Uchuu no Houseki
The Universe of Jewels

Volume 11:
Goodbye, father'
By Emi

    'Dai!!  Hurry up, the scores are FINALLY posted!!'
    Hiroshi's voice came harshly to Daisuke's ears.  He had just walked into the school and noticed an unusual excitement in the air.  Of course, it was natural for excitement to be present whenever Daisuke entered school, but on this particular day it was much more so.
    There were many students crowding the halls, zigzagging this way and that before him, and not to mention his fan club who were hot on his trail.  As he continued squeezing his way through the halls, he caught sight of his friend's bright blonde hair.  He tried to pick up his pace, it proved to be rather difficult with so many people still blocking his path.
    Finally, Daisuke made it by Hiroshi and noticed the very intense look on his face, 'How did you do?'
    'I don't know, I haven't been able to see any of the scores yet.  There's too many people in the way,' said Hiroshi, his voice wavering.  They were all standing in front of a large bulletin board which held the scores for the math test (yes, THAT math test) pinned securely on it.  There was a large crowd right in front of the paper, though, so they would have to wait their turn to go and look and see their results.
    Yoshiko soon came right by Daisuke, looking as lovely as ever, 'What is all the excitement about?'
    Daisuke looked to her, amazed again at her beauty, 'You remember that math test we took a while ago?  You know, the one that you' he hinted the words 'helped me with.'  'Well, the scores are finally posted, so we're waiting here to see them.'
    She smiled, 'How wonderfully suspenseful,' she giggled.
    'It's open!' Hiroshi hollered and grabbed both Daisuke's and Yoshiko's hands, flinging them all right up by the bulletin board.  Their eyes all burned on to the page, this was the moment they had all been waiting for!
    Daisuke started at the bottom.  Whenever math test scores were posted, it was almost guaranteed that that was where he would find his name.  He then heard a sharp gasp from Hiroshi and before he could ask, felt his hands clasping hold of his head, flinging it upwards.  'Dai, look!' he looked, what else could he do?  It was the top of the list.  Not really sure why Hiroshi wanted him to do so, he read the name.  Mizuno' Daisuke' score' 100%.  ' wait a minute' Mizuno Daisuke' SCORE 100%???????  Daisuke's jaw nearly hit the floor!  Hiroshi had endured a similar reaction, and then took it upon himself to stare wide-eyed between the perfect score and his best friend.  'You got 100%?  Are you sure you're you, Dai?'
    Daisuke tried to speak, but when he did, gibberish came to his lips.  He pinched himself, no way something like that could be real' but when he didn't wake up from some perfect dream, Daisuke realized it had to be true.  A huge smile came to his lips.  'I GOT 100%!' he jumped up and down, excited, almost like Tenko, which was kind of a startling and scary thing to compare Daisuke to in the first place.
    'Congratulations,' voiced Yoshiko, solemnly giving a look of pride to him.  He stopped his so-called 'mini celebration in honor of me' long enough to really take to heart what his dream girl had said.  He thanked her with a bow of his head and looked back to the very wonderful score sheet.
    'Wow' he marveled, 'I just can't believe that.  I've never gotten a perfect score on a math test before.' He just could not get rid of the smile on his face.  Out of curiosity's sake, he looked at the names just following his.  'No way, Yoshiko, Hiro!  We all got perfect scores!'
    'Well, duh, it was the freakin' easiest test known to man,' said Hiroshi with a slight quirk of haughtiness.  Daisuke only laughed.      Seeing that put him into a very good mood.
    He looked to Yoshiko and met her eyes.  They looked so beautiful right then.  'Of course, I really owe this score to you,' he said shyly, almost feeling guilty.  'Thank you, Yoshiko' for everything.'
    'You're welcome,' she said faintly.
    'Daisuke-kun,' a voice came behind the group.  Daisuke saw that it was Mr. Isogai, their math teacher.  'Congratulations on your wonderful test score!' he was all smiles.
    'Thank you!' Daisuke couldn't help but turn pink.
    'I was truly amazed, you did an outstanding job!  I knew you could do it if you only believed in yourself more.'
    Daisuke's smile slowly faded.  Believed in himself' a nagging voice in the back of his head was becoming unbearable.  Oh, it had been there since the test and it had been quietly eating away at his conscious, but at this moment with his math teacher right there in front of him, and the truth about that score weighing him down in chains of guilt, Daisuke felt pretty lousy.
    'M-Mr. Isogai'?' he thought he should tell him the truth.  Living with the guilt of cheating was not something Daisuke wanted to experience anymore.  He didn't even really care about the consequences, as harsh and painful as they may be.
    'Yes?' he awaited Daisuke's words, the usual smile adorning his lips, but Daisuke was silent.  Then, as soon as Daisuke's courage was built up enough, Mr. Isogai's attention was directed elsewhere.
    'Mr. Isogai!  Look, the transparencies you wanted from the office were finally finished!' a short, round faced man, a student teacher who idolized Mr. Isogai, excitedly held the stack of clear plastic sheets to the math teacher.
    'Excellent!' he grinned, taking them in his hand.  Students had begun scurrying to class so that they would not be late and Daisuke was feeling a lot more uneasy.  'I'm sorry, Daisuke-kun,' he looked back at him, 'what did you want to tell me?'
    Daisuke shot his eyes up at him once and then back down where they would remain as he walked to class, 'Nothing,' he muttered, Yoshiko and Hiroshi following soon behind.
    He felt even worse as he plopped down in his seat.  Not only had he cheated, he lied to his math teacher!  There was something he needed to tell him, but then again, on second thought, trying to say that he cheated by communicating telepathically with Yoshiko would be something interesting to try to explain.
    'Daisuke-san?'  His concentration was broken by Yoshiko's sweet voice.  He looked to her, his eyes heavy with burden.  'Are you alright?  You've been awfully quiet all morning, besides the math scores'
    His eyebrows arched and he seemed to sink deeper into his seat.  'I hate to say it, but' I feel really bad about cheating.  I mean, I know you had good intentions and all, but that was really something I needed to do on my own.' His voice quavered slightly.
    She actually seemed a little glad to hear him say that, 'You passed more than just that math test then if you realize that.'
    He sat up, looking at her questioningly, 'What does that mean?'
    'I wasn't just helping you to be nice.  Cheating is wrong, I helped you with the test so that you would understand that and feel guilty and never want to do it again.'
    Daisuke was speechless.  His mouth must have dropped so low it could have hung on the ground!  'Y-you tricked me?' he stammered.
    Yoshiko nodded, looking down, 'I'm sorry, but part of our mission here is to help people be the best they can be.  I needed to wipe that bad quality from you so that you would be a better person.  I hope you can forgive me.'
    After about a minute of silence and Daisuke trying to piece everything together (while gaping at Yoshiko's keen manipulation skills) he finally let out a laugh.  'Well,' he said breathlessly, 'It certainly did work!  I never want to cheat again!'  He looked at Yoshiko's smiling face and gave her a smile of his own.  'Of course I forgive you.  In fact, I thank you.  Since the time you've been with me, I know I've become a better person.  You never cease to amaze me.'  The two looked deeply into each other's eyes.  All seemed perfect with the world.
    'Awww' dat's so sweeeet!' Hiroshi, along with everyone else in the class, surrounded the two with kucy-guchy looks on their faces, but mostly that quality was with Hiroshi.  Daisuke and Yoshiko saw their spectators and both turned a deep shade of red.  Although he'd never admit it, Hiroshi loved putting those two on the spot like that.
    'Alright, everyone, sit down!' croaked the incomparable Mr. Shizumo.  There were groans, but everyone obeyed, much to Daisuke's relief.  As Hiroshi stared at his rather pathetic teacher, he could have sworn that every time he saw him, his head became balder and shinier.  'Now let's begin class.'
    Daisuke seemed all but interested in beginning anything, especially class.  He sighed and squished his cheek against his fist as he leaned near the end of his seat, slouching sloppily at his desk.  He did feel a little better, getting the cheating thing off his chest. There was still more he wished he could have told Yoshiko about though.  Namely, his father'  He hadn't told anyone yet, and that was a problem.  What was he going to do?  He knew his father would not like discovering so many new people living at HIS house. That made him sigh again, deeper and more despairing this time.  He had to talk to Yoshiko.  Daisuke tore off a small piece of paper, scribbled something on it with a pencil and carefully, not to get caught, slid it over to Yoshiko's desk.
    She pulled the note into her palm and silently read it.  'I need to talk to you' was what was written, in messy, crammed handwriting. While she thought of what he might want to talk to her about, some excitable girls from the back of the room were elated to see the two 'passing notes' in class.  They were the local hopeless romantics.
    Yoshiko wrote a reply on the note and slid it back to him.  Daisuke took it and read in endlessly neater handwriting, 'Alright.  What is it?'  Daisuke bit his lip and wrote again, giving the crumbled paper back to his neighbor.
    'I'll have to tell you in words,' it read, although some parts she could hardly make out.  'I understand,' read the note she passed back to him, and at the most inopportune moment right as Mr. Shizumo turned his chubby, withered face back to the class from the chalkboard to see the note in Daisuke's hand.
    'Mizuno!' he hollered.  'Please don't send love notes to your girlfriend in the middle of class!'
    GIRLFRIEND?????  The entire class was silent, all the side conversations, which before would have taken a miracle to end, ceased without a second thought.  Daisuke and Yoshiko were more embarrassed than they probably had ever been in their entire lives!  It was so shocking to hear that from him, even Hiroshi was appalled by what his dense teacher had said, although he was infamous for saying some pretty odd things'
    Just as usual, the two-watt man turned back to the chalkboard to carry on with his lesson.  Daisuke felt like sliding under a rock and staying there for the rest of the universe's existence.
    Hiroshi looked down at him, for Daisuke had slid nearly all the way down to the floor in his seat, and then up to Yoshiko, who was staring out the window, trying to hide her flustered cheeks.  He raised an eyebrow, moving his eyes back to a very miserable looking Daisuke.  'Wow, Mr. Idiot just said the whopper of them all.  Sucks to be Dai,' he said and faced forward again.
    Hiroshi wasn't helping.  Neither were the kids he could see peering down at him from their seats as he sank closer and closer to the floor.  They were curious to know if that was the truth or not, after all, everyone wants to know about the most popular guy's love life!  Daisuke could just tell by how this day was starting off.  It would not be a walk in the park.

    Furry panda slippers trudged sluggishly along the floor.  People stared as they usually did when he walked by, but today, it was for different reasons.  He stopped when he reached the desk and table group he usually sat at, gaining attention of all those who usually sat there.
    'Good morning Taka' san?'  Tenko's voice turned to concerned questioning.
    He didn't really give a reply, just sat down with a rather far off look on his face.  The twins and Satoru set solid stares on him, almost like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears.  On this particular day, Taka looked very' different.  He wasn't wearing the spikes, chains, leather, and boots that made him look like a goth crossdresser who's a half head taller than they should be.  Today, they were all surprised to see him wearing panda slippers, pajama pants with little devils all over them, and a plain black T-shirt.  I mean, that was relatively, surprisingly normal!  He also had a light blue fleece blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a red scarf around his neck.  When he sneezed, they also noticed something different about his hair.  It was' fuzzy!  He didn't have it in those lethal careful-or-I'll-poke-your-eye-out spikes!  And his face' no make up at all!  He only had one pair of earrings in too!  Usually he sported three or four, but today it was just two solid black studs.  Rather boring, for someone like Taka.
    Something wasn't right, Satoru concluded as he continued to stare at him.  Taka's breathing was rather heavy, he breathed through his mouth which Satoru never saw him do!  He had dark circles under his eyes, which themselves did not look as lively as usual.  His cheeks were a bit red and Satoru could see a stream of sweat flow off his forehead.  'Taka-chan' Satoru said worriedly, 'are you alright?'
    'I caught by bob's cold,' he sniffed in a voice that was quite raspy, sounding like it hurt to talk.
    'Oh no' Satoru said mildly and set his hand on his forehead.  'You're burning up!' he gasped, 'What are you doing at school?!' he half asked, half scolded.
    Taka looked to him, smiling, 'To see you, of course.  Why would I wadt to stay hobe id bed whed I could cobe here and see you?'
    Satoru couldn't help but smile, 'Oh' that's so nice' they stared at each other, much like Daisuke and Yoshiko had.
    Shingo rolled his eyes and turned away, 'Geez, guys' get a room.'
    Tenko wasn't sure she understood what her brother meant by 'get a room' because they obviously were already in a room!  She didn't ask though, just turned to watch Mr. Kiyomura scrambling before the school day began.  He looked rather frazzled for some reason.
    'Oh perfect,' he muttered blandly, 'would you all excuse me for a few minutes?  I have to go get something I've forgotten'
    Random heads nodded in the classroom, apparently giving him the Ok to leave for a little while.  He took the opportunity and nearly leapt from the class.  The students thought that was kind of weird.  Mr. Kiyomura had never done that before.
    'Isn't it illegal to leave students unattended in a classroom?' asked Tenko, half meaning for that to be rhetorical.
    'Where did you hear that from?' Shingo looked to her strangely.
    'I think I read it somewhere, or maybe I just made it up right now.'
    'I'm betting you made it up.'
    Satoru giggled, he loved seeing the twins like that, it reminded him of him and his own brother, only with less blood and screaming.  He turned back to Taka, his eyes bright and cheery, 'Well I don't mind putting off school for a little while.  What did you do yesterday?  Didn't you have another date?' he addressed Taka.
    Taka sniffed loudly after another sneeze, 'Sort of,' he said.  When he thought about it, he wasn't too sure on how much he should reveal to Satoru, or anyone else for that matter.  He didn't know if they could handle it.
    'Oh, was it really romantic?' Tenko clasped her hands together and looked to Taka with a dreamy gaze.
    'Well' his words stumbled and he visibly grasped the scarf around his neck, like he was making sure it was still there.
    'Where did you go?  What did you do?' Tenko was so curious, like most 12 year old girls would be when something as grown up as dating was involved.
    'We just stayed at the club and' he felt another sneeze coming on, which was good because he didn't exactly want to try to explain what they did next.  His hand closed more tightly around the scarf.
    'And' and?' Tenko couldn't take the suspense.
    'Come on, stop bugging him,' Shingo tried to weasel her away, but it wasn't really working too well.
    'Actually I cad't really rebember too well, bust have passed out or somethig' he sniffed again.  'By fever started last dight.  Passed out while dadcing.'
    'Oh dear,' Satoru held a hand to his mouth, like a woman from one of those cheesy 50's movies as she sees a giant ant coming to eat her face.  'That's just terrible!  While dancing?'
    He nodded, stifling a cough.  'Dext thing I dew I was at hobe, in by bed.  Dunno how I got there.' He wiped his eye, which decided to start watering for no good reason.
    'Poor Taka-san' Tenko shook her head, 'You must be really sick.  We should take you to the nurse right now so you can lye down and get better.  Oh, and make sure to drink a lot!'
    'That'll just bake be pee a lot.' Rebuked Taka, Satoru blushed, catching his eye.  'With by head light like this I dod't thidk I'd be able to aib very well, right, Sato-chad?' he winked at the pink boy.
    'ANYWAY,' Shingo quickly took it upon himself to change subjects, 'Why don't we go ahead and take you to the nurse then?  I mean, you do look pretty bad.'
    Taka sniffed, 'Thadk you, but you look pretty sexy yourself.'
    All Shingo could do was blink and stare.
    'Well, well, well,' they all heard a familiar horrible voice and looked up to see a big, mean looking ugly face.
    'Kenichi!' they said at once.
    He laughed, showing his crocked, yellow teeth as he walked up right behind Taka.  'It's been a while.'
    'What are you doing here?' Shingo stood from his seat, anger in his eyes.  After all that had happened, he knew that Kenichi and his henchmen must have been suspended for at least a little while.  But now Kenichi was back and his henchmen weren't.  He would have rather it be the other way around.
    'Sit down, loser!  Unless you want a knuckle sandwich!' he screamed.
    Taka laughed to himself, 'Kduckle saddwich?  That's the labest threat I've ever heard.'
    Kenichi's sunken eyes shot down to the top of Taka's black fuzzy head.  His lips curled back in a sneer, revealing the green tops of his teeth.  'You think that's funny, fag?' he asked hatefully.
    Taka cleared his throat and could feel his breath, which he breathed like some sort of enraged bull, on the back of his head.  'Do, dot funny at all.  Just labe.  But hey, I have to keep id bind who's saying it.  I've seed socks that are sbarter thad you.'
    Satoru, who was completely overcome with fear right as Kenichi entered, secretly found himself applauding Taka.  He had a way of defending himself and others.
    Kenichi was pissed.  He heaved his chest out as he breathed in deeper, taking in those insults as Taka threw them at him.  Pushing Tenko out of the way, nearly causing her to fall down, he knelt down by Taka and looked at him from the side, rage lit all about his egotistical face.  'You wanna say that again to my face' faggot?'
    Taka took a glance down to him and then looked forward again, his profile still facing Kenichi.  'Dot really.  I dod't wadt to get poisoded frob your breath.  Besides, didd't you hear be the first tibe, or is there too buch wax in your ears bobby forgot to clead out?'
    With a dirty growl, Kenichi slammed his fist on the desk, causing the entire class to be silent.  'Never say that again, fag, or you're gonna find yourself prayin' my forgiveness someday!'
    There was a long moment of silence.  Everyone in the classroom was watching this spectacle with wide eyes.  ' Sobeday'
    Kenichi turned completely red in the face, it looked like a vein on his forehead would pop!  Infuriated, he brought his clenched fist up, 'THAT'S IT!' he thrust it down, aiming for Taka's head.
    Taka's hand enclosed around the fist.  A loud gasp echoed through the classroom as Taka held Kenichi's fist stationary, his fingers nearly driving into his skin.  Taka closed his eyes and with his other hand patted in front of his mouth, looking quite bored, 'Please' I'b sick.  Dot this agaid'
    Awestricken, when Taka let go, Kenichi fell backwards, straight onto his rear end.  The class let out a little snicker, no one liked Kenichi, the bully.  He shook his head several times, unable to believe what had just happened and looked to his fist to see red fingerprints where Taka had gripped him.  Rearing up what little dignity he may have left, the furious Kenichi arose to his feet and dusted himself off.  He saw Taka sitting there calmly, sniffing occasionally.  He walked back over to him, breathing deeply like some sort of wild beast.  Taka felt a sneeze coming on.  'Now,' Kenichi bellowed with a satanic quality as he prepared to wreak severe mortal harm onto Taka, 'you're going to pay for that with your blood!'
    'AAAACCCCHHHHHOOOOOUUUUUUUU!'  Taka sneezed straight up at Kenichi's face, making him stop immediately.  He sniffed and wiped his nose.
    ' Bless you' whispered Satoru.
    Kenichi felt all the wonderful stuff that had escaped Taka's nose now covering his face.  Others in the class took a look to him and erupted into quiet giggles.  It was a pretty funny thing to see!  Taka looked up at him and saw the disgusted, surprised look on his dumb face.  'Sorry, it's a dasty bug, you dow.'  There was even stronger, louder laughter.  Even Satoru broke a smile.
    Kenichi growled again and searched for something to wipe off his face.  First thing that caught his eye was Taka's bright red scarf.  As Taka started to laugh also, he tugged it free and wiped his face on it.  Taka felt the scarf stolen from his neck and gasped in a deep, dreadful breath.  He felt the one thing he wanted to keep a secret reveled for all the world to see.
    When Kenichi brought the scarf down, it was the first thing he saw.  On the side of Taka's neck was a big round red mark.  Kenichi's eyes grew, 'Hello!  What do we have here?'  Taka was panicking and trying to cover it with his hand, he didn't want anyone to see it!  Kenichi managed to tear his hand away to inspect the mark in question more closely.  'Is that a' hickey?'
    The whole class burst into curious question and some of the students stepped forward to catch a look for themselves.  Even Shingo was amazed, he found himself take a step forward to try to see it as well.  Tenko and Satoru didn't know what a hickey was.
    'Give be by scarf back!' growled Taka as he clasped his hand over the mark with gawking eyes practically burning through it.
    Kenichi was rather enjoying tormenting Taka, he felt it was the only way he could get back at him for all those 'things' he'd done to him.  He gave a rather sinister sneer and showed his nasty teeth again, holding the scarf up above his head so that Taka caught an unpleasant glance at the sweat stain near his underarm.  'I don't think so, hickey boy, not until you tell all the class where and who you got that from!'
    Taka could see the eyes of every student looking at him like he was a book that wouldn't open.  It was like a nightmare, he couldn't remember ever being more embarrassed.  And, he was sick to boot.  Taka scowled up to Kenichi, it wasn't funny anymore.  'That's dode of your busidess.'
    'Oh?  And why is that?  Was it one of your little gay friends?  I bet so, hey everyone!' he looked to the swarm of students, 'Taka got that hickey from a' boyfriend!'
    Shingo stepped forward again, now Kenichi had crossed the line!  Some of the students seemed very shocked by that, while some others looked like they had had a question finally answered for them.  Some didn't look surprised at all.  Shingo could feel the pain Taka was going through and knew he was no match for Kenichi, nonetheless Taka was his friend and he had to stick up for him!  'Stop it, idiot, enough's enough!'
    Kenichi's ominous sneer wiped off his face and was soon replaced by a twisted smile, 'Oh, I see it now.  You're the one who gave him that hickey!'
    'What?' Shingo felt their eyes all over him, 'N-no I'm not!' he yelled.
    'Yes you are, don't deny it, fag!  You probably (insert yaoi actions here) every night!'
    Before Kenichi could harass Shingo any longer, Taka stood right in front of him, looking him eye to eye.  Actually, he had to look up a little because Kenichi was a bit taller (so cute!!).  He looked more furious than anyone had ever seen!  'Leave hib alode.' Taka commanded in his hoarse voice.
    Kenichi only got more angry he tried to stick up to him.  'Why should I?'
    'Because he's dot the ode who gave be the hickey.' A hush of silence engulfed the class.
    He was pleased, 'Oh really?  Then who was?'
    Taka stood there quiet under the pressure of Kenichi and the rest of the students.  The room was dead silent, the kind of silence one could practically cut with a knife.  He could hear his heart beating loudly in his ears and his head began to throb.  He was beginning to wish he had stayed home.  Then again, who was Kenichi to make him do anything he didn't want to?  Taka got a sinister smirk himself and said finally, 'I'b dot tellidg.'  Kenichi growled and showed his disgusting teeth again, but Taka was quite pleased with himself, as usual.  Taka held out his hand, not letting his eyes escape view, 'Dow give be by scarf back.'
    'No!' yelled Kenichi.
    'Yes!' yelled Taka.
    'No!' he held it well over his head.
    Taka tried to reach it but couldn't and he wasn't about to jump to reach it right then.  That was it, he had had enough of Kenichi's crap.  'For the last tibe, GIVE BE BY F******* SCARF BACK!!'
    Everyone was shocked.  Had Taka just said' that word?  That, the queen mother of all dirty words?  By the stern look on his face, it was apparent he had.  The twins and Satoru all looked to each other, stupefied, although Satoru didn't realize how serious it really was.  They then looked at Kenichi, he looked so surprised they could hardly recognize him!  Everyone felt this way, except Taka who was expecting his red scarf to be placed in his hand very soon.
    'Uh, no problem,' Kenichi shook himself back into reality and gave Taka the scarf.
    Without a word, Taka wrapped it back around his neck and took his seat.  All was extremely quiet still, no one could believe what Taka had just done.
    Mr. Kiyomura slipped back into the classroom expecting to see a loud party or something due to the few minutes of unsupervised budding adolescents that inhabited his sixth grade class.  He was surprised, even shocked to see them all silent, standing there like statues that would never be provoked to move again.  Raising an eyebrow, he came to the front of the classroom to see that they all seemed to be staring at Taka for some reason and that Taka was sitting down contentedly in his desk, almost like he was waiting for him to begin his lesson.  Mr. Kiyomura set his briefcase down on his desk and finally said to break the silence, 'I'm ready to begin now'
    The class seemed to jump right into life again.  The students took theirs seats, but now were whispering credulously about Taka.  Kenichi was the last to sit down.  Entranced, he hated to admit that he was actually quite impressed.  He didn't know Taka had it in him.
    'I'm sorry about that, I had to get my briefcase from my car' began Mr. Kiyomura.
    'Right, THAT'S what he had to do' a random sixth grader chuckled under his breath.
    His students still seemed distracted by something.  He decided it was better not to ask.  'So, let's begin.  Please take out your homework from last night.'
    Shingo did so and kept a lulling eye on Taka.  Taka was just sitting there very still, his arms folded, his eyes closed.  It looked like he was asleep!  He needed the sleep, so he wouldn't throw spit wads at him today.  Tenko and Satoru each took out their homework and followed along with Mr. Kiyomura's lesson while Taka drifted into a much needed nap.

    At the beginning of lunch, Daisuke careened out of the classroom, like it would kill him to be stuck in there any longer.  He let out a big deep sigh and leaned back against the wall right as Yoshiko and Hiroshi came out.  'Come on, let's go outside or something.' It sounded like he was still suffering from being stuck in that classroom with all those nosey people all morning, which he was.
    No one had any objections to that, it was a nice warm day, so they followed Daisuke toward a door that would lead them outside.  Aya decided to tag along, she wanted in on the secret she could tell Daisuke was hiding, too.
    He sat down under a large sakura tree and took out his lunch.  Yoshiko sat right beside him, and Hiroshi sat right next to her, a little closer than he probably should have.  Aya sat at Daisuke's other side and noted the 'zombie-like' glaze over his face.  'So,' she said after taking her lunch out, 'everything going alright with swimming?' she decided to ask an obscure question to try and make him feel better.  Swimming was one thing no one could do him in on.
    'Yeah, our first meet's coming up,' he said before eating.
    'And you're gonna knock the speedos off those other guys, right Dai-kun?' she winked.
    Hiroshi suddenly stopped eating, 'I really don't want to think about that while eating,' he said with a slight shudder.
    Everyone else laughed, but it sounded quite forced with Daisuke.  Yoshiko noticed something wasn't quite right with him, he seemed to be so depressed lately.  'Are you alright?' she asked compassionately.
    He glanced to her and was glad she asked, 'Uh, now I can talk to you,' he referred to the notes from before that day.  Hiroshi and Aya sat patiently, eagerness shining in their eyes.  They wanted to hear what Daisuke had to say to Yoshiko just as much as anyone, perhaps even more so.  He gave them both a strange look and noted their current nosiness.
    'Well, we have a right to hear too, you know.  I'm not your best friend for nothin', man!' Hiroshi defended.
    A side of his mouth raised, 'Well, I guess you guys can hear this too.' He sighed and looked down to the rice in his lunch.  'Last night I got a phone call I thought I wouldn't get for at least a month.  It was' my father.'
    A shiver was sent down Yoshiko's spine.  She remembered the first day she had met Daisuke how he had talked about his father, how he left him for work for weeks on end and had even missed his birthday.  It was a wonder to her he had even called him, he sounded so harsh and stern, almost like having a son was a burden and not a joy.  But then she told herself that it was not her place to judge someone before she met them.  She gave Daisuke her most caring and sympathetic look, but he couldn't see it, he was still staring down at his lunch.
    'Your father?' Hiroshi sounded a little surprised, which he was.  Daisuke nodded and ate some more.  Hiroshi looked over to Aya, hoping that she could help him know of what he was supposed to say to Daisuke.  As luck would have it, she had the same thing in mind for Hiroshi, so nothing much got accomplished by that.  'So' he quickly thought of what to say, 'what did he say?' a perfectly normal question.
    'He said he's coming back today because something's come up.  Wouldn't tell me what though.  From the sound of his voice, I think I already know what it is'
    'Think it has to do with his health?' Hiroshi was surprisingly serious.
    Daisuke paused, 'Yeah.'
    Yoshiko didn't really want to pry, but she was just a little confused.  It was apparent that everyone but her in the little group really got the full depth of the conversation.  She remained quiet and Daisuke looked up at her, almost like he could read the questions on her face.  'My dad has diabetes.' He explained.  She nodded, and then an expression of commiseration came over her.  He thanked her with a smile and continued on, 'What I'm really worried about is how he's going to react to five new bodies living in his house.'
    'Ohhhh, right' Hiroshi had sort of overlooked that little detail, 'He'll probably be pissed' I remember he'd get kind of annoyed even when I would stay the night at your house when he was home.'
    'Hiro, that was only because you'd stay up all night laughing or talking REALLY LOUD about girls and porn'
    Hiroshi tried to look innocent.  'That was only one time' Daisuke rolled his eyes.
    'So what do you think you'll do?' asked Aya.  Yoshiko felt her heart sinking.
    'I don't know, I mean, I'd love for him to meet everyone, but I'd hate to see how he'd react to them all living there.' Daisuke was very concerned.  'Guess I don't know what to do.'
    'Would it be better for us all to find another place to live?' Yoshiko asked in a voice that was barely audible.
    Daisuke flashed his eyes to her, surprised and shocked she would ask that.  'No!  Of course not!  I want you all to stay with me!  I just don't think my father would feel the same way'
    'Well why not introduce them all anyway?' Hiroshi's voice was once again filled with its usual overconfidence as he laid back on the soft green grass.  The three looked to him quizzically.  'Yeah, introduce everyone to him as your friends and then tell him that they had no place to stay, so out of the kindness of your heart, you offered your own home to them.  He'll be touched!  I mean, how many sons do you or your dad know of that would do something that hospitable for total strangers?'
    Daisuke had to admit that his daft friend did have some good ideas once in a while.  'You really think that would work?'
    'Absolutely!  The man will think you're the best son in the world, he might even get you one of those little T-shirts for your next birthday that says 'world's best son' on it!  Think about it, you and your dad could become a whole lot closer!'
    That did sound good, in fact it sounded awesome considering the less than stellar relationship Daisuke had previously know with his father.  He smiled with a determined nod, 'You're right.  It's not like I could keep it a secret anyway.'
    'Exactly, and if he doesn't like it, he's your father and that pretty much guarantees he won't murder you!'
    Boy, that was reassuring, 'Thanks.'
    'So then, it sounds like everything will turn out just fine.  You'll see, Dai-kun, I'm sure he'll welcome them all.  Besides,' Aya lowered her voice, 'it's not like he's ever around anyway, so he wouldn't have to put up with them that often!' she gave a playful wink.
    'What's that supposed to mean?'
    Everyone heard a very recognizable voice and each looked past Hiroshi to see Misami standing, her hands at her hips.  She was giving them all a very severe look.  'Misami-chan!' Yoshiko said, she did not expect her sister to be standing right there!
    Misami smiled and walked closer to the group.  As she did so, she stepped right onto Hiroshi's chest, almost as if she didn't notice he was there (although she really did, she just did that because she didn't want to walk around him and because she found him terribly unlikable.)  'Good afternoon, darling!' she smiled sweetly to Daisuke and sat next to him under the shade of the tree.  'So your father's coming back today?'
    'You know about that?' he was surprised.
    'I've been standing back there for a while, just listening to you guys.  I'm surprised you didn't notice me there.'
    'It would have been nice if it were to have remained that way,' Hiroshi murmured, still lying down, now with a sore chest.
    Misami glared back to him and then smiled to Daisuke, 'You're going to introduce me to him as your girlfriend, ne?'
    'Um',' he avoided her eyes and looked desperately at her sister.
    She got the point quickly, 'When we get back to Daisuke-san's house let's work on cleaning so that everything will be perfect for his stay.'
    'Great idea, sis!  After all, first impressions are lasting impressions!' giggled Misami.
    'He'll probably come before I usually get home, so I'll have to skip swimming today.  Guchi will understand.' Daisuke said to himself.  He wondered what the other guys would think.  He was glad Ryuichi wasn't at school, in fact he hadn't seen him since that day in the rain with the cap gun.
    'You should make a really big meal for him!  That'll score ya tons of brownie points!' added Aya.
    Daisuke nodded, 'I'll stop by the store and get all his favorites.'
    'Sounds good,' Yoshiko uttered and continued her lunch.  Daisuke smiled again and thought it would not turn out to be a disaster after all.  In fact, he was really looking forward to seeing his father again and introducing him to all his new friends.  Satisfied, Daisuke ate the rest of his lunch, although he did still have to deal with Misami hanging off of his arm and with her and Hiroshi as they started another round of arguments.  It wasn't so bad though, he just kept thinking about finally seeing his father again.

    His footsteps sounded loudly on the gray concrete floor.  This level of the parking garage was relatively empty, for use of employees only.  From his suit trousers, he took out a black device, when he pressed the button on it, his red RX-7 gave two distinct beeps.  He unlocked the door and went inside, sliding on the slick black leather seat.  The car started and a soft classical melody from speakers in the back came sweetly to his ears.  The man inside drove down to the lowered gate and handed the ticket collector his parking pass.  He nodded and lifted the gate for the man, 'Have a nice evening, Mr. Mizuno,' he said as the car drove on and left the property of the company.
    The man in the car drove swiftly on roads, occasionally having to slow or completely stop for traffic.  He glanced at his reflection in the rear view mirror as he waited in slow moving traffic.  His deep brown eyes looked very tired underneath his rather sophisticated looking glasses.  His hair was short and very dark, he had a neat goatee on his chin.  He looked back to the road as cars moved faster in front of him.  The man gave a quick thought to his destination and continued on his journey back to his home.

    Tick tock, tick tock' The clock was almost deafening.  A drip of sweat rolled down Daisuke's face as he stared forward and waited for that door to open.  Yoshiko, Misami, and the twins were each in a row behind him.  He had told them all to wear their nicest clothes and to use only their best manners when his father was there.  Daisuke himself had vowed to do the same, so he forced himself to wear a dark blue sweater and khakis which he normally would not wear if he didn't have to.  His heart was pounding loudly.  Daisuke had never before anticipated anything as badly as he did now.
    He did a quick check off in his mind to make sure everything was perfect.  After school he scrambled to the grocery store and then made a fantastic meal with all his father's favorite foods.  Check.  Then he helped the others clean the house completely spotless.  Check.  There must have been something else he was forgetting'  When he thought about it, he realized he had not seen Koji for a long time, not once all day or the day before for that matter!  Even though he was upset and uneasy about loosing his sweet Yoshiko to him, he was actually starting to worry about him a little.  He couldn't think about that then, there was too many other things on his mind!
    'This is boring,' Tenko sighed.  Everyone had to agree inwardly, they had been standing there for about ten minutes just waiting for that door to open.
    A slight look of discouragement on his face, Daisuke turned to see them all.  'Yeah' I guess we can just go and wait on the couch so our legs don't die from standing here so long.'
    They heard the distinctive sound of a doorknob turning.  Gasping, everyone looked back to the door and stood stiffly back into position.  Daisuke's eyes were very wide and he swallowed nervously.  He could feel the sweat streaming from his forehead.
The same man walked inside the house and shut the door behind him.  Keeping his eyes down, he then removed his shoes.  Daisuke was nearly speechless.  Finally, in the midst of the silence, their eyes met.  Daisuke swallowed again and blinked. 'Father' The man stood tall and looked to his son.  His expression was stern and unchangeable.  The others felt like they were invisible.
    Daisuke lowered his head humbly, 'Welcome home.'  The others were surprised to hear him speaking in such a respectful way.  They found it right to bow their own heads to him, in hopes that he would feel welcome back in his own home.
    His father came forward to Daisuke and the next thing he knew, he wrapped his arms around his son.  That took Daisuke completely by surprise.  He couldn't remember the last time he had been hugged by his father, so the sensation was unfamiliar and long forgotten.  However, he put his arms around him too in a sweet embrace he thought he would never know again.
'It's good to be home,' he said softly and broke away from the hug.  Daisuke looked into his eyes and nodded with a smile.
    They were looking at each other a long time and finally, Daisuke heard Misami clear her throat impatiently.  He could have hit himself, 'Oh yeah, father, there's some friends of mine I'd like you to meet' Daisuke looked back to them all standing in a row, followed by his father.  He walked up and stood in front of Shingo.  'This is Okimoto Shingo and his twin sister Tenko.' He said to his father.
    The twins smiled sweetly and bowed their heads, 'Nice to meet you,' they said together.  Daisuke's father just nodded.
    'And, this is Nakayama Misami,' Daisuke went on.
    Misami curtsied, 'How do you do?' she said far more sweetly than she usually would have.  He acknowledged her and was about to go on to Yoshiko when she decided she was not done 'dealing with' Daisuke's father.  'You know, your son is really amazing!  I mean, he cooks, he swims, and he's so sweet to everyone he comes across!  That's exactly why I think he would make my perfect boyfr-'
    'MOVING RIGHT ALONG!' Daisuke shoved her back in the row and smiled forcibly to his father.  Things weren't going exactly as planned (sigh).  'And this' he looked to beautiful, sweet Yoshiko and was instantly soothed from his prior stress, 'this is Nakayama Yoshiko.'
    'A pleasure to meet you, sir,' her voice sang out like an angel's.
    He seemed to be quite taken by her and actually gave her a rare smile.  Daisuke looked back to his father and saw that he was not fuming, he actually looked rather gratified.  That was a great sign.  'I've made some of your favorite foods.  Would you like to eat now?'
    'Yes, and there is much I want to talk with you about.  Will your friends be staying for dinner or going to their homes?'
    Daisuke felt his stomach sink.  He swallowed nervously and took in a deep breath, 'Well actually' they uh' um' he just couldn't get the words out!
    His father looked at him peculiarly.  'What is it?' he had that usual strict tone of voice Daisuke constantly dreaded.
    'Y-you see' they uh' um'
    Yoshiko saw he was blowing it.  She stepped forward and didn't care if it was out of line.  'This is our home.'  Everyone looked to her, unable to believe what she had just said.  She felt the chiding gaze of Daisuke's father begin to develop and knew what he must have started to feel from that.  She bowed her head humbly again and continued on, despite her better judgement 'Daisuke-san has opened his home to all of us.  None of us had a place to stay, we thought we were all alone here until he came and offered us to stay here with him.  If it weren't for him' we would have no place to call home'
    He was very quiet and slowly moved his eyes back to his son.  Daisuke didn't know what to expect from him.  'Is that true?'  Daisuke nodded and looked downward.  There was a pause as he breathed out deeply with his thoughts lingering on that.  Daisuke didn't dare look up at him.  'Let's go eat dinner,' he began to walk toward the dining area and stopped before entering it.  'Alone.'
    'Yes, sir,' Daisuke answered and followed his father to the dining area, giving one quick look back at everyone.  Yoshiko felt as if she had just really messed everything up.  She stayed back with her sister and the twins, hoping his father would have as much understanding as his son.
    Daisuke shakily set a cup of tea in front of his father, who sat at the head of the table.  He looked up for a second and saw him sitting there sternly with his arms folded and his lips pressed together tightly in a way that made him think he didn't want to talk about it.  Making sure he wouldn't make his father more angry than he already appeared, Daisuke started to serve him some of the food he had prepared and set the plate in front of him, like some sort of servant.  His father sighed again and shut his eyes as Daisuke sat back and served himself.  He hadn't seen his father this uptight in a long time.
    'Daisuke,' he finally spoke.  He immediately gave him his full attention.  His father opened his eyes, but did not look to his son. 'How long have they been here?'
    He quickly racked his brain to try and think, it proved to be rather difficult because he was so nervous, 'Almost two weeks I guess.'
    His father brought the cup of tea to his mouth and drank it quietly.  It was extremely nerve wracking for Daisuke to sit there and wait fearfully dreading what may come next.  'How old is the girl Yoshiko?'
    '16 like me' we're in the same class.' He cautiously ate some of the food to try and lessen the high amount of tension in the room.
    He simply nodded.  'Have you been using protection?'
    'Huh?' he was confused as to what his father meant by that.  Finally, it dawned on him and Daisuke turned deep red, 'No!  I mean, I haven't' we don't'
    'Eat your dinner,' his father commanded in a soft voice.  Daisuke obeyed, he couldn't believe what his father had asked him!  On the other hand, Daisuke's father couldn't believe Daisuke had lovely girls living with him without adult supervision.  Daisuke could tell he was very bothered by that and knew what he was thinking.  It was a horrible feeling for Daisuke.
    He finished the delicious food and looked to see his son uncomfortably waiting there.  'When I came home,' he broke the unpleasant silence, 'I was very surprised to learn that you had invited four people to stay here, two of them girls your age.'
    'Actually, five, but he's not here right now' Daisuke admitted.
    'Five?' his voice was exasperated.  'How do you expect to feed them all?  That's like dealing with a whole family.'
    'The money you leave and send me is more than enough for just me.  And besides, we work together, everyone does their part to take care of things.'
    'Daisuke, you think you know how the world works.  You're just a child, you don't know the first thing about taking care of yourself, let alone five others.'
    'Excuse me?' Now Daisuke sounded exasperated.  He looked to his father and couldn't help having all the bottled up resentment toward him start to leak out, 'You're telling me that I don't know how to take care of myself?  You have pretty much left me on my own ever since mom left, in ten years I think I've learned how to take care of myself!' he tried to control his anger.
    'Don't raise your voice at me, son.'
    'Son?' Daisuke's voice shook, 'If I'm your son, then why don't you treat me more like it?  I've always felt like you don't really care about me or my life, of course everyone tells me I'm wrong when I say that, but I can't really believe them!  All you care about is your work, well what about me?  Am I really your son or just some obligation to deal with after your work is done?!'
    'Daisuke, you're speaking nonsense!' said his father, trying to calm him down.
    'No, I'm speaking the truth!  You've never been there for me when I've really needed you, and when you were there, I was always afraid to go to you!' tears began to sting his eyes and his voice wavered with every word.
    'Work is important, I'm sorry that you have these delusions in your head, but if you want me to continue to provide for this family, I have to work.'
    'We can't be a family anymore!' he yelled, 'Families have a mom and a dad that both love their kids!  You ran mom out all those years ago!'
    'Your mother left because she wanted to, I did not run her out!  Things are better this way.'
    'You're lying!  At least mom cared about me!  You're the worst damn father on the planet!'
    He was quiet for a long time.  Daisuke looked to him with tears soaking his eyes.  Then his father threw the napkin that had been on his lap onto the table and stood up briskly.  He left the dining area without a word and went down to his bedroom, slamming the door shut.
    When he left Daisuke felt awful.  He wished he hadn't have said all that, but knew his father needed to hear it.  A tear rolled down his cheek and he buried his face in his hands.
    Yoshiko and the others had been sitting quietly in the living room and caught the gist of the conversation.  They had also seen Daisuke's father storm out and escape into a room they had never known existed before.  They knew that things were not running smoothly at all and definitely not according to plan.  'Stay here,' Yoshiko said to the others and walked quietly toward the dining area.
    She peeked inside and saw Daisuke sitting with his head lowered, covered by his hands.  He appeared to be in total emotional agony.  Carefully, she came toward him and spoke his name.  'He hates me,' she heard him say miserably.
    She sat down next to him and set a hand on his back, 'No he doesn't, he can't hate you.'
    'Yes he can!' he thrust his head up to her, 'He's forsaken me all my life like I don't even exist!  And now I just called him the worst father on the planet' he couldn't hold the tears back.  Yoshiko set her arms around him and let him cry.  'He hates me' and now he thinks I hate him'
    Yoshiko gently rubbed his back and then got a brilliant idea, 'No,' she said and brought him back to look into his eyes, 'I know things have been rough for you, but things can change only if you're willing to let them.'  Daisuke was quiet and interested in what she had to say.  'Go and apologize to your father and then talk this whole thing out rationally.  Tell him what you want him to do differently and don't just dwell on his bad qualities.  You both recognize a terrible flaw in your relationship, so come to an agreement with him to let things change for the better.  That's the only way this thing is going to work out, but you have to take that first step to let it.'
    'Why would he listen to me?  I've tried so many times before to make things change, and they never do!'
    Yoshiko looked him straight in the eyes, 'Trust me.'
    He thought about what she said.  Could that possibly happen?  As he thought about it more, he realized he'd never actually tried to negotiate something like that with his father.  He had always wanted things to go completely his way and never thought about what his father wanted.  Maybe there was a happy medium for the two of them, where his father could work less and have much more time with his son to let their relationship improve dearly, and where Daisuke could take on some sort of part-time to help pay for the expenses his father couldn't handle because he'd be working less.  It was almost shocking to him to realize he'd never thought of that before!  He agreed to it and again was amazed by Yoshiko's wisdom.
    Taking a deep breath, he got to his feet and walked down to his father's room.  He carefully sorted out everything he wanted to say in his head and decided to start with a heartfelt, sincere apology.  He knew his father would probably be upset, so he carefully opened his door and slowly came inside, 'Father, I'm really so-'
    His breath was completely taken away.  There, in the middle of the floor, lay his father.  His eyes were shut, and Daisuke knew he wasn't sleeping.  'Oh no' his legs lost their strength and he fell right before him.  Terrified, he looked down onto his father and shook his head slowly, 'No' he whispered and set his fingers to his neck to check for a pulse.  'Someone call an ambulance!' he screamed, but he could make his voice hardly work.
    Misami and the twins ran to the open door and looked inside, Yoshiko followed soon behind.  They gasped when they saw it and Daisuke looked up to them, sheer panic in his eyes.  'Quick' call an ambulance!'
    Misami stumbled for the phone and remembered what she had been told about emergencies on Earth, so luckily she knew how to call for an ambulance.
    Yoshiko and the twins waited there and watched Daisuke kneel beside his father helplessly.  There was nothing any of them could do except wait.
    Within a few minutes the ambulance came speeding up to Daisuke's house.  The paramedics flocked inside to inspect the situation.  They examined Daisuke's father and one of the paramedics pulled Daisuke aside to talk to him.  'Your father is unconscious, he must have blacked out.  What medical problems does he have?'
    Daisuke was very worried but he tried his best to answer, 'He's diabetic.'
    'Do you know if he took his insulin today?'
    'I-I don't know, he just got home.'
    The paramedic nodded, 'We're going to have to take him to the hospital.  You can come with us,' he set a hand on Daisuke's shoulder to try and comfort him, but it wasn't working.
    Daisuke watched speechlessly as they put his father onto a stretcher.  The paramedic walked him outside the house and he saw as they wheeled him into the ambulance.  Yoshiko, Misami, Shingo, and Tenko walked out after them and watched quietly also.  The paramedic told him that it was time to go and Daisuke turned back to his friends.  More tears were glistening in his eyes.  They could tell that he wanted them all to go with him, but they knew they all could not.  The paramedic said only one of them could.
    Misami looked beside herself to Yoshiko and nudged her forward, 'You go, sis.'
    Yoshiko looked at her sister in astonishment and then over to Daisuke.  She agreed and the paramedic led them both inside the ambulance.  From inside, they watched as the images of their friends grew smaller as the ambulance sped away.  Yoshiko thanked Misami in her mind and then looked over to Daisuke with a sympathetic glow.
    'You're welcome,' Misami answered with a sad smile.

    The land was getting very dark.  Millions of lights in the city flashed on as people continued their busy, restless lives.  Daisuke was staring aimlessly at them all, he could see the cars speed down below, going this way and that, like an endless river of light.  He saw buildings adorned by alluring lights attract many people inside of them to spend their time and money on frivolous things that brought temporary joy to their hearts.  He was letting his mind wander, but no matter how hard he tried, it always found its way back to his father.
    'It's all my fault.'
    Yoshiko was sitting on one of the many chairs in the waiting room right beside a table with a potted plant and many forgotten magazines.  She looked to Daisuke, who was standing by the tall window.  It grieved her to hear him talk like that.
    Daisuke shook his head and continued with his drifting stares.  'If I hadn't have yelled at him like I did he wouldn't have gotten so stressed out and forget to take his shot.  I've put him through so much pain.  This is just one more thing to add.'
    She lowered her head again.  This time, she really didn't know what to say.
    The waiting room door opened and they both looked to it, hoping to see a doctor.  Instead, it was Koji.
    'Koji-san,' Yoshiko was very happy to see him.  She had missed him so much and was glad to have his strong company with them in this hard time.
    He walked more into the room and Daisuke turned back to the window to stare out of it again.  He really wasn't sure of where he stood with Koji anymore.  'I came as soon as I heard,' Koji said and stood by Yoshiko.  'How is he?'
    Yoshiko looked back to Daisuke, who did not once turn around.  Her eyebrows drooped and she looked back up to Koji's beautiful face, 'We haven't heard anything yet.'
    He understood and felt as if he knew exactly how Daisuke was feeling.  He came over to Daisuke and stopped right by him, seeing the side of his face right up by the glass.  He leaned against the window and rested his head on it, his silver hair giving a beautiful reflection in the glass.  'I know how you feel,' he stared out.  Daisuke felt a lump grow in his throat.  'What you have had to go through in your life is very difficult.  One could say you have not been dealt an easy hand.'
    Daisuke smirked, 'How would you know?  You've only known me a few days!  You don't know the beginning of what I've had to go through!' his voice was terribly bitter.
    Koji blinked his amazing eyes and stayed completely calm.  'You are wrong.'  He shot his eyes over to him and could see a clear sincerity in Koji's face.  He opened his mouth to talk, but no sound came out.  'I have been watching you for the past seven years.'
    Yoshiko heard his unbelievable words and carefully listened.  Daisuke's mouth hung open and he then said inaudibly, 'You have?'
    He nodded.  'I have seen and felt your pain as your father walked out on you all those times.  I have witnessed that suffering you have gone through and understand it just as you do.'
    Daisuke lowered his head and felt yet more tears spring to his eyes.  He had no idea, Koji had secretly been like some sort of guardian angel!  And recently he had had so many selfish, cruel thoughts about him!  The whole thing with him supposedly trying to steal Yoshiko away really didn't matter to him right then.  For the first time he realized that Koji truly did care for him and that thought brought him so much more comfort.  He looked up again into his eyes and felt a tear fall, 'I'm so sorry,' he said, 'I have been such a jerk to you' please forgive me'
    'Of course,' he answered soothingly.  Yoshiko was touched by the scene.  It was very uplifting to see them find peace with each other again.
    After a brief moment of silence, the door opened again and a young doctor entered with light blue scrubs.  Daisuke rushed over to him and Yoshiko and Koji stood closely behind.  He looked to the dark-haired boy, 'Are you Mizuno Daisuke?'
    'I am,' he answered hastily.
    'Your father's blood sugar was dangerously high.  We've put him on an IV and given him insulin.  It's a good thing you got him here so quickly, or he would have gone into a coma.'
    'Will he be alright?'
    'He should be totally fine by tomorrow.  We will need to keep him here over night for monitoring.'
    Daisuke breathed a deep sigh of relief.  Yoshiko and Koji were both glad to hear that too.  'May I go in and see him?' asked Daisuke, sounding like a huge burden had just been lifted from him.
    The doctor shook his head, 'He's still unconscious.  He should awaken in a few hours though.'
    Daisuke nodded and looked to Yoshiko, 'I'd like to stay here tonight with him.  You two can go back if you'd like.'
    'Alright,' she gave him a small, but deeply warm smile.  Yoshiko looked to Koji, 'They're all probably sick with worry by now, we should get back to let them know everything is going fine.'
    'Ok,' said Daisuke, looked between both of them.  'I'll see you both tomorrow then.  I'm not sure when I'll be back, so don't be surprised if I'm not at school.  Oh, and one other thing, do you think you'll be able to call Hiro and tell him about what happened?  I'd do it myself, but I don't really feel up to dealing with him right now,' She nodded.  A grateful smile came to his lips and he put his arms around the both of them.  'Thanks guys' for everything.'
    They pulled away from the hug and walked toward the door so that they could return to Daisuke's house and inform everyone of the good news.  Before she walked out of the waiting room with Koji holding the door open for her, Yoshiko smiled to Daisuke and waved.  He waved back weakly and watched her leave, followed by Koji.  He reflected again on how much he really did love her.

    Daisuke was permitted to go in and see his father.  It was late now and the room he was in was very dark, almost eerie in a way.  The blinds were drawn shut, only a faint glow of moonlight was able to pass through the tiny spaces between them.  He was lying on a hospital bed sleeping, a tube came out of his hand and connected to an IV while more tubes ran into his nose.  Daisuke stood at the edge of the bed and looked down onto his father.  When he was awake, he was always so strict and fearless, but as he lay there then, tubes running out of him, Daisuke could see just how weak and fragile he really was.  He'd never seen his father so helpless before.  In truth, he almost took his father as some invincible being.  He was just a man though, a single soul susceptible to sickness and death.
    He ran a finger along his cheek and felt the neatly trimmed whiskers of his chin.  For a reason he couldn't determine, tears came back to his eyes.  'Oh, father' his voice was sensitive and hushed, 'I hate to see you like this.  I hope you can forgive me, I did this to you.  It was me and my stupid, insolent mouth.' He caught several tears with his fingertip as they came running down his face.  Daisuke pulled up a bench (that had been by a wall) beside his father's bed and sat down.  He looked onto his sleeping father, leaning on the side of his bed.  'I just wanted to say I'm really sorry.  I shouldn't have yelled at you like I did.  It's just, I really want things to change.  I never see you and you never see me.  Let's face it, neither of us probably even knows each other's favorite colors!  Mine's blue, by the way.  So, I guess what I'm trying to say is' I wish there were a way that we could spend more time together.  I understand that your job is very important, but isn't there a way that you can just forget work for a while and be with me?  I don't know of any other kids who would say this, but' I really miss having a parent.' His face still hadn't moved and Daisuke raised the side of his mouth in a crooked smile.  'What am I doing?  You can't hear a word I'm saying, can you?' he paused, 'I'll probably just end up saying all this again to you when you're awake.  I don't know how many times I could say this, though' I love you.'  Daisuke kissed his father on the forehead and sat back down on the bench.  'Good night, father.' He curled up on the bench and eventually drifted to sleep.
    Daisuke's father opened his eyes and saw his son lying there beside him.  He had heard what he said, he heard everything.  A proud smile came to him and he closed his eyes to sleep.  'Good night, son.'

    Morning came quickly and his father's condition had improved enormously.  He was permitted to leave the hospital and promised to never forget to take his insulin again.  He and Daisuke walked out of the hospital smiling and would have to take the bus to get back home.  On the bus ride, Daisuke remembered about what he had said the previous night while his father was 'sleeping' and tried to think up a clever way of bringing it up again without seeming to whip a dead horse too much.  Unfortunately, no clever ways were coming to him so he found himself just slouching there, staring toward a sleeping man on the opposite side of the bus and wondering why the heck it was so hard to talk about it with his father.
    His father noticed him and knew exactly what was on his mind.  'Daisuke,' he started out, his son looked up to him, 'I would like to talk to you about yesterday when you said all those things to me at dinner.'
    Daisuke sighed and bowed his head, 'I am so sorry, I can't believe I said such terrible things to you-'
    'Thank you.'
    '-I just- huh?' had he heard right?  He couldn't believe it.  His father had' thanked him for doing what he did.  He didn't know what to say, he just stared at him with a dumb look on his face.
    Daisuke's father looked out the window at all the passing scenery, Daisuke was half waiting for him to say 'just kidding' and then ground him for all of eternity.  (Not that he could enforce it or anything!)  'I never realized it before that, I really have missed all your life.  All because of my job.'  Daisuke sat up straight, looking at him in wonderment.  'It's not right for a father to miss his son's life like I have, and I'm the one who should apologize.  I've let my job completely take over me and it's replaced the thing that is most important.  You.' He set his hand on Daisuke's shoulder and gave him a smile that he'd never done before.  'You are amazing.  Too bad it's taken me 16 long years to finally realize it.'
    Daisuke still didn't know what to say, it was actually a pretty awkward situation.  He had never had any sort of compliments from his father, aside from his cooking, so he didn't know how to react.  Happily, he smiled.
    There was a low muffled beeping heard.  His father pulled the black cell phone from his trouser pocket and held it to his ear. 'Hello.'
    'Mr. Mizuno, we heard you were in the hospital, is everything alright?' it was his father's boss's secretary.  Apparently, the hospital had contacted his work regarding the incident.
    'Yes, I'm fine now thank you.  It was just a minor problem.' He had a way of making things seem less severe than they really were when he wanted to.
    'Thank goodness.' She sounded very relieved, 'So, if you are feeling up to it, we will be expecting you at work later, yes?'
    He was quiet for a while and saw the large, inquisitive eyes of his son.  He breathed out slowly and said at last, 'Not today.  Today I will spend with my son.'  Daisuke smiled ear to ear to hear that.  He returned the smile and put the phone away before there were any further questions.  Daisuke was going to say 'thanks' but he knew he didn't need to.  Just the look on his face told his father of how grateful he was to have him spend the day with him, just like father and son should.
    They came off the bus and walked the short distance to their house.  Upon entering it, they saw that the others were not there, but in their stead was a large bouquet of flowers of every kind.  They were set in the front room, a beautiful plethora of bright colors to behold resting in a clear glass vase on a table.  Delighted by the sight, Daisuke saw that there was a flower included in the bouquet from each one of his friends, indicated by a small tag tied around the respective flower's stem.  A white lily from Koji, yellow and blue pansies from the twins, a red tulip from Misami, a cerulean orchid from Yoshiko, a pink peony from Satoru, a green clover from Hiroshi, a purple iris from Aya, and even a red and black rose from Taka!  Put together, they made the most beautiful bouquet Daisuke had ever seen.  Just like his friends, they were both precious and individual.  He smiled and saw an equally joyful look on his father's face.
    'You have friends that care for you very much,' he observed.  'And they are all very lucky to have someone that cares just as much for them also.'
    'So you're saying that'
    He nodded, 'I should have trusted you in the first place.  Your friends are allowed to stay here as long as they would like.'
    He was the most exhilarated to hear that!  With a beaming smile, he said to his father, 'Thank you so much!'
    Daisuke and his father seemed to be getting along so much better already.  Pondering over it again, Daisuke wondered if maybe all those things did have to happen in order for them to be on these great of terms with each other.  The yelling and the hospital, he meant.  If things had been as they usually were when his father came by (just the usual dinner and so forth) Daisuke realized that he probably wouldn't have been spending the whole day with his father.  Miracles do happen from tragedies, he told himself and his faith in him grew much bigger.

    They spent the whole day together, as planned.  His father forgot about work and Daisuke forgot about school.  Heck, he was a pretty good student, it didn't matter too much.  And besides, this occasion was very special.  They enjoyed many things together such as a movie, a game of mini golf (in which Daisuke's father creamed him into next week), lunch at a fancy schmancy gourmet restaurant in the heart of the city, and loads of other 'male bonding' type things.
    As the evening drew near, they were still hitting the town big time, but Daisuke hated to admit he was growing a little sleepy.  Their final destination that night was another restaurant, this one wasn't quite as expensive as the one they had visited for lunch, it was more laid back and cut loose.  An American steakhouse, a pretty rare visit for Daisuke, but apparently, his father had been to places like this more times than he could remember.  They both ordered medium rare fillet minion and savored every bite when it was served to them, basted to pure American west perfection.
    As Daisuke finished it, he nearly inhaled it, it was so good, he remembered something his father had said to him when he first called him on the phone.  'Father,' he said, wiping his mouth on a napkin, 'when you called me that one night, you said that something came up.  I don't think that you ever got to tell me what though.'
    He remembered what his son was talking about, but it looked like he really wished he hadn't, or that that subject had even been brought up again.  He took a quick sip from the tall glass of ice cold milk and looked sheepishly down to the table.  'I feel so guilty for saying it, after all that's happened' but since you asked' he met his son's eyes somberly and made himself continue, 'I got a promotion in my job.  I move up to head executive next week.'
    His eyes blinked sporadically.  He ran his father's words again in his mind and hoped there was something he had missed, especially around the 'promotion' part.  Hoards of emotions flooded him again, but he could not make any sense of them.  All he thought about was the fun day they had spent together and the understanding they had finally come to about things for the first time in his life.  Sadly, he then realized it had all been in vain.  Nodding his head vigorously to try to make himself appear happy for him, he stated, 'That's nice,' and slowly moved on to the mashed potatoes.
    The rest of that dinner was eaten in silence.  Daisuke's father could see how disappointed his son was, but a promotion such as the one entitled to him was a once in a lifetime thing.  He tried to rationalize it that way to make it seem better.  Daisuke thought about it and became very depressed.  He was very happy for his father receiving such an auspicious promotion, but more so, he was sad because he knew a promotion meant no less time at work, meaning no more time with him.
    On the way home, Daisuke fell asleep in the car.  He didn't try to, he was just so exhausted after everything.  When they went inside the house, Daisuke went straight to his room to sleep, even though it was only around 8:00 p.m.  Everyone else welcomed his father home and he thanked them for that and for the flowers.  However, he did have a troubled air about him.  After the others had all gone to bed, his father went to Daisuke's door and lightly opened it.  Daisuke was sound asleep.
    'Son,' he spoke softly and tapped him on the shoulder.
    Daisuke's eyes fluttered open, he was rather miffed to find a spot of his pillow drenched from his drool.  'Father?' he asked, drying his mouth.
    'I'm sorry for waking you, I came to tell you that I'll be gone before you wake up.'
    'You're leaving so soon?' Daisuke asked sorrowfully.
    He nodded, 'I just got a call, they need me back.  I move up to head executive sooner than I thought.'
    Daisuke was quiet for a while and understood what his father said.  'When will I see you again?'
    'I don't know.'  Daisuke didn't like that answer at all, and neither did his father.  But, that's the way things were.  'Until then, keep up what you've been doing.  Goodbye, son.' He walked to the door and quietly shut it behind him.
    Daisuke stared up at the black ceiling and shook his head out of discouragement.  He really thought things had changed, that his father would actually develop an interest in his life.  Hypocrite, he thought bitterly, closing his eyes to sleep once more.  Before he drifted off to sleep again, the final words for his father drifted out of his mouth and into the night air.  'Goodbye, father'

To be continued'