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When the band gathered at Sugi’s private mansion for Luna’s fourth birthday late at night (which was the only safe time for them to make their appearance), little Luna greeted them all with a sunny smile and grabbed at the first chance to curl up in her Uncle Ryu’s lap. Everyone noticed the blissful expression on her face upon settling in. And J had the good fortune of being the first to taunt Ryu for it.

"Aww, look Ryu, she likes you. Not all little kids do." J waggled a finger in front of the toddler, who lazily batted at it.

"Careful you don’t poke her eyes," was Ino’s quick warning to J, who made a face at him. Of course Ino was concerned about the child. He had not finished planning to have a few of his own.

Shinya was the jolly soul everyone wanted him to be; Santa Claus on vacation. "Hey Luna-chan," he called merrily, "do you know your Uncle Ryu eats little kids for breakfast?"

"Shut up," Ryu snapped at him. Luna’s frail hold on his jacket tightened. It was the first time for them to meet when she could _recognize_ him.

"You’ll make an exception for my daughter, I hope, Ryu," laughed Sugi, who had just stepped into the room again, this time carrying a tray of beverages. He set the tray down with a happy clack and let the rest of the band scramble to take their mugs from it like hungry children.

With a wry smile, Sugi handed a mug over to Ryu, who couldn’t move to get his share because his lap was full. He added this quip, "You know, she’ll go hard on your teeth. She may be young, but her muscles are as lean and tough as her Papa’s."

Sugi’s hair was damp and down upon his shoulders. He was wearing loose denim pants and a loose white t-shirt, against which his tanned skin glowed. Nothing he had ever worn, on- and offstage, had ever seemed so comfortable. Good health gave his prominent cheekbones a gentle flush, and despite his age, he looked like a young nun fresh out of a soothing bath.

"Papa daisuki," Luna whispered confidentially to Ryu, who smiled down at her absently, then took a great big swig.

"Why don’t you teach her to call you ‘Tousan’ or something," Shinya suggested to Sugi. "After all, her tongue's already fully formed."

"Yeah, ‘Papa’ just has this…I dunno, ‘not-you’ ring to it," Ino supplemented.

"I’m not going to rush her," Sugi answered with a languid smile as he gazed at his daughter. "She’ll call me ‘Tousan’ when she wants."

"Don’t be stupid. You’re going to spoil her," Ryu warned soberly, as he gently pulled his thumb free of Luna’s persistent grip. The formerly sleep-heavy toddler chuckled gleefully and reached for the errant thumb again.

Sugi sighed. Not without effort, he tore his stare from his beloved daughter and fixed it on his beloved friend. He allowed a touch of resentment to channel itself to Ryu through that stare.

"Someday, Ryu, you’re going to know how it feels."

Ryu would have held on to that stare like he would to a challenge, except Luna had stirred from her comfortable seat to catch again her father's gaze and, wordless, take the hurtful edge away from it.

~oOo~

Ryu noticed with so much sadness that fatherhood suited Sugi. He was so patient and loving with Luna, and also with Luna’s Mama, with whom he had fought frequently, when Luna was still very small. Sugi had used to call Ryu up at some nights, to ask him out for a drink, because he and Luna’s Mama had fought again.

Ryu always told Sugi during those despondent nights to focus on Luna, to hold on for Luna’s sake. He reminded Sugi of how he had placed his fame and reputation at stake for her…of how he loved her. And Sugi always saw the reason behind love.

Even when Ryu didn't.

Whenever Ryu spoke about his latest breakup, Sugi would turn to him with resentful eyes, hold his gaze for a moment, and then look away. That encounter would proceed to ruin the rest of Ryu’s day. Who was this man to judge the way he handled affairs? How many real relationships had he had in his lifetime – two, three? Not nearly as many as Ryu could boast of.

Yet…Sugi never ran to him for advice on affairs, before Luna. Before Luna, it was Ryu who would call Sugi up in the middle of the night to ask him to go out for a drink. Most of the time, Sugi would leave the sleeping girl he was lying sleepless beside, and oblige.

Before Luna, it was he and Sugi together against the world. Sugi understood him, and shared the pain in him that had no reason and created songs. The loneliness of many of his nights used to be tempered by that illusion.

Ryu couldn’t believe that Sugi would always love Luna the way he loved her now, would always stand by her the way he did. All children grow up into the bitches and bastards they are meant to become. Then, he would like to know from Sugi, how would it feel to have your own eyes staring back at you defiantly?

_Would you still call for me?_

He didn't call anymore, even when Ryu waited. And waited. And became so despondent that he needed a cure for the sobriety the waiting caused. Sometimes it worked when he brought back to mind that Sugi was happy. Sometimes he just couldn't stop waiting.

And when the waiting ended…

~oOo~

At the first ring, Ryu pressed the "receive" button. The number that reflected on his cell's caller ID function was Sugi's. With a voice full of forced calm, he answered the call.

And it _was_ Sugi, sporting a friendliness that was somehow enough to relieve him of the day's troubles. "Listen, I have a favor to ask you." After the initial wisecracking, Ryu listened intently.

Sugi was asking to meet him at eight in the morning the very next day. He and Luna were taking a holiday, he said simply, and they had decided to take Ryu-jichan with them. Ryu tried to ask where they were going. "Let's just say it's somewhere we'll all like," was the vague answer. So Ryu only agreed.

Ryu ended the call and snapped the cell phone cover shut with a flick of the wrist. The waiting that he did not know would end soon was over. He settled back into the sheets, into an easier sleeplessness.

For the rest of the night he looked forward to the dawn.

~oOo~

"Ryu-jichan!" was the shriek that greeted him at the driveway. She came bounding from the bottom of the mansion's steps up to the red Porsche, and padded her little palms on the chrome plating once to make the door open magically. The instant Ryu emerged, Luna planted a wet kiss on his cheek. He chuckled in mild embarrassment and held her at arm's length.

She was wearing white shorts and what appeared to be a sleeveless velvet item that anyone with fashion sense would call "cute." Her brown hair hung loose and free about her shoulders. And she was smelling rather strongly of baby powder.

Behind her, Sugi stood, shouldered a small traveling bag and strode toward the car. He was wearing a colorful (as could only be) vest over a fit white t-shirt, and denim jeans that suspiciously resembled the one he wore on Luna's birthday. Ryu began to wonder if he, in his black slacks, black turtleneck and red leather jacket, wasn't overdressed for the occasion.

"You brought the _red_ car!" the little one cried happily.

"Of course! 'cause the red one's your favorite." He lifted the child up to his shoulders. Quickly responsive, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and planted another wet kiss on the other cheek. Ryu winced visibly.

"Hey, stop that, you'll get my germs," he said. The toddler chuckled at the tone of his voice, perhaps at the tinge of nervousness itself. "Hora, purezento aru yo, Luna-chan."

"Honto?!" She beamed with excitement. "Nani nani Jichan?"

"Close your eyes," Ryu instructed, "and hold out your hands. It's a bit big." The little one obeyed without the least distrust. Ryu inserted himself into the Porsche again partway in order to reach into the back seat, and presently drew out his gift.

Sugi's eyebrows rose. It was a small beach ball, exquisitely made. It was larger than Luna's own head, but lightweight. Glitters and paint swirls were liberally distributed on the inside of the transparent shell, so that no amount of damage to the exterior -- short of a total puncture -- could damage the patterns. It was no doubt inexpensive (though probably handmade) but it was still good eye candy.

Ryu laid this gift onto the small child's waiting arms. Even before she opened her eyes, Luna squealed with delight. When she did open her eyes, she jumped around in circles, celebrating her new possession. "Look, look, Papa!" she was crying. "Uncle brought me a _toy_!"

"Oh good! Another one since your birthday three days ago." Sugi edged closer to Ryu, and said beneath Luna's joyful chatter, "Where'd you get it? When I called you up last night, all the stores must have been closed."

"Been with me for some time," Ryu answered abstractly. "Nothing I'd miss, but something I was sure she'd like."

Actually, it had been handmade by a fan, but since Sugi looked satisfied with the original answer, Ryu did not say more.

Sugi smiled in warm appreciation. "Well, it's perfect for where we're going."

In a louder voice, Sugi proceeded to report, "She was worrying you wouldn't come, even though I'd told her you'd promised. I told her that if you wouldn't make it, you'd call, so she held on to my cell phone until you pulled up."

"Uncle Ryu _always_ keeps his promises!" Luna cried as she ran up to them with the ball sheltered in her arms.

"That's _right_," Ryu told Luna, poking the little elfin nose playfully. "But it's your Papa you have to thank, for making Uncle Ryu promise to come today."

"Thank you Papa!" she said to Sugi, who answered with a deep bow.

"The world is yours, my princess," he said to his daughter. He tapped the multi-colored ball with a fingertip, and then turned to Ryu, saying, with a blissful smile, "Well, White Knight? Shall we be off?"

~oOo~

"OK, you didn't tell me we were going to the beach," said a slightly piqued White Knight at the wheel. Sugi looked at him.

"Then you would have prepared!" he answered confidently, as if it was the end of the argument.

"And what's so wrong with that?!" Ryu took a sharp, unexpected turn to the right. The wheels of the Porsche screeched in complaint. On impulse, Sugi held on to the dashboard. And at the backseat, Luna cried "Wheee!!" and chuckled happily.

"Don't be a brat, _Jichan_!" Sugi said venomously, straightening his vest and settling back against the passenger seat. "For one thing, you're going to get us all killed." But he recovered quickly from this admonishing mood and zipped open the traveling bag on his lap.

"Look at this…" Sugi pulled out and unfolded a brand-new pair of black swimming trunks, just in time for the red signal light to go on and stop the Porsche. Like it or not, Ryu had to glance at it. He did so with one eyebrow raised.

"Luna picked this out herself yesterday," Sugi proudly relayed. "She said black suits you better than red. She's an artist, ne?"

"Papa picked out the _size_!" Luna piped in from the backseat.

"Uh-huh," Ryu said, taking the thing for a moment with his clutch hand. It was comfortable enough to the touch, no doubt it was expensive, but it looked…small. "How do you know it fits, _Papa_?"

"I'm visually adept," Sugi said with a dry, dry smile, pointing at his own temple. "It comes out of years of staring at your gyrating waist."

"Aho," Ryu remarked, and threw the trunks back to Sugi, under the cover of the red light going off and the green light going on. Insisting on looking somewhat pissed, he started towing that street's speed limit.

Luna couldn't have leaned forward because of the restrictive seatbelt, but she leaned as far forward as he lithe little body could go. She said "Ryu-jichan, you'll teach me how to swim, right?"

Ryu's eyes narrowed. Inwardly, he had sweatdropped, but he wasn't about to let the gleeful demon sitting beside him see that. He kept his gaze on the road. "Mm," he intoned through lips stretched into the parody of a smile.

"And Luna-chan," Sugi said, twisting to see his daughter, "you and me and Uncle Ryu are going to build _sandcastles_. You'll like that, won't you?"

"Yay yay!" the toddler cried, jumping up and down on her seat. Luckily, the Porsche was built as much for tension as it was for speed.

~oOo~

The trunks _did_ fit, Ryu found to his amazement. In fact, they were pretty comfortable. Wearing something stylish and new, and being so near the sea again after a long time, helped to change for the better his temperament while driving.

When he emerged from the shower room, he found that Sugi and Luna were already waiting for him. Sugi was wearing white trunks that looked a trifle long (hence unusually modest) for Sugi, and Luna had shed her shorts and now stood before him in an adorable one-piece purple bathing suit.

"Hiya, sexy," Ryu said to the little lady, who ducked coyly and hid behind her father's long legs.

"Guess I was right about the size, huh?" Sugi challenged, the corner of one lip raised. He was turning the colorful beach ball in his hands. "Yeah, well," Ryu retorted, "I still say you can't dress yourself worth a damn."

Sugi laughed. He handed the ball to his daughter, tipped her chin, and walked off to the shoreline. Ryu followed, and Luna tagged after him.

"The beach" was a huge private cove familiar to all LS members. It was a hideaway for them -- particularly for Sugi, who lived nearest it -- secured from civilization by a tall fence of rock and cliffside. The sand was white, and only the smell of salt tainted the breeze that always blew. Palm trees were liberally scattered by the rocks and near the resthouse, providing plenty of shade for the weary swimmer.

Sometimes the waves were angry, but there were days, as this one, when they broke on the sand with a rhythm that spoke of peace and calm. Ryu noticed that the heavy clouds overhead tempered the sun's heat; it was probably even going to rain later in the day. It was a good time to be there.

As they were approaching the shoreline, Luna shot ahead, crying "Race ya, Papa, Jichan!" Sugi, laughing, pursued her. Despite himself, Ryu ran after them both, fighting a smile that was taking over his face. But then he stopped, and the smile disappeared, when he saw that Sugi had caught his daughter and was tumbling in and out of the water with her, in a part of the shallows where they were the only two people.

Luna had forgotten her Ryu-jichan. She was busy laughing, living out this moment with her father, whose deep laugh echoed like hers across the water, against the high rocks in the white sand.

Sugi was crouched on the sea bed and the water reached to his neck. But Ryu stood where the water was just up to his knees. The beach ball that had escaped Luna's arms floated toward him, and he rescued it before it could get washed ashore.

~oOo~

Ryu was the one who was supposed to teach Luna how to swim, but Sugi insisted on being there while lessons were going on, swimming around and then coming back to check on their progress.

"I don't trust you with my daughter," he said grimly to Ryu. "You might eat her."

"Will you people stop it with that? I don't even know what you're talking about." Ryu snapped irritably. Luckily, Luna was underwater so she couldn't hear the real annoyance in his voice. "Eating children…that's so sick!"

"Sorry. The guys just sort of coined it after you made a baby cry just by smiling at it one time. Well, doesn't that look good enough to eat?" Sugi challenged, motioning to the drenched cream and velvet doll whose head just emerged from the water, a short distance from them.

"I did it again!" Luna crowed. "I did it! I swam again!"

"Oh, very nice work!" Ryu said while wading over to her, ignoring her father. They were in deep, up to the base of Sugi's rib cage, but Luna had insisted on being so far from the shore. "No more now, though. The undertow's strong around here. Let's head back to the shallows before we never see you again."

While Ryu was walking off, Sugi had dived and started swimming toward his little daughter, intending to surprise her.

"I don't wanna, Uncle Ryu! Look at what else I can do!" She dipped her head beneath the surface. Ryu saw her velvet bottom disappear last beneath the water.

And that was when Sugi came up for air, right where Luna was last. He wiped the water from his face with one large hand and looked around. Looked around the other way. Finding nothing, he turned to Ryu, hands on hips.

"All right, Ryu, cough her up," he said with a grin.

Ryu spread his arms wide as he peered into the water surrounding him, himself slowly becoming frantic. The water wasn't that clear where they stood; the undertow stirred the floor. It was hard to see what lay beneath the surface, and if Luna had dipped below the surface, they would not be able to see where she was.

In reaction to the panic Ryu tried to hide without much success, Sugi's face fell into a stance of alarm. "Fuck," Sugi said beneath his breath, and dived again.

Ryu himself dove to the sea floor, searched. When he came up for air, he heard Sugi calling his daughter's name. A vise gripped his heart. He had to have been underwater for a long time, and still Luna had not surfaced.

His feet could no longer touch the sea floor when he came up for air the second time. The water was already way too deep for Luna to be swimming in. Still, she was nowhere to be seen. "_Luna-chan!_" he shouted, deliberately sounding more angry than scared. "_Luna!_" He was about to dive again, when he felt Sugi's hands take hold of his arms. When he looked, Sugi's eyes locked themselves onto his own. And he saw that there was no blame there, no hatred -- only terror. A father's terror.

"Ryu!" Sugi's fingers dug into his arms, bruising them. "Ryu, my -- my -- " Ryu grabbed the arms that held him captive. He wanted to answer to whatever Sugi was going to say "It's all right, we'll find her." But no words came out. Ryu had never felt so helpless, had never seen his friend so weak. He had stepped into a Hell that was not his.

And in the watery space between them, something burst out, throwing them apart, however hard they had held on to each other. Sugi cried out.

The offending torpedo giggled maliciously. It had something clasped in one tiny hand.

"My God! Luna!" Ryu panted.

"Bikkuri?" the little one said coquettishly, delighted with the expression on his face. "Look! I got this…"

But before she could continue, her father had gathered her into his arms and was crushing her against his chest, then was showering her face with kisses. Her hand opened and whatever it had clasped sank back onto the sea floor, disappearing in the murk.

"Papa, you made me drop it!" Luna cried indignantly.

Sugi was not in the condition to find the humor in it, Ryu noted. When a while ago, his face was white as a sheet, now it was burning red. He would not release his daughter. With a hoarse voice, he cried, "What happened to you? Where did you go?"

Luna, though shaken, managed to answer, "Underwater. I was trying to show Uncle Ryu -- "

_"Don't do that again! Don't do that ever again, do you understand?"_

Ryu was about to approach Sugi to try and calm him down. He was afraid Sugi would hit Luna. But he had not yet regained control of his voice, and what held him back was that he did not know what to say. Sugi took the opportunity given by his friend's silence to start heading back to the shore, his bewildered little daughter imprisoned in his embrace.

"Let's go, Luna-chan. Your mother must miss us."

"But you promised! The whole _day_!" Genuine grief was in that voice. She was getting ready to throw a tantrum.

"No. That's it. We're going home."

"No!!" She struggled in her father's arms. When she realized that not all the struggling and screaming in the world could get her father to stop walking toward the shore, she threw her arms around his neck and begged, "Please let's stay, let's stay." But not even that seemed to work.

She looked past her father, to the figure standing in the deeper part of the water. "Uncle Ryu!" she called desperately.

As if in response to her summons, Ryu called out, "Oi. Chotto." He strode through the water after Sugi, and clasped the slimmer man's shoulder. Sugi wheeled round. Ryu chuckled softly, confidently, said "We haven't built a single sandcastle yet."

"A sandcastle?" Sugi scowled, despite Luna's upset. "My daughter might have drowned and you're thinking of _sandcastles_?!"

"She didn't drown, did she?" Ryu turned to Luna. "And you're not going to scare your Papa like that anymore, are you?" Luna shook her head and sniffed, biting back tears. Sugi kissed her once on the forehead and she leaned on his shoulder, taking comfort in that kiss.

"Yuu." Ryu still had not released his friend's shoulder. He smiled his most guileless smile, the one he knew to hook hearts in. "Nothing bad's going to happen to her anymore. I promise."

~oOo~

Ryu knew that lunch would calm Sugi down and remove his inhibitions to staying, so he proposed it immediately upon setting foot on dry land. Luna endorsed the proposal, squeaking that she was "Hungry hungry hungry!!" until Sugi was forced to accede.

During lunch, Luna told everything. She had dived to the sea floor, looking for evidence that would prove her great feat. But when she surfaced, she saw that her father was starting to panic because he couldn't find her, and something clicked inside her mischievous little head. She dove again and again, hiding from them until she felt like showing herself. She didn't come up for breath long, because she was worried they would spot her.

"You little monster," Sugi said with a hurt affection that did not escape Ryu. "Just had to play a trick on the poor innocent swimmers, hadn't you?"

Luna's mischievous laugh sounded evil to Ryu, whose bruises still smarted. She was sitting close beside Ryu and nibbling on a piece of fried chicken. Sometimes she would gaze at her Uncle Ryu with adoration, or lean her entire weight on his bruised upper arm while munching.

Uncle Ryu would shift to a more comfortable position, but never turn her away.

They decided to let the food settle in their stomachs while building the sandcastles Sugi had promised Luna. It was high noon, and perfect siesta weather. After three quick pairs of hands had made the prettiest sandcastle that Luna had ever seen, Uncle Ryu said he wanted to take a break. To prove his point, he walked off to a shaded area and spread himself out in the sand, without waiting for Luna or her Papa's approval. Then Luna's Papa said he would like to take a break, too.

"Why are you tired? I'm not tired yet!" Luna started to lament.

"I know, honey. If I were your age, I wouldn't be tired yet, either," Sugi remarked, running his fingers through Luna's long, salted brown hair. "You can stay here if you want. If you want to play out in the water, come to us first, OK?"

At her pouty nod, Sugi left her and moved off to get a towel and spread it on the sand beside Ryu.

For a while Luna contemplated the pretty sandcastle, wondering how she could have fun with it all by her lonesome. But then her eyes fell on the lovely, lovely beach ball that Uncle Ryu had given her. A gleam of life came back into her eyes. She picked up her toy and ran toward the shaded area, where her father and uncle were. Her Papa was still lowering himself onto the blanket he had just spread.

"Papa, Uncle Ryu, I want to go play!" she cried even as she approached.

Uncle Ryu frowned at her. "In the water?"

"Yup."

"All alone?"

"Yup."

"No!"

Luna was obviously taken aback by her uncle's sternness, and her father had to soothe her with a less stringent: "Don't listen to your uncle, dear. Run and play."

At this, Ryu told Sugi jokingly, "You want her to really get pulled in by the undertow?" Sugi answered, in all seriousness, "It's not like that's going to happen." Ryu looked away as he said "If she _does_ get pulled in, it's your fault."

They kept at it until it began to sound like a fight, and the distinct sheen of serious interest appeared on Luna's huge brown eyes. Her father and uncle didn't notice this. At last her father ended the dialogue by snapping "She's my daughter, not yours." And Uncle Ryu had to look the other way again.

Luna was about to ask if something was wrong, when Uncle Ryu faced her with the sleepy smile she loved _so_ much, and said "Go on. Just don't get out of sight."

She thanked them both from the bottom of her little heart before running off. She liked her new ball. She liked the feel of the sand under her bare feet. She liked knowing that the two men she loved most in the world were around to watch her have fun.

At one time, the one whose thoughts were nearby, safe and happy, sighed contentedly, and turned to the other with a smile of goodwill. "I know I'm spoiling her," he said quietly. "I just can't help it."

"Why did you ask me to come?" Ryu asked, though he was unable to fully keep the annoyance from his voice.

"It was Luna's wish. Her birthday wish. She wanted her Uncle Ryu all to herself for one whole day."

Ryu looked indignant when he glanced at Sugi for this. _I can't believe I became an accessory to fulfilling your daughter's_ whim. But Sugi's reaction to the clarity of this thought was a well-meaning laugh, hearty as hell.

And he winked. "You’re her favorite uncle. I daresay she has a crush on you."

Ryu said nothing. Sugi was hoping he would be pleasantly surprised (his vanity having been fed yet again), at least, but he could not read Ryu's expression. Ryu tilted his head back until he faced the clouds that sometimes veiled, and sometimes framed, the sun.

Sugi, undaunted, continued: "While I was tucking her in on her birthday, just for fun, I asked her whom among her Luna Sea uncles she liked most. She immediately answered, 'Ryu-jichan.' …But after that she said 'Ino-jichan mo kawaii.'"

Sugi imitated his own daughter's childish piping well. A small chuckle escaped Ryu, and he barely noticed. Without looking away from the sky, he remarked, "Showing signs of disloyalty this early, is she?"

"Not at all! I asked her whom among _all_ her uncles she liked best. She still answered 'Ryu-jichan.' I asked her why, and she said 'Kao da…' you know, shy like when she wants to be cute." A corner of Sugi's sensuous lips seemed permanently raised, even if the other wasn't. The twinkle of mischief did not leave his eyes. "So then I asked her what she meant. I said, ‘Otokomae nan desu ka, Luna-chan?’"

"You freak."

"Oh, come on, wait for the punchline." Sugi's snap bordered on laughter. "She put her face real close to mine. She looked real deep into my eyes. And you know what she said? No, she didn’t say, she whispered – she whispered, ‘Kirei.’"

_Kirei…_ Ryu was able to imagine it. She would say it to her father like she had told him, only a few days ago, her little lips close to his own: "Papa daisuki." Like a secret she held dear, but did not know how to keep.

Ryu closed his eyes.

"She’s singled you out. She has taste." Then Sugi himself looked up at the sky, where the clouds were melting, thickening. "Hey?"

"Hm."

"When the time comes, I hope she'll fall in real love with someone like you."

~oOo~

"Someone like you"…? Did Sugi knew what he was talking about? Had he forgotten the midnight calls, the times of rage and near-tears?

Just a few days ago, Sugi was saying, with some anger, that Ryu would "know how it feels." It seemed so long ago now. And their days as an indies band, when they were inseparable, as two halves of the same soul, were centuries away. Now they talked of love. They talked of a future that wasn't theirs.

"You're kidding," he told Sugi, looking straight into his brown eyes -- eyes that captivated thousands. Luna's eyes.

"I'm not," Sugi answered, holding his gaze. "I've always thought it was worthwhile to fall in love with you." And it sounded strange, this truth…not the least because it came from a man who used to cast a resentful gaze Ryu's way every time he announced that he was breaking off with someone. "Let's call hooking up with you…an educational experience."

Sugi laughed good-naturedly. Ryu found it difficult to take offense at what he had just said. "Of course…it would be great if 'that guy who's like you' would fall in love with her, too."

Ryu chuckled in turn. "Ah, the problem's right there," he said wearily. "If a guy is like me, you can bet he'll be a kirei na narcissist."

"Ryu…" Sugi sighed and shook his head, looked back out at Luna playing in the shallows. "I bet that when the time comes and you find the right girl, you'll love her more than yourself."

_I doubt that, Yuu, I seriously do. You know why?_ "I'll never love someone who doesn't understand me. And no woman ever will."

_The only one I could consider would have to spend at least 10 years with me. Would stand beside me onstage. Would be home when I call at midnight and come away with me on the spot. Would not have to ask about my past, and so would not really hate me for not knowing how to love._

Sugi was not in a mood to tolerate that comment. "Don't think that," he admonished. "That's an illusion everyone gets. Sometimes even _I_ feel the same way."

"So you don't, anymore? I guess you got lucky with Luna's mother, then."

And at that, Sugi fell silent.

The day suddenly shifted to the afternoon. The clouds hid the sun completely, and the breeze blew cold. Maybe it was going to rain. Ryu cast a worried glance at the sandcastle, which Luna, from a distance, also eyed with some concern. But she did not abandon her playtime for what has not yet happened. She chased the ball that was being rolled farther from the shore by the waves.

"It's getting a bit cold" -- Sugi started to stretch himself out on the blanket beside Ryu -- "for old men like us, ne?" But he still lay beside Ryu, with his face turned toward his friend. Ryu did not seem to care.

"I'm not changing my mind about you," Sugi presently pronounced. "Please drop by the house often. For Luna. You don’t even have to bring anything, just be there."

"…I will."

For a while longer, Sugi watched his friend's impassive face in silence. Then he softly sighed, and closed his eyes. The breath that escaped this sigh brushed lightly across Ryu's bruised arm. It brought sadness to the surface of the marble statue, for a moment -- a moment Sugi failed to witness.

A while longer and Sugi had fallen asleep. The "event" from the earlier part of the day must have truly drained him. Left to himself, Ryu only drew in a deep breath.

The sky grew darker and darker. Ryu contemplated waking Sugi so they could get to shelter before the rain fell, but just then Luna appeared beside him. She was carrying her ball and peering at her Uncle Ryu's face, as if trying to see if he was asleep. "Uncle Ryu," she began, "What'll happen to the sandcastle when the rain hits it?"

Ryu answered flatly, "It'll go away. But we're not sure if it's going to rain yet, Luna-chan. The sun is just hiding right now."

She was silent for a while, then she said "Why did we build it, if it's going to go away?"

Terribly intelligent, Ryu could not help himself from thinking fondly. He laid a hand on her head and for the first time thought about how beautiful she was going to be, was already. "Luna-chan…the rain will come if it has to come, whether we like it or not. Anyway, you have your ball, don't you? The rain will never hurt that."

She peered at Ryu with her father's eyes as if it was their first time to meet. Then she lay down beside him, placing the brilliant toy he had given her to one side, on the sand.

She gently laid her little head against his chest, laid a tiny palm against his hard stomach. The smell of salt and baby powder wafted up to Ryu. "No longer so sprightly, are you?" he asked the child, as he brushed lanky strands of gossamer from her face.

She didn't answer this. Softly, she said, "Uncle Ryu, play with me when you're not tired anymore."

He felt her lashes move against his skin when she closed her eyes. Beside Ryu, Sugi stirred. Still asleep, he reached out for his daughter's hand. Their joined fingers rested on Ryu's belly, filling its surface with warmth, and touching a little of the cold that lay beneath it.

Ryu barely felt the breeze grow just a little colder.

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