Feedback is appreciated! Helps with encouraging me to update... :)

Chapter 5

Lex stared listlessly at the ceiling above him, watching as the darkness shifted. They had buried his father today. Lucas, who was in Indonesia at the time with his mother, came to pay his respects… and to see if he was really dead. He recalled how the younger man's lips lifted slightly on the sides as the casket was lowered down the hole in the ground and felt the hint of irritation in his insensitivity. Despite the fact that Lionel had been a power hungry, insensitive man, he still was their father. The least he could have done was show enough manners and pretend to actually feel bad about the man's passing.

Sighing, Lex turned to his side and focused on the feel of the pillow covers sliding over his skin; listened to the rustle of the cloth against his ear. By doing so, he felt comforted, soothed somewhat. The day in its entirety had been tense and stressful. He found nothing that would ease the weight that was starting to grow on his shoulders. Pinching his eyelids together, he forced himself to relax as much as possible so finally he could sleep.

Someone was knocking on his door. He was tempted to just scream at them to go away. However, there was some strange force that compelled him to move his limbs; open his eyes and call out a mumbled 'come in.' Light flooded in as the door opened. A tall lone figure stood there – he didn't recognize the figure but an instinctive fear pounded through him.

"Hello, Lex," the figure said.

What? Lex felt his jaw go slack and his eyes widen perceptibly. "Who the hell are you?"

There was a chuckle and then the figure came closer. The voice was low, but feminine; raspy – as if they had not used their voice in a long period of time. Lex felt goose bumps rise on his arms as he squinted with his still adjusting eyes. Curves became more prominent and the smell of decaying flesh filled his nostrils. He could feel his nose scrunch at the putrid smell as he turned his head away from figure's approaching body. He could see the hair then – long strands of hair that seemed to clump in certain areas.

"You were always so oblivious, Lex… even when you were insane, you had no concept of the betrayal that surrounded you." The figure let out a cackle and Lex could feel himself shrink away from the person; from the overwhelming smell. "You didn't even suspect me, of all people. But somehow, you were able to ruin me… yes, ruin me, my name, my family… you are such a fucking bastard!"

The moonlight from his window lit part of the room. At the figure's last word, the head came thrusting forward into the pale light and Lex found himself gasping in disgust and horror. The face that stared back at him was half rotted off; chunks of skin and muscle was missing from sections of what he made out to be a woman's face and the scalp shone through as sections of hair were missing. The eyes that were trained intensely on him were bloodshot and sunken.

"Megumi," he croaked. The fear was too palpable in his being to staunch from his reaction.

The dry mouth curled in to a sneer – lips splitting in the middle to reveal angry red muscle. "You see what you have done?" she growled, placing herself fully in the revealing light. "Do you see what I had to resort to in order to keep my honour?"

She wore a white gossamer dress that hung just above her bony, decaying knees. Slowly she lifted the material from her body and revealed the cut that crossed her abdomen and chest – a gaping hole with maggots eating the flesh away. Lex let out an uncharacteristic whimper and shakily pressed his arms into his stomach area.

"It's your turn, Alexander Luthor," she whispered in that same sandpaper voice.

And with that her head turned back towards the entrance, where another figure stood. This time it had broad masculine shoulders; a tall figure. It reminded Lex of Aoshi, Megumi's brother, but the man did not have hair that was cropped short like this figure did. The person came close and a heavy breath could be heard coming from it. Once it was right behind the decomposing woman, the figure said one thing.

"Oka-san."

Lex began to gasp in his breaths, instinctively knowing exactly what would happen next. The figure stepped forward, revealing itself to him just as Megumi did. It was a young man – no more than 18 in age, with eyes that stared back coldly at him. Lex's eyes flitted down to his hand, where he noticed an unsheathed kodachi. The young man lifted the blade and came closer. Ominous black eyes glinted back at him.

"Oto-san," he said in a menacing tone. "Prepare to die."

With that he lifted the blade so that the tip was just above Lex's abdomen area. The bald man could not move, even when common sense indicated that movement was required to be able to live. And then he heard a low whistle of the blade coming down…

And Lex's eyes flew open just as the blade pierced his skin. With it, the dream withered away into the shadows in which they had come from. His breath came out in pants and his nerves felt jumpy. Pushing himself up, he pressed a shaky hand to his stomach and sighed in relief. His body was still intact. He slumped back down onto his bed and felt himself relax into the soft recesses of his bed.

Even as this was happening the resolve in his mind was forming. He needed to get that child he gave away back, before he turned into the monster of a person in his nightmares. Closing his eyes, he rested for a moment and then got out of bed to search for the number of the private investigator he knew he had somewhere in his phone book.

It took two days to find the address at which the little boy resided. His sources were good, but apparently not fast enough to get the job done in the span of a few hours. According to them, the foster parents were hard to track down as they had made it a point to make it a very private transaction. Reasons as to why numbered in the hundreds, but it didn't bother him. As he got out of his imported Porsche car, he looked down at the piece of paper. Apparently, the one who had originally made the adoption had been killed and so a close family member took the boy in their place.

Assuming this act was done out of pity for the child, Lex figured it would be easy to merely pay them off and then take the child away. After all, almost all people were shallow and materialistic. What were the chances that he was going to end up face to face with one that cared more about the child than wealth? He peered at the building before him and frowned slightly. He'd already gotten the hint that the current guardian of the child wasn't well off, but the edifice itself looked like it wanted to collapse onto itself. The walls were practically crumbling, some of the windows were broken and the smell of dry urine filled the air. He really needed to get the child away from here.

Walking purposefully towards the dilapidated building, he pursed his lips and went inside. The staircase up was cramped and boards creaked with every step he took. As he got closer to the apartment that the boy was said to be in, Lex could feel his stomach turn. Still, his face remained stony-faced and his eyes blank. No one needed to know how he felt. As he finally stopped in front of the door, he took in a long breath through his nostrils and tilted his head slightly upwards before knocking on it.

On the other side, he heard laughter – is that possible? Maybe it's another kid – and scuffling feet. A female voice called a muffled name that he couldn't make out, but it was said with such sentiment that he assumed it was addressed to another individual who was not the child. The steps drew closer – two pairs; one small one big – and finally stopped on the other side of the door.

His heart was pounding furiously in his chest and his breath grew shaky. This is it. He heard the turn and removal of locks and finally the door opened slightly. "Yes?" Asked a sweet female voice. Lex looked down at the questioning eyes and noted the hazel tone of it and was drawn in by them. Don't I know that eye from somewhere?

Dismissing the thought, he answered, "Good day, ma'am, I'm Lex Luthor and –" He was cut off abruptly as he heard a little gasp. The eyes widened as it recognized him and suddenly shut closed. Outraged, he heard the locks turn back in place. What the hell?

Chloe was given a few days off from school and work when the Dean had called her in another day and then saw just how the drastic changes in her life had taken its toll on her. She used these days to do a number of things: pay the bills, withdraw from the insurance that was left by her father to her, and also to spend time with Remy. This was the first time since he moved in with her that they had actually had time to do a bit of bonding… and what fun they had.

On the first day off, she and Remy spent the day at the city park. Getting away from the dingy apartment was a good way to start a little vacation as it was liberating for the both of them – no walls to hold them down. It started with a small breakfast picnic – which surprised and delighted the little boy because it seemed that he had not done such a thing before. Once they finished their food off, Chloe brought out a deck of cards and taught him how to play a simple game that a classmate had taught her recently. The child was extraordinary as he picked up the main points of the game easily and beat her twice after the first round. With each win the boy gave a grin but did not jump up and down squealing as other kids would have done. Instead he folded his arms and looked smugly at her his blue eyes twinkling with the triumph he felt.

After the game – that allowed their food to settle in their stomachs, they went to the jungle gym where Remy got his first taste of city children. Chloe watched as he approached each of the children in a different manner – sometimes bubbly and loud, other times quiet and solemn – and each of them seemed to accept him whole-heartedly. It made her heart swell to see him get along with all the children, yet it unsettled her. How did he know how to react around them? She had noted that he was very aware to the changes in her moods and adjusted quickly to them, but she didn't know that the extent of his understanding of others' emotions went that far.

As all the children were immersed in a game of tag, Chloe cocked her head to the side and pondered as her eyes stayed on Remy. This boy was an enigma with a great gift that had been honed and probably developed due to the unconditional love and devotion of those who surrounded him. Could she do the same? She began to question whether she took good care of the boy or not. She was often-times not home – which would be awful in any scenario. At least when she was around, the both of them would get along and play a bit before he slept and she went to do some studying. Chloe let out a little sigh and had sat back on the bench she was in at that point.

This action seemed to signal Remy – though she hadn't meant for it to be anything – and he shortly left his new friends – who slightly protested at his leaving – and went to her. He looked up at her with the intense eyes again and took her hand in his. "You're a good mommy-sister," he had said with a childish seriousness to it.

Her eyes had grown misty at that point and she hugged him fiercely. He always knew what to say. With that, they both went to get a bit of ice cream and proceeded to stay by the park's lake. The events of the morning had been a great beginning to the days off for Chloe and that night, when Remy was tucked in bed with her, she had gone to sleep with a smile on her face as she stroked his back in a soft touch.

The next day, the two stayed at home for the length of the entire morning and early afternoon. She was planning on bringing them to Pete's, where she knew Remy would have loads of fun as well. Chloe gave the boy a shower and was drying him off when he began to run away from her, squealing in laughter as she ran after him. He held a small towel – which engulfed most of his tiny body – in his hands as he ran around the living room with her trailing behind him. Just when she was a few feet away from him, someone knocked at the door.

Oddly enough, Remy stopped and stared at the door, forgetting that Chloe was still in 'game-mode' and was quickly lifted from the ground. Momentarily distracted, he laughed jubilantly. Chuckling, Chloe set him back down on his feet and he ran towards the door. Chloe followed – knowing he wanted to open it to whoever was on the other side. Maybe it was Kristine, their neighbour, asking for some sugar. Not bothering to look through the peephole, she unlocked the door, opened it slightly and asked, "Yes?"

"Good day, ma'am, I'm Lex Luthor and –"

Chloe's eyes widened as the figure before her and the name registered in her brain. She breathed in sharply and slammed the door closed, blinking in a most dumbfounded manner. It had been years since the man had anything to do with her and she felt the rush of blood flow to her face. The last time they even spoke was when she needed someone to guard her from Lionel's scheming ways… and who better to do that than his own son. The man had sworn to keep her safe, and he had kept his word. But now Lionel was dead. What was he doing here? What would he want with a woman he had no obligation to protect any longer?

To be continued...

A/N:

Vocabulary!! :)

Oka-san - Mother

Kodachi - short sword. Shinomori Aoshi uses two kodachi for his fighting style, Kodachinitouryuu (translates to double kodachi style)

Okay, so the communication begins! The actual pairing of the two will take a while longer, but it's coming... don't worry....