POV Takao

My thesis was good, damned good, even if I had to say so myself. I took the last piece of paper off the printer and added it to the final pile of the three copies I had made with the Modern Language Department's equipment.

"Is that it then?" Marjorie, the administrative assistant, asked as I stood in front of the stacks and giggled.

"Oh, yes," I said. "That's three years' worth of work. It's ridiculous, I know, but after all this I don't want to put it into someone else's hands."

"It makes perfect sense, honey," Marjorie said, and rubbed my shoulders. "It's your baby; you've made a lot of sacrifices to come this far and it's stressful to come to the end of a long journey."

"Well, I want this to end with a walk across a stage and a fancy piece of paper, but I've already started looking into online doctoral programs," I told her and felt my checks flush. She didn't look at me like I was crazy, so I continued. "I've realized watching Shin-chan pursue his dream and playing with Akira, that what I want to be when I grow up is Dr. Kazu."

I straightened the last copy and smoothed it into the cardboard box purchased especially to hold one copy snuggly. It fit perfectly, just like the other three, and I stared at the title of my long work in its inverted pyramid form right above my full name. I put the lid on the box, but hesitated to put that box into the shipping container with the other two.

"That's sounds pretty awesome to me, but maybe you should turn those in first?"

"Yeah, I have everything for shipping right here. All I have to do is pack this last copy and the flash drive inside and wait for the revisions to come back."

The flash drive hung on a cord around my neck where, except for showers, it had lived for the last six months.

"Do you want some help?"

"Sure, I think I'd like that."

POV Midorima

Forty-eight hours before Akashi and Furihata were scheduled to depart New York, we spend the entire day touring the city. We visit all the important stops, including the ferry around the Statue of Liberty, the elevator ride up the Empire State Building, and then lunch at the Algonquin. After lunch, a stately and pleasant affair, we head to Bryant Park where Akira squeals with joy as her favorite green horse, garlanded with fruit of all kinds, is unoccupied. Kazu and Kōki join her while Seijūrō and I claim a nearby bench.

"Why do you make everything so difficult?" I ask him. Truthfully, I know the answer as well as he does, but it is kinder to make him admit it than throw it in his face.

"Because I am an Akashi," he sighs. "Let's review the plan, one more time."

"Your plans have back up plans," I tease. There is a momentary glint of humor in his eyes – both of them – and then he laughs outright.

"Alright, maybe I'm taking all of this too seriously. I haven't spoken to Kōki about any of this yet, but the onsen in Southern California would be a logical step for me. It would be an excellent excuse to bring his family here. I will need someone I can trust to protect my investment in the venture."

"Excellent and Kazu and I will join in as well. We've talked about it and decided that Akira needs more of our homeland culture."

"I can't ask..."

"I have the money – which you helped me earn, I might add – let us spend it in a way that will make us happy."

"Alright, alright…" Akashi grudgingly acquiesces, but he is still troubled.

"In the last week of June, you and Kōki will join us in Toronto and we will fly into Tokyo together. From there we will spend –"

"The moment I step foot in customs, my father will know. I will go straight to him and deal with the unpleasantness first. I expect you to take Kōki with you."

"You didn't mention this when we went through the travel details at lunch."

"No, and that was purposeful. Kōki worries too much on my behalf. I need him to be in his best form."

The sound in the back of my throat made my displeasure known; it wasn't a sound I would have been capable of before Neko-chan came into our life – just one more benefit of pet ownership.

"Your disapproval is noted, Shintarō, but I haven't seen my parents in eight months…"

"I had thought your mother was dead. At least that was the story we all heard, that she tragically passed away the winter before you came to Teiko."

"As we wanted you to think. No one wants admit their mother is insane, no matter what your last name might be."

"And she was deathly ill? Is she better now?"

"That's a relative term. If she was ill to begin with, I am unsure. She looked perfectly healthy when I arrived, and was in the same state when I left. Father wanted to assert his authority over me by forcing me to return to Japan on his command. He did so. That's all it was."

"When will you put plan 'A' into effect? I can lend you the money and buy more –"

"I don't care if we are on the other side of the world, speaking a language that most people around us can't understand. We will not speak of plan 'A' in a public place."

POV Takao

"What do you think they're talking about?" Furihata asked me as I took Akira down from the green horse and settled her onto my hip. Shin-chan and my chiropractor would glare at me for the act, but, oh well, what's a little pain?

"Something sneaky, no doubt. When you put together the two greatest minds of the Generation of Miracles, what else can you expect?"

Furihata sighed.

"You should be used to his plots by now," I said.

Akira bucked until I put her down and then ran to the back of the line for another trip around. If it were free, she would choose the long-eared bunny to be her chariot the second time, if not, she'd likely settle for the leaping frog. In many ways, she was as obsessive as her father, but she was more flexible as well. With the right amount of behavior modification, she might be able to forgo medication completely.

"She's such a perfect combination of the two of you! I just can't believe how lucky you got with an adoption."

"You do know that only I had to adopt her, right?" I said, watching Akira as she gazed in awe at the carousel.

"No, I don't know anything about her. She's actually half Midorima?"

"And half Takao, too," I laughed. "My sister, Yukina, was artificially inseminated. She wanted to come to school in New York and we wanted a baby. She offered a trade, and it was worth every penny."