I apologize for how long it took to get this out, since I posted chapter 1 I have been in my second quarter of my Freshman year of college. Chapter 3 won't be as difficult to rewrite, because I don't want to change much, it has always been my favorite.

However, I am curious, would you guys like an extra chapter or two of Yachi, Izaya, and Yukine being a family before we get to reunion time, or would you prefer I only reserve chapter 3 for that and have chapter 4 continue the plot?

Let me know in the comments, and I hope you enjoy it!

The warm sunlight streaming through the window awoke the man on the bus, his arms still wrapped protectively around his newly adopted daughter.

He smiled down at her. Orihara Izaya and Orihara Yachi, it has a nice ring to it… He thought, and turned to look at the passing scenery. Not that far away from the road the bus rolled on, he could see the vast expanse that was the ocean, and the sun that had just started to climb above it..

It had been a few weeks since the small family had finally left the hospital, in that time they had traveled to wherever Yachi had desired. After being so brave during her treatment, Izaya felt that she deserved so.

They had taken the train all over, having gone to forests, shrines, onsens, and even managed to see snowy mountains. It was all done in 'the moment', they had no actual plan, but Izaya found that he didn't mind it at all.

All his life, things had been perfectly planned, he had been in control of it all and had planned steps ahead of decision. This constant spontaneity was new to him but he found that he enjoyed it exponentially.

But it can't last much longer. He reminded himself. School is going to start up soon for her age group. We have to settle down somewhere… But where?

He looked down at his scarred arms, and cringed at the memories the mangled sight brought up. Well, Tokyo… More specifically, Ikebukuro is definitely out of the question. Maybe Kanto? But we haven't been there yet, I want Yachi to like where we live. So where…

The feeling of movement against his side broke through the ramble of thoughts passing through Izaya's brain. He turned his red eyes down, finding his daughter staring up at him with a tired expression on her face.

"Daddy, are we there yet?" She asked him curiously while her eyes turned towards the window to try and answer her own question.

Izaya decided to set aside his thoughts for now, and enjoy the last leg of their vacation. Turning to look out the window with her, he hummed thoughtfully. "We should be soon, not much longer now," He promised, pointing out the window. "You can already see the ocean from here, see?"

Yachi leaned forward in the seat, following where his hand and gasping in excitement. "I see it!" She exclaimed excitedly,"We're almost there, we're almost to the ocean!"

Thankfully the bus ride lasted only ten more minutes, and then slowed to a stop at its station. The intercom let out a few gentle bell sounds. "Now arriving at Tomonoura!" The bus driver's cheerful voice announced.

The little girl squealed excitedly, jumped from her seat, and grabbed Izaya's hand while jumping up and down. "Come on daddy! Let's go! Let's go!" She exclaimed.

Izaya could help but laugh at her enthusiasm, and found himself feeling just as excited. He got up and grabbed their luggage, handed the smaller Chi's Sweet Home themed one to Yachi, and followed his daughter off the bus.

Tomonoura was a port town thirty minutes south of the city Fukuyama, and had a variety of beautiful Edo period buildings, such as Fukuzen-ji Temple and Joyato Lighthouse. All the buildings were older-style buildings, with even the newer buildings being styled in the same way.

It wasn't one of the most popular cities, but Izaya chose it on purpose. He wanted Yachi to see the ocean in a place where she wouldn't be crowded out by other tourists. Thankfully, his plan had worked. The only people he really saw walking around were locals and very few tourists. It left an opening to appreciate the smell of the sea and the beauty of the port town.

When he looked down at Yachi, it seemed that he had made the right decision. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she took in every bit of scenery she could.

They checked into their hotel, and only went in long enough to set their bags down. They both needed to stretch their legs for a while after the bus ride, and he doubted Yachi wanted to relax until after they had seen the ocean up close.

So they headed out into town, once again without a plan or an idea of what to do or see. From what Izaya had skimmed through on his phone, there were quite a few things they could go see, or perhaps they should begin with what Yachi was most excited for. He wasn't sure.

"Where are we gonna go first?" The little girl asked him as her eyes scanned the city around them still.

Izaya made a thoughtful noise. "I'm not too sure myself," He admitted,"After all, this is my first time here too."

Yachi gasped. "Really?" She asked,"It's mine too! That makes it even specialer!"

"Even more special," Izaya gently corrected her.

"Even more special!" Yachi repeated in agreement, her smile not fading even the tiniest bit.

Her green eyes suddenly widened and she pointed towards a structure nearby. "What's that?" She questioned, looking at Izaya.

"Let's find out!" The raven declared in response as he scooped the four year old up, set her on his shoulders, and started to walk towards the structure.

When they got close, Izaya realized that it was a stone lighthouse of some kind, which stood on top of a foundation of the same material. He stared at it in silence, not exactly sure what to say about the beautiful structure.

Yachi leaned back a bit to get a better look at the whole thing, and whispered,"What is this thing?"

"It's the Joyato lighthouse!" A new voice suddenly joined in, which made Yachi and Izaya turn around curiously.

A young boy, around Yachi's age, stood at Izaya's side. He had a wide smile, a bowl cut with shaved sides, and stared up at the raven with an eager look in his light brown eyes. He opened his mouth to continue, only for a woman to grab his arms.

The young woman, who seemed rather embarrassed, pulled her son back towards herself. "Sosuke, how many times have I told you not to run off like that?" She scolded, and then turned to Izaya. "I'm very sorry, sir. He can be very talkative, especially about things he likes."

The raven gave her a small smile, and turned his eyes to look at the boy. "Oh? So you must really like this lighthouse then?" He asked the child.

"Yes! A whole bunch! 'Cuz it's the bestest lighthouse in the whole wide world!" Sosuke eagerly replied as he turned to his mother. "Mama, tell them!"

Even though his mother still seemed rather embarrassed, she sighed and looked at Izaya and Yachi. "If you want, I can tell you about the lighthouse," She yielded.

Izaya turned to glance at his daughter. She had suddenly grown shy, her face hidden against the raven's hair with one green eye poking out. "What do you think, Yachi?" He asked her softly.

A blush quickly covered the girl's face. "Yes please…" She whispered in such a small voice that they almost couldn't hear her.

The woman gave them a gentle smile, and replied,"The lighthouse is the Joyato lighthouse, like Sosuke mentioned before. It was built in eighteen fifty nine and has been helping ships find their way back here for over a hundred years!"

Yachi lifted her head the slightest bit. "It helps the ships?" She asked the woman curiously.

"Yeah!" The little boy jumped in and replied,"It has a light, and the boats follow the light! My daddy is on one of those boats, so he gets help from the light all the time!"

The little girl gasped, her eyes bright with awe and wonder. "Wow! That's so cool!" She exclaimed, growing restless in Izaya's hold.

The raven was quick to set her down on the ground, which allowed her to go up to the boy and chatter with him. He grinned at the sight, glad to see that she had come out of her shell so quickly.

He turned to the woman, and gave a slight bow. "Thank you for the information, my name is Orihara Izaya, and that's my daughter Orihara Yachi," He introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," The woman happily answered, bowing in return. "My name is Watanabe Lisa, and this is my son Sosuke. Are you guys tourists?"

Izaya nodded. "Technically, yes. We're from Tokyo, but moved away. We're trying to find a place to settle down now, since school will be starting soon,``he explained.

Lisa smiled at that. "I see! Well, I might be biased, but I think that Tomonoura is a pretty nice place to live," She casually mentioned. "Sosuke goes to a nice kindergarten up the hill, and it's right by my work, which is very helpful."

"Oh I see…" Izaya replied thoughtfully, and ran over the idea in his mind. It is a nice small town, but I'm still not sure. After all, we've only seen a little bit of it. And Yachi will have to want to stay too, of course, I want her to enjoy wherever we live-

Yachi suddenly latched onto his side with so much force, he stumbled a few steps. When he looked down at her curiously, she excitedly said,"Daddy, Sosuke told me about the pier! He said you can see fishies! Can we go there? Pretty please?"

The raven gave a happy smile. "Of course we can!" He replied, making the child's face brighten up excitement.

Sosuke quickly spun around to face his mother. "Can we go too, mommy?" He asked as he gave Lisa the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

Lisa let out an amused chuckle, and motioned to Izaya. "I'm fine with it, but you also have to ask Mister Orihara," She told him.

"Oh! Yeah!" Sosuke exclaimed, as if he hadn't thought of doing that. He turned his puppy dog eyes to the raven, and once again asked,"Can we go too? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

Izaya let out a thoughtful hum, scratching his chin dramatically. "Well… Hmm… I don't know... " He thought, purposefully teasing the child.

But his daughter would have none of it. She scooted next to Sosuke, and gave him the same hopeful look. Izaya knew that they had overpowered him.

"It's alright with me," He declared.

"Yes!" The two children cheered in unison, and quickly the two began dragging their parents to their desired location, Yachi following after Sosuke.

Izaya gave an amused grin, but allowed himself to get pulled along. It was the last leg of their vacation, after all, they might as well enjoy it to the fullest.

"And that one is a red seabream! We catch that fishy a lot here!" Sosuke explained to Yachi as they sat on the edge of the pier, their feet resting in the water.

Yachi listened intently, her green eyes examining every single fish that the little boy pointed out.

"You sure know a lot about the fish, Sosuke," Izaya complimented.

Sosuke grinned at the praise and nodded happily. "I gotta! I wanna be a m'rine bologist like my daddy!" He told the raven.

Yachi tilted her head curiously. "What's a m'rine bologist?" She asked the little boy.

"It's someone who helps fish n' stuff!" Sosuke replied happily, always eager to explain his father's job. "My daddy goes on the boats and is helping the fishies in the water all the time!"

"Whoa! That's so cool!" Yachi exclaimed in complete awe.

The adults let the children continue looking at the fish while they started their own conversation.

"Wow, sounds like you two have had quite the adventure," Lisa said in response to Izaya's story of their vacation. "When will you be heading back to Ikebukuro."

The raven quickly shook his head. "Oh, we're not going back. Too many bad memories for the both of us. I want to raise Yachi somewhere where we can both be comfortable and happy. So, after a few days here, we'll settle down somewhere," He explained.

Lisa hummed thoughtfully, looking at the two chattering children again. "Well, I think there are a few homes for sale out here," She casually mentioned,"And the kindergarten that Sosuke goes to is really good, haven't had any complaints, at least not my end."

Izaya quirked his eyebrows at her. "Are you trying to get us to stay?" He asked her curiously.

She gave a shrug, but her eyes held a knowing look. "Sosuke and Yachi seem to get along well. I know you only recently adopted her but there is sort of a rule that all parents are forced to follow. If the kids like each other, the parents are forced to hang out,``she said.

"Sounds like a painful rule to follow," Izaya replied.

Lisa chuckled. "You have no idea," She declared,"In fact, one time Sosuke made friends with this little boy and they had a playdate. His mother spent the whole time trying to convince me that my husband could be having an affair while on the boat and that I need to 'wrangle him in' better like she does with her husband."

Izaya raised his eyebrows. "Wow…" He said,"Please tell me you don't have play dates with her anymore."

"Never again, one time was enough torture," Lisa replied,"Now she just tries to tell people that the only reason I came over and didn't come back was because I was jealous of how well put together her house was compared to mine."

"How would she know that if she's never even been to your house?" Izaya questioned aloud.

Lisa nodded eagerly in response. "Exactly!" She declared, and quickly composed herself. "It's alright though, she's known as the gossip queen in town now, so most people steer clear when she's involved. That way we can avoid the gossip she always brings with her."

"Aren't you technically gossiping right now, though?" Izaya teasingly asked the woman.

The mother scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, hush. It's okay when I do it. Besides, you don't count, you're a dad not a mom," She told him.

"Oh, so Watanabe Lisa discriminates against fathers who want to gossip as well? Wait until I spread this rumor!" Izaya teasingly threatened.

Lisa gave a mock gasp, placing her hand over her heart dramatically. "You wouldn't!" She exclaimed.

"I would!" Izaya declared,"In fact, point me in the direction of the gossip queen! In a few short lessons, I can make her the gossip empress!"

He and Lisa were unable to keep their amusement hidden as they teased each other. Izaya had to admit, it felt nice to joke around someone. The last person he had been able to do this with was Shinra… But it had been a long time since they had interacted in such a way. It felt like he was making a genuine friend.

Meanwhile, Yachi and Sosuke watched the adults and listened to their conversation with obvious confusion.

The little girl furrowed her eyebrows and leaned over to her friend's ear and whispered,"What are they doing?"

Sosuke's brown eyes looked between the two adults for a few moments before he shrugged, and replied,"I dunno, grown ups are really weird."

At the end of the day, Izaya found himself feeling thankful that they had met Sosuke and Lisa. The two were able to show Izaya and Yachi the best spots in town.

They took them to the Ota Residence, and then headed to Fukuzenji temple to look at the beautiful view that was offered there. Afterwards, they headed to a nearby beach with some fresh fruit bought at the market.

Much to the small family's dismay, Lisa and Sosuke were only able to stick around for a little while longer before they had to leave.

Once they were gone, Yachi and Izaya remained on the beach, just relaxing in the sand and listening to the waves.

"Miss Lisa and Sosuke are nice," Yachi declared, leaning against her adoptive father. "And Sosuke knows a lot about the fishies."

Izaya nodded in agreement. "He does," He replied. It wasn't very hard to find out that Sosuke loved the ocean. He had told Izaya his favorite fish so many times that Izaya was pretty sure the word Swordfish would forever be imprinted in his mind.

Yachi squirmed, digging her toes in the soft sand. "I like it a lot here, I like the beach and the water," She casually mentioned.

The raven turned his eyes to the girl, starting to catch onto her thinly veined implications. "Is this where you want us to stay, Yachi?" He asked.

The girl jumped up in the sand, hugging his side. "Yes please! Can we, please?" She asked hopefully,"I wanna stay!"

"Are you sure?" Izaya asked,"Because if we buy a house here, this is where we will live and we won't move for a while. We can always go to other places for vacations, but this will be our home. Is that what you want?"

Yachi nodded once again. "Yes! I wanna stay here, and go to school with Sosuke," She explained, a blush crawling up her face. "I… I've never ever had a friend before…"

That was all Izaya needed, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, and said,"Alright, we'll stay here."

The little girl's jaw dropped in awe. "Really?" She asked hopefully.

"Really," Izaya repeated in confirmation. "We'll stay at our hotel until we find a house, and we'll make our home there."

A slight glimmer of concern entered Yachi's green gaze. "What if we can't find a house?" She asked him.

"Then we'll move into an apartment," Izaya easily answered.

"What if we can't find an 'partment?" Yachi worriedly questioned..

"Then we'll build a nice, big sand castle on the beach and live here!" Izaya playfully exclaimed as he pushed himself onto his feet.

The child grabbed his arm once again. "But what if we can't build a sandcastle!?" She exclaimed frantically.

Izaya grinned and knelt down, scooping the girl into his arms and twirling around. "Then we'll turn into mermaids and live in the ocean!" He proudly declared.

Yachi let out a peal of giggles, quickly wrapping her arms around Izaya in a tight hug. Once the twirling stopped, she softly whispered,"I love you, daddy."

The raven let a soft smile rise up on his face, his heart filled with happiness. "I love you too, Yachi," He whispered.

Together, they would make Tomonoura their home.

Three Weeks Later

The gentle sound of rain hitting the top of their home was like music to Izaya's ears as he carried his slumbering daughter up the stairs. It had only taken them a week to choose which house they wanted, and two weeks after that, they were almost fully moved in.

He huffed a bit by the time he reached the top of the stairs. Man, I'm out of shape. He thought to himself, taking a few deep breaths before he moved down the hall and slid Yachi's bedroom door open with his foot.

He set her down on her plush bed, tucking her into the purple blanket. He leaned down, pressed a kiss into her messy hair, and whispered,"I love you, Yachi." A smile instinctively seemed to climb onto her smiling face. She looked so happy.

A smile of his own climbed onto Izaya's face. He was the one who gave her that happiness, he had saved her life, and she had saved his in return. Now, as father and daughter, they could finally live peacefully.

Izaya slowly shut her door, heading back downstairs, and returning to his warm mug of tea. He took a sip, and turned his red eyes out to look at the beautiful sight of the ocean that could be seen from their house.

Living peacefully... It was a strange thing to think about. In all honesty, his thoughts on Ikebukuro had almost completely faded. He barely thought of his old home, because he had no reason to. The only thing he cared about now was his family.

Just a year ago, the idea of settling down and having a family was something he would never fathom happening. But now, as he thought about the years to come, he knew wouldn't have it any other way.