Notes: Today, September 17, is Kuzuhina Day! So I'm posting the next chapter! Happy Kuzuhina Day! (Though it's almost over where I am... just barely posting this before midnight!)

I had to cut this chapter in half-ish because it was getting too long. So there's already a bunch done on the next chapter, and I'm hoping to get that up before the end of the month. No promises, but since I'm falling behind on the update rate I had hoped for, I wanna try to catch up...!

Waiting for Rainbows
Chapter 6: But for some reason I stare at it for minutes on end

Hinata's shoes squelched uncomfortably with each step; he wouldn't have thought that he'd get so thoroughly soaked from running just a few blocks to find shelter, but it was usually the late-season typhoons that were the strongest, after all.

He looked over at Kuzuryu running at his side, who was in much the same state as Hinata: soaking wet and struggling to find some sort of shelter from the deluge. Squinting against the limited visibility, the shorter man pointed ahead and to their left. "There, that store has something we can stand under."

Hinata followed Kuzuryu's directions, and a few seconds later, they managed to duck under the awning in front of a closed deli.

Sighing, Hinata flapped his shirt in a futile attempt to keep it from sticking uncomfortably to his skin. "Remind me again whose idea it was to go see a movie when there was a typhoon blowing in?"

Kuzuryu glared up at him. "The ticket vouchers were only good for today, okay? How about you remind me who said we'd have enough time to find a place to get dinner before the rain started?"

"That was the fault of the weatherman, not me." In all honesty, Hinata hadn't thought to check the updated forecast since the day before, but he decided to keep that to himself. "Guess the storm moved faster than they expected."

"No shit, you think?"

Hinata sighed as they fell into companionable silence. There was no real hostility behind their sniping, and they both knew it. It had simply become the norm in their interactions over the few weeks they had spent together; if anything, Hinata took it as evidence that they were on friendly terms. It meant that Kuzuryu still wanted to talk to him, even if it was to sling half-hearted insults. It was far better than the days of radio silence following that night at the bar.

Hinata still didn't know what Kuzuryu's reaction that night had been about; he hadn't really found the right opportunity to bring it up. He wasn't sure if he should ever bring it up. When Kuzuryu had finally shown up again after three days of no contact, it was with his usual demeanor, strolling into the koban like he owned the place and stating with no room for argument that he and Hinata were going out for drinks and karaoke in Roppongi.

During the two weeks since then they had spent time together rather frequently, though it wasn't always easy to find time between Hinata's work and whatever shady commitments Kuzuryu had going on. Upon discovering that Saturday was the one day a week that Hinata had the whole day off, however, Kuzuryu had decided to make sure that he was also free that day, and put on an act of being horribly grumpy about it.

And that was how they found themselves braving a typhoon in Hachioji on a Saturday afternoon just to take advantage of some free movie tickets.

Hinata sighed and watched the rain as it poured beyond the awning, dripping in rivulets like a curtain. "Why are we just standing around here, anyway?" he said finally. "It's not like this is a light shower that will pass over us quickly... I don't think waiting out the storm here is a viable option."

"Obviously," Kuzuryu replied. "I'm trying to call Peko to pick us up, but... shit, my hands are too wet, I can't work my phone..."

Hinata peered over at Kuzuryu curiously, watching him try to use his smartphone. The device itself seemed to still work, as the screen was illuminated as normal, but Kuzuryu's finger presses were indeed not registering. "I'm not sure it'll be any better, but want me to give it a try?"

"Fuck no, don't touch my phone."

"Right," Hinata sighed, turning his gaze forward again. Kuzuryu, he had discovered, was incredibly touchy about Hinata handling his phone. He supposed it made sense, given Kuzuryu's family business, but if he were perfectly honest it kind of hurt. He wouldn't go digging around in Kuzuryu's business, and he felt that Kuzuryu should know that perfectly well by now. Hadn't they built up enough trust over the past weeks?

"Goddammit," Kuzuryu cursed, still struggling with his phone. "The fucking thing just won't work..."

"I'm right here, Young Master."

Hinata jumped slightly when Pekoyama appeared not far from his left side. "Pekoyama, there you are!"

She stood as emotionlessly as ever, shielded by a black umbrella held in one hand, with two other folded umbrellas in the other. "I wasn't very far, but with the two of you running around like that it took a while to find you. You can take these." She held out the two umbrellas, which the men accepted gratefully. "The car is on the way with dry clothes so you won't catch cold." She looked at Hinata pointedly. "There's a change of clothes for you as well."

"Me?" Hinata's brows furrowed in confusion as he fiddled with the umbrella. "I appreciate that, but I'm just going to get wet again going to and from the station. I don't think the umbrella's going to hold up when the wind kicks in."

Pekoyama shook her head. "You won't be taking the train. You're getting in the car as well."

"The car?" As if on cue, headlights appeared in the pouring rain, and the sleek black car pulled to a stop in front of the deli. As Pekoyama opened the door for them, Hinata backed away, smiling sheepishly. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll just take the train. It's really not a big—"

"The trains further downtown are already going out of service due to flooding," Pekoyama cut him off, motioning to the door for Hinata to go in after Kuzuryu. "You're not getting anywhere by train tonight. We'll drive you."

Hinata looked at her curiously, but climbed into the car regardless. "Well... thanks. You know where the dormitory is, then?"

"Yes, but that's in the other direction," she said. "Driving there and then back will put Young Master in too much danger, and his safety takes priority over yours. You'll stay at the house with us tonight."

"The house?!" Kuzuryu yelped in surprise as he paused in finding a comfortable sitting position in his soaking clothes. "We're taking him to the house? What the hell are you thinking?!"

"We're already running the risk of encountering flash floods as it is," Pekoyama clipped as she climbed into the front passenger seat. "We can't afford to take any detours, so we're going straight to the house. Hinata will be taken back home once the storm has passed tomorrow."

Hinata shifted in his seat uncomfortably, and not just because of the way his quickly chilling clothes fell against his skin. "Is that, uh... okay?"

Pekoyama peered back at him coolly, then to Kuzuryu. "Well, Young Master? Is there a problem with that?"

Kuzuryu gave Pekoyama a pointed look, then glanced at Hinata, and finally he sighed. "Whatever, it should be fine. Now where are those clothes already, we're freezing here and it fucking sucks!"

Pekoyama nodded shortly and passed a small pile of clothes back to the two men. "Here you go. Hinata, I wasn't sure what size you wear, but it should fit well enough."

"Thanks," Hinata said, accepting the larger set of dry clothes. He unfolded the shirt and inspected it; a hooded sweatshirt. It looked warm and, above all else, dry. "Honestly, I'm just surprised you had clothes in my size on hand. Do you often keep a change of clothes in your cars?"

"Some jobs can get a bit messy, so it's always helpful to keep spare clothing on hand for our men, just in case."

Hinata felt a chill entirely unrelated to his soaked clothing as he registered exactly what the silver-haired woman had just implied. Suddenly that sweatshirt didn't seem quite as warm and comforting.

He sighed, figuring that there was nothing to be done about that, and he began unbuttoning his shirt, glancing over to Kuzuryu as he did. The shorter man had already unbuttoned his own shirt and was pulling it over his head, the muscles in his shoulders flexing with the movement—

—and for some reason, Hinata couldn't look away.

His eyes were drawn to the pale scars criss-crossing Kuzuryu's arms and torso. There weren't exactly a lot of them, but there were more than a few, and looking at them made Hinata's stomach turn in a way that he assumed must have been concern for the yakuza's well-being. It made sense that he'd have such scars, though; Kuzuryu was involved in dangerous work, and it was only natural that sometimes weapons would be drawn.

Kuzuryu managed to pull his shirt off completely, exposing shoulders lightly dusted with freckles, and threw it to the floor while shaking his head to shake off the droplets still clinging to his hair. He picked up the dry shirt that Pekoyama had handed him and went to put it on, his shoulder muscles flexing again as he prepared to pull it over his head, but he paused, his eyes meeting Hinata's, and it was then that Hinata realized that he had been staring.

Shit. He had been staring.

"The fuck do you want?" Kuzuryu bit out, eyebrow cocking curiously.

"Ah, I..." Hinata floundered for words, unsure of even how to explain to himself what had just happened. He had been staring? At his friend's bare torso? Why? His cheeks felt warm as his mouth flapped soundlessly. "Uh, tattoos," Hinata finally managed to say, the first word to come to mind that seemed to make more sense than the flurry of strange thoughts in his head. "You don't have any."

"Yeah, way to rub it in, dumbass." Kuzuryu scowled and pulled on the shirt, obscuring that pale, scarred expanse of skin. "Dad says I can't get the dragon before I really prove myself as the heir, and there's no point in getting any other ink before that."

"I see." Hinata tried to convince himself that he was truly interested in the topic, and his intuition told him that there was something important in what Kuzuryu had said, but he couldn't seem to focus on it well enough to come up with a suitable follow-up. He ultimately let it drop and pulled his own shirt over his head.

The car began to move, and as Hinata shrugged fully into the sweatshirt, he heard Pekoyama whisper to Kuzuryu, "Young Master."

Apparently those two words were all Kuzuryu needed for her message to be understood. "Ah, right. Hinata, turn toward me for a moment."

"Huh?" Hinata turned to look at Kuzuryu curiously, summarily obeying his order even if he hadn't actually meant to. "What's up?"

Kuzuryu's hands rose to reach towards Hinata's face, and Hinata's thoughts skidded to a halt. Suddenly his heart was pounding against his ribcage; he wasn't sure if it was fear or... something else? What was going on? Part of him was screaming to back away, and another part urged him to lean closer, which resulted in Hinata just staying frozen in place as Kuzuryu's hands slid across either side of his face, brushing against his hair—

—and suddenly Hinata couldn't see anything as the sweatshirt's hood was flipped upward and over his eyes, the drawstring pulled tight to keep it secured in place.

"Oh," Hinata found himself saying out loud. He... wasn't sure exactly what he had been expecting, or anticipating, but that wasn't it. "You're not going to let me see where we're going, then."

"Nope," came Kuzuryu's voice. "And gimme your cell phone."

"Why should I? You don't let me touch yours."

"Just give me the fucking phone, Hinata."

Hinata sighed and fumbled in his pocket to retrieve the phone. "Nobody's going to be tracking my location, you know." He waved the phone in the air aimlessly until it seemed to find Kuzuryu's outstretched hand, and he felt it gently pulled from his fingers.

"Yeah, sure, but just in case." Hinata heard the familiar shut-down tone of his cell phone, and then a rustling of fabric to indicate that it had been stashed away somewhere.

Hinata hesitated a moment. "I mean, I know where your main office is, though. Actually, isn't it close by? We have the address on file at—" He was cut off abruptly as he was yanked downwards and to the right, close to where Kuzuryu would be.

"Listen, you dumbass," Kuzuryu hissed through the cloth close to Hinata's ear, sending shivers down his spine. "The Hachioji office is one thing, that shit's public knowledge. But we can't go revealing where we can be killed in our sleep. And you better make fucking sure you don't let slip that you're a cop while you're there, like you just almost did. Peko and I know, but no one else does, and if the guys at home find out there's a good fucking chance you're not gonna wake up tomorrow morning." Finally Kuzuryu released his grip on Hinata's sweatshirt, allowing him to sit upright again.

"...Right," was all Hinata could think to say.

"And you!" Hinata wasn't sure who Kuzuryu was addressing then, but he heard a thump as if Kuzuryu had kicked something. "You didn't hear anything that this dumbass just said, got it?!"

"Of course, Young Master," came an unfamiliar male voice, who must have been the driver.

The car fell into silence, and Hinata sat back in the plush seat, trying to adjust to the sudden loss of one of his senses. "You know, couldn't you have just used a normal blindfold?" he asked, shifting his head to get the hood to lie more comfortably against his face. "I probably look really ridiculous like this."

"Yeah, you do," Kuzuryu responded with a laugh. "That's kind of the point."

"Gee, thanks."

The conversation died off once again, and Hinata tried to relax and not dwell on the idea of spending the night at a yakuza household. He tried focusing instead on the endless staccato of raindrops pelting the car, coalescing into a steady, even rhythm.

Hinata wasn't sure how long they had been driving; without any way of checking his watch or phone, he couldn't tell how much time had passed, but it felt like longer than it probably should have been. "You're not taking me around in circles to throw off your location, are you?" he eventually asked.

"We have no time for that," came Pekoyama's clipped voice.

"And knowing you, you probably didn't even think to start counting the turns until just now, anyway."

"Hey, that's not true!" Hinata retorted to Kuzuryu's jab. It had actually occurred to him a few minutes earlier that he could mentally keep track of their route... but it was true that it had been too late to be of much use.

After a few more minutes, Hinata started to feel a sort of pressure in his ears, and he frowned. The air pressure was changing, indicating a change in elevation... were they going into the mountains? Inwardly, he tried to keep from panicking; were they leaving Tokyo? He hadn't gotten a good look at Kuzuryu's residence card that first night that they met, but he was pretty sure he would have noticed and remembered if it had indicated that the Kuzuryus lived in a different prefecture. So were they not going to the house after all?

Was he being taken into a remote place to finally be killed off?

He shook his head. After all the time he had spent with Kuzuryu, it was ridiculous to jump to such conclusions.

"Um, can you maybe get off?"

"Huh?" Shaken from his thoughts, Hinata suddenly realized that he was grasping something soft and warm in his right hand... and realizing that it was probably Kuzuryu's arm, he hurriedly let go and backed away. "Sorry! I didn't— sorry."

Kuzuryu didn't immediately respond, but Hinata thought he heard Pekoyama chuckle lightly. For the first time during the drive, Hinata found himself truly wishing he could see, if only to find out what sort of expression Kuzuryu was making to elicit that sort of reaction.

"Shut up, Peko," the yakuza mumbled. "Anyway, we're almost there, so relax and stop fucking cutting off my circulation, okay?"

"Was I really grabbing you that hard?"

Hinata got no answer to his question.

Shortly afterward the car came to a stop, and Hinata was hustled out of the car, his hood removed just in time for him to make out the dark shapes of rustling leaves against the stormy sky before being pulled into the house.

"Are we really still in Tokyo?" Hinata couldn't help himself from asking, taken aback by how rural the surroundings seemed to be.

"It doesn't matter where the fuck we are," Kuzuryu snapped.

"We're still in Tokyo," Pekoyama confirmed.

"Goddammit, Peko, I—"

"Welcome home, Young Master!"

Without warning, a crowd of men flooded the entranceway. Hinata was taken aback by the sudden chorus of voices and just barely managed to stop himself from stumbling backward into Pekoyama. He had seen plenty of comedies where yakuza leaders would be welcomed home by a veritable mob of underlings, but he had always assumed it was just a gag that never actually happened in real life.

Though once the initial shock had passed, Hinata realized that no, it wasn't exactly like in the movies. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something in the men's expressions... It almost seemed like there was a sort of desperation lying just beneath the surface, but what could that mean?

Whatever it was, Kuzuryu seemed to take no notice, his response nonchalant as he slipped off his shoes. "Yeah, I'm home, whatever. Now stop crowding the entrance, I can't get through."

The crowd parted to let the yakuza heir through, and after some hesitation, Hinata stepped out of his own shoes and followed Kuzuryu into the short hallway to the front living room. He watched the gangsters out of the corner of his eye as he passed; for the most part, they seemed to fit his mental image of the stereotypical yakuza grunt, sporting scars and tattoos and jewelry. Upon spotting someone missing a pinky finger, though, he immediately diverted his attention elsewhere, his stomach churning. That wasn't a reality that he felt quite ready to face.

Instead, he leaned forward to whisper into Kuzuryu's ear. "What was that about? Do they always do that?"

Kuzuryu looked at Hinata, mouth set into an uncomfortable frown, but just as he was about to answer his gaze shifted focus to a point beyond Hinata's shoulder, and he quickly looked away. "It's nothing," he murmured. "Don't worry about it."

Despite Kuzuryu's quickened pace across the floor, Hinata paused and turned in the direction the young heir had been looking moments earlier. He found himself peering through a doorway leading to a connected living area where another group of gangsters had gathered, but as a stark contrast to those who had welcomed Kuzuryu home, they were glaring with barely contained venom. Hinata frowned in confusion. They couldn't be glaring at him, could they? Beyond being an outsider, Hinata couldn't have done anything to justify such a response already. They wouldn't even know about his profession.

So had their wrath been directed towards Kuzuryu?

"Hinata." He nearly jumped when he heard Pekoyama's hissed whisper at his ear. "Let's go."

"Uh, right." He took one last glance at the room before following after to catch up with Kuzuryu. "But what was—"

"Just leave it be, Hinata."

Hinata shut himself up, frowning as he dutifully kept his questions to himself. He had expected that the Kuzuryu home would be far from anything he had ever experienced before, but it was all leaving him more puzzled than he could have imagined.

"Hurry it up," Kuzuryu grumbled, grabbing Hinata's sleeve to pull him into the corridor. "Let's get you settled in before—"

"Fuyuhiko!"

Kuzuryu stopped short, grimacing and immediately dropping Hinata's arm.

Hinata turned to see a large, intimidating man approaching them from down the corridor. He was dressed in a dark kimono and haori, giving the distinct impression that this was someone of much greater importance than the other gangsters they had passed. Above all, he was tall; at 179 centimeters, Hinata didn't meet too many people taller than himself, but he could see himself needing to crane his neck just to look the man in the face. Of course, it wouldn't help that he'd probably end up cowering in the man's presence to begin with.

Cursing under his breath, Kuzuryu shoved Hinata backward, stepping up to address the man. "Dad," he said simply.

"Dad?!" Hinata whispered to Pekoyama at his side. "That's Kuzuryu's dad?!"

Pekoyama gave a small, wry smile. "The young master takes very much after his mother," she answered.

"Fuyuhiko," the man repeated. "Where the hell have you been all day?"

Kuzuryu shrugged. "I was in Hachioji. Got a problem with that?"

"That's all the more reason you should have been in contact with the office." The mob boss crossed his arms across his chest, glaring down at his son. "If you were in Hachioji, why weren't you taking charge of any of the work we have there?"

"It's not that I wasn't—" Kuzuryu glanced back quickly at Hinata and Pekoyama. "Listen, just leave me the fuck alone, all right? I'm doing my own stuff at my own pace, so back off, old man."

His father hardened his glare, but then he looked past Kuzuryu, his gaze settling on Hinata. "So who's that?"

Hinata would have answered for himself, except that he very suddenly couldn't find his voice.

"That's Hinata," Kuzuryu answered instead. "He's... a friend. We both got stuck in the rain, so..."

Silently, the godfather approached Hinata, who fought with all his might not to wither under the man's intense gaze. He had no idea what to do or what to prepare for; even with his police training, he had a feeling that Kuzuryu's father could snap him in half like a twig with very little effort.

The man stared down at Hinata fiercely for several nerve-wracking moments, and just when Hinata thought his legs would give way beneath him, Kuzuryu's father nodded in approval. "Good eyes," he said gruffly, and clapped a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Feel free to stay the night."

"I... yeah," Hinata managed, finally finding his voice again. "Thank you."

The mob boss then turned back to address his son. "But you and I need to talk. Come with me."

Kuzuryu looked about ready to protest, but he ultimately held back, nodding his compliance. "Fine, whatever. Pekoyama," he said, turning to his bodyguard. "You take Hinata and get him settled in, got it?"

The silver-haired woman bowed. "Understood, Young Master."

"Now, Fuyuhiko."

With one last glance in Hinata's direction, Kuzuryu turned and followed his father deeper into the house.

Hinata glanced at Pekoyama awkwardly, suddenly aware that this was the first time he had been alone with the woman for more than a few moments.

"The Master seems to like you," she said.

"Oh. Yeah?" Hinata laughed nervously; he wasn't sure what to think about members of the yakuza taking such a shine to him, and a godfather at that.

Pekoyama said nothing further in response, simply studying Hinata silently for a moment. "Hmm," she said finally. "In any case, let me show you to your guest room."

Walking through the house with Pekoyama gave Hinata the his first chance to really take in the Kuzuryu household. It seemed to be a traditional Japanese house, and they were walking through what would have been the outer veranda if it weren't for the wooden storm doors that currently enclosed the space. He could hear so many tree branches whipping the storm doors in the wind that he once again found himself wondering if they really were still in Tokyo.

The house was also very large, if the sheer length of the veranda was any indication. At one point Pekoyama stopped, leading Hinata to believe that they had arrived at the room she was guiding him to, but she simply pulled a futon and some bedding from a closet before handing it over to Hinata and leading him down yet another corridor.

Finally, after several more minutes of walking, she stopped in front of a shoji door and opened it to reveal an empty room. "This will be your guest room," she stated simply as Hinata took the opportunity to free his arms and place the bedding on the floor. "The toilet is down the hall that way, and if you want to take a bath, it's further down and around the corner over there. Ah, and don't enter this room here." Pekoyama indicated a door two doors up from Hinata's guest room. "That room belonged to the young miss, and if you step foot in there I can guarantee there will be bloodshed."

Hinata took a moment to process all the information he had suddenly been given. "Hold on, 'young miss'? Does Kuzuryu have a sister?" He decided to pointedly ignore the more threatening part of her statement.

Pekoyama froze, then turned towards Hinata slowly, a considering look on her face. "...I see. I suppose he wouldn't tell you that, would he..."

Hinata wasn't sure if he had been meant to hear those quietly murmured words, but he persisted with his questions. "And you used the past tense. Did something happen to her?"

"Hinata." Pekoyama fixed him with a hard, stern stare. "This is something you should be discussing with the young master, not me."

There was a beat of silence between them. "...Yeah," Hinata agreed finally. "You're right. Sorry, Pekoyama."

Pekoyama studied him for a moment longer before speaking again. "...But I should warn you, it's—"

"Oh, Peko-chan!"

Their conversation was cut short by a light, airy voice, and Hinata turned to see Kuzuryu's mother approaching from down the hallway.

He had never met the woman before, of course, but the instant Hinata saw her he knew that must be who she was. She was a petite woman with long blonde hair pinned up into a bun, and despite her fond smile, there was an intensity about her that instantly put Hinata on edge.

Pekoyama was right: Kuzuryu definitely took after his mother.

"I'm so glad you're home," the woman enthused, gently taking Pekoyama's hands in her own. "I trust that you've brought Fuyuhiko-chan home safely as well?"

Hinata stifled a laugh. Fuyuhiko-chan?

"Of course, ma'am," Pekoyama answered in her usual stiff tone. "I wouldn't return without him."

Kuzuryu's mother nodded. "Thank you for always taking such good care of him." She turned her head then and focused her gaze on Hinata. "And who is this?"

Hinata immediately fixed his posture and bent forward in a bow. "My name's Hajime Hinata," he greeted. "I'm a friend of Kuzu— uh, of Fuyuhiko... san. Sorry for the intrusion."

"Hmm..." As Hinata stood up straight again, he saw the woman stepping lightly towards him, peering up into his face with an appraising look. Hinata stared back, unsure of what to do but feeling that it wouldn't be right to break from the woman's gaze.

Finally, she smiled softly at him. "Well, it's very nice to meet you." Just as she had with Pekoyama, she reached forward and took Hinata's hands, holding them gently, her fingertips mere feather touches against his palms. Her hands were cold; Hinata remembered reading somewhere that having cold hands meant a person had a warm heart, but given the frightening aura he could sense behind her kind facade, he wasn't sure how true that was in this case. Even so, those soft, cool hands were what Hinata could only describe as "motherly."

Without thinking, he jerked away from her touch.

Kuzuryu's mother blinked up at him, then smiled gently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. But please make yourself at home tonight, Hinata-kun. Hopefully the storm should pass before morning."

"R-right, thanks." Hinata nodded and rubbed his hands surreptitiously against his slacks, trying to fight the desire to rudely shove them into his pockets. "Thanks for letting me stay the night."

She gave him one last smile before turning back to Pekoyama. "Peko-chan, where is Fuyuhiko-chan, by the way?"

"Master Akihiko took him aside a little while ago, so I assume that they're still in the midst of discussion."

"I see..." Kuzuryu's mother's smile faded, a dark look falling upon her face. "It seems I have matters to attend to, then. If you'll excuse me..." Smiling sweetly once again, she bowed and turned to leave.

The two returned the bow, straightening up again once Kuzuryu's mother had turned the corner, and Hinata was surprised to see Pekoyama's usual expression of cool indifference break into a worried frown. "What is it?" he asked.

She sighed and shook her head. "It's nothing. In any case, you've met every member of the Kuzuryu main family now." Pekoyama turned to face Hinata directly; her expression was steady once again, but he could still detect some faint concern. "Will you be fine on your own from here? I should go check on the young master before the situation takes a turn for the worse..."

"Oh, yeah, sure." He actually wasn't entirely comfortable being alone in a house full of yakuza, but if something had Pekoyama of all people so on edge, it didn't seem right to keep her from whatever "a turn for the worse" might be. "It's just setting up the futon in that guest room there, right? I think I can manage."

She gave a short nod and turned to leave. "Right. I'll be going, then."

Hinata watched Pekoyama disappear around the corner, then turned to go into the guest room when he paused.

He looked towards the room two doors up the hall.

"You've met every member of the Kuzuryu main family now."

Hinata gripped the edge of the shoji door tightly as he fully processed the meaning behind those words.

He had met Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, of course, as well as his father and mother.

Whatever sister Kuzuryu may or may not have had, she didn't exist anymore.

Notes: This chapter is when I started really regretting the decision to translate all the terms of address Peko uses. It's such a pain to figure out alternatives to things like "okusama" and "ojou"! But for the sake of readability, I tried my best!