A/N: Sorry this took so long! 18 pages for you and your friends to read J

I don't own Kodocha or any of its contents.

Chapter 16: The Truth About Goodbyes

Since the arrival of his father, Akito had been strategically planning his days. His old man hadn't changed much and still stuck to his old routine when he came home. The blond knew what time his father would wake, when he would shower, when he would come down for breakfast. He knew his father would be home while he and his sister were at school, but by the time they got home, he'd be out with his company friends.

When the blond was leaving the house for his early run, it was a disruption to Akito's morning when his father was sitting at the coffee table, looking over his laptop. He stopped in his step immediately, debating whether he wanted to refill his water bottle.

But, a trip to the ER wasn't part of his plan today, so he would have to sacrifice the obnoxious glares and pointing eyes.

The oldest of the Hayama siblings could feel his father's eyes bearing into his back.

"When I was your age, I was working to help my father provide for our family."

The blond stopped in his step and inwardly growled. He should have just fallen over dehydration. Now, he was being forced to engage in conversation with his father.

"I understood responsibility, and didn't spend my free time causing trouble and creating ruckus."

Deep breaths…

His father really wanted to go there, didn't he? Akito clenched his fists and felt his anger grow.

"You claim you understand responsibility, yet you abandon your children? Seems like you're a liar if anything."

The chair scraped against the hard-wooden floor.

"Watch your tongue, boy. I am working to provide for this family. To compensate for all that you have destroyed."

Akito clenched his fist and growled. Why did his father have to come back now? Why?

"If it wasn't for your selfishness, I would have never left! Or did you forget that bit?" The oldest of the siblings raised his voice and his eyes were filled with fury. His chest felt incredibly tight, the anger consuming him all at once.

"I was doing what was best for my family! And your need to rebel against everything I did caused this mess!" The shouting was growing louder, their voices trying to outmatch one another.

"You never once thought about this family! Because if you did, you would have been around more! You would have spent more time with Ayame, with mom! And she wouldn't have been worried sick about you all the time!"

Akito's father stilled in his spot, his eyes growing large.

"You have no idea how long she waited for you. She always worried herself to death because she needed to make sure you had your lunch, your dinner, a clean set of clothes, everything!"

There was a visible gulp in his father's throat and Akito was all but heaving at this point.

For the first time in three years, Hayama Fuuyuki looked at his son in something other than hostility and fury.

"Go ahead and place blame on me. That's fine." The blonde started, clenching his fist tightly. "But remember you have blood on your hands as well."

The floorboard from the stairs groaned and both men of the Hayama household looked up to see Ayame staring at the remaining members of her family with anxious eyes. She was gripping onto the fabric of her pajama shirt, biting down on her lip.

Akito sighed deeply, and turned away.

The front door creaked and was then slammed shut. Ayame flinched slightly and the force her brother used.

There was a deafening silence as she held her breath, waiting for the reaction of her father's; waiting for him to pass blame back to his son, to run away from the conversation by retreating into his office room.

"Ayame… honey, I'm sorry for waking you." He mumbled to himself and found a seat.

The blonde was perplexed at the sudden demeanor change in her father. This… this wasn't like him.

"It's uh, it's fine. I was up anyway." She tucked a length of her hair behind her ear, and continued trekking down the stairs.

Which wasn't a complete lie. She was restless, having trouble sleeping from the prior night. Her father's sudden appearance and her older brother's disappearing act had left her full of apprehension and anxiety. She had just passed REM sleep when she heard the voices growing louder with passing conversation.

When she heard Akito's voice boom through the hall, she knew something was very wrong.

That's when she carefully made her way downstairs, hoping to watch the relentless arguments between her father and brother from the shadows.

But, something was different today.

Wrapping both her hands around herself, Ayame watched as her father dropped his heads into his arm.

"Dad?" Her voice was a whisper.

No reply. It was like he didn't even hear her.

Ayame walked into the kitchen and for the cupboard. She saw her father's fresh pot of coffee that he brewed waiting for him. Grabbing his favorite mug, she poured him a cup and grabbed his favorite creamer from the fridge.

She turned and placed the steaming cup next to him. His eyes that so closely resembled hers looked up and he sighed in defeat. She took a seat next to him and kept her arms wrapped around herself.

"Thank you, Ayame."

The low whisper of his reply made her heart feel heavy. Her father had all but disappeared from their lives 6 months ago, coming in and out of the house before then. When he took overseas work, and left them behind, he didn't sound remorseful for his decision.

In fact, she hadn't seen her father sullen like this since their mother died.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

He looked away from his cup of coffee and found her once more. He gave a somber, tired smile.

"Oh… nothing sweetheart." She wished he would just talk to her. But, he was running away like he always did. "You should go back to sleep."

All she wanted was to know how her father was doing. All she wanted to know was how he was feeling, what he was thinking. Was that so hard to ask?

"Okay…" She replied, but sighed in disappointment. All she yearned for was her father's compassion. She knew he loved her. But, there was more to being a father than just loving their child.

She stood and muttered a quick goodnight before heading upstairs.

"Ayame."

Said girl stilled at her father's call. She looked back down at him from the stair steps.

"Yes?"

Turning back towards her, it seemed like he had something to say, something important. His mouth opened once, twice. Instead, he hid his eyes in his messy bangs and shifted back towards the table.

Her heart fell.

"It's nothing."

Biting down on her lip, she shut her eyes and pattered back upstairs.

The poured cup of coffee sat still on the kitchen table as Hayama Fuyuuki stared into the darkness of his kitchen. The morning rays of light attempted to peak through the curtains as the sun rose.

-O-

The streets of Tokyo were bustling with activity in the early afternoon. Sana looked down at her watch, waiting impatiently for a certain lone wolf to show.

Sana thought convincing him to see her after school was difficult.

Asking him to spare a few hours with her over the weekend proved to be even more difficult. He threw an absolute fit. And by fit, he glared at her, and refused to even listen to her proposition.

It wasn't till Sana promised to treat him to sushi that he even considered listening to her.

"No."

He briskly walked away, throwing his school bag over his shoulder. Sana groaned, trailing behind him in the school courtyard.

"Stubbornness does not look good on you."

He didn't reply. Sana rolled her eyes, catching up to him.

"Don't you want to get this project done already? So, let's meet up this weekend! We can knock it out of the pool!"

He groaned in his step, muttering something along the lines "It's park, you idiot." But, she hardly paid attention to his insensitive comments. Not that they bothered her. It was just his personality.

"I see enough of you at school to want to even consider seeing you on my days off."

Another eye roll from her. Did he honestly think she would give up? Shouldn't he know her by now?

"But you never make the efforts to do this project with me during school, so now I have to move to more extreme measures." She smirked, "Besides, didn't you say you'd meet me half way? This isn't you sticking to your part of the deal."

He stopped in his step, and turned towards her with a deadly glare. Sana was sure if his glare could kill her, she'd be ten feet under. With how much she annoyed and bothered him, the auburn-haired teen was sure he would savor in every minute of it.

"Besides! We never hang out outside of this place! Wouldn't it be fun to spend some time together not stuck in a classroom all day?!"

"There's a reason we don't see each other outside of school, and I would very much like to keep it that way."

"And what reason is that?" She inquired, genuinely curious by his response; even though she had an indication to what it may be.

"You can't just leave things as they are, can you?" Sana smiled at his question, shaking her head.

"Nope!"

He began to mumble under his breath, but she couldn't hear the words he was saying. Probably best, she thought. Hayama was probably cursing her to her death.

It was fun, teasing him like this. Pushing his buttons and learning which ways irritated him more than others. Somewhere in between all that, she learned little things about him. Sana was making progress. And that was all that mattered to her.

"Oh, lighten up, Lone Wolf! I'm just teasing ya!" Deciding to be daring, she wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him close to her face. Their cheeks were practically touching.

Hayama immediately stilled at their close contact. She could feel him tense up, freezing at their side embrace.

He pulled away instantly, shoving her away from him as far as he could. He glowered at her, Sana thinking she even heard a growl.

Touchy, touchy.

Definitely overreacting, she thought to herself.

His body language change as he took a few steps away from her, and guarded himself from her.

"Don't touch me." He snapped.

"You're so sensitive."

The narrowing of his eyes told her he didn't like that very much. She was making this much harder on herself, wasn't she?

"And you're so damn intrusive."

The growl in his voice may have been indication that she went a little too far.

Oops?

"Oh, come off it. Let's hang out this weekend!" She pushed again, and Hayama was still adamant on declining her most gracious offer.

A frustrated grumble was his reply. "No."

"What about if I bought ya sushi?"

He stopped in his tracks, peaking back over his shoulder with slanted eyes.

The victorious smirk appeared itself, Sana engaging in an early victory dance.

"… Sushi?"

It was almost cute how innocent that sounded. She inwardly giggled, knowing that he would pull away if she made any reaction of sorts.

"Yes. We get this project going and I treat you to sushi! What do you say?"

He stared for a moment, watching her with intent. Not much could be seen behind that frozen wall of ice he protected himself with. But, if you stare hard enough, Sana realized you could see the cracks forming at the top. They were tiny, and barely worth a second look. But, Sana took great pride in those unnoticeable cracks.

She waited in anticipation.

"You're so damn bothersome." Was his initial response. Sana opened her mouth for retaliation as he turned away from her again.

"I'll text you when and where, Saturday."

And that was how she ended up here.

Hayama had texted her early this morning, earlier than she would have liked, and gave her a time and place to meet him.

She smirked once again at her victory. If sushi was the best way to lure the lone wolf from his den, she would have done that weeks ago! She should have asked him what his favorite food was from the beginning!

Then again, she only just recently learned of his obsession with the dish.

A chill wind blew through the train station, and she wrapped her coat around her body. The beanie sat on her head, keeping her ears and head warm. At least she was warm.

There was a vibration in her hand.

From: Hayama

Here.

Sana shifted her gaze to her surrounding area and she searched for the mop of messy blond hair. When her eyes found him, she smiled.

"Hayama!" She shouted across the platform, her cheery smile stretching into a grin.

Called boy found her quickly and he narrowed his eyes at her boisterous call. Several heads turned towards them. Some giggled, some rolled their eyes. Most went on with their day.

"Can you be any louder?"

She hummed, putting a finger to her chin. "Of course I can!"

He snorted, shaking his head in disapproval.

Sana chuckled as he set forward. While she couldn't believe she was able to fish the blond from his secluded pond, Sana felt enlightened by the progression of events. Two months ago, they weren't even speaking to one another. If anything, they hated one another.

Well, Sana wouldn't say she hated him.

She was bothered by his arrogant attitude.

But she knew that Hayama couldn't care less for her.

Today, she felt if something happened to her, he would care, if only a bit.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Hayama asked, taking a peak at her from in front. Startling her, she didn't realize she was smiling a certain way.

Whatever discomfort or irritation he had with her earlier vanished as his stoic demeanor took hold. Sana would count that as a victory. He didn't look too entirely pissed off to be here. And that made her happy.

It was probably because of the sushi.

But, oh well.

"Because I get to hang out with my friend, Hayama Akito today!"

His glare returned.

Man, what a poor sport.

"Let's just go before I change my mind."

Sana giggled as a part of her response, "Whatever you say, Mr. Lone Wolf."

"Tch."

-O-

Rubbing her full stomach, Sana groaned in pain as she laid her head on the table. Her last and single piece of blasted sushi laid out in front of her, taunting her. It was so delicious. But, if she ate one more piece, she would definitely explode.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, Hayama Akito was working on his 5th plate of sushi. Just watching him scarf down these endless pieces made her feel sick.

"Where is it all going?" That was the question she kept repeatedly asking herself.

He kept scarfing the sushi down, without an end in sight. But unlike herself, who was now sporting a rather round tummy, he showed no signs of stopping.

"When you said you like sushi, you really meant it, didn't you?"

He took a drink from his water, and set his chopstick down.

"… I don't hate it."

Such a soft, delicate response compared to his normal, brutal answers. Sana felt like she was seeing an entirely new side to the blond-haired teen. At school, he was constantly on his guard. His eyes always felt so vicious, full of such disdain.

It was nice to see this.

And, it just reaffirmed what Sana already knew.

You don't hate it, huh?

He continued picking at the sushi until the plate was completely empty.

"Feel free to my last one. I don't have anywhere to put it." She offered, and he stared at her like she would pounce at any second. "It's not like I poisoned it! You can eat it!"

Akito plucked it from her plate, eating it in seconds. Sana felt the urge to hurl.

"Are you going for another round?" She couldn't help but ask as he grabbed the list and checked off another roll.

The blond looked at her like if she had two heads. "It's all you can eat, and your treat. So yes, I'm still eating. Besides, I'm not full yet."

Her jaw dropped, amazed at the amount of food he's already consumed.

"You're being serious?"

The waiter came by and grabbed his check off sheet.

The blond didn't reply as he drank his water, looking around the sushi bar they made their way too.

From what Sana understood, this was his favorite place to eat sushi. Not that he outright admitted it, but he seemed content and the restaurant staff knew him by name when they entered.

"You're going to leave your future girlfriend's pockets empty, aren't ya?" Sana teased, but Hayama didn't seem to enjoy the joke too much.

"You're probably going to talk your future boyfriend to death."

She mused, narrowing her eyes at him. "That was a cheap blow."

Shrugging his shoulders, Hayama looked towards the sushi table that was in the process of finishing his roll.

"What's your favorite color?"

The golden eyed boy turned back towards Sana, who was playing with her chopsticks. He eyed her carefully.

She rolled her eyes. "You could stop looking at me like that. I'm not trying to con information out of you if that's what you're thinking."

"Orange."

Hayama watched as her face turned to disgust. He found that mildly offensive.

"Out of all the colors, your favorite is orange?"

Akito had to admit that watching her facial expressions change was oddly amusing. But, at the same time, he was offended at her critique. So what if he liked orange?

"What's wrong with liking orange?" He defended, not appreciating her outright disgust.

"What do you mean what's wrong with it? It's the worst color there is! It's so bland and ugly!" Hayama rolled his eyes at her explanation. For a girl as cheery as herself, her not liking the color orange was somewhat of a surprise.

Their waiter returned with his new plate of sushi, and he nodded as his thank you. It wasn't something he said out loud, ever. He supposed he could show more gratitude, but it wasn't in his nature to do so.

"And let me guess, your favorite color is something typical like pink or purple?" Akito watched as Sana scrunched her brows together, nodding her head vigorously.

"Of course not! I mean, I like those two colors, but my favorite is teal blue!"

Hayama felt like he was rolling his eyes for the umpteenth time during this meal.

How unoriginal, he thought to himself.

"You and everyone else."

It was her turn to look offended as her mouth stood agape. "And you think orange is a better color? Puh-lease."

"It's different."

"It's ugly."

Suddenly, Akito's appetite was lost as he argued with the auburn-haired girl in front of him. His brows scrunched together as stared down the woman giving him grief.

"Would you like me to bring you two anything else, today?" Their waiter suddenly appeared, unbeknownst to the growing argument between the two.

"No." They replied in unison, the waiter raising a brow at their increased tone.

"I-uh- very well then."

Akito refused to break eye contact with her, refusing to let her win.

"Okay then. So, we disagree on colors. What about music?" Sana changed the conversation, and Akito tilted his head upwards slightly.

"You first."

Not so really a suggestion, but more of a demand.

Sana scoffed. "Ugh, boys. Fine. J-pop and hip hop."

The blond shook his head. "Figures you'd like that mainstream crap."

It was her turn to find offense in his words. Her face puffed and her cheeks turned red at his insult. It was like she was embarrassed.

Good. She should be for listening to that autotuned bullshit.

"It's not all mainstream! And there are some great songs!" Her voice was increasing, and Akito swore he was going to have to calm her down soon. This girl. Overreacting to the slightest opinion that was different from hers.

"Cry me a river. All pop and hip hops songs sing about the same three things: love, money, and sex. Pick your poison, but every song varies on those three topics. That's what makes the world go round. And that's why the public eats it up."

There was a reason he didn't listen to that pop crap. It was just senseless tellings of the same story in different lyrics. And he wasn't afraid to show his ultimate disdain for the genre.

"Now you're just being ridiculous. There's more to j-pop and hip hop then just that. There's a reason people love this genre. We all can connect to it in different personal ways."

"Because everyone falls for the same bullshit. It's the same story each time. Just told by different wannabe artists." He defended, but Sana didn't look like she was having any of it today.

She leaned back against the booth seat and shook her head with an incredulous smile.

"Okay then… what about you? You're so against mainstream. What's your favorite genre?" He could tell her curiosity was spinning as she leaned forward with her hands intertwined.

"J-rock."

Her eyes narrowed, mouth open wide. After it seemed like she processed the information, she sighed, eyes going wide.

"J-rock?" Repeated his answer, Hayama raised a brow.

"Yes, j-rock."

She began to laugh and Akito didn't appreciate her ridicule of him.

"You're giving me crap for liking mainstream when you like j-rock? You do realize that j-rock is all about teenage angst, right?"

Kurata was beginning to push his buttons with her deferring everything he was saying. It was started to irritate him, her constant rebuttal for everything he's had to say.

"You know what? That explains so much!" She thumped the table, and the frown that was on her face seconds ago was replaced by a grin.

A grin he wished would erase from her face.

"This whole broody act you got going on. You're isolated from everyone around you, and live in this solitary bubble that no one can penetrate through."

The air around them changed.

"You underwent a trauma in your life, Hayama. You lost something important to you. And you didn't know how to handle the pain you were in. Because, who does? How do you manage that loss? That pain?" He gripped the fabric of his jeans as she spoke. There was a sharpness in his eyes, the frozen wall he created fortified completely around his golden irises. His chest was constricting on him. "Music. You turned to music. And these bands, they create music that you can understand, that you can identify with. Sometimes, these bands speak truer words and give better advice than any friends, family, even professionals can."

The walls felt like they were closing in around him, and Akito was finding it difficult to breathe.

"J-rock music empathizes with burying pain, with feeling hurt… with feeling lost." Her bright, jubilant irises found his dull, pale golden eyes and Akito was suddenly feeling vulnerable. "It's easy for you to relate because you've felt all these, right?"

Her words hung heavy in the air, this conversation turning into a direction he didn't want to go in. He didn't want to deal with this right now, with it ever.

What did she know anyway? She couldn't even begin to fathom all he's gone through in his life. It was easy for her to sit there and say these things, but she didn't know anything.

Not wanting to confront the situation sitting in front of him, Akito stood from his seat abruptly. It scared the girl across from him as his drink fell on the table. His eyes were buried in his golden locks, and he inwardly growled.

"That's none of your damn business." Sneering, Akito stood from the table in a haste and stalked off, surprising all those in the restaurant, including the staff.

He was out the door in a matter of seconds, and Sana was left gaping at the table.

Breaking out of her haze, she reached into her small hand bag and pulled out her wallet, setting cash on the table. She ran through the restaurant, muttering quick apologies to the staff for the trouble and followed Akito out the door.

It took her a minute, but she found his mop of blond in the crowd, heading back towards the train station. Racing after him, she managed to slither through people and catch up to him. She reached forward and hooked her hand around his arm.

When she tugged him back, his eyes were blazing with fury. Sana gulped at the evident anger in his eyes, sketched on his face.

She may have crossed a line today with her sudden intrusion and depiction of what he may have been feeling. At first, she was just speaking from her heart. But, now, it seemed like it was a bad idea.

"Let go of me." He seethed.

Whether she went too far or not, Sana wasn't going to let this ruin their rather nice afternoon together. She shook her head, and Hayama was not reacting well to her actions.

"Look, I'm sorry if I went too far. I-"

"Damn right you did." He shrugged his shoulder away, and walked the other way. Sana groaned, following behind him.

Right behind him, Sana followed him attentively. He made it a point to ignore her, and pretend she wasn't there. But, the auburn-haired teen wasn't going to let that happen.

"Hayama." She called out to him.

"Hayama." Again. But nothing.

"Hayama." He continued walking.

"Dammit! Akito!"

Her shouting his name caused him to stop, and Sana glared at the back of his head.

This damn, foolish boy having her chase him around Tokyo! Didn't he know it was rude ignoring someone like this and for that long?!

"I know… I know we haven't been friends very long. And that you aren't use to people like me just intruding in your life the way I have. But, I'm here because I want to be." Her breathing was labored, her fists clenched to each side of her body. "I'm not Tsuyoshi, I'm not Fuka. I don't back down easily. I am persistent, and I tend to act without thinking. Just because you glare at me, or insult me, or tell me to back off, that doesn't mean I will."

He remained silent.

"You don't have to pretend with me, Akito." She sucked in a breath as she watched him still with the usage of his first name. "I get it. It's easier to run away. It's easier to pretend nothing's wrong. It's easier to forget."

"But, you don't have to do it alone."

Sana itched towards him little by little until she was finally standing next to him. Deciding to test the waters, the auburn-haired teen set a hand on his shoulder. He flinched under her touch slightly, but did not pull away.

They stood in silence before the blond let his shoulders fall in defeat.

"I can't promise I'll make this easy for you."

A chuckle, and Sana squeezed her hand around his shoulder.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

Hayama sighed, and Sana released her grip from his shoulder. Turning to face her, Sana couldn't contain the smile from her face.

His eyes were the clearest she had ever seen them.

-O-

After an eventful day out with Kyo, Ayame was glad to be home. She loved hanging out with her best friend, and loved the adventures they went on together.

But they were strenuous, and drained her of her energy completely.

Nevertheless, she was glad to be home.

As she walked through the house, she noticed an unusual bustle. The lights were on in the house and the tumbling of the drying machine was echoing throughout the house.

The car was parked out front, so she knew this commotion was coming from her father.

She ran upstairs and saw the light glaring from her father's room.

Poking her head through the slit, her heart dropped at the suitcase that was laying open on the bed.

"Daddy?"

Her father jumped, then turned at the sound of her voice. His eyes frantically searched for her, then when they landed on hers, he turned away.

Turned away in shame.

"Ayame dear. You're home." He muttered as he hastened himself and began to walk around the room, grabbing some of his work pants from his drawer. His back was too her, hiding away like he normally did.

The youngest Hayama made her way in, a sharp breath stepping into her parent's room.

She hadn't been in here for some time. It was always so painful for her. Her mother's presence was everywhere. Akito had outright refused to step into the room. He hadn't been in here since their mother died; and that was three years ago.

Pictures of her mom still loitered the room. Family pictures of the four of them hung on the walls, the lamp desk next to her father's bed. Things were almost untouched, saved for a few readjustments courtesy of her father.

"Are you going somewhere?" But Ayame already knew the answer to that question.

He hesitated to answer her, a sharp intake of his breath.

Turning around, clothes in hand, his eyes showed remorse. The dark-haired man looked down at his daughter was guilt, swallowing the hard lump in his throat.

"Work has me leaving to Los Angeles for a few months."

The frog in her throat prevented an instant reply.

"But, you just got back from Hong Kong?" She laughed slightly, trying to mask her pain. "They want you back so soon?"

Hayama Fuyuuki put the clothes in his hands down, and turned to look back at his daughter. Ayame could feel the tears threatening to surface. She tried her best to smile, to support her father. But, this wasn't fair. He just got back! How could they send him off again?

"I wasn't originally schedule to head to Los Angeles, Ayame."

She stopped breathing altogether.

Her father stood with heavy bags and a hard stench of cigarette smoke. His hair was a disheveled mess, and cheeks hollowed and dark.

A hard swallow and Ayame began to breathe shakily. Confusion, perplexity, and bewilderment filled her as she titled her head, trying to get a better grasp at her father's words.

"What?" A whisper, and her father sighed.

"I asked for another assignment. My supervisor is sending me to Los Angeles for 5-7 months first thing in the morning." He explained, and Ayame felt her chest collapse.

He was leaving… purposely?

She had known her father to be a coward. After her mother's death, he practically lived in his office. He was gone for most days, returning home at the latest hours. But, he never made it to the room. He always slept in the living room or the guest room downstairs.

His late nights in the office turned week long business trips that eventually went into month long international trips. When he was assigned to Hong Kong the last six months, she thought he didn't have a choice. He was still a coward, running away and diving into work. But, there was some reassurance he was being forced to go.

His confession changed everything.

"You're going to be gone for… months?" The pain and sadness that filled her was churning in her. It was morphing; morphing into something else that she didn't recognize.

"I- Yes. Yes, I am." The sound of defeat in his voice wasn't reassuring to her. It was the sound of failure; the sound of succumbing.

Anger. Fury. Indignation.

A furious fire overtook the grief and misery she had been holding onto for so long. The despair that permanently clouded her swirled, and all she felt was a pool of frustration.

Laughter. Laughter filled her parent's room as her father looked at her in confusion. Ayame couldn't help herself as the laughter continued to escape her lips.

She was so stupid! How could she be so naïve!?

"So, you're telling me all this time you had voluntarily left on these business trips?"

No response from her father, and that gave her a definitive answer.

"How could you want to leave when you just got back?" She asked, and there was shaking in her voice. Trying hard to mimic her brother's tone, Ayame attempted to keep her cool. "6 months wasn't enough?"

This animosity, this bitterness, this pain… is this what Akito's been feeling for the last three years? Their whole life? Is this what caused his hostility towards their father?

Because if it was, she now understood.

Ayame didn't see it before. Or maybe, she refused to see it before. She didn't want to see the disaster that was her family. She refused to believe they were anything but perfect.

She never understood her brother and his need for rebellion until now.

"It's not like that, Ayame."

His response had her laughing again.

"Oh no? It's not? Then what is it? I would really like to know because for the last three years, my father has all but disappeared from my life. And now I'm learning that it was by choice!"

The increase in her tone and voice caused him to go wide eyed, obviously shocked by her reaction. Ayame had played the pacifist for too long. Her whole life, she played the good girl role. Never thinking to speak out against her parent's, she never gave either of them grief.

"I never understood why Akito was so mad at you all the time." A grim line on his lips, and his eyes went hard at the mention of her brother's name. "I always thought it was silly. The two of you butting heads with one another and always being so upset with each other."

There were first times for everything as Hayama Ayame looked up to her father with resentful eyes; eyes that shocked her father to the point he gasped. A deeply imbedded frown surfaced and she gripped her fists so tightly, her knuckles went white.

"Now I see it. You were leaving us our entire lives by choice. Me, mom, Akito. You were always leaving us." So many emotions stirred within the blonde, and she had no idea how to control them.

He didn't like that as it was his turn to glare and cross his hands. Anytime, anytime, her brother was mentioned, his attitude changed completely.

"Your brother has been influencing you." Was his reply, and Ayame all but snapped at that moment.

"Excuse me?" Her voice changed. No longer was she going to remain soft spoken. No longer was she going to hide in the shadows. "There's no way Akito could have possibly been influencing me."

Before he could even reply, Ayame beat him to it. "And you know why? Because we haven't talked to each other in three years! But you wouldn't know that because you haven't been here! By choice!"

The remorse settled back in Hayama Fuyuuki's eyes as she shouted at her father.

"You wouldn't understand. I don't expect you to understand."

That was it? That was his excuse?!

She wanted to scream. She wanted to shout into in endless void. She wanted to just vent her inner frustration and fury.

"No, it's not that hard to understand." She began, her next words coming out in a whisper. "You are a coward."

"You ran away from us, from this family. After mom died, you only thought about yourself and how her death affected you. You didn't stop for a minute to think about your kids, did you? What about us? What about what we felt! You just left us behind to grieve on our own." Her words were piercing, his eyes growing with each and every accusation. "You were so quick to blame Akito, to fault him for killing mom. But the truth is, you were killing mom long before the accident even happened."

Her tears loosely ran down her cheeks, a piercing glare still etched on her face. She was shaking, her adrenaline rushing through her.

Fuyuuki could not muster a reply as he looked at his daughter in complete bewilderment.

With no response in sight, Ayame shook her head and made her way out of the room. She's said all she's needed to say.

"I hope you find what you're looking for." The blonde stated, refusing to turn back to her father. "It's just a shame you can't do that here."

With that, she left him behind, for once, not caring to look behind.

-O-

He hated when he couldn't sleep. He was restless the entire night.

But he had to stay in shape.

Though he was no longer in karate, he made sure to keep his strict running regime. Hence why he was up at 5:30 in the morning. If he couldn't get his run in before school, he would make sure to save a time slot for later in the evening. Luckily, today was a weekend.

Also, the run would do good for his mind.

He didn't get much sleep last night, especially after his day with Kurata.

She was attempting to intrude into his life, disrupt the way he lived. It was frustrating, her teasing him the way she did. She was completely intrusive, and wedged her way in where she could. He always forgot how perceptive she was, and he really hated himself for it.

He hated to admit it, but the day they spent together wasn't completely awful.

Kurata had some redeeming qualities. None of which he particularly wanted to indulge with, but he could see why people had taken a liking to her.

Wait, no.

The blonde attempted to shake those thoughts from his head.

Who did Kurata Sana think she was, anyway?

She said whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Always prodding her nose into things that don't concern her.

Akito couldn't get her off his back.

Because dammit, she was relentless.

If it wasn't for this damn project, and them being partners, he would have never been put in this situation.

She was annoying, and meddlesome. She had this hero complex, like she had to save him.

But he didn't want to be saved.

Not like there was anything to save.

Groaning, he hit his forehead to the door of his room.

Damn it all.

Akito left his room and walked downstairs. He slipped into the kitchen, trying to rid his thoughts of her, but not before some stumbling caught his ears.

At the front door, his father was pulling his coat on, grabbing the notable large suitcase. He adjusted his cost, and double checked his wallet for his personal belongings.

Judging by the size of his suitcase, it seemed like he would be gone for a few months once more.

Good riddance.

He really didn't have the energy to fight with his father again today. It was exhausting fighting with this man.

Akito could quietly avoid him if he just went out the back door. There was no need to say goodbye. They never did pleasantries with one another; even before his mother's death. From what he remembered, his entire life, him and his father always had such disdain for one another.

The squeaking of shoes brought him out of his train of thoughts.

He looked over his shoulder, to find his father staring at him.

They shared a brief and strained look.

His father was the first to pull away, grabbing the mug from the table and heading towards the door. Akito sighed with annoyance, grabbing the water from the fridge.

"There's an envelope with enough to pay the bills for the next 6 months. I will be sending more periodically."

Head turning, Akito was shocked at the hostility lacking from his father's words. These were normal instructions that he informed Ayame with each time before he left.

So, why was he communicating with him about this?

Hayama Fuyuuki made no other indication to continue the conversation as he coughed, and headed towards the door. Akito just followed his back in tow, watching it shrink the way it did when he was a kid.

"Take care of your sister." Was his father's last words before stepping out into the cold, fall air.

The blond watched the door with his mouth slightly open, trying to make sense of his father's statement.

What the hell was that?

A/N: Writing Akito and Sana together is so much fun. Just thinking about all their scenes together coming up in the story is thrilling.

ANYWAY, I'm back. Sorry this took so long! Reason I was gone was because your girl got a big girl job and works 8-5 everyday. On top of that, an evening job on the weekends. So, not much time is left for writing. But, I definitely try to where I can.

Ayame's character has remained stagnant for so long in the story, but expect some exceptional change to her character growth. There was a push she needed to move forward, and this was a step in that direction with her father's confession. I'm excited for what's to come for her.

Akito and Sana's relationship is changing every chapter. It's moving forward and it's really exciting to see it unfold. But, other characters won't feel the same. So stay tuned for that!

I hope you all enjoyed this! Reviews, comments, and questions are always welcomed!

Until next time!
-Dark Waffle