Mei

Hana's bedroom was dimly lit with a small lamp from his bedside table. As he sat on the edge of the bed, he stared at the wall in front of him with weary eyes. Ferocious growling attacked his stomach, but his thoughts seemed to distract him from the hunger. The lamp levitated slowly, causing shadows in the room to move, but he didn't notice. He tried to clear his mind by closing his eyes, but when he did, the lamp crashed to the floor and startled him.

"What?" He opened his eyes quickly and stared at the broken lamp with confusion.

"Hana?" Yoh called from the hallway. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," he replied.

"Well, dinner's ready. Go wash up and come downstairs, okay?"

"Yes Sir."

Yoh descended the staircase and entered the kitchen where Anna was standing over the sink. She didn't turn around, although she heard his movements, and he leaned against the counter, folding his arms over his torso.

"What happened?" Anna asked as she rinsed a bowl.

"It sounded like he dropped something, but he seemed fine."

"Hmm," she replied blankly.

"They're here," he said abruptly as he heard knocking in the distance.

Anna headed for the stairs to bring Hana down as Yoh went to the front door. As she ascended the staircase she heard voices from downstairs and smiled politely as she headed down the hallway. Hana knew she was coming and waited inside the bathroom for her to appear in the doorway.

"It's time for dinner," she said.

He was sitting on a bench and staring at his reflection in the mirror. Anna sat beside him and placed a delicate arm around his shoulders. She glanced at the mirror and noticed the worry in his eyes.

"What is it, Hana?" she asked as gently as possible.

"If I needed to do something..." He paused and closed his eyes. "...would you be mad at me if I did it without permission?"

"It depends on what you're talking about."

Hana lowered his head and exhaled.

"If it's important, I should know about it," she added. "I'm your mother."

"I can't really tell you," he mumbled.

"Why not?"

"Because...you wouldn't let me do it."

"Well, you have your answer then." She stood slowly from the bench. "If you know you'll get in trouble you shouldn't do it."

Hana bitterly closed his eyes and tightened his hands into fists. His mother said exactly what he expected her to say, and now he was deeply frustrated.

"Come downstairs with me," she said calmly and walked into the hallway.

She noticed Hana's frustration but didn't address his demeanor. Hana followed her reluctantly down the stairs into the dining room. He saw his father standing near the table talking cheerfully with a man who was standing across from him. The man was familiar to Hana: he had dark violet hair, a color that always seemed strange, and was of medium build. He wore black trouser pants with a gray dress shirt. Hana was always bothered that he dressed so formally every time he saw the man, but the girl standing in front of him was no better.

"Hello, Hana."

"Hi, Uncle Ren." Hana's frustration quickly elevated as the words escaped his lips. He never understood why he called the man his uncle, but that was always the way his father introduced him. He was obviously unrelated to the Asakuras. There was no way that man and his daughter could be related to Hana.

His daughter. Hana froze in his position beside his mother. She stood a few feet in front of him with her father's hands on her shoulders. Her piercing eyes were of crimson and greatly intimidating. The flowing locks of hair from her head were white like soft snow, with glimmers of silver through the strands. Her pale skin appeared sickly at times, but today it resembled delicate porcelain. She was wearing a long sleeved black dress and a pair of black boots. He hated the way she looked because frankly, she didn't look normal. She wasn't a normal girl. She was Mei. And, she was scary.

"Hello, Hana," she said with evened softness that made him cringe.

"...Hi, Mei."

"Mrs. Asakura," Mei said with a smile, "It gives my father and me great pleasure to be here tonight and to have the privilege of dining with you this evening. To be in your presence is truly an honor, and we are greatly humbled by your gesture of hospitality."

Hana gawked at her with his mouth slightly agape and his eyes narrowed as his frustration grew into anger. Mei wasn't a normal eight year old girl. Hana was always irritated every time she spoke.

"Who talks like that?" he mumbled bitterly.

Anna nudged him hard in his back and replied, "We're very glad you two were able to come."

"Yeah," Yoh said and scratched his head.

Hana smiled at his father and tried to stifle an amused giggle. He knew Yoh was very uncomfortable around Mei as well, mainly because of her mannerisms and language.

"Thank you for letting her stay here," Ren said as he walked to the table.

"It's no problem," Anna replied. "Mei is always welcome here."

Yoh and Anna sat at opposite ends of the table, and Ren sat to the left of Anna. Hana sat on the other side of his mother and was greatly disgusted when Mei sat beside him. Yoh smiled at his son and glanced briefly at Mei, who was staring at her father as if waiting for a cue to proceed.

"Oh, you can eat," Yoh said finally after several seconds of silence.

After dinner, Hana hurried to the staircase to escape to his bedroom. Mei noticed his haste and stood abruptly from the table.

"Father," she said politely, "if I may be excused from the table, I would like to spend time with Hana."

"You may."

"Thank you," Mei replied with a bow and then turned to Anna. "I'll leave the door open while in his bedroom, so that there is no confusion. Will that be acceptable, Mrs. Asakura?"

"It's acceptable," Anna replied with an amused smile.

Mei bowed again and smiled at them before disappearing up the staircase.

"What is that?" Yoh asked with a frown once she was out of sight.

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean, why is she so...formal?"

"I like it," Anna said. "She's respectful. Hana could learn from her."

"You're such a slacker, Yoh," Ren said. "My daughter is growing to be a fine lady."

Mei prepared herself for a fight as she slowly walked down the hallway. She knew which door led to Hana's bedroom, but she didn't want to startle him. As expected, his door was closed, so she slowly opened it. Hana was sitting on the edge of his bed with a broken lamp on the floor at his feet. She smiled at him, a gesture he didn't return, and walked inside without closing the door.

"You left it open," he growled.

"I told your mother I would. What happened to the lamp?"

"Nothing."

"You knocked it over?"

"You don't know everything," he sighed and fell back onto the bed.

The broken pieces levitated quickly and floated slowly in the air, falling with the gravity into a nearby trashcan. Mei smiled at Hana again, who was staring at the ceiling, and took a few steps forward.

"Are you going to tell me what you're up to, or should I rouse your parents?" She she folded her arms over her chest.

"I'm not up to anything."

"...Who's Matilda?"

Hana stood abruptly from the bed and charged forward until he was in her face.

"You have such a terrible temper, Hana," she teased.

"Look, we had a deal," he growled. "I promised not to throw heavy things at you or burn your dresses, and—"

"I can't probe your thoughts," she interrupted. "I remember."

"You can't cheat." Hana balled his hands into fists. "That's not fair."

"It wasn't on purpose. Your thoughts were too loud."

Hana closed his eyes and slowly paced in front of her.

"You can't leave tonight," Mei said randomly. "You don't even know this woman."

"She's my uncle's friend."

Mei and Hana had a strange relationship. He hated calling her his friend, but she was honestly the only kid in town who talked to him. They were forced together at a very young age because their fathers were so close, and she was the only other kid he knew that was different. Mei's ability to hear thoughts was very useful at times, but he knew using her for that purpose was always a double edged sword.

"Have you verified this," she asked worriedly, "or, did she just tell you?"

"She says he's alive and wants to meet me," Hana replied. "I have to take the chance. I mean, what if she's right?"

"It could be a trap," Mei sighed.

"A trap? What could she do to me?"

"I won't allow you to do this alone, Hana," she scolded. "If you're going with this woman, I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"Either I go or neither of us do." She waved a firm finger at him. "The choice is yours."

"No. You'll scare her off."

"I'm very cordial, Hana. She should understand that you would want to bring a friend—"

"We're not friends."

"After all, you don't really know her except from what she's told you."

"She's coming tonight to get me," Hana whispered and closed his eyes. "Shut the door, Mei."

Mei obeyed the command reluctantly, realizing she was breaking an oath she made to his mother. She turned around quickly and frowned at him.

"We must make this quick," she demanded, "so I can reopen the door."

"What?"

"If we keep it closed, our activity will seem suspicious. You need to stall her."

"What are you talking about?"

"Stall Matilda for a few days. Give me time to find out more about her."

"I can't," he sighed. "She's coming tonight. I can't just tell her no."

"We need to know more about her before running away from home. If we do this, it must be for a justifiable reason, Hana," she sighed.

"How would you get more information on her anyway?" Hana asked in a frustrated tone.

"We can't ask my father. He's discovered how to block me."

"Block?" Hana mumbled.

"And, your mother is the only person in this town I've never been able to probe." She bit her bottom lip and frowned.

"Why?"

"My only guess is that she has the same ability."

Hana's limbs froze suddenly, and he stared at her in shock.

"Ms. Tamamura could be a fair target. Even your father," she continued, ignoring his alarm.

"My mother can read minds?" he whimpered.

"I can't say that with great certainty," Mei replied, "but, she blocks me with absolutely no effort. My father has to clear his thoughts to accomplish this, but she doesn't even do that. The thoughts are there; I can't access them."

"You're telling me this now!" he screamed at her suddenly.

"What is it, Hana?"

"How many times has she probed me? How many times has she punished me for something I thought about doing? It's a set up!"

"Hana, I said I'm not sure. There's no need to be bothered by this information, unless you have something to hide. I taught you how to keep your thoughts under control anyway."

"What am I supposed to do now?" He said bitterly and pulled his hair with his hands.

"Stall Matilda," she replied. "We can investigate her further before going through with this. You have to consider the ramifications of her possibly being correct, Hana."

"Ramifi...what?" he asked with a confused frown.

"If Hao's still alive, we would have to wonder why our parents have been lying to us."