Fukitsu na yokan ga...

Tsuki o kakusu...

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Mei snapped her lighter shut, slipping it into a vest pocket for later as she took a deep breath of the incense she had just lit, sitting back on the empty barrel and looking up into the night sky.

The sky was littered with stars and clouds, the full moon showing brightly in between each cloud, casting the desert in the soft glow of moonlight.

She crossed one leg over the other, sighing softly as she listened to the slight wind that almost tasted of on-coming rain.

If it wasn't impossible for the large robot to go unheard on its approach, she would have jumped when Barricade spoke up.

"What are you doing?"

Over the past few months the black and white mech had slowly warmed up to his human counterparts, even sometimes calling them by their actual name.

"I'm looking up at the sky." Mei replied, not looking over at him. "Where I come from, many believe that the sky, seasons, and weather all tie into a person's fate."

The mech looked down at her before shrugging his shoulders and moved to sit down next to her. Taking his silence in; she started again.

"See, I've always believed that your surroundings can determine your path. A night like this, with clouds in the sky and the stars and moon bright mean that anything can go your way, that you can accomplish anything."

Barricade looked over at her again, before looking back up to the night sky just as the clouds covered the moon, taking away the light.

"And now?" He asked, looking back at her.

"It's a bad omen," she replied quietly. "when the moon conceals itself."

The robot continued to look at her before shaking his head. "I'll never understand humans."

Mei chuckled lightly to herself, looking from the sky to him. "Fukitsu na yokan ga. Tsuki o kakusu." She said, grinning when he looked confused. "It's Japanese." She replies, looking back to the sky as the moon reappeared from behind it's could barrier.

She grinned to herself, remembering her past; family and close friends lost.

"Mou ichido dakishimetai, yume no naka, zutto dakishimetai, mangetsu no yoru." She spoke quietly and slowly, almost like it was part of a song. She sighed softly with a smile, closing her eyes in the warm dark night before taking a last breath of her incense before she patted Barricade's hand, heading for the main door. "I'm off to bed. Night, 'Cade."

Barricade nodded, looking back towards the sky. Speaking just as she hit the doorway.

"What does it mean?" He asked, still looking up.

"Hmm?" Came the reply as she stopped at the doorway, looking back over her shoulder at him.

"What did all that mean?" He asked a little more quietly.

Mei grinned softly, leaning on the doorframe. "Sure you want to know? It's a little sappy. Doubt such a bad-ass robot like yourself could handle such mushiness." She joked, expecting a grumble in return. Instead she got nothing. Seems like he's serious about this.

She moved to sit back on the empty barrel she had been on a little while ago, looking up at him. "It's a song from back home." She was quietly telling him. "The last four lines of the song are, 'Mou ichido dakishimetai, yume no naka, zutto dakishimetai, mangetsu no yoru'. Which mean, 'Hold me again. I don't care if it's a dream. Just hold me tight'." She told him, suddenly feeling a little bit exposed to the large mech. "It's," She paused. "It's about my family, or at least it is to me anyway."

Barricade regarded her with his red optics, it almost felt like he was scanning her soul. "Your family?"

Mei nodded. "Haven't seen any of them since I was a kid. My father died when I was you and my mother was killed. I... I have a brother, but I don't know where he is."

"You look for him?" Barricade asked.

"Everyday." Mei whispered. "But it's been too long. He's probably dead, or just forgot about me."

"Where I came from," Barricade started. "You never forget about your brothers. We didn't have families like humans do, but we had groups that were considered families."

"Do you ever think about them?" Mei asked, moving to her feet again as she dusted herself off.

"All the time." He said simply, looking from the sky back to her. "I'm sure your brother hasn't forgotten you."

"I hope so." Mei replied, looking up at the sky before sighing. "Night, Barricade."

She made it a few feet before he stopped her again.

"Wait." He stopped her again, she looked at him over his shoulder. "You only translated three of the four lines. What's the forth?"

"Mangetsu no yoru." She repeated. "It means 'on this full moon night'."

Barricade nodded. "So that is why it's a bad omen for the moon to cover itself." He said, more to himself then Mei, but she nodded anyway, heading in for the night.

Fukitsu na yokan ga... (It's a bad omen,)

Tsuki o kakusu... (When the moon conceals itself.)

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A/N: There we go, rewrote some of it AND I added the translations as part of the storyline. Let me know if things are better or worse.

Japanese Lyrics from:

Nue No Naku Yoru by Tomiko Van

From Her Album: Farewell