Disclaimer: I don't own the original FY characters; I own Kei, Taki, Lily, Jason, their kids and any other person who isn't a FY character.
Thoughts
Memories
~*~Review Response~*~
~Jamie - So, how much longer does the grounding last? Or is it over already? Poor grades are never fun. I'm right there with ya, girl. I just did pretty bad on two chemistry tests and my final.
~CarrCarr - I guess if I was being honest about it, I like my sequel more than the original. Kano and Akane aren't really totally together. I mean, they're almost there, but those three little words have yet to be spoken. Well, any where from 1-3 words depending on the language you're speaking.
~Amanda - Again, thank you so much for the picture! It looks like how I wanted him! You're such a good artist!
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Kimiko leaned against Hiroshi while watching the others gape at her. She was too tired to say much. She wasn't used to living knowing she was immortal. The first use of her powers drained her.
Hiroshi looked nervously at the others then Kimiko. "Kimiko, are you gonna be okay? You're pale…"
"I think I'll be okay…" She sighed. "Just getting used to this…"
"Care to explain what the hell is going on now!?!?" Akane was pissed that she was out of the loop.
"It's kinda complicated…" Kimiko breathed deeply. "Can I sit somewhere?" The glowing symbol on her forehead began to die down now that the power subsided. "I'm really tired…"
"Well obviously…" Toru huffed. "Just start at the beginning."
"This is gonna get really interesting…" Lily crossed her arms.
"Well, I'm not really sure." Kimiko eased off of Hiroshi onto a rock. "But here's what I do know." The group waited patiently for her to start. "I never knew there was anything different about my family. I thought it was like any other. My mom and dad, brother and me. Then when I was 11, he died. Anyone would think that once you're dead, you're gone for good but he said he'd see me again. I really wanted to believe him…" She sniffed. "It wasn't until a night or so ago that I really did see him again." She pulled her knees into her chest. "I had a dream…well, it wasn't really a dream technically…and he came back to tell me he was Suzaku." She nearly spat out the god's name. "He told me I'm immortal…"
Taki wondered why she seemed so angry. "Pardon me for asking, but is there something wrong with being a god's daughter?"
"I hate him." Kimiko spat frankly.
"You…you hate your father? And he's a god?" Taki understood what is was like to hate a father, she did after all.
"What's he gonna do to me?" She snapped. "I'm immortal too. He can't kill me. God or not he still abandoned my family!"
The seishi didn't really want to believe that she was telling the truth. "Are you totally sure, no da?"
"What do you want me to do? Sprout wings and fly? 'Cause I can do that too!" She angrily stood up, unfolding her suddenly appearing wings.
The seishi and older girls stepped back. Kei waved her hands in surrender. "Okay! You've proven your point. You're a god's daughter. No need to fly away or anything."
"Kimiko, calm down…" Hiroshi laid his hand on hers.
"Sorry…" The furious young goddess sat down again. "I'm not used to this…"
"You don't have a reason to be used to it." Hotohori no longer minded the fact that she bit him. He now knew he shouldn't have tried to catch her like he had.
Kimiko folded her large wings. "Is there anything else you want to ask that I might be able to answer?"
No one spoke from a moment. Kimiko felt the awkwardness of her situation settling in. 'What am I supposed to do if they don't accept me anymore…'
"Something wrong?" Jason asked.
"What?" Her head snapped up. "No…nothing…I'm okay…" She smiled nervously. Nyoko and Naoko's father always made her a little nervous. It was probably just because even though he was the nicest man ever, he had a habit of accidentally looming over people because of his height.
Still no one spoke. No one knew what to say. They never had to look a goddess in the face before and talk to her.
"Kimiko?" Akane suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah?"
"You're not gonna have to leave us now are you?"
"No…why would I? Do you want me to?"
"No! Of course not. I was just wondering if you had to like go somewhere else to like learn about your powers or whatever it is that goddesses do."
"I wish you wouldn't call me that." She lowered her head again.
"What? A goddess?"
"Yeah…I'd rather be human…" She mumbled something else.
"What did you say?" Nyoko couldn't hear her.
"I said 'I wish I never came here…'" She clenched her fists. "I would have been happier staying at home with some little hope instead of knowing the truth. I never asked for my father to be a god. I just wanted to see him again…"
Hiroshi wrapped his arms around his immortal love. "Kimiko…it'll be okay."
"Maybe sometime it will be." She sadly leaned into him, unafraid to show the others everything that was going on between them.
Akane took a deep breath. "Alright. Can we go hunt Reizo now?"
Kimiko blinked, her feelings of sorrow gone. "What did you just say?" The others were a little shocked by Akane as well. She had dismissed the thought of her immortal friend like it was nothing.
"Well, maybe I'm being a little brash or callous here or something…but we still do have an insane murderer to either kill or just get back to our own time. We can deal with this later."
"How can you say that?" Kimiko stood up. "Are you saying you're fine with me being not human?"
"Who said you weren't human? You gonna let one guy telling you you're different make you want to be treated differently?" Akane shrugged.
"But I don't want to be treated differently!"
"Then don't act like it." The older girl shrugged again. "We've still got psycho boy on our tails. I'd be more inclined to deal with this later…in our own time…when it's safe."
"That reminds me, no da…how long has Reizo been after you? It seems like you've had a lot of experience with him, no da."
"Not a whole lot…" Naoko shrugged. "It's more Akane and Kano than us."
"Why more them?" Kouji asked. "Is it true he's really your brother?"
"I don't wanna talk about it…" Kano snorted.
Akane watched his face. She knew he didn't want to say anything about his mother. Kei looked at Akane. "Are you gonna tell us?"
Akane's right hand unconsciously moved up to her neck. She could still remember the searing pain of Reizo's knife slashing into her arm when she avoided a deadly slash. The knife had been meant for her throat and she knew it. "No…" Her voice cracked horribly. She cleared her throat trying to shake the chilling feeling from her body. "I don't feel like it." She sounded a little more level. "I probably never will…"
Tasuki opened his mouth to ask another question regarding Reizo, but a look from Kei made him close his mouth again. Kei gave him the smallest smile when he looked down at her again. 'She looks cute when she…what the fuck am I saying?' He frowned to himself. 'Those kids just couldn't be right…I refuse to believe it!'
"Somethin' wrong?" Kouji looked over at his friend.
"Nah…" Tasuki shook his head and shrugged it off.
Kouji leaned closer to Tasuki. "You're afraid Akane's telling the truth, aren't you?" His voice was soft, only meant for Tasuki.
"No! That's not it…" He hissed. "I still don't believe it."
"Shut up Genrou. I've known for what, 6 years now? I've never seen you stare at a girl with any degree of interest until now." Kouji hissed back.
Tasuki glared at Kouji. 'Damn him for knowing me too well…'
Naoko preferred to stand near her father. He looked down at her. "You okay?"
"Sorta…" Naoko drew circles in the grass with her foot. "I mean…we still have to worry about Reizo…"
"Can't say that's something I'd look forward to…"
She sat on a rock. He stood over her, wondering about really being her father.
Nuriko watched them both. Nyoko looked up at her mother. "What are you thinking about? Him?"
"You're a nosy little kid, you know that?"
"Yeah. You've told me that before."
"I have?"
"Well, I mean…that is to say…" She scratched her head. "You've said that…uhh…"
"I get it. You mean when I'm actually your mother."
"Uh…yeah…"
"Can you tell me something?"
"I can try…"
Nuriko looked over at Jason. "Does he know? I mean about me being…you know…a guy?"
"Well, I don't think so. I mean Naoko and I didn't…" She bit her lip. "You heard me when we first saw you…"
"That's true…does he know that you two are supposed to be our daughters? I know you didn't tell him when he came here…"
Yeah…he does know now though. Naoko told him that night that she was outside with him…"
"So she wasn't really looking at the stars…"
"Well, she might have been, but then Dad came out…"
"I get it. It was kind of an accident."
"Yeah…"
"So she knows?" Jason stared down at Nyoko.
"Yeah. We had to tell them when we first got here."
"And you didn't say anything to me when I first got here because you were afraid of what? Shocking me to death?"
"Well, you were already in disbelief of being here…so why add a wife and twin daughters?"
"I suppose I see your logic…"
"Good…" Naoko looked up at him. "So you gonna talk to her or just let it be for now?"
"We'll just see how things go…" He leaned against a tree. "See if things go the way they're supposed to…"
Hotohori looked over at Hiroshi. "Why won't they talk about Reizo? Do you know?"
Hiroshi was still holding Kimiko. "I know why…I won't tell though. It isn't my place to. If Akane and Kano don't want any of you to know, I'm not going to tell. You'll eventually find out anyway…"
Hotohori was almost angry. He wondered why, if Hiroshi knew he was the emperor, did the boy still keep silent. "You know who I am right?"
"The current emperor of Konan and my father." Hiroshi said calmly.
"Then why don't you tell me the truth?"
Taki frowned. Emperor or not, husband or not, she wasn't going to let Hiroshi get bossed around by Hotohori. "Hotohori." He turned to her. "With all due respect, leave him alone."
"Excuse me?" He looked surprised when she gave him an order.
"He's not going to tell you. Just leave it alone. Being an emperor doesn't give you the right to make people tell you things that aren't meant for you to hear." She put her hands on her hips.
He was hit by a pang of déjà vu. What she had just said reminded him of what Miaka used to say to him. "Women from the miko's world have a lot of nerve…"
"And we're damn proud of it." Taki smiled and nodded. "But I really don't mean to be rude…I'm just saying you can't have everything you want…" She shrugged.
"Believe me I'm well aware of that…"
"You are?" She was now surprised. "Who denied what to the emperor?"
He smirked suddenly. "I don't want to talk about it."
Taki giggled. "Very nice…"
"Have you ever been denied anything, Taki?"
She let out an exasperated sigh. "Too many things to count…"
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing physical really, mostly emotional. I want the reason why my father left, never got it…the reason he never came back, never got it…the reason my mom never told me the truth about him, never got it…the reason I can't have a decent relationship with a guy for any length of time, never got it…I need answers in my life and I'll probably never have them…"
Hiroshi watched his mother and father have their first heartfelt conversation unfold right in front of him. Kimiko was still clinging to him. "So what do you think of your parents now Hiroshi?"
"They're…I dunno. I never thought about what they would have talked about when they met…it's weird…"
"I wonder…"
"What?"
"How is it that the 8 of us have the weirdest parents in the world?"
"Just lucky I guess." He chuckled slightly.
Chichiri watched Kimiko carefully. He still couldn't understand how Suzaku could have a family in the mortal world. Lily suddenly poked him in the head.
"Stop thinking so much. You're making my head hurt."
"There's too much to think about, no da…"
"You know, right now you seem all distraught like you should have all the answers. No one could have possibly seen this…er…them coming." She waved her hand at the 8 kids.
"But I've trained under a prophet who knows pretty much everything that goes on in this world. I should know when our god runs off to have a family in the miko's world, no da." He huffed.
She poked him again. "You're not thinking things through."
"Nani, no da?" He looked at her, shocked.
"She's only 15. She doesn't exist yet." Lily laughed at the information started to settle in. "I doubt Suzaku's run off yet. She won't be born for like 5 years or so, right? I mean, Kano's the oldest of that group and he's barely two right now."
"I never thought of that, no da…"
"I didn't think so…" Lily shook her head and sighed. "Do you think Kimiko will be okay?"
"What do you mean, no da?"
"Well, I don't think she really understands how to use whatever power she's got. She did the healing thing, but she kinda looked like she'd pass out after she was done…"
"Well, she could be trained to better control and use her powers, no da…"
"But?"
"But she has to be willing to, no da. I could help her, but I'm not sure she would want my help."
"Is she in any danger if she doesn't get any training?"
"I doubt it. She should be okay, no da. It may take her longer to get the hang of it without some help though."
"You should offer to help when she gets rested up."
"You're probably right." Chichiri suddenly noticed that the glove on her left hand was ripped. "Lily?"
"Huh?"
"Your glove…"
"Huh?" She looked down to see a big chunk of the fabric gone and gasped. In the blink of an eye, her hand was in her pocket.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" She smiled and backed away from him. "Nothing at all!" She began looking for something to draw his attention away from her. "Where did Kano and Akane go?" Suddenly she did notice they really were gone.
Everyone looked around. The two were gone.
"I saw them leave a little while ago." Kimiko spoke up. "They'll probably be back later."
"But where'd they go?" Kei felt a slight motherly instinct kick in.
"Probably just to be alone for a while. They don't like thinking about Reizo." Naoko sighed.
"Back to that blonde guy, are we?" Jason muttered.
"Don't even mention his appearance…" Kimiko spat. "None of us want to think about that bastard."
"Okay…guess I'll keep my mouth shut then…" Jason held up his hands in surrender, not wanting to accidentally get on Kimiko's bad side.
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Akane and Kano sat in the grass against a large flat rock, hands just touching. "You okay?" His voice barely reached her ears.
"Maybe. I don't want to think about him." She faced him.
"I understand." He pulled her closer. "I don't either."
"I wish they wouldn't pry about it…"
"They're just curious."
"I know…but they're all like that. My mom was trying to get the truth out of me before. She of all people should know what it's like to feel the need to hide something…" She felt like she'd cry.
He cradled her against his chest. "Shhh…don't talk about your family. This isn't the time for your family, mine or any other. This is just for us."
She smiled as she snuggled close to him. "You never would have held me like think when we first met…"
"I never thought I'd care so much for the girl who called me, what was is now? Captain Jackass I believe." He smirked when she turned bright red.
"You remember?"
"Of course."
"You did call me Wonder Bitch…" It was his turn to blush.
"So I was a little bitter…"
"I know…and you're not Captain Jackass anymore."
"I'm not? What am I then?"
She thought for a moment. "Hmmm, you're more of a Sergeant Sweetie now." She giggled when he let out a disgusted snort.
"I think I preferred Captain Jackass." He rolled his eyes.
She kissed him on the cheek. "But I think I'll just call you Kano."
"That's preferable to the both." He smiled and kissed her lightly.
"Yep." Akane sighed happily. "So how long till they look for us."
"Whenever. They can come for us whenever they feel like it."
"I agree." Akane nodded.
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Happy summer!
~*~Shadow Hawk~*~
6/7/03