"Live long and prosper."

-Spock; from the Star Trek franchise

There was definitely excitement radiating off Kai as he watched his mother buy the M&M's. What more could a kid ask for than sweets? It was certainly a step up from the stuff that Kai and Cassidy would eat back at Eiji's. The stuff at Eiji's was usually on the brink of being expired, which meant that a lot of the time mother and son had to go hungry. There were some instances where Kai saw his mother bring home all kinds of nice food, though she never disclosed where she got it from. Kai didn't care to ask, he was just happy to have food. As for water, that was another story. Eiji made sure there was enough water for Kai and Cassidy, at least to last a couple days. Kai remembered he'd get really bad headaches whenever he didn't get enough water, and Cassidy would get in fights with Eiji to make him feel better. The two and a half year old hated hearing his mother and uncle fight. It always made him cry. The rare moments Eiji managed to have alone time with Kai, Eiji would blame Cassidy's rebellious behavior as to why they didn't have enough water or food. The older man was spending all his money getting Cassidy out of trouble, and it was too much for him. Kai wasn't sure if it was true or not; his mother was the nicest person ever.

What Kai couldn't understand, though, was why he and his mother left Eiji. He couldn't wrap his little head around it. First, his mother was getting sick, then Kai found out he was going to be a big brother, then he and Cassidy leave. What was that about? How would Eiji react? Would they ever go back to him? Living with his uncle was the only life Kai ever knew. He never really socialized with anyone outside of his uncle's house. Kai wasn't even allowed to talk to the people his uncle brought over, Cassidy made sure of it. It never made sense. Was there a reason why Cassidy didn't want Kai mingling with his uncle's friends? Was there something the young mother wasn't saying? Kai really wanted to know, but there was a chance his mother would refuse to say why.

So, as Kai watched as his mother paid for the bag of M&M's, completely oblivious to the glares and disgusted looks thrown their way, the two and a half year old tried to figure out a way to ask his mother what was going on. There had to be some kind of explanation as to why they were traveling the city instead of being back home with Eiji.

~. . . .~

Cassidy had been well aware of the dirty looks the customers and employees were giving her and Kai while they were in the store. As if vomiting in a grocery store bathroom wasn't bad enough, people were giving them looks for just shopping. Was there anything else Cassidy could possibly be doing wrong in the eyes of those people? There had been a couple incidents where Cassidy managed to sneak out of Eiji's home, back when she and Kai were still living with him, and she saw the looks other people gave her. Cassidy saw the dirty looks, the heated glares, the obvious disgust on their features. She heard the scoffs of distaste and noticed how much distance they put between themselves and her. The one thing that always irritated the young mother, in situations like that, was how those looks and attitudes didn't bother her, but at the same time, they did. People being disgusted with her appearance was natural; people were supposed to be disgusted with the "trashier" side of society; the ones who are too poor — who are "too lazy" to change their lives. A good portion of the young girl didn't give two shits if those better off people didn't want someone like her in their part of the city.

But, unfortunately, deep, deep down, Cassidy did let all of that get to her. She felt her stomach knot up whenever a dirty look was thrown her way. She'd feel her chest constrict whenever a disgusted scoff came out of someone's mouth when they saw her. She would feel her blood run cold whenever she'd hear whispers and looks aimed in her direction. Cassidy would also feel a bit of anger boil in the pit of her stomach whenever those looks, whispers, and noises were aimed at Kai, though. It was one thing if they wanted to make her feel like shit, but to treat her son as if he were an inconvenience? How was that considered OK?

The circumstances of Kai's birth may have been disturbing, but his existence shouldn't be seen as an inconvenience, or a burden. Cassidy loved her son unconditionally, just as she would love her unborn child unconditionally. Kai and the baby were going to be Cassidy's entire world. She wanted what was best for them, and if she could give them the best life possible, then Cassidy knew she did the right thing. That right thing had to start with her getting to Akihito, to hopefully get a case up against Eiji and to get Cassidy out of the system. If Eiji were to be imprisoned before Cassidy got herself out of the system, then she'd more than likely be forced back into foster care. Kai would be forced in, as well. Same with the baby. Cassidy was no idiot when it came to foster care; she'd spent a few years in and out of homes before living with her uncle. The young mother knew that siblings or other family members who went into the system were typically separated and rarely ever saw each other again. If Cassidy ended up back in the system, and ended up separated from her kids, she'd put every single person through hell until she'd be reunited with them. But that would be in a worst case scenario type of situation. The best scenario would be Akihito managing to get Cassidy out of the system and then helping her put a case together against her uncle.

Cassidy also had to remind herself that Eiji and Akihito were brothers. Despite Eiji's status as being disgraced and disowned, there still seemed to be a particular brotherly bond between the two men. Putting out a claim that Eiji had been raping and abusing her for a little over four years would be a hard pill to swallow. But Akihito would understand, right? Cassidy herself wasn't going out of her way to mend any broken relationships with her father, but she'd definitely play the daughter card if she had to. Akihito was the one who bailed on her; if he wanted a relationship so badly, he'd help her out, right? Besides, his letter said she could come by his place whenever she wanted once she was old enough. One of the few useful things Cassidy learned from the underbelly of Japan was how to manipulate people, how to use their emotions against them. It wasn't uncommon for people to use specific emotional manipulation to their advantage. And did it really matter that Cassidy was manipulating her own father? It wasn't like she wanted a relationship with him. Hell, she wasn't planning on staying with him until her plan had been successful. If Akihito chose not to help her, she'd leave and find someone who could. Akihito Hisakawa meant nothing to the young mother. Just like Géneviève and Eiji meant nothing to her.

That kind of outlook, the whole you're-only-useful-if-it-benefits-me kind of outlook, was something Cassidy saw countless times growing up. She saw it with Géneviève plenty of times before being taken away; and she's seen it with Eiji when he's with his friends. Life was difficult, and sometimes people had to do what they could to get by.

~. . . .~

Aya had done a bit of background investigating on Eiji Hisakawa. Her employer wasn't rich, like a lot of Aya's previous ones. But he did seem to have a good connection to Japan's drug trade. Not really surprising, honestly. A good number of Aya's employees and customers seemed to think it nice to either pay her in drugs or in prostitutes (some of the people she worked with owned sex trafficking businesses). The young Korean woman had no interest in sex slaves or narcotics. She'd sell the drugs for money and pay the prostitutes for simply showing up, not for any sexual favors they'd offer. Regardless, Aya did gain something out of her work. A lot of the other customers and employers did pay her a lot of money for her services, and that put her at the top of Japan's illegal rings. But Eiji...he wasn't anything like her previous cases, even the ones who couldn't pay more than some drugs and prostitutes. It was almost pathetic, how desperate this man was.

Looking closer at Eiji's file, Aya had to shake her head. Being disowned by his family for stealing money from their law firm, gaining custody of a rowdy kid who'd gotten pregnant once — the girl and her son goes missing and he doesn't go to the police. Eiji Hisakawa decides to get in contact with someone like Aya. But who knows? Maybe looking for a missing girl and son would be interesting. It had certainly been a while since Aya worked on anything as fascinating — both sarcastically put and not — as Eiji's case.

(A/N):

Not my best chapter, but I did the best I could. Work and school have been maxing out the amount of creativity I've got to offer, so I hope this could at least be somewhat interesting for you guys. If there's anything you think needs improvement, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? Constructive criticism is important.

I own nothing in the OHSHC fandom. All I own are my characters and the subplots I put in.

If you've got OCs or subplots you'd like to see written into the story, don't hesitate to let me know. PM me with your ideas or leave a review.

Thanks a bunch.

Willow