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Family… is awkward word for Shoutarou. 5 families (or lack of) that Shoutarou had.

1. Dead

For as long as he could remember, his parents had been dead. Often there's a slight phantom of memory of small things like a warm hand on his forehead when he fell ill and a ruffle of his hair after he accomplished something. Shoutarou accepted them as echoes of past. Nevertheless he still dreamt of whom they could be and by ten he managed to fully convince himself that his father was a policeman and his mother was a housewife. It was the only delusion that kept him sane through his teenage years but it doesn't fill the void.

When Philip got lost in thought over his family and who they might be, Shoutarou can only relate. It's hard not knowing who they are. Shoutarou knew he could probably ask Philip to look them up and the knowledge is probably there. At the very least, he could get a picture of what they looked like. But something kept him back. Perhaps, like Philip he's afraid of knowing. Who they really were might not fit into the delusion he created as a child.

Shoutarou pushed the thoughts of his family out of his head and resolved again to never ask Philip to look them up. His parents are dead. He didn't need to find out who they were before, didn't want solve the mystery.

He didn't want to get lost in the past.

2. Neglectful

"Ah. No I'm fine."

Akiko watched intently as Shoutarou spoke quietly on the phone. His back was toward her but she could hear the silent strain in his voice. She looked at Philip who was sitting next to her, adsorbed into his book, researching the day away. Akiko nudged Philip's arm, distracting the boy enough for him to look at her. "Who is Shoutarou talking to?" she asked. Judging from the length of the conversation and the bits of pieces she can hear from Shoutarou's side of the conversation it was someone who regularly called the office. An old friend maybe?

Something danced across Philip's face, an emotion that fled too quickly for her to figure out. He bit his lip. "It's his mother," he stated.

Akiko tilted her head, confusion filling her. That didn't make quite sense to her. "Why doesn't he sound happy?"

This time a frown appeared on Philip's face. He brought his index finger to his lip: his habit whenever he pondered something. Philip hesitated, unsure if it was place to explain this to Akiko. He only knew because he had learned through a lookup, back before he understood it was wrong to needlessly intrude on a friend's past out of curiosity. Shoutarou didn't even get angry at him when Philip had carelessly questioned him on it. Instead back then, he looked at Philip with sad eyes.

"Shoutarou's parents… were not around when he was a child," Philip explained quietly. "He's never hated them for it. Shortly after I moved in, for some reason his mother began to call." It goes unspoken that so soon after losing Sokichi who had been practically raising Shoutarou since they had met that Shoutarou was not ready to deal with a mother who suddenly decided to act as a parent long after her child was full grown.

Realization dawned on Akiko. She looked Shoutarou, quietly watching him as he shuffled his feet and carried on the uncomfortable conversation. Philip closed his book and began to watch his partner as well. Shoutarou never ignored the calls from his mother no matter how awkward they were. Philip had asked once why he continued to take them even though they clearly made Shoutarou uncomfortable. Shoutarou just gave him the sad smile and told him that even though it was late, at the very least she was trying. Philip knew what his partner meant behind those words. It's probably why they connected to fast after Begin Nights.

Life without family was often too lonely.

3. Narumi Sokichi

Narumi Sokichi was for intended purposes Shoutarou's (surrogate) father. Shoutarou had met the detective during the first year of his high school. During one day when Shoutarou is outrunning Jinno, he ran straight into Sokichi who promptly cuffed on the head allowed Jinno to catch up. Taken-in by Sokichi's personality, Shoutarou began to tag along with the detective. Sokichi raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't say anything. Soon whacks to the head, pats shoulders, ruffles of hair and the rare occasional praise become commonplace as Shoutarou more or less moved into the detective agency. With his mother dead, his father missing, Shoutarou had nowhere else to go and Sokichi had (a bit grudgingly) welcomed him. Sokichi taught Shoutarou so many lessons, supported him and helped him. If there was anyone that Shoutarou (secretly) called father, it was Narumi Sokichi.

When Akiko showed up at the agency, it brought a mixed bag of emotions. Regardless of what he thought of her as a person the feelings of guilt, worry, and anger plagued him. Guilt that he had killed not the person he considered a father but also the father to someone who was biologically Sokichi's child. Worry over the fact that maybe she didn't like him because Sokichi was obviously here in Fuuto raising him instead of Osaka raising her. Anger that Sokichi never mentioned her, never mentioned that Shoutarou had a little sister in all but blood.

He had always wanted a sibling.

4. Warmth

"Ne, Shoutarou where are we going?" Philip asked as his partner dragged him. They were in a city a good half an hour train ride away from Fuuto. It was the first time Philip had been out of Fuuto. Everything was very distracting but Shoutarou's firm grip and quick pace prevented Philip from wandering off to examine everything.

It had been nearly two months since Philip's return. Shoutarou, who had missed the chance before, had resolved to do something he should have done back when he had first met Philip. So the first day that they didn't have a case, Shoutarou had dragged Philip out of the house and onto the train. It was nice to be able to take Philip out without having to worry about the organization anymore.

They stopped in front of a small blue house. It had a small yard filled with flowers. The nameplate read: Hidari. Philip's eyes widened and he turned to look at his partner. "Shoutarou?"

Shoutarou looked away embarrassed. "I should have brought you here ages ago," he muttered. "But we were always worried about the organization that I kinda… forgot."

"Shou-chan!" Out of the house came a short Japanese woman with brown hair like Shoutarou. Her eyes are warm as she quickly pulled Shoutarou into a hug. "My silly son," she playfully teased. "You finally remembered to visit." As soon as she saw Philip, she let go of Shoutarou and walked over to smaller black hair boy. "Oh are you Shoutarou's friend?" she asked.

Philip nodded. "Ah… yes," he stumbled, still bewildered by all of this. He had known that Shoutarou had a family, knew their names, and knew they existed, but he had never thought he would meet them one day.

Behind his mother, Shoutarou grinned. "Ah, yeah kaasan. This is Philip, my partner at the agency."

"Oh! You're a detective like Shoutarou? Good, has he been eating properly? You don't look like you've been eating properly. You're as thin as a stick!" She ushered him into the house, continuing to quiz him on how his and Shoutarou's life was.

Shoutarou smiled and followed them in.

Several hours later, Philip took a seat down on the couch, stunned a little. He had met Shoutarou's mother (Natsu), father (Yusuke), and little brother (Ryuu). Natsu had fed him all sorts of snack, chatting about Shoutarou's childhood and embarrassing his partner into a bright red color. Ryuu who had returned home in the afternoon from high school was bright curious child. Once he had discovered that Philip had all the knowledge in the world in his head, he shot off question after question. Philip answered the ones he could and filed away the ones he didn't know for more research later. Yusuke returned in the evening from his job as a salaryman greeting Philip with a warm clap on the back.

Shoutarou took a seat next to his partner. "You have a nice family," Philip said. He looked into the kitchen were Natsu was running around cooking dinner for the five of them. Reading about them in a book and actually meeting them was quite a different experience.

"I know," Shoutarou said fondly with a smile. "They had to move out here for Dad's job, but I didn't want to leave Fuuto so I moved in with boss. But I try to visit as often as possible, though the last two years have been a little crazy."

Philip smiled back. There was a slight feeling of envy in the pit of his stomach. The one time (that he could remember) when all his family had gather, the atmosphere was cold and stiff. Shoutarou's family was warm though. It's easy to see where Shoutarou gets his "half-boiled" nature from. "Can we come more often?" he asked quietly, staring the ground.

Shoutarou nodded and swung his arm around Philip's shoulder. "Of course. You're family too."

5. Foster Family

"It's noisy as always."

Shoutarou grinned at Philip who was sitting next to him on the bed in the nook in the wall. They were watching as everyone was gathered in the front room playing a game of Life. Jinno was currently leading the board much to Makura, Queen and Elizabeth protests. Santa-chan was just happy that they were making use of his present and Watcherman was taking pictures. Akiko was in the kitchen area helping Terui pour the coffee he had just finished brewing.

"You cheater!"

"Oi calm down Makura."

"No fair!"

"Smile everyone!"

-Whack!-

"Owwww."

"Stop fighting you two!"

"Chief put away the slipper."

Shoutarou looked at his partner and grinned. "Yeah but you like it."

Philip nodded. "That's how this office needs to be."

Shoutarou agreed. He wouldn't trade this makeshift family that they had for the world.

"Shoutarou! You have mail!" Akiko announced as she stepped into the office. She handed over a white envelope.