Title: Choices
Author: Kulia Makani
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Sera Muun characters do not belong to me.
AN: I want to thank my Editor Inaecis and ASMR Beta-readers All
suggestion will be welcome.


~*~*~*~*~*~
One foot after another, Saffiru began to pull himself up the tree after
his big brother. His small eight-year-old hand reached for the next
branch, while he crawled up on the tree at a snail's pace. The tree
was a couple of feet high off from ground and up at the top sat an old
worn wooden tree house, where Demando and his friend Rubeus
stood watching him.
"Come on slow poke!" The short red hair boy shouted from the top.
"Come on, Saffiru!" Demando said.
Saffiru quickly began moving up and no longer was cautious. His
hands moved from one branch after another while his feet followed.
He reached the bottom of the tree house in no time and he reached
out with his chubby hands to the base. Saffiru slowly pulled himself
up, until his leg slipped and couldn't find another branch to stand
upon. Demando quickly grabbed one of his small hands, trying to
pull him up to the tree house before he lost his gripped. Rubeus
grabbed the hand and both boys pulled Saffiru on top the tree house.
"Thanks Demando" Saffiru looked up to his brother face with
adoration.
"Dad would kill me if you broke your arm." Demando dusted
himself and went into the house, while Saffiru sat out in the spot that
he landed at.
~*~*~*~*~*~

Saffiru walked through the building toward his office in the back.
He picked up the top folder on his desk from his private investigator.
Opening the folders, his eyes scanned Tsukino family background
and rested on her current status.

~Tsukino-san is having trouble in her current relationship with
Chiba-san ~

He continued to stare frustrated at the sentence. Tossing the papers
on his desk, he departed toward the elevator. Slowly his face became
as emotionless as everyone expects from him. Stepping off the
elevator toward the offices, he passed Esmeraude who was hard at
work talking on the telephone. Demando stood behind his desk
going through a stack of pictures in his hands.
"Nice to see you again, Saffiru," Demando quickly put the pictures
in his first dresser.
"What's wrong?" Saffiru narrowed at his face before moving the
direction his hands went with some pictures. "You look like
something bothering you."
"Nothing at all," Demando denied, sitting down into his chair.
"Actually yes, I wanted to ask you question about -"
"Tsuki-san, we need you for a second in the office," a person
interrupted through the intercom.
"I'll be right back," Demando exited the room.
Saffiru's eyes return to the drawer. He kept rising and sitting before
walking behind the desk and opening the drawer. His eyes widened
and narrowed as he looked through picture after picture of Usagi
talking to friend or Usagi walking to work. Putting the pictures back
into the drawer, He ran his hand through his hair and felt his jaw
tighten. Saffiru stood there staring straight ahead.
"It's almost a repeat of the last time," Saffiru muttered, moving back
to his sit.
"Now, you can tell me what do you want." Demando walked through
the room toward his desk, "You look grimmer then usual, Saffiru."
Saffiru waited until Demando was sit before asking, "How much are
you involve in Tsukino-san's life?" He paused before continuing,
"There are certain limits that must not be crossed."
"What do you mean?" Demando gripped the desk with his hand.
"How long have you stalked her?"
"I have never stalked her!" Demando said calmly, "Where do you get
this notion from?"
"Tsukino-san relationship to Chiba-san is in trouble," Saffiru
explained.
"Which doesn't necessary means that I'm stalking her."
"What about the pictures in your drawer?" Saffiru questioned
"Saffiru, leave it alone!"
"How long have you stalked her?"
"Saffiru, you've forgotten, whom you are talking to," Demando said
with his voice on edge, "I won't hear this conversation again. You
have work to do. I suggest you go back to work."
"As you wish, Demando," Saffiru rose from his sit and headed back
toward his office. He could never go against his brother that is five
years his senior. For all his life, he worshiped his brother and did
what ever his brother needed.

"Do you have a point to your visit, Ayakashi-san?" Saffiru walked
into this office to Petz sitting on the edge of his desk.
"You can call me Petz, Saffiru-san."
"I just prefer for you to get off my desk," He walked to his chair.
"Is there anything else you prefer me to do?" Petz said, "Wait! I
don't think; I want to know the answer. Before I go, you used the
wrong equation in a problem. If you were much nicer, I might tell
you what equation."
"I already rechecked the math several times. What did I overlook?'
Saffiru leaned in the chair facing her.
"Let just say heat transfer and leave it at that. The products will over
heat due to air flood and math that you seem to have overlooked.
Our college majors goes mostly through the same classes except I
had more software engineering class and you had more electrical
engineering classes."
"So my math is flawed, " Saffiru allowed small smile to show on his
face, "You really should check the design over, when you are invited
to look through. Now leave my office, Ayakashi-san!"
"Don't miss me too much, " She blew a kiss toward him before
exiting the room.
"What a weird day," Saffiru muttered to himself before going
through his files.

~*~*~*~*~*~
His father eyes were worn and red as he stood in front of his son,
towering over him. The man's enormous hand patted Saffiru on his
head before he was lowered into the chair.
"Your mother is dead, Saffiru." He told the boy, who was staring at
him, "And your brother, Demando will be here in a few days to stay
with us.
Saffiru face brighten up, when he spoke about his older brother,
"When will he arrive?"
"Boy! Do you care nothing about your mother?" He voice boom at
the boy.
Saffiru quickly lowered his head and twisted his fingers around in
his hands
"It's alright boy. You were only five and it has been five years since
you last saw her. You look just like her with your dark blue hair and
eyes.
Saffiru slowly lifted his face toward his father before asking, "What
was my mother like?"
"Lets not get in to the subject right now. We have plenty of time to
talk about her." But the time never came. He quickly dismissed any
subject about his mother to Saffiru. Tsuki-san never got over his
wife's betrayal and never let a picture enter his house of her. He will
forever love her, but never forgive her.

~**~**~

"Saffiru! Let me introduce you to my girlfriend." The seventeen-
year-old Demando walked in with a petite dark skin female with
bright light pink hair to her shoulders. The twelve-year-old Saffiru
sat on couch facing the television, "This is Urusanai-chan."
"Hello, Urusanai-san!" Saffiru greeted
"It's pleasure to meet you Saffiru-chan. Your brother spoke highly of
you," she stood beside Demando as the boy's face brightens.
Demando whispered into her ear before heading to out of the room.
Urusanai took a seat at the space beside his brother and began
conversing with her, "Your brother told me you like taking things
apart."
Saffiru turned and replied, " Yep," before going back to watch his
cartoons.
"I was just wondering because I have some books that you might just
want." She smiled as the boy gave her his undivided attention, "I
have books and magazines on electronics and computers that I'm
thinking about giving you. What do you think?"
"Wait a minute! Girls don't read those type of books."
"Well this girl does, do you want them?"
"Yes," Saffiru replied quickly.
"Then it's settled. I have a lot of books. So every time I come over, I
bring them to you. Good?"
"Good!" Saffiru and Urusanai shook on it.
"You can meet my father now," Demando quickly moved out of the
room to present her to his father.
"See ya, kid," Urusanai said.
"Bye," Saffiru went back to watching cartoons.

~**~**~

Demando slammed the front door. His steps resonated through the
room as he stomped up the stairs before slamming his bedroom door.
The thirteen-year-old Saffiru followed quietly up to his room and
peeked through the door. Demando sat on the edge of his bed
fingering a picture in a silver frame.
"Demando?" Saffiru cautiously asked for him.
"Get out of my room!" Demando quickly grabbed a lamp from his
dresser and thrown it at the wall right next to Saffiru.
"What's wrong?" Saffiru walked more boldly into the room.
"Did you not hear me?" He threatened.
"Do you want me to call Urusanai-san to cheer you up?"
Demando swiftly went to his brother standing in his room. His
backhand quickly connected to Saffiru's head, knocking him to the
ground. Demando brought down his huge foot and nudged his
brother out of his room before closing and locking it in his face.
Saffiru eyes widened, looking at the tall white door that separated
him from his brother. Slowly he picked himself up and ran down the
stairs, out the front door and through the streets toward the one
person, who could help: Urusanai-san.

Saffiru pressed down on the small round button of the doorbell on
the front porch of Urusanai-san house. The wind ruffed his hair,
while he stood freezing until someone answered the door. Urusanai
came to door with her eyes puffy and sworn.
"Saffiru-can, I didn't expect to see you again," she widened the door,
signaling for him to come in. "What do you want Saffiru?"
Saffiru stood in front of the sitting Urusanai and asked, "What
happen to Demando?"
Urusanai held her breathe before exhaling, " Oh, he did told you."
She paused before continuing, "I don't know how to tell this to you,
but we broke up."
"Why?"
"We no longer care for each other."
"That's a lie!" he yelled, "What did you do, cheat on him?"
Urusanai collected her thoughts before replying, "I did break up with
him. We could barely be around each other without fighting."
Saffiru stood there harden his eyes as wrapped his arms tightly
around him, "I should go," he began to turn around to leave.
"Saffiru-chan," Her arms went across his shoulders holding him in
place, "I know from your brother that women have let you down.
Don't let this experience cause you to be angry with all of us."
Saffiru stood stiffly until she removed her arms from around him,
"Bye Urusanai-san."
"Bye Saffiru-chan!" She held open the door before closing it behind
him.
~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ring! Ring!"
Saffiru placed the receiver to his ear. Listening to speaker on the
other end.
"Tsuki-san, We're calling to report your father is in the hospital, "
The emotionless nurse said over the phone.
"Is he alright?" He asked worriedly.
"It would be better if you were here in person."
Saffiru quickly jotted down the address to the hospital before
heading to Demando office.

"We are finished with our conversation!" Demando told Saffiru as he
walked into this office unannounced.
He stood rigid in front of Demando with his fists balled at his side.
"Our father is in the hospital! We should go and visit him."
"Leave the address to hospital and I'll go when I'm able to,"
Demando said casually, flipping through the paperwork on his desk.
"Did you not hear me? Our father is in the hospital!"
"Yes, I did, but I'm unable to see him at the hospital at this moment."
"Yes, I see, but you have the time to stalk a young woman."
Demando leaned over his desk with his hands pressed hard against
the desk, "Don't you ever question me! Where was our wonderful
father, when our mother was dying? I had to be comforted by
strangers alone in the hospital room, watching our mother breathe
her last breath. When I came to live with him, he never mentioned
her. Never! Did he even love her?"
Saffiru just stood there as Demando continued, "You question my
tactics to woo Tsukino-san! My advice to you is to stop making my
life your concern. Now leave! I have work to do."

Saffiru found his way to the hospital, and from the moment the nurse
looked at him he knew the news would not be good.
"I'm sorry to tell you this Jakotsuki-san," she said softly. "But your
father is dying from
cancer."