The Nature of Family (Fugitaka/Nadeshiko)

[storypaint]

Fandom: Cardcaptor Sakura
Theme Set: 7
Rating: G
Author Notes: Wow, this one spans the entirety of Fugitaka's life, though early ones are just speculation, of course.
Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to CLAMP.
Summary: Fugitaka had no family until Nadeshiko gave him one.

01. Focus
When his eyes finally focused, the nurse said, "Do you remember anything?" and a newly-born Fugitaka said, "No..."

02. Civilization
While they were checking a lead on his identity at the college, Fugitaka slipped into a World Civilizations class; within the hour he was hooked.

03. Sink
"I don't think we're ever going to find out where you belong," the policeman said, and Fugitaka's heart sunk.

04. Bullet
On his third day of class, a gunman ran through the hallways and a bullet barely missed Fugitaka's ear.

05. Count
The count ended with six dead and fifteen injured-- too many, in Fugitaka's opinion.

06. Mental
So much of history was mental, the fantasy/reality of long-dead historians, and the idea fascinated him.

07. Coast
After the shooting, Fugitaka moved away from the coast, transferring to a smaller college in Tomoeda (and why not, it wasn't like he had ties there).

08. Fence
The huge fence around the college didn't bother him-- it was almost funny how they tried to keep the knowledge in, he thought.

09. Circle
Each year he went back to the place where the policeman had found him wandering around, lost of his wits, but completing the circle never helped him remember.

10. Thin
"You're thin-- you should eat more!" his grandmotherly Psychology teacher said, and he wondered if his grandmother had been like her.

11. Room
His side of the room was bare after he moved in; his roommate looked at him strangely and said, "Where's your life?"

12. Blaze
In a blaze of emotion, he said, "History is my life!" and never knew how close he was to the truth.

13. Thought
People began to whisper about him; he was the only undergrad who could sit in Verdy's class and think about the subject material instead of her special... attributes.

14. Jealous
He wasn't jealous when his roommate got a pretty girlfriend; he was waiting for the right person, he'd know her when he saw her.

15. Sand
Time slipped away like sand until the day he stood before the president and accepted his diploma.

16. Doll
She was a doll, an angel, in his arms, and instantly he knew this was the girl he'd been waiting for.

17. Curl
Sonomi's lip curled when she saw the way the teacher looked at her cousin (but from the way Nadeshiko was looking back, this was a lost cause).

18. Farewell
Nadeshiko's farewell was half-hearted; she ran to catch up with "her Fugitaka," and Sonomi wanted to cry a little.

19. Story
When he told her the story of his amnesiac origins, she didn't say he was weird or needed to see a psychologist; she said she was sorry that he hadn't any family, and that she would be his.

20. Soft
Her skin was soft and pale and warm, and he could hardly believe he was allowed to touch her.

21. Pool
They skinny-dipped in the pool at their honeymoon hotel, and promised to always keep it secret.

22. Serpent
Her illness was a serpent that struck quickly, but slowly bled her dry; a serpent, but there was no antidote for the bite.

23. Prey
Her sickness seemed to prey on her, wasting her away; he rested his head on her forehead and felt it cold and sweaty.

24. Friend
He tried to be friendly to Sonomi at the funeral, but she beat on his chest with her fists and screamed until they had to take her away.

25. Still
The woman he had mistaken for a doll when they met was now as limp and cold as one, and his children were still and red-eyed.

26. Exhausted
For a while he worked late every night, so the exhaustion would make him sleep, but then he realized Touya was becoming exhausted as well.

27. Bold
He wasn't particularly bold when he talked to his children about their lives; he knew when something was wrong, and they knew they could come to him.

28. Hook
The new female professor tried to hook him with her charms; he resisted politely until someone finally took her aside and explained.

29. Attraction
He didn't feel any attraction to any of these women who tried to pick him up (or the men either), because they weren't Nadeshiko and they never would be.

30. Will
Touya had the same strength of will as Fugitaka did, an oak that could stand unmoving in the wind (the thought made Fugitaka proud).

31. Bed
He still slept on his side of the bed, even though he sometimes reached out and could never find her.

32. Bell
He could hear a strange bell ringing at the Shrine, and wondered why that bothered him so much.

33. Joy
He took joy in the way his children were growing; he had raised them the best he could without her, and they had turned out okay.

34. Decade
When Sakura turned thirteen he realized that it had been ten years since he lost her mother, and by now their resemblance was striking (those green eyes...).

35. Test
When she had told him about the Clow Cards, he thought it was a test he had failed (he'd had no idea she was so dangerously caught up in something that originated in one of his old books).

36. Gentle
He felt eyes upon him and looked up to see her gentle figure, and honestly, Fugitaka almost cried.

37. Hunger
Seeing her again was like giving food to a starving man; he hadn't even realized the depth of his hunger.

38. Mute
She laughed, his lips came unstuck and he began to cry out to her (I love you, missed you, why are you here, I love you so much, my Nadeshiko...).

39. Quicken
He knew when she was coming to visit, somehow; his heart quickened in his chest and he was always smiling by the time she appeared.

40. Absence
Her absence had been a hole, and now, how easily the hole was filled.

41. Maze
"Parenting was like a maze," he told her, rolling his eyes, and she said, "I wish I could have helped."

42. Close
Nadeshiko had been content to be close to him, all these years; getting to speak to him now was a precious gift.

43. Reign
He was in charge at the house, and eventually put his foot down against Touya's quest to get rid of Syaoran.

44. Crush
It crushed him to have to give his little girl away; like any parent, he had wanted her to stay young forever.

45. Run
When he retired, he took to running as a way to stay healthy, and after a while, Sonomi joined him, never speaking, always trying to stay a little bit ahead.

46. Art
On his last dig he found a piece of priceless art; as a reward the university named the department after him.

47. Pressure
He didn't pressure Sakura to produce a grandchild, but he was terribly excited when she did so.

48. Echo
The baby's eyes were the same green of her mother's and grandmother's.

49. Heal
When Sakura announced that the baby's name was Nadeshiko, Fugitaka felt some part of himself finally heal.

50. Clear
He shut age-blurred eyes and when he opened them again, his vision was clear and she was waiting for him.