"Mom! It's Aunt Haruna!" The little boy yelled for his mom after he opened the front door for me. I smile sweetly and squat down to give him a gentle hug.

"How are you? You're getting so big. You grow a little more every time I see you. Soon enough, you're going to get as tall as me, maybe even taller." I smiled sadly at the thought that he would eventually grow out of his cuteness. It couldn't be helped. His time as a young child would come to an end and his innocence would die with the passing years.

It was always at times like these when I thought such negative thoughts that I came to hate myself. Why couldn't I ever just appreciate that moment for what it was? Did I always have to think about the future of things so negatively?

I stood back up from kneeling down and then hugged my sister, whom wore a messy apron, and her hair in a hurried ponytail, with strands of hair hanging out of her updo. It was the perfect image of her. Her warm smiled paired with her cozy appearance was something that I will always come to appreciate.

Her house always smelled of vanilla, she was baking again.

"It smells like sweet. What are you making?"

She grinned and grabbed my hand, leading me into the kitchen, and then squatted down to see her masterpiece baking inside of the oven, "I'm baking a small cake for one of the girls. I saw the recipe online and thought I should try making it myself. I considered buying a cake, but it really does feel more special if it's homemade, you know what I mean?"

I crouch down to see it myself and nod. "I know what you mean. Anything homemade is special, I wonder why?"

Hanae giggles, hiding her smile behind her hand as she answers. "You want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because if it's homemade, it's made with love."

I laugh out loud at the cheesiness and cliche image of it all. It was Hanae alright. She always found a way to romanticize and make everything a little bit more positive.

I didn't mind, in fact it was a nice change of pace from my usual depressing thoughts.

I stood up and gazed thoughtfully at Hanae. She was perfect human being.

Beautiful, compassionate, loving, and a wonderful personality. Balanced with both realistic and optimistic thoughts, Hanae was something that I knew I always wanted to become but could never be.

Her soul was never consumed with hate for our father, and to this day she refused to let him cause her any anger. She is forgiving to all hell. It pissed me off most times, but that quickly changed when she told me something life changing.

"Being angry only affects, and hurts you. It's a burden that we create and choose to keep ourselves. In time, we forget, and we let go of it. But, in our case it's always there, because the person that causes the hatred is an inescapable entity; family. The betrayal of trust is a blow that will forever leave a scar in the bond and trust that we once had with our father. That will never change, even if we try to. But, what we can change, is the anger. We can choose to stay upset about that past, or accept it and move on. I have chosen to move on, because i want to be free."

I replay the words that she said in the past, a way of life that I wanted to incorporate into my own.

But it felt impossible.

At least, for me it did.

Hanae stands back up, and stretches her arms high in the air with ease. My eyes dart away quickly before she can notice my lingering stare.

"You want to stay for tea? I got a new blend from a friend back in Osaka. She swears it's the best thing she's tasted."

I look down and bring up what I had intended to ask her im the first place. "Listen...I want to ask you something."

Hanae stands up leans against her white, marbled kitchen counter and cocks her head to the side, confused. I almost never asked her for advice, because I know it's difficult for me to the things she would do. We both are just too different, and her calm and kind nature sometimes doesn't align with my straightforward demeanor.

"I've always thought that weddings are stupid, and that marriage is bullshit. But lately I can't help but think about...wanting to get married to Takeshi." I admit bashfully, looking away from her.

I had been asking myself in the recent weeks why this urge suddenly overcame me. It was unlike me and it bothered the hell out of me. It was like getting a math problem you couldn't solve, and no matter how many times you tried to solve it, you would get it wrong. It's like the feeling of not being able to figure out what you did wrong.

Why do I feel the need to get married to Takeshi?

Hanae chuckles softly as she tucks a loose strand of chestnut brown hair behind her ear. "You're so silly Haruna. Obviously you want to marry him because you want to keep him by your side for the rest of your life! Getting married may just seem like a meaningless title, but it's a title that brings the beginning of a new life."

"No, no it is just a title." I laugh sarcastically. "It means nothing. People get married all the time and then in the next year or five they divorce because one thing or another. If they don't get divorced, they're just full of pride and honor and choose to suck up whatever it is the other person did. And then if children are involved it's even worse! They get caught up into the stupid decisions that adults make, and then the children...they're the ones who end up paying for it."

"Haruna...you know that not always the case..."

"But it is! That's all that happened around us, okay? So I don't know what else to expect. First it was Dad and mom, then it was you and your piece of shit husband who left for god knows what reason-"

Hanae looks down quietly at the mention of her husband. "Haruna...I know that you've only been exposed to bad outcomes of marriage, but I promise you that there are good instances where families end up happy-"

"You know, I wish I could picture it but I just can't." I interrupt her final word. "I don't know if it's because our family is fucked up, or because I'm just a closed minded bitch who can't ever see the good in things. I mean just look at us! Look at Harue and the girls that you take care of! Yuki and Akane are in regrettable situations because their families are broken, and Harue-"

"I can take care of Harue just fine, Haruna." She sharply cuts me off, her voice full of a sternness that I couldn't imagine she ever had in her.

I immediately backed down. I was taking it too far.

My eyes darted around the room with regret. "...I'm sorry..."

"...It's okay."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You've been coming around a lot lately, Amemori." Kunihiko casually brings up, as he polishes glasses behind his polished, wooden counter. "You like hanging out here that much?"

I look up at him. His longer wavy dark hair, and his beige hat made him seem carefree. He always seemed to be a person without a care in the world, but that's bullshit. Everyone had problems. Even kids (although insignificant) have problems.

"I've been drowning in self pity lately. Today I went to go see my perfect older sister- don't get me wrong I love her to death- but, she can either make me feel great or, like absolute trash. There's no in between. It just depends on the mood that I have on that day. Ridiculous right?"

"You're very reserved usually Haruna. What brings you to tell me this?" Kunihiko smiles, confused as to why I was sharing my business with him.

"Sorry. I guess I just wanted to say that outloud, to get it off my chest." I apologize while chuckling, then, sighing as I take a sip of my iced coffee.

"Why don't you tell me about yourself Kuni? I always see you here catering to our alcoholic needs. You're very mysterious." I change the subject.

He finishes polishing the wine glass and sets it down, leaning against the bar in deep thought. "Hmm..how about we play a little question game? I'll ask a question, then you can ask me one in return"

I lift an eyebrow in curiosity. "I don't see why not. You can start then, since you suggested it."

"Okay, here it goes...so then, Haruna, do you really have a boyfriend? That Saeki is very persistent, and I can understand if you lied about being in a relationship just to get him off of you."

"While that's something that I would have done if I didn't have a boyfriend anyways, I do in fact have a partner." I admit, thinking about Takeshi. "We've been together for a while now, and we live together."

"Oh-?"

"I didn't know you had a life outside of work." An impudent voice calls from the back of the bar.

In casual attire, a simple white long sleeved shirt and jeans, came out Yamato Kougami.