So I'm back with whooping cough (I think?) I caught in Tokyo. Strange that the only time I catch it is in the cleanest city I've ever been in, not from my 20 years of living in a suburb of NYC… Anyway, please review.

The school trip went off without a hitch. That is what Gakushuu would say, at least. Nagisa would say it started off with as few hitches as it could when your mission is to assassinate a superhuman octopus who moves at Mach 20. Then it devolved into chaos when his friends were kidnapped by delinquents from another school, and he had to use his teacher's book (that weighed a ton) as a literal weapon, and Koro-sensei came to the rescue yet again. It was moments like this that made it hard to even want to kill their teacher.

"Boys," Hiromi announced when they arrived home from their trip. They knew that tone. They dropped their bags immediately. "Your father and I want to talk to you in the kitchen."

"Crap," Nagisa whispered under his breath. He dutifully followed his mother's voice into the kitchen. Gakushuu took an example from him.

Hiromi was sitting on the barstool, legs crossed and most deceptive smile she could muster (the boys saw right through that). Gakuho stood a few steps away, pouring out two glasses of wine.

"So how do you like this arrangement?"

The hair on the back of Nagisa's neck stood on end. Not asking about their trip? Didn't want to see any pictures?

"What do you mean?" Nagisa played dumb.

"Are you happy here?" Gakuho clarified.

Nagisa and his brother broke out into a cold sweat. That had a very complicated and multi-part answer. But they both knew that anything but a positive response would provoke a not-so-pleasant rebuttal from the adults.

"Yes." Nagisa muttered, looking at his shoes.

"Yes." Gakushuu echoed.

"I don't believe either of you." The new Mrs. Asano rolled her eyes. "But anyway, I no longer see it fit to beat around the bush." Hiromi stood up. "Your… non-custodial parents are coming for a visit."

Sweatdrop. "What?"

"Your bio dad is coming to take you next weekend." She rolled her eyes.

A smile burst onto Nagisa's face. "Really? Finally!"

If it were any other day, Hiromi would have taken her son's excitement at 'finally' being able to see his biological father as a condemnation of her parenting, but today was an exceptionally good day for Hiromi Asano. She got a break from the kids and was going on the first vacation she had in years! Parenting was such a tough job, where the hours were 24/7 and the pay was zero yen an hour. She deserved this.

"Yes, he'll pick you up at 3 on Saturday, so come straight come from school." She pinched her son's cheek. "Mommy has plans for the weekend."

Gakushuu gulped. What did this mean for him?

"Son, your mom is flying up to visit for that weekend too." Gakuho delivered the sentence with a smile.

The redhead twitched. "Why?"

"I don't know, ask her." He roughly patted his son on the back. "She said she wants to see Tokyo Tower with you again."

"What if I don't want to see her?"

"Tough shit, she's your mom." Dammit, what was with the sudden whiplash in this attitude towards Gakushuu's mom? He normally wouldn't be okay with this arrangement.

Nagisa cringed at his step-brother's predicament. His pigtails drooped, which did not escape his mother's notice.

"The two of us won't be available after Saturday afternoon, so don't get into any trouble."

"Why? Where are you going?" Gakushuu snapped.

"A place." Hiromi simply said.

The next week passed slowly. On Monday Nagisa began a big group project, and he focused his energy on that, while Gakushuu continued his usual routine of studying for six hours a day. On Wednesday night Gakushuu burst into their room, excitement obvious in his features.

"Nagi," He panted. "I know where the folks are going."

"Huh?" Nagisa raised his blue gaze from the diagram of the Inner Solar System that he was drawing.

"They're going to a spa in Hokkaido." The honor student thrust his phone into Nagisa's hands.

Nagisa, truthfully, really didn't want to know where his parents were going, but he might as well look at the evidence that Gakushuu was so eager to share.

It was a photo of what could only be assumed based on context was the Principal's computer. His email was open.

To: Gakuho Asano

From: Hokkaido Magical Resort and Spa

Subject: Order Confirmation

Hello Asano-san,

This is your receipt for your reservation at Hokkaido Magical Resort and Spa in Hakodate, Hokkaido.

Date of stay: June 6th-7th

Number of Guests: 2

Price: 40,000 yen

Contact number: XX-YYYY-AAA

Confirmation Number: 1234567

You will pay at the location. In the event of a cancellation, please email this address. Thank you, and we look forward to having you.

"Eh, okay. Not much we can do about it." Nagisa shook the dust off of the diagram. "Do you make a habit of this?"

"What specifically?" Gakushuu took his house shoes off.

"Snooping through your Dad's email?"

"I used to, he figured it out and changed all his passwords to something impossible." Gakushuu leaned back in his bed. "He got a passcode on his phone too. I tried so many combinations of four digit numbers that I've lost track of what I have and haven't tried."

"But you got into his email this time?" Nagisa sat back down on the floor.

"Yeah, he left it open, for once. He was distracted by a phone call. Turned out to just be a scam anyway."

"Uh, okay… So what do you plan on doing with this?" He pulled colored pencils out of his bag. "Because I can't imagine-"

"Right now? Nothing at all. But mark my words, it will come in use soon enough."

"If you say so, Gakushuu." The assassin turned his attention back to the project.

The day of reckoning had come. Saturday, June 6th, the Year of our Lord 2015. The two step-brothers stood at the front door of the Asano residence, waiting with baited breath. Their custodial parents stood in the kitchen, watching the door like a pair of hawks.

"Your mother just texted that she's here, boy." Gakuho snarled.

"Help me." Gakushuu squeaked as he heard a telltale knock at the door.

"Would if I could." Nagisa replied.

A tall woman with orange hair walked in the door. Well, walked would not be the appropriate verb. It was more like she barged in the door. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun. She moved with authority, much like the Principal and much like her son. She loudly cracked her chewing gum. Nagisa could tell her sunglasses must have hid piercing eyes. Her belly protruded, was she pregnant?

"Shuu-chan." She stood with her hands on her hips, adjusting the Prada bag on her shoulder.

Gakushuu pouted.

"I have reservations for us at 4:30, let's get going."

Gakushuu signed. He had now resigned himself to having to spend the weekend with her. "Y-yes, Mom." They turned towards the door. Hiromi made the mistake of making eye contact with Riko.

"Oh please. I don't want him. You can have him." She slammed the door behind them.

Nagisa brought his hand to his mouth. Was she referring to the Principal? … Or Gakushuu?

Hiromi went to the kitchen immediately and poured herself a glass of whiskey. She downed it in one gulp. "Bitch."

Nagisa suddenly became very interested in his phone. Then he received it. A text from his father.

I'm at the front door.

Nagisa's face lit up and he bolted towards the door. He practically jumped into his father's arms. "Dad!"

Nagisa's father chuckled and hugged his son. He looked towards the door and found his ex-wife. "I'll have him back by seven tomorrow."

"Okay." She went inside the house. There was no malice or bitterness in her words this time. Just ambivalence towards her ex. Nagisa accepted it.

"I got a glare from that woman who walked by." Nagisa's dad shrugged as he started the car.

"Oh, that's my step-father's ex. Don't worry about it."

"I'm not. So, there's this movie that just came out. Superman of the Supermarket. Wanna see it?"

"You bet!"

And with that, there was no more sign of the kids.

Gakuho clapped his hands together. "Let's get going, the shinkansen leaves in an hour."

To say Gakushuu was miserable this weekend so far was an understatement.

It was a never ending conga line of misery. He wasn't sure what he expected, as he had mixed feelings about his mother (indeed, it was rare for Gakushuu Asano to have feelings that were anything but mixed about anyone his life). But this was awful.

This entire dinner at a fancy restaurant, she had been doing nothing but showing him picture evidence of the apparently wonderful life she was leading without him. Pictures of the white sand beaches, dotted with palm trees. Pictures of the ultrasound of his new half-sister (Gakushuu was now extra grateful that his father and step-mother's attempts to have another child were failing, he didn't want to deal with that at home). Her home, selfies with her new husband. Gakushuu only met him once, when he 'gave her a ride home from their training session'. He didn't even want to know what had actually happened then. That was three months before she had left. Oh, and they had a horse too.

"And here's the local resort, we went there for Christmas. And here's the bar my husband has a part-time job at. And here's-"

Gakushuu snuck a sip of her wine while she was too busy running her mouth to notice.

"Oh, you need to meet the baby, Shuu-chan. I'm due October 20th, it'll be wonderful."

Within four hours of spending time with his mother, Gakushuu started frantically texting Nagisa.

Nagisa? Are you there? I need to tell you about what just happened.

Nagisa was sitting in a sushi restaurant with his father and saw the message immediately, as his father was distracted by an email from his work. He had just finished showing his dad the pictures from the Kyoto trip.

Yeah, what is it?

Gakushuu tried the breathing exercises Koyama had taught him (he had learned them from a therapist, something Gakushuu wished he had). Inhale, one, two, three. Exhale, four, five, six. He was in the last stall of the bathroom, trying to hide from his mother and collect his thoughts.

She won't stop showing me pictures of her damn new life in Okinawa. You know how beautiful Okinawa is? She's got everything, and we're stuck in Kunugigaoka. And she won't stop rubbing it in.

Nagisa felt a tug of sympathy. He was having a great time with his father.

How much longer do you have to spend with her?

Gakushuu didn't even know what he wanted at this point. He wanted to be free of his mother, but both of the folks went off to Hokkaido, so that wasn't happening. Just talking to someone who wasn't totally insane would have to be enough for now.

'Til seven tomorrow.

Nagisa's dad patted him on the back. "Who are you talking to there?"

"A friend." Nagisa didn't want to give too much away. He didn't want his dad to pry, if he found out too much the old man to mouth off to Hiromi and Nagisa would have to sit through another screaming match. Shudder. He didn't even want to think about that. Especially in the coldness of that dining room, in the principal's big luxurious house, he couldn't stand hearing that again.

"Okay son." Nagisa's dad ruffled his blue hair. Then he went back to his own phone.

Can you, like… Get away from her? Is there anything you can do to distract her?

Gakushuu heard footsteps outside of the stall. He had to get out, or people would start pounding on the door. So he answered his brother, washed his hands, and faced his demise.

No, she's taking me to Tokyo Tower next. Ugh. I should be going there with someone with whom I actually enjoy spending time.

"Ugh, Nagi?" Mr. Shiota tapped his son's shoulder.

Nagisa knew, based on his tone, that he wasn't going to like what followed.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to cut our visit short."

Nagisa's pigtails drooped again. "Huh?"

"I just got called into work. It's urgent, they need a guy to help figure out this contract. You can find someone to stay with 'til tomorrow, right?"

"Y-yeah."

He handed the bluenette a fat envelope. "Here's the child support I missed. I didn't trust that woman to handle it, so here." Nagisa's dad then payed the bill and left.

Nagisa fought back tears. He had now reached a point where he didn't know what to do about his family. So he texted his step-brother, who seemed to be the only sane person in this whole scenario.

Are you still looking for an escape from your mother? Because I might take you up on that offer.

"Why do our parents suck?" Gakushuu punched a telephone pole that they walked by, afterwards cringing and rubbing his knuckles.

"I don't understand it either." Nagisa winced at the attempted display of dominance, or maybe he was just blowing off steam. Gakushuu Asano was a difficult one to figure out. "We seem to be their lowest priority."

"Yeah, I snuck out while we were in the theatre seeing that Haruna Mase movie." The redhead observed his phone again, showing the empty inbox to Nagisa. "If Mommy Dearest has noticed, she hasn't bothered to contact me."

"I thought Haruna-sama was still on hiatus?"

"She is, this was a re-release." Gakushuu's fingers were now bleeding. Guess I'm not that smart after all, to do something like that.

"Why did they even want to see us if they treat us like this?" Nagisa mused.

"No idea. Now what they hell do we do?" Gakushuu looked through his pockets for bandages he always carried in case of events like these.

"We could just go home." Nagisa shrugged.

"We could." An idea hit Gakushuu. He fished two slips of paper out of his pocket. "But it would be a shame to let these tickets to Tokyo Tower go to waste."

And that was how they ended up at Tokyo Tower on a crowded Friday. Gakushuu shook his umbrella dry (of course, they were hit with a big rainstorm in the last fifteen minutes) while Nagisa's attention was caught by some familiar looking black hair.

"Hey Nagisa!" The black-haired boy waved at Nagisa. Gakushuu thought he recognized the boy from sports festivals.

"Sugino?" Nagisa made a beeline for his apparent friend. "What are you doing here?"

"Y'know, I was bored, it was getting late, I left the house to get my little bro to stop bothering me." He laughed, doing the standard anime elbows up pose. "Didn't think I'd run into you here. Weren't you spending the weekend with your dad?"

Every word was like a razor to Gakushuu's wounded heart. He couldn't remember the last time he had a casual conversation like this, with this type of person.

"Yeah, that didn't happen." Nervous laughter.

"Wait, is that who I think it is…?" Sugino gestured at the class valedictorian himself.

"It is." Nagisa breathed.

The three of them stood awkwardly there for a minute.

Sugino coughed. "Well, do you want to go inside together?"

"Well, yes." But Nagisa didn't budge. He focused his gaze on his step-brother (though Sugino was not aware of that part).

After everything Gakushuu went through today, he figured it best to swallow his pride. "Can... Can I come with you?"

Sugino looked nervous, and refused to maintain eye contact with Gakushuu. Nagisa held out his hand.

"Sure."