DISCLAIMER: All of the Disney characters in this fic are not mine although I wish they were. I'm also borrowing the idea and storyline from the movie and book by the same name called "Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu". The book is by Takuji Ichikawa and the movie (and later the TV series as well) are both based on the book. Hope you enjoy! Comments and complaints welcomed :-)
Author's Note: If it's in italics and has parenthesis around, it means that it's a flashback. i.e. (" I am italics" )
If it's italics with quotes then it's a thought. i.e. " I am a thought "
If it's italics that's been underlined, then it was said in the past by the person having the flashback. ( " I have been said in the past. " )
Timeline: Please assume that the Kim Possible Canon Universe is something a little further into the future and that this story starts about 14 years past that and about 3 days after the prologue.
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-- -- -- Chapter 3 -- -- --
Thuds of fist on flesh.
Crashes of metal as well as bodies on brick and/or cement.
Martial art like cries withers down to senseless growls, yells, and screams of effort, pain, or sadness.
The sounds of blood, sweat, and tears dripping on to surface areas if you have the ear to hear them.
And grunts of pain echoing though the night.
These are the sounds that a disguised Monique Pearman: Fashion Diva, newly promoted CEO of Club Banana, and wife to one William Du hears as she approaches a familiar alley way. The alley called the Lowerton Street Paradise is a well known and preferred battlefield of the serious street fighters in or around the Lowerton areas. The reason is thanks to the still brightly glowing neon red and green signs belonging respectively to the Mexican restaurant and the local convenience store that frames said alley way despite being closed almost four hours ago. While not a fighter herself, this place is one she enjoys visiting whenever she is able to take a day off work. Her early years of enjoying wrestling matches play a big part in her being here.
"It feeds my fighting cravings and it's free." She muses with a grin as she approaches, via the shadows, the scattered sets of boxes where many other spectators are sitting. Monique has no interest in being seen enjoying the matches; the reason being that she often volunteers, mentors, and/or sponsors impressionable young children to do well in life instead of falling to crime. Thus, being found here is likely to cause an uproar in the American Society even though she is simply a street fighter spectator.
She is happy to note that her usual spot against the restaurant wall is empty of people so she makes a beeline for it as quickly and as quietly as she can.
She had barely made herself comfortable there when a pair of slightly faded black sneakers lands on the box to the right side of her face. Her eyes follow the sneakers upwards and then widens in recognition and shock. Memories from her past begins overlapping the present, wrapping its chains around her and shackling her to the ground as ghosts began taking over the places of the fighters
(" Complicated Rules...?")
The wind picks up, ruffling the half red and green hair and the cuffs of the khaki-colored cargos covering the tongue of the shoes enough so that the brand would not be seen. Faded black leather gloved hands slides from her T-shaped balancing stance to being tucked deep within the pockets closest to the light brown utility belt, a belt on which some sort of hair dryer is hanging from as if it were a pistol. The arms belonging to those hands are black due to the long sleeved turtleneck of the same color covering them. The shirt is loose enough to give the wearer freedom of movement but tight enough to hint vaguely at the curves behind it.
(Feminine laughter rang out and echoed in the alley, despite the fact that she probably had another broken nose, despite the fact that there was blood dripping from the seemingly shallow cut from under her right eye, and despite the fact that she was still in battle with a slimy man whose killing intent was slowly rising because they were ignoring him.
" The Rules aren't that complicated...")
"HEY! DON'T YOU DARE WALK WAY FROM ME! I'M NOT DOWN YET BITCH!!" The reason for the woman landing in front of her becomes clear when the feeling of killing intent explodes through area with the angry scream from a pale faced, brown eyes, greasy shoulder length black haired man in his mid-twenties dressed in a dark blue three piece suit and black dress shoes. Anyone lesser and closer to the man fell to their knees, gasping for breath.
The man is barely standing up, his legs wobbling as he leans heavily on his bloodstained Wushu Dao -- a Chinese Broadsword that is, oddly enough, locked in a smooth metal sheath and has been for the entire battle. Parts of his snappy outfit are torn in several places and stained with blood. Blood continues to runs down his face from several cuts and there are several bruises littering the right side of his face, thus sealing that eye shut.
("The winner is the one that hasn't been KO'ed -- that's Knocked Out by the way. Just a warning though, it's a tie if the one who went down last went down within a minute after the first.")
The man bursts into a flash step type run and when he is less than three feet away from his opponent, he cries out in determination as his broadsword converges on her.
(The major rules are: No killing, no maiming, no manipulations like rape or paying fighters to lose, no killing, absolutely no hiring other people in your place; oh, and no killing.")
...On her previous position. The man's eyes widen in shock as his sword continue its momentum, its side slash displacing the faint whisper of air the woman had left behind when she vanished. He quickly looks around for a clue on where she vanished to while drawing his broadsword back to his body in defense.
("Oh and no one knows about this so keep this under your hat: You know how all clean-up and hospital bills are paid for by an unknown benefactor? Well, that's a part of the GJ program... So, have fun with it.")
"She's flying!" The man reflexively snaps his head upwards at the boy-child's cry as did Monique. Being that she wasn't close to the battle zone, she notices small details like the blood dripping down from the forehead wound above the female fighter's closed left eye and she shudders a bit at the emotionless look in the other woman's green eye. Turning her attention to the male fighter, she can tell that the look that made her shudder has caused the male fighter to freeze up thus allowing the female fighter to quickly speed downwards at a sixty degree angle -- and head first -- towards him. She wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even notice the wounds on his opponent's body. Monique tightens her shawl around her when she feels the wind picks up, throwing around grains of cement. She sees the male fighter flinch in pain as the grains bites into his own wounds, shaking him from his stupor.
The distance between them is still large enough that he seems to be able to quickly form a semi-plan to counter assault. The muscles on his knee tense, allowing him to quickly leap backwards from his position in order to avoid the collision. As he does this, he tightens his sword arm up at an angle for a counter attack.
It was a good idea, if this woman isn't who she is. In a move that surprises him, she somehow changes the course of her spin and drives her elbow into the back of his head so hard he hits the ground once more. She uses her continued momentum to land on her fingers and then flips herself so that she lightly lands in a pose Monique remembers from cheerleading practices so long ago -- head high and arms spread upwards in a Y stance. The only thing she didn't do is smile and the only things she doesn't have are her pompoms.
The move itself didn't just surprise the finally unconscious man, judging by the silence, it seems to have surprised the rest of the crowd as well.
("Oh and one last rule...")
The crowd's silence is interrupted by the boy-child from earlier when the woman eases off from her pose.
"Ms. Street Fighter, Ms. Street Fighter! Are you --?"
("...you can't use your name.")
Whatever the excited boy-child is trying to say gets cut off as his older image -- perhaps his teen brother? -- unknowingly shoves him off to the side in his own excitement.
("What did you use?")
"Are you Skylar?" The brother asks hopefully. At the mention of the name, the crowd breaks into startled murmurs.
"Skylar?"
Monique can still remember the happy grin in her voice...
("Skylar...")
"Where the hell have you been?! Under a rock?!"
"Yeah! Skylar's world famous for being the master of aerial fights! The one whose only been beaten about 5 times and was able to win back 4 of those matches twice over!"
"And the only reason that she didn't win back the last one is because the guy was so desperate to win that he used a near suicide move that injured him so bad that he can't street fight anymore."
"Oh Maannnn, my rankings just went up! It's going to fall again now that she's back."
"Forget rankings man, I just want to fight her."
"The hell you are! Get in line bastard! I claimed the spot first last year!"
"That was last year! Fuck off or I'll kick your ass first!" Monique could see the fighter's fear kick in as the murmurs grows louder and move to close in on her. So it didn't surprise her when she begins to run away leaving everyone behind.
She does not seem to notice the calls for her to wait nor does she notice Monique in the crowd dialing up a familiar number. As the woman waits for a connection, she allows herself to be shoved to the side as the fighter runs past with tears falling from her eyes.
Elsewhere, two books slides from their precarious perch on top of the phone and drops to the ground. One book opens to the second page which says,
"My little defender Kaine,
You ask me... Where do all the people go when they die?
I don't really know the answer but I think... we go to the Archive Star and become one of the Stars of Memories.
The second book opens to the third page which says,
Iskra, one day, Daddy will travel to the Archive Star too.
But, don't cry my little spark.
After one year has passed and when the sky darkens during the mid-day, to you all, I will return."
-- Page 2 through 6 from Kaine and Iskra's picture books written by one "Daddy"
Countdown: 1 day
"Floor Two" of the home of Shego, Kaine, and Iskra is, as the name implies, not the only floor in said home. The floor plan for this home shows that there are two other "floors" in addition to "Floor Two."
Firstly, there is "The Lazy," a name given to "Floor Three" of the home. On the outside, it is mostly camouflaged by the trees and vines around its area. On the inside, it is nothing more than an attic space cleaned out, repainted in a soft blue, and carpeted with tri-colored yarn whose effects creates alternating stripes of red and brown in a check pattern.
It is also furnished with furniture and other objects normally found in one's den or living room. However, unlike the living room downstairs - which had been set up to be more education minded via well placed encyclopedias, old college textbooks, etc - this room seems to invite relaxation with its fluffy looking black couch and arm chairs, "tanning" station -which includes three red and white horizontal striped beach chair seats-, the plasma TV on the wall, a billiards table, and the green toy box underneath. Strangely enough, there doesn't seem to be any exit except for out the two black framed windows facing east.
"Australia" is the name given to "Floor One" of the shack, which is an extremely large basement consisting of the gym with a small swimming pool, washer and dryer room, and two bedrooms, one of which is being occupied by the sleeping forms of the children, the naked mole rats having being returned to Ron when he stopped by before his mission began.
"Ground Zero" is the name given to a hidden bedroom that has been used many times to take care of injuries sustained during the day so not to frighten the children. Within this room is a station which kept a few medical equipments, a bathroom, various "work" equipments, a bed, and two dressers -one blue, one green- containing several changes of clothes.
Lying on the bed is a dark green phone that looks like a version of the older Kimmunicator -only with a slightly bigger screen and headphones in the top jack- showing flickering images in silence while Shego -wearing only black sweats with her name in green lettering on her right leg and a black sports bra- scrubs at her face over the sink.
The sound of a special knock on the door startles her into splashing water everywhere, drawing curses. Walking back into the bedroom while holding a towel to the left side of her face and attempting to strive off weight from her sprained right ankle, she glances over at the black and green clock which reads 4:12am.
"Forty-Eight minutes... that's a new record." She muses as she approaches the green and blue dressers with a mirror above each dresser.
A second impatient knock came through causing annoyance to cross her face and with a shout of "Keep your fucking pants on bastard," she reaches out and punches the button to let in the one of only three people who knows about this room before rummaging around for her black T-shirt with green shoulder stripes.
Once the shirt was on, she turns around to see Wade Load, the now 24 year old full time hacker for Team Possible and part time hacker for herself, frowning at her in worry from his position at the door way, his arm across his chest. The man's form had changed over the years that she had known him.
He isn't as chubby as the boy he had been, but, he still has what people would call a slight "beer belly" which she tends to think of as a bit humorous considering the fact that that the boy refuses to drink anything that isn't pop/soda. The thing that always annoys her is that despite the inactiveness of his tween years -and his horrible junk food eating habits-, he now holds a 6'4 height, and his shoulders as well as his muscles had widened enough to consider putting him in the NFL as a Tight End or a Safety. Of course, she can proudly declare that she contributed to that by forcing him to join the Middleton High football team's extra practices.
"Well?" A common complaint from one Ron Stoppable is the fact that the "Lord of Puberty" blessed Wade -and the Tweebs- too well, drawing a small fangirl base to the younger man because of his "manly" voice.
Shego grunts in reply as she turns away from the door to look at her mirror image while picking up the square gauze pad she placed next to the button. As she pinches the split skin together and stick the pad over the wound, she could hear him sigh in mild exasperation before stepping forward away from the door.
Neither said a word to each other while she continued tending to her wound by wrapping and knotting a gauze bandage around her head and him with allowing the automatic door slide letting it shut behind him before going to one of the two chairs next to her bed. Normally she would've made a crack about him breaking her chair, but she doesn't because she knows why he's there.
Countdown: 1 day
Around seven in the morning - following the conversation with Wade - finds her returning to her home through her own back door, her body free from injuries and dressed in her mission uniform... the green and black catsuit she often wears even in her early years.
Childish greetings of "MOMMA!" nearly deafens her with their close proximity thanks to their "flying tackle-hug." To avoid hitting the ground and injuring the children, she catches them in the height of their jump, spins the two around 360 degrees, and drops them back on the ground. She finishes them off by ruffling their hairs.
"Momma!!" Kaine whines with Iskra echoing a second later. Smirking to hide her smile, she ignores their grips as she pokes them both in the forehead.
"Alright you brats, enough whining and mushy time. Did you guys wait up for me?" Crouching down slightly to their level she asks, "And did you behave for Uncle Wade?"
"Yes!" A snort of disbelief from behind them has the small family turning around and looking at the paint splattered genius drying his hands with an equally stained wash cloth behind them.
"Oh really...? I distinctly remember a certain two shorties attempting to peek at their birthday presents, even though I've told them not to. I also seem to remember the waking me up at 4 in the morning jumping on the bed. Oh, and a certain paint throwing fight we just finished cleaning up."
The children flushes sheepishly. Schooling her face in a frown she shakes her finger at them.
"Well, well, my little liars. It's punishment time. Go get your banks and your checkbooks."
"Awwww!!" The two shuffles off dejectedly and she takes this chance to stand back up.
"So paint throwing?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. Wade shrugs throwing the towel over his left shoulder.
"As soon as they heard the news about the eclipse today and that you were coming home, they couldn't sleep. Ended up screaming at me to waking up at 4 in the morning. I had to keep them busy with painting the two bird feeders and mini green house we built yesterday. Iskra ended up getting too much paint on her brush and splattered Kaine. Kaine just had to retaliate of course and, well, Joss will be snickering at me for weeks."
"Hmm, those two should have enough money to cover for a new T-shirt. I could use yours for a new wash cloth, now that the one you're using is beyond salvageable." Wade rolls his eyes.
"Ha-ha funny."
"I'm glad you noticed." He sighs in mock annoyance. Taking on a serious expression she adds, "Thanks."
"For covering your butt? No problem." Shego smirks.
"You've learned well."
"I've had a good corruptive influence." A sad smile crosses her face as she remembers the trophy she had been presented as a joke with the same three words engraved on there. Wade gently sets his hand on her shoulder.
"You really should talk to her." Before she could give her answer she could hear Iskra cry out.
"Ah!! Uncle Wade's being mean to Momma!" Both adults blink in surprise as the two children drop their banks and notebooks and run towards him in their attempts to beat him up. It is only Wade's reflex that allows him to hold Kaine and Iskra at arm and foot length respectively as they pinwheel their arm strikes in their attempts to dish out justice.
"Hooohh, you dare to challenge me the paint fighter champion!" The older man drawls. "Then take this! Uncle Wade's Re-invention of Your Daddy's invention... THE Five Minutes Worth of Tickles! Bwahahaha!" Shego slaps her forehead in disbelief at the corny name as the children's outcries turns into one of giggling fits as they try to squirm away from the "Tickle Avenger" as he had taken to call himself.
Sliding her hand off her head, she couldn't help smiling fondly at how silly they looked. Deciding that she should save her children from being tickled to death by their "big-brother figure," she steps in and scoops up her two little sunshines. The two, feeling that they're now safe from the "Tickle Avenger" sticks out their tongue and blows raspberries at him.
"Alright, Alright, that's enough out of you three. And just because of the raspberries, you two will have to give Uncle Wade extra."
"What?! No fair!" Shego frowns at the children's protest.
"You know the rules brats."
"Finnneeee."
"Once you guys are done, we'll head out to visit the barn." Both children perks up at this and turns to Wade.
"Are you going to go with us Uncle Wade?" Iskra asks.
"Maybe next time. I have to go back to your Aunty Joss in Montana today or she'll worry about me."
"Okay."
By the time they got through with: deducting money from the children's banks -teaching the kids to count out the money on their own-, a new shirt bought -much to Wade's relief, Shego didn't throw out his paint splattered one-, breakfast was eaten -at the local Bueno Nacho's much to Shego's disgust-, and Wade was dropped off at the airport -with calls of good bye and a "Say hi to the Possi-bee" from Shego-; it was nearing 11 o'clock and raining.
The children are determined to not let the rain deter them from their adventure which is why 11:00 finds the three of them strolling through the forest playing word games.
"Ah!" A game which gets abandoned as soon as the double doors of the barn came in sight. Both children runs towards them excitedly.
"Hey you two be careful!" She yells.
"Okay Momma!"
When she finally enters the barn herself, she could see the two of them darting all over the place, flipping over a few things and tossing around others as though looking for something. Assuming that they were, she asks,
"What are you two looking for?"
"It's a secret!" Kaine says as he looks through one of the metal barrels.
"And what is this secret?"
"A big secret! We promised Daddy we won't tell anyone except Daddy!" Iskra says giggling. Shego blinks in surprise.
"Promised Daddy?" Iskra nods setting some of the metal junk aside while Kaine "fights" with some of the local vegetation.
"Un! But we can't find it anymore..." Iskra says, shuffling her feet into the dirt.
"Well, then, if you promised Daddy, then you should keep looking then."
"Of course, doy!" Kaine says as he fiddles with another set of metal junk, as if offended that she would think that they would stop looking. Shego smiles when she sees the renewed determination rising within Iskra at her brother's words as well as the look of concentration on their faces. After a while of watching to make sure they didn't end up hurting themselves lifting heavy things, she decides that it would be best to leave them to their own devices.
She turns steps forward towards the wall where huge windows ones stood and stops when a slight breeze came through. She takes one more step forward and smiles as the sky turned dark from the solar eclipse announced for the day. She watches in wonder at the beauty of nature as the darkness is seemingly chased away by the sunlight. With the eclipse being over, she turns her attention back to the breeze and she closes her eyes to enjoy it and the peacefulness of the day.
It wasn't long before she hears the barn's rusty back door creak open behind her. She dimly makes a mental note to ask the children how they opened it later, she is enjoying the breeze too much to want to deal with the frustration. Rather, she would have continued enjoying the breeze if it wasn't for the fact that all movements from the children ceased a few minutes later. She slowly turns her head to her right only to see her children standing and gapping in shock at something behind her.
She frowns in worry when the metal gear from an old clock slips from Kaine's hand. Before she could turn around to see what was wrong, one almost inaudible word leaves both children's lips.
"Daddy..."
Shego's heart speeds up and she slowly turns around to look. Her eyes widens in disbelief when she sees a shivering and water-logged figure huddling on the rotted wooden steps a few feet in front of the barn's rusty opened back door.
She is mentally frozen in that space, unable to control herself as she took one step forward, fighting the hope within her. A branch snaps under Shego's feet, echoing through the room in the silence, causing the figure's head to snap up in startlement. The face she sees brings back the memory of her conversation with Wade the night before.
(Before she could even blink, Wade had shot out of the chair and punched her in the pit of her stomach. Shego could only let out a wheezing chuckle as Wade stepped backwards and crosses his arms across his chest once more. That he would lower his guard that easily would seem like a suicidal move to most. The simple fact was that there was no reason for him not to. After all, both knew that if she really wanted to, she could've easily laid him flat on the ground before he could even get within two feet of her.
" Nerdlinger, should've known. Only Pearman-Du would have the balls to follow me." Wade rolled his eyes as he pulled out his own Kimmunicator from his pocket and fiddled with the controls on it, probably so he could send a reply to the aforementioned Pearman-Du.
" No, Monique didn't follow you." Shego chuckled again as she leaned back against her dresser while dropping her arms to her side once she was able to regain her breath.
" But she was there. Heh, bad day to go watch. Wasn't exactly my best performance, being out of practice and all." She said with a shrug. " But hey, I show that Du bastard that I can still kick ass."
" Kenna-" Her hands clinched into fists as she glared at him.
" Don't you ever call me that again you hear me?! Don't you ever fucking call me that! Kenna doesn't exist anymore-"
" Especially today?" She tried to retort but couldn't find anything to say in response to that.
" This is exactly why we're worried about you. First you request to be put into the tournament even after knowing your problems AND getting in confirmed. Then you rebuff the warnings with fighting just for what? A shortened life span?!"
" We don't know that! And don't you dare play doctor on me Wade, I already have one!" She snapped.
" You have two." Wade reminded her. The piercing look from too wise eyes -eyes that shouldn't even be on the face of a 24 year old- forced her to look away. " She's been asking about you."
" The kids are - "
" She's not asking about the kids, she babysits twice a week so she knows they're okay. She's asking about you!" Wade growled. Realizing that she wasn't going to say anything more he sighs again before adding in a soft tone. " She thinks you blame her for what happened." Shego looked back at Wade, startled.
" What?! NO! No, of course I don't! How could she think that?!"
" How could she not?! Whenever the two of you happen meet up in the streets, you avoid her. You wouldn't even look her way, much less talk with her."
" Yes I do."
" Ke-Shego, even Ron's noticed the awkwardness when the two of you are forced to interact with each other."
" I just... " She turned away, not wanting to say anymore. " You won't understand... hell, I don't understand it myself."
" Why don't you just let me be the judge of that!")
It has been almost 12 years since Shego stopped being a villain/sidekick
Almost 6 years since the day of their wedding as well as the year Kaine was born.
Almost 4 years since Iskra was born.
Almost a year since she disappeared.
And now, on the day between these milestones, Shego can literally feel the missing half of her soul click into place and see the red string between their pinkies entwining and thickening. Her heart swells as the wind parts the limbs and leaves from the trees above, allowing sunlight to reveal the long red hair and olive green eyes of Kimberly Ann Possible: world saver, leader of GJ, father to Kaine Behar Possible, father to Iskra Reilly Possible, husband to Kenna Shepry Go -alias Shego Possible-, and -according to the official announcement 5 months ago- someone who was suppose to have died a year ago.
(" Fine! You want to know so fucking bad? It's because they look too much alike dammit! They have the same build, the same hair, hell, they even have the same damn voice! My heart and soul knows that they aren't the same, but I can't stop myself from building up hope until all it takes is for me to glance at her eyes and it feels like I've been sucker punched. No matter how much I scream at myself, it still feels like my heart is being ripped out of my chest when I see blue eyes instead of the green I fell in love with. That's my fucking 'reason'!" )
Countdown... Zero...
A/N: Wow I thought I might end up uploading this a day late. I had all the scenes I want for this chapter written, I just couldn't find a good way to close this chapter.
In other news, the next chapter won't be for a while yet. With April being the month where EVERYTHING is due and May being Final Exam time, I won't be able to work on it as much as I wish to. My goal is to have it ready sometime before the end of the third week of May at the very latest and the end of April at the earliest.
So, now that you've reached the end of this chapter, let me know what you think. Comments and complaints are welcomed. :-)