After the impromptu sparring match, we moved to the living room to talk some more. My aunt served more tea, and they listened as I told them about my adventures so far. I covered everything I thought was relevant, though I left out a few details; including the intimate nature of my relationship with the girls and some of the closer calls I had. I also didn't get into too much detail about the extent of my soul damage, or the fact that Yume could have taken over my body if she wanted.

  I could tell by my aunt's raised eyebrow that she knew I was leaving some things out, but she didn't press. Amaya, on the other hand, was as stoic as ever. Even so, for reasons I couldn't articulate, I could tell how agitated she was when I didn't elaborate on how bad my injuries were.

  I raised my hands placatingly. "No, seriously, it wasn't that bad. The corrupt kobold clawed me a bit, but it actually helped me if you think about it. That's how I learned how to heal."

  Amaya, unsurprisingly, didn't look impressed. "Show." Her single word response left me a little confused.

  Aunt Akari rolled her eyes and moved to sit on the couch on my other side. She reached over and without preamble pulled up my shirt to examine my chest. There, starting at my left shoulder and running down across my pectoral, four scars drew long lines that told a brutal truth. While the damage had been a reduced mirror of what happened in the battle, it was enough to leave an obvious mark.

  Amaya reached out with concern to feel along the length of the scars, measuring them with her own hand. "Kayla-chan said they were like a tiger's claws. I can see why she would think so. They are much too large to be from something domestic." Her gaze drifted over the rest of my chest and abs, a strange look in her eyes before she turned away.

  My aunt, seemingly satisfied, released my shirt and moved back to sit in her chair. "It was worse than you implied." I couldn't say anything and just looked away. After all, I had been closer to oblivion than either of them could realize. If my soul had been destabilized just a little more, I would have ceased to exist completely.

  Aunt Akari continued. "You said that you learned to heal. To what extent?"

  Happy to change the subject, I explained what I could do. "I can heal pretty much anything that the body could heal on its own. It uses my qi so I can't do it endlessly, but I should be able to heal even grievous injuries." Turning to Amaya I asked to borrow her knife. She always seemed to have one somewhere.

  Sure enough, she pulled one out of her boot. Instead of handing it to me however, she held out her other arm and drew a thin line of blood along the back. Her face remained passive, letting me do the wincing instead.

  I tsked at her, quickly reaching out to hover my hand over the wound. "Baka," I muttered in discontent, even as I sent my qi to heal her minor injury. "You know I don't like it when you get hurt. There was no need for that."

  Amaya gave me a long hard stare, letting me know exactly what she thought. "Hey," I said as I pulled away, her arm already healed. "That's different. It was my demonstration, so it should be me that gets hurt."

  I had to lean back as my aunt came over once more, this time to inspect Amaya's arm. My best friend on the other hand simply narrowed her eyes a little and continued to stare.

  I resisted for a few seconds before I let out a sigh. "I get it. You don't like it when I get hurt either. But I have a lot of fighting left to do, so this much shouldn't even count." Her mouth turned down at the corners, and a dangerous glint entered her eyes. I held up my hands, recognizing I had lost this round. "No, you're right. We've always been a team, and I should accept your help when you offer."

  Amaya gave a satisfied nod, and my aunt chuckled as she moved back to sit in her chair once more. "You should know better than to argue with Amaya-chan. She wins every time anyway." She reached forward to pick her tea cup off the table before reclining and crossing her legs. "Your skills are incredible. You also mentioned your stats, which are still a little confusing to me if I'm honest. I saw some of them in your spar with Amaya-chan, but I think the intangible ones are just as dangerous." She glanced at Amaya, who was leaning toward me slightly. "The one you call charisma, for example. Amaya has barely taken her eyes off you since we picked you up."

  I glanced over at the black haired beauty. She blushed a little, but only shrugged and didn't look away. That was definitely unusual behavior for her. I was fairly sure she didn't even have any interest in love to begin with. I would have to think more about any implications later.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Amaya shoved my tea cup into my hands to distract me as she stepped in. "You said that we are a team, and admitted that you need my help." I once more opened my mouth, this time to object, but changed my mind when I saw her eyes narrow once more. Instead, I took a sip of lukewarm tea as she continued. "What you do not know, is exactly how much help I…" she paused and glanced at my aunt, who gave a reluctant nod. "…we can be."

  I considered them both curiously. I couldn't remember if I had ever seen my aunt so full of trepidation. The tremor in her hands was slight as she reached forward to set her cup down, but I could see it clearly enough. Her brown eyes seemed to be looking anywhere but at my face. It was unsettling to see her like this, and I had to wonder what could make her so nervous.

  Amaya reached up and tugged her ponytail tighter. It was something she did subconsciously when she was preparing for something intense, —like training, rock climbing, or trying to pull a prank on my aunt. Then she surprised me by taking my hand and adjusting herself so that she was facing me on the couch.

  "I need you to stay calm and hear me out." She began, then paused to take a deep breath. When she spoke, her words tumbled out. "We are shinobi. We belong to the Kagehira clan, the same as your father used to. The whole village is. We have a code, and we kill only with a purpose, so we are not bad people." She took a breath, her eyes wide and searching as she watched me for my reaction.

  The words took several seconds to sink in before my mind began to spiral with all of the implications they held. My mind split, as one part began listing questions and concerns about what this could mean for us, while the other part was crashing into memory after memory of growing up. I had to reevaluate all of my experiences and misconceptions with a new lens.

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  All of the trips I took with my aunt and the work injuries she would come home with. The training I had been given all my life, as if martial arts and cognitive conditioning were things that might actually matter. The whispers and knowing glances people around the village would share when they thought I wasn't looking. The jobs my aunt gave me…

  My mind worked quickly, but it was a lot to go over. Amaya's eyes never left my face as she waited for my response. I could tell she was terrified I might be upset or angry, which was ridiculous. Her news was, all told, a very good thing. It would mean my family would be better positioned to survive what was to come than I could have hoped for. At least, they would be if their clan was any good at being ninjas.

  Amaya's hands tightened on mine, and I knew I had to say something. Just then, the part of my mind that was going over memories stumbled across one that had always been a little funny to me. "Wait! So that's why you would never watch that anime with me! You always hated that main character so much!"

  Amaya looked confused for a moment before recognition dawned in her eyes. She scoffed. "Obviously I would! He wears orange everywhere he goes, and makes pointless hand gestures like they mean something!"

  I burst into laughter, and my aunt snorted before joining in. Even Amaya let out a little giggle, which was something more valuable than gold to me. "I loved to tease you about wearing orange. Remember the orange scarf I got you? Or the time I surprised you by rubbing orange face paint all over you? You hated it so much!"

  Amaya narrowed her eyes at me, but her smile remained. "I do remember. That was when I hid an alarm clock in your room that sounded like a startled cat."

  I groaned. "I couldn't find that thing for over a week! I was going crazy waking up at three every morning to the sound of a cat getting stepped on!" I folded my arms and shook my head like I was disappointed. "That was vicious, even for a kunoichi. I thought ninjas were supposed to avoid waking their target."

  We might have continued, but my aunt clapped her hands once to regain out attention. "I'm glad that this didn't upset you too much. I'm sure you have many questions, and I wouldn't be surprised if you have frustrations as well." She gestured to me in invitation.

  I shook my head in bewilderment as I stood up and began pacing. "I do have a lot of questions, but most of them can wait. The ones that I can't get past are 'why didn't you tell me', and 'how were my parents involved."

  She nodded and leaned back in her chair, crossing her long legs. "I didn't tell you at first because we were spending so much time away from the clan. Usually, when a member of the clan chooses to have children, one or both of the parents will stay home and take on more mundane tasks for the clan. I was still new, and hadn't earned enough money yet to enter a semi-retired state. Nor did I wish to. Yet, having a child who knew the secrets of the clan while being on a mission would be dangerous, and I didn't want you worrying all the time."

  She sighed and rubbed her head before continuing. "I always planned to tell you when you got older, but I was worried. I kept telling myself that I could let you live happily in ignorance for another year. The truth is that I was worried about what you might think of me should you discover what I really do."

  I sighed in frustration, but nodded. "I really don't like that. It feels like a betrayal. Even knowing you were trying to protect my feelings, I shudder to think what might have happened if you didn't come back one night."

  "That was a concern of course. I tried to be as safe as possible, and there were always contingencies in place, but that's really no excuse." She stood, her expression vulnerable before she bowed low to me. I was so shocked I nearly missed a step, freezing in my tracks instead. "I thought about leaving you with someone else. I knew it would have been better for you. In the beginning I kept you out of loyalty to your parents, and because you were all that was left of them. But when you got older, I just couldn't…" Her voice broke, and although I couldn't see her face, I could hear the tears. "I couldn't leave you."

  My heart hammered in my chest, and I felt my own eyes begin to water. To see this proud unbreakable woman bowing low, and to hear her strong voice break with remorse… It was too much. I crossed the distance between us in two strides before lifting her up and wrapping her in a hug.

  She stiffened at first, but soon melted. It wasn't that she never hugged me, she did so often. What was strange for her was being on the receiving end of comfort. She had raised me alone for twenty years, and never once did she falter. She was a paragon of strength, determination, and pride. To allow herself to be vulnerable must have been difficult for her.

  She gently pulled away after a few minutes, giving me one grateful nod before sitting back down. I understood instinctively that this moment was special, and that it would never be spoken of again. The emotions of the past hour had been a rollercoaster. Surprise, laughter, anger, and regret, all while trying to come to terms with a paradigm shift. I was beginning to feel empty. I had planned to return to the Astral tonight, but I was starting to think that actual sleep was what I needed most.

  There was just one more thing I wanted to discuss first.

  "Thank you for answering my question. I recognize your position wasn't easy, and although it hurts to have been kept in the dark, I understand why it happened." I paused and gave a bow of gratitude. "Thank you for keeping me with you. I couldn't have asked for a better parent."

  Amaya, still sitting on the couch, reached out and grabbed my hand to pull me back down next to her. She wiped her eyes quickly before turning expectantly to my aunt. "Takahashi-san, I thank you as well. If you made a different choice, I would not have my best friend." She finished with a bow of her own, her long dark hair falling down her shoulder.

  Aunt Akari smiled politely. "I appreciate your words." Turning to me, she continued, "As for your second question, it is both simple yet difficult to answer." She took a deep breath, clearly just as tired. "Your parents were both assassins. Your father was a part of the Kagehira clan, and was my sempai growing up. They met when he was on a mission in Britain, and they decided to work together on a particularly difficult case. They became partners, and then more.

  "There were plenty of people who felt they had betrayed their organizations, and they were forced to both leave their home countries. That's how they ended up in America. They continued to work as partners, though neither the clan, nor your mother's organization trusted them fully."

  Her gaze grew distant as she spoke, seemingly lost in memories from long ago. "I don't know who killed them. I had asked to be assigned to Florida so I could support them when possible. Your father was always a good friend to me, and I grew close to your mother as well. I was watching you the night they died."

  The room grew quiet when she finished speaking, each of us lost in our own thoughts. The air was heavy with the weight of long buried secrets and dangerous revelations. There was a lot left to discuss, but I could feel we were too tired to continue any further tonight.

  I stood up, and offered a hand to Amaya, then my aunt. "I think that's enough for tonight. This has been an enlightening homecoming, and it's only the first night."

  Amaya agreed. "I would appreciate it if you let me spend the night, Takahashi-san."

  "Of course, you're always welcome here Amaya-chan. We have a lot more to discuss tomorrow." My aunt gave a polite nod before leaving the room.

  I turned to do the same, but Amaya stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. I turned to her with a questioning look. "My parents invited you for lunch tomorrow. They have missed you as well. Also…" She hesitated, then rushed to get the rest out. "Also, I was hoping you would take me to the Baikasai festival this weekend."

  I gave her a big grin. "That sounds amazing! I would love to go with you. I look forward to seeing your parents as well. Hopefully, there won't be any more big revelations." I paused, giving her a thoughtful look. "You're not my cousin or anything are you?"

  She narrowed her eyes and punched my shoulder before marching away. I chuckled when I saw her shake her hand out as she went. I would have to see about making her stronger as well. It wouldn't do to have her hurting herself every time I teased her.