-Chapter Two-

Zero panted outside the Headmaster's office before bracing himself for going in and being the bearer of bad news. Why couldn't that stupid woman just leave them all alone? Without bothering to knock Zero let himself in and was greeted by a sight that would have warmed his heart had he not been so nervous. Kaien was sitting behind his desk, hair down, in a smart looking white collard shirt doing paperwork-as usual-while Toga was sitting towards one of the corners of Kaien's desk helping Yuki with her homework. The young girl was seated between the two of them leaning her head on Toga's upper arm pouting. She'd always done that with the men she trusted in her life, especially when she was angry with herself for not understanding something. Zero was unaware of the small smile gracing his features until Yuki beamed up at him.

"Hi Zero," she chirped happily but her smile slowly faded as she saw how skittish her friend seemed, "What's wrong?"

Toga and Kaien both looked up then and observed Zero for a moment.

"What's goin' on Zero?" his Master asked titling his head to side while arching a black eyebrow.

"Ummm…" Zero paused for a moment. Was it really alright to say who was coming with Yuki and Kaien in the room? Yuki had no idea who Junko was and she would most likely keep her curiosity to herself unless she asked Zero at a later time. But Kaien knew exactly who Junko was, he had been the one to pick up the pieces after his Master's divorce, and Zero wasn't ignorant of the fact that Toga and Kaien had been together for a long time.

"Zero," Toga called that 'don't you dare ignore me' tone creeping into his voice.
"Master…Aunt Junko's here," he said softly and hesitantly. Zero and Kaien's eyes met both sharing the same nervousness and anger while Yuki only looked slightly at a loss. There was a tense silence before Toga just sighed and settled more comfortably in his chair.

"Well I hope you remembered your manners and told her how to get to the front office," Toga said flipping through Yuki's textbook once again. Zero and Kaien both nearly fell over.

"Toga what are thinking?" Kaien asked halfway between outraged and paranoid.
"Master, why are you just staying here? You should run," Zero said although he knew it sounded ridiculous.

Toga rolled his remaining, heaved out an annoyed sigh, and propped his legs up on the edge of the desk. "Look you two, we got divorced nine years ago. I'm not gonna be immature and literally run away from my ex-wife…what kind of a fool do you take me for?" Toga finished off muttering.

"You were married Sensei?" Yuki asked politely. She adored Toga-she saw him as an uncle figure and a teacher just like Zero did, but she was still just a little bit afraid of him. Toga smiled softly at her and wrapped a strong arm around her thin waist.

"I was married once," he confirmed, "but it only lasted a year then we went out separate ways."

"Why?" Yuki asked innocently.

Zero cringed and wondered if he could grab Yuki quickly enough and book it to help her escape his Master's wrath. Junko had hurt Toga very badly and very deeply, and Zero was dumbfounded as to why she was at Cross Academy now.

Toga on the other hand looked at Kaien for a moment who ever so slightly nodded his head. It wasn't so much that Toga ever minded telling Yuki anything, in fact she was very much like a daughter to Toga as well, and he only wondered how much her father wanted her to hear. Toga knew he had a foul mouth and once he started talking about something he could go on and on just like Kaien could.

But with Kaien's approval Toga looked at his lover's daughter and said, "She wanted to divorce me after I lost my eye. She thought it was repulsive and didn't want to be seen with me after that. Then again that's only what I think she must have felt- I never saw her again after she saw my scars for the first time."

Toga let out a deep breath. Not many people at the Academy knew he was married- naturally it was none of their business. But telling it to Yuki-just saying it out loud- wasn't as painful as he had been in the past. Surely that was proof his heart was healed. He certainly hoped so, because the one who had done it was Kaien.

Yuki blinked her doe brown eyes and slowly knitted her thin eyebrows.

"I already don't like her," the sixteen year old girl said leaning on Toga's shoulder once more.

Toga kissed the top of her head, and Zero let out a sigh of relief while he wandered over to the couch. He had a feeling his Master would need all the moral support he could get, so Zero was determined to stick around. Yuki looked over at her father smiling gratefully at her and reached out to grab his hand.

"Daddy are you sure you and Zero can't force Uncle Toga to hide?" she asked.

"No baby," he said kissing the backs of her fingers, "Toga's a full grown man I think he can take care of himself."

Kaien sent Toga a wink and he responded, "Damn right."

Toga was a little afraid though. He knew better than to lie to himself. He hadn't seen Junko in nine years- he was thirty two now which made her…thirty one.

'God the years have gone by,' he thought.

He was nervous as to what she wanted after all this time, but Toga had faced the battle of telling his parents that he and Kaien had been lovers for the past nine years a mere two months ago. He figured that, since telling his parents his lover was a man had been his greatest fear, and he'd conquered it…well then he could do anything. It was time to put his courage to the test however since there had just been a light knock on the door.

-End Chapter-

A rather long wait for a rather boring chapter I feel. But I really wanted to take some time for good character development before I headed straight into the main arch of the story. Whether or not you think this is good character development is up to you. However in the next chapter more things will be revealed and the story will get really exciting! :D I'm excited. So please, if you liked this at all or even just the first chapter of this story please let me know. The greatest gift you can give an author is feedback on their work. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll stick around for the next chapter!