A/N; this story is a bit slower-paced than my usual style. Actually, it's a lot slower-paced. It takes place over the span of one year, and I go into details. Readers with short attention spans probably won't like this one as much.

You have been warned.

Oh, and I'm using a couple different versions of the same musical to start the chapters, so relax if you don't think the words are precisely right.

Enjoy!

xxXxx

Chapter One: Heaven-Sent

Once upon a dream,

You were heaven-sent to me

Was it never meant to be?

Was it just a dream-?

Can we begin again?

Once upon a dream.

-Once Upon a Dream, Frank Wildhorn's Jekyll and Hyde Musical

xxXxx

Renaldo Moon never thought that he would return to Japan. In fact, he doubted that anyone there would remember him, especially after all these years.

But nonetheless, he found himself staring out the window of an airplane as it soared through the cold spring atmosphere. He absently tapped his thumb against the magazine on his lap, but he was too distracted to read it. He barely even saw the clouds as they passed by; a rolling ocean of white fluffiness.

In his mind's eye, all he could see was soft red hair, and large brown eyes that seemed to look straight into his soul. He smiled a little, lost in the sweet memories that he had spent half his life trying to suppress.

He shook his head angrily at himself. As the plane finally arrived in the airport, he eased out of his seat with difficulty, and slung his single pack over one shoulder; almost hitting the person behind him.

All that was in the bag was a change of clothes, hygiene items, and his passport.

'Bird Brain's right. I really am an idiot.' Scowling at himself, he walked down the small stairs, and into the door leading into the airport.

There were a lot of people in there. It was Japan, after all.

Luckily, Renaldo had always been big, and he stood a good two heads taller than most of the crowd. He looked around the airport, his heart beating unsteadily in his ears as he finished checking his passport against the service desk. 'Is she late? It'd be funny, if she was still late for everything.'

But then he saw her near the tall windows. His heart skipped a beat as their eyes connected, and he tightened his grip on the bag. He took a deep breath for courage, and started moving against the masses to reach her.

She had cut her hair short, and now sported a small pair of glasses. Her beautiful brown eyes were more careworn than he remembered, and she looked like she hadn't slept well in a while. Otherwise, she looked the same as he remembered her. He glanced at her right hand, relieved to see her wearing the simple gold ring he had given her from what felt like a lifetime ago.

'If she's wearing it now, then she must have been wearing it when the accident happened.'

With a start, he realized that her eyes were also on his hands. The one holding his bag over one shoulder was wearing a similar ring; one that he almost never removed.

After what felt like eternity, he managed to work his way to her, out of the main stream of people. He looked at her silently, once again berating himself over what had happened between them.

She smiled up at him, although the action was a bit nervous. "Hello, Muta."

Even after all this time, he still preferred her nickname for him.

"Hey, Naoko," he answered, almost automatically. It was amazing to him, how easily her name still flowed off his tongue. He smiled at her, and looked at the large doors. "Shall we, then?"

Naoko nodded, and walked with him out of the cold airport. The streets outside were nearly as loud from all the passing people, making them walk closely, so as not to be separated.

"So… is there any change?" he asked worriedly.

She sighed sadly. "I'm afraid it's only gotten worse. She won't even look at me when I try to talk to her. The doctor says it's hopeless."

He stiffened at that. "Well, it won't be the first time a quack's been wrong." He paused, and asked another question slowly; his heart in his voice. "What's she like?"

Naoko bit her lip. "Haru…" she tried to say, the right words lost to her. "She's… well… she's a very private sort of girl. She never really says what she thinks, and would gladly shut herself away from the world. But when an emergency happens, she's the person you want around to help bail you out. Her personal safety doesn't matter to her as much as someone else's does. She's always been better about taking care of others rather than herself."

Muta grinned painfully. "Which is why she's in the hospital?"

Naoko nodded, a few tears squeezing past her guard. She turned away from him, brushing her jacket sleeve over her face harshly. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry in front of you," she muttered through a choked sob.

Muta stopped in his tracks and gave her an impulsive hug. "I cried when you told me about her. I don't have room to talk."

She shrugged a little angrily, and returned to walking the sidewalk. "But I didn't want to guilt you anymore than I already have."

"Believe me, I deserve it," he grumbled, walking just a shade closer to her than he really had to. "Tell me more about her?"

Naoko took in a deep breath. "She's got your hair color, and your love of chocolate. She can barely sew a straight seam, despite my attempts to teach her, but she definitely has your talent in the kitchen. You know those cook books you left behind? The ones you had written notes in?"

He nodded.

"She learned how to read out of them. She loves using your recipes, but she altered the one for jam to make paint."

"She paints?" Muta asked in surprise. "Couldn't she use tubes from the store for that?"

"She could, but she can't stand the fumes." Naoko smiled warmly, and actually laughed softly. "Her paints leave a nice smell in the fabric, and are really tasty. Haru's favorite threat is to start putting laxatives in, so that I'll stop eating them while she's at school."

The smile faded from her lips, and she sighed tiredly. "I tried to protect her, I really did. But with Satoshi manipulating the school and the police force, there wasn't much I could do to help her. That boy made her grow up too fast. She's only seventeen, but she's one of the most sensible people I have ever met, at least most of the time. She has a great poker face, because she hates letting people know when she's been hurt, especially me. I didn't believe her about Satoshi's nephew, since I didn't think he'd do something so petty. But when I came to the school early one day in kindergarten, I caught him pushing her into the mud. I tried going to the principal, but he refused to listen to a word I said. Haru stopped complaining the same year, but the torture never really ended."

"What about home-schooling?" Muta begged. "Wouldn't she have been safe there?"

But she shook her head mournfully. "According to the board of education, I didn't qualify to home-school her. Never mind the fact that I would already check over her homework and see that she deserves better grades than what her teachers were giving her. I even tried moving to a different part of town so that she'd have to switch schools, but it didn't work. Satoshi just transferred his nephew to where Haru was, and resumed torturing her. I'm betting the only reason the school didn't fail her was because Satoshi didn't want his nephew held back, too. The only way Haru has been able to protect herself is by running away." Naoko sighed softly. "Whenever I see her race, I wonder if she can outrun the wind."

"She's fast?"

"You wouldn't believe it unless you saw it. I mean, she's not 'X-men' fast, she just knows how to run quickly to escape Satoshi's nephew and his friends. If he ever decided to leave her alone, she could probably have joined a cross-country team by now. Haru's never had any real friends; just me. She refuses to speak outside our home, but that could partially be because of her weak vocal chords. Did I mention that she loses her voice on a frequent basis? She also speaks three types of sign language, but her favorite is American, because…"

Because of him.

Muta shook his head angrily. "Remind me again why Satoshi made it his business to torture Haru?"

"Because she's your daughter," Naoko answered sadly, shaking her head at herself. "If I had been smarter, I'd have told you about her years ago."

"If I had been smarter, I never would have left," Muta retorted, holding the door open for her, once they finally reached the hospital. "I've been regretting that since I did it."

She looked up at him with shock. "Then why didn't you-"

"Sorry, sir; do you have an appointment?" a snooty receptionist asked from her cubicle.

"No, he's here to see our daughter," Naoko told her in an irritated tone, wrapping both of her arms around Muta's loose one, and dragging him to the elevator.

"Now see here-" the woman tried to protest, but Naoko had already pressed the button, making the sliding doors close before she could interfere.

Now that they were alone again, she turned to the giant, her heart in her eyes. "If you wanted to come back, why didn't you?"

He sighed. "After that stupid fight, I figured you'd be happier if you never saw me again. I thought I caused you enough grief for one lifetime, and that you deserved to be happy."

She looked at him, and shook her head while laughing a little.

But to her husband, it sounded like she was laughing at herself. "To think; I've been ignoring you for the exact same reason." She took in a deep breath. "I know I don't deserve it, but I'd like you to do me a favor?"

"Name it, Chicky."

She smiled at the old nickname, but the look soon faded. "I want you to take Haru back with you. She's been thinking of you her whole life, and I can't keep her safe here. She deserves to live a life without the constant fear of being used as a chew-toy for something that isn't even her fault. I know you'll love her, once you get to know her. She's a wonderful girl, and she'd do anything for your approval."

"You've been talking about me?" he asked with surprise as the elevator doors opened.

Naoko nodded, and led him down another hallway. "When Haru was a child, she never wanted to hear about princesses or dragons; she wanted to hear stories about you. Even as she got older, I can gauge just how bad her day went by how long she'll make me talk about you. Even if it was just little details, she didn't care. When it was a really bad day, she'd make me talk in English." She laughed under her breath sadly. "I think the longest time she had me talk was until two in the morning, and she had me start as soon as she got home from an art show, covered in something red and slimy. She never did tell me what the stuff was."

Muta nodded thoughtfully, as they turned into the intense care ward. "So, you think that the genuine article will do the trick for this catastrophe?"

"I'm praying it will," she whispered, once again wiping away unwanted tears. "If it isn't enough, at least you would have gotten a chance to meet her. But will you take her away from here for me, if this works?"

Muta chewed on his lower lip, and set his jaw stubbornly. "On one condition, Naoko."

She stopped in her tracks, and stared up at him. "Condition? This is our daughter, Muta!"

"I know. That's why I want you to come back with me, too."

Her mouth opened a little wider, and she stared at him in total shock. "But… but… after that fight?"

Muta sighed. "Look, Naoko; we were idiots back then. I'm not expecting things to magically heal between us, but letting you go's been the worst mistake of my life. Besides," he added with a small smile. "If Haru's willing to run into a burning house, just because she thinks you're inside, something tells me that she'll need you too, to heal from this. Come on; for Haru, if not for us?"

Naoko stared at him, and slowly turned away to brush the sleeve over her eyes again; her shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.

He wrapped his arms around her for another quick hug, and squeezed her shoulders comfortingly. "What do you say, Chicky?"

She looked up at him through her tears, and nodded happily.

"Excuse me," a young man in a long white coat said; his expression smugly self-important. "This is a restricted area."

"This is my husband, Renaldo Moon," Naoko quickly introduced, grabbing his arm possessively. "He's here to see our daughter, in room 310."

"What? Her… her father?" the man stammered in disbelief as Muta took the necessary step closer to the man.

He looked down at the intern, allowing his impressive girth and height speak for him. "I'm going to see my little girl, and I know how to act in a sick room. You're not going to stop us, now are you?" he growled.

The man frantically shook his head, walking backwards to knock his body against the wall sharply.

Naoko giggled, and pulled on one of his arms again. "I missed seeing you do that to people."

He grinned at her roguishly before his small black eyes became glued to the door of room 310.

They stopped right in front of it, Naoko releasing his arm. "Do you want me to introduce you?" she asked timidly.

Muta bit his lip. "Will she know me without it?"

Naoko nodded firmly. "She did a portrait of you once, from that photo of our last picnic. Satoshi's nephew destroyed it almost immediately, but it was pretty good when it lasted."

He grinned at her, and placed one meaty hand on the door's handle. "Then, could I do it alone? I mean, you can watch from the doorway, but…"

"I understand," she said softly, urging him forward while wiping away more tears. "Just… do what you can."

He smiled again, and opened the door.

What was inside broke his heart.

A skeletal figure was lying on the bed, almost framed by machines to measure her internal symmetry, as well as a bulging bag on a pole that dripped nutrients into her body.

She was mostly covered by a thin hospital blanket, and the arm that wasn't wrapped up in bandages was covered with deep, ugly bruises. Her face was almost completely masked by white bandages, and her head had been freshly shaved. Her eyes were partially open, but she was as still as death.

His daughter looked a little too much like a broken doll.

Muta's heart beat unsteadily in his chest as he took a deep breath, and softly walked closer to the daughter he had never known. Only when he was right next to her, did he realize that she had inherited her mother's beautiful eyes, even if they were dull and unseeing.

He choked back a sob as he kneeled next to her, and gently touched one of her shoulders. "Haru? Haru, it's me; your father."

She didn't blink. There was not even a hint that she had heard him.

Tears freely streamed down his face as he gently touched her bandaged chin, and guided her face so that she would look at him.

Haru's eyes were still horrifically vacant, and wouldn't focus on him.

Muta inhaled with difficulty. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, wishing that he could kiss his daughter without hurting her. "I never should have stayed away for so long. Believe me; if I could turn back time, I never would have started that stupid fight with your mother."

There! Her eyes blinked very slowly, and then laboriously locked on him. But there was still no recognition.

He slipped his large hand underneath Haru's bandaged one, since it wasn't connected to any wires. "You know what, Chicky?" he confided with a sad smile. "My best friend back home has a little girl, and I was so jealous of him. Every time he bragged about what a wonderful little lady his daughter was turning out to be, I couldn't help but wish that I had one, too. I swear if I had known about you, I'd have come back in a heartbeat."

Her eyes were wider now, and she couldn't stop blinking slowly, like the action was exhausting for her. There was definitely a spark of recognition now, and her breathing was starting to come a little faster. But one of her eyes wouldn't open as wide as the other one underneath the bandages.

"I should have come back, anyway," he growled while making a fist with his free hand. "It was my stupid pride that kept me away, and you're the one that had to pay the price for that. I'm so sorry, Haru. It's not your fault for what happened back then; it's mine. I'm the one that should have gotten abused for years on end, not you."

She was clearly tired, but her eyes were wide with shock. She no longer blinked, and she was unable to look away from him; her delicate mouth slightly open with wonder.

"From what your mother's told me, I think you'd love where I live," he informed her with a relieved smile. "I'm a cook for a baron who lives out in the country, over in England. There's a small village within an hour's drive of his manor, but it's nice and quiet there. A forest borders one side of the manor, and there's a big lake inside the forest. The other servants try to tell me the forest is haunted, but I doubt it. The lord's a nice guy, too. As soon as he found out about you, he yelled at me before arranging for me to come to Japan as fast as possible." He winced from the memory. "That was the first time I ever saw him lose his temper, and I hope it's the last time, too. He can get pretty scary, when someone does something as stupid as I did."

Haru stared at him, enough so he could see a timid hope beginning to flare within her chocolate orbs.

"Chicky, I know I don't deserve a second chance at being your dad," Muta admitted with difficulty, closing his eyes from the pain. "But I swear if you give me another chance, I won't let you down. You won't have to be a chew toy for anyone anymore, if I have anything to say about it." He then grinned as roguishly as he could, and showed her one big fist. "In fact, I'll happily beat up anyone that tries to hurt you or your mother ever again. Will you give me that chance, Haru? I'd really love to take you and your mother home with me as soon as possible."

That did it. Tears streamed down the skeletal girl's face, even as her lips twisted into an ecstatic smile that sent his heart soaring. Slowly, almost too slow for him to notice, her bandaged hand tightened on his in a weakly possessive gesture.

Muta beamed at her, more tears running down his face as he softly kissed her forehead through the bandages.

Naoko had been wrong. He loved his daughter already.

"Happy late birthday, Sweetheart."