Chapter 24/Epilogue

Papers rustled as a crimsonette held one sheet in the light before furrowing her eyebrows and reaching for something else. Scraps, scissors, glue, and photos surrounded her on the floor and she was starting to get cross-eyed as she looked at the mess she had made. She'd been at this for hours now and she couldn't see much progress.

"Working hard or hardly working, Maya?" A voice interrupted the girl's thoughts. She turned around to see Lily walking towards her with two cups of tea in her hands.

Anzu looked up at her gratefully and immediately decided to take a break. The two moved to the sunroom to sit down and enjoy a snack. She'd been back in America for a few weeks since break started and it was nearing time to head back to Japan. At first she came by herself but a week ago, Momiji joined her with Machi and Yuki.

"I don't think I'll ever finish it, Miss Lily." Anzu sighed. "I want it to be done before I go see them, but I feel like I'm working too slow."

"You just want it to be perfect so you're putting in extra detail." Lily smiled. "I'm sure your parents would love it regardless."

The younger female shrugged in response and ate a macaroon from the cookie platter on the coffee table. She was currently in the middle of putting together a scrapbook so she had a proper recollection of memories, but she'd taken so many pictures that she was getting lost. She had pictures with the majority of her Sohma family, pictures with Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru at their graduation, and fun pictures of her and Machi as well as her and Arisa hanging out.

"Have you decided what you're going to do? This will be your last year of high school, right?" Lily crossed her legs. "Perhaps you'll want to attend college here?"

"I, uh..-"

"Lola!"

The two females turned to the doorway to see Momiji standing inside an inner tube with a towel draped over his head. His swim goggles were nearly falling off his eyes and it took everything in Anzu not to laugh as Lily turned her head to stifle a giggle.

"Yes, Bugs?"

"Let's go to the beach! Machi and Yuki left already, but we're going to ambush them and dunk them in the water!"

Anzu smiled at his childish antics and stood up with a stretch. Walking over to the doorway, she fixed his goggles before leaving to put on her bathing suit. Lily poured herself another cup of tea with a knowing smile and looked out at the view of the ocean. This was the time that she was most grateful for being so close to the shore.

The crimsonette had somehow snuck out of the house and walked along to the side of the window. Knocking on the glass, she waved mischievously and stuck out her tongue.

"Last one to the water is a rotten egg!"

Dumbfounded, Momiji whined in complaint and immediately ran out the house to chase her down. Lily chuckled to herself as she watched Momiji leave. Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes caught sight of a framed picture of herself and Sango when she first bought her home.

"Anzu's doing just fine, sweetheart. You did well."

° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °

"Anzu, are you ready to go?"

In her room back in Japan, the female checked her hair one more time as she had just finished curling it. Tucking one side behind her ear, she put on some gloss before getting up to leave. Smiling at Kureno, who was waiting for her at the door, she stepped out of the apartment first.

The two headed to the Sohma estate in blissful silence. The weather was nice with no chance of rain, which was perfect for today. Kureno carried a small picnic basket in his hands, whereas Anzu held her completed scrapbook to her chest.

Finally the two arrived at their destination - the Sohma estate cemetery. Anzu walked ahead first and strolled along the rows of tombstones until she finally stopped.

'Sohma Kohaku'

Looking to the side of the memorial, her eyes widened as she noticed the name on the stone beside it.

'Fukushima-Sohma Sango'

Anzu's eyes started to sting as the tears began to well in her eyes. Akito really stuck to her favor after all. Looking up to the sky, she willed the waterworks away so she wouldn't mess up her mascara. She didn't want to cry since today was supposed to be a joyous occasion.

A hand rested on her shoulder as another pressed against her palm and laced their fingers with hers. Looking from side to side, Anzu noticed that she had been joined by Kureno and Momiji. With a smile, she looked back at the graves in front of her.

"Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad. Sorry it took me so long to get you back together. Uncle Kureno has been taking really good care of me, although I'm sure you've seen." Anzu glanced over at the blond next to her. "I also brought someone to meet you."

"Hello. My name is Momiji Sohma." He bowed politely. "I'm-"

"Momiji is my boyfriend." Anzu squeezed his hand. "He treats me very well and is very understanding when I'm not so nice. If you two were here, I know you would've gotten along."

Momiji looked at Anzu in slight surprise at her outburst, but he knew she meant well. Nodding his head, he turned back to the graves in seriousness.

"I promise to continue to take good care of her. One day I'll come back for your blessing as well."

"B-blessing?!"

Kureno cleared his throat and placed the picnic basket down. "Why don't we sit down and eat? I'm sure there are plenty of pictures you wanted to show off too, Anzu."

Anzu covered her cheeks to hide her growing blush as Momiji helped spread the picnic blanket. No one told him to say that, especially in front of Kureno nonetheless. Of course, it only served to make her like him even more. He could be a lot of things at times, but his seriousness about her was something she was glad would never change.

The trio ate the lunch Anzu prepared and looked at her completed scrapbook, taking a trip down memory lane as the crimsonette pointed out certain moments and grinned at the plethora of polaroids she was able to accumulate.

° ∆ -------- • years later • ------- ∆ °

Anzu smiled as she pulled out a blue sailor outfit from the closet. Just the sight of it made her reminisce of her high school days. So much happened during that time and since then, but she could easily get lost in her memories. Shaking her head, she pushed the thought away as she had plans today.

"Mama! Hurry up! We have to go!"

"We're almost ready, Mina. I promise we have plenty of time."

A young girl immediately appeared in the doorway of the room, her long blond hair cascading down to her lower back. She had put on a new dress to match her butterfly clip, but it was a little disheveled since she'd just run upstairs.

"Plane! Zoom zoom!"

"See! Haruki is ready to go!"

Anzu sighed in defeat as she knew she obviously wasn't moving fast enough for her children. The additional voice came from the crib beside her as a toddler with short, unkempt auburn hair bounced up and down with a toothy grin. After putting the sailor outfit on her son and fixing the collar on her daughter's dress, she picked the bubbly boy up and followed Mina out of the house.

"Curbside pickup for three." The passenger window to the car outside their house rolled down, revealing Momo's smiling face from the driver's side. Anzu smiled at the female gratefully and ushered her children into the car.

It was a beautiful day outside as the quartet made their way to the airport. As Momo and Mina cheerfully talked with each other, Anzu looked out the window at the buildings they were passing by.

Ever since high school, she and Momiji had been joined by the hip. Their 3rd year of school flew by so quickly after the Sohma news had settled down and, before they knew it, it was graduation time and everyone was splitting off to do their own thing. Momiji, who had already planned to take over his father's business, was set to go to college, however Anzu didn't know what she wanted to do. The female ended up leaving Japan to stay with Lily in America before discovering an interest in translation.

She attended university in America and received a degree in global studies before returning to Japan. Shortly after she started her career, Momiji proposed and they got married. Their marriage led to the birth of their first child, Mina, who's eyes shone bright like the sun. Anzu worked from home so she could take care of Mina whenever Momiji had to leave on his business trips, but everything was doable. When Mina turned eight, they had their second child Haruki whose smile lit up the room like a ray of sunshine. Fast forward and now Haruki was nearly three.

"Anzu? What are you thinking of?" Momo's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Memories." Anzu turned to smile at her. Ever since she met Momo, she'd always been so sweet and kind to her. It was nice to know that she was working as Momiji's assistant so she could keep him on track in case his ideas got too big.

"Ah… today is a good day to do that. Especially since there aren't any clouds in the sky." Momo nodded in approval. "And… we're here! I'll let you out first, then I'll find a parking spot."

"Papa?" Haruki asked as Anzu took him out of his seat. "Papa's plane?"

Mina was nearly shaking in excitement. "Come on, come on! His plane's gonna land soon!"

The trio stood and waited for Momo to return before walking into the airport. The venue was bustling as usual and Anzu held onto Mina's hand while supporting Haruki on her hip. Momo helped Mina read the jumbotrons to see which gate to go to, even though the older woman already knew the answer. Haruki was so interested in seeing the planes that his mother stood by the windows so he could get a better view.

"Papa…" Haruki touched the window with his fingers.

"Yes, we'll see Papa soon." Anzu nodded with a smile.

"Papa! Papa!"

The toddler began hitting the glass with his hands and Anzu immediately stepped back so he wouldn't hurt himself. Seeing as his gaze was fixed away from her, she turned her attention to the window and saw a familiar tuff of blond hair stepped out of a plane.

The two met with Momo and Mina at the respective gate and waited for the door to open. A crowd of people started filing out with their luggage and Mina looked high and low before bolting into the crowd.

"Woah!"

Momo and Anzu laughed as Mina tackled her father in a hug, knocking his luggage over onto the ground next to him. Haruki wanted to be a part of the action too, so Anzu set him down once the crowd started to dissipate and let the toddler waddle towards his father.

"Welcome home, Papa!" Mina grinned excitedly. "You made it just in time! I have a baseball game later on today and I want you to come!"

"Papa! Miss you!" Haruki held onto the older male's pants leg until he was picked up.

"Welcome home Boss Brother." Momo saluted with a cheeky smile as she picked up his abandoned luggage.

Anzu took the time to examine Momiji's appearance. His trips were always short-lived, but they were taxing. She knew he was exhausted, but he masked it well to match the excitement of their children. He was definitely due for a good home cooked meal though. Walking over to him, she smiled and sweetly kissed his cheek.

"Welcome home, Bugs."

"I'm home, Lola."