There were a lot of things in Sachiko's life she loved, and a great many people. She'd always considered herself fortunate that she'd been born into the family she had, and into her life; from her brothers to her grandfather, her friends, extended family, and mother, she had been blessed beyond any reasonable measure. She had grown up surrounded by love, knowing that no matter what, there would be people across Japan who would always be there for her.

But as much as she knew it wasn't nice to play favorites, there had always been one person who stood above the rest. From her earliest memories through her energetic childhood, obnoxious pre-teen years and right up to the present, there had been one person whose company she most preferred, one person whose opinion she most valued. One person who had always been there for her, whether bandaging an injury or teaching her how to throw a punch. One person who she knew would always be there for her, who understood her better than anyone: her father, Kyo Sohma.

She had been five when she started lessons at the dojo, and had been coming either with or to see her father since even earlier. She couldn't remember a time when she hadn't been fascinated with karate, the dojo, and everything related to that life; that world where everyone wore uniforms and got to punch, kick, and yell. With a father and grandfather who were both professional karatekas, it hadn't surprised anyone that young Sachiko had been interested in karate; what had surprised them was how quickly that interest became love, and how fast that love had become passion.

Sachiko was aware there had been people shocked by her karate practice. Sachiko had always taken after her mother physically, being petite and very slight of build. Beyond that, she looked almost like her mother's clone, and anyone who knew Tohru knew she was one of the sweetest people in the universe but also a little clumsy, uncoordinated, and unable to fight her way out of a paper bag.

Not so Sachiko. It became apparent very early on that however much she looked like her mother, her skills were allllll Kyo. She'd inherited his amber-red eye color, yes, but she'd also inherited Kyo's almost inhuman sense of balance and spatial awareness; even as a young child, she'd had a talent for keeping her balance and landing on her feet. On top of that, like her father she was disciplined, driven, and simply in love with karate.

Promotions had come quickly, about as quickly as they could. By the time she was twelve she was an ikkyu, first kyu and the final belt before dan, or black belt rank; only the fact that the Matsuda Dojo didn't allow dan promotions until fourteen kept her from advancing further for a time. And every step of the way, she'd kept training, kept practicing, kept throwing everything she had at making herself better, faster, stronger. She was aware that no matter what, she would always be smaller and slighter than pretty much every male karateka she encountered; that made it all the more important for her to deliver on power, technique, and speed.

At every step of the way, Kyo had been at her side, encouraging her along. Not once, in her entire life, had he ever suggested she stop; not once had he ever suggested that she wasn't capable. He had been her biggest cheerleader and staunchest supporter, encouraging her to get up on the rare occasions she'd fallen, to believe in herself when she felt like she was getting overwhelmed. As she and her classmates had all hit puberty and boys who'd always been the same size or smaller than her skyrocketed, Kyo had been there to remind her that even the biggest opponent could potentially be brought down by proper technique. And even if she was little...she could still be fierce.

The proudest day of her life so far was the day she'd earned her shodan rank, the day she'd stood before the entire teaching staff and almost all of the Matsuda Dojo's dans and demonstrated to them all that she, at fourteen, had what it took to be one of them. Getting to demonstrate her skill during her trial by fighting against Kyo had been amazing; having him be the one to replace her belt with a black one had been even better. And each day after that she had kept steadily working to improve; to keep getting better and stronger, to do her father proud as well as herself.

And almost every day, when her classes were over and her body ached in that amazing, post-sparring way, when she'd showered and changed and packed away her gi, she'd stand and wait for Kyo, so that she could walk home with her favorite person in the world.


"Alright, then, let's go," Kyo said, giving her a grin. "Pretty sure your mom's making tonkatsu tonight, and I'm hungry enough to eat a whole hog myself."

Bags over their shoulders, the two of them headed out the door and across the dojo courtyard towards the gate. It was a beautiful September evening, the weather about as perfect for walking as either one of them could ask for. Although the Sohma family did have a car, Kyo had always preferred to walk to work; it wasn't even a mile from the dojo to the Sohma's house on the opposite side of town, so it usually only took about twenty-five minutes door to door. And Sachiko had always agreed, except in the winter; even then, they'd often walk, unless the weather was truly terrible.

Sachiko was usually grateful for the walk. Eight years had passed since her oldest brother Hajime had moved down to Tokyo for high school, so for half of Sachiko's life, the walk home from the dojo had been time for her and her father alone. And much as she loved her mother too, the dynamic was different when Tohru was around; on their walks, like nowhere else, Sachiko could enjoy Kyo's completely undivided attention.

She was glad to have that attention tonight, as the two of them passed through the dojo gates and headed down the road to Hibe and home.

"So how'd your classes go today, Sachi?" Kyo asked as the two of them walked along. "Anything interesting happen?"

Sachiko grinned, knowing exactly what he meant by 'classes.'

"Well, we're still practicing Kanku Sho in youths, and there's still a bunch of people having trouble with the jump. Not really sure why, since it's not the only kata that's got one, but it was pretty funny! Especially when Shota's one of the ones that fell," she said, giggling.

Kyo chuckled as well. "Well, I hope none of the rest of you were giving 'em too much shit for it. It's hard enough to fall as it is, and all of us've been there at least once."

"All of us?" Sachiko asked, giving her father a teasing grin, and Kyo returned it.

"Hey, I've definitely hit the tatami once or twice in my time, and it wasn't always 'cause of someone else. Pretty sure it's a rite of passage as a dan, to fall on your ass doing something that's got no business knocking you over."

She giggled at that once more. "How old were you?"

"You ask that like it's only happened once," Kyo chuckled, "Though I gotta say, pretty sure it never happened during Kanku Sho." He gave her an affectionate look, then asked, "Anything else?"

Sachiko considered for a minute, then shook her head. "Not really, nope. Youth class we were mostly working on combinations, all-dan class Sensei had us doing side kicks. Kanku Sho in youth for kata, Hangetsu and Jion in all-dan, and then...sparring," she said, giving him a grin at the mention of both of their favorite part of karate practice.

"Anything interesting there?"

She shook her head. "Nope, not really. It was all really fun, though! I might even have a bruise tomorrow," she said with an impish look at her father.

"You, bruised? What, you not paying attention and someone get something though they shouldn't've?" he teased back, and Sachiko laughed...then hesitated. While it was true that her attention had never faltered while she was sparring, she had certainly had something on her mind that day when she wasn't.

Might as well get it over with.

"So, there was something else that happened today, Daddy, that you might think's noteworthy," she said, looking over at Kyo, and he glanced down at her with a mildly worried frown at the sudden shift in tone. But she didn't leave him wondering long; she'd never been one to drag things out if she didn't have to. "Rei and I broke up, today after school."

He was silent for a moment, and she could see him processing. Her mouth twitched in amusement as she wondered just what he was thinking; she felt almost positive that it was some variation on 'good riddance,' and somehow, that fact made her smile.

But he managed to keep his voice and face neutral as he asked, "You doing ok?" and Sachiko couldn't help but feel the love.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I was surprised at first, but after thinking about it, I realized he was right. We didn't agree on a lot of stuff, and all we've been doing lately is arguing about that stuff, so..." she shrugged. "Might as well just end it, right?"

"Right," Kyo said, relief so palpably coloring his tone that it made Sachiko giggle, a fact that in turn made Kyo defensive. "What?"

"You," she said, grinning at him. "You're not a good actor, you know that, right?"

Kyo blushed. "Yeah, well, there're worse things, right? And I wasn't trying to act!"

"You were," she corrected him, still grinning. "You're trying to hide you're happy about this."

"What I think about this doesn't matter, Sachi, and you know that. What matters is you, and what you're feeling, ok? Never mind me. It's ok if you're bummed, or upset, or...whatever."

Sachiko sighed, hefting her dojo bag a little higher back up her shoulder. "Honestly, Daddy, you pretty much got it just now. I feel...whatever. Yeah, I wasn't happy to have him break up with me, exactly, but at the same time..." she sighed once more. "I wasn't upset about us actually breaking up. Him saying it made me realize it hasn't been fun for a while, and if it's not fun, then what's the point, right?"

Kyo gave her a smile. "Sounds like it was definitely the right choice, then."

She nodded. "I think so, and I'm sure Rei agrees. Now he can go find a girlfriend who lives in Nigeyashi and has her afternoons free to hang around the soccer field, and I...don't have to feel guilty about karate," she said, satisfaction dripping from her voice.

Kyo raised a brow. "You. Felt guilty about karate?" he asked, his voice so full of disbelief that it made Sachiko giggle.

"Well, no," she began, only to be interrupted by a burst of laughter from Kyo. "But I thought about feeling guilty! That counts as something, right?"

Kyo wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It means you guys did the right thing, Sachi. Sounds like you two figured out you weren't right together, so now you aren't, end of story. If you do end up having...feelings about that," he said, "You can always talk to me, or your mom. Probably better if it's your mom," he admitted, provoking another giggle from Sachiko. "But for me, yeah, I think it's a good thing. Sorry you had to deal with it, but I'm glad you're looking at it so maturely."

"And I'm glad you're looking at it so maturely," she said sweetly, provoking another laugh from Kyo.

"Yeah? And how'm I being mature about it, exactly?" he asked, and she smiled.

"You're not celebrating," she said, and Kyo snorted.

"You think I'd celebrate?"

"I know you didn't like him that much-"

"Not true, I didn't have anything against the kid, I just barely knew'm's all."

"Fine. You didn't like me dating him," she corrected teasingly, and Kyo chuckled.

"Ok, yeah, that I agree with. Why would I, when you guys were pissed at each other half the time?"

"We weren't pissed at each other that much!" Sachiko promptly protested, and Kyo snorted.

"Often enough. Don't get me wrong, I know fighting and making up's a...thing, for some people," he said, thinking off the top of his head of his cousins Haru and Rin, "but you never seemed all that happy about it, Sachi," he said, his voice becoming gentler. "And what all did you and Rei have in common, anyway?"

"What all do you and Mom have in common?" she asked sweetly, and Kyo narrowed his eyes at her before saying firmly,

"Plenty of stuff. But we're not talking about me and your mom, we're talking about you and Rei."

"No," she corrected him. "We're talking about me, Daddy. There is no more 'me and Rei.'"

And she was ok with that.


"Welcome home, you two!"

Tohru's friendly greeting was like a warm blanket for the soul; no matter how many times she'd heard it over the course of her life, Sachiko never truly felt like she was home without hearing those words.

"Hey Mom," Sachiko said, looking over to the kitchen as she and Kyo took off their shoes. "It smells great in here!"

"Sure does," Kyo agreed, walking over to the kitchen and wrapping Tohru in a hug. Peeking over her shoulder, he asked hopefully, "Did you make any extra?"

"One," Tohru said, smiling as she hugged him back. "You two can fight over it, or I still have time to make a second, if you're both feeling extra-hungry!"

Kyo glanced back towards Sachiko, who'd grabbed Kyo's dojo bag along with hers and was carrying them up the stairs.

"You can have it, Daddy," she called back over her shoulder. "I'm not all that hungry tonight."

Kyo frowned slightly at that, but Sachiko was already upstairs and didn't see.

"Did you have a good day, Kyo?"

At Tohru's question, Kyo pulled his gaze back to her, giving her an affectionate smile. "Yeah, it was pretty good. Nothing wild or exciting, no injuries or accidents, so...a good day here, all around. How about you?" he asked, learning in and giving her a kiss.

"I did!" she said promptly, looking up at him with a smile. "I did some errands, and got some more winterizing done out in the yard...and I talked to Katsuro!" She added, beaming.

"Yeah? You tell him you missed having his help out in the garden?" Kyo asked, and Tohru giggled.

"I did. I got so spoiled having his help all those years, now that I have to do everything myself it takes so much longer!"

"Well, you know if you ever want or need a hand you've just gotta ask, right?" Kyo asked, resting his forehead against hers. "I don't wanna come home to find you've hurt yourself trying to do too much on your own."

"I know," Tohru said, smiling at him.

"You two better not be making out over there," Sachiko announced as she came back down the stairs. "Remember, you've still got impressionable kids around!"

Both Tohru and Kyo looked over at her without letting go of each other.

"We're not making out," Kyo said barked, "and no one impressionable's lived here in a year and a half," he said, looking up at their daughter while still holding Tohru close. "Pretty sure you knew more at twelve than we did at seventeen, so don't you start playing innocent now."

"Just saying, that's a pretty compromising position to come downstairs and see," Sachiko said, grinning as she ducked past her parents to grab a drink from the fridge.

"What, a hug?"

"With forehead! I feel like I oughtta cover my eyes."

Kyo snorted, but Tohru was giggling as she let go of her husband to squeeze her daughter affectionately as well. "I was just telling your father that I spoke to Katsuro today!" she said, smiling. "He sends his love."

"Yeah?" Sachiko asked, returning the hug. "Anything new and interesting in Sapporo?" Her middle brother, Katsuro, was partway through his second year of university up in Sapporo, and as much as the two of them had squabbled when they were younger, around the time Sachiko had started middle school their relationship had started to mellow. By the time Katsuro graduated, they were actually friendly, and having him move so far away had been hard.

"Not a lot, no," Tohru said, letting go of Sachiko and starting to dish up their supper. "He's busy with classes, and his students, of course," she said, referring to Katsuro's part time job teaching music lessons. "He's spending a lot of time getting ready for his showcase next month-"

"-What'd he end up going with, by the way?" Kyo asked as he made Tohru's tea. "He end up agreeing to drum for that ensemble, or just stick with violin and guitar?"

"Violin and trumpet, actually, he decided he liked his trumpet piece better. And he said he likes the idea of playing with that group, but he doesn't have the time to commit regularly right now so he passed."

"Well, good for him," Kyo said. "He's always been good managing his time, so I shouldn't be surprised, but it's good to know."

"He said he and Mariko are going to be going to the Autumn Fest this weekend, which sounds like a lot of fun. I told him to make sure they send us some pictures!"

At the mention of Katsuro's girlfriend, Kyo almost automatically glanced over at Sachiko, but she hadn't reacted in the slightest. That fact admittedly relieved him; though Sachiko had said she was ok and he trusted her and their relationship well enough to know she believed that, that didn't mean she couldn't still be upset. He didn't have any first-hand experience with breakups, unless you counted Kagura, but at this point in his life he'd been around enough to know they could be very emotionally complex.

Unfortunately.

But Sachiko simply continued as she was, bringing their dinner dishes over to the table, and after a moment Kyo smiled back at Tohru. "So he's keeping busy, but doing good, basically?"

"Basically," Tohru agreed, smiling. "He was on his way to a lesson so we didn't get to talk for too long, but it was nice to hear his voice," she said, the tiniest trace of wistfulness in her tone. Though Sapporo was closer to them than Tokyo as the crow flew, the fact it was on another island and the difference in available transit meant that it took nearly eight hours to get from Katsuro's student apartment to their house in Hibe. He'd spent a few weeks of summer break with them, which had been wonderful, but as a rule visits were few and far between.

Kyo could see the hint of a tremble in Tohru's lower lip, and he gave her a hug after he finished the tea. "Well, I'm glad you guys got to talk. Maybe we can all talk sometime in the next week or so and he can tell us all about the festival."

Tohru took a breath, composing herself, then gave Kyo a smile. She knew what he was doing...and she was grateful. "That would be wonderful! I'll have to check with him and see."

As they all sat down to eat, Tohru smiled across the table at her daughter. "How was your day, Sachiko?"

"Good," Sachiko said promptly. "We got our marks back on our math quizzes, and I got a ninety-two-"

"-Oh, that's so wonderful!" Tohru said, beaming at her. "I know you were studying hard for that quiz!"

"Yeah," Sachiko agreed, grinning. "It went a lot better than I was afraid it would! And I got my essay back in English; Sensei liked my argument but said I still need to work on my grammar."

"Well, English grammar is very difficult," Tohru said sympathetically, and Sachiko grinned at her. Tohru and Kyo's struggles with English were well-known in the family; whenever Sachiko needed help with the subject, she knew far better than to ask either one of them.

"We're starting volleyball in PE next week, so that oughtta be fun I guess," Sachiko said after thinking a moment. "It'll be nice to be done with swimming, it's still been pretty warm, but," Sachiko shrugged. She didn't mind swimming, but it definitely wasn't her favorite PE unit.

"Has your class started planning for the Culture Fest yet?" Tohru asked, and Sachiko shook her head.

"Not for another couple weeks, probably. Though I know a few people've already started trying to drum up support for their ideas."

"Anything good so far?" Kyo asked, and she shrugged.

"Nothing interesting, if that's what you mean. So far I've heard costume café, haunted house, and a yakitori stand, so...typical offerings, basically."

"Well, I'm sure whatever your class ends up deciding on will be fun for you, Sachiko," Tohru said, smiling at her before asking, "Are you going to be home for supper tomorrow, or are you going to be out with Rei?"

Kyo's eyes once more snapped to Sachiko at the question, and once more he was greeted with the sight of his daughter looking completely composed.

"Home," she said, promptly and firmly. "Rei and I broke up, Mom."

"What?" Tohru immediately asked, lowering her chopsticks. "When?"

Sachiko glanced at the clock. "Just under four hours ago? He wanted to talk after school, we talked, we broke up, so..." she shrugged at her mother. "That's that, I guess."

Tohru stared at her, trying hard to gauge whether Sachiko was as fine as she appeared or whether she was just masking. A glance at Kyo was met with a shrug, and after a moment Tohru asked gently, "how are you doing, sweetheart?"

Sachiko's response was just as prompt as before. "Fine. I'm fine," she said, looking across the table at her mother. "Yeah, I was a little surprised at first, but...I'm fine. It's better this way, really, so...I'm fine."

Tohru and Kyo exchanged another glance as Sachiko calmly took another bite of her supper. And after a moment, Tohru looked back at Sachiko.

She said she was fine, and she looked like she was fine...so apparently, she was fine.

"Did anything interesting happen at karate today, Sachiko?"