Hey all, sorry for the wait, but I appreciate the patience for those who had it. This time I decided to focus on the Mikado family rather than our two stars, just as a little treat. ^u^ I want the next chapter of the pairing of this story to have more attention towards it. This was also made to show you all this fanfic is still alive! It is no where near done, so please stay tuned for more. Anyway here's ch. 11. Enjoy and merry Christmas!

Ch. 11 Reassurance

Morning sunshine was in effect on Japan's soil. Cars have begun to take off from homes to indicate an adult was going to work and, thus, beginning their day. It has been two nights that Gao had to sleep alone. Worry wasn't an emotion that registered for him anymore, however. He knew that Drum was safe and happy, and that's all Gao needed to know. Sure he had to go a few days without Buddy Fighting, but it was nice taking a break for a while. At least Gao was able to focus more on completing his homework (not that he was stoked anyway).

The young Buddy Fighter had awoken, but chose to lie on his bed for a while longer. Gao's blanket was uncovering his torso and his feet. He had his arms crossed behind his head and one leg bent over the other. His mind was revisiting the moment of Drum's confession: openly expressing his feelings for Axia. It was an incredible thing to experience. Gao felt weirdly proud of his Buddy. "So it was true all this time," he thought. "Hehe, I knew it." A chortle came out as Gao took in delight from his previous assumption. "I'm glad for him, though - for both of them. They deserve their romance."

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his younger sister knock on the door. "Hey Gao! Breakfast is ready! You are awake, right?" Rather than be annoyed, Gao scoffed positively at how Hanako asked that question as if her knocking and alerting tone wouldn't have already awoken him.

"I am, Hana. I'll be right there," Gao replied after getting completely out of bed.

"Okay, but don't be late, or I'll eat your food!" Hanako yelled as her footsteps were heard going downstairs.

Gao clothed himself of his regular attire, then grabbed his hat from his desk before turning back to fix the bed. While he was fixing his bed, he stopped to look at Drum's side. He smiled to himself again until he gained a troubling thought: "Oh man. When they come back, they'll start getting too comfy together on this bed, won't they?" The thought of sleepless night ran through his head and that made him groan. "What I need is another bed for the both of them." That's when another sudden realization clicked to the 6th grader. "Wait a minute. We do have another bed! We have three in the guest room! Why we have so many, I'm not sure, but good enough for me."

Once again, knocks broke Gao's train of thought. This time it was his father at the door. "You coming for breakfast Gao or what?" he asked through the door.

"Right," Gao thought, "breakfast." He opened his door to see his dad with a puzzling look and directly answered to him, "Sorry about that, Dad. I'm ready now."

"Well you better hurry, Hana's almost done with her plate, and she seems to be enjoying the meal," Takashi warned his son to which he nodded. Gao took a running head start downstairs while his dad was at a gentle pace since he was done with his food and, therefore, had nothing to worry about.

Once Gao entered the kitchen, he saw that females that lived in the home were all there. There were scrambled eggs placed by two pieces of toast topped with butter on each waiting for him on a plate. Inside a glass next to that, was simply orange juice. There was also a bowl of miso soup served with an assortment of vegetables besides green onion and chard. It looked as if Hanako hasn't touched his meal yet. "Good thing," he thought, "That actually looks delicious. Then again, Mom's cooking has always blown me away."

"Good morning, Gao," Hanae, Gao's grandmother, stated.

"Morning, son. Took you long enough," Suzumi added with an upset, but genial voice.

"Yeah, I know I'm a bit late for breakfast. I was just thinking to myself," Gao responded apologetically. He took his seat and began to have breakfast with his mom and grandma. Hanako had finished by this point and got out of her seat. Then, she took off to the living room where she started watching TV.

Even though the food looked so good one wouldn't wait around to chow down, Gao ate at an unusually slower pace. Every part of his breakfast was so enticing, but he just restrained himself enough to eat with a steady composure. His mom seemed to notice this strange habit and wondered to herself. She began to really chew her food before swallowing in an effort to see if she can wait as long as Gao can. Her sips seemed long, but in reality, she was only taking tiny portions of her juice. This charade lasted until Hanae left her chair, then sequentially left the kitchen to tend to business around the house. Gao's bites into his toast suddenly became larger, and the bowl of miso soup was lessening of contents much quicker. Suzumi set her cup down from another fake long sip and interrogated her son, "Alright, Gao. Now that we're alone, why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"

Caught in his motives, Gao gulped whatever chunk of food he had in his mouth and answered, "Well, Mom, you see..." There was break in his answer so that he may gather his thoughts. "It's about Drum and Axia."

Gao's mother followed up with another question, "Awe, are you missing them from being gone too long? It's only been a few nights, though."

"No, no. It's not that. I'm dealing with their absence just fine," Gao assured. "It's just that - do you remember how Axia would act affectionately towards Drum?" That fact caused Suzumi to nod. "Well, now Drum is returning the affection, and I'm happy for them!"

"That sounds wonderful, Gao! However, I still don't see the problem."

Then, with a look of nothing but seriousness gazing straight into his mother's eyes, Gao asked, "Our family as a whole has nothing against people - let alone monsters - of the same gender liking each other that way, does it?"

"Hmm, I see," Suzumi thought. Now that she understood what was worrying her son, Suzumi emanated a warm smile. "Oh, Honey, that's not something you should worry about," she chuckled.

"So none of our relatives dislike that sort of behavior?" he asked again, just as stern as the first time.

"Now, I can't speak for all of them." Suzumi made that very clear, and Gao didn't seem to like hearing that. "I'm afraid to say that it may have been a way of thinking of my grandmother's generation, and that was just the way the world was back then," she continued while hope was starting to slip from the young boy, "but this is my home, and we accept all into this house. In fact, it was my mother who taught me that open-mindedness suits much better for anyone and everyone. I can say with certainty that everyone in this house thinks that way, and if not, then that means I haven't been a good mother and someone needs to see me in the dojo to learn a lesson!" All jokes aside, Gao let his mother's words enter his thoughts and began to agree. "Your brother, Yota, too, would feel this way. Isn't that right, my little Mighty Sun Fighter?" Those words stung Gao, but it was a good stinging. He knew his late brother would support him by supporting his Buddy's sexual orientation, and that comforted his mind and spirit. Suzumi stood up from her chair and walked to her son to hug him whom returned the loving gesture. "How very sweet of you to be concerned of your friend like this," she appraised, "I am a good mother after all."

After sharing a laugh, Gao replied, "You sure are. Thanks, Mom. I needed this talk. You always know what to say."

Suzumi removed Gao's hat, placed a kiss on his forehead, put the hat back on and told him, "Now finish your food so that I can wash your dishes," and just like that, Gao's normal eating habits took effect. His breakfast was soon entirely devoured. His mom was just happy to see her son back in the right spirit.

Before Gao headed out the kitchen, he stopped to ask his mom whom was now starting to clean dishes, "Oh yeah, Mom, I was also thinking: Drum and Axia deserve some privacy now, so maybe they should have their own bed preferably in their own room. So how about if they sleep in the guest room from now on?"

"Sure, I'm fine with that," Suzumi answered. "Why don't you go fix their beds for them, so it'll be ready for them when they return?"

The son liked that idea. He took his leave and went for the stairs, but as he passed through the living room, he noticed that the TV was left on with no one watching it. Continuing on his path towards the guest bedroom, Gao yelled, "Hana, you left the TV on downstairs!" There wasn't a reply from her by the time he reached the guest room's door. He was about to call his sister again, but he ended up finding her in the guest room dancing on the beds. "What are you doing here? Quit jumping on the beds!"

She climbed off the bed she was on and stated with her hands on her hips in a groovy pose, "I wasn't jumping, I was practicing some dance moves I saw on TV."

"Well go practice somewhere else," Gao ordered Hanako, "I gotta make Drum and Axia's beds."

"Ugh, fine," and with that, Hanako left the room all the while dancing.

"And turn off the TV if you're not watching it!" Gao added. He looked at the beds and saw how messy the sheets got with Hanako's monkeying around. Blankets were spilling to mostly one side and the pillows needed to be fluffed properly. "Great. More work for me. You better be appreciative of this, Drum."