Ad Astra

By: Wildfire Sky

So I was looking around at my stats, right? And then it hit me...I have not updated Ad Astra in FOREVER!! Good heavens, am I really that lazy?? The answer (honestly) is yes, but I'm disciplining myself, so there!! Now be silent and read!!

Note: Shisou is one Japanese way of saying priest who teaches...

Ad Astra

Chapter Three

Joe sat down in the tiny porch swing, silently sipping at a steaming mug of freshly brewed coffee, enjoying the sight that a birthing sun brought with it, driving away the dark and cold of the night as it reigned supreme over this side of the planet. He was beginning to relax now, even though it'd been almost four years since he'd left the hustle of Dr. Kazumi's beach cabin and moved out on his own...and only a year since Francoise had left for France.

That day had been one of the worse for him...like the woman had taken a knife and twisted it in his gut mercilessly. He'd walked down the hallway of his apartment, balancing a breakfast tray in one hand as he hummed softly, anticipating waking his love up with a delicious meal (Chang had been teaching him how to cook while he worked at the restaurant). The tray had nearly fallen from his shocked grasp when he'd walked into to see Francoise standing by the window, a suitcase on the bed.

His gaze had shifted slowly from her back to the suitcase, confusion most certainly evident on his face when he slowly set the tray down on the bed, a hand tentatively reaching out as if the luggage wasn't real. By that point Francoise had turned to face him, one hand nervously rubbing the opposite arm, her gaze locked on the suitcase as well.

Joe's hand clenched around the warm mug, his eyes closed as the memory flooded back. She looked so beautiful...

Oh God, the way the sunlight poured over her shoulders, igniting her locks as if they were on fire...he would have rather wallowed in it rather than step away like he did.

"I'm leaving, Joe...to France..."

Why? Why didn't he stop her? Why didn't he say anything to her or finally do what he'd always meant to do? For nearly four years they'd lived together, lovers and friends...but he was too much of a coward to take it the next step...too scared of a commitment to the one who'd captured his heart.

One year to the day, he reminded himself bitterly; exactly one year ago she walked out on you and never looked back...an entire year since you've heard a word from her...

Cursing under his breath, Joe heaved himself up from the chair and stalked over to the balcony door, slamming it open and storming inside. He threw his mug into the sink, not really caring about the rest of the clutter that had stacked up, the dirty dishes that had been neglected for weeks...but who cared? It wasn't like anyone ever visited him.

Dr. Gilmore and Kazumi were still good friends, caring for each other in their ailing years and well as keeping each other company. Kazumi was growing weaker by the day...so much that he'd written out his will in preparation for the end. Joe hated to think that the old man might be dying, but it was a natural part of life that he would have to accept.

As for Gilmore, well, he was still a quick as ever, constantly demanding who Joe was whenever he visited. Apparently Alzheimer's had settled in just after Francoise left, so it was yet another tragedy he had to deal with...Gilmore had once even said that he hated Joe, and although the young boy had forgiven him, it still hurt. It seemed like everyone hated him.

The last he'd heard from Jet, he and that woman of his were married and expecting twins, on top of caring for the young boy, Jimmy. Joe was happy for him, yet a little disappointed at the same time. Jet had invited Joe to the wedding, but that would mean that he would have to spend money he just didn't have. So he was forced to decline the invitation, but did send a gift and a card wishing him good luck. They wrote each other occasionally.

Pynuma...he was nowhere to be found, literally dropping off the face of the planet. War was still raging through Africa, but Joe had managed to quench his fears, knowing full well it would take a lot more than bullets to take down a cyborg.

Albert stopped coming to visit when Francoise left...stating that he'd found someone very special to him. Who it was, Joe had yet to find out, but he hoped they'd be happy together...and although they didn't see each other physically, Albert called almost every weekend.

And Geronimo...Geronimo was in the big leagues. His once tiny construction company had grown to once of the leading (and most sought after) services in the world. His headquarters were in Arizona, but Geronimo was currently working with the U.S. government on a project in Antarctica constructing some sort of scientific base.

Chang and GB had split off slightly three years ago, the Britain managing his own affiliation of Chang's restaurant, a new dinner-theatre that was attracting huge crowds. A mix of Chang's food and Great Britain's style...it was like a match made in heaven. GB had offered Joe a job there, but the Japanese youth quickly declined, staying at Chang's main restaurant where he knew what he was doing. From GB's tales, customers in dinner-theatres could be vicious when it came to service.

The gentle tick of the hall clock drew Joe's attention as he passed by, his eyes gliding up to its hands. Aw hell...

He needed to get ready or he'd be late for his appointment...again. He was meeting with a priest who'd offered to teach him what schooling he'd missed out on since his disappearance. Assuming that Joe was no more than another uneducated orphan, which was somewhat true, he had never asked anymore of him than his name and what he knew already. Of course Joe knew plenty, enough to help him on the Dolphin, but he didn't have a degree on paper, and he needed that to get a better job than a waiter and cook.

Quickly splashing water on his face, Joe pulled on a pair of jeans and a clean white shirt and blue jacket. Fall was beginning to set in and it was getting chilly. The church was almost a full three miles away, so he had a ways to walk through Tokyo. Glancing quickly in the bathroom mirror he rushed out the door, locking it behind him before making a beeline to the elevators.
He was going to be late...

"Well, Shimamura-san, you're late once again and see as we've wasted enough time waiting, shall we get started?"

Joe bowed humbly at the priest, his cinnamon eyes apologetic, "Gomen nasai, sensei...it won't happen again, I promise."

The priest stared at him before smiling softly and patting the boy's head, "I know that much troubles you, my son," he said gently, "And you should know that I am here to help you in any way that I can."

Joe nodded silently before sitting down in the chair in front of the priest's desk, opening the book clutched in his hands. Flipping through his own volume, the old man smiled as he pointed to the paper.

"Now we will try something different, calculus. You seem to have been able to grasp algebra remarkably well, so now let's really test your knowledge."

Joe slowly looked up at the priest, his eyes locked on withered grey ones, "Shisou-sensei," he whispered lightly, "When do you think I'll be able to get my degree?"

The priest stared at him, noting the dull look behind his eyes. He had seen that look in the young man's eyes every since he began teaching him...the look of defeat...the look of a man with nothing...no one to hold on to...

"Shimamura-san, I wish you would talk to me. After all, I am nothing more than a simple gusou, so you can tell me anything." The old man smiled, "Don't look so surprised...you are part of my family now, and caring for you is more important than any teachings I could offer."

Joe averted his eyes from the shisou's hard gaze, "There is nothing I would want to trouble you about, sensei...I'm sorry for interrupting..." Joe quickly diverted his attention back to his text, studiously reading it and trying to ignore the old man across from him.

He didn't want to talk to anyone yet...no one would understand his feelings. Francoise had been his life now...but she was gone forever and wasn't coming back...God obviously had something better for her in mind...

By the time Joe arrived at Chang's restaurant, the large room was filled with people, the lunch hour well underway. He silently cursed his ill-luck as he slumped into the back kitchen, throwing his worn jacket on one of the hooks and tying a small black apron around his waist. Detecting the young man's presence some how, Chang came tearing around the corner, his squinted eyes even narrower as he locked on his target.

"009! There you are!" Chang stormed over, arms crossed, "You, my young friend, are late..."

Joe turned away, picking up an order pad, "I know..."

"The third time in a row!"

"Yes, 006..."

"Do you realize I have a business to run here?!?"

Joe heaved a weary sigh as he glanced over his shoulder at the smaller, fuming chef, "I'm sorry, 006, but I got hung up at the Father's again."

Whatever word it was, Joe wished he could remember, because Chang's red face instantly melted back into his warm cheerful self, a grin breaking out on his features. "How's that going by the way? Are you going to get your degree soon?"

Joe shrugged one shoulder absently, "The Father thinks so. He says I'm a fast learner..."

006 beamed, tapping his temple as he dropped his voice to a low hiss, "That's because he doesn't realize you have a cybernetic brain in there...we're programmed to learn quickly." He chuckled lightly, "Never would have thought Black Ghost might have done something good for a change, eh?" The surprised cry of a cook tore 006's attention away from Joe as he retreated to the back to assist in patting out another fire, his boisterous voice booming as he fought with both the cook and the fire.

Joe quickly stuffed the pad and a pencil into his apron, hurrying out from the stuffy, hot kitchen and into the loud boisterous dining room. One of the waiters passing by pointed over to a small corner table, his eyes telling him everything. Real bastards...

He sighed miserably, slowly making his way over, not at all wanting to deal with a group of rude, overbearing people who thinks they're better than everyone else. It was the last thing he wanted at the time...

It was a group of three, two men and one woman, each as clean shaven and styled as the next. The two men wore matching pinstripe suits of dark blue, with white undershirts and a black tie. Their black hair was slicked back and off to one side, clean clipped and cared for, the only difference between the two being the one had blue eyes while the other had black. The woman wore a tight red dress, her blonde hair spilling down around her slender shoulders. Her lips were red and full with an almost pouting look about them. Her green eyes peered up at Joe as he approached, reflecting from the tiny pearls around her neck.

"Finally," she sniffed, "We've been waiting for almost five minutes for a proper server. I can't imagine why it took so long..."

Joe stared at her, already regretting not calling in sick. "Gomen nasai..."

"Oh no," she quickly interrupted, holding up a hand, "There won't be any of that. I'm an American; there fore we'll be speaking English in here." She glanced around evasively, turning up her nose at the other occupants. "I thought that a upright restaurant like this would at least adopt the language of their best customers."

I really should have called in sick...

Joe quickly searched his mental database, selecting English, silently thanking Black Ghost for the language database which allowed him to adopt to any language necessary. He bowed stiffly, speaking in quick accented, but otherwise perfect, English.

"I'm very sorry, ma'am, I didn't realize that you were American...your Japanese is very good."

The woman smirked arrogantly, "Yes well, my husband is an owner of one of the Fortune 500 companies...that's means he's very, very successful...and he has a branch here in Tokyo. In fact, it's the headquarters of our company." She dug inside her leather purse as she spoke, absently rattling off and ignorant to the irritable look on Joe's face, "You see, my husband is in to technology, and he knows you people are quick when it comes to things like that...so he based his company here. Damnable choice if you ask me...even his company heads are Japanese instead of respectable Americans."

Joe flinched angrily, drawing the attention of the two men on either side of the woman. Blue eyes glared up at him while Black shook his head in a silent message: keep your thoughts to yourself...

Finally the woman trailed off from her mindless rambling, seemingly giving up on whatever she was looking for. She turned to one of the men, holding out a manicured hand. "James, would you be a darling and hand me a cigarette. I seem to have misplaced mine."

James, as the blue eyes was addressed, silently reached into his coat pocket, handing her a smoke and lighter. The woman quickly lit up, puffing out a thin cloud of smoke at Joe, smiling shamelessly. "Oh, please excuse me; I hope you don't mind..."

Joe stiffened, staring at a point behind her, "No ma'am, not at all. However, this is the non-smoking section. I'd be happy to move you to the smoking..."

"No you don't!" she snapped viciously, "I'm not moving, not after all the trouble I went through to actually get this table. Can you believe I actually had to wait even after making reservations?" She pointed a finger at Joe accusingly, "See, this is another reason why I hate Japan! You can never get good service around here! Only out to look after your own people..."

She inhaled deeply again, her green eyes almost daring his to say something. Joe could tell by the flames of Hell in her eyes that she would sick her two pets on him in an instant. As if first noticed his hesitant gaze, the woman motioned absently at the two men.

"I'd almost forgot to introduce you to my two personal bodyguards, James and Federico. They are the very best money can offer, not to mention my very best of friends." She lightly trailed a finger down the side of Federico's arm, causing the man to smile slightly before his face became a steel mask once again. Joe wanted to puke.

"Mrs. Senovia," James said quietly, "Don't you have an appointment in half and hour?"

The woman waved a hand absently, "Who cares? I'll just call Min, if she can understand me, and have her fax the documents from the meeting to my office. I plan on taking my time and enjoying my lunch, thank you." She briskly lifted the menu to her face, holding it there momentarily before dropping it back down, staring hard at Joe.

"May I speak with the head cook, please?"

Joe blinked, "Excuse me?"

"Don't tell me you don't understand..." she heaved a weary sigh, "Go. Get. The. Head. Chef..."

Eyes narrowing, Joe bowed politely at the request, "Yes, ma'am..." he was grateful to get away from the snob, even if it mean dealing with a frustrated, not to mention over worked, 006. He dodged around a waiter carrying a tray of steaming entrees and ducked into the kitchen releasing his held breath.

"009!" the head cook came bustling around a corner, grease and soot staining his white apron, "What are you doing? I'm much too busy for you just to be standing around like this!"

Joe jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "There's a Mrs. Senovia at table ten wanting to speak with you..."

Chang seemed to brighten, "A comment on my cooking?" he beamed, hurrying through the swinging doors, "Of course I'll go!"

"Uh, 006..."

"Wonderful!"

Joe silently shook his head, watching the excited, pudgy man rush from the kitchen, pushing aside another busboy in his haste. He has no idea what he's getting into...

"Hey, Joe! You've got a call on line two!"

Joe instinctively reached for the wall phone next to him, already anticipating the voice of Dr. Kazumi telling him that Gilmore needed to be taken to the hospital again...or maybe it was Albert calling to say he was in town, the German man was supposed to arrive later to visit Dr. Gilmore and Kazumi for the weekend. However...

"Joe?"

The surprised youth nearly dropped the phone in shock, fumbling for it before it hit the ground. Sweat immediately sprang out across his brow, the room suddenly tight and hot...

"002...what's going on?" he said shakily. Oh man, it's been so long since he's talked to him. What could Jet possibly want now? "I'm surprised to hear from you...and for you to call me by my name."

There was a small chuckled from the other line, "Sorry about that. Jimmy's in the other room so..."

"You've been his father for five years and you still haven't told him about your past?" Joe shook his head, "You amaze even me."

"Yea, well, the kid's got a big mouth. I don't need him telling everyone his dad's a 'super hero'."

"I think cyborg is the proper term..."

"Anyways, I'm calling to tell you that Martha and I are coming to visit her brother in Tokyo. He owns a business there, one of those Fortune 500 companies..."

Joe's heart seemed to freeze instantly, plunging down into his gut with a loud splash. Now he was really sweating...

"Oh really? Well that's great..." Calm down, Shimamura...it could be a coincidence... "What's her brother's name?"

"Michael Senovia. He's married to some snobby bitch; Martha hates her like the plague. Why are you wondering?"

Joe slowly leaned his head against the wall, closing his head, "It's nothing...I was just curious. So are you guys staying with me?"

There was a short pause, and some muffled talking as if someone was covering up the receiver. When Jet came back on, his voice was hurried, "Listen, Joe, I got to go, the twins need to be changed again...I'll call your apartment later on, ok?"

"Sure. Bye 002..."

"See ya 009."

As Joe hung up, 006 came sulking back into the kitchen, his shoulders slumped and head bowed in defeat. He looked over at Joe, shaking his head, his face looking strained. Placing a hand on Joe's shoulder as he passed, 006 spoke five simple, short words...

"That woman is the devil..."

Joe silently nodded in agreement, feeling the sinking suspicion that he would be seeing a lot more of the 'devil' very, very soon...

Hurrahh!! Ok, ok, go ahead and say it: Wildfire, you are a dumbass. You simply ABANDON a fanfic, and then expect us to crawl back to it, flushing with praise?? Well, actually...I do...is that too much to ask, because if it is I won't say anything...just that I'm gonna try my hardest to balance Ante-Mortem, The Guardians, and this fic without screw one over more than the other. I figure I'll go one by one, updating each fic in turn until I finish one. Then I'll start another fic.

Such is the life of an author. Oh well...it's late and I really wanna post this, so I'll do Review Responses next time, ok?? Hope you enjoyed it!!