Shiro & Marie, Thursday evening

[x-sanfuaiyaa.livejournal.com]

Following up on Shiro's last two posts, Marie stops by Shiro's to see what's going on. It's his family, still a sore spot for both of them.


Marie had been wandering around the mansion aimlessly since talking with Nathan. She wasn't quite sure how to handle finding out that Logan had taken himself off the team. There were very few reasons she could think of for that happening, and none of them were pleasant. She needed something to stop her mind from dwelling on _that_ topic. Looking around, she was surprised to find herself in front of Shiro's room. She hadn't seen him since her return and decided he would serve as good a distraction as anybody else. She knocked on the door while calling out, "Shiro? It's Marie..."

Shiro had spent the better part of his day staring at the mail he received this morning: a simple yet elegant wedding invitation. Mariko's. Not only was his cousin (whom he always thought was a little bit queer) getting married, but he'd been invited. He hadn't spoken with his family in almost two years, and they sent him this now? After yesterday, he was more that just a little unsettled.

He almost jumped out of his seat when he heard the door knock. Silently berating himself, he got up and opened the door, mustering a smile. "Konban wa," he greeted. "What's up?"

Marie raised an eyebrow. "What’s up?" Taking a mocking tone, she said "'The week is just going to go downhill starting today...Welcome back, Marie.' Why I declare, y' sure know how to make a girl feel real welcome." Immediately smiling so he would know she was teasing, she continued, "At least you waited until the day after Ah came back to post that."

"I have a way with words," Shiro replied, stepping aside to let her come in. "And you have impeccable timing. Although I do suppose that there really is not a good time to arrive here, just less bad ones."

"It's no wonder you are such a lady killer." Walking into the room, she was relieved to see that he was alone. She sat down in an empty chair and asked, "So what makes my timing so gosh darn great? Alien invasion? Supervillain from the future? Final exams?"

"My finals all involve drawing pictures," he said. "Dayspring already did the future thing. And aliens cannot be any worse than demons." Shrugging, he crossed over to the kitchenette he and Tommy shared and opened a box of Pocky. He tossed her one of the packs and took the other for himself. "You just arrived the day before I was sucked into an alternate dimension of emptiness and then received communication from the family that disowned me two years ago."

Catching the pack, Marie teased, "Well at least things are never boring...and there's always Pocky to make it better." It was silent for a few moments while they both munched on the snack. Deciding which topic to focus on, Marie picked the one she felt was more apt to damage Shiro in the long run. "So...your family, huh? Thats difficult."

"Pocky is to me what murdering the punching bags is to everyone else." Taking a bite of a stick, he took a seat at the couch and gestured to the invitation on the coffee table. "My family . . . never made much sense to me. Not in the way that families are nonsensical to most people, but . . . Their motivations are so antithetical and yet so similar to mine."

"But how can that be?" Marie asked before her gaze settled on the invitation. She looked quizzically at him. "A wedding invitation?"

"Everyone in my family is intensely nationalistic," he explained, "But we all want different things for Japan and we go about obtaining them in different manners. But we are ultimately Nihon-jin and we strive to improve and strengthen our country." He reached over to pick up the invitation, suppressing a shudder as he reread the text for the hundredth time. "This is something that I do not think I could understand."

"That makes sense. It's like with the Professor and Magneto...they both want a better world for mutants, but they see it happening in very different ways." She shuddered at the mention of Erik and then took another bite of the Pocky. "What about the invitation is bothering you so much? Ah know you haven't heard from your family in aged...but it seems like something else is bothering you about that slip of paper."

"It's . . . Yakuza stuff," he told her hesitantly, unsure of how she'd react given their history. "Because they have not ruined enough lives already."

At the word 'Yakuza,' Marie's entire body stiffened. "Yeah," she replied sarcastically "They haven't done nearly enough." Marie looked worriedly at Shiro. "You aren't planning on getting involved with them again, are you?"

"No! I mean, no." He reddened slightly at his defensive outburst. "I have stayed far from them since Harada told me we were no longer family. And if I attend this, then I do not intend to involve anyone." A lie, because if he went then Leyu would have to come too and the team would have to know. Just in case. "I have made many mistakes, but I will not repeat them."

Marie sighed. "Ah didn't mean to sound so judgmental..." Twirling a strand of hair around her index finger, Marie looked intently at him. "Mistakes are how we learn."

"I know. Gomen." And she didn't even know about the involvement of a second party. He'd like to see her not be judgmental then. "It . . . This is important. And it might offer me the opportunity to fix what was broken, or at least to collect all the pieces."

Marie nodded. "There are not many opportunities to mend broken relationships. Ah can understand seizing the chance." She hesitated before continuing. "Just...just don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it."

"~I doubt I can bring a squad of riot police to the wedding, though~," Shiro muttered in Japanese, quickly downing a couple more Pocky sticks. "Back less than a week and already offering to help out people. It's almost like you never left," he teased.

She raised her eyebrow at whatever it was he had muttered under his breath. It was times like this that she wished she had Doug's gift for understanding people. Deciding to ignore whatever he clearly did not want her to know, Marie rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Shiro. "Well, if y'all didn't have to be told to ask for help, Ah wouldn't have to offer it."

Like the blind leading the blind. "Between you, Haller, and the Professor, we might all find ourselves one day mentally healthy. Or at least self-sufficient. God forbid."

Marie laughed at the idea. Mentally healthy, what a nice ideal. Stable. That was all she was looking for. After all she had been through, she didn't know if she could ever qualify as mentally healthy again. "Haller...is he the resident shrink now?"

"He is." Despite his own . . . neuroses, to put it kindly. Shiro wasn't sure what to think of him yet. He just knew that he actually enjoyed Xavier's Earl Grey and would miss it if forced to be advised by someone else. "How many counselors have we been through now?"

"Ah've honestly lost count. Ah'm sure Ah ran at least one of myself and Ah don't know where the Professor keeps finding people willing to take the job...Ah'd think the school would be on some list somewhere with a big note with 'DANGER!' inked in bright red." Then again, she thought to herself, the school would provide some great thesis material for some grad student. "Ah doubt we've seen the last one..."

"I think Kitty's books have him pegged for only another month or two," he mused, "So you ought to speak with her soon if you want in."

"Ah'll have to make sure Ah get in on that...Ah could use some new shoes." Marie lifted a foot in the air as if to demonstrate her need for new footwear. "Any other exciting books open at the moment?"

"How long until Artie finally musters the courage to ask out my sister." Not like Shiro would allow it, amusing though it would surely be. Artie might be 13 and ready for that, but Leyu was barely 11. "I do not think there is anything else interesting enough to bet on."

Marie smiled. "That's right, Angelo told me Leyu is here full-time. Ah'll have to find her and say hello." She had missed having the littles around in Canada...for some reason they always seemed able to brighten her day. "Anything exciting going on in the life of Shiro? Besides the interdimensional nothingness and the family affairs...something happy maybe?"

He was hard-pressed to think of something. "I am almost done with my first year of university." Kicking ass and taking names, too. "Oh, I think I might be promoted to full team, soon. At least that is what I inferred from Mister Summers yesterday."

"Well then Ah'll be seeing a lot of you in the future...Ah've been asked back to the team." She made a face. "Though Ah'm sure Ah still have to 'evaluated' to make sure Ah'm not quite the wreck Ah was when Ah left." She looked at a clock on the wall and was surprised at how late it had gotten. "Where did the time go?"

With the departure of Colossus, a second super-strong individual would be great for the team. Not to mention another flyer after Jetstream. "Damn, it is late. I ought to finish my homework." Or get started on it, actually. He stood up and opened the door for Marie. "I will see you in the Danger Room, ne?"

Nodding, she left Shiro alone in his room. She would have to remember to check on him...she had not forgotten how their conversation had started.