[Raikiri] No. 108

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

"Kyruu...father is Kyruu." Tsubaki yawned and began to hum. She tapped at a locket around her neck that was similar to Ayise's. The girl's eyes wandered and then she seemed to lose track of the subject, chattering on instead of elaborating.

"Spies? Not for you, for momma and me." The small girl chittered, "What're you doing?" She asked with typical curiousity looking at the pieces of metal.  

[Kumizu]

Kumizu only noticed the locket when Tsubaki began playing with it. That's like Ayise's... I wonder if she and this Kyruu are in it? Before he could ask, the girl was on a different subject of conversation: his work.

Sick of pulling things out one by one, Kumizu finally took the original box and dumped it out onto the floor. Pieces of rubber, insulation, and titanium alloy fell out, along with a hammer, nails, screws (the drill was already on the floor), and a glass orb. He caught the orb in his hand and held onto it. As he stared at it, the orb began to turn a shade of blue, energy swirling around in it. It's as if Kumizu had channeled some of his energy into the object.

He set it down carefully before answering Tsubaki's question. "This is a device that, when it's constructed, is going to stop people from randomly entering my room."  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

"A talented telepath could easily go around that thing."

"Is it to keep Tsubaki and momma out?" The child asked in a bland way as if she were used to being dismissed.

"Daddy used to build things...they never worked. Momma always made fun of him." Tsubaki paused, "The last one did, daddy made this locket for Tsubaki." Her eyes flashed as an image passed over them, "Tsubaki saw that through her vision, momma never says anything..."  

[Kumizu]

"Trust me, I'm making sure that no matter how talented they may be, they won't be able to get through this. I was taught by... a... smart man..." Kumizu let his voice trail off. At least Kagahn would be good for something. Still, he could surpass his old man's design, and if he could stop his father from getting through, no one could be able to.

"No. You and your mother are free to come in whenever you please. This just makes sure I'll know who does actually enter my room. I'm not trying to push anyone out; it's more for security purposes." This vision thing seemed a bit too personal, especially since Ayise never talked about it, so Kumizu decided to keep his mouth shut and focus on his task.  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

Tsubaki seemed to sense what he thought on the matter and shook her head, "Kumizu is mistaken, Tsubaki doesn't think that momma remembers. Ezekiel takes care of Tsubaki and calls her 'sister'; she doesn't remember Tsubaki or daddy very well because of the man in the long white coat." Tsubaki explained while playing with the teddy bear on the floor.

"Tsubaki tried to show momma once but Tsubaki got in trouble."  

[Kumizu]

How did she... wait, telepathy. Right. Stay out of here! But... man in the long white coat? It sounded like a doctor, but either he was one that caused amnesia in his patients or he worked at a mental institution. Ayise didn't seem like the kind of person to check herself into an institution, even if she would need to, and her family certainly would want to keep any problems hidden from everyone else. Then, there was the issue of Tsubaki showing Ayise something.... This was all rather confusing. "So... what did you try to show her?"  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

Tsubaki's face darkened, "They shot him, many, many times, until his blood ran openly. They can't be blamed, it was an order. I remember...he came back home and died in momma's arms." Tsubaki paused, "Ezekiel says that right after that there was the incident, that's when the Council decided to send her away." She said thoughtfully.

She reached out and touched Kumizu's hands, an image of a young girl with dark hair cradling an infant in her arms appeared, she was obviously outdoors and it was sunny. Her eyes searched for something anf her face lit up, apparently finding what she looked for. A shadowed person stepped closer, their clothes stained deep crimson and then...the girl's face dropped suddenly.

The image shifted and the same girl, visibly having lost some youth, her face was set into the a blankly pained expression. She was formally dressed and was drinking tea with someone, a man by the height. The image blurred for a moment and a glint could be seen. The man was staring into the girl's eyes...his own amethyst ones gleaming...

[I don't know how many more hints I can give. XD]  

[Kumizu]

Kumizu frowned. Shot him? Did she mean her father? And what was this other incident that caused Ayise to be banished? He had a lot of questions that didn't seem like they would be answered.

Of course, Kumizu forgot about all of this when Tsubaki touched his hand. Was this young girl Ayise herself, holding Tsubaki? Or was it Ayise's mother, holding either her or Seiya? Hell, it could have been some completely random parent and child he'd not even met yet.

When the image shifted again, Kumizu decided it must be someone he knew. She was having tea with... a man with amethyst eyes... Ezekiel has amethyst eyes, if I remember correctly...

Kumizu pulled his hand away. Still, he had more questions than answers, and this didn't helped him at all. He only had one thing to say. "What... what the hell was all that?"  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

Tsubaki shurgged, "Tsubaki can't read minds and she can't tell what people are feeling. She can only see what she sees when other people feel strongly. They play like videos, over and over..." She shoved her thumb back into her mouth and staring out the window, "It's open to inter-rep-etation." She said, stumbling over the last word.

"It's going to ton-derstorm." She said looking at the sky. "Momma will come looking for me soon...unless that man finds me first, he's bad..."  

[Kumizu]

When other people feel strongly... it's amazing she doesn't know anything about Kagahn yet. The next time we meet isn't going to end well. Kumizu looked out the window with Tsubaki for a moment. The sky was getting darker, but not because the sun was going down, because clouds were covering it. Like anything else relating to water, he loved the rain. There were times when he would run out and dance in the rain like... a child would.

Kumizu's mind snapped back to reality once Tsubaki said the word "Momma". His face darkened as the girl finished her last sentence. "That bad man... you mean the one with amethyst eyes? Is it Ezekiel?" If he was the bad man, it didn't matter if hail was falling outside. He would find Ayise and get her away from him.  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

"Ezekiel and the bad man, he calls me his sister, but Tsubaki has never seen his face. It's always masked with smiles but he does bad things, he's scary." Tsubaki shook her head, "Ezekiel is...not the same...She thinks..." She blinked slowly, "Momma..." She placed her thumb back in her mouth and stared passively, fidgeting every few seconds, most likely because of the rain.

Then the child sat up and looked around, toddling away from the window to the door. "He's coming, he's already found momma." Although her voice was calm and steady her grip on the bear had tightened visibly.

Just then there was a polite knock, the footsteps before sounding as if there were more than a single person.

"He said he'd kill me the next time I left the house."  

[Kumizu]

It sounded like the bad man wasn't Ezekiel. That was reassuring. The last time Kumizu saw Ayise, she was with him. However, any good feeling he had because of the news faded as soon as Tsubaki mentioned that 'he' was coming. Great. More hunters. Sometimes it seems like she's related to me.

Kumizu thoughts were interrupted when he heard the people at the door. He sighed. At least they had knocked. He turned and picked up Tsubaki, opened the door to the closet, and put her inside. "Don't say anything. Don't move, don't even brea... well, no, breathing is a good thing. Just don't come out of here until I open the door." With that, Kumizu closed the closet door and walked over to the front one. He paused for a moment before opening this door. He wasn't sure how, but he did smile at the newcomer. "Can I help you?"  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

It was Ezekiel, "Um, hey dude, why so grim?" He asked lightly although he looked a little perturbed, "I need you to do me a favor...look after this, okay?" Ezekiel quickly dragged a young woman who'd be sulking before him into the door. "A few members of the Household Guards have come looking for something, and god knows what trouble the girls will get into..."

Seiya crossed her arms.

"You and I both know they don't ever leave the estate, Miss Mihara."

"If they're looking for the kid, she's in the closet. Why not just give her to them."

"You know, this is exactly why you need to stay away. You don't know them like I do; why don't you do something about them?"

"I'm at school, I don't have time to be meedling with the petty corruption of my underlings, besides, they're harmless."

"They brought Elliot."

Seiya's face dropped.

"He's slacking as usual, he's with Ayise. If that's the case, it should be fine until they go away."

Seiya sat in an empty chair quietly.

"I'm sorry about that, Tsubaki's not really supposed to leave home, she's still unclassified so there's worry her powers might cause trouble. And I can't exactly trust little Miss Sunshine here to keep a secret so...allow me to speak with the guards. Don't cause any trouble Miss Seiya." Ezekiel quickly slipped back through the door.

Tsubaki poked her head through the doorway, "Auntie." She crawled up into the older girl's lap who responded with the a half-hearted 'Hey kid'.

"So, Kumizu, hardboring criminals now?" She stared at the tiny form intently, "Just who are you anyway? You aren't a child, that's for certain...not a normal one."

Tsubaki stared blankly, "Kumizu should find momma." She said ignoring Seiya's question.

"Hm, unfortunately I have to agree. Elliot isn't the most trustworthy of people, even I wouldn't cross him." Her statement was especially pointed, although she would never say it out loud, this person frightened her. "I wouldn't worry, he's not the senseless violence type, and even if he's in a bad mood, well, one less problem for me." She said making a cut-throat gesture.  

[Kumizu]

Kumizu didn't get a chance to say anything as the conversation went between Ezekiel and Seiya with him just... standing there. He did, however, sigh at the fact that his attempt at hiding Tsubaki, though pathetic, didn't do any good. Ezekiel had then quickly left, leaving him with such a warm and loving girl...

Once again, Kumizu didn't get a chance to respond to Seiya's remark because the girl now had her focus on Tsubaki. And now, once again, he would be leaving the only remote place he could call home and find Ayise before... well, he wasn't exactly sure what would happen.

Kumizu put the tools and items that he'd been working on back in their boxes and slid them into the closet. "I've only got water in the fridge. You can turn on the TV, read a book, whatever. Just don't touch anything else. And I'm locking the door, not that it will do anything to hinder you." Kumizu opened the door, walked out, and closed it behind him.  

[EvrythingTastesLikeGinger]

Ayise stepped into the room and was nearly knocked over by the pint-sized empath.

"Momma, Seiya left Tsubaki her alone." She complained making a face, "Tsubaki was bored."

Ayise smiled while subtlely twitching, Seiya was a bit careless at times. "Don't worry sweetheart, Tsubaki is a big girl so she has to keep Seiya out of trouble and look after her too; after all Seiya isn't as sharp as you are." She smiled brightly as a mother would to her favorite child.