Chapter 2

Laying on the top bed of his bunk bed that had been a gift from his mother, Kenji stared at the ceiling that was speckled with glow in the dark stars. Warm, dark green blankets and plaid flannel sheets were tucked to his chin. Two squishy pillows were behind his head, one of them was in the shape of a star. Kenji clutched onto the large, dark brown, teddy bear Touma had given him for his third birthday.

He was scared, he had never seen his father cry so much in his short life. The young boy had come to the conclusion that Touma was sick, that was the only explanation. Getting out of his warm bed, hauling his bear with him and climbing down the small ladder at the side of the bed, he left his room. He went through the dark hallway of the apartment and stopped in front of the door to his papa�s room. Reaching up, he twisted the doorknob and pushed forward. Walking into the master bedroom of the apartment, he tiptoed over to the bed and peered over the edge. It looked like not even an extra loud alarm clock could wake Touma up at the moment.

Getting onto the bed next to his papa, Kenji watched him sleep, he had decided that he should watch over his father for the night. He was afraid that if he left Touma alone, then his papa would disappear or might even die. He had heard that people could die when they�re very sick and that frightened him. If his father was sick, Kenji didn�t know how to help him, except for that red, �cherry flavored�, yucky tasting medicine that he had to take when he was sick, it would make him feel better though. If it worked for him, then it had to work for his father.

The only problem was that Touma kept it on a high shelf, even on a chair, Kenji couldn�t reach it, if push came to shove, he�d find a way. Every now and then, he�d press his cheek against Touma�s forehead, making sure that it was still cool and not hot, that was a sign of fever, or so his mother had told him before. After adjusting the heavy blankets around his papa, he crawled under them. Kenji was almost asleep when he heard the phone ringing. Sitting up, he reached over to the night stand where the phone in Touma�s room was.

�Hello?�

On the other side of the line, Seiji was surprised to hear the voice of child answer the phone. �May I please speak to Hashiba Touma?�

Kenji looked over at his papa and was certain that it would be better if he let him sleep. �Papa is sleepin, I think he�s sick, so he needs rest now, he can talk to ya later when he�s better. You can talk to me if ya want. I�m Hashiba Kenji, you can call me Ken. Who�re you? Are ya from Papa�s work? If you are, then leave him alone, he work too much for you. Or are ya one of his friends?�

Seiji almost dropped the phone. Touma was a father? Shin never told him this. Was Touma a happily married man now? And was he sick? How sick was he? It wasn�t even nine, if Touma was sleeping now, then he must not be feeling well. �I�m Date Seiji, I�m one of your father�s friends. How sick is he? Is Touma all right?�

�I don�t know, he came home from dinner with Momma and was crying. I think Momma might�ve made him sick or she might�ve upset him a lot.�

Seiji felt a little bit relieved, he didn�t like the thought of Touma ill. If he had been weeping, then Kenji�s mother must�ve hurt him. �Do you think I could speak to your mother then?�

�Momma doesn�t live here, Papa says it would be better for me if she didn�t. You should come over to play with Papa, I think he needs some company when I�m at school. You could come over tomorrow, Papa works at home, so it should be okay.� Kenji grew hopeful, he was sure that all his papa needed was a friend, then he�d be happy all the time.

�I . . . I think I should talk to your father first.�

�It would be good if you had permission to come over first. I need permission for a lot of things from Papa, with Momma I don�t need permission as much. What do you like to play? Papa has cards and sometimes we play. Or do you like legos? We have a lot of those. I have some race cars that�re fun to play with. And I�m learning to play chess.�

Seiji laughed softly. �I like to play chess and when I was younger I used to play with race cars too.�

�Cool! You have to see mine! Papa doesn�t like to play with them as much as legos. Uh-oh, it�s nine o�clock, it�s my bedtime, I have to go to bed or I might get in trouble.�

�All right, I wouldn�t want you to get into any trouble. Could you tell your father for me that Seiji called and to have him call me back on my cell phone number? I�m sure he has my number.�

�Okay. Buh-bye, Seiji.�

�Bye, Kenji, good night.�

Kenji hung up and laid back down to go to sleep. He had to smile, he knew that if he could get his papa�s friend to come over and play with Papa, then Touma would always be happy and he wouldn�t cry again. Pushing the large teddy bear to the side, he wrapped his arms around Touma�s shoulders and pressed his face in his in the pillow before drifting off to sleep.

Touma woke up with a warm, small body curled up against him. It wasn�t the first time Kenji had sneaked into his room in the middle of the night, most of the time it was because of nightmares. Carefully getting out of bed, he slipped the teddy bear in his place, right away, his son put his arms around the soft, spongy body of the bear and mumbled in his sleep.

Quietly grabbing some clothes, he took a shower, then went into the kitchen and started to make breakfast. Scrambled eggs, toast and bacon was on the menu for the morning, personally, he didn�t care for most western foods, Kenji loved it. Breakfast foods were actually pretty good, the rest Touma could pass on.

By the time Touma was setting the breakfast bar, Kenji shuffled into the kitchen, his teddy bear in tow. Climbing on one of the stools, he placed his bear on the seat next to him and watched as Touma put a plate in front of him, served him his breakfast and put some butter and homemade strawberry jam to the side.

�What do you want to drink, Ken?�

�Orange juice, please.�

Touma peeked into the refrigerator, �Sorry, we�re out, we still have some apple juice, if you want.�

Kenji appeared to be in deep thought, it was a tough decision, did he want apple juice? Or perhaps he wanted milk. After a minute of pondering, he decided on milk and made his request. Then a thought came to him, �Papa, your friend called last night, you were sleepin, so I took a message.�

Touma looked slightly confused, Shu, Shin, Mizu and Nausti were all out of the country, they wouldn�t call unless it was an emergency. �I really don�t know who would be calling me now. Did they tell you who they were?�

�He said his name was . . . um, Seiji.�

The glass in Touma�s hand slipped from his grasp and shattered into hundreds of pieces on the floor. His face paled, he didn�t know if he had heard right. Seiji had called HIM and he was asleep and missed the call. Possibly the only person he would ever truly love with all of his heart, body and soul, had called him and he was asleep. Of all the bad luck in the world, his had to be the worst.

�Papa?�

Kenji�s voice brought him back to reality. �I . . . I�m just surprised, I haven�t heard from him for a long time.� Kneeling down, he started picking up the large shards of glass off the sea-blue, tiled floor.

�He said to call his cell phone and that you have the number. You should call him and have him come over and play.�

�I�ll, I�ll have to call him later.� Touma grabbed the broom, swept up all the tiny pieces of the glass into the dustpan and threw them away. Going to the cupboard, he took out another cup, filled it up with nonfat milk and gave it to Kenji. �It would be nice to see Seiji again,� he added softly. He sat down across from Kenji at the breakfast bar and filled his plate. �Kenji, I have to talk to you about something.� Kenji looked up from his meal, Touma didn�t know how to bring this up, he had to tell his son sometime. �Your mother, she�s getting married to Matsuji.�

�Does that mean she�s goin to live with him, not us?� Kenji asked sadly.

�It does.� Touma hated seeing the disappointed look on his young son�s face. �You know how you wanted to have both parents at home, like other kids?�

�Yeah,� Kenji was getting confused again, he wasn�t sure what his father was trying to say to him.

�How would you . . . Would you like to live with Momma and Matsuji instead of just me?�

Kenji�s eyes watered up and his bottom lip began to tremble. �You don�t want me around? You don�t love me anymore?�

�Please don�t say that, I�ll always love you! No matter what.� Touma went around the bar and hugged Kenji. �If you�d be happier living with your momma and Matsuji, th-then you can, only if you want. I�ll always want you to live with me, but you only have to stay if you want.�

�No! I don�t like Matsuji. He tries to act like you and be all nice, but he�ll never be you. I wanna live here with you, I like it here. I don�t wanna leave, Papa.� Kenji buried his face in his father�s shirt.

Touma closed his eyes and smiled, �Then you don�t have to go anywhere.�

<<>><<>><<>>

Picking at his breakfast, Seiji found himself too distracted to eat. He had called room service for his breakfast, he wasn�t in the mood to go out for his meal. The food was good, he just had too much on his mind. Sitting at the table, he tapped the tip of one of his chopsticks against his plate as he gazed out the window in deep thought.

That little boy he had talked to last night, that was Touma�s son. From over the phone, the boy sounded much like a younger version of Touma, the boy probably looked like a younger version of Touma too. Seiji could imagine a tiny version of Touma, about three to five years old, with black wire reading glasses, similar to the ones that the archer wore, and his nose stuck in a book that a ten year old should be reading. Also very curious and mischievous, a handful for Touma. If that boy was anything like his father, then his old friend would positively have his hands full. With that image in his head, Seiji had to chuckle.

It was still a great shock to him that the archer was a father now. He didn�t think that the others knew, or then Shin�s wife, Mizu, would talk endlessly about the boy. She and Shin had been trying to have a baby without any success and Mizu would always fuss over a friend�s child. He wondered why Touma didn�t tell anyone about his son, it would be a joyous occasion that anyone would like to share with their friends, Seiji knew he would tell everyone. Then again, Touma was a very private person. From what he had gotten from Kenji, the mother didn�t live at home, so Touma was probably divorced. It was strangely very similar to Touma�s own childhood.

�Except Touma would never become a drunk and abuse his son,� Seiji said to himself. Touma could change all he wanted, but Seiji knew that the archer would never raise his hand against his son. No matter how hard things got, the bearer of Tenku wouldn�t ever be able to even lightly slap someone he cares for.

Giving up on breakfast, Seiji got up and checked his watch, he was supposed to meet his mother in the park that morning in half an hour. He had called home after calling Touma�s apartment, just to let them know where he was staying at. These days, he had a bit of a rocky relationship with his family, they didn�t like that he had been living with another man.

Leaving the hotel room, he drove down to the park nearby the house he had shared with Ryo. Seiji was a little confused that his mother would drive all that way to see him. When he was at the small park, he sat down in one of the benches, looking at the pond in front of him, his mind wandering again.

What was it like for Touma being a single parent? Did Kenji live with his father for most of the time? And what did this boy�s mother do to make Touma cry? Seiji rarely saw Touma cry, even when they broke up, he had only heard Touma sobbing through the door and he wasn�t sure if he was crying or not. If he had told Touma that he had cheated on him with one of their best friends, then he probably would�ve gotten more of a reaction from the archer, that wasn�t what he was aiming for though. It was most likely for the best that he didn�t tell Touma, it was hard enough breaking up with him.

Touma had no one to turn to, he had no one to talk to about what he was feeling. Sure, Shin, Shu and Nausti wouldn�t have minded listening to a friend in need, but Touma was too stubborn to talk about that kind of stuff to them. He used to go to Seiji for those kinds of things. It did make Seiji feel bad, while he was laying in Ryo�s arms, Touma had no one, he had a cold, empty bed to go to at nights when Seiji had Ryo to snuggle up to. Touma never did like the cold, during the winter months they were together, the archer had always nestled against him, saying that he was the only thing that kept him warm.

They did have some good times when they were a couple, however not all of it was good. Much of the time Touma was up in their room, studding, never wanting to be bothered. All the passion that he had shown in the early months of the relationship quickly faded away and it was like they had never became a couple. After six months of the relationship, everything seemed to come apart in their lives.

He remembered the day that Touma left like it was yesterday. It was a nice day, only partly cloudy, unusually warm for the season. The archer was trying to sneak out, everyone knew that he was leaving, but they had all been told that it would be the next day.

Nausti and Shu were at the grocery store, Shin was still at Mizu�s house and Ryo was at work. Seiji had been napping when he heard someone open the door to his bedroom. He�d never forget the downhearted look on Touma�s face as he glanced into the room. The blond could tell that Touma didn�t want to leave, no one wanted him to leave.

�Touma?� Seiji had looked up at the younger boy.

�I�m sorry, I just wanted to see you one more time,� Touma had said under his breath.

�What do you mean? Are you leaving today? You said you were going tomorrow.�

�I don�t want to have to say good-bye to everyone, it�d be too hard.�

�Then I guess I�ll be the only one to see you off.� Touma didn�t reply to that, Seiji got out of his bed and walked the archer down to in front of the mansion where his car was parked. He had embraced Touma tightly and said, �Best of luck to you, Touma. Call us once you�ve settled down.�

�Thanks. I . . . I wanted to say that I�m, I�m going to miss you the most. Goodbye, my friend, I hope you�ll always be happy, where ever life takes you.� Touma whispered those words to Seiji and left.

�Seiji?�

The voice snapped Seiji out of his musings right away, almost startling him. The blond turned his head and grinned slightly, �Hi, Mom.�

Mrs. Date sat down next to her only son, took his hand and squeezed it. �I�m sorry to hear about what happened between you and Ryo, I know you loved him. It�s very hard to get over someone you�ve been with for years. You�ll be able to move on and find someone else later on though.�

�Grandfather is now hoping that it�ll be a nice young lady, that�ll give him a great grandson.�

Mrs. Date chuckled, �That would be nice, but your grandfather is beginning to understand that your happiness is more important than you having children and an heir. Even though he was upset when you told us that you were in love with Ryo, your grandfather was always proud of you. Plus, your sister is married and her future son can take over the dojo if he wants. Just always remember what you�ve been taught and I�ll be happy.�

�Thanks,� Seiji smiled sadly. �Right now I have no idea what I�m going to do. I�m still going to teach history at the university and I might get another job, but I don�t know what to do other than that.�

�If you want, you can stay at home, just take off from work and we�ll help you look for a new place.�

�No,� the blond shook his head, �I can�t run home every time I don�t know what to do. I can find a place on my own.�

�You know if you need any help, your family will always be here to support you.�

�I know and I�m thankful for that, Mom. You didn�t come all this way to have a conversation with me that we could�ve had over the phone, so, what did you want to tell me?� Seiji looked over at his mother, waiting patiently.

Mrs. Date sighed, �Your father has been ill off and on as you know, and he wants to see you to get married before he dies and maybe even adopt a child or something like that. He wants to know that you�ve got someone to take care of and love before he goes.�

�He�s not going to die anytime soon,� Seiji assured his mother.

�We�re all hoping for that, he isn�t getting any better though. It seems every year he just gets worse and worse. His doctors don�t know how long he has.�

�I should be at home, I�ve been neglecting my responsibilities as your son,� the blond couldn�t believe how selfish he was being.

�No!� she snapped. �You�ve never neglected your responsibilities as a son and you have to live your own life, we don�t control it. You�ve made a home here, so stay. If you come back home, then you�ll probably end up marrying some girl your grandfather picks and taking over the dojo, and we know that you don�t want that life. Go get yourself an apartment and then come up to visit us, all right?� Mrs. Date gave Seiji a kiss on the cheek in a motherly way. �Oh yeah, before I forget to tell you, I ran into Touma about two weeks ago at a store.�

Seiji took in a sharp breath. �You saw Touma?�

�Yes, he looked very tired and lonely. He mention that he hasn�t seen you in awhile, you should go visit him, since you don�t know what to do. He told me that he�d be happy to see you, perhaps he�d be interested in you.�

�Mom!� Seiji�s cheeks turned red. His mother had no idea that Touma was his first boyfriend, or that they had ever gone out before.

�Well, you never know,� she shrugged. �I have to go, I have some shopping to do. Your sister has found out that her baby is going to be a girl, so I�m going to find something for the baby.�

�I�ll go with you, I should get something for the expecting mother. So, tell me, what else did Touma say? How is he doing?�

<<>><<>><<>>

The apartment was far too quiet for Touma�s liking as he laid on the couch, looking at the ceiling idly. He missed the sound of Kenji talking about his day and the several questions he had to ask. And sitting on the floor, playing with legos, cards or teaching Ken to play chess. Even the silence of the two of them reading in the living room, he missed. Kenji was at a friend�s house, so he was home alone.

There wasn�t anything to do, Touma usually worked at home, but he had finished all of his work while Kenji was at preschool that day. It had surprised him when Kenji asked him if he could go over to a friend�s house. Touma was in his teens when he first went over to a friend�s house, he had to keep on reminding himself that even though his son was a lot like him, they were also very different. Kenji didn�t have a problem with talking to others or making friends, an area that Touma found difficult, even to this day. Other than the guys, Nausti, Mizu and Grace, he didn�t really have any other friends. It was something he was going to have to work on.

It made him feel embarrassed that having his son away made him so lonely. When Ken was away at his mother�s house for weeks, it just about killed Touma. Time seemed to go by too slow. All the extra time by himself made him think and most of the time his thoughts would go back to Seiji.

Those nights he�d hardly get any sleep and he wouldn�t be able to eat. Even if he was thinking of the better memories he had of his former lover, it always made him depressed, knowing that those days were long over and would never come back. After about six years, it was time to move on.

//We didn�t even break up when Seiji �moved on�// Touma thought bitterly. //It might be better if I started dating. It�d be good for Ken to have some kind of mother here all the time. Then again, he didn�t like the idea of Matsuji being a father to him too, I don�t think he�d like some lady he hardly knows taking Grace�s place. I can�t stand what my son has to go through. Why did Grace have to ask for custody of him? It�s not like she and Matsuji are home all of the time. I don�t want Ken to be stuck in a daycare or be raised by a nanny. Sure, he has a baby-sitter now and then, but that�s rare, I�m home almost all the time. But . . . maybe Grace doesn�t think I�m a good father and this was the nicest way she could put it in. I�m doing a good job, aren�t I? What if I�m depriving Ken of something? He doesn�t want to leave though and if I send him to live with his mother, then he�ll think that I don�t love him. He�d understand when he�s older, although I don�t want to have to put him through all that.//

Touma fell off the couch as there was a loud knock at the door. Jerking open the door, he was shocked to find Shin and Mizu standing on the other side, their hands laced together. His friends were supposed to be in France for another week and they had never been to the apartment before.

�Shin, Mizu, what�re you two doing here?�

Mizu giggled, �You�re not going to let us in, Tou?�

�Oh, please, come in,� he stepped aside to let them inside. Once they were seated on the couch, he sat down on the chair across from them. �Why aren�t you in France? I thought you had another week.�

�We did,� Shin smiled, �but Mizu got sick.�

Touma glanced at Mizu, she had a big smile and she didn�t show any signs of sickness. �She looks fine to me.�

�We went to the doctor and found out that she was pregnant.�

Touma stood up and went right to Mizu, who was beaming brightly, and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a big hug. �You�ve been waiting so long for this, I�m so happy for you!� He turned to Shin and gave him a hug as well. �I knew it would only be matter of time. How long till the baby is due?�

�About- Mizu, what�re you looking at?� Shin had noticed that his wife had been staring at something on the bookshelf.

Mizu went over to the bookshelf and picked up a silver picture frame. �Tou, is this your son? He looks a lot like you.�

�What!?� Shin sprang up and looked at the picture she was holding. It was of Touma and a young boy who looked startling a lot like the archer, except his eyes were a silvery violet. �Touma, do you have a kid?�

Touma blushed, �His name is Kenji, he�s four now.�

�You�ve had a child for four years and you never told us!� Shin cried, he refused to accept that Touma would keep such a thing from them.

His eyes looked down at the carpeted floor. �I . . . I felt guilty. You two have been trying to have a child for such a long time and Kenji, he . . . he wasn�t exactly planned. It was dumb of me to keep that from you, I just didn�t want to make you upset, it would�ve been very selfish of me.�

�Tou, he�s beautiful, I wish I could�ve seen him when he was a baby. Oh, we could�ve baby-sat, Shin, then we would�ve had some practice. You have to let us baby-sit for you, I bet he�s just as smart as you are. Who�s the mother? Is it anyone we know? Does anyone else know about your kid, or has it always been a secret? Does Kenji live here? Is he home? I want to meet him,� Mizu rambled on excitedly.

Sitting back down in his chair, Touma ran his hand through his hair, regretting that he never told Shin and Mizu or anyone about Ken. He answered all of their anxious questions for thirty minutes straight. When they were finally happy with the answers they got, they talked about the names they were thinking about for their baby and that they might move into a larger house. Mizu had tried to call Nausti and Shu in China, she couldn�t get a hold of those two though. Shin and Mizu had already stopped by Ryo�s to tell him the news.

�Did you know that Ryo and Seiji just broke up a day ago?� asked Mizu.

�They did!?� Touma just about flipped out. Those two had been together for such a long time, he thought that they�d be a couple forever. A little bit of Touma was happy, since Seiji was single now, most of him felt sad though. Now Seiji and Ryo had to adjust to separate lives, that was a difficult thing, Touma was still trying to get used to it.

�They were fighting a lot lately and I guess Seiji got tired of it,� Shin shook his head sadly. �It�s a real shame, it�s always hard when two people who�re in love break up. Ryo looked like he didn�t get any sleep when we saw him, though he insists that he�s fine. I can only wonder how Seiji is doing. We tried calling him at the hotel he�s staying at, but we couldn�t get a hold of him.�

�He called me last night and left a message with my son, I guess I should call him,� Touma stated softly.

�You guys haven�t talked for like six years!� exclaimed Mizu.

�Yeah, it�s about time that we started talking again though. We were best friends and who says it�s too late to rekindle an old friendship? I�d like to see him again, I miss him.�

�Oooooh!� Mizu�s eyes began to shine. �You�re still in love with him!�

Shin was very embarrassed, �Mizu!�

�It�s true, look! He�s blushing!�

Touma fidgeted in his seat, he didn�t want to talk about this. As by magic, there was someone knocking again. Rushing over to the door, he was happy to see Kenji and his friend�s mother standing there.

�Thank you for letting Ken stay over at your house for the afternoon. I hope he wasn�t too much trouble,� Touma smiled.

�It�s no problem, he was very good, Mr. Hashiba. See you later, Ken,� then the woman went back down the hallway.

�Come on, Ken, we have company.�

�Is it Seiji?� Ken asked.

�No, but it�s some of my other friends.�

�Oh my god, Tou! He�s so adorable!�

�Papa? Can I go to bed now?�

�I�m very sorry, son, you have to stay up just a little bit longer. I�ll make it up to you tomorrow.�

<<>><<>><<>>

Flopping down on the bed in the hotel room, Seiji kicked off his shoes and got comfortable. It wasn�t that great of an idea to go shopping with his mother. She ended up buying him a few new shirts, pants, socks and even some new underwear, much to his horror. They spent a hell of a lot longer at the mall than he expected, most of it was them just walking and discussing various things.

He was lucky to just get his older sister something. That wasn�t all he got, they had stopped at a bookstore when he noticed a book filled with star charts. Touma was the first thing that came into his mind when he saw it and he had to buy it. Not only did they go to the mall, he also ended up treating his mother to a nice dinner.

Turning onto his side, Seiji had to note how empty the bed seemed. He did miss Ryo, it had only been a day since he left. He wondered how Ryo was fairing at the moment. Was he just as lonely as Seiji? Did he miss the blond? Seiji was sure that he did, they had been together for six years. He found his thoughts drifting over to Touma, pondering about the archer�s life and what he was doing. Lately Touma had been on his mind, more than ever.

Sometime during the night, Seiji fell into a restless asleep and woke up to the sound of someone pounding on the door. Rolling out of bed, he peeked out the peep hole, then quickly yanked open the door. Staring at the person in front of him, he couldn�t say a word. Then he finally found his voice.

�Touma . . .�

<<>>

Hiruma: Yay! The second chapter is done!!!

Trunks: God, compared to the other one, that chapter sucked.

Hiruma: Shut up! Who asked for your opinion!??!!!

Goten: And that wasn�t such a great place to end it at.

Hiruma: It�s called a �cliffhanger�.

Gohan: You�re not very good at this fanfiction writing, are you?

Hiruma: Leave me alone!!!!!!!

Seiji: How come there isn�t a title to this yet? I saw the suggestions and they were pretty damn good.

Touma: Yeah, I liked all of them. Why haven�t you chosen one yet?

Hiruma: I can�t choose!!!! And thank you to all the people who suggested titles, I have yet to pick one -_-

Gohan: Tell Hiruma what you think! Or she�ll send Piccolo after you!