[Raikiri] No. 108

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

The man bowed, "Thank you for your patience." He left the room mumbling into a walkie-talkie. "She's in the Courtyard, surround and capture."

He pulled out a small handgun and pulled back the safety, walking down the hall. "This time...I've got you..."  

[Kumizu]

Patience. Right. "Yeah." Kumizu was about to close the door when he heard the man speak. Damnit! Yes, he was cursing partly because all he wanted to do was rest, but was also cursing at the people who seemed to want to "capture" Ayise. He opened the door slowly and stepped out. The man was gone, for better or worse, so Kumizu moved as quickly as he could to the elevators.  

[Kumizu]

Kumizu fumbled with the cane, box, and his ID card as he opened the door to his room. He set down the box and put away his ID before actually closing the door, then walked to the couch. He collapsed in it, kicked off his shoes, and immediately put up his bad leg. The pain seemed to be worse since the run-in with his father, and unfortunately, no medications could even slightly take away this problem.

Kumizu reached his hand out to the door of the fridge and a jug of water literally forced its way out. Using his control over water, he pushed the jug over to him. After grabbing it and taking a long drink, he sighed. It would never take the pain away completely, but water was the only thing that helped. He splashed some on his leg before he actually could stand up and put the jug away.

Unfortunately, Kumizu didn't have time to rest. He grabbed the phone off of the coffee table and dialed some numbers, then put the phone to his ear. "Hello? Yes, my name is Kumizu... I'd like to order some Lorimarian Iron.... No, money isn't an issue, since when do you worry about that?... Caller ID? Just because I'm in high school doesn't mean I don't have money.... Fine, apology accepted.... As soon as possible. Preferably now, but you get the picture.... Deliver it to the dorm area. Raikiri #108.... Thank you." Kumizu hung up the phone and leaned back on the couch. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily.  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

It was a long time before she moved, she'd fallen asleep behind the desk in the room. It was no wonder, she was still just a child. Her eyes peered around the desk, the man here who'd told her his name was Kumizu had ordered something. He seemed to have some kind of fixation with water too. She didn't much like the rain, water made her feel all icky.

She'd wandered away from her momma becuase she'd sensed unusual vibrations from him. When she'd told him her vision he had seemed to get upset, like most people did.

So, she had to follow him and find out more. The metal of the locket she wore clicked against one of her golden buttons on her jumper and she disappeared again behind the desk.  

[Kumizu]

((Desk...? There isn't one, so I'm just going to assume you meant the coffee table...))

Kumizu had also dozed off and jumped when he heard a knock at the door. He considered not doing anything and letting the person leave until he remembered his order. Grumbling, he stood and walked over to the door. He opened it to find a woman smiling way too brightly for him. "Here's your package, Mr. Kumizu!"

"Thanks," Kumizu muttered. "How much is it?"

"Let's see... I have down two orders, sixty-three dollars and twenty-four cents each, plus nine dollars and fifty-two cents tax is one hundred and thirty-six dollars. Shipping and handling is free to the entire school since we get so many orders from the labs."

"Alright." Kumizu pulled out a hundred and fifty dollars, saying, "Just keep the change as your tip."

The woman handed him the box. "Thank you very much sir! I hope you and your daughter have a merry Christmas!"

"My what?" He turned around. "You!" Kumizu composed himself before turning back to the woman. "Thank you." He closed the door and set down the box before going over to Tsubaki. "What the hell are you doing in here?"  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

Tsubaki blinked up at him with her large dark eyes and a her face crumpled up as her eyes sparkled with tears at being yelled at. She began speaking quickly in Draconian using more words than Kumizu could follow while her tiny voice shook before bursting into tears.

The tears were made of flames and scorched the floor as they fell (not harming her of course) as she rubbed her eyes and wailed. Throughout two words were recognizable, one being Ayise's name and the other being 'father'.  

[Kumizu]

Kumizu sighed. I don't have time for this. Kumizu was never that great with kids and had little patience with their whining and crying. He stepped back and leaned against the door casually, crossing his arms. He held his cane loosely from his right hand. All of this was done to hide his curiosity about what Tsubaki was saying. Sure, he knew Ayise was the mother, but he never found out who the father was. "Look," he said calmly, "you can sit here and cry all you want. You still have to answer my question: why are you in my room?"  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

Tsubaki stopped crying immediately, giving the impression that she'd been faking completely. Her eyes were wide and alert as she stood perfectly still holding her teddy bear close.

"Kumi...zu's...aura...are...culiar...like...father. Who...is...this...Ki...sees...?" She drew out each word in her imperfect english, frowning as if her words didn't even make sense to herself, the child was obviously smarter than she looked (or that made sense for her age). "Ayise...is...not...Ki...Kyruu...is..."

"Tsubaki knows nothing of Kumizu, so he shouldn't be paranoid." She then said in near perfect english.  

[Kumizu]

Kumizu rolled his eyes. "I don't remember being paranoid about anything you've said, but thank you for telling me. Now, it's been a very long day for me, and I want to get some sleep. I'm more comfortable doing that when there isn't a small child in my room staring at me. So, since you found your way here, I'm sure you can find your way to your mother." He opened the door, picked Tsubaki up, and set her back down outside of his room. "Run along now."

Kumizu closed the door and sighed. He didn't want to deal with her, or Seiya, or Kagahn. All he wanted was to use the iron for what he needed to build, go to sleep, and make the pain in his leg go away forever. But, he would settle for two out of three. He picked up the box of Lorimarian Iron and moved it to the box of supplies he'd picked up at the labs. Sure, it would be done only by memory, but Kumizu was confident he could remember how to do it.  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

"Tsubaki is not a child." The tiny voice complained from outside the door, there was a slight shuffling and then silence. Just a tad too much silence. And the feeling of curious eyes from somewhere unseen, in the corner of the room there was a flicker and then nothing.

Every few minutes the flicker would return, making the air seem distorted or such.  

[Kumizu]

And still she insists on talking. Kumizu sighed. He was about to go to the door again when he heard shuffling, and then silence. He happily assumed that Tsubaki had finally left him alone.

However, as he was taking items out of the boxes, he had a strange feeling that he was being watched. The hairs on the back of his neck stood, and it was almost like he could feel the breath of someone over his shoulder. Another one of her tricks. Kumizu stood up, walked back to the door, and opened it. "What do you want?" he asked, exasperated.  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

While Kumizu stood looking out of the door, Tsubaki wandered across the room and over to the box Kumizu had been digging through, peering into it. One of the boxes items levitating out of the box and rotating in front of her eyes as she examined it without letting go of her bear of taking her thumb out of her mouth.

"Kumizu who is it that you're in love with?" The tiny girl asked without seeming to look at him, once again her sudden shift in speech making it seem as if she was pretending to be a child; it wouldn't have been suprising considering how strange Ayise's family was anyway.  

[Kumizu]

Kumizu sighed and closed the door. Either Tsubaki would stand at the door doing... whatever it was that she was doing, or she would come inside. At least here he could keep an eye on her, hopefully.

Sitting next to her, Kumizu opened the other box, but before he could take anything out, a power drill floated into the air. He grabbed it and set it down. It wasn't hard to tell that he was annoyed. "Yes, that is a drill. Amazing invention, probably thought up by some lazy carpenter. As to your question... why do you care?" Was it really any of this child's business?  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

"Tsubaki can sense a storm of emotions surrounding you." Tsubaki's eyes sparkled michieviously, "Besides, do you really think you'll even stand a ch-" Tsubaki whirled around and stared at the door before frowning and sitting quietly, placing her thumb back into her mouth and leaning back.

"That is...strange." She mumbled and shook her head, "Those bullies are all around the campus, it's like being under constant watch." She played with the teddy bear's arms for a moment, "You remind me of daddy..." She said absently.  

[Kumizu]

Kumizu paid more attention to his tools than he did Tsubaki until she suddenly whirled around. He was on his feet just as fast. He stepped in front of her and generated a sword, holding it protectively in front of them.

When Tsubaki finally sat down, Kumizu sighed and rolled his eyes. He let go of the sword and it disappeared, then sat back down next to her. This time, he actually did pay attention. "Great, now I've got spies watching my dorm room?" Maybe he'd need a camera along with what he was building now. Good thing I got the extra Iron, he thought sarcastically.

There was an awkward pause after Tsubaki mentioned her father. Sure, Kumizu knew she was just baiting him to question it, but he had been curious ever since he'd first seen her, so... what the hell? "And who is daddy?"