Sunday, November 5, 2006

She raised her eyebrow again at his antics, but crossed the threshold into the dining hall anyway.

[Dear sun and stars, it looks like some grand academy's hall.] Kikan had to agree. Whatever crazed tycoon funded this place, he certainly kept everything here up to date. Everything here seemed to be large in shape and grand in stature, even the dining hall. Everyone sat at various round tables, and floating above the middle, arranged in layers, sat dishes on metal disks. Occasionally, someone would beckon to a dish, and that platform would zoom over to the tenant's side, offering the dish to them.

"Where in the world would someone get something as silly as the food....disks?" She questioned her guide, who had been idly standing by, watching her eyes grow beautifully wide for a split second.

"Whaa-Oh, the platforms. Dunno." Kentei shrugged. He really had no idea; the tycoon just sent them the stuff, with people to put it together for them.

Sitting at a table about twenty meters away, Rangi saw them and motioned for them to come over, waving his fork around like a grand banner. Pushing her gently in front of him, Kentei managed to get her close enough to the assistant manager for him to speak.

"Ya havin' fun so far here, Kikan?" After a brief moment, she nodded. Her eyes had gone back to being cold and almost lifeless.

"Right. Well, come on, sit down. I'll introduce you here." Rangi turned, one of his arms still draped over the back of his seat. "This is our newest tenant, guys; this is Kikan. She beat Sariyuki yesterday. How about that?"

((I need to rest, I'll continue soon.))

-SYC
Comments (1) | Permalink

Thursday, August 24, 2006

((Frozen grapes are teh heavenlyness.

I posted a picture of Kikan, Kentei and Rangi yesterday. I still think Rangi looks too young. -___-' Oh well, what's done is done. Please look at it, for me, please?))

[You made a good choice coming here, my child. If the magistrate comes through looking for you, all you need to do is run in one direction; they'd never find you.]

Oh, shut it, my Lady. And you forget; here, it's the POLICE. Po-li-sss.

[Of course, of course. You know I'm right, though.] The long, thin fingers on Kikan's right hand twitched just slightly as she listened to her mentor's echoing, hysterical laughter. Fortunately, Kentei was oblivious of her ticked-off behavior, even though her fingers were barely tapping the bottom of his skin-tight shirt from all its frantic twitching.

"You've got to be hungry as well. Good thing, 'cause breakfast starts in ten minutes."

She raised a thin, ebony eyebrow. "Are we going to get there in time?"

Underneath that stone mask of hers, she's actually got a sense of humor, I suppose. The thought jolted him throughly, and passed the second he thought of it. Looking at her, you'd think she'd like wandering through dark alleys at night better. "Don't worry 'bout it. If we run, there might be something left for us." He couldn't help but crack into a grin, expecting an outburst of some kind on her end.

It never happened. Kikan turned on her heel (she did that a lot) and proceeded to walk back the way she came. She left him standing in the middle of the hall like a deer in the headlights, until Kentei snapped out of it and caught her shoulder with his hand.

"If breakfast's going to be done by the time we get there, I'd rather cook in my room." Her voice didn't change from yesterday; it was still the smooth, stone-cold silver that she had whispered with yesterday. It held no trace of joking, she really believed what her guide said.

Is she playing with me, or does she really have no idea I was kidding? "It was a joke, y'know, Kikan, an-wait, you cook?" Girl tenants rarely cooked here, having their meals in the dining hall with the rest of the boarders everyday. In fact, as Kentei thought about it, there hadn't been one except for the real apartment manager....where the heck was she, anyway?

[So, you're going to invite your little guide boy INTO your apartment for a meal YOU'RE going to cook? Sounds rather like a courtship to me.]

....What made you think that I was going to cook for him? All I said is that I can cook.

[Oh child, don't tell me you forgot. You had that adorable little-what's it called?-chair, and you would get up on that to reach the stove. On the nights when you came home very late after fighting, you had to cook for yourself so you wouldn't get caught. And the time the egg fell into the fire-]

I get the point. She imagined that her sharp words were an arrow, one that cut off her currently annoying guardian. It worked, to an extent; although the Lady refrained from speaking any further, there was an eerily echoing chuckle, muted as if hidden behind a slender hand.

"I can cook a little. I needed to know how." That was all that the normally silent girl was willing to give her companion; any more, and she might as well surrender who she instantly. Experience time and time again paid off well, especially in front of figures of authority, although he was no figure of authority. Relying heavily on experience was one thing she had learned so long ago.

Every day, the dining hall always had a wide and spacious variety of things to nibble upon, but Kentei was tired of it all. He knew he was pushing his luck, but regardless the lazy bum tried. "D'you think you could, um, show me what you mean by 'cooking'?" He was still grinning, hoping it would appease the new tenant enough to convince her to cook.

She brushed past him again, "Child's Play" thwacking his shoulder softly, almost teasingly of its own accord, as she moved. "Onward to the dining hall, then." Kentei hung his head briefly in defeat, then followed after her. This seemed to happen a lot, even though he was the one that was supposed to be guiding her everywhere. Man, the food here is boring.

The only reason Kikan let him take the lead again was because frankly, she had no idea where she was going herself. And frankly, Kentei was happy enough just to catch up with her; she was walking so fast he swore the carpet kept lighting burning red and then fading under her moving feet. Pushing aside a door that could've been made out of the legendary Yggdrasil itself, Kentei exaggeratedly swept his hand to his stomach, looking much like a clown trying to be a gentleman. "If you would?" His grin was back, from ear to bloody ear.

-SYC
Comments (1) | Permalink

Monday, August 7, 2006

Rangi hadn't slept a wink all night. No, not a second had passed by without him turning over and over in his bed like some shamed ancestor. Finally, he decided that he had to stop his insomnia, and to do that, he had to get rid of what was bothering him. Casting a hand around in the darkness of his personal room, his long fingers eventually found the phone set, and with a sleep-deprived hand, he started punching numbers.

There was an audible click from the other phone even from where he was, sitting up in bed using speakerphone. "Rangi, is that you?"

"Yes...."

"....Is there a problem? I wouldn't count it out considering who I left you to deal with in my absence. You know, you can get someone to help you manage the place with you, a friend or somethi-"

"No, no, onee-chan, that isn't it. You see...." Rangi paused quickly, just enough time to get a lump that had been forming in his throat down.

"Well?" The female voice on the other line, quite familiar to him even though she wasn't his real older sister sounded realistically annoyed, if just the slightest. Rangi had an age-old habit of clamming up like a poked snail when he had something to 'share'.

"You've seen the news recently, right?"

Almost half of Japan away, the woman held her wireless room phone away from her, a good two-arms' length. How in hell did the news have to do with what Rangi was rambling about? "Go on...."

"Have you been watching, like, the middle segments, you know, about strange cases?" She groaned, but voiced an affirmative, a vein in her forehead starting to twitch despite her trying to keep calm.

"Santa Maria, YES! What is it already, twinkle-toes?"

He winced visibly. "A new resident popped up yesterday, out of the blue. She paid for a full half-year, and she's still got more. And, her face is pretty familiar....you know the case recently, with the parents whose daughter disappeared with a giant-tall weapon, and they don't care? You know, the one with the father and mother who both look like they were carved out of stone instead of born?"

"She's there? Have you tried the media?" She would kill him if he did, the stupid git. When she had first seen that case on TV, her heart went out to the girl onscreen for no reason, save that her parents didn't care where she went and whether she lived. If the media knew, she'd probably run off, finding another place to stay before they blew the whistle on her for some dough.

Fortunately, Rangi had known her position on the wild subject that was spreading through the Land of the Sun, and had wisely decided that he would rather keep his fingers than make some quick yen. "Don't worry, Shizunu-onee-chan, not one word from my mouth or the tenants'. They all got a little 'motivating' memo yesterday regarding contacting the paparazzi." His lips twisted in a foxy smirk complete with sharp teeth; damn if that little note hadn't been pleasing to write. And the looks on some of the more money-desperate tenants' faces: priceless beyond words and riches! And halfway across the country, Shizunu could nearly feel his smirk through the phone, years of practice guessing his moods going to work as silence stretched on between their lines.

"Good boy, treat yourself to a beer tomorrow." She laughed at her own joke, joined by his raucous snickering moments later. When they both had quieted down, however, she knew there was something more that Rangi wanted to share. "Speak up, now. I wasn't your older-sister figure for all your life without cracking your code. There's more."

Rangi caught on right away, smirk still floating 'round his thin lips. His artist's fingers played with his blankets on his futon while he responded to the night air and the phone. "Well, I appointed dearest Kentei to be her guide-"

"Good Lord Heaven in a basket, WHAT?" Rangi's smirk turned near into a sneer as he heard her more explicit cursing breaking through his phone. She had reason to talk like a sailor, he supposed. After all, Kentei was a little weird, coming out of nowhere to request a place her as well. He had quickly run out of money, and so started helping Rangi when tenants got out of hand, which was often every day, and doing muscle work when delivery trucks came out back. He also had a notorious streak for fighting when his reputation had been besmirched, and always winning, though battered and occasionally bloody. Even more so, he was reclusive. To this day, only a handful knew his name, while Kentei had to know everyone's name to punish them. And he acted like some hermit around girls especially, claiming he wouldn't 'go there again'; Rangi thought that he had been abused up until Shizunu made it known that she'd hurt him in the other direction if he didn't shut up. Shizunu liked to take care of kids like that a li'l too much.

"Interestingly, he took a better liking to her than he usually has with females of any race and size. He led her throughout a little bit of the complex, and even watched her fight and," he paused, letting it sink in, "BEAT Sariyuki. After the battle, she had her sleeves rolled up, and he was tracing something there with his fingers. He looked totally absorbed in what he was doing, and she, Kikan, didn't stop him. Now, whaddya think of that?"

She didn't answer, trying to puzzle it out on her own. Although she didn't know the maze of Kentei's heart as well as she knew some others, Shizunu was fervently positive that no ordinary girl would make Kentei act so out of character. If only Shizunu knew what really went on that first day.

"G'night then, onee-chan."

She hurried her reply, trying to devote more of her mind to cracking the Kentei Code. "Uh-huh. G'night, ya little twit."

Laughing into the night as he pressed the 'off' button, Rangi knew she had heard him.

-SYC
Comments (0) | Permalink

[Child, time to wake up.

Child?

Aghh! Curse you and your sleep, get up child!]

She may have been raised strangely, but her reaction to the morning light was just like any other girl's reaction: utter denial. "Mmnnn. Let me sleep, Lady." She swatted a hand above her face, as if she'd like to get rid of the voice coaxing her to get off her lazy bum and get up. But her usually calm watcher had other things in mind.

[If you won't get up, you won't get to see that boy that's supposed to be your guide.]

Inwardly, Kikan winced, as she could imagine the Lady with a teasing face and tongue stuck out, even through all her elegence. The slapping incident hadn't left her mind, even during the uneventful battle which had sparked the Lady out of her sheathe. It had constantly been there, hanging in the air in front of her, like a veil that couldn't be lifted, and it followed her even after that. Indeed, the only time it had temporarily lifted was when the Lady held her and when Kentei had assessed her arm with his fingers....why, of all times, would that be coming up?

[So I was right in thinking that would get you up.]

Surprised, Kikan realized that she had for the last few minutes been pulling on her clothes and her silver frame glasses, and was making her way to the bathroom. "Habits die hard."

[Like thinking about a certain guideboy?]

"Oh, shut it."

---------------------------------------------------

Kentei woke up, a melody faded away in the back of his mind as he gradually became more aware of his surroundings. But, by the time he got up, the song was playing in his head again in full swing, ringing like a large gong, albeit a soft and gentle one. "Nice wakeup call, I guess."

Then he remembered where the song had originated from. Yesterday, outside her door....she had a really good voice, almost hypnotic; he actually hadn't heard the Lady sing all that much because his ears were focused on Kikan's own sound. It reminded him of those small tinkling trinkets he had played with as a baby, which his parents still had on their desk in plain view. Not just the tone, but the nature of it as well, soothing and calming, placating all who heard it. And the more he thought of her voice, the more he though of bells....

His stomach gave a roar that could challenge a lion's. Laughing to no one in particular, he started his morning ritual of changing first, swapping his pajama shorts for a pair of snug-fitting jeans. Kentei was about to slip on a T-shirt many sizes too big for him, but decided to put on something tighter, like yesterday. His hands grabbed a black muscle shirt; it would do.

Just barely done with adjusting his shirt so it accentuated his body, his door slid open a trifle, while Kikan's voice floated in smooth and apathetic, "Are you decent?" Opening the door roughly, he walked out and stopped, turning his head with his dark hair over darker eyes.

"Don't I look decent?" He smiled his dog-smile, and sauntered off, leaving her to follow after him like yesterday.

"....Where are we going?" It always amazed and amused the Lady that Kikan could be so open with her; they bickered and chatted like sisters almost. But put her in the vicinity of any other LIVING thing, and it was like her mouth had frozen over, no warmth ever came into her voice in those situations.

Kentei replied without looking. "Y'need breakfast, right? I can hear my stomach growling, and I daresay yours is too." She discreetly clapped a hand over her offending abdomen, willing it to quiet. Funny, she hadn't heard it earlier.

After walking for a while, the silent girl noticed that they weren't going up or down; in fact, this entire time they had been on the same floor.

"How big is the apartment complex anyway?" Her quiet voice bounced back to her from the spacious walls, soft as her voice was; echoes of her statement floated throughout the halls, into other rooms. People started poking their heads out of their respective doors, wondering what new tenant was walking through their piece of space who didn't know about the echoes.

He chuckled good-naturedly. "I think that answered your question."

((I have to cut it short today, sorry!))

-SYC
Comments (0) | Permalink

Thursday, August 3, 2006

"Can you let go of my arm now?" Kikan had just noticed a mother scurrying away with her hand on her small child's eyes, although nothing was really happening. "Apparently, we're rated PG-13 out here." Her smile turned to an almost vicious sneer when she thought of how her parents would react if they saw her now. Probably they'd bring me back home and start demanding why I'm trying to embarrass them again.

Kentei, having been completely absorbed in studying her arm up and down, running his fingers something over them, snapped out of it and released her arm. "Sorry 'bout that."

She didn't reply but starting walking back to one of the complex's building, steady stride by steady stride. He quickly caught back up to her and fell into the walk alongside her. With her hands at her sides again, the sleeves had cloaked her arms, shielding them from the outside again, almost like they were freaks in a world of normality and needed to be hidden away. That was probably the subconscious reason for the overly long-sleeved black-blue shirt.

He swallowed a bit before asking his next question. Almost sure he would be severely beat for touching this subject, he asked, "Hey....There a reason for covering your arms?" Shutting his eyes, he prepared for the beatdown that was surely imminent.

Instead, she chuckled. And chuckled. And then laughed her flippin' ass off. Kentei stared, no reason that she could possibly be laughing this hard at making contact with his brain. After a minute or two of hard-out laughing, she managed to slow it down, only chuckling again.

"Uh....did I say something?"

Kikan had stopped by then, and was the same stoic statue she usually was. "Sorry. Usually, people ask me that while they're chasing me with torches and pitchforks." While he continued to stare at her, now with horror in his eyes, she added, "You know, only half of that was true."

"Which half?" The half-lazy bum was almost afraid to ask for fear of eternal damnation.

Her stone cold eyes were back with a vengeance, not shining a bit even in the annoyingly bright summer sun. Even just glancing at Kentei for a moment made him feel ice breaking through his bones, replacing the warm marrow that should be there; he felt that his skin was no longer there, letting him feel exposed to something too cold to be human. And that happened every time she looked at him like that, too.

"....Carrying a weapon around Tokyo's small family parks causes trouble. Plenty of trouble from parents, but when the local police get involved, it gets nasty. And, as for your original question," her eyes shifted to bore into the gravel at her feet, "When I started fighting, I was proud of my scars. I thought that because of them, people would think I was strong, so that I could think I was strong....but after my father had been harrassed by too many fellow fathers because their sons had picked fights with a girl around my age carrying a blade taller than a normal man and got hurt. My father had taken me back home, and amazingly didn't take Child's Play away; but, he told me that if I embarrassed the family again, I-" She cut herself off, like she had realized she was going to reveal a friend's deepest secret to someone.

If she had ever had that experience before.

Kentei tried to press further details from her. "You....You what? What would've he done?" Really, he should've have been so nosy.

She didn't even deign to look at his face this time. Instead, she just up and walked quickly away to the door back inside the apartments. Kentei was left, staring at her retreating back, cursing himself for screwing up so badly that she would storm off, stone cold eyes and all. Why do I have the impending feeling that I'm screwed? Nevertheless, not being a person that let these kinds of things wait, he bounded after her to try to apologize, in his lazy bum way.

Running inside, all he saw was the empty hallway and maybe one or two or three unconscious otaku precariously strewn across the floor. Kentei ran over them all, bare feet falling on their chests and legs as he continued to try to find Kikan.

On that matter, why the hell did he care? He asked himself the same thing. I have no reason to worry and try to make up with her-I don't owe her money, she didn't save me from a death on the front of some speeding beer truck, and she definately didn't declare her vast, profound love for me. So, why do I care? But, being his lazy-bum self, he decided to forget about his self-debating, and focus that brainpower on finding that slightly annoying little girl.

Breaking all rules to run down the hall, he very nearly slammed into Rangi, who had just set foot outside his room. Catching him by the shoulders, the older man said, "Whoa, there. Where are you goin', little sloth?"

Ignoring the nickname, Kentei asked, "Did Kikan come by here at all?" Shaking his head no, Rangi watched Kentei tear down the stairs again, muttering, "Damn! This much progress in what? An hour and a half?" He was horribly mistaken, but he didn't know and didn't care to find out. Stepping back into his lair o' doom, he kept muttering under his breath about summer and the stupidity that happened during it.

While Rangi was processing his thoughts, Kentei had stopped clean in the middle of the stairs. She probably went to her room; it's not like she knows where anything else is. Stupid! Running like a fool to her room, he vaguely remembered to quiet down, and open the door to her room SLOWLY, SLOWLY....

To see her on the bed, just staring at "Child's Play"'s blade.

He froze, the grumpy deer in the headlights of her unsuspecting eyes, as the always-silent girl took out a cloth and started to shine her beloved weapon, taking care to check for breaks in the bandages around the hilt and handle, sharpening the blade against a dark whetstone she pulled out of her single pack. The almost loving devotion she gave her mentor's vessel almost looked like a child's devotion to a very old and special toy, quiet fascination at such a powerful looking blade, and it was hers.

Then, very softly, very gently, Kikan began to hum. It had no melody, just a random assortment of notes; but her voice gave it wings, to fly in the air and press against listeners' ears, compelling them to hear more. In Kentei's case, he did that exact thing. Squatting, then sitting on the floor, he sat there as she hummed softly to a dear friend. Nearing the end of her song, he could hear a different voice, an older, more mature, richer voice, join hers in the aimless melody in harmony with hers. And as she reached the peaceful peak of the song, their voices were one, singing one song. Even when she had finished, and the last note had died away, there was still a voice in the air, whispering the last note 'til it died away as well.

And the boy sitting there on the floor wished he could have joined them in their wonderful song.

-SYC
Comments (0) | Permalink

Friday, July 28, 2006

Holding "Child's Play" at an angle to her side so she wouldn't stick herself accidently, Kikan sped towards her opponent with blurring feet. Her face held no emotion, like a blank canvas. Sariyuki leered as she effortlessly dove out of the straightforward attack, throwing her thin knife at Kikan's back while Kikan's forward thrust hadn't diminished yet so she couldn't turn. However, she didn't need to.

Twisting her wrist around, Kikan effectively brought "Child's Play" around to defend her back. The knife bounced off like it was just a toy, a sad little imitation of the giant of steel it tried to attack. Sariyuki inwardly cursed. What the hell? My knives are made of the strongest, sharpest Spanish steel anyone could buy or find. And yet, it can't get past that ordinary blade?

She had been staring at the back of Kikan's head while she mentally blasted the girl, and so was slightly startled when Kikan's hair whipped around, showing the side of her face. She was still as emotionless as before, and yet....

"It will take more than a needle to break the Lady's skin, m'dear. Use something thicker, give us a challenge."

"Tcch!" US? What the hell? Fuming now, Sariyuki grabbed three very large daggers, and was the one who started the attack this time. Throwing one as a decoy to occupy the freakish long-handled katana, she jumped and, with a leg known for breaking things, rolled down and struck Kikan on her shoulder. It wasn't a life-and-death match, so she wasn't willing to go for the head. Sariyuki landed upright on her feet, and without stopping, kicked "Child's Play" away. Leaping away, she stood, ready to take whatever Kikan was undoubtably going to give her.

Instead, Kikan stood there, stock still, like that kick to her shoulder had hit her 'pause' button. Is she actually that weak to stop and cry after one hit? Sariyuki was getting bored, twirling a knife while she waited for a reaction, any reaction from her seemingly frozen opponent.

Kikan gave her a reaction, all right.

Her head snapped up again, and her mouth formed the words, "You lose." And again, blank canvas face. Yet, her real last words: "This is CHILD'S PLAY for me."

And while Sariyuki tried to fathom what that meant, she was hit on the head with the hilt of a sword. Her face hit the ground hard, and the handle bit into the back of her head, pushing her in more. B-But, that girl hasn't moved a finger.... Her head was just pushed further into the mat.

Standing against the wall, Kentei's eyes widened, and then widened some more. This was not a regular battle anymore, oh no. And the wall he was leaning on suddenly disappeared, making him tip backwards before he regained his balance. He turned his head around, and what he saw almost made him tip over again. They were not in the dojo anymore, and he wasn't very sure that they were still in Japan. Everything was black and blue and purple, like space with the stars and planets erased. And where Kikan and Sariyuki stood (or lay), the color was lighter to indicate some kind of floor. But something other than "Child's Play" was standing over Sariyuki.

"So Kikan, are you happy to see me?" A woman of her late twenties stood over her opponent, holding "Child's Play" in one hand, like Kikan liked to handle it. She stood at a good six foot something, towering over everyone present. She was of Asian descent, her eyes gave it away. The Lady gave off a sort of feeling, part peace, part menance; basically, she was just such an otherwordly, ethreal presence. Her garments were simple: a common dress of blue, the sleeves stopping at her elbows with a string, her hair flowing freely around her, and yet the necklace that dangled from her neck, that sword with the crest of the Cross, and those scars on her arms, they couldn't be....could they? Kikan's hands flickered to her own neck, where the twin of the Lady's necklace hung, gleaming even where there wasn't light. With her arms up, her sleeves fell back to reveal the identical scars, carbon copies down to that nick near her wrist.

The boy groaned. Now this is messing with my head, just way too crazy and fast for me.

Leaving the girl rumpled on the ground, the Lady walked over to Kikan, holding "Child's Play" ever so gently, like it was made of ice and was break if she let it drop. "Don't tell me you can't figure out my voice by now, Kikan." She smiled, almost motherly, almost friendly.

Kentei would remember that there, where Rangi wasn't around to see, that he would never witness something as beautiful as a flowerbud opening to bloom, something as beautiful to him as Kikan smiling openly. "Well, so you are Child's Play." She couldn't help but laugh a bit into her words; this was just too crazy to happen.

The Lady laughed along with her. "Yes, I'm the freak in the sword that's been talking to you since you could hear me. Although, I imagined the situation where you would break me free from the weapon to be a little more," she waved her arms around to help visualize, "dangerous. I mean, it's just a girl. One you could've beat easily if you hadn't tried to experiment with me."

"Excuse me for trying. You were the one who was complaining lately that I hadn't figured out how to call you, and that you were getting fat lately from nonexercise." She was still smiling, and he was still staring.

"You're right." Her arms went around her, holding her close to her chest. "Let's not make this the last visit, hun, OK?" To be suddenly held when she had never been held before, to know someone cared almost stunned her. But then, Kikan returned the hug, squeezed once, squeezed twice.

Almost like a girl who had parents who cared about her.

"OK."

And just like that, it was over. The walls came back all at once, and Kentei found that he almost hit one as it came back into focus. The fighting students that had been so neatly arranged into rows earlier had broken formation, running towards their defeated champion, unsure of what had happened. But none of them noticed Kikan, with "Child's Play" back in her hand, who was still standing there with her head uplifted to look into a kindly face that had disappeared into warm air. And then, her face came back down to stare at the floor, and she put her blade back into its casing and walked out of the dojo, with Kentei on her heels.

Catching up to her, he exclaimed, "What was THAT? I mean, that lady, and she just poofed out of nowhere and knocked out Sariyuki like that, I mean, she was freaky by herself and her scars and necklace matched yours, and-sheez! No one's beaten her before, and this is only your first day here. Imagine what would happen when everyone finds out and starts challenging you and-" She cut him off with a sad look, eyes looking so forlorn for someone who had, minutes earlier, just found someone she was apparently looking for.

"I'd like it if you kept that to yourself. Please." He shut up, as she looked ahead once again, eyes focused on some point on the horizon. Knowing that he would probably be bitch-slapped into next week for trying, he slowly took her arm and, curling his fingers gently around it, pulled her sleeve down. Amazingly, she didn't try to protest or hurt him in any way. The barely there scars stared back at him, just as silently as they had the first time he had, by fortune, seen them. They were all over her arms, by the looks of them. Not ugly, not malformed, but like some artist of flesh had wanted a beautiful canvas to match his beautiful art, and had chosen her skin, of all people, to display it.

His voice was low. "How did you get these anyway?"

Kikan's eyes were on him again, but not threateningly, just passing by. "Why would you care?"

"Just because." He grinned, almost like a dog. She nearly laughed, but held it in, as years of experience had taught her that emotion sometimes was not wanted.

"Growing up with a weapon as big as that, I was bound to get scars in my first fights." Simple, clean, and yet so secondhandly confusing and complex when you replayed that sentence in your head.

Rangi chose this moment to come out of the main building and see Kentei pretty much just holding her arm up, but at the angle he was standing, it looked like he might be kissing her hand. "....That boy's moving it along too fast for his own good."

-SYC
Comments (2) | Permalink

» Archives