MEETING AGAIN(2 in 1)

It was a relatively slow spell at the clinic. In the waiting room, the only other person there besides his wife was an elderly man reading through the evening newspaper. As he watched, the man flipped the paper around, revealing the main cover at the back. He could make out a photo of the police surrounding what looked like a crime scene with no heroes in site, presumably accompanying an article about the case. Probably about the murder he saw covered in the news earlier that morning.

With a ding, the reception doors opened, and someone stepped out into the hospital's reception room.

Brightening, his wife jumped to her feet. "Rei-chan"

The petite beauty paused in her approach as a pink blush colored her cheeks, pouting as she faced the lady making her way towards her.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that," she grumbled, but it did nothing to hide the fondness in her voice and the soft light in her eyes.

Adachi Ran skipped over to the lady before wrapping her older sister in an all-encompassing hug. It was a cold but Rei felt warmth swell within her. A smile softly spread across her lips

"Its been a while, Ran-onee-sama," Rei said with a childish lilt in her voice, smirking at the almost immediate frown that covered her older sister's unexpressive face. It made it very obvious what Ran thought of her younger sibling's teasing.

"How can you still say that," Ran pouted. Even before they moved to Gunma, it had been years since she had forced her younger sister from calling her that. Years since they both left the stifling formality of their home to mold their own lives.

Haru watched on silently, the ever-present lopsided smile softening as he watched his wife grumbling at his sister-in-law, drawing her closer with every passing second. That's when he noticed movement just a bit behind the pair. A little boy jittering as he peeked at them a few steps back. A scowl on his face as his cerulean blue eyes darted around in an attempt to distract himself from his nervousness. Or maybe just curiosity. A nest of red hair spread around his head like an angry porcupine's quills as he made his way further into the room. It made no secret of who he was. Their eyes met. The boy momentarily glanced away in embarrassment before turning back and 'glaring' right at him. To date, Haru still didn't understand why kids got agitated when he smiled at them. Smiling back wasn't a crime for sure. Although, he couldn't deny it was always amusing to rile up little creature, his smile now all teeth. Their impromptu stare-off came to an end when the boy's gaze shifted away at his mother's call. His grin got just a bit wider at the huge pout on the little boy's face.

At his mother's call, Touya automatically shifted his focus to her. At the same time, he realized he had looked away first. Turning back, he could see the skinny bear's grin widen. Maybe he should scare him with some fire. He would've too if his mom wasn't waving him over. What kind of weird old man even has a stare contest with a child. Well, he was really mature for his age so he'd just let it slide. Just this once. With all the maturity of a ten year old, Touya turned his back on the skinny grizzly, ignoring the short bark of laughter that followed entirely, as he made his way to his mom and new aunt. The odd shine in his aunt's eyes almost made him ran away but he was Todoroki Touya. He ran from nothing.

"Come introduce yourself Touya. This is your aunt, Adachi Ran. My older sister," she said encouragement leaking from every pore in her body. At least that was her intention. Sharp blue eyes focused on soft grey ones and Touya unconsciously eased from his hunched position. Standing to his full height as he turned to his aunt. She looked a lot like his mom but he couldn't say they were similar.

"My name is Todoroki Touya. I'm five years old. Nice to meet you." He finished with a little bow that had Ran internally screaming at her cute little nephew. Looking up to face his mother he saw her smile and nod slightly in his direction. His chest puffed out in pride as he grinned and reached out his arms to properly greet his aunt.

"Very nice to meet you too Touya. To think my sister had such a handsome young man taking care of her."

The boy beemed, sending a wide smile full of joy her way and if it wasn't for the fact that she was still holding her sister, she'd probably have swept the dynamic 10-year-old into a crushing hug. He was really small for his age. A bit cautious, like a stray cat, careful of its surroundings, but that was likely because he had never met them. He couldn't remember meeting them. Too young to remember it. But that was alright, they had time now.

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The first thing Maru noticed when he reached home was it was loud. Several people were not using their inside voice and occasionally his father's irritated voice interrupted a few. Turning into the clinic instead of heading straight up, he found his father awkwardly balancing a phone on his shoulder as he answered both the loud old man in front of him and whoever was on the phone. He knew the old man. A florist with hearing problems that run a shop in the nearby business district. The other two in the queue, he was unfamiliar with. And they seem to have invited their entire social circle. Moving to his father's line of sight, he waved at the man before turning to put his school stuff in a nearby storage room.

A few minutes later, the resounding hubbub had settled into something more tolerable. Maru had replaced his father as the medical receptionist as the man moved into the consultation room. Haru always gave him the same job. He said people were just a lot more patient with kids than they were with adults. Maru knew his dad just sucked at multitasking.

Usually, they had one or two students help out but his father had let them leave early. Even then, it wasn't something unmanageable for the couple but for some reason, his mom wasn't around. He'd thought she wasn't even in the building but apparently, she was but a few steps away. It was odd. His dad ditching wouldn't surprise him. As much as he treasured the man, he had a one-track mind and was easily distracted. Dedicated, yeah, but his single-mindedness had gotten him into a few mishaps.

His mother was the exact opposite to an almost scary degree. She could handle doing a multitude of tasks at once but the intensity with which she did them was terrifying. Like every task was an enemy that needed to be beat down and pulverized into non-existence for her to be satisfied. And she had to be satisfied. Pops says she had 'mellowed' and he wasn't sure what that would look like.

He liked to see himself as the perfect balance of the two.

Mom didn't ditch. It was so out of character for her it only raised red flags. Maybe she had frozen the toilet seat again cause dad left it up again. But they had gotten a super intense heater after the last time. It shouldn't have taken her long to get rid of the ice. Clean-up would be a hassle though, but why would she do any of that. She'd make dad do it if he did that.

He finished clearing the last patient as his thoughts went on a different tangent trying to piece together what had led to his mother's disappearance. He could ask his father but where's the fun in that. A polite conversation and a few directions later, he was still clueless on what happened. Only the old man was left again. A frequent but welcome customer that looked like he was just about to wave him over and talk his ear off about bougainvillea.

"Dad," he called out a bit louder than he probably should have. His father's raised eyebrow was answer enough. "Where's mom?"

"Oh,"

And it really looked like he'd forgotten all about her. She was half the clinic so not something he'd expect to ever slip his father's mind.

"She's upstairs." The scowl he was giving must have given away how unimpressed he was with the repeated answer but his father seemed even less inclined to divulge more.

"You should head on up. I'll be closing in a few. I doubt anything will come up in the next ten. There's a bit of a surprise for waiting for you," Haru said with a sly smirk that had his son's hackles rising.

"Surprise, he said," Maru muttered as he made his way up. With his dad, it was difficult to tell whether it was a good or bad thing. He could be ridiculously difficult to read. The last time he had said that, he found out that he was having a sibling. That was great news for sure. The time before that though, he got enlisted as a dog trainer for the military during his summer holidays. He smelled like wet dog for three months and that was the best part of it.

By the time he reached the top of the staircase, he still didn't know if the surprise was so good his mom refused to leave the house or absolutely terrible and she had opted to ignore her husband.

Sigh. Yes, he was overthinking but that was almost a way of life for him with his parents having mastered the perfect poker face he so desperately yearned to learn.

All he could do was take a deep breath and brace himself. Pulling off his literal 'key chain' he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"I'm home," he said and no, his voice did not break. He could hear the soft chatter in the direction of the lounge pause momentarily before resuming in intensity. His mother's call to come over came a moment later. His shoulder's sagged a bit in relief. Not quite out of the fire yet but someone had probably come to visit. Good or bad, his fate had yet to be sealed. Putting his shoes aside, he walked over to find two white haired ladies and a red-haired boy looking at him. He froze.

Rei knew the moment her nephew's mind caught up with his body. His mouth dropped open in shock as his eyes lit up in delight before he lunged to embrace her with a shout like a toddler.

"Aunty Rei!" he yelled. She squeezed him back with just as much joy. Maru had been an absolute delight to have around when he was younger. Her kids may not remember him but he had been her little trooper, playing with them and watching them 'as a big bro should'. Touya probably picked up his protectiveness from him unconsciously. The way his face could be completely expressionless in front of strangers and then glow in front of them always made her heart melt into a pile of goo. It was so painfully obvious when that he treasured them and it truly made her feel irreplaceable, special.

"I see you're quite the adult these days," she laughingly teased him. Maru blushed and pouted and Rei once again considered adopting him. She wouldn't survive her sister's wrath but it would be worth it.

They caught up for a bit while on their feet slightly embracing. She refused to let him go. His cool temperature reminiscent to her younger days. Then his icy silver eyes spotted Touya and he lunged yelling all the way like a kid who still believed in Christmas presents.

"Touya!" Maru lifted her son up and that made her almost stop him. Touya was small for his age, something he absolutely loathed. Especially when they treated him like a toddler, talking like he was a child or trying to lift him up. She could see the frown on his face as he was lifted up but it seemed oddly fond. She had asked the kids if they remembered the Adachi family and they didn't but, his scowl looked almost fond. Or was she seeing things. She had no time to confirm. The next second, her son had been smothered in a tight embrace that made him look like a stuffed doll.

Touya could barely breathe. Bear junior had him locked in his arms and he didn't even know how to get out of it. From what his mom said, he was just five years older but how was he so strong. It took a bit of wiggling which his cousin sometimes so as encouragement before he could shove the boy away. All it did was make him lean back a bit but that was enough.

"Nii-san, I can't breathe."

The hold on him loosened almost instantly and he was back on his own feet right after. At least he listened. Or so he thought. Maru had pulled him with him to the couch and he was literally cuddled to the boy's side. Normally, Maru's behavior would anger him to no end and he would tell whoever it was just how angry it made him. However, for some odd reason, it had the opposite effect. Touya had no idea why.

Rei did. She saw her son lean into his cousin's side hug as they retreated into their own little bubble. Touya probably didn't even notice he called his cousin big brother. Touya had all of Maru's focus solely on him and Touya gave that same attention to his older cousin. It was a familiar scene from five years ago. From how things looked, there was nothing for her to worry about.