Chapter Six: Ashes on the Wind, Part I

	The funeral was held a couple of days later, following a wake at the 
manor. In tribute of Takara‘s Shinto heritage, the ceremony itself was performed 
according to traditional Buddhist customs. Then her body was cremated and the 
ashes taken in an urn to a cemetery near the Hikawa shrine to be buried.

	Rei didn’t really understand much of what was going on around her, other 
than the fact her mother was gone and she was never coming back. Her godfather 
Minoru, whose hand she was holding as the small group of mourners made its way 
toward the gravesite, tried to explain it to her, but admittedly, she wasn’t 
paying much attention to his words. 

	All she could think about was the memory of her beautiful mother’s body 
collapsed on the blue carpet, motionless and cold. The scene kept playing over 
and over in the little girl’s mind like a never-ending nightmare. Rei remembered 
everything about that night - the knot she felt in her stomach before she opened 
the door, the words she called out, the sight of Takara’s tear-streaked face and 
closed amethyst eyes… Even the faint smell of her mother’s favorite perfume 
seemed to still linger in the air, somehow overpowering the scent of incense 
burning around her.

	Her grasp on Minoru’s hand tightened as they came to a stop underneath a 
sakura tree near the back of the cemetery. In sharp contrast to the somber mood 
of the mourners, Mother Nature appeared to be in the throes of celebration, 
rejoicing in the full-blown springtime. A delicate pink cherry blossom dropped 
from the tree and fell on top of Rei’s raven tresses, bringing a sad smile to 
her face as she reached up to pluck it away. Her mother would have loved today.

	“Rei-chan, are you okay?” Minoru asked, his voice a soft whisper. “If 
you want, I’ll take you back to the car and we’ll wait until they’re through.”

	She shook her head. “I’m okay, Uchizawa-san,” Rei answered, wiping back 
a tear with the palm of her hand.

	Her father’s kind friend gave her hand a gentle squeeze of comfort 
before the redhead turned his attention back to the burial of her mother’s urn. 
However, Rei, whose six-year-old attention span found the proceedings rather 
boring, decided to focus instead on the group of mourners gathered around the 
gravesite.

	Watanabe Miyuki, her mother’s life-long best friend, and Mrs. Yukana 
were the only mourners visibly crying. The housekeeper was standing off to the 
side, sobbing into her handkerchief, while the blonde leaned against her husband 
with her head resting on his shoulder. Kazuya’s arms were wrapped tightly around 
Miyuki’s waist as he whispered words of comfort in her ear. Rei noticed Minoru 
glancing over at the couple every once in a while, but, being so young, she 
didn’t comprehend the meaning behind those secret looks.

	Standing near the couple was the only guest Rei didn’t recognize. He was 
an older man, the only male garbed in traditional funeral attire. The other men 
had donned more modern suits, making the man stand out from the rest. Rei 
wondered who he could be. His dark brown eyes were filled with such sadness, 
perhaps more than anyone else present, and faintly wrinkled hands occasionally 
reached up to wipe away a wayward tear. A relative, perhaps? But Rei didn’t 
remember ever hearing about having any other family. She knew her father’s 
parents were dead, and her mother never spoke of her family. The little girl 
finally decided he must be a family friend she never met and turned her 
attention elsewhere.

	Across from those four, on the other side of the grave, stood two more 
men. One was an elderly gentleman, even older the stranger, with a generous 
waistline. Years ago, before she was born, he used to be one of the most 
powerful men in Tokyo. Now, Negishi Shinji walked with the aid of a cane and was 
partially blind in one eye. Beside him, his handsome grandson held the former 
governor’s arm. Rei knew Kaidou Ace, now an intern at her father’s office, well. 
He often visited the Hino manor, first with his grandfather, and later on his 
own when Negishi’s health began to decline. Kaidou was very much like an older 
brother to Rei and her eyes lingered on him for a moment longer in affection 
before she looked up to her father.

	Out of all the mourners, Keitaro appeared to be handling his emotions 
the best. No traces of unshed tears clouded his gray eyes as he watched Takara’s 
urn lowered into the ground, which surprised his daughter. If not for the 
slightly thicker mustache above his lip, a sign he’d forgotten to shave for the 
past few days, Rei would almost think he was at a business meeting, not a 
funeral.

	Her hand slipped from Minoru’s grasp as Rei moved closer to where her 
father stood and she reached for Keitaro’s fingers, seeking the comfort which 
she did not receive. His grip was loose and limp, cold to the touch. 
“Otou-sama,” she whispered.

	Keitaro shook his head. “Later, Rei-san,” he said in an equally soft 
whisper. His eyes never left the grave.

	The little girl sighed, letting go of her father’s hand. She never felt 
more alone in her entire life. 

					*****

	After the burial was finished, most of the mourners left, save for the 
mysterious stranger and the attractive blonde. Neither spoke though, and Miyuki 
doubted the old man was even aware of her presence nearby as he stared at 
Takara’s headstone in sadness.

	Watching Saburo through her watery eyes, Miyuki struggled to maintain 
her composure. Her heart ached for her friend’s father, imagining the pain he 
must be going through. Even though the two hadn’t spoken in almost a decade, she 
knew Saburo never stopped loving Takara. Miyuki could see it in his eyes every 
time she mentioned Takara’s name during her monthly visits to the shrine. He 
tried to pretend he didn’t want to hear about his daughter‘s life when she 
brought up the subject of Takara, but she knew underneath all his protestations, 
he secretly was glad when she did. He was as easy to read as an open book.

	But now…

	Miyuki bit down on her bottom lip, blinking back tears. Takara was dead. 
There would be no more visits to Hikawa to bring Saburo the latest news. No more 
tea times on Saturdays. No more gossip sessions over the phone...

	How could Takara be gone? It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Remembering 
back to the last time she spoke to Takara, only a few hours before her death 
during their regular Saturday tea, she recalled how happy her friend had been, 
happier than Miyuki had seen her in months. Takara had been so looking forward 
to their dinner party at Umi’s. What could have gone wrong in such a short 
amount of time?	Yes, Miyuki had noticed how thin and tired her friend looked 
that day, but Takara assured her it was nothing. Supposedly, Dr. Sakamoto had 
said she was fine at her last appointment. That Takara would unexpectedly go 
into cardiac arrest without as much as a warning…

	Suddenly cold despite the warm spring breeze tousling her loose, golden 
hair and blowing against her tear-streaked face, Miyuki pulled herself into a 
hug. It wasn’t fair. 

	It wasn’t fair at all!

	“Ah, Miyuki-chan, I didn’t know you were still here,” a male voice said, 
startling the blonde.

	Glancing back up, Miyuki wiped away some of her tears with her palm to 
see Saburo giving her a weak smile over his shoulder. She had almost forgotten 
he was there. 

	“Kondo-sama…” she whispered.

	Stepping forward, Miyuki stood beside the grieving father and wordlessly 
took his wrinkled hand in hers.

	“You didn’t have to stay for me,” the priest said. “Hikawa’s only a 
short walk from here. You and Watanabe-san don’t need to give me a ride home.”

	“I know,” she said, lightly squeezing his hand. “I-I only wanted to 
thank you. For coming to the funeral, I mean. After what you said to me when I 
told you the news… Then you didn’t come to the wake. I thought you wouldn’t 
come.”

	Saburo sighed. “I wasn’t going to come, Miyuki-chan.” 

	“Oh.” Miyuki frowned. “What made you change you’re mind, then?”

	Surprisingly, the priest let out a small chuckle. “It was actually 
because of those stupid crows of Takara’s, if you can believe that,” he said. 
“This morning, I was feeding them the corn like I always do, when, all of the 
sudden, Phobos and Deimos start tearing at my robes, trying to pull me toward 
the torii. It was the strangest thing, like they were telling me I had to go. I 
can’t really explain it." He shook his head, showing he had no logical 
explanation. "In any case, when I went back inside to change, I came across an 
old photograph of us -- you, me, Noriko, and Takara. You probably remember it. 
The one we took on Takara’s birthday, the year we gave her the necklace?”

	Miyuki nodded, remembering the picture well. They had taken it 
underneath the torii of the shrine after Takara’s birthday party. Noriko, always 
a very fragile person like her daughter, had worn such a sad smile that day, 
knowing she wouldn’t be around much longer, but she and Takara were all grins as 
they hammed it up for the camera. Unfortunately, Saburo, trying to get them to 
stop their silliness, ended up taking the picture with his eyes closed, a fact 
they loved to tease him mercilessly about every time they saw the photograph. 

	“Papa-No-Eyes,” Miyuki said, calling him the name Takara gave him.

	“Yes, that’s the one.” Saburo chuckled once again, but this time, the 
laugh was less jovial. “Seeing that picture again… Before I even realized it, I 
was dressing in my robes and heading to the funeral home.” 

	“Well, I’m glad you did decide to come, Kondo-sama.”

	“So am I.”

	“I know Takara would have appreciated it, knowing you were here,” Miyuki 
said, continuing. “The one thing she wanted most was your forgiveness.” 

	 A regretful sigh escaped the priest’s lips at her words. “I forgave her 
long ago,” he murmured mostly to himself. “Only I was too stubborn to realize it 
until it was too late. What an old fool I’ve been…”

	Saburo’s voice cracked, and Miyuki noticed his eyes were growing misty. 
Her heart nearly broke into a thousand pieces at the sight. She released her 
grip on his hand and wrapped her arms around his trembling shoulders instead. 
“Oh, Kondo-sama…” she whispered.

	“I have so many regrets, Miyuki-chan,” he admitted, his dark brown eyes 
staring at Takara’s name carved in the headstone, brimming with tears. “I can’t 
believe I treated her so cruelly. My own daughter, my beautiful treasure…”

	“You were angry with her for running off and marrying Keitaro-san. It’s 
understandable.”

	Saburo shook his head. “It doesn’t matter if I was angry with Takara. 
That’s no excuse for what I did to her. And now…”

	His voice broke off, overcome with emotion. The dams he built had 
finally broken and rivers of tears now streamed down his wrinkled face. Miyuki 
found herself holding her friend’s father even tighter as the both of them fell 
to their knees on the ground. Not knowing what to do, for it wasn’t often she 
saw a man break down so suddenly, she simply rocked him back and forth, his 
tears soaking the shoulder of her black kimono. 	

	“I never got the chance to apologize, Miyuki-chan,” Saburo cried. “I 
never told her how sorry I was. So very sorry.”

	“I know,” Miyuki murmured, helplessly trying to comfort the old man even 
as she struggled to fight back her own tears. There wasn’t much else she could 
say, so, instead, she held Saburo close and let him cry into her kimono without 
fear of embarrassment. 

	There was no telling how long the two stayed like that, comforting each 
other in their respective grief, but when the priest finally pulled away from 
Miyuki‘s embrace, his eyes were watery and rimmed with red. “Gomen nasai, 
Miyuki-chan,” he apologized, wiping away a few lingering tears with the sleeve 
of his robe. “I didn’t mean to break down like that in front of you.”

	Miyuki gave him a sad smile as she stood back and brushed the grass off 
the back of her kimono. “It’s okay, Kondo-sama,” she assured him, holding out 
her hands. “Here, let me help you.”

	With Miyuki’s assistance, the old priest stood as well. “Arigatou,” he 
said. “For everything.”

	“It was nothing. Come, I‘ll walk you back to Hikawa.”

	Saburo shook his head. “If you don’t mind, Miyuki-chan, I think I’ll 
stay for a while longer. You go on ahead. I‘m sure Watanabe-san is waiting for 
you.”

	Miyuki was reluctant to leave him when he was in such a state, but she 
released her loose grip on his arm. “Are you sure?”

	“I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “Don’t worry about me.”

	“Okay. I’ll see you later, Kondo-sama.”

	After giving his hand one last reassuring squeeze, she turned and headed 
toward the gates of the cemetery. 

					*****

	Unbeknownst to Miyuki and Saburo, Minoru stood at the iron gates 
surrounding the Buddhist burial ground, quietly watching the two as they 
comforted each other in their grief. He hadn’t meant to spy on them during such 
an obviously private and intimate moment, but something inside him had told him 
to stay.

	He needed to talk to her.

	To hold her.

	To comfort her.

	Minoru had watched her through most of the ceremony in her husband’s 
arms, and all he could think about was how much he wished it could have been 
him, comforting her during what was undoubtedly one of the toughest times of her 
life. Minoru hated himself for thinking that, especially when his thoughts 
should have been with Keitaro and Rei, but they were both strong, while Miyuki 
had been weak, unable to hide the grief over her best friend’s passing. Every 
sob that shook her body had shook something inside him as well. He was still 
sensitive to her feelings, her pain. 

	As Minoru watched, Miyuki squeezed Saburo‘s hand, stepped back, and 
began walking towards the gates, her head down, trying to control the tears that 
still streamed down her face. In fact, Miyuki almost walked straight past Minoru 
before he stepped forward and said, “Miyuki.” 

	Startled by his sudden presence, the beautiful blonde nearly jumped out 
of her skin. However, once she turned around and saw who it was, she 
visibly relaxed. “Oh, Minoru-san, it‘s you,” she said. “You scared me 
half-to-death! I thought you had left.”

	“I’m sorry for startling you. I just wanted to make sure you were 
alright.”

	“I-I’m fine,” she stuttered, taking a step backward when she realized 
how close they were standing. Her brief period of relaxation had disappeared, 
replaced by a stiff body and downcast eyes. “Thank you for your concern, but I 
need to go. Kazuya is waiting for me in the car.”

	Miyuki turned to leave, but Minoru reached for her arm, forcing her to 
stay. She drew in a sharp breath.

	“Minoru-san, please don’t,” she pleaded. “It’s not appropriate…”

	The redhead shook his head. “I know, Miyuki,” he said. “I just thought 
you might need a friend now. We are still friends, aren’t we?”

	“I don’t know. After what happened before the wedding…”

	She blushed faintly at the memory, the blood bringing some much needed 
color to her pale, tear-streaked cheeks. Minoru thought the blonde looked 
beautiful even in her grief, but as the sun reflected off her gold wedding band, 
he remembered she was married to another and pushed the thought away, knowing it 
wasn’t appropriate to think of her like that.

	“That was months ago,” he said, unable to think of anything more 
intelligent to say.

	“But you still feel the same, don’t you?”

	He couldn’t deny it. “Yes, I still love you, Miyuki,” he said in a soft 
voice. “I meant every single word I said to you that day. Nothing will ever 
change that.”

	“Then why are you still here?” she asked. “Why do you want to put 
yourself through such torture by being my friend when you know there’s no hope 
of ever becoming more?”

	That was a question Minoru had been asking himself for months, and much 
to his annoyance, he still hadn’t come up with a decent answer. Common sense 
would tell him it was better to make a clean break and simply forget about how 
much Miyuki had meant to him, but, as Keitaro was often so fond of saying of him 
during their years at university, Minoru had about as much common sense as a 
lemming, especially when it came to matters of the heart. Call him crazy, but he 
still cared too much about Miyuki to let her go. They were friends long before 
he made his declaration of love, and he wanted it to stay that way.

	Finally, he answered, “Because I want you in my life, Miyuki.”

	Chocolate brown eyes shifted to the cement beneath their feet, unable to 
meet his gaze. “Minoru-san, I wish you wouldn’t say things like that. I know you 
want things to go back to the way they were before…the incident, but they can‘t. 
You know that as well as I do. Things have changed between us; everything has 
changed. Everything…”

	Miyuki blinked back the tears she’d been holding back, and 
instinctively, Minoru pulled her back toward him, wrapping his arms around her 
slender body in a protective embrace. Any thoughts of the awkwardness between 
them were forgotten: Miyuki was too upset to think about propriety anymore, and 
Minoru only had eyes for the woman in his arms. He was glad that he was finally 
able to hold her, even in such sad circumstances, though it would be only for a 
brief moment in time. As he gazed down at her, a wave of tenderness swept over 
him. 

	“I’m sorry, Miyuki,” he whispered into her soft, faintly scented blonde 
hair. “So, so sorry. I know how much you loved Takara.”

	“Why do things always have to change?” she sobbed quietly onto his 
shoulder. “Why can’t things go back to the way they were when we all first met? 
When you would call me Mother Hen and I would call you an idiot and Keitaro-san 
wasn’t governor and Takara was alive and happy…”

	Minoru wished he had the answer to her questions. There was nothing he 
wouldn’t give to go back to those days. She was right -- so much had changed 
over the last decade.

	He missed the way things used to be. He missed the Takara who could 
bring sunshine into a room just by smiling. He missed the Keitaro who knew how 
to mix both business and pleasure. He even missed the Miyuki who was forever 
scolding him for his reckless behavior and countless girlfriends. 

	But, most of all, he missed the times when they all used to gather at 
the shrine on peaceful afternoons, when Keitaro could be dragged away from his 
work, and just sit there, talking about the future, a future that was always 
bright and happy and safe. How innocent they’d been... 

	Looking down at the distraught woman in his arms, Minoru ran his fingers 
through her disheveled hair, heartbroken at the sight. “I know, Miyuki, I know…”

	“It wasn’t supposed to be this way, Minoru-san. Takara wasn’t supposed 
to be taken away from us so soon. It isn‘t fair.” She sniffled, drawing Minoru 
even closer toward her until it was impossible to tell where one body ended and 
the other began. Neither noticed the proximity of their bodies, though, too 
caught up in their grief. “It just isn’t fair!” Miyuki cried out finally, rage 
and pain making it sound like the cry of a wild animal. 

	“Life rarely is fair,” he murmured, his voice soft and soothing though 
he was struggling to hold back his own tears. Takara had been his friend, too. 
She might not have been as close to him as Miyuki or Keitaro, but he still felt 
a deep, resonant loss over her death. She had been the only person able to get 
Keitaro out of the office and into the sunlight, and for that, Minoru would be 
forever grateful. She had been such a wonderful person and he would miss her 
terribly.

	“I know that, Minoru-san, but I don’t understand why Takara had to die! 
It’s not right! There are plenty of people who deserve to die, and she wasn’t 
one of them! She was never selfish or unkind! She was such a wonderful mother-“ 
Miyuki clapped hand over her mouth. “Oh, kami-sama, that poor little girl 
growing up without her mother…” 

	That was probably the cruelest tragedy of all. After all the risks 
Takara had taken to have a child of her own, she would never have the chance to 
see her little Rei grow up. 

	“Rei-chan still has us, Miyuki,” Minoru said softly. “We’ll take care of 
her and make sure she never forgets what a wonderful mother she had. I swear 
it!”
	
	Lowering her hand from her mouth, Miyuki’s dark eyes widened in newfound 
appreciation. “Minoru-san,” she whispered. “I-I…”

	He gave her a sad smile, bringing his hand to cradle the side of her 
face. His thumb wiped away a wayward tear that ran down her pale cheek and 
though he felt her stiffen once more at his touch, Miyuki made no motion to turn 
away, her eyes gently closing as she tried to hold back her tears.

	It would have been so easy to kiss her then. Their faces were only 
inches apart and her pink lips were slightly parted in invitation, so soft and 
tempting. If he didn’t know better, Minoru would almost think Miyuki wanted the 
kiss as much as he did. All he had to do was lean in a little more closer... 

	However, he *did* know better. Miyuki wasn’t thinking clearly. Her grief 
was blinding her, and she was confusing comfort with something more.  	
Slowly, Minoru brought his hand down to her shoulder, placing the other 
on the alternate shoulder, and pressed his lips against her forehead. Her eyes 
fluttered open in surprise, but she seemed relieved when she realized what had 
almost happened. 

	“Minoru-san…”

	“If you ever need a friend, Miyuki, then I want you to know I’m always 
available,” he said.
	

	Miyuki gave him a small smile. “Arigatou. I‘ll remember that."

					*****

 	“You killed her!” a gruff, unfriendly voice shouted, his speech slurred 
from drunkenness. “You want to know what happened to your mother, boy? You 
killed her, that’s what happened, you bast-”

	“Takeo!” the man’s younger brother interrupted before he could finish 
the sentence. “You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

	“I know damn well what I’m saying, Wataru!” Staggering as he stood from 
his chair, Hino Takeo turned to his sobbing son and pointed an accusing finger 
at the young boy. “He asked me why he didn’t have a mother, and I’m simply 
telling the boy the truth. Honesty’s the best policy. Isn’t that what you always 
say?” 

	Wataru‘s eyes narrowed as he took his nephew into his arms, gently 
stroking his blond hair in an attempt to comfort the boy. “Keitaro-chan was not 
to blame for Yukari-san’s death, Takeo. It was just her time to go and I wish 
you would finally accept that, rather than continuing to wallow in alcohol and 
misery. You have a son to raise, the life you two created together. You need to 
get over this bitterness you feel and get some help, if not for you, than at 
least for Keitaro-chan‘s sake. He needs a father!”

	“Don’t tell me what to do!” Takeo shouted angrily, throwing his 
half-empty glass of scotch toward the wall behind Wataru and his son. The glass 
shattered upon impact, the loud noise causing the boy’s sobs to worsen, yet his 
cries drew no sympathy from his drunken father. Takeo swore loudly, covering his 
ears with his hands. “And get that brat out of here! He’s giving me a headache.”

	Following Takeo’s orders, Wataru carried the boy to the door, but paused 
before turning the doorknob. He turned around once more, his eyes full of pity 
and sadness. “Takeo, don’t be like this,” he pleaded. “Keitaro-chan needs you.”

	The older brother plopped back down in his favorite armchair, rubbing 
his throbbing temples with both his middle and pointer fingers. He refused to 
look at either his brother or his son standing behind him in the doorway. 
Instead, his bloodshot gaze remained glued to a picture of his late wife hanging 
on the wall opposite the chair.

	Hino Yukari had been an extremely beautiful woman when she was alive. 
Her hair had been long and pale blonde, like strands of wheat, and she had soft 
gray eyes just like her son’s. The boy in Wataru’s arms was the spitting image 
of the mother he had never known, and everytime Takeo looked at him, he was 
reminded of what he had lost.

	“Just leave me alone, Wataru,” Takeo finally said softly. “You take care 
of Keitaro-san. I no longer have a son.”

	The young boy, hearing his father’s words, looked up from his uncle’s 
shoulder, confused. “Otou-sama…” he whispered.

	“I have no son,” Takeo repeated, reaching for a flask of liquor sitting 
on the small table beside his chair. “He killed her, he killed my Yukari…he 
killed her…”



	Gray eyes popped opened as Keitaro woke with a start. His breath was 
ragged, his heart pounded against his rib cage, and the world seemed to be 
spinning around him with amazing speed. Everything was so fuzzy and blurred. 
Where was he? 

	Keitaro struggled to sit up from his laying position on the couch, his 
right hand blindly searching for his glasses. They were sitting on the nearby 
end table. His hand wrapped around the spectacles and he put them back on, 
breathing a sigh of relief when he recognized the familiar surroundings. He was 
in his study. Not his father’s library. 

	“It was just a dream,” he assured himself as he raked a hand through his 
hair. He felt his heartbeat slowly returning to its normal rate. “Only a dream…”

	More like a nightmare - the same recurring nightmare that used to haunt 
his dreaming hours as a child. It had been years since Keitaro last dreamed of 
the long ago memory of his father, though. He wondered why the dream had 
returned after so many years of remaining dormant in his unconsciousness. 
Especially at a time like this. 

	Didn’t he have enough to deal with already, without having to suffer the 
nightly torment of Hino Takeo’s memory -- a memory he thought had disappeared? 

	And what was with the throbbing headache? It felt as if a dozen hammers 
were pounding on his temples in some kind of dissonant symphony.

	Groaning, Keitaro looked to his left. A half-empty bottle of scotch sat 
on his desk, next to a crystal glass. He stared at the bottle, wondering where 
it came from. He didn’t remember bringing it out from the rarely opened liquor 
cabinet. After all, he wasn’t much of a drinker, except for the occasional glass 
of wine or champagne with dinner. Why would it be out?

	Keitaro groaned again. He remembered what happened now.

	He got drunk after returning home from the cemetery.

	It hadn’t been his intention. When Keitaro first pulled out the unopened 
bottle of scotch, he only meant to drink enough to dull the overwhelming pain he 
felt in his heart. One glass, that was all. Just enough to forget what he had 
gone through that day. 	

	Obviously, though, one glass hadn’t been enough.

	And now his mouth thirsted for more. Anything to forget the dream, 
forget Takara, forget everything.

	Shakily, Keitaro stood from his seat on the couch and stumbled over to 
his desk chair. The room was dim, making it difficult to see, but he managed to 
find his way without too much trouble. Once he was seated, Keitaro reached for 
the bottle and poured himself another drink.

	The glass in his hand was either his fourth or fifth since the funeral - 
he lost count of how many he drank before his unscheduled nap. Keitaro swirled 
the liquid inside, watching the scotch splash against the side of the crystal 
glass before taking a sip. He then made a face and sat the glass down on the 
desk. It had a terrible taste, nothing like the wine and champagne to which 
Keitaro was accustomed. In the back of his mind, he vaguely wondered why his 
father liked it so much when he was alive. The “nectar of the gods” it was not. 
But then the numbing began to take affect once again and Keitaro could see its 
appeal.

	Pushing the glass out of the way, he rested his fuzzy head down on his 
folded arms. It put him just about eye level with a picture of Takara he had 
sitting on the edge of the desk and he smiled.

	"Hey, pretty lady," Keitaro said, his slurred voice unusually husky. "I 
missed you. Where have you been?"

	The picture, unsurprisingly, didn't answer back.

	"Quiet, aren't you, Takara? Are you still mad at me for canceling our 
dinner date? You know I had to work."

	Again, silence.

	"Come on, don't be that way," he pleaded, reaching for the silver 
picture frame. "I told you I was sorry, didn't I? Didn't I?"

	No, I didn't, Keitaro remembered mournfully as he stared at the smiling 
image in his hands. The realization hit him like a punch in the stomach, and he 
felt like he was going to be sick. He hadn't apologized. Takara had died without 
him telling her how truly sorry he had been for the way he had treated her, not 
just that night, but all the other nights he had disappointed her.

	She had died thinking he didn't love her anymore, when nothing could 
have been further from the truth.

	As much as Keitaro wished he hadn't, he had loved her. He tried to deny 
it, tried to push her away, holding Takara at arm's length after he almost lost 
her after their daughter's birth, but no matter what he did, he could never make 
the feeling completely disappear. Keitaro realized now it had been a mistake. He 
should have known he could never make himself not love Takara. He had been a 
fool, a coward. Instead of pushing her away in fear of the inevitable, he should 
have held her close and enjoyed the time he had had with her. 

	Now, they would never have that time again and he would never have the 
chance to make it up to her.  

	"Oh, God..." he whispered, placing the photograph facedown on his desk 
and burying his face in his arms. What had he done?

	“Otou-sama?”

	Light from the hallway filled the darkened office as the door creaked 
opened, and Keitaro shut his eyes, blocking away the burning brightness. Who 
could that be? He thought he told Mrs. Yukana and Rei he wanted to be alone. 	
Again, the voice called for him. He finally forced himself to look up, opening 
one eye at a time.

	At the entrance to the office, his daughter stood, watching him with 
Takara’s amethyst eyes. She still wore the black dress from earlier, but her 
hair, which had been pulled into a French braid courtesy of Mrs. Yukana, now 
flowed loose around her shoulders. Keitaro was struck by how much Rei looked 
like a younger version of her mother just then, and not even the miracle potion 
could numb the ache in his heart.

	“Rei-san,” he whispered. “You shouldn’t be in here. You know the rules.”

	The little girl stepped forward, her gaze downward and hands behind her 
back. “Gomen nasai, otou-sama,” she apologized. “I-I had a nightmare. About 
okaa-sama. She was crying and she looked so sad…”

	Keitaro leaned over his desk and hid his face in his hands. He couldn‘t 
deal with this right now. Not when the very sight of his daughter pierced his 
heart like a thousand knives. “Where’s Yukana-san?” he asked, interrupting.

	Rei shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I think she’s upstairs, in 
your room. She said she was going to go through okaa-sama’s things and see what 
could be given to charity.”

	“Go find her. I’m sure Yukana-san will be happy to comfort you.”

	“B-but…”

	“Rei-san, go,” he ordered. 

	His voice was harsher than he intended it to be, but Rei seemed to get 
the message. With a soft “Hai, otou-sama,” she left the office, closing the door 
behind her.

	Dimness once again filled the study as Keitaro looked up and reached for 
his glass. About a fourth of his drink remained. He contemplated his reflection 
in the liquid for a few seconds before deciding not to drink the rest. 

	The vision staring back at him was not one he liked in the least.

	“Damn you, Hino Takeo,” he cursed. The crystal glass flew from his hands 
and shattered upon impact with the wall. “Damn you, otou-sama!”

					*****

	Kondo Saburo’s heart was heavy as he ascended the stone steps leading to 
the temple. He had just returned from the cemetery, a part of his daily routine 
ever since the day of the funeral. Usually, the visits to his daughter’s 
gravesite comforted the old man, but not today. Today marked the one week 
anniversary of her death.

	He couldn’t believe it had only been one week. To Saburo, it seemed as 
if a whole lifetime had passed since the night Miyuki came to Hikawa and 
tearfully informed him of the news. The days passed by so slowly now, most of 
his time spent either at the cemetery or praying in front of the sacred fire, 
and the nights were no better. His thoughts were consumed by guilt and regret.  

	“Takara…”

	Overhead, a couple of crows began to caw, interrupting Saburo‘s 
thoughts. He paused and looked up, shielding his eyes from the bright light of 
the sun with his hand to look at the birds. Though there wasn’t much physical 
difference between them and the other crows who made their home at the Hikawa 
shrine, somehow he recognized them as Takara’s two old trouble-making pets.

	“You two again, huh?” he said, wondering what had gotten them so riled 
up. The pair had been rather quiet over the last week or so, as if they somehow 
sensed what had happened to their mistress. For them to be so excited must mean 
something was about to happened. Those two seemed to possess a strange sixth 
sense about such things. “What is it this time?”

	The crows cawed in answer as an elegant limousine rolled to a stop in 
front of the shrine. Saburo frowned when he saw it. “Who in the world could that 
be…?” the priest mused to himself. It wasn’t often one saw such a fancy car in 
this part of the neighborhood. 

	Curious, Saburo watched the chauffeur get out on the driver’s side and 
open the back door. A well-dressed man with gold-rimmed glasses and a faint 
mustache above his lip stepped out. He said something to the other man and the 
chauffeur nodded before closing the door. The blond man then started up the 
steps toward him.

	It took Saburo, whose eyesight was weakening in his old age despite his 
claims otherwise, a few moments to recognize the man. His eyes widened. What was 
he doing here?

	“Konnichiwa, Kondo-sama,” Keitaro said, bowing politely to his 
father-in-law when he reached the priest. “I hope this isn’t a bad time. I tried 
to call earlier this morning but didn’t receive an answer.”

	“N-no, now is fine,” Saburo answered once he got over the initial shock 
of seeing his son-in-law. Governor Hino Keitaro was the last person he expected 
to see at the shrine. The priest couldn‘t honestly say he was pleased to see 
Takara‘s husband, but he forced himself to remain cordial. “I apologize for not 
being here this morning. I just returned home a few minutes ago. After visiting 
the cemetery.” He added the last phrase as an afterthought.

	“Oh.” 

	An uncomfortable silence fell over them, broken only by the occasional 
caws of the two excitable crows flying overhead. A gentle breeze blew, tousling 
the men’s hair, and a couple of cherry blossoms from a nearby sakura tree fell 
at their feet. 

	Finally, though, Keitaro cleared his throat and continued. “I didn’t get 
the chance to talk to you that day,” he said softly. “I meant to thank you for 
coming. I know it would have meant a lot to Takara to know you were there.”

	“She was my only daughter -- of course I came,” Saburo replied, his face 
softening for a moment as he found himself staring off into the distance. He 
then shook his head and turned his attention back to the governor. This wasn’t 
the time to reminisce. “Hino-sama, I doubt you came all the way over here just 
to thank me for attending the funeral. You could have done that over the phone 
or in a letter. Why are you here?”

	Keitaro sighed, his hands finding his pockets. “I came to ask a favor of 
you, Kondo-sama,” he admitted. “It’s about Rei-san.”

	A favor? Saburo couldn’t deny he was somewhat intrigued, if a little 
reluctant to hear what it was. He highly doubted a simple Shinto priest could be 
of much service to one of the most powerful men in Tokyo. Still, he agreed to 
hear Keitaro’s proposition over tea.

	Saburo led Keitaro inside the shrine and went to the kitchen to prepare 
the refreshments. When he finished brewing the tea, he brought it out to the 
main room, where he found the governor already kneeling on the floor beside the 
low table, holding a frame containing an old school picture of Takara's in his 
hands which Keitaro set aside when he noticed Saburo's presence. The priest 
joined him at the table and began to serve.

	“You said you wanted to ask me for a favor, Hino-sama,” Saburo said, 
once the tea had been poured. “I must say I don’t see how I could be of much 
help to you, but I‘ll see what I can do.”

	“The favor is more for Rei-san’s benefit, than mine,” Keitaro answered. 
He kept his eyes lowered to the bowl of tea in his hands, refusing to meet his 
father-in-law’s gaze. “I know I have no right to ask of anything from you, 
Kondo-sama, and so I ask you not to do this for me, but for your granddaughter.”
 
 	Saburo faintly smiled. He remembered seeing his granddaughter at the 
funeral. She was a very pretty little girl, very much like her mother at that 
age. He’d wanted to meet her after the burial, but Keitaro and Rei left before 
he got the chance to introduce himself. “What about Rei-chan?” the priest 
pressed.

	Keitaro took a sip of his tea. Saburo got the feeling the governor was 
stalling, but when Keitaro finally spoke again, his voice was low and serious. 
“I won’t lie to you, Kondo-sama,” he began. “I’m not proud of it, but I know I 
have never been much of a father to Rei-san. My job as governor of Tokyo 
prevented me from forming much of a bond with her. It was Takara and Rei-san’s 
nanny who took on most of the burden of raising her.” 

	“I see,” Saburo said, although he still didn’t know what point his 
son-in-law was trying to make. “Go on.”

	The governor took in a deep breath before continuing. “I think it would 
be best for Rei-san if she could live here at Hikawa, with you,” Keitaro 
declared, finally looking up. “Of course, I would continue to support her 
financially, and I could be persuaded to make generous donations to the shrine 
in gratitude for your…”

	The tea bowl in the priest’s hands was set back down on the table. “Live 
here?” Saburo repeated, not sure if he heard correctly. Everything Keitaro said 
after that had fallen on deaf ears. “You want me to take Rei-chan in?”

	The blond man nodded. “I think it would be in her best interest. I-I 
don’t want to hurt her.”

	Confused by his words, Saburo gave Keitaro a questioning look. “Hurt 
her? Hino-sama, I‘m afraid I don‘t quite understand.”

	“I’m battling my own demons,” Keitaro said, again lowering his gaze to 
the bowl of steaming tea in his hands. He refused to elaborate any more on the 
subject, instead getting straight to the heart of the matter. “Right now, I 
cannot be the father Rei-san needs. She deserves better, Kondo-sama, and I 
believe you could provide it. That is why I‘m asking you to consider letting her 
come live here with you.”

	Saburo contemplated the governor’s words as another hushed silence fell 
over them. Keitaro had given him much to consider. He would love the chance to 
get to know his only grandchild better, but to become a surrogate father? The 
old priest wasn’t sure he was up to such a task. He wasn’t as young as he used 
to be, and if Rei was anything at all like her mother at that age, she would 
certainly be a handful. Was he prepared to take on the responsibility of raising 
another child all by himself?

	Still, a part of Saburo was feeling selfish. Even though he lost his 
daughter, he could still have his precious granddaughter. Agreeing to let Rei 
stay with him would be like having a second chance to right the wrongs he had 
done to Takara. Of course, Rei could never take Takara’s place in his heart -- 
Saburo knew that -- but perhaps having her around would make the pain a little 
easier to bear.

	In the end, his selfishness won out. “Rei-chan may stay with me, 
Hino-sama,” Saburo decided.

	“Arigatou, Kondo-sama.”

					*****

	Sitting cross-legged on her bed with her ever present teddy bear in her 
arms, Rei pouted. The day she had been dreading ever since last Saturday when 
her father told her the news had finally come. Today, she was moving in with her 
grandfather at the Hikawa shrine.

	‘Why do I do I have to go?’ the little girl asked herself for the 
millionth time it seemed as she watched Mrs. Yukana pack the rest of her clothes 
in a large leather suitcase. Rei had offered to help, of course, but as always, 
Mrs. Yukana shooed her away, telling her to go play with some of her toys. 

	Noticing the pout on Rei‘s face, Mrs. Yukana stopped in the middle of 
folding a yellow T-shirt and set it aside. “Hime-chan, why don’t you go 
downstairs and watch TV?” she suggested. “Your favorite anime show should be 
coming on soon. I know you don‘t want to miss it.”

	Rei shook her head. “I don’t want to,” she answered.

	“Well, how about reading a book?”

	“I read them all.”

	“Take a bath?”

	A bath? The little girl wrinkled her nose in distaste, and a sad smile 
crossed the grandmotherly woman’s lips at the familiar reaction. “I took one 
this morning,” Rei lied.

	“No, you didn’t.” The nanny knew her too well.

	“Well…I don’t want to.” 

	Mrs. Yukana sighed in mild exasperation as Rei fell back on her fluffy 
pillows and rolled over on her side so she was facing in the opposite direction. 
She wished Mrs. Yukana would just leave her alone. Couldn’t her nanny see she 
wasn’t in the mood? Getting the message, Mrs. Yukana wisely didn’t force the 
subject any further and returned to folding clothes.

	Rei sighed, pulling her teddy bear into a tight hug. It seemed to the 
little girl that nobody cared about how she felt about the big move. Mrs. Yukana 
was acting as if it was just another day and her father appeared to be purposely 
ignoring her, heading straight to his study after they finished eating a 
conversation-less breakfast together. In fact, she hadn’t seen much of her 
father at all over the last few days. He was always either at his office in 
downtown Tokyo or working in his study.

	Despite her promise not to cry, Rei felt a warm tear run down her cheek 
and onto her pillow as she thought of Keitaro. She loved her father, but ever 
since her mother’s death, she’d noticed a change in him. All he cared about was 
work anymore. Of course, his work had always been a huge part of his life, but 
now it seemed as if it were the only thing. He was like a virtual robot now, 
emotionless and dedicated only to his task. The ultimate workaholic.

	Rei knew for a fact she wasn’t the only casualty. Minoru, her father’s 
best friend and her godfather, called almost everyday to check on Keitaro. Every 
time, Mrs. Yukana ended up giving him the exact same message: “Gomen nasai, 
Uchizawa-san, but Hino-sama is working and not taking calls at the moment. 
Please call back tomorrow.” Rei heard the message so much, she now knew it by 
heart. 

	Why was her father acting this way? Why wouldn’t he talk to Minoru? Why 
did he want her to move in with her grandfather? So many questions, and she 
couldn’t think of one a single answer.

	“Otou-sama…” she whispered, blinking back tears.

	Rei suddenly felt the mattress shift underneath her as somebody else 
joined her on the bed. A warm hand began rubbing her back in a soothing circular 
motion. Startled by the touch, the little girl craned her neck to see who was 
behind her and saw Mrs. Yukana staring down at her with caring china blue eyes.

	“Hime-chan?” Mrs. Yukana’s soft voice said. “What’s wrong?”  

	 “Nothing,” Rei lied, wiping away another tear that managed to escape 
with the palm of her hand. She was embarrassed to be caught in such a state. 
There was no use crying over things she couldn’t control, so why even bother? 
“I’m fine, Yukana-san.”

	“No, you’re not. Now turn around and look at me.”

	Following orders, Rei reluctantly rolled over so that she was laying on 
her back, her hands folded over her stomach. She tried to give her nanny a small 
smile to prove she was okay, but even Rei knew she wasn’t fooling anybody with 
her forced happiness. Mrs. Yukana sighed, brushing back a loose strand of dark 
hair out of the little girl’s watery eyes. 

	“I know it’s hard for you, sweetie,” the nanny said. “You don’t have to 
pretend you‘re okay with all that is happening. It‘s hard for me too.”

	Hearing that, for the first time, Rei noticed the tears in her nanny’s 
eyes as well. “Really, Yukana-san?” she asked. “I didn’t think anybody cared I 
was leaving.”

	“Of course we care,” Mrs. Yukana insisted. “Your father and I care very 
much that you are leaving. It is breaking our hearts.”

	“Then why did otou-sama ask ojii-sama if I could move to Hikawa?”

	As Rei suspected, Mrs. Yukana didn’t have an immediate answer to her 
question either. The nanny situated herself on the bed so she was laying next to 
her beloved charge and wrapped an arm around Rei’s waist before she attempted to 
explain.

	“You father is going through a hard time right now, hime-chan. When a 
person loses someone they love, sometimes they need time alone to grieve and 
heal, and I think that is why your father asked Kondo-sama if he would take you 
in. I think Hino-sama wants to be alone for a little. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t 
love you anymore. It just means he’s going through a lot right now, and he 
probably doesn’t think he can take care of you properly.”

	“But couldn’t you take care of me, Yukana-san?” Rei asked, not 
understanding the logic behind her explanation. “You and okaa-sama were the ones 
who usually did anyway. Otou-sama was always too busy with work to pay attention 
to me. Why does that have to change? I don‘t understand. Why can‘t things stay 
the way they were before?”

	“I’m afraid I don’t know, sweetie.” Mrs. Yukana pulled her closer, 
lightly kissing the top of her head. “But not all changes are bad, you know. I 
know you’re not crazy about the idea of moving in with your grandfather at 
Hikawa, but who knows? You might end up liking it there.”

	“I doubt it,” she said, rolling back on her side just as they heard the 
doorbell ring faintly ring downstairs.

	After giving her charge one last kiss, Mrs. Yukana sat up on the bed and 
finished zipping up the suitcase. “That’s probably Ogata-san with the car now,” 
the nanny guessed. “He’s a little early, though. I thought your father said he 
wasn’t coming until noon. Oh, well. Come, hime-chan, it’s time to get ready to 
go.”

	“Do I have to?” Rei asked, once again pouting as she hugged her teddy 
bear. She wasn’t ready to leave. Not yet.

	“I’m afraid so.”

	Reluctantly, Rei grabbed the other small suitcase sitting beside the bed 
on the floor and followed Mrs. Yukana downstairs.

					*****

	A sporty convertible pulled into the driveway of the Hino manor around 
eleven. Its driver, a young man whose hair perfectly matched the fire-engine red 
paint of his car, parked and turned off the ignition, but he didn’t immediately 
get out. Instead, he stared at the handsome mansion and tapped his 
fingernails against the steering wheel, trying to decide whether or not he 
wanted to go inside.

	“Maybe this was a bad idea,” Minoru said aloud to himself. He should 
have called before he made the trip over to the manor. It was rude to show up 
unannounced, but Minoru knew what would have happened if he did call. Mrs. 
Yukana would probably just give him the same sorry message she gave him the last 
fifty times he’d called over the past week or so -- “Gomen nasai, Uchizawa-san, 
but Hino-sama is working and not taking calls at the moment. Please call back 
tomorrow.” 

	Thinking of the message, he rolled his eyes. Nobody could possibly work 
*that* much. Then again, this was Hino Keitaro he was talking about, the man 
whose name was almost synonymous with the term “workaholic”. The same man who 
once stayed up for twenty-four hours straight to study for his college entrance 
exam. The same man who use to do extra credit assignments for fun. The same man 
who would rather organize his desk than go to a keg party. It wouldn’t be much 
of a stretch to imagine him working around the clock in some desperate attempt 
to avoid dealing with his feelings of grief. Keitaro went through a similar 
cycle for a period shortly after his uncle died.    

	Still, Minoru was at a lost for why his best friend didn’t want to speak 
to him. Considering everything Keitaro had been through recently, one would 
think he could use a friend now more than ever. However, he seemed to be pushing 
everyone away again. It couldn’t be very healthy. 

	“That settles it,” Minoru decided, taking the keys out of his ignition 
and putting them in his pocket. He ran a hand through his wind-blown hair, 
checking his reflection in the rear-view mirror before he stepped out of the 
convertible. Then slamming the car door shut, he headed up the sidewalk leading 
to the front door.

	Minoru rang the doorbell and waited. A few moments passed without answer, 
and Minoru frowned. Were they not home? He was about to ring the bell once again 
when finally, the door opened and Mrs. Yukana greeted him with a sad smile. 

	“Oh, Uchizawa-san, I apologize for the delay in answering,” she said, 
showing him in. “Please come in. We weren’t expecting you today. I thought you 
were Ogata-san.”

	“It’s my fault, Yukana-san. I should have called before coming over,” he 
replied, stepping inside and slipping off his shoes. “Is this a bad time? I 
won’t stay long. I just wanted--”

	“Uchizawa-san!” a little girl’s voice exclaimed in surprise. Excited 
footsteps scampered down the stairs, and Minoru smiled as his beloved godchild 
ran toward him. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

	“Konnichiwa, Rei-chan.” Minoru lifted the girl in his arms. “How are you 
today?”

	The excitement on Rei’s face disappeared as she rested her head on 
Minoru‘s shoulder. “Sad,” she answered. “Today’s moving day.”

	“Moving day?” Looking down the main hall, Minoru was surprised to find a 
pile of assorted suitcases of all shapes and sizes sitting near the bottom of 
the staircase, waiting to be moved. He turned toward Mrs. Yukana for 
confirmation of Rei’s claim. “What’s going on, Yukana-san? Why do you have the 
suitcases out?”

	The older woman wrung her hands and sighed. “I’m afraid hime-chan is 
right, Uchizawa-san. She’s moving in with her grandfather today. Hino-sama 
arranged it a few days ago.”

	Stunned by the announcement, Minoru lowered Rei back to the ground and 
let the little girl run over to her nanny. At first, he wasn’t sure if he heard 
correctly. Surely, there must be some sort of mistake. Why would Keitaro send 
his daughter to live with the grandfather she never met? It didn’t make sense.

	“Rei-chan is moving to Hikawa?”

	Rei’s nanny nodded. “We were just upstairs finishing packing the rest of 
hime-chan’s things when you arrived. Ogata-san is supposed to come around noon 
with the car.”

	“Where is Keitaro?” he demanded, already starting to head down the 
hallway. It was a pointless question. Knowing his best friend, Keitaro most 
likely was working in his study.

	“The office,” Mrs. Yukana answered, as he expected. “But you shouldn’t 
interrupt him, Uchizawa-san. He’s busy working on a speech at the moment. You 
know Hino-sama doesn‘t like to be disturbed when he‘s writing.”

	Minoru ignored Mrs. Yukana’s words of caution and continued down the 
hallway toward the study. Better than anyone, he knew Keitaro hated being 
bothered when there was work to be done, but considering the news he just 
learned about Rei, Minoru figured it was worth the interruption. 

	He still couldn’t believe Keitaro was sending his daughter away to live 
at the Hikawa shrine with Kondo Saburo, a man she never even met. Rei needed her 
father more than ever during this difficult time of mourning. Hadn’t she 
suffered enough over the last few weeks without adding to her pain and 
confusion? Rei already lost one parent; the last thing she needed was to lose 
another.        

	Coming to the door of Keitaro’s home office, Minoru knocked.

	“Yukana-san, I told you I’m working,” a man’s familiar voice called out 
through the door. “Unless Ogata-kun is here with the car already, I don’t want 
to be disturbed.” 

	“It’s not Yukana-san,” Minoru replied. He reached for the knob of the 
door, and surprised to discover it not locked, pushed the door opened far enough 
to look inside. He saw his friend hunched over his desk, pen in hand and glasses 
falling down his nose. “It’s me, Keitaro.”

	Keitaro briefly glanced up from his paperwork, but he didn’t seem too 
surprised when he saw Minoru enter the office and close the door behind him. 
“Oh, Minoru,” he said, turning his attention back to his speech. “It’s nice to 
see you. I wasn’t expecting you today.”

	At another time, Minoru might have made some joking, sarcastic comment 
along the lines of “How could you, when you won’t even answer my phone calls, 
you baka?” but he didn‘t think Keitaro would appreciate it at the moment. 
Instead, he took a seat in the chair in front of Keitaro’s desk, not waiting for 
an invitation, and made himself at home. “Yes, well, I thought I would come by 
to see how you and Rei-chan are doing.”

	“We’re fine.”

	“No, you’re not.”

	The declaration got Keitaro’s attention. His pen stopped scratching 
against the paper and he sat the writing utensil down on the desk, slowly 
raising his bowed head. The motion allowed Minoru to finally see the dark 
circles underneath his sleepless gray eyes and the beginnings of a faint five 
o’clock shadow on his face. “Keitaro, forgive me for saying this, but you look 
terrible,” Minoru said, alarmed by his appearance.

	The blond took off his wire-rimmed glasses and rubbed his eyes. “It’s 
nothing,” he insisted with a half-hearted chuckle. “I haven’t been able to sleep 
very well the last few days, that’s all. I think that old couch over there has 
just about had it.” Keitaro tilted his head in the direction of the couch in 
question, covered with a couple of pillows and a blanket tossed carelessly over 
the top.

	“You’ve been sleeping in here? Well, why don‘t you sleep in your bedroom 
if the couch is so uncomfortable?” The moment the question slipped out of his 
mouth, Minoru felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Of course Keitaro 
wouldn’t want to sleep in his bedroom, to sleep in the same bed he shared with 
Takara. He lowered his gaze in shame. “Oh, gomen.”

	Keitaro shook his head. “No need to apologize, Minoru,” he said softly. 
“Truthfully, I don’t think it matters where I sleep, whether it’s here on the 
couch or upstairs in the bed. The dreams…never mind.”

	“What about the dreams?” 

	“Nothing.” The blond placed his glasses back on his nose and resumed 
work on his speech, obviously not wanting to talk about the subject any further. 
“Look, I appreciate your concern and I‘m sorry you came all this way for 
nothing, but I’m fine, Minoru. There’s no need for you to stay, so why don’t you 
go back to Tokyo? I have work to do.” Keitaro paused to glance down at his 
watch. “Besides, I‘ll be leaving in about an hour anyway.”

	“To take Rei-chan to Hikawa?” Minoru asked, the slightest touch of 
coldness in his voice as he remembered the sad look in his goddaughter‘s 
amethyst eyes. As much as he understood what Keitaro must be going through at 
the moment and wanted to help him, Minoru couldn’t conceal his disapproval of 
the situation with Rei. He still felt Keitaro was doing the wrong thing by 
sending Rei away to live with her grandfather. “Yes, I know. Yukana-san and 
Rei-chan informed me of the news when I arrived.”  

	“It’s for the best, Minoru.”

	“How? How is it for the best?” Minoru demanded to know. “Rei-chan is 
only a little girl. She just lost her mother, Keitaro. She’s lonely, and scared, 
and confused. The last thing she needs right now is to move in with a man she’s 
never met, even if he is her grandfather. I’m all for Rei-chan and Kondo-sama 
forming some kind of relationship, but what she needs is a father who will love 
and comfort her at a ti--”

	“Shimatta, Minoru! What if that father doesn’t exist?” Keitaro shot 
back, not giving Minoru the chance to finish his lecture. The widower threw down 
his pen and hid his face in his hands, startling his friend with the rare 
outburst of emotion. “What if I can’t be the father Rei-san needs?”

	Not knowing quite how to respond, Minoru remained silent. He hadn’t 
expected to see this side of Keitaro. Keitaro rarely, if ever, raised his voice 
in such a manner. Even when he became angry, he usually managed to hide his 
anger underneath a cool exterior of complete control. To see him lose control 
was rare.

	“Gomen nasai,” Keitaro apologized after a few moments passed. His voice 
returned to its normal volume. “I didn’t mean to blow up at you like that.”

	“N-no, it’s fine,” Minoru stuttered, still a little shocked by Keitaro’s 
unusual behavior. He leaned forward in the elegant armchair in which he was 
sitting and tried to gather his thoughts. Minoru had known that Keitaro didn’t 
spend much time with his daughter, but he had assumed it was simply because of 
the governor‘s heavy schedule. The idea of his behavior toward Rei having some 
deeper meaning never crossed his mind before now. “Keitaro--”

	The widower sighed, massaging one of his temples. “Minoru, perhaps it 
would be best if you left now. I have work to do, and I‘m sure you do as well.”

	It was more of an order than a request, but Minoru refused to go until 
he learned some answers to the questions now swimming in his head. He knew 
Keitaro well enough to know something other than Takara’s death was bothering 
him. If it were only that, Keitaro never would have lost his temper like he did. 
No, it was something else, and Minoru was determined to discover what is was.

	“No, as a matter of fact, I had my secretary clear my entire schedule 
for the day before I left,” Minoru answered. “Now I’m glad I thought about it, 
because we need to talk.”

	“Really?“ A blond eyebrow arched in Minoru’s direction. “And since when 
did you earn a PhD in psychology? Between attending keg parties and jumping from 
bed to bed?”

	“Keitaro, this isn’t the time to crack jokes.” The irony of the 
situation wasn’t lost on Minoru. Usually, it was he who cracked the jokes and 
Keitaro who told him to get serious. “What is going on with you? You haven’t 
been answering my calls, you’re sending Rei-chan to live with Kondo-sama--”

	“Nothing is going on with me,” Keitaro insisted once again, starting to 
sound annoyed. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m fine? I’ve been busy, 
okay? That’s the reason why I haven’t been able to talk to you and why I’m 
sending Rei-san to Hikawa. End of discussion.”

	“No, it’s not the end of this discussion because I don’t believe you.”

	Keitaro looked up, staring at his friend in stunned silence. Minoru 
imagined it wasn’t often somebody said “no” to the governor of metropolitan 
Tokyo. The look on Keitaro’s face confirmed this. Well, there was a first time 
for everything, he supposed. Whether he liked it or not, Minoru wasn’t about to 
leave the small office until he found out the truth behind Keitaro’s behavior.

	“You really aren’t going to drop this, are you?” Keitaro finally asked, 
dropping his head in defeat.

	Minoru shook his head. “No, I’m not. Not until you at least tell me the 
meaning behind that outburst earlier. Why do you think you can’t take care of 
Rei-chan?”

	Keitaro sighed. “Please, Minoru, you can’t honestly think I’m father 
material. I assure you nobody is ever going to give me an award for ’Father of 
the Year’. I barely even know my own daughter. Ask me her favorite color, her 
favorite food, or her favorite anime, and I‘ll give you a big, fat ‘I don‘t 
know.’”  

	“Then, learn, Keitaro. I know I’m not a parent myself yet, and I’m 
probably way out of my league on this subject, but I do know parenting takes 
both time and effort. You can’t expect to become the world’s best parent 
overnight. Spend time with Rei-chan, talk to her, play with her…”

	“If only it were that easy.”

	The sentence was uttered in a voice so low, for a moment, Minoru almost 
thought he’d imagined it. However, glancing over at his friend, he found 
Keitaro’s face had softened significantly from earlier. The icy exterior he 
tried so hard to project melted away, leaving behind only a haunted man with 
melancholic gray eyes. 

	“If only it were that easy,” Keitaro repeated.

	“Why can’t it be?” For some reason, Minoru’s voice had instinctively 
lowered to match the widower’s. “Why can’t it be that easy?”

	“Because I’ve become otou-sama.”

	His words hung in the air, suspended in the sudden quiet that had fallen 
between them. Out of all the people close to Keitaro, Minoru alone knew of the 
true pain Hino Takeo inflicted on his only son with his constant emotional 
abuse. He doubted even Takara had known the whole story. Keitaro, 
understandably, didn’t like to talk about his father very much. He only learned 
of it himself after he spent a night at the Hino manor as a kid and heard an 
eight-year-old Keitaro scream, waking from one of his nightmares. Keitaro told 
him about everything that night -- his father’s coldness toward him, the drunken 
rages, the nightmares that continued to haunt him even after Takeo‘s death… It 
was the only time Minoru remembered seeing his best friend cry. 	

	“Keitaro…” Minoru said.

	Reaching for his pen, Keitaro shook his head and began furiously writing 
on his paper like a man possessed. “Forget I said that, Minoru,” he ordered. “I 
don’t know why I even thought of otou-sama. Just go and leave me alone.”

	“No, I already told you I’m not leaving until I get to the bottom of 
this,” Minoru said. He jumped up from his seat and leaned over the desk, 
grabbing the pen from Keitaro's hand as he looked the surprised governor 
straight in the eye. Finally, he had his friend’s full attention. “Tell me 
what’s going on, Keitaro. Please.” 

	“Will you give me back my pen if I agree?”

	Minoru shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe.” 

	“Minoru.”

	“Fine.” After handing back the stolen pen, Minoru sat back in the 
armchair, pleased when Keitaro made no move to resume working. Maybe now he 
would get some real answers to his questions. “Now, tell me the truth. Why are 
you sending Rei-chan to Hikawa?”

	“Because I’m afraid of what I might do,” Keitaro finally admitted after 
a long pause. “I’m afraid I might…I might hurt her.”

	“Like your father hurt you?”

	Keitaro nodded, wrapping his hands around the base of his neck as he 
propped his elbows on the desk. Things were finally beginning to make a little 
bit more sense to Minoru. Even if he didn’t have that doctorate in psychology, 
he could still understand Keitaro’s fear. 

	“But, Keitaro, you are *not* your father,” Minoru stated, once again 
leaning forward in his chair. “Listen to me. I know he hurt you, but just 
because Hino Takeo-san was a bad father doesn’t mean you will be, too.”

	“How do you know that for sure, though, Minoru?” Keitaro asked. “I can 
already feel the resentment toward Rei-san building in me, no matter how hard I 
try to repress it. And I do try. Oh, how I try. But every time I look at 
her, I can‘t help…”

	“What?”  

	Pushing his chair away from the desk, Keitaro stood and walked over to 
window. He pulled back the velvet drapes, letting the midday sunlight filter 
through to give the musky office some much needed light, and looked outside with 
a look of shame on his face. “Rei-san walked into my office the day of the 
funeral,” he began. “I admit I wasn’t exactly sober at the time--”

	“You were drinking?” Minoru asked. He never knew Keitaro to be much of a 
drinker.

	“Yes, it’s not something I’m proud of,” Keitaro said, crossing his arms 
over his chest. “I don’t know what I was thinking. When we came home after the 
burial, the first thing I did was head to otou-sama’s liquor cabinet. I found an 
old bottle of scotch, his favorite, sitting in there unopened. It looked so 
inviting, beckoning me to drink of its intoxicating potion. I only meant to have 
a glass, but…”

	“Are you…?”

	“Still drinking?“ The widower shook his head. “I threw the bottle away 
once I realized what I was doing. I know alcohol isn’t the answer, Minoru. It 
wasn’t the answer for my father, and it isn’t the answer for me. Besides, I find 
my work to be far more intoxicating than anything I could find at the bottom of 
a liquor bottle.”

	“But that’s a good thing, Keitaro. You realized the truth before it ever 
had the chance to develop into a major problem too big for you to control. 
Doesn’t that prove you are not becoming your father? You learned from his 
mistakes. Don‘t you see?”	 

	“I wish I could believe that.”

	“Why can’t you?”

	Keitaro pressed his lips together, silent, focusing his attention on the 
blossoming sakura tree standing outside his office window. The widower appeared 
lost in thought. For a moment, Minoru thought he was going to simply ignore the 
question and revert back to his normal emotionless self, but then Keitaro heaved 
a heavy sigh, breaking the silence. He turned back around and continued with the 
story he began earlier.

	“Rei-san walked in on me while I was drinking. She’d had a nightmare 
about her mother during her nap and wanted me to comfort her. But I couldn’t. I 
didn’t even try.”

	“Why not?”

	“Because…because she looks so much like Takara,” Keitaro said. “When she 
opened the door and walked in here that day, with her hair down and those violet 
eyes looking at me with such sadness, I could almost swear Rei-san was a younger 
version of her mother. And it hurt, Minoru. Pain so unbelievable, I felt as if 
my very heart had been ripped out of my chest. Not even the glass of scotch in 
my hand could numb the pain away.”

	“Keitaro…” Minoru slowly rose from his seat and walked over to where his 
best friend stood, gently placing one hand on Keitaro‘s shoulder. “I know this 
must be a difficult time for you, but you have to believe one day the pain will 
lessen. You won’t always feel this way; the wounds will heal in their own time. 
However, sending Rei-chan away because you don’t want to face your feelings is 
not the answer to your problem. She needs you, and even though you might not be 
able to see it at the moment, you need her just as much.”

	“I knew this was a mistake,” Keitaro said bitterly, shrugging Minoru‘s 
hand off his shoulder. “I never should have told you anything. You don’t 
understand. Why did I ever think you would? You‘ve never lost anyone you loved, 
Minoru. Your family’s still alive and you seem perfectly content to live the 
life of a playboy for the rest of your days. How could ever imagine the pain I‘m 
going through right now?” 

	A vision of a beautiful blonde with chocolate brown eyes flashed in 
Minoru‘s mind. Though Miyuki hadn’t died, he still lost her the day she married 
Watanabe Kazuya. In many ways, he imagined it was not unlike losing a lover or a 
spouse. The only real difference was that Miyuki had never really been his, and 
that hurt more than the fact he’d lost her. 

	“I think I might understand better than you think,” he replied in a 
hoarse voice. 

	Keitaro opened his mouth to reply just as they heard a soft knock on the 
door. Glancing down at his watch to check the time, the widower told who ever it 
was to come in and the door opened, revealing the grandmotherly figure of Mrs. 
Yukana standing outside. 

	The nanny bowed to the two men after she entered the room. “I’m sorry to 
interrupt, Hino-sama,” she apologized, “but Ogata-san is here with the car. 
Hime-chan’s suitcases have already been loaded into the back trunk and the 
driver says he’s ready to leave for Hikawa when you are.”

	“Good,” Keitaro said. Brushing by Minoru on the way back to his desk, he 
grabbed his jacket from off the back of the chair and slipped it on.  “Tell 
Ogata-kun I’ll be out there shortly. Uchizawa-san and I are about finished with 
our business here.”

	“As you wish, Hino-sama.” 

	With one last bow, the old nanny exited the office and closed the door 
behind her. After Mrs. Yukana left, Minoru made one last attempt to change 
Keitaro’s mind about sending Rei to live at Hikawa. 

	“Please, Keitaro, don’t push her away,” he pleaded softly, knowing 
perfectly well his pleas were falling on deaf ears. “Don’t push another person 
away because you’re afraid of getting hurt. Rei-chan needs you. You‘re making a 
mistake.”

	“I’ve made my decision, Minoru,” Keitaro declared, heading to the door. 
“Now, come. I’ll walk you to your car.”

					*****

	Rei and Mrs. Yukana were saying their final goodbyes to each other 
beside the handsome limo parked out front when Keitaro and Minoru exited the 
manor a few minutes later. 

	Despite his attempts to ignore the tender moment between the nanny and 
her charge, Keitaro couldn’t help but feel a small twinge of guilt upon seeing 
the scene. In his mind, of course, he always knew it would be hard for the two 
of them to be separated, but for the first time since he visited Hikawa, the 
true impact of his decision hit home. He felt his pace gradually slow to a 
crawl, stopping completely about a few feet away.

	*She needs you, and even though you might not be able to see it at the 
moment, you need her just as much.*

	Keitaro shook his head, forcing himself to ignore the tiny voice in the 
back of his mind that kept telling him he was making a mistake by sending his 
daughter away. The voice sounded entirely too much like Minoru to be his own. He 
blamed his sudden mixed emotions on the redhead and mentally cursed his 
well-meaning best friend for sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.  

	This is ridiculous, Keitaro thought, berating himself for his moment of 
weakness. Like he told Minoru in the office, this *was* the best thing for his 
daughter. Rei’s leaving was the best thing for everyone.  He had too much to 
deal with at the moment, both personally and professionally, to take on the role 
of a single father, and even if he didn‘t…. 

	“They’re close, aren’t they?” the redhead asked, interrupting Keitaro’s 
thoughts. Minoru, who was walking behind him on the way to the red convertible 
parked in the driveway, had noticed Keitaro’s reaction and came up beside him, a 
sympathetic look in his green eyes as he watched Mrs. Yukana and Rei give each 
other another hug. 

	Keitaro nodded. “Hai, very close.”

	“It must be hard for Rei-chan to say goodbye to Yukana-san. She’s been 
Rei-chan’s nanny ever since she was born, hasn’t she?”

	“Pretty much.”

	“What’s going to happen to Yukana-san now that Rei-chan’s leaving? Will 
she stay at the manor?”

	“For another month or so, until I hire another housekeeper. Yukana-san 
decided she wanted to retire after I told her Rei-san would be living at Hikawa. 
Her daughter-in-law had a baby about a month ago, so she‘s moving to Osaka to 
help.”

	“Then it really is goodbye for them, isn’t it?” Minoru asked, digging 
his hand into his pants pocket and pulling out the keys to his nearby 
convertible.

	“Yes, I suppose it is.”

	“It doesn’t have to be, though, Keitaro,” the handsome redhead pointed 
out softly. “There’s still time for you to change your mind, you know.”

	Keitaro sighed. Why did he have to keep bringing this up? It didn’t 
surprise Keitaro in the least to hear that Minoru still hadn’t given up on the 
subject of Rei‘s leaving, even though he specifically told him he didn’t want to 
talk about it anymore. It had been that way all their lives. Whenever Minoru got 
an idea in his head, he simply could not let it go until he got what he wanted. 
It usually infuriated Keitaro to no end, and this time was no exception. For 
*once*, he wished Minoru would listen to him and let him be. He knew what he was 
doing.

	“Look, Minoru, I want you to drop it,” Keitaro ordered, turning around 
to face his best friend. “I know you are only trying to help, and I do 
appreciate that, but I am sick and tired of this. I told you I made my decision, 
and I fully intend to stand by it. I’m sorry if you don’t agree with me, but 
that is the way it is. Nothing you can say or do will make me change my mind.”

	“But you’re making a mistake, Keitaro.”

	“No, I’m not,” he insisted. “Can’t you see I’m trying to do what I 
believe is best for Rei-san?”

	“Then why do I get the feeling you’re only doing what’s best for 
Keitaro?” Minoru shot back.

	The hurtful words stung Keitaro like a bee, leaving him too stunned to 
reply. Minoru’s eyes widened, only then comprehending what he truly said, but it 
was too late to take them back. The damage had been done. 

	“Gomen nasai, Keitaro,” Minoru apologized. “It slipped out of my mouth 
before I even had the chance to think. I shouldn’t have said that.”

	“It’s fine, Minoru,” he said curtly.

	By that time, Rei had finished saying goodbye to Mrs. Yukana and spotted 
Keitaro and her godfather standing in the middle of the driveway. She walked 
over, her favorite teddy bear cradled in her arms and a sad look in her violet 
eyes.

	“Rei-san, are you ready to leave?” Keitaro asked.

	The little girl shrugged her shoulders. “I guess so, otou-sama,” Rei 
replied without much enthusiasm. The tone in her voice suggested she wasn’t 
ready to leave at all, but Keitaro didn’t allow himself to think about that.

	“Well, then, I suppose we should get in the car. I told your grandfather 
we would arrive at Hikawa around one o‘clock and it‘s about an hour drive from 
here to the shrine. We don‘t want to be late.”

	“Hai, otou-sama.”

	Minoru jingled his car keys in his hand. “I should be going as well, if 
you two are leaving,” he said. The redhead kneeled in front of his goddaughter 
and lifted her lowered chin to say goodbye. “Sayonara, Rei-chan. I’ll try to 
visit you at Hikawa as often as I can. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” 

	Rei nodded, the faintest of smiles on her pink lips. “Very much, 
Uchizawa-san. Arigatou.”

	“Be a good girl for your grandfather, okay?”

	“I’ll try.”

	“I know you will,” he said, affectionately ruffling Rei’s long black 
hair. “Take care of yourself, kiddo.”

	Standing back up, Minoru gave Keitaro one last pointed look, silently 
begging him to change him to change his mind. However, Keitaro averted his gaze 
elsewhere, assuring himself for what seemed like the hundredth time since Minoru 
arrived he was doing the right thing. Getting the message, Minoru said a quick 
goodbye and walked to his parked car. Seconds later, the red convertible was 
speeding down the street.

	‘Why does he always feel he has the right to invade my personal life?’ 
Keitaro asked himself as he watched Minoru’s car turn the intersection, heading 
in the direction of downtown Tokyo. Keitaro knew his friend meant well, but 
sometimes he wished Minoru would mind his own business. In his heart, he knew 
this was doing the right thing, for both him and Rei.

	Right?

	Then why was he suddenly so unsure?

	“Otou-sama?”

	Rei’s melodic voice broke Keitaro from his thoughts. Visibly swallowing, 
he glanced down at the little girl standing beside him, holding the teddy bear 
her mother made her close to her chest. His heart ached at the sight.

	Why did she have to look so much like Takara? Why did this have to be so 
hard?  

	“Rei-san.” His voice was barely a whisper on the light breeze which blew 
around them.

	“Are we leaving now?” she asked, reaching for his hand.

	Unaccustomed to Rei making such a gesture toward him, her touch startled 
Keitaro. A few seconds passed before her question fully registered in his mind. 
When it did, he nodded and tightened his grasp around her tiny hand, regaining 
his composure. 

	“Yes, of course. We don’t want to be late,” he replied, using the same 
business-like tone he used at the office in an attempt to hide his emotion. 
“Come, Rei-san. Let‘s go.”

	Keitaro led the girl back to the limousine, where Ogata, his loyal 
chauffeur since he took office, ceremoniously held the back door open for them. 
He allowed Rei to climb in first, then once she scooted over to the other side 
of the seat, Keitaro joined her as well. After Rei called out a final goodbye to 
an emotional Mrs. Yukana, the door closed behind them, and moments later, the 
limousine pulled away from the manor and began on its way to the Hikawa shrine.  

	The drive to Tokyo was relatively quiet. Rei evidently wasn’t in the 
mood for talking, and, to be honest, neither was Keitaro. He kept his attention 
focused on the country scenery passing by his window, arms crossed and head 
turned as he tried not to notice the small pout on his daughter‘s lips. 

	It proved difficult to ignore though. Despite his best efforts not to 
look for fear of the pain it caused, Keitaro occasionally found himself glancing 
over at the little girl sitting beside him. Rei sat staring straight ahead, her 
legs crossed at the ankles and her teddy bear sitting in her lap, looking very 
much like her mother with her hair loose over her shoulders... 

	Seeing the bear, he smiled sadly. Rei never went anywhere without that 
silly bear, did she? Keitaro remembered how much work her mother put into making 
that bear for Rei last year. Because Takara had wanted to keep the present a 
surprise from their daughter, he had allowed her the use of his study. For 
weeks, Takara had stayed up almost as late as he did, sewing and cutting fabric 
on his office floor. She made a dreadful mess of things, of course, but for some 
reason, the adorable look of intense concentration he saw on her face whenever 
he would look up from his work made it all worthwhile.

	Oh, how he wished he could go back in time to those late autumn 
nights…

	“Otou-sama?”

	Startled by the soft voice, Keitaro involuntarily jumped. He hadn’t 
noticed until he took a quick glance out the window, but they were already 
within the Tokyo city limits. It wouldn’t be long now before they arrived at 
Hikawa. He judged only about ten or fifteen more minutes of driving, unless 
traffic was backed up.

	“What is it, Rei-san?” he asked, tapping his fingertips against the 
armrest on the door. Keitaro averted his eyes to the back of Ogata’s head in 
front of him.

	“Do you think ojii-sama will like me?” she asked.

	“I’m sure he will. You are Kondo-sama’s granddaughter and he loves you. 
Why else would he let you move in with him?”

	Rei frowned. “But why hasn’t he wanted to meet me before? If ojii-sama 
loves me, then why didn’t he ever come to the manor to visit? I didn‘t even know 
about him until a few days ago.” 

	Unable to come up with a suitable answer to her questions, Keitaro 
pressed his lips together in silence. The questions took him by surprise, 
although Keitaro supposed he should have expected the subject to come up 
sometime. What could he tell her? That Saburo disapproved of their marriage and 
vowed never to speak to her mother ever again? No, he couldn’t tell Rei that. As 
much as Saburo had hurt Takara with his disownment of her, Keitaro knew Takara 
would never want him to speak ill of her beloved father. Besides, Keitaro didn’t 
want to provoke any undue animosity between Rei and Saburo, especially since 
Takara’s father was so kind to let his granddaughter move in with him. He would 
let Saburo decide what he wanted to tell Rei about what had happened.

	“It’s complicated, Rei-san,” he finally said, effectively dodging the 
question. Keitaro hoped it would be enough.

	Rei didn’t seem satisfied with that answer, but fortunately, she didn’t 
pursue the subject any further. They rode the rest of the way in silence, each 
staring out their respective windows until the limo came to a smooth stop in 
front of the Hikawa shrine.

	Saburo was already standing at the bottom of the stone steps leading to 
the shrine when they arrived. He wore his normal priestly attire and had a straw 
broom in his hands, which he was using to sweep away fallen sakura petals from 
the sidewalk. Raising his head, he waved when the limo pulled up.

	Rei gasped when she saw the old man for the first time. “Is that 
ojii-sama?” she asked.

	“Yes, he is,” Keitaro answered, waiting for Ogata to get out of the 
driver’s seat and open his door. 

	“I saw him at okaa-sama’s funeral,” Rei said, still looking out the 
tinted windows at the man she now knew to be her grandfather. Her voice was low 
and sorrowful as she placed her tiny hand against the glass. “I didn’t know who 
he was, though. No wonder he looked so sad that day…”

	“Yes, it must have been hard for him.” The door opened then, and Keitaro 
turned to step out. “Come, Rei-san. I’ll properly introduce you before I go.”

	But Rei was reluctant to leave. The little girl clutched her teddy bear 
tightly, not moving from her spot on the passenger’s side of the car, and 
sighed. 

	“Do I have to, otou-sama?” she asked, giving her father pause. 

	Keitaro slowly turned back around in his seat. For the first time since 
they left the manor, he allowed himself to really look at Rei. As always, the 
familiar pain in his heart which surfaced every time he laid eyes on his young 
daughter returned, but this time, it was accompanied by another feeling he 
couldn’t quite describe. Guilt? Regret? Sorrow?

	The feeling left him momentarily speechless. What was happening to him? 
He had been perfectly fine when they left the house. Keitaro thought he had 
pushed those doubts about whether or not he was doing the right thing away after 
the confrontation with Minoru, but now they were back, stronger than ever.

	Was he really doing the best thing for Rei, or had Minoru been right? 
Maybe he was being selfish by sending his daughter away. Maybe he was running 
away from his pain… 

	Keitaro pushed the thoughts away, noticing Saburo was anxiously waiting 
for them outside the car. This wasn’t the time or the place to start a debate 
with himself -- not when they were already here. The decision had already been 
made, and it was too late to change his mind. Rei would be fine here at Hikawa 
with her grandfather once she got used to the idea, he was sure of it. Much 
happier than she would ever be with him.

	Softly, he reached over and touched her elbow. “Rei-san, let’s go,” 
Keitaro said in a low, but firm voice, showing he meant business.

	Having no choice in the matter, Rei finally followed her father out of 
the car, wiping away a tear that had managed to roll down her cheek. Saburo 
greeted them with a low bow when they came out.

	“Konnichiwa. Welcome to the Hikawa shrine.” 

	Keitaro bowed in return. “Konnichiwa, Kondo-sama,” he said. “I apologize 
for our lateness. We had an unexpected visitor arrive at the manor before we 
left and I‘m afraid we weren‘t able to leave on schedule.”

	“It’s fine, Hino-sama. I wasn’t waiting long. Besides, it gave the 
chance to finish sweeping the stairs before you two arrived.” The priest leaned 
his broom against the nearby stair rail and smiled when his dark eyes landed on 
Rei. The little girl, feeling a little shy, was hiding behind her father’s legs. 
“So, are you going to introduce me to this lovely young lady?”

	Keitaro reached behind him, giving his daughter a gentle push forward. 
“Kondo-sama, I would like you to meet your granddaughter, Rei-san,” he said, 
introducing the uncharacteristically timid girl. “Rei-san, this is your 
grandfather, Kondo Saburo-sama.”

	“Konnichiwa, ojii-sama,” Rei finally said, giving him a small bow though 
her eyes still didn‘t look up from the large crack in the sidewalk that 
currently held her undivided attention. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

	“It’s very nice to meet you, too, Rei-chan.” Saburo bended down and 
lifted her chin so he could better see her face. A look of sadness crossed his 
wrinkled features, which Keitaro attributed to Rei’s uncanny resemblance to 
Takara, but Saburo quickly recovered from the shock and brushed a strand of hair 
out of her face. “You know, you look exactly like your mother did when she was 
your age. Very pretty.”

	“Really?” she asked. A trail of rosy pink spread across her porcelain 
cheeks at the compliment, and Rei smiled. “Arigatou.”

	Keitaro watched the scene, relieved Saburo and Rei seemed to like each 
other. They would be fine. Saburo obviously loved his granddaughter very much 
and Rei, even if she was a little hesitant at first, appeared to be warming to 
the old man’s charms. Once they got to know each other better, they would get 
along famously. 

	He *had* made the right decision, Keitaro concluded.

	For all of them.

	Deciding it was time to leave, Keitaro kneeled before his daughter to 
say goodbye. A short farewell would be best. He didn’t want to make this any 
harder on Rei than it needed to be. Keitaro already noticed another tear 
beginning to roll down her cheek when she saw him kneel down, knowing what was 
about to happen, and even though he tried to not let it bother him, he couldn’t 
help but feel a small pang of guilt in his heart at the sight. He brushed the 
feeling aside, however, assuring himself “It was for the best.” The phrase 
seemed to have become his personal mantra over the last few weeks.

	“Don’t cry, Rei-san,” Keitaro said softly as Saburo stepped away, 
allowing them to say a private goodbye. He pulled a handkerchief from inside his 
jacket pocket and wiped the offending tear away. “You’ll be fine here at Hikawa. 
I promise. Kondo-sama is going to take good care of you, okay? Your grandfather 
is a very nice man and I know he loves you very much. Now, I need to go.”

	Rei sniffled. “But I don’t want you to go, otou-sama. I want to go back 
to the manor with you and Yukana-san. Ojii-sama seems nice, but I don’t want to 
stay here. Please take me back.”

	“I can’t. You have to stay, at least for a little while.”

	“Why?”

	“Rei-san…” Keitaro sighed, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his 
nose with his pointer finger. How could he make her understand without telling 
her the truth? It was impossible, yet he knew he couldn’t tell her the real 
reason he was sending her away. She was too young to comprehend what he was 
going through, anyway. “It’s complicated,” he finished lamely, using the same 
excuse he used before.

	Rei‘s pink lips curled into a pout. “Why do you keep saying that? Why 
can‘t you tell me the truth, otou-sama? I can handle it. I‘m almost seven, you 
know. I‘m not a baby anymore. Please, just tell me.”

	She was not making things easier on Keitaro. If only he knew what to 
say… But for once, his gift of word completely escaped him. All he could do was 
stare at her tear-streaked face, thinking how much Rei reminded him of Takara 
and how much he wished she didn’t.

	“I have to go now, Rei-san,” he said hoarsely, ignoring her questions. 
“Please, I’m asking you to be a big girl about this. I need to go. I‘m sorry.”

	Keitaro began to stand back up to leave, but in an unexpected move, his 
daughter threw her arms around him and buried her face in his jacket, leaving 
him unable to do so. “No, please don’t go,” Rei begged, her voice muffled in the 
woolen fabric of his suit. It sounded as if she might be crying again, but he 
couldn’t be sure. “I want to stay with you! Don‘t leave me here, otou-sama. I 
want to go home. Take me home.”

	Stunned in all meaning of the word by Rei’s sudden outburst, Keitaro 
didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t accustomed to his usually well-behaved 
daughter making such a scene. Hesitantly, Keitaro wrapped his arms around her 
shaking body and looked up at Saburo for help.

	The priest didn’t seem to have any ideas either. However, Saburo finally 
stepped forward and placed his hands on Rei’s shoulders, gently pulling her 
away. 

	“Rei-chan, your father has to go now,” he said, once he managed to 
disengage the sobbing child from Keitaro‘s arms. Saburo then kneeled down on the 
sidewalk, turning his granddaughter around so that she faced him, and took her 
tiny hand in his own. “I know this is hard for you, sweetie, but if it makes you 
feel any better, I really would like it if you stayed. It’s been many years 
since I had someone to keep me company here in this old shrine and it gets 
lonely sometimes. I was really looking forward to having a little girl around 
the house again. It‘s been far too lonesome since your mother left.”

	Rei wiped away her tears with the sleeve covering her other arm and 
sniffled. “You’re lonely, ojii-sama?”

 	Saburo nodded. “Very much so,” he said, smoothing down a few fly away 
strands of her raven hair. “I also would like the chance to get to know you 
better. I‘ve missed so much of your life so far, Rei-chan. That’s why when your 
father offered to let you come live with me for awhile, I jumped at the chance. 
I thought it would be the perfect way for us to get to know one another better. 
You see?”

	“I guess so,” Rei replied. 

	“So, will you stay with me? Please?”

	“I-I…But…” 

	The little girl paused and turned her head around to look behind her for 
guidance. In her eyes, Keitaro saw Rei was torn over what to do. She didn’t want 
to disappoint her grandfather, yet in his heart, he knew the only thing she 
wanted to do was go back home to the manor with him. But she couldn’t, and the 
sooner Rei understood that, the better.

	Standing back up, Keitaro clenched his fists and turned his gaze away 
from that of his daughter’s, unable to look her in the eye. “Rei-san, stay with 
your grandfather,” he ordered. “I have to go now.” 

	“But, otou-sama…”

	“It’s for the best. I‘m sorry. Sayonara, Rei-san.”

	He headed to the limo before she could object any further. 



	To be continued in Part II...


DISCLAIMERr: "Sailor Moon" is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.