And I'm back, from outer space, I just came in to see you with that sad look upon your face, and that's all I'm gonna say without getting sued by the estate of Gloria Gaynor.

So, how have you all been?

Me? I started a new job and stuff and figuring out about the book, which I did not write on. I got caught up in holidays and just decompressing and trying to plan the book, which for me does not work. So I finally decided just to go my usual way of writing as I made 0 progress with it.

This is not going to end well.

But alas, let us get back to the story and see where this goes because frankly, I don't know where it's going.

Also, some of the chapters will be a little more Hideki focused, and then we'll concentrate on Airi a little more to set up the groundwork for the time skip.

Not to mention that I'm toying with an idea involving a gift a character receives in this chapter, but more on that at a later date.

P.S. this chapter probably reads like crap. If it does, I'm sorry. I think there was a conversion issue going from Libreoffice to Grammarly and I tried to get the errors.

Chapter 15

"Do we have to go in there?"

Yuzu looked up from the text she was sending to Harumi about their plans for the day and saw that Hideki was still staring up at the building where Abby's dance studio was located.

"You said you'd come to visit when you were up to walking and you're walking, so yeah, I think you're going to visit her," replied Yuzu with a roll of her eyes. "And after everything that's happened over the past month with your friends, you're getting off with only this as an addition to your punishment. Right, Mei?"

"I think," began Mei quietly as she finished helping Airi with fixing her shoelaces, "that you are quite right, Yuzu. But, I do think that on top of paying for the movie, he should also cover the snacks. I assume you agree, Airi."

"I want the seasonal popcorn," giggled Airi, blissfully unaware of the blackmail that her mothers were attempting to pull on her brother. "Oh, Mommy, can I have a soda and a souvenir too?"

"Soda, yes, but we'll discuss the souvenir at the theater," answered Mei before Yuzu could interject.

"Seriously? Why are you guys doing this to me?" Hideki groaned as they entered the lobby of the building, catching the attention of a few office workers as they reached the elevator. "I told you guys it's not my fault."

"You failed three of your exams, Hideki," snorted Mei as they entered the elevator. As they traveled upward, Airi clung to Hideki's arm, humming a song she'd learned from her most recent music class, Yuzu humming along and smiling as Hideki continued his whining. "I don't care what excuses you give us, that is completely unacceptable. I an understand one as a fluke, it happens, but three is something none of us, including your father and Mama Rena will tolerate."

"But it's not like they were important ones," the boy gulped when he noticed the numbers tick upward. "Besides, they said I could retake them next weekend, and I already know the material, so I'll make sure to pass. Just don't make me go in there."

"You should have thought about that before you decided to spend all night online with your friends only to fall asleep during your exams," sighed Mei as the doors finally dinged open, and the sounds of classical music filled their ears. "As the saying goes, 'you've made your bed, now you must lie in it.'"

"Mama, can't you do something," begged Hideki as they walked down the hall to the entrance of the studio. "Maybe you could talk to her and ask her to cut me some slack? For old times sake? You know how Abby gets. The moment I get back into class, she's going to murder me."

"You better be joking about that request, Hideki," hissed Yuzu. She shot a glance at Mei, whose ears turned a bright red, and Airi, who was looking up at her and Hideki in confusion. "Because if you aren't, Abby is going to be the least of your problems."

"I...I was." Hideki laughed nervously, but when he looked back at Yuzu, he saw a look very similar to the one his mother wore when she was angry staring at him.

"Promise," asked Yuzu, her eyes narrowing threateningly.

"I promise," he sighed, his shoulders slumping as they came to the door that led to Abby's studio. "Just promise me that if I die, you'll put me on the shrine with Great-Grandpa."

"Can we please get this over with," grumbled Mei, pushing the door open and holding it for her family. "We have a lot of things to get done today before the movie, and we're already behind schedule."

"All right already," Hideki growled as he stepped into the studio. "Still don't know why we couldn't have video messaged."

"Because running away never solves anything," said Mei quietly, catching Yuzu's attention despite the loud thumping from the music and the familiar authoritative tone of Abby's voice as she began shouting corrections at her students.

Even though she'd heard Mei's comment, Yuzu acted like she hadn't heard anything and took over holding the door for her wife and almost managed to sneak in a quick kiss, but Mei dodged it and gave her a patented, 'not here' look.

Giggling, Yuzu satisfied herself with a wink and blowing Mei a kiss, earning her the long-awaited blush she'd been dying to see on her wife's cheek. Stepping into the room, Yuzu smiled at the familiar sound of loud brass instruments and drums filling her ears while four pairs of students moved swiftly around the dance floor.

"Wow," said Airi, climbing into Mei's lap in one of the few available chairs as she began clapping along with the music. "Mommy, they're so fast. How come they spin people around like that? Don't they get dizzy? Do people throw up?"

"It's called 'Swing' dancing," explained Yuzu, her eyes focused on a nervous Hideki who was having a tough time keeping his leg from bouncing up and down. "And the spinning is part of the style, but it's really dangerous if you don't do it right, and I've never seen anyone throw up doing that, but it doesn't mean it doesn't happen."

"Speaking from experience," said Mei as the music died down, her voice cold, but by no means cruel.

"Only what I know from stories," answered Yuzu with a wink at Mei, glad to see the small hints of a smile on her lover's face. "But they were enough to turn me off to it, so you don't have to worry about me trying to get you to do it with me."

"Thank God," huffed Mei, her body tensing as the talking on the floor turned to screams of excitement as the other kids noticed them.

"Hideki? Where the hell have you been," said a boy a few inches shorter, but much broader than Hideki. "We heard you were back, but why haven't you come to class? Oh, good morning."

The boy bowed politely to Mei and Yuzu, followed shortly by the other students.

"Good morning," replied Airi, Mei, and Yuzu, before allowing the kids to continue talking to Hideki while Abby sat in the background, her arms folded and a conflicted look on her face.

Yuzu gave her a friendly wave, and Abby returned it in turn before pointing to her office.

Yuzu nodded and allowed Hideki the time to catch up with his friends, many of whom were amazed to see Airi at the class and interested in what they were doing.

"Can you guys show me how dance like that," asked Airi while some of the boys and girls in the group watched how difficult of a time Hideki was having doing a plie. Grimacing at how much his legs wobbled before they were a quarter of the way bent.

"How about we show you something a little less difficult," offered one of the girls before looking at Mei and Yuzu. "Is that okay?"

"I don't see why not," said Mei, nodding at Airi, who cheered. "Hideki, don't you think you should be heading back there now? I'm sure Abby-san has more important things to do than wait around for you all day."

"Yes, ma'am." Hideki blushed at the sound of his mother's and the way his friends laughed as he answered her. "Sorry, guys; gotta go see Teach. Hopefully, I'll be back soon, or maybe you can visit me when you have the time."

"We'll be the ones to decide that," said Mei, cutting off any excitement the teens had at the prospect of hanging out at the Aihara residence. "Yuzu, would you mind going in with him? I'll keep an eye on Airi while you're talking."

"Okay." Yuzu leaned over and pulled Airi into a quick hug and kissed her cheek. "Be good for Mommy and Hideki's friends and don't cause any trouble."

"I promise."

Airi returned the kiss Yuzu gave her and followed the other students, some of whom laughed as they wished Hideki good luck as he trudged along ahead of Yuzu as the kids turned on some low music and Airi shouted for Mei to record her so she could show the rest of the family.

"Mom still doesn't like her, does she," asked Hideki as they approached the heavy wooden door leading to Abby's office.

"Yes and no," said Yuzu with a sad smile. "They like each other enough that they can both agree they want what's best for you, and they can stomach each other's company long enough to share a meal, but yeah, that's about it."

"How do you do it," he asked, stopping just outside the door, his voice low. "Seriously, just all the stuff you have going on, how do you and Mom handle all of it?"

Despite her wanting to get into the office and finish their errand, Yuzu took a moment to look into his eyes and noticed a look of anxiety in his eyes that she hadn't seen earlier.

"Hey." Yuzu took his hand and gave it a worried squeeze. "Is there something you want to tell me before we go in there? I can tell her we need a minute."

"No," said Hideki before giving her hand a tight squeeze and shaking his head. "I mean...yes...I don't know. I can't explain it. But you never answered my question. But I get it if you don't want to.

Hideki made to remove his hand from Yuzu's, but instead, she squeezed it tighter and said, "Your mom and I got where were are by learning we can't do everything alone, Hideki. We had to learn to ask for help, and if we hadn't, we wouldn't have made it. I know we've been tough on you, but you can ask us for help. You know that, right? We'll help you as much as we can if we're able to."

"Thanks, Mama." Hideki sighed and, despite the strength of Yuzu's grip, removed his hand and opened the door. "Heya, Teach."

"About time you showed up," grunted Abby, extending her leg and placing it on a small ottoman next to her desk. "How you doing, Yuzu?"

"I'm fine," said Yuzu, a little less cheerily than she intended. "How've you been?"

"Same old, same old." Abby slapped her leg and shrugged. "Not much has changed since we had coffee last week. Leg's still acting up a bit, but I'll live. What about you, Hideki? Your moms tell me you've been having some problems."

"Yes, ma'am." Hideki's voice was almost as nervous as it was when he answered Mei, and Yuzu smirked at the way he focused on a small stain on the carpet as opposed to Abby's face. "But, do we need to go into the specifics about it? You already know I got hurt and was sent home."

"I do," Abby grunted as she shifted her leg and sat up a little straighter. "But that's not what this is about, Kid."

"Then what'd you want to talk about?" Hideki's hand gripped the sides of his chair, and Yuzu noticed his leg begin to shake a little as they spoke. "I mean, Mom and Mama probably told you everything so…"

"They told me as much as they could." Abby turned to Yuzu, who had reached over and placed her hand on top of Hideki's and massaged it. "But I want to hear the rest from you."

"It's okay, Sweetie," whispered Yuzu lovingly. "Just take your time and tell…."

"But I don't know what she wants me to tell her."

There was a slight crack to Hideki's voice, and his leg began bouncing quicker and quicker as time went on.

"She already knows I'm hurt." Hideki took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "She knows I didn't make it into the program, unlike the other two, so the only thing I can do is just keep trying, right?"

"That's not all you need to do, Hideki." Abby's voice was stern but warm, reminding Yuzu of Mei when she dealt with her students or staff. "You need to take time to relax and recover."

"I already know that." Hideki snorted and tried to stop his leg from bouncing, but only succeeded in making it hit the side of the chair and hissed in pain before continuing. "I don't know why you guys are all yelling at me about it. I know what the doctor's said, and I wanted to stay home and do what I was told, but you and Mom said I had to come out and go to the movies, so how is that my fault?"

"Please tell me that isn't true." Abby rolled her eyes and sighed at Yuzu, who gave her an apologetic grin.

"It is." Yuzu chuckled, twirling the end of the ponytail that was draped over her shoulder. "But he had to go on bed rest for a month after he hurt himself walking down the stairs and he can't' do P.E. and not to mention his friends have been over non-stop and raiding our fridge…."

"I paid you back for all the food they ate," countered Hideki, growing even more annoyed. "And I kept the living room clean after the doctor put me on rest and told me I had to stay downstairs. So why are you complaining about it?"

"Because except for Yui and that boy Isao your friends were a bunch of inconsiderate brats," snapped back Yuzu, flicking her son in the ear. "Honestly, we thought we raised you better than that."

"At least they came and visited me," huffed Hideki, scratching at the arm of the chair. "None of my other friends did, and they did help me clean up and bring me my homework, so they aren't that bad."

"I'll be the judge of that." Yuzu crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. "But stop making it sound like your mom and I are mean to you. We took plenty of breaks on our way here. We stopped when you got tired and…"

"That's enough." Abby reached up and began rubbing her temples in annoyance. "I'm not a family counselor, and I have an evening class to prepare for, so can we please get back on topic?"

"If you wanted to stay on topic, we should have dragged Mom in with us," joked Hideki, making Abby laugh and Yuzu blush.

"Well, that's your mother's issue, not mine," sighed Yuzu, growing more annoyed with her son by the second though she could see Abby shrink a little into her seat. "But since that's what you both want and Abby needs to get back to your friends and prepare for her next class, can you please just tell her what…"

"Why do I have to tell her," snapped Hideki through a clenched jaw. "She already knows everything because you're her friend. If you already told her all this shit, why do I have to repeat it?"

"First, I'm going to ignore the language you just used, so be thankful I'm not going to tell your mother about that." Yuzu brushed his hair with her fingers and but he pulled away, making her recoil and lower her hand. "The second is that Abby is your teacher on top of being my friend. Yes, we told her you were hurt, but before we could say anything else, she said she wanted to hear from you what happened and your mom and I agreed, so here we are. I don't know why you're making me repeat myself, though I guess that's what your mom and I get for raising you two, running around in circles and saying the same things over and over."

"Seems like you guys got the easier job," snorted Hideki as he crossed his arms and relaxed back into his seat.

"Welcome to being an adult," chuckled Abby as she stood up and stretched before sitting back down. "But your mom is telling the truth, Hideki. I want to hear what happened from you, not your moms, about what's going on with you,"

"I hurt it," said Hideki, his leg stopping only to begin shaking again, "bad. What else is there to say?

"I'm aware of that," sighed Abby while Yuzu stifled a smile. "But, I need to know exactly how badly because that's going to affect a lot of things. Most importantly, whether or not you should continue to study dance."

"Why wouldn't I be able to study here anymore?"

"It's okay," whispered Yuzu, her hand finding his the moment she heard the quaking in his voice. "Just take a deep breath and try to stay calm. She's only asking because she's worried."

"But the doctors said that I should be fine," said Hideki, his hand beginning to shake almost as badly as his knee. "Did they tell you something they didn't tell me."

"You know they didn't," said Abby, sitting on her desk, but staring intently at Hideki, "and your moms didn't either so…"

"But they said once I recovered from the surgery I could come back," Hideki's voice began to break, and his leg continued to fidget. "Why couldn't I come back if they said I was going to be fine?"

Yuzu felt like her hand was going to break from how hard he was squeezing but she powered through it as Abby asked, "What kind of surgery did they tell you they were going to do? Because the kind that they do can have an impact on what I allow you to continue to study. I don't want to tell you no, but if it's something that could hurt you further, I'll have to do that. Unless you want to be unable to walk properly and have your parents kill me."

"Maybe we will, maybe we won't," said Yuzu with a nervous chuckle. "You've been teaching him since he was six, I trust your judgment."

"Thanks." Abby returned the smile before returning to Hideki. "Do you want to tell me what they said they would do? Because I can tell you right now…"

Abby reached down and pulled up her left spandex leg, exposing a mass of scars covering her knee that caused Hideki to wince and Yuzu to blush a bit at the familiar sight.

"That if this is the kind of surgery you're expecting, your options are going to be severely limited, and the same thing awaits you if you don't pick up your grades either."

Abby pointed at the list of rules that all students of school age and their parents agreed to abide by once she took them under her tutelage.

"You know about that," asked Hideki quietly, covering his face in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I do," huffed Abby walking over and slamming her hand on a familiar poster that she had hanging on the walls throughout the studio.

"' Rule two,'" she said in a calm voice, "all students will maintain passing grades, or they will be removed from classes until their grades return to a passing level.' Your moms told me you failed three exams, Hideki. And while technically you're still passing, you're on thin ice with me, just like with your moms. I wrote you that recommendation because, unlike a few of your classmates, I've never had to worry about you. Hell, you somehow managed to help some of them get back into my classes on top of everything else you've been doing."

"When did you have time for that," asked Yuzu, her amazement and pride slipping out despite the tense atmosphere.

"Before I left," shrugged Hideki as he played with the leg of shorts. "Ahmya and Kiku almost ended up in summer school, so I offered to tutor them when we had free time and managed to keep them from going."

"That explains a lot," said Yuzu, shaking her head. "You got too much on your plate."

"Mama, I'm fine," grumbled Hideki, rolling his eyes. "I just got a lot on my mind."

"Which tells me that you have too much going on," smirked Yuzu while Abby snorted back a laugh.

"No, I don't!"

Both Yuzu and Abby stared in amazement as Hideki shot out of his chair, only to nearly collapse back into it.

As he began to fall, he reached out and managed to catch himself on the arm and steadied himself, a tear running down his cheek as Yuzu reached out to console him.

"We aren't saying it to be mean," said Yuzu, hearing a loud sniff come from her son's nose. "But I think, what Abby is trying to say, and something that your mom and I haven't that good at recognizing, is that we've been putting too much pressure on you and…."

"Just leave me alone," he hiccuped, rubbing his eye and jerking his arm away from Yuzu before limping toward the door and storming out.

They heard several voices asking him what was wrong, including Mei and Airi, but Yuzu didn't hear anything resembling Hideki's voice and waited patiently.

"And there it is," she whispered at the sound of approaching footsteps, Airi's worried voice and Mei's gentle, but welcomed knock.

"Come in," said Abby, pulling a bag of candy from her desk and placing it on the desk.

"Are we interrupting anything," asked a distraught looking Mei and a frowning Airi.

"I'm pretty sure you know the answer to that," said Yuzu holding her hand out to her daughter, who immediately ran into her arms and buried her face in her Yuzu's chest. "What's the matter, Sweetie? Did something happen?"

"I'll explain later," snorted Mei after adjusting her bag. "I'm going to follow after Hideki to see if I can get some answers. Can you keep an eye on Airi? I'll message or call once I figure things out."

"You don't want me to come," asked Yuzu, stroking the top of Airi's head while the girl continued to cling tightly to her.

"I won't be far," said Mei holding up her phone. "As I said, I will message you when I figure things out or if I can't find him, although I'm sure he hasn't gone far and if he isn't unreasonable, I'll bring him up. Is that all right with you?"

"Sure." Yuzu turned her smile to Mei but allowed it to drop a little. "Just try and keep your cool. I don't think he's willing to talk about everything just yet. Especially after what happened with Abby and me badgering him."

"I'll try." Mei nodded politely to Abby. "Thank you for taking care of him and for the recommendation. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Take your time," replied Abby, tossing a piece of candy into her mouth and smirking at Mei.

"Airi, be good for Mama."

Airi nodded, and before Mei could shut the door, the sound of the music and the assistant's voice filtered into the room, causing Airi to give a hopeful glance over Yuzu's shoulder.

After a quick wave goodbye to her daughter, Mei shut the door leaving the three of them alone amidst the muffled sounds of the studio echoing through the wall.

"I'm sorry about that," said Yuzu with a heavy sigh as Airi fiddled with her necklace and now staring at the candy that Abby was eating. "We thought he was doing a little better, but I guess with the surgery and everything else coming up he's...well... he's acting like a teenager. Which is kind of weird now that I think about it."

"I've seen worse, and done worse," Abby smirked and gave Yuzu a wink. "Unless you forgot all the crap I told you about that I did before we met."

"I remember." Yuzu gave Abby a stern look telling the older woman not to say anything else. "But he's always been mature for his age, I mean he was a bit of a brat, but back then he'd tell us what was bugging him. Now he just wants us to figure it out, or we get into situations like this."

"Welcome to raising a teenager," yawned Abby pushing the bag of candy to Airi, who began flexing her fingers anxiously. "I've already been there, but you still gotta deal with him and Airi. Are you going to be a troublemaker for your moms?"

Airi shrugged and returned to nuzzling Yuzu's chest, making the women chuckle.

Swallowing another piece of candy, Abby stared thoughtfully at Yuzu for a minute and said, "He never did say what kind of surgery he was going to have. Do you mind telling me or…."

"I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready." Yuzu brushed some hair out of her eyes and shook her head. "The doctors did say that it has a high success rate despite it still being a little unconventional, but we're worried, and now that I've seen his reaction, it's pretty clear that he is too. I didn't think that it'd bother him so much."

"Well, from what I've noticed in teaching him, he's a lot like his mom. Doesn't like to let people in until it's necessary." Abby picked up a rubber band ball she kept on her desk and began tossing it between her hands. "I was the same way, which explains a lot. But, our past aside, he's a good student, not my most talented, but he wouldn't have won all those trophies if the judges didn't see something in him."

Yuzu laughed and brushed her bangs from her eyes and said, "Twelve years of paying you for lessons, and you're just now telling me he's untalented?"

"I never said he wasn't talented," corrected Abby before shouting at her assistant that she'd be out in a few minutes. "I said he's not my most talented student. But he is talented; he's the kind of person who, given the time and resources, could become great at whatever he wants to be, and I love having him here, and I know he loves being here."

"But….," said Yuzu awaiting the bad news that inevitably followed.

"But, and I hate to sound cliché, but I don't want him to put all his eggs in one basket." Abby took a drink from the plastic bottle on her desk, and Yuzu fought back the impulse to check what was inside it, making Abby laugh. "It's only water."

Abby extended the bottle and shook it at Yuzu, who declined and then offered it to Airi.

"You want a drink, sweetie?"

"Can I Mama? I'm thirsty."

Yuzu looked at the bottle, then at Airi, and nodded, saying, "Sure. You've been good, and we've walked a lot today."

Yuzu took the bottle from Abby, and out of habit, gave it a small sniff, sipped it, and gave it to Airi, who chugged it greedily.

"I knew you couldn't resist doing that," sighed Abby, smiling and pushing the bag of candy toward Airi. "Go on, Airi, have a couple of pieces. You wanna smell those too, Yuzu?"

"I'm fine," grumbled Yuzu before grabbing a caramel that she knew Airi was fond of. "I'm sorry for doing that, a force of habit, I guess."

"Well, I can't say that I blame you." Abby stretched loudly and scratched her head just as the music ended. "Unfortunately, the sound of the music shutting off means that I gotta get ready for my next class and go over my assistant's notes and talk to the others before they leave. Feel free to take as much as you like Airi. I know you guys are going to go to the movies."

"Thank you," said Airi after swallowing a large piece of chocolate.

When Abby was gone, Yuzu allowed Airi to snag a couple of handfuls of candy and put them in her purse before placing the water bottle back on the desk and pulled out her phone only to be disappointed at the lack of a message from Mei.

"Mama?"

Jumping, Yuzu shifted her focus from her phone to her daughter, smiled, and asked, "What is it, Airi?"

"I need to go potty," said the girl bouncing on the balls of her feet as she pulled on the front of her tee-shirt.

"Okay." Standing up, Yuzu took Airi's hand and led her toward the door. "Let's get that done first, and then we'll go and see what's up with Mommy. Sound good?"

"Yup." Airi nodded and followed her mother out into the studio, where Abby was saying goodbye to her students.

"Thank you for the candy."

"You're welcome," said Abby waving goodbye to the two of them. "Take care of your moms and your brother, 'kay Airi?"

"Okay!"

Airi waved goodbye to everyone, smiling as they told her she was welcome to come back to the class any time and followed Yuzu out the door and toward the bathroom.

When they were finished, Airi asked, "Mama, are you mad at Mommy and Hideki?"

"No," said Yuzu with a small smirk as they headed out of the bathroom and toward the elevator. "Do I look like I'm mad?"

"No," Airi shook her head and clutched Yuzu's hand tightly. "But Hideki told Mommy and me to 'shut up and leave him alone' before slamming the door and leaving. Are you going to yell at him?"

"I might," snorted Yuzu at hearing this news. "But if it was Hideki who was mean, why would I be mad at Mommy?"

"I dunno." Airi shrugged and turned her head, her mood perking at the sight of Abby. "Are you going to tell him I tattled?"

"If it comes to that, yes," said Yuzu bending down and ruffling Airi's hair. "But if you're worried he might yell at you, I'll tell him it's his fault for being mean. So don't worry about that, okay? I'll make sure you're safe."

"Okay, Mama." Airi leaned in and nuzzled Yuzu's chin and smiled.

"Am I interrupting anything," asked Abby quietly. "Should I leave you two alone?"

"No." Yuzu kissed Airi's forehead and pointed at the elevator. "I was about to press the call button, but Airi had to tell me something. What's up? You gotta go too?"

"Yes and no." Abby rolled her eyes and smiled as she slapped an envelope against Yuzu's head. "Here, it's kind of a late anniversary slash early birthday present for you two. Though you can't do it until it gets closer to Mei's birthday, got it? Hers is at the end of September, right?"

"Middle," corrected Yuzu before taking the envelope. "The thirteenth. What'd you get…"

"Don't open it now," snapped Abby before lowering her voice and giving a frightened Airi an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Kiddo. I wasn't trying to scare you; I just didn't want your mom to open it here. Did you get enough candy?"

"Yeah," said Airi moving a little closer to Yuzu. "Mommy gave me lots, and I got a caramel too. Those are my favorite."

"What is it?" Yuzu began inspecting the envelope and carefully twisting it to see if it was a gift card or something similar. "A bribe to get her to like you?"

"Just promise me you'll open it with her," groaned Abby while Yuzu failed to see what was the envelope by holding it up to the light. "God you're worse than my daughter sometimes."

"Yeah. Yeah." Yuzu slipped the envelope into her bag and pressed the call button before running and giving Abby a quick, friendly hug. "Thanks for the gift. I'll make sure to return the favor when it comes to your birthday."

"As long as you enjoy it, I don't care." Abby returned the hug before patting Airi on the head and pointing down the hall and began retreating toward the bathroom. "But I gotta go. You guys have fun. I'll call you later."

"Bye," said Airi and Yuzu in unison before climbing into the elevator.

"Are you gonna look at it," asked Airi, pointing at Yuzu's bag. "I won't tell Mommy if you do."

"No, I'm not going to look at it. And when did you get to be so sneaky?" Yuzu gave her daughter a disapproving look as she took her hand. "Did Hideki teach you to snoop through other people's things?"

"No." Airi shook her head and chewed on her lower lip. "But Auntie Matsuri sometimes does when she thinks Auntie Harumi hid a present from her. Oh, and Auntie Himeko sometimes asks me to help hide presents for Mommy in her desk if she comes to the school when Mommy watches me and Auntie Himeko can't find her when Mommy has Ito-san watch me if she's busy."

"Of course, it'd be those three." Yuzu shook her head but managed a smile. "But then again, Mommy and I have caught you trying to find your birthday and Christmas presents so, I guess it's hard to say where you got it from. But I want it on the record that I'm not going to open it because Abby-san wanted me and Mommy to share the present so it wouldn't be fair if I knew what it was before her. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah," sighed Airi drawing out her answer and swinging her arms in boredom, stopping just in time before she slammed her wrist against the side of one of the doors, much to Yuzu's relief. "Where's Mommy? I thought she said she was gonna call you?"

"Let's take a look." Yuzu let out a groan of exhaustion as the muggy August air hit her in the face causing a small sheen of sweat to creep from her pores.

After handing the bottle of water she kept in her purse for emergencies to Airi, Yuzu began flipping for messages but found no messages.

"That's weird," whispered Yuzu as she held down the number two button and the speed-dial for Mei's number.

"What's weird," asked Airi with a gasp and wiping away the excess water on the back of her hand.

"Mommy didn't call me," said Yuzu as the phone began to ring. "Or text."

"Is that bad," asked Airi so quietly that Yuzu almost didn't hear her.

"No, it's not bad." Yuzu rubbed the top of Airi's head and led her off to the side to avoid blocking the doors. "Just weird. Mommy doesn't forget to call usually so….Mei? Hey, yeah, where are you? We finished talking to Abby and...okay, okay. Settle down and just tell me where... you're where? Okay, how far away is...all right. Take a few deep breaths for me and give me the address, and we'll be there in a few minutes."

As she sipped the bottled water, Airi watched as her mother's face went from one of confidence to worry and anxiety.

"Mama," asked Airi as Yuzu hung up her phone and began typing something into it. "Mama, is everything okay?"

"I don't know, Sweetie." Yuzu shook her head and took a deep breath and pointed at the bottle. "Are you done with your water? We got a bit of a walk, and I don't think we'll be able to make the movie today. Would you be upset if we did it next weekend?"

"I guess." Airi handed the bottle to Yuzu and took her hand, following her mother's lead. "Are Mommy and Hideki safe? Did they get beat up or something?"

"No, nothing like that." Yuzu instinctively gripped Airi's hand tighter at the sound of fear in her daughter's voice. "It's just that Mommy's having trouble finding Hideki, and we need to go help her feel better. Think you can do that?"

"Yeah." Airi nodded, and a determined look almost identical to Yuzu's appeared on her face. "I'm good at that."

"You sure are," agreed Yuzu squeezing her daughter's hand once more, leading her through the crowd and prayed to whatever god was listening that Hideki said something soon or else Mei was going to be least of his worries.