Ishigami

In addition to the first picture with his father and the drawing, the box contained a lot of similar items, even more pictures of the little girl named Mai. Together with Akemi, Hideki accepted that his father wasn't the person he'd thought he was. And that had been his major concern until Akemi pointed something else out.

"Are you going to try and find her? Your sister." She'd asked.

It took Akemi saying it out loud for Ishigami to realize what this really meant. He'd thought that Akemi was his only family, and he'd been happy with that. But all this time he'd really had a half-sister somewhere. He didn't know anything about this girl, she was the product of an affair with some woman who was not his mother but still...

He did want to meet her, even if it wasn't a happy reunion and only a brief meeting. Still, this girl was the only flesh-and-blood he had, and he wanted to see what that felt like. Together, he and Akemi found a detective agency to track her down. He wanted this private and separate from his work. If most of the people he worked with found out, they would definitely somehow get involved. Part of the profession, it seemed, was a natural instinct to interfere.

For several weeks, Ishigami didn't think about it very much while he let the PIs he hired do their work. He worked hard and happily enjoyed married life. It was blissful, even with the uncertainty of 'Mai' hanging about. When they got a call from Nozomu-san, Ishigami was able to act calmly. As they sat across the desk and waited to hear, he managed to keep his exterior cool and calm. On the inside, he was actually nervous. How could he not be? He had no idea what was going to happen, even if they had found her. And if they hadn't...he would be really disappointed. Hideki felt a small, warm, hand clasp his own. He looked over in surprise at Akemi, who squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile. That was all he needed, how simple. This perfect, loving woman made him feel so comfortable that he realized no matter what happened it would be okay. Because he did have family now, he had someone who would always be by his side.

"We found her." Nozomu-san said, smiling. Ishigami felt himself stiffen a little - this was real. The detective handed Ishigami a small folder and he took it with a less-than-steady hand.

"Mai Okada, 21. She's a student at Daito Bunka University. Raised by a single mother who passed away last year. She works part time at several different jobs to pay for school, it seems. Single, lives alone."

Ishigami looked at the data in front of him, slowly processing it. Mostly, he couldn't take his eyes off of the picture clipped in the corner. It looked like a school ID photo, and probably was. Mai didn't resemble him very much, or his father. The only thing they did share was the black hair and eyes. Other than that, she had soft features in comparison to his sharp ones.

"I was expecting glasses." Akemi said, breaking the silence. Nozomu laughed, and Hideki smiled - he was grateful for her presence once again.