Dissociation

Chapter One

-Bitterness-

Five years later…

Akito sat in a small coffee shop with Toshiro, his best friend and partner in law. He took a sip from his hot beverage, frowning at his friend. "I'm just saying that in this case, she should consult more with her husband before packing up and leaving. They have two kids after all. And this has nothing to do with what Natsumi did, it's just polite." He said, pointing at the redhead, knowing that that was what he was thinking.

Five years ago, after their argument, Natsumi had just left. He figured she just needed to let off some steam, but he had been wrong. The next day, she was still gone. And so he had gotten the kids ready and off to school. Minako, one of his friend's, and Toshiro's girlfriend at the time, had come over to watch Sanosuke, since Akito didn't want to leave him at a daycare with people he didn't know. Then he went to work, coming home late as he usually did.

But, this time when he walked through the door, he was greeted with a silent house. Walking around, he saw that many things were missing, and thought that they had been robbed. That is, until he realized that all of Natsumi's things were gone, as well as all of the children's. When he went into the kitchen, he found a note stuck to the fridge. It was from Natsumi, and all it said was that she wanted him to have a nice life, and that he should expect divorce papers as soon as possible.

He was more than pissed, and did anything and everything he could to try and find where she had gone with his kids. But it was impossible. She had hidden herself well, not even telling her own brother where she had gone. A week later he had been served with the divorce papers, but the return address was of the law firm she had chosen to use, and so he still could not find her. He gave her what she wanted and signed them, everything being handled through the mail, since he didn't care too much about everything she had taken.

After that was over, he threw himself into his work with vigor, wanting to keep his mind off of the fact that he would probably never see his kids again. Eventually he and Toshiro had become partners in the firm they worked for, and with his new income Akito bought himself a bigger, nicer home. He packed away all of the pictures Natsumi had left of the two of them, since he figured she didn't want them, and bought a bunch of new furniture, to go with his new life. He dated, sort of, but for the most part just kept one night stands, so that no woman would become attached to him. He had everything he had ever wanted, and yet he still felt hollow and unsuccessful, though he was too prideful to delve into that.

Toshiro let out a deep sigh. "No you're right. We'll try and set up a meeting where we can get a mediator so the two of them don't kill each other."

"Excellent." He took another sip. "So, how are things with Minako and Ayame going?" he asked, since it had been a while since he had gotten to see them.

"Perfect." The redhead smiled. "It seems that every day I just love them more and Ayame is absolutely adorable. I remember when Sanosuke was four, he was pretty darn cute, but my little girl." He laughed, shaking his head as he took a sip of his coffee. "Such a beautiful gift though, I think I'm going to take next week off since Minako's getting worn. She deserves a break. Hope that's ok that I work from home."

"Of course. I can handle everything while you're gone, and if I need you I'll call." Akito said, staring into his cup as he thought of his children. He thought of them every day, and it killed him that he didn't know how they were doing, and that he hadn't gotten to see how they had grown.

Seeing his friend's now darker demeanor, he reached over and pat his arm before pulling his hand back. "It's going to be ok Akito. I know you're going to see them again."

"Yeah well when I do, I'm going to sue Natsumi for everything she's worth." He glared. "And then I'm going to take the kids from her. The jury will give me custody of the kids once they hear everything that happened. And I'm probably more suitable to take care of them now anyways." He had it all planned out. When you were a lawyer as good as he was, with the connections and money he now had, there was no way anyone would have a chance of beating him. Especially when he really wanted something.

Toshiro frowned, "Akito…I know what she did was wrong. But you know as well as I do, that you allowed this to happen. As good as your intentions were, you put work before your family and you paid the price. You can't punish her for that. Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't go for joint custody, but don't play out some heinous plan that you've no idea what you're really going to do when you see her." He pointed out, trying to remind his friend, even though the confession of deserving what he'd gotten had come from a drunken stupor.

"I don't care." He said stubbornly. "That still doesn't give her the right to take away my kids and keep them from me. They deserve a father just as much as I deserve to see them."

"Look," Toshiro gestured to him, "You've been going on a downhill slope for a couple weeks now and I think you need something to get your mind off the whole 'your personal life sucks' thing. Tomorrow, at my house, I'm having a…well…a get together, with some potential clients and I'll need you there. And I think you'll need it, plus what better way to not think about it than to delve into work again. What do you say?"

"I guess I can come." He sighed. "At least that way I can see Minako and Ayame, and I don't have to cook for myself." The corner of his lip rose slightly.

"Well Minako will, Ayame is staying over at Minako's parents since I would rather her not be around alcohol."

"Good point. What time do I need to be there?"

"Just show up around seven thirty that should be good." He smirked, downing the rest of his drink and setting the cup down.

"Alright, I'll be there."