MARS Fan Fiction ❯ Rise of a Fallen Angel (Part II of the Angels Series) ❯ Emily ( Chapter 8 )

Okay, this story has been on hiatus for, like…well, I last updated in December of last year, and I apologize profusely. I have decided to finally pick up the pen….er….keyboard….again, and I know pretty much all of my readers have probably forgotten about it by now, but to those of you who are going to read, I thank you very much. This chapter will be very, very, very uber short—like, three pages of a Word document type short—on account of I forgot nearly everything that I was going to put in it, except for the end…. I even forgot how old Emily's gonna be, so let's just say fifteen, `kay? I can't believe I forgot my own character's age…. ^_^;;;

 

And I don't own the song “Emily.” That is Michael W. Smith's honor, not mine.

 

Um….other notes…. Rei is sorta out of character in this chapter. This was planned, so no reviewing and telling me I suck. Besides, Rei's been out of character for the whole freaking story, so there's no point in telling me now….

 

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Chapter 8—Emily

 

At a New York City airport…

 

The airport was crowded, filled with hustle and bustle, people running to catch planes or meet other people, security guards trying to keep order in the mayhem, shouting in countless different languages, and a single, lonely dog barking from its kennel.

 

“I always hated New York….” Rei muttered, dodging a kid from a Cub Scout group.

 

Kira laughed. “It's not that different from home, Rei.”

 

Emily smiled slightly as Rei and Kira began to bicker, even as Rei slid his arm around Kira's shoulders and pulled her against his side.

 

“Where's Ms. Reese?”

 

“Right behind you,” a merry voice said, and Kira jumped about a foot in the air and turned around.

 

“Ms. Reese!” Kira exclaimed, a welcoming smile on her face. She hugged the tiny woman, grinning from ear to ear. “How are you?”

 

“Better than some, worse than others, and annoyed with all,” Ms. Reese replied, then turned to Emily with a bright smile and enfolded the girl in a hug. She half expected Emily to squirm away or freeze up, but was rewarded with a return embrace instead. Choosing not to voice her surprise, she instead looked around at Rei and hugged him, as well. “Come on, you three. I'll take you to your hotel, and then we can grab some lunch and go back to the orphanage.”

 

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That week was filled with fun for Emily—visiting the orphanage every morning, followed by souvenir shopping and then dinner at one restaurant or another. She had no time to think of Akemi during the busy days, but at night… Night was the time when all of Emily's reservations and wishes for romance caught up to her. She was only fifteen to Akemi's eighteen years, and yet…

 

At that point in the thought process, Emily would always force her mind to close to that particular subject and ended up drifting off to sleep thinking about everything but Akemi.

 

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On their last night in New York, the adults took Emily to a small bar that was having a minors' night. Alcohol wasn't being served and had been replaced with lemonade, coffee, hot chocolate, and the like. A band had been hired for the night and was said to know any song you could name. This having been established, Rei was rather eager to set his birthday plans for Emily in motion.

 

The night started off with dinner. For a bar, the food was actually quite delicious. A little on the greasy side, perhaps, but Emily had always lived for greasy food. It was her one major weakness. That, and her inability to trust people, to open up. Truth be told, she sometimes didn't know which made her weaker.

 

After they'd eaten, they all headed for an empty billiard table, and all began challenging each other. Emily played Rei and lost, spectacularly, and Rei ended up creaming Kira. Ms. Reese played Kira and won by a margin, then lost to Emily, before Rei challenged Ms. Reese and claimed victory for himself, and by the time the two hour mark passed, they were all hailing the Japanese man as the superior god of billiards. The same thing happened in pinball and darts, and they all finally just lost patience with Rei's winning streak and left him standing alone next to the dartboard, with a handful of darts and a very stupid expression.

 

The games were followed by more food, a cake that Rei ran next door to the bakery to pick up, and present opening. The presents were accompanied and followed by yet more food, and Emily began to wonder if their objective wasn't to kill her through an overdose of salt and grease.

 

Then, just before they got ready to leave to go back to the hotel, the last surprise of the evening came.

 

Rei had left the table a few minutes before, with a vague explanation about how he'd seen someone he thought he recognized, and returned to the table with a mysterious smile on his face. Kira gave him a questioning look, but he just shook his head at her and turned to look at the small stage where the band was positioned. The others followed his cue, Emily remaining sitting as she did so.

 

A moment later, the lead singer of the band spoke into the microphone. “Excuse me. If I could have your attention for just a few short minutes, please?”

 

The bar gradually fell silent as the rest of its inhabitants turned their attention to the stage.

 

“Thank you. Now, it seems we have a birthday girl in here tonight that I'm just finding out about. Emily Kashino? Can you raise your hand?”

 

At this, Emily shrunk in her chair. Nevertheless, she was spotted, and the man smiled at her.

 

“There she is. Everyone, she's sitting at the table in the corner, right behind the monstrously tall blond guy.”

 

There was a collective laugh from the crowd in the bar, and one man shouted from somewhere, “Happy birthday, kiddo!”

 

Emily bristled. She hated being called “kiddo.”

 

“Well, anyway, Emily's father came to me with a special request for his daughter's birthday. Some of you know him as Rei Kashino, famous Japanese racing champion, and I'm sure more than a few of you know of his wife, the talented Japanese artist, Kira Kashino.”

The resemblance between Kira and Emily was uncanny as she, too, attempted to shrink.

 

“Well, while you're all watching the tiny girls get smaller, I want you to listen to this song that Mr. Kashino requested in honor of his daughter's birthday. Few of you have probably heard it, but it's a well-loved favorite among this band, luckily for Mr. Kashino and his birthday girl. So, without further ado….”

 

When the music started, Emily sat up a little straighter, but not enough to be easily noticed, and listened.

 

Caught, in an endless time
Waiting for a sign
To show you where to go
Lost, in a silent stare
Looking anywhere
For answers you don't know

 

Emily blinked, and straightened a little more.

On the wire
Balancing your dreams
Hoping ends will meet their means
You feel alone
Uninspired
Well does it help you to
Know that I believe in you
You're an angel waiting for wings...

Emily

A scratchy feeling started in Emily's throat, as she leaned forward to rest her head on the table and continued to listen to the music, enraptured with the sounds of the instruments combining with the singer's melodious voice.

 

You, going through this stage
It's a restless age
Young and insecure
Sill, there are doubts to fade
Moments to be made
And one of them is yours

A lump formed in Emily's throat now, and she blinked back tears. The chorus played again, and a single tear fell. Rei was carefully avoiding looking at anyone and had moved closer to the door. None of the others noticed, though. Emily was too busy contending with her own emotions, and Kira and Ms. Reese seemed caught up in the moment, as well.

 

On the wire
Balancing your dreams
Hoping ends will meet their means
But you feel alone
Uninspired
Oh does it help you to
Know that I believe in you
You're an angel waiting for wings
Oh, you're an angel waiting for wings...

Emily

 

As the music faded into silence, Rei turned quickly to make for the exit. Displays of emotion towards anyone but Kira has always made him uncomfortable, and not only had this particular display not been toward Kira, but in the middle of a crowded bar, as well. These facts combined together made Rei very eager to leave, and he had almost made it to the door when the slightest movement and a collective breath from the crowd caused him to turn around.

 

The entire bar had their eyes on him. Kira and Ms. Reese had remained back at the table, but their eyes were fixed on Rei, as well. There was someone missing from their party, however, and Rei realized that Emily was standing right in front of him. He met her eyes, and tried to assess what he saw there. Anger? Worry? Depression? Fear? …No…no, those weren't right. It was something much deeper and more meaningful.

 

Then her mouth opened. It closed, then opened again. This was repeated several times. The magnitude of the next event was lost on most of the bar, but not to Rei. A voice, gentle and soft and sounding as if it was protesting its sudden return to use, issued forth, and Rei's heart felt like it would burst.

 

“Daddy…”