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"The Unending Journey of the Heart"
By: Jade Lighting, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 1: Happier Times in Abundance

   **Shadow sighed deeply, and replied, “Hidama…Knuckles cannot find peace for you, nor can he be what brings it, satisfying this torment in your heart.  Sure, he can bring some relief, but I, more than anyone, can tell you that true peace cannot be found in anything unless it is sought for.  Only you can bring peace to your heart; how and where you find it, is truly up to you.  It is when you decide to stop torturing your own soul, and let all that’s good in this world bring you pleasure, so that you may enjoy life once more.  You and I are on this same quest my friend, for I too desire peace but have yet to let it win in my heart.  I only pray you can find it sooner than I, for you truly deserve nothing more than happiness and bliss to the end of your days.”**

   Shadow’s words to Hidama that night in the Northern Kingdom foretold unrest in Hidama’s heart that seemed to be unending.  The hedgehog hinted at a lasting misery for the echidna, even after the mutants were vanquished and he was reunited with his brother Knuckles.  Yet from the first morning they returned to Angel Island, the morning Knuckles and Amy’s son was born, it appeared for a while that maybe Shadow’s words proved wrong perchance.

   Of course, it was only on the rare occasion when Shadow was in error in situations like this, especially when he too was searching for the same relief that Hidama was.  Even so, Hidama certainly appeared to be in high spirits.  For once in life, at least for awhile, he was genuinely happy to be alive, his heart overflowing with happiness.

   That same morning, as he stood beside the Master Emerald looking over the horizon, the same fields he had battled on only hours before hand, he finished singing a song quietly to himself, his attention directed to the cries of his nephew.  He smiled and laughed softly; shaking his head as he ran his fingers through his hair, he looked to Kelerai, who stood beside him and said, “Perhaps we should go on down now and, well, see how mother and child are doing, you think?  Heh, perhaps we should include father too.”

   To this, Kelerai mewed happily and the minute Hidama took one step, she took off down the stone stairs to the ground below, racing off to the front porch, rather than walk beside him like she did Knuckles.  Laughing again, the echidna walked quickly down the stairs in pursuit of the cat, finding by the time he got to the front porch, the infant’s cries had quieted, and everything seemed calm.

   The front door stood open, the screen door allowing the morning breeze to flow inside; Hidama opened the screen door slowly.  Kelerai ran past his feet and into the cottage as soon as she could squeeze by, and he watched her race through the living room and down the hall, pausing at the first door on the right, before taking two unsure steps into the room.

   Hidama inhaled deeply, and then exhaled slowly as he gently opened the screen door, stepping into the living room.  The first thing he noticed was the soft pink carpeting, and glancing down at his blood-stained and muddy boots, he immediately sat down in the doorway and pulled them off, not wanting to stain the clean carpet.  As he stuck his boots outside the door, he caught a glimpse of his cape out of the corner of his eyes.  It was tattered, torn, and bloody, and his eyes widened in amazement at this.

   As he removed his cape, hanging it on a hook that was mounted beside the door, he turned to see his brother standing at the end of the hall way, looking at him with a shaky smile on his face.  Hidama turned around fully and walked up to his brother; seeing the look on his face, he stopped a few paces in front of him, and said, “Hey Knux, how’s Amy doing?”

   Knuckles looked up at Hidama; his eyes were glassy, his smile bright and warm, but unsteady.  He glanced back towards the bedroom, then looked down at his shoes and said, “I…I’m overcome…”  His voice was shaky as he spoke.

   Hidama’s smile wavered a bit; he shook his head, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder and murmured, “Knuckles?  Hey, are you alright?  Is everything okay?”

   The echidna looked again at his brother’s face, the tears in his eyes finally overcoming his attempts to suppress them.  Knuckles’ smile appeared more confident; after a moment or so he raised his hand to his eyes to wipe away the tears, then seeing the confusion and worry in Hidama’s eyes, Knuckles shook his head slowly and replied, “Oh Hidama…of course everything is alright.  It couldn’t be more perfect; at last I have my brother back…and just in time for the birth of his nephew.”

   The apprehension disappeared from Hidama’s eyes, and a smile graced his face once more.  A look of awe was present in his expression, and he lowered his head, shaking it slowly, then looked back to his brother and said, in a low voice, “Oh wow…Knuckles…that’s just incredible.”  Glancing back towards the bedroom, he looked back to his brother and whispered, “Have you come up with a name yet?”

   Knuckles seemed to be overflowing with pride and happiness; the last of his tears faded away, and he smiled proudly.  He lowered his voice to an almost inaudible tone, and said, “Yeah…Amy and I were talking about names a few days ago, and actually, I think you might like the name we chose.”  He paused, seeing the intense anticipation in Hidama’s eyes; he laughed softly and said, “His name…is Suta-Mikomi…tell me, Hidama, can you remember what his name means?”

   Hidama closed his eyes in thought, repeating the words, “Suta…Mikomi…”, over and over softly, under his breath, as if they were strange to him.  Yet after only a few moments, he smiled brightly, then opened his eyes and looked at Knuckles, who was now smiling proudly.  Hidama shook his head and grinned, saying, “Star of Hope…gee, you do remember a word or two of the language of old.  I didn’t think you would remember any of that…”

   “Heh, yeah…I didn’t exactly remember it,” Knuckles said, shuffling his feet.  Seeing the look of confusion in Hidama’s eyes, Knuckles laughed and said, “Here, I’ll show you what I mean.”  The echidna walked over to a table that stood beside the door; one of the objects sitting on it was a small trinket box.  Taking the box, Knuckles opened it and took out the contents, placing them in his hand before gently placing the box back on the table.  He walked back over to Hidama, who out of intrigue met him half way.

   The two brothers grinned at each other as they almost bumped into one another; Knuckles nodded over at the small couch to their left, and the two went and sat down.  Before Knuckles could talk, Hidama asked, “What about Amy and Mikomi?  Are they doing okay?”

   At the mention of Amy and Mikomi, Knuckles sighed happily, his heart overflowing with happiness and pride; he looked to Hidama and said, “Of course they’re both alright…I’m just letting them both rest…Amy had a hard night without me.  She’s okay though; I’ll introduce you to her and your nephew in a minute.”  Looking into Hidama’s eyes, he whispered, “I just want a few moments with you first; it’s been so long since we’ve been together…let’s start if off right.”

   Hidama returned his brother’s gaze, and grinned; he nodded and said, “Sounds fair enough to me; …now, how about what you took out of that jewelry box?  I’m curious about it.”

   Knuckles looked up at this brother, and said, “Well, you had asked why I remembered some of the echidna language…obviously I was too young to recollect much of what the words meant and sounded like…but, after the…well, attack, I found some pages of the echidna script, and among some of the passages were the words “suta” for “star” and “mikomi” for “hope”.  I kept the pages of course…but also some other things…”  Knuckles paused, then handing Hidama the opal he kept from the other day, he continued, “Do you remember our treasure hole?  Where we kept all of our stuff?”

   Taking the opal and gazing at it with wonder, Hidama, his jaw dropped, said, “Oh…wow.  I remember this opal…I gave it to you when you fell out of a tree you were climbing and hurt your foot.  It certainly cheered you up…along with the piggyback ride I gave you home.”  Laughing softly at the memory, he shook his head, and continued, “And…the treasure hole…in the woods near the stream, under the fallen tree.  I almost forgot about it…so, that’s where you kept the script…with the opal and our other ‘treasures’.  How awesome…”

   He was interrupted by Knuckles placing something else in his hand.  Hidama froze; he looked and saw his mother’s necklace, the one she wore everyday, as well as when she died.  He looked up and stared at Knuckles in disbelief, as the realization of the true terror Knuckles endured came flashing back into his memory.  He spoke, his voice shaky, “M—Mother…she always wore this necklace…I—I remember the last time I saw her…she was wearing it then.  My…my heavens Knuckles…that’s right…you had to deal with the aftermath of it all…my heart weeps.”

   Knuckles shook his head, holding the final object in his outstretched hand.  Hidama gasped, his eyes glassy with tears; he stuttered, “F—Father’s…this, this is father’s spearhead!  It was the ornamental style…reserved only for the Guardian…no other warrior was allowed to wield a spear fitted with this spearhead…oh, and the spear shaft…it was carved so beautifully…I weep that it was destroyed.”

   As Hidama took the spearhead and fingered it gently, Knuckles looked at Hidama with bewilderment.  He asked, “Wait, how did you know the shaft was destroyed?  And…wait, only the Guardian had this spearhead?  Same thing for the shaft?  Gee…I didn’t realize how much I had forgotten.”

   Looking up and seeing his brother’s confusion, Hidama laughed softly, placing his hand on Knuckles’ shoulder; he said, “Oh Knuckles, when I…when I saw our father die, I also witnessed the shaft of his spear being broken and burnt…that I remember quite clearly…for I revealed myself as his son at crying out for him.”  Hidama lowered his eyes and looked away, whispering, “That’s when the enemy realized who I was…and chased after me as they killed the remainder of our tribe, including our mother.  It occurred to me then, why she hid us together…so we wouldn’t be discovered…if only…if only I had listened to her…maybe we both would have suffered less.”

   Knuckles glanced at Hidama’s hand, which continued to rest on his shoulder, even as Hidama looked away in shame and regret, ready to weep.  Knuckles took his brother’s hand in his own, and said, “No Hidama…I won’t have any tears…not today…not now…not when we’re getting a fresh start with all this misery behind us.  You understand me?  We’re not going to dwell on each other’s pain; it’s all behind us now, okay?”

   Hidama looked back at his brother, a few tears managing to fall from his eyes.  Seeing his brother’s smile warmed his heart; he closed his eyes tightly to suppress his tears, and returned his brother’s smile with his own.  Closing his other hand tightly around the spearhead, necklace, and opal, he nodded, and said, “Agreed.”  Laughing softly he continued, “Yes, father’s spear was significant of his position…you were in deep trouble if you tried to wield it in his stead…of course, no matter which of us became the guardian in his succession, you would be allowed to wield it as well, being his son.”

   The two brothers locked eyes once more and smiled; hugging each other tightly, Knuckles could see the sun rising steadily towards noon.  Withdrawing from their hug, he looked at the clock, confirming this.  He said, “Gee Hidama, it’ll be time for lunch soon…heh, I guess now’s about time you meet Amy and your nephew eh?”

   Hidama smiled warmly, rubbed the back of his head and said, “Heh, yeah, I suppose so; I’ve…I’ve been looking forward to it…ever since Shadow told me about him.”

   As they stood up, Knuckles looked out the screen door and said, “Whoa, that’s right.  I wonder what happened to Shadow, Rouge, and the Brokenstar Twins.  Hey, and Sonic…and Tails too!  I forgot about them…I hope they’re okay.”

   Walking over to the door, Hidama laughed and said, “I wouldn’t worry; Aranelion is a tough one…he is part echidna you know…his father was father’s captain…one of them, so I know he’ll be okay.  Tails, he’ll be alright too…I’m sure Sonic has already gotten him some help.  As for Shadow…heh, his arm may have been shattered, but it’ll mend.  It’ll take a lot more than that to stop Shadow…and, heh, he’s got Rouge with him now.  I’m sure when we hear from them again, they’ll all be just great.”

   The two brothers were lost in silence for a moment, until it was broken by Mikomi’s cries from the bedroom.  Both of them immediately looked towards the direction of the sound, and then at each other.  Smiling proudly, Knuckles said, “You’re right…now, like I said, no more misery; I think your nephew wants to meet you.”

   Hidama nodded slowly, grinning, and whispered, “Yeah…okay,” as his reply.  Following Knuckles, he glanced once more at the trinkets in his hand, before sitting them down gently on the low coffee table.  Sighing happily, he whispered to himself, “A new start…a new beginning…at last, maybe I’ll have peace.”

   Indeed, it did seem that Hidama would indeed find the peace he had so long sought for; perhaps being reunited with his brother, meeting his new family, and being able to let of the past was sweet victory to him.  Yet…was Hidama fully ready to let go of the past?  Was Shadow infact, right, about Hidama only finding peace if he was only truly ready and able to accept it?  Looking at Shadow’s long, tortured history, then looking at the past twelve years of Hidama’s life…it seemed maybe, Hidama’s heart wasn’t ready to accept peace as he had once supposed.

Description
"The Unending Journey of the Heart"
By: Jade Lighting, a.k.a. Inuyashas-hanyougirl
Chapter 1: Happier Times in Abundance

   **Shadow sighed deeply, and replied, “Hidama…Knuckles cannot find peace for you, nor can he be what brings it, satisfying this torment in your heart.  Sure, he can bring some relief, but I, more than anyone, can tell you that true peace cannot be found in anything unless it is sought for.  Only you can bring peace to your heart; how and where you find it, is truly up to you.  It is when you decide to stop torturing your own soul, and let all that’s good in this world bring you pleasure, so that you may enjoy life once more.  You and I are on this same quest my friend, for I too desire peace but have yet to let it win in my heart.  I only pray you can find it sooner than I, for you truly deserve nothing more than happiness and bliss to the end of your days.”**

   Shadow’s words to Hidama that night in the Northern Kingdom foretold unrest in Hidama’s heart that seemed to be unending.  The hedgehog hinted at a lasting misery for the echidna, even after the mutants were vanquished and he was reunited with his brother Knuckles.  Yet from the first morning they returned to Angel Island, the morning Knuckles and Amy’s son was born, it appeared for a while that maybe Shadow’s words proved wrong perchance.

   Of course, it was only on the rare occasion when Shadow was in error in situations like this, especially when he too was searching for the same relief that Hidama was.  Even so, Hidama certainly appeared to be in high spirits.  For once in life, at least for awhile, he was genuinely happy to be alive, his heart overflowing with happiness.

   That same morning, as he stood beside the Master Emerald looking over the horizon, the same fields he had battled on only hours before hand, he finished singing a song quietly to himself, his attention directed to the cries of his nephew.  He smiled and laughed softly; shaking his head as he ran his fingers through his hair, he looked to Kelerai, who stood beside him and said, “Perhaps we should go on down now and, well, see how mother and child are doing, you think?  Heh, perhaps we should include father too.”

   To this, Kelerai mewed happily and the minute Hidama took one step, she took off down the stone stairs to the ground below, racing off to the front porch, rather than walk beside him like she did Knuckles.  Laughing again, the echidna walked quickly down the stairs in pursuit of the cat, finding by the time he got to the front porch, the infant’s cries had quieted, and everything seemed calm.

   The front door stood open, the screen door allowing the morning breeze to flow inside; Hidama opened the screen door slowly.  Kelerai ran past his feet and into the cottage as soon as she could squeeze by, and he watched her race through the living room and down the hall, pausing at the first door on the right, before taking two unsure steps into the room.

   Hidama inhaled deeply, and then exhaled slowly as he gently opened the screen door, stepping into the living room.  The first thing he noticed was the soft pink carpeting, and glancing down at his blood-stained and muddy boots, he immediately sat down in the doorway and pulled them off, not wanting to stain the clean carpet.  As he stuck his boots outside the door, he caught a glimpse of his cape out of the corner of his eyes.  It was tattered, torn, and bloody, and his eyes widened in amazement at this.

   As he removed his cape, hanging it on a hook that was mounted beside the door, he turned to see his brother standing at the end of the hall way, looking at him with a shaky smile on his face.  Hidama turned around fully and walked up to his brother; seeing the look on his face, he stopped a few paces in front of him, and said, “Hey Knux, how’s Amy doing?”

   Knuckles looked up at Hidama; his eyes were glassy, his smile bright and warm, but unsteady.  He glanced back towards the bedroom, then looked down at his shoes and said, “I…I’m overcome…”  His voice was shaky as he spoke.

   Hidama’s smile wavered a bit; he shook his head, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder and murmured, “Knuckles?  Hey, are you alright?  Is everything okay?”

   The echidna looked again at his brother’s face, the tears in his eyes finally overcoming his attempts to suppress them.  Knuckles’ smile appeared more confident; after a moment or so he raised his hand to his eyes to wipe away the tears, then seeing the confusion and worry in Hidama’s eyes, Knuckles shook his head slowly and replied, “Oh Hidama…of course everything is alright.  It couldn’t be more perfect; at last I have my brother back…and just in time for the birth of his nephew.”

   The apprehension disappeared from Hidama’s eyes, and a smile graced his face once more.  A look of awe was present in his expression, and he lowered his head, shaking it slowly, then looked back to his brother and said, in a low voice, “Oh wow…Knuckles…that’s just incredible.”  Glancing back towards the bedroom, he looked back to his brother and whispered, “Have you come up with a name yet?”

   Knuckles seemed to be overflowing with pride and happiness; the last of his tears faded away, and he smiled proudly.  He lowered his voice to an almost inaudible tone, and said, “Yeah…Amy and I were talking about names a few days ago, and actually, I think you might like the name we chose.”  He paused, seeing the intense anticipation in Hidama’s eyes; he laughed softly and said, “His name…is Suta-Mikomi…tell me, Hidama, can you remember what his name means?”

   Hidama closed his eyes in thought, repeating the words, “Suta…Mikomi…”, over and over softly, under his breath, as if they were strange to him.  Yet after only a few moments, he smiled brightly, then opened his eyes and looked at Knuckles, who was now smiling proudly.  Hidama shook his head and grinned, saying, “Star of Hope…gee, you do remember a word or two of the language of old.  I didn’t think you would remember any of that…”

   “Heh, yeah…I didn’t exactly remember it,” Knuckles said, shuffling his feet.  Seeing the look of confusion in Hidama’s eyes, Knuckles laughed and said, “Here, I’ll show you what I mean.”  The echidna walked over to a table that stood beside the door; one of the objects sitting on it was a small trinket box.  Taking the box, Knuckles opened it and took out the contents, placing them in his hand before gently placing the box back on the table.  He walked back over to Hidama, who out of intrigue met him half way.

   The two brothers grinned at each other as they almost bumped into one another; Knuckles nodded over at the small couch to their left, and the two went and sat down.  Before Knuckles could talk, Hidama asked, “What about Amy and Mikomi?  Are they doing okay?”

   At the mention of Amy and Mikomi, Knuckles sighed happily, his heart overflowing with happiness and pride; he looked to Hidama and said, “Of course they’re both alright…I’m just letting them both rest…Amy had a hard night without me.  She’s okay though; I’ll introduce you to her and your nephew in a minute.”  Looking into Hidama’s eyes, he whispered, “I just want a few moments with you first; it’s been so long since we’ve been together…let’s start if off right.”

   Hidama returned his brother’s gaze, and grinned; he nodded and said, “Sounds fair enough to me; …now, how about what you took out of that jewelry box?  I’m curious about it.”

   Knuckles looked up at this brother, and said, “Well, you had asked why I remembered some of the echidna language…obviously I was too young to recollect much of what the words meant and sounded like…but, after the…well, attack, I found some pages of the echidna script, and among some of the passages were the words “suta” for “star” and “mikomi” for “hope”.  I kept the pages of course…but also some other things…”  Knuckles paused, then handing Hidama the opal he kept from the other day, he continued, “Do you remember our treasure hole?  Where we kept all of our stuff?”

   Taking the opal and gazing at it with wonder, Hidama, his jaw dropped, said, “Oh…wow.  I remember this opal…I gave it to you when you fell out of a tree you were climbing and hurt your foot.  It certainly cheered you up…along with the piggyback ride I gave you home.”  Laughing softly at the memory, he shook his head, and continued, “And…the treasure hole…in the woods near the stream, under the fallen tree.  I almost forgot about it…so, that’s where you kept the script…with the opal and our other ‘treasures’.  How awesome…”

   He was interrupted by Knuckles placing something else in his hand.  Hidama froze; he looked and saw his mother’s necklace, the one she wore everyday, as well as when she died.  He looked up and stared at Knuckles in disbelief, as the realization of the true terror Knuckles endured came flashing back into his memory.  He spoke, his voice shaky, “M—Mother…she always wore this necklace…I—I remember the last time I saw her…she was wearing it then.  My…my heavens Knuckles…that’s right…you had to deal with the aftermath of it all…my heart weeps.”

   Knuckles shook his head, holding the final object in his outstretched hand.  Hidama gasped, his eyes glassy with tears; he stuttered, “F—Father’s…this, this is father’s spearhead!  It was the ornamental style…reserved only for the Guardian…no other warrior was allowed to wield a spear fitted with this spearhead…oh, and the spear shaft…it was carved so beautifully…I weep that it was destroyed.”

   As Hidama took the spearhead and fingered it gently, Knuckles looked at Hidama with bewilderment.  He asked, “Wait, how did you know the shaft was destroyed?  And…wait, only the Guardian had this spearhead?  Same thing for the shaft?  Gee…I didn’t realize how much I had forgotten.”

   Looking up and seeing his brother’s confusion, Hidama laughed softly, placing his hand on Knuckles’ shoulder; he said, “Oh Knuckles, when I…when I saw our father die, I also witnessed the shaft of his spear being broken and burnt…that I remember quite clearly…for I revealed myself as his son at crying out for him.”  Hidama lowered his eyes and looked away, whispering, “That’s when the enemy realized who I was…and chased after me as they killed the remainder of our tribe, including our mother.  It occurred to me then, why she hid us together…so we wouldn’t be discovered…if only…if only I had listened to her…maybe we both would have suffered less.”

   Knuckles glanced at Hidama’s hand, which continued to rest on his shoulder, even as Hidama looked away in shame and regret, ready to weep.  Knuckles took his brother’s hand in his own, and said, “No Hidama…I won’t have any tears…not today…not now…not when we’re getting a fresh start with all this misery behind us.  You understand me?  We’re not going to dwell on each other’s pain; it’s all behind us now, okay?”

   Hidama looked back at his brother, a few tears managing to fall from his eyes.  Seeing his brother’s smile warmed his heart; he closed his eyes tightly to suppress his tears, and returned his brother’s smile with his own.  Closing his other hand tightly around the spearhead, necklace, and opal, he nodded, and said, “Agreed.”  Laughing softly he continued, “Yes, father’s spear was significant of his position…you were in deep trouble if you tried to wield it in his stead…of course, no matter which of us became the guardian in his succession, you would be allowed to wield it as well, being his son.”

   The two brothers locked eyes once more and smiled; hugging each other tightly, Knuckles could see the sun rising steadily towards noon.  Withdrawing from their hug, he looked at the clock, confirming this.  He said, “Gee Hidama, it’ll be time for lunch soon…heh, I guess now’s about time you meet Amy and your nephew eh?”

   Hidama smiled warmly, rubbed the back of his head and said, “Heh, yeah, I suppose so; I’ve…I’ve been looking forward to it…ever since Shadow told me about him.”

   As they stood up, Knuckles looked out the screen door and said, “Whoa, that’s right.  I wonder what happened to Shadow, Rouge, and the Brokenstar Twins.  Hey, and Sonic…and Tails too!  I forgot about them…I hope they’re okay.”

   Walking over to the door, Hidama laughed and said, “I wouldn’t worry; Aranelion is a tough one…he is part echidna you know…his father was father’s captain…one of them, so I know he’ll be okay.  Tails, he’ll be alright too…I’m sure Sonic has already gotten him some help.  As for Shadow…heh, his arm may have been shattered, but it’ll mend.  It’ll take a lot more than that to stop Shadow…and, heh, he’s got Rouge with him now.  I’m sure when we hear from them again, they’ll all be just great.”

   The two brothers were lost in silence for a moment, until it was broken by Mikomi’s cries from the bedroom.  Both of them immediately looked towards the direction of the sound, and then at each other.  Smiling proudly, Knuckles said, “You’re right…now, like I said, no more misery; I think your nephew wants to meet you.”

   Hidama nodded slowly, grinning, and whispered, “Yeah…okay,” as his reply.  Following Knuckles, he glanced once more at the trinkets in his hand, before sitting them down gently on the low coffee table.  Sighing happily, he whispered to himself, “A new start…a new beginning…at last, maybe I’ll have peace.”

   Indeed, it did seem that Hidama would indeed find the peace he had so long sought for; perhaps being reunited with his brother, meeting his new family, and being able to let of the past was sweet victory to him.  Yet…was Hidama fully ready to let go of the past?  Was Shadow infact, right, about Hidama only finding peace if he was only truly ready and able to accept it?  Looking at Shadow’s long, tortured history, then looking at the past twelve years of Hidama’s life…it seemed maybe, Hidama’s heart wasn’t ready to accept peace as he had once supposed.