Kitty: Well, wow, last chapter. I hope this doesn't take too long to finish. We're almost done! You guys are going to hate me for the beginning of this chapter, lol. Yay, cliffhangers!

Chocolate Covered

Chapter 25

Chocolate Covered Answers

The large group of teens and pre-teens walked out the hospital into the glaringly bright light of the late afternoon.

"Where to, Mimi-chan? Did you just want to go straight home?" Sora asked.

"No way! I'm starving! My parents are at work and I don't want to cook for myself! In fact, I want some cake!" Mimi cried out, throwing her arms in the air.

"That might not be very good idea, Mimi," Jyou murmured. Mimi pouted.

"Well, why not? I'm perfectly fine! I can eat whatever I want! And I want something sickening sweet and horribly bad for me!" Amidst the chuckles, Jyou sighed in defeat.

"I know a really cute teahouse with some great cakes. Takeru and I go there all the time," Hikari offered. Mimi's eyes lit up.

"W-What about Yagami-san and Izumi-san?" Saiwa asked anxiously, looking back at the hospital. "Should we wait?"

"They may be taking awhile and I don't think we should interrupt, actually," Wallace placed a hand on her shoulder and nudged her towards the group.

"Besides, we don't even know if they're still in there, you know? Let's go get some sugar!" Daisuke grinned.

"Like you need any..." Ken muttered.

"Oi! What's with the attitude!?" Daisuke snapped, waving his fist in Ken's direction.

"It's called annoyance. I'm sure you learned that word by now." Both boys glared daggers at each other. Miyako and Hikari looked at them, vaguely confused, and then subtly pull them away from each other.

"I think Hikari-san and Miyako-san are going to have a hard time trying to go on double dates," Iori whispered to Takeru. Takeru grinned and nodded.

&&&

Koushiko took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Look, I don't… I don't actually know who I am. All of it… it's just shit I found out and I don't even know if it's true, okay?" Koushiko's red-rimmed, swollen, black eyes darted over Koushirou to meet Tai's gaze. They both nodded. "Okay… well…

"The earliest thing I remember about who I am, I was in kindergarten and the memory's kinda fuzzy now, but I asked my foster mom if she would come to parent's day. She told 'I'm not your mother, Koushiko.' I asked, 'Who is my mother?' And she said, 'Don't have a clue. You were left here because nobody wanted a baby with a broken brain and too many pills, that's what.' So I asked, 'B-but… I'm Ameretsu, Koushiko, aren't I?' She just shrugged. 'That's what your doctor said, so that's what I call you.'"

Koushiko's fingers curled into fists. "You see, when I was really little I was in a coma. The doctors told me that I was in a coma for months and months, almost an entire year! When I woke up, it was like being a baby all over again. I had to re-learn everything. My foster mom told me I couldn't speak well till I was almost five, and then I had to do speech therapy till I was eight years old. It took me a lot longer than all the other kids to learn. Not only that, but I had to take a bunch of pills every day. When I was eight, I asked the doctors, what did all those pills do? They told me that because I was so young that the rapid decrease of brain activity damaged my brain and the pills were… they were kinda like repairing my brain. They would act as the normal links and bridges my brain is supposed to have but didn't because of the damage. I had to take pills… or… I could… I could become comatose again, and never wake up. For months I was scared to sleep, scared that I might sleep too long and the pills would wear off and I wouldn't wake up." Koushiko's body began to shake and Tai sat next to her quickly.

Koushirou watched as Tai wrapped Koushiko in the hospital bed's blanket. "Are you okay? Do you need some gum or something?" Tai asked. Koushiko shook her head.

"H-How… How did you find out about me?" Koushirou whispered, confused by Tai's question, but needing to know more. Koushiko looked up.

"A newspaper in the library," Koushiko answered with a small smirk.

"You knew what to look for then?" Tai asked, confused. Koushiko shook her head

"No, I didn't. By the time I was ten, I had been desperately trying to figure out who I was. My foster mom was a bitch, I'm sure you noticed. There were at least five other kids there, all foster kids like me, and she gave us as little as she could. You see, she just wanted money from the government. The more kids, the more money. She'd buy herself all kinds of fancy stuff, and buy us rice and pickled veggies and that was that, you know? We'd get secondhand bargain clothes, and she'd get silk nighties and pretty dresses. She even bought herself a kimono once."

"The government doesn't give a lot of money to foster parents, not that much." Koushirou protested. Koushiko shrugged.

"She had a job, too, you know. She had a relatively cushy job as a hospital receptionist. Foster money was her spare cash." Koushiko explained.

"You were talking about the newspaper, Koushiko-chan," Tai prodded gently. Koushiko made a face, but continued.

"Yeah, so, I had talked to some of the doctors. One of them said she remembered a night when these out-of-towners got in a crash. She knew there were kids involved, but she worked the OR, not ER, and was in a different case. She had no idea if I was one of them. It had been years before, and this hospital was real backwards, probably still is. They didn't even have a computer catalogue system, or whatever it's called. You know, where they enter all their patients and cases in the computer system? They didn't have that, it was all on paper. And she had no idea where to look. She had tried looking up the name Ameretsu, but there were, maybe, four Ameretsu files. We narrowed down pretty quickly, though."

Koushiko's mouth twisted bitterly. "There was an incomplete file under Ameretsu. It was about a couple named Ameretsu, Renji and Yoshiiko. They had two kids, Koushirou, age two. And Koushiko, age one. They had very little information because they were out-of-towners and they didn't have a computer system so they could track down their files in Odaiba. There was a list of all the injuries… and… and the cause of death." Koushiko choked and quickly shook her head, tightening her grip on the blanket around her shoulders. "Blunt force trauma to the head, both of them. 'Parently, Renji-san drove us off a cliff. They died on impact. Koushirou, the older child, had severe damage to his lungs, and a few bones were broken, some really bad bruising in and out of his skull, too, you know, concussion? They had managed to get a helicopter to come get him… but… Koushiko, the girl, was hooked up to a buncha machines that the helicopter couldn't taxi to Tokyo. I had to stay behind. I was already dying, though, they all thought I would die cuz I was so little. But I didn't."

"Why didn't the doctor who made that file contact the Izumis!? They left contact information!" Koushirou exclaimed. Koushiko laughed.

"Yeah, I saw it. The phone number and the address. Yamanara-sensei and I immediately called the number, but we were nine years too late. It had been disconnected. We looked up the doctor, and Yamanara-sensei knew exactly who he was. 'Parently, he had been a pretty good neurologist there, but he had been really old. He'd had some cholesterol problems right around then, and a couple days after the crash, he'd had been bedridden cuz of a heart attack, and died a week later."

"What?" Tai yelped. Koushirou gaped at her.

"Yeah, stupid, huh?"

"B-But… my father… he went back to Hokkiado just a couple months later, you still would've been in a coma."

"But not in the hospital they left me at." Koushiko told him. "A couple weeks after the crash, my brain activity increased again. They hospital was too small to let me stay there full-term, so they drove me in an ambulance to the other side of town. No one had ever come looking for me at the other hospital. My medical information at the second hospital was incomplete, too. It didn't even have Yoshiiko and Renji's names on it, just mine and my date of birth. There wasn't even a number on it. Probably cuz my doctor didn't think he'd die so soon."

Koushirou sank on a chair, with wide eyes.

"This is… impossible."

"It was back in nineties, Izzy, in some tiny ass town in Hokkaido. That's really far from Tokyo."

"The newspaper I found after the hospital hunt was of the crash. It talked about the tiny Ameretsu family, how in the rain, the car had hydroplaned and drove off the road down a slope. The baby girl was in critical condition and comatose, the baby boy had been helicoptered away by family members, and the parents had died. They were… they were buried in a cemetery there… all alone." Koushiko whispered, tears falling again. "I hated you… and those 'family members' for leaving me and my parents to rot in Hokkaido all alone, for not loving us enough to come back."

An uncomfortable silence filled the same room, broken only by the small catch of breath in the back of her throat. Koushirou bit his lip, then leaned forward.

"Why are you up here? Why are you in Tokyo?" Koushirou asked hesitantly in a soft voice. Koushiko laughed bitterly.

"Because I'm falling asleep. Around the same time as all this shit, my medicine stopped working effectively. I was growing more immune to it everyday. My medical expenses were gettin' higher and the better medicine was even more expensive. My foster mom complained enough to get me kicked out into an orphanage. One day I panicked so bad, I overdosed on my meds." Koushiko emotionlessly droned on. "I remember waking up in the hospital and screaming because I felt so tired and like I couldn't move. I thought I had been in a coma again and I'd have to re-learn everything. I was really just doped up and they had to pump my stomach. I overheard some doctors saying later, that maybe I should be sent to Tokyo cuz they had better hospitals and more specialists. I freaked."

"What do you mean?" Tai asked.

"Well, I really did go to Tokyo, but only so I could run away. I was tired of hospitals and of slowly falling asleep to death. I thought, in the end, they were just going to lock me up in hospital until I died. So as soon as I got to the Tokyo orphanage, I took my clothes, stole all my meds, and ran off. I started living on the streets when I was around twelve years old. An older guy, maybe twenty-three, found me and took me in. He had a bunch of whore friends that he let me bunk with. He wasn't a pimp or nothing, and nobody sold me off as child prostitute or nothing. The girls were really nice, but messed up. They were all junkies, some of them with some hardcore stuff. I smoked heroine and… I remember… my first time… I was so awake." Koushiko shuddered. "I was addicted immediately, and not just cuz heroine's addictive. It was cuz it worked better than my meds at keeping me alive. I started selling off my meds to buy heroine and coke, and when I ran out meds when I was almost… fourteen or so, I started doing some really stupid shit. I started dealing and I even had sex a few times for it. I had an HIV scare once, my whole flat did. One of our dealers was suddenly tested positive and we all freaked out. I swore off sexing for drugs after that and stopped using needles. But then… the drugs stopped working. A couple years ago… I passed out… for no reason, just cuz. I was high up on meth, nothing shoulda knocked me for days and… I was out like a lightbulb. My friends were screaming and crying, and I woke up and I couldn't move or speak. We all thought I'd OD'd, but when I started speaking again… I had a lisp, just like when I was a little in speech therapy. That's right around the time I met you." Her black eyes met Tai's honey gaze.

"Me? Oh… you mean, at the convenience store?" Tai's eyes widened and Koushirou looked between them, his brows lowering.

"Yeah. I just had that scare and I was looking for some sugar and still shaking from the meth. I was scared outta my mind. I didn't even realize what you'd said to me till I was outta the door. I ran back almost immediately, but you were gone." Koushiko whispered.

Silence fell again and they all stared at the floor, confused. Koushirou felt guilt, like a stinking acid in his stomach, curl and burn inside him. They all jumped, and Koushiko even let out a small squeak, when Koushirou's cell phone suddenly rang.

"M-Moshi moshi? Kaasan?" Koushirou stuttered.

"Did you lose her?!" His mother shrieked into the phone so loudly that Koushirou had to quickly pull the phone away.

"No. What's going on?"

"Oh, baby, your father and I are flying out of Edo tonight. We called that backwoods, country, filthy, stinking hospital! That girl, that girl might be Koushiko! Those bastards! The doctor, uh, what was his name, honey? Oh, yeah, Hitsugaya-sensei died of a heart attack and that poor little baby girl was punted off to some other hospital. When your father went back to asked about our family, they receptionist didn't tell your father Koushiko had been moved! Some bullshit about how they didn't realize no one had been contacted. We called the other hospital and they said they'd never received any contact information from the first hospital! They thought she was just some random orphan! Is it her? What's that's girl name?"

"It's her, Kaasan. It's Koushiko."

There was an exhale of breath and a sudden burst of sobs. "Oh my god, that poor baby girl. What have we done? She must hate us! H-How did you find her, Koushirou?"

"She found us, Kaasan." He looked over and met Koushiko's wide eyes.

"That damn hospital is going to be sued so bad they won't even afford paper-filing anymore!" His mother screamed. "Tell her we'll be there soon. Maybe we can try being a family. It may be kinda late, but we'll do everything we can to make up for this."

The line went dead.

"Sh-She's coming here? Who are they?" Koushiko bleated fearfully.

"Technically, she's your aunt, and my dad's your uncle." Koushirou told her.

"W-When were you adopted?"

"Before I can remember, probably when I… three or four. I didn't ever realize I ever had other parents until I overheard them talking about it one day."

"Didn't they ever mention me?" Koushiko demanded, eyes darkening the blue blanket below her chin.

"No. They barely even mentioned Yoshiiko and Renji. I didn't find out about my biological father's name until I was almost eleven." Suddenly, the two redhead's mouths twisted up on one side, mirroring each other exactly.

"That's around the same time as me."

"I know."

"W-What do we do now?" Tai asked, getting to his feet. The newfound siblings frowned and looked to the ground, silently. Tai sighed.

"How about dinner?"

"I'm definitely hungry." Koushiko admitted reluctantly.

"I don't see why not. I haven't eaten yet either." Koushirou awkwardly shrugged.

"Excuse me?" The teens turned to see the nurse from before peering into the room. "Oh good, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Better. Awake, I guess," Koushiko shrugged and set down the blanket. "Sorry you'll have to wash up after me just cuz I laid here."

"It's no problem. You know, I could, maybe, help you sign up for insurance? If you're under eighteen and living alone, I'm sure the state has an insurance plan for you."

"She's sixteen, right?" Koushirou asked. Koushiko nodded. "But she doesn't need it." Tai and Koushiko blinked and stared at him. "She's not going to be alone anymore."

"W-What?" Koushiko whispered.

"Do you really think we'd let you go right after we found you again? I didn't even know you existed until today, but that doesn't make you less of my sister. It's time you had a home, Koushiko."

"Y-You can't…" Koushiko shook her head and then glared at him. "You can't just waltz into my life fifteen years later and think everything's hunky-dory, cuz it ain't! I hate you and your stupid new parents! They abandoned me! And you… you and your perfect, happy ending! I hate it! I don't care that you didn't know! It doesn't change the fact they didn't want me then, and when they come here and they see me and they find out everything I've done, they'll just stick me in a hospital so I can take ten different kinds of pills and be hooked up to machines, cuz they feel guilty! Not because they love me or want me to live!"

"That's not true, Koushiko. This whole… mistake could've been avoided if they tried harder, that's true. Maybe you'll never forgive them for it. In fact, I might not even blame you for it. However, Koushiko, they're always going to love you. They're always going to try and help you. They'll going to try their best to give everything they gave me."

"I don't want to hear this! Leave me alone!" Koushiko screamed. She ran towards the door, attempting to dodge around Koushirou as she ran.

His hand grasped her arm as she ran and she jerked to a stop.

"Listen to me! No matter where you go, Koushiko, we'll follow you now. I will never rest until you're exactly where I can see you. You're my sister, my family, and for the rest of your life, my life, I'm going to be by your side." Koushirou promised. Koushiko jerked as if struck and stared up at him through glassy, black eyes. Her mouth hardened.

"Even though I fucked your boyfriend? Even though I wanted to destroy your life and take away everything that mattered? Even though I hate you as much as I hate them?" She demanded. His eyebrows lowered.

"That's between Taichi and me, for one. Secondly, if you ever try to do it again, then you'd definitely regret it. As for everything else, my answer stays the same. You're still my sister, no matter what choices you've made, or how you feel about me. As your older brother, I'm going to protect you no matter what. It's a little sister prerogative to hate her older brother, isn't it?"

Koushiko swallowed and then choked. Her face seemed to collapse in on itself as she fell to the ground and sobbed with her arm still in Koushirou's grasp. Koushirou quickly knelt next to her and, hesitantly, wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry, immouto-san. I'm so sorry you were all alone." His soft voice whispered into his hair.

A half-choked chuckle escaped Koushiko. "I dreamt of that… you saying just that. For years and years, I would lie awake and think of you and dream you would appear and hug and tell me that. And call me immouto."

"I'm sorry I took so long, then." Koushirou pulled away slightly and smiled down at her. Koushiko wiped at her nose with the back of her hand and sniffled.

"I still haven't forgiven you assholes, you know?"

"I know."

"I… have no idea what's going on, but I do need to clean up this room…" The nurse spoke up from just behind Koushirou.

The two redheads blushed furiously and Tai burst into laughter. "We'll be going now." Tai walked up and reached out both hands. Koushirou grabbed one and, after hesitating, Koushiko did so as well.

&&&

Koushiko halted in front of the teahouse door and bit her lip. Inside, the three of them could see the large group of teenagers uproariously having a good time together in the back corner. Tai reached out and gripped her shoulder.

"You really don't need to be scared of them. I think they liked you."

"I think you'd fit in just fine, immouto-san." Koushirou agreed with a small smile. Koushiko looked at him and their eyes met. Koushirou realized with an inner sigh she was the same height as him. Why couldn't she at least be shorter?

"All right." Koushiko reached out her hand, flinched, and then wrapped her fingers around Koushirou's. "You'll introduce me, properly, right, niisan?"

"Yeah," His fingers tightened around hers.

The three of them approached the table. Hikari was the first to notice and she waved.

"Niichan! Koushirou-kun, Koushiko-san! You made it!" Hikari greeted, her voice carrying over the crowd. Miyako and Mimi spun in their seats, their expressions identical.

Spill or else flashed in their eyes.

Koushirou and Koushiko rolled their eyes. Tai laughed. Koushiko bowed when they reached the table and the siblings hands dropped to their sides.

"Everyone, meet Ameretsu, Koushiko, my immouto-san." Koushirou told them.

"See, I knew it! She is your sister! Are you twins?"

"Aiya, iie! He's my older brother, by almost a year!" Koushiko exclaimed.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you tell us about her, Koushirou?" Jyou asked with a frown.

The three in on the secret looked at each with eyebrows raised. Tai shrugged helplessly and Koushiko shook her head slightly. Koushirou raised one eyebrow higher. Koushiko shook her head harder, her mouth frowning. Tai sighed and shrugged again. Koushirou sighed, too. Then, he turned back to his friend.

"She's been living in Hokkaido." Koushirou said simply. The rest of the group blinked.

"All right…" Daisuke trailed off.

"Hey, budge over, Ken! Make room!" Miyako snapped.

"Oh, Koushiko-san, sit here." Mimi pushed Jyou over and patted the now-empty seat next to her.

Within minutes, the three were immersed into the group. Koushiko laughed at a joke Daisuke told and grinned when Mimi shoved another cake towards her. As the whipped cream melted in her mouth, her black eyes roamed over the table. She met Koushirou's and Tai's gaze and smiled.

Am I… finally going to have the life I've dreamed about? Have I found a family now? Koushiko wondered in amazement.

Her lips curved downwards slightly seeing Tai and Koushirou's eyes meet and quickly look away. Her own eyes fell to the tablecloth and she flushed lightly in shame.

Sorry, niisan…

"Immouto-san?" Koushiko raised her head, startled, and then she grinned.

"It's weird to hear ya say that, Niisan. I have to get used ta it, you know?" Koushirou smiled back.

"I plan to say it a lot," Koushirou assured her.

"Whaddya want, Niisan?"

"Are you going to living with us, now? I don't know your current living arrangements," Koushirou frowned as he thought about it. Koushiko blinked.

"Y-You serious?"

"Yes, of course," Koushirou replied matter-of-factly.

Koushiko jumped up, her palms slapping the tabletop. Jyou and Mimi jumped in surprise on either side of her.

"Yes! I would love to live with you, Niisan!" She exclaimed, her face flushing. Tai grinned.

"All right! Your apartment sucks, Koushiko. I would've asked you to move into my family's apartment awhile ago if we had had any room," Tai said. "At least now you're not around all the dr- I mean…" Tai shuddered to a stop. "Uh… drunk Tokyo people…" He chuckled weakly as most of the others raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah. Way to go, 'tard." Koushiko dropped back into her seat, her face still red.

"Our parents will be here by tomorrow afternoon, so we should go get your things and move them in before then," Koushirou suggested.

"Uh… Koushirou… we don't have a lot of room, either. Especially if Tai moves back in, too." Yamato said.

Tai and Koushirou were careful not to look at each other.

"I think I'll just go back to my parents' apartment for now," Tai mumbled.

"B-but Tai… I got rid of the bunkbed a while ago," Hikari reminded him.

"Y-yeah, well, I could bunk on the couch."

"I don't need to move in. I can stay in Tokyo. I don't really want to meet your parents, anyway, niisan." Koushiko muttered.

"Why don't you move in with me?" Mimi spoke up suddenly. Koushiko looked over at her. "Well, my family owns a house and it's pretty big. We have a spare room or two. If Koushirou and Tai want you out of your current apartment, for reasons unexplained," she glared at them quickly, "then you can move in with me until your parents get into town."

"They aren't my parents," Koushiko protested, rather confusedly. "You'd really let me live with you?"

"Sure!" Mimi smiled.

"I thought you and Izumi-san are siblings. Doesn't that mean his parents are yours?" Saiwa asked softly, as if afraid her question might be heard, but too curious not to say it.

"I was adopted, but Koushiko-san hasn't been yet."

"If at all," Koushiko snapped.

"I think we're missing something." Takeru said.

"It's none of our business," Iori replied then sipped more of his tea.

"Why haven't you two made up yet?" Hikari demanded from Koushirou and Tai.

"Well… we have… sorta…" Tai hedged.

"I think moving in right now might be a little awkward. We've talked, but…" Koushirou and Tai looked at each other. "Now's not the time."

"Are saying that because of me?" Koushiko growled.

"Not necessarily," Koushirou answered.

"Yeah, right. Look, you guys already made up. It ain't going to hurt me any if you move back in and start with the lovey-dovey again. Geez."

"We both messed up, even without you getting into it, Koushiko," Tai told her.

"Whatever," Koushiko stabbed her blueberry tart viciously.

"I think we're missing a lot," Wallace whispered to Miyako. She nodded.

"Right… well, let's go get your stuff, Koushiko," Mimi suggested.

"We'll all help!" Daisuke jumped up, ready to go.

The rest agreed eagerly and they all got up to go.

&&&

Koushiko and Koushirou sat on the couch in his living room the next day. The afternoon was a sunny one and the living room was flooded with light. Yamato and Jyou had already left, but Koushirou decided to skip class and stay. Koushiko fiddled with a hole in her jeans, plucking jeans fibers nervously. Koushirou grabbed her hand.

"Don't make it worse, immouto-san."

"They're my pants, niisan," She hissed back.

The front door slammed open and both redheads jumped.

"Koushirou, where is-" Izumi, Yoshiime stumbled to a halt as her eyes fell on Koushiko. Behind her, Tamaki hurried forward.

"You… you look just like twins," he whispered.

"K-Koushiko-san!" Yoshiime ran forward again and fell to her knees in front of Koushiko. "Is it really you? You look just like my sister. I can't believe it… it's like seeing a ghost," Yoshiime sobbed, tears running down her face. She reached up and cupped Koushiko's face. "Can you ever forgive us?"

"I… I don't know…" Koushiko's eyes were wide with shock.

"I blame myself," Tamaki said quietly. He walked more sedately across the room and sat next to Koushirou. "When I went to Hokkaido I was exhausted. I just wanted to leave. I wanted to get back to my wife as soon as I could. You see, Yoshiime at the time was pregnant."

Koushirou and Koushiko stared at Yoshiima, eyes wide, when Tamaki halted his narrative. She nodded slowly, her eyes sad.

"We had been trying for years to have a baby, and, finally, I was pregnant. When the call came saying my sister had died and her little babies were all alone in Hokkaido…" Yoshiime reached over and grasped both of the siblings' hands and squeezed. "I was so unbearably sad, but I knew that I would take care of you two and we'd be a family… all… all five of us. B-But…"

"A month after we went and picked you up, Koushirou… Yoshiime miscarried." Tamaki finished when Yoshiime paused.

"A m-month… that's when…" Koushiko stared up at Tamaki. He nodded.

"I just wanted to get home. The miscarriage was a very bad one, one that hurt Yoshiime very badly."

"It was already so hard for me to conceive… and then the miscarriage… it damaged me deeply. I ended up getting a… hysterectomy." Yoshiime closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She opened her brown eyes and smiled softly. "But I had you two. That's what kept me from sinking into despair. I had to protect you two and make sure you felt all the love I could possibly give, for my sister's sake as much as for your own sakes. I loved you both with every breath I had while I lay there in the hospital and I promised you two that no children in the world would be as happy as you." Tears slipped down her cheeks. "A-and then… Tamaki said you were dead, too Koushiko-san. It was like my poor little baby had died all over again. So much death and blood and despair. In the end… I was in psychiatric care for half a year. I barely functioned."

"This is all my fault, don't blame Yoshiime for any of this, Koushiko. I should've tried harder, paid more attention… I should have cared more. I didn't. I barely knew Yoshiiko and her husband and I had never met you. I wanted to be with my wife and I was reeling form the fact I'd never had a child of my own. I didn't care if you were dead or alive all those years ago. I think… I think I preferred the thought you were dead. Why should I have to care of children that weren't even mine, why should you live… if mine couldn't." Tamaki covered his face with a shaking hand. "I've never been so ashamed," he whispered.

Koushiko's hand tightened around Yoshiime's and Koushirou's. Then, she pulled away and stood. Yoshiime let out a small sound, but she bit her lip quickly.

Koushiko stood at stared up at Tamaki and then grabbed his wrist.

"Look at me," She whispered though her voice was firm. "Look what you did!" She hissed. "You left me to die, and I did. Koushiko Ameretsu died over and over again. Every day she was alone, every day she went to sleep unloved and unwanted. You killed me every day."

"Sorry isn't enough," Tamaki whispered. Koushiko shook her head and then stared up at him.

"But…" Her lips trembled. "Since you already killed me… maybe… you could love me now?"

"K-Koushiko… do you mean?" Yoshiime stood, her voice filling with hope.

"I want… to be alive. I want a family. I want this family. I know now why you left me. Maybe… maybe sorry will never be enough, but loving… loving me might be. I want that. I want to exist now. Will you accept me this time? As battered and used as I am? There's so much about me you don't know, so many mistakes that I've made. With all the baggage I come with, will you still accept me this time?"

"I will." Tamaki whispered.

Koushiko's lisp trembled, then she burst into sobs and launched herself at Tamaki's chest, her thin arms around his waist. Yoshiime stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her husband and niece both.

"We'll the family we were meant to be at last," Yoshiime whispered. She held out one arm to Koushirou and he smiled and stepped into the hug.

&&&

Tai and Koushirou stood in the airport a few days later, watching as a plane heading south.

"I can't believe it," Tai whispered.

"Hm?" Koushirou looked up at him.

"I can't believe, you know, Koushiko's whole story." Tai waved his arm through the air to indicate the whole story.

"I'm just glad everything turned out all right. My father says there's a very good neurologist down in Edo. He's retired, but he'll be bale to help Koushiko find the right doctors and medications. She'll be going back to school, too, in the spring."

"Thank god she has a brain like yours underneath all the swearing and alcohol, or else it would take her forever to catch up," Tai muttered. Koushirou smiled slightly.

"As soon as she can, she said she wants to come back to Tokyo… and attend Todai with me," Koushirou murmured. Tai looked over at him out the corner of his eye.

"Yeah?"

Koushirou nodded, then swallowed. "When she comes back…"

"We'll get to try it out all over again, the right way," Tai finished where Kosuhirou left off. Koushirou looked up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm going to introduce her to the Izzy I met thirteen years ago who I'll hopefully be living with." Tai broadly hinted. Koushirou cracked a smile, then still remained sober.

"Are you sure? I know… I know we talked about this… a while ago, but… she's just like me and… well, a girl-"

"Which means she isn't you, Izzy. The Izzy I met is a boy. The Izzy I love is boy-well, you'll be eighteen soon, so man, I guess. Anyway. I'm not taking back what I said a thousand times. You're the one I want, Izzy, and you always will be." Tai cleared his throat and flushed slightly as he looked around the very public airport. "Now or never." He muttered as he dug into his pocket. Koushirou raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Uh, just… shit, where is it-Oh, found it." Tai pulled a small velvet box out of the opposite pocket he started from and fumbled with it as Koushirou's eyes widened. Tai cleared his throat again. "I-Izzy… I… kinda did some talking with Yamato… and I realized… maybe you didn't think I was serious. And then… at the hospital… well, anyway. I wanted to prove it to you. I wanted to prove that no matter what, you're the one I'm going to spend my life with. I mean, if you accept me. Uh, I mean… I love you, Izzy, for forever it feels like, and it's going to be forever, I mean… geez, will you…" Tai opened the small box and a simple, gold band glittered in the silken folds. "It says our names on the inside. I didn't want it to be totally plain and, well, you're a dude, and dudes don't really like girly little diamonds engagement rings, you know. I know I wouldn't. I know we can't actually get married, but it's the thought right?" Tai stuttered to an end of his ramblings and began to sweat slightly when Koushirou still didn't answer. "Uh… Izzy… will you marry me, or at least, wear this ring and live with me for the rest of our lives?" Tai asked.

Koushirou finally raised his dark eyes to Tai's, stunned. "D-Do you… mean it?"

"Well, yeah." Tai reached out with his free hand and rubbed the back of his neck, his blush heightening. "Like I said, I love you."

Koushirou's face broke into a smile and he threw his arms around Tai's neck. The box clattered to the floor, the gold ringing like a bell on the tile. Tai automatically wrapped his arms around Koushirou's waist and his whole body relaxed as Koushirou's lips met his. Suddenly, everything felt a lot better than it did a few minutes ago.

"This means yes?" Tai whispered when their lips parted.

"Definitely. Absolutely." Koushirou replied. They kissed a quick, hard kiss.

"That means I can move in again, right?" Tai begged, his puppy dogs eyes on. Koushirou laughed.

"All your stuff is still there, so why not?"

"Oh, shit, I dropped the ring!" Tai set Koushirou back on his feet and they turned.

They both blushed to their hair lines seeing the curious faces pointed towards them.

"Uh… k-konnichi w-wa…" Koushirou muttered. He bowed quickly, then Tai grabbed his hand and they booked it out of there.

Yes, Tai did remember to grab the ring.

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Kitty: YAY! That's the end! I'm going to post the epilogue soon. I'm actually about to write it now. Epilogues usually come out pretty fast for me, so I should have it sent to my Muse before the day is out. Oh, by the way. I'M IN CHINA!