Wow. I'll admit: I'm impressed. That actually was a fairly painless editing process... Probably because the chapter is only like 3.2k. Sorry about that. It's short and there's only one small SxS moment. You may all proceed to cry in the comments below. It was a SxS overload last chapter, and this chapter, there's next to none. Talk about contrast. *Insert long pause* Maybe I should work on that.

Wanna know a fun fact? Apparently nadeshiko flowers grow in the fall... Unless Harvest Moon has been lying to me, but I'm pretty sure it's not. Hopefully.

So... This chapter is kinda both depressing yet uplifting at the same time. At least, I tried to make it uplifting at times. Anyways, you've been warned.

Last thing before the chapter, I promise. I made 100 reviews, so I just wanted to thank you guys and give everyone a big virtual hug. I'm passing out virtual cupcakes, too. It's a party. (Seriously, you guys are awesome)

Now, enjoy.

Sakura's POV

When I knock on the door to Yukito's apartment, he's the one who answers.

"Sakura!" His eyes widen and he glances over his shoulder, trying not to seem too alarmed.

I smile weakly. "No need to act so surprised, Yukito. I know he's here."

The silver-haired man sighs in defeat. "You caught me. What tipped you off?"

"It's kind of obvious. Touya isn't exactly Mr. Popularity."

He laughs at this. "No, I suppose he's not." Stepping aside, he gestures for me to enter. "If you please."

"Thank you." I enter and carefully remove my shoes. "Where is he?"

"In the back moping. He's been sulking ever since he got here last night. It's actually a rather depressing sight."

"Did he tell you what happened?"

"Not exactly. I got the gist of it, though."

"Hm." I pause in the main room and turn to the man behind me. "So, I take it you know about what's going on with our father?"

"Only from what Touya has told me. He said something about you talking to Fujitaka and that he was taking advantage of your forgiving nature."

"Figures. He wouldn't even listen to me when I tried to explain the situation to him. Truth is, my dad wants to go with us tomorrow when we visit mom, but Touya doesn't want him to. Touya also probably failed to mention that our dad has been trying to stop drinking."

From the surprised look on his face, I can tell that he didn't know.

"After last night, he fell back on old habits, but he's really trying. I know it must be hard on him, so I intend to support him through it. That's part of why I came here. To tell Touya that."

Yukito nods. "Just, please go easy on him, Sakura. He's been beating himself up over whatever he said to you. Everything he does, he does because he loves you."

I smile weakly. "I know, Yukito." And then I turn and head to the room where my brother is. It's time for me to stand up and face this like an adult. Touya needs to understand that wether he likes it or not, I'm going to be making decisions for myself from now on.

Touya's POV

I'm sitting in the guest bedroom of Yuki's apartment when the door suddenly bursts open and my sister comes marching in with a determined look on her face.

"Alright, here's how this is going to work, Touya," she declares, not giving me any time to speak. "You're going to sit there and listen to what I have to say with an open mind. You aren't going to interrupt me, and you aren't going to ignore me, either. Do I make myself clear?"

Wow. Is this really my little sister? When did she become so take-charge and commanding?

Without waiting for so much as a nod, she continues. "Good, now listen up. You may not like that I've been talking to dad, but you're just going to have to deal with it, because I don't intend to stop anytime soon."

I open my mouth to protest, but she doesn't let me.

"As for tomorrow, I am going with dad. If you can't man up enough to join us, then you'll have to visit mom separately. I highly doubt she would want that, but if you can't be mature enough to visit your own mother with the man she raised us with, then that's your problem and yours alone."

There's a long silence. "Are you done?" I dare to ask.

"One last thing." Sakura looks at me more intensely now. "I am not going to leave that house. Not now, and not after graduation, either. Dad wants to change, and I'm going to support him the entire way though till the end." She stops briefly. "Alright. Now I'm done."

"May I speak?"

"Only if you can handle my response." It's taking all my willpower not to tell her off right now. If I do that now, it'll just make things worse. They're already bad enough as it is.

"What do you intend to do if he can't change?"

"He will."

"You can't know that."

Her eyes narrow. "I believe in him, even if you don't. He will change, and it'll be for the better."

For a long moment, I simply study her expression. Then, after determining that she truly believes her own words, I nod. "Alright, fine."

She blinks, surprised. "What, that's it? You're just going to agree; no argument?"

I nod. "Yep. If you think he can change, then I'm not going to bother trying to change your mind." A smile immediately spreads across her face. "But-" the smile vanishes- "don't misunderstand me; I'm not convinced. If you want to believe in him, then alright. I can't stop you. Just know that when he falls back on old habits, don't expect my sympathy."

"Fine by me. He won't, though. I'm going to be sure of that." She shifts her weight from one foot to the other. "And, Touya?"

"What else?"

She takes a deep breath, looks me in the eye, and says, "I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. You're my brother, and even though I love you, sometimes you just," she pauses shaking her head at the thought, "really do things to set me off."

"What can I say? It's in the job description."

She smiles. "I love you, Touya."

All of a sudden, it's as if the argument never even happened. She's my sister, and I'm her brother. We share that unique sibling bond. It's something that I take for granted, but value, nonetheless.

I open my arms, and Sakura is across the room in a flash, crashing against me. "I love you, too, Sakura."

Fujitaka greets us as we walk through the door. At first he's surprised to see me, but then his eyes soften. A silent agreement passes between us in that moment. Turning to my sister, he asks quietly, "Sakura, will you excuse your brother and I for a moment? I'd like to speak with him."

Looking both confused and a little worried, she glances between us.

"Don't worry, I'll keep my temper in check this time," I promise.

At first she hesitates, but finally nods reluctantly and leaves to go upstairs. Once she's completely out of sight, I turn to our father. "So, Sakura says you two have been talking."

"Yes," he nods.

"How long?" I ask, entering the living room and sitting down in the armchair.

"About two weeks or so."

I nod. "She mentioned that you want to go with us tomorrow. Is that why you've been talking to her?"

"Partially, but not entirely." Well, at least he isn't lying.

"What's the other reason?"

Fujitaka lowers himself onto the couch, leaving plenty of room between us. "I wanted to talk to my daughter. Is that so wrong?"

I scoff, and he frowns, leaning forward. "Touya, do you remember what you said to me that day you brought me home from the station?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Yeah, I remember. I told you were a failure as a father." Fujitaka visibly flinches. "Still mean it. Why?"

"That opened my eyes. After you said that, I started thinking, and eventually I realized you were right."

"Odd. I'm surprised you were sober enough to remember that."

"Believe me, I tried to forget it, but it just kept on bothering me. I thought about it for a long time. One day I saw Sakura coming home and making dinner for herself. For some reason that simple action opened my eyes. I started wondering why she was coming home so late and why she was eating and making dinner all alone. Thing was, I had no idea. It occurred to me for the first time that I didn't know anything about my own children anymore."

"Didn't? What, you think that after two weeks, all of a sudden you know everything about us?"

"No." He shakes his head. "There are still things that I don't know about you and your sister. Every so often, she'll be talking and mention something or someone, but I'll have no idea who or what she's referring to." He leans forward. "Did you know she has a job?"

Okay, I can't not glare at him right now. "Of course I know that she has a job. She's worked there for a few years now."

"That's what she said. How can that be? Is it even legal to hire someone that young?"

"Yes. She got a job the minute she was old enough to have one."

"But what about school?"

Oh, he's crossing into dangerous waters right now. I take a deep breath, trying to cool myself off. You promised her you'd keep your temper in check, I remind myself. "I've specifically made sure that she understands she's not aloud to drop out. I'm not about to let her go down the same path I did."

Clearly, he has no idea what I'm talking about.

"She didn't tell you? I dropped out of high school senior year."

"What?" he chokes out.

"Yeah. You lost your job, and since my part time job alone wasn't enough to pay the bills, I dropped out and got a job full time in order to support Sakura. How did you think that we were still living here?"

"I never really gave it much thought. What about the savings accounts?"

"Nearly empty. I set aside some money so that once Sakura graduates, we could hopefully leave here and rent an apartment somewhere. And by 'we' I mean Sakura and I."

Fujitaka holds his head between his hands, processing the information.

"It's a lot to take in, I know. We've had to support ourselves while you were out drinking your problems away. Not exactly like you were much help."

Finally, he lifts his head up. "Touya, I-"

"Don't bother. I'm not going to forgive you. To be completely frank, I don't know if I ever will. Even if you do change. We're your children, and you weren't there for us when we needed you. Sakura may be able to overlook it, but I can't." Not after everything we went through.

Fujitaka nods. "I understand. What I did was unforgivable. No child deserves what I put you and Sakura through."

"Glad you finally figured that out, but you're about seven years too late."

"I know. I won't ask for your forgiveness, Touya. I just want to be part of you and your sister's lives again."

"You're aware that we aren't even here most of the time, right?"

"Yes. I am, which is why I've been looking for a job." My head shoots over to him.

"You're job hunting?"

He nods. "I went to an interview last week at the library."

"Is that so?" I speculate. "Not going to try to teach again?"

He shakes his head, looking sad. "Maybe one day, but for now I think it's best I don't go around giving advice to young minds."

"Yeah," I agree, grinning cruelly. "That's probably for the best."

A silence passes over us. I glance over to the staircase, wondering what Sakura would be thinking right now if she where here. Knowing her, she'd probably just be happy that our father is finally taking in interest in us and moving forward with his life. She's always been sentimental like that.

"Sakura seems to think it would be good for all of us to go together tomorrow when we visit mom."

He immediately perks up. "She said that?"

I roll my eyes. "Don't look so pleased. Have you even gone to see mom at all since the funeral?"

Regret fills his features. "I know it's shameful of me. When she died, I didn't want to believe it was true. Going to the funeral made it so real, that I've been too afraid to go back."

"But you still want to go tomorrow?"

He nods. "If it's alright with you and Sakura."

"Well, you've got Sakura convinced. For now, I'll go along with this, but only because of Sakura. She seems to think you can change."

"Thank you, Touya."

"Don't thank me; thank Sakura. If it were up to me, I'd leave you here and make you go on your own." He nods, and starts to move. "Oh, and one more thing," I cut in, making him freeze. Looking him dead in the eyes, I say, "If you do anything–and I mean anything–to hurt her, you're going to have to answer to me. You got that?"

For the hundredth time, Fujitaka nods. "I won't argue with you there, Touya. She means the world to you, and I wouldn't dare do anything to take her away from you."

"Hey, I never said-"

"You don't have to, I can just tell. If Sakura wants to go with you after she graduates, then I won't stop her, but until then, I'm going to try to be the father she always wanted; the one who's there for her."

I don't say anything at first; just study him. Then, I finally open my mouth and tell him, "In that case, good luck. You'll need it."

Sakura's POV

"Well, that was fast. Is everything alright? How did it go? You're calling from your house, so that's a good thing, right?"

I laugh into the phone. "Yes, Syaoran, everything is alright. At least, I think it is. My dad and brother are downstairs talking."

"Alone?"

"Yep. Touya promised not to do anything. It's progress at least."

"True... So, you're alright then?"

"What do you think?"

"I'm just checking," he says defensively.

"Yes, Syaoran, I'm fine. Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

"Good to hear. Anyways, I've gotta go. I don't want to eavesdrop or anything, but..."

"Right. Say no more, I'll talk to you Monday. Hopefully this time that actually stays true."

"If something happens, I'll go bother Yukito. That, or I'll just sneak into Tomoyo's house without her mom noticing."

"What do you have against Daidouji's mom, anyways?"

"Nothing, really, it's just that she was my mom's cousin, so after my mom died, it became different being around her. She's always worried about Touya and I. Plus she loathes my dad. Not without good reason, but still... That and she intimidates me."

Syaoran chuckles on the other end.

"Hey! Don't laugh at me, it's not funny!"

"Sorry."

I scowl, even though he can't see me. "I'm hanging up now. See you Monday." He starts to say something, but I hang up before he gets the opportunity. It's his own fault, really. Shouldn't have laughed at me. Still, I can't help but smile down at the phone.

Stupid Syaoran, I think fondly.

"Sakura, hurry up!"

"I am hurrying!"

"Well hurry faster!"

"Shut up! Do you have any idea how hard it is to put on a dress? No; so shut up!"

"Just get down here!"

"Why you–hold your damn horses!" Pulling my socks on, I throw open my bedroom door and practically leap down the stairs. "I'm done, okay. You can stop yelling now."

"About time," Touya grumbles, looking up from his watch. I fiddle with the ends of the dress as he looks me up and down.

"So... Does it look alright?"

Touya just stares at me for a moment, then he turns around holding his hands to his face in horror. "When did she get so damn old?"

I sweat-drop. "Um, I can hear you, Touya."

Turning to me and clearing his throat, my brother proclaims, "You can't go out like that. Go back upstairs and change."

"What?" I scream. "You've gotta be kidding me! You were just rushing me and telling me to hurry up, and now you're telling me to go change?"

"I can't have my little sister walking around in something like that."

"What in the world are you referring to?" I look down at the dress. "It's not at all revealing!"

"That's not the point! No boys will be looking at you on my watch. Go and change into something less... feminine."

"You're the one who gave me the dress and told me that mom would be happy if she wore it! Besides, we're going to a cemetery."

"We have to pick up the flowers before we go."

"I'm not changing!"

"Oh, yes, you are."

"No!"

"Do it!"

"I won't!"

From behind Touya there's a low chuckle. Leaning around my brother, I find our father standing and laughing quietly while watching us bicker.

"How is it you find this funny?" Touya asks, looking annoyed.

Our father shakes his head. "It's just nice to see my children are so close."

Touya and I exchange a look of confusion. Dad steps by Touya and looks down at me. "I think it looks lovely on you, Sakura."

"Really?" I ask, excited.

"Yes. You look just like your mother."

I gasp. My mother was a beautiful woman; everyone agreed on that. When I was younger, I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. Never did I think it would actually be possible, though.

"Thank you," I say, blushing happily. My father smiles back at me, but Touya grumbles under his breath.

"Shall we be going then?"

"But-"

"Oh, give it a rest, Touya," I say, waving him off.

He glares at me, but keeps quiet. Just like that, all three of us head out of the house in order to go visit the woman we all lost exactly seven years ago from today.

Fujitaka's POV

Even now, seven years later, I still have a hard time facing that Nadeshiko is gone. My life before I met her seems like a dull gray area in comparison to color and life she brought with her that fateful day we met. I've never been happier than when I was with her. She was my everything. The light of my life. And now she's gone.

I kneel before the stone with my wife's name on it. Behind me, our children lower their heads in a silent prayer. My heart warms as they instinctively reach out and hold hands.

Those are our children, Nadeshiko.

A faint smile plays at my lips as I watch them. The way that they lean on each other and support one another at the same time is a beautiful thing. Everything those two have gone through has just made them that much closer.

Facing the grave once more, I shut my eyes and pray.

I'm sorry I wasn't there to see them through it. I'm going to do better, Nadeshiko. For everyone's sake. Yours. Mine. Most importantly, though, for the children. Our children.

I lift my lids slowly, lifting my hand and allowing my fingers to lightly run across the engraving in the stone.

I flinch slightly, as if jolted awake, when a hand rests on my shoulder. Twisting around, I'm met with the emerald eyes of my daughter. She doesn't say anything, but it's as if she's trying to make me understand something. Her hand gently squeezes my shoulder.

We're right here, it seems to say. You're not alone.

Letting my fingers fall from the cold stone, I cover her hand with my own and rise to my feet. Bringing our hands down between us, I never once let go. Touya watches in silence as I step back into line with him and his sister.

Sakura holds my gaze for a moment before shifting hers forward again. Just like that, all three of us are standing hand-in-hand, mourning over the loss of a loved one. Together; as a family.

Ya see what I mean? Depressing and uplifting. No? Yes? Kinda?

I'll have you all know, that I was actually considering 3rd person here. Then I tried it and realized that there wasn't a chance in hell 3rd person present was going to be possible. For me anyways. It was... *Shivers* Well, it wasn't a pretty sight. So, basically I just changed it to first person Fujitaka's POV. What'd you all think? For the record, I have no intention of ever using his POV ever again. Ever. I can't stress that enough.

Now for that announcement I was talking about last time if you read it.

IMPORTANT: Okay, so seeing how it's almost fall, I think a lot of you are going to see where I'm going with this. And where I'm going in general. Yes, that's right. The dreaded school. Basically, I won't be able to update as frequently anymore. Don't worry, I'm not going to forget about the story or put it on hiatus or anything like that; I'm just probably not going to be able to post the chapters as often as I do now. Believe me, I'm just as disappointed as you are. I've already started next chapter, if it makes you feel any better. Plus Syaoran is in it (with Sakura, of course).

Anyways, You better have read that. Otherwise, I have zero sympathy (yes, I can be heartless at times). I underlined it and everything.

Okay, so I guess I'll see you all again next chapter. Which is hopefully a week from now. We'll see. I'll try to use my profile if something comes up.

Later!