Simple Questions and Difficult Answers

Part 1: Never Understanding why I was taken

I heard the sound of water dripping in the background, I looked around the room and felt a little light headed. "Where am I?"

"You gave her too much," I heard a voice in the hall. "Crawford, you're lucky she isn't dead, we were told to bring her alive!"

The door opened and saw a man dressed in green, he looked rather angry and sat there. "Damn him, he never listens to a fucking word I tell him." He had green eyes and orange hair was long, he looked familiar, but I couldn't place his name. He smiled at me and then touched my head. "You're fine, this isn't about you."

Six Months Earlier

I used to be normal, that was what I always thought, I was normal, I was your average college student who was struggling to get by. I was 20 with dark green eyes and black hair was blue streaks, I had glasses and looked pretty normal on the outside. My name was Spica Gray, I was named after a star. I came from a normal middle class family, I was shy and quiet, I didn't have much in the way of money either. I worked at a local college bookstore to make ends meet and worked during the summer at my father's firm.

That was where I met these strange men, my father deals with a lot of people in Japan, I usually just helped out doing the filing in his office. I suppose it was a good job, I never liked having to deal with too many people and sometimes the stress would cause me to become horribly sick.

"What kind of name is Spica?" I heard a voice and turned around to see a man with orange hair leaning in a corner.

"I was named for a star that is in the constellation of Virgo, it is the brightest," I whispered and went back to work.

He smiled at me and then looked around. "This place doesn't suit you, not at all."

"It isn't the first time someone told me that," I turned and looked at him again. "Are you looking for something?"

The door opened and a man in white walked in, he looked like something out of a really bad cops movie. "Schuldich, quit pestering Ms. Gray, she has work to do," he said shortly and adjusted his glasses.

The man left and so did the other, I blinked and wondered who they were. My father told me when we got home that he had received a new business partner in Japan and that it would be a great experience for me. Father and I have traveled all over the world since I was a small. "We're going to Japan, I already had Crawford look for a college for you, he said that since your grades are above average you will be in the same college as his son."

"That's great dad," I knew what this led to, my father would arrange some sort of date between me and his new business partner's kid.

Four Months Latter

After my mother died, father and I lived alone, he worked all the time, that is how I remember it, but since we moved to Tokyo, things were going up hill fast. I was already put in a very high ranking college, in truth, the college I was to attend. I thought this was a little much, the boy my father was telling me about as his partner's son was just a boy that was adopted.

Crawford, who I learned was the partner seemed quite unpleasant and I avoided him when I could. Schuldich was another person, he seemed to lurk around the office all the time now, he offered food to me and sometimes took me out from work to do something he thought I would enjoy.

"You're not like those people out there," I heard him tell me. "I can't hear your thoughts, you're quiet and I like that about you."

Something was odd about this person, I nodded though, I think I was still thinking about something. He smiled at me and whispered. "Then again, I could read a little bit of your mind, your mother was murdered."

My eyes widened. "How?"

"You tell me, you were there."

Returning to the office, my father and Crawford were gone, I went home and sat down in my room. I buried my face in my knees and cried softly, I had not thought about my mother in over nine years. How could he have known?

When I got to class the next morning, I saw girls sitting down around me talking, we spoke Japanese and some of it was taught to me. I saw Nagi who was the youngest in the class and walked over to me. "I need to speak with, One-san," he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the hall and to a deserted classroom. "Where did Schuldich take you?"

"Just to a café, why?" I looked confused.

The boy looked over his shoulder. "You have to leave Tokyo, I can get you tickets to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave."

I was confused, I looked at the kid and then heard the warning bell. "I have class, I'll talk latter."

"It will be too late!"

Now here I am in a room drugged up I guess, I turned my head to see Schuldich. "I told Nagi to get you away from Crawford, now this," Schuldich sat there muttering to himself and then looked at me. "You're awake!"

I nodded slowly and tried to sit up, but my head was spinning. "Better stay down, girl, this stuff is potent." He was holding a bottle and then turned his head to see Nagi walking in with a tray.

"How is she? How is Firefly?"

Firefly? I blinked and looked around the room, I felt a flash of pain in my head and I saw Schuldich's hand fly up and hold me to him. "Stop trying to do anything, right now, the whole place will burn down if you don't listen to me. Just stay on the bed and I'll find something else for you."

I blinked and looked confused a gain, this time I was aware something was straining me again. "You know, she and her father have been on the run from Eszette a long time, why are we shielding them?" Nagi was sitting down on a chair.

"Crawford isn't protecting her or her father, her father's possibly already dead, I told you to get her the tickets and get her the hell out."

"She wouldn't listen to me," the boy was sputtering.

"You're giving me a headache," I growled and wanted to get up, that was when I saw some papers suddenly catch on fire.

Schuldich sighed and quickly put some water over the burning papers. "I told you to stay in bed. You're so stubborn." He sighed and looked at me again. "This time, you will listen to me, when I sent Nagi to tell you to stay away from me, I meant it, I don't need you walking into hell fire. Crawford just happened to find some way to get a hold of you and your father. I don't care what it means I have to do, you're not staying here."

"I don't think you have a right to say that, Schuldich, you have yet to report to me the extent of her powers," a heard a cold voice and turned my head to look up at Crawford. "Well?"

"Her powers are stress related, she's useless to us, just let me wipe her mind and…"

"She will be of help to us, for that I am certain."

I just sat there staring as Crawford left the room. "You stay in here, and don't leave without either Nagi or myself with you," Schuldich walked out after Crawford, leaving me with Nagi.

He glared at the burned out papers and then looked at me with cold indigo eyes. "If you are as distructive as this, hope you live through this."

I just lay back down and couldn't believe this was happening to me of all people, I am normal, I am normal, nothing special, I kept reminding myself, but this what I told myself since I was child. That was when I saw Schuldich walk in. "Stop telling yourself that stuff, you're not normal, and I don't think it matters what you tell yourself. You're stuck here with us until we figure something out."

"We?"

"Yes, you and I, I'm not having you dragged along into our personal hells, after all, you don't seem the type. Even if you did kill your mother, it was accidental and in selfdefense."

"You said I killed her."

"I lied, I hate lying to people, but I thought that since you believed it was murder, you might as well still think it. It might save you the pain of knowing the truth," he smiled slightly. "I knew from the moment I met you that you were able to do this, I mean, what kind of person would hide this long from what she was and still live with herself?"

I sat there trembling, I just wondered if everything was the truth. "I have no reason to lie to you, Spica, you're the first person who keeps everyone else's minds away."

A week past since I was kidnapped, I returned to school, but in truth, I felt more afraid then ever before. Schuldich pretended to hate me, but when I saw him, mental messages would appear and he would tell me to go on like nothing was going on. I did my best, that was until I started to see a man with brown hair and brown eyes following me. /Just ignore him, get to my car/ I heard Schuldich instruct me, that was when I was grabbed from behind and noticed a boy with ginger hair holding up my book bag.

"You dropped this," he held up my bookbag and smiled at me.

"Thank you," I smiled at him and he bowed running off. I blinked and walked to the car.

"Let me see your bag," I heard Schuldich and I handed it to him. He drove a few miles and found a strange thing in the bag. "Tracers," he tossed it onto the street and drove over it. "Spica, be more careful and don't drop your stuff like that, one it is dangerous and two, have you ever heard of identity theft?"

"Don't sound like my father, he flipped out when I lost my wallet at my ex-boyfriend's house." I sighed and looked rather angry. "Damn it, they're gone." I searched the bag for something and then saw Schuldich holding them up. "Give those back."

"What are those?" He blinked and suddenly something flashed in his eyes. "Tarot? Don't tell me you believe in this stuff?"

"That was my mother's deck!" I grabbed them and held them. "I don't really, but they are sentimental."

He sighed and shook his head. "Don't understand it, but then again, I never knew my family. Just do me a favor and hide those from Crawford, he knew you had these, he'd take them from you, the asshole collects them."

I was never allowed to move around the house alone, that was the rule that Schuldich put in place when I first arrived, either Nagi or himself would be with me. There was something in the house they wanted to keep away from me, I had only seen Crawford's office once or twice since my stay and the first time was not pleasant. He had scolded me about not being at his car after class on time. He had this monochromatic way of thinking and it made me angry when he told me his time was precious.

He sat there in his chair and I could see the Tarot cards in his collection displayed. "I don't think scolding you about almost being kidnapped by our rivals is really needed, Schuldich already pampers you enough. I will stress that I will not have secrets kept from me, if you have something, say that Tarot deck in your bag, I would presume that you will not part with it willingly." He rolled the chair back a little and stood up. "Let me see it."

He knew, I could tell why, most precogs were like that, my mother was one too. I reached into my bag and pulled out the deck. "Not what I expected, but none the less I have this one already, keep it," he whispered and turned his head. "I suppose your mother never bothered to tell you anything about me did she?"

"I don't know what you are talking about, she never spoke about you, nor would I expect her to." I wanted to run, but then I saw him come a little closer.

He came up a little closer, his eyes were on mine. "You don't recall having a big brother do you?"

My back was against the door. "I don't know what you are talking about. It has always been my father and I."

He smiled at me and cocked his head to the side. "Of course they wouldn't tell you, after all, they did not want someone like me trying to convince you otherwise, dear little sister."

The words struck me and I felt almost weak. "Liar!"

"No, I'm not lying to you," he came closer and whispered into my ear. "Let me see the deck again, I want to show you something." He took the deck from hand, he opened the box and a picture slid out. "Does this look familiar?"

I shook my head, I saw my mother, myself, my father and suddenly a boy standing with us in the picture. "Interesting, seems the fire did something to your memory. Schuldich, do your work."

I turned to see Schuldich standing there. "No, if you want me to force her to remember something that causes far worse damage, I won't do it!"

"Since when did you start caring about someone?"

Schuldich stepped in front of me. "Since I met her, there is no way someone like her would be your little sister. I don't care if she's your half sister, you are not hurting her!"

I ran from the room and toward my room, I couldn't get to the door, I just threw myself on the bed and hid there. /Spica/ the mental voice was soft. /I will leave you alone tonight, but please, you aren't his sister, I won't believe it./

I woke the next morning still crying, how could Crawford be my brother, that was when a memory flashed. "Spica this is your half brother, Bradley, he's been away at boarding school," I remembered my mother bringing in a boy no older than twelve staring down at me with dark mocha eyes.

I remembered this memory, this was when the fire started. Crawford, my big brother was standing there in front of me. "You did this, this is all your fault, they're going to send me to that school again and its all your fault," he screamed at me and pushed me to the ground.

The door opened and I realized it was not Schuldich, but Nagi. "Your memory came back?" he seemed upset. "I'm really sorry that it did."

"Why? It was bound to come back." I just sat there staring at my feet. "Why are you with my brother?"

He sat there on a chair and looked down at me frowning. "He adopted me, he took me in when no would."

I suppose that was the closest answer I got, when I noticed that something about the room changed. There was my student ID and noticed my last name was changed to Spica Crawford, Gray was no more. I had to find my father, I had to know what was going on and who Bradley Crawford was.

Schuldich took me to my father's firm, that was the one thing that Crawford did not destroy, in fact he made it a company dealing with international property buying. My father was well off and he seemed to enjoy this line of work. He stopped short when he saw me and his eyes were a little hard. "What are you doing here?"

"I want to know everything, you're going to tell me," I glared at my father and brought out the photograph of our family. "Who is that boy?"

Looking around, he led me into his office. "Bradley would kill me if he knew and I'm just about dead anyway. When he was five there was an accident and he was sent away to a special school, he was allowed one visit with us a year, so when he found out he had a younger half sister, he demanded to be allowed to stay home." The man looked flustered and then turned to look at Schuldich who was sitting by the window looking out. "You see, Bradley is your mother's child from a first marriage, she knew that he would end up being dangerous, he killed his father, there was no proof, but he did do it."

"The fire at our house when I was five, he said it was my fault!" I stammered and my father shook his head.

"He coached to do it, he got you mad and that was what happened."