|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 10:31 pm
Silent My Child, Quiet your Heart.
Surrender your Mind to Starry Night.
So entranced in her shard was she that, at first, Ikihana didn't even notice the man sitting beside her. Well, that is to say...she did, but what did she care? He was just some passersby, some loser with nothing better to do than--
The girl released a small and surprised cry at the snap on her wrist, fingertips immediately dropping the shard as her other hand moved to clasp it, rubbing the pain away. Her head snapped around, brow dangerously narrowed into a sneer of pure loathing, and her tongue was about to hiss a vile commentary when a thing or two suddenly sunk in.
The voice was the first tip-off, but it was a little off. Too vibrant, or rich, or something...new, but at the same time familiar. Next was the auburn groom atop his head, carefully combed back and set into place. It was recognizable enough, a more sculpted version of her own mess, but the true giveaway were those eyes. They, too, were different from before, but she'd recognize that hue from a mile away.
After all, it's match was hidden behind her eye-patch.
A bright red flush immediately took command of her face, once again put in discomfort from such close proximity to a male (and an attractive one at that!), and she suddenly shoved herself as far down the bench as she could manage from the bizarre likeness of her Father, half out of embarrassment and half out of fear. Her glistening emerald eye stared at him, wide with a plethora of mixed feelings, and at last she managed to stutter, pressed into the bench's armrest, "Y-You...You're...but...What the ******** class="postcontent-align-right" style="text-align: right">Here in My Arms, Rest now in Peace,
And, Morning nigh, Joy will come again.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 10:40 pm
Though the Devil hated saying it, he had no other choice but admit the cause of what had happened to him. Raising his hands palm up and shrugging his shoulders, Roen said a single word that summed it all up. "Magic." Infinite cosmic power, itty-bitty living space. Though he didn't know who wished this upon him, he was more than certain that it was Raelin who committed the crime against nature. As for who her new master was? Well, that eluded him. He dared not go back to the Medical Ward, and he was much too in love with himself now to even think about risking a reverse in this, but the question would always linger.
"And don't befoul the air with such language. I'm sure whoever raised you did better than that, and if not, it's never too late to learn some new manners." Uncrossing his legs and twisting in his seat, Roen raised his arm and let it rest on the back of the bench while he turned to face his daughter. "I'm bad at this kind of thing, so excuse me if I'm blunt. Do you have any more bright questions?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 10:50 pm
Silent My Child, Quiet your Heart.
Surrender your Mind to Starry Night.
Ikihana flinched a bit as he mentioned the bit about her upbringing, her brow visibly twitching. Her lips pursed a bit, her face shedding some of its blush to coax itself into a mild sneer. She kept herself wedged tightly in her little niche, bringing her legs up to plant her feet firmly between her and her father, half to keep him away and half out of physical bashfulness. Folding her arms behind her knees, she glowered at him, then hissed, voice full of venom, "How about telling me what the hell happened to 'whoever raised me'?!"
Extra emphasis on "hell."
Here in My Arms, Rest now in Peace,
And, Morning nigh, Joy will come again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:12 pm
"You know what happened just as well as I do; Your mother, Toshiya Kosuko, was killed by a Ninja who took advantage of her momentary distraction. It happens all the time on the battlefield, and being angry about it doesn't make it any better." Nor does it make me feel any better, he mused to himself as he pursed his lips in an attempt to ward off any imposing expressions of hostility he wanted to point Ikihana's way. "I put the body in a safe place, and one day I'll take you to see it. But not anytime soon. Unfortunately.." Trailing off, the Devil thought better of the words guided by the impulses of youth and instead quieted down to an awkward silence. Then, finally, he spoke.
"You have alot of anger in you, Ikihana. Especially for someone who shouldn't be alive for all intents and purposes." And that was the truth, wasn't it? Like her father, she had been wanted dead since birth. Dead by his hand. It was only by an act of chance that Kosuko was able to save her life by whatever means and conceal the child from her father. Oh, how the dramas were spun! What a fine mess Kosuko left behind for him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:21 pm
Silent My Child, Quiet your Heart.
Surrender your Mind to Starry Night.
She flinched again, gaze falling away from her father. It still hurt to talk about her sen--...no...her mother. Her emerald hue sparkled a bit as it began to water, her mind brooding on the Devil's words, arms moving to wrap tightly about her lifted knees. Slowly, as the silence grew between them, the last of her blushing faded away, and her memory slipped back through the sands of time to about a year prior, when her experience of life was still young, when she'd met this man for the first and only two times until this very day. Under a night like this, in a distant land, talking then as they did now about murder...
...Does that ninja forgive himself so easily? Does he even know--
At last the silence--and her train of thought--was broken off by more of the Devil's words, her attentions immediately drawn by his peculiar commentary. She frowned, gaze growing hesitant and suspicious, and she slowly asked, "...what do you mean, 'shouldn't be alive'? Was he after me, too?"
Here in My Arms, Rest now in Peace,
And, Morning nigh, Joy will come again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:33 pm
Far from being put off by Ikihana's questioning, Roen answered without missing a beat. "I killed you, little-one. When you could still fit in the palms of my hand, I snatched the life from your defenseless body before you had a chance in this miserable world. I moved on with my life, and as chance would have it, I find you alive and well in that Village you used to call home. Once again I tried to kill you, and failed. Now at the event before hand which claimed the life of your mother, you wrested yourself from the clutches of death yet again. I think it was around that time that I decided that it was impossible to kill you. It would seem that the eye you hide isn't the only thing you inherited from your father, hm?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 11:45 pm
Silent My Child, Quiet your Heart.
Surrender your Mind to Starry Night.
Her eye shot open again and her jaw dropped at the words that came out of his mouth.
"I killed you."
She managed to stay attentive to the rest of his rhetoric, suddenly growing much more uncomfortable than she'd been just moments before, except this time for much different reasons. The fact that he'd apparently given up on trying to kill her was somewhat relieving, but the fact still remained that once, in some far-off place and time, he'd succeeded.
...when she was still an infant?
She stared at him, mind sifting through one year's worth of memories to her very first recollections, her first breaths of conscious life. The strange gap in time from birth to the day she awoke in Nameta-san's house...the kind old man had described it away with some sort of amnesia, but she couldn't help but wonder if her death had anything to do with it.
...her death...
...the thought freaked her out, enough to lift her from the park bench and walk a few paces away, turning her back on her father, hands grasping her arms to ward off the chill both in the breeze and growing within her. At last, she spoke, though she did not turn to face the Devil.
"...You killed me? That's impossible. I mean...I'm right here, aren't I? You trying to tell me someone brought me back?"
Here in My Arms, Rest now in Peace,
And, Morning nigh, Joy will come again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 12:05 am
Shifting his body weight and placing his feet on the ground, Roen raised himself up and to his full stature before sliding his hands into his pockets in a very youthful posture, his head cocking so that he could look at Ikihana's back side. "Yes, I killed you. No, it was far from impossible - I saw you die. And yes, you're right here. And no, I'm not presuming to tell you anything about the art of making zombies--" DeSeer, I hate zombies.., "--I'm just saying that the only person who knows anything about your circumstances died and took those secrets with her." Shifting his pants from within and sniffling at the breeze the blew past, Roen cocked his head further down and wiped his face on his sleeve. "And it's time to move on. Your mother has died, but your father has claimed you as his own. You've earned that much."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 12:12 am
Silent My Child, Quiet your Heart.
Surrender your Mind to Starry Night.
She hesitated, finally hearing those precious words. She'd lived her life waiting for them, fighting for them...yet all of a sudden, finally hearing them, she wasn't so sure she really wanted them anymore. Not like this...
She shuddered, tail honing close to her legs in search of warmth. A quick, slight motion of her hand at once flicked away a tear and tucked some hair back from her face, a desperate attempt to hide the action though she knew doing so was useless. She took a deep breath, eye lifting to stare up at the gleaming, twinkling night, and then Ikihana turned, walking briskly over to her father. She didn't bother letting go of her arms as she let her face plant upon his chest, hiding her face as more tears loosed themselves. She didn't even bother remembering how youthful he'd become and how much trouble such physiques usually gave her. All she did was stand there, close to her father, and softly choke a faint whisper.
"...don't leave me."
Here in My Arms, Rest now in Peace,
And, Morning nigh, Joy will come again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 12:23 am
"Not this night, dearest. Come with me." Shifting his weight and raising his arm to place it behind Ikihana's neck, Roen stepped aside and began to lead the young girl out of the park and towards the Hotel. From there, it was upstairs to his bedroom for a good nights rest.
"We're going to have to change a few things though. That eyepatch, those clothes..and that name.."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 2:20 pm
Eerily quiet tonight, the night after the tournament fights had ended. The park was.
All the demons and high class humans alike were all tucking away, resting as the festivities ended. All the lingering, sprawling creatures had their fill of action and blood, and were headed for their own rest.
Alan himself was wandering the park alone in the stillness. His eyes and ears were sharp and alert. He was looking for something, or rather someone.
On his person was still his full battle compliment. His hair retied in a more loose ponytail than before, his wing repaired and healed. But the day's business was not finished. Something needed to be done before the next round had commenced and it must be done with his hand.
He would kneel down and spy something, a footprint, and a boot print, side by side. He had been trailing it in the night's limelight for a good hour. Quietly, but openly.
However, by these indications, the footprints had finally doubled back. The game of hawk and mouse had come to a conclusion. He stood up quietly and closed his eyes, listening for any indication of what he knew was coming.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 2:41 pm
Its an unusual feeling, to assume the role of a hunter. Not for fun and games, but for survival. Mankind as a whole has been so far distanced from the need that the skills and mindset to track and capture your own prey was quickly leaving them entirely. Everything was prepackaged. Precooked. Nicely killed and sliced up before it even got to them. Perhaps that's why it felt so strange.
Alter Sokoya had no problem with it. Nor did she cringe at the sight of blood and gore. Hell, the girl probably got off on torture. But this woman wasn't her. The act of hunting and stalking just felt so...unnatural. The worst part? She was oddly good at it.
Yes, it had taken her some time to notice she was being followed, but she had noticed. Whoever it was was interested in her, following her footprints some distance behind. She could smell the aura coming from his body. Oddly familiar, even if she couldn't place her finger on it. Instincts took over, and told her what to do.
The girl had doubled back, right enough, but had the presence of mind and patience to lay in wait for her pursuer. A bit of a trap. The park was filled with trees, their branches intermingled with each other. It was all too easy to climb up one, only to climb down another. Assuming you had some decent acrobatic skills.
As Alan came to a halt, Sokoya knew. He was aware of her, if only that she existed nearby. Though, she didn't make a move right away. She was still reeling from the fact that she was being stalked by a teammate. Two forces in her mind at work. One telling her he was here on pleasant business. The other saying that she should attack first, and ask questions later.
Good thing it wasn't Alter Soak.
The girl dropped nimbly from a nearby tree, to the man's right. Like himself, she'd been relatively unscathed from her fight. A few scraps about her shoulders and arms, nothing more. And also like him, she wore her combat attire, though hers wasn't much to speak of. There was a distinct lack of weaponry to the girl.
Changed from her leather garb, Sokoya wore more relaxed clothing. Worn dark blue jeans, Chuck Taylors, and a black spaghetti strap tank top. Though, she still had her red scarf, the only part of her outfit that really stood out in the darkened park. That, and her porcelain skin. Her platinum hair.
"What're you doing out here?" She murmured, her face a picture of confusion and caution.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Female of the Species
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 3:03 pm
"Ah. Hi there." Alan's face was the picture of friendly greetings. It took him less than a moment to understand which Sokoya persona was in control at the moment. "I came looking for you, of course."
His blue-steel eyes would gaze at her for a while, her attire, her demeanor. His was quiet for that moment as he knew what he had to do. The complexity of the feelings that such actions were bringing about, however, were making the actual execution of it difficult. "You did great today in the tournament. That ability of yours is quite impressive, more so though how you managed to use it at such an advantage."
He would close into about fifteen feet from her, his wings were out and quietly enjoying the night's cool breeze. This felt like his natural element to him, dark, warm earth from the summer's rays, and cool sky from the sea's breeze. It felt like home, and the soothing sensation of that relaxed his nature a bit as the wind brushed against his hair and feathers slightly.
He would regard her both casually and cautiously, using the face he developed in his combat training to throw off his intentions. He developed the face to keep accepted in his school, to hid the pain and doubts he had suffered to progress as quickily as he did. His desire to advance at the cost of anything. It was all masked over by the light-hearted, child-minded appearance he would put up so often. It was difficult at times to tell what about his demeanor in any way was actually true. But for now, this served him.
He'd quietly watched her as he awaited a reply, he wanted to see her reaction, her thoughts, on her other side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 3:24 pm
Alan was so pleasant. So friendly. It worked wonders on the girl. Shaking her head somewhat, not really saying no but rather an attempt to clear it. His pleasant words snapped her from any sort of fighting mentality. Body posture that was once poised to move in an instant relaxed. The girl stood up to her full five three height, shoulders and legs relaxed.
A moment passed where she didn't respond. The girl simply regarding the angel like fellow. Blood red eyes sweeping over his frame. Living up to his role as team leader, he'd led the team with an early and decisive win. Had he even gotten hit? Oh, there was the scratch on his wing, but that was it. A cocktail of emotions ran through her, causing some heat and blush to give color to her face. Only strengthened by his words of praise.
"Hey." She finally stammered out, realizing she'd never greeted him. Silly her. "Thanks," she added in. "It sort of all just happened fast. I wasn't even thinking." Truth, to the extent that she comprehended it. To her, it was all just going off of instincts. Her mind distanced from the fight itself, even if it felt it was in control.
While she spoke, Alan approached closer. An action that was in no way hindered by the silvery haired vixen. Her guard was down. A seed of trust, among other things, had taken root.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Female of the Species
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 3:37 pm
"Yah I noticed." Alan would say quietly. "It was as if you were a whole different person, actually." He would comment to it directly, but in such a disarmingly casual way it wasn't funny. "It was kinda... I dunno, frightening... except when I saw your eyes." He would pause for a moment. He evaded saying the word 'attractive' in the place of frightening. The clean confidence she displayed in the combat, that almost lust level for battle was actually something he liked in what he saw... however, the gaze in her eyes was absent. Sokoya wasn't there, she detached herself from it, instead of taking responsibility for it.
Alan would change the subject the next topic at hand. "I haven't seen you eat any lately Sokoya, are you hungry? I bet that ability of yours is rather draining. I happened to have gotten luck with a energy feedback form my last spell, but I was still starved afterward..." Now he came to the head of the issue. Food. She was out here hunting for something, or by his guess, someone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
