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YAY! Chapter 89's up :D!

Hmmm…nice reviews on the previous chapter D! It's actually cool when you guys (or rather, ladies ;)) comment on the plot itself.

Sketty24 mentioned something about the story hinting that the younger Stryker seemed to be better for Yuriko…Hmmm…interesting….but let's look at it this way…

Stryker 40 years ago (when he was 20+ y.o.) was a loving father, a devoted husband, and a man who almost sacrificed himself to serve his country. I know those facts weren't stressed in the movie, but the book version says it all )! There were even scenes in the book where he'd recall placing Jason on his shoulders and loving his boy more than life itself. In the book, he also felt sorry for the times he was sent to war, because he couldn't spend more time with his family.

Logan on the other hand (or as we know him, James Howlett) at that time (40 years ago), was a silent and brooding man who preferred to hide in the shadows. He was a dedicated mercenary and hermit who kept to himself. He shied away from the world and only involved himself in matters that were worthy of his time. All of those were probably because of his dark and grim past (comic book verse). He was also an all around tough guy, who speaks more with action than with words and emotion.

So Logan's hunkiness and hotness aside (yum!), the practical girl would probably choose 27 year old William over the silent and brooding Logan…but then, that's just me. Lol. So whaddya think? I hope I didn't give too much away. Heheheh

By the way, this chapter is going to be all about Yuriko, so no Logan - for now ;).

Chapter 89: Little Yuriko Oyama

Whenever they came there, Yuriko always played by Yuna's favorite cherry blossom tree and collected flowers to give to her mother. Despite the fact that it had already been six long years since Yuna died, there had never been a week that the two of them never came here. They would always come here every Sunday to be with Yuna. It was their own way of keeping her company even if her physical body had already left this world.

Yuriko gave out a small, childish giggle, and then she moved her hands back closer to her. She made sure that no flower fell from her little cupped palms. "So what did you and mommy talk about, daddy?" She asked curiously.

Her eyes and voice were filled with so much curiosity as she looked up at her father. A wide smile lingered on her lips while she waited for her his answer. Kenji smiled back at his curious daughter, and then he reached out and gently ran his fingers down her smooth, tanned cheek.

He was actually glad that Yuna's death didn't affect Yuriko negatively. Yuriko never even shed a tear, or became angry at God for taking her mother away so soon. Perhaps his story about Yuna being Yuriko's angel helped her understand that death was truly not the end…that people still lived on even after they transcend this world.

"We talked about you, Riku." He said softly, looking deep into Yuriko's eyes. He was talking as if Yuna was still alive…as if she had never left.

Yuriko's eyes widened with excitement, and her rosy cheeks perked up as a huge smile spread across her subtle lips. "Really? You and mommy talked about me?" She asked. There was so much anticipation in her voice.

Kenji giggled and nodded his head. "Yes. We talked about you." He said smiling. "We always talk about you. You know that, Riku."

Yuriko was always the first thing he and Yuna talked about whenever they visited her grave. He always updated her of Yuriko's life and how Yuriko was doing. He knew that Yuna couldn't hear him anymore. He knew that all too well. After all, Yuna wasn't of this world anymore. But he couldn't help but tell her stories like they did back when she was still alive. Yuna always loved it whenever he told her stories. And he knew that she would love nothing more but to hear him tell stories about their one and only child.

Little Yuriko's face lit up and she hugged the flowers close to her heart. "And, and did she ask about me, daddy?" She asked curiously.

"Of course she did." Kenji replied. "In fact, she was looking for you." He said, smiling. "And when she asked where you were, I told her that you were by her special tree, gathering her favorite flowers. I told her that you were gathering them for her, like you always do." His last word was followed by a gentle laugh.

Yuriko gave out a childish giggle and she jumped on her toes. "I wanna go see mommy now." She said with a happy smile on her face. Her eyes were filled with so much excitement as she thought of seeing her mother again.

Ever since their first visit to Yuna's grave, Yuriko actually made a promise to herself to always have her mother's favorite flowers whenever she visited her. She always made sure that she had cherry blossoms in her hands before standing before her tombstone. And not just any cherry blossoms…but the cherry blossom's from her mother's special tree…that tree that she was just playing under a while ago.

Even at such a young age, she had made it into one of her life's rules. And it was one of the rules she knew she would never break. Giving her mother flowers was Yuriko's own way of communicating with her. It was her own little way of reaching out to her, of making her feel that she loved her and cared for her even if she had already passed away. Those cherry blossoms were the keys to her mother's abode in heaven.

A happy sigh escaped from Kenji's smiling lips, and then he stood up straight and looked down at his energetic little girl. "Okay. We'll go see mommy now." He said happily. "She's very much looking forward to those flowers too, you know. She told me she couldn't wait to see the freshest cherry blossoms of the week."

Yuriko looked up at him and grinned from ear to ear. "I know, daddy."

He laughed and turned around towards the direction of Yuna's grave. Then he turned his head to the side and looked at Yuriko from the corner of his eye.

"You know she only accepts flowers from you, and no one else." A warm smile lingered on his face. "…Not even me." He said with a chuckle. "That's how special you are, Riku. That's how special you are both to me and your mother."

Yuriko giggled and walked to her father's side. Then father and daughter walked side by side towards Yuna's grave…Or as Yuriko would call it, mommy's resting place. She didn't like the term 'grave' or 'tombstone'. Because through her eyes, angels never died, nor did they rot away six feet under. For her, her mother the angel was just resting, waiting to be awakened again once the time has come for them to meet once more.

Yuna's grave was only twenty-minutes away from her cherry blossom tree by foot. It was by the cliff, looking out to the sea. A minute before she had passed away, she begged Kenji to have her buried there. She and Kenji used to go to that spot to watch the sun rise and set in the horizon. It was one of their special places. It was like the balcony to this beautiful grassy field, the window to the vast, eternal sea.

It was the only place in Kyoto where you can see green, colliding with blue, as the green, grassy cliff towered above the blue waters. In fact, she told Kenji that if there was one scenery that she would want to see in the last moments of her life, that would be it. She wanted to stand on that cliff on the day when she would eternally close her eyes.

Kenji found it quite sorrowful that Yuna's last view of the world was within the confides of the hospital's walls. But at least now, there she was, resting by the cliff, to forever look out to the sea and watch the sun rise and set in the horizon. She could finally fly above the water like the birds, and touch the clouds, like she had always wanted to.

Now, it was Yuriko's time to stand on that cliff and look at the world as she once did. It was now his daughter's time to live on in the place of his wife. And someday, he too will be gone, and Yuriko will stand by that cliff with the man that she will love.

When they were only a few meters away from the tombstone, Yuriko gradually quickened her pace, and then made a running start towards Yuna's resting place. Subtle, quick breaths slipped from her smiling lips as she made her way to her mother. She could feel the wind from the sea whipping against her smooth, tanned face as she ran and ran. The grass beneath her feet carried her with every fleeting step.

She couldn't wait to see her mother again. She couldn't wait to stand beside her resting place and stand where she had always stood before she was born. Like her mother, she also loved the view of the sea. It was one of the things she always looked forward to whenever she and her father visited her mother.

The smile on her face grew wider as she got closer and closer to Yuna's tombstone. She could already see it in the distance, with the sea right behind it. Even if a tombstone signified death, for Yuriko, Yuna's tombstone was like a landmark. For her, the tombstone was like a marker that signified the place where Yuna, her angel, had flown away from this world to go back to heaven.

One of the things that her father had told her about her angel was that after she was born, Yuna went to that cliff and she spread her wings to reveal her angelic identity. And it was on that cliff, where she took off and freed herself from the constraints of this physical world. Her father told Yuriko that he saw Yuna fly off into the sky and into the sun. She looked back, only once, to wave goodbye to Kenji and her newborn daughter. But she never looked back again, because she knew that if she saw them once more, she would shed her wings and abandon her rightful place in heaven for this earth.

Every time Yuriko remembered that story, she felt more excited about standing on that cliff. And as of this moment, she let her little feet carry as fast as they could. She cupped her hands firmly against each other and held the flowers close to her while she ran, making sure that none of them got crushed. She wanted each of them to be perfect. Her mother deserved nothing less than the most beautiful cherry blossoms from that tree.

Then as soon as she reached the cliff where her mother's tombstone stood, she stopped right next to its edge and opened her hands and arms towards the sea, letting the flowers fly with the wind towards the distance. The petals and flowers from her hands flew into the air. They twirled around in the wind and soared towards the vast blueness of the sky and of the waters.

And as Yuriko watched them fly farther and farther away from her, she breathed in and filled her lungs with air, preparing herself to call out to her mother. Then she shouted out loud at the top of her lungs. "Those are for you, mommy!" She cried out. Her tiny voice echoed in the air. "I love you!" She shouted again. "And I will never forget you! Me and daddy will always wait for you to come back to us!"

Kenji soon caught up with his little girl and he made his way beside her. The warm rays of the sun touched their forms as the two of them looked out into the sea. They could feel the wind blowing against their faces while they watched the flowers flutter like butterflies in the wind. Who knows where the wind will take them? Who knows where they will land? But for Yuriko, that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to her was that she was with her mother again. She was able to send flowers to her again.

Yuriko looked to her side and tilted her head up towards her father. "Do you think mommy liked the flowers, daddy?" She asked with so much childish innocence.

Kenji looked back at Yuriko and smiled. His smile was as warm and as gentle as the early morning sun. "Of course she did." He said happily.

Then he turned his head towards the sea and the smile on his lips grew wider. "In fact, I can hear her laughing right now. And she's dancing as the flowers fly by her. She loved it whenever the wind blew cherry blossoms towards her direction." Though the smile on his face was happy, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. He missed Yuna dearly. And he missed her even more whenever he stood on this cliff.

Ever since the day they met, there was never a time when he stood on this cliff without her by his side. They had discovered this spot together. But at least now, even with Yuna gone, he had Yuriko to share the view with.

Yuriko laughed and looked up at the clear, blue sky. "I think I can hear her laughing too." She said with so much exuberance. "And I can see her dancing too. She looks like she's dancing in a whirlwind of cherry blossoms." The smile on her young face never faltered while she looked up at the sky.

Kenji stepped closer to Yuriko and he gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder, holding her close to him. "You know, Yuriko. Even if mommy isn't with us anymore, she still loves you." He said softly. His eyes continued to look at the sea.

"Oh, I know, daddy. And remember, she loves you too." She said while she looked up at her father. She could see a distant, longing look in his eyes.

He looked like he was ready to jump off the cliff and fly to where her mother was. She knew how much he missed her. After all, he knew her mother longer than she ever did. Even if she had spent the first nine months of her life in her womb, she never had enough time to see her face clearly. She never even got the chance to say her mother's name or let her hear her first word. She could barely even remember what it felt like to touch her hand and feel her arms around her.

Sometimes she wished she could just cry for days and express the loneliness and emptiness that she felt in her heart because of her mother's death. But she knew that her mother wouldn't want that. She didn't want her mother to see her crying. And she didn't want to burden her father's sadness with hers. After all, her mother wasn't truly dead. She just went back home to heaven, like her father told her she did.

After a few moments of silence, Kenji sighed and bowed his head down. It was about time that he told Yuriko the one thing he had been meaning to tell her the entire week. He wasn't sure if she was going to take it lightly, considering that the decision he had made would both change their lives, but it was about time that he told his little girl about it. She was the only thing he had left in his life, and he wanted to tell her everything. He didn't want to keep any secrets from his beloved little Yuriko.

Yuriko noticed the troubled look on Kenji's face and she tugged on the sleeve of his jacket. "What's wrong, daddy?" She asked curiously.

Kenji looked at her and smiled humbly. He didn't want the child to have any negative impressions on what he was about to say next. He wanted her to look at his decision in a positive way. "N – nothing, Yuriko. Nothing's wrong with daddy." He said comfortingly. Then he sharply exhaled and turned around so that he was fully facing her.

He kneeled down and softly placed a hand on her shoulder. His eyes looked deep into her dark, almond shaped ones…Oh how those eyes reminded him so much of the love that he and Yuna once shared - still shared. He hoped that he would never find an ounce of sadness within them once he had broken the news to her.

"What is it?" Yuriko asked, looking back into his eyes.

Kenji still didn't know how to tell her about 'it'. He pursed his lips and his eyes darted left and right as he thought of the right words to say. He didn't know how she would react once she finds out that they were going to move far, far away from this place.

Then he breathed in and looked intently into her eyes again. "Yuriko, I…I need to tell you something, sweetie." He said softly. He tried to appear as calm and as collected as he could. He had to appear content and confident about the decision he had made.

Yuriko didn't say anything. She just stood there and looked at him curiously, waiting for her father's next words. There was a subtle smile on her face as she anticipated what her father was going to tell her. But behind that childish smile was a feeling in her innocent gut, telling her that she might not like what she was about to her next.

She could see something negative in her father's eyes and there was something odd about the way he was acting. He seemed to be holding back something from her, and he never held back. Never. He usually told her things straight out. Other than her father's unusual actions, she could also feel his heartbeat thumping from the veins in his hand. She could actually feel his nervousness from the hand that rested upon her shoulder.

She had always had that certain 'talent' - to read people through their physical signatures. She could always tell when a person was sad, or when a person was lying, or when someone was about to do something distasteful. She had never told her father about her advanced sensitivity to such things. After all, she was only six years old. Perhaps her 'abnormality' would go away once she became older. In fact, she never even thought of it as abnormal, until she found out that her friends couldn't hear and feel and see and notice what she hearing, feeling, seeing and noticing.

Kenji's hand gently squeezed Yuriko's shoulder as he braced himself to tell her the big news. "Yuriko…you see, daddy just got a job somewhere. And that job requires both you and me to go far away from this place." He said softly. He hoped she understood what he had just told her. He couldn't really find the right words to say it straight.

Yuriko furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him in a confused manner. "What do you mean?" She asked. Her last word almost faded into a whisper.

She understood what her father was trying to tell her, but she wanted him to tell her directly. Unlike other children, she wasn't into long-winded discussions that emptily ramble on in shallow words. She was like her father. She wanted things as they were. And right now, she wanted him to tell her what he truly wanted to say.

"We're going to move away from Kyoto, Yuriko." He said firmly.

That was it. That was what he had wanted to tell her for the entire week. A simple sentence about moving away from their hometown Kyoto, the place where he and Yuna met and fell in love, the place where Yuna had given birth to Yuriko, the place where Yuna's resting place resided. Moving away from one's hometown shouldn't generally be that big of a deal, but the fact that he was going to take Yuriko away from everything that reminded her of her mother was what pained him the most.

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