Disclaimer: Angelic Layer is owned by Clamp.

Your Face Under the Moonlight

Chapter One- Your Problems are Mine

The sound of noisy clamoring in the kitchen made Misaki's pen stop from scribbling. The mere thought of her mother attempting to complete chores in her current state pricked her innocent heart. Her mother's health had been slowly worsening day by day; although Misaki's presence facilitated in keeping her heartbeat beating, no human can avoid the inevitable grasp of death. Moreover, the doctor had discovered that her layer battles and the preliminary training she was "enjoying" had worsened her condition tremendously- more than Misaki could painfully imagine. Misaki fully understood this, and she was determined to extend her mother's life somehow, and was willing to accept any helpful proposals in achieving it. Icchan was, surprisingly, more committed to this goal than herself! He visited her frequently, pushing aside his job almost entirely in his efforts to do so.

Misaki immediately rushed to assist her mother, a face of worry on her young face. She found her standing on her toes, her long arms reaching up for something inside the kitchen cabinets. Misaki walked up to her, standing beside her in case something happened. "Okaa-san, I have lunch taken care of," she said to her mother calmly. "The doctor said to avoid doing chores around the house…"

Shuuko finally found the plates she had been reaching for. She smiled gently at her daughter, whose eyes looked up at her pleadingly. "I just suddenly had this urge to make you this dish you had always loved as a child," said she, who was evidently in a merry mood. But in reality, she was dissembling her crying soul, crying because of her beautiful child before her, who was soon to be tortured by loneliness once again. She had to endure it once before, when she had abandoned the poor child in order to find a way to walk properly once again, for her. I want to make the most of it while I still can, with my daughter, she thought to herself, making larger the smile that she plastered on her thin lips.

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Icchan left the hospital, heavily saddened. He knew he should have anticipated bad news from Shuuko's doctor, but perversely, he continued to maintain an optimistic attitude about it. As consequence, he left with a more onerous heart than that which he came with earlier.

"Shuuko-sama has a rare disease that we have yet to find a cure for. Her health is extremely frail to be honest with you. But please, have her keep taking the medication we recommended in addition to more frequent doctor visits," he remembered the doctor explain to him.

Towards the drive home, he continued to ruminate about his life with Shuuko. Since the last tournament with her daughter, she had avoided closing the emotional gap between him and her. She did allow him to visit her whenever he wished, and had walks together during the afternoons. Looking at her face made him suffer too, because it had a face of agony and kind rejection for the questions that he kept hidden inside his heart. Like why she was subtly refusing his love for her. She seemed to know his thoughts as they flowed inside him, and she would smile sadly to him… and to his wonderful thoughts of marriage.

He parked his car outside Shoko's house and rang the doorbell. It slowly opened, Misaki's head poking out from the other side. Instantly she pulled open the door. He caught her doleful eyes and he asked if something had happened to Shuuko.

"Okaa-san is doing well. It's just…she seems unusually reserved today," she replied in a low voice. Shuuko's health was dragging her down to heavy sadness as well.

Icchan nodded, slightly agitated at that news. He pulled something out of his backpack and handed it to her carefully. "I'm really sorry for dropping her in the lake again, Misaki-chan. I finished repairing her so… I tell you she's in better shape than ever! Actually you should thank me for dropping her down the lake!"

Misaki's eyes widened. "Icchan-san! So you did do it on purpose! Poor Hikaru! I didn't know you were after murdering your own children! What kinds of things did you do to her? You had better not 'repaired' her so she can say bad words…or have to use the bathroom or something!"

Icchan put his hands before him in protest. "No, no… that's not what I meant. That reminds me…" He cleared his throat effectively. She looked up from her pitying eyes at her precious doll and blinked at him innocently. "Misaki, I think Oujirou wanted to meet with you somewhere. He wanted to 'brush up' on his skills so he asked me to bring Hikaru with you. See? I saved your love life! I deserve words of gratification for all this stuff I'm doing for a little kid like you. See I could be doing other things like…"

Misaki's face brightened upon hearing Oujirou's name and before Icchan could continue, he watched her stupidly as she ran upstairs to her room to grab something there. Thanking him gaily as she sped past him to leave, he was left there to blink foolishly at the door, which seemed to laugh at him in ridicule. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "A reminder for myself to purposely drop Hikaru down the lake a second time." He entered Shuuko's room, preparing himself for an undulation of rejection that always surrounded her. He found her watching television, her eyes vacant.

…and that would be a good place to stop. Wrote it while listening to First Love by Hikaru Utada. Tell me what you think. Review pleaaase!! Any suggestions are happilywelcomed by the author. I'm working on two other fics so it might be difficult to update frequently. Bare with me!

Thanks for reading my fic!