It had begun to snow as quickly as the sun had faded from the sky, leaving the world shrouded in darkness with only the streetlights to show any signs that the world was going on outside. Zechs was once again sitting in the living room and looking at the photo albums, not really paying attention to anything except the children who were a few feet away from him.
"Walk." Ryosuke said carefully, putting stress on the syllables.
"Aruku. Walk." Aki repeated slowly, her brow furrowing in confusion. "'Aruku' tte, eigo de jidoushi darou no ka?"
"Sou da." Ryosuke nodded, affirming whatever she had just said. Aki leaned back and stretched slightly, standing and rubbing her bandaged wrists.
"Neru yo. Oyasumi." She said quietly, starting to walk towards the stairs to her room. Zechs followed her with his eyes as she trudged up the stairs, and then looked to Ryosuke.
"What'd she say?"
"That she was going to bed."
Aki, having pulled down her hair from it's pigtails and changed into her pajamas, slowly pulled down the comforter to her bed and climbed in, shivering slightly at the cool temperature of the sheets. As she faced the wall where the bright rainbow was painted, she followed the pattern of colors with her eyes. She never did notice how bright the red was, or how pretty the green was..or that the blue was the color of her eyes. Her eyes and her papa's eyes.
Aki sobbed quietly and hunched beneath the covers, tears dribbling down her cheeks as she fisted the sheets in her hand. Her papa always came to tuck her in, would always kiss her on the forehead and hug her. Now she was all alone beneath the cold sheets, with no more hugs to comfort her. She didn't want to sleep anymore, not since the nightmares. So she lay with the covers pulled over her head, staring at the shadows the streetlights shining through the window created in her room through the sheets. She let out a shaky sigh and wrapped her arms around herself, closing her eyes against the will of her conscious mind and letting her head flop idle onto the pillow below.
"Papa..."
Chapter 6
A Father's Love
There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There's secrets in this life
That I can't hide
"SNOW!"
She quickly pressed her hands to the cold windowpane, her bright azure eyes widening as she saw the soft flakes falling from the gray sky onto the ground below. She pushed herself away from the window and ran through the corridor, around the various maids who all shouted at her to stop running, and into the rec room, where her brother was studying.
"DOMINIC! IT'S SNOWING! SNOW! Neve, neve, neve-"
"Ari. It's snowed every single year for the past nine years since you were born. This year is no different." Dominic said in a slight monotone, his dark head still bent over his book. Arianna grumbled slightly and pushed her pale blonde hair out of her eyes.
"Idiota!" She stuck her tounge out at him and then turned and ran to the young woman sitting in the corner, throwing her arms around her.
"Mariemeia! Neve cadare! cadare li!" She said excitedly, her eyes wide.
"Si, si." Mariemeia answered back in Italian, smiling at the young girl. "You like winter, don't you?"
"I love it!" She said, grinning happily. Her grin faded slightly, though, as she stared out the window. "But I want Daddy and mama to come back...they've been gone a long time."
Mariemeia smiled sadly at the little girl, and then patted her back.
"Well then! Let's pass the time, shall we? You still have some English homework, don't you?"
Ari blinked a few times before hunching her shoulders, dragging herself back to the table and opening the folder marked "Inglese"
"Hahaha.." She muttered dejectedly. Pulling out a piece of paper, she slapped the folder back down onto the table before leaning over the evil print, pencil in hand.
"Find the exact opposite of the selected word.." She read, her brow furrowing. Her English was pretty good, and she could talk, but she had a slight vocabulary lack.
"Dominic! What's an 'exact opposite'?"
" 'exact' Is just emphasis. Exact opposite means the same as opposite."
"Oh...well, they coulda just said that." She muttered, glaring at the paper. After about five minutes of doing the work mentally, she sighed and and turned to look out of the only ceiling-to-floor window in the rec room, and smiled slightly at the sight of snow falling onto the ground three stories below.
"I wonder what Daddy's doing right now.."
"NO! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!"
Zechs winced inwardly as the girl's shrieks reached a level that he was sure wouldn't rate on a decibal system, fighting not to plug his ears as she continued to yell.
"Ok, ok, AKI! Calm DOWN!" He yelled, raising his voice slightly to see if he could actually hear himself above her screams. He grated his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose, racking through his brain for a solution as she continued screaming, her head shaking from side to side violently.
"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!"
Zechs groaned and sank into a kitchen chair, trying to think of something and trying to keep from crying himself..
Ok, you've faced war, betrayal, rebellion, your sister running off with your archenemy among many other things. You should be able to calm down a four-year-old girl.
Should be.
Lucy...come home soon, girl. Pretty please? He thought, tossing a glance at the clock. No use, it was at least 3 more hours until his wife and Ryosuke were due home, leaving him with Kotaro (Who was standing by the kitchen door with his head tilted slightly away, and a body pose that just SCREAMED 'What're you gonna do now, huh?') and Aki, who had been due three minutes ago to run out of breath.
As if on cue, she stood a bit shakily, her face red and tears shimmering in her eyes, and sucked in a deep breath.
Oh no..
"WATASHI WA ZETTAI IKANAI! IKANAI IKANAI IKANAI IKANAI!" She screamed, starting to stomp around the kitchen. Zechs didn't have to learn Japanese to know what she was saying. 'I won't go.'
He willed his eardrums not to burst as her screams reached an earsplitting level and groaned again, clenching his fists. Kotaro, now noticing the reaction and that Aki was getting a bit...eccentric, waited until she was near enough to Kotaro for him to spin her around, grabbing her shoulders.
"AKI!" He yelled even louder - if that was heavenly possible - and Aki only shook her head in response and pulled her fist back.
"AKI WA IKANAI!" She screamed, her voice slightly raspy, and thrust her fist forward into the wall behind him.
The reaction from Aki was not what surprised him - he had been expecting her to hit something for awhile now - but the reaction from the wall. He watched as Aki's knuckle hit the paint, cracking it, as her clenched fingers went through the thin layer of wood, as her fist went through the plaster, as her arm went through the wall.
All was silent in the kitchen as Aki pulled her fist out of the mess, sniffling as she saw the bruises and scratches on her hand near her fingers and knuckles, the rest being protected by the bandages that still covered her wrist and part of her lower arm.
"Dekita." She mumbled quietly, and slowly sat down on the kitchen floor, leaning against the wall with her head very near the hole.
Another moment passed before Zechs stood, walking unsurely over to the hole in the wall and the dangling pieces of chalky plaster. His eyes darkened slightly as he saw the pieces that had fallen into the gaps of the wall and saw that the inner wall right across from it had been cracked slightly, knowing that's probably what stopped Aki's fist. He turned to look at Aki's medical file on the table and his palms itched when he saw the piece of paper on top listing the family doctor's name and office address. There was something he wanted to discuss with this 'doctor' about Aki. Standing fully, he noticed that Aki had slumped against the floor, completely asleep, and that Kotaro was gathering her into his arms to take upstairs.
Dammit..I can't leave these kids alone! I need a babysitter.
He rolled his eyes. Right. Fat chance. He'd have to wait until tomorrow to see this guy, considering that his office closed in 2 hours. His eyebrow twitched slightly at that small detail and his wife's timing, for questions and a mad request for answers were pushing on his nerves (Which had been grated thin by Aki's screaming).
Looking over at the wall and making a mental note of the damage, he started to head into the living room when the soft chime of the doorbell sounded through the house. Narrowing his eyes at the door, he walked over to it and turned the boltlock, throwing it open, not at all prepared to see a high school student standing on the Yui's doorstep.
They stared at each other for about 2 minutes before she shakily spoke.
"Ano...My name is Chieko Yamatori...would you know if Ryosuke or Kotaro or Aki were home? Or.." She backed up slightly. "Even living here anymore, after what happened..?"
"They live here." he said, glaring at her. School uniform, looks about 18, black hair...typical. "Why do you want to know? And who are you?"
"Um..like I said before, I'm Chieko Yamatori. I take care of the children for 4 hours after school...I'm a daily babysitter, you might say...."
His eyebrow raised slightly as he heard the word 'babysitter' and he held the door open wider, a smile working it's way onto his face.
"Well, come right in, Ms. Yamatori.."
"Hey Duo, say something in German."
"...Sheisse."
"What does that mean?"
"No idea. I hear my dad say it all the time though."
Matt rolled his eyes and sat back on the couch to the hotel room in Japan, his gameboy long forgotten.
"Man..when do we get to go swimming again? This place has a pool!"
"I don't think my mom wants to let me go. I mean, last time we went to a hotel pool we kinda flooded it."
Matt grinned and rocked back slightly, slouching on the couch as light brown, almost blonde hair drifted in front of dark emerald eyes. "Yeah! I remember that! Man, I didn't even know my dad KNEW those words. Heck, I didn't even think my dad was capable of yelling!"
Both boys were interrupted by the door opening, and Hilde walked in holding baby Zack with Midii to her right. A young woman with blonde hair and three children followed, smiling at them.
"Boys?" Hilde prompted.
"Hi, Mrs. Chang." They said, sounding a bit uninterested.
"Hello boys! You've grown." Sally said pointedly, setting Mulan down. Mu Lan glared suspiciously at Duo for a moment before walking over to him and narrowing her eyes.
"You." She growled, leaning closer. Duo leaned back slightly.
"Uh...me?"
"You!"
Duo gulped at the five-year-old.
"Why ME?! Why not him!?" He yelled, pointing to Matt.
"HEY!"
"Because!" Mulan said, cutting him off and jabbing a finger into his chest, speaking slightly broken english. "Blondie is not dump three cartons of pudding into Mulan's hair! Not like Braid boy!" She yelled, jabbing him in the chest.
"WHO'S a blondie?!"
"B-but that was last year!" Duo complained, backing up further until his back hit the soft padded back of the hotel couch.
"And Mulan STILL embarassed! You insulted Mulan's honor! By the code of family clan, you die!" Mulan yelled, pointing a finger at Duo. His mouth fell open slightly.
"Wha....wha...DIE?"
"Oh-kay, we've taken it far enough with the whole 'death' part." Sally announced, picking up Mulan who was still fuming. "Say, you boys want to go eat somewhere?"
"YEAH!" They both cried at the same time, joined by Leun. Mulan blinked and looked at her mother.
"Huh? Mama? Where's papa?" She asked in Chinese, scanning the room.
"Uh...um...your father and Duo's father are getting...reaqquainted." She said, smiling and not wanting to tell Mulan that her father had chased 'braid boy's' father out of the hotel with his shimetar after Duo had made a remark about Yinmei's looks when she got 'older'.
"Mulan's hungry! She wants to eat at a playplace!" Mulan said eagerly in English, hopping up and down slightly. Duo stuck his tounge out at her.
"Don't come crying if you get hurt in one of our 'games'."
"Hm! Mu Lan can beat braid boy anytime!"
"Oh, izzat so?!"
"So!" Mu Lan said, sticking her tounge out at him.
"Well, don't blame me if I accidentally hit you."
Hilde looked to Sally after her son made that last comment, to see Sally covering her mouth, as if trying not to laugh.
"Braidboy can no hit Mulan."
"Oh? And if I do?"
"Mu Lan do this!" Mulan said, stepping forward and grabbing Duo's wrist, sweeping her foot behind his and locking their ankles, and then swung her foot forward and slammed her other arm into Duo's stomach, making him flip once and then land on the ground with a solid 'thud'.
"Oowww..."
"Tai Xian Qi?" Hilde asked, looking to Sally who was trying so hard not to laugh.
"No, basic aikido. Wufei taught it to her when some boy at her kindergarten wouldn't stop bugging her..." At this she trailed off and burst into laughter, trying not to laugh too hard. Duo groaned from his place on the floor and Hilde walked over to him, supressing a grin herself as she helped him up.
"Now, what have we learned today about saying things to Mu Lan?" She scolded in German, brushing his clothes off. Duo winced and turned slightly, cracking his back.
"Maintain a safe distance of 20 feet if you value your spine."
She sighed and shook her head. "Duo, I'm going to teach you something called 'Open mouth, insert foot'."
"Sounds painful."
"Duo!"
"Sorry."
"Basically, you just don't say anything that's gonna get you in trouble."
"That's it?"
"Well...it's harder than it looks, but more on that later. Come on, we'll go get something to eat."
"With entertainment! Introducing my favorite Christmas song!" Matt yelled, and Duo grinned as they started to sing.
"Dashing through the snow, on a pair of rusty skis, 'oer the hills we go, SMASHING INTO TREES!"
Sally groaned and turned to Midii. "How sweet, quiet you and calm, collected Trowa produced THAT little monster, I will never know."
"Oh, he wasn't so calm when Matt set fire to the living room carpet, I'll tell you that." She said, laughing and picking up Matt.
"Well, let's go! I'll call Duo and tell him to meet us up at the fast food place near the department store."
There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There's secrets in this life
That I can't hide
"Ano..Watanabe sensei? There's a man who says he needs to speak..with you...?"
"Hm? Well then, Kuriko, let him in!"
No sooner had he said that than Zechs walked past the nurse into the office, seating himself across from Dr. Watanabe. Dr. Watanabe smiled at the young man and folded his hands in front of him.
"Well, to what do I owe this confrence, Mr. Peacecraft?"
He paused for a moment before answering in a low voice.
"Well...Aki...got a bit upset at the house.."
"Oh dear...who am I looking at, and what's broken?"
"..Broken?!"
"Well, yes. Last year Aki broke Ryosuke's arm and Kotaro's ankle...poor girl doesn't know her own strength. So am I looking at the older one, or the younger boy?"
"...She put her fist through a wall!"
"Oh, is that it then?" Dr. Watanabe smiled and relaxed. "I certainly didn't want to set any bones today.." His smile disappeared at the look on Zechs' face and he sighed. "Perhaps...an explanation is in order..."
Somewhere in this darkness
There's a light that I can't find
Maybe it's too far away...
Maybe I'm just blind...
"Heero Yuy wasn't always 'Heero Yuy'. He was a young boy livng in L1 with his mother..his father was long gone."
"May I ask how you know all of this?"
"All in good time, Mr. Peacecraft. Allow me to tell you a story."
"..Okay."
"I think I shall start this story...by telling you about a young girl, Akiko Shihara. Aki was very young when she met and fell in love with a young man who had transferred into her school, Hayato Takada, who was secretly an operative for the Japanese military which collapsed in AC183. The two, being young and lovestruck, moved in with each other after graduation. Of course, happiness wouldn't find them easily. Before they could even be married, Hayato was called to a military base in Germany. Having no other choice, he went, leaving Akiko with an unborn child. Before he left, he asked his cousin, who was in the military as well, to give Akiko the name of the base they were stationed at so that she could at least write letters. His cousin, Torashi Watanabe, took on the fake identity 'Odin Lowe' just before he 'betrayed' the army and started to work for OZ. Months passed, and Aki gave birth to a little boy.. Ryosuke Shihara."
Zechs blinked. Aki and Ryosuke..
"That little boy would later be given the name Heero Yuy. Akiko and Hayato were only 18 when Ryosuke..Heero...was born, and Hayato knew that he now had a son, and told Odin, who at that time was at the base with him. Akiko sent him letters and pictures of his son, which he kept in a manila envelope with his letters to her. The base was attacked and Hayato...he was killed. Before he died he asked Odin Lowe to take care of Akiko and his son. Odin returned to Japan and lived in the same apartment building for 2 more years. When a bomb was planted in the building....Aki was killed as well. Ryosuke survived, but he was only two. Odin raised Ryosuke until he was about eight, and then Odin was killed."
Maybe I'm just blind...
"Wait." Zechs interrupted, leaning forward. "Now tell me. How do you know all of this?"
The old man smiled sadly. "Odin Lowe...or Torashi Watanabe..was my son. Hayato was my nephew...my only nephew. I kept tabs on his son as a simple repayment of all he did for me when he was alive. Perhaps coincidence brought Heero to 4 Chome to live, perhaps not. But he knew, and all the children have taken to calling me 'Grandfather'." He chucked a bit at this. " It is safe that I tell you this now, because everyone in this story is now dead, their records burned, except for the copies which I have."
He nodded, his mind inwardly whirling. Heero had a family... "Continue, please.."
"Well, when he was eight, he was taken in by a scientific studies group...and he was trained to be a gundam pilot. They called it 'Project Dreamchild'. Certain enhancement chemicals were put into his body...and when they were sure that they had 'grown in' to his cells, they were taken back out. The effect remained, and so did some of the chemical makeup...And that's what helped Heero's daughter survive when Relena was poisoned. A chemical called 'CLC' was mixed into her food, and it made her violently ill...the two days after, the symptoms seemed to disappear, but it was eating up the protiens inside of her body, and the muscle tissue, making her weaker without anyone knowing. The stress that giving birth put on her..is what caused her to die because of the state the chemicals had put her in."
So hold me when I'm here
Love me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
"Well, at least now we can't hear them scream." Duo said pointedly as he stared at the windows that separated the playplace from the rest of the fast food restraunt. He was rocking a dozing Zack back and forth in his arms. Mulan was sitting in Wufei's lap drawing, and Trowa was sitting to his left watching as little Duo ('Junior') and Matt took the hollow plastic balls found in the playplace and started hurling them at each other, screaming something about a battle to the death.
"Haochira, xaichira, nekohanten.." Mulan sang softly as she scribbled a picture, and Wufei glanced at Duo.
"So..your woman's expecting again, is she?"
Duo grinned. "Yeah! Sally told you, huh?"
"Hm...don't you think two is enough?"
Duo blinked. "Uh..no? Hey Trowa, why don't you have another kid?"
"Midii pales at the idea of having another child." He said, shaking his head slightly.
"Heh...I think if my son shoved french fries up his nose and flooded hotel pools, I'd think twice."
"No you wouldn't." Wufei said, bouncing Mulan on his lap.
"Of course you wouldn't...Junior does all of those things with Matt, and you're expecting your third."
"Heh...they're partners in crime, huh." Duo commented, stroking Zack's dark hair and smiling at his son. "He's sleeping..."
"That one's a bit more like Hilde, thank God." Wufei said softly, looking over at Zack. Duo grinned proudly.
"Yeah, this one's something, that's for sure.."
"Trowa! Your son is flooding the tunnels of the playplace with plastic playpen balls!"
Trowa sighed and stood up. "He's always my son at times like this..."
"You mean when he's flooding stuff."
"Kids. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em, love 'em too much to change anything." Duo agreed, nodding.
Everything I am
And everything you need
I'll also be the one
You wanted me to be
It was a few hours after his funeral when the children were to meet with the rest of the 'gang', as the pilots had been dubbed, and then tomorrow their things were to be packed up and sent back to Europe. Knowing that they would be homesick, Zechs had arranged for some remodeling on the hall their bedrooms and other rooms were in, and had the bathroom and their playroom remodeled to be more 'Japanese' from what he had seen in their house. Kotaro had told him that they 'Appreciated it' and Ryosuke just looked at him with a look that was unreadable.
"C'mon, Mulan, PLEEEZE! Just one!"
"No way, braid boy! You want Yan Yan snack, you go buy OWN Yan Yan!"
"Will you please stop calling it a Yan Yan, that means something not so nice in English.."
"IS YAN YAN!"
"Okay, okay!"
Duo huffed and sank further down into the couch that all of the children were sitting on. Leun was coloring in his book while sitting on his older sister Yin Mei's lap, Mu Lan was eating her Yan Yan, Duo was huffing and Matt was playing his gameboy with Zack sleeping next to him with his head in his lap. All children turned their attention to the door when it slowly creaked open, to reveal Dorothy holding a very sleepy-looking Daniel by the hand.
"Hello! Is anyone here?"
"I am!"
"So am I."
"In body, but not in spirit."
"DANIEL!!!!"
Daniel blinked as he slowly forced his eyes open the rest of the way, the last thing he saw being Mulan jumping at him.
"DANIEL! I MISSED YOU!" She yelled, running full force into him and effectively flooring him. When the dust cleared Daniel was on the ground with a dazed look in his cloudy blue eyes and Mulan was straddling his waist, giggling.
"Poor guy never saw it coming.." Duo mumbled sympathetically.
"Guess what, guess what! On the plane Leun said he'd slice me if I took his crayons but I took them and he didn't slice me cause he missed and Daddy yelled at him and then I met this girl and her name is Aki and then she had crayons too but then mama took me back to here and Duo was here and I don't like Duo so I wouldn't give him a Yan Yan and he said 'Yan Yan' is something bad in english, what's yan yan in English cause I don't know, I think Duo's making it up like the time he told me my Jell-o was alive and are you even listening to me!?"
"All of that in one breath." Matt whispered, amazed.
"Hey! Daniel, no fair! We see each other after a year and suddenly you die!?" She grabbed his cheeks and tugged on them, pulling them outwards. "No fair! Mulan gots lots to tell you ! Y'know, if you do this, you kinda look like this squirrel I always see in the backyard.."
Dorothy's laughter had brought everyone else in from the other room, and now Sally picked up Mu Lan, trying to keep from laughing herself.
"Sweetie, Daniel needs to breathe."
"Huh?"
"I was tired from jet lag...but I'm not anymore. Thanks, Mu Lan." Daniel said a bit out of breath, sitting up.
'Is welcome! Anytime, Dan chan!"
Sally smiled and then set Mulan down, nodding at Dorothy.
"Your husband's here already. Play nice, kids."
"We will." They all chorused as the adults left the room. All was silent for a few moments.
"Here ya go, Matt. You left this at my house last week." Daniel said, pulling out a slingshot.
"Wahoo! My slingshot! I was looking EVERYWHERE for this guy!" Matt said excitedly, hugging the slingshot.
"He left it at my house two weeks ago." Duo said, smirking.
"You're just jealous." Matt said, sticking his tounge out.
"Bah. You couldn't hit the side of a house two feet away from you."
"Oh yeah!?" Matt said, his eyes scanning the room. He grinned as he saw a vent opening at the very top of the wall near the ceiling, with a bolt and screw missing, leaving a hole just big enough to shoot something through.
"Hey Duo. Got a marble?"
"Will I get it back?"
"..Nope."
"Okay, I'll give you a crappy one then." Duo said, pulling out a bag and fishing through, pulling out a small, clear ball. Matt nodded towards the vent.
"How much will y'all give me if I score a marble in the hole up there?"
Duo squinted. "25 cents."
"50 cents, if you make it."
"That's mah man, Leun!" Matt said, grinning. "Okay boys, show me the money!"
"I'll toss in something too." Daniel said, pulling 30 yen out of his pocket.
"Awright! One whole dollar! I better make this one count.." Matt said, pulling back the elastic on the slingshot.
"Ready...aim..." Matt whispered under his breath. "Fire!"
He let go, and everyone watched as the marble made a beeline to the hole, swooshing straight in and proceeding to bounce around in the vents.
"YEAH!" Almost everyone in the room yelled, throwing up their hands. Matt grinned. "Pay up!"
"Only cause it was a good show!" Duo said, grinning as he handed over the quarter. Leun nodded and Daniel just grinned as they put the money in Matt's palm.
"MATTHEW JOSIAH BARTON!" A voice from the other room rang out.
"Hit the deck, it's mom!"
The door to the lounge swung open and Midii stepped into the doorway, glaring at Matt with her hands on her hips.
"We heard a clanging noise, and then cheering. What's going on in here?"
"Uhh...nothing, Mom!" Matt said, grinning innocently along with the rest of the room. Midii narrowed her eyes, and then scanned the room, seeing nothing out of place. She then settled her gaze on Matt.
"Where's your slingshot?"
"Um..at Daniel's. I left it there last week." He said, praying that she wouldn't make Mu Lan stand up considering he'd hid it under her.
"..No more throwing things, Matthew, or I'll have your father talk to you when he gets back."
"Uh..yeah! Sure, mom!"
The door closed and the room was once again silent. Blinking, Duo turned to Matt.
"Your middle name's Josiah?"
"Shut up!"
I'll never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Across town, a little girl stood in the doorway to her once-occupied room, trembling at the sight of the empty room and the bare walls, and somehow the rainbow didn't help it at all. She wanted to cry. She hated this! She didn't want to move! She wanted to stay here. Japan was her home! Europe would never be home to her! Never!
With a new resolve, Aki turned from her room and walked into her father's room, which had not been 'packed up', and climbed under the covers, shivering a bit at the temperature.
'You can make me go...but you can't make me like it.'
Love me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
You won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone
End Chapter 6
Here ya go, Syren...an update, just for you!
"Walk." Ryosuke said carefully, putting stress on the syllables.
"Aruku. Walk." Aki repeated slowly, her brow furrowing in confusion. "'Aruku' tte, eigo de jidoushi darou no ka?"
"Sou da." Ryosuke nodded, affirming whatever she had just said. Aki leaned back and stretched slightly, standing and rubbing her bandaged wrists.
"Neru yo. Oyasumi." She said quietly, starting to walk towards the stairs to her room. Zechs followed her with his eyes as she trudged up the stairs, and then looked to Ryosuke.
"What'd she say?"
"That she was going to bed."
Aki, having pulled down her hair from it's pigtails and changed into her pajamas, slowly pulled down the comforter to her bed and climbed in, shivering slightly at the cool temperature of the sheets. As she faced the wall where the bright rainbow was painted, she followed the pattern of colors with her eyes. She never did notice how bright the red was, or how pretty the green was..or that the blue was the color of her eyes. Her eyes and her papa's eyes.
Aki sobbed quietly and hunched beneath the covers, tears dribbling down her cheeks as she fisted the sheets in her hand. Her papa always came to tuck her in, would always kiss her on the forehead and hug her. Now she was all alone beneath the cold sheets, with no more hugs to comfort her. She didn't want to sleep anymore, not since the nightmares. So she lay with the covers pulled over her head, staring at the shadows the streetlights shining through the window created in her room through the sheets. She let out a shaky sigh and wrapped her arms around herself, closing her eyes against the will of her conscious mind and letting her head flop idle onto the pillow below.
"Papa..."
Chapter 6
A Father's Love
There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There's secrets in this life
That I can't hide
"SNOW!"
She quickly pressed her hands to the cold windowpane, her bright azure eyes widening as she saw the soft flakes falling from the gray sky onto the ground below. She pushed herself away from the window and ran through the corridor, around the various maids who all shouted at her to stop running, and into the rec room, where her brother was studying.
"DOMINIC! IT'S SNOWING! SNOW! Neve, neve, neve-"
"Ari. It's snowed every single year for the past nine years since you were born. This year is no different." Dominic said in a slight monotone, his dark head still bent over his book. Arianna grumbled slightly and pushed her pale blonde hair out of her eyes.
"Idiota!" She stuck her tounge out at him and then turned and ran to the young woman sitting in the corner, throwing her arms around her.
"Mariemeia! Neve cadare! cadare li!" She said excitedly, her eyes wide.
"Si, si." Mariemeia answered back in Italian, smiling at the young girl. "You like winter, don't you?"
"I love it!" She said, grinning happily. Her grin faded slightly, though, as she stared out the window. "But I want Daddy and mama to come back...they've been gone a long time."
Mariemeia smiled sadly at the little girl, and then patted her back.
"Well then! Let's pass the time, shall we? You still have some English homework, don't you?"
Ari blinked a few times before hunching her shoulders, dragging herself back to the table and opening the folder marked "Inglese"
"Hahaha.." She muttered dejectedly. Pulling out a piece of paper, she slapped the folder back down onto the table before leaning over the evil print, pencil in hand.
"Find the exact opposite of the selected word.." She read, her brow furrowing. Her English was pretty good, and she could talk, but she had a slight vocabulary lack.
"Dominic! What's an 'exact opposite'?"
" 'exact' Is just emphasis. Exact opposite means the same as opposite."
"Oh...well, they coulda just said that." She muttered, glaring at the paper. After about five minutes of doing the work mentally, she sighed and and turned to look out of the only ceiling-to-floor window in the rec room, and smiled slightly at the sight of snow falling onto the ground three stories below.
"I wonder what Daddy's doing right now.."
"NO! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!"
Zechs winced inwardly as the girl's shrieks reached a level that he was sure wouldn't rate on a decibal system, fighting not to plug his ears as she continued to yell.
"Ok, ok, AKI! Calm DOWN!" He yelled, raising his voice slightly to see if he could actually hear himself above her screams. He grated his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose, racking through his brain for a solution as she continued screaming, her head shaking from side to side violently.
"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!"
Zechs groaned and sank into a kitchen chair, trying to think of something and trying to keep from crying himself..
Ok, you've faced war, betrayal, rebellion, your sister running off with your archenemy among many other things. You should be able to calm down a four-year-old girl.
Should be.
Lucy...come home soon, girl. Pretty please? He thought, tossing a glance at the clock. No use, it was at least 3 more hours until his wife and Ryosuke were due home, leaving him with Kotaro (Who was standing by the kitchen door with his head tilted slightly away, and a body pose that just SCREAMED 'What're you gonna do now, huh?') and Aki, who had been due three minutes ago to run out of breath.
As if on cue, she stood a bit shakily, her face red and tears shimmering in her eyes, and sucked in a deep breath.
Oh no..
"WATASHI WA ZETTAI IKANAI! IKANAI IKANAI IKANAI IKANAI!" She screamed, starting to stomp around the kitchen. Zechs didn't have to learn Japanese to know what she was saying. 'I won't go.'
He willed his eardrums not to burst as her screams reached an earsplitting level and groaned again, clenching his fists. Kotaro, now noticing the reaction and that Aki was getting a bit...eccentric, waited until she was near enough to Kotaro for him to spin her around, grabbing her shoulders.
"AKI!" He yelled even louder - if that was heavenly possible - and Aki only shook her head in response and pulled her fist back.
"AKI WA IKANAI!" She screamed, her voice slightly raspy, and thrust her fist forward into the wall behind him.
The reaction from Aki was not what surprised him - he had been expecting her to hit something for awhile now - but the reaction from the wall. He watched as Aki's knuckle hit the paint, cracking it, as her clenched fingers went through the thin layer of wood, as her fist went through the plaster, as her arm went through the wall.
All was silent in the kitchen as Aki pulled her fist out of the mess, sniffling as she saw the bruises and scratches on her hand near her fingers and knuckles, the rest being protected by the bandages that still covered her wrist and part of her lower arm.
"Dekita." She mumbled quietly, and slowly sat down on the kitchen floor, leaning against the wall with her head very near the hole.
Another moment passed before Zechs stood, walking unsurely over to the hole in the wall and the dangling pieces of chalky plaster. His eyes darkened slightly as he saw the pieces that had fallen into the gaps of the wall and saw that the inner wall right across from it had been cracked slightly, knowing that's probably what stopped Aki's fist. He turned to look at Aki's medical file on the table and his palms itched when he saw the piece of paper on top listing the family doctor's name and office address. There was something he wanted to discuss with this 'doctor' about Aki. Standing fully, he noticed that Aki had slumped against the floor, completely asleep, and that Kotaro was gathering her into his arms to take upstairs.
Dammit..I can't leave these kids alone! I need a babysitter.
He rolled his eyes. Right. Fat chance. He'd have to wait until tomorrow to see this guy, considering that his office closed in 2 hours. His eyebrow twitched slightly at that small detail and his wife's timing, for questions and a mad request for answers were pushing on his nerves (Which had been grated thin by Aki's screaming).
Looking over at the wall and making a mental note of the damage, he started to head into the living room when the soft chime of the doorbell sounded through the house. Narrowing his eyes at the door, he walked over to it and turned the boltlock, throwing it open, not at all prepared to see a high school student standing on the Yui's doorstep.
They stared at each other for about 2 minutes before she shakily spoke.
"Ano...My name is Chieko Yamatori...would you know if Ryosuke or Kotaro or Aki were home? Or.." She backed up slightly. "Even living here anymore, after what happened..?"
"They live here." he said, glaring at her. School uniform, looks about 18, black hair...typical. "Why do you want to know? And who are you?"
"Um..like I said before, I'm Chieko Yamatori. I take care of the children for 4 hours after school...I'm a daily babysitter, you might say...."
His eyebrow raised slightly as he heard the word 'babysitter' and he held the door open wider, a smile working it's way onto his face.
"Well, come right in, Ms. Yamatori.."
"Hey Duo, say something in German."
"...Sheisse."
"What does that mean?"
"No idea. I hear my dad say it all the time though."
Matt rolled his eyes and sat back on the couch to the hotel room in Japan, his gameboy long forgotten.
"Man..when do we get to go swimming again? This place has a pool!"
"I don't think my mom wants to let me go. I mean, last time we went to a hotel pool we kinda flooded it."
Matt grinned and rocked back slightly, slouching on the couch as light brown, almost blonde hair drifted in front of dark emerald eyes. "Yeah! I remember that! Man, I didn't even know my dad KNEW those words. Heck, I didn't even think my dad was capable of yelling!"
Both boys were interrupted by the door opening, and Hilde walked in holding baby Zack with Midii to her right. A young woman with blonde hair and three children followed, smiling at them.
"Boys?" Hilde prompted.
"Hi, Mrs. Chang." They said, sounding a bit uninterested.
"Hello boys! You've grown." Sally said pointedly, setting Mulan down. Mu Lan glared suspiciously at Duo for a moment before walking over to him and narrowing her eyes.
"You." She growled, leaning closer. Duo leaned back slightly.
"Uh...me?"
"You!"
Duo gulped at the five-year-old.
"Why ME?! Why not him!?" He yelled, pointing to Matt.
"HEY!"
"Because!" Mulan said, cutting him off and jabbing a finger into his chest, speaking slightly broken english. "Blondie is not dump three cartons of pudding into Mulan's hair! Not like Braid boy!" She yelled, jabbing him in the chest.
"WHO'S a blondie?!"
"B-but that was last year!" Duo complained, backing up further until his back hit the soft padded back of the hotel couch.
"And Mulan STILL embarassed! You insulted Mulan's honor! By the code of family clan, you die!" Mulan yelled, pointing a finger at Duo. His mouth fell open slightly.
"Wha....wha...DIE?"
"Oh-kay, we've taken it far enough with the whole 'death' part." Sally announced, picking up Mulan who was still fuming. "Say, you boys want to go eat somewhere?"
"YEAH!" They both cried at the same time, joined by Leun. Mulan blinked and looked at her mother.
"Huh? Mama? Where's papa?" She asked in Chinese, scanning the room.
"Uh...um...your father and Duo's father are getting...reaqquainted." She said, smiling and not wanting to tell Mulan that her father had chased 'braid boy's' father out of the hotel with his shimetar after Duo had made a remark about Yinmei's looks when she got 'older'.
"Mulan's hungry! She wants to eat at a playplace!" Mulan said eagerly in English, hopping up and down slightly. Duo stuck his tounge out at her.
"Don't come crying if you get hurt in one of our 'games'."
"Hm! Mu Lan can beat braid boy anytime!"
"Oh, izzat so?!"
"So!" Mu Lan said, sticking her tounge out at him.
"Well, don't blame me if I accidentally hit you."
Hilde looked to Sally after her son made that last comment, to see Sally covering her mouth, as if trying not to laugh.
"Braidboy can no hit Mulan."
"Oh? And if I do?"
"Mu Lan do this!" Mulan said, stepping forward and grabbing Duo's wrist, sweeping her foot behind his and locking their ankles, and then swung her foot forward and slammed her other arm into Duo's stomach, making him flip once and then land on the ground with a solid 'thud'.
"Oowww..."
"Tai Xian Qi?" Hilde asked, looking to Sally who was trying so hard not to laugh.
"No, basic aikido. Wufei taught it to her when some boy at her kindergarten wouldn't stop bugging her..." At this she trailed off and burst into laughter, trying not to laugh too hard. Duo groaned from his place on the floor and Hilde walked over to him, supressing a grin herself as she helped him up.
"Now, what have we learned today about saying things to Mu Lan?" She scolded in German, brushing his clothes off. Duo winced and turned slightly, cracking his back.
"Maintain a safe distance of 20 feet if you value your spine."
She sighed and shook her head. "Duo, I'm going to teach you something called 'Open mouth, insert foot'."
"Sounds painful."
"Duo!"
"Sorry."
"Basically, you just don't say anything that's gonna get you in trouble."
"That's it?"
"Well...it's harder than it looks, but more on that later. Come on, we'll go get something to eat."
"With entertainment! Introducing my favorite Christmas song!" Matt yelled, and Duo grinned as they started to sing.
"Dashing through the snow, on a pair of rusty skis, 'oer the hills we go, SMASHING INTO TREES!"
Sally groaned and turned to Midii. "How sweet, quiet you and calm, collected Trowa produced THAT little monster, I will never know."
"Oh, he wasn't so calm when Matt set fire to the living room carpet, I'll tell you that." She said, laughing and picking up Matt.
"Well, let's go! I'll call Duo and tell him to meet us up at the fast food place near the department store."
There's another world inside of me
That you may never see
There's secrets in this life
That I can't hide
"Ano..Watanabe sensei? There's a man who says he needs to speak..with you...?"
"Hm? Well then, Kuriko, let him in!"
No sooner had he said that than Zechs walked past the nurse into the office, seating himself across from Dr. Watanabe. Dr. Watanabe smiled at the young man and folded his hands in front of him.
"Well, to what do I owe this confrence, Mr. Peacecraft?"
He paused for a moment before answering in a low voice.
"Well...Aki...got a bit upset at the house.."
"Oh dear...who am I looking at, and what's broken?"
"..Broken?!"
"Well, yes. Last year Aki broke Ryosuke's arm and Kotaro's ankle...poor girl doesn't know her own strength. So am I looking at the older one, or the younger boy?"
"...She put her fist through a wall!"
"Oh, is that it then?" Dr. Watanabe smiled and relaxed. "I certainly didn't want to set any bones today.." His smile disappeared at the look on Zechs' face and he sighed. "Perhaps...an explanation is in order..."
Somewhere in this darkness
There's a light that I can't find
Maybe it's too far away...
Maybe I'm just blind...
"Heero Yuy wasn't always 'Heero Yuy'. He was a young boy livng in L1 with his mother..his father was long gone."
"May I ask how you know all of this?"
"All in good time, Mr. Peacecraft. Allow me to tell you a story."
"..Okay."
"I think I shall start this story...by telling you about a young girl, Akiko Shihara. Aki was very young when she met and fell in love with a young man who had transferred into her school, Hayato Takada, who was secretly an operative for the Japanese military which collapsed in AC183. The two, being young and lovestruck, moved in with each other after graduation. Of course, happiness wouldn't find them easily. Before they could even be married, Hayato was called to a military base in Germany. Having no other choice, he went, leaving Akiko with an unborn child. Before he left, he asked his cousin, who was in the military as well, to give Akiko the name of the base they were stationed at so that she could at least write letters. His cousin, Torashi Watanabe, took on the fake identity 'Odin Lowe' just before he 'betrayed' the army and started to work for OZ. Months passed, and Aki gave birth to a little boy.. Ryosuke Shihara."
Zechs blinked. Aki and Ryosuke..
"That little boy would later be given the name Heero Yuy. Akiko and Hayato were only 18 when Ryosuke..Heero...was born, and Hayato knew that he now had a son, and told Odin, who at that time was at the base with him. Akiko sent him letters and pictures of his son, which he kept in a manila envelope with his letters to her. The base was attacked and Hayato...he was killed. Before he died he asked Odin Lowe to take care of Akiko and his son. Odin returned to Japan and lived in the same apartment building for 2 more years. When a bomb was planted in the building....Aki was killed as well. Ryosuke survived, but he was only two. Odin raised Ryosuke until he was about eight, and then Odin was killed."
Maybe I'm just blind...
"Wait." Zechs interrupted, leaning forward. "Now tell me. How do you know all of this?"
The old man smiled sadly. "Odin Lowe...or Torashi Watanabe..was my son. Hayato was my nephew...my only nephew. I kept tabs on his son as a simple repayment of all he did for me when he was alive. Perhaps coincidence brought Heero to 4 Chome to live, perhaps not. But he knew, and all the children have taken to calling me 'Grandfather'." He chucked a bit at this. " It is safe that I tell you this now, because everyone in this story is now dead, their records burned, except for the copies which I have."
He nodded, his mind inwardly whirling. Heero had a family... "Continue, please.."
"Well, when he was eight, he was taken in by a scientific studies group...and he was trained to be a gundam pilot. They called it 'Project Dreamchild'. Certain enhancement chemicals were put into his body...and when they were sure that they had 'grown in' to his cells, they were taken back out. The effect remained, and so did some of the chemical makeup...And that's what helped Heero's daughter survive when Relena was poisoned. A chemical called 'CLC' was mixed into her food, and it made her violently ill...the two days after, the symptoms seemed to disappear, but it was eating up the protiens inside of her body, and the muscle tissue, making her weaker without anyone knowing. The stress that giving birth put on her..is what caused her to die because of the state the chemicals had put her in."
So hold me when I'm here
Love me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared
And love me when I'm gone
"Well, at least now we can't hear them scream." Duo said pointedly as he stared at the windows that separated the playplace from the rest of the fast food restraunt. He was rocking a dozing Zack back and forth in his arms. Mulan was sitting in Wufei's lap drawing, and Trowa was sitting to his left watching as little Duo ('Junior') and Matt took the hollow plastic balls found in the playplace and started hurling them at each other, screaming something about a battle to the death.
"Haochira, xaichira, nekohanten.." Mulan sang softly as she scribbled a picture, and Wufei glanced at Duo.
"So..your woman's expecting again, is she?"
Duo grinned. "Yeah! Sally told you, huh?"
"Hm...don't you think two is enough?"
Duo blinked. "Uh..no? Hey Trowa, why don't you have another kid?"
"Midii pales at the idea of having another child." He said, shaking his head slightly.
"Heh...I think if my son shoved french fries up his nose and flooded hotel pools, I'd think twice."
"No you wouldn't." Wufei said, bouncing Mulan on his lap.
"Of course you wouldn't...Junior does all of those things with Matt, and you're expecting your third."
"Heh...they're partners in crime, huh." Duo commented, stroking Zack's dark hair and smiling at his son. "He's sleeping..."
"That one's a bit more like Hilde, thank God." Wufei said softly, looking over at Zack. Duo grinned proudly.
"Yeah, this one's something, that's for sure.."
"Trowa! Your son is flooding the tunnels of the playplace with plastic playpen balls!"
Trowa sighed and stood up. "He's always my son at times like this..."
"You mean when he's flooding stuff."
"Kids. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em, love 'em too much to change anything." Duo agreed, nodding.
Everything I am
And everything you need
I'll also be the one
You wanted me to be
It was a few hours after his funeral when the children were to meet with the rest of the 'gang', as the pilots had been dubbed, and then tomorrow their things were to be packed up and sent back to Europe. Knowing that they would be homesick, Zechs had arranged for some remodeling on the hall their bedrooms and other rooms were in, and had the bathroom and their playroom remodeled to be more 'Japanese' from what he had seen in their house. Kotaro had told him that they 'Appreciated it' and Ryosuke just looked at him with a look that was unreadable.
"C'mon, Mulan, PLEEEZE! Just one!"
"No way, braid boy! You want Yan Yan snack, you go buy OWN Yan Yan!"
"Will you please stop calling it a Yan Yan, that means something not so nice in English.."
"IS YAN YAN!"
"Okay, okay!"
Duo huffed and sank further down into the couch that all of the children were sitting on. Leun was coloring in his book while sitting on his older sister Yin Mei's lap, Mu Lan was eating her Yan Yan, Duo was huffing and Matt was playing his gameboy with Zack sleeping next to him with his head in his lap. All children turned their attention to the door when it slowly creaked open, to reveal Dorothy holding a very sleepy-looking Daniel by the hand.
"Hello! Is anyone here?"
"I am!"
"So am I."
"In body, but not in spirit."
"DANIEL!!!!"
Daniel blinked as he slowly forced his eyes open the rest of the way, the last thing he saw being Mulan jumping at him.
"DANIEL! I MISSED YOU!" She yelled, running full force into him and effectively flooring him. When the dust cleared Daniel was on the ground with a dazed look in his cloudy blue eyes and Mulan was straddling his waist, giggling.
"Poor guy never saw it coming.." Duo mumbled sympathetically.
"Guess what, guess what! On the plane Leun said he'd slice me if I took his crayons but I took them and he didn't slice me cause he missed and Daddy yelled at him and then I met this girl and her name is Aki and then she had crayons too but then mama took me back to here and Duo was here and I don't like Duo so I wouldn't give him a Yan Yan and he said 'Yan Yan' is something bad in english, what's yan yan in English cause I don't know, I think Duo's making it up like the time he told me my Jell-o was alive and are you even listening to me!?"
"All of that in one breath." Matt whispered, amazed.
"Hey! Daniel, no fair! We see each other after a year and suddenly you die!?" She grabbed his cheeks and tugged on them, pulling them outwards. "No fair! Mulan gots lots to tell you ! Y'know, if you do this, you kinda look like this squirrel I always see in the backyard.."
Dorothy's laughter had brought everyone else in from the other room, and now Sally picked up Mu Lan, trying to keep from laughing herself.
"Sweetie, Daniel needs to breathe."
"Huh?"
"I was tired from jet lag...but I'm not anymore. Thanks, Mu Lan." Daniel said a bit out of breath, sitting up.
'Is welcome! Anytime, Dan chan!"
Sally smiled and then set Mulan down, nodding at Dorothy.
"Your husband's here already. Play nice, kids."
"We will." They all chorused as the adults left the room. All was silent for a few moments.
"Here ya go, Matt. You left this at my house last week." Daniel said, pulling out a slingshot.
"Wahoo! My slingshot! I was looking EVERYWHERE for this guy!" Matt said excitedly, hugging the slingshot.
"He left it at my house two weeks ago." Duo said, smirking.
"You're just jealous." Matt said, sticking his tounge out.
"Bah. You couldn't hit the side of a house two feet away from you."
"Oh yeah!?" Matt said, his eyes scanning the room. He grinned as he saw a vent opening at the very top of the wall near the ceiling, with a bolt and screw missing, leaving a hole just big enough to shoot something through.
"Hey Duo. Got a marble?"
"Will I get it back?"
"..Nope."
"Okay, I'll give you a crappy one then." Duo said, pulling out a bag and fishing through, pulling out a small, clear ball. Matt nodded towards the vent.
"How much will y'all give me if I score a marble in the hole up there?"
Duo squinted. "25 cents."
"50 cents, if you make it."
"That's mah man, Leun!" Matt said, grinning. "Okay boys, show me the money!"
"I'll toss in something too." Daniel said, pulling 30 yen out of his pocket.
"Awright! One whole dollar! I better make this one count.." Matt said, pulling back the elastic on the slingshot.
"Ready...aim..." Matt whispered under his breath. "Fire!"
He let go, and everyone watched as the marble made a beeline to the hole, swooshing straight in and proceeding to bounce around in the vents.
"YEAH!" Almost everyone in the room yelled, throwing up their hands. Matt grinned. "Pay up!"
"Only cause it was a good show!" Duo said, grinning as he handed over the quarter. Leun nodded and Daniel just grinned as they put the money in Matt's palm.
"MATTHEW JOSIAH BARTON!" A voice from the other room rang out.
"Hit the deck, it's mom!"
The door to the lounge swung open and Midii stepped into the doorway, glaring at Matt with her hands on her hips.
"We heard a clanging noise, and then cheering. What's going on in here?"
"Uhh...nothing, Mom!" Matt said, grinning innocently along with the rest of the room. Midii narrowed her eyes, and then scanned the room, seeing nothing out of place. She then settled her gaze on Matt.
"Where's your slingshot?"
"Um..at Daniel's. I left it there last week." He said, praying that she wouldn't make Mu Lan stand up considering he'd hid it under her.
"..No more throwing things, Matthew, or I'll have your father talk to you when he gets back."
"Uh..yeah! Sure, mom!"
The door closed and the room was once again silent. Blinking, Duo turned to Matt.
"Your middle name's Josiah?"
"Shut up!"
I'll never let you down
Even if I could
I'd give up everything
If only for your good
So hold me when I'm here
Across town, a little girl stood in the doorway to her once-occupied room, trembling at the sight of the empty room and the bare walls, and somehow the rainbow didn't help it at all. She wanted to cry. She hated this! She didn't want to move! She wanted to stay here. Japan was her home! Europe would never be home to her! Never!
With a new resolve, Aki turned from her room and walked into her father's room, which had not been 'packed up', and climbed under the covers, shivering a bit at the temperature.
'You can make me go...but you can't make me like it.'
Love me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared
You won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone
End Chapter 6
Here ya go, Syren...an update, just for you!