"Ready...go!" Mariko announced.
Butts in the air, Mariko and Hisoka pushed their rags down the hallway, racing to the other end. Coming to the living room, they turned and ran into each other, letting out squeaks and giggles. Scrambling back up, they hurried back down the hallway each trying to get to the end first. In a few passes, they had the floor clean.
Still holding his rag, Hisoka came out into the living room to show the dirty rag to his mother, who was lying on the couch in her house robe. "See mom, we got the hallway done. What's next?"
Mariko appeared with the water bucket and asked, "Out here, right?"
Chizu couldn't help but chuckle at their enthusiasm. She couldn't follow their movements, the neck brace made it so she couldn't move her head. She waved a hand at them. "Yes, dear. You can do in here. I do have to get some dinner started anyway."
"Ohh, let me help!" Mariko begged. "Hisoka, you do the floor here, I'll get the cooking stuff out."
Chizu moved to get up, and Hisoka appeared by her side to help her. Chziu got up, enjoying the lively look on Hisoka's face. "Don't get the floor too wet, dear. We don't want anyone to slip and fall."
"Right mom. Let Mariko get stuff out for you, OK?"
"I will, dear."
.
Mariko hovered near Chizu as they went into the kitchen. She opened cupboard doors and pulled out pans and bowls, using her mind hands for the things that were out of her reach. Mariko got a pot of water on the stove and took food out under Chizu's watchful gaze.
As she worked, Mariko took on a thoughtful look. "Lady Chizu, what happened to Hisoka's Papa?" she asked.
Chizu hugged herself and said, "I don't know, dear. No one has seen him in a while."
"Maybe he got lost, or he's hurt and can't get home," Mariko offered.
"I would love to think that's true," Chizu said with a sigh.
Mariko frowned at her and asked, "Has anyone looked for him?"
"I did, yes, but I think he went away on purpose. These things happen, dear."
Mariko's frown deepened. "Then he's not a good Papa, and doesn't deserve to be home with you and Hisoka," she stated.
Chizu cast her a grin and said, "You do see things clearly, don't you, Mariko?"
Holding onto the spoon she was stirring with, Mariko turned and gave a stiff nod. "I have the best Papa in the world, and I'd really like to share him with you and Hisoka," she said in a serious tone.
Chizu laughed and said, "I don't think it works like that, dear. But thank you for the thought."
A knock sounded at the door. Chizu moved to go answer it, but Mariko shot past her. "I'll get it! It must be Mama Nana," Mariko said as she ran out.
Mariko ran to the door and flung it open expecting to see Mama Nana's smiling face. The bulk on the other side of the door wasn't Mama Nana. It was the meanie, Toshio. They gapped at each other, then with a cry of fear, Mariko slammed the door shut. The knob moved, so Mariko slipped her mind hands out and held the door shut. She backed away, afraid he was going to reach in to grab her anyway.
"HELP! Hisoka, I need help!" Mariko cried.
"Let me in," came a stern voice from the other side.
Hisoka came running. He glanced at the door and asked, "What's going on?"
"The meanie is here, what do I do!" Mariko asked with a wide-eyed squeak.
"Don't let him in," Hisoka said automatically.
"I'm not, but what if he breaks the door?" Mariko asked fearfully.
"Calm down," Chizu said as she came up behind them. Stiffening herself, Chizu said, "Mariko, let him in."
"But... Lady Chizu, he might beat you up again!" Mariko cried.
Hisoka grabbed an umbrella from by the coat rack and brandished it like a sword. "I'll protect you, mom," he said.
"Mariko, let go of the door," Chizu said firmly.
Mariko withdrew her mind hands. She stood by Hisoka in front of Chizu. "I can't let you get beat up again," she said with a quiver in her voice.
Putting a hand of each of their shoulders, Chizu said, "It's open."
The knob turned and Toshio pushed the door open. He stood on the other side, eyeing them, then said, "Now this is a sight. I see it didn't take long for her to worm her way into the house, did it?"
"Mariko is helping me with chores that I can't do after you assaulted me," Chizu said firmly. "What do you want?"
"I came to collect my stuff," Tohsio stated. He took a step forward.
Mariko gasped and threw her mind hands up in a net between them and Toshio. Toshio took a couple steps and bumped into the net.
"I won't let you hurt anyone else," Mariko said as a tear rolled down her cheek. Her body quaked in fear for Lady Chizu and Hisoka.
Looking down on her with a hateful face, Toshio asked, "I see, you can stop me any time you like. So strong at such a young age. Can you stop bullets too?"
Chizu's eyes wend wide, "Hisoka, get me the phone, hurry! Toshio, there is no reason to hurt this child! I'll bring your things," she said in a pleading voice.
Toshio looked at Chizu and laughed. "Hurt her, me? You don't get it, do you? I could shoot her with an automatic rifle and it wouldn't hurt her! Nothing will hurt her, or anyone like her. So when she decides to pull a tantrum, you can forget about discipline. She'll rip your head off and go on her merry way," he said in a heavy tone.
"I don't touch people with mind hands, I know better than that!" Mariko yelled.
"You're stopping me from coming in the house now, aren't you?" Toshio asked accusingly.
"I can't let you hurt anyone else!" Mariko said in a wail. "Why can't you leave them alone?"
Hisoka ran up and handed his mother the phone.
"Right now it's stopping me," Toshio said in a smooth tone. "When will that become needing to have your own way at staying up late? Then refusing to do chores, then becoming violent when someone asks you to pick up your own mess?"
"Toshio, stop that!" Chizu barked. "You know nothing about Mariko! She is the best behaved girl I have ever seen! I'm calling the police."
"But she is stopping me from coming into my own house," he countered.
"Can you blame her?" Hisoka cried. "You say nothing but ... horrid things about her, and look what you did to mom. She's RIGHT to keep you out!"
Mariko squeezed her eyes shut as she let out a whine. "Please, go AWAY!" she cried.
Toshio eyed her with a smirk. "You're becoming angry aren't you, little miss mutant. You're going to kill me soon, aren't you? Go on, show Chizu and Hisoka what your true nature is. Who is your real mother by the way? I bet it's that devil woman Lucy who killed over fifty men eleven years ago. My brother was split in half by her, I saw it. Guts all over the place. She ripped the head off a secretary, held her body up like a trophy! Do you have something like that planned for me? Come on, show them what you're really like."
Mariko cringed at his words. Tears ran down her cheeks. Her body quivered and her jaw clenched in a combination of fear and rage.
"Step your ass outside," came a growl from just outside the door.
They all looked to see Lucy glowering at Toshio, hands on her hips.
Mariko popped her eyes open. "Mama Lucy, please help me!" she begged.
Lucy glanced at her and said, "Mariko, put your mind hands away. Toshio, you can step outside, or I'll drag you out here."
Toshio turned to eye her with hate. "Ah! The violent bitch is ..." his words were cut off as his feet were jerked out from under him. He hit the floor, then slid out the door past Lucy as if shot from a catapult. Clearing the step, he hit the sidewalk by the gate on his back. He bounced and crashed into the gate.
Lucy eyed Chizu, Mariko and Hisoka, and said, "Don't come out here." The door shut by itself.
"Yes!" Hisoka hissed and he squeezed a fist and pumped it.
Mariko dropped to her knees and cried. Chizu knelt down and put her hands on Mariko's shoulders. "It's all right, he's gone," she said soothingly.
Mariko shook her head and wailed, "It's not! He was right, I so wanted to kill him where he stood! I wanted to bash him apart like those rocks. That's all I saw him as, was a pile of rocks!"
"But you didn't, did you?" Chizu asked softly. "Mariko, that is the different between good people and bad. Bad people don't care and do whatever they want. Good people DO care about others, and do what is right no matter how angry they get. Mariko, you are a good girl. Don't let anyone tell you differently."
"Yeah, Mariko, you're the best friend anyone could have," Hisoka said he knelt down by her.
"Hisoka's right. Come on, dear, let's go wash your face and calm down, then we'll finish dinner," Chizu said.
Mariko got up. Looking at the door, she sniffed and asked, "Mama Lucy will be OK, won't she?"
"I'm sure she will be fine. Hisoka, have you finished cleaning the floor yet?"
"Almost mom, I'll get another rag and dry it, too!" Hisoka said, and ran off to his chores.
.
Nana arrived as Mariko was setting the table for dinner. Hisoka got the door. He peeked out, then upon seeing Nana, he flung it open and happily cried, "Mama Nana!" Towing Nana by the hand, Hisoka showed her the good job they did on the floors and announced, "Mariko and I are doing a really good job, Mama Nana! And Mariko even kept the meanie out!"
Nana eyed him, then Chizu. "He came back?" she asked.
"Yes, but Lady Lucy took care of it," Chizu assured her.
Nana's face fell. "Oh no," she said in a breath. "Where did they go?"
"I don't know. Lucy told us not to go outside, then shut the door behind her," Chizu said.
"Oh no," Nana gasped, and ran back out.
Wondering why Mama Nana was upset, Mariko followed her.
.
Nana met Lucy on the street coming back up the sidewalk to the house. Running up to Lucy, she asked, "You didn't kill him, did you?"
Lucy eyed her and said, "Tempting, but no. The police have him and assured me he is going into a hospital for the mentally ill. It was that or I was going to rip him apart in front of them. You should have heard the things he said to Mariko!"
Nana breathed a sigh of relief. She offered Lucy a smile and said, "I'm really glad you didn't kill him."
Lucy shrugged. Sporting a smirk she said, "I haven't killed anyone in what, ten almost eleven years now?"
A tiny voice behind them asked, "Mama Lucy, you used to kill people?"
They turned to see Mariko staring at Lucy.
.
Mariko sat on the swing beside Mama Lucy in Hisoka's back yard, holding tight to the chains as she looked down at her feet. She didn't pay much attention to the Meanie's accusations, but Mama Lucy had admitted to killing people. This wasn't some bad person, this was Mama Lucy! All the time at the community center, and at home Mama Lucy had strictly enforced the 'keep your hands to yourself' rule. It was hard to believe. that Mama Lucy herself hadn't followed the same rule.
"It's all right, Mariko. If you have a question, ask me," Lucy said.
Mariko bit her lip. She wanted to know the truth, but was afraid to at the same time. She was sure that Mama Lucy had a good explanation, so she asked, "Mama Lucy, what that the Meanie said about killing all those people ... is that true?"
Lucy swallowed, then after a pause said, "Yes, it is. I may have well killed his brother as he said. From what I know, they were some of the ones who held me in that steel vault at their facility."
"Steel vault?" Mariko asked.
"Yes, they held me there for most of my childhood."
"You did it because they wouldn't let you go, right? You had to so you could escape?" Mariko asked, sure that was the case.
"I killed the ones who shot their guns at me," Lucy agreed. Leaning her head to rest on one of the chains, Lucy added, "I wish I could tell you that I only killed those who tried to kill me first. That is not the whole truth. It didn't matter to me back then who I killed." With a pained frown, she said, "I never wanted you to know."
Tears formed in Mariko's eyes. Mama Lucy had been a bad person at one time? "But ... didn't you go to school at the center? Didn't you learn you're not suppose to touch people with your mind hands?" she asked
Lucy shook her head. "There was no center back then, Mariko. There was no one to tell me what was right or wrong. No one to tell me what I was. I ... had a difficult time, and the only answer seemed to be to get rid of whoever was bothering me." Frowning as she looked at the ground, Lucy said, "I heard ... voices telling me I should kill. And I did. I probably would have kept on killing, except for the kindness of your Papa."
Mariko looked over to see tears running down Mama Lucy's face. "Papa showed you it was wrong to kill?" she asked.
Casting her a brief smile, Lucy said, "Yes, and Mama Nana, and Mama Yuka. They saved me, Mariko. And that is why Lady Himari started the community center, so mistakes like me wouldn't happen any more."
Mariko jumped off her swing and stood in front of Lucy with her hands balled into fists. "You're NOT a mistake, Mama Lucy! You're my Mama Lucy, and I love you. You told me to do as I believe unless someone proves you wrong. That's what you said. Papa proved you wrong, so you changed, and now you do what's right... right?" she asked.
Lucy cracked a true grin and said, "That's right."
"And you're not going to kill any more, right?" Mariko asked.
Lucy tipped her head. With a sigh, she said, "I almost did today. I was very close. That man got me really mad with the way he was chiding you."
"He got me mad too," Mariko said firmly. "But it's like Lady Chizu said, good people don't just to as they want. GOOD people care about others and do what is right, no matter how angry they are. I wanted to kill him, and so did you, but we didn't because we are good people, right, Mama Lucy?"
"Exactly, dear," Lucy agreed with a tiny smile.
Mariko bobbed her head in agreement. "Right. So ... I feel bad that you used to do those things, but you're not like that any more."
"Right," Lucy said quietly. Reaching out, Lucy clasped Mariko's hands and looked at her. "One thing, Mariko. Someday, you may find yourself in a position where you have no choice but to kill. I truly hope you never do, but it may happen. If it does, don't hold back. Hit them with everything you've got, as hard as you can."
"Mama Lucy," Mariko said softly.
"I'm serious, Mariko. You stopped that man today, I'm very proud of how you handled yourself. Let's say he did get inside and was going to hurt someone badly, and you weren't close enough to stop him. You might have had to kill him to protect Hisoka, right?"
"I ... but you're not suppose to touch people with your mind hands," Mariko said.
"That is true, to keep from hurting people by accident. There are exceptions, Mariko. Someone trying to hurt the ones you love, is one of those exceptions."
Mariko's lip quivered as she said, "Mama Lucy, that's scary to even think about."
"It should be. I'm only saying that if someday you have to hurt someone to keep them from hurting your family, then no one will think badly of you. At least I won't," Lucy explained.
Mariko nodded. What Mama Lucy was saying might well be true, but she didn't want to think about things like that. Looking at the house, she asked, "Can we go in now? I think Lady Chizu and Hisoka are probably done with dinner."
"Yes, dear. I hope you don't think less of me. But if you do, I understand," Lucy offered.
"Never!" Mariko said and dove into her. "You're my Mama Lucy."
Lucy held Mariko and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, dear. That means a lot to me."
.
As Mariko helped Hisoka take care of his mother's house during the week, Hisoka went to the Maple Inn on the weekends and helped Mariko with her chores there. Instead of the long hallways that Hisoka was sure would be fun to race down, they were assigned individual rooms. The empty rooms upstairs were easy, just a quick dusting and window cleaning and they moved to the next room.
Passing by the bath, Hisoka heard a strange cooie /gasping sound. He paused then went to the door to open it a bit to see what was going on.
Mariko was quickly beside him. She grabbed his hand and shook her head, mouthing 'don't'.
"What is that?" he asked in a whisper.
Mariko pulled him away from the door and whispered back, "It's Mama Yuka's turn with Papa."
Hisoka looked back at the door and asked, "For what?"
"Whatever it is they do!" Mariko hissed. "She'll really be mad if you open the door."
Hisoka went on to the next room with Mariko. As they cleaned this room, he tried to figure out what that noise could be. He made a few sounds as he cleaned off the windows, but he couldn't duplicate that noise.
Mariko laughed at him and asked, "What are you doing?"
Hisoka frowned and said, "I was trying to make that noise. Maybe if I could do it, then we could figure out what they were doing in there."
Mariko went over and shut the door to the room. She ran back and said, "OK, let me try."
Mariko opened her mouth a bit, then tilted her head back. The noise she made was close, but rougher.
"It sound's like you're trying to take a dump," Hisoka said, giggling.
Mariko slapped him lightly and giggled with him. "OK, let me try again," she said. Pausing she frowned a bit, then made a very good, "Ohhhh Ohhh Ohhh Ohhh!"
"You're really good at this, Mariko!" Hisoka said. She had it perfect.
The door to the room slid open. "What are you DOING in here?" Mama Nana cried as she stared at them.
They looked at Mama Nana's gapping face, and burst into giggles.
"Just cleaning," Hisoka said, trying to stop from laughing.
"Well, do it with the door open," Mama Nana said as she slid the door wide open. "No closing yourselves in like that."
Seeing Mama Nana was serious, Mariko calmed herself and said, "Yes, Mama Nana."
"We're sorry, Mama Nana. We weren't being bad, were we?" Hisoka asked.
"No, just ... leave the door open from now on," Nana said. She frowned at them, and continued on her way.
Hioska started giggling again, which got Mariko going. They giggled their way through cleaning that room, then went on to Mariko's room.
Mariko showed Hisoka her flowering plants by the window, her stuffed animals, and the paintings and pictures on her wall. Opening her top dresser drawer, she showed him her jars of paint and the spare paper 'canvas' she had.
Hisoka saw these, but his eyes drifted over to the other half of the drawer where her underwear was. "Even your underwear is pretty," he said as he looked at the bright colors.
Mariko flushed with embarrassment and shut the drawer. "You're not suppose to look at those!" she cried.
Shocked by her sudden motion, Hisoka said, "But ... all I said was that they are pretty."
"Boys aren't suppose to see girls' underwear," Mariko said angrily.
"Then don't show them to me," he said defensively.
From the hallway Kanae called out, "Mama Nana, Mariko is showing Hisoka her undies!"
"I was not!" Mariko cried as her face turned crimson.
Rubbing his arm nervously, Hisoka said, "Actually, you did."
"OH, just shut up!" Mariko snapped at him.
"Mariko, come here!" Mama Nana called out.
Mariko cast a scowl at Hisoka then walked out moaning. Hisoka though he should leave, then Mama Nana called, "You too, Hisoka."
"But, I didn't do anything," Hisoka said in a huff as he followed Mariko out.
.
Mariko desperately explained to Mama Nana that she was showing Hisoka her painting supplies, and he happened to see her underwear, which was in the same drawer. Seeing Mama Nana didn't look happy, Hisoka explained he'd seen her underwear in the drawer by accident. Some time while he was telling Mama Nana how it had happened, Mama Yuka and Papa Kouta showed up.
A new rule was set. Hisoka was barred from going into any of the girl's rooms, even for cleaning. Kanae's complaint that he hadn't seen her room yet went unnoticed. After the quick family meeting that made Hisoka feel like he'd done something wrong, Mariko and Kanae were towed off by Mama Yuka to help with the laundry.
Hisoka was led by Papa Kouta outside to help him with cleaning up the lawn. Cutting the grass and raking up the trimmings went fast. Once they were done, Kouta got them some iced tea and sat Hisoka down on the doorstep.
Eyeing Hisoka with a smirk, Papa Kouta said, "Girls can be very strange about their underwear. Even if you happen to see it, you're never suppose to admit you have."
"But, I didn't mean to! It was just there." Hisoka explained. "All I said was it was pretty, I didn't mean to get her mad."
"Ahh, you saw it, and you commented on it. Two big no-no's in girl's eyes," Kouta said seriously.
"So if I happen to see it, I'm not suppose to say anything?"
"That's right."
"So what's the point of having all those colors and making them pretty if they don't want anyone to admit seeing it?" Hisoka asked in confusion.
"I told you, girls are strange about their underwear. Try to avoid seeing it whenever possible, and never say anything if you happen to," Kouta explained.
"OK, should I go tell Mariko I'm sorry I saw her underwear?" Hisoka asked.
"No no! That will only make things worse. Try to forget you saw it." Kouta coached.
"Girls are a bit strange, huh?"
Kouta patted Hisoka on the back with a laugh and said, "You're just beginning to find out how true that is."