Chapter Nine: Heartthrob, Heartache

"Yes, I'm coming…" I grumbled in response to my cell phone as it demanded my attention. Ushio had just left for school, and I was trying to get my own day started. Seeing who was calling, however, abruptly changed my disposition and I quickly picked it up. "Hello?

"Hey, Tomoya!" Kyou's voice greeted from the other end. "It's been a while."

"Yeah," I said, trying to remember when I had seen her last. "Yeah, last time we saw each other was the day before Ushio's grad party."

"Oh, that's right! How did that go? Did she have a good time?"

"As far as I could tell, she did," I said somewhat evasively, still feeling some residual awkwardness due to Kumiko's confession. "She had a bunch of friends over, and they watched movies and had snacks and stuff."

"Did any of them flirt with you?"

"N-No," I answered truthfully; technically, the situation with Kumiko was a confession as opposed to flirting. "No one flirted with me."

"That sounds like an evasion," she said impishly. "So what really happened?"

"I'm not talking about it," I said firmly. "It was a difficult situation to deal with, but I dealt with it and it's over, and I'd like to leave it that way."

"Okay, fair enough," she replied, more seriously this time. "Sorry."

"So what were you calling about?" I asked, trying to not sound like I was trying to get off the phone. "I'm not busy right now, so we can catch up if you want."

"Could we come over for dinner tonight? We'd bring the food."

"'We'?"

"Yeah, me and my sister and Kappei and the kids. I have something I'd like to tell everyone, and I'd like to do it over there…if that's okay, I mean."

"Why here? Your sister's house is a lot bigger."

"Because, Tomoya! Your place was the first place I went to for a major change, and now that I might be going through another, I'd like to… I'm not sure how to explain it."

"Is this your last change? If things work out, that is?"

"Yeah. I guess you could look at it like bookends. The first and the last, together."

"I think I understand…well enough, at least," I replied. "Well, if you don't mind being cramped, you're welcome to come over. I'm sure Ushio would be thrilled to see you, regardless."

"Oh, and you wouldn't be?" she said, her tone turning impish again.

"Kyou, we've been out of high school for while, now," I griped. "Can't I say a positive without you turning it into a negative?"

"Jeez, Tomoya, you're no fun!"

"We all have to be good at something," I deadpanned. "What time did you want to come over? I know you have dinner a little later than we do, so…"

"Six is fine; that's when you have dinner, right?"

"About that time, yeah."

I heard her briefly talk to someone on her end, then: "How about we plan to be there at five? That way, we can talk a little before starting dinner prep."

I took a moment to think about it. "Sure, that sounds fine," I told her. "Ushio'd probably like to help if she could."

"I'm sure we could fit her in somewhere…"

"All right; see you about five, then," I replied, ignoring her attempt at humor.

"See ya!"

I shook my head as I ended the call and placed my phone in my pocket. Ushio would probably want to help get our home ready for company, so I headed to my room and picked up my current read and plopped down in the corner for a nice, quiet time.

"T-Tomoya…"

"Hm."

"Tomoya…?"

"Huh?" I grunted as I sat up; I must have fallen asleep while reading.

"D-Daddy? Are you awake, now?"

I blinked several times as I waited for my eyes to adjust to the light and looked up to my daughter's face hovering inches from mine. "Oh, hey sweetie. Sorry…I must have fallen asleep."

"It's okay," she replied, and I noticed that her face was a little red. "You gave me a key a while ago, remember? I got in all right."

"Oh, right," I grunted as I got to my feet; I then remembered Kyou's phone call. "Hey, uh…" I started stretching from side to side to work out any kinks. "…Kyou and the Hiiragis will be coming for dinner tonight. Will that work? As far as I know, you didn't have anything going on this evening."

"Kyou-sensei?" she exclaimed as she clapped. "I haven't seen her in forever!"

"It hasn't been that long, but I'm glad you're excited," I said. "You up to helping me get the place ready? I almost started myself, but then I thought you'd like to help with something like this."

"Sure!" she chirped before giving me a quick hug. "Do you need me to run to the store for anything? I just need to put my school stuff away, and-"

"No, we're fine," I interrupted with a raised hand. "They'll be bringing stuff over to make, but they'd be open to you helping them with dinner prep, if you wanted."

"That sounds great!" She grabbed me by the hand. "Come on; let's go get things ready!"

All I could do was chuckle at her excitement as I let her drag me down the hall to the living room.

I looked up from my last bit of cleaning to a knock at the door, and I smiled as I glanced at the clock: Five-o-clock, right on the nose. "Coming…" I tossed my cleaning rag on the counter and gave my hands a quick wash before heading to the front door.

"Heeeeyyy…" Kyou greeted as I opened the door.

"Hey, Kyou," I greeted, smile still in place as I stepped aside. "Come on in."

"Thanks!" she chirped as she moved past me into our home, only to be immediately glomped by a squealing Ushio. I smiled, leaving them to their 'interaction' as I turned back to the door to greet the Hiiragis. "Hello Ryou, Kappei; it's good to see you again."

"Okazaki!" Kappei boomed, shaking my hand as Ryou bowed. "Good to see you again, too!"

"Thanks," I said, then gestured to the living room. "Go ahead and take a seat wherever you want."

"Thank you," Ryou replied softly as she followed her husband into my home.

Following them was Mika and a boy that I'd never seen before, but had heard about. "Mika-san, good to see you again; Tadashi-san, nice to meet you."

"Oh, that's right!" Kappei exclaimed as he headed back our way. "This is your first time seeing Tadashi, isn't it?"

"I think so," I replied. "I remember seeing Mika-san that one time about ten years ago, but…I think Ryou told me that he was at school at the time."

"Well, this is my boy!" Kappei said proudly as he threw his arm around his son's shoulder. "Hiiragi Tadashi, fifteen years old."

"Dad, I can speak for myself," the teenager complained, shrugging off his father's arm. He then politely bowed to me, an interesting contrast to his treatment of his dad. "Pleased to meet you, sir."

"Pleased to meet you, too," I replied, bowing as well. "Welcome to my home."

"Thank you," he replied, bowing once more before following his dad to the living room. As they went I had to hold back a snicker as I heard him complaining, followed by Kappei saying something in an apologetic tone.

After closing the door, I turned with a sigh and headed to the living room. To my surprise, my spot at the kotatsu was empty; Ushio must have had something to do with that. Instead of sitting in her usual spot, though, she was sitting next to mine.

"How are your classes going, Shio-chan?" Ryou asked as I settled into my seat. "Are you getting used to the school?"

"Almost," my daughter replied. "It's so much bigger than my old middle school, and there are a lot more students, too."

"A little intimidating, huh?" Kappei asked, with his arm around his wife.

"A little," Ushio admitted with a giggle. "But a lot of my friends from my old school are there, so it's not like I'm totally lost. "

"That's good."

"How about you two?" I asked the Hiiragi children. "You're on the student council, aren't you, Mika-san?"

"Yes, sir!" Mika chirped proudly. "I'm the head of the Disciplinary Committee."

"How many members are in that one?" I asked.

She brought her hand to her mouth with her giggle. "Just one."

"Seriously?" I chuckled. "That must keep you busy."

"You have no idea."

"I might have some idea," I said, allowing a smirk to form. "That delinquent act you saw wasn't completely an act."

"Tomoya-san?" Ryou interjected. "You sound like you've seen Mika recently."

"You didn't tell your parents?" I said, to which Mika shook her head. "I dressed up in my old school uniform to surprise Ushio at lunchtime, and…met up with your daughter on the way in."

"Sounds like there's more to it than that," Kyou said with a catty look. "Mika, what's he not telling us?"

The poor girl blushed furiously under the scrutiny of both of her parents as well as her aunt. "When I saw him, I thought…I thought he was a delinquent, and…threatened to take him to the principal's office."

"Seriously?" Kyou crowed as Kappei laughed. "It's about time!"

"But I should have known better!" Mika exclaimed, facing her family. "If I'd taken the time to look at his uniform instead of just making assumptions about him, I wouldn't have made that mistake!" She looked over at me, blush still in place. "Thank you for being so kind in spite of the way I treated you."

"Hey, I played along, didn't I?" I said, trying to calm her down. "If I'd just been upfront with you, this could have been cleared up easily."

"M-Maybe," she said, casting her gaze to the table. "Still, you gave me something important to think about, and…thank you."

"Wait a minute…Tomoya taught you something?" Kyou asked while giving me an impish look.

"What did he teach you?" Ryou asked, apparently trying to stop her sister's teasing.

The high-schooler's face scrunched cutely as she thought. "He taught me that…rules are there for us, and that we should be patient with others because we don't know what they might be going through."

The twins plus Kappei looked to me in disbelief. "You really said that to her?"

I shrugged awkwardly. "She put it better than I did, but yeah, that's the basic idea."

"You put it perfectly, sir," Mika said politely. "I just can't remember how you said it very well."

"Amazing…" Kyou breathed, her previous impish expression gone. "That's…really deep, Tomoya."

"It's not that deep," I said, feeling sheepish.

"No, that is impressive," Kappei interjected. "We've been trying to get that kind of thing through her head for the last couple of years. Thanks."

"Dad!" Mika cried, covering her face as her brother laid a hand on her back.

"May…Maybe we should start on dinner?" Ryou suggested as she started to her feet. "Mika, would you come with me, please?"

"Yes, Mom." Mika uncovered her face and shot to her feet before hurrying to the kitchen. Kyou also got up and followed her sister, presumably to help out.

"Did I say something wrong?" Kappei asked with a puzzled look.

Ushio quietly cleared her throat. "I don't know about Mika-senpai, but if Dad talked about something I learned around other people, I'd feel embarrassed."

"Which is why I'm careful about those kinds of things," I added, giving my daughter an understanding smile.

"Damn." We looked to see Kappei with a thoughtful look. "If I embarrassed her, then that wasn't very manly of me."

"I'm sure if you apologize, she'll forgive you and everything will be fine," Ushio said reassuringly.

"For what it's worth, I agree," I said.

He thought for another moment, then started to his feet. "Be right back."

Ushio and I looked at each other before looking to the remaining Hiiragi. "Well, Tadashi-san…how are things going for you?"

"They're going okay, sir," he replied anxiously. "One of the nice things is that I'm in the highest grade at my school, but…" He looked to my daughter. "You're so lucky, Okazaki-senpai; you're a year closer to being done with school than I am."

"Thank you," she replied, blushing lightly, "but I envy you; you'll have more time before you have to move away from your family."

"I'm actually looking forward to moving out and being my own man," he said proudly. "Mom and Dad have taught me a lot, so I feel like I'm ready now. But…" He shrugged with an embarrassed grin. "…I know I still have a lot to learn, so I have to keep myself under control, not get ahead of myself."

What a remarkable young man. "That's impressive, Tadashi-san," I told him. "You sound like you know yourself pretty well, a lot better than I was at your age."

"Thank you, sir," he said bowing as far as the tabletop would allow.

"Please excuse me," Ushio said as she got up from her seat. "I'm going to go help with dinner."

"Okay, sweetie; have fun," I said. I then kept my paternal protectiveness in check as I saw the Hiiragi boy watch her as she moved to the kitchen area. "So, what are your plans for your future?" I asked, trying to distract him from my daughter.

To my surprise, he redirected his attention back to me a lot more easily than I thought he would. "Right now I'd just like to finish school and find out what I'm good at."

I had to chuckle at that. "Okay, fair enough," I conceded. "I guess it is a little too soon to be asking questions like that."

"Yes, sir."

Just then, Kappei returned with a relieved look. "That went better than I thought it would. Anyway, the ladies are asking us to help set up the dishes and stuff."

"On my way," I grunted as I got to my feet. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Tadashi getting up as well.

Between the three of us we got everything set up, and the girls started putting out the food.

"That was fast," I remarked as Kyou walked by with a bowl of noodles.

"We did most of the cooking at home," she told me. "We just didn't want to mix stuff together before bringing it over."

"That makes sense."

"Good!" she said with a wink as she headed back to the kitchen.

It took a few trips, but eventually the kotatsu was decorated with delicious-smelling food. "Wow," I said as I saw all the colorful dishes. "There sure is a lot of it."

"Well, we have one teen-aged boy and two strapping men here," Kyou remarked as she knelt by the table.

"And you need lots of protein," Ryou added as she gently and repeatedly squeezed her husband's arm.

"I'm not as active as I used to be," Kappei chuckled, "but thanks for thinking of us."

We put our hands together. "Itadakimasu."

We ate quietly for a couple of minutes before I had to ask: "So, what's up, Kyou? What's this change you were talking about?"

"That's right!" Ryou chirped. "I've been enjoying our time so much, I'd forgotten why we'd come here."

"All right, all right," Kyou said as the kids snickered. "I'll tell you." She took a deep breath, and I could tell that she was trying to collect her thoughts. "The truth is…I met a neat guy a few days ago."

"Really?" Mika squealed. "Congratulations, Oba-san!"

"That's really cool," Tadashi agreed. "Good for you."

"What's his name?" I asked. "After what you've been through, he must be pretty impressive."

"I'm…not ready to tell you his name," she said, looking down at the tabletop, "but I can tell you that he's a priest from a temple in Hikarizaka."

"Talk about polar opposites," Kappei said with a smirk, and I knew he was thinking of Kyou's ex-husband. "What religion? Shinto? Buddhist?"

"I can't remember," she admitted. "But we talked long enough for me to learn that it respects women, so that's a good start."

"Have you found someone who knows how to treat a lady, loves kids, and wants one of his own?" I asked with a knowing smile.

Kyou gave me the happiest smile I'd ever seen in a long time. "I'm not sure about the last one, but I know he loves kids," she said. "It's just sad that he doesn't have any of his own."

"How old is he?" Ryou asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think he's in his late forties or early fifties," Kyou said.

"And you're not worried that he may not want kids of his own?" I asked. "Could you live with that?"

Her smile faded as she sighed heavily. "I dunno; I've considered adoption as a last resort, but…" Her smile regained some of its brightness. "At this point I'll just be grateful for guy who won't neglect me."

"Kyou…" Ryou sighed sadly.

"Don't worry, Ryou," she said, patting her on the shoulder, "I'll be a lot more careful this time."

"I want to meet this man," Kappei declared as he sent a look my way, "and I think Okazaki would like to as well; all of us are concerned about your well-being, so we'd like to be sure you're not going to be hurt again."

"Same here," I added. "You've dealt with enough crap for two or three lifetimes, Kyou."

"Thanks, you two," she said, smiling fondly at us. "Just…let me see how things go, and I'll introduce you to him, okay?"

Kappei and I shared a look before he spoke. "That'll work, sis. I really hope this works out for you."

"Me, too," Kyou sighed. "He's just so…perfect."

I found myself wanting to meet this 'perfect' fellow.

"Thanks for having us over," Kappei said as the Hiiragis plus Kyou gathered at the front door. "It was a blast."

"Glad you had a good time," I said. "Sorry I couldn't be more entertaining."

"Well, we came over so you all could listen to me," Kyou declared. "Wasn't that good enough?"

"Yes, yes," Kappei said, laughing. "You were really entertaining, sis. Well Okazaki, it was good seeing you again," he said, extending his hand. "We'll have to have the two of you over sometime. Soon."

"I look forward to it already," I replied, smiling as I shook his hand; there was something contagious about his enthusiasm.

"And it was so good to see you again!" Kyou said while exchanging a hug with my daughter. "You and I should have some Girl Time sometime, leave these oafs at home."

"Kyou…" Ryou giggled.

"You can come, too, of course," Kyou added. "And Mika, too! You boys better save up a lot of money for this!" she finished, wagging her finger and Kappei and I.

"Sure, sis," Kappei replied with a smirk, while all I could do was shake my head with a snort.

The adults stepped through the door, leaving the Hiiragi siblings. "It was good meeting you, sir," Tadashi said, bowing.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to talk more," I said returning his bow. "Maybe next time. Take care of yourself, Tadashi-san."

The young man bowed again before joining his parents on the front porch.

"It was nice seeing you again, Okazaki-sama," Mika said with a bow. "See you at school."

"See you at…huh?" I was genuinely confused until I saw the impish smile on her face. "Yeah, Disciplinary Committee; see you around."

She appeared to study me for a moment longer before joining the rest of her family.

"Have a good night," Kappei greeted as they turned to leave.

"You, too," I said, waving.

"Be safe," Ushio added, waving as well.

I dropped my hand as they disappeared around the corner. "That was exhausting," I said as I leaned against the doorway. "I was glad to see them, but…"

I twitched slightly as I felt something start rubbing my back, and I looked over to see Ushio looking at me with a warm smile. "You're not used to having so many people over, huh?"

"Nope," I grunted as I rubbed my eyes. "Your mom would have been so much better at this than I am."

I felt the rubbing slow down. "Then…I'll get better at being a hostess," she said. "I like entertaining people, and you wouldn't have to worry about it."

I smiled as I reached out to wrap my arm around her shoulders. "Thanks sweetie, but I need to be a big boy and learn how to do this. You won't be around forever, remember?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Thanks for worrying about me, though," I said, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "It really does mean a lot to me."

"Y-Yeah… You're welcome…."

I took a quick glance at my watch as I felt a yawn. "Listen, I'm gonna turn in early; that wore me out more than I thought it would."

"O-Okay, D-Daddy."

"You okay?" I asked, and leaned down to try to get a better look at her downturned face. "Maybe you should hit the sack early, too."

"That…might be a good idea," she said, giving me a squeeze. "A-Are you going to take a bath? You can go first, if you want."

"I'd probably better," I replied. "I'll try to be quick, though; don't want to fall asleep in the tub, after all."

"Y-Yeah…"

Unsure of what else to say, I gave her another kiss before heading to my room. Less than an hour later, I was in bed.

I lay on my back in our bed with Nagisa laying on top of me, and we were kissing like it would be outlawed the next day. In spite of her shyness at school, she was a very passionate girl who knew what she wanted, and I knew that she wanted me at least as much as I wanted her.

My eyes flickered open to my darkened bedroom, though I could see a small amount of light coming in through the side of my blinds. Strangely, though, I could still feel Nagisa's weight on me. "What the-!"

"Shhh…" I heard softly in the darkness. "It's okay."

As my eyes adjusted to the low light, I could finally see who was weighing me down. "U-Ushio?"

"Yes, Tomoya."

'Tomoya'? "What are you doing? A-Are you having a hard time sleeping?"

"N-Not anymore," she whispered.

As my eyes adjusted even further I could see… "Are you wearing one of my shirts?"

She nodded solemnly. "Yes."

"Why? What's going on?"

She didn't reply immediately, but in the dim light I thought I could see tears streaming down her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Wh-what for?"

She reached out and caressed my cheek in a way that made me shudder, partly from horror and partly from arousal. "For…For taking Mama from you."

"Wh-What do you mean?" I asked as I tried to ignore signals from a long-dormant part of my body.

"I…I killed Mama…your wife…" she said in a shuddering tone, "…so…I have to make up for it."

"Make up for it…?" I started to ask, and then things started to click; her wanting to hold my arm, her desire to become a better wife, her jealous behavior toward Kyou… "Ushio…if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, you…you can't do this."

"I have to!" she insisted. "Do you think I can't see how lonely you've been? I can see how hard it's been for you, trying to do all this without someone by your side!" She took a deep breath as she looked down, and at that moment I realized that my pajama shirt had been unbuttoned. "And…I know that even men your age really like…need…sex."

My stomach slithered…somewhere, probably into the floor. Was she serious? "U-Ushio…I'm your dad. We can't do this. We shouldn't do this."

"I know," she said as she took my hand and held it to her face. "And, really, I don't want to. But…I have to make up for taking Mama away from you."

Part of me marveled at her courage, her willingness to do what she thought was necessary, even if she didn't want to, but… "You don't have to make up for anything, sweetie; just be a wonderful daughter like you always have, and-"

"You don't understand!" she interrupted, reminding me of another one of the warning signs that I missed. "I've been planning this for a long time! Years!"

"Years?" I asked as I became aware that my left hand was starting to fall asleep due to being caught under her bent leg. "H-How long?"

"Since I was twelve," she said quietly. "Do you see now, Tomoya? I've been getting myself ready for you."

"But-!" I thought of many arguments, but none that would work within the reality she'd created for herself. "If you do this, then you'll take my daughter away from me, won't you?"

"I know," she said sadly. "But I'll make up for it by giving you as many sons and daughters as it takes to make the pain go away."

I suddenly found myself glad I hadn't eaten yet; I would have ended up making a huge mess. "No. You need to stop, right now." I pulled my hand from hers. "Please get off of me and go back to your room."

I felt her flinch, and then… "No, Tomoya; I'm sorry, but I have to make things right."

My left hand had completely fallen asleep, but I could still use my right and I used it to reach for her shoulder, to try to push her sideways off of me. "Ushio…"

I'd intended to repeat my command, but she grabbed my hand with both of hers and started to fight me. "No! Please! I have to do this!" she cried as she tried to put my hand on her chest…her bare chest.

I yelped as I tried to pull my hand away, but she held on to it and fell forward onto me. As she landed, I panicked as my hand was pushed above my head and I felt an explosion of pain in my shoul