Persona 4 Golden: Yu and Yukiko's Full and Happy Life 17

Not every weekend was packed full of work, especially not in the early parts of June when people were putting in extra time to take their vacations later. Yukiko used to enjoy every second she got off, but now she wasn't so sure. Every second that someone wasn't in the room was basically a yen down the drain. She'd always sort of known in the back of her mind, but now that she was in a position to overview all the rooms instead of just one at a time, it became a much more prominent thought in her mind. When she expressed her feelings to her mother and grandmother one day, the reaction wasn't quite what she expected.

"You're starting to think like a manager, dear." Sachiko said almost beaming. "Our peace of mind is directly connected with our customers in a way. We ourselves can only be content if we can do the same for a number of others. Why, that's the central philosophy are family has operated under since..."

"While that's true, there will always be days where people would rather work, so don't feel guilty about enjoying yourself. I imagine Chie's probably blowing up your phone right now." She too was smiling at her daughter but hers was a mixture of pride and sympathy, as if she had once wrestled with the same thoughts and feelings before. Sachiko scowled at being interrupted, she had just been about to regale them with a history lesson! "I was just about to tell my granddaughter about the central pillars of the Amagi Inn, now as I was saying..." Yukiko had heard this probably a hundred times by now, but pointing that out never did anything to stop it. Fortunately though, her mother had so graciously provided an out. "O-oh Chie did invite me over now that you mention it but I haven't given her my answer. I should probably go and do that..." Before Sachiko had the chance to continue, Yukiko waddled as fast as she could to her room praying that Chie had indeed texted her.

"Come on in, Yukiko! Hey, Muku! Give her some space why don't you?" But as usual Yukiko didn't seem to mind at all, giggling happily as the dog leaned into her hand for a good scratching. A scratching she happily provided. The only problem came when the big dog rolled over onto his stomach for a belly rub. Yukiko looked at her own stomach and let out a sigh. "Well...alright. But just this once Masamune." She had to crouch by the side of the dog for her arms to properly reach all of him. Luckily the dog had approached her almost immediately, so when she began to feel sore she could use the nearby door to lift herself to her feet. Yukiko let out a little huff of exertion but seemed to be alright much to Chie's relief. She may have been out of shape and very pregnant but she wasn't that helpless just yet. Her friend's book bag had its sash wrapping against her pregnant swell while the sack itself rested against her hip. The brunette wasn't quite sure why Yukiko had brought a book bag but had a pretty good feeling it had to do with studying, letting out a groan inside her head. They had just had an absolutely brutal practice examination session on Friday that she was still recovering from! Turns out she didn't know the material as well as she thought she did.

"Many students have a bad habit of confusing familiarity with knowledge." Yukiko had explained. Chie had just finished gripping about how she had done every single practice problem and still was lost on the actual test. "Well think of it like this...by doing the practice problems you're learning how to drive every road in Inaba while the test asks you how to drive every street in Okina! The principles are the same, but the details are different." When seeing Chie didn't quite get it she put it in a way her friend could more easily digest. "Fighting a training dummy and three human opponents is completely different right?"

"Oh! Oh! Oh! That makes so much sense!"

"Right! I find it helps if you make up questions in your head."

"Isn't that the teacher's job though?" That was one of the only times Chie saw Yukiko get annoyed in their tutoring sessions. "Chie..."

"I know, I know I was just kidding. I can...probably do it." It turned out though that trying to guess what your teacher was going to ask was far more mentally draining than just reworking examples that had already been done in class or by herself in the past. But she could just feel her brain muscles flexing and growing stronger so it made it all worth it.

Speaking of muscle, after Yukiko had pulled herself to her feet she noticed that Chie was grinning ear to ear while flexing her arm in her friend's direction. "Yukiko...check it out! Look, look, look!" The heiress put a finger to her chin in confusion, "oh no did you get another bug bite? This is why you shouldn't do your situps in the grass, Chie."

"What? No! Loooook!" On Chie's insistence, her friend looked closer before letting out a little gasp. "Oh my."

"Yep! An honest to god muscle!" The girl proudly pat the small little bump on her arm and let out a laugh. "I could probably beat Yosuke and Teddie in arm wrestling now. Heck, I'm probably the strongest girl in all of Yasogami!" If Yukiko was being completely honest, it wasn't really all that much and was only visible to her since she'd known Chie for so long. But lately she'd come to understand the appeal of watching your body slowly grow and change week by week even the tiniest bit; her hubby had just taken pictures at her request last night after all!

"And...check this out!" Chie proceeded to lift up the rim of her shirt, showing off a stomach that while not as chiseled as her husband's, definitely had some real tone to it; the beginning of what would one day be a six pack. "Wow, you've really been working hard, Chie. I'm so happy you get to see results, there really is no better feeling."

It took Chie a few seconds to realize what her friend meant before it dawned on her. Yukiko considered her flabby mom body just as well fought as Chie's now toned physique. Before she could make a comment, her mother spoke up first. "Is that Yukiko I hear? Chie has been flexing in front of the mirror all day, if I didn't know any better...I'd think it was for a boy, "

"Yes it's-" but the girl was cut off by Chie putting her hands over her mouth. "It's not for a guy, okay! Sheesh! I just wanted to be in better shape!" Her mother just chuckled in that annoying way she did that let her daughter know she absolutely didn't buy it. "*Mmmmmm*" Yukiko said with a glare and Chie moved her hands before her friend did something mischievous to them.

"Well, never mind that. You must be hungry from the walk over so I made you a little snack. You are eating for two after all."

"Oh Mrs. Satonaka, you didn't have to do that." But despite her assurances, Yukiko had waddled over to the kitchen table and plopped herself down before the words had even left her mouth, immediately taking a bite as soon as she was done talking. Mrs. Satonaka was always happy to see the Amagi girl of course but her smile was a little forced as she watched the once sylph like girl happily eat. She'd always worried it would have been her own daughter who started to pile on weight as her metabolism slowed so when Yukiko started to blow up, it came as quite the surprise indeed.

She had been just as shocked as everyone else that the polite girl who came into her home with perfect manners and poise managed to get herself pregnant at eighteen but after Chie had came to her almost in tears over how her amazing friend had set her up with a job and offered to tutor her, she knew she didn't have to worry one bit about things. It helped that Yukiko was still as polite as ever, eating her food at the table instead of rushing upstairs and eating it on the bed like SOME people.

As usual, Yukiko ate impeccably with no stray crumbs except for around her lips which were quickly dealt with by a dab of a napkin. "Thank you for the meal."

"No trouble at all dear." She took Yukiko's plate before the inn worker tried to wash it on her own. Even though she'd told the girl she didn't need to wash her dishes as a guest, it was like Yukiko just couldn't resist, a fact that got brought up a lot when telling her own daughter to bring down her dishes. Honestly, Mrs. Satonaka had to wonder if perhaps the former apple of everyone's eye rapid expansion had been brought about by her friendship with Chie. Last time she was here, they'd both come in clutching stuffed bellies and stifling belches having just glutted themselves at Aiya's minutes before. It wasn't her place to interfere though, and all she could really do was limit her portion sizes to more reasonable levels while she was under her roof, not that it mattered since she just got bigger and bigger every time she saw her.

"Such a good dog! I just can't get over how big you've grown!" Yukiko cooed over Muku, gently rubbing his face with her fingers when he brushed against her leg. Mrs. Satonaka just smiled, even if she was pushing two hundred, she was still the same sweet girl underneath.

"So...you ready?" Chie asked after a minute or two of waiting.

"Of course! I've been looking forward to this for weeks." Hoisting herself up, Yukiko followed her friend into her room. The second Mrs. Satonaka was out of earshot, a discontent grumble emanated from Yukiko's midsection and she winced. "I know, I know sweetie. Mommy came prepared don't worry." She began digging into her book sack and pulled out a greasy bag filled with steak skewers much to Chie's shock and minor relief that it didn't contain any textbooks. "Uh...?"

"Your mother never gives us enough to eat!" The starving full figured mother complained.

"That's what I've said for years! And it's not like you'll ever be skinny again."

Saying something like that was still a little odd for Chie, but it made Yukiko smile and take a big chomp of a skewer, lazily chewing like the soft cow she was rapidly becoming or maybe already had become. Speaking of which, she noticed that her friend's...udders were a bit deflated compared to how they usually appeared. Catching her staring, Yukiko smiled gently and swallowed her mouthful of meat. "*Gulp* *mmph* Don't worry, hubby just milked me this morning. I'm still making enough." She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world and punctuated the statement with another big slow lazy chomp of a fattening steak skewer. rubbing large lethargic circles into her stomach with her other hand. That hadn't been what Chie was worrying about at all as a matter of fact, but she just shook her head and let it drop happy that her friend seemed to not be bothered by it anymore even if it was...a bit weird.

Yukiko sighed when she entered her friend's room, making Chie giggle. Way back when, she'd actually gotten a little angry when Yukiko pointed out how "dirty" her room was, but nowadays it was more of a playful little joke. The more organized girl would usually make a token effort of picking up a few clothes or taking some dishes now, but today she didn't even bother, instead waddling over to the nearby desk chair and sitting herself down after grabbing a pillow for her back from the nearby bed. Said chair seemed to shudder and strain a bit when she lowered herself into it, though she was nowhere near fat enough to break it, the way it seemed to lower itself was almost like it was struggling a bit. The chair in Kasai's office was the same and sometimes even though it took effort, Yukiko liked to hoist her body up and down just to listen to that creek. In fact, she did the same thing right now. "Having fun?"

"*heehee* A little, yeah. I just like being so big and soft!"

"Yeah, I've noticed. But *uh* maybe go a little easy on the chair you big softy!"

*Ahahahaha* Chie just shook her head, her friend would smile and laugh at the drop of a hat these days, finding some kind of joy in even something as simple as a creaking chair. As if to emphasize her point, she made a noise that was somewhere between a hum and a coo, reaching into her book bag to grab a folder. "*Aw* another pop quiz? Really? I thought we were just going to hang out today!"

"Noooo it's just some pictures of my baby. I thought you might like to see them." Chie allowed herself to relax, and even smiled as Yukiko excitedly gushed about how you could see how strong his little grip was getting. Truthfully, Chie couldn't tell the difference between one ultrasound and another but her friend's enthusiasm was infectious. "You're totally going to be one of those moms who has a camera in their hand 24/7 aren't you?"

"No, because then I wouldn't be able to hold him. Or tend to the guests for that matter." Chie chuckled at her friend's usual obliviousness to sarcasm and poked the paper with a finger. "So how big is the little fella? Cabbage? Eggplant? Melon?"

"Cabbage, and he weighs three whole pounds. And *oh* Chie, he's just so active these days, I can't go a half hour without a hello kick, not to mention all the flutterings. The doctor said I had a clean bill of health again..." With a mighty happy sigh, Yukiko leaned back in her chair and fluttered her eyes dreamily. In Chie's opinion, it made her look rather smug but it was probably unintentional on the mama's part, just a side effect of being completely satisfied.

The newly studious girl tensed up again when Yukiko pulled yet another thing out of her backpack which made the heiress laugh. "Chie, you're so on edge today," she said as she pulled out her purse. "And you've been making so much progress, surely studying isn't so bad once you know how to do it?" Chie gave a noncommittal shrug, "it's not so bad, I just don't really enjoy it. Your pop quizzes help, but geez they're hard."

"Yes but you're learning so much, how could you not enjoy it?" Again Chie just shrugged. "I mean, I'm not going to use most of it, I'm just learning it to pass tests. I'm not like you or Yu or Naoto." She put her arms behind her head and smirked a bit, not seeming the slightest bit ashamed of that fact. "Honestly, I don't think anybody actually enjoys the 'studying' part, when people say they 'love' studying what they really mean is they like what they know after cracking the books right?" Yukiko cocked her head, something about what Chie was saying seemed somewhat familiar but she put it out of her mind and decided to just drop it. There were more important things to discuss after all.

"Actually, I wanted to ask if you had a dress for the wedding reception." The rich girl fingered the lip of her purse, clearly ready to pull out some cash the moment her friend asked for some. Chie was both touched, and a little annoyed at the same time. "Yukiko, I can't have you doing everything for me. I think my parents will spring for one, since I haven't bought one since eighth grade, I've *erm* probably outgrown it by now."

"Well alright. If only we were the same height, then I could give you one of my older dresses. I need to find someone to give them too..." she mused to herself. She couldn't keep all of them after all, she just needed one copy of each, the rest were just taking up space in the closet. "That's okay, they're not really my style anyway. Well actually that old swimsuit of yours isn't bad so if you're not planning on slimming down..." Surprisingly, Yukiko's face turned a little red and she gently shook her head. "Sorry Chie, but I'd like to hang on to that one for...sentimental reasons." Chie looking away in embarrassment only served to make the princess pout. "W-why does your mind immediately jump to such things?! M-maybe I just like to wear old clothes sometimes, m-maybe I want to remember our trip to the beach last year!"

"If you weren't always all over each other..." Chie muttered under her breath, still not meeting Yukiko's eyes. Though to her surprise, Yukiko seemed to calm down and wore an almost concerned expression. People often thought she would be the more prudish of the two, but even before getting pregnant and proceeding to take in her husband almost every night, Chie had always been the more skittish of the two when it came to these things, almost as bad as Naoto in all honesty. "Chie...why does our *erm* intimacy bother you so much?"

"Ahhhh stop stop stop stop!" It was hard enough to keep the thoughts out of her mind normally, Yukiko's fecundity basically announcing to the world "hubby and I have had sex!" She certainly didn't need a spotlight shining down directly on the issue. When she felt it was safe, Chie removed her fingers from her ears. "Look...I just don't like hearing about it okay? Can you respect that?" The more prudish girl already knew the answer as Yukiko would most likely do anything to avoid being rude; and sure enough Yukiko happily nodded. "Alright, I don't want to make you uncomfortable." Chie gave her friend a quick smirk as she fell onto her bed. "Ah it's fine, it's my fault for always being so jumpy. It's not like you're shoving my face in it." That seemed to please Yukiko and Chie was content to move on.

The girthy grazer began to gnaw and munch on her food again yet in a rather dainty manner that belied just how much she was planning to eat. "Everyone grows at their own pace," she mused to her pumpkin. It was so comforting to know that her best friend already had the man of her dreams waiting in the wings to sweep her off her feet, just waiting to help her embrace her proper role...

Yukiko gave her gut a pleased pat as her snacks soothed her appetite and the life growing inside made itself known. "Yes, yes you're sprouting up like a weed...no that's not right, you're too precious to be a weed! You're more like a...lovely sunflower."

"My little sunflower seed..." the mother said aloud.

"What did you say Yukiko? Did you want some sunflower seeds?" Chie asked while fiddling with the DVD player. "No, I don't need anything else right now." Chie got up from her squatting position and stretched one arm across her chest while pulling up with the other. "Thought we could just catch up on Naruko today, I'm still a little sore from my workout earlier." That's when Yukiko noticed her skin had the tell tale pinkish hue of someone who had just hopped into a long shower. Chie carried with her a faint trace of watermelon scent and small traces of moisture, it was clear to Yukiko how her friend got rid of the ache and tension after a torturous exercise routine.

Looking around her room, she noticed all sorts of things that weren't there before. Metal weights, one of those flat chair thingamajigs Yukiko didn't know the name of, the metal ball with the handle on top...some other things she didn't know the name of...

Catching her staring, Chie broke into a grin. "It's my little home gym. It's still a work in progress, but I think it's coming along real nice." To demonstrate, she laid herself down on the beginnings of her squat rack and began to pump the bar. "Saving *hah* up to buy the *hah* plates."

"Chie! You said you were tired, you shouldn't push yourself!" The raven haired girl called out to her friend in distress, who sat up and racked the weight with a perplexed look on her face. "It's just the bar Yukiko. Probably doesn't even weight 40 pounds."

"Are you sure? It looks pretty heavy...oh but you lifted it up so easily too and after you'd already finished for the day. Good job Chie!' The girl gave a little clap for her friend, and while Chie was a little exasperated, she couldn't help but smile widely. "Well you know..." she said bashfully. "all in a day's work."

"I do think staying in today would be for the best. I'm still quite sore from Thursday myself."

Chie smiled sympathetically at her friend, while it was true she thought Yukiko should probably exercise a tad more, she didn't enjoy the way her grandmother acted almost like a drill sergeant about it. Her smarter friend was so patient and gentle when tutoring her, it only seemed fair to Chie the delicate mother got the same consideration when doing something she wasn't suited for, like strenuous exercise...or moving quickly in general.

"*Gulp* *mmph* especially around my thighs with all the squatting grandmother has me doing," Yukiko continued while working her way through what must have been the fifth skewer of that afternoon. The athlete was momentarily concerned but when Yukiko gently traced under her flabby arm and said "luckily I have you to do my old job," she shook her head. It was just her friend being overly lazy again, the only burn she probably felt on a regular basis these days was her thighs rubbing together.

"Well just sit back and relax because it's time to play catch up." That perked Yukiko right up and all thoughts of exercise were banished from her head. "It's certainly been a while, you haven't been watching it without me have you?"

"*Uh* duh of course not! I need you around to explain all the bloodline stuff in the background. Besides, it just adds to the anticipation, we left off on a big cliffhanger last time." As the girls moved into their final year of high school, weeks could go by without having the time to justify walking all the way over to each other's houses to watch an episode of their favorite long running series. But every once in a while, the opportunity would arise to play catchup and they'd get the chance to spend the day nestled comfortably on the bed or in a seat and just enjoy ninja beating the crap out of each other. That's why Chie watched it anyway, Yukiko seemed to have been genuinely suckered into the story of an outcast girl with a demon sealed inside, even getting a bit choked up at points.

Last time they'd left off, the world was on the precipice of a great world war and the villains had actually formed an unlikely alliance against the heroes that was tenuous at best, leading to many a tense scene. All Yukiko knew was that she couldn't wait to see how things concluded, especially with all the old enemies the heroes had defeated in the past being brought back for round two.

The only downside was that the main character had a bit of a mouth on her and quite frequently used words the mother wasn't sure her baby should be hearing. Lots of "damn" "shit" and even the occasional "bastard" it was like if Kanji got to star in his very own show. Come to think of it they were both blonde...

But she was far too invested to quit! So in a move that made her feel a little guilty, she always placed her hands on the side of her belly and murmured for him to cover his ears. Something that always made Chie laugh. "I don't get you Yukiko, you're worried about some cuss words but this is a show where people get impaled and blown up!"

"Well yes, but that's all fake." And that was all she said, like it perfectly explained everything even though it just left her friend more confused. "Honestly...if my son could do half the things they do on the television, well that would just be wonderful wouldn't it?" Chie raised her finger to argue, but then paused in thought. Seeing some kid kicking off of walls and running on water would, in fact, be pretty cool. She'd certainly tried her fair share of the stunts and had the bruises and scratches to prove it, but she had a feeling that her friends' kid would be way more responsible at that age. Actually, with Yu as his dad he might actually be able to pull them off. Yukiko seemed to be thinking the same thing and had a gentle smile on her face, but these days that could be from any number of different things.

"*Ah*" Yukiko gasped out when one of the main characters almost bit it, Chie opting for excited bouncing instead

Finding out last year that Yukiko still enjoyed shows like these had been a great discovery in Chie's opinion. Shows were best watched with friends, but she'd always been too embarrassed to approach her elegant and poised friend with a request to join her. That was until Yu had tried to cram everyone into Phoenix Ranger costumes and she'd found out just how much joy Yukiko found in such things. Thinking about Yu at that moment was prophetic because partway through their marathon, the doorbell to her house sounded. Neither girl thought much of it until they heard Mrs. Satonaka call up. "Yukiko, your fiance's here!" and then heard a soft male voice say something that sounded like, "that's okay, I'll go up to them."

The two girls waited in that way people do when they anticipate someone coming in. Yu had never actually come inside of her house before so this was certainly a surprise. A sharp knock sounded from outside and in a joking tone of voice, Yu spoke. "Are boys allowed in?" Chie was just about to give a retort but before she could, Yukiko was already on her feet to let her beloved husband in. "Wha- Yukiko! This is my room!" But the girl wasn't listening and before long was grasping the upper arms of her husband for a quick kiss.

"Why is it so dark in here?"

"For atmosphere, seeing the light glare on the television screen really takes you out of the experience. It's not the best for your eyes, but it's only once a week." Chie didn't have the nerve to admit she watched screens in the dark far more than once a week. The smile Yu had on his face from the kiss fell a bit and he looked somewhat apologetic. "Sorry girls, I'm going to have to cut your catching up short. Yuki, your grandmother wants to talk to you."

"*Uh* why doesn't she just call her then? You're not just trying to keep Yukiko all to yourself are you?" Chie playfully punched Yu in the shoulder, but his expression told her that he wasn't lying even as silly as it sounded.

"Grandmother doesn't like to talk on the phone unless she can help it. I don't think she even has a cell phone actually..." Besides, anything the old woman deemed to be important would have to be discussed in person, it was a matter of respect even if it was somewhat inefficient. "She couldn't have picked a better day? She knew we had plans!" Despite Yukiko's own slight aggravation, she put a hand on Chie's shoulder. "It probably is important, there's lots of things to plan and details to really nail down and we only have two weeks to do it. It is about the wedding right?" Yu gave a nod of confirmation and Chie calmed down. "Yeah, you're right I'm sorry. But your grandmother puts me so on edge sometimes. Yesterday, she wouldn't leave me alone, I know I'm slower folding than the other maids but her riding me about it isn't going to make me any faster!" Yukiko stepped back in surprise, Chie must have been holding that little outburst in all day. The truth was her grandmother had actually been doing that to all the new maids which was probably 90% of them, but it was also true that she ragged on Chie most of all, complaining to Yukiko's mother that a maid was a prestigious position that wasn't meant to be handed out to just anyone. Whenever Chie showed the slightest bit of frustration or annoyance at the hounding, Sachiko would use that as "yet more proof hiring that girl was a bad idea. Honestly Yukina, did you forget she's the girl who bit your father on the leg once?" Yukina pointing out that was ten year's ago and Jiro chuckling merrily at the memory did nothing to dissuade her ill opinion.

"She wants you to evaluate you to see if you know what to say and do during the ceremony. She says it's important to find out now." Chie snickered a bit. "See? Getting pop quizzed isn't that fun now is it?" But to her surprise, Yukiko actually did seem to agree. "No she's right, I wouldn't want to botch things. Our marriage is perfect, but that would be an ill omen."

"Still...we did just start the new episode..." The action loving brunette couldn't help but perk up at this, they were right at the climatic showdown between two old rivals and the battle was just starting to get good, she didn't know if she could wait another week just to see how it ended! "Yeah, it'll only be like twenty minutes. C'mon Yu, have a heart."

"Please hubby, I've been waiting three weeks." When she pulled out the puppy dog eyes, Yu held up his hands defensively. "Why are you acting like I'm the one who wants you to leave? *Sigh* well...it's fine, we'll just say your workouts left you too sore to catch the bus on time." He was joking but there was a slight amount of satisfaction when he said it, like he was enjoying getting back at Sachiko for making his cream puff exert herself. But his wife really wanted to finish her show, so what could he really do?

"So *uh* what's this show about exactly?"

"Ninja or something. Look that doesn't really matter, what really matters is that the action is amazing! There's this one fight scene at the end of the first series, you can feel the punches like you're making them yourself, the choreography is so good, it's like they're real people moving and fighting. And it's not the only one like that either."

"Chie...you're selling it short, it's more than just the fighting. It's about the bonds between family and belief in yourself. It's very empowering and all the characters feel like real people that you can sympathize with." The scene with the orphan Naruko meeting her deceased mother and father had actually brought tears to her eyes. Part of that could be chalked up to her hormones, but the way the pregnant mother talked about her child on the way in the flashback really did give her chills. Becoming a mother even let her appreciate her favorite show more! It's like there really wasn't a single downside!

"I think I've seen this show. That guy with the zebra stripes and ninja mask looks really familiar."

"Yeah that's Zabura, he's alright, his death scene was pretty cool." That confused Yu, how could a character have died if he was standing right there? "Did he have a paper armband?"

"What are you talking about? No, one of the bad guys used this big technique called the *uh* Yukiko help me out here."

"Samsara Rebirth. It's a forbidden technique created by the second yokaiho..." that was about where Yu tuned out. He wouldn't begrudge his wife in the slightest for enjoying her show, but he didn't know what half of these terms meant; asking for an explanation for every one of them would probably end up making them really late. Instead, he sat himself next to Chie, and tuned in to the episode. It was alright all things considered, the two people fighting seemed to be old rivals and it had an air of tragedy with a noble demon being forced to fight long after he was meant to die. Of course for him there was the far more interesting show of his wife efficiently working her way through her food supply. Just watching the television and eating and eating and even eating a little more on top of that. As great as it was to make her purr and mewl over amazing food, there was something satisfying about her absent minded consumption, like she had an instinctual need to constantly have something in her mouth at all times. She'd really turned him on a few nights ago with all that talk about being a factory, and right now she certainly looked the part. He had to turn away and cross his legs though when he started thinking about the fact he had just milked her this morning and already she was making a new payload. Thankfully, the girls were far too engrossed in their ninja show to notice; he really wasn't trying to be a pervert and he didn't like to leer, it was just almost impossible not to when his wife was not only Yukiko Amagi, but pregnant and fat and loving every minute of it to boot.

"Yeah! Kick his butt, Watashi! Yukiko, did you see that!? That was exactly the same move he used to beat him back in the first series! Awesome detail! this whole season's like a love letter for all the real fans!" The excitable girl briefly shot up from her seat, clapping her hands together in excitement before letting her arms fall to her side and plopping back on the bed. Chie was one of Yu's best friends, but honestly he didn't know if he could stand watching a movie with her. Yukiko on the other hand, seemed to let her friend's enthusiasm bolster her own and sat there cutely with two hands over her mouth, eyes wide with surprise and excitement. But after Chie's bottom hit the bed, all the bouncing attracted her attention elsewhere. "Chie...could you pause it for a moment?"

"Huh? Oh yeah sure, what's up?" Yukiko said nothing and instead slowly began rising to her feet, gladly accepting her husband's hand when he immediately rose to assist her. Leaning over, her hand drew ever closer to the other girl's face who held a somewhat worried expression on your face. A few seconds later, she realized she had nothing to worry about when Yukiko simply took a lock of her brown hair and ran it through her pretty fingers. "Your hair is getting long again, I'm sorry, were you waiting for me to cut it? We could do it tomorrow if you would like."

"Actually...I think I'm going to let it grow out a little bit this time." Chie never thought she'd be taking advice from Ai of all people, but when looking at herself in the mirror one day, she thought maybe the snob actually did have a point. Maybe growing it out a bit wouldn't be so bad?

She almost changed her mind with the disappointed look Yukiko gave her. For some reason, the heiress really loved to fiddle with and cut her friend's hair. It was a rather convenient oddity all things considered, at least after she reigned in her desire to "experiment." But Chie was just in the mood for something a little different.

But the look of disappointment quickly faded and she was back to her usual smiley self. "I think it would be a good look for you. Besides, I have hubby's hair to cut...and one more before too long. Oh, mama's going to make you look nice and handsome." That seemed like a good indicator to unpause, and it wasn't long before the credits started rolling.

"So what did you think?" Both girls were looking up at him with excitement, eager to induct another member into the fandom. That would just be the best in Yukiko's opinion, someone to really dig into the meat of the characters with and discuss theories about who the mysterious masked man Tobito actually was. Chie forgot little details too often and only ever rewatched the fight scenes!

"It was okay."

"Okay!?" Both girls shouted at once. "B-but hubby, weren't you moved by the two comrades lying side by side? How much they meant to each other?"

"Yeah, you don't have to act cool and aloof all the time! You can admit you thought something was cool."

"I'm don't need to act cool. I just can't get invested if I don't know any of the characters." That brought a big smile to Yukiko's face and she grabbed on to his arm. "I'll buy some DVDs and you can get started on watching it. We can even watch some of it together!"

"I'll think about it, but...we really should get going. You don't want to make your grandmother too upset do you?" Yukiko pouted a bit at his non-committal answer but relented. "Yes, that would be for the best. Sorry Chie, I promise we'll be able to-" but Chie cut her off. "Just whenever you have time. Call me up and we'll do something fun, or if you need my help setting up your room." The two girls shared a quick hug and after Yukiko gave a quick bow to Mrs. Satonaka, they were out the door.

"What a polite young man," the woman mused to herself. Just as cool and reserved as Yukiko, but she had heard the excited way she had gotten up to greet him the cheerful 'hubby!" still ringing in her ears.

The older woman was thoroughly invested in making dinner, when her daughter came barreling down the stairs. "Where are you off to in such a hurry dear?"

"Yukiko forgot her bag. I'll be right back." Her mother "tut-tutted" for such a smart girl, Yukiko could be so forgetful sometimes. Then again it was probably just because of the pregnancy brain. Her own daughter slammed the door in that annoying way she often did before Mrs. Satonaka could remind her not to and was off like a rocket. Luckily, Yukiko being the waddling plodding mama that she was hadn't gotten very far and Yu would most likely never rush her unless the world was literally at stake.

Yukiko had spent the first half of the walk excitedly telling him about her favorite show before naturally getting a bit winded and realizing despite his politeness he just wasn't very interested. She was such a good wife, that she decided not to pester him instead of forcing him to watch like he'd heard horror stories about, but he did feel a little bad. It wasn't her, it was him.

It was a bit of a silly thing and he probably would have gladly watched it with her if she hadn't gotten pregnant but...what would their son think if he saw his dad watching cartoons? His video game system had gone mostly untouched for much the same reason; whenever he'd pick it up, there would always be these niggling little thoughts in the back of his head. "Is this really how you should be spending your time? You should be building, training, practicing, hell even an extra half hour at the gym would serve you better." And he'd end up reading or working on some carpentry project in the garage or just look at college entrance exam study guides. The weird thing was though, he'd never enjoy doing that stuff as much when he forced himself to do it rather than doing it when he felt like it. But he already had model building as a leisure time activity, did he really need more?

"What's wrong Yu? You seem tense? Did you need another temple massage or maybe the hot springs prepared?"

"No it's just...what would our son thin-"

"Heyyyyy!"

Before he could continue, a green streak caught up to them with a big grin, holding a black bookbag. "Good thing I'm so fast or I might have missed you!"

Chie was pleased with the fact that the sprint hadn't taken anything out of her at all and the couple noticed this. Yu just smiled warmly as usual, but Yukiko had a much more excited reaction. "You're in such great shape Chie, Akihiko is going to be so impressed when he gets back!"

If it was someone else, the red on their face might have been from the running but since it was a newly muscled Chie, it was clear it was all embarrassment. "S-stop bringing that up already, I told you I don't want to talk about it. Here, you forgot your book bag, now don't say anything else before I regret coming out here." Yu chuckled which earned him a glare from Chie. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing...it's just...Yuki didn't actually insinuate anything. She just said you would impress your master with your new abilities, you're the one who read into it. That's incriminating." Chie was flabbergasted and held up a finger to argue before being forced to retract it, her face growing even redder.

"No, I meant it romantically. Chie and Akihiko are meant to be just like you and me, hubby." The flustered fighter was much too red and embarrassed for Yu to want to tease her so he decided to set his sights on his wife. "Weren't Kanji and Rise 'meant to be together' too?"

"*Hmph* hubby you know that's not fair, Kanji being interested in Naoto came as a complete surprise to everyone! You can't expect me to have know he would change his mind at the last minute." Chie and Yu took one look at each other and decided this wasn't the hill they wanted to die on. Besides, in Yu's opinion his wife trying to play matchmaker was kind of cute.

Before he could move in to give his cute wife a big smooch that would make Chie get all flustered, his phone rang. "Looks like your grandmother got impatient enough to use a phone, you're in big trouble now." His deadpan delivery got a laugh out of both girls and he even chuckled himself. "Hello?"

"You sound like you're in a good mood. I hope that's because you've finally decided to come to your senses."

Yu's blood instantly ran cold and he cursed himself for not checking the caller ID to better prepare his spirit for this. Usually, he was able to mask his emotions rather well, but the shift was so sudden both of his teammates picked up on it. "Yu...who is it?"

"Hello father." Yu said aloud and to Chie's shock, Yukiko covered her mouth with her hand and started rubbing her gut in short strokes. "Yes, I heard you the first time son. Hello. Now I don't have any time to waste today, so I'll make this quick. Are you still persisting with this nonsense or have you finally grown up a bit?"

"I thought I had until the end of the month to decide." He thought of shooting a quick barb about how it wasn't like his dad to go back on his word like that, before biting his tongue. No reason to be the one who escalates things. Despite his cordial response, he heard his father loudly exhale through the phone. "Please, don't insult me. We both know that if your mind hasn't changed by now, an extra two weeks won't make much difference. Besides, something's come up at work that requires our full attention. I really really don't have time for your antics right now." After a moment of silence, the question Yu had been dreading finally came up, not because he doubted the answer, but just because he knew what it meant for them going forward.

"Yes or no."

"No."

Sorano just about crushed the phone in his hand but managed to restrain himself. Honestly, he was almost impressed by the resolution of the answer, or he would have been if he wasn't absolutely livid.

"What?"

"The wedding is on the 24th. Yukiko's family has put a lot of work into it so I couldn't back down even if I wanted to. And I. Don't. Want. To." Chie looked to Yukiko then as if to say, "is he talking to his dad? Is this how their conversations go?" Yukiko just sadly nodded, looking like her heart itself was hurting. But she held herself together, however this ended it was her turn to support her husband.

"What!?"

"I don't know how much clearer I can make this father! How many times do I have to refuse before you finally get it! I don't want-"

"Listen to you. 'I don't wanna!' I wish you could hear yourself speak, no logic no reason just want want want. You know what you're problem is? You lack ambition. I thought that realizing your potential was being squandered would be enough to make you wake up, but you've always been a shiftless little brat. You haven't excelled since you were a child, doing the minimum to get by, never trying to network with the dozens of contacts that I prepared, never doing any extra studying unless I prepared it first, shuffling about trying to make everyone feel sorry for you!" Yu remaining silent only seemed to spur Sorano on more. "That's why you 'loved' cooking so much. Because it came so easily to you and you never had to work at it. And that's why you 'love' that ghost town so much. People flock to you without you having to lift a finger, you're the talk of the town. I would feel sorry for you if this pathetic need for attention didn't come at our expense." Frustrated with his son's lack of response, he grit his teeth. "Well? Have you gone deaf too?"

Yu was quite possibly an inch away from delivering his own angry rant, before a delicate hand slipped between his fingers and pulled him away from the edge. Instead, he calmly took a breath and told his father the truth. "If that's the only value you think Inaba has to me, then you're the one I feel sorry for, because there's so much here that you're missing out on."

"Oh spare me. The town's dying for a reason you know, and if you think that inn will escape it, you're a bigger fool than I thought."

Again his son said nothing, and he could almost hear him smiling over the line which just served to infuriate him anymore. "Yes, yes you know everything at the ripe age of 18. You may have forgotten while you were there in the backwater, but you really don't know shit." A bitter laugh filled Yu's ears and he could see the grin form on his father's face. "I bet you don't even know what's been happening at our company." That caught Yu off guard. "No," he was forced to admit.

"It's being called one of the biggest accounting scandals of the last thirty years. Top executives are being outed from their jobs, the whole industry is in an uproar while your mother and I have been doing our best to pick up the pieces. Surely you must have had time to pickup a paper in the last month or so, or hell even flick on the news. Did you do that? Even once?"

"No," Yu was forced to admit again, this time a bit of shame creeping in as well. Shame that his father pounced on like a shark. "See? Completely ignorant about everything outside of yourself. You're selfish Yu, and the fact that you saw it fit to bring a child into the world before you've grown up yourself just speaks to that. But you didn't care about that at all, you just wanted to feel good. That's all you've ever wanted, your most important priority. You really hurt your mother you know, she was nearly in tears over the things you said during your little tantrum, when you should have been kissing her feet because if it wasn't for her I would have had a lot less patience for your nonsense over the years."

"You're right."

"Ahh am I finally getting through?"

"I should be keeping up with world events more. You're absolutely right. I'll talk to Mrs. Amagi about it as soon as I get home."

"That's it? That's the sum total you took away from that? Are you trying to get a rise out of me because it's working."

"No, you're right about mother too. I shouldn't have done things the way I did."

"I wanted to apologize, but I didn't get the chance to before you stormed out of the meeting room father." Yu could hear the sound of a desk being struck and knew this conversation was nearing its conclusion. "I'm glad this is so amusing to you," he snarled with barely concealed contempt. Yu was prepared for that, but what he wasn't prepared for was his father becoming eerily calm. "Well the joke's over. I think maybe I will stop by your wedding after all. My mistake, was leaving things up to you for so long when I should have been taking care of things myself. You are and have always been a thick headed self centered little brat and that's going to change. By the end of this month, you WILL learn the difference between those who rise high and those who wallow in mediocrity." The phone went dead and Yu was left with sweating palms and a rapidly beating heart.

"Was that really necessary?" Mizui asked her husband after a pregnant pause. He turned to her like she had just asked the most ridiculous question ever uttered. "Don't you start too. Of course it was necessary. I let my love for my son blind me to what needed to be done for too long. No longer."

"You're talking about disowning him?"

"That would just let him fall further into obscurity. I thought he'd have enough sense to shape up after that, but clearly I was mistaken." Mizui let out a silent sigh of relief, she didn't know exactly what he had planned, but anything was better than having to disown their own son. But that did bring up a rather pertinent question. "Do we really have time for things like this? I thought you said we didn't have the time to go to the wedding and I don't quite see how that conversation you had right then changed that." Their little conversation was like an island of relative peace in the center of a raging storm of dashing employees, stacks of paper, and phones ringing off the hook.

Some of the workers were even gathered around the TV watching their president bow his head in shame before the press for the company's "highly inappropriate disposal." The way he rung his hands, nervously swallowed, bit at his lip, despite the no doubt countless hours of coaching, this is what happened to people who got to their positions through nothing but connections and being at the right place at the right time. "Mr. Narukami, we have the nearby Kirijo hospital on the phone, they want an update."

"I'll be right there, give me a moment." With all the top brass under investigation, the only one with permission to lead the company was a relatively isolated Senior Vice President. While the business was in turmoil, he'd dutifully step in and clean up the higher ups mess after a long career of keeping his hands clean. There was no doubt the board would take one look at him and give him what he deserved on the spot. He was enjoying it, but not as much as he should have been. The moment he had been waiting for over 10 long years for was being sullied by that little brat. He had a multibillion dollar company wrapped around his finger and yet this child somehow managed to vex him. "If I can't control my own son, what does that say Mizui? What does that say about us? He's an embarrassment to this family and to me. Don't you understand? This is for the future, I HAVE to do this." For the first time in living memory, Mizui saw what looked like a shred of doubt creep on to her husband's face, before he nodded to himself and it was gone. "He won't love me, but you're goddamn sure he will respect me and what I've done for him. He will NEVER step out of line again for as long as he lives."

"But...at his wedding? Sorano I-"

"Well, clearly, he's lost the privilege of choice for the next few years as well. We've tried it your way by making concessions so now we'll do it my way. No wedding, no Amagis, no anything until he earns it."

"The Amagis-"

"Will also come to see things my way. A speed bump and nothing more. They talk big but lets see how courageous they are in a courtroom." He began to leave as if that was the final word on the matter before turning around one last time. "I trust you will support me on this? I gave you three days to think things over remember, if you still can't come to terms with the fact that this is what's best for our son, I'm afraid you're worthless to me." He left her there, deflated and feeling like she was being torn in half. Taking the phone in his hand, he put on his best award winning smile and began to speak as the new face of the company. "This is Narukami speaking. Well no, I'm just in charge until everything gets sorted out, which it will. I've known some of these men for years and I...I just can't believe. But...we must move forward so...how can I help you sir." As the man talked and talked about the paperwork that needed to be done and Sorano nodded knowing he could get it delivered in record time, only one thought was going through his mind. "Let's see who's the lapdog now, Amagi."

Mizui was truly angry, not just angry but furious. Not with Sorano, but with herself. For all of her talk about standing by Yu, she'd frozen up and quaked in her skirt when it came time to actually speak in his favor in front of her husband. All those things he said to him over the phone and yet she hadn't even tried to defend him. When she'd returned from her "retreat" Sorano had said nothing and given her the week's work as well as everything she missed, obviously assuming she'd come to the "right" conclusion, and she hadn't had the nerve to tell him about her talk with Yu and the actual conclusion she'd come to. Part of her had even started thinking that maybe her husband was right before snapping herself out of it. They truly didn't have time for such a diversion and creating a scandal was the last thing they should be doing!

But he was in an especially vindictive mood. He wasn't a man who liked being slighted for any reason. It was one of the reasons she was attracted to him back then, he never just let people walk all over him, he always had a plan or some way to make it so the ones who had stepped on him were the ones licking his boots before long. But now that it was at the expense of their son...and that innocent family...

"Maybe...maybe he'll change his mind." She eventually settled on. Maybe they'd go and see Yu have his perfect day and get married to the woman of his dreams and their would be no conflict. Maybe something would come up and they wouldn't end up going at all just like she had told Yu. It was a cowardly way to think of course but she couldn't help but hope for it with all of her heart. A small bit of selfishness crept into their too because after all, there really was nothing more that she wanted right now than to be present at her son's wedding day, so if Sorano made the executive decision to go, she'd get to enjoy it if only for a little bit.

"This is a problem, this is indeed a very big problem." Her mouth puckered from the foul taste of the nail biting preventative polish she'd covered her fingernails with, which stopped her before she could start hyperventilating. Calmly, in the sea of turbulence and distress that was the office, she took a single coin out of her pocket. It was something she'd heard Yukina's husband say in the hallway back at Yasogami that always stuck with her. "See Yukina, flipping a coin is actually the perfect way to make a decision. Because for one moment, your heart will tell you which side you want it to land on, and that's how you know which side to take!" She'd thought leaving anything up to chance was complete foolishness, but now she saw the wisdom in those words, even if it was from an unlikely source.

"Heads my husband, tails...my son." She flipped it, and didn't even bother to look, her heart had made its choice

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There was nothing to be said. All Yukiko could think to do was turn her grasping of his hand into a gentle embrace of his full body. She had been close enough to hear some of the things that had been said by the elder Narukami and frankly...it was almost heartbreaking. Being out of the conversation for even a moment seemed to do wonders for his mood and she could feel her prince allow himself to relax, eventually returning the embrace.

"That was your dad?" Chie had been standing a little further away and even inching closer hadn't gotten her close enough to hear exactly what the other man said, but what she did hear was a man with a voice filled with spite at his own son. The young couple broke out of their embrace and turned to their friend who looked away apologetically. "I had no idea...no wonder you didn't want to talk about it...I was being insensitive again and I didn't even realize. I'm sorry leader..." To think she'd spent all of last year and part of this one winging about her problems to a guy who had that to deal with...

"You have nothing to be sorry for Chie. But you're making it sound worse than it actually is. My father's just a little upset right now, he's usually not like this." Chie shook her head, that lie was so obvious even someone like her could see through it. And Yukiko most certainly noticed with the way she put her fingers to her lips and held him tighter. "He'll get over it, it's really no big deal." Another lie, although this one he seemed to at least partially believe. Both girls noticed, it was subtle but they noticed, the tiniest tinge of desperation in his voice as if he was trying to convince himself along with the two of them. "Anyway, we better go," he said turning to his wife. "We all know how much your grandmother values punctuality."

"Yu..."

"No he's right." The peppy girl gave them a big smile and a thumbs up. "I'll see you both tomorrow, and hey! I'm sure the wedding will be great. Later!"

And just like that she was off, newfound admiration for their leader swirling through her head as well as an intense desire to support him however she could. When she was out of sight, Yu allowed himself a sigh. "Well...we should be going."

"Yu-"

"Yuki, it's fine, really. This is a good thing, the reason he's so angry is because he knows it's out of his control. And what do people do when they realize something's out of their control?" Yukiko thought for a moment and opened her mouth in understanding. "They learn to live with it. But Yu...I don't think you should tempt fate like that. I mean, people can be quite destructive when they're not willing to accept something no matter how inevitable or destined it is. I don't think he'll succeed, I'm just a little worried about the damage your father can cause." Immediately she found herself in Yu's embrace, with his arms protectively around her midriff. That helped put her mind at ease, knowing that he understood exactly what was worrying her and thought about it himself. As hurtful as his father could be, Yu was a grown man and Yukiko knew he could take it, but the future of their unborn child was another story.

"Yuki...I promise I won't let anything happen." And he sealed the words with a kiss to both his wife's lips and a quick one to her maternal fruitfulness as well. "In fact, everything has already been settled no matter what my father decides to do, because my mother will stop him." Yukiko opened her eyes in mild surprise and looked to her husband but it was soon replaced with contentment and warmth. His faith was a tall order indeed and for Yukiko at least it served as a source of inspiration and courage. No doubt it would do the same for his mother. Sensing his wife was convinced, he decided to lighten the move. "Besides, if my father does break something, well that's why I've been studying carpentry right?"

"Oh *snrk hahahahahaha* that's pretty funny! *Hahahaha*"

"Where on earth have you been? I called you over half an hour ago! I know for a fact you don't move that slowly so what exactly were you doing?" Yukiko opened her mouth to defend herself but her grandmother cut her off. "That Satonaka girl no doubt convinced you that an extra five minutes of tardiness wouldn't matter. She's usually three to five minutes late for her shift herself after all. And the way she eats, I can only imagine you must have been tempted to cheat on your diet today...I certainly hoped you held on to your discipline!" Yukiko was once again cut off when she tried to defend herself. "Honestly, that girl's always been a bit of a bad influence on you..."

"I apologize for my tardiness but Chie had nothing to do with it. I accidentally left my bag there and had to turn back," she managed to finally get in. "And she only came in late twice, both times on light days might I add." That made Sachiko raise and eyebrow, Yukiko had always stuck up for her little friend, but she'd never actually flat out told her grandmother that she was wrong before. Yukiko waited with baited breath, curious as to where her grandmother fell in comparison to Yu's father but was relieved when the old woman simply sighed. "Very well. I suppose being in charge of worker attendance you would be more knowledgeable about that. Forgive me, the idea of you getting talked into something unladylike just sets me a bit on edge."

"Oh grandmother, I would never engage in such behavior." She could barely contain her laughter as the steak skewer stuffed sweetheart stifled a belch. "It would bring shame to myself, all of you, and my child."

"Good, oh Yukiko, it makes me so glad I don't have to worry about you. Now come along, I doubt this little runthrough will take much time at all." And indeed it didn't. Yukiko had gone through the steps of marrying Yu so many times in her head, she probably could have taught a class on the subject.

Honestly, once it became clear to Sachiko that her granddaughter was well prepared, it primarily became a history lesson about all the various stages of the ritual. How the sake sharing represented the "sharing" of both joy and hardships in a marriage or how Izanami and Izanagi were invoked to bring strength to the marriage.

"But my husband is Izanagi...that's something I could never say out loud goodness! That would bring an angry mob down on our heads in no time. They might even bring pitchforks..."

"Yukiko dear? You are listening correct?"

"Y-yes. You were just explaining the purification ritual and what it means going forward."

"Very good. I know this is dull for someone as studious as yourself so I'll try to wrap things up quickly so you can get back to work. You will be giving all of yourself to Yu and he will give you all of himself in turn. Your marriage will be blessed under the watchful eyes of the gods and will be both fruitful and happy. The vows will be prepared by the priest and you two will exchange rings. You do have a ring correct? Your mother wasn't clear on that point."

"Yes, I'm having a very special one made to match the one he gave me."

"I understand the sentiment, but try not to go for something garish." Yukiko nodded, garish didn't suit her husband at all. But she already had the perfect source picked out. He wasn't the only one who could make something wonderful out of mementos after all. Nothing compared to the beautifully tragic swirl of shadows, but something he would love nevertheless. Sachiko watched as her granddaughter got the far off look in her eye that she did whenever she thought about her husband, the gentle massaging of her middle, things had certainly gone better than expected.

"I believe you're prepared to be a proper wife. As soon as you drop this weight, I'm sure your husband will agree." Yukiko very nearly scoffed. For Yu, a proper wife was one that couldn't see her feet and bounced with every step!

The moment she was released from her training, her mind began to race. "I...I need to think of something special to do for Yu today or sometime soon at the very least. But what? Any ideas pumpkin?" Her stomach remained silent much to her disappointment since she was fresh out of ideas herself. "*Hmmm* it has to be something that shows him we care about what he wants, something that would make him happy and remind him he deserves that more than anyone." Seeing Yu that night only strengthened her resolve. He was loving and sweet as always, telling her she was beautiful saying things like how a blessing of fertility seemed somewhat redundant at this point, things that made her swoon and sigh as per usual. But it was clear by the slightly empty expression he wore in moments of silence that he was still rolling over what his father said in his head. Debating whether or not he was selfish and if perhaps his father was right about him being someone who always went for the path of least resistance or far more likely he was thinking about how he could patch things up and perhaps fix things like he always did.

"It's not your fault," Yukiko eventually murmured after a long period of silence. Yu looked over in surprise; the two had been doing some night time reading in bed together followed by some musings and plans about the baby when Yu had become taciturn, obviously deep in thought about something. He didn't even realize he'd gotten lost in his thoughts again.

"You handled things perfectly. If our son saw you, he'd be in awe of his inexorable father, who doesn't rise to taunting or bait and stands firm like an immovable warrior."

"*Hahaha* that's dressing it up a bit too much. I just decided to be mature about things for once. But...what I'm really thinking about is how happy I am that he didn't disown me. I made a big production out of choosing you over him but when it came down to it, I was terrified that he actually would. What does that say about me?"

"Yu..."

"Maybe he's right in a way. If I didn't wait so long to tell him like a coward and didn't get so angry during that first phone call, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation we're in."

"Yu..."

"I mean, have I really even tried to work with him? If I'd done a better job bringing him in..."

Yukiko could feel herself beginning to grow a bit irritated. Where did her husband get off holding himself to this ridiculous standard? This was starting to get into messiah territory of expectations he was placing on himself and quite frankly she was sick of it.

"I mean, I should have chased after him when he stormed out-"

*SLAP*

Yu held his cheek in complete shock, staring wide eyed at his glaring wife. "You...you slapped me."

"Yes, and I'll do it again until you stop being so hard on yourself for no reason! Yu, you need to snap out of it, my love. You can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves and I will not have my husband feeling guilty for something that is not his fault!" The impassioned pleading in her eyes was almost too much for him to take, only Yukiko would think to slap him out of a funk by literally slapping him out of it. "I mean just listen to yourself. 'My father not respecting my life choices is all my fault?' Don't you hear just how silly that sounds? Hubby, you're so smart so why are you so...stupid when it comes to things like this?" His bewilderment hadn't left his face, so she was left with no choice. It was a bit of a dirty trick but one she had to do for the sake of his mental health. "Yu, you putting unreasonable pressure on yourself makes me worry, and that's bad for the baby."

Yu made a strange noise between a gasp of shock and a noise of protest, almost like he was saying "that's not fair!" She smiled smugly knowing he would have no choice but to take things easy. Eventually though, he smiled and gave a shrug. "It can't be helped I suppose." And with that, he stood up and splashed some cold water in his face, clapping and rubbing his hands together almost symbolically.

"Oh hubby, that's absolutely right. So don't torture yourself over it okay?"

"Okay."

Of course after slapping him across the face, she did feel a little obligated to put out that night, not that it took much deliberation at all for the sex hungry heifer. But when they were laying together, there still seemed to be something on his mind.

"I still think about him sometimes, you know. Wondering if maybe I could have done something differently. Like maybe if I wasn't so quick to find a culprit, I could have helped him a little more."

"Adachi?" Yukiko asked quizzically.

"No, Mitsuo." It actually took his wife a moment to remember who on earth he was talking about before it came to her. The second suspect in the serial kidnapping and murder cases, a boy who found no value in the world around him, who truly embodied emptiness. So desperate for some kind of meaning that he had killed their teacher and set himself up as a grand mastermind even though he was just an attention seeking child at the end of the day. "Yu...he didn't want to be helped. He retreated into insanity just so he didn't have to face the truth."

"Yes, I know all that and yet sometimes...I feel like if maybe I had talked to him when I saw him on the street, maybe if I had reached out..."

"That's arrogant."

"Huh?"

"I'm saying you're being arrogant. To think that you just talking to him would change him so significantly. To kill a person just to feel something...as horrible as it is to say, it was probably for the best your contact with such a person was kept to a minimum." Once again, Yu was listening intently to the new perspective she was presenting to him. It was interesting, insults being used to build him up and help him to see a new viewpoint rather than to tear him down, it made him much more willing to listen to what she had to say. "Arrogant...I guess I've never thought of it like that. Margaret warned me about it, but it seems I've bought into my own hype a little too much."

"Yes! You are amazing my husband, but even the gods aren't infallible. So just be satisfied with being nearly perfect." His wife rolled over sluggishly and put one arm over his broad chest, the other caressing his face. Right on the spot where she had slapped him. "Oh Yu, I'll always believe in you. But remember, to attain true happiness you must believe in yourself as well." The man first began to smile which turned to chuckling which turned to full blown laughter. "What's so funny hubby?"

"Nothing really. You just have a very candid and direct way of putting things is all."

"So do you."

"Hmmm. I guess that's why we're getting married right? We'd annoy everyone else with our bluntness." Yukiko seemed a bit confused. "But being completely honest with someone is one of the best things you can do! It shows that the bond between you is so strong, you can speak your mind with each other and have nothing hidden. It makes me so happy I can talk that way with everyone on the team with their being no hard feelings."

Just like when she'd told him the reason he'd been shacked up in the haunted room was because she thought he'd appreciate it, so too did this little insight into her personality make him smile. "Come here," Yu said scooping her up and kissing her all over while the young mother squealed and giggled at the "out of nowhere" attack. "Hubby! I'm glad you're *hahaha* I'm glad you're feeling better, but *oh* we have to be up early tomorrow!"

"We have to be up early every day Yuki *mwah* and you know what they say, no sleep for the sexy." Yukiko had never heard that expression before but it was certainly an interesting way of looking at things, she was so attractive to her husband that having sex with him every night was the only way to give him restful sleep. She almost wished she had recorded him saying that to show to her grandmother, but had a better idea instead.

"Help me up darling." The lazy lounger held her arms out, not even attempting to get up by herself, waiting for him with an expectant look on her face. It was pretty alluring in Yu's opinion and he loved the way her toneless fat shook and spread out with his pulls, first going to her side and then pushing forward across her body until finally sagging downwards under gravity. With the way her curves were flopping against each other, it would have been highly visible even if she wasn't naked.

The fat mama waddled her way to the bathroom before locking the doorway behind her with a sultry wink. Curious, Yu moved closer to the doorway and heard the sound of a fat woman stepping on a thin woman's scale, nothing too strained yet but a delicious creak sounded out nevertheless, a proclamation of just how well he was doing his job as a husband. Although that feeling of accomplishment was short lived when he actually heard her pout. "199.4? Are you kidding me? That's just not fair. Oooh I just want to be a nice round two hundred already!" A short pause then occurred where he could hear her shuffling about, and then began to slap her hands against her puffy figure. "I'm so BIG already, but that number just seems like a...well like a 'point of no return' doesn't it sweetie? Right now I'm just a skinny girl who fattened up, but your mama never intends to get any smaller. Oh no no no no. So when do I 'become' a fat girl? Or have I already become one? Isn't that an exciting thought?"

"And isn't it rude for your daddy to listen in through the door?" Yu stepped back startled. He should have been able to tell from her slowly approaching the doorway with the noise she made. The woman flung open the door with a fake pout on her face and a hand on her hip. "My hearing may not be as keen as yours, but I can still see your shadow. Hubby, it's supposed to be private in here! If I want to bear my mind, body and soul to you, I'll do it in our marriage bed!"

"Of course...but Yuki remember what we talked about. I don't want you to feel pressured to get bigger-"

"But Yu, I want to get fatter. You and your son make it such a relaxing natural process that it's impossible to not want to. Besides...I like the idea of blowing up even more right in front of grandmother's eyes. Like *snrk* she's just scratching her head *hahahaha* in c-confusion at how I keep *hahahahaha* k-keep getting fatter *ahahahahaha*"

"It's not that hard to figure out. You're constantly eating and sitting around on your fat butt." Yukiko moaned as he brought his two hands down for a mighty smack on her rump. They'd already done the deed tonight, but introspective talks with her man always had a way of putting her in the mood, at least a little bit.

The growing gourmand was quite serious about her desire to crest the two hundred pound mark but that just gave her the extra motivation. But despite her words to Yu, she knew in his heart of hearts a part of him was probably still feeling the sting. As soft and plush as she was now, sex appeal and words could only go so far to show him how he'd always have her family. Her mother and grandmother were quite busy auditioning shrine maidens today though and probably tomorrow too and she didn't want to drag everyone else into her 'job' of keeping her husband happy.

"What to do, what to do," she mused to herself while drumming her belly. "I can't craft something in such a short time frame and even then that would just tell him that I love him. I want him to know he belongs here and we all love him..." The young woman had stepped out of her office briefly, taking advantage of her grandmother's absence to fill her belly and crest herself over the big 2-0-0. "Mama needs some brain food for all this scheduling, I'm sorry to fill up on junk but I really want to make sure I hit my goal. You'll forgive your mother one day of overindulgence if it's for your dada won't you?"

She nearly doubled over from the strength of the kick her baby gave her. "*Oof* Goodness! Trying to emulate your big strong daddy already? One kick means I can right? We never did sit down and establish that." He of course, didn't answer but she knew it would probably be fine, she had a mother's appetite now and could probably clear out this whole vending machine and still have room for real food. A finger went to her lip, tapping gently as she tried her best to decide. Which one had the highest calories? That would probably be a good start. The finger on her belly rubbing hand found its way into her navel and began to slowly swirl around.

"M-maybe I will get more than one, that way mama can graze while she works *mmph* sit on my fat butt and just absentmindedly munch. That'll fatten me up nicely." She didn't need much more self convincing after that and it wasn't long before she was slipping in coin after coin, eager to start her snacking. Her hips began to wiggle in anticipation as she recollected some of the things Yu whispered to her last night. "You're getting a nice 'office ass' Yukiko. Devoid of any muscle tone, sitting down actually makes you look fatter as it all spreads out. The kid of woman who gladly helps herself to the breakroom donuts and spends all day on her bottom. Does that sound like the kind of woman you are honey buns?" That was all true of course, but she was more of a "eat all her coworkers sandwiches" type of girl with the cravings her son gave her. Still, even her grandmother saw it fit to comment on just how fattened up she looked from behind so the idea of plopping down and going to town on a bunch of hip spreading snacks was certainly an appealing one. The way her rump strained slightly against her kimono as she bent down to scoop down her treasure trove was just icing on the cake. Good thing she'd left the door to her office open because she was feeling a bit too lazy to make two trips.

"I hope you saved some of the spicy stuff for your old man!"

Yukiko nearly dropped her stash in surprise, wobbling around slowly to face her father. He didn't seem to mind the unhealthy armload and in fact seemed to be getting a little treat for himself. "No daddy, it always sticks to my fingers and I don't want to risk getting it on my uniform."

"Well yeah that's why you wipe it on someone else's." Seeing his daughter's terrified expression, he quickly waved his hands in front of himself. "Kidding, kidding, I'm only kidding. A jape! Although, one time I accidentally threw a package away in a guestroom when I was cleaning it! This was after your mother and I had wed, but from how mad she was I was still worried I was going to get fired for that blunder!" That elicited a giggle from his daughter and he saw it fit to jump right into what he wanted to talk about. "As much as I love these pepper chips, there's a far more pressing matter that has come to my attention. Something I cannot let go unchecked." Yukiko stood at rapt attention, trying to look as serious as she could with a bunch of snacks bunched up in her arms. What could be so important?

"'What could be so important?' That is what you're thinking correct? Well I'll tell you. This morning at breakfast, you seemed rather glum about something. I didn't get the chance to ask, but I've been wondering about it all day. Is something the matter?" That got a rise out of Yukiko, she'd been thinking about just how to do something nice for Yu along with her thoughts being a bit of a storm in general from all that happened yesterday. "Well...it's nothing you need to worry about daddy. If I had a problem, I would certainly tell you." She expected him to be a bit disappointed, but instead he wore a sly grin. "Oh...I know what it's about."

"Y-you do?"

"Of course. But don't worry I'm here to help! I know the wedding must seem so very far away still but just think. Thirteen days left, that's less than two weeks"

The man clasped his arm on to his daughter's shoulder and leaned in close while she blushed in happiness. "Thirteen days princess! That's almost small enough to count on two hands! Why, a measly three days is all that stands between you two and the final teen count. And today's almost halfway over, so really it's more like twelve and a half days until you're wed to the man of your dreams." Yukiko had placed her hands fully on her cheeks at this point, dropping the snacks across the floor. She was twisting about in complete joy, not able to contain her excitement with her father egging her on like this. "Oh daddy, the wedding starts early too so it's actually even less than that! I wish I could open my eyes and be there already, but if I did so, that would be twelve fewer days that I'd get to spend with Yu! Oh, I just can't decide!" Fuyuhiko felt a bead of sweat drip down his forehead, he knew she was in love but sometimes he forgot exactly how much. He didn't let such a thing break his stride and gave her yet another firm pat on the shoulder with a big grin on his face. "I know the feeling sweetheart. So don't look so glum that it's so far away, enjoy the anticipation instead!" Those words had the opposite effect from what he'd been hoping. Instead of giving a final triumphant cheer and rushing *er* waddling happily back into her office, his daughter instead grew a bit pensive. "What's the matter dear? Was it something your grandmother said? Was it...something I said?"

Yukiko was of course a bit hesitant to reveal such personal information but after a moment's consideration decided on three reasons to tell the truth. The first, her parents probably should know about Yu's parents attending. The second, perhaps her father might have an idea on how to proceed from here. And the third, well he just looked so worried about her that she felt a bit guilty for making him worry!

"No...daddy how could I be upset at you with this wonderful wedding you're setting up? It has nothing to do with anything anyone hear did."

"Are those dreadful mean spirited witches at school giving you a hard time again?" She wasn't expecting that answer and her told the same story. "Chie told me all about it, I'll go right to the principal and-" she held up her hands to placate him while shaking her head. "No, no it's fine. They're not worth the energy, but...thank you. No *um* well it's kind of a bullying problem in a sense..." his confused expression motivated her to stop beating around the bush and just come out with it directly. "Yu's father he...he called last night. He made some threats and he was...well he said some quite hurtful things to Yu. Even worse than when he was here."

"Is that even possible?" Fuyuhiko asked in astonishment, a soft nod from his daughter left him gaping in shock. "How's your soon to be husband holding up?"

"He's fine, he's always been someone who bounces back quickly but I know it hurt him." Honestly, if his daughter hadn't just told him this, the Amagi patriarch never would have guessed it on his own. Yu was the same dutiful and efficient son-in-law as always, up bright and early and getting right to work when he got back. "He's just like your mother...keeping it all inside like that. I had no idea."

"Exactly. I want some way to show him that he has a new family but with our son still in here *bap* *bap* I'm having a bit of trouble thinking of something I could do. Any ideas?" Her father put a hand to his chin in thought, stroking it like he was really thinking hard, which Yukiko knew meant he didn't have a clue. "Oh well that's okay, I'm the one who should be thinking of something anyway as his wife, I'll just ask mo-"

"I've got it!"

"You do?"

"Yep. It's something your mother and grandfather did for me. I don't even know if it was intentional, but it really helped me feel like part of the family."

"Well what is it? What is it?" Her father chuckled and gave a tender pat on the head to his excitable daughter. "Just leave it to your old man. I'll have him smiling from ear to ear by the end of today!" To demonstrate his heroic valor, he bravely picked up Yukiko's dropped snacks and put them back in his daughter's hands where they belonged. "After you finish up work, we'll pay a quick visit to the shrine!" Yukiko's eyes went wide and it wasn't long until a smile followed. That was right! She hadn't been by to pray today, normally she stopped by on her way to school, but it rained earlier so she didn't get the chance. It was almost like fate. "I can't believe I didn't think of that. It's so obvious." Her father just chuckled, happy he could be of help. "See? That's the benefit of opening up to your pop. He has a whole load of experience to draw from." His smugness was knocked out of him along with his wind when he was on the receiving end of one of a hefty heiress hug. "Thank you daddy. Thank you so much, oh I can't wait to invite him out." He didn't say anything, but honestly he could say he was just as eager. There was one problem though, "*er* princess, you dropped all your snacks again."

"The nerve of these candidates arriving so late, I have half a mind to just turn them right away at the entrance," Yukiko's blood ran cold at the matronly voice she heard coming from the entrance, knowing her precious calories would be confiscated and she'd receive quite the scolding. "D-daddy my snacks," she whispered hurriedly, arms flapping helplessly as she knew she wouldn't be able to bend over and pick them all up in time. With a heroic move, Fuyuhiko managed to just barely get them hidden back inside the vending machine before two black haired women came into the lobby.

Sachiko took one look at her son-in-law with his hand jammed into the vending machine slot and her granddaughter standing by looking worried and shook her head.

"I don't even want to know what's going on here, just...get back to doing whatever it is you normally do around here." Yukina looked between her husband and tubby daughter and seemed to put together what was actually going on, making a little zipping and locking motion over her lips and throwing away the key. Yukiko heaved a great sigh of relief, happy that she'd be able to start chipping away at the half a pound she needed to gain by the end of the day right away. "That was a close one, I would have had to wait for hubby to send me a snack and who knows how long that would have taken! *Erm* daddy, could you please move? I need to get to them."

"Well *haha* funny story there. You know how I like the spicy ones?"

"Yes?"

"And you know how they're close to the bottom?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well...your dear old dad may have just tried to reach up and grab some, because he just realized he left his coins back in his room. And now...his arm just might be actually stuck."

"Oh dear!"

"C-call your great uncle please."

---

"You know kid, maybe you're right, maybe I will go talk to her." Yu smiled up at the imposing head chef, glad that he'd finally gotten through to the man. Months of working elbow to elbow lead to a lot of conversation especially on slower days and for Yu that was just an invitation to start social linking. "You'll be happy you got back in touch, trust me."

"Tell you what, if I'm not, you have to do the peeling tomorrow." A wave of laughter went up throughout the kitchen and Yu rehearsed the line he'd heard so many times before. "I am thou, thou art I..."

"Oh good, you're not busy!" Attention towards to the entrance to the kitchen as the boisterous co-owner came though. Everyone quickly went back to their work when they realized he was talking to Yu, though they all kept one ear open, eager to hear what this could be about. "Yu, are you perhaps, religious?"

That wasn't a question Yu was expecting, especially from Fuyuhiko of all people. "No sir, not particularly. Why do you ask?"

"Well...my daughter and I were going to go pray at the shrine like we do everyday. Usually we all go separate but today we decided to do it together. Want to come with? It's just a short bus ride away." The man held out his arms like a chauffeur clearly expecting the boy to say yes. Yu thought for a moment, and after a nod from the head chef, gave a shrug. "Sure, a good friend has been bugging me to pray more often anyway." He had a bit of an idea as to what brought along this sudden friendliness, but decided not to voice his thoughts. Whatever the reason, it was nice that he and his father-in-law were getting along now. His eyes fell on the man's arm and noticed a red line, like he'd recently caught it in something. Fuyuhiko saw his state and awkwardly looked away. "That's *um* from doing some heavy lifting! Never a dull moment at the Amagi Inn, even the simplest tasks require great care!" Yu just shrugged leaving the other man a little miffed, he probably could have just told him he got it caught in the vending machine and he would have received the same reaction! Although as they walked through the halls, Yu seemed to be looking at him with genuine interest.

"You really go every day?"

"Absolutely! I have a promise to keep after all!" That certainly got Yu's attention, and even a stoic boy like him couldn't quite manage to contain his curiosity. "I can just tell you're dying to know. Well! I'll tell you, but you must promise not to tell a soul, that includes my lovely daughter." That definitely peaked Yu's interest, a secret that Fuyuhiko would even keep from his own daughter, what on earth could it possibly be? Fuyuhiko seemed to sense this, and smiled, making sure to draw it out as long as possible. "Well...the promise...the promise that I made many years ago...that promise...the one you can't tell anyone..."

"Well if you don't want to tell me..." and with nary a look back, Yu walked right past the man, leaving him in a state of shock. "*Sheesh* you could at least play along a little! Fine, fine, fine! I'll come out with it. *Ahem* it was a promise between myself...and the gods." He was expecting his usual dramatic flare to leave the boy stunned, but he looked as neutral as ever. "My wife...she's well she's not quite as healthy as she is now. Her pregnancy was quite a frightful time for us all. Constant nausea, fainting spells, I shudder just to think of it." Now Yu was fully rapt at attention, face implacable but eyes filled with curiosity. "Of course I, being her husband, did everything I could but there's only so much man can do. I was never particularly devout myself, but I'd been wed under their blessing and in an observant household, so I thought to myself 'why not? What do you have to lose?'"

"And so...I made a promise that I would pray to them every day if my wife and daughter made it to Yukiko's first birthday happy and healthy. Of course, we hadn't decided on a name yet *hahahaha!*"

"So did you? Keep your promise I mean?"

"Haven't missed a day. And in return, I haven't gotten one birthday, but eighteen of them! And a husband that she seems to like at any rate. *Heehee* I'm just messing with you!" It wasn't like Yu looked down on Fuyuhiko, quite the contrary he rather liked the man, it was just he hadn't been expecting something like that. "But sir," he eventually asked, "why would you not want Yukiko to know? It would probably make her happy to know that."

"Simple! My daughter is...a very sweet girl!" He looked at Yu like that exclamation had explained everything, but seeing Yu's perplexed expression, he cleared his throat. "Well she's such a wonderful daughter that she'd think she actually owed it to me to pay me back somehow! I don't want her to feel like she's indebted to me, I'm a lot of things Yu, but a braggart isn't one of them."

"Surely the town handyman understands where I'm coming from?" Yu nodded. He did understand where the man was coming from quite well. He accepted the rewards for the good of the team, but honestly he would have been fine just doing it for free; helping people was its own rewards as much as that made him sound like the biggest goody two shoes who ever lived. "But why tell me?"

"Well you will be the father of my grandchild right? I thought maybe it would give you an idea. Snow pea already told me about that notebook she got you for your birthday, praying for them might also help you get your thoughts in order for that right?" After clapping him on the back, Fuyuhiko walked off leaving his son-in-law to stand there and ponder what he'd just said. He didn't ponder long, seeming to nod to himself and come to a conclusion rather quickly.

Unfortunately, giving Yu one kernel of wisdom seemed to have gone to Fuyuhiko's head and he was now in full lecture mode. "I know it's hard for people from the city to get in touch with their spiritual side, but living out here in the country not only puts us closer to the gods, the quiet gives us more meaningful communication!"

"That sounds similar to something your wife told me once," the older man froze like he'd been struck, devastated that he'd been caught red handed plagiarizing. "O-oh well great minds think alike I suppose." The two walked in silence the rest of the way to the entry hall, Fuyuhiko rapidly wracking his brain for something to say for Operation: Make Yu Feel Like he Belonged.

"Is everyone ready?" Yukiko asked when she caught sight of both of them. The two men nodded and she glanced sheepishly at her feet. "I'm afraid I won't be very fast though so you'll have to be patient."

"Well think of it as practice for your wedding procession, you're both going to be walking through the town in formal wear after all. And that's only a measly thirteen days away!"

The girl smiled contently and felt a warmth spread through her chest, growing even bigger when Yu gave her a peck on the cheek out of the blue. "Don't rush on my behalf. Take all the time you need, beautiful." Yukiko was so glad she'd eaten all those snacks for her loving husband, someone so gentlemanly certainly deserved a two hundred pound cushion. He even took her hand and led her onto the bus like a chauffeur helping a princess into a carriage, it made her giggle but he seemed to be completely serious while doing it, and her father DID nod in approval when he saw it...maybe it wasn't a joke after all.

It was kind of funny that anywhere else in the country, there outfits would have garnered all sorts of side eyes and gawks but here in Inaba, the only attention they received was positive. Lots of friendly "hellos" and "good afternoons" which Fuyuhiko enthusiastically returned. Yu especially got a lot of greetings like him wearing a yukata in the middle of town was the most natural thing in the world.

"When's the wedding?"

"Just look at the blushing bride...they make a cute couple."

"Think they're going to go practice, they're heading for the shrine."

As Yukiko swelled more and more with child, it seemed as if the gossip about their relationship only grew more positive. It wasn't just some illegitimate tryst but a proper unity. Yukiko's wish was slowly but surely coming true.

"Ah young Yu, I remember when I was ready to be wed. An icon of both intense admiration and intense jealousy, now the way to deal with it is..." before he could launch into another attempted lecture, a tall boy with glasses approached the three. "Yu Narukami right?"

"Yu Amagi now."

"Right right. Hey you know those twenty peach seeds you gave me? Well, they've started to bloom and I thought 'hey I should let your try some'" The boy shoved a basket into Yu's hands and was off, Fuyuhiko looking at him with questioning eyes.

"Just someone I did a favor for, anyway you were saying?"

"R-right, *ahem* it takes some getting used to marrying into one of the most prestigious families, nay THE most prestigious family in all of Inaba, but-"

"Mommy, mommy, that's the nice man who helped me find my cat! Thanks mister!" A woman held on to her son's arm as he furiously pointed to the grey haired youth. "Sorry to disturb you on your errand, but thanks for your help."

"It's no problem." After the pair left, Fuyuhiko looked around to make sure there was no one around to interrupt him again, and attempted to launch into his lecture for a final time. "I was nervous of course, much like yours-"

"Is that Yu? Well, well it's been a while." A rather monotonous sounding voice called out from the entrance to the liquor store. A rather gaunt looking young man stepped out with a serene smile on his face. "And yet still you're the talk of the town. How have you managed to do that for an entire year?"

"By trying not to," the two boys shared a quick chuckle and that was when Fuyuhiko was able to place the boys identity. "You're the Konishi boy, *er* Naoki!" The boy turned away from Yu towards the older man. "Hello Mr. Amagi, you're looking well today. My parents aren't in right now, so I'm watching the store. Were you here for something?"

"*Er* no, we were just on our way to the shrine. How do...how do you two know each other?" The boy smiled sadly and gave Yu a knowing look. "Last year was...quite difficult for me and he helped me get through it. I'd rather not say anymore but...well I know I promised a discount but if I'm going to be supplying to a whole inn on your behalf now..." his serious expression morphed into a teasing smirk. "I'm joking...what kind of business would we be if we didn't keep our word?" It took everything he had not to make a little joke about the heifer's weight, but he managed to restrain himself. They didn't interact much, but her transformation was still quite shocking.

She seemed to be smiling at him though, not saying her thoughts but he still knew what she was thinking. Such a look would have ticked him off a year ago, but now he saw it as a sort of badge of honor. He'd truly moved on, at least for the most part. "Well I don't want to keep you, but don't forget you're always welcome here." With one last chuckle, he turned and left and Fuyuhiko was finally free to give his speech.

"I'm sorry you keep getting interrupted sir. What was it you wanted to tell me?" The man thought for a moment but then simply smiled. "Nothing, it's something you already know I'm sure." They experienced no more interruptions on the way, as if the gods themselves knew Fuyuhiko learned his lesson.It was pointless to try and be Yu's teacher or some kind of surrogate admirable father figure, but he could still be a good friend.

"Actually, I've been meaning to stop by here anyway. We need to ask for permission to use the shrine after all." Fuyuhiko looked at him in confusion, they'd already cleared the reservation with the mayor and the old man who tended to the place but to his surprise his daughter let out a gasp. "Oh that's right! I almost completely forgot! How could we be so insensitive!?" She mumbled something to her tummy that Fuyuhiko didn't quite catch, somethig about "respecting nature" or some such. All his questions were answered when Yu let out a sharp whistle.

Before the man's eyes, a fox hopped up to the roof of the shrine. It was unlike any fox he'd ever seen though, with a red bib around its neck. The animal let out a piercing howl and jumped in front of the gathered Amagi family. "D-d-did you just...how did you tame a fox!?" The animal seemed to almost glare at him and Fuyuhiko instinctively stepped back a bit. "You probably shouldn't use that word. It's a working relationship." To his shock, the fox let Yu approach and even scratch behind its ears. "I-is it safe?"

"'She,' not 'it' sir."

"W-well I didn't want to be rude by assuming." That's when the man noticed a small rustling in a nearby bush. "What's..." but when he moved to approach it, the fox jumped into his path, glaring threateningly at him. "*Eeep* this is why I hate the outdoors!"

"Daddy, she's just protecting her babies! Don't worry, my father means no harm, he's just a little clumsy sometimes." That seemed to satisfy the fox for the time being and it was then that Fuyuhiko heard the most adorable little mewl from the bush and a tiny baby fox peak its head out. "Oh goodness, how precious!" The shrine guardians face was usually just as neutral as Yu's, but as a fellow mother, Yukiko could pick up on the slight hint of pride in her eye. "They'll grow up to be fine foxes someday," the fertile fatty told the fox; the mysterious animal let out a sound that was somewhere between a purr and a yip, voicing her agreement.

"The fox can't actually understand us...right? F-funny joke you two." The other two smiled among themselves and the fox sat itself down and started grooming itself with its paw completely nonchalantly. "Of course not sir, that would be impossible." Despite this, Yu knelt down and gained the fox's attention. "We need to use this shrine for a day two weeks from now. Do you think that would be alright." As expected, the animal said nothing but it did sit up straight, gently swishing its bushy tail back and forth as if it was expecting something. Yu let out a sigh, "alright, alright fine." He proceeded to walk over to the offertory box and placed a 10000 yen bill inside. The fox sat unmoving. Another 10000 yen bill, still the fox did not move. Growing a bit annoyed, Yu took three at once and shoved them into the box. Finally, the fox let out a yip and turned tail back into the brush with her kits. "*Sheesh* and that was at a discount too," Yu mumbled to himself.

"What's wrong daddy? You look a little sad."

"Oh well, I kind of...wanted to pet it. Just a little bit on the head. She didn't seem so wild and frightening once you got to know her."

"You might get a chance next time." Fuyuhiko was about to point out that the fox probably wouldn't show up without Yu being there before realizing what his son-in-law meant. "Yes...next time." At last it was finally time to do what they came here for. "Would you like to lead us today princess?"

"Definitely. I suppose hubby's already taken care of the offering...oh but there's nothing wrong with a little extra." The family did a quick washing at the entrance, a slight layer of crime removing itself from Yu and Fuyuhiko's arms although Yukiko's were relatively pristine. Yukiko had brought Yu to pray before but they always either got interrupted or he ended up confessing his feelings for his high school sweetheart. When they'd make a quick stop before or after school, he'd either remain outside or join in but never fully lose himself in the process. But he intended to change that today.

"Hubby, could you please help me to my knees." Yu gladly assisted her in getting into a kneeling position in front of the shrine. Her hands removed ever so briefly from her belly to begin her prayer, Yu and Fuyuhiko followed her lead and they all closed their eyes.

They each had their own prayers but it probably would have amused the three to know how close they all were to each other. The only sound were the occasional clapping of hands, tossing of coins, and ringing of the shrine bell as Yukiko led the purification. As far as Yu understood it, each part of the prayer was separated and the short interruptions were to help its passage to the gods as you started on the next one, so he did just that. One for his child, one for his wife, one for both of his families new and old, one for the team and one last one for anyone else who made a difference in his life.

He wasn't particularly sure who he was praying too, but that didn't really matter. Now he understood why Yukiko enjoyed doing this so much. It was meditative, calming, a way to take stock of everything you had to be thankful for and clear your mind of distractions for the future. "Give me the strength to change what I can change, the courage to accept what I can't, and the wisdom to know the difference," he said as the capstone for his prayer. When he opened his eyes, he saw Yukiko struggling to her feet and instantly dashed over to help her up. "Take things easy my love. The ground here is quite hard."

"He's right dear, and since he's so eager to help you might as well go along with it right?" Yukiko looked to her father with a joyful expression and gladly accepted Yu's help. "That's a wonderful way of looking at it...*oop* I almost forgot, everyone please bow right away, it's disrespectful to wait so long." A deep bow or half of one in Yukiko's case, brought an end to their little session and after they left the hallowed grounds, they allowed themselves to talk freely again.

"Daddy, what did you pray for?"

"Like you don't know. Your mother's continuing health, the inn's continued success and of course, to bless your union." He thought Yukiko would be happy but she seemed to be a little pensive. "W-why didn't you pray for the baby?"

"We don't need to." The two men said simultaneously. "I mean you heard the doctor's yourself pumpkin, any more prayers would just be overkill!"

"Your father's right darling, best to send their attention where it's actually needed." The girl had her hands pressed into her cheeks and couldn't meet their eyes she was so happy at the compliments. "You simply must stop teasing me. When I'm around you two, I feel like my face will stay red forever!"

"Teasing? But snow pea, we're being perfectly serious. Isn't that right Yu?"

"Absolutely. Besides as long as you're married to me, you should be more afraid of a smile sticking!"

The two shared a laugh while Yukiko made a mixed noise of embarrassment and enjoyment. "You and your mother are exactly the same, you both pretend to hate your husbands' compliments but deep down you love them!"

"Noooo. Well yes...it's true."

"Hear that son, now there's no reason to hold back, got it?" Yu froze for a moment, unsure if what Fuyuhiko had just said meant what he thought it did. The man had a goofy grin on his face, but behind it, his eyes contained a clear intent and that's when it hit Yu. Before he could vocalize it, Fuyuhiko reached out and pressed the two together, eliciting a happy coo from his daughter. The couple's hands wrapped around each other on instinct and Fuyuhiko let out another laugh. "Alright gang, let's go home."

Yu allowed himself to enjoy his wife cuddling the top of her head into his chest before getting a small smile. "Yeah...the rest of the family is probably waiting."

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Yu’s conversation with his father and his ominous warnings were still swirling around his head but the shrine visit had helped him to push those thoughts into the recesses of his mind for the time being. While he sat around the table for dinner that night, he took the time to get a good look at everyone around him. Although he couldn’t say he started in the good graces of Mr. and Mrs. Amagi considering the circumstances of their first meeting, he had worked hard to change their perception of him and now he was like one of the family. He WAS one of the family. And it wasn’t just because the law said he was by marrying their daughter. They worried about his well-being. They cared for him. They treated him like he was their own flesh and blood. He was kicking himself that it took Mr. Amagi’s invitation to fully realize it, but he had been considered a true part of the Amagi family for a while now.

All those nights when he was kid and he would sit in an empty room at an empty table and eat his dinner alone and complete silence, he wished for a dinner table just like this one. One where he would be asked about how his day was or what his plans were for later that week. It brought him great joy to think that with the coming wedding, and maybe after a little awkwardness, his mother could sit down with the rest of the family and they could enjoy a nice dinner together. His father could come as well of course, but Yu had come to accept that the possibility of that happening was about as likely as his wife returning to her pre-pregnancy body, slim to none.

Instead of sowing seeds of doubt like he was sure his father had intended his phone call to do instead it had only hardened him. It was funny, in the heat of the moment with his dad yelling at him he did feel a little intimidated. However, looking back now he could see his father’s ranting and raving for what it was, a tantrum from someone who knew things weren’t going his way.

He had tried to make peace with his father anyway he could, and in a way, and he had still been acting like that nine-year-old boy looking for his approval, but no more. He was on the cusp of getting married to the most wonderful girl who he was madly in love with and they were getting ready to welcome their own son into the world. He was too busy and hadn’t the time nor the energy to afford to his father or his misguided attempts to do “what was right for him.” He would love for his son to have the chance to able to call him his grandpa, but if he didn’t want that, to be a part of their lives, he wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it. It would be painful, but he was ready to cut off ties with his father for the sake of his family and that would be on his father. If any reconciliation down the road with his father were possible the attempt would have to be made by him for a change. He didn’t know what his father planned to do by attending the wedding, but Yu couldn’t help but feel pity for him if he actually attempted to follow through. Like his wife, Yukina could be downright scary when she was crossed and with HER mother here as well? His father would quickly discover he had bitten off more than he could chew.

Yukiko delicately placed her hand on her husband’s knee. Dinner had started over ten minutes ago and he hadn’t taken a single bite. It didn’t take someone with detective chops like Naoto to know what he was thinking about. His concentration broken, Yu turned to face his wife and was immediately met with her worried expression. He didn’t react at first, only blinking a few times while staring right at her. If she didn’t know any better, it felt like he was checking her out! Once it had gotten to the point where Yukiko could feel her face heating up and getting redder from her husband’s stares, Yu’s blank expression slowly grew into a big smile.

Anyone else might have interpreted his smile as him trying to placate her worries and to hide how he was feeling, nut Yukiko knew her hubby, and that one smile told her that everything was alright and that he had already gotten over whatever it was his father had told him.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Yukiko was caught off guard when her hubby seemed to have forgotten where they were at the moment and suddenly leaned in for a kiss, right at the dinner table! Yukiko knew she should have stopped him but like whenever her hubby asks if she wanted to stop for some steak skewers whenever they went for a walk together, she couldn’t say no, and leaned over to meet him. She would have to chastise herself for being so greedy later!

You would think since they do it so often and for so long that it would grow boring after a while, but when they locked lips it took her breath away every time. Her hubby managed to sneak in a quick squeeze of one of her love handles, the unexpected action causing her to let out a muffled mew and gently bite down on his lower lip. But before Yu could escalate things further by slipping in some tongue, the lovers heard a loud cough from across the table. Both immediately broke contact and sat up straight in their seats to look at Yukiko’s mother staring daggers at them. Yu wanted to melt into his seat for allowing himself to slip up like that. But while Yukina’s stare was intense, he could only image the heated look he was getting from his great grandmother in-law. He almost didn’t want to turn to face her, but when he finally mustered up the courage to, he found she was preoccupied with something.

“Honestly! I know that you know your table manners! Sometimes I think you do this on purpose just to get a rise out of me.” Sachiko had been too busy berating her son-in-law over some table infraction that she had missed his and Yukiko’s spontaneous display of affection. Mr. Amgai tried his best to look pathetic and hung his head after his scolding, but the minute Sachiko turned back to her plate, he looked up and gave the young couple a small smirk and a quick thumbs up. Yu collapsed back into his chair. First the shrine and now this! Mr. Amagi seemed to be trying his hardest today to make sure he was indebted to him.

“So Yukiko, your father tells me you sent out your invitations. Have you heard back from your friends?” Yukina asked hoping to get passed that last bit of awkwardness. Yukiko couldn’t swallow her mouthful of rice fast enough. “Oh yes! I was so relived when I got the word that everyone could make it. Especially Rise and Naoto! I know Rise is just working so hard. I was afraid she might be too busy to attend. And who knows what kind of cases Naoto could be dealing with…”

Hearing Yukiko mention some unfamiliar names got her grandmother’s attention. “So, these people are friends of yours? I don’t recall you having talked about them or seeing them the last time me and your grandfather were here.” Yukiko brought her hand to her cheek, “Oh that’s right. You haven’t met them before. You see, Naoto and Rise didn’t move here until just this year. Actually, Rise’s grandmother runs that small tofu shop in town.”

Sachiko nodded her head, “Ah yes, me and your grandfather stopped by their a few days ago. Their ganmodoki is actually rather good. I don’t recall seeing a granddaughter there though.”

“She moved back to the city for her job. She is an idol. She is actually pretty famous!” Yukiko could tell by her grandmother’s confused look that she didn’t know what “idol” meant and needed a little more clarification. “She is a performer. You know, one of those pretty girls who sing and dance and do commercials?” Sachiko scoffed, “Oh, you mean she is one of those TV floozies! I swear it’s things like that that proves this country has a moral crisis on its hands. How they can broadcast something so vulgar on TV is a mystery to me! I remember on our last cruise they had one of those concerts playing on some of the screens into casino hall. That girl’s skirt only made it halfway down her thigh! Isn’t that right dear?” Her husband just nodded as he continued to eat.

Yukiko puffed out her chubbier cheeks and pouted, not really appreciating the tone her grandmother was using while talking about her friend. “You know, she is actually a really nice girl…” Sachiko’s face grew a tad gentler and reassured her granddaughter, “I am sure she is. It’s just her choice of occupation that’s the problem. Don’t worry though, I’m sure we could talk some sense into her at the wedding. Yukina groaned, “I remember all the fuss when she came to town. It was all anyone was talking about for a while and there were people with camera’s trying to snap a picture of her on every street corner!” Mr. Amagi chimed in “We did make some money with all those paparazzi coming to stay.”

“But they were all so loud and disruptive, not to mention rude. They had a complete disregard for our Inn and this town. We were still finding their garbage around for weeks after they left. I guess that goes to show what type of person decides that disrupting people’s personal lives is a good way to make a living…”

Sachiko looked horrified. “Goodness! She won’t be bringing all that trouble to the wedding, will she?”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. She assured me that her visit would be a well-kept secret. Besides, she isn’t really in the public eye right now. Her comeback tour she has been planning is still a little ways off and I think there is another rival talent agency going through some sort of scandal at the moment, so everyone is preoccupied with that.”

Sachiko was still a little worried that something like that could potentially ruin her precious granddaughter’s big day, but Yu’s calmness about it in turn calmed her fears. She didn’t know what it was, but her granddaughter’s choice of husband just had a way to make you trust whatever he said. “So, what about this other girl?”

“Naoto? She is a genius! She is a year younger than me and Yu and yet she is already a well-known detective. She came here to help the police with that murder case but once that was solved, she had some other cases she needed to attend to.”

“Such a courteous and polite girl. Although she did seem a little stiff when I tried to strike up a conversation with her that one night you all stayed here after the school festival,” Fuyuhiko recalled.

“She can be a little shy, but she's been making great strides lately.” Yukiko giggled, thinking about Naoto's new boyfriend

Sachiko was genuinely impressed. She had actually heard of this Shirogane person before on the news. Between that wild Satonaka girl, and learning her granddaughter had befriended that delinquent Tatsumi boy, the son of the manger of that dreadful eyesore of a department store, and now this Kujikawa girl, this was the first of them all that actually sounded like a good fit for her! Although, she could have sworn the “Detective Prince” was a boy…

After dinner, while coming back from dropping off their dishes in the kitchen to be washed. Jiro and his son-in-law caught Yukina slinking out of her office with a smile on her face and a certain glint in her eye. “Someone’s looks happy,” Fuyuhiko beamed. After doing a tiny twirl to face them, Yukina puffed out her chest. “I just finished up some last-minute paperwork and with nothing else going on I have the rest of the night off. So, you know what that means! Yukina proudly raised the “Affano” videotape she had been given to her face, as if they didn’t already know that was what she was so happy about. Seeing the normally pale woman, face flushed with color from excitement and giddiness made the trouble of tracking down the old videotape instantly worth it.

Yukina grew a devilish grin, “So dear, are you going to watch it with me.” The words barely escaped her lips before her husband shook his head and said, “No way.”

“Awww, why not?”

“I read the back of the box. It sounds far to intense for me! Besides, I’ll be watching the inn so you can watch your movie in peace.” Yukina wasn’t that disappointed. She knew very well her husband wasn’t the best with horror movies, and with the Inn and the coming wedding she couldn’t afford to have him up all night unable to sleep. “What’s the matter? I seem to recall a certain young man many years ago going on and on about how much he loved “scary ghost movies.”” Jiro joked. “I already married your daughter. I don’t have to keep up that charade up anymore,” he responded.

It had been a very lousy charade. His daughter’s first date with her future husband happened to have been a trip to the movie theater to see some zombie movie from America. The younger Fuyuhiko tried to put on a brave front when he came to fetch her, but Jiro could tell he was quaking in his boots. Despite how they got along now, Jiro was very much against Fuyuhiko dating his daughter at first. The only reason he allowed the date to happen in the first place was because he believed Fuyuhiko would end up bailing halfway through. But to his surprise he stuck with it and Jiro couldn’t help but commend the boy. What he did not appreciate however, was when he brought back his daughter with stained clothes and pieces of popcorn stuck to her hair!

He learned later that it was mostly his daughter’s doing. Seeing how sacred the boy was, during the film’s climax she thought it be funny to play a small prank on him and suddenly grab the nape of his neck. She laughingly told him that Fuyuhiko jumped ten feet in the air and as a result sent the caramel corn he was holding for her flying everywhere.

Of course, he was livid by the state his daughter was returned in and may have thrown a few threats the boy’s way if he saw him around the Inn again. But, when he went to console his caramel covered daughter on her way to the bath, she instead told him she had a wonderful time, and for someone who spent a lot of her days lying in bed, he knew how much something like that meant. That’s why whenever Fuyuhiko came back for another date despite his warnings, he remembered her sticky smiling face and that helped him let the two go until eventually he warmed up to his son-on-law.

“How about you daddy? Want to watch? “she asked shaking the videotape enticingly. The older Amagi also had to decline, “Sorry snowdrop, that one looks a tad too gory for my tastes, and I think your mother wanted to do something.” Like his son-in-law, he didn’t do so well with blood, but for entirely different reasons. Yukina shrugged, “I guess I’ll just have to go ask Yukiko. It has been a while since we sat down together.”

“I think that’s a great idea.” Fuyuhiko had to say, he was kind of relived that his daughter ended up sharing her mother’s taste for all things grim and gruesome. Sure he would bite the bullet and watch something his wife really wanted to watch with him every once in a while, but with Yukiko around it meant he could pawn most of it off on her. “I would ask Yu if he would like to watch it with you too as well.” He added. Yukina paused for a moment, “Yeah, I think I will. He is my new son-in-law. That is, IF they can promise to keep their hands and lips to themselves!”

Yukina’s hand was on the door handle, less then a second away from flinging it open when she stopped herself. She was still a little used to being able to more or less barge into her daughter’s room whenever she pleased but with Yu living with them now, who knows what could be going on in there. Yukina pressed her ear up against the door and she could faintly hear what sounded like whispers and her daughter giggling. She couldn’t really say what was going on in there for sure, but considering the worst case scenario, she had definitely dodged a bullet.

Before she started to feel like she was eavesdropping, Yukina knocked on the door to make her presence known. The laughing and murmuring instantly ceased, and she heard her daughter nervously call out “Who’s there?”

“It’s your mother. I want to ask you something,” she answered back, silently chuckling by how caught of guard her daughter sounded. Next, she heard what sounded like heavy breathing and the creaking of bedsprings as her portly daughter no doubt attempted to raise herself out of bed. Yukina took note of how long it took before she started hearing her daughter’s heavier footsteps coming closer and closer. Finally the door slowly cracked open and her daughter’s head poke out. Her face was beet red, either from embarrassment or from exertion, or both, and it was clear she was indecent by the way she hid the rest of her body behind the half-opened door. “Hello mother, what did you want to ask me?” Yukina took a moment to tease her daughter by trying to look behind the door but Yukiko was quick to pull the door further closed. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Yukina smirked. Trying to avoid eye contact Yukiko gave her mother a very unconvincing “No.”

“Well Good! If you’re not busy. Your father and grandfather were nice enough to get me a gift I thought you might be interested in.”

Yukina held old videotape up for her daughter to see. When she saw the cover and read the blood dripping text, the demure acting Yukiko suddenly grew a lot livelier. “Oh wow, that looks positively morbid! I don’t think I’ve heard of that before!” Without thinking Yukiko stepped out from behind the door to get a better look, in turn giving her mother a better look at all her tubby glory.

The first thing was that her daughter was naked. The only thing she had to cover up was one of the Inn’s white bedsheets to use as a makeshift robe. The cotton sheet clung to every new curve and roll of the chunkier inn heiress’s body. On close inspection, Yukina could just make out the young woman’s nipples bleeding through and the teasing older Amagi grew a tad quieter when she noticed what looked like small wet stains dotting the fabric. The only thing the draping sheet could not cover up was the pale round orb that was Yukiko’s stomach. The flab coated ball of fluff jutted out, the ends of the sheet almost acting like a pair of curtains, putting it on full display. The self-conscious Yukiko broke eye contact again and tried to pull the edges of the sheets together as best she could but tightening the hold the sheet had on her body only served to further accentuated how thick and plump the expectant mother was getting.

“So…you say father and grandfather gave it to you?” She finally squeaked out. Yukina nodded, “Yup, and I was hoping you would like to watch it with me. It’s been a while since we have done something together.” Yukina grew a sly smile that quickly morphed into a fake pout. “You know, with you getting married and with the baby on the way, you might not have time to do things like this with your dear old mother anymore.” Yukiko frowned, “You know that’s not true!”

The outburst caused the top of the sheet to start to slipping off one of Yukiko’s shoulders, and milky momma had to quickly grab it before one of her heavy breasts became fully exposed.

Yukina switched straight back to smiling, “So you’ll watch it with me?” Honestly, because of how big into horror Yukiko was like her mother, she didn’t really need all that much convincing. “Well, it does look pretty good…” Some movement in the room behind her daughter caught Yukina’s eye. With the door now opened wider, she could see her husband standing near the bed watching them. Yukina had thought she had caught the two during some “intimacy”, but puzzlingly, Yu still had his clothes on. The fact that their seemed to be a half empty tray of what looked like leftovers from dinner further called into question just what the two had been doing before she had shown up, but given her son-in-law’s odd tastes for her daughter’s “fuller-figure” she had her ideas. She tried not to think too much about it.

“You are invited to come along as well, Yu. In fact, I insist! I mean, Fuyuhiko got to spend all that time with you two today, I think it only be fair that I get my time as well.” Yu wasn’t that into horror, especially old Italian horror from the seventies. He had more of a disposition toward drama. But he wasn’t a complete scaredy cat like Yukiko’s father or Chie and with both his wife and Mrs. Amagi looking at him with the same eager eyes he couldn’t very much decline. Besides, it would be nice to spend some time with the Amagi matriarch, as Mr. Amagi helped him realize today, they were family after all. “Of course I'll come, that sounds great.”

“Oh goody!” Yukina said with a clap of her hands. It was a little strange for Yu to see Mrs. Amagi so acting so excited. It reminded him of Yukiko a lot like whenever she had a new “hilarious” motorcycle accident video she wanted to show him or whenever he placed a new delicious smelly dish in front of her…

“I’ll get set up. Meet me in my room in fifteen minutes.” But upon seeing her daughter and her husband face’s growing bashful again and remembering that she had caught them in the middle of something, she corrected herself. “You know what, make it thirty minutes.”