When Hikaru entered her uncle's restaurant, she was directed to the banquet room. Upon entering she caught sight of her brother and ran up to him. He caught her up in a hug, and she asked, muffled, "What are you doing here?!"

He squeezed her tightly and said, "Mom called me in a tearful panic and said something about you having a boyfriend who'd been arrested for assaulting you and that you're moving out, so I skipped the rest of my classes and hopped on the first train. Are you OK?"

Hikaru said, "Kiri never assaulted me, that's Izumi-san's stupid story."

Yuki looked his little sister over and said, "I didn't even know you were dating anyone, last thing I heard was you'd just gotten your own phone finally.

Hikaru blushed. "Sorry," she apologized, "I just didn't think about telling you, I wasn't hiding it."

Her mother and Izumi arrived next, Miri still seemed to be angry with her husband. But rather than acting repentant, Izumi seemed defiant. Kaoru joined them shortly after.

Kiri was the last to arrive. He was freshly bathed and dressed in clean clothes, but looked tired. He also carried a thick packet that he handed to Hikaru. "The lawyer sent this for you?" he asked curiously. "I didn't look at it," he added. He didn't add that the lawyer had mentioned she might charge him for it if it wasn't approved by her supervisor.

Everyone else had already seated themselves at one of the large tables in the banquet room, but Hikaru held the packet and hesitated, looking at Kiri. "Can I talk to you about this first before we talk to everyone else?" she asked.

He nodded curiously.

Hikaru told everyone they'd be right back, and pulled him out of the room and into the back of the restaurant to the employee break room. There she pushed him to sit on the couch and knelt in front of him hugging the packet.

"What is it?" Kiri asked.

Hikaru said uncertainly, "I know I told you that you couldn't even ask me to marry you until we've dated for over six months."

Kiri nodded, acknowledging it.

"So maybe I don't have the right to suggest we do this," she continued uncertainly.

Kiri reached out and pulled her up onto the couch with him. He touched her ear at the piercing and said, "Since we're talking about it, I do want to marry you Hikaru. What is it that you've arranged? You can suggest anything you want."

Hikaru looked down at the packet and said, "This should contain a prenuptial arrangement that would allow us to, um, have sex, I think. But protect you from being arrested even if Izumi is acting like a creep."

Kiri stared at her. Then he held his hand out for the packet, Hikaru gave it to him, and he opened it and looked at the contents.

"There are three different arrangements here," he told her after a moment. "One where you live with me, one where I live with your family, and one the lawyer has noted as being less protection, where we continue our current residences."

Hikaru shook her head and said, "Even if I don't live with you, I'm still moving out."

Kiri grinned at her and said with amusement, "I'd prefer you live with me." He put the other two back in the envelope.

Hikaru told him nervously, "I have a condition."

Kiri pulled her close and asked quietly, "What?"

"If I live with you, I don't want to do it like I'm a kid you're taking care of, I want us to live like, um, like lovers," she explained while looking into his eyes, which were framed by long dark lashes and regarding her steadily.

"I think I understand what you are asking for, for us to be partners," he said after a moment, "and I'll try, but I have a condition too."

Hikaru looked at him questioningly.

"I cover all the living expenses, and if needed, your tuition, until you're done with school. And I don't mean just until you're done with high school, but until you are entirely done with school."

Hikaru stared, and then protested, "But I don't want you to have to take care of me like that. If you're paying for everything, how are we partners?"

Kiri hugged her and asked, "Hikaru, if our positions were reversed, and you were older, with a good job, and I was still studying, would you insist on supporting me?"

Hikaru nodded reluctantly.

Kiri kissed her and said, "It's not because of your age. If you were 30 and going back to school, I'd insist on the same thing."

"I don't want to go to college," she said unhappily. Kiri frowned, and she added miserably, "I understand that I ought to, that music isn't a good long term career choice and that musicians often struggle and have to have other jobs. But I hate school."

Kiri opened his mouth and then closed it. After a moment he told her, "I think you should go, especially after what you told me about the independence you'd like to have before having children. And there are music colleges. But this is a separate issue, and we can talk it over other times."

Hikaru nodded. "We should go back," she said reluctantly.

He hugged her again and countered, "We should also read through this carefully, together."

"It won't matter if my mother doesn't agree though, so we have to talk to her first," Hikaru pointed out.

Kiri nodded, and they returned.

Everyone had obviously been arguing. Izumi asked bitterly over folded arms, "Why am I the bad guy?"

Hikaru looked at him and said flatly, "I want to say I don't know why you're acting like the bad guy, but I think I actually have a pretty good idea why."

Everyone stared at her.

"I've only been trying to protect you!" protested Izumi.

Hikaru shook her head and said, "No, you've been trying, very hard, to protect some imaginary little girl who doesn't exist. You don't know anything about me and you don't like me enough to learn."

"I know a lot about you," Izumi declared. 

"Name one thing you like about me?" she challenged him.

Izumi looked taken aback and said after a moment, "You don't wear too much makeup."

Hikaru laughed bitterly.

"Makeup?" Kiri protested, "You don't even choose the fact that she's in the top 20% in her school?"

"Or that she's a great musician?" her brother added.  "What the hell are these curfews he said you broke anyway, you didn't have any curfews when I came for Christmas? You haven't even had a bedtime since you were eight?" demanded Yuki.

When Hikaru had turned eight her mother had given up on trying to convince Hikaru that age had anything to do with getting enough sleep and had simply warned her daughter that if her grades dropped because she was not getting enough rest, she'd be in charge of preparing her own lunch box. Since Yuki had been the one preparing their lunches most days that year, he remembered it clearly.

"He'd already made the weekday curfews then, he just didn't complain if you were with me," Hikaru replied.

"You weren't protecting her when you hit her," Kaoru told Izumi sharply, for Miri had told him about it.

Izumi flushed and protested, "I didn't mean to."

Miri said unhappily, "But you did mean to have Kiri-kun arrested. Even after you agreed to leave Hikaru alone."

Hikaru pointed out bitterly, "He'd agreed to leave me alone, but not Kiri."

Izumi stood up and angrily demanded, "Why are you all fine with her having a relationship with a man a decade older than she is?!"

Everyone stared at him. 

Kaoru said quietly, "Because we trust Hikaru."

Her brother nodded and  agreed, "I don't know anything about him yet, but I trust Hikaru's judgment."