RESTLESS TIDES

Part 2: "Land of Confusion"

.o.o.o.

Hayami cradled the infant girl in his arms. He smiled down at it and brushed pale strands of hair out of its eyes. Curious crimson eyes looked up at his calm brown ones silently. He slipped a hand under its head and tilted her up to get a better look at him.

Physically, Mizuko's skin was a mixture of his and Mutio's. Its small legs and hands were a dark color while it's main body and arms were a pallor yellowish tone and its cheeks had little markings on it. She pale hair like Mutio, but lacked the little wings on her chest that its mother had. He held her up and smiled as she looked down at him happily. He lowered her and sat back down on the tiled floor of the room.

He felt a pair of slick cool hands resting on his shoulders as a soft body leaned against him. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at Mutio, who flushed and held out her hands. He placed the child in her arms and the hybrid gushed over the little being in her arms. "…Daughter." She mused softly.

Hayami grinned strangely and rested his elbows on the knees of his crossed legs as he sat across from Mutio, who was holding their little child. He thought about the implications of that and exhaled. "Mother…" He mused, looking at her. Mutio's crimson eyes looked down into the mirrored pools of Mizuko's.

How strange that things had begun as they did- the female that had given birth to his daughter was once his enemy; in what seemed like another lifetime… On top of that, the fact that she was cradling the girl was a miracle as well! Mutio was the half-human/ half-aquatic life form that had been genetically birthed by the machinery of the later Doctor Clause Zorndyke.

Mutio was trained to be nothing more than the pilot of the mechanical battle drones of the hybrid armies- now she was a mother of a half human child and living happily amongst humans. For his own part, Hayami had been trained as a battle sub pilot in the midst of war and had forgotten what it meant to care about anything… Now he had something to care about. Things had changed- for the better.

.o.o.o.

Kino looked at the message, reading the hastily scrawled noted on it. Dianna had sent another communication to them via the satellite phone on the ship. She brushed a hand through her rusty orange locks (tied up into a ponytail in the back) and raid the writing.

'We're getting close to the end of the journey. So much has happened; you'll never believe me when I tell you. Anyway, the next landmass looks promising. Hopefully it'll be better then the last one- more on that later. Cray and Janise are doing well (I'm getting to like her!) and I hope all of you are in good health. With any luck, I'll be back in time for the kid's birthday.'

She folded up the note and tucked it back into her coat pocket. For the former fleet pilot, life in peacetime was still something she was still becoming accustomed to. Of course she was happy that the war was over that people and hybrids were no longer dieing for some confused ideology. Still, as a soldier she found something strange in the sudden calmness. Even stranger was the fact that she was now socializing with the same kind of creatures that had killed her family and friends.

But they're the same, are they? Kino pondered the final outcome of the war- in the end; the Phantom Ship had been decimated in a firestorm of bloodshed and death. That was the only way to stop the nuclear holocaust that that Shark-thing was going to send raining down on the remains of the human race. "Too bad a few billion humans and countless hundreds of thousands of hybrids had to die before peace could be reached." She thought.

In the end, had it all been worth it? Maybe it was like the song said- "we have to make this a world worth fighting for" Kino thought. "Of course he also said there's 'not enough love t go 'round." She smiled at the last words. "…love."

The doctors were off at a summit, so Hayami was holding down things while they were away. In truth, she guessed that he liked being at the facility because of the giant pool there. Mutio probably liked 'it' in the water… and they could play with their kid in the water too. Kino concluded her thoughts, shrugging as she sled the door open and stepped inside the labs.

She slipped her coat off and hung it on a hook near the door as she passed by. The day's humidity had mad her clothes slightly clingy and the white t-shirt she had on stuck to her shoulders and ribs slightly.

(1986 Genesis Version)

.o.o.o.

Hayami looked over at Kino as she entered the natatorium. He got up onto his feet and smiled at her. "Kino, how are you?" He asked. Behind him, Mutio smiled at the redhead while holding Mizuko.

"…Kino." She mouthed softly at the short woman. Kino smiled at her, catching a glance at the child and then looking back over at Hayami.

"I'm doing alright," She began. "I just dropped by to see how things are going…" she paused. "And to let you know that I heard from Dianna again," She added, tracing her fingers across the leaf of a potted plant as she spoke. "It seems that she's close to finding where that fox hybrid came from."

"…Dianna's coming back?" Mutio asked suddenly, looking over at Hayami and Kino, slightly bewildered at the sudden news. The man smiled at the question and nodded while Kino looked on, half in shock at the ever increasing adeptness of the hybrid's communication skills.

"Soon." Hayami replied.

Kino looked over at Hayami. "She's using 'contractions' in her speech." She observed. "That must be a huge step forward for her?" She added, looking at the hybrid- who appeared to still be adapting physically to caring for her child.

He nodded in reply. "So, did you have anything else on your mind?" He asked, looking at her. "If you just came by to visit… well I'm sure that Emma would be happy to see you again, she's missed you."

Kino reached up and brushed strand of orange hair out of her eyes, tucking them behind her ears. "…Hayami, do you think we'll reclaim the things we've lost one day?" She asked, become very serious suddenly.

Hayami nodded, understanding the somberness in her question. "We lost a lot, didn't we?" He asked, sitting down on the smooth tiled floor. "I don't know Kino- I'm not really the person to ask." He added. "But I like to think that we did gain something…" He paused.

Kino sat down and crossed her legs, listening the man speak. "…Human's were killing the planet- slowly but surely, and with the same lethal effects as a hundred nuclear missiles." He explained. "What Zorndyke did was wrong, but maybe it was the only way to 'restart' with a clean slate." He offered.

She looked away from him and sighed. "You know… it's been a while since we first met, a couple of years almost…" She mused. "And in all this time, you've managed to find a path that lets you stay in the morally gray areas." She added. "Maybe it's my flaw as a person that keeps me from seeing beyond the simplest facts…"

Kino leaned back and propped herself up and her palms behind her back and looked up at the ceiling. "Sure, people were already dying from nicotine smoke and the hole in the ozone layer- but the floods and war fleets killed us too!" She added. "Listen to me go on and on like some bitter thing- hah!" She scoffed, regarding herself and then looking over at him. "…I should be happy- but I'm not…"

She smiled. "Maybe there's just no room for dejected xenophobes like me anymore…" She mumbled and sat up straight, crossing her arms as she did so. "At least I had a purpose in the fleet!" She spat. "But now- I shit at being a civilian."

Hayami nodded and exhaled at length. "I'm sorry… I never realized you felt so alone."

Kino stood back up. "Well, they say the fault lies not in the star but in ourselves." The short woman finished with a smile. "Anyway, I have to get going… I leave Dianna's letter in the front for you to read later." She said as she began walking towards the door.

"Kino…" Hayami began. She stopped as he spoke. "Are you okay?" He asked somberly, not sure of what she might say.

She glanced over her shoulder. "No, I'm not…" she replied and was silent for a few secants. But, eventually, she smiled again. "But I will be- one day." She said simply. "See you later family man." She said softly as walked out of the room, waving at him without looking back.

(- End of Part 2 -)

.o.o.o.

I think I've gotten to like Kino more as I've written for the characters. Certainly, there is always the matter of depicting a deeply conflicted person like that- how do you become a civilian when you've only known war? And how do you live with the same creatures killed so many of your own kind?

Since 2002, I've written 45 chapters (episodes?) that involve the Blue Sub world in some fashion. There are also the six that I co-wrote with The Toltec- so altogether (and including this one) I've written 51 chapters for these characters.

This chapter is a little grimmer in tonality than most of my other work (with a couple of exceptions). But I feel confident about how it handled the subject matter. I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I'll try and update Gaiden next, and then this story.

Again, thanks to Carlos Angulo, The Toltec, QReaper, and everyone else.

-Bojack727