Mama Knows: An Original Sitcom

[Lewis84]

I came up with this series off the top of my head for the "Create A Network" thread.....

9:30 P.M.: Mama Knows (Original Program) [TV PG]
Family man, Kenta Sato, was living his dream. He had a beautiful wife, three kids, and the job he'd always wanted as an excutive in a major company. Life couldn't have gotten any better.... that is until a day he and his wife often call "Dooms Day". Kenta got a call from his mother, Hitomi, saying she was coming to live with them. To call her difficult would've been a notable understatement. Hell in heals would've been far more accurate. So poor Kenta is met with two options: please both of the women in his life.... or die trying.

..... and I ended up liking the idea so much that I went ahead and wrote a pilot for the show. I hope you guys enjoy this. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out.

Opening Sequence:














Character Name Pronunciation:
Some of these names may be difficult, so I thought this might help.

Kenta = This one is spelled like it sounds
Kori = Cory
Hitomi = Hee-Toe-Mee
Mei = May
Mika = Mee-ka
Hiro = Hero

Episodes Posted:
1.01: Pilot (Dooms Day): 5/25/09
1.02: Beware The Queen Of Diamonds: 6/06/09

[Lewis84]

Episode 1.01
Pilot
"Dooms Day"

Kenta Sato was truly living the American dream. He had a beautiful wife, three kids, and the home he'd always longed for. Two stories, a big back yard, right down to the stereotypical white picket fence. Everyone who knew Kenta was both impressed and envious when they thought of how well those past two years had gone for him. In the Summer of 2007, he and his family came to America to start a new life for themselves. Having lost his job as an advertiser in Tokyo, he thought what better time to uproot and free himself of the all work, no play lifestyle he'd fallen into in urban Japan? Kenta couldn't have been more right in his decision. Once being accepted by one of California's largest ad firms, he and his family settled down in a small suburb just outside of LA and it had been a steady climb ever since. Yes, Kenta was settling quite comfortably into his new life. Little did he realize how quickly that could all change. His perfect fairy tale existence was no sturdier than a house of cards, really. The slightest breeze and it would all come crashing down. He'd never planned for it, never expected it, but on a warm day in August of 2009, life decided to let those winds blow.

A smile shown brightly across Kenta's face as he made his way up the driveway. The sun's light glistened through his short black hair, it's warmth on his face seen as sweet relief after eight hours behind a desk. Another day of work had come and gone, his freedom assured by the beep of the van behind him as he proceeded up onto the steps of his bi-level home. Kenta could at last be shed that confining suit and tie and spend the remainder of the evening the way he wanted, with his family.

Kenta had no way of knowing just how much trouble awaited him on the other side of that snow white front door. One look at his wife's face from beneath the kitchen lights, however, and he began to get a clue. This evening wasn't going to be the picture perfect release he'd envisioned.

"At the risk of sounding cliché, 'Honey, I'm home.", he greeted his bride as the door closed behind him.

"Your mother called.", came the baron, hallow reply of a lovely woman in her early forties.

Just the tone in his wife's voice sent chills down Kenta's spine. What on Earth had he walked into? And more importantly.... was it too late to dart back out that door and run like a Derby horse?

"Of course I tried to avoid her in my usual classy manner.", his wife Kori continued. "You know, 'If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and go to Hell'. Didn't work out."

"Getting wise to that, is she?", Kenta asked with obvious sarcasm in his voice.

"I'm afraid so."

Slow, cautious steps carried him through their luxurious living room and into the kitchen, coming to a stop at Kori's side. The closer he got to her, poor Kenta began to feel like a helpless woodland creature wandering into the lion's den.

"Did you find out what she wanted or would that be too much to ask?", he wondered aloud.

"Actually, as I was fumbling to wrap the cord around my neck, she mentioned something about coming for a visit."

Kenta waited for Kori to continue, but she never did.

"When?!", the man eventually demanded.

"Didn't ask. Unless she's coming in a hearse, I don't really care."

"Charming.", he muttered.

A few moments passed in silence before a light bulb flashed in Kori's head.

"Oh," she recalled, "And she wants you to call her."

"Great. Long distance."

"You know, I honestly thought nothing could be worse than listening to that woman nag. In fact there is. Listening to it for forty-two bucks a minute! Sake's in the cabinet and the phone is.... underneath the left tire of my car. Have fun."

Kori and her mother-in-law had never gotten along. From the day Kenta introduced them, it had felt more like a cage match than a marriage. The two were polar opposites, not fit to occupy the same state, much less the same room. True, coming to America had eased the tension between the two women. Being an ocean apart seemed to suit them fine and caused Kenta's blood pressure to take a significant decline. Still, on those rare times the elder Sato-san decided to call, the claws came back out between them, sharp as ever.

"If you need me, I'll be in the yard.", Kori noted, rounding the kitchen counter quickly. "I'm off to pitch the 'For Sale' sign and rearrange those tattle-tale numbers on the front of the house."

"Quick question first.", Kenta objected, taking hold of his wife's arm. "Why do you dislike my mother?"

This gave Kori obvious pause. Silence fell over the two of them as she broke from her husband's grasp and attempted to think through what she deemed the stupidest question in the history of the world. Was he really serious? Was this some sort of joke? Had he spent his lunch hour huffing White Out? What would possess Kenta to pose such a question?

"First of all, " Kori began, "I dislike war, I dislike censorship, poverty, politics..... I freak'n hate your mother!"

Giving a sigh, Kori placed her hands onto the hips of her solid white pants. At first she honestly didn't know where to begin. There were so many examples jumping into her head, all begging to be the first to fly out of her mouth. She'd been taking punishment from her mother-in-law for nearly ten years. How could she ever pick just one thing with which to open her rant?

"That woman has done nothing but belittle me since the day we met!", Kori began passionately. "She talks down to me, calls me trash behind my back, gives me these looks like she wants to rip out my heart and sell the sucker on Ebay! She's done everything but openly call me a hooker!"

"Clearly you didn't see last year's Christmas card.", Kenta noted.

"I tried to get along with her at first. I did. We went to her dinner parties, I called her on weekends, and I even baked that cake for her ten thousandth birthday without so much as a hint of bleach in it! I had a perfectly good chance to poison her, but because I loved you, I passed it up! My point is that I am done trying. I reach out a hand of friendship to her and she just bites it off! No matter what I say or what I do, no woman is ever going to be good enough for her little boy. And you know what? That's fine with me. I don't care anymore! She can call you, she can see the kids, but the day she gets politeness from me is the day I make snow angels with the prince of darkness! Have I made myself clear?"

"Perfectly.... to both me and the neighbors.", Kenta answered, noting how loudly Kori had chosen to express herself. "My mom's never been an easy person to get along with. She's strong, she opinionated, she's...."

"Hitler in heals. Your point?"

"All I'm saying is that.... maybe you should try a little harder."

"Oh you have got to be joking."

The animosity between them had never been easy on Kenta. Kori was the woman of his dreams, but he loved his mother dearly. To see them fight like that tore him up inside, because most often it left him stuck in the middle. So even after ten years of 'Sato Smackdown', he still had to try to make peace. Looking at Kori there beneath those kitchen lights, he knew it was wasted effort. He could almost feel the heat rising off of her dark complected face, he could see the flames burning in her eyes, and he could hear the hatred in her words as they flew past overly glossed lips. No, he wasn't foolish enough to believe that anything he said that evening would matter. And yet he tried anyway.

"Couldn't you just try to see the good in her?", Kenta asked. "She means well. I know she comes off like a bull in a China shop, but she really does love this family. It's all she's got. We are her legacy, Kori. She acts the way she does because she wants the best out of us... and that includes you."

Though she didn't speak up, Kori did openly roll her eyes listening to Kenta try to paint his mother as some angel fallen from the stars.

"You don't have to agree with everything she says. Even I don't, but you could at least look at where she's coming from when she says these things."

"See the good in her, huh?", Kori asked in obvious hostility.

"If you could."

"Fine. Do you remember when I bought that new dress for Family Night at Mika's school? I showed it to your mother and she asked, oh so kindly, when I planned to buy the rest of it! How was that well intentioned?"

Kenta paused a moment, trying his best to come up with a way to spin that comment.

"Well that dress was awfully short.", he started at last, still unsure of exactly where he was going with this. "And..... oh, it was December after all. Mama just didn't want you to catch a cold."

"Bravo, Kenta. Really.", Kori said, praising his efforts. "I didn't think you could do it, but you pulled it off."

Kori bit her bottom lip a moment as she gazed through dark eyes to Kenta. She knew perfectly well how much their fighting hurt him, but after a decade, she simply didn't have it in her to play peace keeper anymore. She was drained.

"I know she means a lot to you, honey.", Kori spoke up eventually, her tone having softened at least slightly. "Why wouldn't she? I mean she treats me like something the dog yacked up, but you.... you, she worships the ground you freak'n walk on. I can't blame you at all for the way you see her. Most women ask for an epidural during delivery. Your mother likely requested a manger and a few wise men. She thinks you are divine, the poor thing. You have to understand though, Hitomi doesn't see me in that same light. She never will. Just.... just call her and then do me the favor of changing our number."

Finally Kori brushed past him, heading in the direction of the stairs. Neither one had any doubt that they could've stayed there all night going around in that circle. What would've been the point though? The relationship between the three was what it was. After ten years, they couldn't change it. All Kori could've done was grit her teeth and deal with it. Short of news that Kenta was switched at birth or something, she was stuck with Hitomi Sato.... like it or not.

* * *

Kori stopped cold on the staircase. From the corner of her eye, she'd caught the combination of concern and fear lurking in her husband's face from down below. One look at him from up there sent a chill racing down her spine. She could hear her long, silver polished nails digging into the railing's grain as moment after moment passed them in silence. What had happened on that phone, she wondered? There was something there, something he wasn't telling her. This became ever clearer the closer she grew to him, forcing her way down into the living room.

"What's wrong with you?", Kori asked. "I haven't seen you look this terrified since the doctor said, 'Surprise, Sato-san. It's a girl.'"

"Kori, you might want to sit down."

"No, I think I'm good here.", she replied with caution lurking in her voice.

The entire time she'd been in the room, Kenta hadn't moved. He just stood there with his back pressed against the wall. His hands were buried in the pockets of his loose-fitting khakis. To conceal them was the only plausible way to stop them from trembling like leaves in an Autumn wind.

"I think you should sit.", he insisted. "Have a seat, relax, and.... remember that I don't clot well.", Kenta continued fearfully.

"What did you do?"

Nearly an hour had passed since Kenta returned his mother's call. The sun had mostly faded from the sky, leaving only a subtle hint of pale orange from beyond their large, spotless window. Kori never imagined it would've taken so long. Sure Hitomi would spend at least twenty minutes telling Kenta how wonderful he was, but generally that was the end of it. She would inflate her son's ego, demand their kids' pictures in her email and Kori's head on a platter, and then hang up. All very routine. What could she have possibly said for an entire hour?

"Now I want you to hear me out.", Kenta told his wife, having waited for her to take a seat on the solid white couch in front of him. "This isn't as bad as it sounds."

"Gee, I just love conversations that start like this.", she said sarcastically.

"Mama has run into some bad luck back home."

"The market stopped selling eye of newt? She lost her broomstick and was forced to take the subway? Oh, I know! A house landed on her sister!"

"Are ya done?"

"Probably.", Kori answered casually. "We'll just play it by ear."

Standing there staring into his wife's cold, glassy eyes; Kenta felt as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. He must've paced that soft plush carpet a thousand times just trying to figure out the best way of approaching this. From her distance, Kori could see the beads of sweat as they formed on his brow. He didn't want to do this. He'd have given anything to just turn, walk away, and act like that evening had never even happened. Sadly, life had left Kenta with no options.

"Her apartment complex is closing down at the end of the month.", Kenta told her seriously. "The manager told the tenants he would try to find them alternative residences, but none are in her price range. He tried his best, but there's just nothing out there for a retired widow."

"I really don't like where this is heading....."

"Mama's desperate, Kori. She's a proud woman. If her back wasn't against the wall, she never would've called us. But the fact is.... she needs help. She's got three weeks left. After that, she'll be out on the street."

"Oh, Kenta don't you do this to me....."

"I told her she could stay with us.", Kenta said at last.

Kenta's eyes closed tightly on instinct. The moment those final words passed his lips, he braced himself for the worst. The screaming, the language, the jagged cut of a diamond ring against his face. The man expected horror and rightfully so. What he got, however, was only silence. Kenta waited and waited for the explosion, but it never came. Seconds ticked by and the only sounds he heard were the rapid thuds of his own heart. Was Kori simply playing games with him? Was this some type of torture, forcing him to become victim to his own overly active imagination? What was happening on the other side of those tightly closed eyelids?

When at last he opened his eyes again, Kenta noticed that Kori had stood from her spot on the couch. She was looking directly at him, but her flawless face bore no expression.

"Kori?", he asked quietly, his voice emerging like that of the soon-to-be victim in a horror movie.

"Are you high!?", she demanded, finally shattering that awful silence. "I can't take that woman for more than five consecutive minutes at a time. There is absolutely no way I'm going to be looking at that face morning, noon, and night! If I see even one piece of luggage in that doorway, Kenta, so help me you will have to have it sergicly removed!"

A gasp escaped from within him as he saw his bride lunge forward. This was it, Kenta thought to himself. The eruption! Fortunately fate smiled on him.

"Mika-chan!", he shouted joyfully.

"Of course.", muttered the nearly prison-bound Kori.

Never in all his years had Kenta been happier to see his seven-year-old daughter, Mika. She stood quietly on the staircase gazing down at the two of them, confusion clearly covering her adorable face. He was saved! Wasting no time at all, Kenta dashed around Kori and broke into a full blown sprint across the carpet. Shock to the onlooking Mika, her dad threw his arms around her, sweeping her off her feet, and pulling her close to him.

"A witness!", he cried out. "Thank you! Your timing has always been flawless!"

Though Kenta didn't realize it, his grip on the kid was only growing tighter. Through a combination of gratitude and primal fear, he clung to Mika for dear life. Kori never would've lashed out at him in front of their daughter.

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?", Kenta gushed.

"I.... can't.... breathe.", the girl gasped, struggling to break her father's grip.

Kori folded her arms across her chest, staring at the two of them. Mika had no idea what was going on down there. Likely she'd just been woken up by all of the shouting.

"Go to bed, Mika-chan.", Kori instructed. "Your father and I need to have a talk. And while I've got you here, lay out your church dress. There just may be a funeral in the morning."

"But.... quality time is so very important.", Kenta objected. "Before you know it, she'll be grown and we're going to want these days back. Just look at her, honey. Look at that face! How can you send her away?"

Ultimately, Kori just shook her head. Both her husband and daughter could easily hear the thudding of designer shoes as they pounded the floor, carrying her closer to the entryway of the kitchen.

"We're not done talking about this.", she huffed on her way out.

* * *

A cloud of thick gray smoke greeted Kenta as he made a slow advance into the kitchen. Somewhere within that haze, he could see Kori, having found sweet relief in the form of an orange flame. It had been years since that smell had filled their home, but on that night it really shouldn't have surprised him. When all else failed, Kori always turned to her oldest 'friend' for comfort.

"I thought you quit smoking.", Kenta noted, waving away the clouds as he entered.

"And I thought you cut the cord forty-four years ago. Looks like we were both wrong."

Eventually Kori turned to face him from behind the counter. The rage on her face had died away, leaving behind not much emotion at all.

"You have a choice, Kenta.", she told him. "Her or me. You can't have it both ways."

"Don't threaten me! We took vows before God! For better or worse, remember?"

"Oh please! If God had met your mother, he'd help me pack!"

Kenta was trapped, but sadly Kori couldn't see it. Her hatred of Hitomi had blinded her. There was no right answer to this. Of course he knew the two of them didn't get along, but he couldn't very well let her live on the street. Hitomi was family. She'd given him life and that was important to a man like Kenta. Family had always been his highest priority, a trait that at one point Kori had loved him for. Those feelings just happened to go flying out the window when ever his mother was involved.

"I can't help wondering why this is happening.", Kori said after a lengthy pause. "I mean, I'm not a horrible person. I take good care of our children, I'm a faithful wife.... heck, I even take time out of my day to feed the homeless."

"Tossing half an Egg McMuffin out the car window doesn't qualify as feeding the homeless."

"Living with your mother! I'm not perfect, but why do I deserve this torture?! What did I do?"

"Half the football team?", Kenta guessed with a smirk.

"Oh, bite me."

"Come on, Kori! You scored more in Senior Year than any one of them! The team damn near retired your jersey!"

Kenta had to find a way to reason with her. Bringing Hitomi to America wasn't an ideal situation for any of them, but it was the only choice he had. Still, making a woman like her understand that would be next to impossible. Kori had never had the strong family connection that he did. She hadn't spoken with her parents in years, saw her siblings on holidays; once a year at the most. Kori Sato was an island, perfectly capable of standing on her own. This was why she'd become so attracted to Kenta. His strong sense of family was something she'd never felt or experienced in her own life. Still, her brain just wasn't capable of sympathizing with him. Obligation to family was, for the most part, a foreign concept to her.

"I know you don't like this."

"Brilliant. What's your next discovery going to be? 'Water is wet! Story at eleven!'", she said, impersonating a television announcer.

"I'm not exactly singing Show Tunes myself, you know!", Kenta snapped.

"You love your mother!", she objected.

"In small doses, yes! Phone calls, holidays, emails.... not sitting on my couch writing my name in my underwear. Do you know how this is going to effect me? I am going to have to be on my best behavior twenty-four hours a day. As far as Mama's concerned, I am still her baby boy and you know what? That's exactly what I'm going to have to act like! But no matter how inconvenient this is for us, we can't turn our backs on her. She needs me and I.... I'm not the kind of person who can just shut her out. I know you can't quite get that, but.... just go with me on this. I need your support, Kori."

Kori leaned forward, using the silver counter top as support. Though her eyes were diverted, she could still feel Kenta staring at her. The woman didn't dare look up. One glance at his face, that of the man she loved beyond all reason, and she would've cracked. There was a part of her that even wanted to give in, but stronger was the part that knew she could've never handled it. There was no way she could've given her husband what he was asking. It wasn't in her to bite her tongue and be nice every day of her life.

"I know why you're doing this.", she admitted. "Emotionally speaking, I don't get it. You're right. Intellectually though, I'm aware of your reasons and they're honorable. I wish I could support you, but the fact is.... I can't do it. I'm not strong enough to handle that woman on a daily basis. I'm sorry, but I know my limits and this is so far beyond them. You really are going to have to choose. You can help your mother. I'm not stopping you. All I'm saying is that.... if you do, I can't be here to hold your hand."

"Kori, please....", he started as she turned away.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. I'm going out for a while. Just.... let me know what you decide."

Kenta's heart broke that night as he watched his wife disappear into the shadows. He'd played this out in his head so many different ways, but never had he imagined this. Screaming, refusing, fighting it with all she had; yes, but he never expected Kori to walk away. A voice in his head was begging him to go after her before he heard that front door slam. Maybe he should've listened, but if so.... what could he have said? They'd both made themselves perfectly clear. The situation had trapped them. Kori wouldn't back down and Kenta's heart wouldn't allow him to either. And so he just stood there staring into the entryway of the kitchen, in spite of the fact that Kori had long since disappeared. He didn't blink, didn't speak; hardly a single muscle in his body moved. Kenta just stood stiff as a board, frozen.

What the man didn't realize was that he wasn't alone there. From around the corner, their eldest child had over heard the entire conversation.

* * *

Kori Sato's intention when she stormed out of that house was to keep going; jump behind the wheel of her car, put the key into the ignition, and let the purr of the engine take her away, both literally and metaphorically. She needed to break free of it all; the stress, the worry, and yes the guilt. But every time she looked at that bright green sports car in the driveway, she just couldn't go. Her pounding head longed for an escape, but her heart wouldn't let her walk out on Kenta. And so there she stood on the front porch, trapped by that internal struggle, unable to go forward, but unwilling to turn back.

Lost and confused, Kori stared up into the newly born stars speckled across the night sky. Indeed they did give her a sense of peace as they glistened in her desperate eyes, but still they provided no answers. Who knows how long she stood there gazing up into the Heavens hoping for some form of direction, but she got nothing from them. The clarity she'd been searching for came from a much more unexpected source.

The sound of creaking door hinges caused Kori to turn quickly. Having convinced herself she was alone out there, even a sound as faint as this was enough to startle her. Muscles tensed and fists clenched, she spun around, but stopped herself upon locking eyes with her visitor.

"Mei, I'm.... I'm sorry.", she began with surprise in her voice. "I thought you were...."

"The Swamp Thing?", her daughter guessed, based on the reaction.

"No. She's in Tokyo buying a plane ticket."

Kori's eldest child, Mei, stood quietly in the glow of the porch light. Washing over her, it gave a subtle shine to her locks of long black hair. A sympathetic smile could be seen on her face and a sense of maturity that Kori still wasn't quite used to. Mei was sixteen, nearly a grown woman herself, but moments like these still gave her mom pause. She was aware of her child's age, but in her heart she guessed she'd never be quite willing to accept it. Where the rest of the world saw a young woman, she figured she would always see the little girl Mei used to be. To see her out there, so tall that they were nearly eye to eye, the look on her face seeming more like that of a life-long friend than a daughter.... it stunned Kori, to put it mildly.

"I heard you guys earlier.", Mei started.

"Oh, did we wake you?"

"Me, Mika, Hiro, the neighbors. You name 'em, you woke 'em."

Though it wouldn't have been uncharacteristic of her, Mei actually hadn't come out there to complain about the noise. She had caught enough of the conversation earlier that deep down she knew what her mom may have been thinking. It wasn't her business, but she couldn't stand by and watch Kori make a mistake with her life.

"Mom, don't do this.", Mei said softly.

"What? It's my porch. I'll stand here if I want.", replied Kori, half jokingly.

"Don't walk out on Kenta-san."

Finally it was clear. Kori had only seen that expression on her daughter's face one other time; a night that would remain burned into her brain until the day she died. Mei was six, looking on from the spiral staircase of their old house, frozen like a deer in the headlights. Tear drops clung to her rose red face and Kori had realized that she heard everything. Mei-chan knew that her parents were no more. It had been too late to sugar coat the truth. She'd been right there within ear shot as Kori told that man that they were through. Yes, her mom remembered that face well and it was the same one that was staring back at her through the starlight on that very night.

"This is not the same thing, Mei.", her mother assured in perhaps the softest tone she'd used that entire night. "I know you think I left your father without reason and.... I guess you're entitled to that. But that's not what this is. I got carried away in there."

"All I'm saying is, don't make the same mistake twice."

"I couldn't leave Kenta if I wanted to. The truth is, it never even seriously crossed my mind. Regardless, my heart wouldn't let me. We've got a good thing going here. You just.... you misunderstood me."

"Well I wasn't the only one.", Mei noted, with a quick glance toward the house.

For a time, Kori turned. She knew she couldn't truthfully walk away, not even over Hitomi. She'd blown up in there, as she often did, allowing her mouth to take control. Her brain shut off, logic died away, and she just screamed. Any and every thought to pass through her mind came flying out of her mouth. Kori never really had any intention of divorce, in spite of the way it sounded. She simply lost control. Still as she stood out there staring blankly into the vacant street, she couldn't help wondering what other option there was.

"What am I supposed to do?", Kori asked once finally turning back toward her daughter.

"I know how you feel about all of this. It's like a rule of nature. Dogs bark, birds fly, and you hate Kenta's mom. It's just that....."

"You think I'm wrong?"

"Do you?"

No question about it. Mei was growing up. Listening to her out there made that point impossible for Kori to deny, no matter how much a part of her still wanted to.

"When you guys announced that you were getting married, what did you say to me?"

"You're going to the wedding. In a bride's maid gown or a casket, you will be at that church tomorrow one way or another.", recalled Kori.

"Yeah, there was that. But I was thinking more along the lines of what you said about Kenta. You told me what a good man he was. Strong, smart, loyal, and kind... blah, blah, blah. What really seemed to stand out to you though was his sense of family. He wanted you to be his wife, he wanted to have children with you; family was the most important thing in his world, you said. You loved that about Kenta."

"I did.... and do."

"Well isn't Hitomi-san family too?"

"Oh no, no wait a minute......", Kori stammered, only to be cut off.

"You fell for Kenta because you wanted a family man. Well guess what, Mom? Ya got one. It's a package deal. You can't expect him to go to the wall for us, but to leave his own mother on the street. Now it isn't my business. He's your husband. Do what you want. But think for a minute. If he had listened to you in there, then what? If he actually had turned his mom down..... he wouldn't be the man you married."

Kori was speechless. This was a rarity for someone like her, but Mei had stolen the words right out of her. All she could do was stare in disbelief. Not only was her little girl all grown up. Somewhere in those years that had flown by, she had become a strong and intelligent woman just the way Kori had always wanted.

"Damn you're good.", noted the mother regarding Mei's passionate argument.

Kori couldn't help laughing a little. She had been wrong in there. No question about it. What amused her though was that she'd been set straight by the same girl whose shoes she used to tie.

"When did this happen?", Kori asked. "At what point did I look away and you grow into this confident woman on me? I mean, just yesterday you were clinging to my leg in your school's parking lot and now you're having intelligent arguments with me.... and winning."

"Please don't get all mother-ish on me. You know how I hate that."

"Time just slipped away from me, ya know? You've grown up and it.... it startles me sometimes. I look at you and I think, 'Can this woman really be my baby?'.

"That's it. I'm going to bed.", Mei stated, throwing up her hands. "Have your little Oprah moment by yourself, cause I'm out."

Kori laughed as she watched Mei turn and head quickly for the door. As her hand reached the knob however, the girl stopped. The sound of Kori's voice from behind had given her pause.

"Thank you, Mei-chan.", she whispered. "Sometimes I need somebody to pull me back down to Earth."

* * *

Two days had come and gone since that tense Summer night. Kori had apologized, once again getting back on track with Kenta. Though she still very much disliked this situation, she'd come to understand that she couldn't stop it from happening. Thus she bit her lip and prepared for the worst. She may have hated Hitomi with the fire of a thousand suns, but she couldn't blame Kenta for loving his mother with just as much passion. Kori was his wife and she had no choice but to stand by him through the good, the bad, and the hellacious.

It was a little after ten in the morning, mere moments before Hitomi's arrival. The house had been cleaned to perfection, the kitchen stocked with her favorite foods, and Kori's cherished bottle of wine sucked bone dry. Feeling worried, and yes a little tipsy, Mrs. Sato stood back and watched as her husband made a last minute inspection of their family. Pacing the carpeted floor in front of them with stiff posture and his hands behind his back, Kenta looked like a Drill Sargent briefing his subordinates. This came as an amusing sight to the half-drunken Kori as she heard his booming voice emerge once again.

"Mei, tuck your shirt in!", Kenta snapped. "Mika, don't make that face! It'll freeze like that! Hiro, wipe that dirt off your shoes! Were you raised in a barn?!"

"You know, if they were charging for parental clichés, we'd be in the poor house.", noted Kori in the background.

"This from the woman who tried to put a trademark on the phrase, 'I brought you into this world and I can take you right the Hell back out'.", Mei reminded her with a grin.

"Mei!", her mom snapped.

"Hey, I'm not cussing. I'm quoting."

From the corner of her eye, Kori couldn't help noticing the smirk spreading across her husband's face.

"Don't look at me. She's your kid.", Kenta said, trying his best not to laugh.

"Just dial it back.", Kori told him. "This is your mother, not royalty."

Kenta really did need to relax. With every tick of the wall clock in front of him, he could feel his heart beating faster. The thuds came like thunder in his ears, blood pressure likely having shot through the roof. It was irrational and Kenta knew that. Still, he couldn't help himself. Moments like this put a lot of pressure on him. He held his mother in high regard and thus he had to hold himself to that same standard.

"I'm sorry, Kori.", he said once finally managing to stop his pacing. "Mama will be here any minute and I just want everything to be perfect."

"Is that your passive-aggressive way of telling me to stay in a hotel?", she joked.

Kori took hold of her husband's trembling hands. He really did need to calm down. He was worrying himself silly over Hitomi's arrival and had been for days. It was all he talked about from sun up to sun down. Pleasing her had consumed him.

"Just try to calm down.", Kori told him, gazing into his eyes. "You've done everything right. The kids are well-dressed and behaved, the house couldn't look any better if you'd married Martha Stewart, and I even took the liberty of throwing out those awful magazines of yours before Hitomi found them."

"What?!", he cried with horror spreading over his face.

"What can I say? I saw an opening and I took it.", she said, glad to have an excuse to get rid of Kenta's filth. "My point is, you have nothing to worry about. Your mother thinks you're perfect anyway. You could be passed out drunk on that couch while the kids took turns shoving crap into a wall socket and she would still think you were the hardest working man on the planet. Just take a breath and relax."

Kori was absolutely right. He was over reacting. Kenta almost took her advice too. That is until the chime of their doorbell shattered the silence in the room. The moment that sound met his ears, he was off again. His mind raced mile a minute, his hands shook, knees nearly buckling beneath him, and his heart was ready to beat right out of his chest. She had arrived! On the other side of that door was the woman he respected most in the world and the mere thought of that terrified him.

"Don't flip out.", Kori whispered, holding tightly to his shoulders. "You are not allowed to faint on me, Kenta. You do and I will be left alone with that old bat and trust me.... you do not want that."

"Grandma!", Hiro yelled excitedly upon hearing the doorbell.

The youngest child jumped out of line, his face glowing so brightly with anticipation that it rivaled the sun. Hiro truly loved his grandmother and couldn't wait to see her again. Racing to the door, he could already see her loving face smiling back at him in his mind. Wasting no time, Hiro threw open the door and sure enough, the woman on the other side was exactly as he remembered her. Hitomi had short dark hair. Her face was wrinkled with age, but held such wisdom and understanding.

His grandmother's outfits always took Hiro by surprise. Hitomi, like most of her generation, preferred dressing in traditional Japanese fashion. It was no longer common in their culture, but those like Hitomi had no interest in change. Time was moving too quickly for her taste and so she chose to step outside of it and let the world just go on without her. On that particular morning, the elder Sato wore a long white kimono decorated in a beautiful pink floral pattern. She appeared to the onlooking Mika like something out of her history book. Though Kenta's first-born had always loved her grandma's outfits.

To the surprise of his parents, Hiro immediately began to dig through the pockets of his grandma's kimono. Kenta couldn't have hidden the embarrassment on his face if he tried. His son hadn't even said hello and already he was pilfering through those pockets for candy like some scavenger.

"Oh dear Lord.", Kenta muttered. "Five seconds through the door and Hiro stages a mugging."

Hitomi didn't seem to mind though. This was seen as cute through her eyes. After all, Hiro, just like his dad, could do no wrong as far as she was concerned. The grandmother smiled brightly down to him when at last he'd discovered the object of his search. As always she had stuffed her pockets full of little multi-colored candies. Each time the family visited her, Hiro had loved them, so she knew she couldn't leave home without bringing some along.

"I'm sorry, Mama.", Kenta apologized.

"Oh, nonsense.", she replied. "What are grandparents for?"

With Hiro busily unwrapping his treats, Hitomi's gaze shifted to Mika. She had grown quite a bit since the last visit, but still appeared the same perfect angel that Hitomi remembered.

"There's my princess!", her grandma greeted warmly. "How old are you now? Fifteen? Sixteen?"

"I'm seven!", Mika declared, giggling.

Next Hitomi turned to Mei. Although they weren't related, she still thought of Kori's child as her granddaughter. She adored her, even without any blood connection at all.

"Oh Mei, you look so nice and proper. It does my heart good to see you dress like the young lady that you are."

"Mom said I should dress appropriately for you.", Mei replied.

"Indeed. Too bad she couldn't take her own advice.", Hitomi said, then shifting her attention to Kori. "What's the matter, dear? You couldn't find a skirt that's actually in your size?"

"It fits fine, Hitomi-san.", she huffed as politely as she could manage.

"Please, I have dish towels with more fabric than that! You have such a beautiful figure, Kori. Though I've never understood why you insist on showing it to the entire world."

"As close to a compliment as I've ever gotten.", Kori whispered to Kenta.

Kori Sato truly was breath-taking. With flawless skin, a face like a Greek goddess, and the figure of a center-fold; she'd always been able to turn heads. A mere wink from her could stop traffic for miles. Everyone she met could see how fortunate she was. Everyone but Hitomi, that is. Some how the woman always managed to take her daughter-in-law's beauty and like every other aspect of her character, ultimately use it against her. Though after so many years of marriage to Kenta, Kori had come to expect that.

Hitomi moved froward, embracing her son. The entire family could see just how strong their connection was as the two shared their hug. It was unbreakable, that bond. From the moment she'd welcomed him into the world, Kenta's mother had adored him beyond all reason. He was perfect in her eyes; the untouchable product of her love with the husband she'd lost. It was no exaggeration to say that Kenta was her whole world.

"I'm so glad you're here.", Kenta told her, half lying.

"Why thank you, my son. You've got such a lovely home; even more stunning than you described. And that lawn, do you do that yourself? It's like something out of a painting. Absolutely astonishing!"

"And his ego grew three sizes that day.", Kori muttered, referencing a line from the Grinch story.

"My my.", Hitomi continued as she looked around her son's home for the first time. "You must be doing well in your new job. This furniture looks to have cost a fortune."

It was all praise all the way. That is until those eyes shifted over to Kori. The younger woman could smell trouble even before her mother-in-law's mouth had opened.

"Married to my son, living in this lavish home.....you've come a long way from your days as a pole dancer, haven't you Kori?"

"Yes, I don't need to dance on poles anymore.", she answered dryly. "Your grave will be sufficient."

Neither Kori nor Hitomi seemed to give any thought to those around them. When they sniped at each other, it was like they thought the rest of the world just faded away. As far as they were concerned, they were the only two in that room. This, however, certainly wasn't the truth. In time the children had caught onto their spiteful words, the three of them exchanging worried glances. None of this was anything new to the trio, but still they couldn't help noticing the obvious. They certainly weren't a normal family.

"Can you imagine our therapy bills when we get older?", Mei asked her siblings.

"We're doomed.", Mika chimed in.

"What's a pole dancer?", wondered Hiro, to the surprise of both older kids.

And just like that, Kenta Sato's perfect life had taken a nosedive. He'd lived in a dream world for two years, but the time had come for him to wake up and smell the coffee. The arrival of his mother would shake things up beyond all recognition and there wasn't a single thing he could do but stand back and watch. She would spoil the children, treat Kenta himself as though he was one of them, and as for hers and Kori's relationship.... well, he was afraid to even imagine how bad that would get. Yes Hitomi Sato was there to stay and the idea of that scared her son out of his mind.

[Lewis84]

Episode 1.02
Beware The Queen Of Diamonds

Life for the Sato family hadn't been easy since the arrival of matriarch Hitomi. The kids were walking on egg shells, careful as to not upset or offend her. Parents, Kenta and Kori, were at each other's throats from sun-up to sun-down. To say that their new living arrangement was putting a strain on their marriage would've been an understatement. Kori herself had become like a ticking time bomb; every syllable to fall from Hitomi's mouth sending her closer and closer to detonation. What none had considered, however, was how this situation would effect Kenta personally. His family was falling apart, but what did Hitomi's arrival mean for him? Not as a husband or a father, but just as himself, once independent Kenta Sato? Although he had warned himself internally that this transition would be a difficult one, he'd never quite realized how much so. Having his mother around would double the already crippling weight that lay figuratively on his shoulders. The extra work, the stress of trying to keep the peace, and the worry that no matter what he did, he may never live up to the high standards Hitomi had set for him. Yes although Kori may have been far more vocal about it, hers wasn't the only life drastically effected by bringing the eldest Sato to America.

The sun sank low in a bright orange sky as Kori made her way reluctantly into the dining room. She could hear the faint chatter of her family while brushing through the swinging door to greet them. With a giant metal pan in her hands and a fake smile plastered across her face, she prepared for what would likely be the longest, most agonizing dinner of her life. This would be the first that she'd shared with mother-in-law, Hitomi. At least the first since she'd joined their immediate family. The mere thought terrified her.

In her fears, Kori failed to pay any attention to the world around her. She knew of course that Kenta was directly ahead of her. What she didn't know was that he'd stopped cold in his tracks. This wasn't made obvious until the spaced out Kori ran directly into him. The collision nearly caused her to drop the pan to the floor, but Kenta didn't even seem to realize. He just stood there frozen like a statue.

"One foot in front of the other, honey. They've been doing it for years.", Kori sniped to her motionless husband, once steadying the pan again.

Sadly Kenta didn't hear a word she said. His focus was held tightly on the end of the dining room table. Gazing across the room like that, his dark eyes hardly blinked at all.

"Mama, what are you doing?", he asked.

"Listening to my stomach slowly eat itself.", she answered in a tone of fake politeness. "How are you, sweet heart?"

"No, no what I mean is.... you're at the head of the table."

Sure enough, there was Hitomi staring back at him from the end of their lengthy dining room table. She sat proudly in that high-backed chair as though she'd done nothing in the world wrong. A chair had been left open to her right and the children sat in a row to her left. It took some time, but eventually Kori caught onto the problem. Hitomi had stolen Kenta's chair! Whether this was intentional or not, she didn't know. All his lovely wife was certain of at that moment was that she was loving this!

"If only I was holding a video camera instead of this damn meat loaf.", Kori thought to herself.

The kids exchanged worried glances once they too had caught onto what had happened. This wouldn't end well. Kenta and Hitomi were staring each other down and there was Kori obviously struggling to hold in her laughter.

"That's my chair, Mama.", Kenta eventually spoke up.

"Not anymore!", Kori quickly joked. "Park your butt at the kiddie table, Kenta-kun."

"You are my wife and I say this to you as lovingly as possible..... stuff a sock in it!", he said before returning his focus to Hitomi. "The other chairs are just as comfortable. Wouldn't you like to try one of them? Mika, stand up and let your grandmother test out your chair."

"But.... where am I going to sit?", his daughter wondered aloud.

"In a different chair, on the floor, on the steps of an orphanage! Who cares? Just move it!", Kenta jokingly replied.

It came as a relief to Kori, knowing that she wasn't the only one inconvienenced by Hitomi's visit. The worry that was spreading over her husband's face like wild fire in that moment gave her such joy. The smile on her own face shown so brightly, it could've blinded him were he foolish enough to look directly at her. She was loving every minute of this. Was Kenta's bride warped? Just slightly, but that wasn't her concern at all right then. All that mattered was that she'd been given a front row seat for the action.

"I wouldn't ask you to move.", Kenta started up again to his mother. "It's simply that.... I like to honor tradition. You know, like you taught me when I was young. That chair is symbolic, reserved for the head of the family."

"Exactly.", Hitomi agreed.

"So.... you understand?", Kenta asked her, sounding more frightened than relieved.

"Of course. And I'm sure you've done a fine job in that role over these past years. I would expect no less from my son. But now that I'm living here, I'm afraid that title reverts back to me. I am the eldest in our home, after all. The matriarch, if you will. Now I'm sure we can find you a chair, Kenta. Just be patient a moment."

"How about the bean bag chair in Hiro's room?", Kori offered.

"You're not helping."

"Not trying to."

"Mother, I am simply saying that.....", Kenta started again, only to be cut off with a quick raise of Hitomi's wrinkled hand.

"Please don't make a fuss.", she told him. "It wasn't attractive when you were a child and it certainly isn't now."

Kenta wanted so badly to object. He was being made a fool of in his own home. The sounds of his children snickering and that of Kori damn near laughing like a hyena made him feel about three inches tall. Still as he stood there with stiff posture staring back at his mother, the man knew he had lost. Anytime Hitomi raised her hand to silence him, there was no further use in arguing. It had been that way all of his life. That hand was final. And so, just as he had growing up, he submitted to her, nodding his head politely.

"So, what are we having?", Hitomi asked eagerly as her son stomped off to find a chair.

"Feet loaf.", replied Mika, sounding less than enthused.

Mei, beside her, couldn't help laughing when she heard her sister's verbal blunder.

"No Mika-chan, it's meat loaf.", her sister corrected. "Her English isn't quite what it should be."

"I know what I said.", mumbled Mika.

Judging by the smell of that dish, Mika may not have been far from the truth. Hitomi turned up her nose as it made its way to her end of the table. Given her already low opinion of her daughter-in-law, it came as no shock to her that Kori's cooking was sub-standard. Things only got worse when she removed the lid from the pan and sat it down in the center of the table, allowing that awful stench to fully escape.

"I assume that recipe book I sent you got lost in the mail?", Hitomi wondered.

"No, it's here!", corrected Hiro. "Mama's using it to balance the book shelf!"

"Are there any alternatives? Side dishes, I hope?"

"Yes. We have rice.", replied Kori. "And it's coming right up."

"Usually does.", noted the smart-mouthed Mika.

This was nothing new for the seven-year-old Mika Sato. She'd always had a quick wit and occasionally mean sense of humor. First she learned to talk, then she learned to talk back. And while some parents may have been offended by it, Kori only smiled. Why? Because she knew her daughter's dark side was a direct reflection of herself. She was the spitting image of Kori, right down to the Hellish attitude.

Eventually Kenta returned to the table, having found himself a seat. His family wasn't quite sure what to expect, but needless to say he got a few looks as he strolled back into the dining room packing a lawn chair under his arm! Kenta didn't for one second make eye contact with them. Shamed, he simply unfolded his rusty little chair, sat down, and imagined he was somewhere else.

"So, will you be joining us tomorrow?", Hitomi asked him, completely blind to his embarrassment. "Mei is taking the kids and myself on a tour of Los Angeles. I'm so looking forward to it."

"I'm afraid I have to work late tomorrow night.", Kenta answered.

There was a notable disappointment forming on Hitomi's face as she listened to her son's response.

"Oh, are you sure? It's been so long since we've spent any time together. I was hoping we could make this a family outing. Of course Kori can't go. Something about a funeral. Aunt Kei, I believe she said."

Confusion suddenly washed over the faces of both younger children. Had they heard that right?

"Aunt Kei?", Mika questioned. "Didn't she die last year?"

"Yep.", Mei replied. "And a couple times last month too. Old broad's a fighter, isn't she?"

Obviously Kori only made that up to avoid spending the day with her mother-in-law. Just the same as jury duty, family gatherings, and anything else Mrs. Sato wanted to get out of, it was Aunt Kei to the rescue. In all honesty, Kenta wasn't even sure if she had an Aunt Kei. No matter. The entire family knew that she was lying, but Hitomi was perfectly willing to play along. Kori's absence would've come as a welcome gift, but not Kenta's. She truly did want her son with him, which was seen clearly in the disappointment on her face.

"Couldn't you get out of it?", Hitomi asked the man. "It's important to me. We've spent far too much time apart these past couple of years."

"I understand that, but I have no choice. Money is tight these days. We're in a recession, we are a family of six, and this food we're forcing down didn't pay for itself. We will have a chance to catch up, Mama, but it can't be tomorrow. I will be in the office until well after eleven."

Shock covered the woman's face instantly. The fork nearly fell from her trembling hand when she heard just how late her boy would be working. It hardly seemed right to her at all. Hitomi's generation was far less concerned with money. They were simpler, more down to Earth. The idea of someone working so far into the night was unheard of in her day.

"You cannot be serious!", she cried out, sending both hands down against the table. "Eleven o'clock! At night?! No, Kenta. That is just not acceptable."

"So what should I do?", Kenta asked. "Take in a note from my mother?"

"Would like one?", she replied, dead serious. "There's a pen in my purse."

"It doesn't work that way! I have bills to pay and I'm afraid that has to come first. You want family time, but unless you want to have it in a box in the ally, I'm afraid I have to pass."

"So just tell them to give you a raise.", Hitomi said firmly. "If you made more money, dear, you could work normal hours and spend your evenings at home. Show some back bone! Have a little pride in yourself!"

"I am a grown ass man eating my dinner in a lawn chair. Mama, I think that ship has sunk."

* * *

Later that evening, the disappointed Hitomi wandered upstairs. Aimlessly she had paced the halls of her son's home just trying to come up with some way to free him of his obligation. Money or not, it just wasn't right. In her eyes, work shouldn't have to be one's entire world. You do what you have to do, then come home to your family. Perhaps it was archaic thinking, but she strongly believed that. The company was treating her son more like a robot than a human being, ignoring what he needed and deserved. All they cared about were deadlines and to someone like Hitomi, that was unacceptable.

Nearly an hour had passed her by as she walked that hardwood floor, surrounded by family photos that hung on the walls. It was eating her up inside, feeling so powerless. That is until she caught sight of Mei. From the corner of her eye, Hitomi noticed the teenager in her room, seemingly lost in her own world. The CD player was on, though its volume faint, and the girl's hands were flying rapidly over the keys of her laptop computer. All of a sudden, the elder Sato had an idea.

"Mei-chan?", she asked, moving slowly through the door and into the room.

She received no response, however. Mei's eyes didn't so much as blink.

"Mei!", she tried again. Still nothing. The teen was like a zombie, hypnotized by the pale light of the computer's screen that washed over her face.

Finally Hitomi grew tired of waiting. With a quick shift of her arm, she slammed the door shut behind her. The sudden crash came like thunder through the room, causing Mei to nearly jump out of her chair. Her heart raced and hands shook as she spun around, staring up at her sort-of-grandmother through wide, fear-stricken eyes.

"Good. Now that I have your attention....", Hitomi began sweetly, as though she'd done nothing at all to startle her. "Are you busy?"

"No, I'm.... I'm just on MySpace.", Mei replied, gasping.

"You're sixteen. You don't own any space."

"No, Hitomi-san, it's..... never mind."

Having gained her attention, the older woman started to get to the point. That is until she noticed the lyrics playing through two giant speakers in the corner of that cluttered room. Her head shifted to the side a moment, her face scrunching in disgust the more that she heard. This couldn't possibly pass for music, she thought to herself.

"What on Earth are you listening to?!", Hitomi demanded.

"Lady Gaga."

"My dear, that is no lady. If I have to hear one more word about some fellow's disco stick, I will gladly take a swan dive out that window."

"What? She's cool."

"She is deranged!", objected the woman. "Although living with Kori, I can see how you might confuse the two. Just turn it off!"

Mei gave a huff, followed quickly by the stereotypical rolling of her eyes. She did, eventually, listen though. It made sense that someone Hitomi's age wouldn't exactly qualify as a Gaga fan.

"Is there something I can help you with?", the teen asked, once the music had faded away.

For a moment, Hitomi grew silent. With her hands in the pockets of her light blue kimono, she just stared at the computer's screen. Mei could tell she was perplexed. Though the woman had said very little, her thoughts were written all over her face. Hitomi could send email, but anything beyond that was foreign to her. She didn't understand computers and mostly had little desire to. When she passed by Mei's room, however, a light bulb went off in her head. Maybe, just maybe that alien device could help her out.

"I was wondering....", she began hesitantly, "Are there ways of making money on that space aged contraption of yours?"

"Oh sure!", the teen answered energetically. "You can design websites, sell things on Ebay, advertise services through email. Like.... oh here's one. 'Your miracle pill for natural male enhancement'.", she said, quoting the subject line of some spam email.

"Male enhancement?", Hitomi replied, stunned. "In my day, all that took was a bottle of liquor and a pin-up calender! What is happening to this world?!"

Mei wasn't exactly sure why Hitomi was asking. It seemed so random to her, especially from a woman who would sooner do her own dental work than touch a computer. Still, she figured she would do her best to help. Hitomi had basically lost everything when she moved there from Japan. It wasn't so far fetched that she would be looking for a little extra cash.

"You might try Ebay?", Mei offered.

"A nice thought, but I'm not walking all the way to the bay just to sell something. These old legs aren't what they used to be."

It took a lot for the teen not to laugh at her. She knew Hitomi couldn't help it, but still Mei couldn't deny that her grandmother's take on things tickled her.

"Ebay is the name of a website.", Mei told her with a notable grin. "It's like an auction, but on the computer. People go on there and sell the old crap they'll never use.... so they'll have money for all new crap they'll never use. It's a vicious cycle really, but it works. Who ever has the highest bid at the end of the time frame gets the item. They send you the money and then you send them whatever they bought."

"Fascinating. But.... what if no one places a bid? I mean, then what do you do?"

"Usually not a problem. If you've got it, some poor sap out there will buy it. Mika and I actually sold Kenta's toilet seat last month.... for five hundred bucks!"

Naturally Hitomi's mouth dropped open. Whose wouldn't after a statement like that?

"Okay, I love the boy, but even I'm not that stupid.", Hitomi said in pure shock. "There is no way someone would pay five hundred dollars for my son's damn toilet seat."

"No, but they would for Elvis' toilet seat!", Mei declared. "Mika and I got ourselves a hunk'a hunk'a burn'n cash!"

Hitomi couldn't believe what she was hearing! Was this legal? Were people really this ignorant? As she studied Mei though, it became increasingly obvious that she wasn't joking. The teen swiveled back and forth in the small red office chair without so much as a smirk on her face. She was dead serious, her features stone cold in the light of a nearby desk lamp. Hitomi may not have fully gotten it, but this Ebay thing was for real. And if she was understanding it correctly, it just may have been the answer to her prayers.

"So you know how to do this?", Hitomi asked.

"Of course. Look at my closet. I have clothes from every fashion capital in the world and you know Kenta didn't buy those for me. I just get online, sell stuff from around the house, and in one to two weeks I'm fanning myself with hundred dollar bills. I love the internet!"

* * *

Hitomi sat quietly that night held in the soft light of a table lamp. The TV was on, but she hadn't heard a word. Ever since dinner, the woman had fallen deeper and deeper inside herself; fear and concern welling up in the pit of her stomach. Though she hadn't spoken a word, her emotions showed quite clearly across her aging face. The lamp's glow seemed to highlight them for the world world to see. In those hours passed, Hitomi had felt sadness, helplessness, and most of all guilt. It had become so clear to her why Kenta was pushing himself so hard at work. It wasn't for greed or power. It was her. His family had been doing fine until she came. The added responsibility of another mouth to feed and forced his hand. He had to work those hours in order to support her. She hated the thought, but couldn't deny it. All of this was her fault. Kenta never would've told her that. No matter how bad it got, he'd have simply pushed through and made the best of it. That was how Hitomi had raised him, but even without his words, she knew. It was a mystery to her why she'd never considered this sooner. She had no job, no retirement check, nothing. She was dead weight on her family.

"I never wanted to burden you like this, Kenta.", Hitomi thought to herself, still gazing lost into the distance. "I never wanted to pick up that phone at all. Calling you, asking for your help; I did it because I had to. Life had left me no options. Still, if I had really considered the strain it would put on you, I'd have never breathed a word of this. I'm taking you away from your life and your family. I would've sooner lived on the streets than ever done that. And there I was at dinner tonight begging you to avoid work when the truth was.... you couldn't and that was because of me. God, I wish I'd have seen this coming. I've lived too long and too proudly to spend the rest of my days as dead weight in this house. What I've done to you, what I've forced you into.... it's not acceptable, not of me or any parent. You had your perfect life, the one that I always dreamed for you to have and then I come here and send it all crashing down. You have no time with your wife, you've been a virtual stranger to your children, you have no chance at all to live for yourself.... all because you had to step up and take in some old lady."

It wasn't often Hitomi felt regret. At her age, she'd come to realize that it helped no one. Still on that particular night she couldn't help it. Seeing the situation clearly for the first time, she'd have done anything to turn back that clock. If she'd never made that call, Kenta's life would be just like it was before. He would have everything and isn't that what every parent wants for their child?

"How could I do this to you?", her internal monologue continued. "You're working yourself to death simply to support me. I know some might say that it's only fair. I spent the best years of my life caring for you, but to me that's just the way of the world. The parent cares for the child. It should never be the other way around. I was to raise you, guide you, then allow you the freedom to spread your wings and fly. You shouldn't be held down by obligation to me, financial or otherwise."

That room had been quiet for the most part, save for the dull roar of the television and Hitomi's occasional sigh of self-pity. In time though that near silence, along with her thought process, was shattered. The sound of footsteps scuffing over the carpet slowly drug her back to painful reality. When at last her thoughts had died away, Hitomi saw Hiro staring back at her; his face equally as sad as her own. Just seeing him there was enough to break her heart in two. He looked like some sad puppy lost in the rain.

"Hiroshi, what's the matter?", she asked calmly. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?"

"Where's Papa?", he wondered in a soft, unsure voice.

The emptiness on the little boy's face was impossible to ignore. He stood there so still and quiet, just clutching to a thin black DVD case.

"Your father is working late, I'm afraid. He won't be home until long after you're asleep."

In his head, Hiro knew this. It wasn't anything new, but in his heart he was still hoping for a different outcome. Maybe he would come home early, the kid kept telling himself. If he just wished hard enough, perhaps his dad would come walking through the door. By the tone in his grandmother's voice, however, he saw that just wasn't going to happen.

"But.... he was supposed to watch a DVD with me.", objected Hiro. "He always does."

Hitomi leaned forward extending a slightly trembling hand. Once Hiro had grown near enough, she took the case from him and narrowed her eyes to read it.

"Samurai Sentai Shinkenger.", she read softly.

"Yeah, Papa and I always watch an episode before I go to sleep. He says its our time together. No girls allowed."

This was so important, Hitomi felt. That special time between a father and son, it was something Hiro would remember for a lifetime. And clearly it meant the world to him. One look at the sadness on his face proved that to her.

"Ah Sentai. I remember this show well.", Hitomi said, hoping to take his mind off of the situation. "Kenta and his father used to watch as well. 'Himitsu Sentai Goranger', I believe it was. Oh how your papa loved that show. He would spend his days in the yard twirling a stick around and shouting battle cries. And at night, he and your grandfather would sit and watch the show until he drifted off to sleep. I guess he wanted to pass that tradition on to you."

Just looking at the box in her hand nearly brought Hitomi to tears. The show had been on the air since 1975, so many decades that it had become an icon of Japanese culture -- a tradition passed on from parent to child for generations. And though Hitomi didn't care much for Toei's masterpiece herself, she could appreciate the bond that it helped forge between her husband and son, those memories that had stayed with Kenta well into his adult life. No matter her view of the series itself, she would always love it for what it had brought the two of them; closeness.

"Your father always liked the blue one.", she noted with a smile. "Said he was going to grow up to be just like him. How about you, Hiroshi-kun?"

"ShinkenRed.", he answered softly.

Hitomi desperately wanted to distract him. Usually talking about a kid's hobbies and what was important to them would do the trick. Their eyes would light up at the idea of a grown up actually being interested. It seemed wasted effort with Hiro though. Nothing she said had managed to bring a smile to his face even for an instant.

"Perhaps your mama will watch with you tonight.", Hitomi said.

"You will get in that tub if I have to drown you in it!", they heard Kori shout to Mika from upstairs.

"Well, I can see she's busy.... polishing her 'Mother of the Year' awards, no doubt.", the grandmother observed sarcastically. "Can I join you instead? I suppose it would be interesting for me to see how things have changed on the show over the years. Maybe you can help get me up to speed?"

Hitomi was really trying her best. For Hiro though, it just wasn't enough. He stared down at the floor for the longest time, saying nothing. He didn't move from that spot and didn't dare make eye contact. Mostly he felt trapped, like no matter what he said, it would've been the wrong answer. Of course he didn't want to hurt his grandmother's feelings. Hiro was kind-hearted to a fault. Besides that, he adored Hitomi and could honestly see that she was trying. Ultimately though, it just wouldn't have worked. It wasn't in her power to mend his broken heart. As the seconds passed them by in awkward silence, Hitomi began to see that.

"Wouldn't be the same, would it?", she asked at last.

Hiro still didn't say anything, but slowly shook his head 'no'.

"I understand. You want your papa. This is your tradition and yours alone. I know that I can't fill in for him."

Hiro didn't know what to say or do. He wanted so badly for his dad to come back. Those times together away from the girls and his mom were so important to him. Yes his love of the Sentai series played a part in it, but even stronger was his love for Kenta. Truthfully he'd have watched paint dry just so long as it meant they were together. Without him there, Hiro was lost.

"I can promise you one thing though.", Hitomi continued. "He will be home tomorrow."

"Really?!", the boy asked, all of sudden having his spirits lifted.

"Yes. Your father doesn't want to be away from you. It's just something he has to do. Silly grown-up stuff. Not to worry though. Oba-san will fix everything. When that sun sets tomorrow, you and Kenta will have your time together."

Sure enough, all it took to wipe the sadness away was the promise of his father. Hiro's face shown as brightly as the stars through the window as he imagined the two of them sitting on the couch watching their show again.

"Now get to bed, my little Senshi.", Hitomi instructed him sweetly. "You need your rest."

As Hiro dashed off toward the staircase, his feet pounding the floor like thunder, Hitomi's mind had been made up. She couldn't bare to see that expression on her grandson's face again. It broke her, even more so with the knowledge that she'd caused it. No matter how low she would have to sink, nor how far over the line she would have to go, Hitomi would bring that boy's father home. She had no choice.

* * *

Hitomi stood quietly gazing out the kitchen window the following morning. She could see her own reflection in the glass as the sun rose slowly from beyond it. The woman gazing back at her in its shine looked at peace. Her smile was pure, almost angelic. Her hands had steadied and guilt long since died away. The dawn of that new day symbolized hope for Hitomi. She had set her mind to helping her son and though it took some effort, she had pulled it off. Now her actions may not have been ethical, but that mattered not to her as she took a sip from the steaming coffee cup in her hand. In that grandmother's mind, ethics and morals were secondary. What mattered above all else was her family. That previous night, she'd done what she had to do for them and was proud of herself; consequences be damned.

"Well, Kenta should be waking up right about....."

As she was speaking, Hitomi caught sight of an alarm clock flying through the air. A soft chuckle emerged as she saw it collide with the trunk of a tree and shatter into pieces.

".... now."

Kenta wasn't exactly a morning person. His mother remembered that well from their epic battles before school each day. She'd tried alarm clocks, banging pans together, and even dragging in their garden hose and flooding him out of bed. Waking up definitely was not her son's best event. Still she felt this morning would be different. When Kenta heard her news, he was sure to be happy in spite of the insane hour.

Soon enough Hitomi heard the familiar sound of stomping feet and slamming doors. She had Kenta's morning routine down to a science. Quietly she counted the seconds on her fingers until he would come huffing down the stairs. And as always, she was right on the money.

"Damn alarm clock, damn office, damn day I was born!", he muttered.

"Good morning, sunshine.", his mom greeted him with obvious sarcasm.

"You know, it would've been easier and far more economical if I'd just pitched a tent in the parking lot!"

It took some time for him to notice the sizable grin on his mom's face. Whole minutes passed before he even bothered to look at her through those weary eyes. Once he had finally caught onto her mood, however, he couldn't help being curious.

"What's wrong with you?", he asked.

"I have good news."

"The office burned down?"

"Nonsense."

"The boss' house burned down?", came his next guess. "My house burned down?! Come on, give me something."

"Oh for crying out loud, nothing burned! Just sit down and have your breakfast. I've prepared your favorites."

Something was definitely going on, Kenta thought to himself. The room was filled with the wonderful smells of his mom's cooking, the one perk of having her living in his home. She was all smiles and she didn't seem at all concerned with his attitude. Kenta hadn't a clue what had gotten into his mother, but somehow he knew it would spell trouble. Maybe he was just expecting the worst, an unfortunate side-effect of being married to Kori for ten years. Maybe it was some subtle hint he saw in Hitomi's face as she neared the table. Or maybe it was simply his foul mood taking a toll on him. Whatever the reason, Kenta felt worried, watching his mom ease down into the kitchen chair across from him.

"You look so pleased with yourself. What happened?", he wondered. "Kori's still alive, right?"

"Yes, dear. Although the way she smokes, that won't be case for much longer. I'm thinking roses at her funeral. Maybe a buffet. Would party hats come off as insensitive?"

"Mama, can we focus?!"

Hitomi took another sip from the coffee cup that sat before her, steam still rising from it. Meanwhile, Kenta continued to stare at her. With each tick of the wall clock, he felt himself becoming more and more uneasy.

"You won't be working late tonight.", his mom announced, once returning her white mug to the table. "I've solved your money problems, so I expect you home in time to have dinner with your family."

The woman moved so quickly that he had barely any time to process what was being said. His brain spun like a top as he tried to catch up with her.

"Wait.", he started. "First of all, we aren't exactly having money problems. It isn't that bad."

"How can you say that? You are working yourself to death in that office. You're there from dawn to dusk and it's wearing you down. I can see it in your face, Kenta. Even now you can hardly keep your eyes open."

"That's just what I have to do. I am the sole provider for this family. Sometimes I have to make sacrifices."

"Not anymore you don't. I know you would never tell me this, but the fact is.... all of these extra hours you're working are my fault. Your family was doing fine until I came here. Now you have another mouth to feed."

Kenta quickly raised his hand in an attempt to cut in, but his mother wouldn't allow it. She knew him. He would tell her she was wrong simply to ease her troubled mind. No matter how bad things got for him, he would never openly throw the blame onto her. Especially not in a situation like theirs, where she had nowhere else to turn.

"I'm a burden on you, whether you want to admit it or not.", she said sternly. "You are pushing yourself to your breaking point so your mother has a place to live. That's honorable and never doubt for a moment how proud I am of you for stepping up like this. Still, you shouldn't have to. When I came here, my intention was never to take you away from your family like this. If I had known....."

"You didn't have a choice. They were going to throw you out on the street."

"You're right.", she admitted. "I couldn't avoid it, but I can help you. You don't have to work yourself so hard anymore. I will be able to pitch in around here very soon."

Kenta raised his eyebrows in question, waiting for her to elaborate.

"There will be a check for several thousand dollars arriving in the mail sometime within the week. It's yours."

With that, Kenta's jaw dropped open. All words had been sucked from his mouth, leaving him staring in silence across that table. To look at his expression there in the morning light, one would've assumed he'd seen a ghost. He simply could not wrap his mind around those words. It wasn't possible. Where would a retired woman with no home who wasn't even an American citizen yet come up with thousands of dollars?!

"You don't have that kind of money!", he cried, when at last finding his words again.

"Oh, I do now. Your mother is a very wealthy woman. And you know, all I had to do was get creative."

"Yeah, you wanna define 'creative'?", Kenta asked, though fearing the response.

"Is it really important?"

"Uh.... yeah. There is no possible way you could come up with this much money this quickly! Either you won the lottery, sold an organ, or found a goose that lays golden eggs. Regardless which one, I'd sure love to hear about it."

Hitomi clicked her nails against the table top in thought. Did she really want to go there? The more he knew of the truth, the less happy he would be. Of course she knew this was unavoidable. Who in Kenta's position wouldn't ask questions?

"Okay fine.", she said at last. "I was talking with Mei-chan last night and she was telling me about this Ebay website. Well as you know, such things are foreign to me, but I knew that I had to help you in some way. So I thought it over and.... I sold a few things. Nothing major, I thought. But as it turns out, everything I put on there sold within the hour."

"What did you sell? Prescription drugs?"

"I suppose that would've worked too. All I sold was a diamond necklace, some terribly tacky earrings, a bracelette looking like something a queen would've worn, and a few little ankle things fit for Cleopatra."

Kenta gradually made his way through the list, but with each item he only grew more confused. Looking across at his mother, those things just didn't fit. She was such a simple woman. She wore no jewelery, hardly any makeup, and had dawned the exact same hair style the entire time he'd known her. She wasn't into fancy things. Never had been. Attachment to material possessions was all foolishness through his mother's eyes. So it begged the question, where could she have gotten such items so quickly? Oh if only he'd thought it through.

"Um, Mama.... you don't own any of those things.", Kenta pointed out.

"No, but..... your wife does. Or should I say, did?"

All of a sudden the kitchen fell to silence. Kenta didn't know what to say or do. Inside he prayed that somehow he'd heard wrong, but playing that scene over and over internally, he knew that wasn't possible. The longer they sat there, Hitomi began to notice her son's eyes growing wider, blood-shot and twitching. His hands shook, both clenched into tight fists. His muscles were as stiff as a board and his heart beat so loudly within him that she could actually hear it from across the table. Kenta Sato looked more like a killer in some Hollywood slasher film at that moment than the boy she'd given birth to.

"Um.... perhaps I should be going.", Hitomi said quietly.

Wasting no further time, Hitomi sprang from that chair like a rocket. With surprising speed, she tore across the carpet in hot pursuit of the front door. Kenta was scared to death, but even he couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Seeing a woman of her age charging through the house like some marathon runner; he never could've imagined such a sight. Hitomi was up and gone before her son had so much as blinked. It's true what they say, adrenaline can do amazing things for the body.

* * *

Once recovering from his initial shock, Kenta raced out into the yard after her. They were surrounded by neighbors on all sides. Across the street an old man was picking up his morning paper from the sunlit driveway. To his left he saw a young woman checking her pulse before a morning job. And just down the street were a group of kids walking their dog. Kenta and Hitomi were anything but alone out there on that dew covered lawn, but he didn't care. The man's mind could only process one thing at that moment, Kori's reaction!

Eventually he caught up with his mother, grabbing hold of her arm, and spinning her around to face him. There was so much he wanted to say, but hadn't the slightest clue where to start. This hardly even seemed real to him. How could anyone do something so crazy? What kind of medication was Hitomi on?!

"Okay.", he began, gasping for breath but still holding tightly to her arm. "Let me ask you one question..... are you out of your freak'n mind?!"

"I fail to see the problem here.", Hitomi told him, jerking free of his grasp.

"You took jewelery from Kori. My wife, Kori! What do you do for an encore? Rip a piece of meat out of a dog's mouth?! When she finds out, you and I both will be hanging from that tree over there!", he said in all seriousness, pointing a stiff figure toward the tree.

"That woman is far too materialistic anyway.", justified Hitomi. "She prances around here like some suburban Paris Hilton and all you do is turn your head and ignore it! The way I see it, I killed two birds with one stone."

"Remember that while she's killing two relatives with one gun!"

"Just hear me out. Losing all of that senseless jewelery not only saves you from working such insane hours at the office. It will also teach that wife of yours a valuable lesson. There is more to life than how you look or what you own. A woman like her cannot possibly understand that until those things she's convinced herself are important are taken away."

All around them people had stopped their morning routines cold. Kenta and Hitomi's words carried so easily across that chilly morning wind that they gained the attention of the entire neighborhood without even realizing it.

"I don't disagree with you.", Kenta admitted, still ignorant of the fact that they'd become the center of attention. "Kori does focus too much on her looks and I've even told her that. She would take my breath away wearing a burlap sack! The fact is though, these things are important to her. She prides herself on diamonds and jewels. It's a part of who she is, unfortunate or not. Please Mama, please tell me you're kidding. Taking anything sparkly away from that woman, it's.... suicidal at best."

Kenta wanted so badly to believe this was a joke or some bad dream he just hadn't woken from yet. Deep down though he knew that it wasn't. It wasn't out of character for his mother to pull something like this. She'd always frowned on Kori's materialistic nature. It would be just like her to try doing something about it, either to teach a lesson or simply out of pure spite.

"Wait!", Kenta cried frantically. "You sold them last night? That means they're still around here! The mail, it's....."

"Half way down the street.", Hitomi told him, pointing to a white van in the distance.

"Nooooo!", he cried out in an overly dramatic fashion, dropping to his knees against the wet grass.

Needless to say, this caused their neighbor's to stare in disbelief. A grown man kneeling on his lawn, pounding both fists into the dirt and shouting like a maniac. Oh yeah, they were the focal point of the entire block for sure. Kenta still didn't see the on-lookers though. He was far too afraid of what was to come. Kori already hated Hitomi. Something like this would surely push her over the edge.

"There has got to be a way out of this....", he said aloud, though mostly talking to himself.

All of a sudden, Kenta jumped back to his feet. The knees of his pants were soaked from the damp grass; tiny green blades still clinging to their fabric. Looking desperate, he grabbed hold of his mom's shoulders tightly, staring at her. His eyes were as big as baseballs that morning. Quite creepy looking, really. The stress was definitely getting to him.

"I've got it!", Kenta said quickly.

"If you mean a severe mental condition, then yes dear, I'm afraid you do.", noted Hitomi jokingly.

"No, a way to get out of this! It's brilliant! All you have to do is take Mei and Hiro out for breakfast! Can ya do that for me, Mama?"

"Not to be the barer of bad news here, but..... you have three kids, Kenta. Remember Mika? Little girl, big mouth?"

"Leave the princess of darkness here! I need her. Just take the two sane ones and get out while you can! With any luck, Mika and I can pull off the impossible by the time you get back."

Hitomi really didn't like this sound of this. She didn't have the slightest clue what he was considering, but she knew that it wouldn't end well. Kenta wasn't thinking straight. He couldn't have been. Still, she'd been left with no choice. Before the woman knew it, she was being shoved back toward the house. He was going to force her and the kids out no matter what it took.

* * *

Kori jogged quickly back up the driveway later that morning. Sweat poured down her body like rain as she gasped for air, the heat radiating off of her face. Nearly an hour had passed since she left for her daily run; a routine she didn't particularly care for, but forced herself to continue. The woman could feel her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, a clear sign that her workout had been a success. At that moment all she wanted was a long, relaxing shower. Sadly for her, a combination of life and her husband were not going to allow that. Oh no, they had other plans for the weary and sweat-covered housewife.

Her eyes, though slightly blurry, grew wide when Kori saw the front door of her home fly open. Seconds later, out came Kenta dashing onto the lawn and running toward her, waving both arms in the air. He looked like a crazy person as he grew closer to her, though this really wasn't anything new. The neighbors already thought they were nuts. Why not act the part?

"Something is really wrong with this picture.", Kori noted, wiping her face with a towel. "I just jogged across half the county and yet you're the one standing here gasping for breath. What's the matter with you?"

"I have.... some bad news.", Kenta told her frantically.

"It could not possibly be worse than your other bad news.", she replied in a obvious reference to Hitomi coming to stay with them.

Kenta looked quite shaken up that morning. His entire body was trembling and he was struggling for every breath that he took. Something definitely wasn't right. Kori could see that much. Though what he was about to tell her, she never could anticipated.

"We've.... we've been robbed.", he said finally.

"You say that every month, but when I tell you to cancel the cable....."

"Not that. Seriously, somebody broke in."

Kori studied his face a moment, trying to make sense of what he was saying. She hadn't yet spoken, however. Instead she just stood there with a blank expression covering her sweat-drenched face.

"Mika and I.... we were upstairs when we heard the window shatter.", Kenta started. "Of course I wanted to go down and confront them, but Mika.... she was afraid. I could see it in her eyes. She didn't want me to go. So we hid in the closet until things quieted down. We never saw who did it, but they.... they smashed everything."

As he spoke, Kenta's mind began to play back those minutes passed. He had watched Kori leaving down the driveway for her jog, noticing soon after the wicked smile that spread over his daughter's face. Baseball bats in hand and morality nowhere in sight, she and Kenta destroyed their home. He recalled the joy so clearly as it lit up in Mika's eyes. The little girl looked as happy as a rat in a cheese factory as she smashed her mom's beloved crystal vase against the floor. She giggled uncontrollably watching her father tear through the fabric of their sofa with a dull kitchen knife. And when she tossed a hammer through the air and gazed on as it smashed the screen of their television, Mika was on top of the world. Just as Kenta figured, the middle child was more than willing to unleash her destructive side at his request. After all, she'd done this often enough behind his back. It was about time he put her delinquency to good use.

And what was the point of this strange father-daughter activity? The way Kenta figured it, if the two of them simply wrecked the place and told Kori they'd been robbed, Hitomi would be off the hook. His wife would assume the robbers took her jewelery and everything would work out perfectly. Insane? You bet, but their plan did have potential to work..... provided Kenta played these next few minutes as convincingly as possible.

"I'm so sorry, honey!", Kenta went on after returning from his momentary flashback. "I should've done something to stop them. This is our home and it's my job to protect it. I just thought.... no matter what, our child is more important. When I saw that primal fear spreading over Mika-chan's face, I just couldn't leave. It broke my heart."

Kenta was pouring it on awfully thick, but fortunately for him Kori hadn't picked up on that. She was already weary from her run. Then to have something like this thrown at her out of the clear blue sky; her brain hadn't had time to process much at all. In her right mind, she likely never would've bought into this. Kenta's acting was awful and he wouldn't have known subtlety if he fell over it. On that day though, her husband was quite capable of pulling the wool over her eyes.

"Now I want you to brace yourself.", he told her as he took hold of Kori's shoulders, beginning to lead her toward the house. "It not an easy sight to look at. Mika and I cleaned up what we could before you got back, but.... it's totaled. There's nothing we can do. Why, I don't even know what all those creeps took. It's just.... so difficult, you know?"

"It's broad daylight.", Kori noted as common sense started to rear it's ugly head.

"Uh.... those thieves.", Kenta started awkwardly. He was clearly thrown by this. "They're getting brave, aren't they? I guess as more and more people lose their jobs, they get desperate; do whatever they have to to survive. It's a tough world out there these days."

* * *

Kori Sato stood in horror surveying the wreckage that was once her lovely home. Entire minutes passed her by, but still she couldn't bring herself to move from the open doorway. She willed her legs forward, but alas they remained frozen solid; the horror lurking in the pit of her stomach having paralyzed her. It was nearly enough to bring tears to those typically baron eyes as the woman gazed through the destruction. Glass had been shattered, its remaining shards sparkling across the carpet like diamonds. The fabric of the couch had been torn, its stuffing ripped out. Pictures of their beloved family lay carelessly tossed; cracked and broken. Kori could hardly believe her eyes. How could this chaos really be the home she knew? It had only been an hour. How could something like this have happened?

It was difficult for her to get a grip on the mess of emotions that flowed through her that morning. Kori felt rage, sadness, loss, and fear all pulsing through her veins at the exact same moment. She didn't know what to say or do, what she should think, or how she should feel. It all came as such a shock, seeing all that they worked for destroyed. Kenta's wife took such pride in her home. It was always spotless, cleaned to perfection like something from the pages of a magazine. One of her greatest joys in life was to take her friends through and watch as the awe spread through each of their faces. To see that image of perfection faded like this, it was enough to break her down both mentally and emotionally. It was just so wrong.

Though some husbands would've felt guilt seeing the one they loved in this much pain, Kenta was in a way over joyed. It was working! That pain that washed over Kori's tanned face like an ocean's wave, it was proof that his plan was near success. He and Mika had sold it perfectly. Now all they had to do was keep up the act a little longer.

While Kori remained horrified, Kenta snuck quietly over to the torn couch. On it he saw Mika glancing around with a grin. She was admiring their handy work, but this truly wasn't the time. If Kori caught on then this would all be over. Her emotional pain would quickly be replaced by Kenta's own physical pain and he just couldn't have that!

"Now remember, Mika, we were robbed.", Kenta reminded his daughter while kneeling down in front of her.

"Oh my gosh, what did they take?!", she cried in horror.

"You've been sniffing Papa's highlighters again, haven't you?"

Of course Mika was only screwing with him, but under such intense stress, Kenta couldn't quite see that.

"We are the robbers.", he whispered. "Remember? Broken glass, busted antique china.... you spiking our wedding picture in the driveway like a football?"

"I'm going to Disney Land!", she cried, as if having won the Super Bowl.

"Entirely possible, because if your mother finds out, we just might land there!"

With his partner in crime taken care of, Kenta gradually made his way back over to Kori. With a look of fake sympathy on his face, the man took her hand gently into his own and sighed.

"Terrible, isn't it?", he asked.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing.", Kori replied. "I mean.... who would do such a thing? We worked so hard. Everything was just as we wanted it and now it's all gone. They made a mockery of our home and our family."

Kenta said nothing, simply tried to look supportive. The less he said, the less chance he had of blowing this.

"You're sure you didn't see anything?", she wondered.

"Nothing. Mika and I hid when we heard them come in. It was all we could do. You know I couldn't leave her alone."

Kori nodded in agreement, but still something didn't quite sit right with her. It was difficult to put her finger on it, but there was something nagging at her. Some little detail that screamed 'giant dirty foul'.

"Why would someone be stupid enough to do this in the middle of the day?", she pondered. "The sun is up, cars are passing, the neighbors are out...."

And there it was, that one piece of the puzzle that just didn't fit!

"The neighbors!", Kori cried out, temporarily startling her husband. "They must've seen something! Like the man across the street. When I came home, he was outside pruning that patch of weeds he thinks looks good."

Instinctively, Kori started to rush back through the door to ask, but Kenta quickly stopped her. He had no choice after all. The man grabbed both of her arms, spinning his wife back around to face him. Though he wasn't exactly sure how he planned to talk her out of such a logical step, he had to come up with something. If Kori went in search of the truth.... well, she just might find it and that was unacceptable.

"Old man Clemons?", Kenta asked, pointing through the window to the elderly gentleman across the street. "Are you sure that's such a good idea? His eye sight can't be what it used to be and.... do you remember the day we moved in? We waved and he comes charging at us, swinging a trash can lid and a golf club? Seriously, the guy is cookoo for Coco Puffs."

"That reminds me," Mika chimed in from the couch. "Am I ever getting any breakfast today?"

Kenta had completely forgotten that she'd missed out. Hitomi took the other kids out to eat, but Mika had stayed behind to help him make a fool of her mother.

"Tell you what, honey.", Kenta began to his wife. "I'll handle Mika's breakfast. Why don't you run upstairs and see what all was taken? It looks like our room was hit the hardest. I've been so.... so torn up over the whole mess, I haven't had a chance to really look around."

The mischievous man waited quietly for his wife to disappear. She took those stairs slowly, her heart still aching inside her, but eventually she did fade from sight. The second the coast was clear, Mika sprang from the couch, darting over to her father to give him a high five.

"We did it!", she cried!

Although there was a small part of her that didn't quite understand why. True she enjoyed trashing the place, but when she saw the look on her mom's face just then, it had bothered her to some degree. Mika had a dark side, but she was not heartless. The girl loved her family and didn't like what their actions had done to Kori.

"But....", Mika began in a softer voice, "Are you sure we should've?"

"I know it feels wrong to you.", admitted her dad. "I didn't like that look in your mama's eyes anymore than you did. Still, you have to look at the big picture. By staging this robbery, you saved an old woman's life today.", he told her, referring to Hitomi. "You're a hero, Mika-chan!"

"What about Mama?"

"It won't be that bad.", Kenta lied. "We can clean up the mess and she'll be....."

"Oh sweet Lord! My babies!", they heard Kori cry out from upstairs when she discovered her beloved jewelery missing. "The humanity! Why couldn't you have taken me instead?! They were too young to go!"

".... fine.", Kenta muttered, finishing his previous sentence.

* * *

Kenta was quite proud of himself as he went strutting up the living room stairs. A cocky smile covered the man's face and his eyes were all a glow with satisfaction. His plan, crazy as it was, had worked perfectly. Hitomi was off the hook for hawking his wife's jewelery and Kori would be floating on cloud nine once she saw the insurance check. There was no possible way things could go wrong. Or at least that's what he thought until passing through the open door of his upstairs bedroom. The sight of Kori with the phone in her hand caused his heart to skip a beat. Yes, Kenta thought he was cruzing on easy street, but it appeared he'd just hit a road block.

"Kori, no!", Kenta cried out in a panic. "What are doing?!"

"I'm ordering a pizza. You want your usual?", answered his chronically sarcastic wife. "What do you think I'm doing? Calling the cops!"

With a gasp, Kenta dashed across the floor and snatched the small black phone right out of her hand.

"What is your problem?", she demanded.

"You.... you can't call the police!"

"Our home was broken into, nearly everything we own was destroyed, and I am missing thousands of dollars worth of jewelery. Who would you like me to call? The psychic hotline?! Give me the damn phone!"

Logically Kori was right. Had she called the cops, they could've dusted for prints and had at least a slight chance of catching the creep who did it. The problem was that said creep was standing about two feet away from her! Kenta couldn't risk the chance of being discovered. How would he ever explain to them that he'd robbed his own house? And worse yet, how would he explain to Kori what his motives were? No, somehow he had to keep her from dialing that phone.

"Really honey, what's the point of filing a police report?", he asked. "You know what'll happen. They pace around the house for a minute or two, take down our information, and about five minutes later they'll be wiping their mouths with it down at the Burger Barn! It's a waste of time!"

"So what would you have me do? Simply allow this insult to go unpunished? I won't do it! I can't! Those people invaded our home. They deserve to rot behind bars!"

"Statistically they almost never catch these guys. I know you want them to fry and I don't blame you, but face it. You've got better odds in Vegas."

For a time, Kori just lowered her eyes and stared blankly at the floor. She thought over and over the unfortunate situation, but ultimately she kept returning to that same conclusion. Kenta was right. She watched the news, she knew the statistics. The odds of the police actually catching the guilty party in a case like this were slim to none. Kori wanted so badly to deny that, but frustrating as it was, she just couldn't. Calling them would've been wasted effort. Eventually she just tossed the phone onto the bed and allowed herself to sink back against the wall.

"I don't believe this.", she sighed. "I'm powerless. My home was invaded, my family was violated, and my hands are tied! It's not fair! The legal system claims they'll be there and then when you really need them, you're on your own!"

Kenta didn't speak. This was one of those times it was best to just let her rant. It was odd, but after two or three hours of shouting, Kori always seemed to feel better. It was as if the sound of her own voice calmed her! Of course as he stood there with his hands buried in the pockets of a pair of dress pants, Kenta couldn't help but feel bad for her. She was taking this far more personally than he'd planned. Still, he couldn't back track. This had been the wrong thing to do, but he'd done it for the right reasons. He was protecting his mother. All jokes aside, if Kori found out the truth, Hitomi would've likely been on the street. Kenta had no choice but to cover up what she'd done the only way that he knew how.

"I hate this feeling.", Kori went on. "Knowing that someone was in my house, going through my things, making a mockery of everything that I stand for. And the worst part is, I can't do a damn thing about it! They are out there somewhere laughing at me and I have to stand here and take it. The police won't catch them, we can't find them, so my only choice is to turn my head and act like nothing happened. You know me, Kenta. I can't do that! I am not wired that way! Somebody crosses me and I run them down. That's who I've always been. I am nobody's victim! But here I am with my back literally against the wall, forced to accept this crap. This.... God, I hate this!"

There was a voice in Kenta's head crying out for him to stop this madness; tell Kori the truth and ease her pain. Had he stood there with her any longer, he actually might have done it too. Hence why he turned his back. It had been his doing. He couldn't stay there and listen to her vent over a pain he was putting her through. It would have broken him down. And so he took off out the door, leaving no time for Kori to call after him. He couldn't have stopped, even if she'd asked him to. Kenta had to get out before his heart took over and forced him to come clean with her.

* * *

Nearly an entire day had passed and Kori still couldn't shake that uneasy feeling that comes with a home invasion. Though she knew it was irrational, the woman had caught herself looking over her shoulder, glancing around corners, and listening for noises. Yes, she knew that the 'thieves' were long gone, but a part of her could still feel them there. Every time she looked at something they'd smashed, that same feeling of dread would come back to her. Someone had been inside those walls, a stranger. Just the thought of it left a not in the pit of her stomach.

These weren't the only feelings making their way through Kori's body that night though. As she moved quickly through the upstairs hallway with a laundry basket under one arm, she couldn't help feeling uncertain of it all. It wasn't clear to her why, but a voice in her head kept telling her to stop. Something about Kenta's story wasn't quite adding up. This had been present inside of her for most of the day, though Kori often dismissed it. It wasn't until she reached her daughter Mika's room that the doubtful whispers in her head grew to all out screams.

"Mika-chan," she began while heading toward the dresser to drop of some freshly folded clothes, "What happened here today?"

The question obviously took Mika by surprise. It was all they'd talked about in those past hours. Why would her mother want to rehash it all of a sudden?

"I know we've been over this, but.... something doesn't fit.", Kori continued. "Maybe I'm just being silly, but I've got this feeling. Like I'm.... I'm missing the boat somewhere."

Now Mika Sato wasn't new to the lying game. Far from it, actually. She'd lied about her grades, brushing her teeth, cleaning her room, and who had spilled grape juice across the rug. Still she couldn't fight off the fear lurking inside when she glanced up at her mother. This lie wasn't like her others. Before that, Mika's tall-tales had always been on a more infantile level. This time, however, it was like she'd gone from shooting hoops in the driveway to playing in the WMBA. This lie tossed her into the big-time and no matter how much of a trouble-maker she was, the girl just wasn't ready for that.

Over the years, Kori had become quite fluent in her daughter's body language. Like any parent, she could tell when her children were hiding something from her, at least most of the time. Kori wasn't even looking for those tattle-tale signs that night. The longer she stood there though, the woman couldn't help noticing them. The second she'd asked that question, Mika's eyes had darted to the floor. A smirk was present on the kid's face, though she was getting better at hiding that, the older she got. And then came her pitiful attempts to avoid the situation all together. She, like her dad, would often try to disappear when things got tough. Kenta had been successful dashing out his bedroom door earlier, but Mika wasn't so lucky.

"Oh gee, look at the time!", Mika cried out. "I've got dishes to dry, a shower to take, homework to do...."

"School doesn't start for another week.", reminded Kori.

"Uh.... extra credit?"

"This from the girl who knows George Washington as 'that old guy who sells mattresses on his birthday'. Extra credit?! How drunk do you think I am?"

Mika kept hoping her dad would walk past that open doorway. She needed back-up. With a lie this size, the seven-year-old just couldn't handle the stress on her own. Kenta believed in her and honestly thought she could handle it. And maybe she could have, had her mother not cut her off from the herd, so to speak. With her dad there, Mika probably could've sold it. All alone though, she was ready to cave under the pressure.

Unsure of what else to do, Mika jumped off of her bed and made a quick dash for the door. Sadly, not quick enough. Kori shifted to the right, blocking her path.

"Hold on there, Mika.", her mom said, standing in the doorway. "I smell a rat!"

"No, it's probably just left-overs from that dinner you scraped off the highway."

"Cute. Now why don't you tell me what you're hiding? I knew something was off about this whole thing. That voice in my head kept bugging me and now I see why."

Sure Mika had been caught. There was no denying that. What Kori had forgotten was that her little girl was as stubborn as a mule. As the two of them stood there, that tiny room fell to silence. Mika didn't make a sound. She wouldn't have either and once Kori thought about it, she realized that. The girl was just like her. Neither one would ever give up on anything. If she, as the grown up, hadn't kept pushing, they'd have been standing there until the sun came up.

"Okay look, you already screwed up. So you might as well come clean.", Kori told her. "It wasn't just you either. Whatever this is, your father's in on it. So don't feel bad. He started digging his own grave hours ago. First he tells me that you were too afraid to be alone during the break-in. I cannot believe I didn't catch that sooner! You?! Afraid?! The girl who's convinced 'Halloween H20' should've included a laugh track?! I don't think so. Secondly, thieves go two-stepping up my driveway in the middle of the day, the neighbors are out, yet your papa convinces me that they saw nothing. Phantom burglarers! Damn it, I saw that on the news!", she said with obvious sarcasm. "And when I tried to call the cops, Kenta nearly had himself a litter of kittens! So you see, Mika, all I really need from you are the details. Kenta's already given me enough evidence. Fool I was, I just didn't pay any attention until now."

The evidence had been presented, but still Mika's lips were zipped. She just stood there beneath those bright lights of her bedroom, staring up at her mother. She was no longer afraid. After all, the two of them had already been caught. Still, she wasn't quite ready to give her dad up. Kori had over-looked one very important detail.

"He's paying you, isn't he?", the mother asked, when at last it dawned on her.

Mika said nothing, but the wicked smile on her face proved to Kori that she assumed right.

"Figures. Kenta recruits the only one of my children who would rat me out to the IRS for fifty cents and a Snickers bar.", Kori huffed, exaggerating for effect, but still not far from the truth. "How much?"

"Twenty.", she whispered in a sweet, yet guilty as sin tone of voice.

"I'll give ya fifty to sell him down the river.", came Kori's counter-offer.

"He's covering for Grandma!", Mika declared joyfully, not missing a beat.

"That's my girl!"

Finally they were getting somewhere! Now all Kori had to do was pry the rest out of her. From the look on her face, the mother guessed that wouldn't be too difficult.

"She's the thief!", Mika continued. "She took your jewelery and sold it on Ebay because....."

"You can stop now, Pat.", Kori joked. "I think I'd like to solve the puzzle."

Having known Kenta for so long, she didn't really need the rest of it. Kori's mind was already starting to fill in the blanks. Her husband's loyalty to Hitomi had driven him off the deep end. Oh why hadn't she considered that sooner?!

"Hitomi sold my jewelery so her little baby boy could stop crying about late hours.", Kori began. "So then Kenta decides to stage a robbery to cover the old bat's ass. And because he's too lazy to do the dirty work himself, he drags you into it because he knew that Mei and Hiro would sell him out in a heart beat. Am I get'n warm?"

Mika, still conflicted, didn't speak up at first. Of course she wanted the money and had no problem giving up her father to earn it. The issue was that if she confirmed her mother's theory, than she too would be guilty by association.

"So what are you saying?", Mika eventually asked, still trying not to come off as the guilty party.

"I'm saying.... you two crazy asses vandalized your own house!"

"Hey, leave me out'a this! I'm innocent until proven guilty!"

"Man, you really are new in this country, aren't you?"

Kori just shook her head with a smile. Of course Mika had been involved, but the child really wasn't her target that evening. No, she had much bigger fish to fry.

"Relax, Mika-chan.", her mother assured. "You're not in trouble here. Sure you helped, but it's your father and grandmother I'm concerned with. They're old enough to know better. You just go to sleep. I'll pay you off for the intel in the morning. And if your father asks, we never had this discussion. I want him to sweat it out just a little bit longer."

With that, Kori turned and headed back out the door. Even when the sound of her footsteps had faded, Mika could still hear the faint sound of her mom's laughter lingering in the hallway.

"I should really get some morals.", Mika said to herself, considering she'd just taken advantage of not one, but two parents. "Not gonna, but I should."

* * *

The following afternoon Kenta lay peacefully on his torn sofa, legs propped up and ego flying high. There had been a couple close calls, but he'd gotten away with it. Hitomi was safe, his wife would soon be pacified by the insurance money, and the only real victim had been their home. The room around him still looked like a war zone, but at that moment Kenta didn't care. He just took a sip from his soda can and breathed a content sigh.

Moments later, he heard the sound of familiar footsteps. Glancing over, he noticed his wife passing through the room with a chainsaw resting on her shoulder.

"What are you up to?", he asked, just glad to see things getting back to normal.

"Oh, I thought I'd take care of that tree branch out back.", she said calmly. "Then I'm off to take care of your mother."

"Thanks, babe.", Kenta called, completely oblivious to what she'd said.

It wasn't until he heard the roar of the chainsaw echoing off the walls of their home that it dawned on him.

"Oh crap!", he shouted, suddenly sitting up; eyes wide and heart racing. She knew!

----------------------------
Writer's Notes:
In the first scene, Kori referred to her husband as "Kenta-kun" as opposed to "-san". She was belittling him there. Kun is the Japanese honorific for young boys, so she was basically calling him a child.

Hitomi mentioning to Hiro that Kenta liked Blue in the Goranger series was actually a real life reference. Kenta's actor, Hiroshi Miyauchi, was the one who played blue (AoRanger) in that series. I've seen sitcoms work that sort of thing in before, so I thought I would as well.

Hitomi calling Hiro a "little Senshi" is a Sentai thing. A single member of a Sentai team is called a Senshi.