Re-birth
Chapter 6
Parting with Lies I
Aichi tore his eyes away from the pictures on the wall and looked at Kai. "What is happening? How can you read? How did you know this card was Blaster Blade?" He received a confused look from the child and stopped himself before he would say anything else. There were so many more questions he wanted to ask; he assumed that Kai's memories had returned but with that expression on the child, he felt the desperate need to confirm it.
"Then, my name... do you remember it?" There was a chance Kai would know, even if he didn't regain his memories, as he must have heard people calling him by his name before. Still, a child wouldn't understand...
"Name?" The child paused and looked up at Aichi, blinking. "Daddy?"
The glimmer of hope instantly died in his eyes, and it was replaced by a dull blue shade. He closed them, and the impact of the sudden change pierced him in the heart as soon as it dawned to him that his friend wasn't back to normal and that feeling of having his hopes crushed really hurt.
"I see..." He said slowly, turning to look at the drawings one more time. His expression, although displayed sadness, carried a form of a soft smile. He didn't understand what triggered this sudden emotion, but taking Kai's tiny hand in his, he felt like voicing the one thought he had in mind.
It will be okay, I promise...
Brown hair was ruffled when a shifting sound filled the void of silence, sliding to cover the soulless eyes with the brown bangs. A smirk danced its way on the lips which were once pressed against each other tightly into one line to suppress any sort of emotion. There was a vibe of emptiness within the darkness, an air of harmful intent lingered around the area; one which punctured the lungs of someone if they breathed its toxic particles.
A faint green from the light emerald eyes remained, but the glint of determination and strength within them had decayed, sinking to the bottom to give his eyes a dark reflection. If he would display any kind of emotion, it wouldn't reach his eyes; happiness, anger or despair... his lips and eyebrows would express any other necessary emotion, but his eyes would remain the same.
Dead.
He laughed; an empty laughter. It carried no real meaning or relevance but in the same way a marionette would move according to the tone of music. He paused for a brief moment, the laughter around him quietened down until it reached the volume of an inaudible echo. His eyes narrowed, for memories flooded his head once more, reminding him of all past emotions he felt- ones he would not forget. That was the only time when his rage felt so realistic that he almost felt human again; a human drowned in a sea of hatred.
For a fleeting instant, the life in his eyes returned, a voice, holding weakness yet determination spoke.
'This is wrong.'
There was a deep silence until the second voice spoke again. 'Aichi is my...'
Then he paused, voice shaking, and one would imagine the way he would try to blink away the drops before they would cascade in an endless ritual, to prevent showing any weaknesses.
"Be quiet," he spat in rage at no one in particular. "The only thing you should feel is betrayal."
'These aren't my real emotions,' the weak voice replied, this time in his head.
His teeth clenched and hands formed fists. "I ordered you to be quiet! Once this is over, I will get rid of your whole existence; your memories, your feelings... everything."
He could feel the other's presence perish within his mind. At this, he let out another chuckle and rested his hand on his head for no particular reason; perhaps to make sure the other voice would not come and bother him again, or perhaps he would do this as some sort of habit.
"It's about time."
Aichi paced back and forth, trying to think. Outside, the moon had already risen, it's light filtered by the glass of the window, an eerie noise of the wind howling through the branches of trees. The green blades below seemed to gleam, and for a moment, the grass bristled, before subtly following the rhythm of the wind.
He tried to think about the whole weird incident, what it meant and how it happened.
"Kai-kun?" His eyes widened for a brief moment as he caught a fleeting glimpse of the light-brown and green colours hiding behind the door. Aichi smiled lightly, realising that Kai was just worried about him.
"Come here." With one hand and an encouraging nod, he motioned for the child to come. Kai glanced nervously at Aichi, the small footsteps coming to a halt, as he paused when he entered Aichi's room, large green eyes observed Aichi as if studying him. Kai thought for a moment, trying to figure out why Aichi was smiling and didn't look angry with him. But it was still there... a heavy feeling placed on his heart like a burden; little Kai was sure he had done something really bad... but he just wasn't sure what it was, and it didn't allow him to sleep no matter how much he tried. Standing before Aichi, Kai bit his lip, feeling like he wanted to run away.
Strong, warm arms encircled the little child's small figure before he could run. He felt himself panic and cringe, trying to pull away with all strength he could muster. Aichi should be mad at him; he had clearly done something wrong. He was convinced that his father hated him and wanted to leave him. Aichi shouldn't like him...
Aichi tightened his arms around the little boy and pulled him closer, trying to pat his head until the struggling broke down into squirming, followed by motionlessness. For a moment, Kai was silent, but when his small body started to shake lightly and soft whimpering escaped his trembling lips, Aichi shut his eyes, knowing that Kai was crying.
Aichi kept patting the child on the head, keeping a gentle smile, yet the sorrow could be seen through his eyes like transparent glass whenever he opened his eyes to look at the clock. As he listened to Kai's cries, he could also hear the handle of the clock ticking on his wall, and with each second, the child's wailing grew louder and more fierce. Aichi couldn't think of anything to do to, so he kept stroking the child's hair until he would calm down.
What had caused Kai to cry so much? He couldn't have remembered everything that happened before the whole incident started. He was just a small child; he would not be able to understand and grasp the situation of these painful memories... it was the feelings. The feelings from his lost memories were slowly devouring him, creating a feeling of longing and hurt. Aichi knew these feelings too well; they once made him feel that he should be hated instead of loved because he had hurt the most precious people around him after breaking free from the power of PsyQualia. If there was a way Aichi could make Kai understand that he had forgiven him a long time ago, the child wouldn't be feeling like this.
"Promise me something, Kai-kun..." Aichi spoke when Kai started sobbing. "Don't cry. You've always been a good boy. Daddy loves you very much, okay?"
The child buried his face in Aichi's shirt, and Aichi could feel the coldness of tears soaking his shirt. Kai's tiny hands were gripping his shirt, his small figure trembling, and his voice uncertain and shaking. "Daddy... love me?"
"Yes."
"Sorry... daddy."
"Don't apologise."
"Sorry..." Kai repeated, letting go of Aichi's shirt to rub away the tears with his hands. "Sorry..."
"Don't apologise," Aichi tried to keep his own lips from shaking as he spoke. "You haven't done anything bad."
When morning came, Aichi understood why he had felt fear of losing Kai; he didn't know that this would be the last time both of them would laugh and cry together. When he entered Kai's bedroom in hopes of waking him up, green eyes, wide with fear and confusion met with his, and that was when realisation dawned on him.
Kai looked about three years older than yesterday; the clothes fit uncomfortably tight and short, but most of all, those large, curious, mesmerizing eyes watched each and every movement of the blue-haired boy before him.
"Who are you?" A confused, slightly lower pitched voice asked. When Aichi shifted, Kai moved back, fingers digging into the blanket. Those emerald eyes shone as tears formed in them.
Kai was scared of him.
The first thing Aichi thought of doing was moving back so he wouldn't scare the child, but his mind was frozen at the moment. Aichi could hear the sound of his own breathing, and he could feel the way his heart thumped rapidly against his rib cage, providing his lungs with the oxygen he needed. He was alive yet...
Why...? Why don't you remember me?
It was a bitter feeling, one he couldn't understand; it flooded his head with emotions that triggered tears from the ocean blue eyes, but he tried to hold them back. He was making sure that his breathing was even; making sure that he opened his mouth to breathe in then out, but he felt like his whole body was suffocating and slowly collapsing.
Why?
"Where are mum and dad?"
Aichi swallowed, slowly then looked at the terrified child. "Your... mum and dad...?"
"Yeah, where are they?" The six-year old seemed to grow more impatient with each second. "Why am I here? Who are you?"
"Your parents are... they are..." Aichi bit his lip, hesitating at his next words. He realised that the parents Kai was referring to must be the parents Kai used to live with before. Aichi had never seen Kai's family even once; Where were Kai's parents? What could he tell him about them?
Aichi remembered a conversation he once had with Miwa not too many days ago.
"Miwa-kun, does Kai-kun have any family or relatives?"
"No, his parents died in a car accident and his uncle lives far away."
Aichi chose his words carefully as he glanced at Kai. "They are on a short business trip. I'm Aichi, I'll be taking care of you for a while."
"Oh." Kai said simply, and Aichi noticed the way his shoulders immediately relaxed.
"Um... I'll get you some clothes?" Aichi paused at the door, then added awkwardly. "... and maybe breakfast?"
Kai merely nodded and jumped out of the bed, waiting for Aichi to come back.
"Then, do you know his uncle?" Aichi asked Miwa who just shrugged. When Aichi called Miwa informing him that they had to talk, Miwa suggested that they could meet at a cafe, as Aichi's choice of words didn't make him sound like he was just in need of a companion or something similar to what Miwa previously thought.
"No, I don't know," He took a sip from his coffee then glanced at him suspiciously, grey eyes narrowing slightly. "Hey, Aichi, why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"
Aichi nearly jumped out of his seat. Miwa snickered quietly; if Aichi was trying to lie, well, he wasn't doing a very good job at it. "Um, I was thinking that maybe Kai-kun would have gone home."
Miwa offered the boy a grin."Well, at least he wouldn't go to his uncle's house, that's for sure."
A curious pair of blue eyes looked up at him. "Why?"
For a moment, Aichi thought he saw Miwa frown, but it was quickly replaced with his normal smile. "Well, let's just say both got into a friendly fight and Kai's on bad terms with him, okay? His uncle just sends him money and that's all."
"So... Kai-kun doesn't have any family?"
"No... I don't think so."
Aichi whispered his friend's name quietly. "Kai-kun..."
"It would be nice if he could open up a little bit more to us."
"Miwa-kun..."
"He wasn't like that before... I know that Kai isn't the type of person to choose power over his friends and he must have had a reason for it, at least that's what I like to believe."
"Miwa-kun..." Aichi repeated his name once more, not finding anything else to say. He felt horrible that he wasn't telling Kai's best friend of Kai's condition and making him worry like that. Aichi thought of how Kai would handle the situation if he was in a similar position to his.
Miwa picked up his mug and shook it lightly, watching how the liquid inside moved. "This might be just a hunch but you know something, don't you, Aichi?"
Aichi ignored his question, and looked at Miwa with determined eyes. "If you saw Kai-kun again, would you hate him, Miwa-kun?"
Miwa seemed to be taken aback by Aichi's question, causing him to choke on his drink. "What- well, I might forgive him depending on his reasons but of course, I can't just hate someone I consider a best friend, you know!"
For now, Aichi's top priority was to take care of Kai as best as he could, until he would be able to work out what exactly happened and what to do. He decided he would find and speak to Takuto, using PsyQualia, and if it didn't work, then maybe even with Leon, as he was better acquainted with him during their fight together.
Aichi smiled as he watched the child put on a white sweater. When Kai turned around to acknowledge Aichi's presence, Aichi tried his best to suppress a chuckle at the comical sight before him.
A six-year-old Kai Toshiki almost drowned in a large sweater.
Kai noticed the amusement in Aichi's eyes and gave the best annoyed glare he could perform at this moment.
"It suits you?" Aichi tried, but the child puffed his cheeks and pouted.
"It's big!"
Aichi blinked, not used to converse in such a way with Kai. When Kai was a little three-years old toddler, it didn't feel as odd as it felt now. "Well, they are my clothes from last year."
"Why would you keep old clothes?"
"I don't know. My mom just likes to keep them." Aichi noticed how Kai's eyes dimmed, and quickly changed the subject. He, himself, was not comfortable with sharing facts about his own family, and seeing that it only worsened Kai's current state, he decided to avoid that particular subject.
"I made some food," he sat the tray on a desk next to the bed to emphasise his point. Kai shifted his eyes from the older boy to look at the food in front of him. He didn't understand how a flat, pitch-black object clumsily laid out on a plate could be called 'food'. It had a weird, mysterious shape too, Kai noted, and quite a frightening aura surrounding it for it to be called food. Kai gulped and mentally shivered.
"Emi has a school field trip, and Mom was worried so she went with her," Aichi flashed Kai an apologetic smile. "I can't cook really well and that's why I'm not sure if it is edible-"
Kai blinked curiously, tearing his glare away from the abnormal object next to him. "What's ed-dee-bal?"
Aichi paused after the sudden interruption, and looked at the child. "It means something that can be eaten." He felt confused when he heard the child let out a soft "Oh, so this is supposed to be food" comment. Aichi realised that at this moment, Kai was looking at him like he was an alien from space, and he didn't like it one bit.
"So..." Kai looked back down at the food nervously. "You're testing it? On me?"
Aichi chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, not sure what to say.
"What are you making?"
The kitchen was very warm from the heat emitted from the hob of the cooker. Aichi took in the mess on the counters. Flour and a tub of butter, a milk jug, a measuring cup and spoons. A large mixing bowl was sitting on the table, and Aichi peered in to see the mixture.
"Food!" Kai replied cheerfully.
Aichi let out a chuckle at the honest answer, "I can see that, but what type of food are you making?"
"Pancakes," Came the simple response. Kai dragged a large footstool towards the counter. Aichi stepped away from the bowl while Kai climbed up and tried to open a pack of flour. "Yours looked like it came from space."
For the tenth time that day, Aichi apologised. "I'm sorry..."
The child let out a playful grin then turned his attention back to what he was previously doing.
Aichi paused when he realised something. "How do you know how to cook?"
"I just know," Kai replied and poked his tongue out in concentration as he pulled at the packet of flour with his small fingers. "Mom and dad are always busy with work, so I learned how to look after myself because of that..." He groaned when the packet refused to give.
So that was why Kai had easily believed his lie that his parents were working. It was a mere coincidence that both of their stories matched. Aichi couldn't help but feel a smile tug at his lips.
"Here, let me help you with that," Aichi offered, and in defeat, Kai allowed him to reach out and grab the pack from his hands. He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest while Aichi smiled his usual polite smile, obviously trying to stifle his laughter. He held the bag up and easily tugged the paper apart.
Unfortunately, the tug was a little too hard.
Both Kai and Aichi let out strangled yelps when the paper tore more than necessary and flour exploded over them and onto the counter, the floor and even into the bowl of pancake mixture. For a moment, silence took over as both stared down at the floor coated with flour before looking up at each other.
"...Um..." Aichi said slowly and Kai's lips stretched into a slow smile before he burst into laughter.
"Ahaha! That was so funny! Hahaha! Your face!" Kai managed to say between laughter, pointing his finger straight at Aichi. The other chuckled lightly as he put the torn pieces of paper onto the counter and began to sweep up the flour on the counter. He glanced at the pile in his hands once he finished, unsure, and turned to Kai.
"Um... what should I do with it?" he asked, looking around for the bin. Kai stared at it for a brief moment before shrugging and smacking Aichi's hands lightly from the bottom. Aichi yelped when the flour cascaded from his fingers and into the mixing bowl.
"We can just use it!" He said cheerfully. Aichi nearly sweat-dropped at the amount of optimism the child owned. It amazed him, actually and this was a side of Kai Aichi never knew he had.
With a short sigh, Aichi bent down to clean the floor with a dustpan whilst Kai worked on the pancake mixture.
Still, it surprised him how Kai was able to cook with confidence when he was just, Aichi assumed, six years old. However, Aichi himself had always relied on his mother or sister when it came to food; they would always do the cooking, and at times, Aichi would feel bad for not helping out. He knew he would one day regret not learning how to cook, and he was grateful that Kai was here to help out-
Crack.
Aichi stopped sweeping the floor when he felt a cold, sticky substance on his head. Aichi raised his fingers to touch the substance for confirmation. He raised his head to glance up on Kai who was sitting on the stool above him, wearing a sheepish grin.
"Was that... an egg...?" Aichi asked slowly. The child lowered his hands and the grin left his face.
"Um, it was an accident!" The child said quickly, green eyes huge. "... Oops?"
"I can't just hate someone I consider a best friend, you know!"
Aichi pondered about Miwa's words, and he found his fists clenching until his knuckles lost their colour.
I can't as well... no, I wouldn't be able to hate, Kai-kun...
He quickly released his hands and cast a quick glance at Kai.
... but with things going as they are now, what should I do? How can I help him return to normal?
"Hey, can I go see Miwa?"
Aichi found himself panicking at the next words that came out from the child's mouth. He jumped up from his sitting position on the sofa. Kai looked oddly at him, but being the oblivious child he was, thankfully didn't question Aichi's behaviour.
"Miwa-kun? N-No, you can't!" Aichi's eyes widened at his own mistake, covering his mouth with his hands by reflex. Once he calmed down, he went on to explain. "Um... I don't know where he lives..." Aichi quickly blurted out. It wasn't a lie; Aichi had never been to Miwa's house before.
"I know where he lives," Kai stated cheerfully, not quite catching how tense the atmosphere around them was. "So can I go?"
If Kai were to meet his former best friend, Miwa, either he wouldn't recognise the older version of him or he might, but both results did sound very appealing to Aichi. "But I have to look after you-"
"You can come too," Kai smiled brightly, and Aichi couldn't find any other excuses as to why he wouldn't allow Kai to go there. "His family are really nice."
Could this situation get any worse than it already was?
Aichi nodded, unable to resist Kai's smile, and silently prayed that Miwa would not be home at that very moment.
There! Just finished another very random chapter. As you already know, Kai turned into a six-year old from originally being a three-year-old and he regained his memories of when he was very small. (This is before his parent's accident by the way- in Kai's memory, they are hardworking parents and Kai thought that they just left him in Aichi's care until they would come back from their business trip.)
Umm... special thanks to ronin warriors fanatic who suggested the idea of Kai aging or something similar.
Disclaimer: I do not own CFV.
