H o s h i - g a - H o s h i i - d e s u

"I want the stars"

by Lucathia

a/n: (blinks) When I said "start of school," I meant that for the SK characters of course! Not me...I'm about to take finals right now! I wish it were just the start of school for me...

...and now we return back to Funbari Onsens...however...Sora needed to finish her reunion with her family...so the "start of school" will be in the next chapter. Eight chapters is just a rough estimate of how many chapters are left. There will most likely be more...because my estimates are always horribly off.(sweatdrops)

chapter 34: acknowledgement

"You weren't able to protect my family from Hao."

Sora stared at her parents, her words hanging in the air.

Yohmei uncrossed his arms, letting his hands drop by his side. His eyes were wide with disbelief. "What?"

"You heard me," said Sora quietly, somewhat stricken. She had never seen her father lose his composure. Normally, she would have given anything to see her father shaken up, but now that it was happening in front of her, she wished it wasn't happening. Her father had been the epitome of calmness and reliability. To her, he had been a towering authority figure who had seemed untouchable, unchallengeable. Now however, the person standing in front of her was just a man, a normal man who had been trying his hardest to protect his family.

And failed.

Yohmei turned his face away from Sora, unable to look her in the eye. His body shook as he covered his face with his right hand.

"Yohmei," murmured Kino.

Yohmei put his left hand in the air to stop her from speaking further. "I'm okay."

Without looking at Sora, Yohmei started murmuring to himself. "Your husband and little Hoshi...it can't be..."

It was a sad thing, thought Sora. It took her seventeen years away from Japan and her entire lifetime before that to discover that her father was human after all. And it took Yohmei her husband and her son's death to make him see that he had been wrong. His desire to protect her and her family had been genuine, but his way of doing it had been entirely wrong.

They were truly a sad pair of father and daughter.

"...they were killed..." Yohmei finished his own statement. He gripped his hands together. Then, uncharacteristically, Yohmei began berating himself. "I...sent them to their deaths! If I hadn't disowned you thinking that I could protect all of you, I would have at least had you all in sight. Maybe then...I could have protected you."

Sora looked to the ground, her drive to reprimand her parents dissipating. She had wanted them to know what she felt about their decision to outcast her, but seeing her father feel so guilty was making her uncomfortable. She, in truth, blamed no one for their deaths except for herself. She had tried to blame her father and then Hao...but nothing could ease her pain. Nothing helped her forget.

"It's not your fault, otousan," whispered Sora. Immediately after she said those words, she covered her mouth. What was she thinking, calling him Father? She wasn't even part of the family anymore. She wasn't...

She stopped thinking when a pair of arms encircled her. Her eyes widened when she found her father hugging her and her mother holding her hands.

"I'm relieved that you are still willing to call me father."

Kino squeezed Sora's hands. "We're proud of having you as our daughter. I'm sorry that you never knew that until now."

Sora nodded numbly, unable to speak. This was what she had wanted all along. Acknowledgement from her parents. Her son, no, her sons, wouldn't be without a family now.

Mikihisa reached out to grasp Keiko's hand, and together, they stood by the side, watching without a word.

Outside the dining room, the younger generation was straining their ears trying to catch words from the heated argument. When the other side of the door fell silent, they were going nuts trying to figure out what was happening.

Or at least Manta was going nuts, since he was a natural worrywart.

True to his nature, Manta wrung his hands together as he paced across the room in his short strides. What was going on in the other room? He had to know! After Sora had made it clear to the others that her family hadn't been protected from Hao, the argument in the other room had suddenly dropped in volume. He hadn't been able to hear anything after that.

What was happening? It was ironic, perhaps, that he was even more worried than Yoh, who if his grandfather wasn't the epitome of calmness, he certainly was. Manta was probably even more worried than Tsuki, who was more confused than worried.

When the door finally opened again, Manta's head jerked up.

He sighed in relief upon seeing the gentle smile on Sora's face.

The woman immediately beckoned her son over. "Tsuki, come and meet your grandparents and your aunt and uncle."

An incredulous look crossed Tsuki's face before it melted into one of wonder.

"I have grandparents? And an aunt? And even an uncle?"

Sora nodded. She smiled as she added as an afterthought. "And Yoh-san's your cousin as well."

Tsuki blinked before turning towards Yoh.

"Did you hear that? Yoh-niisan, you really are my cousin!"

Manta stopped wringing his hands as he watched Tsuki happily pull Yoh-kun up in celebration.

Anna tried to keep the smile off of her face, though she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from curving upwards. Sometimes, Yoh felt like a big child to her, but watching the little boy Tsuki try to coerce Yoh into jumping up and down with him made Anna realize that Yoh had grown up without her realizing it. At least he wasn't a hyper little kid like Tsuki anymore. They were such an adorable pair though...and Anna would die before she admitted that to anyone.

"C-Cute," murmured Tamao, her blush deepening as Ren raised his eyebrow at Tamao's words and Horo Horo frowned.

Leave it to Tamao to be both overly shy and open at the same time.

That thought made her tear her gaze away from the happy pair, instead focusing her attention on the woman at the doorway. Yohmei-ojiisama and Kino-obaasama had approached Sora from behind. The woman turned around to face her parents once again.

"Where are you staying right now? Do you want to come back with us to Izumo?" asked Kino.

Sora seemed to be struggling to find an answer. She glanced at Tsuki, and Anna noticed that her gaze seem to linger on Yoh as well.

"I...I'm staying in a rented house near here," replied Sora finally, somewhat hesitantly.

"How are you supporting yourself? Where do you work?" asked Kino pressingly, concerned about her daughter's well-being now that she was in her sight once again.

Sora bit her lips. "I haven't found any work in Japan. Until now, I've been using the money that...my husband left me."

"I see. You should come back with us then," suggested Kino. "Paying for rent must be very taxing for you."

"That's true, but I...I think I want to stay here." Sora's eyes wandered around, looking everywhere but at her parents.

Anna pursed her lips. Sora's gaze really was straying towards Yoh a lot.

"Why? This city isn't your birth town. I wouldn't think that you'd have any lingering feelings for this city," commented Yohmei.

Sora closed her hands together. "I don't, but I'm waiting for someone. I have to stay here because I know this is the place he will return to."

"Waiting for someone? Who are you waiting for?" asked Mikihisa.

"Um...Hoshi," replied Sora, knowing that her answer was bound to cause more questions.

Keiko looked surprised. "Hoshi? I though you said that he..."

"I'm waiting for another person who goes by the name Hoshi," answered Sora.

"What? Who?" demanded Yohmei.

Sora glanced towards Yoh again before looking at the ground. She tightened her grip on her hands.

"Would telling you that 'Hoshi' is the new name that an amnesic Hao took on make things any easier to understand for you?" asked Sora quickly.

"WHAT?"

Apparently, that only made things more confusing.

Things gradually calmed down as they sorted out the facts. They now knew that Sora had been taking care of an amnesic Hao for the past year and that he had run off just recently. When Yohmei and Kino questioned her sanity for taking care of the murderer of her husband and son, Sora just shook her head, saying that Hoshi would always be a son to her before being a murderer. After hearing Sora's words, Keiko felt a strange sense of relief overwhelming her.

She whispered in a quiet voice that only Mikihisa could hear. "He's alive...my son is alive."

Mikihisa tightened his grip on Keiko's hand. "That's good news, isn't it? Even if he lost his memory, he's still alive."

Keiko nodded. After giving birth to Hao, Hao had burned Mikihisa's face. He hadn't killed any of them, but he certainly hadn't let any of them take care of him. She never had the chance to do so.

She looked at her older sister, who was currently sitting at the table, eating a late dinner with Tsuki. She was glad that Hao finally had the chance to learn about what it was like to have a mother and a brother, though she felt sad that she wasn't the one who taught him that. She glanced at Yoh. Was he feeling the same way? Did he regret that he wasn't the one who had taught Hao what it felt like to have a brother?

Keiko believed that her older sister, no matter what she thought about herself, was an amazing person. Her son Tsuki was just as amazing. They had been able to accomplish what no one else had been able to do.

Hao had stayed with them for an entire year. His losing his memory might have made it easier for them to reach him, but something else about them must have made Hao feel safe.

Keiko was grateful to her sister that Hao finally had a chance to start things anew. All this while, he had only been continuing the life that he started 1000 years ago. In every reincarnation, Hao had two identities. The Hao of 1000 years ago and the new identity he was born into. His new identity was always squashed in favor of the old Hao. His losing his memory...finally allowed him to live as the identity that he would have had if he hadn't remembered his past lives. In this life, Hao was still a teenager, and teenagers needed their families.

Keiko sure that Hao would return to the family that he felt safe with.

After all, no matter what had happened in the past, she was still his mother, and mothers knew things like that.

to be continued

Next chapter: start of school...or in which Yoh is entrusted the task of walking Tsuki to school. Is Yoh even capable of taking care of little kids? XD

Please review! See you next chapter!