Here's a very little something that came to me today while I was crunching
numbers...

See if you can figure out (before the last paragraphs) who the story is
about.  I don't expect the hardcore Anime/Manga fans will have any trouble,
but.... (shrugs).  

As always, C&C is welcomed, accepted and appreciated.

Okay, Nuf sed.  Here it is... Enjoy!

Coutuva.

Standard disclaimers apply!
++++++


A Matter of Inheritance
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	Standing before the window in her kitchen finishing up the last of
the dishes, the attractive young woman sighed to herself as she watched her
daughter play happily outside.  Never before in her life had she
experienced
such contentment and peace, and she found herself hoping it would last
forever.
	Up until two years ago, her  life had been one of constant turmoil,
some of which, she had to admit, had actually been fun.  But, even an
adrenaline junkie like herself had limits, and they had been tested time
and
time again.
	The final straw in her decision to move with her daughter to Canada
came after her husband had died of cancer while she was on a mission.  She
had repeatedly tried to quit during his illness, but various high-powered
officials just would not let her alone.  It came down to a choice... stay
in
Japan and have her precious daughter essentially raised by her parents, or
leave and start a new life where nobody knew her.  One look in her
daughter's
gleaming hazel eyes was all it took.
	So far, with just a simple change of hair color, she had blended in
perfectly to this small neighborhood, and nobody seemed to notice anything
unusual about them.
        Hanging up the drying towel, she poured herself a cup of tea, and
made her way out to the deck overlooking her huge yard.  She smiled as she
thought to herself how a house and yard like this would be impossible in
her
home town, even for someone as financially secure as she was.
	Settling into her lounge chair, she continued to watch her daughter
play with her little friend, and sipped gently at her tea.  Her mind
drifted
back to the days when she played like that with her best childhood friend,
and she couldn't help but smile.
	Her pleasant trip down memory lane was short-lived however,
interrupted by a small, insistent voice from the edge of the deck rail.
        "Mommy!  Mommy!"  the melodious voice called, a chord of urgency
threaded through it.
	"Yes, honey?"  she answered, leaning up to face her daughter's
imploring eyes.
	"Sarah fell off her bike and bent it!  Can you fix it?"  she asked,
anxiously.
	"Is Sarah okay?"  she responded, rising to go to the fallen child.
	"She's okay, but her bike is bent, and her Daddy will be mad!  Come
on, Mom!"  the little one urged, running back toward her friend.
	Arriving at the scene, she noticed that the bike's front fork had
been pushed back, and the wheel was rubbing on the frame.  Sarah was
crying,
afraid she'd get in trouble.
	"It's okay, Sarah..."  she soothed, offering the child a Kleenex
from her pocket.  "I'll see if I can fix it.  Are you sure you're okay?"
she
asked softly, brushing some grass from the child's dress.  The little girl
nodded an affirmative, and wiped her teary face.
	"Look, you two!  A kitty!"  she suddenly blurted, pointing out a
neighbor's cat cutting through the yard.  In the few seconds the two girls
were distracted, she quickly grabbed the bike and yanked the forks
straight,
then acted like she was fussing over the bent tin fender.
	"Okay, Sarah... it looks like it was just a bent fender.  It's okay
now." she announced, righting the bike.
	"Thank you!"  Sarah sang, and happily jumped on the bike to go after
the cat.
	Smiling, she stood up and straightened her skirt as her daughter
raced off after her friend, a hearty "Thanks, Mommy!" fading on the breeze
as she went.
	Resuming her place on the deck, she absently watched the children for
a while, simply relaxing and taking in the beauty of the day.  Inwardly,
she
knew that she would have to enjoy these halcyon moments for all they were
worth, seizing each and reveling in them.  As much as she wished for this
wonderful existence to last forever, the time would come when reality would
once again intrude.
	Her beautiful, happy, carefree daughter was rapidly approaching age
seven, and that meant possibly a few more months before it would happen to
her.  Sadly, she remembered when it had manifested itself in her own body,
and it had scared the life out of her.
	When she was just over seven years old herself, she was playing
happily in her parent's yard, when her best friend grabbed her shovel from
her.  As kids do, she got angry and grabbed it back.  When her friend
started
to cry, she became even more upset and threw the shovel at the wall, which
it
promptly went right through.
	Crying, she ran to her mom, who upon hearing the story simply smiled
knowingly.   Her mother then sat her down with a cup of tea, and gently
explained what had happened.
	She was the recipient of a special gift, one which could either
enhance or ruin her life, depending on how it was handled.  It was
inherited
from her parents, and along with it came the awesome responsibility of
knowing how to use it.
	She remembered how it had affected her life from that point onward,
taking her down a path that would eventually lead to constant challenges
and
sometimes vicious fighting.  Even the government of her homeland became
involved before long, using her gift to aid them in their times of need. 
The
demands had become too great after a few years, and she could feel her life
slipping away from her.  She had missed some of the most important
milestones
in her daughter's young life, and still felt the pain of coming home to her
husband's gravestone.
	Secretly, she had hoped that since she had married a normal man, the
'gift' would miss her daughter, or at least be tempered by the mixing of
the
bloodline.  She still clung to that desperate hope, not wanting her
innocent
little girl's carefree youth to be washed away like hers had been, back on
that summer day twenty-three long years ago.  Regrettably, there was no
means of knowing for sure until the little one reached the appropriate age.
	Sighing heavily again, she set down her teacup and walked back into
the house, headed for her bedroom.  Kneeling before the side of her bed,
she
pulled a large flat trunk out from under it, then sat back on her heels
resignedly.  She stared at the old box for several minutes, still hoping
that
what was contained within would never have to be used.
        Finally, she unlocked the box and lifted it's broad lid fully open,
a
smile crossing her lips as she gazed at it's contents.  Despite her regrets
and fears for her only child, seeing these things again invoked pleasant
memories that would always make her feel good.
	Reaching in, she moved aside the carefully folded sailor fuku to
reveal the two black wristbands beneath it,  smaller copies of the ones she
wore to this day, carefully hidden under her long-sleeved blouse.  She knew
that one day her daughter might need them, and if that heartbreaking day
ever
came to be, she would pass on this second part of the little one's
inheritance, and pray that she would have the wisdom to choose a different
path that she herself had journeyed down.
	Sighing once again, she closed the box and slid it back under the
bed.  Wiping away the tear that had formed in her eye, she moved to the
bedroom window and again watched her daughter play happily.
	"Enjoy these times, my little darling... for you, they may end all
too soon."  she whispered, quietly starting to cry.





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END - A Matter of Inheritance - A FanFic by V. Coutu.


Comments Welcomed, Flames Extinguished!
coutuva@vecdev.com


Guess it yet??  ^_-


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Catch all my 'Fics (and more!) at Water's Edge!
http://home1.gte.net/teseract/archive/Vic

"No, we don't broadcast animation live anymore... it puts too
much of a strain on the Artist's wrists."