After Story: Determination

Epilogue: Nii-san

"Thanks, Nii-san," Hiroki said as we got up from the park bench. "Now I know what I need to do. It won't be easy to talk to Mom and Dad about this, but..."

"Just remember that your name means 'abundant strength' and I think you'll be fine," I told him as I clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Besides, I believe in you."

The high-schooler seemed to suddenly receive a surge of confidence. "Yeah...Yeah! I can do this!"

I chuckled to myself as he headed for home - looking cool the whole way, of course - and I plopped back down on the bench to wait for my next 'kid sibling' and thought back on the last few years...

Tomoyo had surprised me when she took me back as easily as she did, though I did suspect that she would. While we got reacquainted I continued to receive visits from students, mainly from the industrial high school; apparently Shiro had worked overtime, telling other kids about me, so I ended up with a lot of traffic going through the recycle shop.

Under Pastor Jeff's guidance I discovered a 'gift' for helping others through their problems, though in hindsight I'd already had a hint of that due to my interactions with Shiro and, later, Tanaka. With this discovery, Kotomi realized that she could no longer help me; she understood human dynamics from an academic standpoint, but the practical side of it was way beyond her, so she introduced me to some of her parents' connections in America, people who specialized in psychology and counseling. While I couldn't afford to travel to America to study, we were able to work things out so I could still learn, using the computer that Takafumi had given me along with a stable internet connection. I had to learn a lot about technology in a relatively short amount of time, but my childhood friend along with my wife's kid brother helped square me away.

"Onii-chan?"

I turned, half-expecting to see a short girl with twin tails for some reason, and saw my next 'sibling'. "Hey, Mitsuki; glad you could make it." Tachibana Mitsuki was one of the few girls who took advantage of my 'Nii-san' program, and the only one comfortable enough with me to call me 'Onii-chan'. When I let Tomoyo know that I was someone's 'onii-chan' she simply chuckled as she rubbed her pregnant tummy, so I figured it was fine.

We chatted for a bit about her progress; she had come from a rough family, with a father who was fighting alcoholism and an overworked mother who had been keeping the family together for the last few years. Being an only child, she really didn't have anyone to reach out to confide in about her trouble and stresses. At least until I came along.

"...so he's doing a lot better," she finished. "He's meeting with a leader of a nearby temple...called 'God's Glory' or something like that."

"I know the pastor of that church," I said, certain that the twinkle in my heart showed in my eyes. "Pastor Jeff Ashton. Call him whatever you want-"

"...as long as it's not a profanity," she finished with me, and we laughed together. "That was one of the first things he said to Daddy when we first met him."

"'Daddy', huh?" I noted. "Is this a promotion?"

"I guess it would be," she said as she knotted her fingers nervously. "I just...feel a lot closer to him than I used to. I guess it's easier when he isn't throwing things."

"I could see that being an issue," I said with a wry smile. "My dad and I used to fight pretty much every day."

"You don't anymore?"

"Nope. After I moved out on my own, our fight kinda lost steam so we apologized and went out to lunch."

"Was it really that easy?" She was almost on the edge of her seat, and I had to suppress a chuckle.