End of Innocence v2.0

By Dixxy

Chapter Twelve: Confessional

(Sehkment)

Cye invited me back to his apartment for our special little "talk". It wasn't a bad apartment – it was in slight chaos from children's toys and books, but otherwise was kept decently neat and tidy. Somehow, it seemed to fit Cye's personality. Everything just seemed comfortable and homey, even though things between the two of us were about as comfortable as an elephant in an elevator.

The two of us sat down on his couch while Ariel went into her bedroom at Cye's request. That was odd for sure – he didn't want Ariel to hear this conversation, whatever it was. We each had a drink – Cye had tea, I had black coffee. And for the first several minutes, we just sat their slowly sipping our beverages, waiting for the other to speak first.

I got sick of the silence first. "Okay. What happened?" I asked. "Mia told me and the other Warlords that one night you went out for a walk and never came back, then called Kento a few days later and refused to tell him anything. No one's heard from you since then and everyone's still worried sick."

"Do they still think about me that much?" he asked.

"Yeah, kind of," I said. "They don't actively talk about it – at least not while I'm around – but it's clear that they're all being bothered by something and my money is on you. Personally, I've spent a lot of weekends trying to track you down – it's kinda stupid that I take this weekend off from my search and suddenly you appear out of no where with a kid."

"You've been looking for me?" Cye seemed surprised by this.

"Yes, and I will say this – things would have gone done VERY differently if that kid wasn't there," I said. "Things back in Toyama aren't exactly happy bunnies and sugar songs for everyone – Kento's an alcoholic, Rowen is a workaholic, Ryo has emotionally shut down and Mia compulsively dusts your room at least every other week. Sage WAS the only one with a level head, but recently he's been a little jumpy and stressed out, too."

Cye didn't say anything, taking in the information of how badly his friends had been doing. He had his hands on his knees, the fabric clenched in his fist. "I didn't think they'd take it this badly," he said softly. He sighed heavily, tilting his head to one side. "I guess I thought this would make things easier, but I see it didn't."

"So it was Ariel that made you run away," I said.

"Kind of," he said. He seemed really nervous now, and I knew that whatever made him run away was suddenly a lot more complicated than just having a child at such a young age – according to the laws of mathematics, Cye was just sixteen when his five year old daughter was born – which meant she'd been born right around the time he left. "I don't suppose the others told you about a girl I was dating several months before I ran away, did they?"

I closed my eyes as I tried to remember, then nodded. "Some Irish girl – really hot, named Sheryl or Shelly or something like that. They mentioned she kind of dropped off the face of the Earth shortly after you two broke up. But that was months before you ran off – what did she have to do with any of this?" Then I slapped my forehead. Had Ariel been born right when Cye left, of COURSE he would have had to have knocked the girl up nine months earlier. Duh. "Never mind – duh. She's Ariel's mother, isn't she?"

"Technically, yes," he said. At this point he had curled up into a ball on the couch, burrying his face in his knees. "I never told the others about what happened between us, and then when I ran into Sheila that night with the baby. . . I panicked and ran away. I didn't want them to know the whole truth about what happened to me before we broke up."

I closed my eyes. "So what? You had sex with your girlfriend and she got pregnant – things happen and we all have to deal with it," I said. Cye shuddered and for a second I thought he started to cry. "Did I say something wrong?" Cye shook his head, then nodded, then shook his head more vigorously. I felt a sickening feeling in my stomache. "Cye. . . what happened?"

"It wasn't consensual," he said. "I didn't want them to know that she took advantage of me." By now he was refusing to look at me, and I watched as his eyes tok a sudden, distant look. Monotonously, he droned on. "I told her no. I said no. She wouldn't listen. But I couldn't convince her otherwise, and so she. . ."

I just about shit a brick at that moment. It was about the fifth or sixth one that afternoon. The shock was overwhelming – how could this happen to him? Why? After all he'd done to save the world. . . to save her sorry ass. . . and this is the way the world thanks him for nearly getting himself killed before he was even old enough to drive? "She. . . raped you?" I said.

Cye nodded. "Please don't laugh at me."

NOW what was I going to do? At least everything made sense now – Cye didn't tell anyone about his girlfriend raping him, and then when he finds out he got her pregnant he's either forced to tell his friends about it or run away. "Is it still bothering you?" I asked, innocently enough. "I mean, it was years ago and - "

"Yes it still bothers me," Cye said through clenched teeth. He glared at me, his eyes slightly red but his voice was unwavering despite the tears. Now it was my turn to be a little scared. "I have exactly two kinds of dreams – one kind of dream is focused on the time YOU kidnapped me and had me tortured, and the other dream is about the rape. THAT is how much it still bothers me and you know what? I've been to support groups and pyschiatrists and they've all told me the same thing – I may NEVER be 'over it' for the rest of my life."

"All right, you're not over it, I get it," I said, holding up my hands in defense.

"No, no you don't," he said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "I don't know what you do with women but you do NOT want someone else telling you what to do with your body. You don't want someone holding you down and tying you up and forcing their hand over your mouth so the neighbors can't hear your scream. You don't know what it's like to have someone do things to your body because they know it hurts you – I was hit, scratched, had my hair pulled, and God knows how much else I've forgotten because my memory refuses to acknowledge it's even happened to me."

Part of me knew I should have reached out to him, but I didn't dare. I wasn't sure what kind of impression I wanted to send to him. "Cye. . . your friends would have helped you. I don't know what you think they would've done, but they do care about you. I think they might be a little angry at first when you see them again, but they're your friends. Hell, I know they're forgiving – Dais, Cale and I wouldn't be able to live in Toyama if it weren't for that. But the only thing you have to apologize for is running away – the rest of it wasn't your fault."

"But I-"

"Whatever it is, NO," I said.

"You sound just like Kojiro."

"Who's Kojiro?"

"A friend of ours – Ryo and the others know him, too. He found me the night of the rape after I managed to escape from her – I nearly got hit by a truck or a bus or something – I don't even remember what it was. But he brought me back to his house that night and took care of me. He said a lot of the same stuff, but didn't push it when I didn't want to call the police or tell the others. The only thing he forced me to do was visit the clinic to make sure she didn't give me AIDS or something."

I sighed. "What makes you think they'll react so harshly to you?"

Cye suddenly snapped to his feet and started pacing. "I'm a Ronin Warrior! I'm supposed to be strong and powerful! You know that – how many times did we fight? And yet I couldn't fight off a normal human girl – I couldn't get her off me! I barely got away! What happened all those years ago shouldn't have happened!" He stopped, shaking his head. "Besides, if they knew what had happened they'd never look at me the same way again. I'm the youngest, and even though I'm not that much younger there was always this sense that I had to be 'protected'. I didn't like that, and if I told them about it then what? I probably wouldn't have been allowed to do anything ever again because they'd be so worried I'd get hurt again and I didn't want that."

"What if I told you I'd kick the ass of anyone who tried to stomp on your independence? Would you come home then?" I asked. Cye stared at me in surprise, but shook his head. "Cye, look – these people have fallen apart since you left. They need you – you're part of us."

Cye sat back down. "But now it's more than that," he said. "Sehkment, what about Ariel?"

"She's a cute kid – she'll have everyone but me wrapped around her little finger within a week. I don't see where she's going to have a problem adapting, but then again I don't know her like you do. But she seems friendly enough," I said. "What's the problem with Ariel?"

"What if we get attacked again?" he said. "What if Ariel gets hurt?"

"What if you get attacked out here by yourself? Then what?" I said. Cye didn't look at me. "If the others at least know where you are they can come and help you. You're a sitting duck out here all by yourself. Look, I totally understand that you want to protect your daughter but this is not the best way to do it."

Cye wouldn't answer me – he turned away. "They're all really strong – I'm the one who couldn't even fight off his own stupid girlfriend. What good would taking me out be? They'd want the Inferno and the Soul Swords first. And Rowen, Sage, and Kento are all really experienced and good at fighting – I barely train anymore."

"Okay, someone was not listening to the earlier part of the conversation," I said. "Ryo has no emotions – ever. He does not smile. He does not frown. He does not laugh, get angry, cry, or show any signs of human emotion. I have never seen anyone THAT emotionless before and quite frankly it scares me."

Cye stared at me in confusion. "Ryo's lost his emotions?"

"And that's not all. Rowen, whom I remember as being a little skinny, has lost a good ten or so kilograms over the past few years. He isn't anorexic – yet – but the only thing he wants to do is study. No sleep. No food. Sage has actually taken him to the hospital twice from malnutrition."

"Oh God," he said.

"Kento drinks alcohol like water," I said. "And he talks about you CONSTANTLY. ESPECIALLY when he's drunk. Mia and everyone else has been trying to convince him to go to an AA meeting but he insists he doesn't have a problem while he's mixing in extracts to his alcohol just to get a stronger buzz. He's gone to the hospital to get his stomach pumped a couple of times as well."

"Kento. . ."

"I don't know what the hell is going on with Sage. For a while he was the only thing holding that entire group together, although on occasion Yuli or someone else caught him sitting in your room on your old bed in silent meditation, but apparently after five years he can't take it anymore because that guy is BEYOND stressed out right now. It's probably because his parents are trying to force him into an arranged marriage he wants no part of and he can't handle keeping his crazy little friends together AND handle that at the same time," I said. "Shall I go onto Mia next?"

"No. . . now I don't know what I should do."

"It's quite simple, really. You can either go home and tell them what happened so they can get back to normal and make everyone happy, or else I kick your ass. I think it's a fairly simple equation, don't you think? Go home to safety, get ass kicked. Go home to safety, get ass kicked," I said, weighing out of the two options with my hands.

Cye glared at me. "Look – it's not that simple! I've been trying to move past this and get on with my! I'm not the same person I was six years ago! I have a kid now! Even if you say that being with the others will protect her, that's not the kind of parent I want her to grow up with."

I cleared my throat. Time for Plan B. "Cye, is Ariel in preschool or daycare?"

Now the bearer of Torrent was more than a little confused. "What?"

"You know – preschool, day care, large gatherings of small children?" I asked.

Cye nodded. "The college I went to had a day care for students with small children – I think it was supposed to help the students who wanted to go into education more than help students like me, but yes. That ended when I graduated, though, because I work at home so I don't need it."

I nodded. "Excellent. Now, did Ariel ever get into any trouble with the other kids?"

Cye groaned and put his hand on his forehead. "Once, she and another little girl spilled paint all over a little boy's brand new shirt. This was the son of one of the professors, and that woman was beside herself with anger – I guess she saw the whole thing and yelled at Ariel and the other girl. One of the attendants told me what happened when my last class of the day was over – it was an accident, but I wasn't too happy about it."

"What did you do?"

"I don't see the point in this, but I told Ariel she needed to apologize to the little boy. So the next day, I dropped her off around the same time the little boy was to be dropped off. I was holding her hand, but she got away from me when she saw them – she ran right up to them and said she was very sorry about what happened," he said. He laughed. "Then she gave the professor a piece of construction paper she's scribbled on and said it was for her. I was actually quite proud of her."

"There's the rub," I said.

"I don't get it."

"Cye, you're a parent now. It's your job to show her right from wrong, responsibility, and all that other parenty stuff. If you run away from your responsibilities as a Ronin, even though you damn well KNOW what kind of trouble we'll all be in without your help. . . what's that going to teach her? That it's okay to not do something just because you don't want to?" I said.

Before he could answer, we heard the pitter-patter of running feet towards the living room. Ariel was carrying a bright pink piece of construction paper with what looked like a green hedgehog on the front. "Mr. Sehkment!" she said, stopping in front of me. Proudly, she shoved the paper towards me. "I'm sorry I hit you with the ball today but I'm happy you and Daddy are still friends. Here – it's a picture of you."

Cye coughed, covering the smile crossing his lips as he started to chuckle. I stared down the picture, trying to dechiper exactly how that picture translated into a portrait of me. Ariel looked up at me hopefully, smiling brightly as she waited for me to take it. "I, um, well, thank. . . you?" I said.

"You're welcome! Daddy says that if you do something to someone that isn't very nice you should apologize – I like to draw people pictures. And see? There's a kitty in the corner, too! And that's the sun, and that's the sky and that's a tree and that's. . ." I didn't really pay attention to rest of what she was saying – I was caught between trying to figure out why the sun was on the ground and the kitty was flying through the air while watching for Cye's reaction.

"I think she likes you," Cye managed to say.

I wanted to respond with a "fuck you" but decided against it. Damn brat.

Cye picked up Ariel, who shrieked when he flipped her upside down, kicking her legs in protest. I couldn't figure out why he did that until I realized he was saving me from her string of babble – now she was a bit preoccupied with being upside down and less concerned about explaining her scribbles to me. "Put me down! My hair's falling down! DAD-DY!" she shrieked. Cye laughed, putting her down and kneeling down to her level. He looked up at me, then turned back to Ariel.

"Ariel. . . Sehkment is an old. . . friend. . . of mine," he said. "Friend" came out a little forced, and I don't blame him. We weren't exactly on the greatest of speaking terms while I was fighting for Talpa and he was fighting against Talpa. But, chances we, that was the best phrase he could use when conversing with a five year old.

"Uh huh," she said.

"Well. . . I knew him long before you were born. And. . . I have other friends like him that I haven't seen in a very long time, either," he said. My eyes lit up – was he actually going to try and come home? I crossed my arms, waiting to hear the rest of his sentence.

"So why haven't any of them come over to play before this?" she asked.

Hmm. I could use this to my advantage, I thought. "Well, Ariel, because your Dad here is afraid of what they're all going to say to him after all this time. It wasn't very nice of him to not talk with them for so long and he's hurt all of their feelings, so he doesn't want to go back because they're all going to be mad at him."

Although Cye did not look at me, I could tell he was holding back an insult or an outburst – which I wasn't sure, but damn the look on his face was well worth it. Damn it, where's a camera when I need one? Now it was time to sit back and watch Ariel do all the work for me.

I'd still kick his ass later, but somehow the kid was going to be a whole lot better at convincing Cye to come home than I ever could. I was the fisherman, he was the fish, and Ariel was the shiny plastic lure that this sea bass could not resist. Oh yes. He was coming home.

"Daddy!" she said. "It's not nice to hurt people's feelings!"

Cye concened. "No, no it's not. You're right, Ariel."

Game. Set. And match.

I stood up, grinning at Cye. "Well? What next?"

Torrent stood, lowered his head, and closed his eyes. "Give me one day to figure out a few details, like how long we'll be staying, where we'll be staying, and what I'm going to say when I walk through that door. If this is going to be an overnight expedition I need to pack clothing for both myself and Ariel-"

"WE'RE HAVING A SLEEP-OVER?"

"Ariel, calm down for a second, the grown-ups are talking, all right?" he said, turning to Ariel. Ariel nodded enthusiastically, making a bee-line for her bedroom. Cye looked up at me. "She's going to try and stuff all of her toys into one bag and forget that she needs to wear clothes – she does this everytime she gets the idea of 'sleep-over' in her head. But as I was saying, you need to give me at least a day."

"You've had five years."

"So what difference will a day make?" he said.

I sighed. "Fine. Whatevever – BUT I need to let someone know you're coming to Toyama tomorrow. I'm assuming you and Ariel are going to need a place to sleep?" I asked. Cye stared at me funny, like he wasn't sure what to say. "I'll be nice – you can stay with me and the other Warlords at our apartment tomorrow – just be warned that Cale is a complete dick and Dais is Super Tree Hugger Vegan Bullshit Man. Will that work?"

Cye shook his head. "That's. . . not necessary," he said.

"I also get the idea you don't want Ariel to know exactly how she came into this world, am I right?" I said. Cye nodded slowly. "So at least someone back there needs to know where she came from, otherwise you're going to have to tell them what happened in front of her."

Cye shuddered. "Over the phone?"

"What choice do we have? Unless you have someone you could leave her with for a couple of days on short notice," I said. I sighed. "I get that your situation is at best 'special' and it's not like I can just throw you in the trunk of my car and floor it back to Toyama. I don't claim to be an angel but I've cleaned up enough that I know leaving the kid by herself is not a good idea."

"I appreciate that. . . I'm just trying to figure out who the best person to talk to would be," he said.

"Kayura or Mia – girls are better at the mushy emotional stuff," I suggested. "And with both you get the added benefit of violence if anyone talks back against you! Mia doesn't look it, but she's got a really mean left hook. Kayura launches herself at anyone who pisses her off – no one can get her off, either. Even Hardrock."

"I guess one of them is all right," he said. "But I don't want my friends to get hurt on my account – even if you think it's for my benefit." He sighed. "You say Mia's a bit crazy over my disappearance, too, right?" I nodded. "Then I guess we're going with Kayura."

I nodded and pulled out my phone. "I'm going to start the call, but YOU'RE going to finish it. Okay?" Cye nodded and I flipped my phone open, glancing at my menu in bewilderment. "Hello – twenty-three missed calls in one day? How the hell did I manage that?"

"Was your phone on?" Cye asked.

"Well. . . I turned it on silence after running into you. . . but these are all from Kayura's cell phone," I said. I gulped. "Didn't leave a message – that's not good." I hit her speed-dial number and pressed the phone to my ear. Cye looked on in worry, wringing his hands together.

Ring one.

Ring two.

"SEHKMENT WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? I HAVE SPENT THE LAST TWO HOURS TRYING TO GET A HOLD OF YOU AND I SWEAR TO THE ANCIENT AND ANUBIS THAT IF YOU TURNED OFF YOUR PHONE BECAUSE YOU'VE DECIDED TO HAVE A GIRL IN YOUR DAMN HOTEL ROOM I'M GOING TO THROTTLE YOU SO BADLY-"

"I LOVE YOU, TOO, KAYURA!" I shouted back. "Listen, I'm sorry my phone was off but I swear I had a good reason!"

"Ohhhhh, it BETTER be a good reason!" she snapped. "Get your ass home THIS MINUTE! We're under attack!"

"Oh shit," I said, turning to Cye. "We're in trouble."