Hi.

I have been a bit busy lately and haven't posted.  I might be giving up the 
fic but I am not sure.  Again any comments or criticisms are welcome.

Second Chance at Love
Chapter Six Pain

	There has to be a good way to do this, doesn't there?  No, I guess there is 
no good way to divorce your wife.   It was three days after Ryoga and Ukyou 
met at the hotel and Ryoga was finally home.  His flight had been late and 
he had spent two nights in the airport hotel.
  	Ryoga and Akari were sitting in their home in Osaka.  It looked like a 
nice home and it had several souvenirs of Ryoga's past business trips.  
Ryoga wished that he were on one of his trips at the moment.  He wanted to 
be anywhere else in the world.  As much as he knew this had to be done, it 
did not make it any easier.
	He turned to face his wife, a sweet and caring woman.  She looked so much 
like she did when they married seven years ago but something was wrong. 
Ryoga could see circles around her eyes and suspected that she was not 
getting enough sleep.  She's probably been worrying about our marriage and 
she might even blame herself for all of our problems.
	"Akari, I know you're not happy.  I am not happy either."  He said it a bit 
too quickly to make sure that he said it without stopping and to make sure 
that she could not interrupt him	"Ryoga, I am happy. " Akari said.  She did 
not sound completely sincere and she also sounded a bit tired.
	"Akari, we have not been happy in years."  Ryoga paused for a moment.  The 
next sentence was not going to be easy to say.  "Akari, we should get 
divorced."
	The whole world seemed to stop for a moment.  The sudden silence in the 
room was shocking.   Akari looked hurt and sad.  "Is there someone else?"  
She asked.
     "Yes.  Even if there were not, we would still have to do this.   I know 
that we both have not been happy for years.  You know it too."
	Akari tried to deny it but she could not.  "I am sorry, Ryoga.  I haven't 
been a good wife."
      "Akari, this is as much my fault as yours.  It is probably even more 
my fault than yours."
	For a moment there was more uncomfortable silence before Ryoga finally 
said, "Akari, I am so sorry for this. I never wanted to hurt you."
	"Ryoga, I do love you but you are right.  We haven't been happy for years.  
I can't go on like this." They made plans to call lawyers the next day and 
start the processes.  He left the house and went to a hotel.
	A few days later, Ryoga, Akari, and the lawyers started the process of 
divorce.  Ryoga wanted to get this process over with as soon as possible.  
He also wanted to be fair to Akari.   He wasn't sure what Akari wanted.
    Akari did not know what she wanted either.  She couldn't deny the fact 
that their marriage was unhappy.   She had known that it was unhappy for 
years and had tried to make it better without success.
    The lawyers were, of course, the only happy people in the room.  They 
were getting well paid and hoped to milk the divorce for as long as 
possible.  Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Ryoga suggested that 
he would sell the business and split the profit equally with Akari. "It 
sounds fair to me." Akari said.
Her lawyer, a nondescript man, looked pale.  He asked to talk to her 
privately.   They walked into the kitchen and he said, "You could get more."
    "I don't want more.  Ryoga's offer is fair and I just want this to be 
over."  Akari said.  She wanted to start over and move on.  Perhaps she 
would start raising pigs again and buy her own pig farm.
Akari's lawyer looked at her and was about to say something when he realized 
that she was right.  Actually, The offer was pretty fair.  Also if he 
continued to press the issue, she'd fire him and he didn't want that.
    Back in the living room Ryoga's lawyer, a fairly average looking guy was 
not happy either.  "You don't have to give up so much."
    Ryoga stared at the man like he was a complete idiot and said, "I want 
to do this quickly.  If you can't help me, I'll find a lawyer who will."  
Ryoga was calm and soft spoken but the lawyer understood the threat.
    "As you wish."  Ryoga's lawyer said.  He seemed to shrink.
     Akari and her lawyer walked back into the living room. It was agreed 
that Akari would keep the house and Ryoga would have a local bank sell the 
business.  Akari's lawyer had insisted on that and Ryoga went along with it. 
  The finical concerns, at least, were settled.
    After the lawyers left, Ryoga asked "Akari, are you okay?"
She mumbled something and he asked her to repeat herself.  "I'm not okay.  
Just leave Ryoga."
     Not really sure what else he could do, Ryoga left. Back in the house, 
Akari felt alone.   She was wondering what she should do.  She was not happy 
about the divorce but she accepted it.  She still cared for Ryoga but their 
marriage hadn't worked out.
	Outside Ryoga lingered a moment, unsure what to do.  He had to go back to 
the hotel but he knew that Akari was not okay.   However, she asked him to 
leave and he wanted to respect that.
	After a few more indecisive moments, Ryoga went back to his hotel room.  He 
did not knock on the door.  'Maybe Akari needs to be alone for a while.  
She'll be okay.'



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