Tomo smirked "well, sure, I mean... yeah I'd like to. I don't need convincing" he told her and kissed her again "I'll go tuck Ai in, ok?" he offered.

"Princess, if you do not have that book memorized by now I will be very surprised. You probably could quote it to me verbatum with appropriate words and actions" Tomo commented with a chuckle as he walked over to the bed. "Are you ready for bed?" he asked while sitting on the edge of the bed.

Tomo chuckled, hugged Ai then let her bounce back to the bed to snuggle under the covers. He tucked her in and placed a kiss on her forehead "Good night princess" he said and walked back to the door where he met Steven he smiled, turned off the light and closed the door. "Goodness I love that girl. It's a good thing you're her mother because otherwise you'd have to fight for my attention" he said with a wink.

Tomo smirked "yeah, I'm hooked. I'd do anything if it meant she would be happy. She could probably even get me to... like cats" he said. I almost admitted that I like cats, Tomo thought horrifically. He's this big family man now, but he still can't let go of his guilty pleasure. Come on! he's half wolf for goodness sakes, of course he can't like cats!

Tomo was defiant "I'm half-wolf. Wolves are a member of the dog family. Dogs do not like cats. You would have to pull something mighty tricky for me to like cats" he argued, flopping down on the bed, groaning slightly as he did so. "But, whatever. if it makes you happy, I will pretend that I like the cat" he said, admitting defeat.

Tomo smiled and turned his head to look at Steven. He reached over and carassed her cheek with the back of his hand. His eyes were half closed from being tired and the loving look in his eyes. What were your parents like?" he asked, clear out of the blue. He'd never had any and he wanted to know what it was like when someone had parents.

Tomo smiled and did as was invited "I don't mind long pasts. I never had parents so I wanted to know what it was like. Do you like them? do they like you?" he asked. He was rather curious about her life "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I don't want to pry into someplace you're not ready to show me" he explained.

Tomo's eyes narrowed and he let out a low growl "what happened to your mother?" Tomo asked, curious about her mother. Everywhere he went he saw mothers, but he always wondered about his own.

"Did you ever find out what happened to your mother after she went missing?" Tomo asked as his mind vaguely flitted back to the kind old woman who fed him, who wanted to adopt him. She was the closest thing he ever had to a mother. Tomo half-mindedly put his hand against Steven's stomach. "How did you get away from that 'father?'" Tomo asked.

Tomo took a deep breath and let it out slowly, he was completely relaxed "I never had a mother. I was stuck on the streets when I was five, caring for a little sister who could hardly talk. We were found, once, and taken to the police station. When nobody claimed us, we were sent to the orphanage. But, the people there were afraid of us. I was fiercely protective of my sister and when you add into the wolves, they were just afraid of us. Everyone there was a normal human. The person at the orphange finally sent us away, stating that we were dangerous to everyone there.

"So, I learned how to learn fast by simply watching. I watched people and then did odd jobs in exchange for something we needed. I was so scared, everyday, but I didn't know how to fight so I couldn't protect my sister well enough. After a few years, I became used to it and was no longer scared... all I can say is that I envy Ai. She has you at a time when I had no one. I envy the little one inside of you, it will have such a wonderful mother, a wonderful big sister... I miss my mom" Tomo told her, lost in memory and whispering his last phrase.

Tomo smiled and closed his eyes in contentment "after my sister was murdered, I begged Sensei to teach me martial arts, anything. I told him I'd do whatever he asked, and I did. I scrubbed the dojo top to bottom. It practically sparkled when I was done with it. He told me that not only was I paying for lessons, but I was building muscles as I cleaned. So I worked even harder. He basically raised me.

"When I was about ten, he told me that I should join him in meditation every day. During that time, he taught me a lot about life. He helped me mature, basically. Other boys had fathers, or teachers at school to show them where to go, I had Sensei. He taught me how to survive on the streets, how to protect, how to work hard. He taught me how to live with the fact that my sister was murdered... He didn't just teach me the physical movements of martials arts... he taught me the fundamentals of life as well... and he did it by teaching me martial arts" Tomo explained. His eyes drooped low from exhaustion "thank you... for being in my life "he told Steven before he drifted off to sleep.

((skipping a few hours))

The nightmare was back, again. But this time it was ten times worse. This time, everyone Tomo ever cared about... the old lady, Sensei, Sakura, Ai, Steven, Steven's unborn baby... they were all murdered, brutally, right before his eyes. There was nothing he could do to stop it. Everywhere he looked, he saw someone's dead body. It scared the death out of him. Tomo turned around and came face to face with Sakura's murderer. He smiled a wicked grin and stabbed Tomo.

Tomo shot awake and sort of half sat up. His breathing was heavy and he frantically looked around him. He relaxed when he realized it was just a dream. He looked at Steven, sleeping next to him. He grabbed her hand and squeezed lightly. He laid back down and stared at her, he was too scared to go to sleep so soon.