A/N Hey everyone! Well I just wanted to say that I have changed Mai's father's name to Hideki. Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else! Well I just wanted to say thanx to my reviewers! OH AND I WANNA CHANGE THE NAME OF AKITO TO YUKI! Sorry for posting this chapter so late! wouldnt let me!
DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN ANYTHING OF HARRY POTTER OR HARRY POTTER OR INUYASHA! I DONT WANNA GET SUED! IM BROKE AND IT WOULD SUCK BUTT IF I HAD GOTTEN SUED! I ALSO DON'T OWN FRUITS BASKET OR ITS CHARACTERS!
Ch.4 Many Meetings
Mai had been taking care of the strange girl for three days now, the same thing everyday. First, she would bathe the girl, then leave something to eat for her, only to come back and see the girl hadn't eaten anything or looked like she had moved an inch.
Mai sighed, today Shigure, her hentai cousin would be living with them. It had started off as a visit but then he had decided to live with them for about two or three months, leaving his home in Japan to his younger cousins and charge.
She was sitting in an armchair by the sofa where the girl was still lying, and was daydreaming. She wondered what her father's guests looked like, especially Harry Potter, the ' Boy Who Lived'. She didn't really care that he was coming because she would be seeing him at Hogwarts this year. She sighed for the millionth time until she heard a moan coming from the sofa. She tensed, stiffening in her chair like a deer caught in headlights. She turned in the direction of the moan and saw the heap of blankets move. She still sat there with that look on her face until she saw an eerie porcelain mask come from the blankets, rising slowly.
Mai herself slowly rose out of her chair and crept toward the mound of blankets. There didn't really seem to be a person lying under there, just a heap of blankets and a scary looking white mask. Mai crouched down next to the mound and peered at the girl. She came face to face with the object of her thoughts. She gazed into the bottomless slits of the masquerade mask. She jumped when she saw gray eyes snap open and peer back at her. She jumped so high that she fell on her bottom.
"Oof!"
"Still clumsy as always, eh, Mai?" asked a voice from the door.
She and the girl started at the interruption to see none other than Shigure.
Shigure had a mysterious aura about him. He had dark eyes, and black hair to match. Mai also noticed he still wore traditional kimonos, he rarely wore real clothes. Why did her pervertd, annoying, novelist cousin have to be here?
"Shut up, Shigure!" Mai exclaimed getting up from the floor while rubbing her sore bottom, not forgetting to give Shigure a dirty look.
"And I see your still as belligerent as always," he said walking toward the girl on the sofa.
"And are you still playing dress up? I thought you gave up on that years ago!" he said peering into the unblinking eyes of the masked girl. He tapped his finger on the mask as if testing its worth.
Mai smirked as she saw her cousin examine the girl closely, not knowing that there was indeed a person wearing the mask.
"This is a very beautiful piece of work! It's authentic and original! Wherever did your father find such a thing?" he asked.
"I found her in the backyard," she replied trying to see if he could figure out that he was examining a girl. The masked girl still just sat there as if she were Petrified, not moving her body or eyes.
"Her? Ah, yes, masks like these were often worn by women way back when there were balls and masquerades. Of course, they were never really held in Japan, only here in England," he said still examining. He stared into the gray eyes of the girl, and was mesmerized by the beautiful shade of gray they were.
"These eyes," he whispered gazing almost lovingly into her eyes," they hold so much emotion, so much wisdom, yet are very youthful. They are beautiful."
The girl chose at that moment to blink her eyes because of the wind of his breath. Shigure yelped and jumped, almost mimicking Mai's earlier actions.
"Now who's the clumsy one, Gure?" Mai teased.
"That- it- did- it- what-?" he sputtered pointing at the mask.
The strange girl didn't move for a moment until a moment after Shigure pointed. She stood up to her full height, around 5"4, with the blankets wrapped around her.
"That mask is really a girl, Shigure. You know, for a twenty-seven year old man, you sure act like you're my age," Mai commented looking at her nails. She looked at the strange girl to see her still staring at her.
"Oh! I am so sorry! I am Mai Starr, I took care of you while you were unconscious. This is my hentai cousin, Shigure," Mai added jutting her thumb out at Shigure who was currently residing on the floor. The girl did something none of them ever thought her to do, she bowed. They gaped at her before Mai remembered that this girl was a miko, or probably just a shrine maiden from Japan. Mai bowed back and she nudged Shigure with her foot to do the same.
"I am very sorry I haven't properly introduced myself! I am Shigure Sohma," he said bowing back. "Are you from Japan?" he asked tentatively.
The girl just stared at him before she hesitantly nodded her head.
"What are you doing here? I just found you in my backyard unconscious and injured! Don't you have any family anywhere? Anyone we can contact?" Mai asked.
The girl's eyes took on a sorrowful look as she stared at the two cousins.
She looked down and softly shrugged her shoulders. Mai looked confused for a moment before she slowly started to understand.
"Y-you mean...you don't know? Or you don't know where they are?" Mai wondered.
The girl began to use sign language, her hands moving furiously in front of her before she suddenly stopped, her eyes searching her hands as if they had some visible disease. Her eyes held innocent confusion as she looked helplessly back at the others.
Luckily, Mai had taken Sign Language class for a year before quitting. She had been able to figure out some signs.
"You can't...remember?" Mai deduced after a minute.
The girl brightened and looked eagerly up at Mai, nodding her head furiously before signing something else.
"You can't talk?" Mai asked, the girl shook her head no. The whole time Shigure was giving the girl a calculating look.
"Do you remember anything? Anything at all? Any faces, places, anything?" Shigure asked her. The girl appeared to be thinking hard. After a couple of moments, she slowly nodded her head.
Then she began to sign slowly.
"She says...she remembers...gold, no, amber, no, wait, gold-amber...and...silver," Mai translated. "She says she also remembers the moon, a dark moon and shadows...of a man…sometimes a little girl." After going over it all in her head, Mai felt pity for the girl. She wondered how lonely she must have been before they met her.
Shigure was just standing there thoughtfully, his finger to his chin.
"You are from Japan?" Shigure asked again. The girl signed to Mai.
"She thinks so."
"Do you remember which part?" he asked looking at her.
The girl shook her head no and signed 'Sorry'.
Mai translated and Shigure just waved it aside.
"It's not your fault. You must have hit your head somewhere and the blow must've given you amnesia. Don't worry though, I'm sure you will get your memories though. In the meantime," he said slyly eyeing her," if you are willing, we can create some new memories." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively while he inched closer to her. "If you take off that mask, I could show you some moves. They are quite enjoyable." He gripped her tiny hands in his.
The whole while, Mai's eye was twitching, apparently so was the girl's. Mai was going to hit her hentai cousin over the head before someone beat her to it.
SLAP
The noise echoed through the large chateau.
Mai blinked. Had she just done that? She looked down at her own hands before realizing that it wasn't she who had made the blow to Shigure's skull, but the stranger.
STRANGER P.O.V.
When the one known as Shigure had asked of me to do those things, I couldn't help but get angry. But...I also couldn't help the feeling that this had happened before! My hand just slapped him on reflex! It was really an accident. When my hand made contact with his face, I got some kind of vision of a man dressed in what looked to be robes. His handsome face appeared in my mind as I pictured him, his black hair with a little rat tail, a smile that scared me a little, and a monk's staff...he must have been a monk! But...they haven't existed in centuries! At least...I think they did. Still, that man in a monk outfit kept popping into my head, and his words to me...what were they? Oh yes, they were... "Will you bear my child?" Their words were so alike, yet the monk had had...what do you call it...?
Wandering hands?
Yes, wandering hands.
They would often 'slip' or had often spotted a piece of thread on the back of my miko robes...miko robes? Am I..? No, they haven't existed for centuries. I must have borrowed them from someone. In Japan maybe? Where am I? Shigure said England...but...that far from home! Home...Where is home? Do I have a family waiting for me? Why can't I remember? Why is it that I only remember silver and gold? What is it about those colors that draw me to them? And a little girl...was she important to me? Did I know her well? And the man? Who are these people? I need answers! Why can't I remember!
NORMAL P.O.V
Mai and Shigure watched as the girl looked shocked, slowly lowering her hand and signing an apology. They saw her eyes giving off a distant look as she looked down at the floor before closing her eyes as if seeing something in her mind. She and Shigure leaned in closer and peered at her closely. Her eyes quickly snapped back open, scaring the daylights out of the cousins. They both jumped, Mai holding a hand over her beating heart while Shigure rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.
"Would you stop doing that?" Shigure said meekly.
The girl looked at them apologetically before going to Shigure and bowed furiously, her hands signing apologies in-between.
Shigure chuckled and said, "It's ok, you just worried us there."
The girl took on a sad look and kept apologizing and bowing until Shigure had to grip her by her shoulders to make her stop.
At that exact moment, Mai's father, Hideki, had come running in, panting. He saw Shigure gripping his guest by the shoulders and immediately went forward.
"I see you still can't keep your hands to yourself you pervert," Hideki accused.
"Huh? Oh! No! It's not like that!" Shigure said realizing his position and taking a step back.
"Are you sure? I can't leave you alone for one minute before you go all perverted on me," Hideki said moving forward.
"I heard thuds coming from in here, and came rushing as soon as I could. What happened?" he asked.
Mai and Shigure looked at each other before putting their gazes upon the girl, whose name they had yet to learn. She stepped forward towards Hideki and bowed to him. He graciously bowed back with a smile and introduced himself.
"Hello there! I am Hideki, Mai's father and you are...?"
The girl turned to Mai and signed ' I do not know'.
Mai translated when her father spoke.
"Oooh! I know! Let's play a guessing game! I wanna go first! Pick me! Pick me!" he said jumping up and down. The others sweatdropped. ( I am putting sweatdrops in! It's kinda anime - ish so ya no)
Mai sighed, "Fine, Dad, you go." She gave in because she knew her father would never shut up if she didn't. She rolled her eyes as he jumped up and down in utmost joy.
"Okay, I am going to say a name and if it sounds familiar, I want you to sign to Mai," he said. He took on a serious face and said, " Yuki?"
The girl shook her head. "I doubt she'll have the same name as my male cousin, Hideki," Shigure said dryly.
"Could be, you never know. Yuki could be both a girl and a boy's name."
"But still, the chances?"
Hideki pouted.
He thought again for a moment before snapping his fingers again.
"Sarah?" he nearly screamed out. The girl covered her ears before signing 'no'.
"Dad, she's Japanese, not American!" Mai informed him. The girl had signed something to Mai and she asked," You mean...you're not full Japanese?...Oh, you're half Japanese and half...Hispanic? Really? Me too!"
" Interesting, what type of Hispanic are you?" Shigure asked. The girl signed ' I don't know' and 'sorry'.
"No worries, now, hm...Thao!" Hideki screamed again looking over his daughter's shoulder.
The girl shook her head 'no' and Mai stared at her father wondering why he was staring back at her wide-eyed.
"How about Ai?" came a voice behind Mai. They all turned to see Mai's long time best friend, and her parents.
"Thao!" Mai screamed as she tackled her friend in a huge hug. They both laughed and talked a mile a minute as Thao's parents stood there smiling. Mai hadn't seen her friend in a whole year, and that was a long time in her book.
No one noticed the miko signing frantically, that is, everyone except Shigure.
"Does it sound familiar?" he asked her.
She made a so-so hand movement and motioned for him to guess. He actually took the time to look her over before asking :
"Setsuna?" He sighed slightly when she shook her head 'no'.
The Nayahnkneyshoushumahs' and the Starrs looked at Shigure wide-eyed with amazement.
"What?" he asked feeling slightly uncomfortable.
" Y-you...you..." stuttered Thao ( I am putting an 'h' in Thao's name! sorry for changing a lot of things!)
"I what?" he asked getting irritated by the looks they were giving him, especially Mai.
"You didn't even try anything!" said Mai pointing at Shigure.
"Huh?"
"We left you all alone and you didn't try anything!"
When he looked even more confused, Thao's mother Hoa, (pronounced like 'Wah' just in case ya dont no) spoke up.
"They mean you didn't try anything perverted."
"Really now? Well if I may say so Mrs. N, you are looking pretty good for a woman of you're age. Would you mind letting me escort you to the kitchen and helping you to some tea?" Shigure asked with a sly smile and walking up to her while he said this.
"Looks like I spoke too soon," she commented dryly.
"Stop hitting on my mom, Shigure!" said an irritated Thao. She stood about the same height as the masked girl, and had choppy brown hair, and red highlights. She had a pair of piercing amethyst eyes, which people often mistook for contacts until she told them they were real. Hoa said that she was unique and should be proud that her eye color wasn't the same as everyone else's, and she was, it was just that some people thought something had gone wrong at her birth, and made fun of her for it. She would just glare at them, her usually sweet appearance going sour, and scaring them away. She never liked being teased, so she rarely ever did it, except to Shigure and everyone she was close to.
Shigure was a pervert, a funny, amusing hentai. He could make her laugh even in the most dismal of situations, he could even lift Mai's spirit. But that was the only redeeming quality he had. His perverseness had corrupted everything else. She found it hard to believe he was a writer, but then, not so surprised when she found out what kind of books he wrote. You see, Shigure is a pervert at heart, and if you give a pervert a pencil and some paper, it's only natural that he write perverted things, right? Well, that's Shigure for you, the hentai author and high school girl loving cousin from Japan. Mai had informed Thao that she also had another cousin, Ayame, who was just like Shigure, only worse. Thao shuddered at the thought. Ayame was charming, she knew, she met him once, and he was sly and witty, yet amusing and perverted, that must be why he and Shigure got along so well. Ayame, as she was told, owns a shop that sells...nurses and maids clothes...and...romance. She shuddered yet again. He owned a cosplay shop, where he and his assistant would sell 'romance' to men. Thao thought that Mai's whole family was weird, but she didn't care, who would want to be normal anyway, right? ( I always say that! There's no such thing as normal! hehe)
"I'm only kidding, Thao! What, are you jealous?" he asked with a smirk playing on his face.
Thao blushed. A while back, Mai had asked her about Shigure while she was too busy admiring a really hot guy.
FLASHBACK
Thao and Mai had just come back from meeting Shigure and had gone shopping in Tokyo. They didn't mind Muggles, they really did have cool styles and clothes and such. Mai was more sporty and a little punky, while Thao was the opposite. She loved pink, green, and orange and often dressed girlie, not preppy, she wasn't too fond of preppy- ness because of past experiences. The preps were the ones who always made fun of her and teased her because they were jealous of her eyes color and her style. Well, anyway, she was walking along, bags in hand, Mai in tow, and hadn't been paying attention to where she was going, until she bumped into somebody.
"Excuse me, sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," Thao said bowing and speaking Japanese. She could speak their language fluently, even though she was Vietnamese. That's part of life when you are the daughter of a dragon keeper.
"No worries, miss. It was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going," the boy apologized. Thao had finally looked up and saw a really hot guy. She blushed when she noticed she was staring.
"No, it's my fault, really. My mind ran away from me while I was walking," she said avoiding his eyes. He smiled and complimented her eyes, saying how beautiful they were, which didn't help because she was blushing madly now. She was so embarrassed and angry with herself. She vowed she would never go for the opposite sex or even consider courting or looking at a guy...but, he was an exception.
"Well, my name is Ryotaru, nice to meet you...?" he looked at her expectantly. ( Name editted/changed, whatever you wanna call it, on April 20th. Ha,now Thao can't kill me.)
"Oh! Thao, my name is Thao", she replied looking up at him. He was about a head taller than her with dark hair, and he really was a sight.
"Well, Thao, when you find your mind, gimme a call!" he said kissing her hand, bowing, and then walking off.
She whipped around and said to his retreating back, "But I don't have your-!"
She felt something in her hand and looked down. A small piece of paper was clutched in it. She opened it and smiled when she saw what it was:
Ryotaru
367- 729- 3695
She looked once again in the direction Ryotaru had gone but he had disappeared. She turned her gaze back on the paper in her hand before closing her palm and turning slowly around, Ryotaru's face in her mind, his smile, but what made her smile even more, was his eyes.
His beautiful...
...amethyst ...
...eyes.
Mai had stood there watching this interaction with a smirk on her face. Then she spoke, eyeing her fingernails casually. She knew Thao would say something she would regret, that's why it was so fun catching her in situations like this.
"So, what do you think of my cousin, Shigure?"
Thao was still looking toward the spotRyotaru had been, her eyes distant, as she thought about him.
"He was...amazing."
END FLASHBACK
"I was talking about a guy I bumped into! Not you!" Thao shouted, the blush still residing on her cheeks. Shigure smirked, satisfied that he had gotten a rise out of her. It was so amusing to him when he got them all riled and embarrassed.
"Guy? What guy?" Thao's father,Thien, said. Thao muttered a 'crap' and thought of a quick answer. Her father was so overprotective of her, especially of guys. He never let her talk to guys, not that she wanted to, she just did it to see her father get all protective. It really was quite amusing. She remembered when she had visited Shigure's family, who were also Mai's a little bit. Most of the family members were men, a handful of them her age. Imagine the look on her father's face when she smiled and was introduced to the handsome Yuki Sohma. Ha, that was hilarious! Her father told Yuki off for checking her out (which he certainly was not) and taking advantage of her (which he wasn't doing either). Yuki had politely insisted he wasn't (he is oh so polite and cute! Not for Thao though!) and that was when she met Ayame, pervert in disguise.
"No one!" Thao replied nervously waving her hands.
"Leave her alone, Thien!" Hoa said slapping her husband's arm lightly. " Personally, I think it's quite cute that she met someone. What's his name? How did you meet him? Is he cute?"
Thao sweatdropped and told her mother (with her father intently following along) the whole story except the part where she thought he was hot. She definitely didn't want to bring that up.
Hoa had stars in her eyes as her daughter relayed the story back to her and clasped her hands to her chest.
"That is soooo cute!" her mother squealed. The masked girl's eyes looked fairly amused at this.
"You didn't answer my last question!" Hoa pointed out, everyone noticed Thao blushing madly.
" W-well...uh..um- ehehehehe..what was the question again?" she said meekly, hoping her mother wouldn't remember.
Just before her mother could answer, the girl the cut in, bowing and signing to Thao and Hoa.
"She says would you like to come with her to make you some tea and afterwards, maybe Mai- I mean I, could show you two around?" Mai translated. ( I do that to! I talk about myself in third person! hehe! had to put that in)
Thao looked thoroughly relieved and gave the girl an appreciative look, she only got a wink in return. The girl then signed that she would make tea for the rest of them and that they should relax while she brought it in. When Mai translated to them, Hoa, and Hideki protested. But Mai explained that the girl was the guest and that it would be her honor to serve them tea. After much arguing, the adults finally realized it was no use in arguing, the girl was indeed stubborn and wouldn't stop until she got her way, much like Hideki.
:In the kitchen:
"Thanks for saving me in there! I am forever in your debt," Thao said gratefully to the girl who just waved it off. She signed something to Mai and Mai directed her to a cabinet under the stove. Thao watched as she pulled out a pot and some tea leaves. She was indeed preparing tea, and a lot of it. Oh, Shigure was going to love this girl! (Lets just say he's obsessed with tea)
"So, how old are you, do you remember?" Thao asked trying to bring up a conversation. The girl thought a moment, a finger to the chin of her mask and then hesitantly held up ten fingers and then six more. She signed to Mai.
"She said she doesn't really remember, but she might be sixteen or seventeen," Mai translated with a thoughtful look on her face before jumping up and down screaming, "You're our age! This is so cool! We could do a whole bunch together! Oh my gosh! We should go to this store I saw when I first came here! Then we could go to Hot Topic(dont own it! is there even a Hot Topic in England? There better be!) and get you some new clothes! And some kick ass jewelry!" She had a dreamy look on her face.
"Yea! Do they have a Forever 21 here? Let's take her there! Oh! And let's go to a cute little cafe afterwards!" Thao said excitement shining in her amethyst eyes. "Oh my gosh! We have to go to Victoria's Secret!" ( dont own it! but they do have cute panties there! lol)At the mention of Victoria's Secret, Shigure popped in and asked, "Are you ladies going shopping?"
"Yes, we are!" said Mai with a smug look on her face.
Shigure looked very pleased, he had a sly smile on his face, which happened to scare the three girls.
"You don't mind if with, do you?" Shigure asked.
Thao and Mai knew where this was going.
"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!" Mai said pointing her finger at him.
"Why not?" he whined.
" Because, all you'll be doing is looking at highschool girls!" Thao said.
Shigure mockingly gasped. "However could you think that of me!" he said appalled at the mere correct suggestion. Mai and Thao just rolled their eyes at him.
"You believe me right?" he pleaded, clasping the masked girl's hands and smiling at her. She looked confused and kept eyeing his hands on hers and his smile. She just stood there, looking at Shigure.
"I'll be your bodyguard! I'll protect you!" he said, forgetting that in the Feudal days, if you said that to a girl, that means you are kind of like their boyfriend. Hey, it wasn't his fault that he forgot, it was the thought of British highschool girls, and that was a long time ago! She wouldn't care, it wasn't like she was from the Feudal Era!
The girl still stood there dumbly, then she nodded slowly.
"Yes!" Shigure shouted happily. He then turned back to the two horrified girls behind him. "Ha! She's taking me with her!" With that, he happily walked back to the adults for some chit-chat.
" Great! Now Shigure's coming! Just what we need! An old pervert to accompany us while he scours for highschool girls!" Mai said disgustedly.
"I heard that!" Shigure's voice floated in while they heard the other parents snicker. "But it's true!" they heard one of the parents say and then an 'I am not old!'
The girl signed an 'I'm sorry' to them.
They sighed and said it was ok. The kettle started to whistle and she took out six mugs and poured in the tea along with some other herbs and such she had found.
When she put them all on mugs and led the way out of the kitchen, they came to see the adults seated on pouf pillows at the low table. Hideki had arranged for the house to have an Asian/Hispanic vibe to it, and that was just what it had.
The girl made Thao and Mai sit on a pouf of their own and served them all tea. When Hoa noticed that she didn't have a mug of her own (the girl), she asked about it. But the girl merely signed that she didn't want any.
Shigure tasted his tea and immediately fell in love with it. This girl made a very tasty Japanese tea, with her own additions. So far, he tasted mint, ginger, and something else he didn't recognize. He smiled pervertedly when he thought of the girl serving him tea all the time...wearing a little maid's uniform, prancing around his house asking him if- "OW!" Someone had hit him on the back of his head, causing him to almost spill his tea. He looked around glared at Thao.
"It wasn't me!" she exclaimed putting her hands up defensively. He turned sharply to glare at Mai who giggled and pointed to her father, who pointed to Thao's father, (sigh) who pointed to his wife, who hit his arm and then pointed to the masked girl who was innocently holding a pouf. He glared at her questionably. She just held up the pouf and accusingly pointed at Mai. Mai burst out laughing, and choked, "You had that perverted smile on your face! I couldn't help it! I had to teach her to disrupt your thoughts before they became your hentai fantasies!" Everyone laughed at this, save for Shigure and the girl. When the laughter died down, Hideki announced something.
" Everyone, today we are having some more guests. From the Order." he said pointedly to Thien who nodded.
" Didn't you tell us this already?" Mai asked confusedly.
" Yes, but I didn't tell you they were staying here for the rest of the summer, did I?"
Mai groaned. She hated playing hostess and stuff. Hoa, seeing this with a knowing look said happily, "I'll show them around the place! When are they coming?" She didn't know anything about the Order, only that her husband and friend had joined and that it was to capture an evil wizard. Hoa was born from a Muggle family in Vietnam, and had gotten a letter to go to the prestigious school there, where she met her lovable husband, Thien. She knew he would be special to her when she first laid eyes on him. When they got out of school, Thien became a dragon keeper, a very well paid job and houses, flats, and a chateau all over the world. Together they had three children, the oldest two, a girl, and the next a boy, who were both out of school and working in the wizarding world.
" They'll be here later today, in fact, one of the newly joined should be here right now," Hideki said looking at his watch.
Hoa clapped her hands happily and hurriedly grabbed the masked girl's hand, dragging her to the kitchen muttering something about 'hungry guests' and 'food, a lot of food and sweets'. Thao groaned as she recognized her mother's antics. Her mother loved feeding people and cooking a lot of food. It was kind of a habit, like Shigure's pervertedness, for example.
" Great, just like mom. Watch her cook a whole buffet and stuff our guests so they'll look like giant hippos." Thao said dryly.
Mai grinned when she saw Hoa run off talking about food. She did cook very well. Hoa was kind of like a mother to Mai, since her own mother was dead, she never knew what it was to have one. Sometimes Mai thought that Thao took her mother for granted, but then she remembered Thao had always had a mother, and so it was only natural to do so. She had only a few of her memories of her mother, and some pictures, but it just wasn't the same. She loved her father, yes, but she had always wanted a mom, even it was only for a minute. She just wanted to know how it felt, to have her mom to just be there, to fuss over her, force her to eat her cooking, take her shopping, have her embarrass her! All she wanted was her mom to come back so they could be a happy family. She sometimes caught her father thinking about her mother. She knew he missed her more than she did, and it hurt her to think that they only had each other in this world. She vaugly remembered when she was really little, when her mother was still alive, she had taken her to the Muggle zoo because Mai had always wanted to meet a hippo. Her mother had taken her to see the hippos and all the other animals, and Mai claimed that her favorite were the hippos and the snakes. That was all she remembered of her mother, that and some memories, as said before.
Hideki studied his daughter's face carefully and knew that she was thinking about her mom, not knowing that Thao, Shigure, and Thien knew it too. Thien quietly excused himself, muttering something about getting something in the kitchen and Shigure had retreated to his room. Thao just stood there looking helpless as she remembered the time Mai told her about her mother, how she only had a few memories, how she wishes she her mom wasn't dead. Thao had comforted her, but that was all she could do, that and tell her everything would be okay.
Hideki also remembered the day his wife took Mai to the zoo. They had come home, Mai very excited from seeing her favorite animals, and telling him all about how some man dropped his phone into the gorilla cage, how she had fed the baby goats and how her mother had bought her ice cream. He smiled at his daughter who was jumping up and down chanting something about 'happy hippos' and childish things and such.
"Hey, Dad?" Mai asked tentatively, knowing her father was thinking of her mom.
He quickly snapped back to life.
"Huh?"
"We're going shopping today, to get...what's her name some new clothes and stuff...I was wondering if we could go, and maybe ...take her to the zoo, you know, to see the animals?" she asked. She didn't know why she wanted to take the girl to the zoo, but then she did. She didn't want the girl to think she was alone here, she had her, and of course Thao. But she knew what it was like to feel alone even with so much love around you. She didn't want her new friend to feel that way, it was a horrible feeling. She felt her father's eyes upon her and it made her sad to know he felt the same way for her.
She hated asking her father for money. It fekt like she was leeching off of him, although she knew that he was supposed to support her, but it still felt wrong.
" Need money?" he asked with a knowing smile.
" Yeah," she said.
She and Thao watched as he dug in his pocket to pull out his wallet. He had various types of money in there. He paused and looked at them all, looking slightly confused. Then he just hastily shoved the wallet into her hands.
" Here, just take it all. I really don't know the money system here," he said while sweatdropping a bit and chuckling nervously.
" Really? Thank you so much Dad!" Mai said hugging her father and Thao did as well. As they rushed to get their new friend, Hideki stopped them.
" And Mai?" he asked, "Don't forget to show her the snakes and the hippos."
She replied with a nod and a smile then ran into the enormous kitchen, dragging Thao behind her.
.:In the Kitchen:.
Tantalizing aromas tickled their noses as Thao and Mai made their way into the kitchen. Their eyes wide and jaws slack.
There were turkeys and corn on the table along with some Japanese foods as well as Vietnamese. The counter was loaded with all different kinds of food. They saw Hoa supervising the new girl cutting vegetables and mixing ingredients inside a bowl. Since the girl didn't have a wand, Hoa decided to teach her the old - fashioned way, without magic. Well, actually Hoa did magically heat and cook the turkey and sweets and cookies, and, well, you get the idea.
Thao gaped at her mother who was happily humming and directing the girl what to do and what ingredients to put, etc. When she saw the girls she smiled and greeted them happily.
" What's all this for? It looks like you're going to feed the whole Ministry!" exclaimed Thao. Mai was drooling at the sight of a towering, wonderfully designed cake on the table, with lettering on it, that had most likely something close to 'Welcome' on it. Hoa was very creative when it came to food.
"So what if I am?" said Hoa airily looking up at the ceiling.
"Mom! It's so much! I mean, we are only having at least another family and a couple people here," Thao reasoned. Thao never really ate all that much (huh, michirure, you sound a lot like your character!) and it was odd compared to how much Hoa cooks.
" Don't worry about it! So, what do ya need?" Hoa asked, elbows leaning on the counter top.
"We need our friend. We are going SHOPPING!" Mai said enthusiastically.
When the girl asked what they were shopping for, Mai and Thao grinned widely at her then to each other before simply saying 'clothes' , still grinning like maniacs.
Hoa knew what that meant and she only wished the new found girl good luck as her biological and unbiological daughter grabbed both her hands and rushed out the door, most likely hopping into a Mercedes - Benz ( nope, dont own that! duh), with Shigure rushing out quickly behind them. A motor starting confirmed her suspicions. A screeching of tires confirmed that it was indeed Mai driving. She looked out the window in the kitchen and watched as the car sped out of sight, smiling to herself. She wiped a tear out of her eye.
They were growing up so fast.
.:Scene Change:.
Harry had fallen asleep during the car ride and had been violently shaken awake. He awoke to a pair of brown eyes and bushy hair. He blinked the sleep away and sluggishly sat up.
" Hermione? What are you doing here?" he asked taking his glasses off and wiping them on his shirt.
"Harry! Good to see you! Awake as well!" she said brightly and hopping out of the empty vehicle.
"Come on! We have to get inside, the others are waiting," she said hurriedly.
Harry got out, closed the door, and took in his surroundings and realized he was not at the Weasleys', but at a huge chateau somewhere in the country. He looked around and saw moving minuscule dots in the distance and smoke as well. Harry thought those dots looked oddly familiar.
"What are those? Where are we?" Harry asked bemused.
"We're at a dragon keeper's home. He just joined the Order and so did one of his friends. They are letting Dumbledore have the meetings for the Order at their houses because Dumbledore couldn't get a suitable place for headquarters. This place is massive though!" Hermione filled in for Harry.
"Yeah, it looks like it could be a quarter of a size of Hogwarts!" Harry exclaimed as Hermione led the way through the tall front door and into a huge sitting room. They made their way past a living room and into a huge kitchen where he was greeted by the whole Weasley family, a Hispanic looking man, and Vietnamese man and his wife.
"Harry! Good to see you again!"
"Harry, how are you?"
"Did you sleep well?"
"Did you see our new product?"
"Harry, I would like you to meet Hideki Starr, he is a new recruit and has offered his home to us!" Mr. Weasley said pushing him forward to meet the Hispanic man. Harry offered his hand and said 'hello, nice to meet you'.
"So! I finally meet the great Harry Potter, eh?" Hideki said smiling warmly and shaking Harry's hand.
"I'm not so sure about 'great'", Harry replied smiling back.
"Make yourself at home! Sorry, but my daughter isn't here to meet you now, she and my nephew are apparently showing my other guests around the city. I'd like you to meet my friend Thien Nayahnkneyshoushumah and his wife, Hoa," Hideki said stepping aside while the Vietnamese man and his wife came forward.
" Hello, nice to meet you," said Thien shaking Harry's hand and introducing himself.
" Hi, Mr..." Harry trailed off, unable to pronounce the man's last name properly. He felt a hint of heat as the man smiled, laughter shining in his dark eyes.
" Just call me Mr. N, everyone else does. It's okay, a lot of people don't know how to pronounce it. It happens to come with having an absurdly long surname."
It was time to meet his wife. She gave him a warm look and went forward to - what he thought - shake his hand. But she surprised him with a warm embrace.
" I'm Hoa, Thien's wife. I apologize for my daughter, Thao. She went along with Hideki's daughter, Mai, and his nephew, Shigure, with another of our new guests," she said apologetically.
" Oh, no need to apologize. Nice to meet you." Harry said politely. He liked Hoa, she was very nice and had a maternal aura about her. Much like Mrs. Weasley.
At that moment, another woman stepped forward. She had fiery red hair, and bright green eyes that rivaled his own. He was faintly reminded of his mother, for she too had red hair and green eyes. She took his hand and smiled.
" Very nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Ayame Shirokami, I am also in the Order. I work at the Ministry," she added. ( I know! Two Ayame's! One is a guy, barely related to Mai, but cousin to Shigure. One, a female who works in the Ministry. She plays an important role, I'll tell you that much. Oh...you'll be seeing her more often at Hogwarts! hint hint)
" Nice to meet you," Harry said. After this introduction, Hoa made an announcement.
" I have made dinner for us all, with the help of a lovely guest who could not be here at the moment. Please join us in the dining room."
At that moment, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fred, George, Mr. Weasley, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Hideki, and Thien's stomachs all growled.
Silence.
Everyone burst into laughter as they all headed into the dining room, owls, and Crookshanks in tow.
( the phoenixes are out or hiding, pick one!)
(A/N) Sorry for the long wait! So much work and laziness got involved. I hate it when authors don't update, which is why I am going to try to more often. Well, was it long? Next chappie is going to take place with the trio of girls shopping with THE PERVERT Shigure. Sorry if it seems like I'm centering around the girls a lot, I just want you to get a general idea of how life is for them. I know I didnt mention a lot with our other important trio, Harry, Hermione, and Ron. I really dont know the pairings...I saw a lot of Hermione and Draco pairings. I never really read HP fics that much. I've only read the books and seen the movies, so I think that Her/Ron is the most possible for my fic. I dunno if I should bring Cho into Harry's life again. Should I?
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! THE MORE YOU R&R THE FASTER I UPDATE!
