"What the cinnamon toast fuck are you talking about?" Aiden was dumbfounded, not quite believing his ears. 

Cade inspected his nails casually. "Your brother is my father. Well, he used to be. It's complicated, and I don't really care to explain my messed-up family history to you right now. Just suffice it to say it's filled with affairs, incest and a shit-ton of drama. Toxic stuff, to be sure. Anyway, "The man went on, changing the subject, "You don't have to think too hard on it right now. You have bigger problems at hand. I'm going to be away for a while, so try not to die too much. Azzie gets really annoyed since he can't reap you. The man is a real bitch when he's grumpy"

"Who the hell is Azzie?"

"Your nephew." The man answered infuriatingly.

"Of course. Whatever." Aiden had little patience for the man's ramblings. Did he really mean it? If so, how the hell did that make any sense? But from how vague he was being Aiden doubted he'd get an answer now, and to be perfectly honest Aiden didn't want to deal with any more crazy shit. He had just died. He had other things on his mind than his weird possible familial connection to some bird bastard.

"Anyway, what the hell am I supposed to do? She's going to kill me. Again."

Naoko was five kinds of hot and ten kinds of crazy. He should get his happy ass off the bed right now and just leave. Except he had no idea where he'd even go. And were there ways she could find him? 

He wouldn't be surprised if she could. Magic and shit exists here, how can he be sure she couldn't track him somehow if she wanted to?

"Just placate her, what's the big deal?" Cade snorted. "You're a ladies man, you know how to keep them happy. It should be even easier with her since she's so damn blind when it comes to you. Actually, how fucking blind were you to not see this coming before now?"

His words annoyed the hell out of Aiden. "I have had other goddamn things weighing on me in recent months, asshat. I'm sorry but getting reincarnated into some bitch-ass fantasy world is going to take some time to get used to."

"Get used to it faster, maybe?" Cade suggested helpfully.

Aiden eyed him darkly. "Are you Ty's kid? You're Ty's, aren't you?"

"Am I?"

Aiden really wanted to punch him. "Anyway, I also never dealt with her level of wacko. I have experience in psycho bitches who throw blenders at your head for not calling back, not crazed sociopaths with son complexes that'll murder people when they think they're playing favorites. Fuck me if that's not a whole different league of insanity."

The Angel shrugged as if to say, Yeah, that's fair.

"Alright, point taken. Though now that you know what happens you can prevent it, no?"

Aiden picked up his tablet and started a message to Angela, saying he was taking the day off.

"Of course I can." 

By this time tomorrow Rumi would have to start calling him Papa.

***

"A date?" Naoko's eyes glittered. 

"Yeah. We've never just had a day to ourselves, have we? I thought it was about time we changed that." Aiden smiled. It was full of charm and mischief like they were going to be doing something they shouldn't. 

Really, considering Rumi, that was true. And since Naoko is his guardian. But who cared?

They'd just gotten done dropping the girl off to school, speaking of, and that's when he brought up the subject. 

"I already told Angela I'm taking the day off. Why don't we go and have some fun?"

"Yuu-kun, that's wonderful!" She all but squealed in delight. "I was starting to think you didn't like being with me anymore." Her tone took on a note of sadness. "I wasn't sure what to do if you didn't."

Aiden reached out and took her shaking hands."That couldn't be further from the truth." He spoke emphatically. "I know I've been...distant. I've just been confused since the amnesia." He told her. "That's no excuse for it, though. I should never have made you feel this way. But I'm ready now. So let's just concentrate on ourselves. I want us to be like we used to. Even if I don't remember it, I can feel it. The desire to be close to you." 

Naoko blushed happily. "Yuu-kun, you smooth talker, you!' She giggled. "I feel exactly the same way! Okay, let's go!" 

And they were off. 

"What should we do first?" She asked along the way, then answered her own question. "Oh, wait, I know! Why don't we take you shopping?" 

"Shopping? For what?" 

"Clothes, of course." She grinned. "Look at you, the ones you have are so baggy now." She pulled at his shirt and there was almost a foot of slack.

Aiden's workout these past several months really did pay off. Though he had a bit of chub left, that was from his own perspective. He had slimmed down to the size of any regular person. You could get a bit of fat if you pinched him, but that was all.

He just had higher standards, really. 

But his muscle mass did satisfy him for now. He wasn't nearly as toned as he was in his last life, but people would probably say he looked fairly athletic if they saw him. 

He noticed that he actually grew taller recently as well. His diet, maybe? 

No matter. 

Anyway, his clothes really did need to be replaced and he had planned on doing that sometime soon. This suggestion of her's, therefore, was perfect.

"Sounds great. Let's do that." He agreed. It was a long drive towards the Fashion District, a 90-block stretch of land home to, he learned during his time here, the top designers, stylers, and retailers of the West Coast. As Aiden had been born to a wealthy family and had a rather fashion-forward sister the place felt familiar to him, yet different. 

Jess would be right at home here, he's sure.

Moving away such thoughts, he exited the car and followed Naoko to one of the stores. From the price range and design of the place, it seemed more on the high-end side. 

Not that he particularly cared.

"I heard Rumi say this place is popular with teenagers and young adults," Naoko explained. "Would you like me to call someone to help? Or I can." She seemed excited.

"That's okay" He said as they walked in. "I'll see what I like. Why don't you sit near the dressing rooms and wait for me?"

Just then he got a notification of increased favorability with several females, which surprised him. It happened from time to time these days, but this much? There must be at least ten names here. 

Then he considered. He hadn't gone to many public places despite all his time here, so it was rare for females to see his face. That's probably why he'd gotten only sporadic notifications about this. 

But there were plenty of young women here, so perhaps it wasn't surprising he'd gotten so many notifications all at once this time.

"Want to surprise me, huh?" She laughed. "Okay, I'll let you go. But hurry back~!" The woman waved him off as he left to explore.

It didn't take long for him to return. Aiden didn't much care for expensive clothes. He didn't see much of a difference between them and things you could find in lower-end retailers. Wasn't the main difference the brand name?

He cared more about quality, and the brand alone didn't guarantee such a thing. When he grew older he liked to wear nice suits, but for now? He would settle for something more casual.

As such when he came out of the dressing room he wore a simple yet stylish ensemble of dark jeans, a black stripped midnight blue V-neck, and a maroon-colored coat.

As soon as he walked out Naoko's eyes absolutely lit up. And, he noticed, the other young women in the shop too. 

"I didn't know you had such a sense of fashion, Yuu!" The woman exclaimed. Which was fair given the boy's slovenly appearance before Aiden had taken over. "It suits you perfectly!" She looked him up and down, a slow, satisfied smile lighting her face.  "You picked out other things as well, would you like to try them?"

"I don't think that's necessary." He knew the style he liked, and he got all the right sizes. Unlike women, men didn't really feel the need to try on everything they were going to buy. They were a bit more straightforward. Who had time to just play dress-up? Rather, maybe it was a patience thing.

"Oh. Well, alright." She seemed a bit disappointed. "We should get you some pairs of shoes to match."  She then hailed a store employee. Soon enough a uniformed lady who'd been busy with some task up till then walked over.

She was a cute, fair-haired thing, maybe around her very early twenties."How may I help you?" She asked cheerfully. 

"He'll wear this out." She handed the lady a card, gesturing to Aiden. 

"Sure!" The woman replied, her eyes following Naoko's arm. "That's totally....fine." She stopped and stared. 

Naoko noticed and asked, a bit sourly, "Is something wrong?"

The lady blushed deeply and wrenched away her gaze. "Not at all!" She assured and sneakily snuck another look at Aiden, causing him endless amusement.

That's the kind of look he was used to, alright.  His weight loss had done wonders. Though, he was leaner than he was used to. His muscles were powerful but slender. He'd never been one to appreciate such body types. For himself, he preferred some bulk.

Bodybuilders went too far in his opinion, but he did like having more muscle mass. He made a mental note to change his training regimen accordingly. 

Another notification popped up and he laughed, causing her to blush even deeper as she realized he'd caught her. 

"Well hurry along then." Naoko, seeing the girl linger, urged with folded arms. 

Nodding silently, the girl ran off.

"What's wrong?" Aiden asked, stepping closer. With his current height, he matched her well, his lips level with her ear.

"Hmph. Nothing." She told him.

Aiden pulled her into a hug from behind. "Jealous, are you?" He teased. "I thought you'd be happy. Your man is popular."

The words made the older woman red from neck to cheeks. "W-What's Yuuji saying all of a sudden? Talking about such...such weird things! Whose my man? Yuu-kun is just..." She trailed off as Aiden turned her head towards him and took her lips, stopping her from speaking further.

Her eyes went wide and she seemed to want to move away from him in her surprise. But he held her in place and deepened the kiss. Any resistance easily fell apart. 

She even leaned back against him, opening her mouth to allow him inside. 

The entire store watched them, but neither Aiden nor Naoko seemed to give a damn.

When he finally broke contact Naoko was breathing a little rougher, her chest heaving up and down seductively. 

"Yuu..." She all but moaned the name, completely breathless. 

"Any complaints?" He smiled. 

"Marry me." 

...Fucking what?!