Ryuuya yawned and stretched, looking out the window of the bus he was on. It was sunrise, and he was coming up on the small ocean-side town that his father had been at so long ago.

The bus paused long enough for Ryuuya to get off, and even though it began to move the moment he set foot on the concrete outside, he turned and bowed anyway. Sighing, he opened up his wallet and grimaced. He was running low on funds again. Doing odd jobs here and there had gotten him this far, but he would be stuck camping out here for awhile before he had the money to keep going. He had even sold his bike for money. But he smiled as he remembered what his father had told him. Yukito had come here by foot, no money, no food, and hadn't had a bath for who knew how long.

Readjusting the bag on his shoulder, Ryuuya walked down the road, coming upon an old vending machine just beside a concrete wall overlooking the ocean. He kicked the thing, wondering if it even still worked. Probably didn't, who drank peach juice anymore? Ryuuya looked over at the wall, knowing it was a similar spot that his father had first met Misuzu. Smiling, Ryuuya set off up the road to find somewhere to rest before sunset. He looked at the letter from Yukito in his hand, and sighed sadly. After he was done here, then what would he do?

He had NO idea.

He was hearing the top of the hill, when someone waving caught his attention. She was obviously drunk, and very much so as she was laughing like he was the funniest looking guy on the planet (ok, so maybe he was…), and she was leaning on the wall for support. Ryuuya stopped before her, sighing when she took another swig of Sake.

"Can I help you ma'am?" He asked.

"You sure can, you block-hic-head. Been 18 years, you dope! Why didncha ever vist, huh? And whydidja gro your hair out? It looksh weird…" The red haired woman growled, pointing clumsily at Ryuuya.

"Um, Ma'am, this is the first time we've met…"

"Whadya mean, the first ti-hic-me we met? Yukito you dope!" She laughed, then drained the bottle.

"Um… I'm not Yukito, I'm Ryuuya." Ryuuya said, sweating a little.

"Just shyadup, you weirdo." the woman said, grabbing Ryuuya by the collar and dragging him into the house. Ryuuya was taken off guard by how stable and strong she was, and soon found himself sitting at a small table. "I'll be jussa sec." the woman grinned sloppily, and then vanished down the hall. Ryuuya heard a door shut, then some water running. About five minutes later, she was back, a towel around her shoulders as she dried her face.

"Um…ma'am, can… can I ask who you are?"

"Yukito, quit being an idiot. You know who I am." the woman said, shifting through her fridge. She seemed rather sober now. Ryuuya growled, standing quickly and slamming his fist onto the table.

"I TOLD you! I'm Ryuuya! Yukito was my father!"

The woman looked at him, looked him up and down, and shrugged.

"So? No need to get mad." She said. "So, where is Yukito? I haven't seen him since after Misuzu's funeral."

"First, who are you?" Ryuuya asked, staring the woman down.

"Aww, he didn't even mention me? I'm Haruko. Misuzu's adopted mom. Didn't he tell you about the girl in the sky mumbo jumbo? He never shut up about it before." Haruko said, opening a box of sushi. Ryuuya stared at her. THIS was Haruko?

"No…no…he talked about you guys a lot. About this town…"

"Yeah, I think that summer was pretty screwed up for all of us." Haruko said, shoving the box of sushi in Ryuuya's direction. "He wrote a letter about you. That was the last I heard form him. Said he was gonna have a kid and was getting married. How is he anyway?" Haruko asked. Ryuuya chewed a bite of fish and rice slowly. He then reached into his battered bag and brought out the ceramic pot his fathers ashes were in.

"He… died. About two months ago." He said quietly. "He never forgot about Misuzu, not once, and it tore my family apart."

"Felt guilty for something he couldn't control, what an idiot." Haruko sighed. "Hang on a minute, I'll be right back." She said, standing again. Ryuuya watched as she vanished down the same hall and came back sooner than before. In her hands she held a tiny puppet.

Ryuuya stared at it in amazement, it looked just like his father had described it to him.

"Here, I was going to give this back to him when I saw him again, but since I wont, I suppose I'll just pass it on to you." Haruko said as Ryuuya held the doll carefully. "I guess you're doing those weird puppet shows too, huh?" Ryuuya flinched at this comment, and hung his head. "Say, what's the matter?"

"I, uh, can't. I can't do those shows my father did." Ryuuya said. Growling a little when Haruko started to laugh.

"Are you blushing?! That is too good."

"Leave me alone. I just have no magical talent whatsoever. I spent hours trying, practicing with my dad and on my own. I never got it to work."

"Well, try with this little guy. Maybe he'll work for you." Haruko said, possibly not thinking to hard about what she said. Ryuuya looked at her with an eyebrow rasied, and then sighed. He may as well.

Laying the puppet on the table, he placed his hands above it, and concentrated. He tried to remember what Yukito had told him about wanting people to laugh with him, about wanting to tell a story.

"It's no good." Ryuuya sighed a minute later. "I told you I was hopeless."

"Well, you win some you loose some." Haruko shrugged. "So, what are you doing for money?"

"Odd jobs here and there. Started off on a bike, had to sell it though. Gas cost too much."

"After you're done here, you know where you're gonna go?" Haruko asked, eating the last of the sushi. Ryuuya shook his head.

"No, no clue." He sighed. "I'll save up some money working around here, then head out."

"How long you think you'll be staying?"

"As I stated before, no clue." Ryuuya said smiling a little.

"Well, why don't-cha stay here for a bit? Your father was quite the free-loader too."

"If you invite me to stay, I'm not a free-loader." Ryuuya growled.

"What ever, details shemtails. Come on, Your father used to sleep out here." Haruko said, heading outside. Ryuuya followed, now curious. Haruko led him to a small shed, and upon opening it, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Nice ain't it? He fixed it all up. Came out great." Haruko said, stepping aside so Ryuuya could enter. "I haven't cleaned it for awhile, so it's a bit dusty, sorry."

"No, it's okay." Ryuuya said.

"Hey, I'll go get dinner, Why don't you relax for a bit?" Haruko asked, indicating the bed.

"Why don't you get stuff we can roast?" Ryuuya asked, spying a pile of fire wood.

"Oh, wow, I forgot that was back there. Misuzu always wanted to have a camp fire. Alright! I'll be back soon!" Haruko laughed and ran off, the sound of a bike soon fading away. Ryuuya stared at the pile of wood, lost in thought.

If she wasn't… then… is there someone, else?

/;*;\

Ryuuya looked up at the brightening sky, holding the pot Yukito's ashes were in. He had been crying for several minutes now, and wasn't going to stop anytime soon. He took the lid off of the jar, and once a strong wind came, he turned it upside down, watching the contents scatter on the wind. His hands trembled as he watched the ashes go, soon letting the ceramic pot slip from his hands and shatter on the wall as he collapsed to his knees, covering his face in his hands as he sobbed.

His father was gone for good now, nothing but a memory.

I hope i'm going a good job with this. I was talking to Luna Silvereyes about this, and i seem to be mixing things from both the anime and movie. hope thats okay ^^

Haruko was a little hard, but i think she came out great.

i really hope you all stick with me through this, i can't promise steady updates. sorry.