AN: Hi again my dear fans and sorry for the late update. As usual I have a lot of homeworks from art-class and writing-class that I´m sooo not pleased with cause it stops me from writing things that are actually worth writing. And I really want to thank you who´ve reviewed me for your kind words and if you don´t get your liked pairings in this fic I might provide them in another one if you keep being as kind as you have been. But once again thanks and sorry for the late update!
"On deep water"
Helena sighed as she watched the sleeping red head lying in her couch. Ever since Kasumi´d fainted on the floor in her restaurant the girl had been weak. Her long time in the cold had caused the runaway ninja a sever fever and truthfully Helena hadn´t been sure she´d actually make it threw the day.
Yes, Helena had had her clashes with the ninjas when she tried to live out her plans with Doatec but even though she´d gone as far as to threaten Kasumi with a gun she´d never meant the girl any harm. In fact, strange as it sounded she had always respected her opponent despite the fact they obviously fought for such different purposes and if fate hadn´t wanted them to be opponents she´d wished the girl good luck in her task to destroy Alpha 59.
Helena put her hand to the girls forehead. Her fever had gone down but she was still hotter then what was normal.
Helena so hated this! She was now sure Kasumi´d live threw the day but it would still take a few days until she was strong enough to make it through on her own.
Truth to say Helena hated having people at her place and especially sleeping in her bed. Helena was a person used to luxury and space and her being forced sleeping on the couch was far more displeasing then most people could imagine.
"I really have to read more about medicine" Helena muttered "so I can have her out of here soon".
As if it hadn´t been enough Kasumi had stolen her dear bed she had made horrible noises the whole night threw that´d kept Helena awake. It had been snores (yes, the sweet young girl, with the angelic face actually snored) sleep talking and once even sleep-singing.
Helena had never had a roommate before and the last nights with Kasumi at her place had made her feel more then ever that she really hadn´t missed out on anything living by herself.
The former opera-singer took a deep breath before leaving her bedroom. She´d have to take her chances leaving home and actually open the restaurant today, since she couldn´t leave the management to her co-workers much longer (Helena was the worst kind of control-freak after all and for someone else to handle her business…). The girl hadn´t even been well enough to talk so what trouble could she possibly cause while Helena was away?
_._
Hayate sighed as he walked passed the modern official buildings and the small houses. Even though he´d been outside his village several times it felt as if though he´d never been that far from home.
After several painful and completely, fruitless attempts of looking for his sister in the big cities of Japan he felt almost ready to give up. It seemed as if though Kasumi had vanished with the wind since every trace witnessing of her presence had been completely wiped out.
"Now I know how she felt" he thought to himself "looking around like this for years. I´m such a pathetic man who´s about to give up only after two days".
But truth to say he was completely clueless in his search. Because he had no idea what identity (if Kasumi even used one) he was going to look for, she had no personal-number, no birth-attest that counted for the normal world and Hayate didn´t even have the slightest idea if she even was in Japan anymore.
Hayate sighed. He would grab something to eat first and then carry on with the search.
_._
"But what do you have against it"? Kokoro exclaimed "it´s not as if though I´m gonna move in with her".
The older woman with the black bun, only looked troubled, though sympathetically at her daughter.
"Mum!" Kokoro yelled "she´s a person just like you and me, and she shouldn´t have to pay for what her father did!"
"My child" Miyuki gave a deep sigh "life is not that simple and when you grow older you will understand".
"I will never understand keeping two sisters away from each other" Kokoros face reflected a anger and defiance that was rare due to her peaceful nature "Helena Douglas is my family just as much as you are and I´m not gonna close my eyes to that fact".
"Kokoro" Miyuki said softly "I don´t want to deprive you of anything but it is best if you and I stay as far away from that family as possible".
"But it´s not your decision to make!"Kokoro was so furious she hardly recognized herself "the decision is mine and Helenas only and I am the one related to her not you!"
It went quiet for a while, Kokoro taking a deep breath. She knew the last line was something that´d hurt her mother more then anything. Helena wasn´t Miyukis daughter but still the daughter of her former husband and that fact, the fact that Miyuki hadn´t been Fames only one was something Kokoro knew still bothered her.
"Okey" Miyuki said softly, looking seriously at her daughter "let´s say you´re really following threw with this. That you´re going to France looking for your half-sister and that you despite all odds find her. Are you really sure she´s as eager for this reunion as you are?"
Kokoro took a deep breath, thinking it over before finally giving her answer.
"I´m not sure I´ll find her" she said " and above all not sure she wants anything to do with me. By doing this I risk disappointment and who knows even hearing things I don´t want to know, but I know that if I don´t follow threw with this the disappointment I´ll feel towards myself will be even worse".
Miyuki looked at her daughter.
"You´re really going to follow threw with this?" it wasn´t really a question.
Kokoro nodded in silence.
_._
Kasumi yawned, opening her eyes slowly. She´d dreamt of water this night, a deep dark sea with no bottom. She remembered falling deeper and deeper down a endless surface with no light and no matter how she kicked and struggled only falling further down.
As Kasumi opened her eyes, her breathing almost stopped. She was in a lit room, with light blue curtains and dark blue walls decorated with black dolphins and she was lying in a bed, a big, soft bed with silky sheets.
Due to her alert nature the female ninja immediately grew a big lump down her throat. She was lying here in a bed, in a place she knew nothing about.
In a moment of irrational fear she almost believed she´d accepted the creepy mans offer last evening and followed him home but quickly realized that couldn´t be the case since he was to un-kept to own one such home.
But no matter the case this was still distressing. Of course she was glad someone had saved her from freezing to death but living the life she´d lived the last years, constantly being on the run, she knew human-nature in general not to be that kind.
When looking at the brown, bed-side table at her side Kasumi noticed something that immediately caught her attention.
The blond, elegant woman with the white smile that didn´t quit seem to reach her blue eyes on the photograph could have been recognized by the former kuniochi anywhere.
"Helena Douglas" she mumbled "what on earth is it you want with me?"
_._
"Damn!" Hayate thought to himself. He really had no idea about where to go from here and he could have given one of his arms up knowing if his sister was even still in Japan. "I´m such a pathetic man" he thought once again.
Hayate looked at his watch, it was almost 07.00 PM and all he´d accomplished so far was stating once again to himself that he had no trace to go on when it came to Kasumi. And oh! He´d also managed in getting two drinks down his throat in the bloody bar where he was sitting. Hayate knew better then anyone drinking was not gonna help but he was just so frustrated right now he´d do anything to calm his nerves.
"I´m gonna have to get another one" Hayate muttered as he wiped the sweat of his forehead.
Despite his role as the mugen-tenshin clan-leader and the many tough situations that work included Hayates nerves had always been and still was a rather sensitive matter. His way of dealing with stress was to express it mildly in-constructive and if things went the slightest way out of plan his emotions ran wild. And this, trying to handle a matter completely out of his control was just one such situation.
Hayate was just walking towards the disk to get a third one when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Not a good idea" a calm manly voice said.
Hayate turned around, looking in disbelief at the man with the long, white hair and the unobtrusive brown eyes.
"If you´re not used to it, you shouldn´t drink it as if it though it was water" the man said.
"What...? Hayate starred at his former opponent, "what are you… doing here"
Brad Wong shrugged his shoulders giving one of his usual untroubled smiles.
"Strolling around" the drunk said "like I usually do, and you?" he frowned eyeing the ninja from head to toe "what are you doing outside your village. Have you switched place with your sister"?
At this Hayate was ready to blast out at the white hair. There really were no boundaries to the other mans rudeness speaking of Hayates family-situation that way?
"Have a nice evening Wong" Hayate said instead giving one of his polite though icy smiles.
The ninja was about to turn around and walk away when the other man put his hand on his shoulder again.
"Wait!" the drunk, frowned again looking almost thoughtful "are you lost or something?"
Hayate looked at the white haired man for a long time. He just couldn´t believe this guy! One moment Brad Wong acted completely careless and the next one as if though he actually pretended to care about something else then the half drunken glass in his hand.
"What does it matter to you?" Hayate said after a moment.
Brad Wong looked back at Hayate with a expression in his face that looked unusually intelligent for him.
"Well" he said after a while "let´s say I think I know what you´re looking for".
"Really?" Hayate said calmly "then you´ll be pretty disappointed when you´ll find out it´s not a drinking buddy"
If Brad´d heard the sarcasm in this he didn´t pretend so.
"And you´ll be pretty disappointed to found out Kasumi´s no longer here in Japan"
Hayate starred mute at the other man before realizing it.
"You know where she is?" he whispered.
"Not the specific location" Brad said thoughtfully "but let´s say I know you´re definitely wasting your time dwelling here burying yourself in sake"
"As if that comes from the right mouth" Hayate said calmly.
Even though Hayate usually tried to put himself over these kind of remarks that were only used for the simple purpose of degrading his opponent he really felt as if though he couldn´t help them. He was tired, frustrated and more affected by the alcohol then he thought and Brad… Brad was just being a plain, inconsiderate drunk as usual.
"Good evening, Hayate-sama" Brad Wong gave a polite and strangely graceful smile before turning his back towards Hayate.
"Wait!" the ninja called out.
Brad Wong turned around looking calmly, even indifferently at his former opponent.
"I´m sorry for the rudeness" Hayates eyes begged for attention "but I… I really need to find my sister and I just can´t waste my time on empty words. Brad Wong, if you know where Kasumi is please tell me cause I, he looked the other man straight into the eyes, cause I really need to find her!"
Brad stood quiet for a while, his facial expression acceptant though indifferent.
"Come with me" he said "you need a place to rest for the night. If you still want the same thing tomorrow we´ll find a solution to your problem".
_._
Helena took a deep breath. It´d felt as if though she´d never get home from work today and as if though walking in the cold winter would take forever. Finally standing outside her door putting the key in the lock the former mistress of DOATEC thought about the nice long bath she´d take.
But the second she opened the door, her feeling of peace disappeared.
"What the...!" Helena stopped herself since she couldn´t bring herself to curse no matter how angry or surprised she was.
Her wooden floor was drenched in soap as well as her radiant light blue wallpapers with yellow and white flowers on as well as the paintings hanging there.
"Mon dieu" the French woman whispered starring wide eyed at the disaster that was once her hall. She wanted to scream but her controlled nature just couldn´t bring her to it.
"It´s okey" she told herself "it´s okey". She walked on her toes over the soaked floors not to get wet. If she´d been shocked when seeing the hall it was nothing comparing to what she was when seeing the kitchen.
The floor was drenched in flour and the induction cooker hardly visible thanks to the brown and slight transparent mess laying over it.
Suddenly Kasumi appeared in front of Helena, her hair tucked into a white scarf, wearing one of Helenas white aprons. Her eyes looked innocently and somewhat confused at the opera-singer.
"Since you were gone the whole day" she said "I took the freedom to clean up the apartment and make some cake".
_._
"So you will really do this?" Miyuki looked at her daughter who was packing her bag in silence.
"Yes I will" Kokoro said packing down another skirt.
Miyuki sighed. She´d seen her daughter go threw a big change the last year. It seemed the tournament she´d participated in had made her turn from a somewhat insecure girl to a real woman. The otherwise always smiling and giggly Kokoro had turned into a serious, almost melancholic person who never did anything on a whim anymore. In fact it almost worried Miyuki more then it gave her satisfaction.
"You know I love you, right?" Miyuki said.
"Yes" Kokoro said while folding another shirt putting it into her bag "and I love you to".
"Then why don´t you stay? Don´t you like it here?"
"I can´t really like it anywhere if I´m not at peace" Kokoro said softly. She turned around looking at her mother "the boat to France is going tomorrow at eight o´clock, will you wave me of".
"Of course my daughter" Miyuki nodded.
_._
"So you´re entirely well now?" Helena looked at the red headed girl on the opposite end of the table.
Not being able to revolt against her polite manners Helena had eaten the so called cake Kasumi´d baked. The cake in question had been a hybrid between a sponge cake and a litre of jelly with chocolate, honey, milk, to many eggs, strawberries, blueberries and ingredients Helena didn´t even want to guess put together in a complete sludge.
Kasumi nodded to her question.
"So you´d be able to walk home?" Helena asked.
It went silent for a while. Helenas long isolation from other human beings had made her somewhat insecure in other social situations then those at the restaurant and she almost immediately regretted what she´d said.
"I have no home" Kasumi whispered after a while, her large brown eyes growing even larger.
Helena once again wanted to scream. What on earth had she ever done that was so evil she deserved this?
"I have no job" the runaway ninja said slowly "so I can´t really make a living".
Helena was about to faint on the floor. Seriously! Kasumi had no home, no job, probably not even money and since Helena had been the one saving her in the first place, it´d be nothing but her duty to keep the little imp alive.
Helena saw her water-soaked floors and paintings, her flour filled kitchen and Kasumis so called cake in front of her once again.
"I need to go to bed" Helena said "we will discuss this further tomorrow. Thanks for the cake" she looked at the complete monster on the plate on the center of the table before rising from her chair.
"This one was actually pretty tasty" Kasumi said after Helena´d left "maybe I should make a recipe for it".
She cut up another piece of the sponge cake with a smile on her lips.
AN: Yup! There you have your next chapter. If you want another on keep reviewing. And as I´ve said in earlier chapters I am hardcore sure about "some" pairings (three couples to be exact) but it wouldn´t be fun if I revealed them now, would it P:)? So just keep send me suggestions to your fav pairings (preferably of characters you´ve seen interacting or want to interact later on in this fic).
And if you have a idea to a story and can´t post it cause you haven´t signed up. What are you waiting for? Sign the f#ck up! We really need some variation in this section, especially when it comes to pairings and especially, mind you on the yaoi-side. No! "Man on man" isn´t disgusting! Not even in the DOA-section!
Nuff said! Love you for your support "throws kisses at you" and will love you even more if you review "smiles". Bye for now!