Guys I was looking at how many people have viewed each chapter of my story, and chapter 11 has more views than chapter 10. That is CONFUSING.

Anyway guys. This series is coming to a close and I can't thank you guys enough for sticking with me throughout all of this. I know a lot of it was really choppy, considering I miss really stupid grammatical details and some of my writing is just stupid, but you guys still read it and I'm crying while typing this FML here's the epilogue XD

Epilogue

"Shouta!" a tiny voice wailed, a thunder of footsteps quickly following the shriek.

A short girl burst into the dark room of her older brother. Shouta rubbed his bleary eyes, trying to focus his attention to his crying younger sister. His inner voice was screaming at him to go back to sleep, but his brotherly instincts told him to suck it up and listen to her nonsensical banter. He sat up and patted the spot next to him. "What's wrong, Aya?"

She quickly scrambled on to the pure white bed, choosing instead to rest in his lap rather than the spot he had reserved for her. She gave him the biggest bear hug she could muster as she cried into his shirt, her voice muffled, "Arata s-said that he threw away the b-bear that d-daddy gave me!"

Shouta pinched his temples as he stroked back the raven-black hair of his little sister. "I think Arata was just being a big liar. I bet he still has your bear. Shall we go get it together?"

Aya sniffled, giving her older brother a slight nod as he swiped away her remaining tears. He stood up and Aya wrapped her legs around his waist so that he was carrying her like a koala. He looked down at her, an amused expression on his face. "I could make you walk, you spoiled girl."

She gave him a toothy grin, her hazel eyes sparkling and shook her head. "Not-uh. 'Cause I'm the strongest girl ever, so you would never ever be able to get me off."

"Oh, yeah? Who told you that?" he questioned as he marched down the mahogany steps, glancing over the banister to search for the traitorous sibling.

"Mommy, and Daddy, and, and, millions more people!" she threw her hands in the air to truly describe the enormity of the amount of people. Shouta entered the kitchen, only to find the culprit of the hour, scooping ice cream into his mouth with a blank expression. Shouta almost wanted to groan. Arata looked ready to act like a complete asshole. Why did he have to be in charge? Arata was 11, and didn't need 14-year-old Shouta looking after him. And they could always lock Aya away in a closet, or something.

Upon seeing Arata, Aya immediately burst into tears again, howling, "W-Why would you throw it a-away?"

A mischievous smirk curved itself on to Arata's pale face. His crimson eyes shone with a terrifying slyness as he greeted the pair. "Hello, siblings."

"Arata, where's the bear?" Shouta sighed, knowing he would be on the receiving end of Arata's stubbornness.

"I have no idea as to what you are talking about," he ran a hand through his caramel brown hair that matched Shouta's own. "I have just been eating ice cream."

"Yeah, and I'm the pope."

"I thought you were an atheist."

"Don't be a dick, Arata," Shouta warned, feeling irritation creeping into his every word.

"Don't use such foul language around our innocent little sister," Arata shook his head at his brother's words.

"Where's the damn bear, Arata?" Shouta hissed, inching closer to where Arata calmly sat.

"Bear?"

Natsume wished he could return home one day without a problem to attend to. All of his children were geniuses in their own respects, which should make things easier, right? Unfortunately, their intellects were as much of a curse as they were a blessing. It meant that all of his kids were smartasses and got into conflicts as easily as Imai took pictures with whatever camera she had around.

Today's dilemma was a bit more physical than usual. Instead of heated words being exchanged between his sons, it seemed that he had arrived a little late and had stumbled upon the physical altercationthat would happen if he never came home. Arata was being pinned to the floor by Shouta, who was being pressure pointed by Arata's left hand that Shouta had failed to slam to the floor. The pièce de résistance, though, was his bawling daughter on the couch. Something about bears and stop fighting.

"Enough!" Natsume shouted, silencing the room. Before becoming a parent, he had very rarely raised his voice. It was never worth his effort. He was finding that to be incredibly different after his first kid. "Everybody. Sit. Now."

Shouta and Arata sat on opposite sides of the couch, a hiccupping Aya between them as she tried to stop her tears. Natsume decided to deal with his youngest first. He hoisted his 5-year-old up into his arms and rested her on his hip. "What's wrong, Aya?"

"A-Arata threw away the b-bear you gave me!" she clung tightly to his neck, knowing her daddy would be her best bet at getting her bear back. She had learned from an early age that if she really desired for something, the easiest way to get it was her dad. She was, in every sense of the word, Daddy's Little Girl.

"Arata," Natsume glared at his son. "Where the hell did you put her bear?"

"Dad…" Arata looked slightly guilty before a defiant look replaced it. "It was just a joke. Relax."

"Go get her bear," Natsume firmly told Arata, who went to fetch it instantly. He was back within thirty seconds, a stuffed bear in his hands. "So, what are you going to do now?" Natsume raised his eyebrow at his son as he set his daughter down.

Arata gave his father one last pout that he had learned from his mother before handing the bear to the rightful owner. Aya's face stretched into a large smile as she received her lost friend. She gave it one squeeze before attacking Arata in a hug. "Thank you, Arata!"

Arata rolled his eyes but gave his sister a small smile nonetheless. Natsume nodded in satisfaction and turned to his oldest. "Now, what happened with you and Arata?"

"You solved it," Shouta nodded his head towards his brother who was playing along with the attacks set upon him by Aya's bear.

"Thank God." Natsume ran his fingers through his hair. He gave his son a grateful look. "Thanks for taking care of these two. You should be good for tonight; Ruka and Hotaru coming over so you don't need to worry about them."

"So Mio isn't coming?" Arata asked sullenly. He was close friends with Sumire and Koko's youngest daughter, and would drastically change personalities around her. Mio's older sister, Aki, found the situation incredibly adorable and never ceased to gush about it when she was in their presence.

"Children too?" Shouta asked curiously, trying, though, to sound nonchalant.

"Yes, children too." Natsume smiled wryly at his son, knowing exactly who he had in mind when asking that question.

The creaking sound of the large oak doors opening interrupted their conversation. Mikan stepped through the doors of her home, and called, "I'm back! Where are my children?"

Aya hopped off of the couch, and sprinted towards the door, eager to see her mother. Shouta and Arata followed after her, calmer, but just as excited to see their mom. Natsume was the last one in line, figuring he should let go of his selfish tendencies and let his children see his wife first.

Mikan gave Aya a large hug and a kiss on the nose when she was positive her child was in front of her. "Hi, baby!" she turned to Shouta and Arata and wrapped them in her arms, holding them close. "Hi, babies!"

"Mom…" Arata grumbled, while Shouta – who knew better – just took it with a smile.

When Natsume was younger, he never thought that he would work fewer hours than his wife during a regular week. Then again, he was a fantastic business tycoon and worked so little because he was so good at what he did. Mikan, however, was such a good therapist that her patients would never stop talking to her, resulting in her frequently late arrivals.

He didn't know why they opened up to her so easily. Neither did she. They had speculated about it before and had a few theories. Mikan's theory: it was obvious what a pure and sweet person she was so they just feel the need to spill with her. As for Natsume: she can't see, and therefore can't judge. Either way, his wife had returned home.

"Welcome home, Polka," Natsume pressed his lips against hers, ignoring his children's moans of pain and disgust. "Who brought you home? It's the chauffeur's day off."

"Miss me, Hyuuga?" Hotaru smirked, walking through the doorway, Ruka trailing behind her with a smile playing on his face.

"Like I would miss an infection," he smirked as Aya ran forward, jumping on her Uncle Ruka.

"Uncle Ruka!" she squealed, petting his blonde hair. "You look like a princess! Hi Auntie Hotaru!"

"I know, Aya," Ruka laughed, putting her down. "You tell me every time. Hello, Mikan, Natsume." Ruka hugged Natsume for a moment and gave Mikan a kiss on the cheek.

"Where's Ryou and Renge?" Aya peered behind Ruka's legs and a delighted smile stretched across her face as not only Ryou, but his sister Renge.

"Renge," a smile crept on to Shouta's face as Aya tackled Ryou to the ground, bouncing on top of him. Fortunately enough for the young girl, he did not inherit his mother's genes of punishing those who hugged him.

"Did you miss me lots and lots?" Aya giggled, bumping her forehead with Ryou's. He winced but laughed nonetheless.

"Lots and lots." Ryou tousled her hair and she reciprocated the action by messily patting his black hair. "Hi Auntie Mikan, and Uncle Natsume," His azure eyes twinkled as Arata helped his close friend up, leaving Aya on the ground. Natsume scooped his daughter back up as Renge and Shouta greeted each other.

They shared a quick, but meaningful embrace before Renge promptly stepped back. She had received her mother's rare violet eyes and natural aversion to heartfelt moments.

"Hi, Renge," Shouta smiled softly at her, pecking her on the cheek.

"No thank you," Renge cringed and gently shoved him away, feeling mortified about her boyfriend's unconcealed affection in front of their parents.

"Shouta is making a kissy face on Renge," Aya whisper-yelled to Mikan, her three-year old mind hiding the fact that everybody could still hear her.

Mikan smiled, feeling bittersweet. She hated the fact that her children have told her what's going on around her their entire lives, but she also admired their resolve to make sure she could see, despite her disposition. "Aw, Shouta, you're being very bold in front of everyone!"

"Please don't say unnecessary things, mom," Shouta scratched the back of his head, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

Renge eyed his flush and compared it to that of what she had seen on his mother. "You and Aunt Mikan blush identically."

"Nah, his blush becomes significantly more red," Arata and Ryou narrowed their eyes in unison as they thought about it.

"Kinda looks like an apple!" Aya giggled, squeezing Natsume's cheeks to illustrate her point. Hotaru snickered and snapped a quick shot of the scene with the camera she had built into her wrist watch.

"Let's all go to the kitchen, I'm starving!" Shouta said loudly, ending the conversation about his relationship and reddening features.

Everyone meandered into the kitchen, conversation flying between the kids and adults. While Ruka and Natsume gathered the food prepared the night before, Hotaru listened to Mikan chatter about all the unsaid thoughts in her head that she hadn't managed to force out of her constantly open mouth in the car.

"… And Tsubasa and Misaki's twins went to an overnight camp for a whole week! Misaki told me that Tsubasa is going crazy worrying about them." She nodded enthusiastically making grand hand gestures to embellish her story.

"It's unfortunate that I can now conclude the thesis I made long ago," Hotaru frowned, tucking her now shoulder-length dark hair behind her ear. "That stupidity will not fade no matter how old the idiot. Sorry, Mikan, but that means that there's no hope for you either."

"You just realized that now, Imai?" Natsume placed a steaming bowl of spaghetti on the table, and the ravenous children immediately started grabbing for the serving tongs. Shouta regained common sense for a moment, reality quickly replacing the hunger gnawing at his stomach.

"Hold on, guys, let's serve Aya first before we fight to the death for the second serving," Shouta's eyes gleamed with steel as he prepared to feed himself immediately after his baby sister.

"Thank you, Shouta!" she crooned, as he placed the spaghetti on her plate and cut it into smaller more manageable pieces for her tiny 5-year-old teeth.

"Good brother," Mikan, Natsume, and Ruka nodded approvingly.

Hotaru scoffed. "He just did it so he would have the tongs in his hands for his own food once he was done."

She was proven to be correct – per usual – as Shouta got food before everybody else, invoking plenty of justified and hunger-fueled rage. Mikan adored the playfully angry words being thrown across the table and the arbitrary touches she and Natsume would share. A squeeze of her hand, a hand run through her hair. Even without her sight, Mikan could see with crystal clarity that life couldn't get any better than this.

Guys! I couldn't bring myself to finish this for a very long time because I was so upset about this ending. After Lean on me I was so ready to write another story, and I wrote this one, and to me, it helped me grow so much as a writer and was so much better than my last one (in my opinion, sorry if it differs from your guys XD). I'm going to be starting some new stories, probably another one for Gakuen Alice, but maybe for Percy Jackson too guys, soooo check that out! w o Guys, thank you so much, I love you so much! This story had FIFTY PEOPLE STICK WITH IT. I know it may not seem like a lot, but it means more than you can imagine! I seriously love you all and feel free to check in again to see if I posted anything!