Akio has suspicions

Shiro is up before dawn; he sits on the ground in the garden to meditate. Opening his third eye, he connected with an unexpected person.

"Brother, why are you contacting me?" Shiro's thoughts ask one of his older brothers.

"The monk from yesterday beware of him. He is a hunter of our kind. He was able to sense your mate's connection to you. He will use her to draw you out. " Shiro has never been close with his siblings, but they have never lied to him.

"Why was he not able to sense me when I was there with her?" Shiro asks.

"He can only sense our presence when he touches us. When he touched your mate, he sensed your bond with her. I think that he thought if she were hurt, you would come to protect her. Since you did not, he may believe that she is a rejected mate and undeserving of living. I'm not sure why you did not stop his underling from attacking her?" He asks him.

"She was there to be tested for training. there was no need to protect her. She beat the boy that attacked her. My mate is strong and very independent. She is not someone that needs me to babysit her. How do you know what happened yesterday?" Shiro's mind tries to think if someone was out of place.

"I am a monk at the temple. When my mate passed, I did not want to be a part of the outside world anymore. She was not the one to help me be human, but she still holds my heart. I will oversee the competition that is coming up. Be very careful with her and watch yourself as well. Please do not allow him to touch you, or he will hunt you till he kills you. It will be either his life or yours. Make a point of not allowing him near your mate again. He will use any means to draw you out. I will meet you on your next visit; it has been many years since I have seen my little brother." The monk breaks the connection. Shiro searches his memories from the day before, trying to picture the monks. None of them seemed familiar to him. Normally foxes can sense each other since the goddess connects them. Shiro sighs and feels like meditating is going to be useless this morning. Getting up, he stretches and does the yoga exercises that Auntie Jin had Lilli teach him. Akio watches his son through the window; he has changed so much since coming back, almost like a totally different person. Not all of the changes are noticeable to others, but to a father, they are apparent. His taste in foods, as well as his maturity, is completely different. He used to be much more greedy with attention, whereas now he is only a little. His tantrums have all but disappeared. He still is dependent on them for most things and asks for permission on most matters, but what he asks about is not childish as before. Wondering what occurred that he changed so much in such a short time. Akio knows that he should not complain about the positive changes in his son; he should be grateful that he is not clingy like before. It's just that something feels different to him. Turning towards the sound of his wife entering the room, Akio smiles at her.

"Good morning love, I have asked the housekeeper to fix breakfast this morning. I was hoping you would rest more." Akio looks at his wife's tired eyes.

"I have rested too long; I should be up and taking care of my family. It would help if you got back to the company, and I need to get used to taking care of things again. I think you are most likely getting bored being at home for so many weeks." Miko tells Akio as she gets a cup of coffee.

"She is right; many of the board members have been thinking that you want to retire or that you are ill. It's time that you start spending time in the office." Jiro looks at his brother as he accepts a cup from Miko.

"Maybe you are right, and I have been thinking that I am getting too sensitive towards things. I even was watching Shiro this morning and thinking that he has changed into a different person." Akio says as Shiro walks in. Jiro laughs and smacks the boy on the back.

"He is a different person; he went through so much in America when being treated. It made him grow up and see things from a different perspective. It is not a bad thing that he has matured. Especially now that he is an older brother, it was ok to be possessive and demanding over every little thing when he was an only child. Now he has a sister to protect. He needs to be humble and grateful for his health improvement. If he continued to be a spoiled, ungrateful person, who knows Shiro may have never been healed." Jiro looks at his brother with concern. He has had to deal with both his son's and his wife's illnesses. Now that they both seem to be doing better, maybe his little brother feels unneeded now.

"You are right. It is just my insecurities over not being needed is showing." Akio sits with the family noticing that Hiroto is not there.

"He went to the stables early; he wanted to deliver a gift there before going to work," Jiro informed Akio. They finish their breakfast in silence before getting ready to leave. Once in the car, Shiro starts a conversation with Akio.

"Father, I am sorry if I made you worry over my change in attitude. When I was in America, I felt out of place with my classmates. None of them had anyone to take of their basic needs. On the first night, my roommate helped me unpack and get ready for the next day. In comparison to them, I was a baby though we were the same age. I was embarrassed that I could not take care of my basic needs. When uncle put me in the hospital, the nurses took great care of me, but I saw how tired many of the nurses were. They found it easy to talk around me, thinking I could not understand them. Most of them had children younger than I was. They took care of themselves while their mothers worked. I felt like I was lacking and causing an unnecessary burden. I decided that if I got better, I would start to take care of myself more and lessen your and Mother's burden. When people looked at me, they only saw a baby in a young adult's body. That is not how I want to be seen. I want you to be proud of me and proud that I am your son. Not have others Pity you for having such a weak bratty child. " Shiro's voice reflects the sincerity that the real Shiro had when he asked him to take his form. He has made a promise that he will keep at whatever costs.

Jiro looks at his nephew with pride. He had the privilege of watching his change during the time he watched over him. He watched as he became aware of the needs of others around him instead of expecting others to think of only his needs. The day he had to take a taxi on his own was the start of that change.

"Know that you were never a burden, and it was my pleasure to watch over you. You are the joy of all of our lives. I was jealous of your uncle to be with you in America. He could get to know you as you changed, while I only got to see the change when you got home. I feel a little cheated that I did not get to see you grow during those months, " Akio tells his son, hoping he understands what he is feeling.

"Well, I can always become arrogant and throw a tantrum every once in a while to remind you of my selfishness and entitled self. I'm sure that I have not forgotten how to be a brat, as Lilli calls it. It's just that after nearly dying one night and having my classmate tend to me. I realized that I never cared for anyone. I was catered to, that my every whim was taken care of. What if my roommate had not taken care of me unselfishly? I would have died. It was a turning point for me. I knew that it was to he healed that I had to become deserving of that healing. A selfish person is not deserving, whereas a kind one is. You and my uncles always put us and your employee's welfare before profit and yourselves. How can I hope ever to fill those shoes if I cannot even find kindness enough to thank someone who took care of me." Shiro tells the adults, hoping that his words will quell Akio's suspicion of him.