Hello. I've decided to cave and expand this story. I hope it doesn't suck too much as a result. I'm very, very sorry if it does! Ideally this story would be categorized as a Romance/Drama/Angst/Family, but I only got to pick two, so Romance/Drama it is.

The disclaimer that I retroactively (whoops!) put in the first chapter holds for the rest of the story.

The silence stretched on for ages until she finally broke it. "So…that's it?"

"Huh?" He snapped out of his daze to see hurt in her eyes.

"After all this time, after all these years, that's all you have to say to me? My name?" she choked out. "After five years, that's all you can say?!"

"Urgh…." Oh yes, that was brilliant right there. He mentally slapped himself. Really eloquent. "Uh…err…what-what brings you to town…?"

Her eyes bugged out of her head. Was he serious?! "We live here," she managed through gritted teeth. "Have for the last two years."

"They've lived here for two years?!" he panicked. How had he never run into them at all? How had he not heard about that at all? She'd been a bit of a local hero back in the day. Catching the murderous glint that was slowly beginning to replace the shock in her eyes, he quickly pushed aside his thoughts. He needed to distract her, now. Her temper had a very long fuse, but once it blew, you wanted to be as far away as possible. "Oh, uh…so…" he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Takeshi-san's job transferred him over here?"

It was obviously the wrong thing to ask.

She was stunned. She couldn't have been more blindsided if he had just whacked her on the head with his trumpet case. Tears filled her eyes. How could he ask such a thing? The Hihara-senpai of the past had never been so insensitive! "Takeshi-san passed away two years ago," she whispered. Hurt and anger shone in her accusing eyes. "You knew that."

"Takeshi-san…is dead?" Shocked would have been too mild a word to define how he felt. "I didn't know that! What is she talking abou-?" His brain shut down before shooting off in a million directions all at once. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no. She didn't. She couldn't have?!" Without a second thought, he fled the scene, cursing himself for dumping the spade in the trash as he raced away from the widow and her son.

At a loss, Yuji looked a few times between the rapidly shrinking figure of the trumpet man and his crying mother. "Mama, Mama," he tugged worriedly on her hand.

Wiping her eyes free of moisture, she knelt down and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Mama just…" she sniffed.

"It's okay Mama," he assured, squeezing her back.

Once her breathing slowed to a normal pace, she rose again. They needed to go. They needed to go right now. But just as she was about to tell Yuji as much, she noticed Kazuki's trumpet case sitting in the middle of the sidewalk.

She frowned. To leave or not to leave…that was the question. After the stunt he just pulled, it would serve him right if she left and someone stole it. But—she drooped a bit—she couldn't do that. Stupid conscience. Heaving a great sigh, she picked up the case. "Did you see where the man went, Yuji?"

He looked at her with worried eyes. "Are you sure you want to see him? You were kind of scary, and he made you cry."

Grimacing, she motioned to the trumpet case. "We should return this to him. It's the right thing to do."

Nodding, he tugged her hand and led the way.

Kahoko quietly followed her son, not really paying attention to where they were going, focusing her energy on trying to rein in her emotions. "The best thing to do is to play it cool," she decided. Get in and get out. She told herself to channel Tsukimori-kun from back when she first met him. "Frost and ice. Frost and ice." Her life had been just fine without Kazuki Hihara-senpai for the last five years, and it would continue to be just fine without him.

"Mr. Trumpet Man, why are you doing that?"

Kahoko blinked her eyes to bring herself back to the present; then rubbed them because she couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was like Kazuki had temporarily become a human mole as he frantically clawed at the ground beneath a tree with a kind of manic desperation. What was he doing indeed? Trying to uproot the thing? She watched him warily, surreptitiously moving Yuji a little bit behind her. Maybe he had gone stark, raving crazy in the last five years. Yeah, that might be it. He hadn't responded to her letters because he had been locked up in some kind of mental institution or something. She shook her head to dismiss the thought of her unanswered letters. Forget that. He hadn't been a concern of hers for two years, and he could continue to stay out of her life for all she cared.

She cleared her throat, "Ahem…."

He didn't seem to notice her, just kept single-mindedly gouging the earth like his life depended on it.

Not taking any care to hide her annoyance, she stiffly stated, "Here is your trumpet case, Hihara-senpai. I didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands."

His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he continued to push aside the dirt. "Almost there…."

"Well, good-bye." She turned sharply to leave.

"Found it!"

Both Takashinas jumped slightly at his outburst as he held his prize: a banged up, dingy metal box. Her eye twitched a bit in annoyance. He had ditched her and ignored her for a box? They had been friends for eight freaking years, and a beat-up box was more important than apologizing for unceremoniously dropping her out of the blue and callously asking about her deceased husband in front of her son?!

Well that did it. Stuffing her resolve to just ignore and freeze him out for the rest of her life, she marched right over and plucked the now-open receptacle from his fingers, fully intent on tossing it and its contents into the nearest, most disgusting garbage can she could find and chewing him out so thoroughly and scathingly his ears would be blistered and bleeding for days. Then she would dump him like he dumped her and be on her merry way.

But as she registered exactly what was in the box, she froze. In disbelief, she picked up letter after letter, a decent portion of them unopened, letters from her. Her legs buckled as the world dropped out from under her feet. What was going on?

Slowly taking the container, Kazuki joined her on the ground. "I…I didn't know," he whispered. "I never read them. Not since I sent that last letter to you." He felt so ashamed. "I'm so sorry Kaho-chan. I never imagined you two were going through something like that."

"You didn't know," she said dumbly, staring off into space.

"No."

"You didn't read my letters."

"No."

"For the last five years, you haven't read any of my letters."

"No."

Oh, then did she look at him with a vengeance. "You-you jerk!" she screeched. "You insensitive, selfish…selfish, grass-for-brains imbecile!" She had never, ever felt such a strong desire to physically hurt anyone in her life. "I-I could hit you!"

He didn't even try to defend himself. "I know! I know! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Please, hit me if it will make you feel better!"

She ignored him, too set on her rant. "Five years, Hihara-senpai! Five years! For five years, you don't say anything!" She was starting to get a little hysterical. "You…you…ugh!" She tossed her head in her hands and began screaming various insults into them in between sobs.

Both males had no idea what to do. Neither of them had ever seen her like this. Yuji was starting to doubt his friend who had told him the trumpet man was a kind person. He had done something that had made Mama cry, twice.

Eventually, Kazuki's brain decided to get with the program. If he didn't stop her soon, she'd make herself sick. Grabbing a hold of her shoulders, he began to try coaxing her out of her fit. When that didn't work, he drew in a deep breath. "Get a grip, Kaho-chan! You're scaring Yuji-kun!" he bellowed, completely bowling over her.

For a full minute, the only thing that could be heard was the heavy, uneven breathing of the adults. Then, stricken, Kahoko reached out for her son. "Yuji…."

He rushed into her arms and squeezed her tight as she cried and apologized softly. From the shelter of his mother's embrace, Yuji shot daggers at the green-haired man.

Kazuki flinched. Even if they were in a different face, it hurt to have those golden eyes look at him so hatefully.

"Why?" she croaked.

"Eh?" Kazuki looked up to meet her tearful face.

"Why did you never write back Hihara-senpai?" Her voice cracked. "I thought you might have died, or gotten really sick, or that you were in a coma or something! Do you know how worried I was about you? The least you could have done was straight up said that you didn't want to be my friend anymore…."

The words pierced him like a dagger. Every tear that fell from her eyes ripped him to shreds. Faced with the reality before him, his reasons for keeping away from her seemed selfish and petty. Heck, they were selfish and petty. He claimed to love her, but he certainly hadn't made that decision with her in mind. He had only thought of himself. That wasn't love. He clenched his fists. He needed to stop being a coward about the things most vital to his life. For the past five years, running was all he had done. He had failed her. He who had always promised that he'd be there to support her had stood by and let the world run over her and her son with a bulldozer. Well, not any longer. For some reason, they had met again, so this was going to stop. Here and now.

Solemnly, he arranged his legs underneath him and bowed down with his face low to the ground.

"Hihara…sen-pai…?" she sniffled.

"I am truly sorry, Kaho-chan." Ashamed of himself, he confessed, "I have no excuses, and no words other than these."

"Senpai…." She just stared at him, tears drying on her face, moved by the sincerity in his voice and actions. Wiping her eyes, she begged, "Please, sit up Hihara-senpai. You shouldn't be prostrating yourself before me."

He vehemently shook his head, not even lifting himself a single millimeter to keep his forehead from grinding in the dirt. "No, Kaho-chan. I've hurt you so badly."

"Senpai…." She looked down at Yuji who nodded; he seemed truly sorry. Kahoko smiled down at her angel and held him close. He was such a good child, not one to hold grudges.

Extracting himself from his mother's arms, Yuji walked over to the trumpet man and squatted down beside him. For a minute, he just sat there until much to Kahoko's horror, he started poking him. He poked him in the head, the neck, the back, the leg, even in the side. Was he not ticklish anywhere?

"Yuji!" she hissed. "What on Earth do you think you are doing?"

"I'm trying to make the trumpet man sit up so we can tell him we forgive him. He must be ticklish somewhere."

Kahoko was so busy moaning in embarrassment that she completely missed Kazuki's snort of laughter.

Victory! Brightening up, Yuji poked him in the stomach again to try and bring it back, not realizing that Kazuki hadn't laughed because of his poking. When the pokes didn't seem to be achieving their desired effect, he began to prod the area more insistently, even getting on his knees to have a better angle. Why wasn't it working?

At this point, Kazuki pounced. Sweeping up the startled child, he began to mercilessly tickle him in the stomach until the shout of alarm turned to shrieking fits of laughter. "So it's a tickle war you want now, is it?"

"Stop! Stop!" he gasped as he writhed in Kazuki's tickling grasp.

"Nu-uh, this is payback." He began to poke Yuji's side with his other hand. "How do you like being poked?"

He simply squirmed and howled in response under the double-attack.

"Do you give?" Kazuki jokingly demanded as he temporarily kicked it up a notch.

"I give! I give!" he laughed, flopping to the ground next to the chuckling man. Once he caught his breath, he grinned conspiratorially up at him. "Now help me get Mama!"

"You got it," Kazuki agreed, swinging the spiky-haired boy to his feet.

"What?! No!" Kahoko screamed with a laugh as she ran for her life from the two tickle monsters. "You can't catch me!" she cried gleefully as they chased her around and around the tree.

"Quick! Go around the other way and cut her off Yuji-kun!"

"Eek!" she cried as Yuji tackled her middle, gamely falling to the ground in a heap with him.

"Now get 'er! Get 'er!" Kazuki cheered as Yuji enthusiastically engaged in a tickle fight with his mother.

The tables quickly turned though, as mother and son ganged up on the hapless trumpeter, Kahoko holding his wrists captive as Yuji gleefully administered his revenge.

"I give! I give!" Kazuki finally cried hoarsely after what seemed like eternity as he collapsed to the ground beside the other two.

For a long while, they all just lay there catching their breath until Kazuki started cracking up. Yuji soon joined in with Kahoko finally giggling as well as she curled up with her son.

"It feels good to laugh like this again," Kazuki thought as joy burst out from his lungs. It had been far, far too long since he had had this much fun.

"Mr. Trumpet Man?"

"Hmm?" he smiled over at the inquisitive eyes of the boy.

"Now that we've found Mama, can you play your trumpet like you said you would?"

"Yuji…" Kahoko warned.

"Will you please play your trumpet like you said you would?" he quickly amended.

He grinned. "It'd be my pleasure."

Noting the interest in his eyes, he made a big production of taking out his trumpet and sliding in his mouthpiece.

Yuji cocked his head. "Why is it silver instead of gold?"

"Because it's cooler," Kazuki joked. "Not really, well, sort of. I chose this trumpet because it looked cooler to me, but trumpets are made of brass, which is a metal that looks like gold. My trumpet though, has silver over the brass to make it look awesome."

"Oooh…."

Standing, Kazuki flashed the boy a real, genuine smile. He seemed to be doing that a lot today. "For my performance, I will play Auf Flügeln des Gesanges by Mendelssohn."

Smiling softly, Kahoko settled Yuji in her lap as they listened to the bright, clear sound of the trumpet. It really seemed like the song had grown wings and taken flight.

She closed her eyes and let the music sweep her off her feet into the crisp, autumn breeze. He had gotten better since their college days. Had it really been that long since she last heard him play? She had missed the boost his playing always gave her, the warmth and strength that was unique to Hihara-senpai's sound.

As the last note faded from the sky, they both clapped loudly.

"Wow! You play really good-"

"Yuji…."

"Uh, I mean, really well, Mr. Trumpet Man."

Kazuki grinned and bowed, flourishing an imaginary top hat. "Thank you! Thank you! You're too kind."

"Can I try?"

"Sure, so long as you don't mind my spit," Kazuki joked.

"What?! Ewww!"

"I've only got one mouthpiece kid."

"Do I…do I have to-to drink it…?" he asked with wide eyes.

"What?! Ew! No way!" Kazuki mimed a gagging noise. "That's gross!"

"Oh!" Yuji brightened right up. "In that case, I don't mind sharing."

"Ok, but you're going to have to do something for me."

"Is it hard?"

"It might take a bit, but it's not too, too hard," Kazuki assured him. "I want you to say, 'Mmm….'"

"Mmm…."

"Good, good. Just like that. Keep going," he encouraged. "Now keep your lips like that, but try to blow air through your lips like that so you get a buzzing sound." He demonstrated.

"O-kay!" Yuji blew and blew, but no matter what he did, he couldn't quite make that same buzzing sound. "I thought you said this wouldn't be hard!" he complained.

"I said it might take a bit," Kazuki corrected. "But you're doing a really good job, way better than my first swing at it."

"Really?"

"Really."

Kahoko chuckled to herself as she watched the two of them blowing and blowing, trying to get Yuji to buzz properly. Suddenly noting how much darker it got, she checked her watch. "Oh my goodness! It's already that late?!" She quickly scrambled up and scooped up her protesting child. "I'm really sorry Hihara-senpai, but we have to go. We're supposed to be at my parents' house for dinner, and we won't make it if we don't get moving." She checked her watch again. "I think there should be a bus coming by soon."

"What time do you need to be there?"

"In about half-an-hour."

"Have they moved since we were in college?"

"No…." She looked at him strangely.

"Then why don't I drive you?" he offered easily. "I've got my parents' car while they're visiting my aunt. It should only take about ten minutes from here."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose…."

"I'm sure," he stated firmly. Lowering his voice so Yuji wouldn't hear, he reasoned, "Besides, it'll give Yuji-kun a chance to actually play with the trumpet a bit. He can't seriously play it for another few years, but he can fool around a little."

"Well…" she was weakening, "okay. Thank you, Hihara-senpai." Bending down to Yuji, she told him, "Since we're getting a ride to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we can stay a little longer, but when we say it's time to go, it's time to go, with no complaining, understood?"

"Yup!"

"Now say, 'Thank you.'"

Yuji beamed up at Kazuki. "Thank you Mr. Trumpet Man! Now can we get back to the blowing? I think I almost got it that last time!"

"You bet!"

After another few minutes of straight blowing, a small, short buzz erupted from Yuji's lips. His face lit up like Christmas. "I think I got it!"

"Try and remember how you did it; see if you can do it again."

For another couple of minutes, he tried until he managed to do it again, this time a little bit longer.

"Good! Good! Keep going!"

For the next five minutes, they kept doing that until Yuji could consistently get a buzzing sound in every breath he blew, even if the volume and duration were highly irregular.

"Can I try with the trumpet now?"

"Sure thing," Kazuki brandished the instrument to the small, eager boy. "Since your hands aren't as large as mine, I'll hold it here, and you can hold it here," he indicated a spot away from the slides where Yuji could grip the metal as he buzzed into the mouthpiece.

It literally sounded like a dying elephant, but you wouldn't know it from the look of pure pride and wonder on Yuji's face. "Did you hear that, Mama? Did you hear that? I did it! I made a sound!"

"Yes! Yes, you did!" Kahoko agreed happily, ruffling his hair, making the already spiky tufts stick out at even stranger angles.

"Way to go Yuji-kun!" Kazuki cheered from where he was kneeling. "Now try to blow more air through to make it louder."

Any normal person would have started running in the other direction with their ears covered, but not the trio in the field. To them, it was one of the most beautiful, joyful sounds in the world.

After completing another movement of the symphony of the expiring, long-nosed pachyderm (a.k.a. dying elephant), Kazuki reluctantly took the instrument back and began packing it away. "We'd better get going."

"Awww!"

"Yuji…."

"Oops, sorry," he grinned sheepishly.

She just shook her head and smiled. "How far is it to your car, Hihara-senpai?"

"Not far." He checked his watch again and squatted down so he and Yuji were face-to-face. "Do you like piggy-back rides?"

His eyes lit right up. "Really?!" He turned to his mother and turned on the puppy dog eyes. "Oh, can I Mama, please? Please? Can I?"

She didn't have any problem with it. "If Hihara-senpai doesn't mind."

"Yeah!" he cheered and clambered onto Kazuki's back.

Standing up, Kazuki suddenly looked embarrassed. "Uh…."

"Is something wrong, Hihara-senpai?" Her eyes shone with concern. Was Yuji too heavy? Had Hihara-senpai strained his back during their tickle wars? The man was only thirty, so he should be fine, but sometimes things like that manifested early.

"I forgot about my stuff…" he admitted with a blush. Why was he so scatterbrained?

With a laugh, she walked over to pick up the trumpet case and box of letters. Even all these years later, he was still the same old Hihara-senpai. "Is there anything else?"

"Nope," he shook his head, "that's everything. Thanks Kaho-chan."

"Thank you for the ride," she answered as they started walking toward the car.

"Giddy up!" Yuji whooped.

"You got it pardner!" Kazuki winked as he began to lope across the grass.

A pretty short piggy-back and car ride later, the Takashinas were deposited in front of the Hinos' front door.

"Will we ever see you again, Mr. Trumpet Man?" Yuji asked as Kazuki handed Kahoko a couple of bags she had placed in the trunk.

Kazuki's eyes flicked to Kahoko. "If your Mama wants."

"Mama?"

Her eyes flicked over to Kazuki's. "Yes, I think it would be very nice for all of us to see each other again, but before we leave," she flashed him that smile he lived for, "I think some proper introductions are in order." Bending down so she and her son were eye-level, she introduced, "Yuji, this is Kazuki Hihara-senpai. He's a very old friend from when Mama was in high school."

"Oh! That's where I've seen you before!" He grinned first at Kazuki, then at his mother. "He's one of the people from the picture! The one from the music competition, right?"

"That's right."

"That's how we met," Kazuki added, crouching down as well.

Yuji cocked his head thoughtfully. "So…I'm guessing if we're being properly introduced and all, I'm not supposed to call you Mr. Trumpet Man anymore, am I?" He looked between the two adults. "So what do I call you?"

At the same time, Kahoko said, "Hihara-san," Kazuki said, "Kazuki-san." Remembering all the times Kazuki had tried to get Kahoko to relax the formality of what she called him back in college, both of them looked at each other and laughed.

"Your call," Kazuki acquiesced.

"Call him Hihara-san, Yuji."

"Okay…Hihara-san." Leaning closer to Kazuki he loudly whispered. "If you want, I can think of you as Kazuki-san."

"No, you should do as your mother says," Kazuki smiled. "Maybe one day, we'll know each other well enough that you call me Kazuki-san, Yuji-kun."

"Kahoko? Yuji? Is that you?"

"Grandma!" Yuji cried happily as he flew over to the door to give his grandmother a big hug.

"Yuji!" Kahoko scolded from the sidewalk. "Say goodbye properly before running off!"

"Bye-bye Hihara-san!" Yuji shouted with his hands cupped around his mouth. "I hope we'll see you again soon!"

"Bye Yuji-kun!" Kazuki waved. "It was fun!"

"I'll be in in a minute," Kahoko called to her mother. "I just need to talk to Hihara-senpai really quick."

With a nod, Ryouko Hino turned back into the house with her grandson, listening to him chatter happily about his day.

Slowly blowing out a breath, she turned to him. "I'm sorry about earlier, Hihara-senpai."

He shook his head vehemently, pain and sadness coming back to his eyes. "Don't be. You have nothing to apologize for," he hung his head, "unlike me. You don't know how much it means to me that you accepted my apology."

"Senpai…."

"I…I know I probably don't deserve to ask this, and…and I know it won't be the same as before, but," he looked earnestly into her eyes, "would you be willing to try being friends again?"

Tears of happiness sprang up. "I'd like that." As she wiped the beads of water away with her finger, she admitted, "I missed you, Hihara-senpai."

"I missed you too," he echoed. "More than you'll ever know." Searching around for his cell phone, he pulled it out. "Want to trade numbers? I finally got my own plan." He made a comical face. "Being an adult and all, I have to be responsible or something like that."

Giggling, she pulled out her phone as well and they pointed them at each other until the information finished exchanging.

"Well," he raised a hand, "I'll see you around."

"Yes," she nodded.

As he climbed in the car, he quickly rolled down the passenger-seat window and waited for her to poke her head in curiously. "Umm…if you ever have trouble finding someone to watch Yuji-kun, let me know." He gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's got to be tough doing it all on your own."

"Between my parents and my siblings' families, babysitting is pretty much covered, but if something comes up, I'll let you know." She smiled. "Thank you." She glanced back at the house. "He had a lot of fun today."

"I did too," he said sincerely. "He's a great kid. You've done a really good job with him."

Blushing, she pulled out of the car. "Alright, get on with you," she slapped the car playfully. "I'll call you sometime this weekend to set something up."

"I'll hold you to that," he called back as he started the ignition. Then with a friendly wave, he was off.

Waving as well, she settled back on her heels with her arms crossed over her chest as his car drove out of sight. She was still hurt, but it seemed like the ravine between them was starting to get bridged, if only a little. Time would tell for sure. She smiled softly and turned toward the house.

I'm sorry if Kahoko seems extremely out of character here, but…she does have some temper as seen in the anime. And personally, if my best friend in the whole world suddenly decided to drop off the face of the Earth, and then my husband died leaving me a single mother with all the stresses of that, and aforesaid best friend turned up years later and acted like Kazuki did, I'd be pretty angry too. I mean, seriously, from her point of view, he totally rejected her attempts to keep in touch and in some sense willingly chose not to be there during the most major crisis of her life. That loses major friend points and definitely warrants some angry blowing up, would you not agree? Then again, maybe I should be more worried that I made her forgive him too quickly, but then again, Kahoko always was a major softie. XD

Man, this story so far has been angst, angst, angst; suck, suck, suck; drama, drama, drama; happy fluffiness! It needs to make up its mind.