A Song to Come Home to

Chapter Five

Rei passes Fuyumi once, twice and then three times. Her thumbs are rubbing over the aged photo with a gentleness that only a mother can know. She glances to her daughter and can't deny the feeling that something is off. Fuyumi always comes to visit with Natsuo, they had always come together for the past ten years. To suddenly see Fuyumi alone makes Rei uneasy.

"Mom," Fuyumi starts as she stands up- taking her wrist and guiding Rei back to the chair. "I promise Natsuo is coming, he just got a little held up at the hospital." Rei's eyes search Fuyumi's, but eventually sighs and gives a small nod. She accepts what Fuyumi says and glances back down to the picture of Touya.

"Have you seen him yet?" She quietly asks, still not looking from Touya. Ever since she had learned who Touya had become, she had refused to forgive herself. Every night since, Rei had gone over in her head what she should and could have done differently. It's a mother's duty to protect her children. She should've been stronger and braver in the face of her fear, because at the end of the day- her greatest fear is losing her children. One of which, she had lost.

"I-" Fuyumi shifts, Rei watches her daughter nervously wring her hands together. "No. I haven't. They're not..." Fuyumi trails off, looking out the window with an unreadable expression. After a long moment of silence, Rei comes to the conclusion that her daughter isn't going to finish that sentence.

Before she has a chance to say anything, Natsuo bursts through the doors. Both Rei and Fuyumi look up at him, startled. Immediately, Rei can see the bags underneath her son's eyes and how haggard he looks. Stifling a yawn, Natsuo hangs up his jacket and takes his usual seat next to Fuyumi.

"Sorry! It got busy at the hospital." He exclaims, resting his chin against his palm and yawns again.

"Are you not getting enough sleep?" Rei questions. Natsuo blinks owlishly and shrugs as he lets out another yawn.

"It's okay, mom. Things have just been... hectic lately." She raises an eyebrow at that but doesn't push the issue. Fuyumi on the other hand narrows her eyes and crosses her arms.

"Maybe if you didn't always sneak out on the nights you stay at the house; you wouldn't be so tired, Natsu." Fuyumi pipes up and Natsuo immediately pales, looking to Fuyumi with large eyes. Rei still stays silent, she decides to stay out of it for the time being.

"I- what?"

"Honestly, you're not very subtle. I can hear you stomping around from across the house. It's almost as if you want to get caught sneaking out to parties or whatever." Fuyumi continues on and Rei only gets more curious when Natsuo suddenly looks relieved.

"Right. Well, y'know Yumi, this is my last year at the university. I gotta make up for all those nights I spent studying." Natsuo waves off Fuymi with a lopsided grin, making Rei smile. Even if he's staying up too late, she's glad that he's getting out to spend time with people his own age. She knows that he has a good head on his shoulders and wouldn't get up to anything too bad. Fuyumi and Natsuo were always the ones to follow by the rules when they had been children; Rei can only assume that they're still like that. She can't see either of them doing anything bad. Natsuo likes to rebel once in a while but it's never been anything major. At least from the stories that Fuyumi had told her.

"Just please be more quiet." Fuyumi adds. "And don't do anything stupid."

"You're acting like I'm going to die or something." Natsuo lets out a laugh. "I'm fine Yumi. I just wanna live a little before I settle down, okay? Look, even mom is fine with it- right?" He turns to face Rei and she hesitates.

Is she okay with her son sneaking out in the middle of the night to apparently party? No. Not in the slightest. Can she do anything about it? Again, no. Natsuo is an adult and even if she would say that she's not okay with it, he's so incredibly headstrong that he'll probably go out twice as much if she tries to govern his life. Rei takes in a deep breath. She wants him to be happy, she wants all of her children to be happy. At Natsuo's age, she had already been engaged and her life had already been set in place. He deserves to do whatever, they all do.