Fan Fiction ❯ Fighter's Crusade: Project Epsilon ❯ Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

On the outskirts of the German Black Forest sat the little town of Kappel. It wasn't the busiest of towns. Its residents were easy going and laid back. But during the winter months the town gained a little popularity as a vacation retreat. One family who annually contributed to their winter income was the Barrens. Hans had established a small winter home, a few miles outside of the town and would take his family with him on retreats into the forest. But he also had an ulterior motive: to use this opportunity to train Hitomi into the best fighter she could be.

x x x x

"Hitomi, let's go." She had stopped and braced herself against a tree to catch her breath. The bark felt rough against her palms, her blood quickened, heightening her senses. Her father came over to her, his arms folded across his chest. "Bist du müde?" he asked, his deep voice had a serious tone. A bead of sweat rolled down her nose and fell to the forest floor. "No, not yet." She replied, forcing herself to push forward and continue jogging. The early morning air was cold, and it stung Hitomi's lungs. Her breath was visible as she tried to keep a steady pace with her father, jogging along a footpath in the forest. Her gray sweat suit was much lighter than her father's military fatigues and the belt he wore that held a canteen and machete, but the legs of the suit were becoming damp from rubbing against the dew laden foliage that had overgrown the path.

Ahead Hitomi could hear the trickling of a stream. They normally stopped to rest there on these treks into the forest. It's banks sometimes flooded, and over time left an open area of rounded rocks behind. She followed her father as he pushed through the brush to reveal the stream at its normal level. The baseball size rocks made up its banks and could easily twist an ankle if one wasn't careful. It was cooler near the stream, but it always was. Hans took a seat on a large log that had been pushed over for some time, and lay sideways on the bank. Hitomi walked past him and knelt down by the stream, it was one of the many things she enjoyed on the family trips to the forest. Her reflection stared back to her with a rippling distortion as the stream flowed to her right. She watched the water; it had a slight red tint. Hitomi had seen the stream do this before. There were many fragile red flowers that grew along the banks of the stream, and any strong wind or rain would bring them falling into the water. The currents of the stream would cause the flowers to gather and pool in small groups along the bank, giving off a sweet smell that she always enjoyed and Hitomi began to wander upstream to look for them. "What is it?" Hans asked her. "Flowers," she told him and pushed past a bush. "Heh, at least she's still a girl at heart," he told himself. He had been worried that with all the martial arts training she might be more tomboyish than he wanted, but she was still his naïve little girl, for a while longer anyway.

Hitomi wandered up the stream, staying close to the edge of the water, looking for the spot where the water pooled with the flowers, tainting the water an ever so slight red color. She knew the habits of the currents well, but it was strange, because this time the water grew increasingly red as she neared the source, one characteristic Hitomi was unfamiliar with; normally the water's color stayed the same tint of red. The red contaminate snaked its way upstream till it found refuge behind another bush. "That must be it," she thought to herself. But something seemed different this time. Something didn't feel right. Pulling the bush to the side Hitomi could make out a black body topped with a brown, matted head of hair that lay face down. It's lower half was submerged in water. A telltale red liquid flowed from its side into the water. Out of surprise she let the bush go. It snapped back into its original position.

Hans was causally sitting on the log, enjoying the view, when the high-pitched scream of his daughters voice interrupted him. He instinctively snapped his head toward her direction and stood up, looking for any indication of danger. Hitomi stumbled out from behind another bush and ran towards him, a scared look on her face. As she neared him she tripped on one of the rocks as it shifted under her weight and she fell forward. He quickly moved and assisted her, but now she was crying. "Maybe she got bit by a small animal or snake," he thought to himself.

"What is it Hitomi?" he asked, "are you hurt?"

She clutched his shirt. "There's a dead person over there!" she cried into his chest.

"Where?" asked Hans, smiling as if he knew that there wasn't really anyone over there.

"B-behind the bush," she cried.

"Alright," he said taking her hand, "lets go see."

Hitomi led her father over towards the bush. Pushing it aside he stepped past it leaving Hitomi on the other side. What he saw surprised him. He knew he had to keep a level head, and Hans started thinking, the calm and cool attitude that The Crew had taught him. Hans quickly examined the body. It was a man with bruised skin, and covered in mud with a head of brown hair, thickly matted to its head. The body wore a dirty, gray t-shirt patched with mud and soaked with water, torn and ripped in places that were accompanied by cuts and scratches, many of them leaking blood. He crept up to it; careful to not step on it's arms laying lazily out it front of it on the bank. Hans was shocked when he felt its neck for a pulse. It was alive, just barely; but it was still alive. He called out for Hitomi who stuck her head out from behind a bush. "He's still alive," He told her, "not by much, but alive. Help me get him out of here." Grabbing the man under the arms he slid it out of the water and turned him over. Hitomi could see the very slight fog of his breath, as he barely clung to life. She stood by her father and watched as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around the man's upper body; and felt the man's arms for separations. His arms weren't broken, and he slid them through the arms of the jacket. "Clear the brush to the path," he told her and Hitomi slid the machete from its sheath on Hans' belt and hacked at the bushes and small trees enough for him to drag the man through. Hans picked it up under the arms and dragged it out of the brush onto the path that was just wide enough for the three of them to move around. "Is he going to live?" Hitomi asked, looking at the man's face. "Not if we don't get him some help soon," he replied. Kneeling down he leaned over to the side of the body and picked him up by the arms, pulling them around his shoulders in a sort of lazy piggyback position. Hitomi tried to support the body as he situated himself, and leaned forward to keep the man from falling off. "Run ahead and tell mom what happened," he ordered, "tell her to warm up the bath."

"Demmo…" Hitomi tried to argue, she didn't feel safe leaving her father behind.

"Hayaku!"

She knew her father was serious when he yelled at her in Japanese.

x x x x

Running at a full sprint down the path, she hated leaving her father behind by himself. It wasn't like he couldn't take care of himself, she just hated to leave him with that injured person. Being extra careful not to misstep and hurt herself she could see the forest open to their summerhouse outside the forest. She cleared the three steps to the front door in a single jump and burst through the door. "Ocasan! Ocasan!" she yelled into the house, but her mother had heard her coming and stood in the doorway between the hallway and living room, waiting for her. "What is it Hitomi-chan?" she asked.

"We found a man in the woods, dad said to prepare a warm bath."

"Huh?" Maki was at a loss.

"That's what he said," she told him, as to confirm her own story.

"Help me then, Hitomi," her mother told her.

"Hai."

Before long they had the bathroom ready, and Hitomi pulled out the first aid kit and lots of soap. Maki looked at her in amazement. "Are you going to wash a dog?" she laughed, "besides, if he's just coming to take a bath why does he need a first aid kit?"

"Because he was bleeding," she explained.

"Eh?"

"Yeah, I thought the flowers had fallen into the water, so I went to find them, but this man was bleeding in the water. He wasn't moving and I thought he was dead, but dad said he was alive and…" her enthusiasm was cut short by a kicking at the front door.

"Ah, he's here!" she exclaimed and rushed to open the door and let her father in.

As she opened the door her father stood in the doorway, breathing heavily. He smiled and cracked "Tadaima."

He followed Hitomi to the bathroom they had prepared and Maki helped him move the man. They set him on the floor, his body looked very bad, but it was still clung to life. Hans took his jacket off the man and pulled out a mid size lock blade from this right pocket. Flipping it open, he cut off the man's tattered gray shirt and peeled it off. The body was badly damaged, and Maki examined it. His arms and shoulders were cut and scratched, but the worst of the damage was on the right shoulder. It looked like it had been shot, a small bullet hole started on one side, but was also mirrored on the other side, indicating that it had passed straight through. "five point five-six millimeter," Hans uttered, looking at the shoulder, "high velocity, full metal jacket, at close range. He was either being chased, or was in a fight. And that's with someone with money, not just a gang war, that's an assault rifle caliber." Hitomi looked at her father, she knew that he gained a lot of knowledge about guns and firearms during his service with The Crew, but never imaged that he could tell that much by just a bullet hole alone. "He will not live if we do not hurry," Hans told Maki, "make Hitomi help, she must be strong." Hitomi peered around the open doorway of the bathroom at the mention of her name. "Hitomi," her mother called, "come here and help." She walked into the bathroom, stepping around the man's legs, and stood next to her mother. "Here," Maki said as he held out a sponge to her, "help him."

x x x x

Two days had passed and the man had still not awoken. Hitomi sat in the guest room, an extra room they had in the house, next to the guest bed watching the man as he slowly breathed. His face was young and relaxing even scratched and cut like it was. His clean brown hair came down below his eyes and sprawled outward on the pillow. Hitomi held a bowl of warm water with a white washcloth, and wringing it out she gently wiped his forehead. She slowly pulled back the covers to reveal his bandaged chest, wrapped in gauze and band-aids. It must have been very painful for him. Her parents had gone out to buy food and clothing and had left her in charge to take care of him. They always referred to him as "him", "that man", or "our guest", because they didn't know what his real name was, which made Hitomi think. What's his name?, Where did he come from?, What happened to him? were questions she asked herself.

His bandages were a mix of white with red splotches as they covered the wounds around his chest. Some were redder than others, and Hitomi carefully removed them, being gentle, not wanting to cause him pain. As she removed a bandage some of the blood dried, securing the scab to the fibers of the gauze and as she removed it the man groaned. She couldn't tell if it was a moan of possible mental pain that plagued him or the physical pain that she knew she was causing. Replacing the bandage with a fresh one, she made sure that it covered the wound enough to prevent infection. Hitomi felt sorry for him, he must have been through a lot with all the wounds he had taken; the pain must have been unbearable. He looked a little older than her, his face rough and unshaven. She guessed his age was around twenty or twenty-two years old, but it was impossible to know exactly, until he woke and told them. Hitomi looked at his face and smiled. She had a strange attraction to him; he looked rough, but strong and at the same time depended on her. It made her feel wanted and needed. She finished putting fresh bandages on, and wiped his arms and chest with the cloth. He had been running a fever all day, it seemed as if the world had turned its back on him. Hitomi placed the bowl of water with the cloth on the floor and felt his forehead. "Don't worry," she assured him stroking his hair, "I'll always be here for you."

x x x x

Hitomi sat down to the dinner table to join the rest of the family. The window behind her let in the orange evening light, that spotlighted the kitchen table that was dressed with the evening meal. Her parents were open minded about their two cultures, and left both chopsticks and western style utensils on the table; however, the girls preferred the chopsticks. The rest of her family was waiting for her, her father seemed to have something on his mind.

"Ikimasu," she chimed and took a drink from the glass of water in front of her.

"Did anything happen today?" Hitomi's father asked her.

"No," she replied knowing that he was referring their guest, "he slept all day again."

Hans let out a sigh of disappointment. She could tell he knew something she didn't, and it troubled her.

"What's wrong father?" she asked.

"Hitomi, he's in real bad shape," he told her.

"Yes, I know."

"We don't have access to any medical IV fluids or anything."

"Yes."

"If he doesn't wake up soon, in the next day or two, he'll die because we have no way to get any nutrients to him."

Maki put her hand on Han's shoulder and whispered a sympathetic "Anata" . Hans looked back down at the dinner plate in front of him. It was hard for him to tell Hitomi this; he knew she had become attached to this man whose name she didn't even know.

"O - okay," Hitomi whispered in reply, catching on the word in shock.

Now she didn't feel like eating and instead poked at the roll on her plate with her chopsticks.

"I - I'm sorry Hitomi," Hans apologized.

"No, it's okay. Whatever happens, happens."

Maki let out a surprised gasp and covered her mouth, as if she had just seen a ghost, dropping her chopsticks. "What's wrong mother?" Hitomi asked, seeing her mother's reaction. She was staring at something in disbelief. Her father had also stopped and was looking in the same direction. "What?" Hitomi asked turning to look herself. Then she saw what had distracted her parents.

In the doorway where the hall opened into the dining room stood that man, their guest, leaning on the wall to help support him, his body still wrapped in bandages. "Welcome," Hans greeted him. The man stood and looked at him, then his eyes slowly wandered to the table of food. It seemed like he was lost. "Do you want something to eat?" he asked, "you're welcome to anything you want, you must be hungry." The man just stood and looked around, his tanned skin patched with bandages, and wearing a pair of Han's loose gym shorts.

He had finally woken up. Even battered and torn he was standing and moving around, it was an inspiration to Hitomi. She got up and brought him a glass of water. He looked at it, longing to quench a three day thirst. The man held out his hand to take the glass, his hand shaking under his body's weak condition and Hitomi thought twice about giving it to him. She realized he might not be strong enough to hold it, and could drop the glass if she gave it to him. Hitomi smiled and sat the glass on the table and he reached out to chase it, wanting the water she teased him. She smiled again to at least give him a sense of security and taking him by the hand led him to the table and sat the man in a chair. He took the glass with both hands and even then it shook enough to spill some water, but was able to drink and some of it spilled around the edge of the cup and dripped down his front. Hitomi watched him and giggled. It seemed funny to her that this man was acting like a child.

"Wie heit du?" she asked.

"Hitomi," her father protested, but when Maki placed her hand on his shoulder he stopped.

"Let her, Hans," Maki said, "she's old enough."

The man didn't respond to her question but looked at her and nodded. His eyes started to droop and Hitomi realized that he must still be tired. He shook his head as if to shake off the oncoming sleep and looked at the food on the table. She could tell he wanted something and took a roll from a bowl on the table and presented it to him. He reached for it with his scratched and battered hands, but his desire for food had taken away from his desire to stay conscious and he collapsed out of the chair and onto the floor.

x x x x

The man opened his eyes to see a familiar ceiling and a warm rubbing feeling on his chest. He looked to see a young girl with a cloth that was causing the feeling. She noticed he had woke and stopped, retracting her arm in embarrassment, her face turning a shade of red. She uttered something he did not understand and called out into the hallway. Two other people, a man and a woman waited in the doorway. "Wie heit du?" she asked him. Instead of answering her, he replied with a question of his own. "Itashiwa doko?" he asked. Hitomi lifted her head in surprise. He had no way of knowing that she spoke Japanese.

"Germany," she replied.

"Germany?" he asked, as if he didn't believe her.

"Yes, we found you out in the forest, you were unconscious and near death," she informed him.

"We're going to go out and get you some clothes," the woman in the doorway told him, "try not to strain yourself."

Then they left, leaving him and the girl by themselves, together in the room.

"Where am I?" he asked again.

"Keppel, Germany," she replied.

The man shifted his view back to the ceiling again as if he was probing his own brain for an explanation. The sat in silence for a few minutes, Hitomi still a little embarrassed about the cloth. She got his attention by plopping it into a bowl of warm water on the floor and rising from the chair.

"Are you hungry?" she smiled.

"Yes."

"Okay, stay here and I'll go get you something."

She disappeared into the hallway and a minute later came back with a plastic mixing bowl covered with another cloth. Sitting back down in the chair Hitomi took a roll out of the bowl. "Here," she said handing it to him. He pulled himself up, slowly shifting his legs off the edge of the bed and hunched over resting his elbows on his knees. Hitomi could see that some of the wounds had ripped back open when he collapsed to the floor earlier; the bandages indicated that. He took the bread, holding it loosely with his right hand. "I'll go get you some water," she told him and disappeared down the hall again. She returned shortly to see the man in the same position. It was if he never moved. His shoulder bandage had now turned fully red and was leaking the vital liquid again. She handed him the glass of water and he received it, but his hand shook from weakness and water spilled from it. Hitomi quickly took it form him and he stared at the floor in anger.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"It's okay," she replied and took a seat next to him on the bed.

"Here," she said, and slowly lifting the glass to his chapped lips. He slowly began to drink and Hitomi smiled to herself a little. It was fun to her, to take care of this man she was attracted to, but she realized she didn't even know his name. "What's your name?" Hitomi asked, taking the glass down from his lips while some water ran down his chin. The man stopped and tried to think rubbing his face and head as if it would help him. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"I - I don't know."

"Where does it hurt?" Hitomi asked, gently caressing his shoulder, ready to alleviate him of any pain.

"N - no," he stuttered, "I - I can't remember my name."

Hitomi recoiled her head in surprise. It was a shock to her that after all this time of keeping her suspended on what his name was, he couldn't remember it. Taking her hand away from his shoulder she realized it was bleeding rather aggressively.

"Well, what should I call you?" Hitomi asked while trying to change the bandage on his shoulder.

"I don't know," he responded.

"Well, if you remember anything let me know."

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Hitomi," she smiled, "nice to meet you."

"Hitomi…" he repeated, "it sounds beautiful."

Hitomi smiled again and picked up the cloth out of the bowl, wringing it out. He did not react as she wiped the wound clean of the blood that had found its way to the surface. As she went over the wound itself he didn't flinch or even break his breathing pattern. This amazed her, it was a state of mind her father called "Battle Hard" in which someone who had taken so much pain and suffering that anything more, like a cut or bullet wound was so trivial it caused no reaction. She hoped that one day she would be able to reach that state, but at the same time she feared it knowing the consequences of getting there. Hitomi picked up a roll of gauze bandage from a first aid kit that sat by her feet and counted out length, "Eine, zwei, drei." The man's head snapped with attention. "What did you say?" he asked.

"Ichi, ni, san," she counted.

"No, no, those other words, what was the first one?"

"Eine?"

"Yes, I like that."

"Like what? Eine? It means one in German," she explained.

"Yes, call me Ein," he said happily, but his happiness quickly left him, "at least until I get my memories back," he finished.

Hitomi slowly began wrapping the gauze around his arm, but Ein seemed to not be paying attention. It was part of that "Battle Hard" state of mind. She kept wrapping and accidentally bumped one of the other bandages on his ribs. He felt that. Ein looked at Hitomi who kept wrapping, unaware that she had done anything. "Ummmm," he didn't know what to say to her, the nudging of the soft wound inadvertently getting his attention. She realized he was looking at her and looking up at him, stopped to think of something to say. For a moment they eye contact, but Hitomi quickly took her hands away again, and looked away. Ein could see through her dark brown and black hair. Her face was turning a shade of red again. "I'm sorry," she muttered to the blanket on the bed. "No, it's okay. Please continue," he encouraged. Hitomi took the bandage again and finished wrapping his shoulder, being careful not to put pressure on any sensitive areas that might cause him pain. When she had finished wrapping the gauze she removed a small metal clasp out of the kit and secured the bandage so it would not unravel.

Ein reached out for the bowl covered with the cloth where Hitomi had placed the roll. It seemed like fate was toying with him, keeping him from the food; the one thing he wanted the most.

"Do you want something to eat?" she asked.

"Please."

"Here," she said taking the piece of bread and giving it to him.

He reached his hand out to take the bread from hers. His fingers slowly clasped around the roll, his hand cut and scratched. It seemed to pain Ein to move it.

"Does your hand hurt?" Hitomi questioned.

"A little, but I can deal with it."

She watched him as he took the roll loosely in his hand, ready to catch the roll if it loosened itself from his grasp. As he lifted it to his mouth it fell and bounced off his lap, but Hitomi caught it before it hit the floor.

"Sorry," he mumbled, somewhat ashamed of himself.

"It's okay," she replied.

Taking the roll in her hand again Hitomi pulled off a small piece. "Say ahh," she told him holding the piece of bread to up to his mouth. Ein looked at her in silence. Realizing how inappropriate she was being she quickly pulled her hands away Hitomi set them in her lap, embarrassed by her behavior. He laughed to himself and opened his mouth.

x x x x

It was getting late and Hitomi had made Ein go back to sleep on the after replacing some of his bandages. She happily bounced in the kitchen while humming a joyful tune to herself. Her parents should return home soon and she could tell them his name at least, but not much else. After she had finished drying a plate and placing it in the appropriate cabinet Hitomi was interrupted by footsteps in the hallway. "Mutter," she said, "sein Name ist Ein." And turning around she did not see her mother but Ein instead, hobbling into the kitchen to sit down at the table. "Ein!" she exclaimed, "you're supposed to be in bed."

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep."

"You should try," she light scolded.

"I know."

"Are you still hungry?"

"No."

"Do you want something to drink?" she asked in her best efforts to be a good nurse. "No."

"Well, do you need anything? There must be some reason you got up."

Ein rubbed his bandaged shoulder, it still bleeding ever so slightly.

"I'm scared," he trailed off, seemingly embarrassed and ashamed of himself.

"Why?" Hitomi asked. It seemed strange to her that the battle hardened Ein could be scared of anything.

When she had finished putting away the dishes she took a seat next to him at the table.

"Because," he paused, "because I don't know who I am. I scared of being left alone."

She looked at him. His gunshot shoulder had slowed in its bleeding. His side was no longer a problem, which had led her to find him in the first place.

"I - I just want someone to talk to," Ein chocked out, "maybe if you keep talking to me, I'll remember something."

Hitomi was overcome with by a wave of joy, although she hid it under a serious expression. He wanted her. He needed her. It made Hitomi feel so happy. "Okay," she decided, "I'll talk to you, but first you have to get back in bed," rising from the chair. He stood up, the muscles in his thighs straining to support his one hundred and sixty-five pounds. His legs were not nearly as badly damaged as his chest and arms, but they still bore their share of bandages. As he stood his right leg collapsed from weakness. He lost his balance and fell towards Hitomi. With her quick reaction she caught him; her arms bracing him around his muscular chest. Her legs buckled a little under his weight. She quickly righted him; her hands were soft from the dishwashing soap and helped move him towards the guest room. "See, you should have stayed in bed," she told him in a playful `I told you so' tone of voice.

Hitomi sat him back in the bed again and laid him down, like a mother putting her child to bed, and pulled the covers up to mid-chest. She took a seat in the chair that stood next to his bed. It seemed commonplace now. The chair had stayed next to the bed ever since they laid Ein in it.

"So… what do you want to talk about?" she inquired.

"I don't know," he replied, looking at the familiar ceiling once again.

Hitomi giggled to herself a little.

"What?" Ein asked, thinking she was laughing at him.

"Do you know what I said earlier when you came into the kitchen?"

"No."

"I called you mother. You walk so softly, like my mother does."

Ein looked at her, seemingly annoyed.

"Great," he complained, "I limp like an old lady."

She pointed her finger as if to scold him, "You should thank her. She helped to save your life."

Hitomi turned her head towards the hall at the sound of the front door closing. "They're back," she told him. Ein pulled himself up to rest against the headboard of the bed. Her parents came into the guest room to see their daughter and their guest conversing. They felt relieved that he was up and about and knew he wasn't going to die. They both entered the room, Hans with a plastic bag with clothes and Maki stood behind Hitomi. Hans took a seat on the bed next to Ein. "I'm Hans Barrens," he said introducing himself. Acknowledging with a hand he said, "This is my wife Maki." Maki bowed to Ein. "And I believe you've already met my daughter Hitomi," he said with Hitomi bowing to him also.

"Yes," he replied, "My name is Ein."

"Well then," Hans continued, "lets get you into some of these clothes."

He looked at the girls huddled around the chair next to the bed. They left the room shutting the door behind them.

x x x x

Hitomi threw herself on the bed in her room. It was soft, and yet had a level of comfortable firmness. The bed was big enough so that she could lay her arms and legs out and not hang off the edges of the bed. She laid her head on a pillow and looked up at the ceiling in contemplation. She was overcome with happiness. Ein wanted her. He needed her. Well, that's the way she understood it anyway. She felt so important. A stuffed animal that resembled at cat sat next to her head. Hitomi grabbed it and held it outstretched above her head. "Isn't he cute Neko-chan?"she asked it. It did not reply but just stared, glassy-eyed, at her. "I knew you'd think so," Hitomi said giving it a hug.

Hearing the door open Hitomi looked to see her mother stick her head inside. Maki came in and sat on the bed next to her daughter.

"Did you talk with him?" she asked.

"Yes, for most of the day."

"What did he say?" Maki asked, intrigued.

"Well, he didn't say much," Hitomi told her, "his name is Ein, but he doesn't remember anything else."

"Oh?"

"Yes, and his bleeding has slowed for the most part."

"Good."

Maki looked at her daughter, who was relaxing on the bed, holding a stuffed animal. Come the end of May would bring Hitomi's seventeenth birthday, and she would have to give up her childish ways and comforts. Hans would train her to an expert level, but until then it was not much more than a game to her.

"Hitomi."

"Yes mother?"

"Don't get too attached to him," she warned and rose from the bed, "he may leave as soon as his health returns."

With those words she left the room.

"It's okay Neko-chan," she told the stuffed animal, "he won't leave as long as he needs me."

x x x x

Days went by. Days turned into weeks. Ein's condition continued to improve. It was a miracle to the Barrens that Ein was now up and active, defying the fate that had opposed him. His bruises had faded, but some of the more serious wounds on his body, including the bullet hole, remained. To show his gratitude for the Barrens' generosity Ein insisted on helping with the chores, at least the ones he could help with in his condition. Maki was grateful to have him help although she knew she was perfectly able to do them herself.

They slowly began to accept Ein as less of a guest. As he caught on to the German language Hitomi and Maki stopped addressing him with honorifics, showing that they had accepted him as a close friend or family member, but to Hitomi he was much more than that.

x x x x

Ein slowly opened the door to Hitomi's bedroom. Peering inside he could see her in her bed, sleeping, serene and calm. His feet did not make a sound as he walked across the floor to her bedside. She shifted her position on the bed and with an annoyed moaning pulled the blanket over her head. With her still asleep he slowly reached out and stole the stuffed animal from Hitomi's beside. Ein smirked slightly as he headed for the door. He grabbed the doorknob, but his fugitive actions were ended.

"Ein, where are you taking Neko-chan?"

"Oh…nowhere," he replied to the door.

"Give him back," Hitomi playfully commanded.

"Dang," he said tossing the stuffed animal back to her, "that's the third time this week you've caught me."

"What did you expect? You're the one who taught me to sense changes like that," she explained.

"True. But you've only caught me three times out of eight. What about the other five times I actually got out?"

He walked over and sat on the bed next to her. Patting her on the head he said, "Don't worry, you're a quick learner. Soon you'll be able to perfect it and catch me every time." Hitomi pouted her lips and crossed her arms across her chest. "But I'm not fast enough," she whined. "You will be," he reassured her. "Now," he continued, "get ready, father wants you to go jogging with him." Ein left the room as silently as he entered.

She got out of bed and searched her closet for a sweat suit. Hitomi found a sky blue one and set it on her bed. Her father always gave her the sweat suits to train and practice in, she would come home from school one day, and a new one would be laying on her bed. It was funny how he seemed to know the size that fit her perfectly; he must get the information from her mother. All the suits were different colors and Hitomi had six or seven of them. However, there was one thing that linked them all together. Embroidered on back on every sweat suit was a large contour of a bird with its wings flared open spanning shoulder to shoulder and head in a profile. Once her father had saved enough money he opened his own Karate dojo and used the Phoenix as his mascot and logo. He even made Hitomi a few shirts with the bird on it. Hans was very proud of his dojo.

Hitomi met him outside dressed in the sweat suit she had picked out. Her father was standing beside a tree using it as leverage to stretch his legs. His loose military fatigues were a black, white, and gray color scheme, positioned in the modern American urban assault pattern. It would stand out in the forest. "Good morning father," she said to him. "Morning," he replied. Hitomi stretched her legs by touching her toes. Bracing herself against the tree she pulled her a foot up to her back with her hand, effectively stretching out the front on her leg. Switching legs she repeated the process. Stretching her arms out behind her back she felt her fathers hands grab her wrist and help her stretch. He usually helped her and she appreciated the fact that he did not want her to hurt herself. As they stretched her arm she noticed Hans walk out in front of her buckling down the belt with the canteen and machete around his waist. Who had her arms? Who was helping her stretch? Hitomi quickly pulled her arm away and spun around to see Ein looking her directly in the face.

"Ohayo Hitomi," he smiled.

"Ein? What are you doing here?" she asked, happily surprised.

"Father thought I should go too," he replied.

"What?"

"He said I had been in bed too long and I needed to get out and move before my muscles rot."

Ein's familiar blue shirt had that bird spread across the front. It was the same shirt Han's sometimes wore when teaching her.

"Are you coming with us Ein?"

"Yup."

She reached into her pocket and came back out with a piece of cord, burnt at both ends so it wouldn't unravel. "Here," she said handing it to him. He took it from her. "What is this, some sort of lucky charm?" he asked her, chuckling to himself. Hitomi didn't come across to him as a superstitious person. She seemed more like a person that believed in skill and ability than luck. "No silly," she laughed turning around, "tie my hair with it." Hanging the cord from his mouth he caressed Hitomi's hair. She smiled, although she knew Ein couldn't see her. But her father did. He chuckled to himself slightly, not wanted to bring any, or mainly Hitomi's, attention to himself. He used to tie Maki's hair all the time when they met in Japan.

Ein looked at Hitomi's hair in his hand. It felt so familiar. It was like he had done this before. The morning light was not very bright, but it seemed to give her hair a copper color. "No," he doubted himself, shaking his head as if to reset his eyes. It was probably just his eyes playing tricks on him. Dividing her hair into three different groups he swiftly braided her hair and tied the end with the cord. "Done," he told her, letting the thick braid fall down onto her back. "Already?" she thought aloud and pulled her hair over her shoulder. To Hitomi's surprise it was a tightly braided ponytail, the white cord looped around the end and tied in a bow. It was amazingly secure around the braid.

"Wow, this is a really tight braid, and you did it so quickly. Have you braided hair before? Seriously Ein, this takes a lot of practice," she complimented.

"No, I don't think so. I can't remember any other time when I braided hair besides just now."

"Well that's okay, someday you'll remember."

"I hope so."

"I don't hope," she told him, "I know."

"Huh?"

"It's like woman's intuition," she winked.

Ein smiled.

"If you say so."

"Hey! Let's go," Hans told them and started jogging away. "Go, or he'll leave us behind," Hitomi told Ein, "he doesn't have the patience to wait on us." The started off; catching up and matching pace with Hans. Hitomi and Ein jogged side by side, her on his right. The cool, humid, morning made their breath visible in the forest. Her father's pants were obvious as he jogged his was through the flora that attempted to take over the footpath.

"Have you remembered anything?" she asked.

"I've tried, but I can't remember."

"It's okay."

They kept following him through the various bushes around logs that had fallen over, obstructing the path.

"Father said he's going to train me," Ein told her.

"Eh?"

"He said when we go to Berlin, he'll teach me Karate. He said that I have a fighting spirit because I survived."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"Heh, he likes to fight," she laughed between breaths.

As they rounded a bend in the footpath Hitomi could hear the trickling of the stream. It was where she had found Ein. In a few days they would have to go back to Berlin so she could attend school at the end of the winter break. Hitomi loved it out here in the forest and would hate to leave it all behind, like she had every year since she was little. It was given her so many wonderful memories in the past, but now it had given her something more wonderful than she could have ever imagined. She enjoyed his company so much felt so good around him. He seemed to return her feelings.

Hans pushed through the brush ahead of them, towards the stream. Hitomi and Ein followed and wondered out onto the bank of smoothed rocks. Taking in a long breath Hitomi exclaimed, "Wow, the stream smells so good today."

"Oh yeah?" inquired Ein, sniffing the air himself.

He had a different reaction.

"I don't know," he paused, "I smell something different."

"Like what?"

"Like decaying flesh."

"Ewwww," she replied, slightly repulsed, "how do you know what decaying flesh smells like?"

"I don't know, but it's coming from that direction," and he began to wander upstream, towards the bush where Hitomi had found him.

Hitomi followed but kept her distance; she didn't want it to seem too obvious that she was following him. Passing some small bushes he same to a spot that was relatively clear of brush, close to where Hitomi had found him. He stopped.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"Stay back!"

Hitomi was shocked by his answer. She backed up a few steps.

"Hans!" Ein yelled.

Hans rose from his habitual resting spot on the log. He walked over and stood behind Ein.

"What is it?"

"Look," Ein said, pointing to the clearing.

In the small clear patch lay a body, sprawled on the ground. Its face was turned away from them. Hans stepped past forward past Ein. He kneeled on one knee on the ground by the body. Its black military uniform was covered with leaves and grass, blown down by the wind. "It has no identification patches," Hans told him.

By the body's head lay a black combat helmet. Its chinstrap was broken and the helmet was filled with leaved and dead grass from the ground. By the body's outstretched arm lay a gathering of leaves with a black, smooth, slender tube protruding from it. Hans stood and walked over to the leaves. Reaching down he pulled at the tube, and held up a rifle. "Wow," exclaimed Ein in an emotionless tone.

"Wow is right," replied Hans, looking at the gun with enthusiasm, "do you know what this is?"

"No."

"This is an AR-15. An assault rifle manufactured by Armalite, an American company. It's basically a civilian version of the M-16 the United State's military's general issue assault rifle. The only difference is this one doesn't shouldn't have the multiple fire modes like M-16."

Hans turned the gun over to examine both sides.

"This one appears to be modified though," he continued, "it looks to have selectable fire modes of one, three, and full auto."

He shouldered the gun and looked down it as if to shoot it.

"It's scoped, but the scope is fogged up, meaning it's been out here a while."

Turning the gun around again he looked at the handle and trigger. Finding a small lever he tried to force it downward, towards a white `S' on the side of the metal.

"The safety is rusted in the single shot position."

"So?"

"It's been out here long enough to rust and it's off. Meaning this person was ready to shoot when they died."

Looking the gun over once more he located a button by the trigger guard. Hans tried to push it, but it was rusted in place. Sliding out the machete, he smacked the button with the bottom of the machete handle. The ammunition magazine fell from the rifle onto the ground. He picked it up and examined it. It was half empty. Setting the AR-15 down he slid a bullet from the magazine into his hand.

"Five point five-six millimeter," he said looking at the cartridge, "high velocity, full metal jacket. This is the same size as the bullet hole in your shoulder."

Ein rubbed his shoulder at the mention of the wound.

"And," Hans continued, picking the assault rifle back up and pulling at a lever on the top of the gun, "the bolt is rusted shut."

He laid the gun against a tree and kicked the bolt open with his boot. A cartridge ejected from it and flew past his knee. Picking the rifle up by the barrel he pointed, "This is a silencer. It makes the shooting of a gun almost inaudible. This very well could be the person that shot you."

"Well, he got what was coming to him," Ein smirked.

"Yeah, but how?"

Hans looked at the body lying on the ground. It was sprawled out like it had been knocked backwards and fell. He nudged the head of the fallen solider with his boot, turning its face towards him. It had taken the mask of death. Its eye sockets were deep and open. All of its features had sunken inwards. But what had killed him was apparent. His forehead was collapsed. By his feet rested one of the smooth baseball size rocks from the stream. "Damn," Hans uttered in disbelief, "you must have thrown that rock pretty hard." He picked up the black combat helmet scooping the leaves and grass out of it. The broken chinstrap hung loose from one side. The front of the helmet was completely crushed, matching the spot on the soldier's forehead where the rock had met it. "Who was this person?" Hans asked aloud. Turning to Ein he said, "Maybe if we figure out who he is, we'll know who you are." Kneeling down he reached for the soldier's neck. Slowly feeling around he came up with two chains. With a sharp pull they snapped off. Putting them in his hand he examined them. A gold necklace with a locket and a small metal chain with two dog tags seemed to snarl at him. Hans read the dog tags:

Michael Henderson. 40873-0064. DOATek Obtainment and Retrieval Division.

They just seemed like normal dog tags, except for one line. DOATek Obtainment and Retrieval Division.

"What is that?" he asked himself.

"What is what?" Ein asked, who had been looking at the tags over his shoulder.

"DOATek Obtainment and Retrieval?"

"I don't know," he replied with a shrug.

Putting the identification tags in his pocket Hans looked the locket over. Pushing a small tab on the side it popped open. Inside was a picture of a girl; an Asian girl, unmistakably Japanese in ethnicity. She seemed strangely unnatural, yet attractive, with brown eyes and a brownish-copper ponytail that was held in place with a yellowish-orange ribbon. She looked to still be a minor. Etched on the inside of the locket door was one word. Alpha.

"Alpha?" thought Hans.

"Hey, do you know this person?" he asked Ein, handing the locket to him.

He took the locket and stared at the picture. It was like he had seen that hair before, but he doubted himself.

"No."

Hans stepped out from the clearing and Ein followed. "What was it?" Hitomi asked, her attention was distracted by a ladybug that had landed on the flower she was holding. "Nothing," Hans told her. Hitomi looked at him and frowned. She knew he was hiding something. "It's for your own good," he said sensing her disappointment, "now I need you and Ein to go get lost of big rocks from the stream." Ein obediently walked towards the stream to look for rocks sized enough to bring. Hitomi jumped from the ground, while putting the flower in her hair chased after him.

"Ein."

"Humm?"

"What was over there?" she girlishly asked, hoping it would give her some leverage on getting some sort of information as to what was behind the bush.

"I don't know."

Hitomi stopped walking. She didn't expect that, and didn't think that he would try to hide anything from her. She disregarded it and decided to try again. Catching up to him she tugged on his sleeve.

"Really Ein, what is over there?"

"Father doesn't want you to know."

"Why not?"

"Be he thinks you'll be afraid."

"Afraid of what?" she asked, trying to get him to tell her what was behind the bush.

"No."

"No?"

"No, I'm not going to tell you what's back there."

Bending down, Ein picked up a watermelon sized rock and held it out to Hitomi. She cradled it in her arms and carried it over to Hans, who prohibited her from coming behind the bush. He took the rock and set it next to the body.

x x x x

"Okay," Hans told Hitomi, "you can some see now." Hitomi slowly and carefully made her way to the clearing, expecting something to jump out and attack her. In front of her lay a large stack of rocks, the rocks they had pulled from the stream. The pile was impressively large, almost as tall as her waist. Hans came up behind her, and with the machete, hacked off two limbs from the tree. Fashioning them into approximate equal length with the small sword. Cutting notches into them he fit the branches together into a cross. Hans searched the ground, for what, Hitomi was uncertain. When he had found what he was looking for he shifted a rock on the pile, placing the cross where the rock once was he shifted the rock back to it's original position, effectively holding the wooden cross in place. He walked over to a patch of ivy that lay peacefully on the forest floor, seemingly unaware of the solider or the events that had gone on that day. Hans reached down pulling up a vine from the ivy and continued pulling until he had a reasonable length. With the machete he severed the vine from the plant. He tied the vine around the crossbar of the crucifix and it held in place. Hitomi watched him as he did this, amazed at her father's compassion. One would have never of guessed that he was once part of an elite military organization. Ein walked over to the rocky grave of the fallen solider and draped the locket across it. "What happened?" Hitomi asked him. "He died," Ein replied. Hans picked up the helmet off the ground and hung it from the top of the cross.

Hans looked at Hitomi who stood on the opposite end of the grave and was clinging to Ein's arm. That was fine with him, she may be scared, it was okay for now. Staring at them, they stopped looking at the stone burial and focused on Hans. "You must show the dead and your opponents the utmost respect," he told them, kneeling on the ground. Hitomi followed his lead and kneeled herself. Ein looked at the two, father and daughter had kneeled on the ground to pay their respects, but he was in awe at such a sight that he stood. Hitomi tugged at his pant leg and he took a spot next to her. He watched her with the curiosity of a child and when she bowed her head he quickly bowed his, not wanting to disrespect her. Hitomi whispered a traditional Japanese prayer that her mother had taught. Only Ein could hear it.

x x x x

Hans sat in his bed, the covers up to his waist, his back braced against the headboard of the bed. A faint red glow of eleven fifteen was projected onto his bed sheet. The room was almost completely dark, dimly lit by the by a single lamp next to his bed and the partially open bathroom door; that concealed his wife on the inside with the sound of running water. Holding the dog tags out to examine them he started to think. "What is this Obtainment and Retrieval Division?" he asked himself. He did escort the president around Japan years ago, but he had never heard of such a division. And why did he have a gun? Firearms are outlawed in Japan. What's more, you would have to get a special government license to issue guns to qualified personnel, in Germany or otherwise. This mystery has Hans frustrated. The tags shone in the dimly lit room. The letters of pressed metal reflected light from the lamp, as if to conceal an explanation. The tags were lined with a black rubber also known as silencers, but of a different sort. They kept the tags from making noise as they collided with each other.

The sound of the running water inside the bathroom stopped. Hans' attention was shifted to the bathroom door as it opened and the light from the inside slowly invaded his dimly lit room. Maki emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a silk robe, her black hair resting evenly behind her. She sat in the bed next to her husband and pulled the covers up to her waist. Setting herself against the headboard of the bed she could tell Hans was under an unnatural amount of stress. "What's wrong dear?" she asked. Entwining her fingers into his right hand that lay idle at his side, she gently squeezed it. "I don't know," he sighed, slowly laying his head against the headboard.

"Humm?" she asked in gentle inquiry.

"It's just so strange."

"Strange? How so?"

"These tags make DOATek seem like some mad science fiction experiment."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Obtainment and Retrieval? What is that supposed to mean?" he asked Maki, as if she would know the answer.

He tossed the dog tags across the room. They silently landed on an oak dresser across from the bed. Frustrated with his lack of knowledge about the situation he folded his arms behind his head. Maki lowered herself into the bed. Studying Hans again she could tell he was clearly troubled. Putting her arm around him she laid her head on his chest. The affections of his wife did not go unnoticed as he put a hand her head and slowly stroked her hair. "It's okay honey," she told him. "everything will be alright."

x x x x

Ein slowly opened the door to Hitomi's bedroom. Peering inside he could see her in her bed, sleeping, serene and calm. His feet did not make a sound as he walked across the floor to her bedside. She shifted her position on the bed and with an annoyed moaning pulled the blanket over her head. He slowly reached out and gently shook Hitomi on the shoulder.

"Hitomi, Hitomi wake up," he whispered, a scared urgency lingered in his voice. She moaned from under the covers but did not move.

"Hitomi, c'mon get up, I'm serious."

She stuck her head out from under the covers and searched for a clock.

"C'mon mom, it's only," she paused turning herself around to find the clock, but found Ein instead.

"Ein?"

Hitomi could tell he was scared of something.

"Ein, what's wrong?"

"Someone is in the house."

"Huh?"

"Can't you feel their presence?"

Hitomi closed her eyes and concentrated as if calculating an immense math problem.

"I feel something," she said, "but I don't know what it is."

"Someone is in the house. Go wake up father."

A red line projected itself down the hallway making itself visible to Hitomi and Ein through the open doorway.

"What's that?" she whispered to him.

"That's him. He's here."

Ein swiftly pulled Hitomi from the bed and shoved her inside her closet, sliding the door closed. The red line started to make its way into Hitomi's bedroom. He quickly positioned himself behind the door to the room and as it opened to let the person through, it concealed Ein from view.

The black figure cautiously and silently snuck into the bedroom. At the end of the red line was a gun, small and compact. The figure was hunched over to steady it as he walked. He could not make much detail out on the man, his eyes covered by long, slender goggles. Ein tried to as hard as he could to be silent. Staying hidden was his number one concern; he only hoped that Hitomi could do the same. The figure looked around the room. He was searching for something. Deciding it was not here he turned and left. Ein opened the closet door. Hitomi was curled up in a corner with a sleeping bag across herself. She remained deathly still. "Hitomi, it's okay now," he whispered, "but don't move." He swiftly went to the hallway and stuck his head around the corner. The figure had his back to him. Sneaking down the dark hall he nearly tripped over a waist-high bookshelf, but a book loosened from it and descended towards the ground. Catching it before it could alert anyone to his presence, he was about to place the hardback book back on the shelf, until he noticed it's title, Self Defense. Holding the book in his right hand he brought his arm back and threw it with extreme velocity towards the figure's head.

The man collapsed on the ground as the book came to rest by his feet. Ein slowly crept up to the now limp invader. Turning the man over he could see him breathing heavily in shock. Searching the man's neck he found a chain. Snapping it off he could tell it was a pair of dog tags, but couldn't quite make out what they said in the dimly lit hallway, except for one line: DOATek Obtainment and Retrieval Division.

German- "Bist du müde" translates to "Are you tired?"

Japanese - "But…"

Japanese - "Hurry!"

Japanese - Ocasan is the traditional word for Mother, however, Mama is popularly used.

Japanese - A traditional phrase meaning "I'm home."

Japanese - Literally means "you" but between husband and wife it is used as an affectionate term like "dear", "honey", or "sweetie"

German - translated means "What is your name?"

Japanese - translated means "Where am I?"

German - "Eine, zwei, drei" translates to "One, two, three" respectively

Japanese - "Ichi, ni, san" translates to "One, two, three" respectively

German - "Mother, his name is Ein"

Hitomi address the cat like a child. Similar to "kitty".

Available in Word 97+ format at

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