Disclaimer: Okay I'm tired of saying this so Sitara will say the discalimer! (Silence) Oh, oops, my bad. Um, yeah. I don't own Code Lyoko. I do own Musa, Cascada, this story's plot and any other character that wasn't in the show.
Surprise, Surprise: Fate Loves Messing Around
Musa sat alone on a bench dusted with light snow. She pulled her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around them and laying her head onto of her knees. A somewhat depressed sigh escaped from her lips, the usual bright spark in her eyes dimming.
Today, to say the least was a hectic day, maybe more or less hectic as yesterday, the day when Cascada was being controlled by a still unidentified source. The chilling breeze blew unnoticeably against her thinly layered clothed body but when you're running angrily away from someone you tend to forget things.
The wolf A.I. sighed again, going over her day, noting everything that led up to her sitting here in the park, in the cold, without a coat, noticeably shivering. "Fate just loves messing with me," she thought bitterly.
After the surprise introduction of Odd's mother, Ulrich's dad, and Yumi's parents yesterday, the air seemed to get tense around the gang. Musa had expected this somewhat. She had heard about Ulrich's father and the description of the man seemed to be true. While other parents would hug their children or give them a welcoming smile, Evan Stern, looked extremely disappointed in his son for no apparent reason. He made no effort to hide that he wasn't happy when he found that Ulrich was in a band instead of studying. He also made no effort to hide that he thought lowly of the samurai's friends. That didn't really affect Musa much. If all the man did was talk then he really was no threat to her. She had dealt with worst though she was sorry that Ulrich, a close friend, was on the receiving end of his father's misplaced anger and impossible expectations.
Yumi's parents immediately asked Yumi if she was okay and if she was happy. This took place the second after Mrs. Ishiyama released her daughter from her bone crushing hug. Of course, the geisha warrior looked confusedly at her parents. Mrs. Ishiyama continued to rant on and on about how she was so sorry but for exactly what, no one was sure until the woman mentioned that Hiroki had called her and Mr. Ishiyama saying that there was an emergency. Supposedly, the young Japanese boy had said that he was getting seriously depressed due to their seperation and that Yumi was so depressed that she had gone as far as cutting herself. This tidbit of info didn't help Mr. Stern think any better of Yumi.
The geisha warrior had been visibly upset, dragging both of her parents off to show that there was no cuts on her body save for the small paper cut she had gotten when opening the box of aspirin earlier for her headache. Once she had proven that she was in no way hurting herself, her parents became angry, demanding the ever calm and collected Anita Emeraldson to give them their son's room number.
Musa shook her head. She held no sympathy for the boy. He had gotten himself in this situation, for whatever reason, going as far as saying that his sister was doing something that she was not. He would be lucky if was ever seen again with Yumi's temper being only out beaten by that of Cascada's.
That only left Odd and his mother now. It came as a shock to Musa that the boy even had a mother. Of course she knew that he had a mother, he had even mentioned her once on one of their first outings. It was just…strange. Musa had practically told the cat warrior her entire life after the incident when Xana tried to impersonate her, in an act to build a tighter bridge of trust between them. He had always listened, uncharacteristically quiet, absorbing everything she said and never interrupting to ask her questions until she was done. She had shared her whole heart to him and yet, she had barely seen a speck of his.
To anyone who didn't know Odd very well, they would think he was a cheerful clown who seriously needed to work harder on his studies. Musa and the rest of the Lyoko group knew differently. Though Della Robbia had been dubbed the comic relief of the group, that didn't mean that that was as deep as the cat warrior went. There were many layers of Odd that not everyone got to see. His compassion and duty was shown the most to his friends; Musa was the only one who saw his gentle and tender side, the side where he sometimes let his comedic shield drop, showing great intellect behind those breathtaking violet eyes. She was the closest to ever getting to see the true Odd but there were still many things that he hid even from her and it truly pained her heart. Why wouldn't he tell her things?
The wolf A.I.'s hand went over her heat, her fingers gripping tightly to the fabric of her sweater as she tried to control the tight feeling that was welling up inside of her. Her body shook.
She remembered how Odd had acted at his mother arrival. The comedic mask that he had on so much was up as he pretended to chat animatedly with his mother, asking her about her new clothing line and his many sisters. It wasn't until Maria commented that she needed a drink did the boy tense along with Ken who looked regretfully off to the side. Odd's hands curled up into fist at his side, struggling to control himself.
"Relax," Maria said noticing her son's and ex-husbands discomfort. "I simply meant something like a glass of water or tea." Odd had visibly relaxed at this but his eyes were dull, no longer holding the same spark they once had.
Like always, Utada had given him the night to think by himself. It wasn't until later today, after a successful but somehow spirit lacking practice (William had finally returned from wherever he had been hiding, eyes dark and not responding to anything unless it was band related) did she confront Odd alone in the hall about his unusual behavior with his mother.
"It's nothing," he had said trying to gently push pass her.
"Egen!" she said gripping his arm with both of her hands, stopping him from leaving but he didn't turn around to face her. "What's going on? Why were you so…tense with your mother?"
"It's nothing," he repeated shaking his arm away from her grasp.
"Nothing?" Musa cried out stepping in front of him. "Egen, I know it was more than nothing! Why won't you tell me what's going on with you?"
"Why won't you stop annoying me and just leave me alone? You don't have a mother so you wouldn't understand!" Odd yelled angrily before recoiling at his words. Musa looked shocked at the boy, taking a step back when he tried to comfort her. "Muse, I-I didn't mean that. I'm just-"
"No," she cut him off, her voice a low angry growl. "I think you did mean that. If you don't remember, sound is my specialty and I can tell from your voice that you meant every word."
"Musa-" the boy reached out towards her but she was already gone leading her here to sit alone on a cold hard bench, heartbroken and without a jacket.
Since she was distracted, she didn't notice the figure walking up towards her until she felt a warm jacket hung over her shoulders. She gasped, looking up to see a man, looking to be around in his early twenties. He smiled at her before sitting down next to her. The shocked wolf A.I. observed the man, a sense of familiarity running through her mind but where had she seen him before?
"A chilly evening isn't it?" he asked her. "Makes me wonder why a beautiful young girl such as yourself would be out here. It can't be good for your lovely vocals."
Musa blushed, unconsciously wrapping the jacket closer to herself. "You're that guy who complimented me at the hotel earlier," she said, slowly remembering that this was the same copper hair man who had complimented her earlier on her first day at the hotel.
"Yes," The man nodded grinning. "I could never forget such a haunting and beautiful song such as the one you were singing or the singer who was singing it, so, when I saw you sitting here by yourself, I took it upon myself to see if anything was the matter. A smile suits you best, my dear."
"Thank you," the wolf A.I. blushed again before going back into her depression; his words sounded like something Odd would have said. She turned to the copper hair man sitting next to her. She wondered how he could stand the cold without the jacket. Her body was much tougher than that of a human's and even she felt the stinging of the cold air though at the time she had simply ignored it, somewhere back in her mind wondering how long it would take her to freeze to death. "M-may I ask you a question?" she stammered, still embarrassed. This was virtually a stranger after all. She should have left here long ago but she couldn't make herself move. He intrigued her in some way.
"You just did," the man chuckled, dark eyes shining with amusement, "but go on."
"Well, I was wondering if someone you cared about-"
"It's getting late," the man suddenly said to her though his eyes were looking somewhere behind her. She turned slightly to see a pink figure making their way towards them. When she turned back around to address the man he was gone.
"Musa!" The wolf A.I. turned back around to see Aelita running towards her. The pinkette came to a sudden stop before her, breathing hard. "Musa…I've been looking everywhere for you."
"You have?" Utada questioned.
Aelita nodded. "I kind of...I kind of saw your argument with Odd," she said sheepishly.
"Oh," the bi-color hair girl face darkened.
"Who were you talking to?" the princess of the group asked.
"I don't know," Musa said bringing the coat tighter around her. "He gave me his jacket and left suddenly without it. I hope he's okay. It's getting colder."
Her sister nodded. "A storm is supposed to come. We should head back to the hotel."
"Okay," the wolf A.I. nodded getting up. To comfort herself, since there was still lingering melancholy within her, she took the pink hair girl's hand in her own for reassurance. Aelita squeezed the girl's hand, silently comforting her before they made their way out of the park.
The wind began to pick up, blowing harder as the sun's rays bled out into inky skies hidden from view by ominous dark grey clouds. Snowflakes began their descent down to the ground and the wind blew harder, with more ferocity than before.
"We should find somewhere where we can go inside!" Musa yelled over the howl of the wind. "It's too far to the hotel in this weather! Over there!" she said pointing towards a nearby café. The two girls rushed to the warmth and safety of the cozy looking café. The bell above the door tinkled as they walked in. They both let a final shiver go through them before moving off towards a booth near a lighted fire place.
"How long do you think the storm will last?" Aelita asked looking out at the window where there was basically no visibility past the curtain of falling snow.
"Don't know," Musa said tucking her feet under her, "but as soon as it lets up we can call a cab or something to take us back to the hotel. Okay?"
"Alright," Aelita nodded. Silence fell between the two.
"Do you want something?" Musa asked. "I think I could go for something warm right about now."
"Try the cinnamon hot chocolate, dear. It's simply delicious," a light voice said.
They looked up to see Anita, standing with Ozzy, the former with her arms around the man's arm in an embrace while the later looked like he rather be somewhere else.
"Hello girls," the woman said warmly, her red hair down rather than up like it usual was when she was working at the hotel.
"Hello" Aelita waved.
"Konnichiwa, Mrs. Emeraldson," Musa greeted.
The woman chuckled. "No need to be so polite, my dear. Call me Anita. Besides, at the moment I'm not married." She looked towards the window and shivered. "Oh dear, it's getting terribly chilly out there." Ozzy grunted in agreement.
"If you don't mind me asking," Aelita asked nervously. "Are you two together?"
"Once again," Anita smiled warmly at the pink hair girl, "another 'at the moment situation'. Ozzy and I are well aquatinted and we thought it would be nice to meet each other outside of the hotel since this is the first time we both haven't been so busy by our careers."
"So…you're not together?" Musa asked before over dramatically sighing. "That's a relief. Personally, I think you're too good for Mr. Stick-Up-His-Butt," she said pointing at the glasses wearing man.
"I see you still haven't wised up on respecting your elders," the man replied, annoyed at her comment.
"And I see you still haven't learned the concept of teasing or having fun," Musa said.
"That is true, Oswald," Anita chuckled. "You do tend to immerse yourself in your work." The man turned away offended. "Oh don't be like that. Do you two mind if we sit with you? The storm has seemed to have brought others seeking warmth in here, not leaving much room."
"Sure," the girls shrugged. Musa got up and moved next to Aelita while Ozzy and Anita took their seats on the other side of the table. A frazzled looking waitress quickly took their orders before moving on to the next table.
"So," Anita leaned forward grinning. "How are you enjoying your stay at the hotel? Be straight with me. I won't take offense if you found something not to your liking. It's my job as manager to improve the hotel for our guests."
"It's fine!" Aelita replied quickly. "I've never been to such an expensive place before."
"I'm glad you're enjoying your time then," the red hair woman smiled making Aelita blush. She turned to Musa and was slightly surprised to see the girl staring out the nearby window looking crestfallen.
"Is something the matter, dear?"
Musa didn't answer.
"Didn't you hear her?" Ozzy asked, his tone level. "She asked you a question."
"I'm sorry for my rude behavior," Utada said apologetically to the woman, "but I don't feel comfortable talking about this."
"We understand," Anita said softly, "but just know that whatever you are going through, it may be best to talk to someone about it so you can quickly resolve it, though I'm not pressuring you to tell us."
"Arigatou," Musa nodded.
Anita nodded in return before looking around for their waitress. "Our drinks should be out by now. Aelita, dear, would you mind coming with me to get them?"
"Uh, sure," the pink hair girl said scooting from the booth and following the woman to the counter. Once they arrived they waited for their orders that were told to be out soon.
"So, Aelita, tell me about yourself," Anita smiled encouragingly.
"Well," the girl began nervously, "there's not really much to tell," she said biting her lip.
"What are your interests?"
"I like working on computers though I really don't want that to be my only skill when I'm looking for a career. I also like to DJ and read mythology." A nostalgic look came on to the girl's face. "My father use to read them to me when I was younger."
"You look like you miss him," Anita observed.
"Yes," Aelita nodded, "and my mother. I haven't seen them in a long time. I really miss them."
"I'm sure they miss you too, darling. Girls your age need true parental figures to help guide them in such a confusing time, but considering everything, you seem to be becoming a fine young woman," the hotel manager said placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. Aelita smiled at the woman. Anita just seemed to give off this confident vibe that she greatly respected and envied and though she hardly knew the woman, in a strange way, she felt like she did…
Back at the table with Musa and Cascada, the wolf A.I. sat with her chin in her hand staring outside of the window. She let out a loud sigh that couldn't go unnoticed by Ozzy unless he was deaf.
"You're an attention seeking brat, you know that right?" he said offhandedly.
"Nani?" the girl questioned surprised and insulted.
"Speak English," Ozzy said curtly.
Musa narrowed her eyes.
"Don't give me that look," the man said indifferently. "We both know that all you do, the way you act and speak, is just a way to get attention."
"You don't know anything about! You don't know what I'm going through so you wouldn't understand!" Musa growled
"Doesn't this conversation sound familiar?" the man asked lightly, adjusting his glasses.
"You don't have a mother so you wouldn't understand!" Odd yelled angrily.
Musa gasped. Ozzy had been watching? Who else had seen it besides him and Aelita?
"Now, Utada, you can pull the whole 'woe is me' card or you can tell me what exactly is happening between you and Della Robbia as an adult," Ozzy said.
The girl sighed, this one a sigh of defeat. Though she didn't like Ozzy, the fact that they weren't all buddy-buddy meant that he would be honest with her on certain aspects. "I can only assume that you saw Odd's and mine little…argument. I-I honestly don't know what to do anymore. When it comes to topics about him he seems so…closed."
"Tell me," the head of sound crew asked. "How long have you and Odd been together?"
The girl furrowed her brow in thought. "About a few months now. I guess six months."
"I see," Ozzy murmured. "And how many boyfriends have you had before him?"
"How is this relevant to anything?" Musa asked annoyed.
"Answer the question."
"None."
"And how many relationships has he had?"
The girl ducked her head, hissing behind her bangs. "More than we could count on both our fingers and toes."
The man looked somewhat startled and enraged by this information but he hid it well before the wolf A.I. could see it. "So he has had other girls before you. Maybe that little spat in the hallway was how he usually breaks up with his girlfriends," he shrugged nonchalantly.
"No!" the girl cried, slamming her hands down on the table rattling it and drawing some attention to them.
"No?" Ozzy questioned while raising a brow. "Makes perfect sense to me," he shrugged. "By keeping yourself unattached as much as possible, it'll cause and easy break up for anyone. I mean what guy wants a girl crying on him, making him feel sorry?"
"He's not like that," Musa whispered.
"How do you know? He seems quit detached lately towards you. If I hadn't been told, I would have never suspected you two were a...what do you kids call it now? Item? Couple?"
"So what are you trying to say?" the wolf A.I. asked softly.
"Not much," the bespectacled man shrugged, "just reminding you that in any relationship there has to be an equal amount of give and take from each participating in said relationship."
"You don't think Odd is doing his part?" the lightning wielding warrior questioned.
"Did I say that?"
"You seem to be implying it."
"Or maybe you're reading into this all wrong." With a shrug he took off his glasses and wiped them off. "Maybe you could be the one that is not doing her part in the relationship."
The wolf A.I. was about to respond back when a cup of hot chocolate was placed before her.
"I hope we didn't take too long," Anita smiled as she sat another hot chocolate in front of Ozzy before she and Aelita took their seats.
"No worries. Musa and I had an interesting talk about the dynamics of Japanese orientated instruments. It would be interesting to use some of these instruments for when the band is performing one of your so called 'J-Pop' style songs," Ozzy lied smoothly. "Isn't that right, Utada?"
"Hai," Musa nodded, drinking her hot chocolate. It tasted bitter and did not warm her as it should of have.
"Oh, look!" Aelita said pointing out the window. The snow had stopped falling, the sky letting the eternal diamonds in the sky shine brightly down.
"Wonderful!" Anita said clapping her hands. "As soon as we are done with our drinks, Ozzy and I will drive you two back to the hotel. Does that sound like a plan?"
"Thank you," Aelita smiled grateful before taking a drink of her hot chocolate, savoring the taste while Musa continued to stare at hers. Suddenly, she wanted to prolong the trip back to the hotel as much as possible.
CODE TWILIGHT
Ulrich grumbled as he punched his pillow mercilessly. He couldn't help it. He needed some way to alleviate his stress from his father. Why couldn't he just understand? He was a kid! With all his duties to school and the gang his father had still said he needed to do more.
"Maybe if he knew that I saved the world on a daily basses then he would cut me some slack," the boy thought before shaking his head. "Nah, he would probably say that I needed to get better, that I needed to save the universe."
The boy sighed as he turned onto his back, staring up at the ceiling above his head. He had immediately gone to his room after the private conversation he had had with his father. These types of conversations always managed to tire him out to no end and his father didn't look any better, but how was Ulrich to show any sympathy to the man? He criticized and scrutinized him, always demanding more even if that is truly all he could do.
"Was he ever a kid?" he wondered to himself. The boy chuckled dryly. "Probably came out stiff."
His father's words floated back to his mind. "You need to stop hanging around these hooligans and start to focus. They're all just holding you down especially that Goth Asian girl."
Ulrich grumbled again, running his hand through his hair. Why couldn't his father understand the simple concept of friends? The boy had long ago wondered if the man had any friends to begin with but today, he was surprised when he saw Ken act so casual around his father. It was strange seeing the two completely different men interact but then again, Ken pretty much got along with everyone, just like his son. "I hope the saying 'like father, like son' doesn't apply with me and my dad."
Feeling the need to go shower himself of the negativity that his father always seemed to dump on him, the brunette got up, walking out of his room towards the bathroom. He was just about to enter when the door opened, a wet Odd. It wouldn't have been strange if it wasn't for the fact Odd was still wearing his clothes and that the top part were soaked.
"Did you fall into the bathtub or something?" Ulrich grinned, but the mirth left his face when he saw the expression on his best friend's face. "Odd…what's wrong?"
The blonde looked down at his feet before turning his head back up to face the boy, a huge grin plastered on his face. "Nothing, good buddy! I just kind of splashed a lot of water on myself when I was washing my face."
Ulrich look skeptical but at the moment he didn't feel like arguing with anyone else. He nodded to his friend before stepping into the bathroom, missing the utterly depressed look that came upon his friends face.
CODE TWILIGHT
"Do you have any idea how stupid that was?" Yumi yelled angrily at the two younger boys sitting on the couch before her. She paced angrily back and forth. Her parents had retired to their separate hotel rooms, feeling exhausted after scolding and punishing Hiroki and Johnny for lying about an emergency. They were banned from the slopes, with Jim's help, for a good portion of the trip. Yumi, on the other hand, wasn't tired and had a lot of energy to use up yelling at the two.
"I really don't understand you Hiroki! For you to make mom and dad rush over here by saying that you- that I was hurting myself is such a horrible, unforgiveable thing! Did you even think about what you were doing? Did you have a plan? I mean, mom and dad's relationship is unstable as it is. We don't need you making it worst!"
Hiroki, who had had enough, stood up from his seat, staring his sister in the eyes. "Okay, I know, what I did was stupid, but what are you doing?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" the geisha warrior asked confused and still angry.
"At least I'm trying to get them back together. You're not doing a thing!"
"Hiroki," Johnny said unsure, placing a hand on his fuming friends' shoulder. The Japanese boy shrugged it off, still glaring at his sister.
"I'm not doing a thing?" Yumi repeated looking down, her shoulders shaking before she looked angrily at Hiroki with tears in her eyes. "I've done everything to keep this family together! I've tried! Believe me I've tried! But you know what, Hiroki? This is real life!" she said bitterly. "Things don't always get a happily ever after and mom and dad may never get back together!" she yelled.
She instantly regretted her words when she saw the boy's look of hate and anger in his eyes. "I hate you!" he yelled. "You're the worst sister ever! Just go and die!" he yelled running to his room so he could let the tears fall freely.
Yumi looked at the remaining boy. Johnny, who once looked at her with admiration, looked extremely disappointed as he silently led her to the door out of their suite. The geisha warrior watched as the boy closed the door, an air of finality surrounding it and then, she knew as she collapsed to her knees sobbing.
Her family was broken and she wasn't sure how to fix it.
CODE TWILIGHT
Using stealth that only a ninja could acquire, a figure opened the balcony doors of Odd Della Robbia's room. The chilling night air hit the sleeping boy causing him to shiver slightly in his sleep before the door was closed. Kiwi raised his head, staring at the figure with confusion before in the end, the dog relaxed, sensing familiarity from the being.
The figure walked over to Odd's bed, raising their hand to awaken the boy but before they could even touch him the boy's eyes snapped open, focusing on them. "I heard you opening the door," he replied sitting up in bed.
Musa sighed. "I thought I was quite. Your improved hearing must be due to the virtualization devices side effects."
The boy nodded, making room for her to sit down next to him but she remained standing. "Look, Odd, I just wanted to say that-"
"I'm sorry."
"Nani?" the girl asked confused.
"I'm sorry," Odd repeated. "I honestly didn't mean what I said and I didn't mean to hurt you like that. Can you forgive me?"
Musa nodded. "I already did."
"Great!" the boy grinned feeling some of the weight on his shoulders lift.
"I also want to apologize. You were still right. I don't understand what's going on between you and your mother and it wasn't my place to ask."
"Musa-"
"Let me finish, please," she begged him with her eyes. He nodded. "Since I came to Earth, I learned a lot more things then I could ever learn being stuck in the super computer and much of that is thanks to you. But…I still feel like there still much like I still don't understand and you helped me see that and I'll never forget what you've done for me. I realized that I've leaned on you a lot, not really taking that much into consideration on what you want or need. You've always been my support, Odd but…" she said turning away
"What are you saying?" Odd asked fearful. He got up, placing both hands on the side of her face and making her look at him with her tearful eyes. His heart was breaking even before she spoke again.
"I love you Odd but, I-I don't … I don't think this is working. I think...I think we should break up."
I bet you I'm gonna get at least two reviewers threatening to kill me for the last part. It had to be done though. That guy who Musa was talking to is important so remeber him.
Oh! I saw the new Hulk movie and it was AWESOME! So much better than that movie they made about five years ago. It almost as good as Iron Man!
Um, yeah...so nothing more to say and while I run away from the people threatening to kill me...PLEASE REVIEW!