Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ The Swim of Things ❯ Chapter 22 ( Chapter 22 )

The Swim of Things

By

Ret Nuh

 

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Rei was standing at her door nodding and saying yes to a great multitude of things. She never figured on Kensuke being one of those overprotective types of pet owners but she was wrong. There was no end to all the different things he was telling her and he seemed very reluctant to give up the pet carrier in his hand. From the amount of information he gave her you could have surmised he was leaving the cat with her for good, not just a couple days. But Rei just took all of it in stride, while she was surprised by how Kensuke was acting, she wasn't going to look down on it. He was simply nervous about leaving his pet, that's all. She couldn't pass judgment on something like that and also she sort of liked his apparent nervousness. It proved that Dai did have a very good owner that cared about him a great deal.

 

And with patience and understanding eventually comes reward and she had a cute little kitty cat as her pet for the next few days. She was quite happy about that.

 

At first Dai didn't want to come out of the carrier as he seemed a bit scared but after a while he stuck his head out and sniffed. Slowly but surely he came out a little bit more as the smell was not unfamiliar to him. It was that of someone who was very nice. And sitting there a little bit away was Rei, she wasn't doing any sudden actions or trying to grab him but was just giving him some space to get used to the new surroundings. And since she was doing that he walked up to her and sat down right in front of her giving her an unsure meow.

 

“It's ok Dai” Rei told him and gave him some scratches on the top of his head. “You will be living with me for a couple days.” And since he seemed comfortable with the scratches she picked him up and gave him a little tour of her place. First she showed him where his litter box was and then she moved on to where she had put his food dish and water bowl and after that she continued to walk around with him. Sure her apartment was a bit on the small side as it was only a studio but still she showed him around the whole place and not once did she feel silly about doing this. She only wanted the little guy to feel comfortable in her home. It would have been a real bummer if the only thing he did was hide in the carrier the whole time.

 

But she didn't have to worry about that predicament too much as in no time Dai got comfortable and was even lying in her lap purring away as she sat in her chair reading a book. This was something she could get real used to as it felt good to have someone around, even if that someone was only a cat. A couple thoughts of maybe she should get a cat or some other pet even passed through her mind a couple times while she sat there.

 

Unfortunately though all good things must come to an end and she eventually had to get up. She had to work today, but only for a short time. Misato was still strict about her only working forty hours a week and she had piled up quite a few hours working in the banquet room from the late nights she put in so that was deducted from how much she could work regularly. In fact all she had to do was work two hours today before she hit her weekly maximum, then she had the next two days off. She would of counted her blessings for the coincidental timing of all this if she didn't know the reason behind Kensuke leaving. It wasn't a very pleasant one. In fact it was sort of depressing if she thought about it.

 

The funny thing Rei noticed was that as she was leaving she saw Dai go back in his carrier. Kensuke had told her that his cat was freely allowed on the furniture at his place and that when he was at work usually the cat could be found sleeping on his bed or the couch that he had. In fact that time she had gone over to his place to talk to him she found Dai stretched out on the couch.

 

She walked back over to the carrier “You don't have to sleep in there when I'm gone. You can sleep anywhere you want.” But as she pulled out the kitty, out came a shirt. It was one of Kensuke's and she realized the cat only went in there so he could sleep on that shirt. It had the smell of his owner on it and that was a comforting thing to him. “You're such a good kitty” Rei told him before she picked up the shirt and carried it over to her chair. She then put the shirt down on it and Dai down on top of the shirt. “This will be much more comfortable.” And right before she left she even turned the chair on to lightly vibrate. She couldn't help herself, she had to spoil the cat. He was so cute after all.

 

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When Rei got to work she saw Asuka writing an order down and handing it to one of the cooks. “Hello Asuka.”

 

“Hey Rei” Asuka said back. “So did Kensuke drop off his kitty yet?”

 

Rei nodded yes. “A little while ago. He wanted to take off early to avoid the lunch time traffic.”

 

“I hope he remembered his raincoat” Li Mei chimed in as she grabbed the order from Asuka. “It's supposed to rain later on.”

 

“Actually it started to rain already” Rei told her. Just as she was pulling up she noticed a few drops coming down.

 

“Oh dear” Li Mei fretted. She was hoping he would have good weather for most of his long trip. She knew where he was going and on that moped of his it would take him four to five hours of traveling and that was if he didn't stop along the way. It was a sad enough reason to have to go but rain would just make it even more melancholy.

 

“Don't worry, he'll be fine” added the lone male in the area who was cutting up some pork cutlets. Shinji knew Kensuke was a pretty strong person, yes this was a sad thing but it was nothing he knew his friend couldn't handle. After all the kid had been doing this long before any of them had known him and would be something he kept doing for as long as he lived if he was able to.

 

“I know, I know” Li Mei said. “But I just wish he would take a cab or a train or something like that out there. It's such a long way to travel by yourself.”

 

“I don't think he would want anyone else with him actually” Asuka said before leaving to check on her tables. “He's a pretty private person about this sort of thing.”

 

What Asuka said was true and even though Li Mei didn't like it she had to agree. She also had to get back to work as she had another meal to prepare. Shinji and Rei likewise got back to work as Shinji went back to chopping things up while watching a pot of miso soup and Rei headed for the room in back to get dressed and ready for work.

 

It was going to be a short day but at least when she left she was going to have company going home as her hours would end when both Asuka and Shinji's did. One thing she didn't like about her scooter was driving it in the rain. She was still a bit of a newbie in that area and she would have much rather pushed it home while walking with Shinji and Asuka than ride it in the rain. The rain also made her change her plans for the day as originally she had planned on going to the beach. But that idea was obviously all wet now. Pity really as she rather enjoyed lounging under the sun while reading a good book.

 

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When Rei got home from work she wasn't alone, Asuka followed her because she wanted to play with Dai. Rei fully expected this to happen. What she didn't suspect was to see Dai still sleeping on that chair, in fact it didn't look like he even moved an inch in the whole time she was gone.

 

Asuka laughed as she saw the cat sitting there in the vibrating chair “Well aren't you the spoiled one?” She then went over and knelt down by the chair and started giving Dai some scratches. That friendly feline was more than affable in accepting this attention as he rolled over so Asuka could scratch his tummy and he started purring. “You're such a cute kitty aren't you?… oh yes you are… awww you just want your tummy scratched don't you?”

 

It always amazed Rei just how quickly infants and animals could reduce people to baby talk. Not that she could really chide anyone for it as she was just as guilty as the next person but it still amazed her. Something about those things just made people feel very at ease. Maybe it was that they were nonjudgmental and so honest with their feelings. Those were two things that most humans had so much trouble with and what caused so many problems. If only they could revert to being like babies or animals in that sense maybe they would all be better off. But all that was irrelevant as she grabbed a toy she had bought the other day, it was a little rod with a string tied to it and a feather on the other end of the string. It didn't take long before Asuka and her were racing around her apartment with the toy in their hands and Dai in hot pursuit as he tackled and fought with the bright green feather.

 

The two were still doing this a half hour later when Misato dropped by, with Keiko at her side of course. Once Keiko heard that Rei had a kitty she simply had to visit. Their visit though caught Rei in mid run as she had just jumped over the back of her couch with Dai in hot pursuit of the feather. It was sort of embarrassing and she came to a blushing halt.

 

“Don't stop on my account” Misato laughed though.

 

What Rei had just done didn't matter one bit to the other person that was with Misato either. The only thing she wanted was to play with the kitty and Keiko walked up to Rei and asked “I pay too?”

 

The answer to that was of course yes and Rei gave Keiko the toy and told her to walk around with the feather behind her. Keiko was quick to do that and also quick to giggle as the cat followed her every move and kept pouncing on the feather that she trailed behind her.

 

Rei herself went to sit down on the couch next to Asuka, who was catching her breath. “That little ball of fur is a real spitfire” Asuka commented.

 

“I didn't think he would have so much energy” Rei answered agreeing with Asuka. “We have been running around for a half hour straight and he still wants to play.”

 

“That's a cat for ya” Misato answered. “One second they look like the laziest things in the world and the next they're ripping around the room so fast you can't even see them.”

 

Asuka nodded her head yes to that. A couple times while running around with the feather she had totally lost track of the cat only to have it charge out of an unexpected corner and not from behind. It really kept her on her toes.

 

Despite being a little tired from running around Rei was having a lot of fun and she asked “Misato what would you say if I said I wanted to get a cat?”

 

“Well first I would give you the whole spiel about responsibility and owning a pet” Misato told her. “But if you were still interested afterwards we could visit a humane society or two to see if you can find one you liked.” Misato liked Rei's idea very much actually. She thought it would be a very good learning experience for Rei to have a pet and it would also make her apartment a little less tame. With it only being Rei all the time the place was a bit on the quiet side and just by how much Rei came over to visit now she could tell that the girl wanted a little more life to be happening in there at times. Originally a couple months ago Misato even was going to get her some fish but it didn't seem Rei was to keen on that idea. While Rei did like to go to the large aquariums around the city and see all the different kinds of life in them she didn't seem to like little tanks of her own. The small size and the all identical fish gave the girl a noticeable case of the heebie-jeebies.

 

While Rei smiled at Misato's answer Asuka too responded to it. “I want a kitty too.”

 

The answer to that was short and simple “No.”

 

“Why not?” Asuka whined.

 

“Because we already have a pet” Misato answered her. “And PenPen isn't the best at dealing with other creatures.”

 

“That's because the stupid bird thinks he owns the place” Asuka said. “Plus I question whether the pudgy ball of feathers even knows he's a bird.”

 

“So he's a little unique” Misato smiled. “I still love the big feather duster. He kept me good company for a long time when I had no one else around me.”

 

“Whatever” Asuka said blowing off that statement of loyalty. She knew Misato was right about what she said but it wasn't going to get her what she wanted, a kitty.

 

They all then noticed Keiko had crawled up on Rei's bed and had the feather in her hand now. Dai was being a lot less aggressive and only batting at it lightly while he sat by the little girl. “That cat must have been around little ones before” Misato said looking at what was happening.

 

“Yeah he must have” Asuka agreed. “Usually cats are skittish around little kids.”

 

“Keiko does seem to be playing nicely” Rei added on. “As long as she doesn't pull his hair or tail or anything like that I don't think he minds playing with her.”

 

Thanks to PenPen Keiko was very good about playing nicely with animals. Even being as young as she was she knew that when she was nice to PenPen he would play with her but if she tried to pull a feather or something he would wark really loudly and run away. She really didn't want this kitty to run away so she was going to be very nice to it.

 

“I still can't believe someone just left him behind when they moved” Asuka said while shaking her head in disgust. Dai was just about the perfect cat. He was friendly, good with little kids, playful, and a real lover boy. How someone could just abandoned him was beyond comprehension to her.

 

“Neither can I” Rei responded. “He's such a good kitty.”

 

“Unfortunately there are still a lot of people in this world like that” Misato told the two teens. “That's why I want to make sure you understand how big of a responsibility it is when you decide to get a pet. It's very cruel what his previous owner did to him and it's mainly because they didn't take responsibility for him. More than likely they moved somewhere where they couldn't have pets and instead of doing the responsible thing and finding a shelter or humane society to take care of him they simply took off…..” and so went on the responsibility spiel Misato had mentioned earlier.

 

Not letting Asuka leave for this either was a good way to kill two birds with one stone as that girl needed to hear stuff like this on a constant basis. Asuka may not have liked it but it was for her own good. She even got a third bird as when Shinji came over to see what was going on she told him to sit down. Sometimes that boy still had the worst luck in walking into situations he was blind to and then getting caught up in them.

 

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A little bit later when all was said and done and Rei was by herself again she decided she needed to clean up her place a bit. All that ramroding around had created a little mess. As for Dai, all that expelling of energy required a good nap and he settled down on the vibrating chair that still had Kensuke's shirt on it. His current caretaker was even nice enough to turn the chair back on for him, she was such a good person in his opinion. But while Rei was cleaning up she got one more visitor.

 

At first Rei did not even know she had a visitor as she didn't quite hear him at the door but after a while she could hear a very light knocking. It was almost like someone was tapping at her door. She grew curious and she looked out the peep hole only to see nothing. She then shrugged her shoulders and went back to straightening things out as she thought she was just hearing things. Oddly enough though she kept hearing these small knocks. She again went over to investigate only to see no one there. At first she thought maybe some boys were playing a trick on her so she waited by the door till the next time they knocked and then she was going to surprise them by opening the door before they had a chance to run away. But when she put this plan into action she found that in fact there were no boys playing any tricks on her, it was PenPen who was pecking at her door.

 

She knelt down so she could talk to him. “What are you doing here PenPen? You get trapped outside your place while you went out for a walk?” PenPen was prone to walking around the halls for a bit to stretch his legs. No one on the floor minded all that much and they would usually just give him a pat on the head and say hello if they saw him walking around. Sometimes even he would take the elevator down with them and go outside the building as there was a park nearby. This park had a nice little pond in it and he liked to go swimming.

 

Misato on the other hand wasn't so fond of this habit of his as she had to give him a bath every time he got home because he stunk like old scummy pond water. But hey, what could she do? He was a penguin and penguins got to swim after all.

 

PenPen in actuality was not out for a walk and in fact was purposely visiting Rei. Actually it wasn't exactly Rei he was visiting as he waddled right past her and made his way straight over to the chair that had that cat sleeping on it. This cat was seriously intruding on his domain and he was going to teach it a lesson or two. He totally ignored the warning he got from Rei as she scolded him “You leave Dai alone, you hear me?”

 

Instead he pecked the sleeping cat, pulling out some of the cat's hair in the process. As you can guess Dai was rather surprised by this rude awakening and reacted in the way most cats do when they get startled. He lashed out with a paw full of claws. He followed that up with some loud hissing and growling as the bird took off in a rather noisy hurry. That cat had got him pretty good upside the head and it hurt. And he was letting everyone know about it with his squawking.

 

In fact he was squawking so loudly that he didn't even get halfway between Rei and Misato's place before his raven-haired owner opened the door to see what in the world all that racket was about. The first thing she saw was a panicky bird waddling up to her as fast as it could. Also he seemed to cut himself as he had a spot of blood that was dying what normally were white feathers a dark shade of red. The next thing she saw was Rei march out in the hall and reprimand him “I told you to leave him alone!”

 

The penguin was looking for sympathy not a scolding and was quick to hide behind his owner. Unfortunately this didn't save him as Misato looked behind her and asked “You didn't just go over and bug Dai, did you? Because I specifically told you not to.” That penguin of hers had been very moody ever since Keiko came back smelling of a cat. And it was just like him to do something like this considering his territorial nature.

 

Just because he was a penguin and couldn't talk didn't mean Misato couldn't get an answer as Rei said “He came over and pecked Dai while he was sleeping.”

 

“Why you naughty penguin” Misato scolded. PenPen responded with some pitiful squawks and warks but quickly got cut off. “Don't you try and give me some sob story. You got exactly what was coming to you. Whether you like it or not you don't own this world and if Rei wants a kitty in her place you're just going to have to accept it.” She then picked up her penguin and held him tightly while telling Rei “Don't worry about this. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.”

 

“Thank you” Rei answered but then asked “Is he ok? He looks to have gotten scratched.”

 

“It's nothing” Misato answered looking at it. “It's not even that bad of a cat scratch, he's just a big complainer” and she took him off to her place so she could give him a proper reprimand. He was in big trouble and most likely would be grounded to his fridge for quite a while.

 

Rei then returned to her apartment to check on Dai, she was pretty sure this was the first time that cat had ever seen a penguin and was pretty scared about this whole ordeal. And she was right as the cat was standing up in the chair with his fur at full bristle. Rei walked over to the cat and knelt down beside the chair. “It's ok Dai. He's gone now.” She then slowly extended an open hand towards the cat so he could sniff it and recognize that she was a friend. This had the calming effect she intended it to as the cat took a couple sniffs and his hair started to stand down. He even gave her a couple licks before he sat back down and let her pet him for a while.

 

It wasn't long before Rei had her friendly kitty back and this whole unpleasant situation was over with. She finished cleaning up her place and went over to sit down on the couch as she didn't want to disturb Dai. But as Rei flipped on the TV to check and see if tomorrows weather was going to be better than today's, so she could hit the beach, Dai got up and hopped off the chair and over into her lap. He was quick to curl up and start purring as he snuggled in. Rei was very appreciative of this and stroked him lightly for a long time as she sat back and relaxed. She could very easily see herself spending the next couple days like this.

 

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As Kensuke drove down the road he found the rain to be a perfect match for his mood, absolutely gloomy. This was not a trip he wanted to make but rather a trip he had to make. And he had been making trips like this for many years now. Sadly for the most part he made this trip alone. There were others that he could go with if he wanted to but it didn't feel right to him, this was just something he had to do on his own. It gave him more time to think and remember when he was by himself. The only other person who he would have accepted to go with him was not even around anymore. But then again even when his dad was around he didn't go with him to the cemetery other than the first anniversary of his mother's death. Obviously Kensuke was going to the location of his mother's ceremonial burial plot so he could properly pay his respects to his mother like a good son should.

 

Like most years he was the first one to the grave sight. Eventually others would show up to pay their respects too but he always came early so he could have some private time with his mother. It was just easier for him to talk to her without others around. As for the others, they were relatively few. No true blood related family only friends, but at least these were friends that at one time he considered so close they were family.

 

He knew not to expect anyone from his father's side of the family. The last time he had heard from any of them was when his uncle said he was going out for a bit. He never returned and was most likely back in Italy with the rest of that side of the family. As far as Kensuke was concerned they could all stay over there as he never wanted to hear from any of them again. When his father failed to come back not a single one of them ever offered a condolence to him and he knew many of them placed the blame for what happened squarely on the blonde kid's shoulders. To Kensuke that side of the family was all the same, they all ran away from their problems because they were too cowardly to face up to the truth. His father was a traitor to the human race because he sided with SEELE. He could reconcile that fact but until that side of the family could also he didn't want them around, especially at the grave of his mother.

 

As for his mother's side of the family, he wished he could have kept in touch with them but there wasn't really anyone to keep in touch with. His mother was an only child and both her parents had died when he was still young. He would have had to go all the way over to America to find any living blood relatives on that side. Well there or Denmark, both were places of possible relations as his grandfather was of American descent and his grandmother Dutch. They had met in Japan during the Korean War and stayed there when they got married, acting as interpreters and envoys of their respective countries. At least he could look kindly at that side of his family as from what little he remembered both of them were very nice. And of course then there was his mother, he still remembered her very clearly to this day. Those were some of the happiest memories he had and there was no way he was going to let go of them.

 

Unfortunately that is what made times like this hurt even more as unlike most of the other Marduk children he knew the truth about what happened to her. She didn't die in a horrible accident like most of them were told but she was taken from him. He never talked about this though, mainly because there was no reason to. It happened in the past and was better off forgotten. And there were many times he wished he could forget it and was like most of the other children. It would have been so much easier to go through life thinking she had just been an unfortunate victim in a horrible accident than to know that her soul was unwillingly sucked inside a giant living weapon.

 

Luckily that tragedy didn't happen before she was able to instill in him the fundamentals that made him who he was today. His mother was a good person and wanted her child to be the same way and Kensuke was not going to dishonor her by not living up to those expectations. To him he was his mother's child and not his father's son. That was a huge difference in the book of Kensuke Aida.

 

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Kensuke had just finished up cleaning the headstone and was taking care of the flowerbed in front of his mother's grave. He didn't let the fact that it was raining stop him from doing this. If anything it was a little help from above as he planted some flowers, it would help them grow. Since it was summer he was putting in some bellflowers and then when he would return in the early spring he would plant some tulips. These were his mother's favorite flowers so this was a fitting tribute to her. It also made him feel very close to her when he did this as many times when he was young he used to help his mother out in her flower garden. It was her favorite hobby and something he remembered that always made her smile. In fact this and her favorite flowers inspired the childhood nicknames that he and Kaede had. He was tulip and she was bellflower.

 

Fortuitously for him the only person that still used those names was Kaede's old sister Seiko and that was mainly due to this being Seiko's tribute to Mama Amelia. She had picked up those names from Kensuke's mom and was even encouraged by her to use them. Obviously there was a closeness there that was beyond friendship. As for the rest of Kaede's family there was her mom Sachi and her father Riku. Incidentally these were the names Kensuke used to call them too. The reason why Kensuke was so informal with the use of names had to do with his mother and Kaede's mother's relationship. The two had been born in the same hospital only days apart. Grew up next to each other and were the best of friends. Went to the same elementary school, junior high school, high school, and even the same college as each other. And even after they got out of college they stayed together as they both moved to Tokyo-3, where they lived together until they met their respective husbands. Even after that they were still together as they went from living together to being next-door neighbors again. Although you couldn't really tell the difference considering how much time his mom and Kaede's spent together.

 

As Kensuke patted the fresh earth with the new set of flowers planted in them a woman came up behind him. She was six years older than him with a family of her own now that included a newborn. She had left the husband and kid back at the hotel she was staying at though. “Hello there Tulip.”

 

Kensuke got up and gave this woman a hug “Hello ane, it's good to see you again.” Even if Seiko really was Kaede's big sister and not his it didn't stop Kensuke from using that very informal name when he referred to her. That was just how it was. Hell until he was four he actually thought Seiko's name really was Ane as that was the only thing he ever called her by. And even after he learned the difference he stilled called her that. Not only because this was what he wanted but also because this is what she wanted too. To her Kensuke was her little brother so it was ok for him to call her that.

 

“You shouldn't be out here without a rain coat” she told him after the hug. “You'll catch a cold.”

 

“I'm all right” Kensuke replied. “It's just a summer shower. No big deal.”

 

By how soaked he was she could tell he had been out in the rain for quite some time already. And with a bit of a raised eyebrow she asked “You didn't drive all the way out here in the rain on your moped again, did you?”

 

“Well….” Kensuke trailed off without giving and answer.

 

Seiko shook her head at him. “Just let me give you a ride next time will you?”

 

Like every other time she asked him that he only answered with a “We'll see.”

 

This of course meant no but she had to at least try. She then looked at the grave of the woman she considered a second mother to her. “Those are really pretty bellflowers. Mama Amelia would have loved them.”

 

“Thanks” Kensuke replied and then bowed his head as Seiko knelt down in front of the gravestone and said a prayer of her own.

 

After a bit of solemnest and even a tear or two shed by Seiko she got up and started talking to Kensuke again. They were waiting for the rest of her family to show up as soon they would be there too. “So how are things going?”

 

“Can't complain too much” Kensuke answered. “I'm still working and going to school so not much has changed.”

 

“You don't need any money or help do you?” Seiko asked as that wasn't as easy of a life as it sounded with him being on his own.

 

“Thanks for the offer but no” Kensuke said back politely. He knew she was just trying to help him like she always had done in the past. “Actually right now I got more help in the financial area than I really want.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Let's just say my guardian decided to play a bigger role in my life than she used to” Kensuke answered. He left it at that though as he didn't want to admit that Misato was taking care of most of his bills and his mortgage now.

 

“Good” Seiko said smiling. Last year the story was different and he begrudgingly accepted a two thousand yen bill because he really did need it. But now things seemed to be better and she was happy about that. “You keeping your grades up too?”

 

Kensuke nodded his head yes. “I'm in the top five percent right now. I just hope that's high enough to get me into the college I want.”

 

“So you finally decided on one?” Seiko said surprised. “Which one?”

 

“I want to get into T4U's School of Engineering. I want to see if I got what it takes to become a mechanical engineer.”

 

“Well good for you” Seiko told him happily. “I hope you already started studying for entrance exams because Tokyo-4 isn't an easy college to get into.”

 

“I know” Kensuke sighed. While he didn't mind doing schoolwork, studying in the summer was just inherently wrong to him. It was supposed to be a time of fun and sun and a nice reprieve from the pressures of school. On the same page though was the fact that he personally saw how hard Rei had to study to get into that school and she was smarter than him even by his own admission. Not only did he have a study book or two of his own at his place he even had some of Rei's old test booklets to give him a hand already. “So how are you and Souta doing with the little one?”

 

“Souta and I are doing real fine. He just got a promotion about six months ago to assistant manager at the company he works at.” There was a lot of pride in how she said that as she was very proud of her husband. “As for little Ryuzo he's just doing his little baby thing, completely changing our lives in every way possible.”

 

Kensuke chuckled lightly at that. “That's good to hear Ane.”

 

The two continued to engage in some small talk until Seiko's mom, dad, and little sister showed up about a half hour later. Sachi was in absolute tears like always and just held onto Kensuke, also like always. Kensuke went along with it as this was how it was. Sachi very much missed his mother and felt really bad for him not having her anymore. He did his best to try and console her while saying everything was fine but all it did was make the woman cry even more. For him to have to be that strong at such a young age was a horrible thing to her. Riku was much better about this and much like Seiko he asked generally how the boy was doing after Seiko was able to pry her mother off of Kensuke. He was generally concerned about the boy and if it weren't for Misato acting first he would have taken guardianship of the boy. He already was like a son to him after all.

 

The last person in all this was Kaede, and she hated all this. Not only was it the anniversary of the death of her mama Amelia but also it was this very thing that drove that wedge between Kensuke and her. Him calling her older sister ane, her older sister responding to it, him using her parents informal names, them responding to it, well it was all just too casual. How was she supposed to make any headway with this boy if her own family kept treating him like he was that kind of family. And things were only going to get worse for her as over the next few days her family and Kensuke would go over old photos and talk about the good old days, strengthening that thought. This happened every year and each year she could feel Kensuke moving further away from her. And not even them moving back and her going to the same school as him again could span the gap.

 

****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^****

 

Sadly Kensuke wasn't the only person doing something like this. Touji wasn't working today, neither was Hikari, nor were any of the other Marduk children who had jobs this summer. All over Japan there were services happening as many grieving families had lost mothers and wives. Other than Asuka and Shinji everyone else lost their mothers on the exact same day due to the “horrible accident” in the lab. Only a select few knew the truth behind all this and even of those one of them didn't know much. Kensuke knew, Touji knew, and only Hikari sort of knew. Touji learned the truth from what happened to him, what he saw during third impact, and also what he learned when he went to Shinji for the truth afterwards. By way of being close to Touji Hikari learned the accident story was not the truth but at the same time she told him if the truth was worse than the lie then she didn't want to know. Just by Touji not saying anything she sort of knew the truth. She also got conformation from Asuka as one day she asked her if the truth was worse than the lie. When Asuka shook her head yes she told Asuka to never tell her the truth. And to this day neither Asuka nor Touji ever spoke to her about what really happened.

 

Earlier this morning Hikari had gone with Touji's family to the site of his mother's grave to pay her respects and now Touji was doing the same with her family. During the whole time Touji held and comforted Hikari in his show of support for her during this dreary and sad day. But there was one silver lining in this storm. As Touji and Hikari's father walked back to the car Mr. Horaki put his arm around Touji and told him “Son, today you have proven that I can trust you to protect her in all ways. You have my permission.”

 

Touji bowed very respectfully towards him and told him “Thank you.”

 

Hikari was with her sisters at the time and did not see this but in everyway possible that short conversation involved her.

 

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*********** OOO ***********

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Due to a combination of a late departure from the hotel he was staying at and a long road trip Kensuke did not get back to Tokyo-4 till late in the evening. Still this was much too early for Rei as she didn't want to give up Dai. Over the past couple of days she had a great time with him. She especially liked that when it was time for bed he would jump up on it and curl up into a tight ball right next to her. Just listening to his slight purr and soft breathing while he slept was a very relaxing thing for her. And when she woke up he was so appreciative and gave her face some licks. If you could be a fly on the wall during that you would have heard some very cute sounding giggles as those licks tickled her. But all that was over with now as she had to give Dai back to his real owner. It was sort of sad and if you noticed, her bottom lip may have quivered once or twice as she handed the cat carrier over.

 

As for Kensuke he was just glad to be home. He just had a couple very long and emotion draining days and he was glad to be back home where he could relax, maybe grab a bite to eat on his way home, read one of his gear head magazines, and then get a good night sleep. What better way to recover from an exhausting trip was there?

 

Unfortunately this did not happen as when he tried to sneak back into his place he got caught with the cat carrier in his hand by the bossy lady down the hall. He had purposely got home as late as he did so she wouldn't be up and he wouldn't have to worry about her. Everyone on that hall knew she spent a good amount of her time spying at people from that peephole of hers so that is why he had to plan this out. But since he did get caught he gave her a simple excuse. “I'm just taking care of this little guy for a friend. He'll be out of here by tomorrow.”

 

The woman didn't care as she snarled at him “I don't care. I'm calling the pound and if your friend wants their cat back they will have to get it from them.”

 

This was probably the worst time for her to catch him as he just looked at her and said “You really are a fucking bitch like everyone says.”

 

Before she could even respond in aghast to that comment he slammed the door in her face as he didn't give a shit what she thought. He then made a panicked call as he knew she was serious and he didn't want Dai to get sent to the pound.

 

By this time Rei was already in bed, fast asleep. But she woke up real quick when she heard “Rei you got to help me out. I got busted trying to sneak Dai back in. Can you take care of him for me again? It will just be for a few more days, I promise. I don't want the pound to take him.”

 

“Of course I will” Rei responded back quickly. She wasn't going to let a friend dangle out on a limb like that. “You can come right over, I still have everything I need out.” She still had all that stuff out because she was too sad to put any of it away before she went to bed that night. She wasn't going to say that though.

 

Kensuke responded with “Thanks Rei, you're a real life saver. I'll find some way to pay you back.”

 

“That won't be necessary” Rei replied. “I will see you in a bit.” Kensuke hung up after that and Rei started feeling guilty again. She truly was sorry for what happened to Kensuke but on the other hand she was getting her kitty back so she was kind of happy. Having two different feelings at the same time made life so difficult.

 

It only took ten minutes for Kensuke to arrive and soon Rei had Dai scampering around her apartment again. He thanked her again for helping him and she told him it wasn't necessary for him to do it. Mainly because every time he thanked her she felt even guiltier. She even told him that after the third or fourth thanks but he only smiled at her “That means you're a good friend Rei” and he shut her door. Yes he knew that probably would put her guilt over the top and she would chew him out next time she saw him at work but he did mean it.

 

Actually he didn't get very far down the hall before he got stopped. “Kensuke, could you hold up a second?”

 

Kensuke turned around “You need something Misato?”

 

“I just want to make sure you're clear on what you did” she told him. “You're not going to get that cat back.”

 

“I know” Kensuke responded with a sigh. But then he lightened up as he added “At least I finally found him a good home like I said I would.”

 

“That's true” Misato said with a nod of her head. Rei would provide a very loving home for Dai.

 

The fact that Misato already knew about what was happening did bring up questions though. “How did you find out about all this so quickly?”

 

“I got a rather rude call from a lady you cussed out and I put two and two together” Misato answered him.

 

“How does she know that you're my guardian?” Kensuke asked. “I've never said anything to anyone.”

 

“Yes, but she has been trying to buy your apartment out from under you for a about a year, year and a half now. So she knows who I am because my name is on your mortgage.”

 

“So she wants me out of there?” Kensuke questioned as up to today he had never done anything wrong to her.

 

“Oh she said you could stay” Misato answered. “But you would be paying her rent instead of paying the bank a mortgage.”

 

“I don't really like the sound of that” Kensuke replied.

 

“Neither did I. And your rent payment would have been 20,000 yen more a month than your mortgage” Misato said shaking her head. This lady was definitely trying to take advantage of Kensuke and she didn't like it.

 

“Damn, she really is a bitch.”

 

Misato nodded her head yes to that. That was the impression she got from the woman too the few times she was contacted by her. “Sadly more landlords are like that than not” Misato told him. “I looked into it the last time she called and she already owns four other apartments in your complex and she really wants to make yours number five.”

 

“You're not going to give it to her?” Kensuke asked a bit on the worried side. Technically Misato had the power to do such a thing.

 

“Don't worry about that” Misato smirked. “That apartments yours lock, stock, and barrel. The only person who's going to be selling it off is you.”

 

Since he didn't have to worry about that he asked “So am I in trouble for cussing her out?”

 

Misato shook her head no at him. To tell you the truth she cussed the lady out herself over the phone. Not only was it way too late to be making phone calls but also the phone's ringing woke up Keiko. Needless to say she was less than thrilled by that. Neither was Kaji as right now he was the one trying to get his little girl back to sleep. Also there was another reason. “I have gone through what you have before so I know the feeling.”

“Really?”

 

“Yup” Misato answered. “I've had more landlords than I can count. And trust me, there were quite a few I wanted to cuss out myself. I even got evicted by one when I got PenPen because according to him a penguin didn't qualify as a pet.”

 

“That sucks” Kensuke said.

 

“I'll say” Misato replied. “We ended up living in my car for two weeks before we found a new place to live. Then I had to pay a ten thousand yen down payment for having a pet and another ten thousand yen every month on top of my rent because it was an exotic one.”

 

Now Kensuke was even more glad he owned instead of rented. The way Misato described it renting really sucked big time. He let out one more sad breath while looking at Rei's door. He really was going to miss Dai. “Sorry if this caused any trouble.”

 

“Actually you saved me a whole lot of trouble” Misato told him. “I already told Rei she could get a cat and I know what she wanted was one just like Dai. That would have taken a long time to find and I guarantee you every time we would have visited a shelter or a pound Asuka would be right there with us.” Misato too looked at Rei's door as she added “And something tells me she would be just like Asuka in shopping for a cat. Picky, picky, picky.”

 

That got a laugh out of Kensuke. He could picture what Misato said very easily. After that he said his goodbye and took off. He wasn't exactly looking forward to going back home now though. It was going to be very quiet and lonely from now on.

 

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*********** OOO ***********

////||||\\\\

 

Rei had just finished working one night when Li Mei came up to her. “Rei would you mind coming in on Wednesday afternoon. I need your help for a party that's going to be in the banquet room.”

 

“Sure” Rei responded. She would be glad to come in on her day off if Li Mei needed her help. “Is someone out sick?” She was thinking that might be the case and Li Mei needed her to fill in a spot.

 

“No” Li Mei told her. “I need one extra person to help out.”

 

“This must be a pretty big group” Rei said as the only time Li Mei called in extra help was for parties that almost filled the banquet room. “Is it a wedding?”

 

Li Mei shook her head no. “It's a birthday party. It's not going to be that big of one but the “Birthday Boy” has requested that you be in attendance.” She got the strange look she expected from Rei as this probably sounded pretty odd to the girl. She alleviated that look though with “It's Mr. Mitsuishi's birthday.”

 

“Oh, then I will be happy to show up.”

 

“I thought you would” Li Mei said smiling. “But don't dress up totally for it. Just dress up like you would for your hostess job and put a pretty hairpin in. He seems to really like it when you wear those.”

 

Rei blushed a bit as she nodded yes.

 

****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^****

 

The birthday party was a good amount of fun while at the same time most people were minding their P's & Q's. This had a lot to do with the fact that Mr. Mitsuishi's two children were in attendance. They had followed right in their father's grand footsteps and had high positions within big business. His oldest son, Yuriko's uncle, was a Chairman of the board like his father along with being a Vice-president in the Sony Corporation. He was in charge of the international markets and was the odds on favorite to be the next President and CEO of the company when the current president eventually stepped down. Mr. Mitsuishi's younger daughter, Yuriko's mom, had started up a successful overseas shipping company. So in one room you had two venerable leaders of a large international company and a shipping magnate, pretty heady stuff if you ask me.

 

Rei's job for this party was pretty simple, she was to sit right next to the birthday boy and pour him his tea. The rest of the girls working handled the other people but Mr. Mitsuishi was completely Rei's responsibility. And he was pretty adamant about it being no other way than that. Yuriko sort of giggled a couple times during the party because it was so obvious, her grandfather was smitten with Rei. And Rei herself seemed to be very appreciative of it and treated him so much nicer than she needed to.

 

“Would you like more tea?” Rei offered as his cup was almost empty.

 

“Yes I would, thank you very much” Mr. Mitsuishi responded with a bow of his head. He then watched as Rei perfectly prepared him another cup. “If I was only twenty years younger I would ask you to marry me.”

 

Usually Rei only responded to that now with a smile and a nod but since it was his birthday she did something special. “And if I was twenty years older I would gladly accept the proposal.” She then leaned over and gave the old man a light kiss on his forehead.

 

Out of all his presents he got today that one was by far the best as he hollered out “You see that Yuriko! Your old grandpa still has it.”

 

Pretty much everyone at the party laughed at that. Even the girls who were working couldn't help but chuckle under all that makeup and wigs they were wearing. And as everyone was laughing Yuriko's mom gave Rei a little pat on the back and whispered into her ear “Thank you dear. You really did make his day.”

 

Rei responded with what you would expect of her. A very polite “You're welcome.”

 

As the party continued many people came by to pay their respects to Mr. Mitsuishi. Li Mei came up with an extra big portion of his favorite dish. Boris came by to share some true Russian vodka and a cigar with the old man. And even Kensuke showed up and gave the old guy the latest gossip about the girls, specifically about how one of them had just got a cat and he could butter up to her by mentioning many good things about felines. These were only but a few that showed up as many people held the old man in high regard and wanted to pay their respects to him.

 

As afternoon turned into evening much fun was had and Mr. Mitsuishi looked to be having the grandest of times. This is what everyone in the room wanted.

 

****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^****

 

It was late evening when Yuriko informed her grandfather that it was time for them to go. And as they were leaving she asked Rei if she could help her and walk them out to the car that was parked right outside the front of the restaurant now. Rei nodded yes to that and walked with her hand in Mr. Mitsuishi's over to the elevator and they took it down to the first floor. She then led him over to the front doors to the building while Yuriko went ahead and opened the car door for him. When he was seated in the car she bowed politely and thanked him for eating at the restaurant like she always did. She then said she hoped to see him again also like always.

 

When the car took off she turned around and walked back to the elevator. It was a very sad walk though and she was trembling the whole way. And as she rode up the elevator her sadness and trembling got worse. By the time the doors opened there were tears in her eyes and standing out in the hallway was Li Mei. She looked very sad and told her as she opened out her arms “I'm sorry Rei. But he didn't want me to say anything…” she had to gulp back a few tears to finish up “… He wanted his birthday to be a happy one.” After she finished saying that Li Mei wrapped her arms around Rei and held the blue haired girl as she cried.

 

Rei knew something was wrong from the start. Mr. Mitsuishi looked much paler than usual and even though everyone was acting all happy and stuff she could sense an underlying feeling to the room that was the exact opposite. And she could see undeniable sadness in certain people's eyes when she caught someone looking away from everything. Then it was the food and drink that Mr. Mitsuishi ate. Yuriko had long forbidden his favorite dish as it was too rich along with alcohol and cigars. Rei could not believe she was letting him enjoy these things just because it was his birthday, she could tell there was another reason.

 

What drove home the thought in her mind the most was when they left the party. The second the door shut behind them it became deathly quiet. And the elevator ride, that in itself would have told her something was wrong. Mr. Mitsuishi may have been old but he was able bodied. When he came to the restaurant it was always by the stairs. Yes you could have argued that since the banquet hall was one floor up that may have been why but Rei knew better, there was no way he would have copped out. He would have zoomed right up those stairs as quick as he could just to prove his spryness. But that didn't happen as he did take the elevator without even the slightest argument. And when they went down Rei could see it, Mr. Mitsuishi was undeniably wearing a mask of death.

 

While crying she asked “What is wrong?”

 

It wasn't Li Mei who answered this but Yuriko's uncle. He was touched by the emotion that Rei was showing concerning his father. “We just found out a week ago, he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It has already spread through his body to his other organs and there is nothing the doctors can do...” Even though this was a strong man who was a powerhouse in industry talking even he was choked up. “They said he only has a few days…” Mr. Mitsuishi's son couldn't say anything more, it hurt too much. He had to lean on his daughter for support.

 

Mr. Mitsuishi's daughter then came up to her. You could see that tears had been pouring out of her eyes just seconds before. She handed Rei a slip of paper that had an address on it. She could only ask “Please visit him…” before she was overcome by grief again. And just like her big brother she too had to lean on her daughter for support.

 

It was after that when Li Mei called Misato as Rei was in no shape to be driving home by herself. “Hello Misato, it's Li Mei.”

 

Just from the solemnest in Li Mei's voice Misato could tell something was wrong. “Is something the matter?”

 

“I need you to come pick up Rei” Li Mei answered. “She just found out Mr. Mitsuishi is dying.”

 

“Oh my” Misato replied clasping her hand over her mouth in the process. This had to be so very hard on Rei. She knew the blue haired girl really liked that old guy. “I will be right over to pick her up.” After Misato hung up the phone she went over to Asuka's room and knocked on the door. “I'm sorry to disturb you guys but I really need your help.”

 

Asuka and Shinji were in the middle of having sex but had stopped as the mood was royally killed by Misato. It was just the sad serious tone that she used when she knocked. Asuka quickly threw something on and opened her door. “What do you need help with?”

 

“Do you know Mr. Mitsuishi from the restaurant?”

 

“Yeah” Asuka answered. “He's that old guy Rei likes.”

 

“Unfortunately he is dying” Misato told her. “Rei just found out at work today…”

 

“Oh poor Rei” Asuka interrupted feeling sad for her friend. On many occasions she had teased Rei that he was her boyfriend, the funny thing is Rei would just chuckle at it as she didn't mind. This must have been very hard on her.

 

“I'm going to go pick her up” Misato told her and then asked “I was wondering if you could come with me and drive her scooter home for her?” Misato asked something of Shinji too. “Shinji, Kaji stepped out for a bit to meet up with some old friends. Could you watch Keiko for me till either of us gets back home?”

 

Both Shinji and Asuka of course said yes to her requests as they wanted to help out. This was a very sad thing and both knew this was especially hard on Rei. Not only was this the loss of someone she cared about but also this was the first time she really had to deal with death personally. Right now what she needed most was support and a lot of it to help her through it all.

 

****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^****

 

Li Mei told Rei that she didn't have to come back to work till she felt like it when she left with Misato. The last thing Rei's boss wanted to do was put pressure on her right now. Misato then took the sad girl home and sat with her throughout the night, being the sympathetic shoulder that Rei desperately needed. Both Asuka and Shinji came over as well to give their condolences and told her if she needed anything to just ask them as they were there for her. She told them thank you while she rested her head on Misato's shoulder and held Dai closely in her arms.

 

“I know it will hurt but you should visit him?” Misato told the sad looking girl.

 

“I will” Rei replied feeling as sad as she looked. “But I need to be ready… I can't cry in front of him… he- he wouldn't like it.”

 

Misato knew Mr. Mitsuishi was a proud old man that had lived a very long time. She couldn't even imagine all the different things he had seen and lived through. But being as old as he was and just from Rei's statement about him not wanting to see her cry she could figure something out, he knew his time had come and he was fine with it. He had lived a long and adventurous life and now it was time to move on to the next. The old guy probably just wanted to have some fun with his friends and family before he did. There would be plenty enough time for grief and sadness after he was gone. “If you want I will go with you over to his place?”

 

“No thank you” Rei said shaking her head. “This is something I need to do alone.”

 

Misato gave Rei a hug as she told her “I understand.” Some of life's biggest lessons are horribly cruel and death is one of the cruelest. Before when she was around lots of death she never understood it because of her being a part of Lilith. But now that she was totally human she was subjected to all the harshness and true reality of the situation.

 

****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^****

 

It was later in the afternoon the next day when Rei was able to get a hold of her emotions and sum up enough courage to go visit Mr. Mitsuishi. This was going to be difficult and it would take a lot of effort not to break down and cry in front of him but she was going to give it her best shot, Mr. Mitsuishi more than deserved that much.

 

When she got to the address on the note she was a little surprised though. Considering whom he was Rei figured Mr. Mitsuishi would have lived in a mansion or some fancy high-rise. But instead he lived in a normal house that was in a modest neighborhood. Then again Mr. Mitsuishi never had a swell head or was one to flaunt his money so maybe she should have expected this. One thing she did expect was to see other vehicles in front of the house, and there were quite a few. Some of them looked very expensive and she suspected it might have been business associates visiting him.

 

And she was right as when Yuriko opened the door for her there were several men in business suits standing there. “Hello Rei. I'm happy you came.”

 

Rei bowed politely to her and then again at her uncle as she noticed he was there too. He was handling the men in business suits as his father wanted nothing to do with the corporate world during the last few days of his life. He took a break from talking to them when he noticed Rei bow at him. “It's good to see you again Miss Ayanami. I think my father has been waiting for you as he keeps asking if his fiancé has shown up yet.”

 

Rei blushed at that while Yuriko smiled “Why don't you follow me over to his room?”

 

Rei nodded yes and walked behind Yuriko. What she found unusual was the complaining that she overheard the men in the business suits doing as she walked away from them. Apparently she had jumped the so called line to visit him. “Should I not wait my turn?” she asked.

 

Yuriko shook her head no. “Those guys can wait as long as they want, they're not going to see my grandfather.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because they're all lawyers” Yuriko answered shaking her head in disappointment. “The only thing they're concerned with is what's going to happen to my Grandpa's estate and how it will affect their pocketbooks.”

 

“They do not respect him” Rei said as this was a very discourteous thing to do to a man on his death bed.

 

Yuriko agreed with that comment completely. In fact that is why she had called her uncle over to help her out with them. While she did know how to handle lawyers for the most part her emotions weren't up to the task right now. She just wanted them to go away and leave her grandfather in peace.

 

When they got upstairs Yuriko knocked on the door to his bedroom “A visitor has come to see you.”

 

Mr. Mitsuishi was sitting on the edge of his bed and craned his neck to see who it was. He was very happy it was Rei. “Come on in and give this old man some help or I'm afraid I will leave my new fiancé a pauper.”

 

At first Rei did not understand that statement but then she noticed who else was there as the door continued to open. In front of Mr. Mitsuishi was a table and at the other end of that table was Kensuke. He was playing a game of mahjong with the old man, and by the looks of it beating him too. “You're not cheating are you Kensuke?” Rei asked playing along while entering the room.

 

“Ah Kensuke would not cheat me” Mr. Mitsuishi said back. “He may have the devils luck but I know he would never cheat.”

 

“I have seen him cheat at mahjong” Rei though replied sitting right next to him on the bed and decided to give him a hand at the game, something he did not mind at all. A pretty little girl giving him a hand at something was always appreciated.

 

“Hey!” Kensuke argued back. “I only cheat when I play Asuka… and that's only because she cheats even worse.”

 

“That's because she hates to loose” Rei replied placing a tile down. She then looked over at Mr. Mitsuishi. “She's that new redhead working at the restaurant.” She knew he wanted to know who they were talking about, especially if it was a girl.

 

“Oh” Mr. Mitsuishi replied with a feisty grin. “She looks like a real fiery one.” He then pointed at another tile and whispered to Rei. “Use that one next. It will trap him.”

 

Kensuke was feeling a bit intimidated right now. Even though Mr. Mitsuishi claimed he was having trouble playing, the truth of the matter was the old guy was beating the snot out of him. He had way more knowledge and experience with the game than Kensuke and it was pretty obvious. And to beat all he now had Rei helping him out and well, Rei was smart. “Can I give up now or do I have to go down in flames?”

 

“Flames” the old man told him. “But don't feel too bad about it, you aren't half bad.”

 

“You know old man, if you keep this up I am going to call up Yuriko” Kensuke kidded.

 

“Now that would be cheating” Mr. Mitsuishi laughed. He had taught his granddaughter everything he knew about the game and then some. To this day she was the only person who could consistently beat him in a game of mahjong.

 

Kensuke, Rei, and Mr. Mitsuishi ended up playing a couple games together until it was time for Kensuke to leave. He had spent enough time with his friend and he wanted to give Rei an opportunity to talk with him in private just in case there was anything she wanted to say. He went downstairs to see Yuriko and her uncle sitting on a couch watching TV. They had finally gotten rid of the lawyers. He bowed politely to the both of them and said his goodbyes and they returned the greeting and thanked him for stopping by.

 

After Kensuke left Mr. Mitsuishi's son commented. “That Aida is one good kid.”

 

“Grandpa says he reminds him of you when you were young” Yuriko replied.

 

“Probably reminds him more of himself I would say” Yuriko's uncle contended. “Being a delivery boy just like he was when he was young and having the same love of machines. That boy is just like dad.”

 

“It's really a shame grandpa never got a chance to ride Kensuke's moped. He always liked hearing about it and what that boy was doing to it whenever Kensuke came by with food.” This was sighed out as she personally was the one that wouldn't let her granddad do this. It was just too dangerous.

 

Her uncle though replied to that with a chagrined “Yeah, that's a real shame…”

 

At that Yuriko lifted an eyebrow at her uncle. She detected that something had happened that she didn't know about. “Uncle…?”

 

But even before she could finish saying that in an accusatory way he got up. “Well I should go check on dad. That new fiancé of his might be a little too much for him to handle.” And he was off towards the upstairs. She may have been his niece but he knew if he told her about that time last month when they bumped into Kensuke and the boy let her grandpa tool around town for an hour or so on that moped of his he knew he would have got chewed out royally.

 

Yuriko really wanted to give chase and get the truth but her uncle had a bit of the devil's luck himself as she noticed her mom was pulling into the driveway and she had to go greet her instead. But it wasn't going to be without Yuriko telling her that she suspected something fishy was going on.

 

****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^****

 

Rei came back for a nice visit the next day as well but when she showed up on that third day she was met at the door by a granddaughter who had tears in her eyes. Mr. Mitsuishi had passed away peacefully in his sleep. This was very hard on Rei and she spent several days feeling very sad. And when it came to the funeral she went with Kensuke. She had to ride on the back of his moped with him because she didn't think she could handle driving her own scooter right now.

 

On the way back from the funeral she asked Kensuke a question that carried a great amount of weight with it. “Why do people have to die?” This wasn't naivety on Rei's part but just a question her hurt heart was asking.

 

This was a question that Kensuke had asked himself many times since his mother had died. The answer he gave Rei was the one that kept him going as it was what his mother told him after his grandmother passed away. “To let those that are alive know that they have to live.” After driving a mile and not hearing any response to that he added on “Sorry if that doesn't make any sense.”

 

Rei though leaned her head forward and rested it against the boy's back. “Actually it makes a lot of sense.” And then Rei returned to being quiet again. She didn't feel like talking that much and for the rest of the trip she didn't say a word. And that was a significant amount of time too as the burial had taken place in the small mountain town Mr. Mitsuishi had been born and grew up in. By bullet train it was only about an hour away but significantly longer if you were going to it by means of a moped.

 

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When Kensuke got to Rei's apartment complex he parked his bike next to hers and followed her up to her place. From personal experience he knew it would be better if Rei had someone to talk to after all this. Since he considered her a good friend and knew Mr. Mitsuishi just as well as her he figured he could relate and should be there if she wanted to talk about him.

 

Rei herself didn't stop him from following. She really didn't want to be alone right now and if Kensuke wouldn't have followed her up she would have just gone over to Misato's place. Plus she figured he may have wanted someone to talk to as well. This had to be so very hard for him, to go from a service in memory of your passed away mother right on over to a funeral of a friend. Well Rei didn't even want to imagine how hard that must be.

 

As Rei was about to open her door she heard scratching from the other side of it. This didn't surprise her at all as Dai had already developed a routine when it came to his old owner being around. Being a cat he was very good at hearing and distinguishing sounds. Rei could tell when Kensuke was around as Dai would run over to the window and jump up in it whenever the kid drove by. Kensuke didn't even need to be in the complex itself, just him passing by it on a delivery run was enough to get the cat to peer out the window. She realized that the cat could distinctly hear and make out the sound of Kensuke's moped. He could probably do the same thing with how Kensuke walked as the second the kid showed up on the floor the cat would run straight to the door and scratch at it to get out. Rei wasn't going to disappoint her cat and she would let him out so he could greet Kensuke. So when Dai streaked out of her apartment right over to Kensuke she didn't even bat an eye at the action.

 

“Hello there big guy” Kensuke said reaching down to pick up Dai.

 

Rei even smiled for a second as the cat gave Kensuke a big meow to say hi. She then regretted letting Kensuke come up as she remember her apartment was sort of a mess. She really hadn't felt like cleaning up much in the last few days and now it very much looked like a teenager was living in this place. She blushed a little as she said “Sorry about the mess.”

 

“Eh, no big deal” Kensuke answered. His place was just as bad, if not worse, most days.

 

Even though Kensuke didn't seem to mind she still did a quick pick up while he sat down on the couch and played with Dai. Afterwards she joined him. And there they sat, playing with a friendly cat, sharing stories about Mr. Mitsuishi. Many of those stories were good ones that made you feel happy and to tell you the truth this is exactly how Mr. Mitsuishi would have wanted people to spend the day. He was not a man who was about sadness, he was a man that wanted people to live a good life and be happy.

 

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It was a week later and things were getting back to normal. Rei was back at work and feeling better. She was still sad about Mr. Mitsuishi's passing and it still panged her heart a little that he would never come around anymore but it wasn't like his presence didn't exist. Li Mei and Zukav had put up a picture on the wall in memory of him and Yuriko still came by quite often. Except now she came around with her uncle. But that actually made Rei happy, a friend of hers was able to move on and get back in the swing of things concerning her life. It also made her giggle to herself once in a while as she watched Yuriko treat her uncle in the same way as she had treated her grandfather. It may have been a bit controlling but it was for his own longevity and good. Just like her grandfather her uncle didn't have a female caretaker in his life. While her grandfather had been a widow her uncle was a divorcé. It had been over a decade since the divorce but he still had never remarried so he sorted needed someone to help him out.

 

But today Yuriko was the only one to come around, and it wasn't for dinner. She had something for Rei. Apparently her grandfather bequeathed Rei something in his will. She asked Rei if she could take a quick break as she needed to explain the background behind this gift. “I know this is going to sound rather strange but this is an engagement ring.”

 

Yuriko was right, that did sound rather strange. That whole fiancé thing was just a joke, she wasn't expecting anything to come of it. “An engagement ring?”

 

Yuriko nodded her head yes. “But there is a lot of history behind this ring. It actually symbolized a whole different life for my grandfather. Originally he had no plans on going into business. Like his dad and his ancestors before him he was going to be a farmer. This was when he was still young and long before he ever came to the city. At the time he had a fiancé he loved very much and his plans were to marry her and live a simple country life. Unfortunately a week before he could give her this ring she died. Grandpa never talked about this tragedy to any of us but we think it was in a horrendous fire that wiped out half the village because after that fire he left the village and traveled to Tokyo. That's where he met my grandmother and started down a very different path from before. But in all that time he held onto this ring as he never wanted to forget. He didn't want to dishonor this woman or the life he would have lived with her. It was going to be a very simple one and to tell you the truth I think my grandfather would have loved it. He was not a businessman, just a man who was very good at doing business.”

 

The ring itself was just a very simple one with a little stone in it, nothing extravagant or anything. Yuriko knew that it would be weird for Rei to wear it on her finger so she had it attached to a simple silver necklace that Rei could wear around her neck. And as she slipped the necklace onto Rei she continued. “My grandfather told me the reason he liked you so much is that your grace and peacefulness reminded him of the woman this ring was supposed to go to. In his whole life he had never found a woman who reminded him of her until he met you. You really were special to him and he wanted you to have this ring because he thought the memory in it matched you. I know it might be hard to wear because of the history behind it but for my grandfather's sake could you just put it on once in a while. He would really appreciate it.”

 

Rei was very touched by this story and by what this ring symbolized and she told Yuriko she would proudly wear it in memory of her grandfather. In fact whenever she came to work she would put it on under her kimono.

 

Yuriko was very happy to hear this as she thought that was a very good tribute to her grandfather. And after a hug she moved onto the next person she had business with at the restaurant. Rei wasn't the only one who worked there that got mentioned in his will, Kensuke did too. But when it came to Kensuke Mr. Mitsuishi knew the boy was very much like him. He could give him money but truthfully that was not an appropriate gift for the boy. Kensuke was someone who wanted to prove he could make it on his own. Someone who could pick himself up by the bootstraps and work his way to the top. Mr. Mitsuishi had a lot of respect for that so instead of giving Kensuke money he gave him an opportunity. If someone is dedicated enough that's all it takes to make them a success.

 

Before he died Mr. Mitsuishi wrote a glowing letter of recommendation for Kensuke and sent it to a particular university. The worlds of big business and higher education were constantly in contact with each other and Mr. Mitsuishi knew many of the professors at Tokyo-4 University. And working in Kensuke's favor was the fact that of all the professors he knew, a large chunk of them were in the Engineering department. The Sony Corporation was a company that heavily depended on engineers to design top-notch products for the company to sell. And when you are a company like that you tend to recruit your employees from the top universities around, and Tokyo-4 University was one such recruiting ground.

 

A personal recommendation from one of the big names in industry, and a personal friend of many of the professors, would go a long way into getting Kensuke into college. In fact unbeknownst to Kensuke all the kid would have to do now is get high enough grades to qualify on his entrance exams and he was in. Hell some of the professors didn't even care if Kensuke got those grades as in their books if he was good enough for Mr. Mitsuishi to recommend he was good enough to be a student at the school. That was how well respected the guy was in their minds.

 

When Yuriko told Kensuke what her grandfather had done for him Kensuke couldn't have been more appreciative. This was huge and exactly the foot in the door he needed. Even if he got high enough grades he knew Tokyo-4 U still might be a touch out of reach for him. They only took the best of the best and he personally didn't think he fit in that category. (How teenager'ish of him huh?) But with this recommendation he now thought he had a good chance of getting in. Whether he wanted to or not studying was now going to be a much bigger part of his life as he wasn't going to dishonor Mr. Mitsuishi's memory by not getting in to Tokyo-4 University.

 

(A/N: You don't have to say it I already know I am the biggest jerk in the world for killing off Mr. Mitsuishi. He was a kind old man who didn't deserve it but I had to. A big part of life is having to deal with death and Rei needed to learn that. It's hard and it sucks but it's how you grow. But on the plus side Rei got a cute little kitty she can hold onto now. Yes it came at Kensuke's expense but I think the boy can handle it. I Re-re-edited. Changed a few words around. Fixed some grammar. Broke up some of the bigger blocks of text. And expounded on some parts to make them clearer. Basically gave this a good once over to improve its quality. Have fun all you happy party people.)