Hello all, have made it a point to write a little bit more about my story everyday. A few days back, I had the whole ending plotted out, and I thought I could finally finish it in a few chapters or so.

Sorry if I make the story kind of rushing, fast-forwarding them into adolescence and what not. Hahaha. The end is near!

Following the white flash of the camera, the camera gave a little technical whir and a small photo came out. Ryoutaro inspected the image and gave a satisfied nod before passing it to Len.

Looking at the image, Len still couldn't believe 6 years had passed so quickly. Before, they had all been shorter than him. Now, as Ryoutaro prepared to enter university, he stood a head above Len. Kazuki was the next tallest, though still shorter than Len, having devoted his entire Junior High life to basketball. He had become tanner and his arms were lean and muscled. But he still retained that joker characteristic, annoying the hell out of his siblings. Azuma's hair had grown longer, but he always kept it neatly tied up. His school was initially quite reluctant to let a boy grow out his hair but they gave in after Azuma won a fair number of concours and brought glory to the Jinnan name. Kahoko had blossomed into a bubbly and pleasant young girl. For a period of time she was too generous with her hugs, leading to many cases of boys turning up at the doorstep. Kazuki had to step in and reprimand her about it. Since then, she only hugged her family members and girls. Keiichi still had that sleepy look about him, but when he was on the cello, he became lively and immersed himself in the mellow sound of the string instrument. He was in 5th grade of Jushou Elementary and his voice had yet to break. His sister came over regularly and always brought along with her some cakes. Hence Keiichi developed a sweet tooth. Shouko, not willing to lose out to her older siblings in terms of grades and achievements, decided to try archery. She had plans to take up a sports activity, but decided that most of them were too strenuous. Len then recommended archery to help us develop poise and focus. She was still the fairest of the family, with her short turquoise hair always tucked neatly behind her ears. She had plans to grow them out once she enters Junior High.

As the family tucked into the food, Len opened up his presents one by one. A hand-made photo album decorated with stickers and ribbons. Kahoko must have poured in a lot of time to make this. A mug that said "I WHO HOLD THEE CUP IS THY GOD OF HANDSOME". Typical of Kazuki. A new musical stand to hold his scores. Only Azuma who was detailed-oriented would have realised that his old stand could no longer adjust the height. A box of coffee cakes from Keiichi, who knew Len could only tolerate sweet stuff if they were chocolate or coffee flavoured. A mixed tape containing ballads and songs played on the piano by Ryoutaro from Ryoutaro. Len loved listening to his playing, his music always sounded reassuring and gentle. And last but not least, a keychain with 7 different charms on it. Each charm representing something unique about each family member from Shouko.

All the gifts were so thoughtful that Len couldn't help but feel touched. It seemed just the day before yesterday when they came ringing his bell in that snowstorm. Begging for a place to stay the night. A turn of dramatic events since then have led to all of them staying at his house since.

And in the last 3 years, the children had grown exceptionally faster than they did before. Perhaps it was because Len had been too busy with his new career at the Tokyo Harmonic Orchestra.

After dinner, Shouko and Keiichi helped to wash the dishes, while the rest of the children huddled round Len to discuss the gifts that he had received. When Shouko and Keiichi were done and came to join, Ryoutaro made an announcement.

"I've decided to apply for the music division in Kyushu, specifically Oita." Everyone was surprised. No doubt the university there was well-known for their music, but there were plenty of universities with music division right here in Tokyo as well.

"Oita is all the way south! Are you going to move there?" Keiichi asked.

"Well yes… I've been looking at the apartments for rent. I'd most probably have to get a part-time job when I'm there though." Ryoutaro replied.

"Money will never be a concern," Len stated. "But must you really move all the way out there?" Ryoutaro nodded, the chances of the university offering him a scholarship was pretty high. Also, the university was well-known for giving frequent overseas opportunities to their students.

"Please come back to visit us every other week or so!" Kahoko whined.

Ryoutaro patted her head. "Yes, yes. Of course I will."

From the time of Ryoutaro's application to the start of the university term was a good 4 months. So Ryoutaro reassured them that he wasn't going anywhere any time soon. And that he was just sharing some of his options to the family. While he had shared his lodging plans and home visits, he deliberately kept his ulterior motive hidden. He had actually kept it within himself since the day he became a Tsukimori. It hadn't been the best decision then, but soon he would tell his family the reason.

"Oh yeah, which reminds me," Ryoutaro started. "Congratulations, Azuma. I heard you landed yourself a spot in the Concours Summer Training Programme." Ryoutaro patted Azuma's shoulder.

"Waaaa~" came the responses of his other siblings.

"Isn't that the super-hard-to-get-in camp?" Kazuki exclaimed.

"Is it that much of a surprise? Azuma has always had stellar results when it came to music." Shouko said. Her older siblings never failed to make her proud, and this only inspired her to shine in her own way. A few times she had felt overshadowed in their glory, and competing head-on with the things they were good at only made her feel more worthless. Until Kazuki gave her the advice that she should strive at something completely different if music wasn't her forte. So Shouko heeded the advice of her brother and poured her heart and soul into archery, and soon she felt herself standing on par with them. On a side note, she had taken up French as well.

"Does that mean your entire summer holidays will be burnt? I was looking forward to going on a family trip again…" Kahoko whined. It suddenly dawned on her that summer trips with the whole family were going to become a thing of the past once Ryoutaro started university and moved out.

"It'll only be for the first month, after that I have the rest of the summer to relax," Azuma reassured.

"You mean the rest of the summer to hit the books," whispered Kazuki to himself. Azuma was always studying during the weekends and holidays. Keiichi overheard him and elbowed Kazuki in the ribs. "Sounds like a good role model to follow, Mr C-for-everything." He added. Kazuki turned red at the mention of his grades as they have been exceptionally bad this year. He was now in second year of Akarui Junior High, quite a distant from where Azuma and Ryoutaro were studying, so he often had to leave house earlier in order to reach school on time for morning practice.

Len used to fetch all the children to school in his big SUV, but ever since Azuma offered to take public transport so as not to bother Len and letting him drive a longer distance, the other children followed suit in his path for independence. While Len still worried about them from time to time, this actually gave him more time to focus on his repertoires and concerts. It was also a good way to train independency, especially for Keiichi and Kazuki who forever had difficulties waking up in the morning.

Len threw Kazuki a threatening glance at the mention of his bad grades. If there was one thing Len couldn't stand, it was bad grades among the children. The last time Kazuki failed his math paper, Len locked him up in the house and sat in his room to keep an eye on Kazuki while he studied. He even went to lengths to hire a private tutor to catch the young boy. "Studies are very important. If you have the capabilities to score well you should, and you will. In my house, no one is allowed to fail!" Len said that repeatedly throughout the whole month of Kazuki's Elementary School exams.

Fortunately, the nagging and tutoring worked as Kazuki passed with flying colours. He then kept up the good studying habit throughout his first year and breezed through. But once year 2 began, his laziness kicked in again and his grades started slipping. Kazuki didn't want to go through the gruel of being under tight supervision again so he silently promised to turn things around from the second semester onwards.

When the last slice of cake had been cleared by Keiichi, Azuma helped Megumi clear the dishes and throw the thrash. The family gathered in the living area for their daily mini-concert where everyone would draw lots and 3 people would have to perform a short excerpt from a song they were learning. Len devised this scheme to keep Kazuki active on the trumpet. And the rest of the children enjoyed this hour of the day, when the house would be filled with music and laughter. Sometimes, a cheery tune, sometimes something more solemn (usually from Azuma). Even though 3 were only selected to play, more often than not, others would join in to create their own little ensemble.

When the performance was done and the children went to bed, Len lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and pondering about the past 6 years. It was a rainy night, and in the distance he could hear rolling thunder. This reminded him of the nights when Kahoko and Shouko would creep into his bed to get protection from the thunder.

Slowly, his eyelids started to get heavy and he eventually slipped into slumber.

The days and weeks flew by, and as the second semester of school came to a close, and summer drew near, the family made plans to go on a holiday trip again while Azuma started planning for his own concours training camp. He wasn't exactly sure what he should bring and what he'd left out. Len, who was used to travelling overseas for competitions back when he was a student, helped him out.

The children, who are actually old enough to be called teens now, bade their older brother farewell as he entered the gates for Yokohama. Outside the gates. a small handful of parents were bidding their children farewell too. The selected students who would be representing Jinnan in the training camp were a small group, being led by the headmistress, Yoko-sensei. Yoko-sensei was an elderly lady, with snow-white hair and a thin frame. She had served the school for at least 20 years. When she saw Len, she immediately recognised her formal student.

"Tsukimori-kun, what a surprise." At once, all the children turned at the mention of their name, only to realise she was referring to their guardian.

"Yoko-sensei!" Len said in surprise. It had been so long since he had seen his teacher. "Same could be said about you. You look as young as you were when I was still a student." Len joked.

Yoko-sensei chuckled. "Enough of your flattery. My, look at you, what a fine young man you've grown up to be. What are you now, 24? 25?"

27. Len corrected.

"Oh my, a prime age I see. What brings you here today?" She said, eyeing the other teenagers standing close to him. "Is that Ryoutaro-kun?" she asked, recognising the tall dark boy.

When Len told him that he was the guardian of Azuma and Ryoutaro Tsukimori, as well as the rest of the children standing beside him, she didn't seem surprised. "Tsukimori isn't exactly a common name. And in the musical world it is rather renowned. However, I was, in fact the entire teacher body, were rather shocked to learn that you had adopted six children. After all, children and you just don't jumble together." She laughed.

She continued. "But my, you know when I first heard Azuma play his flute. It felt like déjà vu, because his tone reminded me so much of you. It is heartening to see that you have influenced a young musician such as him to play so."

"It is good to know that you think so highly of young Azuma. I entrust him in your care, Yoko-sensei. And as always, it was delightful to see you again, after so many years."

Yoko-sensei made him promise that they would have tea together when she returns, and Len accepted graciously. She had wanted to tell him so much more, about the school since he'd left, and about Ryoutaro. But alas, the train heading for Yokohama was departing, so she tapped through the gates and herded the students towards the platform.

"Urghh, so weird to see your teacher out of school." Ryoutaro grumbled.

"I didn't think you'd have any issues, you weren't a trouble-maker in school anyway." Keiichi said, throwing a quick glance at Kazuki. The last time Kazuki saw his 6th grade homeroom teacher, he jumped into the bushes. "Fleeeee!" he'd screamed as he dived.

Ryoutaro laughed as he remembered that scene. "True that I didn't do anything especially bad, but it still feels awkward! I thought she'd start one of her 'recounts' again. Her stories are especially droning." He sighed.

Len patted his back, "did you know? She was my favourite teacher back then. Because she always had such interesting stories about the musicians and I'd just sit and listen like a bed-time story."

"I think once or twice I even fell asleep," Len added.

"You? Falling asleep in front of a teacher? Bet you got yelled at hard." Kazuki said.

"Nah, she was never nasty to me."

"Teacher's pet.." Kazuki grumbled.

The family wandered towards their own platform, chitchatting and recalling past events about awkward moments with teachers or classmates outside school. This summer, they were going to Oita for vacation. Everyone knew it was to help Ryoutaro scout the neighbourhood. But going together made the whole occasion much more fun.

The group of Jinnan students arrived at the training camp location in a chartered luxurious bus. With ample space per seat and even a small TV for entertainment. All these luxuries never ceased to amaze Azuma.

As the students got off one by one, several young men in suits who were waiting outside the gates quickly helped to take the luggage out from the bus's lower compartment. One of the students, Marita Shizuka, was fanning herself with a feathered fan, exclaiming that the bus ride had cause her joints to ache. Marita was famous for being rather spoilt and having been surrounded by too many luxuries. However, spoilt she was, she played the violin beautifully. The teachers of Jinnan have often been offered bribes from parents to enrol their children into such concours training programmes, but Marita had earned herself the spot based on her own raw talent. And for that, Marita had earned Azuma's admiration.

"Excuse me, Miss," one of the young men said to Azuma. Azuma turned around, and the young man became rather confused. He stared at Azuma for an uncomfortable period of time before finally saying, "I apologise, I mistook you for a girl."

Azuma laughed and pardoned him, it wasn't the first and it definitely won't be the last.

"Is this luggage yours, sir?" The young man pointed to one of the carriers. He had black hair that was smartly combed back, and his honey-golden eyes were gentle as he politely asked the young boy.

Azuma wasn't used to being treated to so politely by someone older than him. Although he understood that these young men in suits were the butlers and helpers of the training camp mansion, he still felt that as a minor and a student he should be showing more respect.

"No need for formalities," he awkwardly waved his hand. "And yes that's mine, I can manage it myself, it isn't very heavy."

"Oh no, I insist," the young man said. "This is my job after all."

Azuma helplessly looked as the butler lifted his bag. "I'm Tsukimori Azuma, pleasure to make your acquaintance," he said with a bow.

"Kazami Eiji," he responded in like.

Yoko-sensei hollered to the students to gather for a short briefing while the butlers hastily moved the luggages indoors. Eiji followed, but he couldn't shake off the feeling that he had known Azuma from somewhere. That boy, was so, so, so familiar. That incident had been more than a decade ago already, and he had moved on with life.

I was actually kinda sad to have to set Ryoutaro away when he begins university. But that's the case for most students in Japan isn't it? And having to stay in capsule dormitories. Just recently once of my friends went to Ito for exchange and he took a picture of his dormitory. The name "capsule dormitory" really wasn't an exaggeration… I still remember the last time I stayed in dorm, they couldn't find a partner for me so I ended up occupying the whole room hahahaha. Life was good then LOL.