k2: Okay, here it comes. Accusations and speculations. That is what this chapter is comprised of. This is what I have been warning you about in each and every other meanwhile fic before this.
MK: Enjoy!
111break111
What Now?
Meanwhile pt4
PG-13
111break111
Steve rubbed the back of his head as Mr. Ichijouji entered the apartment, apprehension written all over his pale face. He was the last of the parents to arrive, having left his wife at home, and was now finding a seat somewhere in the rather crowded living room. As much as Steve had hoped only one parent each would show he wound up having the mom's and dad's of Izzy and Yolie, not to mention Chizuru.
But now everyone was here, all the woman winding up in the kitchen where both Mrs. Hida and Mrs. Inoue headed the moment they discovered Nancy's whereabouts. Chizuru seemed to acting as a go between for them, checking to see who had arrived letting the woman know where to go when they arrived (if she was in the room at the time. Otherwise Steve showed them to the kitchen himself), as well as giving messages to their husbands when it was needed.
The men, on the other hand, stayed in the living room. It had actually started with a mutual agreement between both Steve and Mr. Inoue considering they had been the only two men at the moment. But then Mr. Kida arrived and after him the Kamiya's and everyone just wound up splitting into those two groups.
However, now that everyone was, indeed, here, Susumu decided it was time to get everything underway. Calling attention to himself with a clear of his throat the moment Mr. Ichijouji sat down, he stood up.
"I see everyone is here."
"Are you starting now?" Chizuru asked, poking her head out of the door.
"Yes." Steve answered
Chizuru popped back in then stepped back out followed by the wives. They each sat down, either by a partner or by themselves (Nancy, Mrs. Hida and Mrs. Takenouchi were given the couch) while Chizuru sat on the floor.
"Okay, that's one less thing I need to do." Susumu stated, "Now. Does everyone understand what is going on?"
"Yes." Mr. Inoue stated, "It seems our children are at it again."
"The first time was bad enough." Mrs. Izumi began, her hand held tightly in her husbands, "Why does this have to happen again?"
"Your lucky." Mrs. Kamiya replied from her position by her husband, "At least your Izzy only had to go through the one time. My poor Kari-."
"Let's not start the 'whose child had it worse' game and just get to the point." Steve interrupted the woman. "We aren't' here to talk about that, and we're not entirely here to talk about the children either, they are only part of the problem. You were al gathered here today because we all have something in common besides the fact that our children have a habit of saving the world on occasion. And that is the nightmare. The same one. With the same chant. The same outcome. What we are here for now is to find out just why that is. To talk and to discuss. Am I right?"
"You're exactly right." Susumu responded.
"And just how are we supposed to figure it all out?" Mr. Ichijouji asked
"The key is in the chant, I'm sure of it."
Steve turned to regard Mr. Kido with a raised eyebrow. "How so?"
"Well, just think about it." Mr. Kido answered, "IT makes very little sense yet at the same time it makes enough sense to make us panic. The first sentence. Dreams are Premonitions. Almost as if we are being warned that this is our future."
"The second matches it." Nancy stated, beginning to get into it. "'Of a future that might be true'. But then after that it begins to get contradictory!"
"Exactly." Mr. Kido grinned. "The next line was…uh…."
"'A future that will not last'." Mr. Motomiya supplied. "It's very hard to forget it when through the entire dream it is nearly constantly repeated."
"Too true." Mr. Kida nodded his head.
"It's almost as if we re being told that it can still be changed." Mrs. Takanouchi continued. "But how does that help? How is it supposed to be changed? Did the children also receive this dream or was it just us?"
"I don't think it was just a dream." Steve stated.
"What do you mean?" Susumu asked
"What I mean is we didn't al just have the same dream, I think we all experienced the same dream together."
"Like a group hallucination?" Mr. Motimya asked quickly.
"No, like we were all sent a vision of reality."
"But that doesn't make any sense!" Mr. Ichijouji replied skeptically.
"Neither does the fact that we all had the same dream." Nancy stated. Next to her Mrs. Hida nodded quickly.
"I agree. Nothing makes sense, so why should anything be excused?"
"Then who sent the dream in the first place?" Mr. Izumi asked
"That is the most important question of all, I would assume." Mrs. Inoue said holding her index finger out pointedly, "And if we are going to ask senseless questions that only receive senseless answers, here is the senseless answer to that senseless question. The girl."
"I dare you to repeat that." Mr. Inoue nudged his wife with a grin. The woman only sent a glare in his direction and turned to Steve when he began speaking again. Mr. Inoue just pressed his lips in a fine line, his eyes raised in an expression of timid bewilderment.
"Girl?" Steve thought back to the dream and what he remembered of it. He did slightly remember a girl, a brunette? No, wait! "There were two girls." He stated.
"The second one, the one who was doing the chant from the start." Mrs. Inoue pressed as if the conclusion should have been apparent. "There was something strange about her, I was almost drawn to her during the dream but she seemed to vanish within all the chaos that the nightmare provided."
"I think I know what you mean." Susumu replied as he thought back as well. "She did appear to have a certain 'heir' of knowledge, so to speak."
"But she couldn't have been more then eight years old!" Mrs. Takenouchi argued as she too remembered the girl.
"Same as TK and Kari," Nancy murmured, "when they became a part of all this."
No one said anything after that but both sets of parents of said children managed to exchange weary glances with each other.
"The last line." Mrs. Hida returned to the chant. "It said 'A future that will not end'."
"I've been thinking about that one." Mr. Kido replied, "I think it means that the future is endless. The future of our children is hidden within that chant and I believe it is up to us to do something about it."
"I agree." Mr. Izumi stated, "I vote that as soon as the children return we confront them. Who agrees?"
"Wait, wait!" Steve cried, "You can't just bombard them! We have to take it easy; first we have to see how the mission went. We have to-." Steve's voice caught. "We have to wait."
"Does anyone know just what the mission is anyway?" Mr. Izumi asked with a hint of exasperation, "Mr. Kamiya only told me that they were gone again with a pitiful excuse of staying over at a friends."
"Yeah, in fact if Chizuru hadn't come clean in the end we wouldn't have known at all!" Mrs. Inoue stated, glaring at he daughter slightly, "Poor Sonami was frantic when she heard what Cody was really up to."
Mrs. Hida nodded and Steve glanced at Chizuru. "What exactly did your daughter tell you?"
"Only that she had lied for her younger sister and they were in that world again and may be gone for awhile." The woman paused for a moment, then turned her full attention to Steve, an eyebrow of concern raised suspiciously. "Mr. Ishida. Do you know something we do not?"
"What do you mean?" Steve asked
"We all know that you covered for them during that fake camping trip hosted by your older son. Are you trying to cover for them again?"
"Mrs. Inoue, please!" Susumu quickly tried to intervene the woman before she hit a nerve, but she had already done that the moment she accused Steve.
Nancy had just about had enough. She looked up at the accusation, her eyes narrow, and started to stand. Mrs. Takenouchi placed a settling hand on her shoulder but Nancy shrugged it off.
"Mrs. Inoue, please." She started with a calm voice that drew the other woman's attention, as well as everyone else's, "If I had known you knew nothing I would have informed all of you while we were in the kitchen of just what is going on." Nancy paused for effect, making sure she had everyone's attention. "The mission they are on is to retrieve my youngest son."
At first no one said anything. It took about a minute for the words to sink all the way in and, when they did, Mrs. Inoue wasn't the only one with questions.
"What do you mea by 'retrieve'?" Mr. Motymia asked in a slightly calm, strained voice that was obviously fishing for a reason that didn't' exist, "Why would they need to 'retrieve' him? Did he run away? Is that all this is about?"
Nancy never had a chance to answer. Steve was on the other man like a pit bull on a trespasser, his anger flared just as strongly, not even realizing the question had been asked in the manner it had been.
"How dare you ask a question like that?" He demanded, "Can't you see how broken up my wife is? Our son did not run away! For your information at approximately 9 something yesterday morning our son was stripped form this world, taken right in front of our eyes! The last thing we saw of him was his body was wracked in pain as some unrecognizable force plucked him away! That is why the children are all currently gone, they are trying to find their friend before anything else happens to him! It's already been twenty-four hours since he vanished and I don't' think either us of can take another night of not knowing. Does that sound like a runaway to you?"
The reason for silence now was shock. Everyone stared at Steve, horrified by his revelation as the reality of what he said sunk in. And that was the way they remained in the uncomfortable silence.
111break111
k2: Ugh! Did I really right that?
MK: Oh, don't' be so shocked. You've done worse.
k2: Actually, I'm more worried about how awkward I left it. It is a real good thing no one has to wait for the next chapie, huh?
MK: They will if you don't' shut up.
K2: Actually, they are prolly ignoring this right now.
