I don't own Ronin Warriors and OCs are mine.

Chapter 2

Light shown through the curtains of the bedroom but stopped just short of the bed, not disturbing the person getting their much needed rest.

A loud beep cut through the silence and a groan was heard from the sleeping figure. A hand reached out and slammed down on the clock, silencing the beep. Tiffany sat up in bed, raising her arms above her head, and let out a sigh. She got up from bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes, and walked over to the dresser. She took out a pair of black dress pants, a dark blue blouse, and changed into it. The bathroom door was closed, the sound of the shower going told Tiffany Ryo was in there so she used the mirror in their bedroom to comb through her hair. She walked out of the room and down the stairs, the smell of bacon and eggs making her stomach rumble.

In the kitchen, Cye stood in front of the stove, making eggs, bacon, and toast.

"Morning, Cye," greeted Tiffany.

Cye turned around and smiled. "Morning, Tiffany. Do you want breakfast?"

"Just the eggs will be fine for me."

Cye scooped a handful of eggs onto a plate and handed it to Tiffany, who want to the fridge and got the orange juice. She poured herself a cup of it then sat down and started eating. Two years ago, the guys were looking at colleges to go to and all of them attended Toyama University and the house Ryo and Tiffany were living was closer than where the others lived. Plus, they didn't have to pay for housing and the only "payment" Tiffany required was that everyone contributed to taking care of the house whether it be something as small as taking out the trash or cleaning around the house.

Cye and Kento also took turns buying groceries since they have part-time jobs after classes. Kento worked at his family's restaurant while Cye had an internship at the aquarium. Sage was learning the ropes at his grandfather's dojo for he will be taking over once Sage's grandfather deems him ready. Sage and Cye have cars so they take the guys to college and back, depending if they have to work that day or not.

Tiffany finished her breakfast then washed her dishes and went upstairs to finish getting ready. At the top, the door to the bathroom opened and Sage walked out. "Morning, Sage." Tiffany looked closely at Sage's hair. "Your hair is sticking on top."

"What?" He went back into the bathroom to check but stopped when he heard Tiffany laughing. "Very funny, Tiffany." Sage was the chick-magnet at college and all the girls flock to him, at least that's what the guys tell Tiffany at dinner so Tiffany decided to mess with him whenever she got the chance.

Tiffany walked into the bedroom to see Ryo already out of the shower but only his pants were on, showing off his tan, broad back. She stood in the doorway, admiring the sight in front of her. "See something you like?" Ryo turned to her, giving her a sly smile.

"I do, actually, but first I'd like to know how did you know it was me?" Tiffany asked, walking towards him.

"Because you don't knock when you come in." Ryo wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "The guys do before they come in but you're the only one that walks in without knocking."

Tiffany hummed and Ryo gave her a short kiss. "Are we still meeting for lunch?"

"Hopefully. We were so busy yesterday and we might be busy again today."

"I don't know. I'm sure Iris will let you off work."

Iris was Tiffany's boss and, surprisingly, Ryo's nanny growing up. Tiffany still remembered the day she first found out.

FLASHBACK

Tiffany was about to start folding clothes when Ryo came into the store. She gave him a questioning look as she walked over to him. "Ryo, what are you doing here?"

"You forgot your lunch," Ryo answered her, giving her a brown paper bag. "Plus, I wanted to see you."

"Thanks, but my next break is not for a few hours, and you need to go before-"

"Ryo!" The two turned around as a middle-aged woman with black hair up in a bun and brown eyes walking towards the two. "It's been so long!" The woman brought Ryo into a hug. "How have you been?"

"I've been good. You?"

"Great, but you didn't tell me this was your girlfriend."

"You two know each other?" Tiffany asked.

"Yeah, Iris was my nanny growing up," answered Ryo. "My father hired her to take care of me while he was away."

"Really?"

"Yes, oh I have stories of him when he was younger. He was such a rambunctious child and-"

"Well, I should probably get back to class," Ryo suddenly said. "Have a good day, hun." Ryo kissed Tiffany's cheek then hurried out of the store.

Iris smiled at him leave then turned to Tiffany. "You can always get guys to turn tail and run when you start talking about how they were when they were young."

"You were really his nanny?"

"Yup. There were days he didn't talk to me and days when he got into loads of trouble. But one day, I had to nanny another boy across town so I took Ryo with me. Those two got along great and it was the first time I saw Ryo genuinely happy. At the end, he asked when we could go back. Next thing I knew, Ryo had made four new friends that he considered his brothers." Iris turned to her and smiled. "And now he has a wonderful person like you."

Tiffany nodded at the explanation, a small smile spreading across her face. "Now, I'll take this in the back while you continue your work."

"Yes, ma'am."

END FLASHBACK

"Just because Iris was your nanny doesn't mean she'll let me go."

Ryo shrugged. "You never know. But I'll still come by at lunch and see if you can get off. If not, I'll just grab something to go and head back to the university."

A knock sounded at the door and the two turned around to see Rowen standing in the doorway. "Are you guys ready to go? Sage and I are going to leave now for we have questions for our professors."

"I'm ready to go so I'll leave with you," answered Tiffany then turned to Ryo. "I'll see you later." The two shared a kiss and Tiffany left the room with Rowen. They got downstairs and walked outside with Sage to his car. They all got in and Sage started the car and drove towards the city. They're twenty minutes away from the city and Tiffany's work was a few blocks before the university so the guys were able to drop her off and Tiffany took the bus home from work.

They arrived in front of the mall and Tiffany got out, wishing Sage and Rowen a good day before closing the door. The car drove off and Tiffany walked into Favore Mall where she worked in a clothing store called Green Parks. The mall was two stories with stores on both floors, a food court on the first, and an arcade and movie theater on the second floor.

Tiffany walked into the store, greeting some of her co-workers as she went to the back to clock in and start her day.

The day went by smoothly and there were no rushes or busy hours. It was a nice and steady pace. The staff was happy to catch a break and actually have a non-stressed day.

"If it could be like this for the rest of the week, I'll be happy with life," Rika said, folding a T-shirt.

"But if it's like this all the time, then we would have nothing to do," stated Fumi, putting the rejected clothes back on the racks. "We would be standing around doing nothing."

"It wouldn't get like that, Fumi. We're a clothing store; people will always come in. I was talking about having a week where it's slow like today and we don't have to worry about the customers every three minutes."

"That would be nice," agreed Tiffany. "Either that or just a week where the mall is closed for a week and we don't have to worry about coming in."

"Excuse me," a voice cut in.

The trio turned around to a woman standing behind them. Tiffany almost had to do a double-take. This woman looked exactly like her beside from her emerald eyes. The woman stared at Tiffany and a big smile broke out across her face.

"Can I help you?" Tiffany asked after the shook wore off.

"No, I found what I'm looking for, Tiffany."

"How…how do you know my name?"

"They didn't tell you?" The woman shook her head in disbelief.

"Who didn't tell me what?"

"I'm Asami, I'm your mother."