That summer was one of the hottest summers that anyone could remember. Each day was more torrid than the one before, and the abundant flowers in Naki's courtyard had wilted. Every day, the sun would blaze down from the cloudless sky above. The asphalt shimmered and the air was thick with the stench of hot tar.
Even with the heat, work as usual continued for Suzuya. There was quite the commotion over the disappearance of Naki's files; and the white haired man stayed low in the matter. Kiniko had grown more bearable as time had flown by, and Juuzou felt like he owed the man for helping keep the pesky Nanami away. Suzuya was eternally grateful that the black haired girl would be starting school soon. That meant no more afternoons with her perched on his desk. The small man tried to spend more time with his children, but they were very difficult to entertain. For example, even in the sweltering heat, all the twins wished to do was play in the small woods not far from the apartment. By the request of their mother, Juuzou had hesitantly granted the children to access the outside world as they pleased. Their mother. As much as Suzuya hated himself for it, he had begun to feel an odd feeling around Eto. He had caught himself staring at her more times than he would've willingly admitted, and she knew it too. The investigator wasn't sure how she did it, but she always knew if he was looking at her or not. When she caught him, the half ghoul would usually let him know by a sarcastic comment such as 'would you like me to sign something', or, when the children were not present, simply flipping him the bird. Juuzou also found himself unconsciously adjusting his suspenders or straightening his hairpins when he knew he was going to see her. He usually felt nervous when he saw her, but how could he not? She was dangerous yet the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes upon. He found himself envying Naki for reasons he was not completely sure of. Suzuya had gotten a bit more used to the blond ghoul, but he still disliked him nevertheless. Perhaps it was how close of a bond Naki had with Hitomi that got Suzuya riled up. Juuzou felt awful about not being in his kids' lives for the first five years, and he tried desperately to make it up. However, on the weeks he had with them, all the kids wanted to do was go and play in the woods. Suzuya was glad they were having fun, but he couldn't help but feel jealous when he would see Hitomi jump into Naki's arms. Suzuya worried that he was going soft. Things at work had been without a doubt complicated by his relations with ghouls. During a raid, he had allowed a ghoul family to escape. Why, he was not sure. Perhaps it was because the daughter had Hitomi's eyes. Hitomi was a sweet child, but things about her disturbed Juuzou.
The white haired girl had a terrible habit of bragging. She thought so highly of herself that sometimes Suzuya wanted to smack her. He had all the trouble in the world keeping her entertained. She got bored easy, which led her to attempt to do many dangerous things around the house. Her favorite was no doubt seeing how large of things she could fit down the disposal. And she would lie about it. The five year old was no doubt the biggest liar Suzuya had ever come to face. Hitomi would do anything not to get in trouble, including blaming her only brother. The only person that Juuzou noted that he had not seen her lying to was Naki, much to his disgust. The young girl was like her father in the way that she was impatient and got annoyed easily, and was not afraid to be blunt about it. Hitomi had what Eto described as 'inadequate control of anger and temper'; and the white haired girl often acted hastily without thinking. She was rash and unpredictable, making things harder on the adults. The young girl insisted, oddly for a five year old girl, on having everything she owned black. Black clothes, black furniture, black crayons, black everything. But what really disturbed Suzuya was her lack of common empathy. If she hurt someone, she would say sorry, but she never seemed like she meant it. Suzuya blamed the orphanage; it had not exactly taught her 'people skills'.
Kaito was different from his reckless sister. The quiet boy was a people pleaser and spent all his time trying to make his family happy. Suzuya worried about his lack of talking, and he blamed it on how little sleep Kaito got. The teal haired boy was what Eto called an 'insomniac', and it disturbed Suzuya. Juuzou would watch Kaito and Hitomi play together often, and he noted what started the arguments was usually either Hitomi's cheating or Kaito's need to be in control. Hitomi would ridicule her brother by calling him a 'control freak', and it would usually lead to a physical fight that an adult would have to break up. Kaito was needy, and Juuzou wasn't sure what to do about it. He tried to get the young boy to do things himself, but that would only lead to the five year old cowering in a corner. The only thing that Suzuya could get Kaito to do with no problem was, surprisingly, clean. Kaito had no problem cleaning himself or the apartment. Usually with five year olds, Nanami in mind, Suzuya knew it was a chore to get them to wash their grubby little hands. His son, on the other hand, would wash his hands whenever he came across a sink. Juuzou told him that he did not have to do it that often, but he did not listen. Kaito would often ask Suzuya if it was 'okay for him to clean'. Juuzou did not let the boy clean the apartment; he was five; he should be playing. Suzuya picked up on some signs of what he would consider paranoia in the boy. For example, before bed, he took to checking that the front door was locked exactly three times. Kaito struggled with reading and had no interest in it whatsoever, much to the contrary of his sister. Numbers were Kaito's thing. When he got bored, he would count. He would count pages in books, steps he went up, and the steps he took. He was highly organized and took pride in his color organized clothes. Unlike Hitomi, Kaito was terrified of violence. Suzuya blamed that on the abuse he endured for five years. Another thing Suzuya blamed the orphanage for was Kaito's constant need for reassurance. Juuzou told Kaito again and again that all he expected was for Kaito to try, but nevertheless, Suzuya found himself bombarded with the question 'Daddy, is this good enough?'. It saddened Juuzou to see how low Kaito's self esteem was. Juuzou thought his heart almost stopped when Kaito had muttered 'I bet people wish I would go away'. The teal haired boy would cry a lot, mostly in the corner alone. Juuzou, Eto, and Naki tried to help him, but it seemed as if Kaito did not want to be helped. The only place that Kaito ever seemed happy, according to Hitomi, was at their 'fort' they had built in the woods. Nor Juuzou or Eto had ever seen the fort; the twins kept it hidden.
Eto expressed lots of concern over the well being of the kids, but there really wasn't anything she could do. In a private conversation she had with Kaito, she had asked him what would make him happy. After getting through all his lies such as 'Mommy, I am happy', he finally confessed that he wanted a family. Eto was confused, and Kaito explained that he hated going back and forth each week. He said he wanted 'Mommy and Daddy to get married'. Those words had put a weight in Eto's stomach that she could not rid. The half ghoul often replayed the night where she had confessed to Suzuya that she still loved him. She wondered how he felt about it. Eto noticed that he looked at her a lot, and that he acted in the manor that he had when they had first met. He would blush at any touch from her. Eto found herself acting very outgoing around him; not on purpose. And smiling. Eto could not stop smiling, and it was driving her crazy. She tried biting her lip to stop herself, but she decided that was worse. The half ghoul and the investigator found themselves sharing a laugh a couple times, and when they realized it, a minute of awkward silence usually followed. Things between her and Naki had gradually calmed. All sexual activity stopped, and eventually, Eto moved to a guest bedroom downstairs across from where the kids stayed. Eto was worried that Naki would be angry, but he seemed perfectly fine with it.
Naki was actually relieved Eto had left the bedroom. It made sneaking Ju San into bed with him at night a whole lot easier. It was still difficult; Ju San would have to get up extra early so she could shower before any of the other servants were up to smell him on her. Naki snuck the servant out of the house when he could, and they would go on little dates together. Naki loved the servant with all his heart. He wanted to marry her without a doubt, but he had no idea how he would pull that off. He also wanted children. Naki enjoyed having Eto's kids at the mansion. Kaito, however, was distant and often did not speak to Naki. Hitomi on the other hand insisted on teaching the blond ghoul kanji every night. She would curl up in his lap often and ask for a story; and Naki soon began to almost consider the white haired girl as his own daughter. He found her antics funny, his favorite being 'wait'. It was something Hitomi did all the time; she would thrust her hands out and say wait, like someone would tell a dog to stay. He would tease her about it, but she never got offended.
Ju San was also happy that Eto had stopped her nightly endeavors with Naki. The couple now had more time together, and the servant enjoyed every minute of it. However, she still continued with her duties to Suzuya. She liked the Cards gang; they treated her like family. She learned quickly that Kenki was like a father to everyone in the group, and it killed her each time she had to report back to Suzuya. Hell, these ghouls trusted her. Uta had finished her mask, it was rather simple and white. There was a small hook on the back so she could clip her beloved flower crown to it. Ju San enjoyed talking to her newly found half brother, and she discovered they were more alike than she suspected.
The summer was drawing to a close, and soon, school was going to be starting up. Much to the twins discontent, they were not going to be going to school. Eto would homeschool them. Before anyone knew it, the first day of school was upon them.