Tekeshi splashed water on his face. For sometimes days after he would have these episodes of pain, he would have trouble functioning. The lack of a reaction to the water thankfully made sure that he didn't compound anything, but he wished he understood what really caused them.
It seemed to stem from memories that had come along with the powers, and the divinity. Every one seemed to come when he came across something that corresponded to a memory, and the issue of his brain fighting to translate the information into something he could understand.
This particular thing, that memory was important, maybe beyond the mission that he had placed himself on now. If what he understood was true, then it could be what he needed to save Yusa. It may be a way to keep her from slipping beyond the world.
"Tekeshi. Are you ok," Akasha asked from where she sat on the motel room's bed.
He closed his eyes for a moment, "Yeah. I'm just a little bit inside my head at the moment."
"You've been really quiet since we crossed back into the US. What's on your mind?"
"Grandma, I think, something good has finally come," he straightened up and walked out of the bathroom, "This thing that the commander of that cell was talking about it, I'm pretty sure it was something that Shinso created. The memory is a little fuzzy, but, I think it was something that could bring people back to life."
"That sounds like something a crazy person would dream up," the incorporeal woman said.
Tekeshi shrugged, "Shinso was a complete and total nutjob. He seemed pretty in control of things at first, but that only lasted so long. Still, I think it was some kind of act of mercy in his mind. So much of it has already faded away, that I can't figure out how it worked without getting my hands on it."
Akasha looked at her grandson with concerned eyes. She was so proud of the man he was growing into, but she was starting to believe that along with the power, he had gained the insanity of the ancient demigod. If so, there might not be anyway that he could be stopped if he became power hungry, or genocidal.
She sighed, "I don't know how that would help anything though. Yusa isn't dead, just this side of it. That's how you explained it at least."
"I think that in order to do that, in order to bring someone back, you would have to heal the body. You would have to give it something that life could take root in. Like I said, I would need to actually get my hands on it," he said as he walked over to a small table and sat down with the papers he had brought with him.
"If so, then I see where you are coming from. Here is my next concern, how do you track it?"
Tekeshi didn't look up from the documents, "According to this, the next location that they wanted to study it, was in India. Unfortunately, I never studied any languages from there. Why? I don't know, I just never did. So I don't know if there would be any way for me to reasonably use anything I found in their camps. However, I think I figured out how to use that vision thing that Shinso did to show the world the battle against him."
"So you are basically going to scry something as close to them as you can," Akasha deadpanned.
"If it works, it works. Otherwise, I am going to have to start studying Hindi and Bengali, and hope that those will be sufficient. With my luck, anything is going to be in a language spoken by three people and a duck, that there are no study materials for," he continued to examine the papers.
"Three people and a duck? I have never had a chance to speak with a duck that I could understand, that might be novel," a slight laughed filled the room.
Tekeshi chuckled, "So am I to assume, that you made it a habit of having conversations with ducks, that you had no clue what was being said?"
"Hey, they were still nice. I used to feed them watercress, and your mother and Kokoa would chase them. Then they would get chased by the ducks, and the cycle would repeat. I miss being a part of the world, so much," the woman said as she actually tried to touch the bed, rather than just sit in place as if she could.
Tekeshi finally looked up, "There is another thing. Even he wasn't really sure if it was possible, but I have hope that it is."
"Tekeshi?"
Standing he walked to look out the window, taking in the desert sunset, "He wondered if there might be a way to return a body to a soul that remained on this side."
Akasha could only freeze. Could it be possible? What would be the cost? Could she have another chance to hold her daughter in her arms? It sounded almost too good to be true. Even the idea of it seemed ludicrous. But, if there were even the slightest chance.
"Tekeshi, do you think, it might be possible," she asked, her voice trembling.
He didn't answer. Honestly he felt it might be too much of a reach. He only had the one memory so far, and he didn't have any way to force them to come to the surface. They acted on their own accord, and it felt like he was dying anytime they did.
He took a deep breath but remained silent. In a way, he felt like it would be a betrayal of what he wanted to accomplish. Yet, he wanted his sister to be alive, and not just encased from Death's grip. The humans were getting better at fighting Fairy Tale, and from what he understood, yokai that wanted peace with humanity were joining to fight the organization, and that was going a long way to help integrate the worlds together.
He blinked his eyes. An image of a very well appointed living room appeared to him. In it was a well endowed Asian woman with a newborn at one of her breasts. A man walked in and sat down next to them, and put his arm around the woman. The adults looked tired, but they still seemed extremely happy. Like there wasn't any other life they would want to be living.
"Tekeshi, are you spying on someone," Akasha asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Aunt Yukari, and Uncle Fang-fang. I keep, trying to tell myself that it is better if I don't see them. I, am so close, and I miss them. Grandma, am I trying to protect them, or am I torturing myself? I don't know what I should do."
"Go see them. They gave you so much love for the time you lived with them. You were treated like you were their son by blood. They aren't helpless, they can protect themselves, and Fairy Tale knows that they are connected to you, and that you are a greater threat to them, than they can be to your aunt and uncle. They also don't know you are the one killing them, or where you are," was the answer.
Huang Fang-fang looked up at the doorplate that said Fang Wong. It was a little tiring to have a name that had so many ways to be structured depending on where you were. Even after all the years of living in the United States, he still didn't particularly care for his professional name. He didn't mind the Wong part, as it was something he had been used to using as a kid, but the Fang part, just made him feel like half a man.
He shrugged his shoulders as he locked the door. He could do like he always did, and just dwell on it later if he remembered. At that moment, he was anxious to go home to his wife and newborn daughter. His teenage daughter had just returned to Yokai Academy a few days earlier, having come home to help her mother right after the birth.
"And I say to myself, what a wonderful world," he said, not quite trying to sing as he rode the elevator down to the parking garage.
Stepping out he was greeted by a young man at a desk with several keyboxes, "Heading home for the day Mr. Wong."
"That I am Nathan. I can't tell you how much I have considered just letting Elliot and Catherine run things for a few months, but I have to be a responsible adult. Plus, I think that Yukari would start dropping pans on my head for fussing too much over her. Isn't your wife due soon," he replied, smiling kindly at the young man as he looked through the keys to find Fang-fang's Mercedes.
"Not for another couple of months. Oh, I noticed that the shift lever feels a little looser than usual. I don't think it is going to fall off, but the electronics may start acting up. I know European hybrids can be fussier than most vehicles. I'm glad my wife isn't a witch, though harpies have their own issues. I can't keep any kind of rope in the house, otherwise I come home to find it strung around thirty boxes and a bunch of blankets. I know that birds nest, but it would be nice if the non-bird part of her was stronger in that. Thank god she doesn't lay eggs." he said with a lopsided grin as he walked into the rows to fetch the car.
Fang-fang laughed a little. It was nice to talk to people like people. Nathan was a satyr, so he was most likely looking at his new wife always being pregnant. He remembered hosting the man's bachelor party just a few months ago. He was a good kid, and he needed a raise.
On the drive home he listened to the report on the latest golf tournament. He didn't know why he liked golf. If he thought about it, it was absolutely boring. It just seemed that when he really got started doing well in his business, he spent as much time on a golf course, as he did at his desk. Still it was an outside activity.
It seemed like such a great day. He didn't know if there was anyway that could change.
Arriving in his neighborhood he pulled into the alley way and drove until he could pull into his garage. Pulling in next to his wife's SUV an old thought of getting her to sell it came back to mind. It was a Suburban, and she could hardly get it in the garage. She didn't need that big of a vehicle, and it always seemed to have something going wrong with the electronics on it. She refused to get rid of it, since she had bought it when all of their female friends went out to her bachelorette party, and came home in it.
"Hey Uncle," a voice said behind him as he was getting out.
Fang-fang's hand instinctively reached for the pistol that was in a holder under the dashboard. The short driveway going into the garage had a gate across it. Only a few people had the code to open it on foot, and there were only two remotes.
"Hold the heat, It's me. Tekeshi," the voice said.
Turning around slowly, the gun still in his hand, but hidden inside the vehicle, he looked at the person. Indeed, there stood Tekeshi. He was dressed a little different, and how had he missed that` monstrosity that the boy was leaned against when he pulled up.
"Tekeshi, are you really," he started before he jumped out of the vehicle and hugged his nephew tightly.
"Last I checked. Of course that said, it is hard to tell if I am the same Tekeshi half the time. How have you been," he returned the hug.
Fang-fang let go and stood back so he could look him in the face, "I've been doing great. Even better getting a chance to see you. Everyone has been worried. Where have you been?"
"Ethiopia, all over the southwest, Somalia, Mexico, Belize, and a long stint in the Australian Outback. I really don't want to talk about Australia. It really is good to see you."
"Uh, come in, I know Yukari will want to see you. Uh, also, what is that," Fang-fang said as he pointed at the war machine Buick.
"It was Le Sabre, now it is a monstrosity. Will take anything up to a tandem warhead and keep on going. Runs through diesel like mad though, I really need to work on that. Maybe a smaller turbocharger," Tekshi looked back at the vehicle with a thoughtful look.
Walking into the house, Tekeshi was struck by how little things seemed to have changed. The kitchen was nice and clean, just how his uncle liked it kept. He did most of the cooking, but breakfast was typically the domain of his aunt. The pictures in the hallway showed him and Machiko through school and family events. It was humbling to see this, and remember where he had come from. A reminder of how recent his power was.
As they entered the living room they were met by a bit of a humorous sight. Yukari was laid back in a highback recliner, topless, seemingly passed out cold, with her infant daughter going to town on her right nipple. Unless you were a complete pervert, or a complete prude, it was actually a rather wholesome sight. Of course given that his aunt also seemed to be a habitual nudist in the privacy of her own home, her boobs weren't that novel a sight for him.
Even Fang-fang didn't seemed that concerned over his non-blood related nephew seeing her topless. He just gave a small satisfied smile, and walked over next to her.
"Yukari, someone is here to see us. Someone you really want to see," the older man said as he gently shook her shoulder.
The woman groaned slightly, "I don't care who it is, I'm not putting on a shirt. This little demon has no bottom to her stomach, and my nipples are so chafed, I don't know how they aren't bleeding."
Fang-fang laughed slightly, "It's Tekeshi. He is actually here."
Yukari opened her eye wearily and looked over at him, "I'm still not putting a shirt on. He knows what they look like."
"I didn't say you had to put a shirt on. I don't think he really cares. Just, wake up enough to talk to him," he leaned over and kissed.
Yukari sat up and straightened the back of the chair up, making sure to keep her child in place, "I'm sorry if I seem like I am exhausted, because it is so much worse than that. Would you do me a favor since you are closer to the kitchen? Please bring me a protein shake out of the frigde."
Tekeshi simply nodded, and then went and got one, "I know you don't want to put on a shirt, but could you at least put a blanket over yourself?"
"My house, I get to be as naked as I want. Just be glad I am wearing sweatpants, because if I wasn't, I have nothing underneath them," the woman said as she awkwardly opened the small bottle and took a deep drink.
"I won't tempt fate and say anything else, because knowing you, you would take them off," Tekeshi chuckled nervously.
"Where have you been? Everyone has been worried to death about you. They know there isn't anything that could kill you easily, but we still don't know what it is going on with you physically and mentally," Yukari asked as she seemed to wake up completely.
"I have been a lot of places. I dealt with a lot of Fairy Tale cells. I, almost didn't come to see you. I was so close, that Grandma finally convinced me. I'm sorry for making everyone worry, but I hope that things have changed in a way that I can return much sooner than I originally thought I would. I would tell you what it is, but I don't know how to explain it," Tekeshi looked down at his boots as he spoke.
"I've known your parents for a long time. I know there isn't a way to convince you to stop, but at least think about seeing them. And seeing Utsuki."
At the mention of the girl's name, Tekeshi's breath hitched, "I don't know if I could leave again, if I saw her. Feeling her wake up, almost shattered my resolve. It has taken everything these last four months, not to go. I just, I wanted to see you and Uncle, before I headed to India."
Fang-fang cocked his head over confused, "What could be in India that Fairy Tale would have any interest in?"
"A, relic. I can't say more than that. It is just important that I take it from them. Aunt Yukari, could you let everyone know that I am doing ok if you go back to the school before I do," Tekeshi looked at the woman's face.
Yukari looked over at Fang-fang, and then down at her new daughter, "Tekeshi, I'm not going back. I can't do it anymore. Seeing what happened to Mizore, and her almost losing Yusa completely. I almost want to bring Machiko back over here, away from everything."
"Aunt Yukari, I don't know what you mean."
"Tekeshi, we have been talking. We love your family. You are family. But, we have two children now, and we aren't getting younger. I'm worried about what is going to happen in the next fifty years, how I am going to make it when your Aunt passes. Machiko and Danielle here, will likely pass before me, even if they live much longer than most. We want to have as much time together as we can have, without having to worry about dying in some insane battle. I don't know if I will even try to live much longer than your Aunt. I have already told my family that I am decoupling my business from the Huang Family, and they have agreed, and they are making sure there isn't any repercussions," Fang-fang placed his arm around his wife.
"I see. I can't blame you. Who could, that wouldn't be a gigantic asshole."
Yukari looked back down at the infant, "I'm, not even going to reopen my practice. We don't have to worry about money, Fang-fang's business was bringing in three quarters of the house income. Our savings may not be as impressive as your parents wealth, but he could actually shut down, and we wouldn't hurt. I'm just going to be a stay at home mom from now on."
Tekeshi was somewhat taken aback. His aunt had loved working. Medicine had been her passion for his entire life. For her to suddenly decide to leave it completely behind, was a total shock to him.
"I'm, surprised. I know how much work meant to you. I, enjoyed seeing you, but I don't want to take too much of your time up," he started to get up.
"Tekeshi, this is still your home. You aren't taking up our time. If you need somewhere to come back to, your room is still the second door on the left up the stairs," Fang-fang said.
He stopped mid way as he turned to walk to the back door, "I will, remember that," he then walked over and gingerly gave the two a hug, mindful of the infant that was still hard at work at the woman's nipple.
"Please be safe. I don't think any of us could take it if you found something stronger than you," Yukari said, as tears started to slide down her cheeks.
"Don't worry, I'm not too proud to run if that happens. I have people to come back to."
A/N: I have left off doing a note until now to reintroduce the bulk of the characters. I thank everyone for continuing on this journey. I don't know how long until Tekeshi returns to everyone, but I will do it in a way appropriate to him. Also, someone mentioned in a review that it was awesome how I ended Reliquiae Memoriae with the chorus to "Wherever I May Roam", but I think they missed why those lyrics were chosen. If you look back, that was the first song that Tekeshi sang to Utsuki. Please, continue reviewing, and giving your thoughts. They help me go forward more than you could imagine.