Chapter 3: caught in between; Doll Kingston.
Doll had always been the quiet one out of the pair; she was reserved, and peaceful. Not wishing harm on anyone, however she was no pacifist. Though she wouldn't admit it, the thrill of battle excited her, and gave her a kind of feeling like it was right, like it was what she was meant to do.
The one battle she hated to see, and to be a part of, was the one between her family. There had always been some hostility between her father and brother, and she could feel the anger coming off of her mom every time they even mention their father. Doll didn't know what her dad did to earn her mother's wrath, but she was beginning to figure it out. Her Father wasn't a bad person, he was just too absorbed into his work, and he is single minded, never thinking about anything, or anyone around him, just what was in front of him. He worked so hard on his newest advancements for their mother, trying to keep her alive as long as possible. He lost all care for any of the lives that he has to take care of. It was why for a long time they had had a nanny. By now he knew better then to piss off the mother Spartan, less he wants his balls chopped off, and force fed back to him, and don't put it past Kingston to do something so horrible, she made it very clear when Doll and Zero were five. She would not have something like that be repeated. Fujiwara became so fearful of his past lover that had even gone as far as not seeing their mother, whenever the twins were around. However this never put a dent in his love for her, even though it was clearly one-sided.
This latest mistake her father had made would be…will be, like spilling lighter fluid into bonfire. Doll sighed deeply; she was always the one trying to calm down the fighting. There was nothing she could do to make light of the current situation. Even if she tried, it would only end badly, and she really wanted her mother to be happy when she came to visit.
"This will not go well," she mumbled to herself, as she set the table for two. It was one of the few days her father came home for dinner, one of the few days he even came home. Doll knew, she remembered how often her brother and she would go on for days not seeing their father; they would have to fend for themselves, and get to school on their own. It got so bad child services had threaten to take the twins away. She wanted to make tonight nice, and calm, she wanted to get answers out of her old man. She didn't want to blow up in front of her father, at her father like her brother did.
The front door opened with the familiar click, and slight moan of the door's locks and hinges. Fujiwara walked in exhausted, he was only going to stay for the night, for his daughter's sake. When morning comes however, he would leave, having to work twice as hard to make his advancements compatible. With all honesty, he wouldn't have come home at all if it wasn't for what had happened at the academy, also, Doll was very persistent when demanding that he spend some time away from the office tonight. Sliding off his shoes, he slipped on his slippers and shuffled into the kitchen smiling brightly as the smells of dinner filled the air, and the soft humming of his only daughter danced in his ears.
"That smells great Doll, what are we having?" He asked as he gave his little girl a gentle hug and a kiss on the head.
"Steak, rice, you know the works," she smiled brightly as she finished up.
Placing the food on the table, she took her seat across from her father and started to make her plate, scooping up large servings of whatever it was she wanted. She took a quick glance at her father, wondering what was the best way to approach the situation with him; she knew that he had a stressful day. She also knew that she couldn't sit idly as her father continued to use her twin as a test dummy.
Fujiwara seemed to have notice his daughter's hesitant behavior. "What is on your mind?" he asked softly, putting down the platter of steak, and looking Doll in the eyes.
Doll blinked then looked down, taking up her fork and knife. "How was your day papa?" she asked.
Her father knew her better than that, he knew that wasn't what she wanted to ask, but he wasn't going to probe into it, he would just play along.
"It was stressful, like always, your brother is rather upset with me, didn't really have that father son bonding time as I had planned," he chuckled sadly.
Doll shot her father an annoyed glance, but quickly replaced it with a gentler look. "You..." she stopped herself from talking again, trying to find a nicer way of saying what was on her mind.
"You what?" Her father asked.
"You shouldn't have shot him with a rocket!" she said hastily, the words spilling over her mouth before she had the chance to stop them. Ashamed she looked down again paying more attention to her food then to her father.
Fujiwara looked up at her with shock; he didn't know she had known about the incident so quickly. Shaking his head and smiling to himself, he guessed he should have known, Doll and Zero had always had a very special connection.
"You know I knew he was going to be safe," he started.
"Mom is coming to visit for the first time since we were five!" Doll interrupted harshly, her voice rising as her anger boiled, but the look on her father's face made her simmer back down to how she was before. "For one day, one damn day I wanted us to be a happy family," she continued.
"Then tell your brother to show some respect, he knew, and I knew, that he wasn't going to die," he said with a joking chuckle.
Doll slammed her utensils on the table and pushed herself up.
"You know, I used to like you," she hissed. "Go fucking die!" she yelled storming off towards the stairs, heading for her room.
Fujiwara sighed deeply, he went over this wrong. He should have known better, Doll was too sensitive, and needed to be spoken to with soft words. If not she would snap, and no one wanted to see her when she snapped. Doll opened the window of her room and crawled out. She always sat on the roof, normally with her twin. They would stare at the stars, trying to find the star where their mother was by, or which one was theirs. Tonight she was all on her own. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on top of them, crying softly into the thick fabric of her jeans.
Her family was breaking apart, everyone hated each other. Her father's love was one-sided. She bet that her father only kept them because they looked so much like their Spartan mom.
Doll took in a deep breath and calmed herself, wiping away the tears she had shed. She then laid down on the cold ceramic tiles of her two story house, her crimson eyes searching the dark sky for the star she claimed as her own. It was easy to find, for the star was the only one whose light shined so bright that it looked like it was holding hands with the star next to it. That was the only way she and her brother were able to find them.
"Brother, I hope you could see the stars too," she whispered. Her eyes softened as she caught glimpse of their star.
It was about an hour and a half when her father managed to climb up the roof where his Spartan like child had passes out. He smiled softly at her curled up form, taking a colorful blanket from under his arm, and draping it over her. He bent down and moved her bangs so that he could kiss her forehead. He sat down next to her and sighed, looking up at the stars, then the planets two moons.
"Doll…" He paused chuckling to a little at the name. No matter how many times he tries not to, the only smiling face he could see belonging to that name, is his own little girl.
"Damn, you sure have a funny way of saying it's over," he chuckled, bitter sweet.
He remembered when his lover gave him the twins. She had a choice to leave, to be normal, she threw it away and gave the kids to him. Holding his children for the first time, he knew he had to do everything for them. Maybe that's why he had made so many mistakes. He was focusing on the woman, who currently hated his guts, keeping her alive was his priority. If she was alive, then the kids would have a mother, they would be happy no?
He looked down at his daughter, and smiled faintly, he knew he was wrong. Now he just had to fix it. With a heavy sigh he stood up, bending down only to pick up the light weight seventeen year old. It never ceased to amaze him how light she was. He couldn't believe that she only weighed ninety pounds, it was amazing, and one of the few things she didn't share with her brother.
He carried Doll back to her room, and tucked her in. She was so small, so fragile, that she looked like she would break apart in his arms. He knew better though, he knew what she was capable of. More than half of the planet, maybe even the galaxy, knew what she was capable of, it was what the people feared most of them.
"Good night my daughter, sleep well," He whispered before shutting off the lights and closing the door.
