Welcome to Gaia! ::

The last thing Ian expected to happen was for the 'smudge' to get any clearer. She pulled her hand away quickly but continued to stare at... an eye? She picked up the mirror by the handle and held it closer to her and confirmed the image looked very much like an eye. Her mind was trapped in a state of confusion and awe and she tried one last time to see if the image on the mirror was just a smudge.

The moment her reflection came through, Ian fell totally to her knees.
"What...?" Was all of this just a figment of her imagination?

It was at that point when she noticed... a shoe. Or rather, two of them. And they seemed connected to pants...

Ian turned her eyes to the boy next to her and let the mirror slide out of her hands. She couldn't do much else but look at him before she cleared her throat and gazed at the door to her room.

"Excuse me... Who are you?"

She forced herself to her feet--in case she may need to run, she reasoned--and found that the boy couldn't be any older than ten, or perhaps a bit younger. Still, it was unnerving to find anyone in her house, especially someone she didn't know.

"My name is Itsuki..."

Ian just blinked in response. His voice had a boyish ring to it, but something was a little bit off... It was stoic in tone, lacking in the normal life that would be expected of a child his age. She watched him glance around slowly then quickly return his eyes to her and she felt suddenly pressured by his gaze to respond in some fashion.

"... You aren't going to rob me, are you?"

Okay, it wasn't the best response, but she managed to express what was on her mind. Except, this boy--oh, 'Itsuki'--didn't leap at her with a pocket knife or even reach for a weapon of any kind. He just raised one eyebrow at her and scratched his neck.

"....No."

"Oh... okay, that's good," she smiled. Feeling awkward, she noticed that her window was still open. That must be how he got in... "Um, did you come in from my window?"

"I came in through that looking glass." She barely caught him motion his head towards her feet.

Of course, she looked at the mirror and found it to be... perfectly normal. Strange mirrors and strange children... what did she eat?

"Why is it that I believe you? ...You're not lying, right? The mirror?" Ian frowned as she looked back at him. He only nodded and gave her a questioning look. At this point, she was at a loss. What do people do when they receive children from mirrors? Was there a textbook anywhere that had the answer?

"... Is the kitchen out there? I'm hungry." With that, Itsuki opened her bedroom door and headed further into the apartment.

Ian just watched him leave, feeling to disoriented to comprehend everything at once and then picked up the mirror and put it back on the end table.

Itsuki was standing on his tip-toes to open a top cabinet when Ian finally walked in. "So... the mirror. ....Where are you going to go now?" She watched him reach for a moment longer before walking over and picking him up--

She let go of his waist the minute she touched him. That dark feeling from the mirror came to her suddenly when she made contact but soon subsided. Still pondering on this, she picked him up and placed him to sit on the counter and have better reach of what food she had.

"I'm staying here." And he dismissed it just like that. Ian, however, couldn't believe he would make such a suggestion...

"Are you poor?" Itsuki pulled out a cup of ramen noodles and just eyed her.

She scratched the back of her head, "I don't have much money to waste on food. Er, I'm still young after all."

"Oh," was his only response and he hopped down. He watched her, hoping she would take action, but soon realized that she may be as dense as he feared. "Are you going to help me?"

"... Yes, yes, sorry!" She took the cup from him, tore off the lid and began filling it with warm water. "I'm sorry, I must seem rather rude. I'm just not used to strange things like this happening. Is this common?" She turned off the water and placed the lid back on. She found a remote and placed it ontop of the lid to let the noodles cook faster.

"I don't know. Where am I sleeping?"

"Uh..." Oh yeah, that. "I.. uh... I suppose you could take my bed. I have the couch." Is he really staying? ...Well, where else would he go? How am I going to afford this? .... Urk.

He didn't seem at all concerned and lifted the remote and lid off his noodles while responding with a small "Hm."

Ian considered just taking him to an orphanage, knowing that even though she might be able to afford taking care of him, she was far from being a good mother. However, when she watched him slurp up his first taste of ramen and smile...
I think I can make this work.

Well, since he has arrived here, life has... changed. I'm not used to having someone else around and I think I might be smothering him whenever I'm around. He does seem rather distant and that strange aura... it is there, but not as prominent. He is not your average kid, that is for sure. Has he been getting antsy lately? I don't blame him, I have to leave him here with Luc when I go to work and he doesn't bother me when I'm doing my schoolwork. Except once... he looked over the books with me but kept silent the whole time. I guess I am surprised I like the boy so much, considering how cold and detached he can be. I suppose I can feel the warmth underneath all of that, if he has it, and I am sure he is just looking for companionship too. Or maybe I'm just thinking wishfully? Either way, it is heartwarming to see his reactions to every new thing in his life. I will keep trying my best. I hope I don't mess up...

I don't know if I should be worried or not. I woke up in the middle of the night to get something to drink and check on Itsuki, only to find him gone and the window open. Strange boy, if he's gonna leave, he should have used the door... I decided I would wait until morning to see if he would come back. I can't blame him for being curious, I haven't been able to entertain him properly, I guess.

Thankfully, he was back in bed by the time I got up this morning. Should I ask him where he went? ...Hm, no. If he wants to tell me, he might. He should at least get some decent winterwear if he's going to wander outside in the snow. I didn't get to do anything on Christmas because I worked... maybe I could do a late one? I'll get him some winter clothing. I think I'll go find something today.

I saw snow for the first time last week and its a really weird thing. But the strangest part was that my trip outside led me to meet the first person I've seen outside of Ian. His name is Urahara, its kinda hard to say so referring to him as Ura is easier. He has long redhair and different colored eyes and he's even tall and lanky. The weirdest part was that we somehow have a connection--and I just met this guy. He was from the necklace that Ian said was with my mirror... how strange is that? I just so happened to run into him... no, it was probably supposed to happen like this.
But why the hell are we connected? He isn't sure and neither am I. I want to go to the antique shop and see if I can find any clues. Or better yet, a book to research from. If I knew where to find Ura, I'd have him help me. He's a cool enough guy, I thought he was kind of creepy at first but I think we can understand each other or something. I hope he doesn't think I'm a stupid kid... I sure did act like one when I talked to him. Ugh, I have to learn how to interact with people other than this misfit caretaker of mine... I think she's rubbing off on me.
I had an idea of just breaking into the shop at night to look things up. It was just something that came up... I think it would be easier to find something that way. ....Right? Hm, its kind of odd. At least its a fun approach.

I'm gonna plan this out more tomorrow. Night.

Ian frowned as she looked towards the bedroom door as she pulled the second microwavable dinner out onto the table. It was unlike Itsuki to stay in his room all day, she just hoped he wasn't ill.

She walked slowly to the door and rapped on it lightly. "Ara, its time to eat, Itsuki."

No answer.

"... Itsuki? Dinner's ready..." She knocked again.

The second length of silence confirmed her other suspicions - Itsuki had left again. When she opened the door she found herself, unfortunately, correct.

"... Where does this kid go?"



By the time the brunette Simu child climbed back into his window, it was rather dark outside and he was sure his caretaker was worried. As usual, that did not seem to bother him at all and he just sat on his bed, thinking about the day's events.

Not only had his mission been sacrificed due to his lack of skill, he made a complete idiot of himself, again, infront of another Simu. Had he really been such an easy person to read? Was Ian just that dumb, then?

Actually, I don't think I act the same way outside as I do here.

The boy sighed and rested his cheek on his hand. In addition to his lack of social skills, he seemed to have problems with anger and jumping to conclusions. "I can't even fight. Special powers...," he scoffed and shook his head, "like I could ever get any of those. I tried to fight her with a fork for crying out loud." Though, that had been the sharpest thing in the house.

"Maybe Ura could teach me something, I'm sure he's good at fighting. And looking cool, I could use help on that," Itsuki growled to himself.

It took a few moments after his comment for him to blink and furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

Why did he automatically assume Urahara was someone to go to, especially to learn?

"........"

Ever since Itsuki has been going out on his own to visit the town and the shop, he's been asking me about weapons. I don't think I like the idea of him with something sharper than a fork (A strange number of those have gone missing lately, by the way. Is that odd?). But, he keeps bugging me and doing that scary glaring thing, so maybe I should take him shopping. e.e;... I bet he's going to force me to get him some giant sword and he's going to hack me to pieces in my sleep...

e.e; Okay, maybe he wouldn't do that. I hope not, but I can worry, you know? He's a little young for fighting, but he doesn't think so. Maybe its just better to listen to him...