I DO NOT OWN LOGAN.
Laura's P.O.V.
I wake up feeling more comfortable than I have in a long time. This confuses me, as I fell asleep in a small, hard chair, with my legs curled up to my chest. So pretty much I was in the most uncomfortable position ever. But then I open my eyes, and realize that I'm not in the chair, but laying in the bed, tucked under the covers. I don't have any shoes on, and my already bloodied clothes are rumpled from sleep. I frown as I sit up and look around the room. It's early morning and it has stopped raining, the sun obscured by a blanket of clouds.
I'm about to stand up when Mariko walks with a tray of food. When she sees that I'm awake, she smiles.
"Good morning," she greets. I frown and look around the room. Dad is nowhere in sight. The room seems as empty as it was when we first got here. Seeming to know what I'm thinking, Mariko says, "He's in the shower." I relax and Mariko sets the tray in front of me.
On the tray sits a plate of toast, eggs, and ham, next to it sits a glass of green tea. I dig in immediately.
"It's good that you're eating. We have to leave in an hour to go someplace else." I nod.
"We've been here too long, already. Where are we going?" I ask.
"To a small house away from here. It should be safe enough for us to stay long enough for my father to get everything sorted out." I slow my eating and stare down at my plate. There's something I need to ask Mariko, even though I probably already know the answer.
"How did I end up in this bed?" I look into Mariko's dark eyes.
"Logan carried you to the bed after you fell asleep. He thought that you'd be more comfortable that way." I shake my head. It's all too real for me. I can't believe that my dad is actually young and alive. That he's almost healthy. Though I'm gonna have to figure out why he's not healing. I'd never thought that I'd make it this far. And I can't believe that Dad likes me enough already to carry me to the bed. When I first met him and he found out that I am his daughter, he could barely look at me. I go back to my food, and finish by the time Dad steps out into the room with fresh clothes on. I gulp down the last of my tea and set the tray aside.
"How'd you sleep?" Dad wants to know. I sigh and look into his light brown eyes and decide to give an honest answer.
"Better than I have in a long time," I tell him. "It helps that I didn't have any nightmares tonight… like I do most nights." I then reach my hands over my head and stretch, wincing as I hear my joints pop. "God. Must have been longer than I thought." I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and quickly slip my shoes on.
"Would you like to shower first?" Mariko asks me. "We have enough time." I shake my head as I stand up. "Well, at least let's get you a new pair of clothes and shoes. The ones you've got are filled with blood and holes."
"I'm fine." I walk over to the window and stare out into the street. There seems to be no threat so far. Hopefully we'll be able to make it to wherever Mariko is taking us to in one piece. "I'm used to wearing bloodied clothes. It doesn't bother me anymore." I look back at the two adults and sigh. "Fine. If it makes you feel better I'll wash off and change into new clothes, but there's no point in wearing new shoes. With the way that things are going, I'll just end up putting holes in them anyway." Mariko nods in agreement, seeming to realize that that's all she'll get from me. I quickly shower, washing the blood out of my hair and off my body with the cheap soap that the motel provides. Then I get dressed in the simple jeans and a t-shirt that Mariko somehow got her hands on. I then slip my shoes back on and run my brush through my hair.
When I come out of the bathroom I see that Dad and Mariko are ready to leave, just waiting on me. I look at Mariko.
"Are you happy now?" I ask. She gives me a small smile.
"Very. Now, let's go." We leave the room and start walking down the hallway. Halfway to the lobby, Dad comes up next to me, matching my pace. I look up at him, expecting him to say something, but he doesn't. He just walks. I frown and turn my gaze to what's in front of me. That's weird.
"You, uh, dropped this in the room," he finally says. He reaches into his pocket and then holds his hand out to me. And dangling from his hand, is his dog tags on the chain that I always wear around my neck. My heart skips a beat as my one hand flies to my neck, realizing for the first time that the necklace isn't there.
I lock eyes with Dad as I reach out and take the necklace from him. I hug it to my heart for a moment, thankful that I hadn't left it at the motel, never to be seen again. I slip the chain around my neck and sigh in relief. I have to be more careful or I'll lose the only thing I have left of my dad.
"Thank you," I say gratefully. We come to a stop as we wait for Mariko to give the key back to the woman at the front desk.
"How'd you end up with it?"
"After you… before we buried you, I took them to remember you by. I had only known you for a week, but I had heard about you my entire life. And I was sad… I still am sad that I wasn't able to spend more time with you. I didn't have anything else to remember you by, so I just took it. I… uh… I play with it whenever I think of you," I tell him. I rub the dog tags between my fingers and read the word "Wolverine" that's written on it.
"Okay, let's go," Mariko says as she comes to a stop in front of us. I take one more look at Dad and then follow Mariko outside to the car that's waiting for us. In the car, there's an awkward silence hanging around Dad and I, neither of us knowing what to say. I kind of want to cry on his shoulder. I've been through so much stress lately, I don't know how much longer I can handle it. I'm only one person, and I feel like I have the entire weight of the world on my shoulders.
I watch as we go farther and farther away from the city, and into a small town. Eventually we come to a stop in the middle of town. We get out and Mariko hands the driver a few bills and then it drives away.
For the next couple of hours, we walk around the town, looking at the art and conversing with the few people who speak English. And at some point, the three of us leave the center of town to come in front of a small house. It looks more like a cottage, if I'm being honest.
"This is where we'll be staying," Mariko tells us.
"Looks… small," Dad mutters. Mariko doesn't hear it, but I do, and I give him a look that says, "Be quiet."
"We'll have to get some food, as my family hasn't stayed here for a while, but other than that it should be perfect for us to stay in."
"Yeah, until people figure out who you are and word—" I nudge my father hard in the ribs, making him wince. He gives me an annoyed look, and I stare him down. I love him, but he can be such a Debbie Downer.
"It's fine," I tell Mariko. "But we won't be able to stay here for more than a day or two. Logan's right about that. People will find out who you are, and word will eventually get around to whoever is trying to find you." Mariko looks disappointed, but nods.
"Of course," she says. Mariko opens the door and we step in. It's nice on the inside, and reminds me a lot of the Japanese houses I would see in movies back in Eden.
Mariko turns to me. "Do you want to go shopping with me in the market?" I look at my father, wondering if he'll be okay for an hour while I'm away. Seeming to read my mind, Dad nods.
"Go, I'll be fine," he says. I look back at Mariko and nod my head.
"We should only be about an hour at most. If you want, I'm sure you could find some people that need help doing labor around town." With that, Mariko and I leave for the market.
"So," Mariko begins, half an hour later. The basket she holds in her hand is almost full of vegetables and other things. "How do you like Japan?"
"It's beautiful," I tell her. "Much more beautiful than the things that I've seen in Mexico, America, or Canada."
"Did you like living in Mexico?" I shrug.
"I didn't get the chance to see much of it. I was kept in isolation for most of my life. I was only allowed outside a couple of times. It'll always be my home. I was born there. So was my mother. But it's also a place where a lot of bad things happened to me. So, while it may be my home, I don't think I could ever go back there."
"I'm sorry you've seen so much violence in your short time. I hate to see you go down the same road as Logan. If I could give you a normal life, I would."
"A normal life isn't for me. Even if you could somehow pull it off, I was bred to fight. I have adamantium claws that shoot out of my hands and feet. I'm standing here, in Japan, five years before I'm supposed to be born. Nothing about me is normal." I give her one last look before I move ahead to another part of the store.
A/N: What did you guys think? Please review!
~Gina