It was the month of May when the young, newlywed couple discovered that they were going to have a child to be born in the month of January. Everything was in order by then. The family business was very successful, and thanks to that, the pair was able to settle into a beautiful home in Kanagawa, a prefecture that was part of the Greater Tokyo area. In fact, the company was running so smoothly that it became one of the most popular and productive of them all, just one under the ever so famous Akashi Corporation.

That was until Katashi's father, the CEO of KUROKO MOTORS, put an abundance of partnerships and deals with other businesses on his plate before he stepped down to make way for his son, relying on the assumption that his business would be as prosperous as it had been during the last year.

Little did he know that the company would come close to its collapse five months later.

In the month of September, the couple received good and bad news. Well, whether it was good or bad depended on who was asked, and when they were asked.

On the third week of that month, the 16th, to be exact, Satoko had visited her husband at the car company's main office.

"Ah, Sa-chan! What are you doing here?" Her husband had exclaimed, hurriedly sitting her down at the couch near the wall. "What if something had happened to you? I can't even imagine..." He squeezed his eyes shut, giving her an embrace until she patted his arm as her shoulders shook in amusement.

"I have something wonderful to show you, Kata. Sit down with me first." She said coolly, tugging on her spouse's white dress shirt. The teal-haired woman then took out a fallow-brown colored envelope with a white sticker enclosing its contents. "I couldn't wait for you to get home, so I wanted to come here right away."

The obvious wonder in her husband's eyes resulted in her lips tugging up. "Oh, Sa-chan... Is this...?" His fingers trembled as he delicately opened the envelope to see black and white images.

"I went to the doctor again today. The ultrasound technician told me that our child is a boy." In spite of her usual ability to maintain her equanimity, her smile was uncontrollable. "I'm so, so happy, Katashi," she mumbled onto her husband's shoulder. Closing the distance between them, his arms wrapped tightly around her small frame.

The spare room in the Kurokos' abode had turned into a nursery for their son-to-be. White and yellow stripes, family pictures, and Satoko's paintings of stars adorned the room's walls. Small, plush basketballs, bears, children's books from Satoko's publishing company, and small models of KUROKO MOTORS' cars were also neatly placed in the wicker baskets and shelves. Even the clothes that the baby was supposed to wear was folded in neat stacks in a drawer that the couple had built together.

Or at least, they should have been in the drawers, and the toys should have been on display, ready to welcome the expected infant.

When the woman with gentle and clear blue eyes had entered the room, everything was gone, save for the crib and wall decorations. Even the powder-blue curtains had been stripped away. Her lips quivered at the sight and she rushed to the drawers. The clothes were also gone. All that remained were the hollow wood constructions and the smell of drying paint. What had happened? She called out for her husband, who was in the middle of finishing his dinner. "Kata? What is this in Tetsuzo's room? Or actually, what isn't this?" Her hand sliced through the air, emphasizing the sudden emptiness of the room."There's nothing here."

"About that, Sa-chan. Why don't we talk about this at the table? I think it would be best if we spoke about this calmly."

When the pair had been situated at the dinner table, Katashi took a long breath and ran his hand through his own cerulean locks. "I made a mistake, Satoko. I made a very big mistake."

"I'm sure that it will be okay in the end, Katashi," she reassured him, reaching across the table to hold his other hand with her soft, china-like ones. "What happened?"

Her sky-blue orbs widened when she suddenly saw tears dropping out of her husband's eyes, the ones that were usually windows to his happiness. But instead of bright skies and sunshine, there was a darkened sea. "Please, you must tell me that you won't get angry at me."

"I won't, I won't. I'm with you on everything, remember? I always have been."

"I know, but this one is different. Today, I had a meeting with the company's adviser. And... remember how I told you and father that I'd fix everything? That I'd find a solution?"

"Yes, I remember."

"Sa-chan, the adviser told me that we were in deep debt, and the only way to fix it is to get loans, but I don't know... I didn't want to risk it, I really- all of father's hard work, I couldn't throw it all away."

"You can still do it. I believe in your abilities, Kata." She patted her husband's hand, which had curled into a loose fist. "It wasn't your mistake, even your father said so."

"But there's more to it. I also saw Akashi Seishirou today, and apparently he knows about everyone's financial status."

Anyone who was involved in the business world would know about Akashi Seishirou, also known as the old man who was in everyone's business. And in spite of the notion that Satoko was in an entirely different field, publication to be specific(compared to the Akashis' finance) he even snooped into her status. The crinkles in between her eyebrows and the sudden change in tone as she said "Oh.." only confirmed to Katashi that she knew to prepare herself for what to expect next.

"He told me, Satoko, that he would help us, though."

"Oh?" Was that disinterest in her voice? "What did he offer?"

"He... he said that he would pay for all of our debts, in exchange for an arranged marriage between our children. He said that he will financially support our family, too. And it seems that he also knew of your pregnancy, because he mentioned that now was the perfect time since the heir to his company was also expecting a child." And if his wife's eyes weren't enough of a warning, he added, "But the problem is, he revealed to me that his grandson will be a boy."

"Akashi doesn't know about Tetsuzo's gender, right?"

"No. But... from now on, we will be calling her Tetsuya."

"Her? Who?"

The male's eyes traveled down to her belly, and immediately she stood up, the impact of her palms against the wood causing him to jolt in his seat. "What are you talking about, Katashi?! Did you agree?! Are you rejecting our own child's very being for the sake of your company? We can make this work, Katashi," she denied, shaking his shoulders after walking to his side of the table. "You can still say no to him, right? We can compromise-"

"No, we can't, Satoko! We can't!" His rough hands braced on her delicate arms that were shaking in frustration, in anger. "I'm so sorry!"

"You have tomorrow and tomorrow only to speak to him about this, Katashi. If you tell me anything other than a 'Yes, we have changed it', then myson and I are leaving."

"You won't do that, I know that you don't have it in you. Don't be ridiculous!"

"You don't be ridiculous," she managed to hiss out of gritted teeth, "I am very fine on my own without someone unfair like you."

That night, Satoko had the last word.

The last of the setting sun's light was focused on tending to Satoko's tear-stained cheeks when Katashi entered the guest room on the first floor of their home.

"Sa-chan...? I'm home." There was a packed duffel bag set next to the bed, but he paid no mind to it as he approached her and sat on the edge of the mattress. "Did you eat yet?"

Her head shook. "Did... did you speak to Akashi?"

"I did."

And after that, nothing. Two minutes of pure stillness, other than the soft ticking of the wall clock and the sniffing of Satoko's nose as she wept.

"I really want to stay."

"You should."

"I want our family to be complete."

"I know, Sa-chan. Me too."

"I don't want Tetsuya to suffer."

"I'm sorry."

Thank you guys for kindly giving me feedback through your follows & reviews! I'm always open to hearing about what you think in regards to what I'm writing ^^

Also special thanks to angstyteenftw and seijuurouvevo from Tumblr for helping me out with the Kuroko family's businesses!