At age 12, Maria had her first set of children's books out on the market and had a steady stream of work illustrating books for other authors. She was still living at home, and though Chase was a regular sight beside her, there were few incidents between him and her father. After she'd turned 11, Shadow's guard around Chase had begun to lower, though it was clear to Sara he was feeling the same way her father had when they started dating. If it was a courtship, it was certainly longer than theirs had been. Maria's developing figure was both a beautiful and frightening thing to see; Shadow's guard had come down about Chase's personality but not his intentions toward her. In accordance with her advancing age, she was also developing a stronger pheromone scent, which would soon be attracting suitors in addition to her looks. Maria was not unpopular with the cluster of Mobians she and Blitz hung out with regularly.
About the time Ash was five, he started asking to go places, and Shadow had gladly started showing him around. He really enjoyed trips to Vinnie's Pizza, and soon an updated photo of Shadow's family sat where the previous photo had been. Ash also liked playing with Terry, Helen and Chris' son, and had become an accomplished swimmer. Like Chris, Terry had a special fondness of his Mobian friends and a higher level of maturity than other boys his age. Just as Maria frequented Sonic's house to play with Blitz, Ash frequented Tails and Fiona's house to play with Kit and Tracey. He even went to visit Lilly some times, though she was more often with the group for Tracey's sake.
At age seven, Ash had a more distinct personality of his own. The boy was generally quiet, like his father, though he was far more social. He listened to Tails rattle on about his inventions a lot and shared interest in fixing things, as did his friend Kit. Sara got mad at him one time for trying to fix the Wii when it wouldn't read a disk, but he pointed out the warranty was already outdated...that said, he didn't get any allowance for the next three months and his DS was confiscated. Tracey and Lilly were both very talkative, another reason he seldom got a word in edgewise. As for home relations, he was very good at conning dessert out of Sara before a meal, and had no trouble keeping up with his dad on their runs around the city.
On Father's Day, the boy had given his dad a card and the two went out bowling. He'd decided against Putt Putt Golf, as he couldn't picture his dad enjoying that sport. "Hey, watch this!" Ash smirked and sent the ball rolling down the side of the lane, then curving sharply into the center pin, taking out nine of the pins total. "Crud...missed one."
"That's what you get for showing off." Shadow shrugged.
The boy pouted a bit and retrieved his ball before sending it back down the lane and picking up a spare. "There, happy?"
Shadow patted him on the head. "Yeah." He picked up his own ball and took a look at the pins. They were always in the same arrangement; nothing ever changed there. It was all the power and spin on the ball that determined how they fell. Shadow's ball followed almost the same path as his son's, but the power behind it and slightly gentler curve knocked all ten down in a strike.
"Whoa... Teach me how you do that, Dad!" The sky blue and black hedgehog gaped.
"Eh? I thought you didn't need any lessons." He smirked, recalling how their game had begun. It was the last frame now.
"Well...maybe a little." He picked up his ball and looked up at his father with bright crimson eyes wide. Shadow chuckled and gave him a few tips. He put a little too much power on it this time, though, and wound up with a wide split. "It didn't work!"
"It takes practice," Shadow replied. "You'll get it...just focus."
The boy nodded and studied the pins a few minutes before rolling his last ball. "I...I got it!?"
"Those are harder to do than getting it right the first time," Shadow replied at the well done spare. He picked up his own ball and sent it down the lane for its last roll...another strike. A perfect game.
"Dad...you have really got to show me how you do that…." the boy gaped at the final score. A bit of disappointment pierced his face in spite of having bowled a very good game. His dad hadn't missed a single pin since they started playing.
"Maybe later. Tired of getting your ass kicked yet?" He smirked and mussed up the kid's quills.
"Yeah..." The sound of a cell phone rang, and there were flashes of light from the boy's quills. He grabbed the cell phone out of its hiding place and put it on speaker. "Cheesy Pizza! How can we help you?"
"Bro, don't you ever get tired of that?" Maria's voice queried.
"Nope. What's up?" Ash retorted.
"Are you and Dad about done? It's my turn to take him out!" the girl complained. "I'm all ready to go!"
"We'll be home soon," Shadow assured. "Your brother's tired of me beating him anyway."
"H-Hey!" Ash complained to Sara and Maria's laughter wafting through the phone.
Maria had more expendable income, so she did more than a card for Father's Day. She included a gift card and took the black and red hedgehog out to eat. Not that he didn't enjoy spending time with Ash...but whatever time Maria allotted him seemed somehow more precious.
Maria was dressed in a fuchsia and sun yellow silk dress that was Chinese-style. The hair clip she chose was a cluster of stylized cherry blossoms. Shadow thought she looked very beautiful in it and felt very plain being in simple gloves and shoes, even though that was typical of Mobian males. "Decided to dress up a bit?" He noted also at this time that her height was now just past his nose. In a couple years she'd be nearly fully grown.
"Of course. It's a special occasion, isn't it?" She smiled and held his hand as they walked into the Sakura Japanese Steak House. The smell of ginger and other favored oriental spices assaulted their noses as they entered. As expected, the decor inside had some beautifully drawn pictures, stamped with Kanji, bamboo, and bonsais; a couple of fish tanks; and paper and wood dividers. "Table for two, please!"
Shadow squeezed her hand lightly as they were led to their seats and handed menus. "..Thanks for taking me out. You didn't have to, you know..." He turned his eyes to the menu and tried to figure out what some of the items were. He kind of wished he'd paid more attention when Sara was ranting about Asian cuisine. "...What's yakitori?"
"Grilled chicken strips on a stick," Maria replied with a laugh. "Mom made those a few weeks ago."
"Oh right...and gyoza?"
"Dumplings. Usually a type of noodle filled with pork and cabbage, but not always." She paused. "They're also called pot stickers...Mom's made those too."
Shadow nodded, "Sorry…not used to seeing them on a menu with no explanation..."
Maria laughed, "Okay well...masago is fish eggs...umiboshi is pickled plums...unagi is eel…."
Shadow made a face and held up a hand. "No no, you don't have to rattle it all off...!"
The girl laughed again. "They have sushi platters too...see?"
Shadow nodded; that was something he was at least familiar with. "Hmm…." He raised a brow and grinned a bit. "What do you think about tako sushi?"
"Octopus...very good choice, but I like ika better." She smirked in reply.
"..Squid, right?" The girl nodded. "...You have your mother's tastes…." Maria's smile became a proud one.
"Hello, I am Minako, I will be your server today. Can I get you anything to drink?" the waitress said, pen and pad handy.
"Just water," Shadow replied.
"Hnnn...can I have some lychee-flavored ramune?" Maria asked.
"I'm sorry, we're out of that flavor, but we have peach, melon, and pineapple available," she replied.
"Hmm...melon!" Maria nodded.
"Very well. Are you ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?" She specifically looked at Shadow, who was eyeing the menu dubiously.
Maria was about to tell the waitress to give them a few minutes, but Shadow held his hand up. "I know what I want." He decided to play it safe and went with shrimp fried rice, but to appease his daughter, who seemed disappointed at his lack of curiosity in new foods, he ordered some egg drop soup and a dessert made with umiboshi.
"And for you?" She looked over at the young hedgehog.
"I'll have the okonomiyaki and some custard cups," she replied with a smile as her father looked a bit unsettled at the toppings she chose for her Japanese pizza. When the waitress was gone, their table became rather quiet. Maria eventually broke the silence, "Dad? Why are you always so quiet?"
"It's just who I am," Shadow replied with a shrug.
"Ohh don't give me that." She lightly swatted at his hand. "Tell me!"
Even though her eyes were as blood red as Shadow's, he could see Sara's softness behind them. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Sorry...I just...don't feel like talking a lot."
"Mom says it's because you were part of some experiment...so you used to be watched a lot…. She thinks you watched back, so you don't know how to fit in." She looked down shyly. "She thinks you try too hard."
"...She says a lot of things." Shadow paused. "And she's right a lot."
Maria looked up a bit timidly. "I know you've told me a bit about living on the Ark and all...I've heard you called the Ultimate Life Form...I hope you don't think I'm being nosey, but I mean...I just want to know more about you."
Shadow brushed a hand through his quills. His expression was unreadable, though he could see apprehension in Maria's eyes. "Ask me anything."
"...Are you really the 'Ultimate Life Form?'" Maria lowered her head a little but trained her crimson orbs on him.
"Yes," Shadow sighed. "Though I don't really feel like it."
"Why?" Maria looked up at him with interest, relieved that he wasn't mad at her questioning. She'd asked him about why he seemed to hate her hanging out with Chase a couple years ago, and he'd snapped at her over it.
"Well..." Shadow paused in thought, "I guess it's because...I feel like it puts me on the outside a lot. I'm unique...but alone in that."
"Even though you have me and Ash and Mama?" Maria queried.
"Sometimes…." Shadow nodded. "...I once lost a very precious friend...the Maria you're named after. She was my only friend, she talked to me, and held me, and told me I was special. What I lost then felt irreplaceable…." Shadow was going to stop, but Maria's expression begged a more complete answer from him. He sighed uncomfortably, "The man I considered my father took the loss very hard, and things began twisting so what I once loved, I hated...and I almost destroyed everything I touched."
"Aww...that's so sad."
"You would've been afraid of me." He looked at the gold bands on his wrists.
"What else?"
"Well...I met Sonic...and...heh...we butted heads a few times." Shadow chuckled at the understatement of the year. "...And Amy was the first person to remind me about the things that mattered to me on the Ark, before everything went wrong." He paused again, thinking. "There were a lot of things I had to figure out...like who I was...Even after I decided to move on, I didn't think I'd find anyone who wanted to be with me."
"So then you met Mama?" Maria leaned her elbows on the table and propped her head on her hands. "Was it romantic?"
Shadow heaved a sigh. "Damn you're nosey."
"You know who my mama is." She smirked.
"Yes...and I know you got that smirk from her," he said, a little bit irritated. "And it's the same smirk Sonic has."
Maria chuckled. "Tell me, Papa...please?"
Shadow softened at that...Papa... "I wouldn't call it romantic... Your mom hit me with a batard." He rubbed his forehead. He couldn't help smiling at Maria's laughter. "Your mom holds me and talks to me...and tells me I'm special... She's more energetic than Maria was, and has different tastes...but I...I need her."
"You need me too?" Maria continued to flood him with questions.
"Of course." Shadow smiled warmly at her.
"Mom says you think too much and need to relax." She thanked the waitress for bringing their drinks. Ramune was an interesting treat, as it was in a glass bottle with a marble for the stopper. Once the seal was broken, the little marble would clink around in the bottle neck, restrained by two dents in the glass when tilting the bottle back for a drink. Between the marble and the odd flavors offered, it was certainly a novelty drink.
"I do," he admitted.
"...Afraid bad things will happen?" Maria averted her eyes again.
Shadow sighed a bit. "You shouldn't be worried about me any more than your mom."
"Well..." Maria looked up at him, "she doesn't want you to worry, and she told me you worry about me a lot."
"You're a nosey brat." He messed up her bangs.
"Was there ever a time you weren't worried about things?" Maria asked.
"Yes," he replied, "lots of times." He smiled gently at the girl. "When you used to sleep snuggled up on my chest, I was happy." Maria blushed at that. "You were probably too young to remember that…."
"Sooo...since it's Father's Day...what could I do to make you worry less?" The dark blue hedgehog smiled back at him.
"Well...if you'd answer your phone a bit more promptly." He glanced at her purse sitting on the table with a cell phone strap hanging out of it.
She chuckled, "I think I can do that."
"Good." He smiled; it was a relieved smile.
The waitress came up a few minutes later. "Let's see... Who had the okonomiyaki?"
All work and no play makes Shadow cranky…or should that be crankier than usual? It had been about three days since the dark hedgehog had gotten a wink of sleep. Sara had gone to bed before him as usual, which certainly constituted 'no play.' He managed to catch maybe two hours' sleep before he felt restless again and decided to stretch his legs. He was good at slipping out of bed unnoticed, and headed downstairs to start the coffee pot...he might even need a cup to get through the day.
It was still rather dark out, and Shadow's sensitive ears detected the rain clearly as it splattered against the roof and windows. He thought he must still be half asleep as his nose detected a familiar but not entirely welcome scent. Passing the living room on the way to the kitchen, he glanced over at the couch, where the scent seemed to be coming from. Chase was probably over yesterday...that's it... He then glanced at the door to the house, though, and grimaced. A green Pro Extreme Gear was leaned up next to it. …That bastard had better not be where I think he is. Shadow gritted his teeth together.
He forced himself to walk into the kitchen without going to the couch to see if it was occupied by a certain orange hedgehog. The idea had popped into his head and was now swimming around freely, as were thoughts of him kicking the boy's ass for even coming around. He managed to beat back his thoughts long enough to spoon ground up coffee beans into a filter, and then put that into the coffee pot. He added water and turned the machine on, the sound of the water draining through the machine mixing with the sounds of rain from outside.
Shadow lay his head down on the table. Soon, the black beverage brewing in the pot wafted to his nose, a far more welcome scent than another hedgehog in his territory. He could see the back of the couch through the kitchen door and hoped by the High One that he was only imagining that Chase was sleeping on it. A sudden bout of fatigue overtook him, and Shadow's eyes fought to stay open, only to close moments later.
Voices finally filtered through to Shadow's tired mind about ten minutes later. He kept his eyes shut, though, pretending to be asleep.
"Ahh...you should really go, Chase...Dad could wake up any minute!" Maria said in a hushed whisper.
"So? He didn't wake me on the couch...bet he doesn't even know I spent the night," the boy replied.
Shadow snarled mentally. Well, now he knew.
"I...don't think he's going to like waking up with you here." Maria rummaged through the fridge for something to eat.
"He doesn't like me that much anyway...besides...I've been here for breakfast before. I'm hungry," Chase replied.
"Well yeah, but you were invited by mom those times," she reminded him.
Chase pulled one of the kitchen chairs back, and winced at the scraping noise it made, sure it would wake up Shadow. His ear twitched a bit, but he otherwise didn't stir. "Wow...he's out like a light."
Maria's teeth were gritted at that sound, and she checked back to her dad. "Well...he hasn't been sleeping lately...he does crash some times. Maybe I should start calling you Lucky." She pulled out some orange juice and set it on the table, then the carton of eggs.
Chase exhaled, "Maybe you should. The way we've avoided getting into trouble with him's amazing." The boy chuckled.
Maria turned on the stove and got out a skillet. She cracked a few eggs into it and put a few slices of toast in the toaster. "How do you like your eggs?"
"Uhh…I like eggs in a basket," he replied.
Maria cut a hole in one of the slices of bread she got out and put it in a second skillet, then cracked an egg into the center of it. "I haven't had this in ages."
"Thanks for letting me stay last night. I can't believe it's still raining like that," Chase commented on the rain. Out the kitchen window, he could hardly see anything.
"Not a problem...unless dad wakes up." She worried a bit about that. They'd come home so late last night, her parents were already up in their bedroom. At least she hadn't stayed with Chase on the couch; there would've been blood over that one!
"Ahh, it's okay, I can outrun him as long as I have my Gear shoes."
"You can-not!" Maria replied.
"Bet he doesn't even know I'm here." He smirked over at the apparently sleeping hedgehog. "He didn't know I was here last week either."
Shadow's ear focused on his words. His quills tensed considerably at that, though he waited to hear things out; if he was going to lash out like he wanted, he'd better have a damn good reason.
"Remember, Ria? I was up in your room an-"
"Shush!" Maria insisted.
"And what?" Shadow said suddenly, his blood red eyes gazing harshly on the boy.
"N-Nothing, Mister Shadow! I...we were jus...she wanted me to review her new book so I was reading it up there…." Chase stammered as the imposing black hedgehog rose to his feet.
"You know you're not allowed in my little girl's room." There was a feral growl accompanying that statement.
"I know..." Chase gulped and backed up out of his seat.
"Dad!" Maria quickly turned off the stove top. She knew this could get ugly quick. "Chase didn't do anything! It's like he said, he was reading my book, that's all."
"Like your mother said Duo never did anything to her?" Shadow growled.
"Oh shit...Chase! Run!" Truth or not, her dad was about to blow a gasket, and Maria quickly grabbed him by the elbow before he could grab Chase around the neck.
"I'm really sorry! It won't happen again!" The boy stumbled back out of the kitchen and ran for the front door.
Sara was just coming downstairs in time to see Chase grabbing his board. "Chase...?"
"Sorry, Mrs. Shadow! I gotta run before your mate kills me!" He opened the door and a bunch of rain flew in, soaking part of the carpet. He'd stayed overnight to avoid the rain, and only a couple seconds had already soaked him to the bone. There was no way he could use his Gears in a downpour like this.
"Shadow!" Sara called, but he didn't seem to hear her, or Maria.
"Your dad may have gotten away from me, but you are not!" Shadow bolted out the door after him.
"What's this about?" Sara's mouth hung agape.
"Dad found out Chase was in my room a while ago without his knowing, now he thinks--oh god what does he think?!" Maria scrambled out the door after them, out into the rain. Chase had abandoned his Gear board on the side of the road and was now trying to flee from the black and red hedgehog. Shadow had the clear advantage in size, strength, and speed. Maria had that speed too, however, and attempted to chase him down. She had soon tackled her father to the black top, knocking Chase out of his grip. "Daddy! You are not going to punish Chase because of something his father did or didn't do! I know you're angry, but please don't!"
Shadow snorted and tried to get up, though Maria kept a grip on his ankle and Shadow fell to the ground. "This doesn't concern you!"
Chase had gotten out of Shadow's grip and began running down the street, cursing over his waterlogged Gear shoes. "Doesn't it?! Mama told me everything! I know what happened! I know why you hate him so much but Chase isn't DUO! He's my friend!"
The umber hedgehog stayed there on the grass dividing the street and the sidewalk, the rain beating down on him. It was the same kind of thing Sara had told him before. Maria let go of his leg and got up to her knees. Shadow sighed, slowly picking himself off the ground and peering back at his child.
"Papa! Please! Don't hurt him! It's just going to make things worse...you know it!" Maria pleaded with him. She'd begun crying, the sound piercing Shadow to his core…. He'd made her cry again.
Chase slowed down, sensing he wasn't being followed and turned back toward the father and daughter. Sensing the struggle was at a close, the boy was compelled to go back to his friend. It was no use running in rain like this anyway. His ear suddenly folded back as he heard a mechanical noise in the rain. A car. He turned, but there were no headlights. But the form started coming into view nonetheless. Shit!
"MARIA!" She was still in the street and wouldn't even see it coming! "Maria! Out of the road!" He ran as fast as he could, his voice was being drowned out by the rain, but she came into his view now, standing in the road…. He had to hurry.
"What the?!" Shadow was shoved back down on the ground as Chase sprinted through. His hands made contact with the girl's shoulder and he shoved her back with all his might. She went flying away from him as the sound of the car finally reached them, and the squealing of tires as it came crashing into an orange hedgehog.