Disclaimers: I don't own any of the Weiss Kreuz characters portrayed in this fic and no profit is being made from its writing.
The cake was exactly as she had wanted it. but then, she'd had no reason to think it would be otherwise. Hadn't she even given papa a visual aid, a drawing that she'd made herself? She'd spent the better part of the morning perfecting it, breaking her favorite pink crayon twice during the process. In the end, it had been worth it though. Here the cake was, come to life so to speak.
"Happy birthday Nanami." Candle flames were reflected in Papa's glasses as he lit each in turn. Five, there were five candles this year, one for every year of her life. She watched him shake the still lit match, creating enough of a breeze to extinguish it. He tossed it aside, still smoking before smiling to her. "Okay now, make a wish."
She took in a deep breath...deeper...deeper. In one rush of exhaled breath, she'd blown all five candles out. A delighted squeal escaped her as tiny hands clapped together. That breath had an important wish riding on it this year. It was the same wish she'd made last year, at the age of four, the age where she couldn't inhale enough to get that one last candle to go out...
A very important wish...one that any little girl would make. It was a wish that her mother would be well again, and not constantly in a bed behind an oak door that was always locked.
"This is from Mama." A box was placed on Nanami's lap, wrapped in shiny silver with a pink bow. She wasted no time in opening it either, bits of silver paper dancing in the air before floating to the earth like stars. "A bunny! Papa, I love him!" She pulled the stuffed rabbit out, placing him on her lap with two arms wrapped tightly around it. "I love him, I think I'll call him...Rabbi-chan!"
Her father chuckled softly, glancing up from cutting a piece of her special birthday cake and placing on a plate. "I think Rabbi-chan is a fine name. It suits him well." He slid the plate over to her with a wink. "Now be a good girl, eat your cake." He stood up, adjusting his tie before glancing to the clock on the wall. "Damn, I'm going to be late." He looked back to Nanami, a gentle smile given to her already pouting face. "Nanami, you know Daddy has appointments to keep. But it's not like I'm ever far. Just a few rooms away." A placating smile was given to the child before he was out of the room, off to greet the visitors who would surely be in soon.
Nanami had only told one other person about her home, and her Papa's job, and that had been the woman at the ice cream parlor. Nanami, being on her best behaviour while waiting for Papa to order their sundaes, explained to the woman that they only had time for one scoop, as there would be a dead body arriving at their house at any moment, and it was Papa's job to make them look pretty and dress them up, and have them all ready when their families came. Nanami hadn't, and still didn't, understand why the woman had left in such a hurry after that.
Nanami coo'd softly to herself in the minutes following Papa's abrupt departure. She turned Rabbi-chan to face her on her lap, running her finger through the pink icing of her cake to smear it across the toy's stitched mouth. She giggled, kissing the bunny affectionately before looking across the table.
The five candles were still smoking. She'd done it, she'd blown out all five with only one breath. Surely her wish would come true this year. Hadn't Mama once told her that if you wish for something hard enough, it will come true? Especially on birthdays, when all sorts of wonderful things were possible.
"Nanami-chan, Mama is waiting for you."
Nanami blinked, a soft gasp escaping those cherry blossom pink lips as she looked around quickly. She turned around in her chair, Rabbi-chan sliding from her lap as those wide blue-grey orbs scanned the room. There was no one else there. Nanami had heard a voice for certain, but there was no one else there, no one but her and...
Nanami turned her head, looking down at the stuffed animal on the floor. His shiny black eyes seemed to glimmer, as if somehow alive. Slowly, she slid from her chair, crouching down beside the fallen bunny.
"You talked. I heard you." Waves of teal tresses fell across her shoulder as she tilted her head. She picked the rabbit up again in both hands, holding it out at arm's length as she studied its cotton filled face.
"Special things happen on birthdays Nanami-chan. You know that. Go to Mama. Your wish came true, and she's waiting for you."
Nanami blinked again, slowly bringing the rabbit against her body. She hugged it tightly as she thought over what it had "said". Papa had forbidden her to see Mama since she'd fallen ill, and had never allowed her to even peek beyond the heavy oak door. But today was special. Nanami was five years old today. And she'd blown out every last one of her candles.
"Mama!" Nanami's heart raced as she ran from the room, past the double doors where people often entered and left sobbing, dressed in black. She held onto the banister as she climbed the steep steps, Rabbi-chan tucked securely beneath her arm. Mama was at the end of the hall at the top of the steps. Mama was behind the heavy oak door. Mama wanted to see her.
The room was dark, and she hugged Rabbi-chan tightly in front of her. Nanami, while old enough to start school in the fall, was still afraid of the dark. She might have turned and fled, without seeing Mama, had shards of light from the hallway not fell across the room.
In the center, against the wall, was a large bed. Mama had to be there, and was maybe even still sleeping. As she stepped into the room, she was hit by a pungent scent, something sweet yet sickening, like incense masking something else. She frowned, bringing her rabbit up to cover the lower part of her face and protect it from the smell. Another step, and she could see something that renewed her hope.
A pale, delicate hand rested on the side of the bed. There was no doublt about it. That was Mama's hand.
Nanami cried out joyously, tiny black mary janes echoing on the hardwood floor as she ran away from the door and its light into the darkness that held her mother.
"Mama!" Nanami crawled into the bed, instantly snuggling against her side. The scent was stronger here, and she buried her face against her mother's gown to block it out. It didn't help though. If anything, it only made it worse.
"Mama?" Nanami's voice was barely a whisper as she looked up to her mother's face. Her mother was so quiet, so still...maybe her wish hadn't had enough time to fully come true yet. She sat up on the bed, both hands slowly reaching out to touch her mother's face, to hold her cheeks and plant kisses all over them.
She instantly withdrew them. Mama's face felt funny. It wasn't as soft as Nanami remembered, it was tight and withered and withdraw. It felt like the expensive leather shoes Papa always wore when greeting mourners. Again, the scent was stronger. Nanami, despite all her innocence, was quickly becoming aware that something was very very wrong.
The soft light from the doorway was suddenly stronger, and it fell across her mother's face. She knew from the creak of unoiled hinges that someone had pushed it open. She knew from quick footsteps that Papa was the one who'd done it. But she was unable to look away from Mama.
"Nanami. You've been a very bad girl."
His eyes held something deeper, more horrible than anger. Madness was etched deep into his features now, contorting his face into something monstrous. Her child's heart shouldn't have been able to hold that much fear. She should have died on the spot from the cold grip of it. But she didn't. She instead found herself scrambling off of Mama's bed, mary janes pounding against the floor. She heard her father's voice calling out after her, felt the anger that laced it. She kept her eyes focused on the stairs, tiny fingers grasping one of Rabbi-chan's ears for dear life. If she could just make it to the stairs...
She made it and couldn't stop. The tears streamed down her face as she tumbled down step after step, coming to a partially broken heap at the foot of them. She was breathing heavily, eyes sliding to see the figure at the top of the steps. She screamed again and again, but blackness claimed her before he made it down the first step.
Mama's arms were around her. She was holding her like she had when Nanami was three, when Mama was well. They were holding her, loving and strong, and Nanami felt safe again. At that moment, she was sure she was dreaming. Nanami smiled softly, pressing herself against her mother, letting the coldness move from her body into her own.
She blinked softly. She remembered her mother as always being warm. She raised her head, the only part of her body that wasn't aching. Her eyes were wide open...but it was still so dark.
"Mama?"
The scent. It was back. But it was so much worse this time. Nanami gagged, stomach forcing its contents up her throat and spilling out her mouth. The pink birthday cake, so sweet going down, was now acidic and rancid as it spilled over her dress. Nanami began to scream again, throat raw and painful. She pounded her fists in quick succession against the padded darkness around her. Time was frozen in this darkness, and the air was growing thin.
"Nanami-chan. Don't cry. Mama is with you."
"Rabbi-chan..." Nanami whimpered like a wounded animal as she groped the darkness for her newest friend, her gift from Mama. She pulled it close to her, laying her head back against the satin pillow she shared with her dead mother.
"Nanami-chan. Close your eyes. It's okay."
Masafumi Takatori had long ago made the transition from vivisecting live animals to dead humans. And it would only be a matter of time before he moved on to living humans. But he was no butcher, for God's sakes. He was a man of science. And his genius would change the world.
He strode confidently across the moonlit graveyard, looking for what appeared to be the most recent. Finally, one was chosen, and he thrust his shovel into the earth. He pushed a few strands of hair back from his forehead, a soft smile given to his assistant. She was a bright woman, deeply devoted, and she understood him and his work.
"This one looks good. The earth has been freshly turned."
The woman nodded and they began re-digging the grave, eager to unearth the cadaver hidden away in a shiny polished treasure chest.
"Beautiful." Masafumi's voice and face were full of awe as he ran his hand across its smooth surface. He motioned for the woman to turn on her flashlight as he opened it, not bothering to cover his nose and mouth from the scent within.
He could hear a sharp gasp escape his assistant, a sound of sorrow, shock, or both. But to Masafumi Takatori, this was a jackpot. Not one, but two bodies for his night's work.
"A mother and child. Tragic."
The woman shook her head and flipped off her flashlight, not wishing to linger. Masafumi was in truth, glad. He didn't wish her to see the smile that touched his lips.
He reached into the casket, to get the smaller, undoubtedly stiff body first. He nearly dropped the child in surprise. She wasn't stiff at all. She was limber, and warm, and had the subtle movements of breathing. Her jerked his head up, about to say something to the woman just as the child was stirring.
"Papa...?"
The woman's eyes went wide, a hand coming up to stifle her scream. Despite all that she'd seen, this was the closest she'd came to ever passing out. After Masafumi's brief shock passed, the smile that had touched him before now became full blown.
"Well. Look what I've found Aoi. A little dead girl."