Chapter Ten: Phoenix Rising, Part III

	Standing at the altar of the hotel’s chapel one week later, Minoru finished 
putting on the elegant gold cufflinks Jacqueline had given to him as a wedding 
present, his nerves quite noticeable as he struggled to fasten them with shaking 
hands. He was undeniably anxious, but more than that, he was also excited, knowing in 
just a few more minutes, Jacqueline would be his wife, and he would finally have the 
family he had always longed for. 

	Contrary to popular belief, he did not regret losing his bachelor status in 
the least. Sure, it had been fun -- for a while -- but after a few years, the "wine, 
women and song" life had become rather monotonous, and  Minoru could honestly say the 
last few months with Jacqueline and Angelique had been among the happiest in his 
life. He hadn’t even partaken in the traditional “one last night of freedom”, 
preferring to spend the evening before with his fiancée and soon-to-be stepdaughter 
at their apartment instead of heading to one of downtown Tokyo’s infamous gentlemen’s 
clubs for drinks and lap dances. He almost laughed out loud remembering the looks of 
pure astonishment (and some disappointment) when he told his male friends from the 
office that he preferred to stay at home instead of partying the night away.

	The only thing preventing Minoru from being completely happy was the 
knowledge that he wouldn’t be able to share today with his best friend. He had tried 
calling Keitaro the night before, inviting him once again to the wedding, but he had 
only been able to reach the answering machine. Evidently, Keitaro was still refusing 
to take his calls, so Minoru had given up hope on Keitaro deciding to attend the 
ceremony at the last minute. It would take more than a simple phone call to make 
things right between them again.

	“Minoru-san, what’s wrong?” a female voice asked, startling him when he 
suddenly felt somebody‘s hand on his shoulder. Minoru hadn’t realized anybody else 
was in the chapel. “Today’s your wedding day, so why the glum face all of a sudden? 
You look like you‘ve just lost your best friend.”

	“That’s not so far from the truth, Miyuki,” he replied, sighing as he turned 
around to face his former love. “You haven’t seen Keitaro, have you?”

	The blonde shook her head, her soft curls bouncing ever so slightly. “No, I 
haven’t. Shouldn’t he be here by now? The wedding’s about to begin.”

	“I don’t think he’s coming.”

	“What? Why wouldn‘t Keitaro-san come to your wedding?” she asked. “You two 
have been best friends since you were children. I can’t imagine him not being here.”

	“Well, we haven’t exactly been on speaking terms lately,” Minoru admitted, 
stuffing his hands into the pockets of his dress slacks. “I was hoping he might 
decide to come today anyway, but it doesn’t look like it.”

	“There’s still some time left. He could still make it.”

	Chuckling softly to himself, Minoru stepped down from the raised altar and 
took a seat in one of the front pews. “Now look who’s the one with blind hope,” he 
commented. “You sound just like me a few years ago.”

	“Things are really that bad between you two?”

	“Worse.”

	Her eyes filled with sympathy, Miyuki joined him in the pew, covering the 
hand he had placed on his knee with one of her own. “What happened?” she asked 
softly. “Did you two have an argument?”

	“After the funeral, I went to his office to give him a piece of my mind for 
not coming, and needless to say, it didn‘t go too well,” Minoru said. “I know, I 
know, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but I thought if I could somehow make him 
realize what he was doing to himself and to Rei-chan…”

	Miyuki sighed. “There’s not much chance of that happening now. You know he 
signed the emancipation papers, right?”

	Minoru nodded. Rei had called to tell him about the emancipation a few days 
ago. He had been mildly surprised, but not really shocked by the news. It appeared 
Keitaro was continuing to repeat the pattern he began the day Takara died, pushing 
his daughter away when she needed him most. 

	“Honestly, I don’t think I know him at all anymore,” Minoru said. “He cares 
about her -- I know in my heart he does -- but he seems downright determined to push 
Rei-chan away from him. It’s like he doesn’t *want* to be happy, like he’s punishing 
himself for some crime he hasn’t even committed.”

	“Well, maybe it’s better this way, anyway, Minoru-san,” Miyuki said. 
“Rei-chan didn’t seem too thrilled when I suggested she move back to the manor, and 
Keitaro-san isn’t exactly Father of the Year.”

	“But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a second chance, Miyuki. Look, I’m 
not saying he’s been the perfect father to Rei-chan. I’ll be the first to admit he’s 
made a lot of mistakes over the past ten years or so. I was against him sending her 
to Hikawa to live with Kondo-sama from the start, and I hated watching him 
practically ignore her as he buried himself in his work.”

	“Then how can you defend him?” she demanded to know. “I don’t understand. I 
know he is -- was -- your best friend, but you know his faults.”

	“I take it you agreed with his decision to sign the papers, then?” Minoru 
asked, frowning. Miyuki and Keitaro never had been particularly close, but he never 
expected her to be so vehement about the situation.

	“I don’t know…” she replied, taking her hand away and placing it in her lap. 
“Please, Minoru-san, I don’t want to argue about this. Keitaro-san made his decision, 
and whether I agree with it or not doesn’t matter. The only opinions that matter are 
his and Rei-chan’s.”

	“I suppose you’re right.” Minoru fiddled with his cufflinks, knowing that he 
should change the subject, but he couldn't give up his interest just yet. “So, how is 
Rei-chan handling the emancipation, anyway?” he asked. “I haven‘t had the chance to 
really talk to her since she called me with the news.”

	“She’s…dealing with it, I guess,” Miyuki said, sighing as she twisted the 
ring on her finger. “Outwardly, she seems fine. It doesn’t appear to have affected 
her at all. She’s getting her finances in order and going on with her normal life, as 
if nothing’s changed. Emotionally, though, it hard to tell. Rei-chan’s always been so 
guarded with her feelings…”

	Knowing exactly what she meant, Minoru nodded. After all, it was difficult 
even for *him* to know what Rei was thinking and feeling, and he'd seen her far more 
often than Miyuki. It was yet another resemblance to the father she despised. 

	“What about you? How are you holding up?” he asked.

	“Me?” Miyuki looked surprised by the question, her dark brown eyes widening 
slightly as she looked up.

	“Well, I know you and Watanabe-san were set to be her guardians. It must have 
been quite a shock when Rei-chan decided to become emancipated.”

	“It was,” Miyuki admitted, “but it was what she wanted. As much as I would 
have loved for her to move to Nagano with us, I couldn’t force her to leave Tokyo if 
that wasn’t what she wanted. I think, in the end, she‘ll be much happier staying at 
Hikawa.”

	“But?” he pressed, sensing there was something she wasn’t telling him. “Come 
on, Miyuki, I can’t imagine you simply accepting this. It must be difficult for you, 
too.”

	“I’m fine, really,” she insisted. “I’ve made my peace with it. I know 
Rei-chan didn’t do this to hurt me. She just did what she felt she had to do.”

	“Miyuki…”

	“Fine, I’m not completely happy with the situation,” the blonde confessed. “I 
know Rei-chan asked Kazuya to file the papers and we agreed to let her go through 
with the emancipation, but I don’t know… I can’t help wishing she had decided to stay 
with us. I promised Kondo-sama I would take care of her, and it feels like I’m 
failing him.”

	Minoru smiled and gently touched her arm, sympathizing with her feelings. 
“I’m sure he doesn’t think that. Above all, Kondo-sama wanted Rei-chan to be happy, 
and if this is where she is happiest, then he can’t fault you for a silly thing like 
geography. You can’t help living so far away, and you’ll keep in touch, right? Phone 
calls, visits, and the like? Just because you live in different cities doesn’t mean 
you can’t still take care of her. As long as Rei-chan is healthy, safe, and happy, 
you haven‘t failed him.”

	“You’re right. Arigatou, Minoru-san. That makes me feel a little better.”

	Miyuki smiled with gratitude just as the doors to the chapel opened and a 
teenage girl dressed in a simple plum sheath stepped inside. Hearing the sound of her 
high heels coming down the aisle, Minoru and Miyuki broke apart, Minoru standing from 
his seat in the pew to greet her.

	“Rei-chan, we were just talking about you,” he said, coming forward to give 
his goddaughter a hug. “It’s so good to see you. How are you?”

	“I’m fine, Uchizawa-san,” she said, allowing him to hold her for a few 
seconds before pulling away. Rei never had been comfortable with public displays of 
affection.

	“Are you sure?” he asked, holding her at arm’s length. Minoru could see what 
Miyuki had meant by Rei seeming fine on the outside, the picture of a calm, poised 
young lady, but he thought he saw the hint of sadness in her amethyst eyes.

	Rei smiled softly, undoubtedly trying to assure him she really was okay. It 
did help a little bit, but Minoru still couldn’t shake the feeling something was 
bothering her. “Of course,” she said. “Why wouldn’t I be? It’s your wedding day.”

	“That it is,” he remarked proudly, for the moment putting aside his concerns 
about Rei as he was reminded of that fact. It was impossible not to smile every time 
he thought about the wedding. “By the way, thank you again for agreeing to be 
Jakakuerine’s maid of honor. I know we kind of sprung it on you at the last minute, 
but Jakakuerine doesn’t have many female friends here in Japan.”

	“I don’t mind, Uchizawa-san,” she assured him. “Oh, that reminds me. 
Yanagazawa-san and Angelique-chan are finished dressing, so we can start the ceremony 
at any time. Are all the guests here?”

	Miyuki nodded from her seat in the pew, starting to stand. “Hai, Kazuya and 
the kids are waiting outside. I should probably go tell them to come take their 
seats.”

	“That’s okay, Watanabe-san,” Rei replied. “I can inform them the ceremony is 
about to begin when I head back to the dressing room. Is that everybody?”

	At the question, Miyuki glanced over at him and Minoru sighed, looking back 
one final time at the closed doors in the back of the chapel. Keitaro still hadn’t 
arrived. Minoru knew he shouldn’t have kept his hopes up that he would, but a small 
part of him had really and truly thought Keitaro might decide to come to the wedding 
after all. It was now painfully obvious he had been wrong.

	“Hai, that’s everyone,” Minoru finally said when he realized they were both 
waiting for an answer. “Tell Jakakuerine and the minister I’m ready whenever she is.”

	“Okay, I’ll tell them.”

	After Rei let out what seemed to be a sigh of relief, she headed back to the 
dressing room while Minoru resumed his designated spot at the altar and Miyuki sat 
back down in the pew. 

 	“Um, Minoru-san?” Miyuki said after a few moments, rising once again and 
walking over to where he stood. “I know Rei-chan is going to be Yanagazawa-san’s maid 
of honor, but who is going to be your best man?”

	Minoru abruptly turned his head toward her, eyes widening when he realized 
that during all that had happened recently, he had forgotten to choose a best man. 
Keitaro had been his first choice, of course, but those plans had obviously fallen 
through. Desperate for a replacement, he only had to think a moment before smiling at 
the blonde beside him. 

	“You’ll be my best man, Miyuki,” he declared.

	“Me?” Miyuki glanced down at her floral-print dress, hands resting on her 
womanly hips. “Minoru-san, I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately, but I am a woman.”

	“So?”

	“So, I can’t be best *man*.”

	“Then we’ll call you best woman.”

	“But it’s not traditional…” Miyuki protested.

	“Well, I’ve never been much for tradition anyway,” he said, shrugging. “Come 
on, it’ll be fun and there’s nobody else here to fill the role. Please, Miyuki. All 
you have to do is stand by me at the altar and hold the rings until the minister asks 
for them. You won‘t even have to make a toast since we‘re leaving for the airport 
right after the ceremony. It‘ll be a piece of cake.”

	“Why don‘t you ask Kazuya?” she suggested. “I know you don’t know each other 
that well, but I’m sure he would be happy…”

	“Please, Miyuki, I want you,” he begged, taking her hand and giving it a 
light squeeze. “Outside of Keitaro, you are my best friend. If he isn’t able to be 
here today, then I can think of no other person I’d rather have up here with me than 
you.” 

	“Really? You think of me as your best friend?”

	Minoru smiled. “Of course. You know how much I care about you.”

	“I don’t know, Minoru-san,” Miyuki said, still hesitant but looking as if she 
was considering it. “I’m honored that you asked me, but won’t it be awkward, 
considering our history? How will your bride react when she comes down that aisle and 
sees me standing beside you, knowing…you know…”

	“That I love you?” he said, completing her thought. A smile tugged on his 
lips as Miyuki immediately turned a bright pink and pulled her hand out of his grasp. 
She was still as easy to fluster as she had been the first time they met.

	“Minoru-san, you shouldn’t say things like that!” she admonished, pivoting on 
the heel of her stilettos and crossing her arms indignantly over her chest. 
“Especially when you are about to marry another woman. What if Yanagazawa-san had 
heard you?”

	Coming up behind her, Minoru placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her 
back around to face him. “Listen, Miyuki, I am always going to love you,” he said 
with uncharacteristic seriousness, looking directly into her chocolate brown eyes. 
“Maybe not the way I loved you before, but you are always going to hold a special 
place in my heart.” 

	“B-But what about Yanagazawa-san?” she asked.

	“My feelings for you don’t diminish what I feel for Jakakuerine,” Minoru 
assured her. “I love her dearly, maybe even more than I loved you, if that is 
possible. But you were the first woman I ever loved, Miyuki, and those feelings are 
never going to fade away. Jakakuerine understands, because I know a part of her will 
always love Tenshi-chan‘s father. Just because a relationship doesn‘t work the way 
you expected doesn‘t mean you stop loving the other person. Maybe it‘s hard for you 
to understand since you are one of the lucky ones, but it’s the way I feel, and I’m 
not ashamed to say it.” 

	After his little speech, Minoru slowly released the grip he held on Miyuki’s 
arms, unsure of how she would react. He had wanted to tell her how he still felt 
about her for sometime but could never find the right moment to do so. Perhaps now, 
only minutes before he was due to marry another woman, wasn’t the best time either, 
but Minoru didn’t regret it. There was a finality in telling Miyuki he loved her one 
last time, as if he had finally closed the door to that part of his life and now he 
could move on to the next.

	“I-I-I don’t know what to say,” Miyuki stuttered after a few moments of 
awkward silence. “What can I say? I mean, I guess I’m flattered, that you would 
still…love me after all these years, even after the pain I must have caused you when 
I married Kazuya instead of you, but…”

	“You don’t have to say anything, Miyuki. I just wanted you to know how I 
felt.”

	“B-But…”

	Chuckling, he placed a finger playfully on her lips to silence her. “Miyuki, 
the only thing I want you to say is ‘yes’.”

	“Yes? Yes to what?” she asked suspiciously, moving the finger away.

	“Yes to being my best man,” he replied. “Will you do it?”

	Sighing, Miyuki threw up her arms in mock surrender. “Fine, if it means that 
much to you, I’ll be your best man,” she declared. “Just don‘t expect me to wear a 
tuxedo.”

	Minoru laughed. “Don’t worry. You look much better in that dress.”

*****

	Meanwhile, in the conservatory of the hotel, Keitaro sat on the ledge of one 
of the many majestic fountains decorating the place, debating whether or not he 
should leave. Minoru’s wedding was about to begin in the hotel‘s chapel, but though 
he had been invited, Keitaro doubted his presence would be very welcome. 

	Not after what he had done.

	He didn’t even know why he had decided to come. Initially, attending the 
wedding had not been in his plans. Keitaro had expected to spend the day cooped up in 
meetings, but a last minute cancellation had left him with about a two hour window of 
rare free time. He’d thought about using it to catch up on some paperwork, but for 
reasons Keitaro still didn’t understand, he ended up at the hotel instead.

	“This is a waste of time,” he muttered to himself, glancing down at his 
watch. “Either I need to go in there now or head back to the office. I don‘t have 
time to just sit here idly when there‘s work to be done.”

	The question was, which option did he want to pursue? He needed to make a 
final decision, and fast. There was no point in staying if he had no intention of 
going to the wedding. If he left now, Keitaro estimated he would have just enough 
time to play catch up and maybe even have a quick lunch before his next scheduled 
meeting.

	Yet even after his brain rationalized it was probably best to leave, his body 
refused to move from its seat on the fountain’s ledge. No matter what his brain said, 
his heart still wanted to be there for Minoru on his big day. Evidently, it hadn’t 
received the memo that they were no longer friends.

	Keitaro struggled, but in the end, his heart won. He sighed in defeat and 
began heading toward the chapel doors.

	At the same time, however, the doors suddenly opened and somebody else 
stepped outside. Keitaro froze in his tracks, immediately recognizing the young 
woman’s long raven hair and amethyst eyes. She didn’t appear to see him, only 
stopping a moment to say something to Watanabe Kazuya, who had been supervising his 
children while they played in the conservatory, before walking away, but the brief 
glimpse of his daughter was enough for Keitaro to pause, shaken to the core.

	“Rei-san,” he whispered.

	Keitaro didn’t know why he was so surprised to see Rei there. On some level, 
he ought to have known she would be. Of course Minoru would have invited his beloved 
goddaughter to his wedding. Did Keitaro honestly think he wouldn’t on the off chance 
the two of them might see each other? No, of course not. Keitaro never expected 
Minoru to choose between them, not when he knew how much his friend cared about them 
both.  

	But Keitaro *did* have a choice. Either he could leave now and head back to 
the office as he should have already or he could stay for the wedding and risk facing 
his daughter for the first time since he signed the emancipation papers. The first 
option was very tempting, and he even took a couple of steps in the direction of the 
hotel’s exit, intending to leave, but again, he couldn’t. He had to stay. 

	In fact, he *wanted* to stay, he realized with some surprise.

	So, after taking a few deep breaths to gather his courage, Keitaro walked 
over to the chapel doors and stepped inside.  

*****

	Returning to the dressing room, Rei found the bride-to-be in front of a 
full-length mirror, putting on a pair of stunning diamond chandelier earrings while 
humming “Here Comes the Bride” cheerily to herself. Nearby, her young daughter spun 
around with glee, admiring her new blue dress trimmed with lace. 

	“Oh, Rei-san, there you are,” Jacqueline said, smiling when she caught Rei’s 
reflection in the mirror. “Did you tell Minoru I’m ready to begin?”

	“H-Hai,” Rei answered, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. “He 
said he’s ready whenever you are.”

	“Good, good…” Frowning, Jacqueline turned around and shook her head, the 
diamonds sparkling in the light from the movement. Her golden blonde hair had been 
pulled into an elegant French twist, showing them off to maximum effect. “Do you 
think these are a bit much?” she asked. “They are rather formal for an afternoon 
wedding...”

	“I think they look pretty, Maman,” Angelique said shyly, stopping in her 
twirls. “You look just like a princess.”

	Just like a princess… 

	Hearing those words suddenly reminded Rei of the night her mother died, and 
she felt a dull ache in her heart. She had said almost the same thing while she had 
been watching Takara dress for dinner with her father. The memory was an unwanted 
intrusion on what should have been a happy occasion, however, and Rei purposefully 
pushed it from her mind.

	“They are very beautiful, Yanagazawa-san,” Rei agreed, hiding her sudden 
sadness by walking over to the vanity where Jacqueline had set out her jewelry. She 
inspected the other choices and reached for a pair of pearl studs. “But I think these 
might be a better choice.”

	“My grandmother’s pearl earrings?” Walking over, Jacqueline took the earrings 
from Rei’s hand and smiled. “You know, I think you’re right, Rei-san. These are the 
best choice. Merci beaucoup.”

	After replacing the diamonds for the pearls, Jacqueline moved once more in 
front of the mirror, admiring her reflection. Rei thought Minoru’s bride looked 
positively beautiful in a knee-length, off-white silk dress with a classic V 
neckline. It was gorgeous, but understated. All she needed now was the small bouquet 
of red roses sitting on a chair, which Rei moved to get for her.

	“Here are the flowers,” Rei said, handing over the bouquet. “Are you ready to 
go?”

	A hand resting on her slightly rounded stomach, Jacqueline nodded and smiled 
at her reflection. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Come, let’s not keep Minoru waiting.”

	The three of them then headed to the chapel, entering through one of the side 
doors instead of the main ones. Because it was such a small wedding, Jacqueline 
didn’t bother walking down the aisle and immediately took her place at the altar 
beside a beaming Minoru. Rei, as maid of honor, followed suit, holding onto 
Angelique’s hand, and on the opposite side, she saw Miyuki step into the place where 
the best man would have stood. The minister appeared a few moments later, apologizing 
for his tardiness, and began the ceremony.

	Throughout the opening comments, Rei kept her eyes squarely on her godfather, 
thinking she had never in her life seen Minoru so happy. His smile practically lit up 
the chapel and his eyes were filled with love as he stared at his lovely bride, 
hardly listening to the minister’s words. It almost made her wonder if perhaps 
romantic love wasn’t such a bad thing after all. The couple certainly appeared to be 
on top of the world…

	She didn’t have time to ponder that question, for right before the minister 
moved on to the next part of the ceremony, the main door to the chapel creaked open. 
Minoru, hearing it first, whipped his head around, and if it was possible, his smile 
grew even brighter when he saw who it was. Rei, however, had a different reaction as 
she glanced toward the doors and saw the mystery guest silently slip into one of the 
back pews.

	She paled.

	Why had *he* come?

	Minoru never mentioned her father was coming to the wedding. Sure, Rei had 
known it was a possibility considering they were best friends, but when Minoru had 
said all the guests had arrived before the wedding, she just assumed Keitaro had 
decided not to come, too busy with work as usual. It had been a major relief, because 
Rei hadn’t wanted to deal with the awkwardness that was sure to come with seeing her 
father for the first time after the emancipation was finalized. 

	But Keitaro had come, and now Rei had no earthly idea how to react. His 
presence completely knocked her off guard. 

	Should she smile? No, that didn‘t seem quite right. She was most definitely 
*not* happy to see him, and Rei had no intention of pretending she was, even if it 
would make her godfather happy to see them getting along. 

	Glare? That would be childish. It wasn’t as if he was there because of her. 
The only reason Keitaro had probably decided to come was to see Minoru, which was 
hardly a crime. 

	Ignore him? That would work for a while, but she couldn’t ignore him forever. 
Even though she was legally emancipated from him, Keitaro was still her father and it 
was inevitable they would cross paths sometime. It had been a silly idea to think she 
would never have to see him again just because she had herself declared legally an 
adult.

	For the moment, however, Rei decided to play it cool and turned her attention 
back to the ceremony, which had continued after the brief interruption. Perhaps if 
she was lucky, her father would simply decide to slip out after the wedding was 
finished, and she wouldn’t even have to deal with him. After all, Rei doubted he 
wanted to see her any more than she wanted to see him. It would be just like Hino 
Keitaro to take the coward’s way out of an uncomfortable situation. She held onto 
that hope throughout the remainder of the short ceremony, refusing to even look back 
at him as if somehow she could just wish him away.

	It didn’t work. As soon as the minister gave Minoru permission to kiss the 
bride, Rei looked toward the back of the chapel, panicked when she saw her father was 
still sitting in his pew and appeared to have no intention of leaving any time soon. 
Their eyes briefly met, and dozens of conflicting emotions began racing through her 
heart. Anger, pain, embarrassment, confusion, sadness… It was too much for her to 
bear. Quickly breaking away from his gaze, she let go of Angelique’s hand, allowing 
the girl to run to her mother, then walked over to say goodbye to Minoru, anxious to 
leave as soon as she could.

	“Congratulations, Uchizawa-san,” Rei said, forcing a bright smile on her 
face. “It was a beautiful ceremony.”

	“Thank you, Rei-chan,” the groom said, sighing as he took her hands and 
frowned, evidently sensing her unease. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?” he asked.

	“Well, I do have work to do at the shrine…”

	“Rei-chan, you and I both know that is an excuse,” Minoru said, seeing right 
through her lie. He glanced over at Keitaro and jerked his head in her father‘s 
direction. “You’re leaving because of him, aren’t you?”

	Rei lowered her eyes and nodded, ashamed she was so easy to read. “I-I’m just 
not ready to see him again,” she admitted. “Please, I don’t want to cause an 
uncomfortable situation. Today is supposed to be about you and Yanagazawa-san. Don’t 
make it about me and otou-sama.”

	“But you two haven’t spoken in a year,” Minoru protested. “Surely you can 
exchange a few polite words or something…”

	His pleas fell on deaf ears as Rei pulled her hands away, seeing her father 
finally stand from his seat out of the corner of her eye. “I’m sorry, Uchizawa-san,” 
she apologized, slowly backing away toward one of the side exits. “I have to go. I 
wish you and your bride all the happiness in the world. Sayonara.” 

	“Rei-chan!”

	Ignoring Minoru’s call, she turned and fled the chapel, biting her lip to 
hold back sudden tears.

*****

	Watching Rei run away, Minoru’s shoulders slumped, defeated. He wished he 
could have convinced her to stay, at least for a few minutes longer. Rei and Keitaro 
really did need to talk to each other, no matter how much they denied it. They simply 
could not go on avoiding each other for the rest of their lives. Someday they were 
going to have to deal with what happened, whether they liked it or not.

	At least Keitaro had stayed, Minoru thought with a private smile. He 
considered that to be a small step in the right direction. Keitaro could have bolted 
as soon as the ceremony was over, but the fact that he hadn’t proved to Minoru that 
perhaps their argument the day of the funeral had not been a complete failure after 
all. Maybe the truth had finally sunk in and he was ready to make amends. Wouldn’t 
that be something?

	Of course, Minoru now knew better than to get his hopes up too high, 
especially when they concerned Keitaro. He was aware that the probability of his 
friend turning a complete 180 in the span of couple of weeks was extremely low, but 
for Keitaro to even decide to attend the wedding after what had happened between them 
and knowing there was a good chance his daughter would be in attendance as well 
seemed like a major breakthrough. Now, if only he could get Keitaro and Rei to talk 
to each other…

	“Penny for your thoughts, chéri,” a lightly accented voice whispered in his 
ear, a pair of bare, slender arms wrapping around his waist. 

	Minoru smiled, instantly recognizing his wife’s voice without turning around. 
“Oh, I was just thinking about how unbelievably happy I am,” he said honestly, 
covering her hands with his own.

	“And how you wish Rei-san and Hino-sama could find that same kind of 
happiness?” Jacqueline asked, amazing him once again by how it seemed sometimes as if 
she could read his mind.

	Minoru nodded and turned around in her embrace so they were face-to-face. 
“Rei-chan left a couple of minutes ago. She could barely stand to be in the same room 
as Keitaro.”

	“She just needs more time, Minoru. You can‘t rush these things. The road to 
forgiveness isn‘t always easy.”

	“I know, but I worry it might never happen now,” he admitted, looking over 
his bride’s shoulder at his best friend, standing silently in the back as if he 
didn’t want to intrude. “Finally, after all these years, I think Keitaro might be 
ready to face what he did to her, but Rei-chan won’t have anything to do with him. 
How can they reconcile if they won’t even talk to each other? What if it’s too late?”

	Jacqueline pondered the question for a moment, then smiled, her hand falling 
to caress her slightly rounded belly. “Minoru, do you remember what you said to me 
the day we found out I was pregnant?” she asked.

	Not understanding what she was leading to, Minoru shrugged. “Who’s the 
father?” he quipped, smiling at his own joke.

	His new wife rolled her eyes. “Come on, I’m being serious here,” she said, 
her hands moving to rest on his shoulders. “Remember? You told me, and I quote, ‘It 
is never too late for anything as long as there is hope.’”

	Minoru did remember saying that, quite clearly, in fact. It had been right 
after Jacqueline had showed him the results of the home pregnancy test about a month 
after he proposed and she was in disbelief, thinking in her late thirties, she was 
too old to so easily become pregnant without medical help. Before then, Minoru had 
pretty much resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn’t have any biological 
children with Jacqueline, content at the prospect of being Angelique‘s stepfather, 
but the hope of having his own child someday had never completely died and her 
unexpected pregnancy had proved, in his mind at least, that if you kept your hopes 
alive, it was never too late. They were living proof it was true.

	But Minoru wondered with some sadness if either Keitaro or Rei had any hope 
left themselves of reconciling. Judging by the recent emancipation, it appeared 
neither did. They both had finally given up on each other after years of separation, 
and though Minoru’s hope was still alive, he doubted even that would be enough.

	“Thank you for trying to cheer me up, Jakakuerine,” he said, enveloping his 
wife in a hug, “but I don’t think my hope alone is enough to save them. In the end, 
only they can save themselves.”

*****

	From his viewpoint in the back of the chapel, Keitaro watched as his best 
friend and the bride embraced, debating whether or not he should walk over and say 
hello. He had hung back ever since Rei left, not wanting to intrude on what appeared 
to be a private moment between husband and wife, but if he didn’t leave soon, he knew 
he would be late for his next meeting.

	Fortunately, the decision was made for him when the couple finally broke 
apart and Minoru took his blushing bride’s hand, leading her up the aisle toward him. 
“Keitaro, I’m glad that you came,” Minoru said, smiling as though nothing had changed 
between them. “I didn’t think you would, considering how we left things between us 
the last time we spoke…”

	Glad that there didn’t seem to be any awkwardness over what happened, Keitaro 
shook his head. “Forget it, Minoru,” he insisted. “That is ancient history. I 
wouldn’t have missed this wedding for the world. After all, it isn’t every day my 
best friend, the confirmed life-long bachelor, gets married.”

	Minoru grinned from ear-to-ear, wrapping his arm around his wife’s waist and 
pulling her close. “You got that right,” he agreed. “I bet you never thought it was 
possible, that one day I would find a woman and settle down to raise a family.”

	“Oh, I wouldn’t necessarily say that. I always thought it might happen if you 
found the right girl.”

	“Well, I can safely say I have,” the groom declared. “Jakakuerine is one of 
the best things that has ever happened in my life, and I can only hope she feels the 
same way about me.”

	“Of course I do, chéri,” the lovely bride said, giving Minoru a light peck on 
the cheek.

	“Then I suppose congratulations are in order,” Keitaro said sincerely. 
Despite his own feelings toward love, he truly was glad to see his best friend 
finally settle down. He had long suspected marriage and a family was something Minoru 
had always wanted, even if the playboy tendencies of his younger years had suggested 
differently. “I’m very happy for you two, and I wish you all the best in the world.”

	“Thank you, Hino-sama. That’s very kind of you to say.”

	“Yes, thank you, Keitaro. It really means a lot to me to hear you say that.”

	Just then, a blonde pixie wearing a dress of baby blue came up beside her 
mother, tugging on the bottom of Jacqueline’s dress to get her attention. Jacqueline 
kneeled down and let the little girl whisper something in her ear before taking the 
child’s hand. “Excuse us,” the bride said. “Angelique and I will be in the ladies’ 
room. We should only be gone a few minutes.”

	“Of course. Take your time,” Minoru said. “You two just better not be 
thinking of sneaking out through one of the bathroom windows and leaving me here. I’m 
afraid it’s already too late to change your mind about this marriage.”

	“We wouldn’t dream of it.” 

	After the girls left, the awkwardness Keitaro thought they had managed to 
avoid suddenly decided to rear its ugly head, big time. Both men dug their hands in 
their pockets and remained silent, unsure of what to say without Jacqueline’s 
presence to distract them from the things they really needed to talk about.

	Finally, Minoru took the lead, taking a deep breath before he said, “Look, 
Keitaro, about what happened the day of Kondo-sama’s fun--”

	“I told you not to worry about it, Minoru,” Keitaro interrupted, not wanting 
to talk about their infamous argument. Thinking about it only reminded him what a 
fool he had been. “I’ve forgotten all about what happened. It’s in the past. We both 
said things that day we didn’t mean, but there’s no need to apologize for what was 
said during the heat of the moment. Just forget about it.”

	“But I want to apologize,” Minoru maintained, for once being entirely 
traditional as he bowed deeply in apology. “Keitaro, what I said about you being like 
your father was completely out of line. I don’t know how I could have said such a 
thing. My only defense is that I was too angry with you for skipping the funeral to 
think straight, but that is no excuse. What I said was uncalled for, and I hope you 
can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

	“No, I can’t forgive you, because there is nothing to forgive,” Keitaro said, 
taking a seat in one of the chapel’s pews. “You were right about everything, only I 
was too blind to see it until now.”

	Sliding into the pew beside Keitaro, Minoru sighed. “No, I wasn’t. I was 
wrong. You are *not* Hino-san.”     

	“But I am, Minoru!” Keitaro insisted, his hands involuntarily clenching into 
tight fists. “I did the exact same thing to Rei-san that my father did to me all 
those years ago. I am no better than he was.”

	“Do you really believe that?”

	“Hai.”

	“Well, I’m afraid I have to disagree,” Minoru said. “Yes, it is true that you 
pushed Rei-chan away, as Hino-san did you, but there is one major difference between 
you and your father, and it makes all the difference in the world.”

	“What’s that?” Keitaro asked, looking over at his friend.

	“You care about her, don’t you?”

	“I don’t understand…”

	“I saw you at the hospital, Keitaro,” Minoru confessed. “I had just come back 
from lunch with Jakakuerine and went to check on Rei-chan. She was sleeping, but you 
were in there with her, talking to her.”

	Surprised Minoru knew about his secret visit to Rei‘s hospital room, Keitaro 
looked away. He thought he had been so careful not to be seen. Did that mean Rei knew 
about the visit as well? He couldn’t imagine Minoru not telling her if he knew, but 
if she had been told, her request for emancipation was an even bigger slap in the 
face than before. She really did hate him, didn’t she? 

	“You told me to come, Minoru, so I did. It was nothing more than that,” he 
explained softly, pushing the thoughts of Rei’s rejection out of his mind.

	Minoru shook his head, adamant. “No, I don’t believe that. If you were only 
there out of duty to your daughter, you would have visited when Rei-chan was awake, 
no matter how she would react. But you didn’t. You didn’t even write a card for the 
flowers you brought her. If I hadn’t have been there, nobody would have ever known 
about your visit.”

	“I don’t see what that proves.”

	“It proves that you *wanted* to see her, Keitaro,” he declared. “You weren’t 
there because you are her father and you felt you had to come. If that had been your 
purpose, you would have made sure somebody knew. Don‘t you see?”

	“But I didn’t plan to come while she was asleep,” Keitaro admitted, ashamed. 
“It was only a coincidence. If Rei-san had been awake when I visited her, we wouldn’t 
be having this conversation, and you know it.”

	“Why are you denying this?” Minoru demanded to know. “Why is it so hard to 
admit that you do care about her? I don’t understand.”

	“Why are you so positive I do?” he shot back, more defensive than he had 
meant to sound.

	“Because…” Minoru sighed, rubbed the back of his neck, then looked Keitaro 
straight in the eye. “Because I know you, Keitaro. We’ve been best friends ever since 
before grade school. You don’t know someone for that long and not pick up a thing or 
two. Underneath that exterior of ice you seem so determined to keep frozen lies a 
warm heart aching to love.”

	“I never thought of you as the poetic type, Minoru,” Keitaro remarked, 
wondering what kind of point Minoru was trying to make.

	Minoru laughed, but it was more of a dry chuckle than anything else. “Well, 
perhaps I was being a bit flowery, but you understand what I was trying to say,” he 
said. “Your problem is that you are afraid to let anyone into your heart again. 
You‘re so scared of losing yet another person you care about, you hide your true 
feelings under a cover of indifference. Heck, maybe you’ve even managed to convince 
yourself you don‘t care, but you‘re not fooling me, Keitaro.”

	Keitaro abruptly stood, uncomfortable with where their conversation was 
heading. He had had enough. If he had known this was going to turn into yet another 
argument about Rei, he would have left as soon as the ceremony was over. “I don’t 
need to listen to this…”

	“Wait, don’t go,” Minoru pleaded. “I think you do need to hear it. It is high 
time I stop indulging these self-pity acts of yours. Believe me, the last thing in 
the world I want to do is hurt you, but I think in this case it might be the only way 
I can help you.”

	“Minoru, I don’t need your help,” Keitaro insisted, wishing he would leave 
well enough alone. Minoru was blind if he couldn’t see that there was no hope of a 
reconciliation between him and his daughter. “It’s too late for me. Can’t you see 
that? Rei-san hates me. Didn’t you see her today? She couldn’t run out of here fast 
enough after the ceremony. And when I snuck in right before the minister began, her 
face was so cold…”

	“It’s never too late.”

	“I already signed the emancipation papers.”

	“So?”

	Keitaro sighed, exasperated by having to explain something so obvious, and 
sat back down, realizing it was pointless to leave. “So, in the eyes of the law, 
Rei-san is an adult. She doesn’t need me anymore, and that is the way she wants it.”

	“But what do you want?” Minoru gently asked.

	“It doesn’t matter what I want. I’m not going to force her into building some 
kind of relationship with me if that is not what she wants. I don‘t have that right 
anymore.”

	“But how do you know that isn’t what she wants?”

	“Minoru, Rei-san had Watanabe-san draw up the emancipation papers herself,” 
Keitaro reminded him in case he had forgotten, which apparently he had. “It was her 
idea, not mine. If that doesn’t prove she doesn’t want me in her life, then I don’t 
know what does.”

	“Well, have you ever considered the idea that maybe that wasn’t what Rei-chan 
wanted, that she only had the papers drawn because she thought she didn’t have 
another choice if she wanted to stay in Tokyo instead of moving to Nagano with Miyuki 
and her family?” Minoru suggested, causing Keitaro to frown.

	“I would have let her move back into the manor if she had asked me. You know 
I wouldn‘t have turned her away if she needed me.”

	“Yes, but did you ever give her a reason to believe that?” the redhead asked. 
“I mean, you were the one who allowed Kondo-sama to name the Watanabes as her legal 
guardians in case of his death instead of giving guardianship back to you.”

	“At the time the will was drawn, I thought she would be better off with 
Miyuki-san,” Keitaro declared.

	“But what about now?” Minoru pressed. “Do you still think Rei-chan would be 
better off living away from you?”

	“Minoru, stop it,” he ordered harshly. His voice echoed throughout the 
chapel, causing Keitaro looked down in embarrassment even though he and Minoru were 
the only ones present. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” he said, lowering his volume. 
“There’s nothing I can do.”

	“Yes, there is,” the redhead insisted. “If what I suspect is true, then all 
might not be lost. There’s still hope.”

	Keitaro sighed once again, rubbing his forehead. Sometimes he wondered if 
Minoru only heard what he wanted to hear. It certainly seemed that way. “Have you not 
been listening to me? I told you Rei-san doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

	“But you haven’t even tried to change her mind, Keitaro,” Minoru pointed out. 
“You’re so set on this idea that Rei-chan hates you that you can’t even consider the 
possibility that it might not be true.”

	“It is true.”

	Minoru shook his head. “I no more believe that than I do the idea that you 
don’t care about her,” he declared. “I agree that Rei-chan’s behavior toward you over 
the past year has been less than friendly, and maybe she even thinks she hates you, 
but when it comes right down to it, she is more your daughter than either of you care 
to admit.”

	“And what is that supposed to mean?” Keitaro asked as he looked back up, 
surprised that once again Minoru was comparing him to his daughter. Minoru had said 
almost the exact same thing that day at his office, and Keitaro still failed to see 
the similarities. 

	“It means you are both stubborn people afraid of rejection.”

	“Scared of rejection, huh?” Staring down at his hands, Keitaro thought over 
Minoru‘s statement. Perhaps there was a grain of truth to what he said. After all, 
Minoru did know his daughter better than he did. “Do you really believe that is why 
Rei-san had the papers drawn?” he asked. “Because she was afraid I would reject her 
if she asked to move back to the manor?”

	“Yes, I do. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am. You pushed her away for 
so long, it’s only logical she would think that, don‘t you think? That‘s what 
happened with you and your father, wasn‘t it?”

	Keitaro shook his head, the faint glimmer of hope disappearing at the mention 
of Hino Takeo. “That was different, Minoru. Otou-sama resented me for being born at 
the cost of okaa-sama’s life. I knew he hated me right from the start.”

	“I’m sure Hino-san didn’t hate you, Keitaro,” Minoru replied. “I don’t think 
it is possible for a man to completely hate his own child. He may have treated you 
badly, but I refuse to believe it was out of intentional malice.”

	“Then what?” he wanted to know.

	“I don’t know. It could have been any number of reasons: alcohol, grief, 
fear…” Minoru shrugged. “You better than anyone ought to know how it feels to 
suddenly lose your wife and be left alone to raise a child. It’s difficult to deal 
with something like that, and I know you both made some bad choices, but it wasn’t 
out of hate.”

	“You know, I never thought about it like that,” Keitaro admitted softly. “All 
I ever noticed were the cruel words and drunken rages. Even when I was older, I never 
stopped to consider why he did the things he did. I just assumed that otou-sama hated 
me.”

	“Is that what you want Rei-chan to think about you? That you hate her?”

	“No, of course not.”

	“Then you need to tell her how you really feel,” Minoru said, as if it was as 
simple as that. Keitaro wished it was. 

	“But how? Minoru, she doesn’t want to see me.”

	“I don’t know. All I do know is that you have a choice, Keitaro. Either you 
can let things continue as they are and risk never knowing your daughter, or you can 
ask her for a second chance and reclaim everything you thought you lost.”

	“But what if Rei-san refuses?” Keitaro asked.

	“Then you will have lost nothing,” Minoru answered, leaning back in the pew. 
“Look at it this way. If you don‘t at least attempt to make things right between you, 
then you will have already lost Rei-chan. But if she refuses, then at least you 
tried, right?”

	“I suppose you’re right…” he said with a deep sigh.

	“Of course I’m right. When have I ever steered you wrong?”

	“Do I need to answer that?” Keitaro asked, raising an eyebrow in his friend’s 
direction.

	“Haha, very funny, Keitaro,” Minoru deadpanned. “But, really, in all 
seriousness, I think you should talk to Rei-chan. You have a real chance here of 
finally finding happiness again, and if you don’t take it, I know you’ll regret it. 
Forget all the pain and sorrow of the past, and let it go. It‘s time for you to move 
on with your life and focus on the future. That‘s what Takara-san and your uncle 
would have wanted, don‘t you think?”

	“Thank you, Minoru,” Keitaro said, giving him a small smile. “I’ll think 
about it.”

	“Don’t think, do.” Minoru instructed, squeezing Keitaro’s shoulder and 
standing up. “Well, I think I ought to go find my wife and Tenshi-chan. I can’t 
imagine what can be keeping them. We’re supposed to be on a plane heading for our 
honeymoon in a little over an hour.”

	“Oh, where are you going?” Keitaro asked, grateful for the change in subject.

	“Marseilles, the south of France,” Minoru answered. “Jakakuerine wants to 
introduce me to the in-laws. I have to admit I‘m a little nervous. It has only been a 
year and a half since she divorced her first husband, and from what I hear, her 
parents positively *adored* him. I‘m not sure how they‘ll handle the news that their 
daughter got married to man they‘ve never even met before, especially one with my 
reputation.”

	“You’ll be fine,“ Keitaro assured him. “With a little of that famous Uchizawa 
charm, you’ll work them over in no time.”

	“We’ll see.” Minoru slipped out of the pew, getting ready to leave. “I guess 
I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, then. You really must come over for dinner 
sometime when we get back. Jakakuerine is a fabulous cook, and I assure you that you 
won’t regret it.”

	“I’d like that.”

	“Good. I’ll call you with the details once we’re back in town,” Minoru 
promised.

	“Have fun on your honeymoon.”

	“I intend to,” he said with a sly wink, causing Keitaro to roll his eyes. 
Apparently some things never changed. “Sayonara, Keitaro.”

	“Sayonara.” 

	Minoru was halfway to the exit when Keitaro turned around in his seat, 
realizing he had forgotten something. 

	“Minoru?”

	The redhead stopped and pivoted back around. “Yes?”

	“I-I just wanted to thank you again,” he stuttered. “I might not have wanted 
to hear what you had to say, but you were right. I think I needed to hear it.”

	“It was nothing. After all, what are best friends for if they can’t tell each 
other when they are being a complete baka? Ja!”

	“Ja.”

	Once Minoru was gone, Keitaro turned forward in his seat, exhaling deeply as 
he focused on the spot at the altar where his best friend and the lovely bride had 
exchanged their vows. It had been a beautiful ceremony, and Keitaro was glad he had 
decided to attend after all. He couldn’t have been happier for Minoru. 

	But Rei…

	The look on her face when he slid into the back pew right before the minister 
began the ceremony was still fresh in his mind. Such pain and sorrow had flickered in 
those amethyst eyes, so much like her mother’s. Despite what Minoru had told him, 
Keitaro continued to hold little hope that he would be able to reconcile with his 
daughter. It was too little, too late. Even if he did apologize and ask for a second 
chance, what were the chances of Rei forgiving him after treating her so badly over 
the last decade? Would he have been able to forgive his own father if Takeo had 
apologized to him before he died?

	Keitaro shook his head. As much as he would like to say he would forgive 
Takeo, Keitaro honestly didn’t know how he would respond if that had happened. After 
the talk with Minoru, he felt he better understood the reasons behind Takeo’s cruel 
and abusive behavior, but some scars ran too deep. How could a simple “I’m sorry” 
make up for years of pain and heartache?

	“What should I do?” Keitaro asked aloud, looking up to the large and rather 
gaudy cross hung above the altar as his hands clasped in prayer on his lap. “You 
preach forgiveness, but how can I forgive him? How can I forgive myself? I can’t 
possibly ask my daughter for that if I am unable to do so myself, can I? I didn’t 
mean to hurt her, but I know I did. She didn’t deserve it. I should have been there 
for her when she needed me, yet all I did was think of myself…my pain…my sorrow…my 
fear…  How can I possibly expect her to forgive me for my selfishness?”

*****	

	About twenty minutes later, Rei stormed into the living quarters, glad that 
Miyuki and the rest of her family still had yet to make it back from the wedding. The 
last thing she felt like doing was explaining why she had left the hotel in such a 
hurry. All she wanted was to be alone for a while to sort out the tangled mass of 
feelings that had emerged from seeing her father for the first time in over year.

	Why in the world did Keitaro have to come to the wedding? He had completely 
ruined the first thing she had been even remotely excited about since her 
grandfather’s death. Rei knew it was irrational to blame him for attending his own 
best friend’s wedding, but she admittedly was not in a rational mood at the moment. 
All she saw was a world of red through her tear-filled eyes.

	“Okay, Rei, you need to calm down,” she said aloud to herself, forcing 
herself to take a few deep breaths as she entered the main area. “That’s right, just 
breathe. Getting upset is not the way to deal with this. You were unprepared for what 
happened today, but that is no reason to fall to pieces. You’re stronger than that, 
right?

	Right.

	The breathing exercises did eventually calm her back down, and once she 
regained control of most of her emotions, Rei headed to her bedroom to change into 
something a little less formal, taking off her earrings and necklace along the way. 
It was only as she was putting them away in her jewelry box that she remembered that 
instead of her mother’s ruby necklace, which she normally wore, she had decided to 
wear a tiny cross pendant to the wedding.

	“Where did this come from?” Rei asked herself, holding the pendant up by its 
chain as she inspected it. She didn’t recall a time when she didn’t have it, yet for 
the life of her, she couldn’t remember when she had received it. Obviously, it must 
have been while she was still a practicing Catholic, but who had given it to her? Her 
godfather?

	Sitting down on her futon, Rei took the pendant and began rubbing her thumb 
over its surface. It was covered with filigree carvings, intricately beautiful and 
most likely very expensive judging by the small 18KT engraved on the back. Rei was 
far from being a jewelry expert, but she did know 18KT gold was top of the line. Too 
bad she hadn’t thought to pawn it with the rest of her jewelry that day she went to 
Hideki’s Pawn Shop. It was probably worth quite a bit.   

	Why hadn’t she pawned it, anyway? The pendant was nothing special. She rarely 
even wore it except on Christmas when she used to spend the holiday with her father…

	“Otou-sama,” she whispered, suddenly remembering. “He gave this to me, when I 
was a little girl. A Christmas present...”

	Her fingers clasping around the tiny crucifix, Rei laid down on the futon, 
resting her head on a nearby pillow. Tears began to form in her eyes again, but now, 
instead of anger and bitterness, they were tears of sadness, leaving a salty taste on 
her lips as they rolled down her cheek. She tried to stop them, yet the river kept 
flowing endlessly, accompanied by the quiet sobs that shook her body like an 
earthquake.

	Rei remembered that Christmas, the last before her mother died, well. It was 
one of the few happy memories she had of her childhood before moving to Hikawa. That 
had been the year Takara had given her Yoshi, the teddy bear she had made for her, 
and Keitaro had bought her the pendant, by far her most extravagant present that 
year. As Rei recalled, when she had opened the present, her mother had lightly 
scolded him for spending so much money on something that she would probably lose in a 
matter of days, but Rei had promised she would take good care of it, so happy that 
her father had given her something so beautiful for Christmas. It had made her feel 
as if she was somebody special to him, that in spite of the lack of hugs and kisses, 
he had loved her.

	What a fool she had been…

	“Why couldn’t you love me, otou-sama?” she asked between sobs. “What did I do 
wrong? Did you really think I was a freak? Or did you simply not want me?”

	No answers came to her as Rei finally forced herself to sit back up on the 
futon, hiccupping as she used her blanket to dry her tears. She didn’t even know why 
she was wasting her tears on that man. Standing up, Rei went over to her vanity and 
stared at her reflection in the mirror as she put the necklace away in her jewelry 
box.

	Her reflection was not a pretty sight. Her hair, which had been pulled back 
away from her face by a thin purple headband, was full of tangles and knots, and her 
eyes were rimmed in red. The dress she had worn to the wedding was also covered in 
wrinkles. Reaching behind her back to unzip the sheath, she let it slide down to her 
feet and kicked it aside, now dressed only in a slip, and began yanking a brush 
through her wild mane of hair, barely acknowledging the pain. When she was finished, 
Rei then styled her hair in a simple braid and went to her closet to change into her 
normal miko attire.

	“That’s better, Rei,” she said to herself, once more walking over to the 
mirror after she dressed and putting on her mother’s necklace. Her eyes were still 
bloodshot, but she felt much more like her usual self again. She even managed a 
little smile at her reflection, remembering how her grandfather used to say she was 
the spitting image of her mother. Rei never saw it before, thinking he only said that 
to be nice, but today, the resemblance was almost uncanny.

	The same pale, porcelain skin, the same raven black hair, the same violet 
eyes…

	And suddenly, she had her answer.

	“Okaa-sama,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “I remind him of okaa-sama.”

*****

	After leaving the hotel, Keitaro didn’t bother going back to the office as he 
had originally planned. Miss Katsuki practically had a heart attack when he called 
her on his cell phone to tell her to cancel the rest of the day’s appointments, but 
after what had happened at the wedding, work was the last thing on Keitaro’s mind. He 
needed to be alone.

	“Where to, Hino-sama?” Ogata, his chauffeur asked, rolling down the window 
between them after Keitaro had finished making his call to his secretary. “The 
manor?”

	Keitaro put the phone away and started to nod when another thought came to 
him as he looked out the window. They were just passing Tokyo Bay, the clear blue 
waters sparkling in the afternoon sunshine. “Why don’t we go to the marina, 
Ogata-kun?”

	“The marina?” Ogata didn’t even try to hide his surprise, his eyes large as 
he glanced up at the rearview mirror. “Are you sure?”

	Keitaro nodded. “You can drop me off near Pier 4.”

	“Hai, sir.”

	Rolling the partition back up, Ogata exited the highway and headed toward the 
pier. Moments later, they were there. Keitaro got out of the limo, and after telling 
Ogata to pick him up in an hour, he made his way down to the beach below.

	Even though it was a beautiful summer afternoon, the beach was surprisingly 
empty. Keitaro soon realized that was because most of people were already out on the 
water, either playing in the waves or riding on one of the numerous boats that dotted 
the horizon. Keitaro took off his jacket, aware of how silly he must look in a 
business suit on the beach when everybody else was in bathing suits and shorts, and 
placed it down on one of the sand dunes as a cushion to sit on.

	“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it, Keitaro?” he asked himself aloud, taking a 
good look at his surroundings. Surprisingly, not much had changed over the course of 
the almost twenty years since he and Takara had shared their first kiss along the 
water’s edge. Even the old pier still stood, battered and stripped of its paint, 
although it wouldn’t last much longer judging by the sign that said it was slated for 
demolition next month to make way for a new one. Keitaro was almost sad to learn it 
would be destroyed, but the news made him even more grateful he had decided to come 
before it was too late.

	Why had he come, anyway? Keitaro still hadn’t quite figured that out yet. It 
wasn’t like him to blow off work to spend the day, of all places, at the beach, but 
something had drawn him there…

	Almost unconsciously, he reached down and slid off his socks and loafers, 
setting them aside. The white sand of the beach felt warm and grainy between his 
wiggling toes, and for the first time in a long while, Keitaro actually smiled. It 
had indeed been a long time since he allowed himself such a simple pleasure. Closing 
his eyes, he lost himself in the sound of the waves crashing against the shoreline 
until the soft thud of a beach ball awoke him from his reverie.

	“Gomen nasai,” a sweetly high-pitched voice called out. “Would you mind 
throwing that back?”

	Opening his eyes, Keitaro reached for the nearby ball and glanced up at the 
little girl running toward him, blinking. “Masaka!” he whispered, feeling as if he 
had just seen a ghost.

	The girl coming over was about seven or eight years old and wore an adorable 
pink “Hello Kitty” swimsuit. Her hair was very dark, and he could have sworn her eyes 
were purple. Keitaro blinked again, sure his eyes were playing tricks on him. She 
looked so much like Rei…

	“Mister, are you feeling okay?” the little girl asked, finally stopping in 
front of him. She wore a confused look on her face as she towered over him, hands on 
her hips. 

	“I-I’m fine,” he managed to say once he cleared his head. Now that she was 
closer, Keitaro could see her hair was actually a chocolate brown instead of black as 
he had first thought and her eyes were a dark blue that could have been easily 
mistaken for purple. Feeling silly, he shook his head and held the large beach ball 
out to her. “I just thought you were somebody else. Here, I believe you were looking 
for this?”

	“Hai, arigatou, mister,” she said, gratefully taking the ball but not 
leaving. Instead, much to Keitaro’s surprise, the girl took a seat in the sand next 
to him and placed the ball in her lap. “Who did you think I was before?” she asked, 
blue eyes filled with curiosity. 

	“My daughter,” he answered, not sure why he felt the need to share such 
personal information with a child.

	The girl‘s face lit up. “You have a daughter? Cool! Is she here? Maybe we can 
play together. My meanie onii-chan doesn’t want to play with me anymore. He thinks 
he’s too tough and grown-up to play with his little sister. He‘d much rather play 
kissy-face with his girlfriends.”

	Keitaro shook his head. “No, she’s not here. She’s almost grown-up now, too.”

	“Oh.” The girl was disappointed for little more than a second before her face 
again broke into a huge smile, not letting the news keep her down for long. “Well, 
I’m Inoue Ai,” she introduced herself, holding out her hand. “What’s your name, 
mister?”

	Keitaro stared at Ai’s outstretched hand for a second in confusion before he 
hesitantly returned the shake, still not sure of what to make of the friendly little 
girl. “I’m Hino,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you, Inoue-san.”

	At that, Ai giggled. “Inoue-san? That’s my parents’ name! Call me Ai-chan 
like the rest of my friends, Hino-san.”

	“Okay, Ai…chan.” 

	The honorific sounded strange and foreign coming from his lips, but Ai didn’t 
seem to notice, staring at him rather intently with her large, round eyes. Somewhat 
embarrassed by the girl’s apparent fascination with him, Keitaro coughed into his 
fist. Why hadn’t she left yet? He wasn’t the type of person kids normally took 
interest in. 

	“You’re dressed funny,” the little girl finally declared. “You look like Papa 
when he goes to his office. He always wears suits and ties, except for today. Today 
he’s wearing funny underwear.”

	“Is that so?” he asked, mildly amused. So that’s why she had found him so 
interesting -- his clothes.

	“Hai! Mama says it’s called a Speedo. They‘re really tight and Mama says he‘s 
too fat to wear them, but Papa won‘t listen.”

	“Ah… Well, I wasn’t exactly planning to come here today,” Keitaro explained, 
reaching up to loosen his tie. “It was a last minute sort of thing.”

	“So, you’re playing hooky?” Ai asked.

	“I…uh…suppose you could say that.” 

	Ai nodded. “Yeah, that’s what Papa’s doing, too. He told his boss he was 
sick, but really, he just wanted to take us to the beach for Mama’s birthday. Don’t 
say anything though,” she warned, bringing her finger to her lip and shushing him. 
“He’ll get in really big trouble if his boss finds out.”

	Despite himself, Keitaro found himself smiling at the girl’s silly antics. 
She really was cute as far as kids went. “Don’t worry, Ai-chan,” he assured her. 
“Your father’s secret is safe with me.”

	“And I won’t tell anybody about you, either,” she promised with a wink. 
“Where do you work anyway? Are you a lawyer? My papa‘s a lawyer. He helps put the bad 
guys away.”

	“Kind of. I’m a member of the Diet. We’re the people who actually make the 
laws your father upholds.”

	“That is so cool!” Ai exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “We're going to 
start studying about the Diet once the second trimester of school starts. 
Fukui-sensei says we might even take a class trip to the Diet building.”

	“You like learning about the government and the law?” Keitaro asked. He found 
himself beginning to rather enjoy their conversation in spite of Ai’s age. Her 
enthusiasm about the possible field trip to the Diet building reminded him of how 
excited he had been as a boy when his class had gone, one of the few truly happy 
memories he had from his childhood. 

	Ai nodded. “Hai, Hino-san. Someday I’m going to become a lawyer just like 
Papa.”

	“I see. That’s a big dream for such a little girl.”

	“Yeah, that’s what Mama says,” she said. Setting the ball aside, Ai drew her 
knees to her chest and sighed. “She thinks it’s silly for a girl to want to become a 
lawyer, but I don’t care. Papa‘s my idol, and I want to be just like him.”

	Hearing that, Keitaro suddenly felt a dull ache in his heart. How lucky Mr. 
Inoue was to be considered an idol by his daughter…

	“Ai-chan, you love your father a lot, don’t you?”

	“Oh, yes. He’s the best. Papa’s kind, and smart, and funny, and he loves 
Mama, onii-chan and me very much. He’s the greatest father a girl could hope for.”

	“I envy him,” Keitaro said quietly to himself, not realizing Ai had heard him 
until the little girl scooted closer, stopping when she was finally sitting right 
beside him.

	“You look sad, Hino-san,” she said, again staring at him with those 
inquisitive eyes. “Why do you envy Papa?”

	“It’s nothing. I just think your father is lucky to have a daughter who loves 
and admires him so much, that‘s all.”

	“Doesn’t your daughter love you?”

	“No, she doesn’t,” Keitaro admitted. “We haven’t even spoken in over a year.”

	Ai frowned. “But why? You seem really, really nice.”

	“You think so?” Keitaro half-heartedly chuckled, thinking children really 
were such innocents. If only she knew how cruel he could really be. “Thank you for 
saying so, Ai-chan, but I’m not nice at all. I was a cowardly person who rejected my 
own daughter at the time she needed me most. I hurt her so badly…”

	“But you’re sorry for it now, aren’t you?” Ai asked. “You should apologize if 
you hurt her. That’s what Papa always tells me and onii-chan to do when we do 
something bad.”

	“That’s good advice, but I don’t think Rei-san will ever find it in her heart 
to forgive me.”

	“Rei-san?” she repeated, cocking her head to the side. “Hino Rei-san? Is that 
her name, your daughter?”

	“Hai.”

	“It’s pretty…‘spirit of fire’. I bet she’s very beautiful, too.”

	“She looks like her mother,” he replied softly, surprised when he didn’t feel 
the overwhelming sorrow that usually accompanied the reminder of how much Rei 
resembled Takara.

	“You miss her, don’t you?” Ai asked, causing Keitaro’s eyes to widen slightly 
behind his glasses as he turned his head toward his young companion.

	“Who? Rei-san?”

	The girl shook her head. “Your wife.”

	“But how…?” Keitaro stared at the little girl, shocked that she had somehow 
known about Takara. He didn’t recall telling her about what had happened. “How did 
you know my wife had died?”

	Shrugging her shoulders, Ai began building a crude sandcastle with her hands. 
“I didn’t, at least not for certain. I just know that if I stopped talking to Papa, 
Mama would have forced us to make up, no matter what, so I figured either your wife 
had gone to heaven or you were divorced.”

	“You’re very smart for your age, Ai-chan,” Keitaro commented, sighing as he 
began watching the waves crash against the shore. If he tried hard enough, he could 
almost imagine it was the day of the rally again, and he was watching Takara, his 
beautiful sprite, dancing at the water’s edge, her laughter like sunshine on the 
waves.

	“So, do you miss her?” Ai asked again.

	“Hai, very much so.”

	“I know how you feel. My cat died a couple of months ago, and I miss her very 
much,” the girl said. “But Papa let us keep one of her kittens, so it’s not so bad. 
With Yumi around, it almost seems like a part of her mother is still around. They 
even kinda look alike. Yumi of course could never really replace Michi, but it‘s nice 
to have a reminder of her.”

	“Is that so?”

	Ai nodded. “Don’t you feel the same way about your daughter, Hino-san?”

	“Actually, I didn’t want to be reminded of my wife,” he confessed. “It hurt 
too much. That‘s part of the reason why I pushed Rei-san away from me when her mother 
died.”

	Again, Keitaro was surprised about how willing he was to talk to Ai about the 
things he never even dared to discuss with his best friend. If her plan to become a 
lawyer fell through, she had a great career as a journalist ahead of her. There was 
just something about Inoue Ai that made him feel as if he could tell her anything. 

	“Oh, I see…” Ai murmured, digesting what he said.

	“You think I’m a horrible person now, don’t you?” Keitaro asked when she 
didn‘t say anything further. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I think the same thing 
of myself.”

	Placing a finger on her cheek, Ai contemplated his question for a long moment 
before finally shaking her head. “No, I don’t think you’re a horrible person at all, 
Hino-san,” she declared, standing up. “Just sad. So very, very sad…” 

	Before he even realized what was happening, Keitaro felt a pair of short arms 
wrap around his neck, the little girl hugging him tightly. His entire body stiffened 
in her embrace at first, unaccustomed to anybody, much less a child, showing him 
affection, but soon he relaxed, finding a strange comfort in the arms of the girl 
appropriately named “Love”. If asked, Keitaro would never be able to completely 
explain how he felt at that moment, only that for the first time since Takara’s 
death, he felt warm again, like a fire was burning inside his chest, chasing away the 
coldness. 	

	“Ai-chan! Where are you?”

	Hearing her name being called, Ai turned around to glance behind her. “Oh, 
that’s Papa,” she said, finally releasing Keitaro from her embrace. “I almost forgot 
we were supposed to be playing catch. I guess I better go before he gets worried.”

	“That’s probably a good idea. I don’t want you to get in trouble on account 
of me,” he said, reaching for the beach ball. “Here, you don’t want to forget this.”

	“Arigatou,” Ai said, bowing politely before taking the ball. “It was nice 
talking to you. I hope you and Rei-san make up soon.”

	“It was great talking to you, too, Ai-chan,” Keitaro said honestly. “Study 
hard, and I’m sure you will become a wonderful lawyer someday.”

	“I will, Hino-san. Sayonara.”

	“Sayonara.”

	With a final wave goodbye, Ai ran off, Keitaro watching until he made sure 
she had found her father. The little girl jumped into a slightly overweight, balding 
man’s waiting arms, giving him a huge kiss on the cheek, then they walked off 
hand-and-hand to resume their game. Keitaro sighed, feeling a slight twinge of 
jealousy at how happy the two of them seemed together, and leaned back on his hands 
as he reflected on their conversation. 

	To think that a little girl, a complete stranger, could listen to him as he 
confessed his sins toward Rei and then treat him with compassion instead of hate… He 
didn’t know what to make of it. How could anybody be that forgiving, especially to 
somebody they didn’t even know? He couldn’t even forgive himself for what he had 
done, yet Ai had done so without a second thought, showing a maturity far beyond her 
years. If he didn’t know better, he might have thought she was some kind of angel.

	But that was ridiculous.

	Wasn’t it?

	“You’re really losing it, Keitaro,” he said to himself, shaking his head. 
“Ai-chan is just a little girl on holiday with her family. All this sun must be going 
to your head.”

	Still, he couldn’t resist taking another look in the direction where Ai and 
her father had walked off, wondering if they were still there. They weren’t, but 
Keitaro rationalized that they could have gone out into the water or disappeared for 
any number of reasons, none which involved heavenly intervention. He was sure that if 
he took the time to look for them, he would find them building a sand castle or 
playing with that ball somewhere farther down the beach, but realizing how stupid he 
would seem if he actually did try to find them again, Keitaro decided against it, 
looking down at his watch instead to see it was almost time for Ogata to pick him 
back up.

	After slipping back into his shoes, Keitaro stood and dusted the sand off his 
jacket, folding it over his arm as he took one final glance at the gently rolling 
waters, his soul at peace for the first time in what felt like years. Even if Ai 
wasn’t an angel, with that one hug, she had managed to do the one thing he never 
thought possible:

	She melted his heart. 

*****

	A week passed since Minoru’s wedding, and Rei was finally truly on her own. 
Miyuki and her family had left that morning on the train back home to Nagano. The 
shrine seemed eerily quiet when Rei returned from the train station without hearing 
the usual hustle and bustle she had grown accustomed to ever since Saburo’s death, 
but she was determined not to let it bother her, humming a Japanese folk song to 
herself as she headed to her bedroom to change into her robes and prepare for her 
visit to the cemetery.

	Not only was it her first day as an independent adult, it was also the start 
of Obon, a Buddhist festival honoring the dead. She had already gone to the cemetery 
once that morning with Miyuki to clean Saburo’s and Takara’s graves before they left 
for the station, but Rei wanted to go again for a more personal visit. Gathering the 
two bouquets she had bought on her way home -- one of chrysanthemums and the other of 
calla lilies -- and some sticks of incense, she left and headed to the cemetery near 
Hikawa.     	

	The cemetery was surprisingly empty when Rei arrived, a fact she attributed 
to the darkness of the skies, which were covered in a blanket of gray clouds and hid 
the sun. A storm was brewing in the distance, but she estimated she would have enough 
time for a short visit before things got really bad. Tightening her grip on the 
flowers, Rei made her way down the now familiar path to the sakura tree and stopped 
in front of the two newly cleaned graves.

	“Konnichiwa, okaa-sama, ojii-san,” she greeted them, her voice only slightly 
shaking as she kneeled down and placed the flowers on their proper graves, the 
chrysanthemums for Saburo and the lilies for her mother. “It’s me again, Rei. I 
brought you some flowers. They’re nothing much, but I remember you telling me once 
that chrysanthemums were your favorite flowers, right, ojii-san? And okaa-sama, yours 
were the cherry blossoms. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you a sakura bouquet, but I hope 
you like the lilies. The florist said it was the most beautiful bouquet she had in 
the store. They are very pretty…”

	Her voice broke off as she fingered one of the delicate white flowers, their 
beauty reminding her of her mother, so fragile yet beautiful. Perhaps that was why 
she had been drawn to them at the florist’s after she remembered the cherry blossoms 
were out of season. Closing her eyes, Rei could almost imagine that instead of a 
petal, she was touching the thin, soft skin of her mother’s hand.

	“I miss you, okaa-sama,” she whispered, opening her eyes once again and 
folding her hands in her lap. “I miss both of you so much. I feel so lost and lonely 
now, and I don’t know what to do. Watanabe-san went back with her family to Nagano 
this morning, and Uchizawa-san is still in France on his honeymoon. There’s nobody to 
take care of me, and for the first time, I feel truly alone. I thought I could handle 
it, really I did, but now that it is actually happening… Maybe I should have gone 
with Watanabe-san. I don’t know if I’m ready to be on my own yet. It’s so 
overwhelming.” 

	Rei didn’t truly understand the depth of her feelings until they started 
pouring out of her, her eyes welling with unshed tears. She had tried so hard to keep 
her fears at bay, but virtually alone in the cemetery where nobody she knew could see 
her, the barriers she had built up were broken down.

	“What should I do, ojii-san, okaa-sama?” she asked the tombstones after 
pausing to wipe away a tear that had rolled down her cheek. “It’s not too late to 
accept Watanabe-san’s offer to stay with them in Nagano. Before she left, she said I 
was welcome at their home any time if I changed my mind. But I don’t want to leave 
Hikawa or my wonderful friends. I have responsibilities here that I can’t run away 
from.”

	As expected, the tombstones provided no answers, and Rei sighed, her fingers 
running across her grandfather’s name, engraved into the stone. She felt as if she 
were seven years old again, scared and alone and wanting nothing more for things to 
go back to the way they used to be. When her mother died, Saburo had been the one to 
comfort her through her pain, but who would comfort her now? Who could she turn to?

	“Otou-sama?” she whispered, the word slipping from her mouth without warning. 

	Surprised, Rei touched her fingers to her lips, wondering what would make her 
say such a thing. What a ridiculous suggestion! Keitaro was the last person she would 
seek comfort from. It was his fault she had sought emancipation in the first place. 

	But though she tried to push the memory away, Minako’s words the day of the 
transplant echoed in the back of her mind: 

	“Uchizawa-san says your father really is a good person at heart, just scared. 
I don‘t really understand what he was saying, but maybe if you give Hino-sama another 
chance and show him that love is nothing to be afraid of…”

	Were they right? Was it possible that Keitaro was not as cruel-hearted as she 
had thought?

	She shook her head. Impossible! What kind of man put his career above his own 
family, including a sickly wife who, in spite of the lack of attention he gave her, 
had loved him until the end? What kind of man abandoned his own daughter with the 
grandfather she had just met, tearing her from everything and everyone she had loved? 
What kind of man went out of his way to avoid seeing her at all costs, even on her 
birthday?

	Hino Keitaro wasn’t scared of love; he was incapable of love. It was as 
simple as that. 

	Wasn’t it?

*****

	Back in his office downtown, Keitaro was busy at his desk, mindlessly 
finishing some paperwork. The faint sound of thunder rumbled in the distance, but he 
barely noticed it, his mind elsewhere.

	It had been like that for the past several days, ever since Minoru’s wedding. 
Keitaro had simply not been able to concentrate on his work, his usual method of 
distraction failing him for the first time in a long while. 

	“Hino-sama?”

	Glancing up from his papers, Keitaro looked over at the door where his 
secretary stood expectedly, a file folder held close to her chest. “Yes, 
Katsuki-kun?” he said. “Is there a problem?”

	“I brought the file you wanted,” she announced, coming forward. “The one 
about the research being done on the Delta accident from a few years ago?”

	“The Mugen Gakuen explosion?”

	“Hai, sir. You wanted it for the meeting with those environmental lobbyists?”

	“Oh, yes, the meeting with Oyamada-san,” he said, finally remembering. “Thank 
you.”

	Miss Katsuki frowned as she handed him the folder. “Hino-sama, is something 
bothering you?” she asked, her usually monotonous voice showing concern. “It’s 
probably none of my business, but you’ve seemed…out of sorts, lately. Ever since that 
day you inexplicably left in the middle of the work day, you haven’t been able to 
concentrate on anything.”

	“That’s not true.”

	“It’s not? Then have you finished that paperwork I gave you this morning? It 
shouldn’t have taken you more than an hour.”

	Keitaro looked down at the stack in front of him, ashamed and a little bit 
shocked when he saw he was only halfway through. He didn‘t realize he was that far 
behind. Usually going through his paperwork was a snap. “Well, no, but…”

	“Perhaps you should take a vacation,” she suggested. “Your workload for the 
week is very light, and it is the beginning of Obon...”

	“Obon? That‘s this week?” he asked.

	“You didn’t know?”

	“No, I didn’t realize…” Opening one of the drawers of his desk, Keitaro 
pulled out his personal planner and turned to that day’s date. Sure enough, it was 
the first day of Obon, the Buddhist festival honoring the dead. “So it is,” he said, 
unsure why he was suddenly so concerned about a holiday he never celebrated. As far 
as he had always been concerned, Obon was just another mark on the calendar.

	“I’m sure everybody would appreciate a couple of days off to go visit their 
loved ones,” the secretary continued somewhat hesitantly, her eyes downcast. “After 
all, most of the other offices are closed or working shorter days…”

	Seeing where she was heading with her none-too-subtle hints, Keitaro smiled 
kindly. “Katsuki-kun, if you want to take a few days off, all you have to do is ask 
me,” he said, closing the planner and placing it back in its proper drawer. “You 
don’t have to be so sneaky about it.”

	“But I couldn’t, not on such short notice. It’s too late to find a temp to 
take my place for a couple of days.”

	“I’m sure I can handle things here by myself. You said yourself that my 
schedule was light this week,” he reminded her. “In fact, send out a memo to the rest 
of the office announcing that anybody who wants to take the holiday may as soon as 
they finished today’s work.” 

	“Really?” For one of the few times since they started working together, Miss 
Katsuki truly smiled, bowing deeply in thanks. “Oh, thank you, Hino-sama. You don’t 
know how much this means to me. My brother passed away last year, and I was hoping I 
would be able to visit his gravesite in Kyoto.”

	“It’s nothing, Katsuki-kun. You should be with your family. All I ask before 
you leave is that you send out that memo and reschedule any non-urgent meetings to 
next week.”

	“Of course. I’ll get right on it,” she promised, heading to the door to 
leave. “Thank you again, sir.”

	After the door closed behind her, Keitaro exhaled, his eyes falling upon a 
single picture frame sitting on his desk. He had taken it out of storage a few days 
previous, mainly because of the feelings which had been sparked by his meeting with 
Inoue Ai. Reaching for the heavy gold frame, he leaned back in his chair and stared 
at the happy family portrait.

	“Oh, Takara, I really messed things up, didn’t I?” he asked the gorgeous 
woman dressed in green in the photograph. “I wish you were still here. You and 
Rei-san had such a special bond. If anybody could heal the rift between us, it would 
be you. You always knew what to say to her, how to comfort her… I don’t even know 
where to start.”

	Shaking his head, Keitaro placed the picture frame facedown on the desk and 
sighed. What was he talking about? Takara was gone. She couldn’t help him either.

	Or could she?

	Opening his desk drawer once again, he pulled out his planner and turned to 
the page he had looked up only moments before. Obon -- the week the dead supposedly 
came back to Earth to communicate with their loved ones. He didn’t necessarily share 
that belief, but something inside him was telling him to go to the cemetery.

	Pressing a button on his intercom, Keitaro buzzed his secretary. 
“Katsuki-kun, are you still there? Will you call Ogata-kun and have him meet me 
outside the building with the car?”

	“You’re leaving?” she asked over the speaker as he stood up and began putting 
his things away. “But what about your meeting with Oyamada-san and the 
environmentalists? They’re supposed to be arriving in half an hour.”

	“Cancel it,” he ordered. “Tell them I will see them tomorrow. I have 
something to take care of, and it can’t wait.”

	“Hai, sir. It will be difficult to get a hold of everybody on such short 
notice, but I’ll try. I‘ll also call for Ogata-kun.”

	“Thank you, Katsuki-kun.”

	Moments later, he was on his way to the one place he never thought he would 
visit again.

	The cemetery near Hikawa.


AUTHOR'S NOTES: Comments and criticisms can be sent to me at ElysionDream@aol.com.

DICLAIMER: Sailor Moon is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.