Disclaimer: I don't own the original FY characters; I own Kei, Taki, Lily, Jason, their kids and any other person who isn't a FY character.

            Thoughts

            Memories

~*~Review Response~*~

~Jamie - Responsibilities kinda suck don't they? Too many make you feel like your head's gonna explode and not enough make you feel useless. It's enough to make you go crazy ain't it?

~Rhapsody - Thank you for the reviews! I tried to send you the pictures twice but they wouldn't go through. I got one of those delivery failure e-mails. Is there another e-mail address I could send them too?

~Cortney - So did FF.net ever decide to agree with you? I can't wait for you to get a new chapter out. I love your story!

~CarrCarr - Welcome back! Tasuki likes to deny the future doesn't he? Ah well, what can you expect from a bandit who hated women, ne? You think reading 'no da' over and over again makes it stick with you? Try typing it. O.o Woo, now there's a challenge.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kano sat at the kitchen table while Akane looked for something she could heat up quickly. "Aha!" She pulled a small white box out of the freezer.

"Aha what?" He looked at her funny.

"I found food. What else?" She dumped the contents of the box onto a plate and shoved it into the microwave. She tossed the box onto the table.

Kano picked it up and looked at it while she set the timer. "What the hell is a Hot Pocket?"

"Food."

"I can't pronounce half the things in here. Are you sure it's food?"

"You're not supposed to pronounce it, silly. You're supposed to eat it." She took the box away from him and smiled.

"If you say so…" He rolled his eyes while she found some soda.

"Here. Try this." She shoved a can of soda at him.

"What is it?"

"A non alcoholic beverage full of artificial goodness and bubbles." She giggled.

Kano stared at her for a moment then drank the soda. All he could taste was sugar. "My God! That's sweet! What the hell is in this stuff?!?!"

"Uh…sugar…water…sugar…flavor syrup…sugar…fizzy stuff…sugar…caffeine…sugar…"

"I think I get it…"

"Don't like it? I'll drink yours too if you want." She reached for the can.

"Who said I didn't like it? I was just asking." He moved it away from her hand.

Akane smiled. "Ah, no one can resist artificial sweeteners!"

"Akane, are you getting Kano addicted to junk already?" Kei gave her daughter an annoyed look.

"Maybe…" The microwave beeped and Akane pulled out the snack. She handed one of the hot pizza filled pastries to Kano. "Here. Careful. It's hot." She then looked at her mom. "Mom, what day is it? How long have I been gone?"

"It's Tuesday the 3rd. The day after you left."

"Okay. So any idea how long they're staying here?"

"Till the next full moon." Kei answered.

"What?!?!" She looked at a calendar. Akane's jaw dropped. "Mother! That was yesterday! They're going to be here for 4 weeks?!?! Why?"

"The book is closed off till then. What's wrong with that?"

"I'm sitting right here…" Kano muttered in between mouthfuls of food.

"That means more cleaning. I hate cleaning." She wrinkled her nose.

"I can clean up after myself." Kano offered.

"Guests don't work." Kei answered him.

"It's not a problem…" He started.

"You're not working Kano. So shut up." He glared at Akane when she answered back. She quickly turned back to her mother. "Can he at least stay in my room so I don't have to clean so much?"

"No! He's not sleeping in your room."

"Why not?"

"You are not sleeping with a 19 year old boy!"

"I'm still here…"

"Why? I slept in his room when I was over there!"

"That was different! It wasn't safe for you there!"

"Hey! I know how to take care of myself!"

"I never said you didn't! But Kano will not sleep in your room! He and Kouji are sleeping down the hall."

Kano finished off the food and slouched in his chair. He suddenly knew how Akane felt when his father told her she couldn't walk to the bandit stronghold. It really sucked to be ignored.

"Fine!" Akane downed the rest of her soda. She burped rather loudly.

"Beautiful, Akane. Beautiful." Kei smirked. "Now go see if the guest beds are made."

Akane said nothing. She just snorted and left the kitchen.

"Was that completely necessary?" Kano asked nervously.

"Oh jeez…you're still here…"

"That's what I said before…"

"You did?"

"Yeah…" He rolled his eyes again.

"Sorry."

"Whatever…"

Akane walked out of the kitchen and past Hiroshi.

"What's your problem?"

"Nothing." She muttered.

"Are you made cause you can't sleep with Kano anymore?"

"No!" She hissed at him. "Shouldn't you go home and call your girlfriend or something?"

Hiroshi crossed his arms. "You're just jealous 'cause I told Kimiko I love her and you can't tell him."

"You little bastard!" She whacked him in the back of the head. "Don't be stupid! I'm not jealous of you!"

"Yeah, ya are." He smirked and rubbed his head. "With your dad around, you won't get the chance to lip lock with Kano for a while."

"You know what? Why don't we go before someone loses an arm?" Taki pushed her son and niece apart. "I think things have settled down enough to the point where we can leave and get some sleep."

Everyone agreed and soon only Kei, Tasuki, Akane, Kano and Kouji were in the house. Akane made sure the beds were made for Kano and Kouji, Kei and Tasuki started making dinner, Kano explored the modern wonder that is television and Kouji went up stairs to use the bathroom.

On his way back down, he glanced in Akane's room. She was lying face up on her bed and sighing deeply.

"What's wrong with you?" He leaned on her doorway.

She sat up quickly. "Nothing."

"Gimme a little credit Akane, I am a father. I know when something is bugging a kid."

"It's nothing…" She shook her head, making her hair fly around.

"Kano trouble?"

"What?" She turned to him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means? Any idiot could see you're in love with him and he's in love with you."

"I'm not in love with…wait, wait, what? He loves me?" Her eyes widened.

Kouji rubbed his temples. "Yes…everyone except you two knows it…"

She blushed. "No way…"

"Akane…" He spoke slowly. "Kano is my son. I've known him his entire life…I would know if he was in love with someone…"

"Oh…um…then why hasn't he said anything?"

"I don't know. For some ungodly reason, he probably thinks you don't feel the same way…" He groaned. "But does he really need to? He's been protecting you from the beginning and we all know every time you and he disappeared in the past, you two were off kissing somewhere."

Her blush deepened. "I…uh…"

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing…just try and be a little more discreet okay?"

"You really love him, don't you?" Akane smiled thoughtfully at the older bandit.

"Of course I do. He's my only son. I know I give him a hard time, but I'd still do anything for him. Including pushing him together with the girl he loves."

Her jaw dropped a little as Kouji left her alone. 'Oh…my…dear…sweet…god…is he for real? Well, he's my dad's best friend…he wouldn't lie to me about something like this lest my dad beat his head in…he does make a lot of good points…' She flopped back down onto her bed and groaned. After a few minutes, she sat up again. "Well, no point in dwelling on this now. I better go make sure Kano's not watching something really horrible on TV…like the news…" She got up and hurried back downstairs.

Kouji was in the kitchen with Akane's parents. "So what are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, you guys are stuck here for 4 weeks. We'll have to make the best of it. We're going to go shopping in the morning for you two…" Tasuki shrugged. "We might have to send Kano to school with Akane too…"

"You've got be kidding me. The kid's never been to school."

"He can fake it for a couple weeks." Kei was cutting up meat.

"Oh he'll be really happy about that…"

"He'll fit in with all the kids who hate school. None of them like it." Tasuki chuckled.

"He's 2 years older than Akane though…"

"It's not that hard to lie about age. Besides, there're boys in Akane's class that look like they're 21 and over. He'll fit in fine." Kei shook her head. "Akane can look out for him."

~*~*~*~

Naoko and Nyoko sat in the back seat while their father drove home. Naoko moved forward in the seat. "Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you think about when you went back home after you met Mommy?"

"I never did ask you that…" Nuriko remarked. "Our history has changed considerably now…"

"Well, I thought it was a nightmare…I woke up in my apartment…"

~*~*~

Jason sat bolt upright in bed. He was in what he thought was a cold sweat from a nightmare. But as he pulled off his shirt, he realized it wasn't sweat. He was soaked with rainwater.

"From Konan…" He whispered. "I wasn't dreaming?" He pondered what he had just dreamed/experienced. "No way…" His hand went to his neck. His dog tags hung there as usual. "Naoko…" He said the name of the girl that showed him an identical set.

The telephone rang with a shrill cry that startled him. He grabbed it, rather annoyed. "What?" He listened. "Ma, you woke me up. What do you want from me?" Silence. "Look, I'm sorry…I was tired. Can I call you back? I need a shower…" He hung up without waiting for her response.

He tried to shake the images of Lily, her friends and those people who said they were from the future. It didn't work. They were real and not to be gotten rid of.

He made his way to the bathroom, but someone started knocking at the door. He groaned and went to answer it. He opened the door to find someone he hadn't expected to see again.

Rei Takani.

Suzaku.

"Rei…"

"Jason. Welcome back to the real world. Nice to see you again."

"How'd you find me? I've moved a couple times since the last time we talked." His eyes narrowed as he let the red haired man in.

"You know how. I'm a god. I can easily find these sort of things."

"So I didn't dream any of it?"

"No."

"Why'd you leave them?" He suddenly snapped.

"Who?"

"Your family. Kimiko hates you."

"I know. It was a decision I hated to make. If I don't leave, she won't meet the others. She won't meet Hiroshi."

"But they're not even born yet! You can change that, can't you?" He was shocked.

"No. It's the path of fate. I can't change it."

"Do you actually care about them?"

"Of course I do! I loved all 3 of them!" He growled. "How dare you accuse me of not!"

"Then make the decision not to leave once they're born, you bastard!"

Rei's hand began to glow. "What did you say?!?!"

"Ah ah ah!" Jason waved his finger in Rei's face. "Can't kill me and change fate now can you?" He smirked. "If you really care for them, fight harder with fate."

"You think I don't want to? I don't have that kind of power!"

"It's not a matter of power! It's a matter of love!"

"You're an interesting one to talk about love!"

"Well, I must know a little something about it if you picked me for Nuriko." Jason stood smugly in front of the enraged god.

The two men had a stand off in Jason's living room. Neither one moving, neither breaking eye contact.

~*~*~

"So what happened?" Nyoko waited for him to finish.

"He just left. Poof. Gone. Without saying anything." Jason shook his head. "It was the last time I saw him until I found out he was 'dead'…"

Nuriko put her hand on his shoulder. "You tried…"

"I know…I wish I could have done more for Kimiko though. She's such a sweet kid."

"Mommy?" Nyoko cut in.

"Yes?"

"Why'd you never tell us you were a man?"

Nuriko made a funny noise. Jason burst out laughing. The twins waited patiently for a response.

~*~*~*~

Hiroshi stared out the window as his father drove home. Taki turned around to look at him. "You alright, sweetie?"

"Yeah…did you really know Kimiko's mother?"

"Yes. I think she was already engaged to Suzaku…Rei…whatever you want to call him, when I did though…I knew her for a while, but I never really talked to her until after I got back from Konan…"

"Really?"

~*~*~

Taki walked into her science class, looking for Tora. It had been a couple of weeks since she'd last seen Hotohori.

Taki slid into a seat behind Tora. The teacher came in and announced they were getting new lab partners. He stuck Tora and Taki together.

Tora moved her books to Taki's table.

"Hi." Taki smiled warmly. 'So this is the woman Suzaku loves…'

"Hi…"

Taki noticed a diamond ring on Tora's left hand. "That's pretty. Is it an engagement ring?"

"Uh huh." She smiled. "I'll be getting married in a few months."

"Wow. Congratulations! So what's he like?" Not that she didn't know already.

"Tall, handsome, very kind…" Tora played with the ring. "He's got the most beautiful red hair."

"Do you plan on having children?"

"Two. We don't know what to call our baby if it's a boy, but the first girl will be Kimiko."

"That's a beautiful name."

"Thank you." Tora blushed. "But what about you? All I've been doing is talking about my fiancé. Do you have anyone?"

"Yeah. There's someone…"

"Are you going to get married?"

"Maybe. Not sure yet…" Taki sighed momentarily. "But I'm getting sidetracked. You're the one with the official engagement. Where are you going for the honeymoon?"

"He's taking me to Hawaii…"

They both giggled, making the teacher look up at them. "Ladies…"

"Sorry…" They went back to their work.

"Well, we should do this. You've got to tell me more about him though."

"Alright. Wanna go out for coffee after class?" Tora put on a pair of safety glasses.

"Sure. Sounds great." Taki put on her own and pulled her hair back while Tora set up some of the stuff for the experiment.

~*~*~

"Huh…" Hiroshi continued to stare out the window as the car drove on. 'So her mother planned on calling her Kimiko from the start…'

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hotohori looked at his son in the rear view mirror.

"I'm fine. Just…thinking too much…"

~*~*~*~

Toru absently played with his ponytail. "Hey Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you say 'no da' after everything?"

Lily laughed. Chichiri looked at his slightly younger son in the mirror. "It's the way people spoke in the village I grew up in. That's all no da."

"But you've been out of the book for a while, right? Like 20 years or something?" Toshiro joined his brother. "Usually people lose speech patterns and accents after that long."

"In the real world yes, but when you mix that with Konan, there's no telling what can happen." Lily smiled.

"So where did Uncle Jason end up after he left Konan that first time?" Toru wanted to know what happened.

"Well…like I thought…he got back to his apartment…" Lily started. "We didn't see him again till the 7 of us came to the real world…"

~*~*~

The small group of 4 seishi and 3 girls walked up to the house the girls owned. Kei pulled out a set of keys and opened up the front gate. "Welcome to your temporary home. It's no palace, but it'll do."

They walked up the sidewalk and saw someone leaning on the porch rail. He was tall with messy sandy blonde hair and dressed all in black. Everyone immediately recognized Jason. "You people could use a higher fence." He grinned.

"You! What are you doing here?!?!" Kei fumed.

"One good jump and I was over the fence."

Lily put her hands on her hips. "Coulda waited till we got here…"

"Too boring. Besides, the looks on your faces were pretty damn priceless."

"Jason…you're truly impossible." Taki shook her head. "Want some coffee? We'll talk about this."

"Okay. Cool." He nodded. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nuriko in real world clothes. "Hey…" He liked the way she look and had more reason to believe what those kids said.

"Hi…" She smiled at him.

"You're not wasting any time are you?" Kei gave him a look.

"What? Things not going well between you and Tasuki?" He shot back.

"What?!?! You bastard!" She dug her nails into his arm making him wince.

"Ow! Jeez…" He moved away from her and rubbed his arm. "Still denying what happened?"

"Aren't you?"

"Nope…" He slowly shook his head while the others went in. "But seriously, do you still not believe you and he will get together?"

"Well…" She smiled thoughtfully.

"Well what? What happened after I left? Did you and Tasuki jump in bed or something? Come on, tell me!"

Kei started to walk in. "That's for me to know and you to wonder about." She grinned.

"Hey!" He ran in after her. "Not fair!"

Lily watched Jason run after Kei and laughed.

"What's so funny, no da?"

"Them. It's the way I remember it between those two."

"Things certainly have changed, haven't they, no da?"

"Yeah…" Lily smiled and brushed her hand against Chichiri's.

He smiled back and they went into the kitchen.

~*~*~

"So things really aren't how you thought you remembered them?" Toshiro blew his bangs out of his face.

"That's right…a lot of things did change, no da."

"But you're still together and that's sorta what counts right?" Toru flipped his hair back.

"I suppose you're right." Lily nodded.

~*~*~*~

Kimiko played with her necklace as her mother drove them home.

"Kimiko, where'd you get that? It's pretty."

"What? This?" She smiled. "Hiroshi gave it to me…"

"Really?"

"Yeah…I'm his girlfriend now." She blushed and tucked the pendant under her shirt again.

"Hiroshi…that boy you hated a few years ago?"

"Yes…I'm past that though. I don't hate him."

"Well, good. It's never good to hate anyone. Just don't let your brother find out. He's been so overprotective lately."

"I know! He's been such an ass! Oops…" She covered her mouth with her hand.

Tora laughed. "It's alright Kimi-chan. That's the only word that can describe your brother right now. Just don't tell him I said that." They both laughed. "So…Kimi-chan…"

"What? That's the tone you use when you want something…" Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "You wanna borrow some of my jewelry or something?"

"No. Although I do like your red crystal ones…I'm not asking about that. I was wondering if you could tell me more about Kouji."

Kimiko stared at her mother. "Mother!"

"What?"

"Why, I do believe you have a crush on Kouji!" Kimiko giggled.

Her mother looked appalled. "I would not say that! You're being childish!"

"Hey, I think it's cute. Akira's the one that would say something else."

"True. So? Are you gonna tell me anything or what?"

Kimiko grinned. "Well, let's see here. Kano's his only son. Kano's mother died a few weeks ago. Um…he's real sweet. He knew like Hiroshi's parents and all their friends like 20 years ago or so. He was telling us stories about them when they were younger and it was so funny 'cause they were so embarrassed…"

Tora listened intently as Kimiko made up a plausible back-story for Kano and Kouji.

~*~*~*~

Tasuki, Kouji and Kano sat in the dinning room finishing up their dinner while Akane and Kei went to clean up the kitchen.

"Mom?"

"Yes, dear?" Kei stuck a plate in the dishwasher.

Akane was quiet for a moment. "Did…did you really die?"

Kei stopped. "What difference does it make? I'm here now aren't I?"

"I think I deserve to know…do you have any idea what went through my head when Kano told me what happened?"

"I guess you're right…you do deserve to know…" Kei put the last of the dishes in the dishwasher and switched it on. "I suppose it really started when I had a conversation with Nakago…"

~*~*~

Kei pushed herself off the bed she woke up on in Kutou. She'd just been taken from the Konan gardens. "What? What am I doing here?" She whispered to herself.

Her question was answered when the door to her room opened and Nakago stepped in. "You're awake."

"Nakago…" She stood up quickly, despite a pounding in her head. "You brought me here…" Definitely more of a statement than a question.

"Yes." His monotone voice scared her. "Come with me."

"Why should I?" She stood firmly.

"We have matters to discuss."

"Of what?"

"The future."

She looked a little confused, but she decided to follow. Stone-faced soldiers didn't even so much as glance at the young woman following Nakago.

Once they entered Nakago's chambers, he walked to the window and stared out at the sky. He made no move to make her feel comfortable. She nervously chose a spot next to him at the window.

"So what do you want to talk about?"

"How much of the future did those children tell you?"

"Enough…why?"

"I assume you know that in their version of the future, both of us will die and only one will come back…"

"Yes…"

"I thought so…"

"It doesn't have to be that way…" She said timidly. "If you and I both know, we could stop it…"

"It's a nice thought…but not possible." He sadly shook his head.

"What?! Why?" She turned to face him instead of the window. "Do you want to die?!"

"The past has to stay in tact. As much as possible anyway. It's already been considerably altered. It's for the best."

"Are you just gonna give up then?" She heard a small voice from the corner of the room. She suddenly knew it was Nakago's son. "Are you going to leave Reizo?"

"And what happens if I don't? Reizo never takes action against your daughter, she never meets Kano, then what? How will Akane learn about the past that you won't tell her about?"

Kei was taken aback by his forwardness. "Not everything has to be the way they said it would be. You could go on living…Tasuki and I could make the decision to tell her instead."

"Who said I deserved to come back? There's a reason you'll get another chance at life and I won't."

"Nakago…why do you have to be so stubborn? Things don't have to be the same!"

"You accuse me of being stubborn?" He faced her, towering over her about as much as Jason did. "You're more stubborn than I am according to what Reizo told me."

"I know I'm stubborn. It takes a stubborn person to know a stubborn person. Therefore I am free to call you stubborn." She poked him in the chest much to his surprise.

"You have a lot of nerve…"

"That's what makes me so damn lovable." She smirked. Then she sighed. "I still don't get it though. Why don't you want to be there for him?"

"It's not a matter of not wanting, it's not being to. Even if Tasuki doesn't kill me, something else will kill me before Reizo's very old."

"How could you know that?"

"Fate has a way of doing things like that."

"You bastard…you're a coward. Try harder if you really care about your son." She stormed out of Nakago's chambers. He made no move to stop her. He knew she was right.

~*~*~

"So what happened then?" Akane sat at the table with a cup of iced tea.

"Nakago didn't try to change. Everything happened the way Kano told you. I died, he died, I came back, he didn't. She shook her head sadly. "Don't know what happened to him in the afterlife."

"Couldn't you ask Nozomi? Wouldn't she know?"

"I haven't been able to talk to her lately. I think she's exhausting herself from sending us back and forth through times and worlds."

"Do you think she's alright?"

"I would assume so. She can't die. She just needs some rest."

"I hope that's all. I like her. She reminds me of you. Younger looking and immoral though."

Kei smiled. "Thanks. I think." The dishwasher stopped. "Are you tired? You've been in the book a while."

"No. I'm okay." She suddenly yawned. "Okay, maybe not…" She yawned again. "Okay, definitely not. I'm more sleepy than I thought…"

"Why don't you go up to bed? You could use a good night's rest in your own bed. Besides, we have to go shopping for Kano and Kouji in the morning."

"Okay. I can't wait to see them in a mall. That'll be interesting." She kissed her mother on the cheek. "'Night Mom."

"Good night dear."

Akane went into the living room where all the guys were. "'Night Daddy. I'm going to bed."

"It's only 9." He gave her a funny look.

"I just wanna sleep in my own bed for like a week. I'm so tired." She yawned again. "'Night Kouji. 'Night Kano." Her hand brushed Kano's neck as she walked by. Tasuki noticed it.

"'Night." They both nodded as she disappeared up the stairs. Kano's eyes lingered on the stairs and Tasuki saw that too. He didn't like it, but he had to accept it. His daughter had fallen in love with a bandit, just like her mother had years ago.

After a couple hours of familiarizing Kano and Kouji with real world things, they all decided to go to bed. They were going to be really busy tomorrow.

Three people slept soundly, the other two found it to be a sleepless night. One was already downstairs looking for something to bring about sleep, the other was just getting out of bed.

Tasuki walked down the steps to the kitchen. He didn't know anyone else was up. He heard what sounded like paper ripping in the kitchen. As he approached the doorway, thinking it was a burglar, the moonlight pouring in through the window told him it was Kano.

"What's wrong with you?"

Tasuki's voice nearly made Kano fall of the chair. "Nothing…" He regained his nerve. "Just having trouble adjusting to the room…"

Tasuki raised an eyebrow at him and turned on the light. Kano winced at the sudden change, Tasuki didn't mind too much. The table was covered with tiny napkin shred arranged in complicated patterns. "And you said nothing was wrong…"

Kano lowered his eyes as Tasuki sat across the table from him. "You'd kill me if I told you what was wrong…"

Tasuki rearranged some of the napkin pieces. "It's Akane, isn't it?"

"What makes you say that?" Kano tried to stop himself from shredding another napkin. He'd already made a rather large mess.

"Well, three reasons. First, I don't think it's the caffeine and sugar. Second, it's the only thing I'd kill you for. Third and most important, nothing makes a man unable to sleep like woman trouble. So what is it about her?"

Kano groaned, let his arms hang at his sides and stared at the ceiling. "You won't like it…"

"Tell me anyway."

"Over the past few weeks I've gotten way to used to being near her. If I woke up in the middle of the night, she'd be there somewhere…it's hard not being able to wake up to that anymore…I'm in love with her, what else can I say?"

"Thought so…" Tasuki sighed, blowing the shreds around.

"So are you gonna kill me?" Kano lowered his eyes.

"Only if you hurt her. Then I will break your neck."

"I don't know how to tell her though…I'm worried she…"

"Doesn't feel the same way?" It was Tasuki's turn to slouch, groan and stare at the ceiling. "Good Lord man, what has ever happened between you two that would make you think she doesn't love you?"

"I dunno…" He shook his head in dismay.

"Everyone here knows the two of you are in love except for you two. I really don't see what the hell the two of you are waiting for. A written invitation? What?"

"I dunno…I don't think she and I can be together…I live in the book, she doesn't…"

Tasuki rolled his eyes and sighed. He snapped his fingers in Kano's face, startling him. "Hello! Where have you been all this time? Look at me. You think living in different worlds stopped me from being with the woman I love? Why should it be any different for you two?"

Kano stared at Tasuki for a long time. He couldn't believe Tasuki was actually encouraging him in his own way. "Do you really mean that?"

"Only if you really love my daughter."

"Of course I do!" Kano stood up angrily. "More than anything! I'd do anything for her! I'd die before I ever let anything happen to her!"

Tasuki sat quietly across the table and looked Kano up and down. He closed his eyes and smiled. "I know."

"Wha?" Kano's eyes widened.

"I know." Tasuki stood up and swept up the napkin pieces. He tossed them out.

Kano stood up. "You really love her, don't you?"

"Of course I do. She's my only daughter."

"My dad said you never liked women."

"I didn't. Then Akane's mother came along and I forgot every reason I ever had for disliking women. Then Akane was born and it doesn't matter if the kid's a boy or a girl, you just want to make sure your kid happy for the rest of their lives and you realize you'd do anything them." Tasuki shrugged, surprised he'd just said all that to his best friend's son.

"I think I understand."

"Get some sleep. You'll need it. You're going to discover what a mall is tomorrow."

Kano shook his head. "I still don't know if I can tell her…" He watched Tasuki leave the room. "Hey! Wait a minute! What's a mall and why will I need sleep?" He ran after him.

Tasuki just smirked and kept going up the stairs. "You'll see."

Kano gave him a funny look, but said nothing else. He headed back to his room and fell asleep right away.

Tasuki climbed back into bed with his wife. She turned on her side to face him. "You're a big softie, you know that?"

"What?" Tasuki pulled the covers over himself and pulled her onto his chest.

"This room is right above the kitchen. You think I didn't hear you talking to Kano?"

"So you did hear…"

"Yes. It was kinda hard to miss. And I think what you're doing is sweet."

He sighed. "I think I've lost it…"

Kei poked him. "You have not lost it. You're just finally letting Akane grow up. Besides, if you stopped Kano, she'd hate you forever."

"True…" Tasuki wrapped his arms around Kei. "So you think it's alright?"

"Yes, I do. When has the book been wrong with love?" She snuggled up to him to emphasize her point. "So back off, okay?"

He grudgingly nodded and sighed. "You're right. You're right. I'll back off."

"Atta boy. Now get some sleep." She yawned. "It's been a long day."

"Yeah…" He closed his eyes and finally drifted off to sleep next to his wife.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gah…Well…I'm annoyed with myself. Here I am at the end of chapter 24 and Kano and Akane still haven't told each other…I never intended to make their confession chapter the same one as Kei and Tasuki's in the last story. The story wasn't supposed to be so long! I swear, the next chapter! They will say it! Soon after the trip to the mall. If they don't, I'm putting my head through the dry wall in my living room. I don't know what happened. I thought the story would be shorter and well, one thing led to another and here I am at the end of chapter 24. I hope no one is as annoyed with me as I am with myself, 'cause that would be pretty damn annoyed…Gah…

~*~Shadow Hawk~*~