Title – Price of Forgiveness (Chpt 5)
Author - HourglassThorne, hourglassthorne@yahoo.com
Rating – R (see warnings)
Pairing(s) - Pairing yet to be specified
Warning(s) – Gluhen spoilers;
strong language; graphic
violence; disturbing content
Notes: "Agnes"
is my own character, as I have no clue as to whether or not the Kryptonbrand
castle has a housekeeper or not, though considering how big it is and such, it
probably ought to have its own staff.
Status of fanfic – ongoing
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All of Youji's instincts had already been on edge from the moment he set foot on British soil. The moment he ran into Ken and Aya, however, those instincts started screaming at him in a fever pitch, worsening as the sight of the castle Aya was taking them to came into view. Thank God that Mamoru was there waiting for them when they drove up. If he hadn't, Youji mused that he would have probably handed Kaiya off to the first person he saw just so that he could deck the venom-tongued redhead the moment he stepped out of the car.
As Mihirogi led him upstairs, the tall blonde man continued to fume internally as he limped. "The nerve of that prick!" his mind growled as his flashing green eyes reflected his anger. "If Aya didn't want to talk about my past, the bastard ought to have just told me flat out instead of taking a swipe at Kaiya!" The little girl in question stirred again in response to her father's aggrevation, her little petite lips pulling downward into a familiar frown that would herald the beginning of a great deal of crying. Youji quickly swallowed down his anger ad worked at soothing the small child who now seemed bound and determined to wake up. When she opened her large bright eyes, a beautiful echo of her father's own emerald gaze, she stared at him for a long moment before scrunching up her face to cry once more, this time with a very distinct catch to it.
Youji frowned as he berated himself. "God! I was so busy running today that I didn't get a chance to pick up any food or formula for Kaiya," he said dejectedly as he watched the infant begin to suck her thumb furiously between sobs.
Mihirogi came to a stop and opened the door in front of her. "Don't worry. When our head housekeeper Agnes found out that we were going to be having a baby stay with us for awhile, she went out early this morning and stocked up on anything you might need for your daughter. She adores children, so if you need anything for Kaiya, all you have to do is ask." As they stepped into the room, a small plump grandmotherly woman with silver speckled curls was found within, placing pastel blanket into what was obviously a well-cared for antique wooden crib.
"Ah! I thought I heard a hungry baby coming this way," the older woman smiled warmly at them as she turned about. She walked over to where a bottle warmer had been set up atop a dresser and pulled the bottle of formula from it, chuckling as Kaiya, seeing the bottle, started smiling and reaching eagerly for it.
"Ba! Ba!" the little girl said distinctly, bringing smiles to everyone in the room.
Agnes then clucked her tongue as she noticed Youji's splinted ankle and the bloody tear in his jacket. Holding the bottle out of reach, she made it perfectly clear that she wasn't going to give it to him until he took a seat in the living room chair and propped up his injured leg on the ottoman before it. "Here," she said as she finally relinquished the bottle to Youji. "Looks like one of the boys did a good job patching you up, but we can't have you running around with bloody clothes, especially around the baby. You look to be about Chloe's size, so I'll bring some clothes from his wardrobe for you to borrow, and don't you start complaining or refusing my kindness now. I won't stand for it."
The protest Youji had been about to make died on his lips, and with a sigh he smiled back wearily at her as he leaned back into the comfortable leather chair and gave Kaiya the bottle, which she latched onto fiercely. "Thank you very much, Ms…"
"Agnes is fine, Mr. Kudou. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go fetch those clothes for you and bring over the rest of the linens for your bed." The small woman then bustled her way out of the room, leaving the seated blonde with a puzzled expression on his face as he turned to Mihirogi.
"Excuse me… But how did she know that my family name was Kudou? I didn't even find that out till only less than an hour ago." Youji's confusion and paranoia became even greater, however, as he finally began noticing details that his anger at Aya had blinded him to earlier. "For that matter, how did you know that I would be coming here with my daughter? I know Ken must have called ahead from the flower shoppe, but you said that Agnes had been getting ready for our arrival since early this morning."
The slender polished woman simply adjusted her glasses and waved off Youji's sudden air of suspicion. "It's quite simple. Your friend Mamoru Takatori told us. He alerted us of your impending arrival in England once he learned where you were headed, and that you and your daughter would most likely be needing our protection once you got here. I must say, though, it was quite a stroke of luck that you ended up running into Aya, Ken, and Michel over at the Kittens' House and saved us the trouble of tracking you down."
Youji was stunned into silence. Mamoru, who had been his closest friend since he ran into the young man at a charity dinner for the hospital about six months after he woke up without his memory, knew his (until recently) forgotten family name? If that was the case, then he must have known Youji before he lost his memory, just like Aya and Ken. But why? If he knew, then why didn't he tell him? Why was everyone working so hard to keep his past a secret to him?
The shaken man turned his eyes to study Mihirogi cautiously. "Who are you? There's no way that Aya, Ken, or Michel can simply be florists. And what is Mamoru's connection to all of this? What is going on?"
Mihirogi shook her head. "Your friends will have to be the ones to answer most of your questions. However, I can assure you that right now you are in the safest place for your daughter and yourself. Now please relax. Take care of Kaiya and yourself. I'll have Agnes bring up something for you to eat, and I'm sure Mamoru and the others will come by shortly to see how you are doing."
Youji shook his head at that, however. "No… I don't want to see any of them right now. Everything is so mixed up. I just want to be alone with my daughter."
The woman before him nodded. "I understand. I'll relay that to the others. Please do try to get some rest. I'll have Agnes bring some food shortly for you." Mihirogi then turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her quietly, leaving Youji gazing sadly at his hungrily feeding daughter, cradling close to him potentially the last person in the world that he could be absolutely sure of.