When I woke up, I was lying in mine and Tsubasa's room on our double bed, my hair pulled back into a braid and I was wearing a pair of Tsubasa's pajama bottoms and one of my tank tops, while Yu curled up in between the two of us. I looked over at the digital clock to see that it was a little after six in the morning, seeing this I got up and went into the kitchen to get breakfast ready for everyone. Chi-Yun was sleeping on the floor next to Dashan who was on one of the two couches in our living room, while Chao-Xin was sleeping on the other. I found Mei-Mei on the couch we had in the office. I set to work on cleaning up the dishes from last night, before getting to work on making this morning's breakfast. I was just about to take a sip of the hot chocolate I had made when Chao-Xin came into the kitchen half asleep.
"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you, Chao-Xin," I said as I set a cup of green tea in front of him.
Chao-Xin rubbed his eyes with his right hand as he sat at the kitchen table. "I was already awake when you came out," he said.
"You don't have to fake sleeping here, Chao-Xin. If you can't sleep, you are more than welcome to do anything. Tsubasa has a collection of books in the office that you can read from. Or you could watch a movie in Yu's room," I said before getting to work on everything needed for breakfast.
Chao-Xin asked, getting up from his chair, "Do you need any help with making breakfast?"
Chao-Xin smiled. "That would be a great help, Chao-Xin. I don't really know what is normal for breakfast at Beylin Temple, but here it's mostly eggs and toast with fruit." I said as I pulled out our basket of eggs and the loaf of bread from the fridge, along with our fruit basket.
"Cool, that's about the same as what we have at Beylin Temple," Chao-Xin said, smiling as he started washing the fruit to prepare for cutting it up. I was making scrambled eggs when Dashan woke up and joined us in the kitchen.
"Good morning, Dashan. Breakfast is almost ready if you want to take a seat," I said, looking over my shoulder at him and Tsubasa who was coming up behind him. In the six months since moving in with Tsubasa and Yu, I had gotten used to Tsubasa acting like a zombie until he got his first sip of coffee. I held out the mug of coffee for Tsubasa, who was barely functioning until he got a whiff of the coffee.
"Thank you, Aki," Tsubasa said as he took a sip of his coffee and moved to sit at the table with his head resting on it. This was how it normally went in our mornings before Tsubasa went missing.
"Head off the table. Breakfast is about ready, so go get Yu up," I said bumping his shoulder with my hip. This led to him nearly falling out of his chair and hitting his head. Tsubasa looked over at me with a glare before moving to get Yu up, the whole time I was laughing at him.
"Good morning, Ki-Ki," Yu whispered softly as he bounced into the room with a big smile on his face. Tsubasa followed closely behind him, also smiling. I placed my finger to my lips, signaling for Yu to be quiet since Chi-Yun and Mei-Mei were still sleeping. Initially, Yu appeared confused until I pointed out Chi-Yun, who was peacefully slumbering on the floor. Yu then turned back to me, placing a finger to his lips. I nodded in acknowledgment before returning my attention to preparing breakfast.
"Yes, Yu?" I asked softly.
"What can I do to help Ki-Ki?" Yu asked, pointing at the table where Dashan and Tsubasa were quietly talking about something.
"Can you set the table for me? And make sure to pull out the orange juice. I already have the plates and silverware out. Also make sure to ask Dashan what he would like to drink," I said, pointing at the plates on the countertop. From there everything was quiet and peaceful, or that was until Yu almost dumped the pot of coffee on his head. Luckily, I caught it before he could get burned. Unfortunately, my hand wasn't so lucky.
"Shit…that hurts," I said as I set the coffee pot back on the counter before running my hand under cold water. Tsubasa rushed to my side and started to examine my hand.
"Next time Yu, you should tell me or Aki that Dashan wanted coffee because you could have been badly hurt," Chao-Xin said putting a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. I quickly looked over at Yu who had tears running down his cheeks.
"I was just trying to help. I didn't mean any harm," Yu said before running to his bedroom. I let Tsubasa finish bandaging my hand before turning to finish making breakfast, but Dashan had already taken my spot at the stove top.
Dashan pushed me away with his foot and said, "You go handle Yu. We'll finish up in here."
"Okay, just don't burn anything. Tsubasa, please hand me Yu's special mug?" I said before reaching for the orange juice. When I first moved in with Tsubasa and Yu, I had made Yu his own mug with the Libra's symbol painted on the mug; at first Yu didn't like me much because he was used to the routine that he had with Tsubasa. Yu would have temper tantrums every few days and every time I would take a cold drink to help calm him down always in his special mug. I could hear Yu crying on the other side of his bedroom door, when I got there. I had learned that it was never a good thing to enter Yu's room while he was crying because he often got violent. So, I went back into the kitchen and put Yu's mug in the fridge so that it would stay cold.
"I'm going to let him calm down first," I said as I took a seat at the table before leaning my head on Tsubasa's shoulder. Tsubasa ran his hand over the top of my head before holding out a piece of toast smothered in butter and jelly.
"Thank you, Tsubasa," I said as I reached out to take the piece of toast.
After fifteen minutes had passed and Chi-Yun had joined us for breakfast, I got up and pulled out Yu's special mug and headed for his bedroom. At first, I didn't hear anything until I tried to open the door so that I could get a better look as to what was going on. I had to push past a pile of stuff animals and toys to get into his room but Yu was nowhere to be found. At first, I thought he might be hiding under his bed or in his closet, like he would when Tsubasa yelled at him for making a mess. But he wasn't in either of those places, and some of his clothing was missing when I looked at his opened dresser drawers. But he hadn't come out through the kitchen, so I couldn't tell how Yu had gotten out of the apartment, until I noticed his window was wide open. I rushed back into the kitchen and out the door until I had come to the outside of Yu's bedroom window. I could see his footprints until he got onto the sidewalk and disappeared. Thinking about where he might have gone, I ran to the park down the street where I often took Yu to play or get ice cream if it was a warm day. I was running around the park for five minutes when I found Yu crying on the swings with his teddy bear in his hand. I rushed over to him and pulled him into my arms, just holding him tight to my chest.
"You're okay," I cried in relief that no one had taken him. This is how Tsubasa and the members of Team Wang Hu Zhong found us. Tsubasa had both of our jackets and my flats since I had run out without them and it was raining pretty heavily. However, I wasn't letting anyone take Yu from me, when Tsubasa finally laid down my flats in front of me while holding out my jacket for me to put on one arm at a time and still hold onto Yu. When we got back to our apartment, both me and Yu were soaked, but I was just happy that Yu was safe and sound where he belonged.
"Yu, sweetie, why did you run away like that?" I asked, sitting on the couch with Yu sitting in my lap. He was quiet and his eyes glazed over as if reliving a memory from when he was younger. Then it dawned on me, something like this could have happened in his past.
"Tsubasa, he needs a bath but he's not responding to me. It's like he is reliving a memory. Get him warmed up and in his pajamas. I'm going to take a shower in our bathroom and then do some more reading on Yu's file." I said standing up and moving to hand Tsubasa the little boy.
"Okay take your time. And after his bath do you want me to bring him back out here or lay him down in his bed?" Tsubasa asked clearly knowing how thick Yu's file was. Seeing as neither of us had really made a dent in the file and Yu has been living with Tsubasa for a year and a half, almost two years.
"If he wakes up during his bath then let him choose if he wants to lay down and take a nap or come sit out here with everyone else. If he doesn't than put him to bed." I said before placing a kiss on Yu's forehead. I spent fifteen minutes in the shower before getting out and getting dressed for the day. I was just pulling on my tank top and about to pull on my silver tunic when Tsubasa came into our room with Yu in his arms. I was about to reach out and take Yu when our apartment landline started to ring.
"You take Yu and I'll go answer the phone," Tsubasa said, handing Yu over before leaving the room. I held Yu close to my chest, softly humming as he slept, until Tsubasa rushed back into our room, holding the wireless phone in his hand.
"It's for you, Aki," Tsubasa said as he handed the phone over to me before taking Yu back and sitting down on our bed.
"Aki Hagane, how may I help you?" I asked as I held the phone to my ear.
"Ms. Hagane, this is Julian Konzern speaking. I have been told to speak with you regarding any missing Bladers." Mr. Konzern said on the other end of the phone, clearly distracted by his work.
"Mr. Konzern, who are you reporting missing?" I asked as I grabbed my notebook from my bedside table.
"They are Team Excalibur members, Wales and Sophie; no one has seen them since after everything with Dr. Ziggurat," Mr. Konzern said clearly as he worked on the other line. I flipped to the calendar in the front of my notebook and looked at the important dates that I had written down. Everything that had happened with Ziggurat had occurred six months ago; was he so busy that he hadn't noticed that two of his friends had gone missing?
"And you didn't think to report them missing six months ago, Mr. Konzern?" I asked, turning back to the clean page I was using to write everything down.
"Yes, I am ashamed that I didn't notice that they hadn't been around until it was already too late," Mr. Konzern said before I flipped through some of the other reports. When I came to the same report as the one I was currently working on.
"Mr. Konzern, your friend and teammate Klaus reported both Wales and Sophie missing a little over five weeks ago," I said, picking up my tablet and pulling up the official report from one of the EU WBBA branches.
"Mr. Konzern," I said confused at his silence, "Klaus reported them missing." He sounded surprised by this news. Quickly, I pulled up the information on when the report had been made.
"Yes, it was sent to my email two days before my health took a turn for the worse. But don't worry, me and my team are trying our hardest to find everyone. We will have Wales and Sophie back where they belong as soon as we can," I said, running my hand through my wet mess of curls.
"Thank you, Ms. Hagane. Please call if you find out any new information," Mr. Konzern said before hanging up. I threw the wireless phone onto my pillow and then lay face down on my side of the bed.
"Is Julian always that stiff?" I asked, rolling onto my side and looking up at my boyfriend. Before I could even reach up to tickle Yu's foot, however, he was already gone. There wasn't much I could do but wait for him to come back to us on his own.
"Pretty much," Tsubasa said, turning the page of his book. I was about to get up and pull out a fleece blanket to wrap around Yu when the phone started to ring again.
"Aki Hagane, how may I assist you?" I inquired as I moved to retrieve my notebook and tablet.
The voice on the other end continued, "Ms. Hagane, this is the Director of the German branch of the WBBA. I am calling to inform you that we have located 42 missing bladers, including Team Excalibur members Wales and Sophie. Everyone appears to be in relatively good health; however, Wales is in critical condition and we are unsure as to whether or not he will survive. Sophie, on the other hand, is in a slightly better state." I quickly sat up and scribbled a note for Tsubasa.
"Thank you, I will contact the rest of the members of Team Excalibur and let them know. Please let the doctors know that a trauma expert from the WBBA is coming to help," I said, popping up and quickly finishing getting dressed. At the same time, I was waiting for Julian Konzern to pick up the phone.
"Yes, Ms. Hagane," Mr. Konzern said, clearly upset that I had interrupted his work.
"Mr. Konzern, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I just got a call from the German branch of the WBBA. They found 42 missing bladers, including Wales and Sophie. Wales is in critical condition, and Sophie is in a slightly better condition than Wales. I'm heading to Frankfurt to help the doctors," I said before Yu cut me off.
"No, Ki-Ki, you can't leave me again," Yu said, taking the phone from my hand and turning on the speaker so that Mr. Konzern could hear everything that we were saying.
"Yu, I'm not leaving you…" I tried saying before Yu cut me off again.
"Yes, you are. You went to China when they found Chao-Xin for a month and left me here with Madoka…and then they found Tsubasa and we returned to normal but then you got sick and were in the hospital and I had to stay with Gingky and your dad…" Yu said before I scooped him up into my arms and just started singing. By the time I was finished, Yu was crying and hugging me around my neck.
"Shh, Yu. I'm not leaving you this time; you and Tsubasa are coming with me. See I have both mine and Tsubasa's bags out so that we can leave. And Tsubasa is getting your bag ready as we speak. Now can I talk to Mr. Konzern?" I said swinging Yu around in my arms before taking the phone from his hands only to notice that the phone had been on speaker this whole time. I quickly turned the phone off of speaker and held it to my ear again. I could hear the soft chuckle on the other end of the phone.
"Please never repeat what you just heard to anyone," I said as I laid Yu flat on his back on our bed, before sitting down next to him. The whole time holding him down with one hand.
"I won't say a word without your permission. But are you sure bringing both Tsubasa and Yu is a wise move?" Mr. Konzern asked after composing himself.
"You heard that whole thing so do you really think that I have a choice on if I bring Yu or not?" I said hopping onto my tablet and pulling up the airport website so that I could book three tickets to Frankfurt. Unknown to me that Team Wang Hu Zhong were doing the same thing.
"Good point Ms. Hagane. So, I will meet you and the others in Frankfurt, safe travels to you three." Mr. Konzern said before hanging up. I was about to finish booking the tickets when Tsubasa came into the room carrying Yu's bag, Team Wang Hu Zhong right behind him. Yu had somehow gotten out from under my hand and grabbed my tablet.
"Aki, I sent a message to Dr. Sato about us leaving for Frankfurt tonight. She wants to see you before we leave," Tsubasa said as I fought with Yu who still wouldn't believe that he was coming with me to Germany. Currently I was trying to get my tablet back so I wasn't really paying attention to what Tsubasa had said. When I finally got a hold of Yu and my tablet, I quickly turned towards Tsubasa and Team Wang Hu Zhong.
"Okay tickets are ordered. Now can you please repeat what you said Tsubasa?" I said pinning Yu down to the bed. By now I was out of breath and tired.
"Dr. Sato wants to see us before we leave for Germany tonight," Tsubasa said before picking the struggling 12-year-old up from atop our bed.
"But it's just like last time," Yu said, catching my attention. But it was too late; Yu stopped struggling and hung limply in Tsubasa's arms. I reached behind me and pulled out Yu's file from my bedside table for some light reading on the plane flight.
"Aki, if we want to make it in time for our flight, we might want to leave soon," Tsubasa said, touching my arm lightly.
"You're right Tsubasa," I said as I got off of our bed and reached for my duffel bag only to notice that Tsubasa had it already slung over his shoulder with Yu held in one arm while he was holding his bag over his shoulder with the other. As I left our room, I could see that the members of Team Wang Hu Zhong were also getting ready to leave.
"Are you guys heading back to China?" I asked, catching Dashan's arm.
"No, we are also heading to Germany. Someone has to make sure that you don't overdo it Aki," Dashan said while packing his travel bag.
"Plus, with us there to help, it will make everything easier for Yu," Chao-Xin said, taking Yu from Tsubasa and handing him over to me. I smiled before taking the 12-year-old boy and holding him close to my chest while petting his back and humming softly as I cuddled the child in my arms.
"Man, every time I hear Aki sing or even hum, it reminds me that she has a beautiful voice," Chao-Xin said, shaking his head.
"You should hear her when she's cooking or doing dishes; she's always singing," Tsubasa said from his spot next to Chao-Xin, as he held up my music player and headphones.
"He's right actually I normally am singing whenever I am working around our apartment." I said as Yu fell asleep in my arms. It didn't take long before we got to the hospital where Dr. Sato was waiting for us. She first checked Tsubasa's stitches and his weight which was low but nowhere near my weight. But he was getting better and as long as he remembered to go to his therapy sessions, he would have a clean bill of health. He was also prescribed something to help him sleep a bit better. I on the other hand was told that I should still be using a wheelchair and to take it easy, along with my normal medication I was prescribed something to finally help me regain some of my weight, with the reminder that I had physical therapy in two days.
"Please be careful while you're in Germany, and if you need anything, please call me right away," Dr. Sato said as she led us out of the room, but not before her mother found out that I was there.
"You're late for your physical therapy session, Ms. Hagane," Mrs. Sato said as she approached me and the others in the hallway.
"I was told that my next therapy session isn't for another couple of days. And my therapist is aware that our next appointment will be over the computer," I said as I reached out to take Yu from Dashan's arms. That's when Mrs. Sato tried to grab my arm, but I was expecting that and spun out of the way. Yu was held tightly to my chest the whole time. Everyone looked surprised until I lifted my pant leg and showed them that I no longer needed my metal leg braces.
"I might have needed braces six months ago. When my legs were still healing, but I never needed those polio braces, but those were the only kind you ever gave me. My physical therapist used to say that those things were cruel and unjust torture that you have been known to put all of your patients through." I said letting my pant leg fall. I could see that Mrs. Sato was losing her cool, and was about ready to boil over with anger. As she reached to grab my arm a second time, when I spun away from her again. I was actually using the Tai Chi that Chao-Xin had been teaching me and Yu before my last stint in the hospital.
"Aki is using Tai Chi, but how is that possible?" Tsubasa asked, confused as he looked at our friends.
Chao-Xin put his hand on Tsubasa's shoulder, "I've been teaching Aki and Yu as part of my therapy; it was also helping Aki regain her muscle control. Plus, it gave Aki and Yu something to do while you were in the hospital."
"Actually, when we were younger Aki was the most graceful person I knew. With her Earth Cygnus it always seemed like the two of them were dancing around the stadium," Tsubasa said watching as I danced just out of Mrs. Sato's reach the whole time holding Yu close to my chest. I was always one step ahead of Mrs. Sato, when she took out the belt. I've always known that Mrs. Sato had a horrible habit of letting her anger get the better of her, to the point that if one of her patients were not meeting their goals, she would get them outside of the view of the cameras and start beating them with the belt. I however had planned for all of this and went into a defensive stance just like my bey I could withstand anything this woman or Galaxy Nexus could throw at me. I actually let Mrs. Sato catch me twice on my right arm before quickly catching the belt and pulling it away from her.
"You won't be able to work as a nurse ever again. You just showed everyone what you really are like." I said coming to a stop in front of my friends and Dr. Sato.
"Mother… why would you do this?" Dr. Sato asked confused. Mrs. Sato started laughing nonstop finally losing her sanity, not that she had much to begin with. It was then that hospital security stepped in and handled the situation, now that they had the proof to stop Mrs. Sato.
"I'm sorry Dr. Sato," I said as they dragged Mrs. Sato away. "I was planning to do this after I got back from Germany, but I couldn't stand the thought that she might hurt someone else in my place."
"No, the trauma unit patients would always come back with horrible injuries after four-to-five-hour long therapy sessions. When I asked the therapist about it, they told me that my mother wouldn't let them leave until they had met some ridiculous goal that no normal person would be able to meet. Then one of her patients came down with an infection and we couldn't explain why because they didn't have any open wounds," Dr. Sato said putting a hand on my shoulder. It was then that my watch alarm went off, signaling that if we didn't hurry we would miss our flight to Germany.
"You guys have a flight to catch. And I'll cancel the rest of your physical therapy appointments, seeing as you don't need them anymore," Dr. Sato said, pushing us to hurry up and almost making me fall over, if not for Tsubasa catching me and Yu at the last second.
"You still don't have full muscle control back, my lovely swan," Tsubasa said.
"Still learning," I smiled up at him before we all rushed off to catch our flight, making it with fifteen minutes to spare.
I sat down in one of the hard plastic chairs that the airport provided at the gate and said, "That was close."
"Too close. Remind me to never let you put yourself in harm's way before a flight ever again," Tsubasa said as he opened one of Yu's snack packs so that Yu and I could eat something. I was about to say something about Tsubasa's comment when Yu held out his bag of trail mix.
"Ki-Ki it's your favorite," Yu said shaking the bag in front of me. I reached out and took a few pieces of the snack just as the boarding for our flight began. The first few classes went quickly before class 2 began with Team Wang Hu Zhong boarding. When class 3 began we were ready and found our seats towards the back of the plane, right behind our friends. It would be a couple of hours before we would land in Frankfurt, so I planned to spend the flight reading over more of Yu's file, and I got about an hour and a half worth of reading done; before Yu asked me to read to him. I quickly looked at my watch to see that we still had a few hours left.
"Ki-Ki, please read to me," Yu asked, holding up his favorite storybook. That was before Yu turned and reached for the paper bag in the back of the seat in front of him. This always happened whenever Yu flew because he wasn't used to the feeling, even though he had taken part in the World Championship and flown all over the place.
"Tsubasa, do you have the motion sickness medication?" I asked, looking over at him. Tsubasa quickly reached into my carry-on bag and pulled out the small package of the small pale orange pills.
"Here Yu, take this and get some sleep." I said holding out the pill and my water bottle. Yu was quick to pop the pill into his mouth before taking a drink of water. The motion sickness medication often made Yu fall asleep very quickly, which would give me and Tsubasa a couple more hours to read some more of Yu's file. I got about halfway through Yu's second foster home, when Chi-Yun turned around to see if Yu wanted to play a game.
"Yu, do you want to play a game with me Chi-Yun?" Chi-Yun asked smiling at first before his smile fell and he turned to look at a sleeping Yu who was curled up with his teddy bear.
"Sorry Chi-Yun, Yu often gets sick when ever we fly and the medication that we give him puts him right to sleep. But what game did you want to play?" I said reaching forward to push his bangs out of his eyes.
"I, Chi-Yun had wanted to play a rhyming game with someone Chi-Yun's age," Chi-Yun said before turning back around in his seat, looking defeated. I was about to say something when Dashan turned and looked at me before shaking his head. This was something that Chi-Yun had wanted to do with just Yu, as someone that was the same age as himself. I looked over at Tsubasa and thought of the last time that we had a battle, it was right before I had gone missing and had been one of the happiest memories I carried while in that horrible place.
"That reminds me, I still owe you a rematch don't I Basa?" I asked smiling at him.
"What have I told you about calling me that silly nickname Aki?" Tsubasa said, facepalming in front of everyone. I started giggling nonstop at the happy memory.
"Oh, but I've been calling you that since we were eleven," I said, smiling over Yu's head at my boyfriend. He just let his head fall forward in defeat. I could feel the curious stares from the members of Team Wang Hu Zhong, as I teased Tsubasa in Yu's place.
"That reminds me," Chao-Xin said, looking at us from across the aisle. "How long have you guys known each other?"
"I met Tsubasa when we were ten years old. Sorry correction, I was nine and Tsubasa was ten. You see Tsubasa was born July 1st 1994 and I was born on September 22nd 1994. And both of us are bird bladers." I explained to our friend while thinking about everything before smiling.
"Aki was an extreme blader even when we were little kids. But you should have seen her when we were younger, she was this bubbly hyperactive girl that would take anyone on with the grace and beauty of a swan. As it stands Aki is the only one to ever call me by a nickname." Tsubasa said reaching out to take my hand in his.
"I am also one of the few people who have won against my little brother," I said giggling again. At the looks of complete disbelief on the members of Team Wang Hu Zhong's faces.
"I've actually seen that happen; it was right before the world championship tournament began and Aki's bey was being held together with tape. But even then she was stronger than even Gingka." Tsubasa said reaching into my case and pulling out my Earth Cygnus 145WD which was sitting on my belt next to my special launcher in its holster. I was about to take my bey back when the captain came over the intercom and announced that we were about to land in Frankfurt Germany. I looked at my watch to see that we were right on schedule. I normally would head straight for the hospital but it was already past visitation hours and I still hadn't read any more of Yu's file. I was carrying Yu while Tsubasa carried our bags when I heard someone calling my name.
"Ms. Hagane and party," a proper butler said as he held up a paper sign with my name written on it.
The butler said, "Master Julian asked me to come pick you up and bring you to the Konzern family home here in Frankfurt." He reached to take our bags from Tsubasa.
"While this is better than getting a hotel at this hour of night," I said looking up at Tsubasa next to me. As the Konzern family butler led us out to a limo and Klaus.
"Hello, Mr. Klaus," I said, extending my hand towards him. "I am Aki Hagane."
"It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Hagane. Please just call me Klaus, there is no need for such formality." Klaus said, shaking my hand before taking Yu from me. I was about to take Yu back when Klaus opened the limo door and placed Yu inside next to Mr. Konzern, who was busy working on a laptop.
"Hello, Mr. Konzern," I said, climbing into the limo and pulling Yu back into my lap.
"Ms. Hagane," Mr. Konzern said, not even looking up from his work. Slowly, everyone climbed into the limo with Klaus up front with the butler. Even though he could have easily fit with us in the back.
"Klaus prefers to sit up front," Mr. Konzern said, noticing my glances and the way I had pulled Chi-Yun closer to me. I nodded my head before looking down at the two sleeping boys. Chi-Yun had his head on my right shoulder, while Yu was sitting on my lap with his head on my left, both sleeping peacefully. I softly started humming, all the while running my fingers through Yu's thick hair. Unknowingly, I put both Tsubasa and Chao-Xin to sleep, along with Mr. Konzern, until Dashan tapped me on my knee. I looked up at Dashan before looking around me.
"Oops. I've done it again." I said as the car came to a stop, and Klaus opened the door.
"What happened?" Klaus asked as he noticed that not only were Tsubasa and Chao-Xin sleeping, but so was Mr. Konzern.
"I was humming and put them to sleep. Mr. Konzern must have been as sleep deprived as Chao-Xin and Tsubasa," I said as I let Klaus take Yu from me while I shook Chi-Yun's shoulder. As Chi-Yun woke up, I went to wake up Tsubasa and Chao-Xin.
I said shaking his shoulder while calling him by his nickname. "Basa time to wake up." I got a groan but he stayed asleep. It was then that I pulled my music player out of my carry-on bag and put my headphones over Tsubasa's ears and cranked it up to max. Tsubasa shot up and looked at me with a glare.
"You're just evil," Tsubasa said as she took my headphones off.
"Nope I'm just your girlfriend." I said turning my music off as Tsubasa stretched his arms above his head before rotating his neck. I turned to Chao-Xin who was also still asleep, and I was about to do the same thing to him when he shot up in fear.
"Breathe Chao-Xin, it's alright…" I said reaching out to put my hand on his shoulder only for Chao-Xin to smack it away at first, I was shocked before taking a deep breath and starting to sing again. Chao-Xin relaxed as he listened to my singing until the end.
"Thanks Aki. Sorry about that," Chao-Xin said, rubbing his hands over his face.
"Come on, let's head in," I said, reaching out my hand for him to take, which at first, he was unsure about until Tsubasa stuck his head in and called our names. I could tell that he was tired, but at the same time, he knew that everyone handled trauma differently. It didn't take long after that for Chao-Xin to take my hand and let me pull him out of the limo. We were led into the building by a maid where Klaus was talking with Mr. Konzern, Yu still asleep in Klaus's arms.
"Thank you, Klaus, for holding Yu while I wake up these two," I said as I took my sleeping 12-year-old back.
"It wasn't a problem. How did you do it?" Klaus asked, watching me carry the boy in my arms with no problem.
"Don't worry too much about Aki. She's been beyblading since she was three years old." Tsubasa said, following me with his eyes as I softly hummed to Yu. Until I looked up at him.
"I actually started when I was four years old, not three. Plus for a time I was wheelchair bound so I had to adapt." I said before going back to rocking Yu to sleep as he struggled with a nightmare. I was humming softly, so deep in thought while trying to get Yu to go back to sleep when I tripped over the edge of the fine carpet covering the floor in the entranceway of the manor house. I was about to fall when Tsubasa caught me, for the second time today.
"We need to work on you watching where your foot is going," Tsubasa said, pulling me to my feet. I was about to say something when Mr. Konzern cut in.
"Now about tomorrow with visiting Wales and Sophie. I have the doctors' reports and the list of their injuries but I wish to hear what you say about everything?" Mr. Konzern said holding out the files towards me, it was then that Tsubasa took Yu from me, so that I could get to work. I started with the list of injuries. This also reminded me that I had to send Mr. Konzern a settlement from the WBBA from six months ago.
"They are unsure if Wales has a spinal cord injury, they plan to do more tests once he wakes up. Sophie seems to have mostly minor injuries. The thing that worries me the most is the mental trauma they might have been put through. Has Sophie woken up at all?" I said after going through the files and lists.
"Yes, but she won't say anything," Klaus said as he came to stand next to me and Mr. Konzern.
"That's actually pretty normal for trauma victims. When I first woke up after being saved, I wouldn't even talk to my family, and if it wasn't for Tsubasa, I probably wouldn't be standing in front of you right now. I had shut down completely to the point that they wanted to put me in a mental hospital. Then, right before Battle Bladers began, Tsubasa came to visit me, carrying a bouquet of daisies in his hand. He just sat by my side until he had to leave for the day, but I grabbed his hand and refused to let him go. I was crying, begging him not to leave me alone." I said, pulling out my sewing kit to retrieve the picture I carried with me.
"And what are you doing now?" Mr. Konzern asked, looking on as I opened my sewing kit and pulled out the picture I kept in there. I held it out to Klaus and Mr. Konzern.
"That picture was taken the day I started my road of recovery." I said before pulling out my locket to show them the picture of me and Tsubasa from when we were 12 years old.
Tsubasa said, "You don't plan on showing them the picture in your locket?" as he starch the back of his neck.
"Why not? After all, it was one of the few things that helped me get better. It might even help Klaus and Mr. Konzern think of something that could help Sophie open up to them." I said, pulling the chain over my head.
"Help Sophie open up to us?" Klaus asked, confused.
"I've found that something that brings up a good memory, can help with the healing process," I said, holding out my locket for them to see the picture inside. Mr. Konzern took the circular pendant on the thin silver chain from me. I heard the sharp intake of air as they saw the picture of the two little kids shaking hands before the beginning of a match.
"Before I left that day, I gave Aki back the locket which I had given to her on her 12th birthday. Inside I had put a photo of the two of us at the last tournament that she took part in. Right away Aki recognized her locket and opened it. The minute I turned to leave Aki grabbed my hand and said 'Please Basa don't leave me. I'm scared.'" Tsubasa explained as he wrapped his arms around me while Klaus and Mr. Konzern looked at the picture in my locket.
"I always made it a point before each battle to shake hands with my opponent, as a show of good sportsmanship. However, Tsubasa was the only one to ever shake my hand." I said looking up at him with a smile on my face. It was then that I noticed that Yu was no longer in his arms.
"Dashan put Yu to bed in the same room as Chi-Yun," Tsubasa said, laying his chin on my shoulder. That was the one good thing about being so tall; it allowed Tsubasa to put his head on my shoulder without having to strain his back too much.
"What else can you tell me about the plan that you have for Wales and Sophie?" Mr. Konzern asked, and I sighed, knowing that Mr. Konzern wanted a full recovery plan.
"Mr. Konzern, I tell this to all my patients there is no set plan of recovery. You have to take into account the physical, mental and emotional trauma and at the same time remember that everyone handles those traumas differently so what might have worked with me might not work for Sophie or Wales. But I personally will work with them to develop those plans that fit to their injuries and trauma. In my case I couldn't walk due to the damage done to my legs in the three and a half years so I had physical therapy, while Chao-Xin has a fear of crowded places and loud noises. Tsubasa is always wary of people around him, and has changed how he wears his hair. Chao-Xin is still undergoing desensitization and he is teaching me and Yu tai-chi. I use it for relearning muscle control. But we are not the only ones who have been traumatized; Yu also has trauma he deals with even if he doesn't look like it." I said listing off the different plans before pulling out Yu's file. It was then that Yu came running down the stairs and straight into my arms, Chi-Yun and Dashan not far behind him. I could already tell what had happened.
"I think our meeting for tonight is over. Tsubasa, do you mind handling Yu while I take care of this?" I said, taking my jacket off and laying it over the sobbing boy, so that no one would see that he had another accident. I waited until Tsubasa had taken Yu and Chi-Yun back upstairs before answering the question on my friends' faces.
"Yu's trauma is mostly nightmares which often lead to accidents, because he was so badly abused in some of the foster homes. I've only read about a third of the file while Tsubasa has read about a fourth. I normally don't talk about this with anyone because it's not my place to say. But seeing as this happened while at your family home, I had to let you know Mr. Konzern. If you could point me in the direction of some clean sheets I will…" I said before a maid came down the stairs carrying the soiled sheets in her arms.
"Everything has been taken care of, Ms. Hagane," Mr. Konzern said, waving the maid away. "You don't have to worry about anything, and there's no need for you to explain any more about what happened to Yu."
"Thank you, Mr. Konzern. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a 12-year-old boy to take care of," I said just as Tsubasa started coming down the stairs while shaking his head.
"Then I will see you in the morning. Maybe then we can discuss more possible recovery plans, I know you said that you couldn't give me a firm plan right now but I would at least like to find out the different possibilities so that I can help my friends." Mr. Konzern said as he picked up the files on Wales and Sophie along with the list of injuries, before holding them out to me.
"I'll write up a basic plan to go over with you in the morning; then goodnight, Klaus and Julian," I said taking their files and Yu's into my arms before turning to Tsubasa, who was waiting on the landing for me.
"Yu isn't handling everything so well," Tsubasa whispered in my ear as he took everything from me.
"Okay I'm going. Leave the files in whatever rooms they have put me in," I said before kissing Tsubasa's cheek and hurrying up the stairs to the only room with the door open. Chi-Yun was standing just outside the bathroom door, looking worried, until he saw me. I placed my hand on Chi-Yun's shoulder before moving past him and into the bathroom, where Yu was curled up in the corner next to the vanity.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" I asked, reaching out to push his hair out of his face.
"Aki and Tsubasa are just going to leave me, like everyone else," Yu said in a low voice, almost a whisper, as if he were talking to someone else. I sighed before sitting down on the tile floor and pulling Yu into my lap, before softly singing.
"Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
mama's gonna buy you
a mockingbird.
If that Mockingbird don't sing,
Mama's gonna buy you
A diamond ring.
If that Diamond ring turns to brass,
Mama's gonna buy you
A looking glass.
If that looking glass gets broke,
Mama's gonna buy you
A Billy-goat
If that Billy-goat won't pull
Mama's gonna buy you
A cart and bull.
If that cart and bull turns over,
Mama's gonna buy you
A dog named Rover.
If that Dog named Rover won't bark
Mama's gonna buy you
A horse and cart.
If that horse and cart falls down,
You'll still be the
Sweetest little baby in town." I sang while holding Yu tightly in my lap, Yu was crying nonstop holding on tight to my tunic. I was rubbing Yu's back, when Chi-Yun popped his head into the bathroom to get a better look, I quietly waved him into the room and moved so that he could sit on the floor next to me. It took fifteen minutes before Yu finally calmed down, but he didn't let go of my tunic, clearly scared that if he let go, I would disappear.
"Yu sweetie I know you don't want to let go of me but you really need to take a bath so you don't get a rash." I said as the seat of Yu's pants got even wetter. I was half tempted to have Chi-Yun go get Tsubasa and Yu's anxiety medicine. I knew that Yu suffered from extreme separation anxiety. When Tsubasa knocked on the door frame and held up the pill bottle.
"Hey I thought you might need these. I also brought up a cup of cold water for him to drink. Chi-Yun, Dashan is waiting for you out in the main room." Tsubasa said coming into the room. Chi-Yun was about to get up when Yu grabbed onto his top, and wouldn't let go.
"No, don't leave me alone," Yu whispered mostly into my chest. I slowly pried Yu's hand off of Chi-Yun's top before taking the pills from Tsubasa.
"Shh, Yu, it's late and Chi-Yun also needs to get ready for bed. Now take this, I'll call your therapist in the morning so that you can talk with her," I said, holding out the single white pill to Yu, who smacked my hand away and shook his head. At first, I thought that Yu just didn't want to take his medicine until he started muttering something under his breath.
"No, I don't want to see that person. She…" Yu said as he started crying heavily again. It was then that I remembered what happened the last time that I had taken Yu to his therapist; he had screamed the whole time the nurse had dragged him into the office, the whole time begging me not to send him in there.
"Yu-chan, can you tell me what she makes you do?" I asked as Tsubasa came closer to us.
"She plays with me in the same way that adults play. I don't want to but she threatens to have me removed from my mama and papa's home. I feel safe with my new mama and papa. Ki-Ki and Tsubasa treat me really well and they really care about me. And the medicine she makes me take makes me feel numb and like I'm not really in my body." Yu said his eyes hazing over and far away. I was about to pick up my phone when I noticed how late it was.
"Shh, my baby boy it's alright mama has you. And I will never let anyone do that to you ever again. But will you let papa put you in the bath, you don't have to take the pill just please let mama and papa get you cleaned up." I said rocking Yu in my lap, Yu shakily nodded his head and got off of my lap. I climbed to my feet before going into the main part of the bedroom, and pulled out Yu's pajamas. I could hear Tsubasa getting the bath ready when I noticed Yu's notebook was open to a page and he had drawn a picture of the three of us. Even though he was 12, Yu was a really good artist. I was about to rip it out when I noticed the picture behind it. It was me sitting next to a sleeping Tsubasa in his hospital bed after he had been saved. I was about to flip to the next page when Tsubasa touched my shoulder. I quickly snapped out of the awe I had for Yu's art.
"Aki Yu's pajamas?" Tsubasa asked, pointing to the bundle of clothing next to me. I reached out with my right hand and picked it up before holding it out to Tsubasa, Al the while putting Yu's notebook back in his backpack. I was going to wait until Yu felt safe enough to show me his notebook on his own.
"Hey I have it in here if you want to go get ready for bed yourself," Tsubasa said popping his head out side the bathroom door, I could tell from where I stood that Tsubasa was already wet from fighting with Yu in the bath tub. I quickly shook my head, knowing that I would be the only person to get Yu to calm down and go to bed tonight. It was than that Chi-Yun came back into the room in his pajamas while rubbing his eyes at the same time that Tsubasa carried Yu out of the bathroom a towel over his shoulder. I took the towel and quickly went to work on drying off both Yu and Tsubasa.
"Okay Yu, Chi-Yun do you two want to hear a story?" I asked but to my shock both boys were already fast asleep.
"They've had a long day, and so have you Aki. And I know tomorrow is going to be even longer, mostly for you, so let's go to bed ourselves." Tsubasa said pulling out Yu's baby monitor and the nightlight we always keep on in Yu's room.
"Are we sharing a room or are we in separate rooms?" I asked as I rotated my neck in a semi-circle to get it to pop again.
"Same room, luckily. I have everything already out on the desk so while I take a shower you can write the base line plans for Wales and Sophie and also the email to report Yu's therapist to the hospital board." Tsubasa said pushing me out of the room and towards another one. As soon as we stepped foot into the room, I moved over to the desk and got to work on the base line plans and email. The whole time I also kept my ear on the baby monitor in case Yu needed me. I was about finish with Wells's base line plan when Tsubasa came out of our bathroom toweling his hair.
"So how far have you gotten?" Tsubasa asked, placing his hands on my shoulders and kissing my cheek.
"I have both Sophie's baseline and the email written up, and I am almost done with Wales's plan. Just give me five more minutes, and then I will be ready for bed," I said, reaching up and touching his cheek.
"How about I finish the base line and you go get ready for bed? Don't forget to take out your contacts," Tsubasa said, pushing me out of my chair and towards the bathroom. There, my pajamas were waiting for me, along with my contact case and glasses. After finishing in the bathroom, I exited, pushing my glasses up onto the bridge of my nose. My sweater fell off of my right shoulder, revealing my long, bright red hair pulled back into a loose braid that was already starting to fall apart.
"I think you look the most beautiful when you let yourself relax," Tsubasa said, getting up from the desk chair and walking over to me. I was about to say something when I heard the whimper over the baby monitor sitting on the desk.
"I'll go get Yu; you fix your hair so if he sleeps with us, he won't tie your hair in knots again," Tsubasa said as she moved to get our little one, while I went back into the bathroom to redo my braid so it was nice and tight. By the time I left the bathroom a second time, Tsubasa was sitting in the desk chair going over the base line plans I had written up and the new plan I had been working on for Yu.
"Sorry for snooping, but I see that you had started writing out a new plan for Yu, before everything happened. So how long have you been thinking about changing his therapist?" Tsubasa asked as he came to stand next to me.
"The last appointment I took him to. I noticed that most of his patients were adults, mostly men and pedophiles," I said, letting my sweater fall off my shoulder again. I was wearing a pair of lightweight blue cotton shorts and a matching thick-strapped tank top, which I covered with a light blue sweater that I had stolen from Tsubasa when I first moved in with him.
"That sweater looks better on you than it ever did on me," Tsubasa said before taking my hand and giving it a kiss.
"I know, but don't change the subject. I think that woman did more harm than good, and I've started looking for a female therapist that works with kids, and this one is the one that I used to talk with when I was still in the trauma unit." I said pulling out the list of therapists that I could find.
"Kenta went to her after everything that happened with Battle Blades. His parents were really happy with everything that she did," Tsubasa said while looking at my list but mostly at the one I had pointed out. I was about to say something when Yu opened the door and popped his head into the room.
"Did you have another nightmare, Yu?" I asked bending down so that I could look him in the eye, only then did I notice that he had his baby monitor in his hand. It dawned on me that Tsubasa had mixed them up again. I held out my hand for his monitor while holding out the other one.
"Sorry Yu. Come on I'll take you back to bed." I said picking him up and carrying him back to his room that he shared with Chi-Yun. Chi-Yun was fast asleep on his side, his hat at the foot of the bed. It was very clear to me that Yu had made a line of pillows separating them.
"Are you worried that you might grab Chi-Yun's hair in your sleep like you do with me and Tsubasa?" I asked as I laid Yu down on the bed, before pulling the covers up to his chin. His teddy bear was right next to him.
"Yeah, I am. Hey Ki-Ki, is it...is it okay if I call you Mom? And do you think that Tsubasa will allow me to call him Dad?" Yu asked, gripping the covers in his small hands. I brushed Yu's bangs out of his eyes before leaning forward and giving his forehead a kiss.
"It would be an honor to me and Tsubasa if you called us that. Now it's time for you to get some sleep. I love you, my sweet little boy." I said while rubbing soothing circles on his covered stomach, and before long, Yu was sleeping peacefully with his teddy clutched close to his chest. I turned to the baby monitor and made sure that it was the right one so that we wouldn't wake Yu up a second time, and once that was done, I left the room and went back to mine and Tsubasa's room. Tsubasa was sitting on the bed with Yu's file open so that he could read a bit more of it. However, I wanted to work on Yu's recovery plan, but Tsubasa took my glasses off of the bridge of my nose.
"Hey, no fair, give them back," I said, fumbling around trying to get my glasses back.
"No, it's time for bed," Tsubasa said as I squinted up at him. I made one last attempt to get my glasses back before giving up and getting ready to get into bed. But once I was under the covers on my side of the bed, which was a lot bigger than the one we had in our apartment, Tsubasa handed me back my glasses and Yu's file.
"Thank you. Did you remember to mark where you left off?" I asked, looking over at him as he took his medication.
"Yes, mine is the purple paperclip while you're is the blue paper clip," Tsubasa said laying down and turning off the light on his side of the bed. I looked at how far he had gotten when I saw his sticky note. 'Good job mama,' it read in his neat handwriting. I turned to look at him only to see that he was fast asleep. I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead.
"Goodnight Papa," I said closing the file and putting it and my glasses on the bedside table before lying down. After spending 30 minutes laying on my back staring up at the ceiling, I turned on my side and closed my eyes while holding Tsubasa's hand. I woke up around two in the morning to Yu shaking my shoulder.
"What's the matter Yu?" I asked sitting up and looking him over. Yu had tears running down his cheeks and he was shaking uncontrollably. I quickly gathered my scared little boy into my arms, and sighed as I felt that he had had another accident. I reached over and woke up Tsubasa by shaking his shoulder vigorously.
"Hm? What's the matter, Aki?" Tsubasa asked as I turned on the lamp next to me, so that we all could see.
"Yu had another nightmare." I said getting up out of the bed only to feel that the rug was wet. I quickly gathered the rug up and placed it over the hamper in the bathroom and turned on the water so that Tsubasa could put Yu in the tub, it was then that I noticed Chi-Yun standing just outside our bed room door.
I said, "It's okay, Chi-Yun, you can come in," as Tsubasa carried Yu into the bathroom.
"Is Yu alright?" Chi-Yun asked, rubbing at his eyes.
"Yes, Yu is just fine. He's just had a bad day and now it's taking its toll," I said, pushing a piece of my fallen hair behind my ear as I bent down to look Chi-Yun in the eye.
"I, Chi-Yun, had just wanted to make sure Yu didn't curl up in a corner again, so I, Chi-Yun, locked our bathroom door and that might not have been a wise idea," Chi-Yun told me, explaining what had happened.
"Ah so that's what happened. Thank you for telling me Chi-Yun, and you are right that wasn't a good idea. So why don't we go unlock the bathroom so that if Yu goes back in there tonight he can get to the restroom without any issues. And don't worry Yu only ever curls up in a corner if he's trying to hide." I said taking Chi-Yun's hand into mine and leading him back to their room. I was wondering why I hadn't heard Yu whimpering, but I soon found out that Yu had turned off the baby monitor. While I was in their room, I quickly gathered another set of Yu's pajamas and his teddy bear before unlocking the bathroom door and turning on the baby monitor once more. Chi-Yun just gathered up his hat and bear from under his pillow before walking with me back to our room. I was about to knock on the bathroom door when Tsubasa stuck his head out and took the clean bundle of clothing from me. It wasn't long before Tsubasa came out of our bathroom carrying Yu in his arms with a towel thrown over his shoulder. I took the towel and yet again set to work on drying the both of them off.
"Yu, do you want to try sleeping in your room with Chi-Yun or do you want to sleep with me and mama?" Tsubasa asked looking between the two younger boys.
"I want to try sleeping on my own papa," Yu said before squirming in Tsubasa's arms until Tsubasa placed him back on his feet. Yu quickly gathered up his teddy bear and with Chi-Yun the two went back to their room and back to bed, I was right behind them about ready to tuck them in when I noticed Julian standing in the shadows at the landing to the first floor. I nodded my head to him before entering the room behind the boys. I had just gotten them back in bed under the covers, when Yu grabbed my hand.
"Mama please stay until I fall asleep," Yu said looking up at me with pleading eyes. I reached over to the bedside table and picked up Yu's favorite storybook and began reading.
"…and they lived happily ever after," I said as I closed the book and pulled the covers back up to their chins, seeing as both boys were sleeping once again. I moved the monitor so that Yu wouldn't think about turning it off again. I had turned off the lights and closed the door as I left the room, only to see that Julian was still standing on the landing.
"I'm sorry for waking you, Mr. Konzern," I said softly.
Julian asked as he walked with me until we got to my room. "Does this happen often? I mean Yu waking up from nightmares?"
"Only when something upsets him. And that can be anything." I said pushing my glasses up again. It was then that Julian just turned around and left, a small smile gracing his lips. I nodded my head, so Julian was trying to find out what to expect with Wales and Sophie. I couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped my lips, if Julian thought that Sophie and Wales would suffer from just nightmares as an after effect of what those people did he was in for a wake up call. I opened the door to our bedroom to find Tsubasa once again sleeping peacefully another sticky note on my pillow. This one read 'You were great mama.' Chuckling softly I leaned over Tsubasa and kissed his forehead before laying back down on my side of the bed and curled up next to him without taking off my glasses, seeing how tired I was.