The first thing Kaira saw when she woke up was the empty place next to her. Annoyed, she turned around, burying the side if her face in the pillow.

It was always empty.

As she sighed, her gaze fell on the alarm clock on the nightstand and she squinted her eyes. It was hard to read, but after a few seconds, she recognized the numbers.

11:27

Kaira clicked her tongue and rubbed her temple. Even though she told Daichi to wake her, she should have expected this to happen. Kaira sighed, but couldn't suppress a small smile.

He let her sleep in again.

She always knew that Daichi felt the need to take care of their family, especially during Sasuke's absence. But sometimes, Kaira had the feeling that Daichi was trying to replace him, and she didn't know how to feel about that. Kaira was glad that he was helping her out so much even though he was pretty busy himself. But on the other side, it was also pretty sad. No matter how hard he tried to fill in for Sasuke, he couldn't be him. And Kaira wouldn't want that anyway.

Daichi was her son. She wanted to take care of him, and not the other way around. Kaira was still healthy and thus didn't need her 15 years old son to look after her. She appreciated it, but it was still too soon for her to be taken care of. It was still her turn, and not Daichi's.

Sighing, she threw the sheets off of her and got out of bed. Even though she always liked it to make breakfast for her kids and see them off, there were also bright sides to waking up in an empty house.

While she scratched her back, she opened the drawer with her free hand and took out a loose white tank top and pulled it over her head. Now she was alone, she didn't have to wear decent clothing. This was a pretty nice thing to do once in a while.

In just her undergarments and a tank top, she walked down the stairs. Knowing what day it was, she felt an urging need for a cigarette and a cup of a strong coffee.

When she finally reached the kitchen, she started to make herself a cup of coffee and while she had to wait, she grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the table and a lighter from the drawer.

Kaira took a cigarette out of the package and put it between her lips. She couldn't light it yet because she was still in the kitchen. Even though she didn't mind the smell, her family rather had a house that didn't reek of cigarettes.

When the mug was filled with the black liquid, Kaira turned off the coffee machine and took the mug with the same hand she held the lighter with before she walked to the nearest window.

With her free hand, she opened the window and leaned against the wall. The sun that was clearly visible in the cloudless sky was shining so brightly that it irritated her. After just waking up, she rather had a few clouds blocking the sun than no clouds at all.

Kaira leaned away from the window so the wind wouldn't disturb her as she lighted her cigarette. After inhaling deeply, she threw the lighter on the kitchen counter and turned back to the window to exhale the smoke.

On the other side of the road was Izuna's house. Kaira would consider going to him to rant about her frustrations and worries, but he wasn't home and he wouldn't be home until after midnight. Daichi told her last night that he was going to eat somewhere with his squad after the mission, and Izuna was the leader of that squad. Knowing him, he wasn't only going to eat, but he was also going to drink until he couldn't walk anymore. That was very typical of Izuna.

After taking a few sips from her coffee, Kaira brought the cigarette back to her lips to take a long drag. If one of her kids saw her like this by the window, she'd never hear the end of it. All of them, especially Kazu, hated the smell, which was very understandable. They always told her to go outside if she wanted to smoke. Kaira could still remember the day when she would grimace whenever Izuna lit a cigarette around her.

And look at her now.

After finishing most of her coffee, Kaira put the cigarette out by flicking it into the mug. Pressing her lips together, she stared at the stick that was floating in the remaining black liquid. Kaira had this urge to light another one, but she knew that would only make her forget her troubles temporarily.

She looked up from the mug and her eyes fell on the phone that was lying close to where she'd thrown the lighter.

Maybe Yuuji could help her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaira sipped at her tea as she waited for her friend. They agreed to meet at a cafe they frequented. Because she arrived a bit too early, she had already ordered a drink.Her sharp nails nervously tapped the table as she kept staring at the clock that hung on the wall. Once again, she had trouble reading the time.

Almost 13:00.

As she kept staring, she didn't notice someone sitting down in front of her until she heard her name. ''Kaira?''

His voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she blinked before looking at the person who took the seat on the other side of the table. ''Yuuji.'' She breathed, and a tiny smile graced her features.

He also smiled leaned his arms on the table. ''You look well, but I guess you're not really feeling that way huh?'' He mumbled. ''You already didn't sound very happy over the phone.''

Kaira sighed and looked down at her drink, gripping the cup tightly. ''I'm in a dilemma.'' She whispered. ''And I don't know what to do.''

Yuuji opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, a waiter came to ask him if he wanted something to drink. Yuuji declined politely and waited for the man to leave. When he was gone, Yuuji turned back to Kaira and leaned back into his chair. ''So you need my advice?''

Kaira nodded and took another sip of the tea. ''Yeah..'' She spoke under her breath. ''You see this?'' She asked as she held up her left hand, the silver ring around her finger blinking in the light of the lamps. ''Do you know how long I've been wearing this?"

Yuuji took a deep breath, already knowing where this conversation was going, and crossed his arms over his chest. ''A long time.''

Kaira pulled her hand back and wrapped her fingers around the cup. ''8 years.'' She said, her voice shaking a bit. ''I'm already engaged to Sasuke for 8 years.'' Kaira took a sip again, as if she was trying to calm herself down, and looked up to Yuuji. ''But I don't even know if I still want to marry him.''

Yuuji pursed his lips. He already saw it coming the moment she mentioned the ring, but it was still quite a shock to him to hear her actually say it. ''How long have you been thinking about this?" He asked quietly.

Kaira needed a few seconds before he could give him an exact answer. ''Around 5 days now.''

Yuuji sighed and put his hand over hers. ''Kaira, don't make rash decisions. I know it isn't easy for you, but you need to take the time to think about this. 5 days is too short.'' He reasoned. ''Think about the kids. Would they want it?''

Kaira dug her nails into the palm of the hand that Yuuji wasn't holding and blinked a few times. Yuuji saw her eyes getting glossy and held her hand tighter. ''I am thinking of the kids.'' She whispered sadly. ''I want them to have a father, but if Sasuke can't do that..''

Yuuji looked around them and noticed a few people looking at them with concerned or confused expressions. He gave her hand one last squeeze before he let go of it and took his wallet out of his pocket and put some money on the table.

Kaira looked up to him as he stood up from his chair ''Yuuji..?''

''Come on,'' Yuuji said. ''Let's go somewhere else.''

Kaira now also noticed the glances they received and nodded, standing up and grabbing her jacket. She didn't even get to finish the drink Yuuji paid for. Together, they left the cafe.

Kaira had no idea where they were going. She just silently followed Yuuji. She was glad she went to him. He understood her the best. He was a single parent, after all, so he knew the troubles of doing everything on your own without a partner to support you.

The only difference was that his partner was dead, while Kaira's was still alive.

Soon, Kaira found out that they were going to his house, and she was actually glad that Yuuji decided to go there. Talking privately about this was probably better than talking about it in public.

He unlocked the door and let Kaira in first. She took off her jacket and hang it on the coat stand. ''Do you want something to drink?'' Yuuji asked as she followed him into the living room.

''No, I'm fine.'' She mumbled as she took a seat on the couch. ''Isn't Aki here?''

''Alright.'' He sighed as he sat down next to her. ''She's with my mother. My mother is sick so instead of her coming here, like usual, I brought Aki to her.''

''She's sick?'' Kaira asked, concerned. Yuuji's mother was the most understanding and kindest woman she had ever met, so it was worrying to hear that she wasn't feeling well.

Yuuji smiled and put his hands on his knees. ''It's nothing serious. Just a cold.''

''Oh, I hope she gets better soon.''

There was a long silence after that. Kaira didn't think she'd have this much difficulty with talking about Sasuke. If she knew she'd get so emotional, she'd never have agreed to meet up at that cafe.

She put her hands together and looked down at her lap and her eyes fell on the ring. She could remember that night so well. The night when he proposed to her. Back then, she felt as if all her worries had disappeared. Having him asking her to marry him was like a confirmation. A confirmation that he'd stay with her.

But he didn't.

He was barely home and that pained her a lot. Her worries were only piling up now. She had gotten used to taking care of her children on her own, and that wasn't the problem. The problem was, that the youngest one, Shunsuke, had never met his father before.

The last time she saw Sasuke was five years ago.

She had sent him a letter about the third child, but as usual, nothing came back in return. It could be that the letter never arrived, but she doubted that. Sasuke never sent letters.

She wanted to hear from him.

She wanted to see him so badly.

Kaira gritted her teeth as she felt tears roll down her face. It just all became too much for her.

Yuuji noticed her sobbing quietly and put an arm around her shoulders. His words couldn't possibly comfort her, so he hoped his actions could.

''I miss him so much, Yuuji.'' Kaira cried into his shoulder, gripping the fabric tightly. ''What am I supposed to do?''

Yuuji felt tears welling up in his own eyes. Hearing her talking about how much she missed her fiancé made him think about his own deceased wife. What would he do in her situation? He knew very well, but his answer wouldn't be fair. He didn't want to give her hope.

The hope he'd been looking for.

That a loved one would return.

He rubbed his eyes with the palms of her hands and swallowed lightly. ''I don't know.'' He mumbled hoarsely.

''I'm sorry.''

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Please tell me what you think!! I really appreciate getting feedback :)

More information about Shunsuke, Kazu and Aki will be in the following chapters. Might be a bit confusing to just introduce them without an explanation but just putting a random explanation in there seemed a bit weird to me.