Chapter 2

Rowen Hashiba walked into his house from another emergency call from the hospital he worked at as a full time doctor, hanging his keys on the hooks by the door and taking his shoes off. He wiggled his toes after taking off his shoes, it being nice to let his feet air out after having them confined in his shoes for so long. Smiling, he walked over and greeted his wife Kiylee who sat on the couch with afghan spread over her lap and legs, watching the television in front of her. "Hey babe," he greeted her with a kiss and then asked innocently, "Have we lost any of the kids yet?"

Kiylee half laughed at her husband's joking about their kids as she smiled a greeting up at him, "Oh, you're a funny one."

Rowen plopped down next to her on the couch, placing his arm around her shoulders as he laid his legs out on the coffee table in front of him. "Who said I was being funny?" he retorted, trying to keep his voice low and playful.

Kiylee's response to him was a smack on the chest, "Rowen Hashiba that is not funny."

Rowen chuckled in mirth at his wife as he rubbed his chest where she had hit him before then smiling and hugging her, "Calm down Kiy, I was only joking."

Kiylee's not-so-convinced smirking face looked back up at him to show that she didn't appreciate his joking before then snuggling into his embrace anyway. Offering to share some of her blanket with him, the woman laid half of it over his lap before wrapping both arms around his middle and laid her head on his chest. "I'm glad you're home. I missed you," she said and cocked her head up at him with a growing smile slipping across her face.

"Oh you did, did you?" Rowen wryly replied with a smug smile down at her, trying to act as if he didn't really think she had. "And here I thought you'd be glad to get me out of the house."

An amused chuckle and smile light up Kiylee's face before she kissed him and replied, "Now why would you think a thing like that?"

Rowen chuckled in return and shrugged lightly, returning her kiss, "Oh I don't know, just the first thing that came to mind I guess."

Kiylee laughed at his sarcasm and wrapped her arms around his neck loosely, bringing his face down to meet hers now while her eyes locked onto his own. A smile spread over Rowen's face as he pulled her into his embrace, capturing her lips with his in a lingering kiss. Rona walked into the living room then, grinning when she noticed her parents and their activities on the couch. She shook her head at them and coughed loudly as she walked into the kitchen to gain her parents' attention.

Kiylee was the first one to pull away from the kiss and look up at her daughter with a lopsided grin, "Hey Rons, what cha up to?"

"The usual," Rona replied to her mother's question from the kitchen as she grabbed a can of pop from the fridge and came back out into the living room. Stopping at the back of the couch she asked then, "Has Lea called yet today?"

"I don't know," Kiylee said thoughtfully, tapping her bottom lip with her index finger in a pondering manner before then looking up at her husband and asking in a joking way, "Has my brother's daughter called our house today at all?"

Rowen took the bait and began to stroke his chin thoughtfully for a minute while pretending to ponder the question. "Hm," he said out loud finally, "no, I don't believe she has. Was she supposed to?"

Rona sighed at not only her parents' teasing but in what her mother's answer had been, "Yeah, she was. That absent-minded, big-mouth," she angrily replied and tapped her nails against the side of the pop can she held.

Rowen and Kiylee both chuckled at the sight of their level-headed daughter cursing her cousin out. Although not unusual to see where the two were concerned, it still struck them as funny whenever it happened. "Why don't you just call her, Rons? Ryo might have been training with her and she forgot," Kiylee pointedly suggested to her daughter.

"Yeah," Rona compiled finally with a nod of her head, "maybe you're right. I'll give her a ring later."

"Well, that's good to hear," Rowen put into the conversation and earned himself a pinch from Kiylee as a warning. While rubbing the area she had pinched he gave her a grin and said to his daughter, "Now before you go anywhere tonight Rona, I want to get some training in with you, ok?"

Rona stared dumbly at her father, really not sure as to why he wanted to train with her all of a sudden. "Isn't me training with Leinto four out of seven days a week good enough, Dad?" she asked him back.

"Well yeah, but there's things that Leinto hasn't taught you that I would like to. Is that all right with you?" Rowen responded to his daughter and looked over the back of the couch to give her that 'look' that meant the answer had better be yes.

"Yeah, I was just wondering, that's all," Rona replied with a light shrug then turned to leave the room and head back to her own that was down the hall to the right of the massive living room.

"Hey, you are going to the restaurant with us tonight aren't you, Rona?" Kiylee shouted after her daughter's fleeing form as the royal-blue-haired girl walked away to her room.

"Hai, mom," Rona shouted back before she closed the door to her room.

Kiylee turned from the hallway she was looking down now, to look back up at her husband, "You're worried about the upcoming battle, aren't you?" she asked him, her blue eyes showing concern and worry.

Rowen sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch as he felt the comings of another migraine starting. "Yeah, I'm worried sick about her. I'm actually afraid for her," he replied quietly with hidden malice for what he knew she would soon be having to do.

Kiylee frowned at her husband's words and gently ran her fingers through his hair soothingly, "Another headache, koibito?" she asked him sweetly with a frown.

Rowen let go of the bridge of his nose, wrapping that arm around Kiylee now and gently pulled her closer to him, "Yeah, but I'll survive," he replied with a wry smile down at her.

Kiylee wrapped her arms around his neck, letting them dangle behind him off the couch, "Well that's good to hear," she said and smiled, kissing him softly, "now what were you saying about our daughter?"

Rowen stared into Kiylee's deep blue eyes, feeling himself almost become lost in them. Kiylee, being Ryo's sister, shared some of the same physical features with him. One being she had the same jet black hair as Ryo did. Kiylee also had blue eyes, but they weren't as bright or vivid blue as Ryo's were. Hers were more of a deep, dark shade of blue. Those eyes were what first had attracted him to her. Of course, it was no secret that Kiylee was very beautiful anyone could have seen that, but it wasn't so much her looks but her personality that he loved most about her. She had over looked the fact he was a brainiac with a high I.Q. and had seen him for who he really was. That's what really had made him fall for her over seventeen years ago and had kept them together all that time. Rowen smiled lovingly at Kiylee his wife, lover, soul mate and best friend, as he thought to himself. "What was I saying?" he asked her with a bright, loving smile.

"What are you smiling about, mister?" Kiylee teasingly queried of him with a skeptical glare.

Rowen chuckled some and gently caressed her cheek, "Have I told you I love you today?"

Kiylee smiled at his question, "No, I don't think you have."

"Well I do," Rowen replied sincerely, "I love you, Kiylee."

Kiylee smiled brightly in return, "I love you too, Ro," she told him and then laid her head down on his shoulder, contently now snuggled close to the man she loved.

Rowen smiled down at his wife as he turned on the tv to watch some of the news he wrapped his arms around Kiylee while absent mindedly stroking her back as he focused on what the person on the tv was saying. Being a doctor at one of the busiest hospitals in the Japan area he never knew from one minute to the next when he would be called in because of that he wasn't home much and when he was home he liked to spend as much time with his wife and two kids as he could. Who wouldn't like to just spend time with their kids and the woman they love?
-

Rylea staggered from the bathroom as a billow of stream trailed out of the door to the bathroom behind her. Limping slightly from the still pulled and sorely abused muscles that the hot water couldn't loosen, she slowly and ever so gently made her way to her room. The one thing she had on her mind when she opened the door to her room was how fast she could make it to her bed before her father went psycho on her again and made her train for another two hours. Quickly closing her bedroom door, she contemplated locking it for a minute before deciding not to in the end.

Hobbling over to her bed, she climbed in and didn't even bother with her hair that was still wet. What's the point, it'll end up in the same style. She thought tiredly as she laid down on her soft mattress on her stomach. Every muscle and nerve in her body ached to be left alone and just rest. Not bothering to argue with them Rylea gave in and quickly drifted off into never land or to sleep as most people call it.
-

Ryo lay on his bed contemplating what he should do. It had been about a good hour since the water had been shut off in the bathroom and now all was silent. No yelling or arguing downstairs. No loud music being blasted through the walls, nothing but peaceful silence filled the house now. All was perfectly quiet in the Sanada house and that was a very rare thing to have. Deciding to at least make sure she was ok and see where everyone was, Ryo got up to exit his room. On his way to Rylea's room he peered over the second floor banister and could still see Ryu on the couch where he had been just one hour before; still watching the tv. Shaking his head at how lazy his son had become since graduating high school, he continued on his way down the hall to his daughter's room.

Coming to her door he knocked softly and waited for Rylea to invite him in. When she didn't, he decided to go ahead in anyway. Opening the door a crack he peered in cautiously and couldn't help but smile when he noticed where she was. Rylea was sprawled out on her bed with the covers tossed helter-skelter like over her. Her right arm hung off the bed while the left one lay across her stomach. Ryo shook his head and entered the room on silent feet as he walked over to her gently and placed her right arm on the bed, fixing the covers also so that they at least covered her. She sleeps like I do. He thought with a grin as he watched the dark haired child who lay on the bed sleeping soundly.

Rylea in turn to being rearranged now stirred and rolled over onto her right side, her pretty face contorting into a type of pinched frown. Ryo studied her for a minute or two, not sure if he should wake her or not. Deciding against it, he sat down next to her on the bed, careful as to not sit on her or wake her in any way. Not long after he had sat down on the edge of her bed then Rylea again stirred restlessly and rolled over. This time she moaned and mumbled something to herself that he couldn't quite make out.

Now intrigued and a little worried, Ryo sat and watched Rylea sleep waiting to see what she would do next. Rylea wasn't really the type to have nightmares. Maybe I pushed her a little too hard today. Ryo thought with a frown as he studied her. Rylea stirred restlessly again in her sleep, this time rolling to lie on her back. Ryo frowned and quietly watched her toss and turn, grumbling out things here or there that he could sometimes pick out as a 'no' or as 'leave me alone'. His frown only increased the more he watched and listened to her. He didn't understand what was going on or why she was mumbling those things; he'd never seen her act like that before. Yeah she was the tossing, heavy sleeper type but this didn't seem like just part of her sleeping routine.

Rylea made a whimpering sound before she rolled over again, aimlessly flailing her arms and legs as if she were trying to get away from some unseen being. She was now acting as if, in her dream, she were running or fighting someone or something that was trying to capture her. Ryo, finally having enough of watching his daughter struggle in some horrific dream, reached over and gently began to shake her. Rylea in turn just started swatting at him, trying to get away from him as she started shouting things in her terror seized state. Ryo frowned more and tried to grab her arms that were now trying to hit him, barely missing being knocked for a loop by one of her flailing arms. "Rylea, baby it's, Dad," he told her in hopes that it might jog her from her dream or at least make her stop fighting him, "Jouchan it's ok, it's me!"

Rylea's eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice while frantically searching the room to make sure that whatever was in her dream was not there now. Her arms froze in mid air and stayed there. Her breathing was now ragged and fast almost sounding like she had been running a marathon. Rylea's eyes came to rest on her father finally as tears she didn't understand sprang to them for no apparent reason. "Dad," she squeaked out while flinging herself into his arms and erupting into a waterfall of sobs.

Ryo blinked in perplexity at her actions. She'd gone from trying to get away from him to now acting as if something terrible at happened in her dream. Sighing to himself, Ryo resigned to do what he could to settle his obviously upset daughter down. He held her close in his arms and tried to reassure her that she was safe now. "Jouchan it's ok. I'm here baby, it's ok," he soothingly repeated to her quietly.

A soft knock came at her cracked bedroom door before Ryu walked into the room hesitantly raising one brown eyebrow at the sight before him. "What happened?" he asked, concern for his little sister evident in his voice.

Ryo could only shrug his shoulders as an answer he really didn't know himself. Ryu frowned with worry but continued with why he had come in the room in the first place. "Mr. Mishiro is on the phone," he told his father, his eyes locked on his sister as he spoke.

Ryo sighed but continued to hold Rylea, not even bothering to get up to take his phone call. "Tell him I'm busy right now and that I'll call him back later," he replied back to his son.

Ryu nodded his head in understanding of what he was to do and reluctantly turned from the two to go and give the message to the man on the phone. Ryo looked down at the girl in his arms when her sobs quieted to nothing more than hiccups and sniffles. Lifting her face up gently so that he could look at her, he wiped away the tears on her face and brushed back her unruly bangs that hung in her eyes. "Jouchan you ok?" he asked her with concern clearly in his voice, his vivid blue eyes showing how worried he was.

Rylea sniffed and wiped away the remainder of her tears with the back of her hands before replying to her father, "Yeah, I'm fine Otousan."

"You sure?" the expression on his face said that he didn't seem to think she was.

Rylea nodded her dark head and ran a shaky hand through her messy black-brown hair. Ryo frowned lightly at her actions; something told him that she wasn't telling him the whole truth. She's keeping something from me. He thought to himself with a frown as he continued to look over the distraught and shaken looking face of his daughter.

As if hearing the words he'd thought in his head aloud, Rylea answered, "I'm telling you the truth. I'm fine, Dad."

Ryo gaped at the girl who sat in front of him in odd confusion his mouth hung slightly open and one brow had already begun to roll up in question. Did she just answer my thoughts? Ryo asked himself in disbelief. Rylea looked up at him sharply as his second thought came to her and she then became aware of what she had done. Silently she cursed herself for not being more careful with answering what he had really spoken and just thought. "Rylea," Ryo started slowly in that unsure parenting way, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Rylea was quiet for a moment while she chewed on her bottom lip contemplating what she should say to him. Nice going Rylea. Just had to answer his thoughts didn't you. Stupid, stupid, now he's never going to let this drop. Ryo just kept a stern stare on her, waiting for an answer from his daughter. He wanted to think that it had just been his imagination, but something told him otherwise. She ended up not having to answer him though for at that moment Ryu came back in the room, interrupting her father's grilling.

Ryu looked between the two with a raised eyebrow before he spoke, "Sorry to interrupt, but Rona's on the phone, Lea."

Rylea silently praised her cousin for her bad timing as she quickly made her exit from the room her brother and father were in, narrowly escaping the grilling from her father. Ryu watched her leave, having to move out of her way so as to not be run over by the short girl and then turned quizzical eyes on his father. Ryo sighed in annoyance, "Don't ask," he simply stated to him and left it at that.

Ryu nodded his head back and forth in acknowledgement to what he had said, taking the point that his father was not in the mood to talk. "Ok, then I will be going now," he replied while sticking his hands down into the pockets of his jeans and walked back out of the room, leaving Ryo to his thoughts.
-

"Watch what you're doing up there!" Kento bellowed up at the two workers who were standing on ladders and changing the bulbs in the lights that hung from the ceiling above him. He kept a watchful and keen eye on them, not really trusting that the workers knew what they were doing.

Keish stood off to the side of the ladders and workers, watching her father yell at the poor laborers who were only doing their jobs with slight humor. "Dad," she said as if she were scolding a child, "leave them alone to do what they get paid to do."

Kento looked over at his daughter and smiled sheepishly, "Oh all right, I'll try Keish."

Keish shook her ash-blue head at him and walked over to the large oriental man, "Dad you're stressing yourself out again. Come on, why don't you come spar with me and let Kayto deal with this? I think you owe me a re-match anyway," she stated to him, a smile forming on her lips as she lightly punched his arm.

Kento chuckled heartily at her, "All right, a re-match you say huh? Well I can't pass that up," he replied, setting the clipboard he had been holding down on one of the dining tables next to him.

Kento, along with Cye, owned a restaurant/club called The Warriors Corner. Cye supervised the cooking and food department while Kento had the responsibility of taking care of the business and music. The Warriors Corner had been open for eleven years now and was doing very well. It was a family eating place through the week and a teen hang out on the weekends Keish and the girls were regulars on the club nights. The Warriors Corner had ended up being their hang-out place, somewhere they would all meet up at on Saturday night. Just a place for them to all chill and hang out together. It was about the only time they had now to just do things together without having to think about or discuss the now looming destiny they all shared.

Kento took one last skeptical look at the workers before being pushed out the door by a very impatient Keish. Kento only laughed as he allowed his daughter to push him through the door and out of the restaurant. Kayto came into the main dining room of the restaurant; he was tall and muscular like his father with midnight blue hair. He shook his head as he watched his sister push his father out of the building and then turned back to the workers who were still trying to do what they had been called in to do.

The workers all gave one very big sigh of relief that he had left and continued on with their work, thankful they didn't have to listen to Kento's bellowing anymore. Kayto laughed aloud at their reactions before then picking up the clipboard Kento had left behind to resume where his father had left off.
-

The sun was set low in the sky, already on its journey to the other side. Rylea watched the sun set from her bedroom window with a sense of delight. She enjoyed no, she loved the night. Something about the dark angelic shadows and the moonlight as the only source of light awakened something primitive and dark within her. She felt more awake, more alive at night unlike most people who would much rather choose the sun over the sweet darkness. That's the way it had always been with her, though. Ever since she was a child she had always had a certain fascination for the way simple darkness could make things seem beautiful. Instead of being afraid of the dark as most children were, Rylea had no problem with it she never really saw the reason to. She guessed always feeling like you were one with the night could make you think like that.

Rylea turned from the window and headed for her closet, not even noticing the small predatory smile that came to her lips at the thought of night coming soon. Walking over to her large walk-in closet she surveyed the contents of it. "Now let's see here," Rylea thought aloud as she pondered over what she should wear, "What am I in the mood for tonight?"

Searching over the content's, she finally decided on low-rise hip huggers and a red tank that looked like it had been cut and then tied back together on the sides. Slipping the outfit on, she then stood in front of her full-length mirror. After looking over her outfit critically for a minute or two, she then nodded her head approvingly before walking away from the mirror she stared at her reflection for a while.

Vivid blue eyes stood out in contrast with her tanned skin and dark brown-black hair. That was the same, but what made her do a double take was the fact that something looked different about her appearance. Rylea had this more exotic, deadly beauty about her tonight a look that she had never noticed until that moment. What is happening to me? She thought to herself with almost a shiver of fear. Ever since the night the nightmares had started, she had been noticing little by little changes in herself not only in appearance, but in the way she thought and acted now, too. It was almost like something had been awakened inside her when the nightmares started something dark and cold. Something that she could feel deep inside her start to pace whenever the sun went down lurking just beneath the surface as if waiting for the right moment to reveal its self.

She sighed inwardly when thinking about the nightmare she had had today and how her father had been privy to it. The only reason she had escaped his grilling was because Rona had called her. Saved by Rona. She thought with a wry smile as she turned from the mirror and walked over to her dresser. She picked up her mother's silver pendant or good luck charm as Rylea called it and slipped it around her neck, letting it rest against her chest. Immediately, she felt a calm sense of security wash over her, chasing away the dark and lurking feelings she had. Rylea held the pendant in her hand for a moment and then let it go to drop back against her chest. I always seem to feel better whenever I wear this thing...I wonder why? Maybe it's just because somehow Mom's with me when I wear it. She smiled softly at the thought, pacifying herself with the reassurance.

Looking over the things on the top of her dresser, she picked up her gold arm band and placed it around her left arm, liking how the gold stood out against her dark skin. Walking to her door, she opened it and did one last scan over the contents of her room to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything. Content that she had everything, Rylea walked out of her room and downstairs to meet up with her father and brother.
-

"What could possibly be taking her so long?" Ryu fumed while tapping his foot impatiently on the kitchen floor.

Ryo just shook his head at his son's intolerant behavior while scanning through the messages on his cell, making sure he hadn't missed an important call while dealing with other issues. "Just chill, Rye. She'll be down in a minute," he told him calmly, calling him by his nickname.

Ryu scoffed and folded his arms over his chest, "Well she'd better," he replied testily, "how long does it take a person to change?"

"Well at least we know now why you don't have very many dates. You're too impatient to wait for them to get around and actually go," Rylea sarcastically remarked to her brother's complaining as she came around the corner and entered into the kitchen.

Ryu smirked and opened his mouth to reply to her comment when Ryo felt it pertinent to intervene at that moment before a fight could break out between the two. "One sarcastic, cruel, or otherwise unneeded comment out of either of the two of you to each other and neither of you will be going anywhere, got it?" Ryo told his children with a very stern glare showing that he meant what he had said.

Rylea stuck her tongue out at Ryu in a childish manner, who in turn glared at her. "Rylea Marie what did I just say?" Ryo asked her in that 'parenting' voice.

Rylea grinned sweetly at her father, "Dad you listed only verbal things I couldn't do. Sticking my tongue out at him was not verbal so I did nothing wrong," she informed him with almost an acidic sweetness.

Ryu's eyes widened at her words and Ryo shook his head in annoyance with his daughter and her attitude. "If I had half a brain, I would ground you," Ryo threatened with a stern point of his finger in her direction before sighing and adding, "but I don't. Rylea, get out in the car before I hurt you, child."

Rylea did as she had been told, grabbing her shoes that were by the door she threw them on and bolted out the door to the car. When she was gone, Ryo sighed and turned to his son, "Something's up with her. I just know it," he said while grabbing his car keys off the table. Ryu nodded mutely and followed his father outside to where his car was parked.

"I'll take my car and meet you two there alright, Dad?" he asked while walking towards his parked car, already intent on taking it whether he agreed to it or not.

Ryo caught on to what Ryu was doing by taking his car and nodded his head. "Yeah, alright. Drive safe and you had better be there, Rye," he replied with a stern point of his finger in Ryu's direction. Ryu laughed as he waved him off disinterestedly. Getting in his car, he started it and pulled out of the long dirt driveway with a squeal of tires and dirt deliberately to annoy his father.

Ryo shook his head as he watched him leave and then jumped three feet in the air when the sound of the car's horn blew loudly beside him. Looking in the window of his car, Ryo was met by a grinning Rylea. He smirked and opened the car door, "I swear sometimes I could strangle you, Rylea," he dryly remarked to her as he got in the vehicle.

Rylea only smiled innocently back at him, "But, if you did that, Otousan, then you would be committing murder and for that you would get the death penalty," she sweetly informed him while flashing a pearly white smile.

Ryo started the car and then looked over at his daughter with a smug smile as he backed out of the driveway. "But who would ever suspect such a loving and caring father like me could kill his own child?" he shot back mockingly to her.

"Anyone with half a brain," Rylea muttered under her breath.

"Rylea get real. Do you honestly think I would ever lay a hand on you?" Ryo asked his daughter while keeping his eyes on the road. She shrugged and reached over to turn on the radio. Ryo turned it off immediately after she had turned it on and had to listen to her screech of protest at his actions. "I want to talk to you about a few things if you don't mind," he told her with dry humor and a sideways glance.

Rylea sat back against the seat with an agitated huff, "I knew it! I knew there was a reason for him taking his own car," she exasperatedly huffed out while turning her face to look out the car window.

"Lea," Ryo started, changing his tone to a softer one, "Baby what's going on?"

Rylea kept her face turned away from him, her eyes were focused on the mirage of colors that flew by the window in an almost hypnotizing way. "Nothing," she muttered out, "Nothing is wrong and before you bring up the nightmare thing it was nothing, too."

Ryo smirked at her answer. He had already mildly been waiting for her to say that; he knew her a little better than she thought he did. Stopping at a red light, he turned to look at her, "Lea, come on; you know you can tell me anything," he prodded on, trying his best to get her to open up and talk to him. Rylea rolled her eyes in a bored fashion and fixed him with an annoyed expression. "Lea, I'm just trying to find out if everything's ok," Ryo continued at the look she gave him, "That was one bad nightmare you had, Jouchan."

"Green light!" Rylea happily exclaimed when the traffic light had turned to green and cars began to move once again.

Ryo turned his head back to focus on the road. With a sigh, he gave up trying to get anything out of his stubborn daughter; when she was in this state of mind it was no use in wasting his time and breath. Nothing he could say to her was going to make her open up to him and Ryo knew that. "There's a charity ball next Friday Lea and I want you to come to it with me," he said, changing the subject as they drove on.

Rylea gave a disgusted growl at the very thought of having to go. "Dad do I have to?" she whined.

Ryo chuckled at her answer; he had expected he'd get that kind of reaction from her. "Lea, I don't see why you hate them so much. Everybody only has the nicest things to say about you," he replied with that I'm-trying-not-to-smile type look on his face.

Rylea huffed in disbelief at his reply, "Oh yeah, right. All they ever do is tell me how much I look like you and how adorable I am."

"While they pinch your adorable little cheeks and shake your whittle face around," Ryo added to her complaining, pinching her cheek and copying what they would do. Rylea growled and swatted his hand away while he only laughed at her antics.

"Not funny, Dad," she retorted while crossing her arms moodily over her chest, "keep your eyes on the road."

"Yes ma'am," Ryo grinned at her, knowing he had annoyed her and she mocked him in return. When you had a child like Rylea, sometimes all you could do was grin. "Come on, lighten up. I was only teasin', Lea," he told her and tried to reach over to ruffle her hair, but Rylea only batted at his hand and moved her head farther away from him. "Oh, so it's going to be like that, huh? You're gonna be like that, are you?" he exclaimed in fake anger while reaching over before she could move away and tickling her side.

"No! Stop it," Rylea chortled out while trying to scoot away from her father's hand.

Ryo grinned and stopped to resume his driving. "Come on, Lea. You're not going to go just because a few people comment on the fact you inherited my good looks?" he asked with slight humor and sarcasm; he was enjoying every minute of this.

Rylea looked at him with an 'oh-please', annoyed expression. Ryo only smiled more. "Ok, don't believe me? Those beautiful blue eyes that you always get compliments on all the time, you got from me. That dazzling smile is mine too and," he continued, ruffling her messy dark brown-black hair, "the hairstyle and even color is mine too. Face it, kiddo, they say you're a female version of me because you are."

"Yeah, yeah," she replied while waving him off, "you don't have to remind me."

"Why does that bother you so much, Lea?" he asked her with a glance over at her, "you don't like looking like your old man? I'm somewhat offended by that."

Rylea laughed at his fake sniffle and hurt face, shaking her head at how immature he could be at times. "No, Dad, I don't mind the fact that I'm cursed with your looks," she sarcastically replied grinning at the smirk she got from him, "It's the fact that they bring it up over and over again. It begins to sound a lot like a broken record, ya know?"

Ryo had to agree with his daughter. It did start to become annoying after a while; a person can only hear 'what a beautiful little girl. She looks just like her father,' so many times before it starts to get old. "Rylea, you're going to hear that for the rest of your life. Learn to deal with it, because you're coming, like it or not," he told her and his tone said that the conversation was over and she was going no matter what.

"You know what," Rylea drawled out while cocking her head to the side to look at her father, "Just one good time, I would love to pop you one. Jus' one good time," she stated to him while shaking one fist at him to emphasize her point.

Ryo chuckled wryly and cocked one dark eyebrow at his daughter, "Oh, aren't we getting testy?" he replied with fake shock, "Well, now that you've got that off your chest, you feel any better?"

Rylea smiled proudly at herself and exclaimed, "Yup!"

Ryo only shook his head in slight mirth at her actions, smiling at the fact that she was back to acting like her normal self again. When she had turned the radio on and went back to staring out the window, while singing along at times to a favorite song, he frowned in his own worried thoughts. What is going on with you? What won't you tell me, Lea? I wish I knew how to make you open up to me hopefully, when you do, it's not too late. Ryo's eyes slanted into a frown as he thought more, concern growing on his face. He glanced over at the girl next to him and then back at the road, keeping on his way to their destination.

Her father's worry filled thoughts flowed through Rylea's mind and that time she was certain that he hadn't spoken them aloud. Her eyes lowered as a sigh escaped her at what she'd, unbeknownst to Ryo, heard. I wish I could tell you, Dad, but even I don't have a clue as to what is going on with me. Turning her head to look out the car window once again as silence fell over the two, Rylea let the sounds of the music flow through her while watching the sights fly by.