Here's my latest chapter, I hope you all enjoy it. I own none of the characters, now onto the fic.
Kira looked on at the coastline as the waves endlessly washed up along in a neverending cycle of washing up on the shore and taking bits of sand with it. He watched as the waters were disturbed by his son's feet splashing in the water. Tolle ran and splashed at the waves as they washed up to the shore. It wasn't at all surprising, Tolle had only been near the beach back when he was in diapers, and this was like a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a prescence on his shoulder. Looking over he saw that it was his wife of eight wonderful years.
"Hey sweetheart, enjoying the sights?" Kira asked as he squeezed her hand. "Hmm yes I am" Milly said as she wrapped her free hand around Kira's waste. Kira had noticed that Milly had seemed alot more affectionate this morning. She had slipped in a kiss at almost every turn much to Kira's delight. "Sometimes I think back to when I washed up on this beach, when..." Kira said somberly only to be interrupted by his wife. "I know what you mean, I know it hurts, but we're here to have some fun, and appreciate what we have, because I appreciate what we have Kira, and I'm not the least bit dissapointed. You've given me my smile back, and that's something I thought I'd never be able to do again" Milly said taking Kira's hands into hers. "You're right Milly, I'll try to stop thinking about it, and live for the here and now starting today" Kira replied as he leaned in to kiss his wife. Their lips met and heaven was found and an embrace was made. The two of them were interrupted however by a wetness felt on their cheeks. Looking up Kira saw the clouds begin to darken. "Well there's that rain they talked about" Kira said. Hurriedly Kira yelled for his two children to come to he and Milly. Once reunited Milly called to Kira. "This is getting pretty bad, where can we go for shelter. Looking around the area, Kira's memory began to spur thinking back to that one pivotal moment in the war. "I know of a place, stick close and I'll take us there come on" Kira said gripping Milly's hand while she made sure the twins stayed close.
Running along Kira lead his soaking family to the place he found saftey during the war, Markino's orphanage. Banging on the door, Kira yelled out. "Markino, it's Kira Yamato, we need inside!" kira yelled hoping the blind preacher or one of the many orphans living there would hear him. "Hey dad this is just like out of a scary story, a family out in the storm hoping to seek shelter and they wind up in a haunted house!" Tolle said exitedly. "I have got to get you off of that junk Tolle, it'll rot your brain" Kira said hoping his son would hear. "No it won't, aunt Cagalli is right you're too uptight" Tolle said. "I'll let that one slide Tolle, this time" Kira said in a low voice. Kira hated having to get strict with his children but sometimes it was neccessary. His thoughts were interrupted when the door was opened by one of the orphans that lived with Markino. "Kira!" said the girl excitedly. "Hey Kellie, you're getting quite big aren't you?" Kira said as he held his coat over Milly's head while she kept the twins close. "We need to get inside for awhile is that alright?" Kira asked hoping she would say yes. "Yeah come in come in" Kellie said ushering Kira and his family in. Once inside, Kellie left saying she'd go and get Markino to let him know they were there. "Okay you two I want you on your best behavior and you are to treat this place as if it were even better than our own home you understand?" Kira said shaking a finger in front of his firstborns "Yes dad" Tolle said. "Yes daddy" Mira replied back. "Alright then, I'm gonna hold you two to that" Kira said.
He was interrupted when a thunderbolt erupted in the sky. "Whoa, bad weather today" Kira said looking out the window at the blackened clouds. "Milly, how's your cell phone?" Kira asked. Milly pulled the device out of her pocket and tried dialing Cagalli's number. "No good, must be some interferrence in the weather" Milly said pocketing her phone. "Hmm looks like we'll be here awhile" Kira said watching the rain furiously pelt the sidewalk. Walking over, Kira placed a kiss on Milly's head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry we're okay, we're with good people, we'll be safe and dry" he spoke trying to keep his wife from worrying. "Ah Kira, I'm happy to hear that you and your family are okay" came a voice from over in one of the doors. Looking over Tolle spied a man standing there in a full black outfit with a smile on his face, he immediatley felt creepd out and backed away, bumping into his father. "Great to see you again Father Markino, this is my family. My lovely wife Miriallia, and our twin children, my daughter Mira and the scared little boy in front of me is my son Tolle" Kira said lightly teasing his son.
"What? I'm not scared he just surprised me that's all" Tolle said jutting his chin out as if trying to prove his father wrong. "He's quite charming my son, I'm glad to see you're happy in your new life" Markino said moving over to Kira's location. Milly looked on at the dark clad man talking with her husband. She had only heard about him from Lacus and had never actually met him in person but she did know of his condition, he was blind and taking care of the children in this orphanage. Milly was prepared to think further when she looked on at her daughter. "Mira don't stare it's rude" Milly scolded her daughter. "I'm sorry mommy" Mira said hoping her mother wouldn't be too angry. "Why there's nothing wrong child, all of the other little ones here have looked at me oddly at one time or another" Markino said unabashedly.
"I apologize father, I wasn't aware and..." Kira said hoping to apologize quickly. "No need to apologize, I imagine this is the first time either of them has ever seen a blind person in their lives, so it's only natural that they'd be curious" Markino said. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to look at you like that" Mira quickly apologized. "There's nothing wrong child. I may not be able to look back at you myself, but I can tell just by the way you speak and the way you move that you get scared alot" Markino said lowering himself to Mira's eye level. "I sure do, my mean older brother always tries to scare me with his ghost stories, about people who ride around on horses with no heads and stories about the boogeyman" Mira said bashfully, ashamed at being fooled by many of Tolle's jokes and false stories.
"Well little one you may relax, you'll find nothing of the sort in these walls, and I bet some of the other children would like to meet a wonderful little girl like yourself" Markino said planting the seeds to get Mira to go play with the other children. "Can I daddy? can I?" Mira asked excitedly as she took one of Kira's hands into hers. Kira smiled at his little girl, he could already imagine her wrapping him around her little finger ten years from now. "I don't see why not, you and Tolle can go and play with the other kids while your mom and I talk with Mr. Markino okay?" Kira said to his daughter. "Oh thank you daddy thank you!" the jubilant little girl said to Kira as she ran down the hall to the sounds of the other kids, Tolle followed soon after once he had gotten the okay from his mother. "Such angels they are, so would you like to fill me in on what all has happened to you in the past few years Kira? I have been down here on earth with only what Ms. Lacus has been able to tell me" Markino asked of the young man in front of him. "Sure thing Markino, we can catch up on old times, if that's okay with you sweetheart?" Kira asked of his better half. "I'd be delighted, it'd be nice to get to know the man who helped to bring my husband back from certain doom" Milly replied. The adults soon settled in some of the benches and began to go over the details of their courtship, marriage and raising of their twins to the man of the cloth in front of them.
Tolle wandered around the play area for the younger kids. They were all nice but for the moment Tolle wanted to do some exploring. He had seen Mira talking with some of the girls, they tried braiding her hair but gave up when they saw how short it was, they then started talking about dresses and dolls. Needless to say Tolle left immediatley. He had spied an open door with a stairway. Ascending the stairway, he came upon the open windows of the top of the orphanage with the walls lined with several bookcases, all filled to the rim with varied reading material. "Whoa that's alot of books" Tolle said as he ran his hands along the spines of the old tomes. Tolle noticed some of the titles were of old classics his mother mentioned, books such as "Oliver Twist", "Pride and Prejudice" and "War and Peace" They were nice but Tolle wanted to look at were the scary stories. He had struck gold when he came upon a black leather bound book with the word "Ghosts" written on the front of it.
Locating a table in the center of the room, Tolle sat the book down and began reading. The stories were short and old but began to lure him in.
"The girl walked alone in the forest, unaware of the terrible danger she was in, of the man closing in behind her. He raised the axe and was prepared to bring the weapon down on her skull and down it..." Tolle read aloud but was interrupted. "What are you doing?" Tolle shot up from his seat to see Mira standing there looking at him from the doorway. "I'm just looking at a book ok? Where'd you get that doll?" Tolle asked of the clothed figurine that Mira held in her arms. "Her name's Holly, she belongs to one of the orphans named Ivy, you want to hold her?" Mira offered. "No that's okay Mira" Tolle said shying away from his little sister. He was a boy, so why would he want to play with a doll? Sometimes he thought his sister was truly clueless. Returning to his book, Tolle tried to find where he last left off.
"What kind of book is that anyways?" Mira asked. "A book of scary stories, lots of creepy stuff that'll make your skin crawl" Tolle said making scary face in Mira's direction. "Tolle stop, there's no such thing as ghosts or goblins" Mira said clutching the doll closer to her. "You never know. Earth's a big place, where all sorts of creepy things could be hiding and we'd never know, and don't say that dad would know. He's from space not Earth so he'd never know what's on Earth" Tolle said countering what Mira usually said to keep Tolle from scaring her. "But, but, Daddy wouldn't lie to me, he'd never lie" Mira said hoping to get Tolle to stop "Oh he's not lying to you Mira, he just doesn't know that's all. No one knows just what's in the shadows, even if it's looking right back at you" Tolle said turning back to his book. Mira backed away from him and jumped slightly when looking at one of the darkened corners, almost as if there actually was a face staring back at her. "There are no monsters, there are no monsters, there are no monsters" Mira said squeezing her her eyes shut repeating the words as if they were a mantra. Mira opened her eyes and saw a variety of shapes and sizes moving towards her with arms outstretched. Mira backed away slowly, trying to get away from these things.
Her feet fell out from under her and the shapes drew even closer. Mira watched as the shapes seemed to join together and take shape. The result was the face of a normal human being. His hair slicked back but his eyes were cruel and his smile was menacing. "He's wrong Mira, there are monsters out there, I'm one of them!" The face said as it crept ever closer. "Nooo!" Mira screamed as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"No, no stay away I won't let you near me go away, please go away!" Mira begged as the tears ran down her eyes begging whatever forces were tormenting her. Her fears were taken away when she felt a pair of arms close around her and a familiar voice calmed her. "Shhh shh sh it's okay baby it's okay daddy's here, daddy's gotcha" Kira spoke as he held Mira close to him. "Daddy, daddy I was so scared, I was so frightened" Mira cried into Kira's shirt. Kira rubbed his little girl's back in a soothing motion to get her calmed down, looking back he saw Tolle turning to them. "Mira, dad is she crying?" Tolle asked surprised. "Yes, and somehow I'm betting your love of scary stories and frightening her with that junk is what did this to her" Kira said sternly. "Dad I didn't, I mean I didn't know, I expected her to run back down to the other kids, I..." Tolle was prepard to offer up more excuses but was stopped when Kira turned around with a stern look on his face. "We'll talk about this later Tolle" Kira said with firmness in his voice. Tolle may have seen his father as passive most of the time but he knew that when he had that look on his face it meant for trouble later on, as he saw Kira walk off with Mira resting her head on his shoulder, he half expected her to stick her tongue out at him and show that she was trying to get him in trouble, but she did nothing of the sort, instead he watched as her tears continued, and his guilt rose.
Later on, when the family had returned to Cagalli's mansion Tolle had finished up in the bathroom and began thinking back to the scolding his parents had given him. They said that his tormenting of Mira had finally gone too far and that he was forbidden from looking at any form of literature that was scary in nature for a month. He couldn't blame them, after seeing how upset Mira was he felt guilty and awful for what he had done. Anytime he had teased Mira it was all in fun, he never meant for his little sister to be scared or to get hurt. Walking back to his room, Tolle looked over at his sister's sleeping form and was prepared to turn the lights out when she spoke. "Tolle, did mom and dad yell at you alot?" Mira whispered. "Yeah but, I deserved it, I should have stopped telling you those things. I never meant for you to get hurt sis, I just got caught up in the stories" Tolle said tightening his grip on his pillow. "I'm sorry that I got you in trouble Tolle, maybe if I wasn't so scared of everything then you'd want to hang around me more" Mira said turning away from her borther, ashamed to have him see her like this. "You must really hate me now don't you big brother?" Mira said sadly, she was surprised when she saw a shadow slide across her bed. Looking over she saw Tolle standing there with a sad look in his eyes. She was surprised when Tolle wrapped his arms around her neck.
"I'm sorry Mira, I'm sorry for scaring you, I shouldn't have kept going on like that" Tolle said. Mira wrapped her arms around him as well sharing in her borther's pain and letting him know that he was forgiven. Outside, this display of sibling kindness was being watched by the eyes of the twins mother who smiled at what she saw. Walking back towards Kira's room Milly began to think of the face her daughter had seen when she was talking to her and Kira, it was the face of someone she hadn't seen in years and hoped that it would stay that way. It was the face of Dearka Elthman, the man who had brought trouble to their family for so long, and it seemed he would always be there waiting for them in the shadows.
Milly pondered the one question that had puzzled her, how could Mira know about Dearka at all? Milly had kept his existence from her children as much as she could. She was prepared to continue walking along to her room when a noise caught her attention. The origin of the noise came from downstairs. Walking lightly downstairs she saw Athrun going over some things in the room Cagalli had let him call his own. It was basically his study where he could file old reports and the like. "What are you still doing up?" Milly asked brushing her hair. "Just going over a few more reports and I'll be done" Athrun replied putting a few more papers away. Milly walked in and looked over his cluttered study when something caught his eye. A photograph of his old team known as the Le Creuset team. It had him, Yzak, a green haired boy she didn't recognize, a blonde haired one and...Elthman. "Athrun, did Mira ever come into this room to your knowledge?" Milly asked with the tone of her voice changing. "I think I remember her coming in earlier today to say hello, but that's about it" Athrun replied. Milly continued to stare at the photo and at the face Dearka was making in it. His face was cocky and confident and his eyes seemed to be luring the viewer in as if trying to draw them into a trap, it was no wonder why Mira had been so afraid of him. "Is something wrong?" Athrun asked. Milly tried to keep herself from smashing open the frame and ripping the photo to pieces. She would respect Athrun's property even if it had Elthman in it, still she wasn't about to let her little girl have to look at him anymore.
"Athrun, I would appreciate it if you could keep this photo in one of your drawers, Mira claims she saw Elthman's face earlier today, and I'd like to keep any incidents like today down to a minimum" Milly said in a serious tone of voice. "I understand" Athrun said taking the picture from Milly and sliding it into one of his drawers. Walking away, Milly stopped when she heard Athrun speak. "I've become very dissapointed in him as well, and I can understand why you don't want to look at him ever again" Athrun said. "Thank you Athrun" Milly said as she walked away. "Athrun did not take offense to the hostility in her voice, what had happened was Elthman had gotten to one of her beloved children, and that is something that would make any parent feeling uneasy, and very angry.
In a bar somewhere on the colony of Deimos, a blonde haired man sneezed. "Hey pal take a pill or something, I don't want you sneezin' your crap all over my clean counter. "The bartender yelled to the man in front of him. "Sorry old man, I can't help it if someone's thinkin' about me and making me sneeze my crap all over your clean counter" The man said back mockingly. "Oh what you got a girl maybe thinkin' about ya?" the bartender asked of the man while polishing a shotglass. "I did, but she didn't like me so she went off and went with some guy who never even gave her the time of day" He replied peering down into the bottom of his shotglass. "Dames, go figure" The bartender said back placing the shotglass back behind the counter. "Yeah...my thoughts exactly" the man replied as he left a wad of cash on the counter and got up and left. Looking up at the night sky, he spoke. "One day Milly, I'll make you see the light, that you made a big mistake and that you belong to me, not him" the man known as Dearka Elthman said walking off into the night.
Well there you have it, please review.