Akira scratched around my torso area, and then I quickly let go of my grip on her shirt. She stood up, and with the most serious and terrified face I ever saw her with, she said -

"NO."

"B-but...why not?" I frowned. Aki backed away a little, biting her lip. "No Kyle, we can't do this." I was still confused – why was she all scared about the idea? It's not like our family was a bred race of serial killers or some sort of magical warriors, or even time travelers or half demons! What could be the problem?

"But, what's the problem?" I asked, still not satisfied with her rejection.

"I can't...I can't see my fathers face all scary like that again. Not my father. And think about it – you're father, even! Imagine what our whole family would think if asked them something serious like that!"

I stayed silent for a second, then a big giant light flashed through my head. "Who said we would ask them?" I smirked like a mischievous delinquent. "We could snoop around, and we could look around when they're not in the house. They'll never know we were even looking." I suggested, but Aki still shook her head. "What's your problem, Akira? When we were younger you always came up with ideas like this – what, now that you've reached puberty you've become a scardy-cat? I thought you wanted to know whats on your fathers hand? Why are you so-" Immediately during my ranting, Aki ran right passed me and pushed me onto the floor, then ran right out of the room, crying. I had to hand it to her, Akira was always pretty strong for the petite size she was born with.

Deep inside I knew that Akira wanted to solve the mystery too...but maybe she didn't want to disappoint her parents. I guess she wasn't like me – I really didn't care too much about what my parents thought. Sometimes I'd piss off my dad just for fun, mostly because he was always expecting too much from me. He wanted me to train at this class, learn this, do that – me and my dad weren't really compatible, and so I just stayed away, or if I was around him I'd end up pissing him off somehow. But Aki is different – she loves her mom and especially her dad, and she never tries to disappoint either of them. If her dad wanted her to play the violin, she'd play it. If her mom wanted her to wear a pink dress, regretfully she'd wear it. Sometimes I was jealous of how good her family got along, deep inside I always wanted that too...I always wanted one of those "perfect picture" families.

But maybe it was too far to go back.

xxx

I was laying on my bed alone for about 15 minutes when I heard a knock on my door. Automatically I knew it wasn't Aki, because she has this really bad habit of just barging into rooms whenever she feels like it. It gets embarrassing because sometimes I actually like to change my clothes in my room. I turned my head to the door and asked, "who is it" in slight mumbles. "It's your mother.", answered the voice through the wood. I told her to come in, and she slowly opened the door and closed it behind her. She then moved more towards my bed, and sat down on the edge. I don't really like it when people do that, because then my body gets all displaced and then I don't feel comfortable anymore.

"Yes mom?" I asked, sighing. My mother passed her hand through her hair once, then looked at the walls. "Do you know what happened with Aki? She locked herself in the bathroom and won't come out." Immediately in my head, I thought, "Way to make a scene Aki, great, way to make a dramatic scene." I just shrugged, trying to play it off cool and see where it went from there. "I don't know – maybe she's on one of her womanly cycles." My mother rolled her eyes and lightly slapped me on the head. "Jesus kiddo, don't be a jerk." I shrugged again, not really knowing what else to say without giving away the biggest secret between me and my cousin. "...Honestly though mom, I don't know. Maybe she had a tough day at school? She grew out of her favorite boyish t shirt? Is Uncle talking to her?" I tried suggesting, hoping to sound persuasive enough. My mother got off from sitting on my bed and sighed. "Well of course he is – but I just wanted to make sure with you. She's not saying anything, so we're all a little bit worried. She never cries like this, you know?" She looked out at my door, seeming honest and worried for her niece. I guess I was a little bit worried too – I didn't know I made her cry that much. I then sighed and got up from my bed, once again. Damn, I could never get a good nap around this house.

"I don't have anything to do with this, but I'll go talk to her." I shrugged, lethargicly walking towards the door. Right as I placed my hand on the doorknob, I was stopped as her heard my mothers voice again. "Umm?" I turned around, wondering about what she would say.

"Thanks, Kyle."

My lips twitched a bit. I couldn't recall the last time she ever called me Kyle. For once it almost felt like my mom trusted me, somehow – but I didn't know if it even made sense.

"No problem mom." I tried to make a smile, then walked down the hallways and down to the bathroom.