I'm still alive! Thus I present you the latest chapter to express my greatest apology for not updating for such a long time. I'm afraid this chapter is unbetaed. This chapter is dedicated to my friends, Red Full Moon and Shapby and my amazing readers, QuietStorm and Xand'aa27. Thank you for reading. Here's to you.
~Audriel
Sleepy blue eyes blinked awake, hidden underneath messy silver hair. Small chubby hands went to his eyes, trying to rub away the feeling of sleepiness. The boy of three sat up on the short bed made for children in the room that was obviously his room with the simple but colorful wallpapers and the assorted things from toys to illustration books compiled neatly on one side of the room. The boy turned to the other side of the bed where a girl about the same age and the same appearance with him, albeit with longer hair that was tied into pigtails was still sleeping. The boy poked the younger girl rather gently for a boy that usually had the tendency to use all his raw strength in doing things.
"Mizuki?" At the call of her name, the little girl blearily opened her eyes, which was the same clear blue eye color. The girl yawned, before finally recognizing the one who woke her up.
"Kazu… ki?" Her voice was still heavy with sleep.
"Look," he pointed out to the window where the blue sky was starting to show a tinge of fiery colors at the horizon. It was few hours before the sun set. It took a while for Mizuki to really see what her brother was pointing at, but when she did, her face brightened up.
"Aunt Tanya must be home," she scrambled on the bed, at this the boy nodded in agreement. The only sign of his excitement was his vigorous nod and the glint in his eyes.
Aunt Tanya was their mother's friend that often looked after them whenever she was busy, besides Aunt Sonia and Grandpa Francis. They liked Aunt Tanya the best though. She was funny and cheerful and liked to buy them sweets when she took them out. Today she promised them that she would take them to a walk to the park after she got home from work. With the energy that children possessed, both of them took the covers off them and before long they were already out of the room. Right on cue, they saw a taller figure wearing white dress shirt and brown pencil skirt putting down brown bags on the counter in the kitchen that was joined with the dining room.
"Tatie Tanya!" The children called out the newcomer's name happily. The red-haired woman's face brightened up as she saw the twins; instinctively she knelt down so she was about their height.
"Hello, Kazu-kun, Mi-chan," a wide smile on her face as he greeted the twins.
Tanya let them call her in French, but she chose to call them by Japanese term of endearment that their mother liked to use whenever she indulged them. Mi-chan certainly sounded cute on her tongue for the sweet little girl who resembled more of her mother in personality, which she inwardly was grateful of although it was rather weird at first, seeing such face that resembled the cold father he knew so open and warm.
It was another case when it came to the other twin; Kazu-kun bore not only resemblance in appearance but also in personality. He refused to be called Ka-chan, and ended up ignoring her and glaring at her throughout the week when she tried it out. It was rather unnerving; it felt like it was Kiryuu himself who did it. She made a mental note to never call the older twin as Ka-chan anymore and made a promise not to, and chose to call him Kazu-kun instead.
The others though, including Misaki, preferred to call them by their name, although Misaki sometimes added the suffixes to their names which only made it lengthier than it already was. When she asked her friend this, Misaki simply laughed lightly and told her that there was a reason why she chose their names. She later added that her children would soon grow out the name calling.
Seeing the innocent looks on their faces, but not failing to see glimpses of maturity that sometimes shone through at surprising times, Tanya thought that the endearment would grow out rather sooner for them. That was why she intended to enjoy as much time as possible to let the children be what they were: just children.
"Are we going to the park?" Mizuki asked hopefully.
"Yes we are. Tatie just needs to change and ask your mother first. 'Kay? Why don't you wait in your room?" She got identical nod at her words. The twins' behavior never ceased to amaze her. She stood up as she watched the two went back to their rooms, most likely getting ready for their walk to outside. They were really adorable, those two. And they were really not much of a hassle compared to her younger siblings, but somehow she expected that much from the children of Misaki and Kiryuu.
She took off her high heels which became rather painful to her poor feet after long hours of attending to customers and climbed upstairs barefooted with the heels in her hand, heading towards where her friend was. The last time she checked, Misaki was still working on the assignment from the firm where she worked, so she went to the opposite way from their bedrooms to the drawing room.
Tanya found her at the room she expected her to be, this time she was on her laptop, her hand skillfully steered the stylus next to her. The French woman playfully peeked through the door, partly revealing her head through the door.
"Come in, Tanya," Misaki chuckled as she caught her cheerful friend's antics at the corner of her eye without removing her focus from the design she was making on her computer. When she was sure that all of the lines were connected, she saved the work and finally looked at her friend who was watching from behind.
"That looks impressive," Tanya commented, she slightly bent forward to see the screen more clearly. She understood little about architecture other than what her friend explained to her, but she always thought that Misaki was an excellent architect. She had seen other architecture works from the exhibitions Misaki participated in, but she always found more liking towards her friends' designs.
She could tell that the designs were modern and exquisite from the various techniques, components used, but they seemed lacking at simplicity and warmth and comfort that Misaki's designs provided. She thought it was what was most important in buildings, especially houses that people lived in. Tanya knew that Misaki could make her designs that way if she wanted to, but she didn't and kept those three things as the main focus of her designs that eventually became her trademark.
"Thanks. How's today?" Misaki turned on her seat to look at her friend, giving her friend her attention. These kind of small gestures were such things that made Misaki easily likable; she always had time to answer other people's queries as insignificant as it might be and gave them her full attention when she could, added with her remarkable patience with children and people like her, who was sometimes too energetic, or hyper, whatever word synonymous with that for their own good.
"Tiring. But business is good," Tanya pouted at the reminder of endless stream of customers she had to serve that made her on her toes, almost literally. "I'll have more money to send back home."
"That's good to hear," Misaki gave her a sincere smile. "Don't you want to rest?"
"I promised to the children. I haven't had the chance to take them out lately."
"Alright then. Just don't go too far. The children tend to get excited when they see something new, and it'll be double trouble."
"You tell me," Tanya muttered under her breath, but it was heard nonetheless and earned an amused chuckle from the other woman.
"Well that's the twins for you. I'll get them ready then," Misaki winked at the red-haired woman before standing up to get her children ready for their walk in the park with their favorite aunt.
"Okay!" Tanya couldn't help to grin at the playful wink given to her. She just loved the light-hearted banter between them. Sometimes she was just tired keeping up the image of grown up and proper woman with a polite smile and graceful gestures that she had to maintain throughout her work hours. Her friends, the twins and the doctor were few people she truly felt comfortable around. With that thought, Tanya went to her room to get changed with a slight spring on her steps and whistle of her favorite tune on her lips, already felt more energized than before being around the people she liked.
I
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I
The twins were trying to get themselves ready for their walk to the park, trying to imitate their mother whenever she was going to take them out, but only ended up making a mess and the previously neat room turned into a war zone. Misaki saw this destruction made over her effort to tidy up the room after trying to collect every piece of clothing and toys scattered about and sometimes hidden at the most unexpected places, but she didn't try to stop them. She merely leaned against the doorframe, folding her arms under her chest, watching her three-year-olds trying to get themselves ready without her help with amusement.
"Do you need help with your socks, Kazuki?" The boy who was struggling with putting the white-red sock on his right foot on the floor, immediately perked up at the voice he easily recognized. "You want to change your skirt, Mizuki?" The girl who was previously digging through the pile of clothes at the corner of the room turned her head to the direction of the door. The twins' faces brightened up at the sight of their mother. Mizuki jumped on her feet and nearly stumbled on her toes when she ran to her mother, tugging the edge of her skirt to make Misaki looked at her.
"Okaasan, okaasan, I want to change my skirt," Mizuki asked her mother to help. Mother always knew how to choose the right clothes to wear and helped her to wear it right. Mother always looked beautiful and she wanted to look as beautiful as her mother, after all she was her mother's daughter as Grandpa Francis once said. Her mother smiled gently at her, placing a warm hand on top her long silvery hair.
"Let's find you the right skirt, then," then she turned to look at the other twin, "You nearly got it right, Kazuki, just turn the sock a little." Kazuki leant forward to see what his mother meant and tried to follow her directions as she walked to Mizuki's previously neat stacks of clothes while picking up the scattered clothes on the floor with the little girl trailing after her mother's heels.
After few tries, Kazuki finally got it right; the socks were covering his small feet perfectly, fitting it snugly like he wanted. There was a smug look on the chubby face, feeling accomplished and all grown up for being able to wear his own socks by himself, although he still needed help to wear his own clothes. He stayed on the floor, watching their mother helped his sister changed into the skirt she picked with the help of their mother. Mother let Mizuki wear the skirt on her own halfway.
Kazuki liked Aunt Tanya the best, but his mother was the bestest. Mother didn't fuss over him and his sister all the time like some mothers he saw whenever he went out with mother or Aunt Tanya or Aunt Sonia, yelling at children at his age whenever they did something, stopping them from doing anything, frowning at their children doings, not answering whenever they asked something.
Mother never did any of this. She didn't yell at him and his sister whenever they did something wrong, she would come to them and tell they why it was wrong. She didn't stop them from playing with dirty stuff, but warned them not to get hurt or rub his eyes with dirty hands or put things into his mouth. She would only laugh and smile at his and his twin's doings if it was funny, but if it wasn't, mother would only look at them and they would stop, then she would give them the brightest smile ever. And mother could always answer whatever question he asked, as surprising and sudden as it was. He felt really, really lucky to have Mother as his mother, not those unsmiling, fussy ladies.
"You've managed to wear your own socks, Kazuki. I'm proud of you." His mother, already done with his sister, knelt before him, giving him a smile and a gentle pat on his head.
He couldn't help to beam in pride at his mother's compliment. He loved his mother's smile and pats on his head, although he didn't like anyone else touching his head, maybe only Mizuki, but she was his twin, he could touch her head too. He would be able to wear his own clothes by himself soon. He could already wear his socks by himself. He puffed out his chest proudly at this thought; Mother simply tilted her head in amusement at his action.
"Let's go then. Tatie Tanya must be waiting." At those words, the two children were immediately on their feet, their eyes bright with childish excitement, eliciting a carefree laughter from their beautiful mother who easily herded the twins towards the living room where their aunt would be waiting.
Tanya already changed into more casual clothes, short-sleeved pastel-colored baby doll shirt and white knee-length pants that suited her fresh and energetic look. It was one look Misaki could never pull off. True, her younger friend sometimes acted a bit too much that made her sometimes hard to follow, but she was one of the purest souls she ever encountered. Her dark blue eyes were always bright with life and happiness, innocence and sincerity that it was difficult to look away and didn't feel affected by her playful smiles and unrestrained laughs. Seeing her reminded everything good of their childhood and how they should be even after they grew up. Misaki thought she would be a good influence for her growing children. She didn't want them to grow up too fast.
"Are you guys ready?" Tanya slung a small purse over her shoulder.
"Yes." Came the chorused answer, excitement clear in their childish voices.
"Let's go then," Tanya gestured to the door. Suddenly before the twins headed to follow their aunt, Mizuki turned to Misaki who knelt down knowing what her daughter wanted to do and gave a kiss on her mother's cheek.
"I'm going Okaasan," Mizuki spoke with a gravity of a grown woman, although her expression was obvious of a child's. Kazuki merely nodded as if the words and the gestures he wanted to do were already represented by his twin, but Misaki knew that like his father, Kazuki wasn't one to openly show his feelings. Sometimes he simply chose to let his more open, friendly twin to do so in his behalf. Misaki returned the nod with a nod of her own; the smile never once left her lips even as she watched their figures drifting away into the distance from the window.
It was hard to believe that her children were the supposedly Kiryuu twins. From what she gathered, there were no living Kiryuu twins, until the generation of Zero and Ichiru. One of them usually died during the months in the mother's womb, the stronger one taking and making the weaker's life force and strength into his own. That was how the perfect hunter was created. However, her children were anything but the legendary Kiryuu twins.
Both of them were strong and healthy and most of all, they complemented each other perfectly both in mind and personality. No one was better than the other. She recalled how Zero mentioned that how it became obvious the difference between him and Ichiru in the early years and only grew more obvious as they grew older. It might be too early to tell, but she didn't notice it in her children. She wondered what Zero would think when he saw the twins and whether he would see what she saw… and realized that the future might not as bleak as it seemed.
Misaki let out a sigh… closing her eyes, wanting to have a glimpse of that familiar figure, and trying to see what the years had done to him. Her hand reached out as if trying to touch him, and she thought that she could feel the smooth skin underneath her fingertips, the taut lines over his face that was previously wasn't there, the tenseness across his feature and the firm outline of his face. He seemed better than before, but at the same time worse. As if he finally found what he wanted, but was unable to take it within his grasp.
Oh, Zero…
I
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I
Few moments ago, Kazuki and Mizuki were walking around the nice park close to their mansion with their Aunt Tanya. At the end of the walk, the red-haired woman decided to buy the children some ice cream from the small parlor near the entrance of the park. However, Mizuki heard a faint meowing from behind the bushes and couldn't help to follow the pitiful sounds, being the kind-hearted child she was.
But she forgot that she shouldn't get separated with Aunt Tanya, and Kazuki also forgot this, following his twin the moment he saw her slip away from their aunt's supervision. Both of them had very good ears, they could hear things from far away when others couldn't hear anything. They were also very fast on their feet compared to other children, so when Tanya finally realized her charges were missing, the two of them were already far.
Then all of a sudden Kazuki felt cold, as if the winter wind came through him, but it was warm summer day. His sister, who was kneeling on the floor, trying to get the small kitten hidden between the bushes, also felt the same. They exchanged questioning look towards each other when a man in a crumpled coat approached them.
"Ah, such sweet children. Are you lost?"
Those words reminded of the words of those fussy old ladies Kazuki once met, but unlike those ladies, he sensed danger that warned him to stay away from that odd-smelling man. He stepped back, his twin placed herself behind him. From their bond, they agreed that this man wasn't to be trusted. The two carefully walked backwards, while the man kept trying to get close.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
But the twins managed to see a glimpse of sharp fangs on the man and remembering their mother's warning they immediately took off. Kazuki ran as fast as his short legs allowed him without letting go of Mizuki who fortunately was able to follow her brother's steps. However, suddenly he was pulled back forcefully by Mizuki, making him stumble against her right when another scary man landed on where he was before.
"Go here!"
This time it was Mizuki who led the way and he let himself to be. His sister was good in directions, whenever they were lost, she always managed to find a way to go back home. He glanced back, trying to see those bad people but frowned when he didn't find them. His sister's cry made him turn sharply forward when one of the men appeared before them.
Seeing something sharp directed to Mizuki, Kazuki's protective instincts reacted. He jumped on his sister, pushing them both out of the way from the sharp claws. The children landed rather painfully against the uneven ground. Knowing that they weren't able to run, Kazuki used his own body as the shield for Mizuki, closing his eyes tightly in surrender, feeling the dangerous presence behind him. But instead of the feeling of pain, an unfamiliar bang could be heard, and a cry of pain followed soon after.
Kazuki dared to take a peek to see what happened from his shoulder. The two men were no longer looking at them hungrily, but they were looking at something on the other side. Seizing the chance to escape, Kazuki picked himself and his sister up and hid behind stacks of wooden boxes nearby.
"What happened?" Mizuki asked quietly, her blue eyes wide and fearful. He felt afraid too, because they were alone and there were two strangers chasing after them. He wanted to be strong, like father who fought bad people.
"I don't know," Kazuki didn't like not telling the truth to his twin or his mother.
The little boy dared to peek from the safety of the boxes to see what was happening and his eyes widened in surprise to see that there was someone else besides them. There was a tall man standing up against them, and he saw the man who approached him attacked that man, but the tall man seemed to disappear and appear next to the bad man, making Kazuki blinked and rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't seeing a ghost. That tall man had similar scent with the strangers, but somehow, different. Not really bad, and cold. Strong, like Uncle Louis.
Kazuki thought it was the uncle because the man felt like him, and the man was as tall as him. But the man had different hair color. When he saw the color, his eyes widened in surprise and instinctively he tried to bring his bangs in front of his eyes and compared it to the color of the man's hair. It was the same color! Mizuki who could sense her brother's apprehension followed his example, trying to see through the gaps and her identical eyes widened too as she saw what happened.
Kazuki knew he was supposed to run, he was supposed to run back to Aunt Tanya who must be looking for them and to where people were, just like Mother told him when this kind of thing happened. But he found himself unable to move, his clear blue eyes were captivated by the events unraveling before him.
Those people who sent unpleasant feelings throughout his body were powerless against his savior; the tall man easily avoided every hit directed at him. Silver hair that was so much like his own swayed lightly with his graceful movements, it was almost like a dance, Kazuki thought, like the dance Mother did every weekend, although this dance was… stronger.
Kazuki didn't know how to describe what he was seeing, while he kept his hold on his sister behind him who was clutching his clothes tightly, but like him, she didn't run away. Both of them felt safe in the presence of the silver-haired stranger who was currently fighting the other strangers.
Then his eyes found a silvery glint beneath the dark coat, and his eyes widened in recognition of the shape of the device the man held. He had seen it in one of Grandpa Francis' collections. Grandpa said that it was called a gun. Gun was some kind of weapon. Weapons were something that could be used to hurt or protect someone, Mother once explained. Father had one of those, she also mentioned. It was a gun. It was rather big silver gun. Its name was Bloody Rose. It was Father's weapon to protect. And this man had also had big silver gun like his and Mizuki's father.
Then he heard a loud noise, like something popped out loudly, almost like the sound of a balloon blown up, although it was louder and he had to close his ears when he heard it. Then before his eyes, he saw those men turned deathly pale and staggered back, clutching their chest and slowly they cracked and broke into pieces like glass. And then they were gone.
The only one remaining was their savior; the big silver gun was in his hand. The man seemed to be looking around and he unconsciously followed his example, wondering whether there were more scary people like them. He held tight on his twin, not letting her go. However, the man stopped looking around, thinking that there was no more threat to them and put back his gun into his coat, hiding it from his view, to his disappointment.
The man finally turned toward their direction where they were hiding behind wooden boxes. As he walked closer and closer to them, Kazuki realized how tall the man was, much taller than him, even taller than Grandpa Francis, or Uncle Louis. He peeked behind the boxes, wanting to see whether the hair was truly silver, just like his and Mizuki. When the man was a step away from them, both of them instinctively ducked behind the safety of the stacks of boxes.
"Are you alright?" The man was just behind the boxes across him, he could see him kneeling on the ground through the gaps between the wooden boxes. Now that he was so close, Kazuki felt his presence was oddly familiar, as if he had met the man before and he felt that he could trust this man, but being always wary even around people he knew Kazuki still hid behind the boxes.
"Yes," he answered quietly. Then he felt a light nudge in his mind, calling out his name. His eyes met identical ones of his sister, both felt the same feeling, their faces brightened up because he knew that it only meant one thing.
"Kazuki! Mizuki!"
The twins heard the familiar voice calling out their names before they saw her. When they saw their mother, they forgot the presence of the stranger close by and jumped out from their hiding place. In their relief of seeing familiar face, the children didn't realize the sudden stop of their mother's movements towards them or the look of surprise on her face that mirrored to look on the stranger who saved them.
"Okaasan!" The two ran towards their mother as fast as their short legs allowed them to, throwing themselves bodily to their mother who immediately took them into her arms and all the while never released her gaze from the familiar silver-haired man standing not far from them.
Kazuki felt really, really glad. He buried his face against his mother's warm embrace. He felt safe that his mother was now here. The embrace was warm and tight.
"Are you two alright?" Misaki asked gently to her children, releasing them from her embrace, going down on her knees so she could have a good look of them. The two nodded together.
"Are you hurt?" The two of them shook their heads.
"What happened?" Although she had a vague idea what happened, but she needed to know firsthand and to make sure that her precious children were truly alright.
"I'm sorry," Mizuki was the first to speak, she rubbed her eyes guiltily, "I heard a kitten and I chased it. Kazuki followed me. We lost Tatie Tanya and suddenly this scary man showed up."
"Smells bad, really bad," Kazuki quipped and Misaki knew what he meant by smelling bad didn't hold the same meaning with normal people.
"He asked us to go with him. We said no. Okaasan told us to not go with strangers. But he kept trying. And then another man showed up. He was just like him. Kazuki pulled me and ran."
"I tried to look for Tatie Tanya, or look for many people, but they kept chasing us. Then this man suddenly showed up," Kazuki fearlessly pointed his small finger to the man standing motionlessly behind them, unable to move from his position.
"He fought them off?" Misaki guessed gently, earning another nod from her children.
"They went poof," Mizuki expressively stated, using her hands to describe what happened. Her eyes were wide with surprise. It seemed like magic to them indeed, Misaki thought. When she turned to look towards the elder, she found a thoughtful look on his face.
"What's wrong, Kazuki?" Misaki gently touched her son's face.
"Okaasan... That man…" she didn't need to know which man Kazuki meant, "He has the same hair with me. Doesn't he?"
"Yes," Misaki already knew where it was heading; he was his father's son after all.
"He has a big silver gun too…" Kazuki hesitated; his blue eyes looked up at her questioningly, hopefully, which made her heart ache, "Is he…?"
This time Misaki didn't immediately answer, instead she raised her eyes to look at the man she hadn't seen for three years. She knew he had been listening throughout the exchange between her and the twins and he heard the question Kazuki was asking. She wondered whether he would be gone and never seen anymore, or he would actually stay and meet their children. She could see the tumultuous emotions within his silver eyes and the uncertainty that graced his features and body language. Her children were waiting for her answer, she was aware of their gazes upon her. When she saw him barely making a move to leave, she decided to make the decision by herself.
"Yes, Kazuki. He's otousan." Those eyes that were identical with her own widened in pure surprise and excitement.
"That's otousan?" The happiness in those childish voices were unmistakable, Misaki felt her heart wrenched in pain at the realization how much they wanted their father. She didn't want to disappoint them, but she also didn't want to push him. She looked at him, trying to convey her thoughts to him without words. Separated for three years, she wasn't sure enough whether they were still able to understand each other without needing words to say it.
However, the man whom she missed dearly for the past three years seemed to understand, his previously guarded features were slowly softening and he finally took a step forward, slowly approaching her kneeling form with her children. The two children who noticed this turned towards him, without releasing their hold on their mother; even it seemed that they wanted to. When he was just a breath away from her and the twins, he went down on his knee and met her eyes for a brief moment before he looked towards the two little children whose resemblance to him was undeniable.
"Hello." She could pick his nervousness through the calm façade he wore. "Kazuki," he looked at the boy as he said his name, and did the same for the girl. "Mizuki."
"…Otousan?" It was Kazuki who spoke instead of Mizuki. Misaki unconsciously held her breath, anticipating what his response would be.
"Yes… It's otousan," the answer was careful, but gentle and it made her close to tears at the acknowledgment, at his willingness to be acknowledged as the children's father. There was a cry of childish delight, and Mizuki who had always been the less reserved of the two readily went to hug her long-awaited father.
Unused with such blatant display of affection, his posture was tense and awkward when he received the sudden hug, but he returned the hug nonetheless, placing a hand gently on the back of his daughter. Meanwhile, the other twin remained on his spot, seemingly wanting to follow his sister's example but no less awkward with any open display of emotions like his father, he hesitated.
Misaki tilted her head at their son, silently telling Zero to initiate it instead. The silver-haired man followed her suggestion, raising his other hand that wasn't holding the younger twin towards Kazuki. It didn't take long for the boy to take that invitation and also hugged his father. It was awkward for him first, but slowly it was gone.
Tears pricked at the edges of her eyes, threatening to fall as she saw the scene before her. It was the sight she had truly wanted to see, the sight she had been waiting for when her children finally met their father whom they could only know through her stories. It didn't matter if it was just a chance meeting, if he didn't intend to meet them at first. She couldn't ask for more.
I
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I
Afterwards, the children became inseparable with their father. Whenever they saw Zero, they would see the twins along with him. After the shared moment between father and children, the twins asked him to stay, a request that he couldn't deny so he walked with them together to their home. On their way they met Tanya who didn't hide her surprise seeing Zero with them, but she wisely held her tongue and asked her for the children instead.
When she found out what happened, Tanya apologized profusely for her carelessness and Misaki inwardly thought that her insistent apology was party fueled by the fear for Zero's anger for not taking care of his children well. She accepted her friend's apology and tried to calm her down and only with the help of her children who also apologized for getting separated with their Aunt Tanya did finally the red-haired woman calm down, although the guilty glances stolen her way still remained.
Baudin was surprised to see him when they got back home, but his surprise turned into something akin to relief and acceptance at his presence, greeting him warmly like he was any other guest. The doctor even asked whether he would stay. Zero didn't confirm that he did, but with the children immediate answer that he would, she knew he wouldn't try to disappoint them. Baudin immediately set up the library for him to sleep during his stay with enthusiasm that Misaki didn't expect. She was sure Zero didn't, either.
Sonia though, was a different matter. When she came home late and realized there was another presence in their house that happened to be the man she thought she wouldn't see anymore, she gave Zero a suspicious glare before pulling her away to question his presence after his three-year absence without any letter or call.
"How long is he going to stay?" Sonia asked, after they were in safe distance away from prying ears.
"I don't know," Misaki honestly answered, earning a disbelief look from Sonia.
"Misaki, that man has never been in contact with you and the children for three years! No letters. No calls. Nothing! And he suddenly appeared in your lives?"
"Not exactly like he wants to," and before her friend could interrupt her, she explained what happened to the children when Tanya took them out to park. Her friend merely looked at her as if she was going crazy before rolling her eyes in exasperation, a reaction she expected.
"So you don't really know if he even wants to stay?" Disbelief was evident in the tone of her voice.
"Well, yeah…" The answer seemed only aggravate the dark-haired beauty.
"And what happens when he leaves?" Sonia questioned her. Misaki didn't say anything, only looking at her friend in understanding. Sonia couldn't help to let out a frustrated sigh, trying to get her temper under control by walking around in the small space in the kitchen, wary of her friend's patient eyes watching her.
"You know what might happen, don't you?" Sonia looked at her friend who never seemed fazed by her outburst.
"…I do. And I understand your concern. But give him a chance; we haven't had the chance to actually talk about it, those two pretty much taking over his time."
"Those kids are already attached to him," Sonia already noticed that when she saw him surrounded by the twins, and that only concerned her more, "What would happen to them if things didn't work out?"
Sonia's green eyes were sad and pleading and Misaki knew that Sonia spoke out of experience of being left by the people she loved and she wanted nothing but the best for her and her children. She knew that there was a chance that it wouldn't work out, she was realistic enough to admit it, but she knew she had to take a chance.
"It will. I'll make sure of it." Her tone was calm and determined and Sonia knew that nothing she would say would affect her decision. Sonia sighed, her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Then I'll say nothing else about this." Sonia raised her hands in surrender and left her friend alone. Misaki only watched the retreating back sadly, inwardly hoping that Sonia's fears wouldn't turn into a reality.
Sonia kept true to her word; she never brought it up to her regarding Zero's uncertain presence in their lives. She was civil to him, but didn't go any further. Baudin spoke with him, so did Tanya, despite her own reluctance around the impassive man while she barely exchanged words with him, letting him to spend more time with their children who were all too eager to hear stories from their father, staying away from the children whenever he was with them, thinking that her presence would make him uncomfortable. Her life pretty much remained the same even with his presence; her post-graduate studies were getting interesting, her internship in Atelier seemed to get busier as she was entrusted with more projects and getting to know more people in the architecture world.
That was how she found herself greeted by dark and silent home after she opened the door with her key. The lights of the hallways were purposefully on, so the house wasn't completely dark and she didn't need to stumble to find her way, although she was now able to see well in the dark without any light. She hung her coat on the hall rack and walked quietly towards the interior of the house carrying her luggage in one hand and storage tube for rolls of architecture drawing in the other, heading towards the side of the house where her and her children rooms were located.
Out of habit, she checked on her children first, slipping through the opened door with her things carefully. She chuckled to see the state her children were in, the covers was kicked aside in their sleep. Most of the time the children were a calm sleeper, they rarely moved about in their sleep unless they felt uncomfortable. It was summer, thus the rise in temperature. She turned on the thermostat so the temperature in the room was cooler and pulled the covers back over them. Both of them stirred, seemingly noticing the changes, but they returned to sleep comfortably.
She smiled in affection to see how they unconsciously shifted closer to each other despite the large space they had in their bed. She gently caressed the flawless skin of their cheeks, watching of any sign of distress caused by their dreams that became her habit and was once again relieved when she saw nothing of sorts. Quietly she picked up her things on the floor and was about to close the door a little when she felt a presence close by. She didn't actually sense it, but she simply knew that there was someone there. Instinctively she turned towards the direction where she came from and found the familiar figure of the hunter.
"Zero? You're awake?" Misaki was surprised to find him awake at these odd hours, but then again, she wasn't sure of his sleeping habits either.
"You came home late," was his response.
"Ah," that made her realize that he didn't know much of her life. "I went to work after class. There's a new project. We're up all night making the basic plans. I called home that I was going to come home late. Francis didn't tell you?" She took off her heels at the end of her explanation. When those heels were discarded, she flexed her feet to get rid of the aches for wearing it almost 20 hours.
"He did." The tone of his voice made her look up. His face was unreadable as always, giving away little of his feelings, but for her that had grown to know where to look could see the need behind his eyes.
"Let me put this first," she gestured her briefcase and the rolls of paper, "And I'll meet you in the dining room." There was a brief nod then she went to her room nearby. Zero watched her go to her room, before finally heading towards the dining room where he was told to.
Zero turned on the lights of the dining room and seated himself on one of the chairs around the dining table, thinking of the recent events. Including today, it was his third day in Paris, in the doctor's house where Misaki and the children and also her friends lived in. He had seen glimpses of the life of her and their children. Their children, he thought, since when did he start to speak of the twins as theirs?
Most of his time was spent with the twins. Inwardly he marveled at their resemblance with him and especially at Kazuki's resemblance with himself when he was about his age and the two's almost identical appearance, reminding himself of him and Ichiru.
They were rather quiet children most of the time; they rarely raised their voices and chose to stay silent when they had nothing to say, although they could speak really fast and a lot when they had something to say like when they told their mother what happened back then in the park. They were observant and curious, often asking him questions about himself and his job. He was surprised of the extent of their knowledge regarding him and his job, although they had yet to know the details. He had expected her not to tell much about him, and was surprised when he found otherwise.
The twins were as strong and as healthy as he was told. They reminded him more of himself than Ichiru in their childhood. They were very bright and inquisitive for children their age and sometimes they didn't act like their age. However, as much as he saw himself in them, he also saw her in them. The eyes were the most noticeable, the same eyes like their mother, like he once wished for. And unlike his own eyes which barely gave away any emotion, their eyes were honest and vibrant.
He could see traces of her kindness and patience, and her wisdom and maturity. Mizuki was more like her mother than Kazuki in her openness both in her mind and feelings, knowing when to keep things to herself and when not to. Kazuki had his mother's calm and reserved nature, and often he was the more sensible one than his twin, sometimes reminding his sister what to do and not to do.
He found himself enjoying their interactions as it reminded him of the good memories of his childhood spent with his own twin when harsh reality didn't start to affect their relationship as brothers. Both of them were their own person, regardless of their shared similarity. He noticed Kazuki's preference to read and watch everything around him and Mizuki's preference to draw and create things.
He noticed how Kazuki liked to do things on his own until he succeeded, while Mizuki wouldn't hesitate to ask for help when she needed it. He noticed how protective they were to each other, Kazuki more often showed it through his actions, while Mizuki more often showed it through her words. He couldn't help to fill with pride to know that they were their children and to think how well Misaki raised them.
His acute hearing caught the sound of soft tread that was light yet sure against the floor that he had come to associate with her. Not long she appeared in his line of sight; she had changed her work clothes into more comfortable clothes and let her hair down instead braided down her shoulder. Unconsciously he blinked few times when he saw her. He hadn't had a good look on her after their initial meeting in the park. The first thing he realized that her hair was longer than before, her long curly hair now reached her back, her features became more refined and her figure became filled out, more well-proportioned.
She was beautiful.
"I'd make some tea. Would you like some?" Misaki asked him, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. A nervous habit he recognized.
"Ah," his eyes never left her as she went to prepare the tea in the kitchen behind the counter.
He knew mostly what happened to Misaki after he left from Doctor Baudin. Few days after receiving blood transfusion from him, she made a complete recovery, not only regaining her consciousness but also her health before the incident. His blood seemed to have the same healing powers with the purebloods'; leaving no trace of injuries on her and from his keen observation, there was none. And there was no side effect of his blood in her system.
Baudin told him that her blood absorbed his blood's strength perfectly. The pregnancy and the labor also went smoothly without any problem. She managed to return to classes and continue her studies, even managed to graduate along with the others despite her absences. She was currently continuing her studies, taking post-graduate course while continuing her work in Atelier where she once had her internship in order to become a licensed architect.
The familiar scent of Darjeeling soon filled the room as she appeared from the kitchen carrying two cups and a pot of tea into the dining room. She laid the cups down, one before him and one at the opposite side and the pot between. From the scent alone he knew that she had added a few lemon drops in his tea, the way he liked his tea sour and bitter. Inwardly he smiled to the fact she still remembered.
He traced the rim of his cup, feeling the warmth radiating from the newly heated tea and watching the steam rising from the tea. He heard her brought the cup to her lips, and could imagine in his mind how she drank the tea gracefully. When he looked at her, he saw that she did it the way he remembered she always did.
He finally picked the cup to drink the tea served for him. There were few moments of comfortable silence despite the awkwardness they still felt. Both of them used the silence to think of their words and soothe their nerves.
"How are you?" Zero decided to be the one to initiate the conversation. He could see the slight surprise on her face, but it disappeared as soon as it appeared.
"I'm fine. Things are going well so far for school and work. How about you? Are you getting the hang of things?" Misaki tilted her head slightly at this, smiling softly. He felt his breath catch; he had never had this kind of conversation for a long time with her when she would look at him with those warm and understanding eyes and that kind and patient smile on her lips. He didn't realize how much he missed this.
"Pretty much," he said with slight difficulty. "So you're continuing your study?"
"Post-graduate course. Two more years and I'd get my license."
"And you also work?"
"Well. Actually I was required to have minimum one year internship in one of the architecture firms, before getting post-graduate diploma, but I was offered to continue working in Atelier where I had my internship although no longer full time so I wouldn't need to gain more work experience to finally take the examination to get the license."
"That's great," he was truly proud of her. "But isn't it difficult? Post-graduate course isn't exactly easy."
"No, it's not. But the offer is hard to refuse, that kind of thing doesn't come twice," her eyes bright with enthusiasm at the prospect of learning, making him smile slightly. "The others made me accept the offer, and they even volunteered to look after the children when I was busy… The pay is good too."
Those last words made him froze, he was faintly aware of the slight twitch in her fingers as she went to explain further, not wanting to make him feel bad. "Baudin has been nothing but kind to us. Not only he gave us a place to stay, he also helps with our living. Me and Sonia and Tanya. I don't like imposing on him further. We manage," she smiled a little uncomfortably. There was a moment of silence, before finally she spoke up.
"How's Yuuki?" There was a knowing look in her eyes, but never judging, like always.
"…She just had a daughter, Kaede. Kuran Kaede."
"Is that so? How is she?" She didn't seem too surprised.
"More like her mother, fortunately," he let the sarcasm into his voice, wanting to hear her chuckle at his comment, which he got. It was like he remembered it was, like a gentle ringing of the bells: light and bright. And the way her eyes sparkled in amusement. He was glad that although having to raise children while studying and working, the light in her eyes didn't fade. He felt a pang of guilt, knowing partly it was his fault.
"What if she didn't?"
"I've had enough Kuran Kaname, thank you," disdain was evident in his tone, she didn't fail to notice.
"Still not in good terms with the Kuran?"
"It's not like we want to be," he scoffed, "I can respect him, but I cannot fully trust him."
"Don't you with Yuuki?" She looked at him questioningly.
"Only with Yuuki," he emphasized, "You've had to read into the lines with him."
"Did Yuuki make you Kaede's godfather?"
"She did. And I think it was merely political reasons why Kuran accepted. If it's me, I won't make him the godfather, let alone near the children." Misaki smiled, noting the protectiveness as he spoke of the children.
"What do you think of the children?" She immediately picked up the direction of conversation. Zero looked at her, playing with the small spoon on the saucer.
"They have your eyes," was the first thing that came from his mouth. He saw her duck slightly behind her cup to hide her blush. And the fact made him oddly pleased.
"They're more like you though." It was undeniable fact, one could tell that in a glance. It was rather dangerous, if anyone saw him together with the twins. That was why he gave extra care not to be seen during his stay; especially he noticed there were some vampires in the vicinity.
"They can tell the difference between humans and vampires." He was stunned to hear how the two innocently told that the two scary people that attacked them were different from normal people. It wasn't a result of observation, which was how their mother did it; it was a result of instinct, a hunter's instinct, which warned him of the presence of vampires.
"They are. They are truly the Kiryuu twins." There was something else he noticed, but it was rather too early to tell. They also might inherit their mother's foresight to a certain extent.
"They seem normal," and without needing to elaborate, both knew what he meant.
He had seen one of his children fell and scraped their knee when they were playing in the garden, he smelled the scent of blood, but when he approached them, there was no signs of injury. Their skin was smooth and unscathed. They were also in better shape than human children, remembering how Kazuki had accidentally broken a tree branch. But they didn't try to take any life force like vampire children, recalling how little Kuran drained his life force at her touch. They were as normal as human children to others, until they found out their healing and physical ability.
"They do," she confirmed. It relieved him as much as it worried him. When he first heard of the doctor how their children inherited his blood, he was afraid that they would turn out like him, unable to decide their own fate. Maybe it was safer for them to be considered as vampires than humans that had the ability of vampires. Inwardly he was surprised that he went as far as thinking it would be better for his own children to be vampires.
"So they're some sort of perfect hybrid of human and vampire? How could it happen?"
"We, Francis and I, have our suspicions…" she seemed reluctant, he noticed, but continued, nonetheless, "It might be because of me… of my inheritance." When she spoke of inheritance, he remembered her talking of her family.
"Do you mean your ancestor?" She nodded.
She had told him that her family was descended from a pureblood whose special gift of foresight was passed on to her children and her children's children, but somehow, didn't passed on her long life, although most of her descendants lived longer than ordinary humans, and her better physical ability. If it was genetic, then it wouldn't be impossible to be some leap in generations. But seeing her reluctance, he knew there was something more. He was about to ask more, but decided not to. She would decide whether she would tell him or not.
"…How long are you going to stay?" Finally the question was out. She had kept her face neutral, but he knew, as much as he felt himself, that she wanted to know. He had asked himself that question when he lay awake on the temporary bed in the library.
"I don't know…" he admitted softly, running his hand in his silver hair, leaning back on the chair. "I… didn't intend to stay. I didn't intend to show up before you. I... still think I shouldn't."
"Will you tell me why?" Her eyes were kind and patient and he knew that whatever he said wouldn't matter for her, but he couldn't bring himself to speak even the words were on the tip of his tongue. He wasn't ready, he was afraid that it would make her despise him. He unconsciously gritted his teeth and clenched his hand on the table tightly, avoiding her eyes.
Warm, gentle hand was on his clenched hand, the touch made him relaxed his hold. He could sense her leaning forward; faint familiar flowery scent wafted to his senses, making him turn his eyes turned toward her direction and met clear blue eyes.
"Tell me when you're ready. I'll be right here," she smiled in understanding, giving light pressure on his hand, warm and reassuring. "It's already late, let's get some rest." When her hand left his hand, the loss of contact made him disappointed, but he knew better than to show it, so he merely nodded. When she was about to gather the cups and the pot, he stopped her.
"Let me. You go first. Don't you have class in the morning?"
"In the late morning, yeah," she corrected with a smile, "I'll go to sleep then. Don't stay awake too long."
He gave a tight smile at her words. She knew that he would be thinking of everything they had talked about. He watched her until he could hear the door of her room quietly closed. He wanted to know everything he missed, but the conversation they had was already too much for him.
Knowing what she had to endure by having his children made him sick with shame and guilt. She was supposed to do everything she wanted to do, pursuing her dreams to be an architect and learning as much as possible of the world. He didn't know how much she had to sacrifice because of the unexpected arrivals in her life. He only made things more difficult for her.
What could he do?
Please read and review! I'll try to update much faster than before!