FIC: Daiki, Part 5 (of 22)

[geri_chan]

Title: Daiki, Part 5 (of 22)
Rating: R overall, but mostly PG-13
Pairing: Leon/D
Word count: ~6,515
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Matsuri Akino and Yumiko Kawahara. No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: This can be considered a continuation of my earlier series of stories (Revenge, The Day After, Spirits, Blodeuedd), but it can stand on its own as my version of what happens after Book 10.

Thanks to: Spare from the Petshop discussion group on Yahoo, who planted the plot bunny in my head about the Dolls shopkeeper being Leon and D's child! ^_^

Summary: A crossover between Petshop of Horrors by Matsuri Akino and Dolls by Yumiko Kawahara. Daiki begins to develop some unusual powers, and Sofu and Chris pay visits to the petshop.

Part 1a, Part 1b, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

***

Tet-chan was as protective of Daiki as he had been of Chris, and he suffered indignities for the child's sake as he had for Chris: wrestling and playing tag with Daiki, and allowing the boy to ride on his back and clutch at his horns. He would bite the other pets when they teased him about it, but he never bit Daiki, not even in play. For one thing, Daiki was the Count's son as well as the detective's, and Tet-chan wasn't sure how the Count would react; it was never wise to anger a kami. And for another thing, Daiki might well bite him back--he was made of much sterner stuff than Chris! Tet-chan was quite proud of Daiki for beating up the bully who had tried to pick on him, even though D had thrown a hissy fit about it. But Tet-chan knew that it was important to show bullies like that who was boss or they'd walk all over you--to establish yourself as the alpha wolf, as Lupin would say.

But it wasn't entirely Chris's fault that he'd been a bit of a crybaby. Daiki had been raised by two loving parents, while Chris had lost his mother and been shunted off to his aunt and uncle, and been told by his cousin/adopted sister that he had killed his real mother. Tet-chan still hadn't quite forgiven Sam for that, or the elder Orcots for the disparaging remarks they had made about D and the shop--and about Leon. The detective could be an annoying bastard, to be sure, but he was still a better parent than his aunt and uncle, and he would lay his life on the line to protect his family and friends. Not that Tet-chan would ever in a million years admit that to Leon--not even if he was being tortured to death! Although actually, he and the detective had reached an accord that was almost friendly since Daiki had been born, but Tet-chan would still bite Leon every now and then just to keep him on his toes.

D had banned Daiki from watching television or playing video games for the week of his suspension, although it wasn't really that much of a punishment since Daiki was perfectly content to help out at the shop and play with the pets. Still, when the week was up, Tet-chan and Daiki decided to celebrate the lifting of the ban by playing video games together.

Although some of his friends at school had much newer game systems, Daiki still used the old Playstation console and games that Chris had left behind when he moved back in with his adoptive family.

"Don't you want to ask your dad or the Count to buy you a new Playstation?" Tet-chan asked. "Or maybe a Nintendo?" It would be nice to get some new games; Tet-chan was a little tired of the old ones, since he had played with them for several years. Daiki was probably the only kid in the city not whining and begging his parents for new video games--he was a nice kid, but a little weird. But then again, you couldn't really expect a half-kami child who had been born from a vine and had two male parents to turn out normal.

"I like playing these games," Daiki said, smiling at him sweetly. "I like playing with the same games that Uncle Chris used to play with."

Tet-chan heaved a sigh, suddenly feeling a pang of wistful melancholy as he remembered playing video games with another blond Orcot child. D had told the pets that it was for the best that Chris had regained his voice and left the shop, that it was better for him to be with his own kind--to live with his family and go to school and make friends, and someday marry and have a family of his own--than to live as an outcast in the petshop for the rest of his life. Tet-chan supposed that D was right, but he still missed Chris. And would it really have been so bad for Chris to remain at the shop for the rest of his life? Weren't they--the Count and Leon and the pets--Chris's family, too? So what if he couldn't talk? Everyone in the shop could understand him, even Leon. As for someday finding a mate--well, Pon and Shukou were certainly crazy about him. But maybe that wasn't such a good idea, after all...the girls would end up fighting over him, and Shukou's three heads always fought with each other more when Chris was around. Besides, it was difficult to picture a romantic union between a human and a three-headed dragon.

Daiki set aside his game controller, gazed at Tet-chan solemnly, and asked, "You miss Uncle Chris, don't you, Tet-chan?"

"What?!" Tet-chan protested, flushing. "I do not! I was just thinking about how much more quiet and peaceful it is without that little crybaby around!"

"I miss him, too," Daiki said, snuggling up against the Tou-Tet's side. "I wish that he lived closer so that he could visit more often."

"I don't miss him," Tet-chan grumbled in a gruff voice, but he gently wrapped an arm around the boy.

When D and Leon checked on them about half an hour later, they found Tet-chan and Daiki asleep in front of the TV, with Daiki's blond head pillowed against the side of the orange-furred sheep-like creature.

Leon chuckled as he looked down at them. "It reminds me of when Chris used to live at the shop."

D smiled tenderly at the pair. "Daiki's birth was good for Tet-chan, as well as for you and I. It has helped ease the pain of Chris's departure. I know that he missed Chris terribly, although he would never admit it."

Leon spread a blanket over the napping pair, and affectionately stroked his son's hair, then gave the Tou-Tet a little pat on the head when he thought the Count wasn't looking. He would never dare do such a thing when Tet-chan was awake, of course--not just for pride's sake, but for fear of getting his hand bitten off. But he secretly admitted to himself that he'd grown fond of the little monster, and besides, the Tou-Tet was a very good baby-sitter.

From the corner of his eye, D saw the detective furtively pat the sleeping Tet-chan, but he merely smiled to himself and said nothing.

***

Jill and Terry had gotten married about a year after Leon and the Count returned to Los Angeles; Leon had been Jill's "man of honor," and had threatened to break the jaw of anyone who tried to call him a bridesmaid. Of course there was some snickering in the station house behind his back, but most of it was good-natured, and no one referred to him as a bridesmaid--at least not to his face.

Terry and Jill both wanted children, but postponed starting a family because Jill loved her job and having a baby would require her to take several months off from work. In the meantime, she lavished her affection on Daiki, until she finally decided that her biological clock was ticking. She told Leon that watching him and D and Daiki together had made her realize how much she wanted a family of her own. So a few months after Daiki had started his first year of school, Jill gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that she and Terry named "Lian". It was a Chinese name that meant "graceful willow," but Jill privately told Leon that after going through a baby names book, she had decided on that name because it sounded like his.

"It's a nice traditional Chinese name to make Terry's family happy," she explained when Leon came to visit her in the hospital. She looked tired from the birth, but her face was glowing with happiness. "But I also wanted to name the baby after you, my best friend, only you can't really name a girl 'Leon'--at least, not if you don't want to make the poor kid's life miserable, so this was the closest we could get..."

Leon was touched, and he had to blink away a few tears. Of course, Jill had always been able to see right through his macho posturings, but still, one had to keep up appearances. "Thanks, Jill," he said gruffly, and bent down to kiss her on the cheek.

Lian soon became a frequent visitor at the petshop, along with her parents. Daiki loved playing with the baby, and was very patient and gentle with her, the same way that Chris was with him. Lian was a normal baby, which meant that sometimes she was temperamental and fussy, but she always seemed calm in Daiki's presence.

"He has a way with children," Jill observed.

"And with plants," Leon said. Daiki's little greenhouse was still flourishing; in fact, most of the original plants had outgrown the greenhouse and had to be transplanted to the gardens.

Jill smiled and rumpled Daiki's blond curls affectionately. "So what do you want to be when you grow up, Daiki? A baby-sitter? A gardener?"

"I don't know," Daiki replied with his angelic smile, holding the baby on his lap as she cooed and gurgled contentedly. "Maybe I'll be both."

The adults laughed. "Maybe he'll be a petshop owner," Terry joked.

"God forbid," Leon groaned.

***

Daiki did indeed have a way with plants, as they discovered during his first-grade science project. The class had all been given lima beans to grown in empty milk carton planters; Leon remembered doing a similar project when he was a kid. The children all were given the same type of seeds and used the same dirt gathered from the school grounds, but when the project was over, most of the kids had tiny green stalks growing out of their milk cartons, while Daiki's plant was two feet high and spilling out of the carton.

"My goodness!" the teacher exclaimed. "Did you use some kind of special fertilizer on your bean plant, Daiki?"

"No," Daiki replied. "Just water and sunlight."

The teacher shook his head slightly in bewilderment. With another student, he might have suspected overeager parents of "helping" the child with their project, but Detective Orcot and the Count didn't seem like the type, and besides, Daiki was always unfailingly honest--as when he had readily admitted to his part in the fight with Joey Green last year. And even if Daiki and his parents had been willing to cheat on the project, no type of fertilizer, no matter how good, could have made the plant grow so fast in such a short period of time.

"He has a way with plants," D serenely told the puzzled teacher when he came to pick up Daiki from school that day.

And then the teacher remembered certain rumors he had heard about Count D...he felt uneasy for a moment, then silently laughed at himself. There was no such thing as magic, and even if the Count did possess supernatural powers, why would he waste them on something so trivial as a first-grade science project? "Yes, I guess Daiki just has a green thumb," the teacher said cheerfully. The Count just gave him an enigmatic smile in return.

***

Leon took great pride in being a dad, and he tried to be there for Daiki as his own father had never been there for him. Sometimes his job prevented it, but he always tried to show up for parent-teacher conferences or whenever there was some sort of special event where the parents where invited to the school, like a Parents' Day or a school fair. The teachers were a bit taken aback at first when they realized that Daiki's parents were both male, but this being L.A., it wasn't really all that shocking, and in his usual manner, D soon charmed the faculty as thoroughly as he had Leon's superiors in the police department. In any case, if the teachers felt any disapproval of D's and Leon's lifestyle, none of them took it out on Daiki, whom they all praised as being one of their brightest students.

So it was odd that Daiki's grades suddenly began to drop in second grade, and his homework papers began coming back with many corrections marked in red ink. Leon knew that it wasn't because Daiki was slacking off--as Leon had often done when he had been a child--because he saw Daiki working diligently on his homework at the kitchen table every day afterschool. It worried Leon and D enough to arrange a meeting with Daiki's homeroom teacher, Mrs. Garcia, who also happened to be Daiki's math teacher.

All four of them sat together at the back of the classroom one day afterschool, going over Daiki's latest homework assignment, where he had gotten every problem wrong. "I just don't understand it," Leon said, frowning worriedly. "Math's always been one of his best subjects, and he's never had any problems up until now..."

"I've been trying really hard, Daddy," an anxious Daiki said, and Leon patted him on the head.

"I know, squirt," Leon said gently. "Papa and I aren't mad, just concerned."

"Daiki has been working very hard in class," Mrs. Garcia said, smiling at the boy affectionately. "I didn't understand it, either, but after going over his last assignment, I think I know what the problem is. Daiki, can you read the homework assignment on the blackboard for me?"

Daiki leaned forward, squinting slightly. "Chapter...eight...questions one through...ten," he said, reading slowly. "That's yesterday's assignment, isn't it?"

Leon, who had perfect twenty-twenty vision said, "Actually, that's a three, not an eight, son."

"Really?" Daiki asked, frowning. He leaned forward again, squinting a little harder as he gazed at the blackboard.

"Yes, honey," Mrs. Garcia said, tapping his homework paper. "You did the problems for chapter eight instead of chapter three." She smiled at Leon and D. "And incidentally, he got all of them right. But naturally they didn't match the answers for chapter three, so I initially marked them wrong until I realized what had happened."

"So what does that mean?" a puzzled Daiki asked.

"It means that there's nothing wrong with you, Daiki, except that you're having trouble reading the blackboard from the back of the room," his teacher told him with a smile. "It means that you probably need glasses."

"Glasses?" D asked, sounding a little affronted. "But ka--" Leon elbowed him in the side, and D quickly fell silent before he could protest out loud in front of Mrs. Garcia that kami didn't need glasses.

"It's probably from my side of the family," Leon said pleasantly, subtly reminding D that Daiki was half human. "My mom needed reading glasses when she got older."

"Lots of people wear glasses," Mrs. Garcia assured Daiki. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

D smiled contritely and gently placed a hand on his son's head. "Indeed not. We will take him to see an eye doctor and get a prescription."

"And when I get glasses, I won't make mistakes on my homework anymore?" Daiki asked. D nodded, and Daiki said, "Can we go get them today, then?"

D smiled, and Leon and Mrs. Garcia laughed. Leon was relieved that there were no complaints from Daiki that people might tease him and call him "four eyes," but then, Daiki had always been a very unusual child. And the other kids seemed a little less inclined to tease Daiki after he had come out the victor in the fight with Joey Green; Leon knew from experience that bullies preferred to go after victims who didn't fight back.

"Perhaps not today," D said, smiling indulgently at his son. "But I will make an appointment as soon as possible. I know of a good doctor in Chinatown."

"Just make sure that this one's not a dominatrix," Leon muttered, and then it was D's turn to elbow him in the side.

As it turned out, the eye doctor was not a dominatrix, but a kindly old Chinese gentleman who examined Daiki and agreed that he did indeed need glasses. The eye doctor, like everyone else in Chinatown, was on good terms with Count D, so he did a rush job on Daiki's glasses and had them ready right away. The gold wire-rimmed frames that Daiki picked out seemed to highlight the gold in his hair and eyes, somehow making him look even more exotically beautiful than before.

Daiki declared happily that everything looked much clearer now, and his grades soon returned to normal. A few kids at school did call him "four-eyes," but the teasing soon ceased. As he had promised D, Daiki never hit any of them, but odd things happened to the children who teased him: when running through the playground or simply walking across the school grounds, they found themselves suddenly tripping and stumbling over a tree root or a thick, tangled patch of grass or weeds that they would swear hadn't been there a minute ago. And one near-hysterical child claimed that a branch from a nearby bush had deliberately jumped out and swatted him in the face, although the teachers agreed that it must have just been the wind, and instructed the gardener to prune back the bushes a bit.

Those incidents caused people to begin whispering about the Count's mysterious and ominous reputation again, and Leon sat down and had a talk with his son. "Daiki, did you tell the plants to get back at the kids who were teasing you?" he asked, feeling a bit silly, but he knew that the question wasn't as ridiculous as it sounded. After all, the flower maidens sometimes took human form and talked to Daiki.

"No, Daddy," Daiki replied solemnly, taking Leon's question seriously. "I don't care if they call me 'four eyes,' and I promised Papa that I wouldn't get into any more fights."

"Okay, buddy," Leon said, taking Daiki at his word; he had never known his son to lie to him, not even to escape a scolding. He gently ruffled Daiki's hair and said, "Why don't you go finish your homework and ask Tet-chan to fix you a snack?"

"Okay, Dad!" Daiki said cheerfully and ran down to the kitchen.

After Daiki had left, D said, "He does seem to have a rapport with plants. It is possible that they may be protecting him without him consciously being aware of it."

"That's just swell," Leon groaned. "Does this mean that we have to worry about some kid getting clobbered by a tree or strangled by a vine if they look at Daiki the wrong way?"

"So far the punishment seems to be proportionate to the crime," D said, smiling slightly. "I do not think that the plants will inflict serious damage unless the offender is threatening Daiki's safety." His smile turned a little more sinister. "In which case, they deserve whatever they get. I find it reassuring rather than disturbing to know that our son will be protected even when we are not with him."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Leon admitted. But when D pointed it out to him, it did make him feel a little better. As a homicide detective, he knew better than anyone how dangerous this city could be. "Of course, this city is a concrete jungle, so there won't always be a convenient plant around, but it's good to know that he has some form of extra protection."

D smiled again. "Even in a city such as this one, there are still a few weeds growing through cracks in the pavement."

"I don't think that a weed would be much protection, D," Leon said skeptically.

"Never underestimate a weed, my dear detective," D told his lover. "Any plant or animal life that can survive in this pollution-infested city must of necessity be quite tenacious and hardy."

Leon grinned. "Like the cockroaches and rats?"

"One must accord them a certain respect for adapting and surviving no matter how much humans alter their habitat," D said solemnly.

"Would animals outside of the shop come to Daiki's aid if he were in danger?" Leon asked curiously.

"Possibly, if they sense the kami blood in him," D said, looking thoughtful. "Perhaps it is time that I begin teaching him how to actively communicate with plants and animals."

"Maybe that would be a good idea," Leon reluctantly agreed. The idea of Daiki having supernatural powers made him a little uneasy, but Daiki's safety was more important than Leon's comfort. Besides, Leon couldn't exactly call himself "normal" anymore, either, since he could now see the pets in their human forms and understand their speech--although being able to talk to them didn't necessarily mean that they would obey him.

***

So D began giving Daiki special lessons, and Leon would often see his son talking earnestly to the plants in the shop, which was slightly disconcerting, and it was even more disconcerting to see the plants stretch out a stalk or vine to affectionately touch Daiki's hand or cheek. At Leon's request, Daiki usually refrained from speaking out loud to plants outside of the shop, but occasionally he would whisper a polite "hello" when a tree branch would bend down towards him in greeting or some bushes would rustle softly as they walked by, even though there was no breeze.

Sofu D stopped by not long after D had begun Daiki's special lessons. It was the first time that they had seen him in person since his visit to the shop when Daiki had been an infant, although he periodically sent D letters and packages through the mail. He also brought with him the young D, who was now about nine years old. He looked exactly like D must have as a child, except that both his eyes were golden, and although the boy looked adorable, Leon found the resemblance a bit eerie. It was also difficult for Leon to separate the memory of the murderous, insane D from the innocent-looking little boy standing in front of him. Sofu claimed that the young D had no memories of his former life, so Leon probably shouldn't hold his predecessor's crimes against him, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was a potential seed of malice and insanity hidden deep within the child that might blossom when he grew to adulthood. Could Sofu really keep the new D from repeating past mistakes?

The child noticed Leon staring, and smiled at him--the same cool, serene smile that D always bestowed upon his customers, the same smile that Daiki was already so good at mimicking. Leon could detect no hidden animosity beneath the boy's outward calm, only a hint of childish curiosity. His golden eyes displayed none of the madness that they had possessed in their former life, and he clearly did not recognize Leon. The detective relaxed a little, since it seemed that the reincarnated D really did not remember his past life or his battle with Leon.

"I have come, as promised, to if see my great-grandson is showing any potential," Sofu D announced. "And as you can see, I have brought your brother with me, Grandson."

"Greetings, Brother," the young D said politely, bowing towards the Count.

D was clearly shaken by the presence of his "brother," but he quickly composed himself and bowed in return. "Welcome, Little Brother," he said. "It is good to see you again."

"Again?" the young D asked.

D smiled, his eyes filled with both sorrow and love. "Of course you would not remember, as you were a baby when we last met, but I was there when you were born. This is my son, Daiki, and Detective Orcot, Daiki's other father."

Young D did not show the slightest hint of surprise or confusion at the mention of Daiki having two fathers; perhaps Sofu had explained things ahead of time, or maybe it was just the knack that all the Ds seemed to have, of being able to conceal their emotions behind a cool smile. But either way, he did not question the Count's statement, and simply smiled and bowed politely.

Daiki stepped forward and bowed deeply in return, saying, "I am very pleased to meet you, Uncle, Great-Grandfather. And thank you for the tea you sent us in your last package, Great-Grandfather. We all enjoyed it very much."

"Well, he has good manners, at least," Sofu said approvingly, giving Leon a pointed look that said without words that the good manners could not have possibly come from Daiki's human parent.

"Speaking of manners, you could have let us know that you were dropping by," Leon said, scowling at Sofu.

"We just happened to be in the neighborhood," the elder D said casually.

Tet-chan brought up a tray of tea and sweets, and Daiki served the tea to their guests, moving with the same air of grace and elegance that the Count used when serving his customers; in fact, Daiki was behaving almost like a miniature blond D, which seemed to please Sofu. Leon wondered if this was a sign that Daiki's kami side was growing stronger, or if Daiki was simply adapting chameleon-like to the situation, behaving the way that Sofu expected him to, the same way that he had exchanged his Chinese outfits for t-shirts and jeans in order to fit in at school. The thought disturbed Leon a little; he wanted his son to be himself, whomever that might be, and not have to pretend to be something that he wasn't just to please people. Perhaps he had been wrong after all to insist that Daiki dress like a "normal" child when he had started going to school.

Sofu questioned both D and Daiki in great detail, then went into one of the garden rooms with them to watch Daiki tend the plants. Leon tagged along, since he still didn't entirely trust Sofu, and didn't care to leave his son alone with the two visiting kami. As it turned out, he need not have worried, since the eldest D simply observed his great-grandson, looking impressed when a flower leaned into Daiki's touch, and a vine reached out to caress his cheek.

"It seems that the kami blood runs strong in Daiki, but I would say that his talent lies with plants rather than animals," Sofu said, sounding both pleased and disappointed at the same time. "He probably will not be taking over the family business when he grows up."

"Gee, what a shame," Leon said cheerfully.

"Fortunately, my son appears to be developing into an able successor," Sofu continued, laying a hand on the young D's head, and for the first time, Leon saw genuine warmth and affection in his normally cold yellow eyes as he smiled fondly at the boy, who beamed at him proudly. Perhaps things really would turn out differently this time around; Leon certainly hoped so, because he did not want to have to face a murderous kami again in another twenty or so years.

"Perhaps Daiki might choose to branch out, and open a nursery or a flower shop," D said, his lips curving in a mischievous little smile.

"That's not funny, D!" Leon groaned, having visions of giant man-eating plants.

"Why would it be funny, Dad?" Daiki asked, looking a little puzzled. "I think it might be nice to work in a flower shop and sell plants that would make people happy. People always seem to be happy to get flowers as gifts. It makes Papa happy when you bring him flowers, although he likes candy and cake better."

Both D and Leon blushed, and Sofu D smirked a little. Leon said gruffly, "Then why not consider working in a bakery or a candy shop, son, if sweets make people happy, too?"

Daiki giggled. "I don't mind helping Tet-chan in the kitchen, but I like gardening better than I like cooking. Don't you think I would make a good gardener, Daddy?"

"I'm sure you'd make a great gardener, Daiki," Leon sighed, and gave his son a hug, feeling a little reassured when he looked down and saw Daiki's angelic smile. Surely his sweet, good-natured son would never sell killer plants to anyone. There was no reason why Daiki couldn't run a perfectly nice, normal flower shop when he grew up...except that nothing about the D family was really normal. But when he had quit his job and gone off in search of the Count nine years ago, Leon had known that he was leaving "normal" life behind, and he did not for an instant regret his decision, no matter what complications might arise in the future. He would just have to trust that he and D had raised Daiki right, and that their son would grow up into a compassionate, responsible adult. So far they seemed to be doing okay; after all, Daiki hadn't fed the school bully to a hungry Tet-chan, which showed a great deal of restraint on his part.

"Papa told me how much you like strawberries," Daiki told Sofu. "We planted a patch of them over there." He gestured vaguely off in the distance. "Would you like to see them?"

"Fresh strawberries?" Sofu asked eagerly.

D laughed. "Yes, Grandfather. Let us go pick some, and I will ask Tet-chan to make a strawberry shortcake for dessert."

Leon smiled as he trailed after his son and the Ds. It seemed that Daiki had inherited some of his Papa's powers after all, to be able to see so unerringly into the heart of another--at least, he had certainly discovered the way to Sofu D's heart! Leon wondered if Sofu had always liked strawberries, or if spending all those years in babbit form had permanently affected him. But in any case, Leon had faith that his son, even if he did grow up to be a shopkeeper, would manage to sell love, hope, and dreams without also selling death.

***

A few weeks after Sofu D's visit, Chris flew in to L.A., courtesy of a first-class ticket sent by D. It was spring break and school was out, so he was spending his vacation at the petshop.

"Uncle Chris!" Daiki shouted delightedly, running forward into Chris's arms.

"Hey, Daiki," Chris said with a grin, hugging his nephew. "I think you've grown since I last saw you."

"You've grown, too, squirt," Leon said, affectionately rumpling his little brother's hair. "Only I guess I can't really call you 'squirt' anymore!" Chris was a teenager now, and nearly as tall as his brother.

"Do you like my new glasses, Uncle Chris?" Daiki asked.

"Yes, they make you look very smart," Chris assured him.

Daiki giggled and tugged on Chris's hand eagerly. "Come see my garden, Uncle Chris! Great-Grandfather stopped by for a visit, and he said he was very impressed with my strawberry patch. And I planted some new flowers and--"

"Whoa, buddy," Leon laughed. "Your Uncle Chris just had a long flight in, and he hasn't even unpacked yet. Let him get some rest before you go hauling him all over the shop."

"It's okay, Leon," Chris said, smiling fondly at his nephew. "I had plenty of time to sleep on the plane, and I'd like to stretch my legs a bit. I'd love to see Daiki's garden."

"You two go on ahead, then," Leon told him. "I'll take your bags up to your room."

"And I will help Tet-chan prepare some tea and snacks," D said.

Pon-chan came out to say hello, and Chris gave her a quick hug, and he also gave Tet-chan a friendly pat when the orange-furred beast came out and growled at him in a gruff voice, which he knew was the Tou-Tet's way of showing his affection. And of course Lupin jumped on him and slobbered all over his face. But none of them followed Chris and Daiki to the gardens. Over the years, Chris and the animals had gradually grown more and more distant from each other. It wasn't that they didn't still love each other, but rather the opposite. They lived in different worlds now, as the Count had tried to explain to him when Chris had regained his voice, although he had not understood at the time. Chris found that he had to distance himself slightly from the pets, and he suspected that his old playmates felt the same way, because otherwise it hurt too much to be reminded of what he had lost. Chris was happy living with his parents and sisters, and he was doing well at school and had made many friends. He had even had a couple of girlfriends, although he was single at the moment. Most of the time he was content in his new life, and his time at the petshop seemed like a pleasant dream to him, distant and hazy. But at other times, particularly during visits like these, he felt an almost desperate longing to return to those childhood days, when he had not even been aware that his companions were animals instead of people. There were times when he would gladly give up his ability to speak if it meant that he could talk with his old friends and see them in their true forms just one more time. He loved his young nephew dearly, but sometimes he envied Daiki as well, for being able to live at the shop with D and Leon and Tet-chan and the others. But he had never asked Daiki if he saw the pets as human or animal, perhaps because he was afraid that the answer would make him even more jealous, and he didn't want to hate his sweet little nephew, who looked up to him so adoringly. But suddenly Chris, feeling rather melancholy and nostalgic, was curious enough to finally ask the question that he had been wondering about for years.

"Say, Daiki?" Chris asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Uncle Chris?" Daiki replied, with his usual sweet smile.

"Tet-chan, Pon-chan, Ten-chan, and the other...pets...in this shop," Chris said. "How do you see them, as people or animals?"

"Both," Daiki replied blithely.

"Both?" Chris asked, startled.

"Yes," Daiki said. "It depends on what kind of mood they're in. Tet-chan likes to be human most of the time, but he and Ten-chan usually turn into animals when they fight. And Ten-chan can take lots of forms--he can be any kind of animal he wants. He says that he's the most versatile pet in the shop. And of course Lupin is always a wolf."

Chris sighed heavily. "They were always just people to me."

"Dad says that whether they look like animals or humans, they're still people," Daiki said.

"Yeah, Leon told me the same thing," Chris said, but the thought didn't comfort him as much as it used to, and he sighed again.

Daiki smiled at him sympathetically. "You miss Tet-chan, don't you, Uncle Chris?"

"I miss all of them," Chris said, smiling sadly, "but yes, I miss Tet-chan most of all. I mean, I know he's still here, but somehow it's just not the same..."

"Tet-chan misses you, too," Daiki told him. "Even though he says things like, 'I don't miss that little crybaby!'" Chris had to laugh at how well Daiki imitated Tet-chan's gruff, growling voice, which he had not heard in so many years. Daiki smiled at him and continued, "But he really does, you know; he misses you a lot. He always looks a little sad when we play with your old video games, like it reminds him of you."

Chris felt tears sting his eyes, and blinked hard to keep them from falling. It made him feel strangely happy to know that Tet-chan missed him, which in turn made him feel a little guilty, to take pleasure in his friend's sorrow. "Why can't I see him...them...anymore?"

"Papa says that only people who have a great need to be filled can see the special pets," Daiki said gently. "Maybe someday, if you need to badly enough, you'll be able to see Tet-chan and the others as human again."

"Need?" Chris asked, and a vague suspicion that had been forming in the back of his mind for years finally coalesced and took shape. "It was because I lost my voice, wasn't it? And when I could talk again, I lost the ability to see and hear the pets as human."

Daiki must have guessed what Chris thought next, because he said sternly, "But you can't stop talking, Uncle Chris! It would make your mom and dad and sisters sad. It would make Daddy and Papa sad, too."

"I know," Chris sighed. "Don't worry, Daiki." Besides, it probably wouldn't work if he simply refused to talk; he suspected that whatever sort of magic operated in the petshop would be able to tell that he wasn't really mute and was only faking it. But he wondered how great someone's need had to be for the magic of the petshop to work; his need to see and talk with his old friends certainly seemed great to Chris.

"Don't be sad, Uncle Chris," Daiki said softly, staring up at Chris with a concerned look in his golden eyes, and he reached out and clasped the older boy's hand. "I believe that you'll see them again someday."

"I hope so," Chris said, brushing a few tears from his eyes with his free hand. He squeezed Daiki's small hand, drawing comfort from his nephew's touch. He told himself that he shouldn't give up hope; after all, Leon was an ordinary human, but he had gained the ability to see the pets as they really were. His brother never spoke openly of it, but Chris could see that Leon no longer treated the pets like dumb animals, and even carried on conversations with them as if he could understand their barks and growls and chirps. Chris supposed the "great need" that had transformed Leon must have been his love for the Count. And Chris loved D and the pets just as much as Leon did, in a slightly different way. He silently vowed that someday he would find a way to regain his ability to see the pets as human, no matter how long it took.

His spirits buoyed by a combination of hope and stubborn determination, Chris was able to smile sincerely at his nephew and say, "Let's go see your strawberry patch, and pick some berries for tea."

***

Afterword: Not a big deal, but I've given up centering the little scene breaks (***) because for some reason, it messes up my lj-cut when I use Firefox, and when I try to post in Safari, the font comes out weird. Sometimes I hate computer stuff! >_< 

Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15a, Part 15b, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19a, Part 19b, Part 20a, Part 20b, Part 21, Part 22a, Part 22b