'Papa...I want to talk to you about something. Something important.'

Deciding to pursue business had been the first step towards securing his future, but it wasn't the last. Momiji had to study hard, and keep up his grades. Prepare for exams.

Decide where he was going to university.

With his father's assistance, Momiji had pored over his options. The degree was important, but it was an open secret that the degree itself was secondary to where he got it. Even though Momiji planned to work for his father and had an automatic 'in,' he still wanted to feel he was hired on his own merit, and that meant he needed a resume that would get him hired regardless of his name. That meant choosing his school wisely...

And that was admittedly hard.

He had been trying so very hard, his final year of high school, to get himself to move forward. He had his relationship with Momo; he and his father were spending more time together than ever. He had so much female attention at school that he could have gone on a date literally every night if he wanted. He had his friends.

But he still felt impossibly empty.

The truth was, none of it was enough. Momiji had entertained the hope, as he began to spend more time at the office and started to think seriously about business, that it might be a foot in the door with his mother; it wouldn't have been impossible, for Koshiro to bring him home and introduce him to Sabine as his new protégé.

That had been the dream of a fool.

He saw his father regularly, but only in secret. He had Momo, but she didn't know the truth. He was popular at school, well-liked and admired, but surface friendships only went so far, and it turned out that going on dates with girls who liked him for his looks didn't lead to many deeper connections. Yes, he'd gotten some new friendships out of some of those dates, but what he'd wanted...what he'd hoped for...none of that had come to pass.

In spite of all his efforts, things weren't changing. Not the way he wanted, not the way he needed. He couldn't let go of any of it; not his hopes for Mama, not his hopes for Tohru. Even knowing those hopes were impossible, he couldn't let them go. Not with the way things were.

'I want to study abroad. I've been thinking, and doing my research, and I want to go to university in Germany.'

Koshiro had been surprised, but not shocked. He'd listened as Momiji laid out the advantages; the company already had an office in Berlin, and Momiji spoke fluent German as well as being a German citizen. Germany was a strong market for the company, and having Momiji immersed in the culture for years could only be an asset. It would give him more opportunities to travel and see other European countries, with an eye to possibly expand their presence in the future. There were some truly excellent schools, right in Berlin itself.

And, though he didn't tell his father...he would hopefully be able to finally move on, once he had distanced himself from everyone and everything giving him pain.


Telling Tohru had been hard. He had had a plan for how he wanted to tell her about university; though they had talked regularly in the year since she'd graduated, he'd kept his post-secondary plans to himself as he'd formed them, meaning to tell her everything all at once at his graduation and make a clean, quick break of it. She had no idea he was planning to go into business; no idea he was planning to move to Germany. No one did, other than his father; he had preferred it to be that way, simple, clean, and quick.

It was always bound to be a shock...but at least this way, it would be over quickly.

He hadn't expected things to go the way they had. Hadn't expected to see Tohru with an engagement ring newly on her finger, hadn't expected to see her and Kyo both so newly and ecstatically happy. Any doubts he had that moving abroad was the right choice were demolished, driven away by the same gut punch that came with taking Tohru's hand and realizing she was wearing Kyo's ring.

She was happy. He was happy for her. But he couldn't keep pretending.

The mask had finally slipped.

He'd thought he'd known pain, and known guilt. Then he saw Tohru's face when she finally made the connection, finally realized what he'd been hiding from her for nearly two years. The secret that everyone knew except her, the truth he'd tried so badly to suppress.

The fact...that he loved her.

He had been more ashamed of himself than he could say; she had always been his friend, and she didn't deserve to see him that way. She had always loved Kyo; he had known their engagement was always implicit, even if her actually having a ring was new. They had been meant for each other, Tohru and Kyo. Momiji had never been in the picture; he'd never even had a chance.

That was why he needed to go. Tohru; his mother. Even Momo. He needed to get away, needed to find himself, and his happiness, somewhere far away where he wasn't constantly being reminded of everything he wanted and could never actually have. Somewhere where he could start fresh, and seek out happiness with nothing tying him to the past.

He had been afraid Tohru knowing the truth would ruin things...but in the end, he never should have worried. She was Tohru, after all...and she would always, always understand.


Telling Momo he was leaving had been infinitely harder. He had wanted and expected so many things, after the Curse had broken; so few of them had actually come to pass. And while he looked hopefully to Germany and was excited for his fresh start, it meant leaving Momo, the one truly positive thing to come into his life since the Curse had broken.

Both of them had cried, especially when Momo had clung to him and begged him not to forget her. He had promised faithfully; how could he forget someone so dearly beloved as her? He would be back to visit, once in a while, and she travelled to Germany at least once a year to visit her grandparents; they would be able to see each other, somehow. And then there were calls, and texts, email, and video chats...

He wasn't about to forget her, even if he'd wanted to.

But if he could have brought one single person with him from Japan...it would have been her.


Germany had been an amazing breath of fresh air. He'd been there before over the years, traveling along with his father on business trips. He and his father had also gone twice together during his final year of high school, including a trip for Momiji to conduct university visits and a second for them to find him an apartment and for him to audition for his prospective violin instructor.

But none of that had anything on finally living there; on walking from his student residence to campus, on attending his classes for the very first time. On getting to know his fellow students, getting to explore the city...and finally, perhaps paradoxically, allowing himself to relax.

It wasn't that he had a lot of free time. His schedule was busy, and he was determined to study hard and do himself and his father proud. But living in a new place, with new people, far away from everyone and everything he'd struggled with...suddenly, it was as if none of those things mattered anymore. Everyone at university was away from their families; everyone at university was in the same position of making new friends, facing new challenges, and preparing for new lives.

And for the first time since the Curse had broken, he found himself truly feeling...happy.


Momiji's degree was international business, and he attacked his classes with a ferocity that would have satisfied any fears his father had about his commitment, had Koshiro been around to see it. He was consistently at the top of his classes, and every time he saw his exams scores or his grades, he couldn't help but feel proud. But even with his commitment to his degree, he still found time for other things.

He'd told his father he wanted to keep up with the violin, and he'd meant it. Perhaps he wasn't going to play professionally, but he still wanted to play, and university was one of his last real chances to keep up with his lessons and to play in a group. Orchestra was admittedly out of his reach, but he was sure he could find something...and he did.

His university was a short distance from a large, beautiful park in central Berlin. On the opposite side of that park was another university, one that specialized in the arts, and there, Momiji found his own personal form of meditation. A brilliant audition landed him not only lessons with one of the professors there, but a seat in a newly formed string quartet. It was nothing all that prestigious; Momiji was a freshman and not even a fulltime student of the university, and his three fellow performers were likewise all first years. But they were all very talented, had a shared love of music, and it wasn't too long before the four of them became fast friends.

Momiji's fellow violinist, Julia Fischer, was German, and a native of the city of Dresden. She had initially been surprised and incredibly embarrassed to learn that Momiji, who had beaten her for first violin, wasn't even a fulltime student; it had taken her time at first to warm up to him, but once she did, she could admit he'd earned it fairly. She was a tall girl, blonde and blue-eyed, with a love of pranks and a strong sense of fun. And after she'd gotten over being salty at him, the two of them had quickly become the best of friends, laughing as they admitted they were far too much alike not to get along.

The quartet's viola player Celeste Durand was French, hailing from the city of Lyon. She was petite, even shorter than Tohru, with dark hair and eyes. Celeste was the quietest of them all; she tended to listen more than talk, especially once Momiji and Julia got going. But she was very tolerant of their antics, genuinely seemed to like them all, and would even go along with Julia's pranks...once in a while.

Hans Wagner, their cellist, was another German, from just outside of Halle, also blond and blue-eyed like Julia. He was also more on the serious side; often, he'd end up completely bewildered by what Julia and Momiji would be doing, or talking about doing, and had the lowest tolerance for pranks out of any of them. He still liked spending time with them all, though, and his thoughtful exterior concealed an easy sense of humor. Out of them all, he had the most intensive performance load; though Julia and Celeste were both music majors as well, Hans was the only one who had something going on practically every day.

Momiji made other friends as well; friends from his classes, and his own university; friends he made while hanging out over at the University of the Arts. While it took a little time to get used to new environment, his father had been right; Momiji had always had a knack for getting along with people, and that was extremely evident as Momiji's first year in university quickly passed away.

Looking back, he wondered if he'd ever been happier.


"It's Momiji, right? First violin in Herr Vogel's second-year group?"

Momiji looked up from where he'd been sitting, his back against a tree in the park and an economics text open in his lap. The young man looking down at him was vaguely familiar, and at the question, Momiji guessed it was from the University of Arts.

"Ja, that's right," he said, smiling up at him. "Have we met?"

The young man laughed a little awkwardly. "Not exactly, no. I'm in Herr Schmidt's second-year group, we were the group after you guys at the last showcase?"

"Oh, that's right! You all did an excellent job. You were...the viola player?" Momiji asked, after a moment's thought.

The other man beamed. "That's right! I'm Christian, by the way, Christian Meyer."

"Momiji Sohma, but you might have already known that," Momiji said, smiling.

Christian laughed again. "Ja, well...there aren't a lot of people with Japanese names, going to school here."

"I suppose not," Momiji laughed, holding up his economics text. "Not even me!"

Christian gave it a surprised look. "What?"

"I'm not a fulltime student at UDK," Momiji explained. "I go to HU, except for violin lessons and the quartet."

"Really? Why?" Christian asked, looking at him in continued surprise.

"Because UDK doesn't have a business school?"

"You're going to business school? But you're first violin, you're so talented!" Christian said dropping down on the ground beside him. "Why on earth would you want to do something like go to business school?"

A fair question, and one Momiji had been asked more than once in the past year.

"Because...it is the right path for me. And it's not like I never get to play," he said, smiling, "as you have heard!"

"True, I suppose," Christian said, shaking his head. "Still, it seems so very strange, to hear of anyone playing at UDK actually going to business school!"

The two of them sat and talked for a while, about their respective quartets, about school. Momiji learned Christian played in the orchestra, which didn't surprise him in the slightest, and actually shared a stand with Celeste. Momiji didn't get nearly as much reading done as he had meant to, but he didn't mind; it was fun to sit, and to talk.

And clearly Christian thought so, too.

"I need to get going to class," he said at last, checking the time. "But...this was fun."

"Ja, it was," Momiji agreed, smiling. "I liked talking to you."

"Ja, me too." Christian looked at him, then hesitated. "Would you maybe...like to get together again, to talk? Just the two of us?"

Something in the way he was talking, and the way he had flushed slightly, got Momiji's attention. And for a moment he looked at the other man, considering, then smiled.

"Ja, I think that could be fun."


The next afternoon, the two of them met up after classes and rehearsals, and went to a coffeeshop. They sat and talked, drank coffee and ate pastries, and once again had a very nice time. Only that time, after they were done, Christian asked Momiji if maybe, sometime, he'd let Christian take him out to dinner.

And Momiji said yes.


"So I think we need to squeeze in at least one more decent practice time before the next showcase, can you please try to make room in your schedule, Hans?" Julia asked, her tone exasperated.

Hans was defensive. "I already said I can, Julia, there's no need to be so antagonistic. It just has to be later in the evening, and not on Wednesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays."

"Ugh, why do you have to have so many commitments?" she groaned, and Momiji laughed as Celeste smiled.

"A better question might be why you don't, Julia," Hans said, a little stiffly. "Isn't this why we're all here, to learn, and to get experience? How are you going to get experience without playing as much as you can?"

"I'm getting experience," Julia began, now on the defensive herself. "Just because I'm not committed every day until bedtime-"

"-Excuse me, Momiji, could I talk to you?"

All four members of Momiji's quartet looked up from the table where they were eating together to see Christian standing there, smiling a little timidly at Momiji.

Momiji promptly stood up. "Ja, of course." Looking at his groupmates, he gave them all a teasing smile. "Carry on without me, I'll be back in just a few minutes."

"Sure," Julia said, her tone mildly surprised as the three of them watched Momiji and Christian move away and start talking, their heads bent close to one another. Then she turned back to Hans.

"So anyway, just because I haven't filled up literally every afternoon doesn't mean I'm not committed to getting better, Hans. This isn't my only group any more than it's your only group, so-" she broke off, frowning. "Are you even paying attention to me?"

Hans flicked his eyes back to her, narrowing them slightly. "Ja, of course I am. And I never said you weren't doing other things, just that it makes sense to be involved in as much as we can."

Momiji returned to the table and sat back down, reaching for his drink. And as he did so, Celeste suddenly spoke up.

"I didn't know you knew Christian, Momiji."

"Christian?" asked Julia, and Celeste nodded.

"We share a stand in orchestra, he plays the viola, too."

"Ja," Momiji agreed. "He's also in Herr Schmidt's quartet."

"You'd better not be thinking of switching groups, Momiji," Julia said, her voice mock-threatening. "Herr Vogel wouldn't be too happy, and neither would we! You'd better tell that Christian that you're taken."

Momiji actually laughed at that. "Well, it is just as well that he's not after me for a quartet, Julia, because while I am taken in that way, I am not in the way that he currently seems to care about," he said, his eyes twinkling.

For a moment, Julia didn't comprehend, then her eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Momiji, I didn't mean to pry!"

"Ah, you weren't. It's just a date," Momiji said, shrugging.

"Wait, a date?" Celeste asked, blinking at Momiji. "With Christian?" she asked, craning her neck around, then looking back at Momiji.

"Ja, with Christian. Who else would I be talking about?"

"I'm sorry," Celeste said, blushing, "I just...didn't know you were interested in men, that's all."

Momiji shrugged. "Well, it's not exactly something that's ever come up before, so I can't say I'm surprised. But as I said, it's just a date," he said, chuckling. "Now...did we want to try to schedule that extra practice? Hans, what did you say your schedule was like again?"

Hans had been staring at Momiji, then he shook his head. "I didn't say anything, yet, I'll have to check. But I'll have to get back to you," he said, suddenly standing up. "I just remembered I'm supposed to be meeting with Frau Richter. I'll see you all later."

As Hans left, Julia frowned. "Well, that was abrupt."

"Well, you know how Hans is about punctuality," Celeste said, returning her attention to her food.

"Ja, that's true," Julia agreed.

But Momiji was silent, frowning as he watched Hans disappear back into the building. Maybe he was imagining it...but he could have sworn their friend looked upset.


By the end of the next week, Momiji was confident that he hadn't been imagining it. The quartet had had four practice sessions, and Momiji had run into Hans once on his way to his violin lesson. Every time, Hans had been almost painfully polite, and almost totally disengaged. He had always been serious and always been a little on the quiet side, but he had always been friendly, and always participated in conversations. Suddenly, he was showing up exactly on time for rehearsal, rather than ten minutes early; he was leaving exactly on time, rather than hanging out for a little bit afterwards. When they encountered each other in the hall, Momiji had only gotten a 'Hallo, Momiji,' before Hans had hurried away, mumbling something about needing to pick something up from before his next class.

Something was up, and Momiji didn't like it.

When the next rehearsal started to go exactly the same way, Momiji decided enough was enough. When they finished practicing and Hans immediately rose to go, Momiji stood up as well. "I'll walk with you."

"Nein, that's alright, Momiji," Hans had promptly responded. "Don't rush on my account."

"Nein, it's no problem. I'm leaving, too."

"Really, you don't have to-"

"Do you not want to talk to me?" Momiji asked, looking pointedly at Hans. He was aware that the girls were looking somewhat uncomfortable, but they were just as confused and upset by Hans' behavior as Momiji. If there was something going on, then they were just as curious to know what it was as him.

Hans' face was beet red as Momiji then asked, "Did I do something to offend you?"

Hans looked from Momiji to the two girls, busily looking at their music and neither one of them looking at either Momiji or Hans. Finally, he exhaled. "Fine, come along if you want."


Both of them were silent as they left the instrument storage room, Momiji walking alongside Hans and letting the other man dictate the pace and direction. After all, Hans was the one who had somewhere he needed to go...allegedly.

And they were moving remarkably quickly, Momiji had to say.

"Where are you off to?" he asked, and Hans glanced over at him.

"Why?"

"Because you seem to be in a hurry."

"I am in a hurry," Hans said shortly. "You don't have to go with me, Momiji."

"Maybe I do; if you'd tell me where it is, then I'd know."

Hans was red-faced once again. "Don't you have somewhere you need to be?"

"Just now? Ja, and I'm already there," Momiji said with a frown.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean I want to know why you're avoiding me, Hans. Did I do something to offend you, or upset you?" Momiji asked, looking over at him.

"I'm not avoiding you, and I already told answered that."

"You are, and you didn't. If I did something, I'd like to fix it if I can."

Hans stopped walking. "You didn't do anything, Momiji. I swear, there's nothing you did."

"Then why are you avoiding me?" Momiji asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "You think it's not obvious, how all of a sudden you don't have any extra time, how you barely talk to any of us and you aren't talking at all to me? Ever since-" He broke off, uncrossing his arms and frowning. "Ever since Christian stopped by at lunch last week."

Hans had shifted uncomfortably, and he wasn't meeting Momiji's gaze.

"Do you have a problem with me seeing Christian, Hans?" Momiji asked, his voice level and incredibly calm, and Hans blushed.

"Whoever you date is your own business, Momiji. We're all adults here."

"Ja, we are," Momiji said. "But you didn't answer the question. Do you have a problem with it?"

Hans exhaled, then looked back at him, sticking out his chin slightly. "What if it did?"

It was Momiji's turn to take a breath. "I'd want to know why."

"Would it matter?"

"A rather great deal, ja," Momiji said, looking at him. "There are many reasons you could have a problem with it, and what you say...would matter quite a lot, for us, going forward."

Hans was quiet for a moment, then he said, "I didn't know you...liked men."

Momiji closed his eyes, then opened them. He had been afraid that that was the answer.

"I like people," he said, his voice steady. "Man or woman...it doesn't matter. What matters is the person, not the parts."

"And you like Christian's...person."

"I do," Momiji said, levelly. "Otherwise I wouldn't have accepted when he asked me out a second time."

"Enough that you two are...serious?"

"Enough that we've seen each other a couple times now, though that's all. If you're asking if he's my boyfriend, or we are exclusive, then the answer is nein, we're not. It's possible in the future, though," Momiji said, crossing his arms once more. "Would it be a problem for you, if that came to pass?"

Hans was staring at him, considering the question. But when he finally spoke, it wasn't what Momiji was expecting to hear.

"If you are not serious, what would you say...to a date with me?"

Momiji's eyes widened. "Eh?"

Hans' face was slightly pink, but he repeated, "What would you say to a date with me? You say you two are not serious, you are not exclusive...so...would you be willing to go out with me?"


Momiji had hoped, in moving to Germany, that he would finally be able to move on from the past. To move on from failed expectations, and broken dreams. To finally let Mama go...and to finally let Tohru go, too.

As it turned out, one of those things had been much easier than the other; all it had taken was a little bit of patience.


Two years later and three years after moving to Germany, Momiji graduated with his undergraduate degree, the same time Hans had completed his. Momiji had promptly began his advanced degree, as had Hans, and the two of them moved in together. One year later, they each had had their Master's, and stepped hand in hand into the working world.

Two more years had passed since then. Hans, his discipline and dedication during university paying off, landed a position as a cellist in a mid-sized and moderately respected orchestra in Berlin, while Momiji worked in the Berlin office of his father's company. For the most part he enjoyed himself; there were certain elements of the job he could do without, but overall his father had been right; it was something Momiji was very good at. He was uniquely suited to deal with international clients and partners; growing up in Japan helped him understand the more nuanced approach to Eastern business dealings, while his time in Germany and exposure to his German friends left him better able to deal with the more direct approach favored by Westerners. And his fluency in German, Japanese, and English didn't hurt anything, either.

No...he was happy enough, with the way things were. He liked his job; he loved his boyfriend, who loved him just as much. They had made a home together. His life had music, even if Momiji wasn't always the one able to play it. He was happy.

How could he have asked for more?


As Momiji closed his laptop, he took a deep breath, then pulled out his phone.

'I know you're at a dinner right now, but when you get home, could we please talk? I am fine, no one is sick or injured, but it's important.'

He hit send, then looked at the clock. Nine in Japan was two in Germany, and he was supposed to be attending a performance of Hans' orchestra that afternoon at three-thirty. The season had only just begun, and he hadn't had a chance to attend yet...but there was absolutely no way that was going to happen today, not now. Even if it turned out that Koshiro wasn't free to talk, Momiji doubted he could sit and enjoy the music after the morning he'd had, assuming he even felt up to going out.

'I'm so sorry, Schatzi, but I can't make it this afternoon after all. Something has come up I have to deal with, and I don't know how long it will take. Break a leg, and I will see you this evening.'

After sending off that message, Momiji sighed, then looked back at the clock. Koshiro didn't usually check his phone at functions, but if Momo was right, then they'd likely be finishing up in another hour or so and Momiji should hear from him any time after then. For time being, he should probably make lunch, figure out what he was going to say...

And try to process everything that had just happened.