Okay, I just can't stand not updating haha I took a day off yesterday (4th Of July, grandparents up, all that good stuff), so I didn't get to read the reviews! hahaha I guess I'm just SO interested in what people think of the chapters that I want to update every HOUR or something... But I won't XD While I'm posting Chapter 12 today, I'm working on Chapter... *runs and checks story file* Chapter 33 (I think), so there's a LOT more story to go. We're not even half-way through, I don't think!
Thanks to those of you reviewing (you know who you are X] ), and for making me laugh and want to update more. See? There IS a correlation between reviews and updates! Okay, enough outta me. Go on and read, and review if you should feel the urge :)
-Chapter 12-
Kiku
The next day went very much like any other day. It felt like more than two and a half weeks had passed since I'd come to live at 7th Heaven. I felt like Anna, Clay, and I had been friends for...well, a long time. Months. Maybe even years.
But I didn't feel the full extent of their friendship until that day. The day after Zack had told me he was leaving.
It was mid-afternoon, another rainy day in Midgar. This day was a little lighter, though. Some sunshine was peeking out from behind the clouds, making the sky more grey than black.
But the lighter clouds didn't necessarily mean a brighter day.
Luckily, it was a crowded day, or he would've seen me immediately.
The bell above the door rang, and I looked over, intending to greet the new customer like I always did. As soon as I saw him, my smile fell and my eyes widened.
He was scanning the room, looking for someone.
"Crap!" I breathed and instinctively fell to my knees on the floor, clutching my empty tray to my chest.
Some people looked down at me strangely, but I didn't want to take time to explain. I didn't want to cause a scene either.
It couldn't go like, "Hey, what are you doing down there?"
Me: "Oh, me? Nothing. Just hiding from my sadomasochistic father who tried to kill me and would try again if he got the chance. Not to mention try to kill my best friend just because he's with SOLDIER. Yeah, ain't life great?"
So not happening.
I ducked and crawled my way back behind the counter, and pressed my back against it, breathing heavily.
"What's the matter?" Anna asked, her eyes wide.
Clay was to my left, her eyebrow raised in question.
I took a couple deep breaths, trying to form an understandable statement. "My...father," I said quietly.
I saw both of their bodies stiffen. They stared down at me.
"He's here?" Clay asked quietly.
"Yes," I said. "He just walked in. Now stop looking at me and pretend like nothing's wrong!"
They both snapped their heads up and went back to what they were doing. Anna was drying some glasses, and Clay was pretending to ring up a tab.
"What's he look like?" Clay asked, glancing down at me past the register drawer.
"Big burly guy. Plain T-shirt. Brown buzz cut. Scar across his upper left arm."
"I see him," Anna whispered. She was cleaning a spoon when she "dropped it." She crouched down to pick it up, and looked me right in the eyes. "Don't worry. We'll take care of this." She stood back up like nothing had happened.
Clay "dropped" a couple coins out of the register and bent down to pick them up. "We're not letting him get near you," she whispered. "Just stay quiet and everything will be fine. Trust us."
I did. I really did trust them. I realized just how much right in that moment.
Footsteps approached the counter, and I sucked in a breath, pressing myself against the bar even farther. I wrapped my arms around my ankles, and pulled my legs as close as I could to me. I sucked in another breath, waiting.
"Can we help you?" Clay asked.
I could tell by the slight undertones in her voice that she was talking to someone she didn't particularly like. That just made my heart pound harder. I was sure that was what would give me away.
If Zack ever hears about this, he'll flip his lid, I thought. Note to self: If all goes well, don't tell Zack. Never mind. Strike that.
"I think you can."
A million chills ran up and down my spine when he spoke. It was definitely him. I'd know the voice that I'd come to fear for practically my whole life anywhere.
"I'm looking for my daughter. She's about five-foot four, long brown hair, blue eyes... She's probably got a bunch a' scars and things on her."
He was actually trying to sound worried. I don't believe this! I screeched in my head.
"Well...I don't know anybody that looks like that," Anna said. She looked at Clay. "Do you?"
"Nope," Clay replied.
I could hear the grin in my father's voice. But just barely over my pounding heart. "Oh, but I think you girls do. See, I've been askin' around. And everybody says there's a new waitress here who's all scarred up. And she fits that description."
"Sorry, sir," Clay said.
I could see the disdain on her face, but I guess Anna and I were the only ones who could.
"Like we said, there's no one here. No one but the two of us. Your sources must've been incorrect," Anna said.
I was shaking so bad, I was sure the counter was shaking, too. My heart was still pounding in my ears. I had my hands clamped over my mouth to try to make my breathing more quiet, but that just made it worse. I also felt like crying as a million flashbacks raced through my mind. My cuts started pulsing in synch with my heart. I started thinking about what he would do if he found me, and that certainly didn't help anything. I felt sick.
"Come on," my father said. "She's my daughter." He actually laughed a little. "I just wanna take her home. Where she belongs. All her friends miss her back home."
I don't have any friends and you know that you-! I wanted to scream so badly, I couldn't even finish my thought.
"For the third time," Clay said, more annoyance in her voice now, "she's not here. I'm not sure why it is that you assume we're lying."
"Hey, no one's calling you liars," my father said, still grinning, I knew. "I'm just wondering why you're hiding her. What in the hell could she possibly mean to you?"
"Considering the fact that we don't know who you're talking about, it makes it very difficult for us to answer that question," Anna said cooly.
How on earth can they be so calm? I wondered. (Granted, Clay was losing her calmness, but still...) I'm about to pass out from lack of oxygen down here!
I was freaking really bad. Wouldn't you have been, were you in my position?
My father laughed softly once. "So you're gonna stick with that story, huh?"
Clay looked ready to hop over the counter and sock him. Luckily, she didn't. She just clenched her jaw and glared at him. My father must've been more dense than I thought, to not see that look on her face.
"It's no story, I assure you," Anna said, somehow managing to keep her cool. "I'm sorry we couldn't be of more help."
He laughed once again. "Whatever. You can't hide her here forever. It's well within my legal rights to take her back. To have the police search this place. And what will you say then, hmm?"
Tears began silently running down my face as I pressed myself farther against the bar. I was crying because I knew he was right. I was crying because, if the police did find me and make me go back with him, Anna and Clay would suffer the consequences of hiding me.
I pressed my hands over my mouth again and tried to blink the tears away.
"Probably the same thing we're telling you right now, sir," Anna said, her tone unchanged. "We don't know your daughter. I'm sorry."
Silence between the three of them for a moment. Then my father huffed and I heard footsteps walking away. When I heard the familiar bell ringing, Anna and Clay immediately collapsed to the floor on their knees next to me. They both sighed.
I released my breath and spread my legs out in front of me, trying to figure out how to make my lungs work again. Tears still ran down my face as I gasped. Finally, I breathed, "I can't believe he found me."
"He didn't," Anna said. "He has no legitimate proof that you're here. His sources were probably all drunks anyway."
"And if he had found you, I would've taken him out with my bare hands," Clay said through gritted teeth.
I shifted my eyes back and forth between them. They really do care about me, I thought. If they didn't, they would've turned me over right then. They're risking so much for me. This isn't fair to them.
"You guys didn't have to-"
"Oh, yes we did," Anna said.
"Yeah, are you kidding?" Clay asked. "You're our friend! Like we're going to let him come in here and take you away."
"We might avoid some things, but then your blood would be on our hands. So, yes, we had to do it."
"What she said," Clay agreed, nodding.
Clay put her arm around my shoulders and Anna patted my hand.
I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.
"Why don't you go on upstairs," Anna suggested. "We can handle things down here, and that'll give things a chance to settle down."
I nodded. "Yeah, okay."
"And we're right down here if you need anything," Clay said.
I nodded again and went up the stairs, trying to make my exit as unnoticable as possible.
I lay on my bed, looking out the window. Rain was running down it again. I stared at it for a long time, not thinking much of anything.
Except that my father had been right. He could go to the police and demand they search the place for me. Legally, biologically, I was his. But only in those ways.
The sunlight slowly faded, and the sky began to turn black again. The rain never stopped.
And what about Zack? My father had seen him once, and he knew he was a SOLIDER. Would he get him, too? Claim he kidnapped me? Or worse, claim that Zack had been the one who attacked me? He'd get demoted. Discharged, whatever. And thrown in prison, to boot.
Maybe it's good he's leaving on this mission right now, I thought. The farther away he is from my father, the better.
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," I said, sitting up.
Anna poked her head in, followed by Clay. "You alright?" Anna asked.
"Yeah," I said, nodding.
They both walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. We were silent for a few moments.
"I know you think that maybe we're being stupid, hiding you here," Clay said, "but we don't feel that way."
"This is your home now. You have every right to be here," Anna said. "We want you here, and, considering your circumstances, it's our responsibility to protect you. Because we want to."
"We don't want to lose you," Clay said. "Especially to that jerkwad."
I smiled a little at her word for my father.
"So stop apologizing and thinking you spread doom and gloom wherever you go," she continued. "Everything will be okay, no matter what happens, right?"
I nodded a little. "Right."
"Well, now that that's settled," Anna said, "are you hungry at all?"
I shook my head. "No, thanks."
"Okay," she said. "We'll be right down the hall if you need anything."
"So just holler," Clay said.
"Okay. Thanks," I said.
They both gave me reassuring smiles, and then stood and left, closing the door queitly behind them.
I lay back and looked up at my ceiling for a long while.
I bet Zack's already in bed, I thought, but he can't sleep because he's so excited that he finally got a mission again. I know that's how I'd feel if I were going on a mission.
I sighed and closed my eyes. Today's just been a strange day, I thought. But maybe tomorrow will be better.
Suddenly, my eyes flew open as thoughts began racing through my head. About everything my father had said about the police...and consequences for Anna and Clay and possibly Zack...
I suddenly made up my mind about something: I couldn't stay at 7th Heaven any longer.
But...where did that leave me?
Only one place came to mind, but it would be risky. Possibly as risky as my going back home. But I had to take a chance.
As quietly as I could, I got up out of bed, and started packing the bare minimums in my bag. Clothes, money, katana, toothbrush, hairbrush, things like that.
After I had finished packing all that up, I looked at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. At my long brown hair.
I opened a drawer beneath the sink, and pulled out a pair of shiny, silver scissors. I took a few deep breaths as I pulled my hair up onto the back of my head, holding it in my hand. I placed the scissors just on the inside of my hand, and cut. I threw the bundle of hair in the trash next to the sink, then proceeded to make the necessary adjustments. I cut it so it looked really messy and choppy, and the bangs swept over to the right. Since I'd had to give myself haircuts since I was six, I'd gotten pretty good at it.
I left the bathroom and cinched my katana around my waist. I put my bag on my back, taking deep breaths the whole time, telling myself over and over that this was the right thing to do.
I found a piece of paper and quickly wrote out a note to Anna and Clay. Here's what I wrote:
Anna & Clay,
First of all, thank you. I can't say that to either of you enough. You tended to my wounds and gave me a place to stay. You let me go to work to try to help repay you, even though you said I didn't need to. I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful. It's because you mean so much to me that I have to do this.
Now, get rid of all evidence that I was ever here. Hide it, burn it, chuck it, whatever you need to do. If my father does bring cops around to check the place, I don't want either of you to get in trouble. Kiku Oshiro was never here, remember that.
Next, don't tell Zack. He'll find out soon enough, trust me.
And...maybe after things have cooled down, and my father's been convinced that I'm not here, I'll be able to come back. I hope I can. I've loved the time I've had here with you two. I already consider you two a part of my new, patched-up family. And as members of my family, all I can say is this: You just have to trust me. I know I trust both of you with my life. But no one's going to gain anything by my staying here. If he finds me, he'll kill me, and he'll find some way to put you both in prison. Not to mention Zack. I couldn't live with myself if I let that happen to you.
So...for now, I'm just going to disappear. And, remember, don't worry about Zack. I'll handle it.
Love, your friend,
Kiku
I found a piece of tape and stuck the note to the phone in the hallway.
The entire place was silent, closed-up for the night. No sound came from Anna's or Clay's bedrooms, so I knew they were asleep. All the better.
I sneaked down the stairs (being careful to skip the fifth step that squeaked), and then went around the bar to the back door. I put my hand on the handle, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
It was cold, and it was still raining.
I shivered. Come on, Kiku, I thought. Let's go.
I pulled the hood of my jacket up over my newly shorn hair, and stepped out into the rainy night.
Zack
I'm leaving for Modeoheim tomorrow.
It was about the millionth time I'd thought it. Maybe because I was feeling a whole big mess of different emotions.
On the one hand, I was totally excited to get back to doing missions. I wanted to find Angeal and Genesis and Hollander and figure out just what in the heck was going on.
On the other hand, I was thinking about Kiku. About the possibility that I might not be coming back. Never before had I thought about this so much. Except maybe on my first mission wayyyy back when. And then I'd worried about my parents.
Why do I keep thinking about them? I wondered. Granted, I haven't been to visit them in quite some time, but I write to them.
I sighed and put my hands up behind my head. I need to focus on the mission, I told myself. That's what I need to focus on right now.
But it's hard to do when you're worrying about your abused best friend who is currently working as a waitress in a bar.
I could almost hear Anna saying, "You knockin' my place of business again, Zack Fair?" I smiled a little at the thought.
Everything's going to be fine, I reminded myself. I have to stay positive. Get my energy back. My excitement. Everything's fine. I gotta stop worrying so much.
