Fantasy Moments in Time

[Zer0]

- Soul Rooms -​

"It's my dream." admitted Kenren, feeling woozy under that charming smile. He looked up adoringly at him after that declaration. "Chenglei, what did I ever do to deserve your love? I feel so lucky, I'm not even a good man, but when you look at me I feel like I'm the only man in the world." The prince smiled on Chenglei's lips. He pulled the swordsman on top of him as they kissed, making his desire known.

Katsuya
The Story | Characters | OOC
​

 

[Katsuya]

-Soul Rooms-​

"Ya brought meh hope. That's more then anybody has ever done for meh." Chenglei whispered then he chuckled, sounding husky and drawled. "Meh only man in meh world." He confirmed, letting Kenren pulled him on top as he gripped on Kenren's leg, making it stay on his waist. Almost growling, he continued to kiss his breathe away, wanting to fall into his desires with his lover. His free hand entangled in Kenren's violet and silky hair. His ash purple eyes gazed into Kenren's before absentmindedly looking to the side...

He broke the kiss, lightly nipping his bottom lip before letting it go as he reached over to the side to grab something. "Hmm. I have something for ya. I keep forgettin' tuh give it tuh ya too..."Chenglei chuckled, smiling. "Yur so distractin' dat I can't even rememba tuh give yur gift."

In Chenglei's hand is the wrapped item Renee brought up a few days ago when they had that talk. Once Kenren unwraps the cloth it will reveal a golden tsuba with images of a carp swimming up a waterfall to transform into a fierce dragon. Beside the tsuba is a golden menuki shaped as three blooming chrysanthemums aligned together.

Chenglei rubbed behind his head and neck, smiling timidly. "Do ya like it?"

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Soul Rooms -​

"How distracting, Chenglei?" smirked the prince, cheekily building up the heat underneath the covers. He smiled at the gift, stopping his teasing and opening it.

When Chenglei asked if he liked it the prince said, "Yes." He lifted the golden chrysanthemums in the sunlight streaking through the window, admiring the design. "You noticed my sword was missing these." he picked up the tsuba. "How do you know me so well, Chenglei?" he chuckled. It seems that giving a gift that suited his tastes the way only someone who knew him well could, made him happy. He placed them carefully on the bedside table, before cupping Chenglei's cheeks. "Thank you." he smiled.

He kissed his cheek, hugging his head close, then drew back just admiring his face. His lips met his again, and those hands ran, down, down , longing for Chenglei to take him hard now.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

-Soul Rooms-​

"Years of being together, that's how." Chenglei responded, panting a bit from Kenren's cheeky teasing.

The blonde's ears and cheeks was turning red, brightening up that Kenren is happy. Pushing his lover down, kissing back as his touches went from gentle and sweet to rough and passionate; still loving all the meanwhile.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- The Third Meeting -
" James Pendragon "​

James' arm had shot out to catch Lydia's back when she slipped. He had chuckled, almost the same way his father did, as he offered to help her up. "Careful, the very shiny bird scales are slippery." he said, pulling her close, then budging up to make space. "This part's more secure." he added, letting her have the front talon to stand on.

Riding the giant whale was like sitting on ground that was dipping up and down, and then barrel rolling to try to get them off. But it seemed that the sky whale gave up and just let them ride on its back in the end. The twins, who had almost fallen off from the barrel rolling kept coaxing it to do it again, but James told them off to stop stomping on its back.

It was enjoyable while it lasted, feeling the wind on the back of a sky whale. Master Howl was true to his word. Just ten minutes only, and the twins complained, but he scooped them up in his wings and they were soon flying past the guards, and back to the flying castle. James showed Johnny some sky whale barnacles and off the two disappeared into his book to try and identify what kind of species they were.

He didn't know Lydia would be leaving early the next morning, and when he woke up the next day he just cheered up, thinking he'll ask her all about her adventure next time they meet again.

* * * *​

Present day in Historia's House . . .

"Lydia, what did happen to that box of things my dad asked you to retrieve last winter?" said James as he blew on his spoonful of pipi shells and mushroom soup.


Katsuya Roleplay Skittle

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

Ever since Renee asked him to train her in improving her manna endurance, his time had been divided into two: helping Lydia in Historia's House from evening till morning, and then coming here to Awashima to train with Renee in the afternoon.

He liked this, bonding with his sister. Most of their times together had either been serious talks or reprimands, so doing something together that made them both happy was a good change. Besides, he missed being like this with her, it's been ages. He and Frey used to help her plot her gardens back in the flying castle and water her plants too.

"That's it, that's good, Renee, keep the stick balanced on the poles." he said. The two of them were hanging upside down from bamboo poles that were being supported by two other bamboos on either end and stuck to the ground, except that bamboo poles weren't touching the two supports. Runes had been carved on them and it was their constant effusion of magic that kept them stuck there and not rolling away causing them to fall.

They had been at it for more than an hour and James was passing the time reading a book: Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth. Apart from keeping the pole balanced, they used their manna to keep their blood flow normal so that they wouldn't need to stop and put themselves the right way up again.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Brother & Sister
-Renee Pendragon-​

Ever since she asked James on improving her manna endurance, Renee kept a busy schedule and made sure to include everything she needed in there. Mornings is her time with Seifer and Sirius, then the early afternoons she trains with Chenglei while teaching him how to transform or compete with Seifer on their archery, then she trains with James, after she checks on Kenren's health she spends the nights with Seifer. Whenever she needed to feed Sirius however is when she breaks the cycle and goes out for hunting...or asks the kitchen staff if they can let her eat a lot and then go feed Sirius.

Boy she got so many stares for saying that too....So many...

This is nice though, spending time with James. He usually goes off training with Echo and Johnny or spends time with Lydia, not that's a bad thing; Renee is happy that James is happy. She just misses spending time with him without the serious talks and reprimands. She missed this. She missed studying and planting together with James and Frey.

She missed him a lot...

Renee huffed, the bridge of her nose scrunched up with her brows furrowed down. Her eyes narrowed as the pole they are hanging from wobbled a bit but she kept it in place, gripping the pole tightly as her knuckles turned white after twenty minutes of concentrating her manna. She gulped before sighing again.

Stupid pole keeps wobbling-!

The Pendragon sister looked over to her brother who's reading a cook book and blinked, curious. "J-James? What are you reading?"

Another wobble. Shoot.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

"Mystery novel." said James, his black hair and feather braid hanging straight down, as he flipped a page. "Finally have a chance to finish it after all these weeks of travelling and work." he showed her the book cover upside down.

He seemed to be in the last chapters, and there was something new. Instead of toilet paper sticking out as a book mark, there was a psychedelic fish book clip that looked like a fish from Chingpo.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Brother & Sister
-Renee Pendragon-​

Renee looked at the book, taking a deep breathe as she concentrated on the wobbly pole again. Her past shoulder length hair cascaded down as the blue bookmark bracelet is tied in a bow around her thin wrist.

"I-I see..."was her wary response. "That's a really cute bookmark too-! Woah-! Ahh-!" Renee clenched her eyes as she pumped her magic out of her panic but it seemed counter productive; instead of keeping it still, the pole shook back and forth enthusiastically.

"Ja-James-! How do I s-Stop thiiiissss-?!" Her wings fluttered in a panic.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

James smiled. "Lydia gave this to me, it's part of a set of fishes." he looked at the bookmark fondly. "Keep calm, it's okay to panic, but get it under control. Panicking makes manna fluctuate and your concentration too. Breathe in and out." he started to do that calmly. "And think of something peaceful. Actually, I'd like to hear about it too."

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Brother & Sister
-Renee Pendragon-​

Renee did her breathing exercises to relax, not opening her eyes at all. There was a blush on her face when her brother mentioned about hearing what makes her calm, but if it will stop this pole to move-

"The twins and you working hard, stomachs full with food and with clean clothes-!" She admitted, trying to breathe calmly. Her face flushed as soon the pole started to stop moving so much. "...Seeing Seifer caring for Sirius...Hearing Serena and Echo and Lydia perform together...Johnny's magic tricks....Chenglei and Kenren sitting together..."

The more she admitted her peaceful thoughts, the pole eventually stopped moving. Renee sighed in relief; her wings fluttered before covering her purple-red cheeks as she peeked over at her brother.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

"You're very caring, Renee." said James, surprised at her answer. "Me and the twins working hard with clean clothes and a belly full of food. You sound like mom." he smiled. "You've really grown up." he leaned over and stretched to reach and ruffled her hair. "Though I don't understand why Chenglei and Kenren sitting together would make you peaceful." he added, thinking.

James was an intelligent person. He may get something wrong, but eventually he's going to figure it out.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Brother & Sister
-Renee Pendragon-​

Renee's cheeks turned into a darker hue, smiling bashfully when James ruffled her hair. "That's the thought I used to summon Mica..." She mumbled before clearing her throat as the pole stopped moving. Her wings stayed over her blushing cheeks.

"They were friends since they were around the twins' age. It just nice to see them be friends again." The winged teen said, giving James a mysterious smile as if she knew something he did not. "I never seen Ken-chan that relaxed before or Chenglei be that calm so...yea...It's nice to think about them."

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

"Oh, like me and Johnny." said James, nodding. "They do seem closer than the rest of his men. I thought it was because he was his best soldier despite his eccentricities. Do you know how Chenglei got to be like that? All . . ." he made flowery gestures around his head.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Brother & Sister
-Renee Pendragon-​

Renee giggled. "Flamboyantly flowery?" Her wings fluttered in mirth.

"He learned it from a carnival group that was passing by. He said it was to help soften up his image." Her wings covered her laughing face. "It seems back then he used to be really scary looking and he didn't like scaring off the women and children he and Ken-chan rescued...so yea...that came to be."

The Pendragon sister swung a bit from her pole, her wings fluttering back to her head before limping down and open.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

"Why were they saving women and children?" said James curiously, tucking his nearly finished book in his belt to listen better.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Brother & Sister
-Renee Pendragon-​

Renee stopped swinging and looked down at the ground, pondering. Then she shook her head. "...Hm...I believe it was because Ken-chan wanted to take his family's part of the Orients back from another family clan; not the emperor's but his mother's family and Chenglei happened to be living in that part too. So he joined in to help Ken-chan."

She looked over at her brother with a bright smile. "It's rather amazing that those two have non-stopped fighting since...and here I thought I was stubborn." Renee laughed quietly. It's also sad that they haven't had a moment's rest to themselves.

"Oh! Um- I remembered that you wanted to learn how to cook, right?" She asked timidly. "Wo-would you like to come with me and shop for the ingredients?"

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

"Yes, that'll help me learn." said James brightly. "Never knew how mom picked the best fish. When are we going?"

Later that week, the eldest Pendragon brother accompanied the eldest Pendragon sister as they strolled through the markets of the floating stone dragon city, and the small clumps of villages on the rice fields below. The rice field farmers offered fresher vegetables and berries not even picked from their plots yet, but could be chosen from.

James had never been to a farmer's market place except for that time in Binks, but the forests surrounding Awashima and this land on the other side of the Storm Wall in general had a more bountiful display of strange crops. Most of which he could identify from Renee's and Echo's notes, though the locals had different names for them.

Sirius wanted to accompany Renee today. He was tired of the same old courtyards and gardens, and wanted to go exploring. His inner hunter was also growing and lately he had been playing hide and seek more as a predator, frightening the servants when he'd suddenly pounce on them. Unfortunately, Mizutsune and Bahamut were too busy with war preparations and training with the other dragons to educate him.

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Brother & Sister
-Renee Pendragon-​

Renee giggled again, wings fluttering happily. "Later in the week. We can go then."

Later in the week, the oldest Pendrgon siblings strolled in the market place with Sirius. When she heard that Mizutsume and Bahamut were too busy preparing, she just sighed and understood. She can't really push it so that week, she went back to studying about baby dragon's behavior. Somehow she should have realized that Sirius would be learning how to hunt by playing really, especially when he's scaring the poor servants back in the Jade palace. She apologized and explained to the servants why he was doing that and didn't mean any harm.

"Remember Sirius, I want you within my eyesight." Renee told her big little one despite that she could probably see him from a long distance because of his size.

So while walking in the market place, the winged teen told James how to pick out the best fish. "Each fish is different so they have different signs of being fresh or not, okay James?" Renee was patient. She let James pick out what he thought was the freshest fish and when he was wrong, she would explain by pointing out the details like 'this fish needs to be firm for it to be fresh.' or 'this fish is actually rotting, James. That yellow color means it's almost fermented.' Then she would laugh in good humor and ask him to pick out another fish; try again until he got it right.

When he does get it right, Renee would kiss his forehead and hug him tight, saying "Yea! That's right!" She even involved Sirius and asked him if he could smell or taste some of the fishes, to see if he could pick out which is fresh and which is not. Whenever he was right, she would snuggle and kiss his fuzzy snout with her wings fluttering happily.

At the rice fields, Renee asked the farmers if she could have two examples of a ripe fruit and rotten one so that James and Sirius can tell the difference. "I know you don't vegetables, sweetie but you need to know these things too. Just in case." She told to Sirius if he ever complained about tasting the vegetables and fruits. Like how her own mother taught it to her when she was younger.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

Sirius nodded at Renee, complete with that ear flapping that mimicked her emoting wings that meant he was excited to go out, to the delight of the servants who reassured Renee that they were alright since he knew how to control his strength unlike most hatchlings that had to be kept away from the city.

Sirius kept within sight as they strolled in the villages, which wasn't really hard give his size, though he probably had to be shrunk to avoid destroying the rice paddies as it was basically mud and Sirius loved playing in the mud, which he rolled over in.

The black hatchling always loved it when his mother showered him with affection, so whenever he got something right and he received a snuggle and a kiss on the snout, he'd flap his ears happily too and give Renee an affectionate lick; James on the other hand gave her a wooden face every time she hugged and kissed his forehead, saying, "I'm not your baby." Though it was accompanied with a smile afterwards and he never stopped her from doing it.

"Renee, I've never seen you this way before." said James interestedly, watching her interact with Sirius. "So, he's not a pet and when you said you're his mother, you meant like a real mother, not pet mother."

He had a basket of fishes in hand, enough for him and the others to practice gutting and descaling, cutting into fillets and deboning. He had also asked Renee to teach him how to pick fresh meat and how to tell if some fruits are ripe. He didn't know a lot of these exotic ingredients and something that looks fresh could actually be not-ripe-yet or past its prime.

He used to help his mother carry groceries with his other siblings, but he never paid attention to these things. Now it was him and his sister, and her son who is a dragon --- something James had trouble wrapping his head around on because babies are human and anything otherwise was a pet unless it was humanoid, but he didn't have to understand it. Renee loves him, he makes her happy, and honestly the hatchling was growing on him too.

He was affectionate, just like his sister ,and opened up to James after he read to him a portion of one of his mystery novels. It felt nice, reading to the little big fellow. James was getting used to this whole mind-talking which was how the dragons communicated in their dragon forms, a baby was quite different from an adult because their thoughts were always on full blast.

As they walked, James could not help but muse on old times. "Remember Markl would always say he hates potatoes and fish whenever mom went shopping and she'd just say, 'Pay up'? And also when we were little, me, Sen and Seth used to hold on to her hand or her dress really tight so that we don't get lost in the crowd?"

Katsuya

 

[Katsuya]

Brother & Sister
-Renee Pendragon-​

Renee looked at James when he commented about her being a mom with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I meant by real mother. For goodness sake James, I was there when he hatched and I took care of him with Seifer out in the wilderness. Why on Earth would you think that I meant ...'Pet mom'?" The way she said that last part sounded like she was disgusted by it, like it was the bane of her existence. Then she smiled warmly as she looked at her dragon baby who's near the rice paddies.

"Is it weird? Seeing me like this, James? I hope you know that I'm not gonna change that part of me- Ah!" Renee's wings flapped in worry when Sirius jumped in the rice paddies. "Wait, my little Twinkle-! Let Mama shrink you first and then you can play, okay?!" Once she cast her spell on him, now the size of a small child, the Pendragon sister sighed as she crouched down at the edge of the rice paddies to watch over Sirius as he played around. Her wings fluttering calmly.

"Anyways...thank you for carrying the basket, big brother." She stood up straight to kiss his forehead again, not caring what he told her before. Then again she never believed it since he didn't stop her or try to.

As Sirius was playing around, Renee explained the fruits part first since they were closer and when they see meat at the butchers; that's when she explained about the different types of styles the butchers might do to the meat, like smoking or aging. Since James wanted fresh meat however, she pointed at the ones that had the best marbling and meat grade for each type of meat.

While it was funny to see James be a bit tense over her son's mental link, Renee is happy to see James bonding with Sirius. To even read a book to him, the scene itself warmed her heart and couldn't help but comment that he's becoming a good uncle...

Of course she was blushing red when she said that, smiling widely and looking silly about it.

When James mentioned about their mother and how they were as kids, Renee laughed quietly with a nostalgic smile. She was holding Sirius' paw as they walked, making sure to go slow should he ever stumble and needed to right himself up again. She wiped the mud off of him before they left the rice paddies with her dress tunic, not caring much about dirtying it. She didn't want his fur to get clumped together with mud.

"Oh yea, I remember that.... I remember that I would hide under mom's skirt when we went out shopping too. Goodness..."

Then she laughed. "Remember that one time I tripped and fell on mom's legs and she dropped the fish on Markl? Heheh! He couldn't get rid of the fishy smell for a whole day."

Renee squeezed Sirius' paw meaningfully, silently asking him if he wants to be carried or if he's okay walking.

Zer0

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-The Third Meeting-
​

Lydia accepted James' help graciously, albeit bashfully, her gaze drifting away from him and back again multiple times, her cheeks still flushed, "o-oh... um.. yes... th-thank you," she stood where James directed, offering him a sincere smile.

With all of the abrupt motions that the sky whale was making, Lydia just hoped that the guards wouldn't notice the erratic behavior and didn't leave Howl's leg, even after the whale calmed. This was definitely a memory she would cherish forever and she wore a happy smile as they flew back to the castle.

Lydia spent the rest of the evening after their viewing of the sky whales was done preparing for her trip the next day as well as in the back of her mind plotting out what sort of prank she'd leave for the twins. She paid them back by leaving a relatively obviously prank for them to discover while rigging up one of their inventions to backfire and spray oil on them. Lydia was smart after all, and she read a lot of books so learning a simple trick of sabotage definitely wasn't beyond her.

Zer0 Katsuya

* * * *
​

"Historia... what exactly is a pipi shell?" Lydia asked as she held one of the objects in question on her spoon, her spectacles on as she eyed it through the glass.

She lowered her spoon as James asked about the package Howl had sent her to retrieve, obviously in thought, "oooh..." she said in wonder, "it's really been a year...?" She smiled slightly as she thought back on the year before shaking her head, "I had it with me when I finally got back to the castle and I put it in your father's library when I unpacked my bag."

There wouldn't have been room for her to bring it with her when they left the castle and she decided it would be safe with Master Howl's things.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- The Third Meeting -
" James Pendragon "​

Present day in Historia's House . . .

"It is a mollusk." said Historia, holding up one from her bowl. It was a small clam, with a smooth shell, off white and light pink in color with purple inside. " It's the common clam in these beaches, also known as Donax deltoides, Goolwa Cockle, and sea birds like eating it. I personally find it makes good fish bait." she popped it in her mouth and ate shell and all.

James just watched her amused and interested, before turning to Lydia. " So it was a mission accomplished." he said, scooping up a pipi in his mouth then putting the shell aside on a napkin when he was done. How was it? I heard from mom that dad didn't give you enough money and told you to stow away with gypsies."

Spoiler: Pipi Shell

Roleplay Skittle

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

"No, not strange." said James immediately, hearing the disgust in Renee's tone. "You just seem so grown up compared to last time when we were in the grove with the wooden ladies. Good grown up." he reassured her. "And I'm just not used to having a dragon as a nephew." he added as Sirius bolted away again, eager to explore the market with all its different types of food.

As James learned about fruits and meat, which was similar to picking fresh potions ingredients, he chuckled as they reminisced. "Fish smell is smelly." he wrinkled his nose. "I thought it'd be mom teaching me these things as I grow up. Thanks, Renee, this'll help me when Lydia and I are living together. Mom was always so busy with housework and me and Lydia are usually busy people, so this'll lighten the load on her much."

James had always been of the mind that household duties apart from keeping his own room clean and washing the dishes every now and then was a woman's job. That was always their mom's job, though his dad cooked every now and then. That sort of arrangement was alright since Sophie was a housewife, but Lydia will probably be working, maybe as a researcher or a spell weaver, so he'd have to do cooking, shopping, and other chores too.

Katsuya


Katsuya

 

[Roleplay Skittle]

-The Third Meeting-
​

Lydia listened with interest as Historia explained what a pipi shell was, her fingertips grasping the frame of her glasses around one of the lenses and lifting them studiously, her bright green eyes large with curiosity before she nodded slightly and looked back at her spoon, though she would wince slightly as Historia ate the whole thing, laughing before lowering her spoon and removing her glasses, "you know, where I am from we eat snails... but we don't eat the shells," she carefully took a knife and slipped it in the shell, twisting it to pry the shell open and used a spoon to scoop the innards before doing as James had and setting the shell aside on a napkin and tasting the flesh of the mollusk thoughtfully.

While she was chewing, she nodded to James, swallowing before responding, "of course! I wouldn't have gone back to the castle if it hadn't been!" It may have taken her up until then, but she was going to retrieve that package and bring it back before she had returned. She had been scooping up another spoonful of the soup, this time with a mushroom, but she paused and looked to James, "well... it was unlike anything I'd ever set out to do before... never in my life had I ever had to stow away... but the gypsies were pleasant enough.. I told stories to their children and they taught me to make bracelets."

She laughed slightly and shook her head, "the main problem was not accepting anything they offered me to eat."

Zer0

 

[Katsuya]

Brother & Sister
-Renee Pendragon-
​

Renee blinked at James for a moment then her watchful eyes looked over where she spotted Sirius exploring the market; James can see that she's really happy from what he said but is trying to contain it with the way she's fidgeting her foot on the ground a bit, swaying in place. Her wings were flapping excitedly with a bright red blush on her cheeks and face.

"It's okay...I'm still trying to accept the fact that I'm his mother now..."Renee mumbled, smiling warmly at him before looking back at Sirius who's sniffing around. She understands that feeling all too well, accepting something new...

Then again she's getting used to the most weirdest of things happening to her so a baby dragon calling her 'Mama' is definitely not the worst or weirdest moment in her life.

She finds it as a blessing. "My little Twinkle, stay close okay? I want to see you."

Surprised Renee looked at her brother again when he mentioned about living with Lydia before smiling widely. "Of course! Just let me know when you want to go out shopping together again- Actually why don't you make that as a thing you and Lydia do together? Going out for shopping I mean." It's an idea.

"Sooo~ ... did you and Lydia already talk about living together?" Renee asked curiously.

Zer0

 

[Zer0]

- The Third Meeting -
" James Pendragon "​

"That --- munch, munch --- is fascinating!" said Historia curiously, between loud crunches. "Do tell me about that culture --- munch, munch --- and how they are cooked later, Lydia."

"Snails can be eaten?" said James, making a sour face. "Gross. What do they taste like?" he said momentarily putting his questions about her adventure on hold.

Roleplay Skittle

- Brother & Sister -
" James Pendragon "​

"Oh, already looking forward to that." said James, rubbing his neck and grinning bashfully. "We went shopping together once in Chingpo, before we visited one of the underwater districts. It was great." he said warmly, as he looked up fondly at the sky, his stride turning into a bouncy gait.

At Renee's question, he was startled and even more embarrassed, his ears turning red. "No, you mean marriage? Well . . ." he remembered their walk on the seaside cliffs behind Historia's house, and his grin became more goofy and happier. " . . . in passing." he didn't speak for a while, just walking absentmindedly in his happy thoughts. "It makes me happy, thinking of a life together with her. I'd get to hug her a lot, share an umbrella when it's raining while walking from the market, just stay at home talking when it's hot, wake up to that plump-cheek-smile in the mornings, watch the sun rise up until our coffee mugs are empty . . . have a daughter . . . and a son so that our daughter won't be lonely. By the way, don't tell her this, Renee, I want to be the one to tell her first about this."

Katsuya