I went upstairs to my room,unpacked my things (the few things I had brought with me anyway),and got into bed. I didn't fall asleep right away,I stayed awake just a bit longer,listening to the sounds of the night outside,and perhaps those inside as well. But really,why would such things be of concern to me? Well,my friend,your guess is as good as mine. Anyways,that's what I did for another five minutes or so,and then the next thing I knew I was asleep.

I must have been really tired because when I woke up the clock on my wall said that it was noon already. I put on my usual clothes,and headed downstairs. Just as I thought,Mother was waiting for me.

''It's about time,Yumi-chan,'' She said. She had apparently gotten tired of waiting for me. ''Now,shall we?''

A few minutes later the two of us were seated at the table with two bowls of mushroom soup and two bowls of rice. We said nothing for the first few minutes or so,then Mother asked me, ''So,tell me how this 'Puffy Amiyumi' business is working out for you.''

''Well,'' I began, ''It's not too bad...if Kaz wasn't the way he was it would be perfect.''

''Who is Kaz?'' Mother asked.

''He was the one who held the talent search. You know,he was mentioned in the ad.''

''Oh,yes,I remember now.''

''Well he became our manager.''

Mother took another spoonful of soup. ''And what's so bad about him?''

''He's greedy,he's cheap,he's a big lazy glutton...sometimes I can't stand him.''

''Oh,he can't be all that bad,'' Mother said.

''Well,you don't have to work for him.'' I said,taking another bite of rice.

Mother thought this over. ''Yamakawa-san was most greedy,I recall.''

I laughed a bit. ''Well,then,he and Kaz should get together sometime.''

The two of us stopped talking for a bit,then Mother said, ''I've been reading all those celebrity magizines lately,trying to keep up with you and that Onuki girl.''

''Just call her Ami,'' I said.

''Anyway,I heard that the Onu--er,Ami,has a daughter. Is that true?''

''Yes,it is.'' I said.

''Also I have heard rumors that you have a son. Those can't be true,seeing that you and that Yukio fellow have been divorced for so long.''

''They're true,'' I said with pride.

Mother seemed rather stunned for a moment. ''That...that..that is wonderful! What is his name?''

''Koja.'' I told her.

''Where is he now?''

''Back with Ami,Kaz,and Donjo in our tour bus.''

''Who is Donjo?''

''Ami's husband.''

''Oh,yes,I think I remember reading about him.''

Another few minutes of silence,then Mother said, ''Buyo passed through here not long ago. He came to visit me,and we talked lot about you.''

Buyo.

I had nearly forgtten about what I had done to him. And now,I had been reminded again.

''Something wrong,Yumi?''

I sighed. ''Buyo and I got into a bad fight yesterday.''

''Oh...'' Mother said nothing else for the rest of our time at the table.

About half an hour later I was standing outside in front of my rickety house once more. I hadn't gotten a chance to get a good look at it from the outside in so long,and I was surprised at how worn-down it had been since my departure. The top of the chimmey had been blown off by last year's typhoon,one of the windows was broken,and the yard was a mess of weeds.

I got to work pulling out a good deal of those weeds,then decided I would go take a walk around the neighborhood for a while. I really had nothing else to do.

But before I could go,it occured to me that if I had already tidied up the garden,it would make sense to fix up the rest of the house as well.

First I went back inside,got the ladder and some tools,and got to work on fixing the chimmney. I'm pleased to say it didn't take as long as I thought. The broken window,on the other had,presented a problem before I had even started working on it. Now,I knew how to break windows (with my voice),but not how to fix them. I decided that the best thing to do was to leave it alone. It was only a small crack,anyways.

Having done all I could for the moment,I went back inside for some well-earned relaxation before checking out the neighborhood.

A/N: And there you have it. I really don't have much to say about this chappie,other than please review;flamers will be shot. (Constructive criticism and ideas are encoraged,however.)

----Shaddie-chan