Reunion

Logan didn't know how fast he ran. It seemed to him that he was flying, images blurring before his eyes. He hadn't run fast as this before, even when…he searched for Kayla, finding her "body" lying in the grass among the forgotten trees. Despite himself, Logan growled. The memory was still there, haunting him. Even though her betrayal had been real, and she had died, Logan had loved her. Kayla had accepted him for who he truly was despite his mutation, and loved him as much as he loved her. Itsu had been the same way. Both women had died for him because of what he was and what he could do. "I'm the best there is at what I do, and what I do best isn't very nice." Logan remembered now that the body he woke next fifteen years ago was Kayla. He remembered how her eyes were still open, staring, and the blood that flowed on her side. Logan had closed her eyes, unknowing that subconsciously this was the last expression of love for her. He hadn't remembered her then. He hadn't known what he had forgotten. Logan had forgotten Victor, Stryker, Weapon X, the wars, Itsu and Kayla…and Akira, the legacy that he left unknowingly behind.

I should have killed him when I had the chance, Logan thought as he finally came to a stop. He was now near the Statue of Liberty. This was where he had first fought with the X-Men against Magneto and Sabertooth. I should have killed both of them. Stryker had imprisoned and tortured his son for fifteen years, and Victor had joined the ranks with Magneto, killing innocent humans and mutants alike. Logan climbed onto the statue's feet, using his claws as a medium. As he continued to climb with his claws, he wondered how his memory had suddenly resurfaced. The memories of his father and Canada reached out to him. He remembered being loved and cared for, playing in the fields for hours with Victor, his father's gardener's son. Then his father had been murdered, and he had killed the son of a bitch who had murdered him, only to find out that Thomas Logan was his father, and Victor was his half brother. James Howelett ceased to exist that very night, vanishing with his half brother. Somehow the Civil War hadn't calmed his anger and pain even after four years of blood and gore. Something was missing, and although he denied it hotly to Victor, he had nightmares that caused him to wake in cold sweat. "James…" His father – no, the man who he thought had been his father, always called out to him.

Japan was a nation at war as well. Logan didn't give a shit. It was a place where he would find what he was missing. Unknown to him, he eventually found what he was missing: love. Itsu was promised for another, but that didn't stop him from falling in love with her. She was good with a sword, and actually taught Logan herself. She was very beautiful as well, her milky skin smooth against his own hard muscular body, and he found that she loved him too. Although their marriage was disapproved of by her father and her four brothers, Itsu and Logan lived happily for a time. His wife was going to give him a child, and he thought that nothing would stop his happiness. His nightmares had stopped. One day, he had accidently killed one of the merchants in the market from a ridiculous price of fish. He didn't mean to, and was disgusted with himself. The animal inside him had returned. Itsu was already dead when he arrived home. Her round stomach was cut open, and like with Kayla a century later, Logan held her body in his arms and sobbed as snow fell down on them. He didn't know that his son was alive.

Now the year was 2020, and Logan was one hundred seventy-five years old. His son, Akira, was here, and he had to talk to him before it was too late. Logan now stood on the Statue of Liberty, watching the lights below and the stars above him. Wind blew through his brown hair, and somehow all was right.

"I've always wanted to see the Statue of Liberty." Logan looked to find Akira across from him. The younger mutant was wearing the same clothes that he wore for the past fifteen years in Stryker's prison. His black shirt was now torn, exposing his collarbone and milky-white skin. His pants were shredded, the mutilated scraps flowing in the wind. Akira was still barefoot, and Logan noticed that his son's feet were healing before his eyes. Blood was still apparent, but the wounds were nonexistent.

"She's nothing special," Logan told his son. Akira still would not look at him, and instead continued staring at the water below. He couldn't see his expression on his face.

"Do you remember everything now?" Akira asked him. Logan nodded, and now his son looked at him. In this light, Logan saw that his hair was more dark brown than black, and that his eyes were filled with rage and sadness. "Do you remember my mother…and how you killed her?"

Logan didn't speak. Instead he sat down on the Statue of Liberty and looked at the water below. What did Akira see? What did he see? Sighing, Logan began to speak. "I was born James Howelett in 1835 to a Canadian land owner. I remember the early days when I was often ill and in bed from some illness or another. I was…fragile at that time. My father's gardener's son was my only friend. When I was ten years old, my father was murdered by him, Thomas Logan. I awakened my mutation, killing him, and only finding out that he was my true father." Akira remained silent as Logan talked. He didn't move and his face was expressionless. "My half brother, Victor, and I ran away. We came to a country known as America, and lived alone. We were always together, even as people chased us away, and even as we were outcasts. I met your mother in 1866 in Japan after the Civil War. I didn't know that I was looking for love until I saw her." Now Akira glanced at him. "She was very beautiful, Akira. She was a samurai's daughter with four brothers who were deadly with a sword. She was deadly with a sword as well, and taught me the way of the sword and the way of the samurai. Her name was Akihiro Itsu.

"We fell in love, even though she was promised to another. We were married, and you were conceived." Logan gritted his teeth to swallow a scream. The agonizing memories were still there, fresh and painful as ever. "I didn't mean to kill her. I was just…angry over a price, and killed the merchant. Itsu was dead, murdered by…a human. I'm certain that was their revenge. Akira, I suppose I killed your mother. Although I didn't bloody my hands, I was directly responsible for her death. I want you to know that I loved your mother; I could never do anything to her." Logan swallowed painfully. He felt that he was swallowing knives. "After she died, I didn't know what to do with myself. I went back to America, not caring if I lived or died. I was a shell of my former self. My nightmares of my father's murder returned with a vengeance, and Victor often threatened to kill me. I realized then that I would always be an animal; love cannot change who you truly are deep down. I was very sad. I didn't weep, although it felt as if a part of me died inside. There was a hole that couldn't be filled in. Victor disappeared for a time, then he reappeared. I don't know what happened, and then I started focusing my anger and rage and sorrow on war. I didn't know you were alive, Akira."

Akira didn't respond for a moment. Then he turned toward his father. Rage and sadness still persisted through his eyes. "Kare wa kozoku koroshita." He killed my family.

Before Logan could respond, a voice called out.

"Jimmy."

He knew that voice. It was the same voice who had been from his first memories and last memories. It was the voice who had deceived him and killed his son's family. "We could never be done, Jimmy . After all, we're brothers. And brothers look out for each other." Is that what you mean, Victor?

Slowly, father and son stood to face Victor Creed.