Bloodlines

"Daken is his name?" Storm asked Logan as she walked with Logan to the med lab. The taller man could tell that she was upset with him that he had left the mutant alone, but she kept her emotions in check.

"You're pronouncing his name wrong," Logan said abruptly. "The word a is pronounced like the word apple, and e is pronounced like the word effort. The syllables are very different than our own." He stopped talking as Storm stared at him curiously.

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"I didn't know you could speak Japanese, Logan," she said in wonderment.

"Well, I didn't know either until a couple of minutes ago," Logan argued gruffly. He had told her what happened in the med lab. He was still perplexed by it. "The words just came out of my mouth." Perhaps my memory is finally coming back, he thought wryly as the door to the med lab opened. Daken was gone. The bed was empty, and the sheets were perfectly folded as if he hadn't been there at all. "Damn it," Logan hissed. "Where is he?"

He's with me, Logan, just as you were when you first regained consciousness. The Professor's powers enabled him to speak with Logan with his mind. Still, Logan tensed at his words. He could see that Storm was wary as well. Daken is alright. He's just confused and agitated. Rouge's with me too. At the mention of Rouge, Storm's frown turned into a worried line. Rouge was a dangerous mutant in her own right, but Daken seemed to be unpredictable and they didn't know what his powers were. Logan ran to the Professor's office with Storm at his heels. The Professor was sitting in his wheelchair with a calm expression on his fac. Rouge turned around from the sound of the door opening, and a wide smile appeared on her face when she saw Logan. "Logan!" she said happily. "I was wondering where you were. You weren't with Storm or Professor X."

Logan couldn't help but give her a small smile. "I was watching Daken, who was found in Stryker's labs. He was unconscious when I watched him, and now…" he shrugged. "Do you know anything about him, Professor?" he asked as though Daken wasn't in the room.

"I think you know more than me, Logan," the Professor said with a glance at Daken. All three looked. The young mutant was standing behind the Professor with his back turned. His hands were at his sides, loose and relaxed. His clothes were completely black and torn, and Logan and the others saw for the first time that Daken didn't wear any shoes or socks. Although he was aware that the mutants were watching him, he didn't respond at first. Then he turned towards Logan. He seemed calmer than when Logan first met him. I calmed his mind, although I wasn't able to reach his memories, the Professor inferred.

"Boku doko desu ka?" Daken asked. Where am I?

Before Logan could respond, the Professor interrupted. He looked at Daken. A faint smile was on his lips. "I think you can understand us, can't you, Daken?"

"What do you mean?" Logan demanded.

"Daken can understand us, Logan," the Professor said calmly. "He doesn't want us to know we understand him because he doesn't want to get hurt."

"Can you speak English?" Storm asked. Logan and Rouge slowly watched Daken's expression slowly turned to shock, fear, and then calm.

"Hai," he said. "I mean, yes, I can speak English." Daken sighed and wouldn't meet their gaze. He had a slight Japanese accent, and his voice was low. "I didn't want you to find out."

"Why would you not want us to find out?" Rouge asked curiously.

"You would hurt me. You would imprison me. You would treat me like…gomi," he snarled. "Like garbage."

"We're not like Stryker, Daken," Storm soothed. She placed her hand on his shoulder. Daken tensed, but he didn't break free. "The Professor saved many mutants like you. We were all broken once. Mutants around the world are feared and despised, but Professor X brought you here for medical attention."

"I don't need medical attention." Daken hissed, roughly breaking Storm's grip with him. The Professor watched the scene with interest. His hands were now folded in front of him, and Logan also remembered that he had said the same words. "I don't need medical attention."

"And why is that?" Storm asked. Her expression was unreadable.

"What's it to you?" Daken snarled.

"Why are you so nasty?" Rouge retorted angrily. "Storm's being nice to you."

Daken didn't say anything for a moment. Then he smirked at her. "So, what kind of name is Rouge?"

Rouge narrowed her eyes, and glared at him. "I don't know," she snapped mildly. "What kind of name is Daken?"

Logan laughed inside. This too was the exact conversation that he and Rouge had when they first met.

"You call yourself Rouge because you feel alone and isolated," Daken replied. "And you," he pointed at Storm, "call yourself Storm because you can control the weather and there is no telling what you'll do. I don't even know why you call yourself Professor X." Daken pointed at Logan. "You call yourself Wolverine because inside, even now, you feel like a caged animal. Wolverines are very viscous animals, as are you." He shrugged, indifferent to the varying expressions of the mutants in the room. "My codename means bastard dog or mongrel in Japanese. That's all I've been in my life. A bastard and a mongrel." Then he fell silent.

"But…" Rouge was no longer irritated with Daken, and was instead worried about him. "You do have a name, right?"

"My true name is Akira," he replied to her.

"Marie," she countered.

"I think Rouge should introduce Akira to the other students." Rouge nodded to the Professor's suggestion. "I also think that he should have a room ready. Storm…?" Storm nodded as well, and she and Storm exited the room with the mutant Akira slowly following behind them. "Logan, I need you to stay," he added to him as he was about to follow them out. Logan stayed where he was.

"I know that you are worried about Rouge, but there is a pressing issue that we need to discuss."

"Does it have to do with the fact that I can speak Japanese?" Logan asked. He was still as the Professor shook his head.

"No, but that has to deal with the issue. Logan," he said with a serious expression, "Akira was in Stryker's labs for fifteen years, around the time he infused your bone claws with adamantium, and when you lost your memory. I didn't know why then, but Stryker was also experimenting with Akira and his claws to see if he could fuse adamantium into them."

"Why is that?" Logan's mouth went dry with shock and anger that Stryker hadn't just done the experiment on him, but others as well.

"Here," the Professor pushed a computer in front of the mutant. "This will explain."

At first, Logan only saw Akira's mug shot. He looked the same as he did now fifteen years later. Then looking down, Logan saw additional information.

Name: Akira

Age: N/A

Gender: Male

Logan studied the DNA pattern, and found with shock that Akira's pattern was similar to his own. "Masaka," Logan gasped. The gears clicked into his brain. Impossible.

"Logan," the Professor touched his forehead sympathetically. "I believe you know what this means." He reached into his mind, and then Logan was amerced in forgotten memories.

He was standing in a kimono with a sword by his side. Logan was watching the cherry blossoms bloom, with an idyllic smile on his face. Japan was a wonderful country to live in, with a rich culture and history. He heard the wind chimes blow in the sweet wind, and he caught a hint of perfume behind him. He turned. Itsu, his newly wedded wife, was behind him with a gentle smile on her face. She carried tea on a plate, each in delicate cups. She greeted her husband with warmth, although Logan couldn't hear what she was saying. He saw himself saying something to her too, but he couldn't make out the words. He saw himself gently stroke her swelling pregnant belly.

Logan stumbled back into the desk. He didn't feel the pain from his back. Memories still lingered in his mind. Itsu…Japan…it was so complicated. Akira… Logan thought, closing his eyes.

"Professor…is Akira…is he…my son…?"