Chapter 17

Fall 30, 2003 (Continued from Chapter 16)

Yuki and the other women wait outside Choco's room as Doctor Hardy examines her. Sitting in the couch, Yuki trembles in fear nearly breaking down emotionally. He deeply regrets allowing her to venture alone during the Pumpkin Festival. He feels that if he didn't, then there might have been something he could have done sooner. It is now late in the evening, Choco has a bad fever, and the doctor is doing all he can to see if he can help her.

Winter 1, 2003

Sometime after midnight, Doctor Hardy finally walks out of Choco's room. Everyone wants to know if little Choco is going to be okay, and nobody wants to know more than Yuki. So they gather around the doctor. Yuki asks, “Is she going to be okay? What's wrong with her? Why is this happening?”

Hardy tilts his head down in shame and shakes his head no. This only causes Yuki to panic even more. The look in his eye resembles the day when Yuki's mother was ill, and the doctor knew that she was not going to make it. Even though Yuki may not like the answer that he is going to hear, he still needs to know what's happening to her. Even if it's only going to cause him pain.

Doctor Hardy lifts his head up and says, “She has a terrible fever. I tried giving her medicine, but the fever will not go down. Anything else I do only makes it worse. I'm sorry, I don't have the equipment to help her.”

Yuki clenches a fist in order to try to keep his feeling in check. He feels upset hearing that a doctor cannot help someone, especially a little girl. However, nothing that is happening is Hardy's fault, so he needs to make sure that he does not take his anger out of him. Instead, he takes a deep breath and says, “Doctor please. I know that when she first arrived, I had a tough time believing that she is my daughter. But whether I want to believe it or not, she is my responsibility. She is my family. And I promised her that I would not let anything happen to her. So, if there is anything I can do for her, please tell me.”

All five girls look at one another. They all are amazed at how fast Yuki transformed from an available bachelor to a father. But at the same time, they feel sad that Yuki has to go through this. They all wish that they can do something to help him, but they all are clueless at what to do.

Doctor Hardy takes a deep breath and says, “The only thing I can think of is going to the clinic in Mineral Town. Doctor Trent may not be as experienced as I am, but at least his equipment may determine the cause of her illness.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Yuki. “Lets go to Mineral Town right now!”

Hardy shakes his head no and continues, “We can't just rush over right away. First of all, there is no boat that will take anyone to Mineral Town at this hour. Second of all, Choco is suffering a high fever and it's snowing. If we take her outside in this cold weather, she may die.”

Yuki feels that the doctor is right. It's not the best idea to leave the house with an ill child while it's cold. But still, Yuki does not want to sit around and do nothing. He runs into Choco's room, and grabs some of the warm clothing that he had bought for her in preparation for the Winter days. As Yuki gathers her clothes, Choco looks at him and says, “dad? What's going on?”

Yuki carries her coat, snow pants, hat and boots over to her and says, “don't worry Choco. I'm going to take you to a clinic where you'll get the treatment you need. Just be strong for me, okay?”

Choco nods. After patting her on the head, he changes her into the clothes to prepare for the journey to Mineral Town. Even if Hardy said not to take her outside, Yuki feels that waiting any longer may be just as risky. After Choco is fully dressed for the cold, Yuki carries her on his back. He hopes that carrying her like this will keep her body warm. He wraps her arms around his neck, and he holds on to her legs around his waist. Before they start heading off, he says, “okay Choco, this is going to be a long walk. But I need you to hold on tight, and don't let go. Think you can do that for me?”

Choco nods again. Seeing that he is ready to go, he walks out of Choco's room carrying her. As the door opens, everyone gasps realizing what is Yuki planning to do. The five women wants to say something, but they know that once Yuki makes up his mind, there is no way to change his mind. Doctor Hardy on the other hand wants to stop him. He walks in front of him blocking his path saying, “Yuki! Where do you think you're going with that child? Not only will you be putting her health at risk, but you'll be risking yours as well. As the doctor of Forget-Me-Not Valley, I cannot allow you to take her outside!”

“Move out of the way Hardy! I'm taking her to Mineral Town, even if I have to do it by force!” The look in Yuki's eye was serious and determined. Doctor Hardy couldn't help but cringe fearing that Yuki may get violent. Seeing that he said too much, Yuki takes a deep breath and says, “listen, I already lost most of my family already. I don't want to lose any more. Just please, let me go.”

Doctor Hardy nods and moves out of the way. He wants to stop him, but he can see now that it's no use. Yuki is not a child anymore, he is a grown adult with a kid of his own. All anyone can do right now is pray for him, and hopes that Choco will be okay.

Since there is no way to travel to Mineral Town by boat, the only other way is the long way through the path on the eastern side of Forget-Me-Not Valley The walk will take many hours, but Choco will at least get to the clinic sooner than waiting for the next day. As he walks through the cold roads in the middle of darkness, Choco has fallen asleep on Yuki's back, but she is still alive.

As they are traveling, the Witch Princess watches them in her crystal ball. She feels that her plan is a complete success, and she is enjoying every single moment of Yuki's torment. As she watches them head to Mineral town, she says to herself, “go ahead, run to Mineral Town! It's pointless, cause in a few days, Choco will run out of life. I can't wait to see the look on your face when that happens!”

Yuki arrives in Mineral Town at five in the morning. Choco is still asleep, and her condition has not changed. He rushes over to the clinic as quickly as he could. He is exhausted, but he cannot stop now. At the clinic, he pounds at the door forcing Doctor Trent to wake up and open his doors. Trent was upset that he was forced to wake up early, but he quickly gets over it seeing that a child needs help.

Trent takes Choco in his care, and allows Yuki to rest. Even though he is lying on the sofa, he is far too worried about Choco to sleep. At nine in the morning, Nurse Elli arrives at the clinic to help Trent. They both run a lot of tests to find out what is wrong with her, but they both have very little luck. Eventually, Hardy also joins them in the search for the cause of Choco's illness.

At around three in the afternoon, Doctor Trent finally goes over to Yuki to deliver the news. Yuki gets up desperate for answers and approaches him yelling, “how is Choco?! Is she going to be okay?”

Doctor Trent remains silent for a moment. His silence only makes Yuki worry even more. After taking a deep breath, Trent finally says, “Yuki, what I'm going to tell you may not make sense. But I want you to keep calm, and listen carefully.”

“SPIT IT OUT ALREADY!!!” screamed Yuki desperate for answer.

After sighing, Trent says as calmly as possible, “Choco is dying.”

“I can see that! But from what?!”

“Old age.” answered doctor Trent.

His disturbing answer angers Yuki. At first he trembles unsure how to react. Then all of his anger bursts out causing him to grab Doctor Trent by his collar. As he is shaking him, he yells, “Old age?! What the hell are you talking about?! She's only 10 years old!!”

Using all of his might, Doctor Trent forces Yuki to release him. Fixing his collar, he answers, “I know it sounds impossible. As a doctor, the mere thought that a child may be passing from old age seems ridiculous. But we examined her for hours, and what we found cannot be explained by mere logic. She may look like a child from the outside, but she is rapidly aging on the inside. Possibly a couple of years every day. I have no idea if she knew about this strange condition of hers or not. All I do know is that there is no way we can stop it.”

“So you mean. . . You can't save her?” asked Yuki fearing the worst.

“I'm sorry, but Choco's lifespan was always short since the day she was born. Based on her condition, I can only assume she will only live a few more days. I wish there was something I can do.”

Yuki feels devastated hearing those words. The only people that should be able to help Choco had already given up. And if they can’t do anything, there is even less that Yuki could do at this point. Moving Doctor Trent out of the way, he walks over to Choco ignoring Doctor Hardy and the nurse. He takes a blanket, and wraps Choco so that she could stay warm on the trip back to Forget-Me-Not Valley.

Yuki carries Choco like a newborn infant wrapped in a blanket as he heads to the exit. As he leaves, Doctor Trent asks, “Yuki, where do you think you're going? I understand that you're upset, but you should leave her here!”

Yuki stops for a moment to respond, “you said yourself that there isn't anything you can do for her. In that case, there is no point of her being here. I want to care for her myself. . . Goodbye.”And with that, Yuki leaves the clinic, and heads to the beach where he takes a boat back home.

Winter 2, 2003

After Choco was brought back home, Yuki has been taking special care of her. At this point, he has not been paying as much attention to the farm as he usually does. Luckily, nothing grows in the Winter season, so he spends a lot of time caring for little Choco.

Around noon, Yuki walks into Choco's room carrying some chocolates. He knows that sweets is not the best thing for her to eat at this point, but he wants to make her as happy as possible. Choco is resting on her bed when he walks in, but she is still awake. She looks over at Yuki, and smiles. Being bedridden is very boring, but Choco is very happy when her father spends time with her.

At this point, Choco is still unaware that the doctors said that there is a good chance that she may not make it. She feels that she just has a simple fever, that's all. Yuki doesn't want to tell her either, mainly because he doesn't want her to panic. But if he has to tell her, he cannot deny her the truth.

He sits on her bed, and pats her on the head. He smiles at her and says, “hi there, how are you feeling today?” Choco nods, letting Yuki know that she doesn't feel any worse than the last time he checked. This at least make Yuki feel a bit relieved.

“I got you some chocolates. Have some.” Choco nods once again, and sits up to eat the chocolate. However, eating is not as easy for her as Yuki believes. Choco has become so weak from her illness that she cannot bite down as hard as she normally could. Yuki watches her sadly as she struggles with her chocolate trying hard to break off a bite sized piece. After a minute, Choco finally chips a corner of the chocolate and begins gnawing at it. But the chocolate was still a bit hard, so Choco needs to wait till it softens to eat it.

Yuki can’t stand to just watch as Choco has a hard time with her favorite food. He takes the rest of the chocolate bar into the kitchen and puts it into a blender. After pouring milk, he blends the chocolate to make chocolate milk. Choco prefers straight chocolate, but chocolate milk is easier to consume in her state.

Yuki returns to Choco's bedroom and gives her the chocolate milk. Choco smiles at her father as she sips the milk chocolate drink. Yuki smiles back as he pats her in the head, giving her the feeling of comfort. Halfway through the drink, Choco says, “Dad. . . Can I say something to you?”

“What is it Choco?”

Choco remains quiet. She feels nervous saying it to him. She has never told him before knowing full well she should have earlier. But since she has been feeling ill for some time, and she knows deep inside what may happen to her, she feels that she has to say it now. So she says, “. . . I love you dad.”

Those simple words pierced Yuki's heart like a knife. The words he has heard over and over from the other girls before, but it feels different hearing them from a child that is supposed to be his own. No words can describe how he feels at that moment. But this only means that when her time is up, it will only hurt even more. He wished that he never heard them, but at the same time, he is happy to hear them. Such conflicting emotions he had never felt before. Emotions that he thought he could avoid.

Choco fell asleep about an hour later. Yuki leaves her room to allow her to rest. As soon as he leaves, he finds Nami in the living room waiting. Yuki's wipes his tear filled eyes as he walks up to Nami with a straight face. The last thing he wants to do is show weakness to others.

“How is she doing?” asked Nami worried about Choco's health.

Yuki shakes his head no as he responds, “I don't know. She doesn't seem to be getting any worse, but she's not getting any better either.”

He turns around, and faces Choco's closed door. The words the doctor told him yesterday is floating in his mind, he can’t stop the tears from building on his face. “I was so afraid of something like this may happen someday. I didn't ever want to lose anyone this important to me. I'm scared, I don't know what to do.”

Nami's arms wraps around Yuki's waist. She is embracing him from behind trying to comfort him. Normally, Yuki would avoid this type of contact, but he wants to be held at that moment.

“I see,” said Nami. “So this is why you never wanted to marry anyone. All this time, I thought you were just being stubborn. I'm so sorry.”

“It's okay. I'm sorry I kept it a secret from everyone. I didn't mean to be so stubborn, but I didn't want people to think I was weak or a coward.”

Yuki can feel his back getting a bit wet. As Nami is rubbing her face against his back, her tears are collecting on his shirt. Nami also feels the same as Yuki. She always tried her best to put up a strong face. But now that Choco is ill, she finds it hard to hide her feelings. Yuki couldn't help but smile and say, “You know, you've changed so much since we first met. You used to be so quiet and cold, it was hard for anyone to talk to you. But now you're like a normal girl. You smile, you're showing off your other feelings, and you're more open.”

“You've changed too. Ever since Choco came into our lives, you have changed so much. You're a much better person than you have ever been before.” Nami tightens her embrace as she continues, “Choco will be okay right? Please tell me she'll be okay.”

“All we can do is pray,” said Yuki. He wants to tell her that she will be okay, but this is something that he cannot promise her. Nami already knows that if Yuki loses Choco, he will change drastically. He may never recover from the shock of losing a daughter. So as she embraces him, she prays silently for Choco's health.

Winter 3, 2003

Choco does not wake up the next day. Her fever has gotten worse overnight. Doctor Hardy came over to see if he can help. Lumina also came over for emotional support. Yuki sits on his couch terrified of what the results may be. Lumina holds his trembling hand as she waits with him. Nami had already told all the girls why Yuki never wanted to get married. Everyone is saddened by the news, but they all decided to support Yuki until the end.

As the doctor walks out the door, Lumina goes into the room to see Choco. Hardy walks up to Yuki with a sad look on his face. He doesn't want to hear the news, but he knows he has to. So he takes a deep breath and says, “How is she? Could you do something?”

Doctor Hardy shakes his head no and answers, “her fever has reached critical levels. She may die as early as tomorrow. I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do.”

Tears starts to fall from Yuki's eyes. He knew the news will hurt him, but he had to hear it anyway. No amount of preparation could ever help him deal with what he is about to lose. Since the doctor cannot do anything for her, he leaves the farm. Yuki sits back on the couch placing his hands on his face. As he remains seated alone, the tears start to seep through his fingers. He only had Choco with him less than a year, and he is already losing her quickly. At this point, he is too depressed to think about much else.

“Yuki?” said Lumina's voice coming from Choco's bedroom. Yuki tries to wipe the tears using his sleeve, and goes over to see what does Lumina want. Even though Yuki is still trying to hide his sorrow, Yuki's eyes were too puffy from the tears to hide.

Rather than worrying about that, Lumina says, “I think I may know what's happening to Choco.”

Yuki gasps and runs over to to see what Lumina has to show him. He is too sad and emotional, that words cannot come out of his lips at that moment. Lumina then opens her hands and shows him Choco's pendant that she always hides under her shirt. When Lumina last saw it, it was bright amber colored, now it has lost most of it's color.

Yuki picks takes the pendant, and takes a long look at it. He then looks at Lumina and asks, “I guess this is weird, but what does this have to do with Choco's condition?” After asking, the pendant suddenly loses a bit more color. As it does, Choco cringes with pain sending Yuki into a panic.

Lumina then takes her temperature, and sees that it has gone up to 102 degrees. At this point, Choco may lose her life any minute. But at least this tells Yuki that the pendant she always carries around has something to do with her health. So he looks at Lumina and asks, “so, you think that this is why she is ill? This stone is making her feel sick?”

Lumina shakes her head no and says, “I don't know why, but I think that her pendant was keeping her alive the whole time she was living with you. But it seems to be wearing out little by little.”

“Is there a way how we can keep this thing from running out of energy?” asked Yuki.

“I'm sorry. But if there was a way, then the only person who would know that is her mother.” Yuki looks down sadly. The only person in the whole world who can save Choco is the person Yuki does not know. He had already tried back in Spring to find out who might have been Choco's mother, but he came up with no answers. So in Summer, he gave up the search, and accepted the responsibilities of a father figure. He is now wishing that he had never given up the search for her mother.

Lumina pats Choco on her head and says, “I'm sorry Choco. I wish there was something I could do. If only I was your mother, I would be able to help you. I'm so sorry.”

After a few minutes, Lumina had to return home. She wants to stay, but Romana only allowed her a short while to visit Yuki and Choco. Yuki sits in his couch lost in thought. So many confusing things are running through his head as he sat. Who is Choco's mother? How did Choco find him? Is there some way to help her? What will he do if he can’t help her? And most importantly, will he be able to handle living in the farm where both his father and Choco had passed away? He is so frustrated and upset that he just wants to pull his own hair out.

About 30 minutes after Lumina had left, Muffy, Celia, and Flora drops by. The door is unlocked, so they let themselves in. They didn't get a warm greeting like they usually did. Instead, they found Yuki sitting next to Choco still hoping that she may recover.

“Yuki?” Muffy's sudden voice has gotten his attention. Everyone felt sad to see Yuki's face so puffy from crying so long. They feel sad as well, but they need to be strong for Yuki's sake. “Um, you have some visitors.”

Yuki's expression does not change. The girls move to aside to allow the visitors to pass through. One by one, the visitors of Mineral Town passes through Choco's bedroom door carrying flowers, “Get Well Soon” cards, and other gifts to her bed. Yuki is surprised to see them come in so suddenly.

As Popuri passes by, Yuki asks, “Hey, what's going on?”

“We heard from Doctor Trent,” answered Popuri. “We're all praying for Choco's health. I know that we all don't know her very well, but she is your daughter. You're like family to us, that makes her family too.”

Yuki is moved by everyone's kindness. Soon after the villagers from Mineral Town left, The villagers of Forget-Me-Not Valley came over. They all brought candles and said a prayer hoping that she can recover. The odds are slim to none, but they still have hope.

Winter 4, 2003

Choco's pendant has lost most of what color it already had around noon. Choco's life hangs on a single thread that may break any second. All five girls sit by Choco's bed, and continues to pray. Even if praying is hopeless at that moment, they still want to be there for her.

Yuki holds the pendant in his hands watching the last of the amber color fade slowly away. At that point, he wishes that he had just a little more time. He feels that if he did, he would have known that this may happen, and he might have prevented it. Choco's life is slipping away at his fingertips, and he is clueless on how to help her.

As he hold the stone in his hand with the leather string hanging, he prays, “God, please. If you're listening to me, I need a miracle. I know I'm not the most religious person in the world, but I need your help. Please, if there is a way I can save Choco, please tell me. We've been through so much since she came here, I can't lose her now. So god please, if you're listening, help me.”

He opens his hands, and takes a look at the pendant. The stone has not gotten any better, which means that Choco has not gotten any better either. Seeing that a miracle is out of the question, he shuts his eyes says to himself, “dad, please help me.”

A teardrop fell on the stone. A moment later, the stone glows with a mysterious light. Yuki opens his eyes and stares at the stone. He has no idea what is going on, whether it's good or bad. Even the Witch Princess who is watching from her hut is surprised to see the light. As she watches she yells, “what's going on!? Why is this happening!?”

The light continues to shine for a minute longer. After the light fades, the stone on the pendant regains not only all of it's color, but the amber color was deeper and brighter than it has ever been before. Yuki was too scared to check if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Is Choco alive or dead? At that moment, he couldn't move his own body.

“Yuki!!” cried the voices of all five girls. “Choco's fever is gone!!”

After hearing that, Yuki rushes over to Choco's bedroom to see what's going on. Choco is still breathing. Yuki feels her forehead, and she is no longer burning with a fever. Soon after that, Choco opens her eyes, and stares at Yuki. She then opened her moth, and says, “Dad?”

Yuki strokes her hair and says, “Choco, are you okay? Are you still feeling sick?”

Choco smiles and says, “I feel fine dad. But I'm hungry, can I have some chocolate?”

Feeling overjoyed, Yuki picks Choco up, and hugs her tightly. The other girls try to calm him down. They are unsure if moving Choco so soon was a good idea. But Choco laughs cheerfully which is a sign that she is healthy.

Back at the hut, the Witch Princess stamps her feet angrily yelling, “How, how, how!? How is she still alive!? I made sure that I only gave her enough life to last this long, there should be no way that she could be revived!. . . Unless. . .”

After thinking for a moment, she rushes over to her shelf where she stores many of her ingredients. She takes a small pouch and rushes over to the crystal ball. She opens the pouch and pours some golden sand on the crystal ball. She then uses her finger to draw a pentagram on the ball, causing it to glow. Staring hard into the crystal ball, she replays the moment when the stone was shining brightly. With the help of the golden sand, she could see another person in the room with Yuki. A person that cannot be seen with the naked eye, a spirit.

“IT'S YOU!!!” the Witch Princess screamed to the top of her lungs. She picks up the crystal ball and begins to shake it furiously yelling, “How dare you interfere with my plans you little bastard! Why the hell are you here?! Why you. . .” She then throws the crystal ball across the room screaming with all her might, “YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE!!!”

The crystal ball shatters against the wall. She takes a few minutes to calm herself before rushing over to the bookshelf. She grabs the “Arcane Alchemy” book out of the shelf, and recalls the shadow spirit she summoned earlier.

The spirit looks at her and says, “Well well, looks like High Alchemist Witch Princess has summoned me once again. So, what can I do for you?”

“Just can it Haljia!” yelled Witch Princess. “You know damn well why I summoned you. The lifespan of the Homunculus named Choco has changed, I want to know by how much?”

The shadow spirit took a moment to think, then responds, “The Homunculus named Choco's minimum lifespan is now 69 years, 21 days, and 9 hours.”

After hearing the news, the Witch Princess screams to the top of her lungs and starts tugging on her own hair. The shadow spirit laughs out loud, and goes back into the darkness where it came from. After calming herself a few minutes later, she takes a few deep breaths and says, “Well, at least I know why my magic never worked on Yuki before. He has a guardian angel! Well, I can fix that!”

She grabs her “Arcane Alchemy” book once again, and starts flipping through the pages looking for apowerful alchemic spell. She stops after seeing a spell called “Soul Siphon” somewhere in the back. The spell is highly forbidden, but at this point she doesn't care.

As she reads the requirements of the spell, she says, “I'll make that Yuki suffer even if I'll have to send Choco back to the abyss where she came from myself. . . By force!”