Chapter 4- Ties and Bonds
Tentatively
reaching out
and letting people in
was never
your strong suit.
You kept yourself distanced;
when the time comes
to open yourself,
you're not quite sure
how to act.
One step at a time
you begin to form
ties and bonds
to the stability
of those around you.
That first mission went off without a hitch, and every one after that was basically the same way. The new team eventually fell into an established routine as they got to know one another better. Through a series of trials and errors, Omi came to accompany Blade and Lakota more often then the other Weiss boys.
"Avalon, get a move on. I've got some issues coming up down here."
Lakota winced at the static coming through the line and glanced at Omi, who was cringing right along with her. "We gotta get these things fixed," she muttered to him. After catching his silent agreement, she replied to Blade. "Check, Camelot. Download is..." she paused, "now complete. We're getting out of here; meet you at the checkpoint."
Omi pulled the disk as Lakota wiped all traces of their presence from the computer. The two then hurried from the room and attempted to remember which way in the huge house they had to go to find the exit. They were about to turn down another hall when voices around the corner stopped them. Omi turned around to find another way, but Lakota froze in place and listened intently.
When the voices started heading their direction a few moments later, Lakota turned to push Omi down the hall. Omi rounded the next corner just in time to hear shouts break out. He could see Lakota still in the other hall, but she was again frozen in place. His slight movement to move back into the hall with her met an almost indiscernible shake of her head.
"Lakota!" The man, whoever he was, sounded particularly happy to see her. Lakota, on the other hand, was visibly shaken at the thought of associating with him. "Where in the world have you been these last three years? And what, exactly, are you doing here?"
Lakota closer her eyes to gather her strength and turned to face the body behind the voice. Omi could see how much sheer will this was taking her; he wished he could be out there supporting her, but he held his place, trusting her to handle the situation. "I heard some... things, and I just had to know for sure. You're really here, aren't you?"
The man sighed. "Lakota. My little girl. I should have known you'd be here, in this country. Your mother loved it here, too. She always dreamed that she'd bring you here someday, but it just wasn't meant to be. You know you look more like her every day."
Lakota shuddered but smiled at the same time. "It's been... a long journey to get me to this point. I just knew I had to come back to Mama's land, though. And then I heard the rumors and had to know if you were really here, too." She looked down at the floor then back up to her father. "I have to go now. Maybe I'll see you around or something." With those words, she turned the corner, grabbed Omi, and sprinted away.
When the two finally found their way outside once again and were on their way to the checkpoint, Omi broached the subject of the conversation he'd just witnessed. "Lakota? You didn't actually know he was there, did you?"
Lakota smirked bitterly and shook her head. "No, definitely not. That was really quite unexpected. But I couldn't exactly tell him why I was really there, and I didn't want you getting involved. Omi..." She paused, carefully considering her next words. "Don't tell Blade we saw my father tonight, that I talked to him. Don't even tell him my father's in Japan. Blade tends to get overprotective enough without that little fact thrown in."
Omi opened his mouth to protest then simply shook his head and sighed. "Okay. I don't like it, but it's up to you, I guess." He paused for a moment, considering his next words carefully. "But, Lakota, if something happens--anything at all--I want to know about it. I'm not saying it'll automatically go straight to Blade or anything; I just want to know. Deal?"
Lakota agreed reluctantly, knowing that if she didn't, Omi would probably tell Blade exactly what had happened that night. And even if she didn't acknowledge the fact right then and there, it actually felt kind of nice to know that she had someone to talk to if things got rough.
The rest of the walk to the checkpoint was relatively silent. Omi dwelled on thoughts of Lakota's father, reasoning out the different impacts his appearance could have on their lives and the team. Lakota, on the other hand, attempted damage-control on her frazzled mind.
So wrapped up in their respective thoughts, neither noticed a slightly frantic Blade pacing in front of the door of the safe-house. He caught sight of them and relaxed before slipping into worried anger. "Where in the world have you two been?" Both teens snapped to attention, looking at the man before them. "I've been waiting here for nearly an hour, so I'd appreciate an explanation!"
Omi and Lakota shared a look then turned back to Blade. "Sorry, Blade. We just got a bit turned around in that place, so it took forever to find our way out. Then it took just as long to walk all the way here." Blade stared at her for a few long moments, turned to stare at Omi to confirm the story, and finally turned back to Lakota.
Satisfied that they were telling the truth, he pulled Lakota into a thank-God-you're-okay hug. A second later, as a bit of an afterthought, he also pulled Omi in. "Don't you ever, ever do that to me ever again, you hear me? And when we get back, we are definitely investing in longer-range radios."
Blade finally released them and composed himself while Lakota attempted to hide her smile at Omi's shell-shocked face. Obviously, he hadn't been anticipated the inclusion in Blade's impromptu group-hug. She gave his hand a light squeeze then turned to Blade. "We got everything we needed off the computer, but we didn't get any photographic evidence. The stuff from the comp should be enough, but I think we should head back, turn it in, and wait for the okay from Kritiker just in case they want more."
Omi blinked at that. He still wasn't completely used to this side of things. "Why would they need photos along with everything else? We got some great stuff off that system that points right at the targets. It has to be enough." Not only that, but he was very nearly desperate to now keep Lakota away from that place.
Lakota shrugged in response to his questions, not realizing his deeper motivation. "It all depends. Sometimes the agency is fine with just the figurative paper trail. Other times, they want the visual corroboration to go along with it. So we'll just send them what we've got and hope we get the okay so we don't have to come back again later."
Blade watched as Omi seemed to accept that response then watched the two discreetly for another few moments. It was amazing how quickly the teens had settled into an easy familiarity, how naturally they acted with each other. "Alright, kids," both glowered, "let's bust this joint. The mission, at least for tonight, is officially over."
-----
Lakota sat on the overstuffed couch in the mission room later that night, staring at the blank TV screen without managing to actually see it. Everyone else in the house was asleep, but Lakota just couldn't face the thought of going to bed, sleeping, dreaming.
She felt a night terror tugging at the edges of her consciousness. She hadn't had them this close together in just over a year, and she had a pretty good idea of why it was happening now all of a sudden. She and Blade had never set up a real home for themselves; the "home" she'd had before that was actually more of a living nightmare than anything. Thinking about trying to make this, the Koneko, a "home" made Lakota's stomach churn and her head pound.
On top of that, Lakota had just happened to run into her father. The man who had given her all her issues and one seriously screwed-up psyche, the man who made the word "home" synonymous with "hell". Had he actually been surprised that she was in Japan, or was it all an act? Had he really been hunting her the whole time?
The two factors were, to say the least, not doing good things for Lakota's chances of sleep. Which is why she was now wide awake at three a.m. on a now-Thursday morning. She'd laid in bed until she heard all of the others head to their own rooms, waiting until all was silent. Then she'd come downstairs and had been staring at the blank screen and/or wall since then.
The soft footfalls on the stairs jolted her out of her musings. Lakota whirled around just as Aya took the last steps into the room. Their eyes met, and Lakota sank back into the couch. Of all the guys, Aya made her the most nervous. Even after nearly a month in the same house, he could still have her cowering and intimidated with just a look. She was not looking forward to this confrontation.
"Lakota?" While lost in her thoughts, Lakota missed him moving to stand directly in front of her. She jumped and looked up at him, trying to reason out the look on his face.
"Oh, hey Aya. You having a crap time sleeping, too?" Aya quirked his eyebrow, and Lakota immediately clicked her mouth shut. She blinked up at him a few times before deciding to forget whatever usually held her back and go for it. "You know what? I'm just going to cut the act and ask straight up, because this has been bugging me since we got here: What kind of issues do you have with me?"
Aya stared at her for a long moment before sitting down on the couch next to her. Lakota held her breath, hoping for and dreading his answer. "I don't have any issues, as you say, with you. I'm just trying to protect my team from whatever secrets you're hiding from us."
Lakota's breath caught in her throat as she fought back tears. She'd known it was her fault, whatever was making Aya dislike her, but she hadn't been prepared for that. "I'm... I'm sorry. I know I'm always screwing things up and dragging everyone else down with me. I don't mean to. It's just seems like that's what I was born to do, what he bred me for. I'm just... sorry."
Staring down at her entwined hands, Lakota waited for Aya's response. "Well, that's... better than nothing, I suppose." Lakota's head snapped up to stare at him. He definitely wasn't smiling, but the look on his face told her that the expression was hiding just beneath the surface. She offered up her own shy smile, and the two shared the rest of the early morning in silence.
TBC