he was sorry. But your father didn't stop there. His voice at this point was audiably shaking.

He continued that although he himself was technically at fault as well for choosing not to visit your grandfather for years, his guilt far outweighed your fathers. How could he, his birth father do everything he had done to his own son, forcing his decisions down his throats, demanding that he obey everything he was told to do and controlling everything I did. What he did wasn't a father's action but that of a ruthless dictator.

But then, he said something that made us all even more uncomfortable: How could he act like such, when my parents and I, who weren't even related by blood; who he had constantly belittled and tormented had such an unbreakable bond with each other that it never even shook. How could he never act like even a fraction of how my parents acted?

(A/N: Play the OST: "Predestination" by Yasuharu Tanakashi)

I could see a lone tear fall down his cheek when he finished his rant. His breathing was frequent and rough. I wanted to stop him, but I couldn't even bring myself to move at the time. I could do nothing but watch this dreaded scene unfold.

Your father finally let go of your grandfather's collar. Both of their expressions remained unchanged: fury and resentment for your father and horror, sadness and regret for your grandfather.

Your father finally spoke up once again, albeit in a much quieter voice this time: In the past, he had overlooked his father's wrongdoings for his late mother's sake. But this would be the last time he would show him such clemency. He said that he would turn a blind eye to him sending the thief to get his hands on the tape this one last time. He didn't care anymore about what his father would do to the tapes, or about Kisaki; that whether he manages to catch her or not was no longer any of our concern. He would do all of this for him one last time as his father's son, but in return, he demanded that he never appear before him or me ever again.

Your grandfather started to apologize again, but before he could finish, your father bellowed at him to just leave before he changed his mind and get out of our lives. With this, he took off running towards the road. Your grandfather called out your father's name, but your father never turned back and kept running. I too called out, begging him to come back, which he ignored as well.

I took a look at your grandfather, looking obviously devastated. I was at a loss for words; all kinds of mixed emotions were fighting inside me for domination. Deciding not to let my emotions control me, I quickly looked away from him, and muttered: "I'm sorry." Even I couldn't tell who I was saying that to: myself, your father, or the sad old man in front of me.

Deciding that your father needed me now more than anyone, I left your grandfather behind below the streetlamp to go after your father.

Neither of us was able to sleep a wink that night.

After the more than unpleasant encounter with him, what followed were days of drinking frenzy for your father. After moving back to our house, since we no longer had to worry about the thief coming back, your father spent the majority of his time away from home and work.

Everyday, our neighbors and friends would carry him back to our house, reeking of alcohol every time. It was heartbreaking to see your father in such a state, as he had never been upset enough to drank to such extents before.

But it was apparent that his drinking did little good to settle his grudge down. Even when unconscious from being drunk, I would hear him moan that he would never forgive him; never.

This continued for about a week or two, but soon we realized that we didn't know everything about your grandfather as we had originally thought.

After about 2 weeks had passed after the fight with your grandfather had passed, your father finally decided to stop drinking away his anger. But it was like he was trying to forget what had happened. I knew I couldn't just let this be. We had done exactly that when we eloped 20 years ago, only for the problem to find its way back to us and leave behind only bad memories. I knew that if we didn't solve this problem once and for all, then it would only come back to haunt us once again. But seeing how upset your father was, approaching him about this problem was no easy task at all.

As I was contemplating on how to have this talk with him, we received a visit from someone that we never expected to see.

I still remember how surprised I was when I saw that the man who used to be your grandfather's secretary had come to our house. I remember seeing him a few times before, interacting with both your father and grandfather. He was even present during the banquet in which we were framed as thieves 20 years ago; that was the last time I had seen him. He had always adored your father, even when he was young, always referring to him as 'young master'.

He said that it was imperative that he see the young master. Even though your father was technically no longer a young master anymore, he still called him that. Of course, I hesitated in letting the man into our house; after all it was obvious of what he was trying to talk about to your father. But at the same, I thought that this just may be a chance to get through to your father. So, deciding to stomach a potential shouting and nagging match, I let him come into our house and called your father.

Expectedly, your father had mixed feeling about the secretary coming to visit. Although he was glad to see him, at the same time, he was displeased because he didn't even have to guess why he had come. He said that he didn't want to hear anything more about his father or whatever he had been upto for the last 20 years, so he wanted the secretary to leave at once.

It took some convincing, but in the end, your father finally decided to listen to what the former secretary had to say. And so, after sitting down in the living room, he started his explanation.

As we had expected, he was indeed here to explain to us about his former superior.

To start off, he said to your father that he had to understand, in the last 20 years, the president had been through so much.

Then he stated that he explain to us what exactly had happened.

Then he asked us when we had left Tokyo not long after our graduation from high school, if we had missed our bus that was scheduled to leave the bus terminal in Tokyo to go to the Fukushima prefecture, before going to Miyagi.

We were very surprised to hear that he knew of this. We had planned to take a trip together to Fukushima before going to Miyagi to join our parents there. After all, Fukushima was right beside Miyagi, and was also between Tokyo and Miyagi.

But the thing was, your father had misread the departure time on the bus ticket that we had bought, which lead us to missing the bus, much to my annoyance and his repeated apology. So, we had to take another bus a few hours later. But this had happened years ago. What did that small incident have anything to do with where we were now?

Then the secretary revealed a surprising fact: the bus that we originally should have gotten on had gotten into a huge accident. The bus had run off the road when a car driven by a reckless driver had gotten in front of the bus, forcing the bus driver to evade quickly, which in turn capsized the bus and had it heading towards a curve. The bus had been running on the highway, so even the curve was unable to stop the bus from falling away from the road.

The bus fell to the forest below and caught on fire. The driver who caused the accident had fled the scene, fearing for the responsibility. And by the time the accident was discovered by another passerby, the bus had been completely ablaze and by the time the firefighters and police arrived at the scene, the bus was in a complete inferno.

When the firefighters managed to put out the fire, they investigated together with the police and determined that none of the passengers who were in that bus had made it out alive. They tried to identify the bodies, but all of the passenger's remains were badly burned and their belongings had been destroyed in the fire as well, making it nearly impossible to identify them.

Hearing this unexpected information, the two of us were at a loss for words. Our minds were already starting to piece together the given information. But the secretary beat us to it before we could voice our conclusion.

He asked your father if he had never wondered why it was that the president had never attempted to reach out to us for such a long time. It wasn't because he didn't care; it was because everyone, including your him had thought that we were also aboard that bus and believed all this time that we had perished from that accident, and that he had no doubt that if he knew that you were alive all this time, he would have tried to find you.

We both sat where we were, absolutely thunderstruck. We never had the faintest idea that anything of the sort had happened.

Come to think of it, both of us had fallen asleep on the bus ride to Fukushima, so we must have missed the scene of the accident because of that. But this piece of information was merely the tip of the iceberg.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Tears for You")

The secretary continued his explanation. Needless to say, after learning of our supposed death, your grandfather was devastated. He could still remember his boss pretending like nothing was wrong; like he didn't care.

But the truth was that was all just a façade. For months, he had wept alone for losing your father, away from the judgmental eyes of others. So much that the secretary had lost count of the number of times he had done so.

But unbeknownst to them at the time, while everyone especially your grandfather was busy grieving for the loss, the Kisaki's were taking advantage of the distraction to start to take over the company. And by the time he had managed to calm down enough, things had already taken a turn for the worst. They had forged documents and bribed the company officials to turn them against the president.

Their methods in doing so were so meticulous that we had no idea of their betrayal until it was too late.

They had only started to realize that something was wrong when some of the company's important documents had gone missing, only to later learn that they were in the hands of the people working with the Kisaki's. So needless to say, the president was shocked to learn of this. He had barely managed to overcome his grief of losing your father at the time and more so that the people he had trusted and helped comfort him during his period of mourning had backstabbed him like they did.

But that was the least of his worries. Only a day after the revelation of their betrayal, the police came to arrest the president, who informed them that they had evidence of fraud and theft against him, given to them by none other than the Kisaki's. Of course, the evidence was fabricated.

This case soon went to court and your grandfather and the legal team worked hard to keep the company from falling into the Kisaki's hands. But unfortunately, the case was lost, and as a result, your grandfather had to spend about 10 years in prison.

Even during your grandfather's time in prison, the secretary and his legal advisors visited him countless times, trying to find a way to get him out of prison, as well as clear his name by finding the evidence that proved the Kisaki's were the guilty ones. But he had always told them not to; that this was his punishment for not believing your father's words sooner, and for everything he had done to the both of us. He always lamented that he not only lost his wife but now his son as well, all because of his arrogance.

When we heard this, I don't think that being shocked was an adequate way of explaining how we felt at the time. But the surprises didn't stop there for the secretary continued.

It was only 10 years later, after your grandfather was released from prison that evidence of the Kisakis' guilt began to surface. What was more was that the company's stock prices as well as its public image was at an all time low, because of rumors that the company officials accepted bribes from other companies for cheaper but lower quality ingredients for company's products. And speaking of ingredients, at the time when your grandfather was released, numerous consumers were complaining that the company put food additives into our products which were known to be unhealthy, and some of the people were even hospitalized from food poisoning from eating their products. And if that wasn't enough, several strikes had already happened at the company by the employees. They were extremely unhappy that they had to work overtime almost every day and receive no compensation. To top that off, the company itself faced several lawsuits from some of its employees of abusive superiors. Simply put, the company was heading towards bankruptcy.

As soon as the president was informed of the company's critical situation, he, along with the secretary, started to gather evidence with the help of private detectives as well as a few of his old colleagues who had believed in his innocence even after all this time. And in due time, the Kisakis' grip on the company faltered. And with the evidence they discovered against them brought to the court, they were finally able to clear the president's name as well as incarcerate the Kisaki's, with the exception of Momoki, who was briefly in police custody, but was able to find a way to release herself. She was facing numerous fraud related charges; ones that were irrelavent to the company, but was ultimately released due to lack of evidence. But the good news was, the president's reputation was restored and was compensated generously by the court for his time spent in prison.

The company was finally free from the corrupt hands of the Kisaki's, and had to go through a massive reorganization. Several high officials were replaced with new ones for their dirty business practices, and formal apology statements were made official. But a tarnished reputation was not something that could be mended so easily. So, the new company officials asked your grandfather to become the president of the company once again.

But it was clear that even after 10 years, the supposed death of your father still haunted him, for he refused, saying that he wanted to be left alone, and couldn't bear to suffer through another loss like that. How could he, someone who led his own son to his death, deserve to call himself a leader? How could he protect a company and its people, when he failed to protect his own family, he had asked them. He had never said a word about it, but the secretary could tell that he had suffered greatly in prison, not from any physical torture, but from his own sense of guilt. The prison guards had informed the secretary that during his time in prison that he had attempted suicide several times. He clearly blamed himself for what he believed had happened to the two of us.

It took a lot of time to convince him, but after a few months, after repeatedly convincing him to accept what had happened, and move on from the past, he finally accepted his position back as the president. The secretary truly believed that he accepted his reinstatement because he wanted to be able to face his son again when the time came for him to leave this world.

As he started working again as the president, the company started to regain the reputation that it had lost over the years, slowly but surely. It looked like things were starting to finally look up for him. But it wasn't to be.

Only a few years after his reinstatement, he had suddenly been rushed to the hospital after coughing up blood, only to be diagnosed with cancer, and the discovery was quite late. By the time it was discovered, it had already progressed dangerously. So, he was once again forced to step down from the position and retire to take care of his health. The secretary had always felt that although the Kisaki's betrayal and his time in prison had contributed to his ill health, his grief of losing his son was the biggest instigator, more than anything else.

We were, for the umpteenth shocked to hear the detail. Your grandfather had suffered to the point of becoming ill, and we had absolutely no clue of it until now. But the shock didn't stop there; the secretary was far from finished.

So, after stepping down from his position once again, although this time he was given a warm and proper farewell by the employees. After stepping down, he set out on a journey for himself. He started to travel throughout the country, as well as abroad to see the world outside of just Japan; a journey of redemption if you will. The secretary visited your grandfather from time to time whenever he returned to Tokyo to rest from his journey. Although he requested to him numerous to just stay in Tokyo to relax and recuperate, he always answered that he had never been more at ease than he was now. After letting go of all of his obsessions and seeing the world with his own eyes, he was finally starting to understand why your father felt so frustrated being in their home. After the death of his wife, the distance between him and your father had grown to the point of loathing, ultimately leading to this whole incident. He sought to make amends for everything he did.

But about a year before we met your grandfather once again, when he was in Tokyo for one of his rests from his trip, his health took another turn for the worst. Although he wasn't stressed out anymore as he had no work to do anymore, and traveling was his way to relax and rest, it was clear that it did little to help his illness. When he was taken to the hospital after suddenly collapsing, the doctor declared that he had at most 2 or 3 years left to live; that there was nothing they could do about his health anymore.

If your father didn't look indifferent before, he sure was now. I could see all kinds of mixed emotion from him from hearing this load of information.

The secretary was shocked to hear the doctor's sentence, but your grandfather looked as if he had been expecting it. He said that he would have to make his remaining time meaningful. Then afterwards, true to his words, although he never traveled again anymore, he still made sure to make his days meaningful. He started by making donations to various charity groups he believed would be a good cause. Even though death was near him now, he looked even more at ease.

But not long after the declaration that he didn't have much time left, he received information and clues about the whereabouts of a notorious con artist, who went by numerous aliases. At this point, she was responsible for dozens of scams and fraud so that she was wanted by the authorities with a large bounty on her capture. But we were soon able to find out that that scammer was the still elusive Kisaki Momoki. At first, the secretary thought that he was trying to find evidence to catch her, but to his surprise, he intended to have a talk with her. He didn't understand why he just didn't turn her over to the police; after all, she was wanted across the country.

(A/N: Play the OST: "No Way")

When they did manage to meet her, expectedly, she was not at all pleased to see them. She had also changed her appearance through plastic surgery, so we couldn't recognize her at all. When they started talking, the president urged her to turn herself in. He was giving her this chance for redemption because although it was short lived, she was to become his daughter-in-law. But the only response we received from her was a cruel laugh and insulting words towards us; that your father only got what he deserved for siding with me over her. This blatant insult towards us two, who of course, were believed to be dead by everyone, enraged both the secretary and your grandfather.

Swallowing their anger, they tried a few more times to convince her to turn herself in, but this only resulted in more insulting words, such as she would've received all the money from his family, if only I hadn't gotten in the way and seduced him. Finally having enough, your grandfather decided to leave. Not only did she throw away her last chance for redemption, her utter disrespect towards us finally pushed him over the edge. There was no longer any point in staying.

Before leaving though, he snarled at her, saying that it was a good thing that your father never did get married to her; if he had, he would've sentenced him to a miserable life and he may not have even known about it, at least until it was too late. He just wished that he had just accepted me and your father as a couple sooner, or we would still be there with him. He also swore that he would do whatever it took to bring her down, even if it costs him is life; that it was the last thing he could do for your father, and for me as well. Seeing this, she only gave a scoff, asking how a frail and sick old man like him, who could die at any moment and have nothing left, could stop her. She would love to see him try, she added.

After this infuriating encounter, they started to gather evidence to prove that Kisaki was the scammer that was on the loose. Although they did make some progress, it wasn't enough to bring her in.

But then, only a few weeks ago from when we had met your grandfather, one of the workers who was close to him had called him urgently, saying that he had something very important to tell him. When he did, he told them a piece of information that shocked them very much. He was in Miyagi to visit his relatives, but in the process, he passed by your father and I when we were out in the markets. Unable to believe his eyes, he had followed us home secretly and saw us with you. He realized that he wasn't hallucinating; that we had been alive all this time.

Both the secretary and your grandfather were very surprised to hear this and immediately came to Miyagi and to our house, and they saw for themselves that we were indeed alive. He was overjoyed to see that we were alive, and to see that we were happy together. But seeing us like that made him wonder if he even had the right to intervene. After all, we had gotten to where we were even without his help. If only he hadn't been so stubborn and had known Kisaki's true colors when he had brought in that tape…

But then, the secretary thought of something. Kisaki had mentioned a tape that was in your father's possession. It must have been the tape that he had tried to get your grandfather to listen to on the day he ran away. Kisaki must have been desperate to get her hands on the tape at the time, and could possibly still want to get rid of anything that could become evidence against her. Although she had done a good job of hiding it at the time they had met her, he could tell that she was desperate and paranoid. So he suggested to him that they meet him and ask for the tapes. But your grandfather wasn't very keen on the idea. Although he was glad to see us alive and well, if they showed up and asked us for the tape shortly after they meet for the first time in 20 years, your father may have the wrong idea about his purpose in visiting us. So the solution was to secretly get the tapes by hiring someone he knew. And that was indeed the thief that had broken into our house when you were alone in it. But of course, not only did he fail to obtain the desired tape, he had put our whole family on alert.

It was at this point that your father cut him off sharply asking him if he had known about it, to which he said yes. He wouldn't try to excuse himself for what had happened; he just wanted to bring Kisaki Momoki in chains for her insolence. So we allowed him to continue.

It was then that your grandfather had finally decided to confront us. But now, his condition was getting worse. So he decided that he would no longer try to get the tapes; he just wanted to see his son one more time before his time was up. So he was prepared for the worst: he didn't expect any kind of forgiveness from us; that he didn't deserve it. He would take all the blame and resentment we still had against him.

And then he started to explain what had happened a week ago. After the confrontation we had with your grandfather, he lamented that he had suddenly let his anger get the better of him as well; when we were talking, a sudden thought had invaded his mind: 'I had thought that you were dead, but clearly you knew that I was still alive. So why did you never even try to reach out all this time? Was that just too much to ask?' He said that he regreted saying those words almost immediately they came out of his mouth, but it was too late. He had only left behind bad memories for his last time seeing his son.

But sadly, perhaps it was because of our encounter, but your grandfather was hospitalized again in a general hospital in Miyagi with another relapse. He had been there ever since the day after our encounter.

(A/N: Play the OST: "In Your Past")

Your father couldn't take it anymore. He tried adamantly to deny everything he had heard; that the secretary was lying just to make him feel sympathy towards your grandfather. But at this, the secretary handed us your grandfather's diary. It confirmed everything the secretary had told us. He truly was sorry for everything that had happened.

Your father finally stopped restraining himself at this point; he wept bitterly. All this time, he had thought that his father never visited because he never cared; it was all a huge misunderstanding.

I was crying too. But then I remembered that the secretary had said that your grandfather's time was very limited. If that was so, we had to see him off. So we went to the hospital he was at with heavy hearts.

I didn't even have to look at your father's face to know that he was just as horrorstruck as I was when we were informed of his imminent death. I knew what he must have been feeling then: shock and more obviously, regret. During his journey to where he was, your father's expression never changed.

When we arrived at the hospital, we already knew that we were not going to like what we would face, but… it was worse than what we were expecting. When we arrived, the doctor informed us that he was currently undergoing a surgery, but in his current condition, his probability of survival was extremely low and that it was probably best to start preparing themselves.

Although there were plenty of past events that contributed to their ill-fated relationship for the two, they were still father and son.

As we waited outside the operation room, your father kept blaming himself; that he shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like he did; that he shouldn't have always assumed the worst about him. He wondered how he was going to face him now.

To this, I encouraged him to go and see him. After all, it would most likely be his last moments. I told him that if he chose not to see him now, then he would later come to regret it. Besides, if he saw that his son had forgiven him at last, then at least he would have no regrets anymore.

To make my point in this clear, I had to tell him of how my birth parents passed away. I was there beside them the moment they died, and although I was still a young child back then, the memory would still haunt me for as long as I live. I had said a lot of things I wanted to say to them before it was their time, may they be bringing up happy, sad, or angry moments that we had together. And although it was sad and painful to bring them up to my dying mother and father, but in the end, I was glad that I had done it, because if I hadn't done so, I knew I would have regretted it. So if he didn't want this moment to be anymore regretful than it had to be, then he should be with him for his last moments. Your father finally listened and when the surgery was over, we went to his room to wait until he woke up.

(A/N: Play the OST: "At Our Parting")

When we entered his room, we were shocked. We knew that he was on deathbed, but he had gotten even paler and thinner than the last time we had seen him. About an hour later, he woke up and was surprised to see us in the room with him. As soon as he saw that his father was awake, your father wasted no time in going beside him.

He tried speaking after a few pained coughs. It was obvious that his life was hanging by the thread at this point. Your father proceeded to tell him that he was sorry and tried to explain himself, but in response, your grandfather said that there was no need for him to be sorry; in fact he should be the one to apologize. He admitted that he had been too stubborn and too forceful. Looking at how we were living right now, he wished that he had just accepted our relationship back then. After all, even without fame or fortune, he could now see that we were indeed happy.

Looking back for the last twenty years, there were so many things he regretted doing. But at least now, he was given the chance to fully reconcile with his one and only son, so he now had no regrets anymore.

He then requested just one more thing; to me specifically: to continue to be by your father's side, and by your side; to continue to do what he had failed to do because of his ambitions, and to try not to have a fight with you big enough that would result in you leaving us, like what had happened between him and your father. And lastly, although it was late, he congradulated us on our marriage. I was glad that he had finally accepted us. Even though it was 20 years late, and not under the best of circumstances, I was still gratified.

Seconds after he finished those words, he passed away. I had known your father for a long time, but I had never seen him grieve like he did then. I honestly can't tell you how much he wept …

Then, a few days after your grandfather passed away, you called us, telling us that you had passed the enterance exam for the university that you had been dreaming to get into. And fortunately, your graduation would be held in the next week, only a day after the funeral, so we decided to finish the funeral and then head straight to Tokyo for your graduation ceremony.

A few days after your grandfather passed away, the secretary handed a few documents to us, which turned out to be deeds as well as insurance money. We were surprised to see that he had prepared this on such short notice, considering that it hadn't been long that he found out that we were still alive. He said that it was your grandfather's last will to give everything to us and our family.

Frankly at the time, we were struggling a bit financially to prepare money for your university fee. But with the money provided by your grandfather, you would be able to walk down the path you would want. I was grateful and so was your father that he had given you a chance to shine in the real world.

When we arrived to meet you at Tokyo, I remember you complaining after your graduation that your father and I looked a bit spaced out. But at the time, your father still hadn't gotten over his grief and wasn't ready to disclose what had really happened, so we had to gloss over it.

After your graduation, using the money that your grandfather had passed on to us, we were able to safely pay for your university tuition. Seeing you get excited in such a long time was truly a consoling sight; it was just what we needed after such an event. After all, you being a more serious person, it was a rare sight to see.

So, staying true to what your grandfather asked us to do, we decided to respect your decisions and just observe you. And frankly, there was nothing more we could do for you when you would leave for university but to root for you.

And we continued to watch you for the next few years as you made it through university with top grades and quickly rise through your career.

We thought that we could keep our promise to your late grandfather with no problem, but our promise was put to the test on the day when you brought Shouzou to us to introduce him to us. A few years after you started working in Tokyo, you told us over the phone that you were dating a young man that you met in university.

I'm sure that you and Shouzou remember that day as much as we do. As you remember, I was curious to meet Shouzou, but as for your father, he was very skeptical about your relationship.

So when the day came that the two of you came to our house, and we started talking and asking Shouzou about himself. After it was over, we discussed our opinions about your relationship together, discussing our opinions outloud: while I approved of your relationship together, your father was strongly against it.

It was then that you barged into our room, having overheard our conversation. You then asked us why he opposed their relationship. Then your father had asked whether you truly had feelings for him, or just approached him because of his family background. Of course, you answered the former, but your father had his doubts, judging from your strong desire to earn a career that others wouldn't be able to look down upon eversince you were small, and the money that would be needed for that, he though that you were just using Shouzou for your own career's stepping stone.

And because of that, an argument broke out between you two. I tried in vain to stop the argument, but it quickly escalated to both of your boiling points. With your father believing that you were pursuing a relationship with Shouzou solely for his money and you telling him not to interfere with her plans for her future; that marriage and relationships were just parts of one's career too. And, although I didn't want to admit it, your father had a point. I had a good first impression of Shouzou, but I too didn't want you to pursue relationship based purely on money either. After all, both your father and I had seen what kind of results that brought, if the incident with your grandfather was any indication. Plus, judging from your answer then, I'm quite sure that it reminded your father of Kisaki, who by the way was arrested a few months after your grandfather's funeral. And I'm sure that was part of the reason that he was so angry at the time; believing that his own daughter was behave like one of the people that he hated so much.

But of course, you, having no idea of what your father was thinking, just thought that we were just trying to discourage you out of petty jealousy. And then, having had enough, your father had shouted at you to get out of his sight; that he didn't remember raising you to be such a greedy person. You and I both were stunned at his words. I tried to dissuade him, but you immediately left the house with Shouzou, obviously in distress.

I rebuked your father for losing his temper like he did. It took him a while to calm down, and when he did, I reminded him of the promise that we made to his father before he died; that we wouldn't allow the same thing that happened between them to happen to our family, and that if he does nothing now, he would be making the same mistake that his father made. This seemed to knock some sense into him, as he seemed to regret his actions.

He was just scared that you would go down the path that his father had chosen, so he wanted to stop that above anything else. But now that he thought about it, looking at how he lost his temper so easily at the first thought of suspicion, and not even bothering to see things from your point of view, he stated that he was in no position to lecture you.

Fortunately, soon enough, Shouzou had called telling us that he would try and talk to you and after a few days, the two of you came back to start over. Although he didn't say so at the time, I'm sure he was grateful to Shouzou, for preventing another family breakup under his watch.

Thus, as you remember, after discussing for a few moments and letting each other know what we were thinking, both of you asked us to allow them to be together. And after the discussion, tension had died down abit between us. Since your father had thought that your relationship was strictly business and career oriented he couldn't accept it, but you on the other hand thought that he was acting on petty jealousy.

So the solution we came up with was allowing you two to be together for a couple of months and see for ourselves whether you two truly cared for each other and if we deemed that it was so, he would allow you to make future decisions for yourselves.

And during those times, your father kept a close eye between you two, especially Shouzou, but watching your interaction, he deemed that you two were indeed a right match. And after spending some time with him to get to know him better, he started to like Shouzou more and more. With a more open heart, he started trying to see things from your point of view, and that had certainly helped him understand you two, as well as judge Shouzou more carefully. Then, about a year after you introduced Shouzou to us, your father finally accepted you. I still remember how happy the two of you were, finally being accepted as a couple. Since the Yuuki's had already approved of you, your father was your only stumbling block for your relationship to be fully accepted, so it was no wonder that you were happy. And seeing you two that way, even we couldn't help but smile.

And as time passed, you eventually asked permission for your marriage, and both of our families were ecstatic to hear it. Then as time went by, after your marriage, Kouichirou and Asuna came. Watching your family grow, as well as both of your works going well, we couldn't be happier for you two.

Although that meant that you two couldn't come to Miyagi very often, it still gladdened us to see you living your dreams.

Kyouko, by now you may be wondering now of why I've been telling you of these things. It was because I don't want the tragedy that happened between your father and grandfather to be repeated.

(A/N: Play the OST: "Trying to Understand")

All parents can say that everything they do is for their children, and they think that they mean it. But they have to understand that repeatedly forcing their decision upon them without having them understand the reasons behind the things they do will only serve to suffocate them. This is especially true when it involves the children's love life.

You've said before that marriage is a part of one's career, and that can be true to some degree, but even so, if a couple is married purely for the sake of business or money, then I can say without a doubt that only a bleak and unhappy future await them. A marriage without love and trust is doomed to end in misery for both sides. Your father is a witness to this statement. Had he accepted the arranged marriage his father had set for him out of greed for profit, he knew he would have regretted it. Even though admittedly, not having a steady flow of money was inconvenient to say the least, choosing each other over empty riches is a decision your father and I will never regret. And I hope you and Shouzou feel the same as well for Kouichirou and Asuna.

Now I know that you care for both Kouichirou and Asuna, and I know that you especially worry for Asuna, seeing that she's been through more dangerous situations than a child her age should have to go through, but I think that you should loosen up a bit when it comes to her.

There were times when Kouichirou and Asuna came over to Miyagi, they told us about you. But I could see that as time passed, although they love and respected you, they seemed to be growing frustrated and tired at the same time, especially Asuna. Although I trust you to be able to judge what's best for them both, let me remind you: a parent's job is to be guides and advisors for their children as they live through life. If they coerce them to do things that they hate, like forcing them to marry someone so that it would bring profit or reputation for their family, it could look like a happy marriage, but chances are, that happiness is only a shell.

Not only that, if your children do not like the partner you seem to like, I implore you to try and understand them instead of just forcing your decision upon them.

And on that note, if you wish to judge someone that you find to be suitable as a potential partner for your children, then the advise I would have to give you is to look beneath the obvious; to not judge the people you meet solely by their family background or ethnicity, but to judge them by their words, actions, beliefs and whether they truly care for your children and not who their parents are.

So for whatever reason, when a disagreement breaks out between you and Kouichirou or Asuna, be sure to tell them of what you feel and also understand why they feel so opposed whatever you argue over. If you always act one-sidedly towards them, then I fear that they would start resenting you and Shouzou, like how your father resented your grandfather, and like how you once did to your father.

Obsessedly pursuing fame and fortune and taking proper care for your family; these two aren't something that can be done at the same time. There may be a time where you have to choose one over the other; there may be a time when situation forces you to decide which is more important: fortune or family. As a parent, I leave that decision to you. But please don't deceive yourself by saying that you want to have the fame and fortune for your family. What your family truly needs before fame and fortune is love, trust, and care. If you put money or reputation before that, well, I don't think I need to explain any further on that.

Now, I can't tell you how to be happy or successful, nor can you tell that your children. That's something that one must discover for oneself. Even if you have a way of thinking, there are no guarentees that your children will share your exact thoughts just because you are parent and child. But, if you continue to support them and respect their decisions on what they believe is the path for them, I'm sure that with time, your family will be able to understand each other better than you could have ever imagined.

I hope that the two of you keep what I've told you in mind and continue to live towards a life with no regrets.

Kyouko, even now, you still remain as the center of my and your father's thoughts. So I can only pray that you raise your family and be happy like you promised us you would be.

Shouzou, you've done everything in your power to continue to support Kyouko as well as Kouichirou and Asuna. So please, keep what I wrote in this letter in mind and continue to help and support them when they need it. With the two of you working together to achieve this, I believe that your family will be able to be truly happy together.

We will continue to pray for the both of you and your family's future.

With love always.

Your mother.


(A/N: Play the OST: "Is This Love?" - The ORIGINAL pitched version can also be found in the SAO Music Collection)

Kyouko tried to say something, but she discovered that her throat had closed up and could only choke in response.

Her hands were shaking violently while still holding her mother's letter. Soon, tears were falling onto the letter, smudging the ink.

"Mother…" Kyouko croaked, barely managing to form the word in her mouth.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…!" She wept, with all her pride and dignity forgotten. As she continued crying, her husband held her, drying her tears with no words spoken.

When her crying and hiccupping became less and less frequent, Shouzou finally spoke up.

"Dear, listen to me. Now that you seem to understand your mother's words, promise me. When Kouichirou comes back with Asuna, and I know that he will, let's set everything down and apologize to them. Let's start by giving them the trust they deserve, like your parents did for you. What do you say?" Shouzou offered softly.

Kyouko stayed silent for a minute, gathering her thoughts through her tears. Eventually, she responded.

"Mmm…" She nodded. Shouzou smiled at this, becoming a bit misty-eyed himself.

He held onto her as she continued to cry out her emotions. But at least now, there was still hope that their family would come back to them. All they could do now was to wait and pray for the best.

Out in the window, the sun had fully risen in the sky, brightening the hospital room.


A/N: There we go… The long letter is finally over. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. The events in this letter were inspired from quite a bit of Korean dramas I've watched, but it was also inspired from a character from another anime who was also born in a rich family, had problems with her father and her mother had passed away. Can you try and guess who this character is from which anime? Leave your guess on the review or PM me.

Here are a few hints: 1) One of the OST's used in this chapter.

2) Cherami Leigh

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter will focus back to Kouichirou and Asuna as they travel to Miyagi together.

Please leave a review or PM me of what your opinions.

Yours truly, KiritoIRL.