Jade Chapter 18 *last*

[lilly0]

Title: Jade: Chapter 18 (of 18) *end*
Pairing: Akame. RyoxJin as brothers (not as a pairing). Various other characters.
Rating: PG-13 (for this chapter)
Genre: AU, crime, romance, family
Multi-chapter
Disclaimer: I don't own them or anything else JE-related. But the story is mine of course^^
Summary: Tokyo, 1981: A young bride disappears, leaving no trace but an old necklace out of jade. No one has seen her, no one knows who she is. The woman that never existed.
Tokyo, 2011: Jin, a talented photographer, is known for his sixth sense when it’s about photos and other person’s emotions. When he gets the offer to work with Tokyo’s Criminal Investigation Department, he moves to Tokyo, together with his 16-year-old brother.
There he starts to work together with the skilled, but eccentric young detective Kamenashi Kazuya.They are part of the department for Cold Cases, where forgotten and never solved cases are investigated again. Despite their first rather bad impression of each other, they soon learn that their skills complement each other almost perfectly.
The case they are working on seems mysterious, but harmless: Jade, the woman that had been erased from everyone's memory. But soon Jin and Kame realize that with this case they are awakening a sleeping lion, bringing themselves and everyone they love and care for into danger. They suddenly fall into a network of intrigues, murders and threats. On top of that they are both hiding something from each other and from everyone else... something no one is supposed to know...

“Why are you doing this?” Ryo looked at the guy through questioning eyes. He actually didn’t feel really scared, not anymore. There was still a little bit of faith left in him. But… still, he felt shocked. “It’s as if I’m dreaming… as if it’s a joke…”

“I know, you have to feel really upset.” the guy sounded surprisingly soft.

“No! Now I’m feeling angry. But I did feel upset when you sent me the adoption papers.” Ryo bit his lips a bit. “I... this was a shock. Why did you do that?”

The guy bowed his head apologetically. “It was a low bow towards you, I know. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I needed to set a trace for these two.”

“Why didn’t you send Jin the papers then, if you wanted to set a trace?” Ryo frowned. “Giving them to me was unnecessary!!”

“That’s what I wanted to do. But you found them first.” The guy shrugged helplessly. “I’m sorry.”

“I trusted you!” Ryo mumbled. “You were a friend.”

“Maybe I have my reasons?” the guy suggested.

“What kind of reasons could that possibly be?” Ryo asked, all the nervousness washed away from him. This guy would never hurt him, he knew that. Still…all this was so unbelievable.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Can’t you let me go?” Ryo asked hopefully.

“I’m sorry.” The voice sounded silent and apologetically. “I didn’t want to get you into this. Same goes for Jin. But when you were suddenly here… it just happened. It’s not like I planned it.”

Ryo glared in annoyance. “I hate you for doing that!”

“I understand that.” The guy looked at Ryo nervously. “I won’t do any harm to you. I just need Kamenashi.”

“I don’t want you to do something to Kame-kun either! He is a good guy!” Ryo answered fiercely, not sure where he was getting the courage from. But he was way too upset to let this opportunity go.

“He is not!”

“What did he do to you?” Ryo demanded to know.

The guy shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand…” he mumbled tiredly, then he frowned, standing up. “Time to go. Come!”

“I don’t want to do that!” Ryo grumbled. “Don’t make me do your dirty work!”

The guy’s voice sounded nervous now. “Listen, I don’t want to do any harm to you. So just do what I tell you.”

“You won’t do any harm to me? So when I don’t do what you tell me to do, will you actually hurt me?” Ryo looked at the other angrily. “You would be able to do that?” He took a deep breath. “You are just pathetic!” When Ryo saw the troubled expression in the other’s eyes, he sighed a bit. Was it okay to feel sorry for someone in such a situation? Maybe he himself was the pathetic one here? “You could at least untie me.” Ryo complained.

“Are your hands hurting?” the guy asked, sounding concerned. He knelt down next to the boy, checking on his ankles.

Ryo sighed a bit at that. “You know…” he mumbled when he felt how his ties were loosened a bit, a hand rubbing his ankles. “You better have a really good explanation for this, because I don’t want to hate you.” He leaned back a bit, his eyes scanning the guy’s face. He had something breakable and sad in his eyes. Ryo sighed slightly. He really had meant it. He didn’t want to hate him.

“I’m going now.” The guy said silently. “Since you won’t come along, I’ll leave you here. I’m sorry I can’t untie you completely though.”

“Don’t go…” Ryo rasped out.

For a moment the guy paused, looking at Ryo warily. He had such a desperate look in his eyes and it made him waver. “Ryo-chan…” he mumbled, approaching the boy and kneeling down a bit. He raised his hand, wanting to stroke over the boy’s hair. But before he could do so there was some noise at the door, making him blink. He was too surprised to react at that and before he even knew what was going on, the door broke open and a very worked-up Kame stormed into the room, followed by Jin.

For a moment they all stayed quiet, just an almost unbearable tension around them. “Tatsuya-kun…” Kame mumbled, as if he still couldn’t believe it, though he and Jin had already guessed it correctly.

Jin’s eyes widened in shock when he saw Ryo. He stormed to his brother’s – actually son’s –  side. “Thank God.” he mumbled

“It’s okay…” Ryo stuttered. “He didn’t do anything to me…”

Jin turned around, looking at Ueda piercingly. “Why?”

Ueda looked at him almost helplessly. “I didn’t even want him. I would never do something to him or you. But when I saw him, sitting there. It was my chance…” He shook his head, pointing at Kame, his eyes suddenly sparkling angrily. “…because I want him!”

Kame wavered for a moment, staring at Ueda in disbelief. “I know, my father is a dick, but…”

“NO!” Ueda frowned, his eyes sparkling in deepest wrath and despise. “I-W-A-N-T-Y-O-U!”

Kame stared at the other through questioning eyes. “Why?” he asked, slowly feeling how he was loosing his patience. “What did I do to you!??” The anger made his senses sharp, so when Ueda suddenly jumped up and rushed towards him, he reacted immediately, and before Jin could do anything the two men were already rolling over the floor, punching each other.

“She had to give her child away!” Ueda yelled angrily. “Because your father didn’t want her to have it! He took it away from her! I want him to feel the same pain now!”

Kame felt how Ueda was pressing him to the ground and merely laughed bitterly. “You think he would care!?” he yelled angrily. “He is not even my father!”

For a moment Ueda blinked. “You are lying!”

“No.” Kame hissed. “I hate this guy and he hates me. I don’t even understand why he adopted me…”

Ueda stared at Kame as if someone had just taken away his purpose to live. The reason for everything was nothing but a lie. “I don’t believe you…” he rasped out.

“You should.” Jin interrupted them. He had been watching the both of them from a few steps away, not wanting to step in between, because he believed that this here might still be something these two could settle. Though he had never thought that the reason for Ueda’s grudge would be…that.

“What?” Ueda asked, wavering for a moment. Jin had been his friend – since they were kids –there was no reason not to believe him.

Jin sighed, letting go of Ryo to step towards the two hot-headed guys. But before he did so, he looked at Ryo sternly. “We’ll talk about you running away…again!”

Ryo frowned, a devilish spark in his eyes. “Yes, Daddy.”

Jin drew back a bit. So Ryo had found out? He bit his lips at that, not sure what to answer. He just shot Ueda a glare. “Thanks man…” he mumbled.

For a moment Ueda felt really guilty. “I didn’t know that he is your son… I just knew that his mother gave birth here. But about you, I swear…”

“He is right. It’s not Tatsuya-kun’s fault that my family lied to me…” Ryo mumbled.

“Well…” Jin stuttered, reaching out his hand to touch Ryo’s head. He winced a bit when the younger one drew back to avoid his touch. “I promise, we’ll solve this later, okay?”

“I can’t await it.” Ryo answered tiredly.

Jin flinched again, something in Ryo’s eyes almost making him feel sick, but he decided that this here should really wait till they were alone. He turned around again to look at Ueda. “You shouldn’t do any harm to him…”

“He really isn’t my father.” Kame blurt out, still feeling furious.

“Yes, he is.” Jin said silently.

For a moment Kame looked at Jin in shock, his eyes wearing the same expression as Ueda’s did before. “What…that’s a lie! He adopted me, I saw the documents.”

Jin smiled sadly. “He adopted you, because he couldn’t raise you as his official son… He wasn’t married after all.”

“How do you know that?” Kame asked, shivering slightly.

“I looked into some documents before we headed to Tatsuya’s place, remember?”

“Yes.” Kame mumbled. “You wanted to check on Jade’s documents…” he paused out of a sudden, something inside his mind working on its own. For a moment he felt how a painful headache overwhelmed him. “What… but that’s…”

“Hey.” Ueda interrupted them. “Feel like filling me in?”

“How about you fill us in first?” Jin demanded. “If I remember correctly you kidnapped my…eh… Ryo… It’s not like I’m over that already!”

Ueda shifted around a bit. “I’m sorry for pulling you two into this story… I never planned it like that.” He pointed at Kame. “I just wanted him.”

“Why?” Kame asked silently. “I don’t understand… What do I have to do with you?”

“You should really tell them.” Ryo mumbled. “It’s becoming slightly ridiculous here. Just spit it out already…”

Ueda sighed. “I… She is my mother.”

“Yeah.” Jin sighed. “We know that Jade is your mother. We kinda figured that out on your way here…”

“I still don’t understand.” Kame shook his head.

“She gave birth here.” Jin told him. “I remember her. When I was here with Ryo’s mother, I saw her… She was walking through the park, totally absent-minded.”

“It broke her.” Ueda hissed out. “She gave birth to the baby and they took it away from her. She fought so much for it, but couldn’t keep it. They stole it!” He pointed at Kame. “He stole it!”

Kame blinked in confusion. “I didn’t steal it…”

“Not you!” Ueda sighed in frustration. “Your father!”

Kame’s eyes widened out of a sudden, he stared at Ueda in disbelief. “WHAT!? I can’t believe that… why would he do something like that!? That’s disgusting and horrible.”

“How should I know?” Ueda grumbled angrily. “But I don’t care, I just want…”

“He was her lover.” Jin interrupted Ueda. “He was the child’s father.”

“Exactly.” Ueda glared.

“I’m not interested in what you have to say!” Kame hissed out in annoyance, slowly feeling how his patience was drifting away completely.

“Well…” Jin mused, feeling slightly amused. “You should be interested…”

“Why?” Ueda and Kame asked both at the same time, then they glared at each other as they realized they had just said the same thing.

Jin shifted around, feeling nervous now. Then he took Kame’s hand into his, ignoring his friends’ confused expression and looking at him and Ueda. “You always wondered where you come from, right?”

“Yes.” Kame mumbled.

“You came from here.”

Kame blinked in confusion. “What…”

“You were born here, exactly at June, 3^rd, 1982.”

“What…” Ueda blinked for a moment, looking at Jin in frustration. “That’s ridiculous Jin. That’s the same date my mother gave birth to my sister or brother. I never saw the baby… She only saw it for a moment. His father took it away at the same day.”

“Yes. And he kept it at his place.” Jin told them. “Because he was the baby’s father after all…”

For a moment both Kame and Ueda stayed quiet, both too surprised and too taken aback by the information. “What…” Kame mumbled. “But this means…”

“Jade was pregnant with you.” Jin explained. “And above all, the unborn baby’s father was an important and influential politician. No way could he tell everyone that he was the father of an illegitimate child, while the woman was actually supposed to marry someone else. But she didn’t want to abort it. So he used all the might and power he had to make everyone stay quiet. The groom committed suicide after the woman left him, for the sake of the baby. And since she wasn’t originally Japanese, she had no family here.” Jin paused. “He is a strong man, Kazu, you know that yourself. He has so many important friends. It was almost too simple for him to hide everything. When Jade gave birth to you, he took the baby away, because he couldn’t take the risk of her spilling the news. It broke her, as Tatsuya said earlier, which means after all the things she went through, she broke down, almost loosing her mind. The nurse said it’s amnesia. I’m sorry…” He shook his head. “I should have remembered earlier. When I was here, I saw her. And the nurse told me this strange story about this politician who adopted his own child. I was too nervous back then, waiting for Ryo to be born. I almost forgot this story immediately afterwards.”

“But…” Ueda gasped in shock, looking at Kame in surprise. “This means…we are…”

Jin grinned a bit. “Weren’t you searching for your brother all this time? Well, here he is.”

“I can’t believe it…” Kame mumbled.

“But it’s the truth. You can read it in the documents of this hospital here. Your father thought of everything, almost everything, but he didn’t know that not only the doctors but also the nurses here are documenting everything. There is a photo from your mother, when you were born. The only photo with the both of you. And in the background there is this man.”

“My father.”

“Yes. You can even make a genetic test if you want to, but it won’t change anything. You are…”

“Brothers.” Kame shook his head, suddenly feeling shaky. He rubbed over his tired eyes, tearing up because of all the tension and pressure. “I have family?”

“Isn’t it…” Ueda blushed a bit. “…too late for us to become family? I mean after all this time?”

Jin smiled warily. “It’s never too late for family. You can finally rely on someone and share a life together. You will never be alone. There are so many things you can go through together. There is an awesome time awaiting you, if you’ll let it happen. Family is the best, right Ryo?”

“Yeah.” Ryo nodded his head. “Most of the time it is…” Then he looked at Kame mischievously. “But I bet your older brother will get on your nerves… They really are exhausting sometimes.”

“Hey.” Jin complained. “I’m not that exhausting!”

Ueda shook his head. “I won’t be like Jin, I promise.”

“No.” Jin answered dryly. “You’ll be worse…”

Kame blinked a bit when he listened to the other’s. He looked at them warily. “Is it really that simple?”

Ueda looked at him tiredly. “Well, for starters we could try, right? I searched for you long enough.”

“And now?” Kame asked when silence filled the air.

“Can’t we just go home?” Ryo asked carefully.

“Yeah.” Jin smiled a bit. “Let’s go.”

******

"YOU!” Yuu’s finger was almost piercing Ryo’s forehead. “You are into so much trouble.”

Ryo blinked at that, before he hugged a totally surprised Yuu.  “God, I missed you and your cooking! Sorry for worrying you.”

“Well, it’s okay, I guess.” Yuu was obviously flattered, then he grinned. “But your nice little maneuver won’t stop us from grounding you.”

“Great.” Ryo mock-complained. “I’m kinda getting used to this. But whatever, as long as you are cooking…”

Yuu rolled his eyes, before his gaze shifted towards Jin. The look in Jin’s eyes was a wary one, as if he was afraid of bumping into this conversation. “Alright.” Yuu changed the topic, away from Ryo. “You need to fill me in now.” He demanded. “And where the hell is Kazuya.”

For a moment it was quiet around him, then Ryo shook his head. “Went home with his brother.”

“What brother?” Yuu blinked. “Did we know something about a brother?”

“No.” Ryo mumbled, his head hurting when he thought about Jin. “Apparently many family relationships here were quite confusing.” He paused. “Now, each time I went to my parents’ grave, whom was I mourning? Once they were my parents, then my adoptive parents. Now they are my grandparents? What will it be tomorrow? This is like a sick joke, really.”

For a moment it was silent, before Yuu coughed a bit. “You can tell me everything later. For now I’m going to…finish dinner.” With that he left, leaving Jin and Ryo alone.

Jin sighed nervously. They hadn’t talked at all during their way back home. Kame and Ueda were with them and Jin was glad for the distraction. These two were slowly trying to understand everything and each other. Meanwhile he didn’t need to think about the fact that Ryo found out the truth about him. But right now, it was different. They were alone.

“Hey.” Jin said warily.

“Hm?”

“I know what you feel now…”

Ryo shook his head, looking away from Jin. “No you don’t.”

Jin bit his lips nervously, before he nodded his head, sitting down at the sofa next to Ryo. “You are right. I don’t know it… it’s a stupid saying.”

Again it was silent between them, before Ryo looked at Jin piercingly. “You are my father?”

“Yes.”

“How? I mean…why?”

“I was very young back then. And I convinced my girlfriend to give birth to you. And she did, secretly. Then my parents…” Jin paused here, wondering how he should tell Ryo this part without talking bad about his parents and hurting Ryo by doing so. “…well, they thought I was too young to be a father and they adopted you.”

Ryo frowned for a moment. “Are you implying that they took me away from you?”

Jin shrugged. “It’s not that simple, I guess.”

Again it was very silent between them, before Ryo looked at Jin warily. “But you wanted me, didn’t you?” he paused. “She didn’t want me…”

“Of course I wanted you! That’s why…that’s how…” Jin took a deep breath here, realizing that he needed to calm down. “I would have never given away responsibility. I convinced her…”

“She didn’t want me, right? She said it…”

Jin sighed slightly. “I wished you hadn’t run away to see her.”

“I ran away to see her because you didn’t tell me anything!” Ryo hissed, letting go of his anger and of all these feelings inside him. All these lies others had told him throughout his whole life. “It’s not like I was searching for my mother to be with her. I wanted to know where I come from and who I am. No one was ever honest to me. I knew something was off when you didn’t tell me anything about my mother a few weeks ago. Do you think I’m stupid? Of course I searched for her. Till then I was a person without any past – you didn’t tell me whose kid I am. Neither did my grandparents, or whatever they are. Is it so difficult to understand that I wanted to know the truth?”

Jin let Ryo rant for a moment, let him be angry, before he nodded his head. “You are right, I should have told you. But it wasn’t that simple. Not after all these years where I had to hide the truth. I think at one point I just wanted you to be happy and see me as whatever you wanted to see me. And Shizuka,” he tilted his head. “I think in the end she didn’t want to leave you. She was smiling when she held you in her arms. But also for her there was no taking back anymore. She was only 14… she wasn’t allowed to keep you.”

“That’s cruel.” Ryo answered silently. “For her, I mean. I guess in the end I was lucky. I could have ended up in an orphanage.”

Jin shook his head. “Before they would have done that, I would have grabbed you and ran away with you.”

“Yeah.” Ryo nodded his head, a little smirk around his lips. “It’s exactly like you to say something irresponsible like that.”

Jin chuckled, smacking the other slightly. “Is that how you are supposed to talk to your father?” When he saw Ryo’s wary expression, he bit down on his lips. “Not funny yet, right?

Ryo rubbed over his head. “Oh damn. This will take me forever to get used to it. You are my father.” If he was honest, he had to admit that he still didn’t grasp this fact completely. “I’m still not… I mean…”

“It’s okay.” Jin nodded his head sympathetically. This time when he reached out his hand to touch Ryo, he was happy that the younger didn’t pull away. “Just take your time. Nothing has to change. Or at least: not everything has to change. I know that these are big news. I wished I could have been the one telling you. And I wished I could have been your father from the moment on where you were born.”

“You didn’t have a choice.” Ryo answered, to his own surprise. “But I guess you’ve always been more like a father than like a brother. I still remember how you scolded me when I was 10 and didn’t do my homework…”

“I’m sorry for lying to you.”

Ryo frowned angrily. “Yes, you better are! I hate it to be lied to. You know that. Aren’t you supposed to be a good example as a father?”

“I’m not some sort of superhero.” Jin answered silently. “I might never be perfect. And I will always be bothersome and worried about you. I can only reassure you of one thing, that in all these years you’ve always been my son. Even though I called you brother, you were always my kid. From the beginning on. I would have died to save you.”

Ryo looked at Jin insistently, checking every of his features. The headache was still there, but it wasn’t hunting him that painfully anymore. He wondered what would happen now and how they would deal with this new situation. But then he smiled slightly. This was Jin, he would for sure lead him out of this. He only needed to trust him or try to trust him. He still hadn’t grasped it completely though, his head was still processing everything. He couldn’t tell now how he would see Jin in a few weeks, as a brother or a father or something in between. But right now, he just didn’t want to agonize over these difficult thoughts. “Say…” Ryo mused, a small smile on his lips. “How much time does this shocking news give me?”

“Eh?” Jin blinked. “Time for what?”

Ryo chuckled. “To be a difficult teenager and do whatever I want without getting scolded or punished?”

Jin smiled warmly, but before he could answer the door of the kitchen opened up and Yuu peeked into the room. “Are you guys finished? If not, save it for later, you can’t solve everything within half an hour. Besides that our pizza is finished and might get cold.” He covered Ryo’s mouth with his hand before the younger one could complain. “And yes, it’s self-made and nothing unhealthy on it. Good?”

Ryo nodded while Yuu tugged him along to the kitchen. He turned around a bit to look at Jin. It did feel like coming home today. He had feared the moment he would get out of the car and walk into the house and feel weird and uncomfortable. But it still felt like home. And with Jin… if he was his father or brother, he would make this decision later.

******

“You know…” Jin snuggled against Kame, his fingers brushing through his soft hair. “Now that everything is over, it feels strange.”

“Don’t worry.” Kame answered dryly. “We’ll find something else to do. There is this one case, with the man who…”

“Not now!” Jin interrupted his friend. “Let’s make a new rule. No talking about work when we are in bed.”

“Okay.” Kame smiled warmly. “I can live with that, I guess.”

For a moment it was silent, then Jin looked at Kame warily. “Did you talk with him?”

“With who?” Kame asked, though he already knew the answer. But asking again would give him some time…”

“With your father.”

“No, not after I came back and told him that I know everything.”

“Don’t you want to talk to him? I mean, he is your father…and…”

“Hey.” Kame kissed Jin’s neck teasingly. “Let’s make a new rule.”

“Another one?”

“Yes. No talking about my father when we are in bed.” Kame explained.

“Okay.” Jin smiled. “Can we talk about Tatsuya then?”

Kame tilted his head, a frown on his forehead. “You know, it’s weird. I was alone for such a long time and now I suddenly have a brother. I’m won’t ever forget how awesome you where and that you covered for him and told our chief that he had just accompanied Ryo and didn’t do anything. That was amazing, Jin.”

“I could feel his pain.” Jin mused. “On top of that he is my friend. Yes, he did keep Ryo and wanted you in exchange and I still feel like hitting him for it. But he wouldn’t have done anything to Ryo. I know that. He was desperate. Very desperate. Maybe more than we could imagine.”

“Well…he is really trying hard to make up to you.” Kame agreed, smiling a bit. “And to Ryo. So, please don’t make him suffer for too long. He is my only family.”

“He didn’t have an easy life, I guess. Spending years with a mother and her pain. It’s tough. The life he lived had to be a sad and difficult one” Jin mused. “Poor guy. I was his friend for so long and I didn’t even realize. Did you know that he has all these jobs to actually pay for this institution his mother lives in?”

“Yes.” Kame nodded his head. “From now on I can help him. You know, I’m glad that I found him. It’s good to have a family, finally, after years. And he is an amazing older brother. A bit too worried though.”

Jin laughed. “Family is worth the trouble.”

“So.” Kame smiled. “Are there any other secrets between us?”

“You mean besides my other five children I haven’t told anyone about yet? The ones I’m still hiding?” Jin joked.

Kame giggled at that. “Yes, exactly, idiot.” He paused. “You and Ryo?”

“We are still working on things. He hates to be lied to. And though it didn’t change all that much between us, it’s still some huge news to swallow. He is still struggling a bit. But it’s getting better. He’s always been my son after all. For me he was never my brother, but my kid.”

“Yes.” Kame smiled. “It’s gonna work out, you’ll see.”

******

"I can’t believe it that Tatsuya-kun is inviting us to the amusement park.” Uchi smiled brightly. “It’s so expensive…”

“Yes.” Ueda snorted. “It’s all on me today.”

“Why?”

“Because he is bribing me.” Ryo teased.

“I call it making up.” Ueda argued.

For a moment Uchi blinked, glaring at Ryo. “What didn’t you tell me? There is something, right?”

Ryo chuckled. “I just helped him to meet his brother. After 30 years.” he answered diplomatically. “Right?”

“Yes.” Ueda smiled, putting his arm around Ryo’s shoulder. “I was lucky.”

“I’m glad.” Ryo admitted. “That it went well in the end. I like you both and it would have been sad if you had hurt each other or worse…”

“Yes.” Ueda winced slightly. “I was caught in these negative feelings way too much. Seeing my mother close to everyday, suffering from something she can’t even remember… But it wasn’t Kazuya’s fault. It never was. No matter whose son he is.”

“You were desperate.” Ryo mused, then he grinned. “But this doesn’t mean I already forgave you.”

“Sure.” Ueda mock-complained. “What do you want me to invite you two to?”

“Ice-cream.” Uchi exclaimed out of a sudden. “And pizza.”

Ryo generously ignored the fact that pizza was not exactly anything healthy. This was Uchi after all, not his brother-father. “I want to ride the rollercoaster.”

“Oh, and the one with the spinning seats.”

“The haunted house.”

“My.” Ueda grinned. “Are you modest. I’m a bit surprised it’s only the both of you…”

“Well…” Ryo smirked. “Who said it’s only the both of us?”

“Eh.” Ueda blinked, his eyes widening when he saw Yamapi somewhere, tugging along Koki and Taguchi. And Jin. Kame. Yuu.

“Great.” Yuu exclaimed. “When Ryo told me that you would invite us all out, I just couldn’t say no.”

“What?” Ueda whispered towards Ryo. “That’s how you avoided it to get grounded for any longer? Are you for real? You are too smart kid.” He chuckled slightly. “My poor wallet. You really are enjoying your revenge, aren’t you?”

“A bit.” Ryo teased.

Ueda grinned. “It’s okay. So what do you want to do first?”

“Rollercoaster.” Uchi answered at Ryo’s place.

Ryo nodded his head, his eyes shining. “Yes, sounds good.” He turned around, looking at Jin warily. “Is it okay if we go on our own a bit?” He frowned. “Dad…Jin… or Aniki… how am I actually supposed to call you now?”

Jin blushed at that, feeling totally taken aback. “Well, yes, of course, it’s okay. And you can call me like you did before.”

“Wow.” Yuu teased, grinning brightly once Ryo and his friends headed away. “You are handling this very well, Jin.”

“Shut up!”

“No.” Yuu tilted his head. “On a second thought, you actually really are doing well… considering all these weird and awkward moments.”

“He is right.” Kame nodded his head encouragingly, taking Jin’s hand. “What Yuu wanted to say is that it doesn’t need to be alright and perfect immediately. It’s okay if it takes some time. It’s a huge change for him, you need to let him get used to it. And now that Ryo is not feeling mad or angry anymore, he is actually thinking very deeply about this whole situation. That’s good.” He looked at Yuu piercingly. “That’s what you wanted to say, right?”

Yuu blinked for a moment. “Yes, dude…somehow…” He shook his head. “No matter what kind of problems you are facing now, Jin, you’ll always be family.”

“Yes.” Ueda smiled. “And we are here too.”

“Right.” Yuu chuckled. “We’ll keep your life a bit more exciting.”

******

“Do you really think it’s okay?” Kame’s voice sounded wary, almost scared, much to his own anger.

Ueda’s smile was genuine. “Of course.”

Jin nodded his head. “Now don’t chicken out, okay? You want to do that… since years now.” He smiled when Kame leaned against him, his arms wrapped around his waist. He placed a soft kiss on Kame’s hair. “I’ll be there if you need something. I’ll wait here with Ryo.” He turned around eyeing how his son was sitting on a bench in the garden. “He has some questions about his birth and why things went how they did. I think I need to answer him properly this time.”

“Yes.” Kame chuckled, leaning forward to kiss him sweetly. “I think so too. Otherwise he might rip your head off.”

“He might.” Jin agreed. “So… you two take your time.” He sighed when the wary expression was back in Kame’s eyes, but then Ueda intervened, grabbing Kame’s hand and tugging him along. “Come, little brother.”

Jin smiled a bit when he walked back to Ryo. “Looking at the sky?”

“Hm.” Ryo mused, before he robbed aside a bit so that Jin could sit down as well. “It’s weird to be here.”

“You are telling me?” Jin chuckled. “Last time I was here, you were with Tatsuya. And the time before, you were a screaming and whining little bundle.”

“Yes.” Ryo nodded his head, just to shake it again a moment later. “This here feels still so strange.”

“It might always be like that.” Jin interrupted the younger one carefully, stroking through his hair. “I’m just glad that you were at my side, from the moment you were born. I preferred it to be your brother than to be without you.”

Ryo smiled slightly. “Well, I guess, at one point you have always been more like a father.”

“Really?” Jin asked in interest.

“Yes, especially since our… your parents died.” Ryo mused. “You are always so worried. And a bit bothersome.” He chuckled. “So, I guess, we’ll be okay.”

“Of course.” Jin nodded his head, poking Ryo’s cheek teasingly. “Of course we’ll be okay. I have no doubt about that.”

******

“There is someone visiting you.” Ueda touched the woman’s hair softly.

Kame bit his lips, his hands shivering nervously. She did look like on the photos, somehow, she was older though, but her features were still the same. “I…” he stuttered. “I’m Kazuya. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh.” Jade looked at him curiously. “Such a pretty young man. Do you know him, dear?”

“Yes, he is my brother.”

“Ah, I see.”

Ueda smiled encouragingly. “He has a present for you.”

Kame nodded his head, stepping a bit closer and handing her a little box. His eyes never left her face. He had longed for this moment since years and feared it at the same time. But now that the moment was there, it felt almost surreal. “I… it’s just a little present. It feels like it should belong to you.”

Jade looked at the box curiously, before she opened it. Her long fingers angled for a necklace, with a pendant out of jade. For a while it was quiet, then she smiled brightly and Kame felt like she was lighting up the room. “Oh” she whispered. “That’s pretty.”

A/N: Writing this chapter exhausted me. Really. I'm almost falling asleep right now.
However, I hope you enjoyed it. And I hope you liked the ending. All the time when reading your awesome comments, I was afraid that one of you might guess the ending. ^_^
Thanks so much for your support and for following this story <3



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Note: Dear friends and readers! Thanks so much for all your support <3  To thank you I opened up a Request Post. If you feel like requesting a one-shot with a specific pairing or situation you can do so HERE.