Reunification

[Reno]

Sora looked down at Raine and chuckled softly, then leaned down, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry Raine. But I'm glad Orihime is better at storytelling then me. We'll just have to keep her huh?"

Orihime blinked in surprise. What did that mean?

Sora chuckled, then straightened, walking past his sister. He pat Adan on the shoulder, ruffling Kenji's arm and then paused in front of Kairi. Her eyes were soft, her smile nice, but he noticed the fisted hands and knew he better be careful. "I'm sorry." He murmured, leaning forward and kissed her cheek. "I won't do it again I promise."

He looked around then and smiled suddenly. "I've come to a decision guys! As long as your all okay with it!" He looked at each and every one of his siblings evenly, then Kairi. "We're taking the money."

He looked towards Orihime. "And you... are going to live with us. Like a real San should."

"Oh I cou-"

"Oh yes you CAN and will."

~~~~~~

It would be two monthes later before Sora ever repaid his debts. Despite the fact that they had 500,000 to spend on, he was VERY careful with it. He still was the habit of buying what was needed.

His proudest thing he did use for the money though was... getting their old house back. How he possibly bargained to get the old place back without ANY hassle no one knew. Actually the keepers had been running out themseleves. Now Sora had it back on mortgage and was dutifully paying off the bills each month as they came. Between him, Kairi and Orihime the bills weren;t as expensive. Orihime had gotten a local job here and had become somewhat of a baby sitter as well.

Kairi and him... well things were still happening betwene them. they were slowly sliding back into the life they used to have. A life of love and care.

Sora had quit both his jobs and had rejoined highschool - despite his age. He wqas homeschooling himself just so he could get his degree and was taking college classes on the side. He wanted to at least get his associates. He was getting his life back on track and hopefully he could get into the job he;d been wanting for years back into his state of mind.

Also, he had gotten a new job at an alarm company as a technician were he was making enough to support - though Kairi still beat him paycheck after paycheck. Not that he minded. Kairi was just better at stuff sometimes...

As for the kids, now that there was only four, Raine and Iris and Kenji had their own room, He and Kairi shared, Orihime had hers and Adan, surprisngly, moved up to the attic for some reaosn - maybe because that was what Ryten had been wanting to do before all that hell had begun. their mother had been admitted to a hospital, a new insurance plan paying off the majority of the insane bills. She was looking healthier then ever! They visited her as often as possible.

Their was also the funeral... beautiful and kind and heartfelt. The money hadn't been important to Sora when planning it - they owed Ryten everything at this point. Saying goodbye though... that had been hard on all of them. Especally Orihime. they had really loved each other hadn't they?

Now that they had mvoed back as well, Sora had found himself talking to Riku once more. And that meant he was visiting the house again and THAT meant Iris was back to her old shy, school girl ways.

Between all this Sora hadn't found many chances to get away... between school, work and family time it was hard to find anytime at all even to spend with Kairi... but it was going to be worth it in the end.

"Have you seen Kyoji?" Sora asked, looking around the rundown area. The bum nodded, pointing down an ally. "Thanks!"

Sora walked off, and soon walked down an alleyway where a man in familar rags was digigng through the trash. Sora pouted a bit and walked forward. "Kyoji!" It was odd really, approaching him when he was well dressed and the bum was nothing but rags. But to Sora that didn't matter. He owed this man his life and he was going to repay it as best he could.

[Jade]

One of the bums gave Sora a weird stare when they approached him the boy was asking for Kyoji... why would any normal kids be coming here? Was he old fmaily of his... maybe a friend? People never came to the alleys... out of fear or discust... he pointed suddenly " Kyoji is down that way, um... you should be able to find him, check the garbage."

But of course it was just as the man said, Kyoji was digging through an old garbage can looking for food, it had been a few days since the last time he had put anything in his stomache you could see the look of hunger and exhaustion in his eyes and even his features. His clothing had a few more holes in them than the last time that he had seen Sora. He gave an odd stare when he saw the boy but suddenly smiled " You look alot more healthy than the last time I saw you kid." he stood holding an old half eaten sandwich in one hand mold was coming off from it, he stared down at it then looked over at Sora again scratching the back of his head.

The boy definatley looked alot more healthy than the night he had brought him into his home, new clothes... a fresh smile , something just seemed alot more different... but it had been two months, two whole months since the last time the boy had come to these alleys. It just wasnt normal for people to come down to these parts. " I'm fresh out of bread if thats what your here for..." he said suddenly really uncertain why the kid had come back...

[Reno]

"And you're looking worse." Sora smiled softly at the older man and shook his head. "Course i'm not here for bread." He walked over. "I told you I'd be back one day to return my debt to you, did I not? I promised and Sora San never breaks his promises!" He nodded. "That's why I'm here. Come on how about a REAL meal? My treat."

If Kairi found out what he was doing she'd probably slap him... again. Of course he still had some important things to do before his life was completely normal. And THIS was one of them. Paying a debt back to a man kinder than anyone hel;d seen in years.

[Jade]

The man gave him a weird stare looking at him " Y... you want to take me... out there?" he asked suddenly looking past the alleyways uncertain, he had never left the alley's people were harsh and cruel, and he was always told to stay away from the rest of the world, people out there looked down upon people like him... so why was this kid trying to help him? " All I did was make sure you got home safleyl..."

[Reno]

"You did more then that!" Sora insisted. "even if you didnlt even realize it... and now i owe you so come on. I promise it;s not as bad as it seems." He held out his hand to the other, smiling encouragingly.

[Jade]

He gave sora an uneasy look frowning at the boy, but sighed in defeat taking his hand " Nobody will say anything I mean... just look at me... people don't accept people like me..."

[Reno]

Sora led him from the alleyway, chuckling softly. "Then if you want, after lunch we'll get you some new clothes... maybe a shave and a hair cut - oh and a shower! defineitly a shower!"

[Jade]

He started giving the boy a dull stare, why was he doing all of this...? He chuckled slightly " I still don't get it... but if you wan't I can't really turn that down... I don't remember the last time I had a shower, well I do but...!" he chuckled slightly remembering, he had tried to take a shower in the middle of the night in one of the public fountains not to far away in the park, a police officer had chased him away and he had spent a whole night in jail. Jail was weird and everyone there was so angry, but he just brushed it off, atleast he had a bed to sleep in and they fed him... jail food wasnt so bad... if it wasnt for the mean people he would have been half tempted to go back! It would have kept im off the streets, but streets and a cage... well, he just enjoyed his freedom to go to a place like that...!

" Your too kind Sora..." he said smiling at the boy.

[Reno]

"You too." Sora said softly, smiling at the man brightly. "We'll start with food first then clothes and then all the hard stuff."

And thats how the day started. Sora took him to a nice place to eat - Kyoji's choice of course - and let the man order as much as he wanted. It turned out to be a LOT of food - in fact he hadn;t seen anyone eat so much since... since his DAD. He laughed some, watching the other eat enthusiastically and paid for the meal, disregarding the price.

After that Sora took him to a clothing store, getting him not one but three outfits - not to mention a nice new coat that would keep him much warmer then his worn and torn rags.

After that he had to foresdight to stop by a store - get some extra shampoo and condition, a hairbrush, scssiors and a razor - before going to a nice hotel and BUYING Kyoji a room.

"alright here we are!" Sora said, opening the door and allowing the other to come inside. "Shower away. And use LOTS of this." He handed the shampoo and conditioner over, as well as the brush. "try and get all the knots out then we'll go ahead and trim you up all nice and neatly and get you a good hairstyle and everything!"

[Jade]

Nobody in all there years had treated him this kind, he had even gotten in a car for the first time, well besides the time he went to jail... well for the first time ever! The feeling of the cool air blowing against his face and sending all the hair backwards, it was refreshing... even if it was such a simple thing the feeling itself was just amazing. Once they finally got the the restaurant, oddly enough it was a japanese place that he had picked, he was even able to read the strange letters that he could have swarn he had never seen before but was picking them up faster than most people could. It seemed like food continuously stacked up on his plate ordering plate upon plate until his stomache was finally full. He had seemed to of created quite the scene with the mountain of plates, and bowls of rice stuck up as high as they were.

Sora had practically dragged him into the clothing store, he looked arond curiously as the boy dragged him from place to place then throwing him into the changing room, having him put on all the new clothes. Once he was done he stared they really didnt look that bad at all, a brand new pair of brown cargo pants, a whit shirt and a really nice black jacket, then the shoes... black leather boots! For once he seemed to be dressing well... normal! The rags and old clothes were quickly disposed of after they left the store.

They had run back and forth to a few other different stores, he was starting to feel bad though with Sora getting him all these things... he didnt even deserve them, he even felt like questioning why this kid was doing this...?

But eventually they had made their way to the hotel a place, a warm bed to stay in for the night... stuff once again he still didnt deserve. He paniked slightly when Sora forced the shampoo forward and he took them " Hey uh... so why are you doing all of this for me again? I mean... I do appreciate it but don't you need the money for your family?" he asked suddenly remembering Sora's situation that he had been in. How he told him he was struggling from job to job just to keep his family alive. He stared down at the bottles of shampoo then up at Sora again, it had been bothering him this whole time.

[Reno]

Sora smiled softly at the other;s suspicions and shook his head. "Remember when i met you and told you my brother had just died...? He was part of the military... and his wife came and visited us, telling us that she had gotten a 500 grand check for relief... and was offering us ALL of it." He sighhed. "I ripped up the check that night and ran off... and got drunk as hell because I thought I didn't need it - that it only sugarcoated my brother's death."

He sighed. "Then I met you... and you took me in and gave me the best piece of advice i'd ever heard. God.. throws fate at you in weird ways... but it's up to yourself to shape your own destiny. So I went home and took the money and took in Ryten's wife and got our house back... and now I'm getting life back on track. i'm putting myself and Adan through college - I'm going to finish the job I had wanted to before my dad died."

He smiled up at the other softly. "And now... I have to pay you back. Not just for one day... but hopefully for a lifetime."

[Jade]

Kyoji just looked at him an odd look on his face but nodded not really saying anything else after that, he just turned and headed for the bathroom and started to get undressed. It wouldnt be long before the shower could be heard, the hot water pouring from the shower head steam rising. It was a feeling that he was not familiar to at all, a real shower... he had wondered for so long with the loss of his memory if he would ever get it back... he wanted so badly to remember who he really was, if he even had a real family just like Sora did. He wondered if they cared and missed him all the same just like Sora said they missed his father... The feeling of the soap rubbing against his body, he could see the dirt washing away, he could see the real color of his skin, the knots coming out from his hair as the shampoo moved through it. he had so much to think about... could he... use this blessing to change his own life arond just like Sora had? He had to find out... maybe there was a way to find out who he really was... there had to be...

When he stept out of the shower he grabbed a towel rubbing it through his hair and started for the mirrow looking at himself, the mirror was coated with fog and he was quick to brushed it away with his hand, his own orange eyes piercing into each other as he just watched. But just as if it were a natural thing to do he lavered shaving cream onto his face the towel wrapped around his waist and then grabbed the nearby razor and started to remove his beard. Bit by bit and little by little he began to remove the long ragged beard from his face until it was all completley gone. It was something he hadnt seen in years... his own face, odly and strangley there was a cross shaped scar on his left cheek he blinked wondering how it had gotten there his hand going over it, even his hair stuck out differently after he had used his towel to dry it out. It was more spikey and ridged almost like Sora's but it had a bit more of poof too it.

He opened his mouth looking at his teeth, they were yellow plaque infesting them completley, he wondered really how he still had them. So he did what was next and ran the toothbrush and paste into his teeth going in a motion that only came natural... he knew he had never done it before but he felt like he had a million times over...

When he exited the shower he had made sure to get dressed, it was like a new man had stepped out completley. His new clothes, his fresh shave he felt like a compeltley new man, like he had truly been given a second chance at life " Well... what do you think?" he asked looking in Sora's direction wondering what the boy would say, but he made sure to have a big smile on his face showing off his newly brushed teeth.

[Reno]

Sora meanwhile had nothing to do while the man got himself clean. He turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, bored with each and every single one of them. eventually he stopped on a gameshow and jsut watched as people despertaely tied to win as much money as they could... and failed horribly.

He kept watching until, almost a whole hour and a half later the shower was cut off. wow he realyl HAD been dirty. Sora flipped off the TV, and continued to wait, letting mind drift off into space, thinking about his upcoming project for English 101. Something about a persusive essay on a topic of his choice. He didn't even have one chosen yet.

He hummed a bit, thinking about it idly, little topics running through his head - and he was just thinking about doing it on animal testing when he heard a razor going. He chuckled turning on his side and shut his eyes.

It must of been another 30 minutes until it was cut off - and then anther 15 of sink water running (brushing his teeth no doubt he bought toothbrushes and paste as well) until the door was cracked open.

Sora sat up, excited to see who it was... and slowly his eyes widened further in complete shock as the man stepped out. Oh yeah he was clean alright, looked all prim and proper and like a real man and no longer a bum...

but that wasn't what he saw. He saw a man he had known ALL his life. He rememebred days in the park, reassuring hands at his back as he was pushed, he remembered riding a bike for the first time, hands letting go of handle bars to let him ride alone, he remembered lectures both good and bad, he remembered learning how to drive and being informed on how to turn while maintaining speed... he remembered countless hugs and ruffling of hair, remembered... remembered being told that he was proud of and loved and... and...

"Oh my god." Sora choked, tears suddenly rushing down his face fast and hard. "Oh my god..." He jumped up suddenly and rushed forward, throwing his arms around the man and sobbing. "DAD!"

[Jade]

Complete panic came over him as Sora nearly tackled him without giving him any warning at all, he groaned not understanding he had called him dad before even that day when he found him drunken throwing up his insides all over the ground after drinking way too much alcohol. He groaned then suddenly pushed back " What are you doing!?" he questioned suddenly still not understanding it, he grimaced looking at him confusion in his own eyes, he could see the desperate look in Sora's own eyes...

[Reno]

Sora looked up at him, hurt masked over his face as he was shoved away, tears still trickling down his face.

'I don't know my real name... but my friends call me Kyoji'

'I don't have any memory of anything past three years ago...'

He didn't... didn't remember... "Your memory..." he whispered.

Sora grit his teeth, then grabbed the man's wrist, tugging him into the bathroom. "Look at yourself." He ordered before tugging out his wallet and taking out a picture that he kept there, one of his whole family right before all the dangerous things started to happen. it had everyone - mom, dad, Ryten, himself, Iris, Kenji and Raine.

He shoved it into the other's face. "and look at the man in this picture. It's YOU! Dad... I'm you SON. This family... in here this is YOUR family!"