[hr][i][h1][color=salmon]Haruka Takashiro[/color], & Akemi Shinoda.[/h1][/i]
[hr][hider=Kingdom Hearts II OST - Destiny Island][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sGetsCguKk[/youtube][/hider][hr]
[b][code]Strong Gold Community, Silver Hills_[/code][/b]

Akemi sat at a table, watching the crowd around her while waiting for Haruka. It didn't take long for the older twin to come back to her, but she was amused with the huge plate of food he was balancing carefully in his hands while dodging the passers-by who almost knocked into him.

"[i]Are you sure we can finish all this?[/i]" she asked the moment Haruka finally set the plate down on the table with a sigh of relief.

"[i]I'm very hungry right now,[/i]" Haruka sat down opposite of his disapproving aunt, picked up one of the plastic forks stuck into the food and began poking at the pile on the plate.

"[i]I don't think I'm going to eat much, so you'll have to clear the plate yourself,[/i]" Akemi said as she picked up the other fork.

"[i]I know - 'don't waste food',[/i]" was all Haruka said and he stuffed the fried seafood into his mouth. "[i]Mhmm, the prawn is good![/i]"

... ...

They continued to eat silently without another word until half of the food was gone from the plate. Haruka swallowed his spaghetti before he spoke, "[i]Have you heard anything from our Dad... or Mum?[/i]"

"[i]No.[/i]" Akemi shook her head. "[i]Shizuka did pass me their new contact numbers; I tried to give my sister a call, but she didn't pick up.[/i]"

"[i]Shizu also said that age and stress are really catching up on Dad,[/i]" Haruka said, twirling his fork on the plate and curled up some spaghetti. "[i]I can see that for myself in the photos, that Dad is getting too old to keep going on like this.[/i]"

"[i]I'm worried about him too. He really needs to take a break from work.[/i]" Akemi put down her fork on the plate, and closed her eyes. "[i]It really pains me to see him - you and Shizuka too - to suffer like this. What is Asami thinking?[/i]"

Haruka didn't respond; he pulled the plate towards himself and was wolfing down the rest of the spaghetti.

Akemi leaned back on her chair and looked up at the sky. "[i]...Sometimes the regret would haunt me, that I shouldn't have let him go. I should have fought for him till the bitter end.[/i]"

Haruka looked up from his plate (he actually did finish everything, just as he had promised) and stared at his aunt. "[i]You mean...?[/i]"

"[i]Ah, no one has told you about this before? Yuu was a childhood friend of mine and Asami's. We went to the same elementary through middle school.[/i]" Leaning forward, Akemi placed her elbows on the table, her chin resting on the back of her hands. "[i]He liked the both of us equally, but he couldn't have us both - he could only choose one of us. And he chose me.[/i]" She sighed. "[i]But I rejected him - because I knew Asami was obsessed with him at that time. I feared what she might do to me - and him - if I didn't give him up.

Looking back, I'm such a coward. I ran away from the problem, thinking that it's the best for everyone, but I ended up making him and you two to shoulder that problem.[/i]"

"[i]I don't hate Mum like Shizu is,[/i]" Haruka said. "[i]And I don't want to give up on my real family. I'm not saying that I'm not satisfied with the current 'family', but...[/i]"

"[i]I understand what you mean.[/i]" Akemi gave her nephew a smile. "[i]After all, 'blood is thicker than water'.[/i]"