Ch 9
Only a minute away…
Time did pass fairly quickly, Ouka found. He still hadn't been able to reclaim any of his lost memories and had decided that keeping the name that had been given to him would be the easiest for now… especially since for some reason he had the hardest times remembering the smallest of things. For instance, he would forget now and then, that he had been adopted… that his new parent's were the Wilsens'. Sometimes even their faces would become a blur and he would stumble over words, fear clutching him in a cold embrace.
But even with this plaguing him along with the secret he so desperately needed to keep, time continued to flow at a reasonable pace, sometimes a bit too fast, leaving him breathless. Take today for an instance. He frowned… and blinked. What had happened again??? Oh… yes… Mrs. Wilsen had taken him to a school… to take the entrance exam while Mr. Wilsen was at work. And he had done decent… he thought, hoped. He wanted them to be proud of him.
The results would be in shortly they had muttered. Which was fine with him… after all it left him with time to search for answers. Especially since the Wilsen's had offered him a computer as another 'welcome to the family and house' gift. A burning sense of guilt and shame filled him. He closed his eyes, his fists rubbing at them hard. It was not his fault… this whole thing was not his fault. 'You still lie to these people…' He shook his head. Enough… His eyes glanced over the computer screen and he felt the sudden tingle take over his arms and hands just like it had the first time he's seen the gift. He felt a thrill… A small smile tinged the too pale of face.
The door was opened slightly, Mrs. Wilsen looking in to see their daughter… god it was good to be able to say that, to think that! The slight form was typing away at an amazing speed. It seemed that a computer had been the right gift to give after all. She smiled gently. Her husband would always be the better judge when it came to reading people's likes and dislikes…She turned away, closing the door behind her quietly, not wanting to disturb the fragile peace that was surrounding their child right now.
The woman went downstairs, trying to think about what to cook for dinner, her mind going over a mental checklist of what was still in the fridge. So lost in her thought that she never heard her husband slam into the house and mount the stairs in such a fast pace, it made the house tremble. He was about to slam Ouka's door open but some of his common sense took over and he paused, trying to calm down. After all… the last thing he wanted to do was scare the poor girl.
The door opened in front of him before he could comprehend the movement.
Ouka's face stared at him in surprise. "…Mr. Wilsen?" She asked gently. "Are you okay?" He nodded and gave a short bark of laughter.
"Well… I guess I can't surprise you ever, huh Ouka-chan." She smiled slightly, looking a bit unsure of what was happening. "May I come in?" She nodded, letting the door open further.
"Dear?" Mrs. Wilsen… Josie… Ouka thought firmly, relaxing as she heard her adoptive mother run up the stairs. "Are you home already? I thought…" She looked confused. "…you had a big case to work on." Mr. Wilsen nodded.
"I do. But they let me out early so I could spend some time with my family." He thought quickly. "And… to celebrate the fact that Ouka's been with us for a month now!" He added jovially.
"I have?" Ouka's smile grew into a genuine one. "Oh." She ducked her head, but not before letting the two adults view a blush that was painting their little girl's cheeks. He pulled her into a hug.
"Its true…So do my two very pretty ladies want to go out and celebrate this event?"
"That means I don't have to cook?" Mrs. Wilsen asked, arching her eyebrow. Her husband nodded and she gave a small whoop of joy. "Then what are we waiting for! Go get your coat Ouka, its cold outside."
"Hai Josie!" Ouka managed to get out of the hug and dashed back in her room to get her coat. As she did, Mr. Wilsen added onto that…
"Get your coat and your medicine, Ouka-chan…" Mrs. Wilsen turned to her husband at the odd request, suddenly suspicious.
"Why?" She mouthed as to not let Ouka overhear. "She's been fine all day." Her husband shook his head, remaining silent. The girl skipped out of the room, the bottle of medicine in hand and her coat in the other. Mr. Wilsen took the bottle and placed another smile on his face.
"You won't need these ever again." He muttered, Ouka looked at him curiously and then greeted him with another one of her real smiles. He ignored his wife's widening of the eyes and mutely followed them out the house. Explanations would be needed… but for now… they would just enjoy the one month anniversary…For this little family he had recreated might not last very long. He pocketed the medicine. It would not last long at all… if these were what he thought they were.
…
Hours later, as he snuggled into bed, Mr. Wilsen let his wife turn to him with an accusing glance.
"What is going on here, Will?" He sighed and patted the spot next to him on the bed. "She might still need that medicine… I know she's been adjusting very well but…" He placed a finger on her lips as she finally came closer.
"Listen to me." He said urgently. "You remember the kidnapping case that we've been working on…" She nodded slowly. "We've managed to find one the kidnapped girls… she doesn't remember much but…" He fished around for the medicine that Ouka had given him. "She remembers these. She had some on her and we had them analyzed. They're very strong hallucinogens making whoever takes them, somehow lose their memory. We're not sure how or why but…"
"Wait a minute…" His wife took a deep breath. "Are you saying… that our little girl… that she might be one of the kidnapped victims? That we've been feeding her this crap? That…" She shook her head, pain etched in the fine features of her face. "Please tell me this is isn't true." There was no reason to let a lie continue further no matter how much his wife might need it.
"She might be." He sighed. "If her medicine matches Ami's then…" He trailed off. "We already arrested the woman at that adoption center. We've only got the girl's faulty memory and the medicine to keep her in prison for a couple of days but if Ouka's medicine turns out to be the same… then there is no way Mei can accuse of being set up. I'll be making a search on the database to see if anyone of the kidnapped cases looks like Ouka." Mrs. Wilsen turned away. "Jos…" He trailed off.
"…how…why? Why…?" The rest of her words were drowned out with sobs.
…
Ken hobbled around the kitchen with his crutches. The kitchen had become their new meeting place since it was hard for Ken to go down to the basement and it was obvious that neither Yoji nor Aya would actually carry him down there and back up again. Not, he thought a bit savagely, that I would have let them anyway. He sighed frustrated by the lack of progress… by the lack of news… by the lack of Omi's presence. It was driving him insane. He let himself fall onto one of the wooden chairs. He wondered what news Manx would bring them. He glanced at the clock. Five minutes before she would arrive…
Aya came down the stairs, a pinched expression on his face. He gave a curt nod to Ken but didn't say anything so Ken remained quiet as well. Until the silence started to suffocate him that is…
"Has the computer been fixed, do you think? Maybe Manx found a hacker that could help… or…" Aya's violet eyes glanced at him hard.
"Perhaps."
"Where's Yoji?"
"In his room." Ken started to drum nervously over the table's surface.
"Where is she?" He finally burst out.
"I'm here." Manx stated, making both men jump. "Excuse me… I had a slight delay…" Bull shit, thought Ken as he glanced at the clock… she was on time as usual. I'm just being an ass. "Where's Balinese?" She asked after having glanced around the room.
"YOJI GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE!!" Ken yelled into the hallway. There was a thud overhead and then Yoji's footsteps running down the stairs.
"Bakayarou." Yoji muttered, scowling in the brunette's direction. "I'm not deaf." He slouched into one of the chairs and waited.
"You have a new mission boys. It involves…"
"Wait a minute… what do you mean new mission?" Ken managed to gasp out as he saw Aya's eyes close and Yoji curse. "We haven't found Omi yet… the old mission isn't done yet. Its not…" Manx looked at him, emotionless.
"That mission has been closed." She said matter of factly. "We have enough evidence that Bombay was one of the kidnapped few that were killed. A body was pulled out of a river not too far away… it was unrecognizable but the blood type matched. Getting back to what I was saying…" Her words disappeared as he felt himself drowning. Omi was dead? Omi had been pulled out of a river? The blood type was a match?
"When the hell were you going to let us know?" He asked softly. He was blinking rapidly. "When the hell were you… What the fuck does it mean the blood type matched? It doesn't mean crap! Tons of people have Omi's blood type!!! I won't believe that he's dead! I won't!" Manx sighed.
"You're not the only one who was close to Bombay, Siberian… so please." She started softly, looking for the first time vulnerable and not at all like the Manx that they all had come to know. The vulnerability silenced him for a moment as the ache within him started to freeze over in his chest, becoming dull and pounding at the same time. "Your new mission isn't a typical one…" She sighed and looked behind her, as if someone would appear. "It's just to get accustomed to a new Weiss member, a hacker that will fill Bombay's place. Aya-chan… you can come in now." As if the day couldn't get any worse. Aya's… Ran's little sister came in, looking pale and unhappy with the situation. Ken's eyebrow's shot up. Omi was being replaced so soon? Why…Anger began to boil once more…this could not be happening.
"What…" Ran stood up, blood rushing to his veins. "Are you insane? She is not to become one of us."
"I know. She will only be a hacker… nothing more. There will be no missions involving her as an assassin. She doesn't have the training."
"No. This…"
"A girl and three guys, Manx?" Yoji asked, his voice tired and dull. "It's bad all around."
"She's not taking Omi's place, damn it!" Ken shouted finally. "Cause he's not dead and I'll find him! I'm not giving up on him…"
"PLEASE!" Aya-chan shouted over the chaos that had begun to overtake the others. "I'm not… I'm not being pushed into this, Ran." She whispered once silence had fallen. "I asked for this, to be able to help you guys. Omi knew. He was the one who taught me… and I'm not trying to replace him… I couldn't. I could never…" The nineteen year old girl flung herself in her brother's arms. "I just want to help you…"
Yoji sighed and raked a hand through his hair.
"Why don't we give this a week?" He muttered, slipping, seemingly out of no where, his sunglasses back onto his face. Manx nodded.
"Fair enough." She muttered and then took her leave. There was nothing left to say. Yoji placed a hand on Ken's shoulder.
"We all knew that this could happen to one of us… Don't…"
"I won't do anything stupid Yoji." Ken said hotly. "I'm just not going to give up." He pushed himself away from the table finally. "When does this stupid cast come off anyway?"
"In a week… I think…" Ran muttered, still embracing his sister to him closely. "It's on the calendar." As the two left the room to go find the calendar, Yoji couldn't help but overhear the confident Ran break down in the kitchen as he asked shakily why his little sister had joined them in the darkness of hell.
…
"Ouka!" Josie called out from the living room the next morning, where she had been reading the mail. The woman had been trying to find distractions for both herself and her child as only she knew what her husband was doing. She didn't want to think about the medicine and what it might tell them. It was going to take a week… less than a week to compare Ouka's medicine and that other girl's medicine. So little time. She felt her eyes prickle warningly and pressed her hands to them. The sound of footsteps made her force on a smile and she let her hands fall back to her sides.
"Daijoubou?" Ouka asked gently as she peered into the room, her light blond- brown hair gently waving around with the motion. Josie blinked… Her Japanese was still poor. But she had been trying. Ouka had been such a blessing to have since she had known English.
"Uh… yes I am. You?" She answered finally. Ouka smiled and shook his head.
"You're supposed to answer me in Japanese, Mama…" He trailed off, his eyes widening. Had he really called this woman mommy just now? He felt his heart race and ducked his head. "Go-…" He was about to apologize when he was pulled into a strong hug.
"I'll try harder Ouka…" The woman muttered, touched beyond words. She let go of the girl and smiled. "I got a letter from the school." He blinked, wishing he could somehow change who he was… if only he could be a girl… their little girl. To have a family such as this. He forced a smile of his own and kneeled on the floor, more comfortable there then on the couch beside his adoptive mother to listen to her.
"Isn't it a bit early for them to contact us?" The woman nodded after thinking about the question for a moment.
"I guess so, they did say though that it could take between a couple days to a week so…" She shrugged. "Anyway they just wrote to say that you've been accepted and not only that… they think it would be wiser to place you in the senior grade of that school." She beamed at Ouka.
"Senior?" He asked a bit dumbly. "But I'm fifteen…"
"I know… but the level of education you have is that high… they want you to come there and start classes as soon as you feel you can so that you may pass the final exams this year along with the other students." Ouka opened his mouth to protest but Josie continued to speak. "They feel you're ready for it. But it's up to you."
"…whatever will make you and… daddy… proud of me." He finally answered, stumbling a bit over the words. And with that said, knowing that he would either start crying or start telling the truth about who he was… but how he still needed them… he turned around and ran out of the room. Once in the safety of his own room, he sat in front of the computer, his head falling to the keyboard. How could he… how could he get attached…? How could he need the feeling of being wanted, needed… so much? How could he continue to lie like this to them?
/Kitten…/
He closed his eyes, biting his lip to keep the sobs in. If only he could remember something… anything.
/…don't be so hard on yourself…/
The net had given him only a temporary relief. But as he searched the lists of missing children… as he read all the descriptions, a pain would fill him… one so deep… there was no relief. There was nothing in that long list that he had read through at least once… going on twice that could have been a description for him. Could it be that no one was looking for him?
/The internet is a large world of information, kitten…/
What if he had nothing to go back to?
/You just haven't been looking hard enough…/
What if… no one had ever loved him at all?
/They might be just minutes away…/
Could he really continue to search for people who were not looking for him? Especially when… when people here did love him?
/But the lies kitten, the lies…/
The darkness would never end.
…
Shuldich laughed as he left the Weiss brat alone with his guilt. It was almost too easy to play and twist each passing thought of his. Nagi looked up at the laughter, glaring at being interrupted at whatever he and Tot had been doing. Shuldich just gave him a little bow and passed by, sneering. Oh wouldn't Nagi be thanking him when it was he who would make the little Weiss brat pay… he would make the whole Weiss group pay. For taking their chance at immortal life…revenge against this world… They would all pay.
He knocked lightly on Brad's door before just entering in. The dark haired man barely looked up from what he was doing.
"It's almost time. He'll break soon enough…" Shuldich started.
"Don't delve too deep within the boy." Brad muttered finally, a smile playing on his face. "You might get a nasty surprise. But you're right… he will break soon."
…
"Aya-chan, how are you doing?" Yoji asked, trying vainly to get some of the uncomfortable tension to break. "Are you moving in okay?" The girl was of course, going to take over Omi's room. Since Omi really hadn't had anything other than his beloved computer, nothing had really needed to be taken out. It still hurt though… The girl offered him a small smile.
"Arigato." She said gently. "But I'll be okay. I… I don't think I'll last the week." Aya-chan stated finally as Yoji moved a box in the room that contained Aya-chan's clothes. At his questioning glance she continued. "Ran isn't too happy with this situation… he'll deal but only because in his heart he thinks this is temporary and… and he needs me right now. He blames himself solely for…Omi's disappearance." Yoji nodded slowly, wishing the girl had chosen someone else to loosen her burdens to. He had enough pain within himself to deal with… but… He sighed, cursing himself for being such a softy and let himself sit on the edge of the bed. "…and Ken-san probably wishes I had been used as bait right now…" He shook his head.
"I doubt that. I know for a fact that he probably wishes that this mission had never taken place… but I don't think he'd wish you harm. It's not in his nature. If… if he seems cold…" Yoji shrugged. "I don't think he knew how close he was to Omi until this… He's having a hard time letting go." She nodded slowly. "But…" He started again gently, surprising himself. "I have a feeling you will be able to make the healing process go faster for all of us… not just for Ran." He gave her a smile. "Don't be too hard on yourself." Yoji excused himself from the room then, reaching in his pocket for a cigarette. He was on flower duty after all. He couldn't be slacking.
The eldest of the Weiss members made his way down the stairs and into the store part of their little house, a flirting smile on his face. He was met by Aya's… damn it all… Ran's cold eyes. He tensed involuntarily, it was as if Ran was back in his mission mode. But why? He scanned the crowd of teen faces as he walked to the counter to get his apron. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except… There. That man. So out of place… Yoji looked for the clock. It was ten o'clock. Shouldn't he be at work? He shook his head. This was getting out of hand, this being suspicious of every thing, everyone… Maybe it would do all of them good to have a long vacation.
"Yare yare…" He muttered to himself. "K' ladies, what can I do for you lovely things?" A group of girls attacked him leaving Ken and Aya…Ran, baka, a slight breather. The man made his way to Ran and pointed to a bunch of roses. Typical, Yoji thought as he handed a girl back her change for the order she had just picked up. Men always went to woo girls with roses. He sighed… and girls would always fall for those flowers. He shook his head. He preferred irises, personally.
Ran glared at the new customer who asked for the dozen roses. The man seemed strange as his brown eyes seemed to roam around the shop as if looking for a clue… or as if he was sizing the whole place up. It made him tense to have someone like that in the shop.
"Excuse me…how much is that orchid? The roses are for my wife you see… but my daughter likes orchids… She likes all kinds of flowers actually. She says that they sooth her… so… I try to buy her flowers whenever I get the chance. The flower store I usually go to is closed today and yours was recommended so I thought I would give it a try. It seems unusually busy…" He paused giving Ran a hard look.
"Hn…" Ran muttered as he finished wrapping the roses and began to reach for the orchid the man had pointed to. "It's…" The man cut him off as Ran was about to state its price.
"I'd like to have a conversation with you in private. I'm with the local police force." He stated frankly, his jovial expression never changing unlike the tone of his voice. Ran raised an eyebrow but nodded.
"Follow me." Ran turned the other way, leading the man to the kitchen. "What is it that a cop wants to know from a florist?"
"Not just simple florists… florists believed to be not too long ago, members of Weiss." Ran did not move a muscle even though he wanted to just knock the man flat and throw him out of the room.
"We were cleared. Taketori was paranoid… Omi was seeing his daughter. After her death he tried to blame us…" That was the story that had been told. And people had believed it… for who could believe that four florists, especially one as young as Omi, one as joyful and nice as Ken, serious and responsible as himself, and a lady's man like Yoji could be terrorists. The man nodded.
"It's true… you were all cleared. But your names are still on our database." The man sighed. "I come here for that reason… I'd like to see Tsukionomi Omi, please."
"He's not in."
"When will he be?"
"…He moved." Ran sighed. "He moved because he couldn't handle living in this town anymore. Not after what had happened. Why do you need to talk to him?" The man shook his head.
"Is there anyway I could reach him?"
"E-mail." Aya-chan's clear voice entered the conversation. "Omi-kun was very fond of the computer… would you like me to go get his e-mail address for you?" The man nodded.
"Yes…Thank you for your time and help." There was silence between the two men after that and it continued even after the young girl had come back with a piece of paper in hand that she gave quickly.
"Would you still like the roses and the orchid?" Ran finally asked, as he followed the man back into the shop area, Aya-chan was close behind him.
"Yes. Thank you." The man paid and left, leaving Ran to his thoughts and speculations. Manx would have to be contacted of course.
…
Mr. Wilsen sighed, passing his hand across his forehead to catch the forming beads of sweat. Earlier that day he had gotten to work, searching under the police database on whether any of the kidnapped cases resembled their little Ouka even a little. He'd taken Ouka's picture and placed it in the database, asking for a match. Nothing in the kidnapping sections… His hopes had risen. Maybe their Ouka wasn't one of those children. Maybe she truly had been an orphan who needed the warmth of their home.
Then it had happened… a file came up. But it didn't come from the missing children file… it had come up from the criminal file. And there had been a surprise… it had been a boy. A young looking boy with wide blue eyes and blond brown hair that was a bit messy and long for a boy his age, reaching to his chin, looked back at him from the computer screen. He could see the striking resemblance… his daughter to this Tsukionomi Omi but… it couldn't be could it? This eighteen year old wasn't reported missing and… for christ's sake, Ouka was a girl.
Still that face… was her face. Maybe they were siblings? It was a possibility although when he had searched the boy's background to find that he truly wasn't a criminal, he had just been caught up in that big Taketori-Weiss mess in which he had been cleared, he had seen that the boy was an orphan. The boy had apparently been taken up by an old lady owning the flower shop. He sighed.
He had hoped that the boy could have given him answers… perhaps he would remember things that Ouka couldn't. And it would have been priceless to give Ouka back some past… a brother…
But the boy was no longer here. Mr. Wilsen was back at square one and not liking the feeling at all.
In a couple days they would have the answer about the medicine… but what would it do? What would it mean to Ouka who was finally beginning to accept them. His wife's joy on the phone not two hours past had been incredible. To hear that Ouka had finally gotten through a barrier and had called them, had honored them with the title of father and mother. What would it do… if she had to go through this whole mess?
If the medicine was a match for Ami's, then both girls would need to testify against that despicable woman. But not only that… a search for Ouka's true past would need to be done.
He checked his watch. These thoughts were getting him no where… he would go home, ask to borrow Ouka's computer to send this boy an e-mail and hope for an answer and in the mean time… ask the child if she would be willing to have a blood test be done. He couldn't trust the adoption papers anymore.
What is this world coming to?
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A/N- Hey!!!
I'm finally updating!!! I hope the story still holds your interest!!! I'll soon have the next chapter posted! Feedback is appreciated!
J