Sins of the Father - Chapter One

Rain pattered softly on the ground and small feet walked slowly through the Tokyo streets, not noticing or caring about the cold rain slowly soaking through her uniform. The small, slim girl tried to hold back sobs as she walked, brushing the long dark strands of wet hair from her face. The day itself seemed to represent how she felt. All day the clouds had been brewing, rain threatening to burst, and finally, the dam had broken. Aya cried softly, her shoulders shaking. This had been one of the worst days she'd had in a while, and it was her birthday.

"Happy birthday, Aya!"

The girl jumped slightly as she was grabbed around the shoulders.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine, Mahiko," she replied, smiling gently, forcing back tears. She didn't want to make her friends worry. Her friends worried enough about her as it was; she didn't need them worrying about her because she was crying on her eighteenth birthday.

"I have a surprise for you!" Mahiko danced about, excitement bubbling over. She grabbed the birthday girl by the hand and pulled her out of the rain. "Look, I found the coolest thing at a little shop in Roppongi! It's some sort of history book, and it's in English! I know you can read English.”

Aya nodded. That was true. She had grown up in Jersey City in the U.S., had lived there most of her life until her mother remarried a military man whose work brought them to a base just outside of New Tokyo. "What is it about? Do you know?"

"The store clerk said it was found in an ancient capsule, but I think it's just a gag to get people interested. It worked, though! I bought it. I think it's a sort of fantasy-historical fiction crossbreed. Part of it is some strange text I couldn't decipher, and the other is English. A translation, I think. It's strange, it's about this world, the history of a strange world. It's about a war and the downfall of an emperor, and then at the very end... well, I won't ruin it for you, but I peeked ahead. It's so interesting."

"Thank you, Mahiko," Aya smiled and hugged her friend tightly. She had gone through the entire day thinking that nobody had remembered. Everybody had acted so plainly.

"That's not all, come on, we have to get back to your house," Aya’s friend dragged her to the transport station. The two boarded their vehicle and sat down. Aya squeezed water from her black hair and stared out the window. She always loved looking at the ruins of the former Tokyo Underground. The history of the place interested her. In the 21st century, it had been the fastest way to get from one place to another in the city, but most of the city had been destroyed during the Great War. Most of the world, in fact, had been destroyed by the war.

The young woman watched the skeletons of underground cars, wondering what life was like then, before the war, before the Unification. Forty-two years had passed since the declaration of lasting peace throughout the world, but she didn't see any of what her forefathers had been promised. She watched the homeless thousands who lived underground in an attempt to survive the winter. They were mere blurs as they passed, but her heart ached. What happened to social reform? What happened to a stronger united cause to defeat poverty and hunger?

She looked at the book in her hands. It was quite old, and very beautiful, with a soft leather cover. The slight pulling away from the edges made it look loved and appreciated. It had survived time. Everybody knew she loved history, and she knew why. They were told that they should be thankful for the time in which they lived. Each day at school she was told that they had it better than how it had been years ago, but she wasn't sure she saw that. Technology had definitely improved, but with the improvement of technology came the end of the need for a blue collar worker. Basically, humans who were uneducated were obsolete, hence the dramatic increase in poverty. It really, truly saddened her. She almost wished for a simple time when people all lived from the work of their hands. That, at least, was equality for most.

"Aya," Mahiko snapped her from her thoughts. "We're here."

The raven haired girl stood up and exited the tram. Mihiko and Aya walked the three blocks from the station to the base and entered her little house.

"SURPRISE!"

Aya took a step back and into her friend as her parents, several families also living on the base, and most of her class jumped out at her. She stared momentarily, then laughed.

"Happy birthday, Aya!" her friends cried, showering her with hugs and presents and sweets. She was whirred around the room and spoke to about thirty people she didn't know before she finally made it to her step-father.

"Dad," she said. "Who...?"

"Your mother, of course. This is your eighteenth birthday. You're legal! Happy birthday, honey!" He hugged her hand handed her an envelope. "You can open it later," he said and hurried off to talk to some other officers.

This was insane. She didn't know her mother was capable of pulling something like this off. Her mother was so wrapped up in her job most of the time that Aya sometimes wondered if she even noticed her. Apparently so, because this was all for her.

"Ahem..." somebody coughed lightly behind her. She turned around and immediately turned red. "Hi, uh... happy birthday!"

"Hi, Jeremiah," she tried not to swoon. Jeremiah was an American like her, but unlike Aya he actually looked the part. While she was half Japanese, Jeremiah was 100% pure bred American mutt, and he was gorgeous for it. He had large, green eyes and sandy blonde hair. He was at least a foot taller, with strong arms and a beautiful smile. She had quite a crush on him. "Are you enjoying the party?"

"I wasn't until I got to talk to you," he said and then blushed.

She laughed nervously. Her eyes widened when he ungracefully shoved something into her hands. She overlooked the fact that he sort of resembled some overgrown baby shoving something into somebody's hands. He was cute, and he was noticing her, finally. She took the present. "Is this for me?"

It took her a second to realize how stupid that sounded. It was her birthday; of course it was for her. She mentally rolled her eyes, and and thanked him. He turned a little redder and waited for her to open it.

“Mahiko took me to Roppongi. I found this in the same store that she found her present. The guy at the counter said they were found together in the same little thingy, and I thought it was pretty...”

Aya opened the little box and gasped. “Wow! Thank you, Jeremiah! This is beautiful,” she stared at it, awestruck. Inside was a tiny blue gem mounted to a silver ring. She slipped it on her finger and looked at it. It looked beautiful against her light skin.

“Do you like it?” he asked nervously. Aya felt his intense stare, as if he were afraid that she thought him stupid to get her something as sentimental as a ring. She didn't, but it was like him to be self-conscious. “The stone is the same color as your eyes,” he mumbled self-consciously.

“I love it. Thank you so much.”

“Aya, it's time to cut the cake!” her step-father called.

“Get over here, Aya,” said a huge Austrian officer as he scooped her up and threw her over one of his broad shoulders like a big bag of potatos She was caught between clutching his hands in fear of falling and trying to make him put her down. She didn't want to argue, though, so she simply held on. Her friends and family sang happy birthday.

“Make a wish!” someone yelled, and she did. She wished she could be with somebody she loved in a place that was peaceful; a simpler place. She took a deep breath and blew out all the candles.

After the guests had departed and Aya had helped her mother clean up, she slowly dragged herself to her room. The party had been fun, but draining. For some reason, all of her dad's military buddies really made her nervous. But it was fun despite that. Her friends had been there, Jeremiah had been there, and had given her a present. Aya slipped into the bathroom and undressed, filling the tub and contemplating the gifts she'd received. She had received quite a lot of money, and a few articles of ugly clothing from well-meaning aunts and friends of the family. Her friends from school had mostly bought her CDs and trendy toys, but the two people she really cared about; her best friend and Jeremiah, had given her meaningful gifts. She smiled and sunk into the warm water.

The day had started out so horribly. She had run into a gang on the way to the station, which was frightening, and she had gotten a paper back with less than flattering remarks despite the fact that she had been rather proud of it, and to top it all off, all her friends had acted as if the day was nothing special. She had felt progressively worse throughout the day, but seeing Mahiko and the party had turned her mood around.

She closed her eyes. She couldn't really complain about her condition. She loved her family and her friends. She did often think about the sorry state of the world around her, but she had to; it kept her from thinking too much about herself. She yawned and slowly the heat and the relaxed position got to her and she drifted off.

Aya opened her eyes and looked around. She was frozen and pruney and wasn't quite sure where she was. The candles she'd been burning had long since extinguished. The girl pulled herself out of the tub, dried off, rolled up her long hair, and slipped into pajamas. She went to her room and flopped down on the bed.

“Ouch,” she winced as she felt the little ring stab her in the back. She'd forgotten that she had left that there. The book was to the side, but the ring was digging her skin. She cursed and sat up. It was pretty, but it was a sharp little bugger! She placed it on the night stand and turned off the lights. It was time for sleep. She closed her eyes, and was drifting away when suddenly a bright light blinded her even through her eyelids. She sat upright and looked around wildly for the source of the light.

“What the hell?” she whispered. The ring. The ring on her nightstand was glowing a brilliant sapphire. She reached for it and tried to pick it up but it burned her fingers. She winced and let it drop onto the blanket, staring at it in amazement. She tried to touch it again and before she could do anything the glow began to surround her. The girl covered her eyes as she was blinded by the swirling melee of light around her. She screamed as her body began to heat. It hurt. It felt like she was being ripped through time and space. Her lungs were compressed and she couldn't gasp for air, let alone scream. She hit something hard, her head knocked forward and back again, giving her whiplash. After she hit, the motion stopped, and she tried to look around, but all she could see was stars above her, fading slowly, and suddenly her eyes darkened. She knew no more.

To Chapter Two