Mono no Aware

Chapter One: Planning

Lilo's room in the old house had mostly remained the same; circular, a hatch in the middle, the two cots-one of which having been unoccupied for a while-to the point where it was now a shelf unless experiments came over, and the small controller to open the roof on the wall.

The furniture set was different; it was a bright blue and white, small jars of rocks and shells adorning the top of the bookcases and table. The table itself housed a laptop, pens and swivel chair, a purple bathrobe haphazardly draped over it. Lilo's Scrump sat on her friend's old bed next to a family photo and some birthday cards. Glow in the dark stars covered the walls, and pictures of walks around Kokawa Town plastered the wall next to a hibiscus-printed duvet.

But the shelf was missing something-namely, Ani's Scrump; the one Lilo had made for her in between her ocean photography jobs and marine life presentations. It was slightly different-the material was brighter, the yarn and buttons differing shades, but it otherwise mirrored her mother's.

Ani clutched the doll as she waited in the hallway, biting her lip. Lilo was on the phone, pacing back and forth in the entryway. She was talking to Jumba-Ani could tell from her tone. It sounded stressed and...scared.

It had for the past month.

"-Okay, Jumba, I get...what happened, but this is serious, I can't take care of him without alien tech, and I'm not comfortable just leaving him with you. I've told you why he's been like this..."

Ani shrunk back and gulped at Lilo's words, hugging Scrump tighter at the mention.

"Alright-so, I'll head over, we'll cross that bridge when it comes. And I need to make up with Stitch anyways…"

"Yes."

"Okay, so, time zones then…"

Lilo's voice trailed off in Ani's mind as she breathed a sigh of relief. So they were going to Izayoi, all they needed to do was more time zoney-grownup stuff…

She quietly made her way out the back door, taking a small flashlight on her way out as she found the stairs.


The stairs leading up to Uncle Jumba and Auntie Pleakley's old ship were a little weathered. Experiments had replaced some of them, but for the most part, they'd stood the test of time.

She broke off the path just as she came into view of the ship, seeing two familiar figures waiting by the open hatch. Sure, Hammerface and Kixx were nice, and she understood why they were standing there, but she couldn't let them prevent her from heading inside.

Ani stole in through the side door into darkness-save the tiny gold circle created by her flashlight. The hallways were dark, save for the outline of a lit room towards the back, but even then, Ani had snuck in more than enough times to know she was at the right level.

She was about to head towards the lit rectangle of the room, making sure to be as quiet as possible. That was, until she caught something out of the corner of her eye-a crackle of electricity between what she knew were a pair of yellow antenna.

Ani shrunk as the lights flicked on, revealing a very tired Sparky. He had bags under his eyes, but was giving her a sad stare and crossing his arms, causing her to sigh in irritation.

"I wanted to-"

"I know." Sparky's antenna drooped, but he put his hands on his hips, "But you know why you can't right now-it's not even my decision Ani, it was Heat's, remember?"

Ani glanced at the ground, "But...I-"

"Ani, please. I know it sucks, but...you know what goes on with us. He doesn't want you getting hurt."

Sparky was answered with a silent glare to the floor as Ani gripped the Scrump even harder. He felt his ears droop at the sight. Things had turned...bad here this past month. Ani didn't know the full scope of what had happened, but he did, and it pained him to see the effects of keeping her in the dark. She knew Heat was sad, sure, but she didn't know the full extent of it. All Ani really understood was that Heat couldn't-or didn't want to-see her, something that left her insistent on visiting him despite his protests otherwise.

He sighed, rubbing an eye and casting a glance towards the doorway, "...Okay, I'm going to get Hammer and Kixx. The door's locked, but I still want you to stay put, alright?"

Ani hesitated, but gave him a small nod. Sparky returned it, heading down the hall and out the hatch.


"Again?" Hammerface's voice sounded like it was underwater to him. He'd been unable to sleep much in the past month, so that was probably why. But even then, maybe it wasn't given Hammerface looked just as tired as him.

He nodded, and the tool experiment sighed, putting a hand to his head. "Oh no…"

Kixx glanced towards the hatch and stood up from where he'd been sitting, "I'll go and deal with her first then. It'd give me a chance to check up on Heat too. See how he's doing."

"We'll be right behind you." Hammerface said, the purple experiment nodding as he disappeared down the hall.

Sparky watched him go, Hammerface shakily getting to his feet next to him.

"God."

"I can't imagine what that's gotta feel like." Sparky whispered, ears drooping against the harsh lights of the ship. "And then there's you and the other two…"

"Does Angel...know, by the way?" He asked. Hammerface shook his head, "We're waiting on that. Heat doesn't want her to until he's better, but Thresher plans to call her."

"Ah."

"How's…"

"Nosy?" He's fine, just worn himself to the bone, same as us. Lilo's keeping in touch with him when it comes to Stitch and the others."

The two's walk down the ship's hall was silent after that. Sparky listened for an argument up ahead, but was surprised to find none. Strange-Ani was known for quickly getting loud when things didn't go her way, quite like most Earth kids.

The reason why however, stunned him even further, as him and Hammerface walked up on an anxious Heat blocking the doorway to his room, quietly speaking with Ani. Kixx stood off to the side with his upper pair of arms behind his back, watching the conversation in silence. Both 6-series looked up at the two as they entered, but Ani only cast a glance towards them before trying to continue the conversation with Heat.

"Ah-no; Ani…" Hammerface said, "Please, you know this isn't allowed…"

Heat put up his hand to stop Hammerface, "It's okay. She deserves to know a little, right?"

"Plus, I have been isolating in here anyways…" He added, tugging at his right arm. Sparky sighed, "Come on, we talked about pulling at them-do it more and they're just going to pop off."

Heat snorted, but quickly took his hand away from his antenna. "Anyways...Ani? I know you wanted to come and visit, even with...all this going on, but...is it because I'm going to Izayoi?"

Ani paused, but nodded, "Mom made sure you're gonna go, so I just wanted to visit since I probably can't come."

"Oh…" Hammerface furrowed his brow, "...I actually wouldn't jump to that conclusion yet Ani-we've been talking with her too, you know. There's a chance you can come."

"Speaking of." A new voice came from behind them, causing Sparky to jump and spin around. Lilo stood facing them with her arms crossed, phone in hand and hair tied back in a ponytail, "I just got off the phone with Jumba. We leave tomorrow night-and...that does include you, Ani."

Ani looked up in surprise, but Lilo nodded in confirmation, "It's best if you come with; this affects all of us and, well…"

She bit her lip as she glanced at Heat, "Well, look-I just...I want things to get better. And part of that is making it so you can see Heat again-and so you can get your stuff taken care of."

Heat perked up and nodded before turning back to Ani, "See? You're coming; there's nothing to worry about. Except maybe Plasmoid and Clip, yeah?"

Ani smiled, "Yeah-but-wait-shoota! I've gotta get packed and then-get all my stuff together-and stock up on cameras-"

"Okay, okay, slow down..." Hammerface cautioned, but was only answered with a sudden hug from Ani. "-Heh, reminds me of the old missions off planet..."

"Just make sure to bring the useful stuff as well, alright?" He asked as Ani broke away from him to give Lilo a hug, "Don't want to have to make return trips-Heat lives here right now."

"Aw, she can make 'em if she has to, I don't mind." Heat joked, "But seriously-make sure you have everything, okay?"

Ani laughed, "'Kay-I'll get started right now then!"

She sped away from the group and back down the hall, leaving Lilo standing amidst the experiments. However, as soon as Ani was out of sight, the smile Lilo had gotten midway through the conversation quickly dissipated. She turned and looked back at the experiments, shoulders slumped and her face forming a frown. "Well…"

Hammerface's antenna flattened as he looked up at her. "It's Stitch, isn't it."

"Yeah." Lilo closed her eyes a moment, casting a glance towards the ground, "I just...I have to talk to him, but it feels so awkward and...it shouldn't. It really shouldn't."

"He's still the same person...I'm sure he'll-"

"But that's the problem." Lilo said, crossing her arms, "He hasn't changed. I have."

"Then…" Heat furrowed his brow as he studied the ground in thought, "then, should one of us help? Or…"

"I mean them, not me. I'm crazy." He corrected amidst raised eyebrows from the other experiments, "Just...don't overthink it, okay? I'm sure he's still the same person underneath...whatever's going on, right? Think of it as being like me right now."

Lilo sighed, "You're right Heat. And...sorry about that. I know you've been through a lot."

"It's fine. I've been a little better knowing we're finally going to do something about this."

"That reminds me." Lilo said, "I've gotta call Nosy and let him know. Hammerface? Wanna do the same with Clip and Plasmoid?"

The gray experiment nodded before glancing to Sparky and Kixx, "It'll take a bit, but-"

"Yeah yeah, we get it; stay with him and make sure he's fine. You tell it to everyone who comes every single day." Kixx said, rolling his eyes, "I can lend you my phone if you want too-just so you don't have to leave."

Hammerface nodded, Kixx walking off to retrieve said phone. Lilo looked down at her own and drew in a breath, dialing Nosy's number…