Chastity had called me last night. She wanted to know if I knew her dad, which I thought I did.

She didn't seem to like the idea, but she needed my help. She wanted to meet him. I was the one who could help make that happen. I was glad to do it since it meant she had a shot at reuniting with her long-lost family.

She came to my house around eleven. We would call Ai first. I didn't really want to drop by unannounced again. Especially when I was bringing someone who wasn't one of our friends.

We made the call in the den since we didn't want the others to disturb us. It was a good place to do it since the others didn't really go in there.

I put my phone on speaker phone so Chastity could chime in if she wanted to.

Ai picked up right away.

I went into Japanese and greeted her before she had the chance to say anything.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Hi, sweetie." Chastity had gone into Japanese.

Ai didn't answer right away. "Aren't you the lady from the video call...?"

"Yeah, that's me."

I was impressed. If Chastity was nervous, she was doing a great job of hiding it.

"If it's okay, I'd like to meet you in person."

"Yeah, that's fine. I've been wanting the same thing for a while." I could feel Ai's eyes on me. "You guys can come right now if you want. I'm not doing anything. I'm in that room I was in when you came by a few days ago."

Okay, so I could just go in. Hopefully, I'd aim better than when I popped in on her and her dad.

I opened the gate in front of us.

I bowed. "Ladies first."

Chastity chuckled and rolled her eyes before she went through the gate.

It closed when I went through to the other side.

The girls bowed to each other. It was similar to the ones the Japanese used to greet each other.

They went into English.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person," Ai said.

"It is," Chasity replied.

The ripples told me they had a sense of relief in their hearts, but there was still an elephant in the room.

"I don't really know how to say this..." With her pale skin, Chastity's red cheeks popped. "Did your dad ever tell you that you had a sister?"

Ai nodded. "Something happened to her before I was born, but Daddy didn't know what."

The imaginary elephant was squishing me.

She looked at Chastity with big eyes that made her look younger than she already did. "Are you my sister?"

Chastity gasped. She seemed taken aback. "To tell the truth, I'm not sure, but I think I could be. My name was Sakura Koizumi when I was born. I'm certain of that."

Ai swung the doors open. "Courtney!"

I could hear her from down the hallway. "Yes, my Lady?"

"Where is my daddy?"

"I could go get him if you like."

Ai smiled. "That would be much appreciated."

The moment of truth was almost at hand... Chastity could be reuniting with her dad after twenty years. I couldn't imagine what that could be like for her.

Her dad smiled at me. "Nice to see you, son."

"Same to you."

Ai held her hands behind her back. "Daddy, I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Chastity came closer. It looked like whatever words she had at the ready escaped her.

Her dad had eyes the size of saucers. He went into Japanese. "It's you, isn't it?"

"I missed you, Papa..."

One look at them and I knew. Chastity was his daughter. No amount of time could sever the bond between a father and daughter.

The two exchanged a warm embrace. "I missed you, too, my cherry blossom."

Ai had puppy-dog eyes. She must have wanted to be part of the display of affection but not known how to chime in.

Her dad picked her up and he and her sister hugged her.

I didn't intend to say so, but I felt out of place in that moment. It was a private family moment. I didn't think I really should have been there. They deserved privacy.

"Son." Her dad held his hand out after he put his youngest daughter down. "I want to thank you for reuniting me with my daughter. This was a day I wasn't sure if it'd ever come.

I took his hand to avoid appearing rude. "I-I really didn't do anything, sir."

"There's nothing wrong with being humble, but that isn't true. Family is one of the most important things a person can have."

Ai had the biggest grin on her face. She grabbed her sister's hand and practically dragged her out of the room. The display of strength was impressive given her size.

I probably looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Will Chastity be alright?"

"She loved kids when she was younger. I'm sure she'll be fine." He looked at me. "Her family called her Chastity?"

I gasped. "Uh... Yeah... Chastity Ventura. She also had a sister called Savannah."

"How did you meet her?"

"Savannah was a little bit older than me." I averted my gaze. "We went to school together when we were young."

There was a light in his eyes. It reminded me of how Leon looked at T to some extent. "She loved that little girl with her whole heart and soul, didn't she?"

I nodded. She most certainly did...

"You know Cece's former advisor, Leon, don't you?"

How did he know that? Did Ai tell him about that...?

"I know him, too. We weren't sending many letters back and forth for a while since it was risky with The Council in power."

I'd imagine, it probably was... How did he know Leon, though?

"Con was my best friend when we were young. I became friends with Leon later because of it."

Con...? Who was Con?

"You've heard of Cece's husband, haven't you?"

Cece's husband... T and Eni's dad... His best friend was their dad! Of course, he knew Leon!

"Yeah..." I couldn't look at him. "I just found out that he was my uncle..."

"You're Sarah's boy?"

I nodded. "Cece used to talk about her?"

"Big sisters do that." He laughed. "They might have been far apart, but Cece adored her sister. She was incredibly proud of Sarah's accomplishments."

I was sure that was true. T was always proud of me, no matter what.

I was tempted to reach out to Leon... Connor might have been my uncle, but I didn't really know that much about him. T's love for him was clear, but it seemed like it was difficult for her to talk about him. I didn't want to make her do that if I didn't have to.

***

Thoughts on the family reunion? Theories? Predictions?

~Shino out!