6 Father Of Mine

//Father of mine//

//Tell me where have you been//

//You know I just closed my eyes//

//My whole world disappeared//

//Father of mine//

//Take me back to the day//

//When I was still your golden boy//

//Back before you went away//

Everclear—"Father of Mine"

"Master Nemuriko...before you go into your father's room, I think there's something you should know."

"Wh-what are you talking about, Shida-san?" Midian demanded of the housekeeper. "What's wrong?"

"Midian...your father...listen, I stepped out earlier today to buy a few things, and when I came back, I found Nemuriko-san. He was...on the floor in...very bad condition."

The black-haired teenager scowled. "Is he-"

The housekeeper shook his head. "Not yet," he whispered. "But the doctors don't give him much of a chance to...live."

Without another word, Midian pulled away from the man and raced upstairs. He tore past the doctors who yelled at him to stop and into his father's room, a sickening feeling in his chest.

"Father?" he said softly, shutting the door behind him.

Mr. Nemuriko seemed to have been asleep in bed, but he opened his eyes at the sound of his son's voice. "Is...Campbell here?" he asked softly.

"No, sir," replied Midian in a hushed voice.

"Come here, Midian," the man said weakly, but with command.

The teenager quickly obeyed. He could barely breathe when he saw Nemuriko-san's condition. His father wasn't breathing regularly, and his skin was a deathly pale. The man was near death...and Midian knew it. "Who...what...happened?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

Mr. Nemuriko sighed heavily. "That is not for you to know, Midian. The point is, I'm going to die."

"No. No! You're not!" Midian swallowed hard. For the first time since his mother's death, he felt tears stinging behind his eyes. "Father, you can't!"

"Listen to me, son." The man's breath became shallow as he continued. "There is...one thing...one thing you should know."

"Yes, sir?"

Mr. Nemuriko let out a deep breath. "Noah's back, Midian."

"What?"

"Kaiba Noah is...still...alive." There was silence in the bedroom for the longest time.

"He...did this to you?" Midian said quietly.

"You don't need...to know that." Mr. Nemuriko tried to sit up. He fell back, panting.

"Father, you should rest..."

"Just listen to me, Midian." The teenager's father clenched his teeth.

"Yes, sir."

His voice weakened. "Whatever you do...take good care of your sister. Promise me that you will, Midian."

"I...will, Father." the teenager promised. "At least you can trust me on this, if nothing else."

"Good, good." Mr. Nemuriko lay back and closed his eyes. "Then...it is finally...finished..."

Midian drew in a sharp breath. "Father?" he whispered.

Silence surrounded him. The silence of the dead. The black-haired teenager clenched his teeth, lowering his head to his hands.

****

Noah watched from his hiding spot outside the window. He smirked, enjoying the grief within.

*My work in this place is done,* he thought as he was driven back to the house that had become his hideout. *Now comes my favorite part...*

****

As the priest's chants faded away into the still night air, no one could speak. Silence descended upon the small group.

Midian watched expressionlessly as the casket was lowered into the grave. He felt Campbell's hand tighten around his arm. Remembering what his father had said, the teenager drew his sister into a protective embrace.

The older twin hadn't cried; no, that was something he didn't do. But he still felt unmeasured grief as he and his sister left the graveyard with the others.

And anger...burning, destructive rage...

****

Nemuriko Midian needed some way to vent his rage, and Haija Amani just seemed the perfect target...

Midian grabbed his shirt and shoved him to the ground. "That's for laughing at me when I got the lowest marks in class. Why the hell did you have to do that, anyway?"

Amani shrank back against the wall. "I...I don't remember doing that..."

"Shut up!" Midian kicked him. "Don't give me any more of your shit. No one messes with Nemuriko Midian, you hear me? No...one!" Each word was punctuated with blows.

It felt good to beat up the kid. Amani's screams of pain gave him new energy, and the teenager struck with full force.

****

"Boy, what the hell is wrong with you?" Principal Black demanded. "You almost killed Amani! You'll be lucky if he isn't maimed for life because of you!"

Midian didn't reply, silently bearing the principal's tongue-lashing. He had gone through this many times before. The smoldering fire in his gray eyes only thickened with smoke as he waited for the man to shut up.

"You are suspended from school for three days, Nemuriko! You hear me? Three days!"

Midian nodded. "Hai, Black-san."

He turned and left, ignoring the principal's irate shouts.

****

Dressed in black, the teenager stood in the gateway leading to the Shinto shrine. He stared impassively at the nearby graveyard.

"Kami!" he shouted aloud. "My mother told me that you want nothing but the best for me. If that's true, then what's good in both my parents dying?" Tears stung his eyes. "How the hell is that good for me?" The teenager sank to his knees before the small altar, sobbing like a child. "How?" he yelled in a choked voice.

Although his father had been unreasonably strict with him, Midian still thought he was the greatest person in his life. Now that he was gone, there was no telling what he'd do...

Before Mrs. Nemuriko died, she had always been kind to him. She had taught him to weigh the worth of an action against its consequences.

She had also taught him to be merciful...merciful and caring.

Midian stared at the gate leading to the Shinto shrine with chilled gray eyes. There was no mercy left in him now.

*Goodbye, Father. I loved you.*