Upside Down

After we got home, we check on Mayumi and Honoka. Their temperatures are finally down to almost normal, but they are still achy.

"I"m glad your temperatures are down, but with you still being achy you two are going to be staying in bed for a little while longer. I don"t want to take any chances here." Mama tells them and they both nod at her.

"Are you two hungry?" I ask.

"Yes." Both of them say at almost the same time.

"Okay, how about a bowl of the Lobster and Prawn Bisque we made yesterday?"

"That sounds great to me. That was simply heavenly." Mayumi says.

"I could go for another bowl myself." Her stomach growls loudly and she grins. "Okay, maybe even two." Honoka says making us all giggle.

Still smiling, I tell them, "Alright, give me a bit and I"ll be back up with some for you. There"s still plenty so you can have as much as you want."

Down in the kitchen, I put the oven on warm and set the pot of bisque on the stove so it can simmer. I turn to Mama to ask, "Mama, I have no idea what to make for dinner. Do you have any ideas?"

"Hmm… Well, you did buy Spotted Sea Trout and Red Snapper, but honestly, this will be good for tonight since there"s enough for everyone and I don"t want it to go to waste."

"Do we have enough bread to go with it? Salad isn"t a problem, I know we have everything we need to make more there."

She nods. "I guess you missed the unbaked dough in the refrigerator and we still have three-fourths of a baked loaf."

"That settles that then. Mama, I"m going to go change into something a little more comfortable."

"Alright, take your time, I"ll keep an eye on all of this and start the new loaf baking. We can make the salad a little later."

"Thank you Mama."

I collect Chinatsu from the living room and head upstairs to our room. Opening my closet, I sort through my casual outfits until I find a forest green, short sleeve one-piece, then choose some dark green ankle socks and a new bra so I can take off this hateful adhesive one. Chinatsu is also changing into something a little more comfortable as well.

I undress and then dress in what I chose. After I put on my ankle socks, I flop back on the bed with a tired sigh and close my eyes. Today has been somewhat stressful for me since I received Hestia"s text. I didn"t even realize how tense I am until now. I take a deep breath and sit up to see Chinatsu looking at me with a somewhat anxious expression.

I smile at her rea.s.suringly. "I"m fine. A bit tense, but fine otherwise."

"Sora, you really need to start relying on us more like Airi said. You"re going to give yourself a nervous breakdown at this rate. I"d happily do anything for you, but I can only do so much unless you ask."

"I know Chinatsu. Believe me, I know. Airi opened my eyes, but allowing myself to rely on anyone else is out of character for me, so it might be a little easier said than done. It"s not that I don"t trust you, Mama, Dad, and Honoka either because I do. You already know I trust you with my life, but asking you for help is hard for me. It"s getting easier, it has been since Airi fixed me. It"s simply going to take some time, that"s all."

She sits down beside me, takes my hand, and leans against me. "I know it will. I"ll give you all the time you need, but you have to make the effort. I hate seeing you like this and it hurts me to not be able to help."

"Chinatsu, you"re far more help than you might realize. Talking and being with you allows me to unwind, relax, and come to terms with everything that happens to me. I"ve told you before, you are my other half. I mean that, it"s not mere words being said, it"s the absolute truth."

"I know that Sora. I have no doubt about it. I still want you to do as you promised Airi and rely on us more. There are a lot of people that love and care about you, me being the primary one. I would be lost without you."

I kiss the crown of her head. "As I would you. Do you want to try meditating with me later like Airi showed us?"

"Sure, sounds good to me."

"Alright. Let"s head back down, so I can help Mama finish dinner."

She surprises me by pushing me back down on the bed and climbing on top of me. "Not yet. I want to make out for a little while first." Which makes me smile and pull her down to me to kiss her.

Fifteen or twenty minutes later, we head downstairs. She heads into the living room with a smile, as I head into the kitchen. Chiaki sets the table while Mama and I finish up making dinner. We"re setting things on the table when Dad announces, "I"m home."

"h.e.l.lo honey, welcome home." Mama says and walks over to give him a kiss.

I step over to him to hug him and say, "Welcome home Dad." Releasing him I head back into the kitchen.

Chinatsu says, "Welcome home Dad."

"Smells good. I"m hungry."

"Go ahead and get changed everything will be ready by the time you have." Mama tells him.

In the kitchen, I"ve set out a tray, with a couple of large bowls on it and ladle some of the bisque into each. Slicing several pieces of bread onto a plate, I also make two bowls of salad, two large gla.s.ses of barley tea and then set them onto they tray as well. Picking it up, I head upstairs to Honoka"s room.

I tap on the door a couple of times, then enter to find both of them sleeping. I set the tray down on the table and walk over to Honoka to gently shake her awake.

"Hi. Your food is on the table."

After she nods, I stand up, then head over to Mayumi to gently shake her awake as well. "Hi. Your food is here."

"Mmm~ Thanks Sora."

"I"m going to go eat, I"ll be back later to pick this up. If you two want more just yell and I"ll bring it up."

"Okay." They tell me.

Downstairs, I take my seat at the dinner table. I ladle some of the bisque into my bowl, take a piece of bread, and put some dressing on my salad. After I take my first bite of the bisque, I realize it"s even better than it was yesterday.

Dad sets down his spoon and looks at us.

"Everyone, we have a client party to attend Sunday, so do what you need to do to be ready."

Mama tells him, "I wish you had given me a little more lead time. It"s not that easy to get this many people appointments at the salon this late."

"I"m sorry, but I we were just invited today. Apparently, it was decided at the last moment." He looks at me. "Sora?"

"Yes Dad?"

"I received a call from the courthouse today. They finally have a full list of Akiyama"s a.s.sets and they would like you to come in tomorrow to choose what you want from it."

"They are letting me choose them?"

"They are. That isn"t normally done, but the Judge Hattori did it for everything that Akiyama did to you and your family. Either way, it"s not as if the government isn"t going to get a lot out of this. The clerk I talked to was almost tongue tied, so I gather his a.s.sets are rather extensive."

I nod. "Dad, my main thing is that Akiyama is getting what he deserves. I guess it"s nice that the judge did that for me, but truthfully, I don"t really care about the money. You know how I feel about it."

He smiles. "I know Sora. You"ve stated it many times. Regardless, you have an appointment with Mrs. Furukawa at 9:00 tomorrow. Try not to be late."

"Of course Dad. We"ll be there on time."

Dad tenses up and his expression becomes tight. "Umm… Sora. One other thing. I have no idea if you want to or not, but they told me you have a right to be there. Akiyama"s execution is set for tomorrow night at 8:00."

"No. No thank you. I"m happy they are going to hang him, but I don"t want to see him or anyone else hung, no matter what he did." I state flatly with an appalled expression.

How could they even think I would want to see something like that? If I did, I"d probably be having nightmares for a long time to come. I have enough to deal with without something that.

Dad relaxes and gives me a small smile. "Good. I hoped you didn"t want to go see that."

Mama interrupts to say, "Enough. The dinner table not the place to be talking about such things."

Dad looks at Mama to tell her, "Sorry, but it was important."

Mama"s expression becomes a little strained, as she replies, "Important or not, the dinner table is not the place for that kind of talk. You could have waited until after dinner."

"You"re right honey, I apologize everyone." Dad says.

"Alright, let"s eat while it"s still hot."

After we eat and clean up, Chinatsu and I head upstairs to talk to our boyfriends. Picking up my phone, I unlock it and call Ryu. Two rings later he answers.

"Hi Sora. I was just about to call you."

"Hi Ryu. I"m glad, but I have something to talk about, so I called first."

"Okay, shoot."

"We have a party to attend to Sunday evening and we want you two to escort us. It"ll be a lot more enjoyable if you do."

"Alright, what time?"

"7:00. Does that mean you are coming?"

"Of course. I wouldn"t miss a chance to be with you."

"Thank you. Ryu, I love you, you know that, right?"

"I know. I love you too Sora. Is it formal?"

"It is. It makes me happy you"re coming with me."

"Sora, I"d do anything for you, you should already know that. Umm… Minor problem, Ryo doesn"t have a tux and grandfather had to buy mine since my parents didn"t have the money for it."

"Alright. Well, that"s not a problem. Why don"t the two of you meet us tomorrow afternoon and we can buy you both new ones. Yours is a bit, umm, shall we say, out of date, so we"ll get you a new one as well. Plus, we"ll get to see you two as a bonus."

He sighs. "Sora. You don"t have to do that, I"m sure we can figure something out and mine is perfectly fine. I do want to see you though."

My tone becomes more firm as I tell him, "Ryu, you will do as I"m asking, understand?"

He chuckles. "I"m getting a new one aren"t I?"

"Of course. Did you really expect anything else? I have a very handsome boyfriend and I want everyone to be envious of me. You"ve seen the way I dress and I would very much like you to dress accordingly. Anyway, with you wanting to become a lawyer, you"ll have to get used to dressing better. Might as well start now, don"t you think? Speaking of which, do you and Ryo have suits?"

"Umm, no, we"ve never needed them before."

"Alright. We can fix that as well then. I really miss you. I think you are going to have to start coming over more often to see me."

"Sora, I"d love nothing more, but I"m not really sure I can do that with everything I have to do. I can try though and I"ll do it if I can, I promise. After all, I want to see you more too. Summer break is coming up and I"ll have more time then and we can work something out, alright?"

"Okay. I"ll look forward to that. Oh, do you think your parents will let you two go to Okinawa this summer? It won"t cost them a single yen."

"I don"t know, but I can ask. Who all will be going? They"ll ask me."

"I"m not totally sure, but it should be me, Chinatsu, Honoka, Sofi, Mama, Dad, Chiaki, and maybe Mayumi, you remember her right?"

"I do. Okay, I"ll ask them about it soon."

"Good. Don"t forget to ask. If you wait till the last minute I"m sure they"ll be a lot less likely to allow it and we want you to come. I"ll be sure to buy a very nice bikini for it."

"My girlfriend in a bikini is something I d.a.m.n sure want to see."

I giggle. "I"m sure you do and I"ll be sure you won"t be disappointed."

"Good. Oh, by the way, thank you for the pictures. I love them. How in the world did I manage to get a girl that"s as gorgeous as you to go out with me?"

"Ryu, I"m only going to say this once, so you had best pay attention to me. Don"t you ever say anything like that again. You"re very handsome, extremely sweet, kind, loving, gentle and protective. How many boys would do anything in their power to make their girlfriend happy like you? I love every single thing about you. I don"t ever want to hear you put yourself down like that again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sweetheart. Perfectly clear."

"Good. Sorry, but I need to go because it"s been a very long, tiring day for me and tomorrow isn"t going to be any different."

"Okay. I love you Sora. Good night."

"I love you too Ryu. Night."

I end the call and set my phone on the nightstand with a smile. It amazes me how simply talking to him makes me so happy. I look over at Chinatsu when I hear her tell Ryo, "Good night."

She sighs and looks at me. "He didn"t want to go at first."

"Really? Why?"

"Really. He said he wouldn"t know how to act at a place like that. I told him to not worry about it and just be with me. It finally took me telling him he was going to do it or else and he finally agreed."

"At least he agreed."

"I know, but I doubt you had to convince Ryu to come."

"I didn"t, but you know how Ryu is when it comes to me."

She frowns. "I do and I wish Ryo would be more like him."

"Chinatsu, they are different people, even if they are brothers. Just like we are different people, even though we are sisters."

She sighs. "I know all that, but even so, we still are more alike than not."

I nod. "We have a lot of the same interests, they don"t. If you want to stay with him you may just have to slowly work on getting him interested in things we have, or want, to do."

She rolls her eyes. "Seriously Sora? He"s so obstinate that at times he makes me wonder why I"m with him."

"Then maybe you need to set him down for a talk and tell him exactly how you feel about the things he does. That if it doesn"t change you won"t be able to stay with him. Look, I know you like him, I do too for that matter, even if he does irritate the h.e.l.l out of me at times. You simply have to tell him where you stand and you can go from there."

"I know. Doesn"t mean I have to look forward to the conversation."

"Chinatsu, think about it. Where would we be if we didn"t talk through things after I met Ryu?"

"I realize that. I know relationships take work, but he makes everything so hard."

"Then make sure he knows about it and you aren"t going to be the one to make all the effort in your relationship. I had that talk with Ryu already. Any boy would be lucky to have you as his girlfriend and if they take you for granted then they don"t truly care about you, now do they?"

Sighing loudly, she says, "Alright. I"ll have a talk with him."

"Good. No one should ever be treated that way. For d.a.m.n sure you shouldn"t. You have too many good qualities, even if you are jealous and possessive."

She nods. "I know I am and I"m trying to work on those."

I stand up and begin undressing. "I know you are. Now, get undressed and let"s go to bed. I"m very tired."

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[Thursday, July 11th]

I wake up at 4:30 in the morning cramping badly. Slipping as quietly out of bed as I can, I head over to my desk to get my meds and take them. Heading downstairs to the bathroom, I use the restroom, change my tampon and wash my hands.

As I"m leaving the bathroom, I"m startled when I run into Mama.

"AH! Oh my G.o.d Mama! You scared me!" I pat my chest and take a deep breath to calm down.

"Sorry Sora. I didn"t think anyone else was up. Speaking of which, why are you up?"

"The usual this time of month. Cramps and I needed to change my tampon. That said, you shouldn"t be up either."

"Your father has to go in early today, so I"m making him breakfast and lunch before he goes in. Do you want to help?"

"Déjà vu… Sure, I"d be happy to help."

"I agree with déjà vu, but I doubt the same thing will happen again."

"I sincerely hope not. I"m not sure I could take seeing you like that again. Would you help me do something with my hair first?"

She smiles brilliantly. "Of course."

That smile of Mama"s makes it so obvious she"s really happy when I ask for her help. Leading me back into the dressing room, she brushes my hair to smooth it out, pulls it behind me, and puts it up in a simple ponytail. Now, I know I said it"s simple, but any style with my ma.s.s of hair is still rather time consuming. It easily takes half an hour to put my hair up in this simple hair style. Afterward, we go to the kitchen.

Mama works on making him a lunch while I work on his breakfast,

"Mama, do you want to come with me to help me pick out the things for us from his a.s.sets?"

She turns around to look at me. "Sweetheart, I know what you"ve said before, but this is something your father and I want you to do for yourself. We want you to pick out what you and Chinatsu want to have for your future. Truthfully, it makes us very happy that you are willing to share your money with us. We appreciate you allowing us to use your money to buy the land and build the new house, but your Dad and I will be returning that money to you. The only reason we accepted using your money is it"s a lot easier than dealing with banks and going through the ha.s.sle of getting loans."

"Mama…"

She holds up her hand to stop me. "You don"t have to say it again, we know how you feel. Your father and I are fine money wise, but we do appreciate the loan."

I sigh. "Okay Mama, whatever you and Dad want. Although, I want you to know, it"s always there if you want or need it. By the way, we talked to Ryu and Ryo, they are coming with us Sunday."

"Great, I"m sure you two are happy about that."

"We are. Ryo sort of irked Chinatsu over it though."

"Oh?"

"Yes, he didn"t want to go, he said he wouldn"t know how to act."

"As if that matters. All he needs to do is keep Chinatsu company."

I nod in agreement as I"m working on breakfast for Dad another thought occurs to me. "Umm… Mama, do you remember we are going to have Ryu and Ryo take us to the Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival?"

"I remember."

"When are we going to get us our yukata"s to wear?"

"I had planned to take you Sunday, but that idea went bye bye when your father announced we had a party to go to then. We still have plenty of time."

"I know Mama, but I"d like to have time to pick out some really flattering ones. Plus, I"ll need to learn how to properly tie my obi just in case something happens when we"re out and it loosens up."

Mama nods. "I"ve already planned to make sure the both of you know how to do that before your date. Will Ryu and Ryo be wearing them too?"

"I haven"t even mentioned it to them yet, so I don"t know, but I hope so. I"d like to see them in them too."

"For me, it"s more about getting pictures of you four in them."

"I"d like that too. I know I asked you before, but are you sure you and Dad don"t want to come along too? You know we don"t mind."

"No sweetheart, thank you though. You have enough going on without us crashing your dates and it gives your father and me time alone too. If you girls need new dresses for the party you need to buy them."

"Chinatsu and I have other party dresses. Honoka, Mayumi, and Sofi are a different story."

"You"re bringing Mayumi?"

"If it"s alright I will. She"ll still be staying with us then and I don"t feel it would be right to leave her here alone. Who knows, she might even find a boyfriend there." I tell her with an wry grin.

Mama chuckles. "Who knows? It"s not as if it never happened before. Do you need money to buy their outfits?"

I give her a look as if saying, "You"re kidding, right?" Between the money I inherited, my stipend as CEO and what I"ll get from the court today? I doubt I"ll ever have money problems in my very extended lifetime. Even with all the not inconsiderable amount of money I have spent out of my bank account that Dad set up for me, which started out with ¥5,000,000, along with interest earned, and my stipend I receive as CEO, my balance is over ¥6,200,000. Don"t ask me the exact figure since after looking over the statement to make sure there weren"t any extra charges, and glancing at my balance, I tossed the statement in my desk.

Deciding she"s playing with me, I laugh and tell her, "No Mama, I"m perfectly fine money wise. Chinatsu and I need more s.p.a.ce though."

"I know sweetheart, your father told me last night that he has picked out the architectural company to design the new house, but you said you wanted some input on the design so he wants to wait until we can all go with him to the firm and give our input in it. I"ll tell you this though. The second floor is going to belong to Chinatsu and you."

"Huh? Why?"

"We a.s.sumed you meant it when you told us you didn"t want our family separated. So, the second floor will have it"s own bathrooms, along with a private one for you, Chinatsu and your future husbands. It"ll have a small kitchen for when you want a private dinner or get together and it"ll have other rooms for the children you two have. Although with the way you girls talk, we"ll end up having to expand the house sometime in the future."

I"m literally astounded. I know what I told her and I meant it, even Chinatsu feels the same way. I never thought that Mama and Dad would take it so seriously and decide to make basically a house with a house for us to live in. There are lots of j.a.panese families that have 3 and some even 4 generations of the same family living in the same house, so it"s not as if the thought of doing so is strange.

This is something Chinatsu and I discussed in detail. She, well, I should say we, believe it"ll also be safer for all of us to be together in one home. This now includes Honoka, Sofi, and may very well include Mayumi until we can make the second solution my parents came up with public. Something I probably ought to set Mayumi and Dad down to talk over.

You might be curious about where Dad bought the land for a new place. It"s in Ota ward in southern Tokyo. I asked why there and he told me there were several main reasons. One, there are still large swathes that are abandoned, so he was able to buy a large section, one square kilometer, for us to build on. Two, it"s close to his and my work. Three, with a plot that large, it makes a layered defense much easier without getting other people involved. That part made me really happy since I don"t want to see anyone hurt.

I know, one h.e.l.l of a varied conversation to be holding at 5:30 in the morning, right?

After helping make Dad"s breakfast and his lunch, I give Mama a hug and tell her, "I"m going to go wake everyone for breakfast," and head upstairs.

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