Lost Children Souls

Breath came in short gaps and gasps, scared eyes zooming around the room and unable to focus on a single object. Voices littered just outside of her ears and unable to penetrate the haze protecting her mind. Vague hints of a disapproving tone talking about her feline appendages from a stern looking woman caught her interest and became lost in the darkness of her vast mind just as quickly. 'Always an animal activist nearby.' A common problem for Chesha when they realized the "fur" was real and believed she killed to make them. Boy that annoyed her, but panic gripped her too firmly to think of correcting the woman. Something sarcastic, something truthful, or something just plain rude? Chesha couldn't consider options as she sat inside the government controlled building then and there. What if they found her?

Faculty and staff swarmed around her, most in a flurry to race to their classes and get lessons underway. Lucky her, there was still the principal and vice principal - oh and the secretary staring out of the corner of her eye through horn-rimmed glasses. Teachers flitted in and out when they had planning periods and such, all receiving the same results: silence. To speak would give away any tidbit of information. Mother? Father? Home address? They asked such stupid, stupid questions! Chesha forgot they had no idea both families lay buried in the ground as their souls rested inside machines. Home long since burnt down - twice even!

He saw the signs: either this child had severe psychological issues or faced constant abuse. Why the girl insisted on wearing the contact lenses, cat ears, and overly large tail the principal couldn't say. No matter how much he tried, he and Ms. Ogawa couldn't get the girl to utter a syllable or noise. Even Ms. Utora's angry mutterings over "fur" and killing animals' for it failed to garner a response. The school nurse, a kind woman, found herself busy attending to a few kids who caught a cold or the flu, and had to wait with them for their parents to return. When he'd reached for the hood of the child she sat stock still until contact and uttered a volatile screeching noise, a hiss-like noise tacked on at the end. They quickly decided not to try that again, thus found themselves trying to vocally coax her out of her silence. Stoic, and yet unnervingly studious eyes watched them try and try again in vain.

Sighing, he cast a glance at his secretary, "Mrs. Kinnobu, can you please call Mr. Yochimu and have him come up? If nothing else its worth a shot." The kid was something of a whiz with kids, so he'd noticed. Most goofed off when a substitute wandered through the door, but not with Unaru. Instead they perked up, generally liking his attitude to the point Mr. Yata hired him again for another fill-in. With the number of teachers that gave it a go already, what was one more? Absentmindedly he heard Mrs. Kinnobu put in the call to the classroom to ask if Unaru could break away from his class for a moment and see if he could help them with a troublesome child. Mr. Yata believed abuse or a neurological problem as most likely, so he didn't want to push too greatly: just that they still needed to know where she lived and where her parents were currently. Even something so much as information to her current school would be helpful like no other.

Behind veiled eyes Chesha silently laughed and cried at their attempts. Why couldn't they allow her to twirl her way out of the office? She'd do so literally if it meant freedom. Laughter desired to burst out because she thought it humorous: how quickly they'd reject her from the truth, or believe her insane. Insane more likely. Though just watching them caused giggles on the inside try when she hardly felt like sharing a drop. Tears pushed behind her eyes and threatened to pop her very orbs out from the injustice of it all: what made them believe they deserved to know? It hurt remembering, hurt thinking about it, and still she often talked to Cassiel in the hopes a modicum of sentience would show beyond that of an animal's. Some vein hope that her mother and father survived in the cluster of shredded human souls. She hated being reminded, wanted to suddenly slap the woman glaring at her through those disheveled bangs with her tail. To run off and find the one yelling about animal rights only to shoot into her chest cavity until the body stopped jumping.

Worst of all: Chesha couldn't play her DS because they'd see her blatantly cheating. No pushing of buttons as the character moved and battled with creatures. Little balls thrown and auto-capturing wild critters. Maybe the DS floating when Chesha became tired of holding it. Nope, their very presence meant she couldn't, because then the government or someone else more dangerous might find out. Always lurking even when she failed to see or notice them...always. 'Never a prisoner again.'

Unaru yawned and stretched his shoulder as he left his class room, part of his pleased to leave the tinny and out of tune music for a while. The sounds of low quality electronic keyboards and stringed instruments that where accompanied by off-key singing dimmed somewhat as he closed the door behind him, the blond sighed as he brushed away the hair threatening to poke him in the eyes. The horrid high-pitched voice of the secretary came screeching over the system like the brakes of a steam train, it put him off his guitar playing and with one slip of a finger he had played the wrong note, luckily he did not lose face with his class for such an amateur mistake, ‘Maybe I should have just told them to study and not practise.’ He mused as the ringing in his ears started to quite down, never before had he seen a class dive in with such verger, made him wonder about the teaching style of the one he was filling in for. But that was not important for now; he had been called for yet another job.

It was still early in the day and he had to be aware of the others, both students and teachers alike, that where rushing around trying to organise their day. One by one his footfalls took him closer to the office, wondering what he would find waiting for him today, smoking again. Or maybe another fight, they seemed to be the most common that he had come across, yet as he got closer to the designated room he could not help but feel something, a strange sense that made The Sight tingle with anticipation, or made it was that carrion call of a voice that was Ms. Utora, yet the words ‘Fur’ and the elongated ranting about animal rights gave him a clue as to what to expect, or so he thought. He pushed open the door, almost running into another staff member as he did so.

“You know, if you keep on calling me to take care of students like this I may up my free if you hire me again.” Unaru’s voice was deep and melodic as he spoke, a strong and welcome contrast against the voices of the other staff, all turned raspy from the years of trying to shout above the noise of the kids. Even his image, the way he dressed and posture was a world away from the rest, his mauve jacket along with black shirt and jeans, adorned with chains made him look like he should be in a shop selling rock and roll or up on stage in some club, not on the payroll of some school. “Mr. Yochimu! May I remind you that I can hire another that can do your job just as well!” but the head’s bluff went unheeded by the blond haired male, his attention fully focused on the unusual girl before him. it was not her stoic, tight lipped expression that set him off, no, it was thoughts wonderful fur adornments that made her look like she had just stepped out from the pages of a manga book, her gloss black tail looked so soft, so warm, it made him want to reach out and stroke it, or maybe tickle her delicate looking ears. ‘Remarkable!’ he muttered under his breath, he had known of other humans who where different in some regard, he had seen it in the water, but this was his first time coming face to face with one.

“Ok then!” he beamed, facing the majority of the staff, “Everyone out! It will do no good with you all hovering around like buzzards!”

There was a mass of grumbling from the suited bodies in the room, reluctant to leave their ‘haven’ and start the day. Yet there was something about the oddly dressed substitute that convinced them to leave, knowing that their curiosity about the girl would be sated sooner if the man could get her to talk. Breathing a sigh as the last one left the room he turned to look at the child once more, it was more of a causal glance to make sure that she was still there more than the heated gaze of an integrator, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a mobile phone, turning it off and setting it down on the table next to him. He did not stop and ponder what to say to her, knowing that the heavy silence could be just as harmful and angers shouting. “It’s so nice to get them out of the room,” there was a relaxed sigh in his voice, the same you would get when you lowered yourself into a warm bath at the end of a long day, “as you guessed I’m Mr. Yochimu, but please don’t call me that, just call me Unaru.”

He turned his clear blue eyes over her form once more, taking in the uniqueness of it, “In your own time can you, please, tell me what happend.”

Eyes darted with each of his movements, taking in with amusement the grumbling of the other people as they filed out and watched him turn off the cellphone. The signal on it died and left her brain, assuring her the thing sat unresponsive on the desk. 'Only one...only one!' Hardened eyes turned back to the man, the sole person in the room with her as he took on a relaxed demeanor. What was his goal? His purpose? What did he really want? Honestly she meant to go through any images or files on his cellphone and instead found herself distracted listening to the ring tones in her mind. C'est la vie for Chesha. Mildly she mused over the principal's attitude before leaving, wondering if he became irate because of her lack of cooperation or the man's light hearted comment actually bugged him. They were buzzards, the lot of them.

Own time? She'd take her time then. The idea of holding the office hostage from its usual inhabitants amused her more from their annoying time earlier questioning and coaxing her. Only him now...something about his eyes allowed Chesha to relax. He knew, somehow she knew that he knew, and continued adding to that chain until she reached the end: '...what its like to be the outcast and abnormal.' Or maybe he didn't, but saw it enough to relate. Her posture stayed much the same even as the muscles of her face smoothed out until she came to a neutral expression and shoulders sagged a little. Ears once rigid straight now slumped a little in their little relief. Tail once stuffed under the chair slowly shifted out until it stretched towards the door and lifted up. The tips extended like how one would stretch their fingers, clenching then into a faux-fist before kissing the floor again and appearing to stretch out to the door one final time before curling around her feet. The muscles began to cramp from straining themselves to appear so fake to normal eyes when Unaru entered the room.

'Much better...much much better.' The question...it lacked a certain sense of direction. Chesha could tell him about any moment at any time, even that which occurred to someone else taken from a blog she could find with laughable ease. 'People all thinking their opinions and ideas actually matter...like hell I care if you bought a Coke Zero at the gas station.' No wait that was either Twitter or Facebook. But what to say? Maybe truth for once, to a certain point? Maybe...just to see what he thought. Start vague and recent...

By now minutes stretched on before them, feeling like an eternity of staring at him and his lax nature. "I wandered too close to the school and they thought I was a trouble maker." They believed she ditched school, believed she ran away from home due to lack of personal hygiene, believed her a delinquent or from a poor family, and believed she'd been abused. They believed so many things she wondered if they realized their minds spun in circles yet. A justified criminal or escapee? Curiosity gripped at Chesha, mentally wanting to see the reactions she could evoke from this man. Did he want to know, or just because they asked? ”Your question's quite vague though.” For a moment she regretted not telling of being born instead, if only for self-entertainment of being obstinate. A natural teenager problem known as being a “smart ass.”

The sight of her relaxing was more welcome then a peaceful dream, no longer did see seem like a mighty cat ready to pounce or flee at a moment’s notice, but something a little more tame, yet he was not ready to her a kitten just yet. Unaru sat himself on the desk near the cat-like beauty, chains clanking and scraping across the edge of the desk for a moment, he lifted his right leg, resting one booted foot upon one of the swivel chairs, pushing it back and forth for a moment, “Yes, a vague question indeed, yet one that got you to talk,” he smiled, leaning towards her, resting his weight on one arm. “I would call that ‘job done’ after all, as they were vague with what they wanted from me, yet vagueness does not stand in the world of adults.” He said with a sigh, seeming disappointed that he was getting away with vague answers less and less as the years ticked by. “Anyway your statement gave away one thing I did not ‘ask for’ as it where, I now know you do not go to this school.”

His foot manipulated the chair as he fell back into thought, the plastic joints squeaking like a wounded mouse every time he pushed away. He knew that if, push-come-to-shove, he could always glimpse into her past to shed some light on who she was, it would be easy, just pretend to get a drink from water cooler and look into the cup, yet as his eyes brushed over her form once more, he would leave that as the last resort. “Well then, to cut out the vagueness then, otherwise we will be here all day, yet I would feel no better than the others that where here, barking questions like it was their right to know the answers,” he paused for a moment, his eyes showing for a moment that his mind reeled back into thought. “Then I will tell you a few things about myself, and please, feel free to ask me anything you wish.” It was a tactic he had used before, with a great deal of susses, he knew not to demand answers, only ask for them, and always thank information and reward it, mostly with more information.

He knew, from self experience more than anything, about how painful people preying into ones past could be, even more when you viewed them as a complete stranger. ‘If I can relate to her, on any level, that would make things a bit easier...’ as he looked at her the more he could find himself wanting to help her, to get here to talk, not as a teacher ordered to talk to a child, but as a supernatural being talking to another. “My name is Unaru Yochimu, I’m 23, single and currently a substitute music teacher as this school, I play the guitar and sing a bit, but I think I’m mostly hired here for my skills when dealing with the students than my musical talent,” the chair squeaked once more, “I lived with my grandfather for most of my life, out in a small farming village in the mountains, and that’s pretty much me in a nutshell.”

This time it was Unaru the one to hide something, yet he hoped that it would be enough to get her to open up, even if it was just to answer his next set of questions honestly. ‘I wonder, if I can understand her, even if it’s just a bit, it may help me understand myself...’ he thought about what to ask her, eyes never lingering on her for too long as a time, a burning stare that seemed to go through someone’s being was the one thing he hated, it was nothing more than a fire trying to burn down mental deference’s. “Please, tell me your name and where you born with that magnificent pare of ears and tail?”

Did teachers wear chains? Seemed more of a punk-youth deal, eyes staring brightly at the decorations. Almost like a cat ready to run from a fearful object and yet a hint of madness crept in as she remembered the feel of molding metal. Whatever thoughts tried to rush in flushed right out as she rejected the idea: too soon to create another one. Far too soon, Chesha too weak to command unfamiliar souls without destroying them like Cassiels - however accidental it might have been. That lyrical voice played in her ears, hackles rising as it came out to her sounding like some victorious declaration. Where others failed, he succeeded. Far quicker at that, no doubt another pride booster. Mocking the others soothed her hurt feelings of possibly being "conquered" so easily. Didn't cover up the release of a fact.

When he offered to answer questions ears perked right up, eyes showing obvious surprise he chose to reveal a bit into himself. 'Not a bad tactic, open up so I do.' She almost let out a bark of laughter when he went so far as to tell her his relationship status. Probably a sexual harassment plea in there, however doubtful or pathetic. Lacked a certain...'Chesha' quality to it when it came to any sort of revenge for his victory. It long came to her before he finished talking about himself and rambled on about something else. Already her brain found the information she wanted and face not betraying an emotion as it returned to neutral. The final words registered, and didn't. They failed too because her mind lay focused on what she was about to spout more than react to his question.

Staring straight at the plain wall, Chesha delivered a little more on him, "Though raised by your grandfather, he's now dead. Killed by your Uncle Gart, who later shot himself for reasons unknown. His wife died in a car wreck while you were still young, and your cousin Jouhei soon after birth. As for your parents, your mother was quite musically inclined, so I'd suspect you gained your interests from her. Your father is confirmed dead, and your mother..." Chesha hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Your mother is currently unknown both in location and livelihood. However the rest of your known family is deceased." 'Let that sink in,' not the nicest thing she's ever done, but certainly fun to wait and see the reaction.

Except then his question and phrasing hit her. "Magnificent? Magnificent?!" Harsh laughter left her shaking frame as she stood and walked over to the secretary's desk. Temptation rose to sweep everything off the desk, a shaking hand reaching for a pencil. Surprise mixed with otherworldly and wild glee replaced the vacant look as it broke in her grasp. The strength behind it didn't register to her mind, feeling as though the pencil broke of it's accord. Breath came ragged and also without feeling, not registering in her mind. "Do you know how brilliant Halloween is? How freeing? I could show you my parents and you wouldn't believe me! Or...or maybe you would!" Recalling the body they sat in now caused laughter without humor to bubble out. The question floated back, reminding her of the subject at hand and calm eased over a little. Humor from believing he'd never believe either bot held souls of her parents - birth and adoptive - balanced the anger at people prying, always prying!

Name, what was her name? Occasionally, from time-to-time, she wondered that herself. Did she forget for safety? Because it made tracking harder? Did she forget due to age? Maybe she remembered, but decided never to share it with herself. Chesha forgot which it was. "You tell me my name, I forgot it. No, I'm not lying, don't recall it, can't even remember when I forgot it," the words rushed from her mouth in rapid fire. So much media, mind always connecting and disconnecting with machinery to the point maybe it merely wiped her mind of things such as her name! 'Chesha calm down, you're getting in a panic again.' Sarynn soothed, feeling Chesha unwind a bit. Tense muscles in her back and shoulders released and her back hunched visibly. "I was born within this Nation, but not this country." Homeland felt unnecessary by her considering he wouldn't find anything. Long ago she erased what she could find, and back then she only came out during the night or Halloween. In fact that helped the problem of recalling her name considering she'd deleted whatever documentation she could get her hands on, virtually, and with Cassiel's help: paper-based. Knowing she originated from Scotland meant little in the end.

Back fired would be an understated word for what unrolled before him, how? How did she know so much about him? He could not conceal the mix of shock and pain from his face, recoiling like he had been physically struck. Whilst the stats of his relatives where documented he had never given out that knowledge to anyone, not even the school board knew about him to that detail, maybe it was the look on her face, it almost seemed she was reading it off an auto-queue or a webpage, it made him wonder; was she physic? Was her power similar to his? Could she see the past? But the more he thought of it, the less likely that seemed, after all if she saw the past she would have known about him ‘becoming’ Jouhei, and if she read his mind than she would know that he would not see music teacher as his job. ‘Calm down, don’t let this get to you, use it to your advantage.’ From that moment on he knew that he had little to hold back, he finally, truly realised that he was not dealing with your everyday teen.

Yet he could not help the pain from gnawing at his gut, he felt so vulnerable now, like everything had been laid bare before him. “H-How did you?!” he slowed the rest of his words, there was no point in asking, yet something became clear to him, with both her words and actions. His hands griped the edge of the desk he sat on, causing the cheap trim to become dislodge in that area, he had provoked this reaction in her, his fault and thus, his responsibility, yet could the reverse be true? No, he never thought that, his reaction was his own fault for not controlling his feelings, for allowing his past being a sensitive subject, like a wound still pink and tender. Moment by moment like a heartbeat of life things fell into place, she was just as wounded as he was, maybe even more so, yet as she relived titbits’ about her parents and name, he realised that they did share some things in common. He sighed, calming himself down as he stood up, rising to his full height, he knew what he had to do now, it was no longer that ‘he has to help her’, the mind set he combated this with when they started, it was ‘he is the only one that can help her.’

With two strides he caught up to her, acting quickly before the moment passed, he wrapped his arms around her from behind, entrapping her within his warm and tender embrace. “If you have no name then you will call you Kitten, my beautiful, magnificent girl.” There was a sadness in his voice, like at any moment she would feel his hot tears on her skin, yet it was not a sadness born from sorrow, no, it was a sadness born from love, when you love something so much it was a physical thing. He placed his hand on her chest, just above her breasts, roughly where her heart was, he balled up all his feeling, the love he was feeling as this moment, the joy he felt when he help someone, even the quite peace he felt when he was just playing his guitar by himself, one by one he balled them up and placed them into her chest, letting them flood throughout her being. Yet this act was akin to putting water in a glass, for more is to go in, some of it must first be emptied.

As he placed one feeling he took out another, her anger, her sorrow all of it he drew it into himself. He felt a painful burning in his chest, like a thousand burning pinpricks to his innards, it was painful and he wondered how she coped with this, yet he continued till he had drained every drop. He let go of her, shuffling backwards so she once more had her personal space and to allow her to come to terms with what he had just done, now Unaru had to deal with the feelings he had drawn into himself, every time he done it he was shocked to feel the intensity of them, yet he did not let the feelings take over, ‘Stronger than hate,’ he would tell himself over and over again, ‘I am stronger than hate.’ It was hard to tell if only a few second or minuets had pass, but Unaru did not rush himself, or her, as he felt the negative feelings that he took from her bead up, like water on a ducks feathers, and roll off, leaving him feeling almost empty.

He had planed too look into the water, do as she did to him and lay out her past like a hand of cards, yet now he could not do that, not to her or to anyone, but he knew he should say something. He could not help but liken this to playing a song, he had to put everything into it to win over the audience; there was no point in holding back now. “I-I am a healer, of both body and soul, I was gifted with powers to see the past, present and future, along with other things,” he wondered if maybe his actions, both normal and supernatural, may have frightened her, “please,” he pleaded, “Don’t run away from me..”

Always “how did you know?” with people. The few times Chesha failed to resist showing how much information she quickly dug up on people never failed to alarm people. People became scared once you knew more than you let on, or that they liked to believe you knew. Like looking through them and finding all their hidden secrets loved ones hadn't found out yet or heard. Then there were times where she signed them up for porn sites and sent the links or notices for payment to their significant other...but she wouldn't do that to this man. Not that mean, and he hadn't warranted such a thing, along with him blatantly saying he was single.

Alarm coursed through her, body becoming rigid again as the arms locked around her. Panic, she needed to escape and quickly! Caught...caught...mind became chaos as years passed since her last hug. Except...except it wasn't like ones of people trying to catch her. At those times they locked her in their embrace, believing her caught in vice-like grips until Sarynn and Cassiel arrived to show them differently. Desires to escape left, but cautiousness kept her in a stony state and mixed with confusion as again he referred to something she never heard. Though to be fair to her previous Quincy parents, they referred to her as “cute” and “adorable” thanks to her age at the time. It sounded like he expected her to use that new name, only realizing a second later she never told him her self-granted name. Because then someone would know, and she didn't want to be found.

'Sexual harassment!' her mind yelled when she felt a hand move. Could it be...? Though she watched a bit too much Law & Order: SVU, along with many other crime shows. Chesha expected a bit much from life at times, while unprepared for her feelings to change so...freely? The oddest urge to pick up a stringed instrument, or any instrument, and play filled her since she believed for a moment it might bring more of this peaceful feeling. Music soothed the savage beast, as many people and media referenced. By the time he finished and pulled away, Chesha was left speechless without intent for the first time in the longest while.

Panic sounded like a distant memory, fear a fantasy; and anger, sadness, and other kinds of distress unfamiliar. For the first time in a long while, Chesha felt...renewed. Born again, before she had forsaken humanity in favor of exploring technology and allowed her mind to degrade into madness. Back to that true child with innocence and unknowing of hatred or harm. The oddest thing to say now was that she believed herself truly sane for the moment as her usually fluttered and chaotic thoughts and feelings quieted into peace. And for the first time in a long time, Chesha's mind focused, zooming into her thoughts carefully and slowly to examine them and how they made her feel. It almost made her sad to know this feeling wouldn't last, this calmness would fade, and that the clarity made a few things hurt more even as they had to fight through the new love and peace instilled inside.

'A healer...of body and soul? Soul?' That clarity attacked her, mind sharply focused upon that memory long ago, of the sadness kept at the back of her mind, and of the hopes she had for one day...”Soul?!” Eyes shot vividly open and she rushed to him, hands balling up the tails of his shirt as the wide eyes stared up at him with renewed hope. ”How do you heal souls? Can you repair? Can you rebuild? Give new life? Can you?!” Words became heated with fired hope and prayers. Could he? Would he? Cassiel. Mother. Father. Reality crashed harshly on her, expression of bright happiness evoked through hope faded rapidly into resigned understanding that the impossible stayed impossible. That some things couldn't be undone. ”No, you can't, I can't, others can't. A soul once destroyed is a soul no more. The pieces...I couldn't find the pieces, too buried, to mixed, like extracting flour from a baked cake. They're gone, always gone, and here, always here. Here and there and no where anymore.”

The fever died and hands let the shirttails slip through her fingers like water. Feet backed her up as that lump formed in her throat, remembering she had this musing before and realized the impossible then. And again now. Their voices faded each day from her memory, faces blurred as eyes filled with peculiar water. Always impossible, her mind repeated over and over again. Clarity made it into a drum beat in her head: always impossible. ”No, I killed them already, and they can't be brought back. Chesha.” Without thought she tacked on her name at the end, like an admittance of both thanks and apology. Death hurt when you realized it, no matter how many times.

Unaru could not help but being pleased, yet conserved with how she came out after the implantation of his feelings within her form. He knew it was common in this day and age for feelings of anxiety to return all too soon, yet as she grasped his shirt in her hands like it was her only lifeline, and inquired so fervently about his powers, or more precisely his power when it came to healing souls. To heal, to repair and to rebuild, as she seemed to rant on her hope seemed to build up inside of her before, suddenly, it seemed to die; like a playful animal that wondered too far to a cliff and tumbled to its doom. ‘The pieces...I couldn't find the pieces,’ he mulled her words over in his mind as he felt her let go of him, it seemed to be a sign that she had truly let go of hope, that what she wanted was truly impossible.

He closed his eyes and let his head fall back, opening the eye of The Sight only a sliver, like a crescent moon casting a sleepy glance at the world below. The image of this girl kneeling by a shattered mirror came to mind, one by one she pressed the shards up against each other so the joins where seamless, blood smeared across the fragments as she cut herself on their bitter and unforgiving edges, yet try as she may there where visible slivers missing, like gaping black holes on a silver sky, she could not complete it. The imagery was vivid and shocking, yet it made Unaru wonder, to think of things from a different view, yes the mirror was broken and peaces where missing, that was an undeniable fact, yet was it not still a mirror? Was there not still a reflection on its surface that the feline could see her image? To see herself and reflect. Unaru was taken back to what he had been told when he was morning his grandfather’s death.

‘As long as you remember him, he is still alive..’

A realisation hit him; maybe he could do what she was asking in a way, but he was not strong enough to do it just yet. “I’m not sure,” he said, eyes still closed and head still back, “to date I have only healed souls that have a body, similar to what I did to you just now, but there may be a chance, however it will take considerable effort on both our parts, I am not strong enough to do it yet, but if I make a pact with The Seekers I may be able to use whatever shard of soul you have, as well as your memory of them, to give them their own form and some kind of thought for a shot amount of time.” He opened his blue eyes once more, turning his gaze upon the girl in the room, “I’m not sure how well it will work, but the possibility is strongly there, and I am more than willing to try.” He wanted to make sure that she knew that this was not a defined thing, that the rebirth of their souls was not guaranteed, he did not want to give false hope.

It was then the realisation that she had uttered a name, what he believed to her name; after all he may have closed his eyes, but not his ears. Chesha, he liked it, it was a more imaginative than Kitten, and he had not given up on his ‘open up so they do’ tactic, after all that had happened between them in the past few minutes, he could now really open up, truly showed that he related to her on some level that others could not. “Chesha, so that’s the name you have given yourself?” he said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood, trying to do whatever he could to stop her falling back into sorrow, “it’s a nice name, and I to have some experience with using names that don’t belong to you.” He sat down near her, this time sitting on a chair rather than on one of the desks, it found it strange that now he was going to tell Chesha something that he had never uttered to another soul, regardless of the fact they had just met, but trying to protect himself from pain had left his mind, all he wanted to do now was help her.

“As you know I was raised by my grandfather, but only from when I was 10 years old, after my birth father died Gart kidnapped me, him and his wife were still in despair from their own sons death, so I become a replacement, they would call me Jouhei, gave me his name because they did not want to come to terms with his passing.” He gave out a quite sigh, eyes showing a small glimpse of sadness for others, “I did not find about this till I was 19 and now that I’m out in the big world I have to use the name of Unaru, yet something about it seems fake..”

”No...no, no, no, no. Impossible. Too late. More likely to grab another soul than their's...voices long faded. What did they look like? I can't remember, far too young, so much seen. Too many souls now, and yet only one within the body,” the words tumbled out without a thought, voice self-directed than truly meant for him. Reminders because she forgot so often and so many things. Tumbling into a chair her feet sat on the edges as the large tail curled around her in a self-given hug. Arms curled from the underside up to hug it closer, burying the lower half of her face into the comforting softness. She became mesmerized by staring at the carpeting in the room, blue with bits of other colored string littered throughout the weave. Why did they do that?

Both original parents lay in hopeless disarray within Cassiel's body mixed with fifty or sixty other souls. Chesha couldn't remember how many, just that in her youth she shredded the souls back then before mixing them together...of course at the time a Hollow presented itself within her little office so time and it being the first were both factors. After, still panicked, she didn't have full control over Cassiel when he killed her mother because the woman presented herself as a threat...and then Chesha merely lumped her soul in with the others and fled yet again. A picture of her second pair of parents lay hidden in her bag of...randomly assorted items. Whatever she felt like carrying that day truly, but she remembered them. She made sure she recalled everything she could about them to the point when they were still alive she recorded their voices out of fright.

The original duo...she wanted, just once, to hear their voices again, and to hear them with a note of love instead of fear or panic. They always feared what others would think of their bizarre child, panicked what the government might do to the point of making her into a “freak show” event. At least they feared for her while fearing her as they learned to use her. She wanted that moment of a real family, of real love, like what she had when the Quincy family lived.

Uninterested ears now listened to his tail, becoming mildly intrigued as he admitted to living under the guise of his cousin. Explained a lack of other material she found on him, from younger years such as important schooling years. Solved that mystery for her. Upon thinking to comment Chesha realized she'd reverted to one of her nervous habits of gnawing on her tail. More like pretending to chew since the soft fur brought comfort, and hurting herself never did. Glaring slightly at the wet spot now marring her tail, Chesha stared back towards the carpet, ”I forgot my name, so it'd probably be weird to find out and have to be known by it. When I couldn't remember it anymore I chose my name based on a character I like from a story.” The book happened to sit in her bag, one of the usual things alongside the pistols and picture while some of the other objects flittered in and out to Cassiel's realm.

What she dreamed of was freedom like the Cheshire's, to flit in-and-out of reality or the world. Cassiel strangely brought that freedom to an extent, but she still dreamed of the full-deal. ”I still have Sarynn though, and she nor Dad nor Mum the second would forget my name. Though I only hear Sarynn's voice anymore.” And once alone later, she'd pull out the tape recorder filled with “I love you”s and other phrases from Sarynn's birth parents. Chesha would drown her ears until the words blocked out the rest of her thoughts and inhibited her connection to technology.

On the desk the phone began ringing, the cellphone she watched Unaru turn off earlier. It rang and vibrated against the surface until he picked it up, and once it opened the voice on the other end sounded both automated and yet like Chesha's. ”But I do miss my second Mum and Dad...could you maybe someday bring them back? If only for a few minutes? I could remember them, and I could even maybe separate a large part of their soul from the main source...”

Unaru felt like he could only sit there and watch as Chesha fell back into a chair, absorbing herself into her tail as it where, nerves and unsure habits slowly surfacing. By her words and actions it seemed that she had rejected that idea, and the thought of it only being more anxiety to her form, he wondered if he would have to remove that feeling from her form, if so then she would be a first in many ways. He also felt another feeling stir within him as he watched her, and slowly he realised that he wanted to hug her, sure he had embraced other students when they started to cry, but he only saw it as something he needed to do to comfort them but now, now he wanted to do it, like he was looking at his little sister who was missing mum and dad. Maybe he was unknowingly looking at her as family because they both shared a secret in blood, and what he was feeling was nothing more than a brotherly instinct awakening.

As she talked he could feel himself sympathising strongly on the name, after all he had been called Jouhei for so long that Unaru did not seem him. But he slowly became confused when she talked about this Sarynn, it sounded like she had lost him or her, yet still had them around, he assumed it had something to do with her powers, or by the powers of someone she ran into in her life. For a moment he thought back to the event that brought him out of his class room to come here, come and talk to her, to what the staff thought was a troublemaker, he could have almost laughed at it, them coming together like a fated meeting that only existed in books, ever since he had wakened to the powers of The Sight he had been trapped within a living story, even now as he look at his life it seemed he not escaped his family’s legend.

‘A secret in blood, they all share.’ The last line of the curse echoed in his head, applying itself to what was happening before him, yet he knew that the last line did not mean that it was over.

He opened his mouth, preparing to say something but just then the phone went off. It was a shock to be sure, he knew he had turned it off, he recalled the ‘goodbye’ that came up on the screen as it powered down, and it had no sleep mode per say, no way it would appear to be off when it was just in a dormant state, yet there it was, the light on and vibrating strongly, along with the song ‘Guilty Love’ emanating from it. He glanced at Chesha before looking back at the phone, there was something odd, and normally he would ignore its calls when he was talking to someone, yet this time he felt compelled to answer its call, ‘If a phone switches its self on just to receive it you know it’s important.’

He picked up the slim black object, noticing that it had ‘unknown number’ upon the screen, regardless he pushed the green button and put it to his ear. He was shocked when he heard the voice, slightly distorted and synthesized but it was unmistakably Chesha’s, yet it was her words, not the voice that seemed to strike him the hardest, he had thought that she had denied herself a chance of this revival, and now, saying it over the phone was a way to hold onto hope, yet not admit it to herself, then he realised, she wanted a second parents, the ones that seemed to have adopted her, to be brought forth not her blood parents. He flipped the phone onto hands free, putting it down on the desk next to him and looked at it for a few moments, ‘So I would say it’s safe to say her power has something to do with technology,’ he stood up and moved over to stand next to Chesha, leaving the phone there just encase she felt more secure speaking through that then in person.

Unaru crouched down beside Chesha, chain’s slightly clinking against the chair as he did so, his eyes falling on that large tail that she seemed to be shielding herself behind. Slowly he raised his hand, brushing the back over the tips of her fur, feeling the softness and it made him wonder, could she feel his hand? “I can, but I need help achieving that level of power,” Thor had told him how to make a contract with The Seekers, it was highly dangerous, and he knew performing it alone would be a death sentence, “but I in order to do that I need you to open up to me, I need us to forge a strong bond, it may sound somewhat ridicules, but it’s the way my powers work.”

Forgot...forgot that doing that was weird. He'd run, they all ran, anytime she did something so off and strange and weird. Shock and surprise played over his face upon hearing the ring, and worsened upon hearing her digitized voice on the other side. For some reason you couldn't get around that funny sounding voice on phones, even when the number came from “inside your head.” 'Did he hear me? Do I need to repeat?' She wondered if maybe the shock of the stunt caused a temporary deafness. To say it aloud though...too much hope, and Chesha hated the ups and downs. So many downs she wanted to stay even for a bit at least. Because reality would likely just crush this hope like so many others outside of her creativity with metal and life – artificial or otherwise.

He didn't throw the phone, didn't start yelling, and didn't try to run away. Why? Eyebrows curved down as he simply set the phone to speaker and came back towards her. Why leave it on? Became her turn to experience shock when that curious sensation of being stroked on the tail caused it to jolt before relaxing. Always that felt nice, even when her parents used to do it out of fearful confirmation. Sarynn's parents believed it might cause discomfort so it always came with an apology, and Chesha loved it when Sarynn used to “secretly” brush it. Secretly from her parents so she wouldn't get in trouble.

The appendage flexed a little again under the touch though not as extensively as earlier. One of the ends came to curl around her head, a sort of addition to that self-protective feeling the “hug” offered. Reflexively her lips curled over her teeth as she mouthed at her tail a second time. What were these “seekers” he talked about? What did forging a strong bond involve? Alarm coursed through her at the prospect of getting close to someone only to watch them die. Common sense said she killed and took possession of that Hollow already, but there existed other ones. Always that threat...but she wanted to see those she missed the most because it might fill that void her true parents couldn't and would never fill.

Forging a bond...

Sounded forbidden to her ears, and yet Chesha wanted it desperately. Technology truly failed to replace human-to-human contact. A hug from Sarynn left Chesha cold, and thus a projection of a hug comforted her more from the metallic creature. Sarynn...Sarynn! A family. Leaps and bounds jump started through her brain as Chesha came too quickly to conclusions: he should meet Sarynn! Somehow it made sense to her, because Sarynn was family, and family had bonds...so he wanted to become family? Excitement brought her face to life as eyes glittered and mouth opened as the idea hit her. Except the voice came through the phone even as she pulled her mouth away from her tail, ”You should meet Sarynn! She's got Mum and Dad's souls too, so it'll make it easier!” 'Why not forge the bonds while the souls are present?' her mind whispered to her conspiratorially.

Immediately her mind pulled at Sarynn, who sat in that nothingness space of Cassiel's realm. Counseling Chesha against it couldn't come fast enough for the girl's too-quick mind: Sarynn often had problems keeping up with all the thoughts and missed it this time. 'Oh Chesha...' the disappointment clued the girl in that this was far from the right thing to do. With her already manifesting as the whole appeared next to them, startled eyes shot to the door where she heard the people shuffling behind. The lock clicked into place as the metal of the knob all set together as though a welder melted them, and the hinges did the same. Tried as they might even jiggling the doorknob became a problem as they shouted on the other side of the door.

'Too late!' her mind bemoaned as Sarynn now stood before the pair. Wings stayed locked in rather than active, but her body language spoke of a reptile ready to spring and strike as she laid low to the ground. Her long neck allowed her to stare straight up at the strange male known only through Chesha and tail slowly moved behind her like a whip ready to strike at a moment's notice. ”Don't tell, don't tell!” The words echoed from the phone as Chesha jumped away from the chair, falling on the ground as the long tail attempted to curl around her even as she tried to scoot/crawl away from the potential threat.

He really should have known that things were not going to get easer, nothing ever did, yet he knew deep down he had reached a critical point in this talk, make it or brake it time as it where. He knew it was a natural reaction, to be somewhat unwilling to bond with someone after being hurt so much, he was unwilling to help his first student when he began his job, after his family being blighted with untimely deaths, but he did anyway and sure, it hurt when his contract with that school was over and he had to say goodbye, but he felt better for it, he wondered for a moment what that girl was doing now; she had came to his apartment, eyes red from crying and the idea of suicide in her heart. He mentally slapped himself for getting off track when the name ‘Sarynn’ echoed over the phone, and his interest rose, if she was going to show him this Sarynn, yet he did not know of they where a person in a common sense or something different initially. But given the day so far; he was expecting the latter.

He attention quickly flicked to the door as he heard the footsteps, had time gone by that quickly? He had forgotten exactly where he was, the particulars of this meeting that he was still in fact in school, that this was an office that was used, and that he had a class weighting for him. He was about to call to the other being outside the room when he felt something, a presence that seemed to be forming like it was stepping out from a dream, he froze for a second, he had felt hollows manifest before, but this was something different, not a hollow but it did not seem that it was all too happy to be here.

The blue metallic reptile seemed to glare daggers at him; its body looking like it would shred his flesh within a moment’s notice. Unaru was unsure how to react now, if Chesha was a normal person and Sarynn was nothing more than a pet, then he would know how to react, but this was far from normal. Unaru cursed his own short coming, too not have used his powers more and thus learn what to do when confronted like this, but he was not afraid or worried, even in the presents of this metallic beast, if it was to attack him then it would mean only one thing; that he failed in his task as a healer, and it would them be welcome to his flesh. Once more Chesha’s voice resonated from the phone as her chair hit the ground with a firm thud that seemed louder than it should have been, once more there was pounding on the door, its form shacking with each hit.

“What is going on in there?!” a muffled voice made its way through the thin, cheep wood that formed the door. However he could not tell who is was, only that it was male.

“Give us a few minutes sir!” he yelled back, hoping that would be that; the fact the door appeared locked did not really register, the only thing that matter was that he was outside, and was staying there. Unaru rose to his feet, taking a small step back so both him and Sarynn had their personal space, the image of Chesha crawling away like a frighten animal that had been cornered seemed to tug at his heart, pain visible on his face for a moment before turning his attention back to Sarynn. “You must be Sarynn, it is a pleaser to meet you.” he really did not know what to say to it, he could feel the power within it, the fact that it was more than a robot, its sleek form and intelligence that seemed to gleam in its artificial eyes, everything he had seen Chesha do to now made him feel like his powers where nothing in comparison. ‘But maybe,’ he pondered ‘now is the time to use them.’

“I know you are worried about the future, I was too, unwilling to let myself get attached to anything to save me the pain of loss,” he seemed to be addressing both of them as he spoke, rather than one or the other, “but I can see into the future, so I will take a look, and if I see me bring you any kind of pain I will let you be, but if not..” he did not feel like he needed to say any more than that, now it was down to fate as it where. He walked over to the water cooler, pulling one of the thin plastic cups from the dispenser before filling it up with the clear liquid, the thing gurgling and gargling like a blocked sink as he walked back to where Sarynn stood, placing the cup down between them before sitting down crossed legged. He hoped that maybe the robot could read faces, and would be able to tell if he was lying or not, not that he planned too, but there would be no way to show them what he was seeing, and thus, no physical proof of what he was saying was true.

Like many times before he cleared his mind and gazed into the cup, trying to focus on their future together. Like many times before an image quickly formed on the liquids’ shimmering skin, and what he saw was quite comforting, him and Chesha where laying on a bed, above the covers a ghostly blanket of moonlight cast over their sleeping forms. Unaru was on his back, one hand behind his head and the other draped around Chesha, who was currently using his chest as a pillow, one of her arms was hidden beneath their forms, whilst the other was griping firmly to his shirt as she dreamed, tail pulled up around them like a blanket. He could not stop the smile from tugging as the corner of his mouth.

“You look so cute sleeping,” he said, thoughts unguarded, “I see us in a bed, sleeping, you look so peaceful as you hold onto me...”

It was a simple vision, one that only showed a quite peace and no pain, yet no matter how much that image calmed him he could not tell when it would happen. There was no way to tell the date so this could be tomorrow, next week, or two years from now, the image faded as he broke his gaze away, looking up at Sarynn. “As I have said before I am a healer, it is my sole duty to end pain, not bring it.”

What did she make of the man before her? Sarynn once knew how to react to people, but things changed when one's form underwent an extreme makeover. People now reacted to her with fear or nerdy intrigue – generally believing her nothing more than a robot with programmed functions and potentially an AI system. Smartly he chose distance, and Sarynn mirrored him a bit by backing up a few steps though partially for better shots at him or anyone barging through the door should it become necessary. Pain crossed his face when he turned to watch Chesha and Sarynn let up on the antagonistic posture a bit. Why should the state of her sister concern him so much? They met only today, and then the most curious of things: he treated her as though she lived in her human body. People didn't talk like that to her, or really to her so much as about her.

'Future sight? Unheard of surely,' recalling Chesha's affinity for technology and some of the components involved Sarynn held her tongue to watch the guy. She almost scoffed that water acted as his “crystal ball” charlatans were fond of using. Watching him stare at the water encouraged her a bit to loosen up and stand straighter – less in attack-ready position. When he spoke his thoughts she came up straighter in a more surprised and mildly disturbed body language, 'Sexual harassment?!' She might've sputtered a bit if her mouth created actual spit. Sarynn acknowledged it as not an impossible vision since her sister reverted to childish tendencies and traits.

Through Chesha she heard of him claiming to be a healer, and Chesha's earlier calmness attested to this declaration. That clear-minded state escaped the cowering girl now as she sat with her back to a desk and watched them with all-too wide eyes. From her mind Sarynn understood the girl was waiting for a metaphorical guillotine to fall down on them as the man rejected the pair and shouted to the world about them. Inevitably this lead to Chesha's main fear of becoming caged somewhere by someone's whims.

Gray light glowed through her lenses as she regarded Unaru in a more stately pose compared to her previous ones. Silence lasted for minutes as she ignored the pounding on the door as the people tried to bust through unmoving metal holding steadfast and keeping the wooden obstruction in place. For now. ”A healer you claim...you realize the project you're taking on? You tasted it earlier, did you not, the chaos she goes through mentally each day? Witnessed how easily that calm and peace melted with the right provocation?”

“I have yet to figure out how to help her, and if you give false hope I won't hesitate to wait for the right moment to off you...people knowing about us alone is a huge risk. She recognizes and I doubt that others knowledgeable of the world you and I walk in would exactly...'approve' of me, or the other one she has. Most of all, she can't take another attachment falling prey to death. So what promise do you have I won't be saving your ass just so her psyche doesn't receive another blow?” Without being a technologically built object, or being a soul remodeled by Chesha's small hands it was usually hard to relate to the off-in-the-head girl. Except he experienced and freely chose to associate with her if allowed...which meant Sarynn had to protect her if he couldn't live up to the demands.

His eyes seemed to lose a bit of life then, becoming unable to hold Sarynn’s gaze he turned away. “I- I can blind and cripple my opponents, as the power of The Sight draws on life its self it can also curse life, yet to do that I would need a heart filled with bitter hate..” he took a few moments to think, to really think of what guarantee he could offer up, “I can train to achieve higher powers, some more powerful and destructive to what I have now but...” he trailed off at the end, thinking of what ‘training’ was needed for advancement of his powers, it would not be simple, one slip up and... ‘There’s no point in not telling them, if you bond with her and it fails... remember it’s a risk for everyone involved.’ His resolve seemed to set and firm like cement, they both had to take a chance in each other. He turned his gaze once more back onto Sarynn, it seemed easer to talk to her.. Or it, seeing he was unsure if the robot had any kind of gender, it almost felt like he was talking to Chesha’s parents, but then again, he was in a way.

“There is a risk with my powers, I will need to travel to a place known as The Silver Woods, it’s a way-world of the dead, a place where the Seekers rest, there I will need to make a deal with them, however if something goes wrong I could be trapped there,” he spoke loud enough so that he knew Chesha would clearly hear, “but if I seem to be fading I can have someone call me back, like a guide post back to the world of the living, however this can only be done by someone I have a strong bond with, like a sibling or a lover.” He kind of regretted saying lover, he did not know why, but he felt like he had a sexual harassment count going against him, but he just shrugged that off for now, he looked over at Chesha and thought about using his healing skill again, “I saw how fast the effects faded, but... it does not detour me at all, ever since I parted ways from my family I have been looking for someone like her, someone that can help me understand just what I am.”

He got to his feet, being careful not to knock over the water as he did so, going to sit next to Chesha. “I won’t lie, I do have my fears concerning this wicked world and my powers, if any militant force captured me they could use me to spy on other nations, to look for future attacks and assassinations or to find secrets berried in the past.” He gently stroked her tail as he talked, an act that he was unaware he was doing, that was till he raised the same hand to her chest, once more he let a joyful feeling rise within him, the feeling he would get when he would fly with a raven’s form, the feeling of weightlessness, of total freedom, of shedding your worries of the world onto the wind and feeling like nothing can harm you, once more he selfishly traded that feeling for the anxiety and dread, swallowing it down where it would not bother him.

“Give me a chance, and I’ll make sure that I take that feeling of dread, or sadness away for good.” His voice was barely above a whisper, he wanted to say it so only Chesha’s keen ears would be able to pick it up, even over the banging and shouting at the door.

Complaining was the first thing to come to mind, thanks to dying as a teenager Sarynn had problems not falling back into old habits. Only at first though, because she saw the merits of having a healer on hand despite his offensive being a questionable subject unless provoked right. Part of her wanted to attack him for the insinuation at the end that he could use Chesha, and the other part thankful he could offer times of peace and a calm state of mind for her. Emotions flittered through the girl worse than a woman with true, blue PMS or teenagers experiencing horrid hormonal changes. Those old emotions from when she lived resurfaced and wanted that happy little girl with the funny ears and tail back. Of course being alive again came as the utmost wish because she missed so many other things, such as simple human contact. Watching Chesha miss it too made it hurt more.

All the words, even if she tried to block them out filled her head to the brim and occupied her attention due to vast intrigue. Sarynn listening made it impossible to ignore since Chesha usually kept a connection to the pair – Cassiel's mind being the quieter one. The hood covered most of her face now with her head pointed downward and hands pulling ears almost flat against her head. The world hurt and the man was still there. But the world refused to let her mind wander so freely as he captivated her with new details of unheard of opportunities. Weakened souls could be manipulated so lovingly...not that she planned to use his for one of her projects, just that to act as a beacon came across as something she could go so far as to 'yank' his soul back upon her wish.

Muscles all over tensed to the near point of pain when he mentioned those people she detested the most: military. Government was close enough, but military always desired new technology, new weapons, and to expand their capabilities. Between the two of them Tairia held potential for expansion all three nations wished and tried to gain. That fear of becoming a caged animal left as she recalled the joys of flying free on Sarynn or Cassiel's back. Memories of when only Cassiel existed and she joined the Quincy Scotch brewing family of flying around the land on that metallic backside. His hide became cold so fast and yet she remembered only feeling free and happy during those flights...except for some reason she had an impression of having wings herself. 'Odd.'

”I can help,” she began, and dreaded the final outcome whenever it may arrive, ”Souls are a bit of a specialty, so if I attach to yours a bit and it goes to wonder, I can pull you back. Whether you're alive or not at the end is more of...up to you since my control isn't that good. More used to doing...other...things with them.” She started at the floor while talking, hood hiding the blush on her face as she found the touching so awkward after lacking it for years. The next comment, as daunting as it may have been, was aimed towards Sarynn as though to soothe the feminine sounding bot, ”Besides Sarynn, if things don't work out I can add him to Cassiel's core. Maybe then Cassiel can have a true consciousness instead of acting like an obedient dog.”

She liked the sound of it, of losing those heavy emotions in favor of lighter ones. “For good” was too good of a promise to her ears, but to have it lessened even the smallest fraction came off as a great taunt to her desires. Longer periods even threatened to join the group of wishful thinking Chesha saw as “possible.” For now there lay other matters to deal with.

Her scream filled the office, partially a distraction and mostly because the comfort came to an end as the people broke through the door. Sarynn long fled back to Cassiel's realm when the banging became far too loud and before she heard them reach for a ramming object. When they took out the wooden obstruction with a wheeled computer chair she already managed to climb into Unaru's lap: the warmth of his hand simply wasn't enough. It comforted and her mind associated quickly more warmth to equal more comfort. The chair they held dropped just as fast at the scene before them and pondered...

‘Shit.’ It was the only word that came to Unaru’s mind, as he knew he was deep in the brown stuff. He was happy that he had gotten somewhere with Chesha, that the foundations of a relationship had been set in place, her body warmth started to seep through his clothes and into skin, it felt comforting to him as well, like this was conforming that he was real, along with a few pains that accrued when she misplaced her limbs when she scrambled into his lap. The silence was heavy as he sat there, his arms around Chesha, hoping to at least keep her safe during the next few minuets, which he knew would be very loud and most likely, very stress full for the both of them, he placed a hand on the back of her hooded head, thumb moving back and forth over her scalp in hopes to comfort her further. ‘Maybe’ he pondered, ‘if I stay really, really still they won’t see me.’

“Mr. Yochimu! Explain what is going on here at once!!” the head asked the tone of his voice angry and wanting to break out into a shout.

“He is a paedophile!!” Ms. Utora exclaimed, “How else does he get the students to talk to them!?”

Unaru’s body tensed as the ridicules accusation, yet part of him did expect it in some form. This day and age everyone and become highly paranoid about anyone older than 20 who hung around a school, everyone was suspected, even more so if they were deemed ‘too friendly’ with anyone notably younger then themselves, and people normally jumped on the bandwagon when someone was accused. He recalled a court case he saw on TV once, the defendant was accused of paedophilia, but was later found innocent, however the people did not see it that way, and he had to move under the police’s witness protection program. “Well Mr. Yochimu, we are waiting for an explanation..” and there it was, the creaking of wagon wheels.

He bit back a sigh and he turned his head to look at them, relived by the fact that Sarynn had disappeared, after all he did not want to tell him where the robot had came from as well. “I am not a paedophile!” he snapped back, “she is scared, so I locked the door to reassure her that no one would come barging in and harm her.” Unaru knew that he did not lock the door, but he knew that only staff could lock the door, so saying that she locked it would have only raised more suspicion. His grip on her tighten briefly, nothing more than a reassuring hug as he tried to keep both of them calm, after all if they saw fit then the head could strip him of his teaching licence and then the police would get involved, ‘Shit, shit! I can’t let that happen, if the cops get involved and they learn about Chesha..’ he felt a shiver shot down his spine, like someone had dropped ice down there, ‘I won’t let that happen, but how, damn it! I’m going to have to pick my words well.’

“But we knocke...”

“And I called back,” he said, cutting off the principle, “she was starting to talk and I did not want to lose the moment, if you had better social skills you would know, it does not take much for someone like her to slip back and close off again.” He sighed, looking down at the cat-like girl in his lap, he could move and push her off, to then in turn stand face-to-face with his accuses, but he knew the physical act of removing her from the security of his body could be devastating. He found himself already feeling a affection for her, like he was looking, holding the little sister he never had, like in her he could finally make amends for everything he had done wrong in his past.

“But she screamed..”

“When you lot came barging in,” he said cutting someone off again, “you must have scared her half to death, heck you scared me half to death,” ‘and still are I might add.’ It seemed like all he could do was try and resin with them, but he could tell by the look on their faces, that judging glint in their eyes, that they already suspected sexual harassment was afoot, after all he always insisted that it was only him and a student in a room when he was requested to talk to someone, they thought nothing of it simply because of the results he got, but now, they were wondering if they had just been turning a blind eye.

The head stepped forwards, his heavy, anger laden footfalls could be felt resonating thought the floor. He knew that Unaru would not say anything incriminating about himself, so he had to get info from another, the only other person that was in the room, he looked down at the teen in the music teacher’s lap, his form looming over them like a bear that had come across two intrudes in its territory. He pointed his finger at Chesha, like a prosecutor pointing out the guilty, “Tell us what he did to you! Did he touch you anywhere? Anything, inappropriate?”

Unaru could start to feel the nerves sweet build up on his skin, hoping that it was not visible to anyone in the room. ‘Please Chesha don’t say anything that will make me sound guilty, just say no or just shake your head...’

A whole new, and truly confusing, feeling filled Chesha in that moment. Usually in times like these she veered toward chaotic panic all-too quickly, and drastic things too place before she disappeared from the area. Warmth seeping through her jacket and skin from Unaru counter-balanced the need to react immediately and instinctively inched closer as a hand clenched the fabric over his chest. Even something as small as the hood aided in not reacting rashly since it gave her a sense of “hiding” she desperately needed right then and there. If it weren't for the people breaking in she could've had a pleasant nap though, so underneath her scared exterior laid a ticked off and cranky underside. Hearing their accusations almost set her off into a yelling match...though words failed her in that moment.

That hand on top of her head centered her in a way Chesha couldn't explain with all the words found on the vast internet, nor possessed the capability right then and there to try and create a few. Besides more pressing matters stood in front of them, arguing with Unaru and it came to angry footsteps to jolt her back to the present as she scooted away from the oncoming hellish figure. Except, despite frightening the heck out of her, feline eyes turned towards the woman who accused Unaru of being a pedophile. Earlier she was the same woman who scolded her about killing animals for her realistic and prosthetic pieces...oh how she hated the woman and those like her. Assuming things.

”Make her go away!” she screeched, and hoped Unaru might forgive her later for harming their ears, ”She wants to kill me I know it, because she loves seeing animals dead!?” Adrenaline coursed through her veins as badly as blood and spurred her on, a bit more into her 'disturbed act' – so hard – and true fright. In her view the man presented himself as a threat and she truly wanted him gone as she kicked her feet out at him once he came too close, ”GET AWAY! Go away! I didn't do anything wrong, I'm a good girl! Mum and Dad said so!” And they had, many times, along with Sarynn, and still did through Sarynn. Let them believe her an only child – even if she was. Once the man backed up enough to her liking she quit the thrashing and settled comfortably against Unaru and caught her breath. Shakes set in thanks to the adrenaline and ignored that instinct to jump through the nearby window for the sake of escaping this fiasco.

Ms Utaru finally composed herself, casting a dark glare at Chesha for such accusations when she said those who killed animal for trivial reasons were horrible people – when the principal had been away to fetch the girl a cup of water. She strutted forward with the full intention of yanking the girl to her feet and all Chesha saw was an attacker. Without another thought she reached onto the desk Unaru leaned against – the same one she had before climbing into his lap – and chucked the coffee mug full of pencils at her, ”I said STAY AWY!”

Again they all backed up until Chesha was left on his lap panting from all the yelling and screeching. From her perspective some people just didn't listen until you appeared like a scared animal. Show alarm and they were quick to hop away and pretend they did nothing. She also hated when idiots spouted stupid logic, considering any kid who opened up to a “pedophile” would end up closing themselves off and try to avoid the pedophile. Chesha visibly chose him over everyone else, especially those who coaxed and tried bullying her into talking earlier. In fact, Chesha blatantly stated that to Ms. Utaru in an utterly calm voice. The sudden personality switch would throw them off, and probably cause them to question her state of mind as obviously volatile and unstable.

A trouble child who hand selected those she trusted, and acted troublesome to the rest. Not a full act, but she was there enough at times to know to utilize her problems to her advantage. Would staff really try to push some issue when she chose the “suspected criminal” more than them?

Chesha’s outburst was outstanding, in both speed and ferocity, he had been around other’s who had thrown a tantrum, but it was nothing, nothing like this. He did not know how to react like this; normally he would let the student burn themselves out, get it all off their chest, but Chesha could end up dangerous if left to do that, both to herself and to the staff, so he held onto her, not enough to greatly restrict her movements, but so that no one would be able to take her away. He could tell she felt safe there, safe with him, the way she griped onto his shirt just then, it seemed to tell more than she had intended. He tried not to lose his grip on her as she kicked out at the head, yet her movements reminded him when he attempted to pick up a fox cub one day, and the thing managed to squirm its way out of his grasp, that was not before giving him a few bite and claw marks. He hoped that this would not have a same outcome.

He winced as she shouted, it seemed strange to see, or rather hear, a girl that was so quite become so loud. After deterring the head she set about putting off the only female teacher present, he expected more kicking and another shout, when she turned around in his lap he thought she was doing to clamber over the desk, to try and hind on the other side, but he did not expect the coffee-mug-of-slightly-less-than-impending-doom attack, the white cutlery dispersing pencils and the odd pen everywhere as it broke in two on the hard floor, then as soon as the outbursts had started, they stopped. Unaru pulled her deeper to his lap, one arm around her torso and the other around her shoulders, rubbing the top of her arm as her breath came in pants, appearing though she had burnt herself out like he had seen so many others do, “It’s ok, just relax, I’m here,” he whispered, head lowered to her so much so that his lips where brushing the fur on her ears, “I’ll make them go away.” He pulled the rim of her hood down, so it was now covering slightly more of her face than before.

He glared at the rest of the staff, his normally clam and friendly demander fading from his face. Although he looked aggressive, and was preparing to sound like it too, his was not ‘angry’ deep down, annoyed yes, but not angry, after all Chesha had made them back down, now it was his turn to drive them out. “Now do you see? This is what I have been talking about; she has clearly shown that she is not your average teen that fills the classrooms, and if I was abusing her don’t you think she would have tried to run the moment you broke down the door?” he shook his head, disappointed in the other adults he can come to know over the past few months, “and you, Ms Utaru, I’m not surprised you mistook a comforting embrace for sexual assault, seeing as you have not had one for years.” The snarky comment was unbecoming of him, yet she was the one causing Chesha the most distress.

“As for the tail,” he continued, “it’s fake, before we were so rudely interrupted she told me that one of her family members makes costume and special effects for moves, the resin it looks so real is because it’s made with human hair, next time you watch a DVD you should watch the ‘making of’ part.” ok so that was a bare faced lie, but it was one that was easy to swallow. Utaru seemed unconvinced, of both his actions and the tail, yet the head was willing to believe, at least for this time, as he knew that if this was looked into it would soon get out into the press, he would look bad for hiring him, twice no less, and parents would lose their trust and start pulling out their kids.

“Fine,” he spat, “you take care of her, I’ll look after your class till you are done...” it only took one glare from their boss to make the others quickly leave, dispersing some students that had come out to see what was going on, “oh and damages are coming out of your pay check!” he shot back, closing the broken door as best he could.

The tickling sensation of whispering against the soft ear made things hard, trying not to flick it as most cats might because it'd reveal the reality of it. Whether he thought pulling the hood down or not would help, it did as much as throwing a large blanket over a bird cage. Excitement at the tantrum began to leave her and caused her to slump more heavily against him as she almost neared a 'nap time'-like state. The threat lay out of sight, but not hearing though and she couldn't come to relax fully knowing that. Even with her ears pulled a little closer to her head thanks to the ear holes having slipped over and pulled them downwards when he pulled the hood down.

Chesha applauded his follow up mentally, seeing as any truly disturbed child ran away the moment an escape route presented itself: not race right into the arms of the believed attacker. But people worried so much about children, and she sometimes wondered if another child giving their friend a hug – of the same age – wouldn't provoke yelling over “sexual harassment” or seen as “inappropriate touching.” Above suspicion...but why did they have to be cold? Humans thrived on interaction and babies died without actual touching, so why did they wish her to suffer so?

A squeak escaped when he mentioned Ms. Utaru, easily mistakable for an alarmed noise at hearing the worst presence she knew at that moment's name. In reality the noise came from an attempt not to snicker and instead hiccuped as she tried to suck in air instead. By now Chesha set in motion a few plans to make Ms. Utaru's life a pain, and possibly lead towards losing her job or teaching career depending how things went. In her case Chesha gave some leniency that way and doubted the dumb broad would find the way out, instead incriminating herself and credibility somehow. She didn't strike Chesha as a woman clear headed enough to see a tough time through til the end.

The principal annoyed her too by now, and he should've just made some snarky comment about Chesha's parents paying for the damages. Not like he knew both her sets died many years ago. 'If he's going to be like that then he can pay for the damages,' she thought with a huff, finding him easily thanks to the school's name and him being a school official. Finding banking numbers and a little moving of cash flow from there was cake since she performed this trick multiple times over the years.

Privacy was their's again...for the most part. The door lacked the secure feeling of before thanks to the wheeled computer chair-turned-ramming-device. Hood kept down, Chesha opted for whispering to make sure they couldn't hear in case they tried, ”What makes you so sure I won't ask you to use your powers then? You fear the military using you, but I have such the horrid sense of curiosity. The past would be rather fun to discover, and possibilities for the future intriguing. To know if people are onto me or not would be far more invaluable than you can imagine, since existing is sometimes a hard thing to cover up when you stand out so badly. And then there's so much more to worry about than petty humans...especially when you could be lumped in with the holed monsters...though I don't eat souls.”

His powered interested her greatly, especially when he mentioned the military trying to use him and gave her a bit of insight as to how they worked. Later, in more private areas she might try to dig into all the facets regarding this “sightseeing ability,” as she called it. If he felt uncomfortable then she'd share her's to even the deal since he didn't mind sharing his past to learn a bit of her's earlier.

“Will you use my power for launch a war? To give you an upper hand to take over Delarus or Severn? I personally don’t think so, horrid curiosity is one thing, the thing I fear is cold-hearted planning that involves genocide and oppression,” he stopped for a moment, thinking about humans and the monsters that feasted on both dead and living souls. It was strange how he realised he regarded them both the same, both capable of evil and cruelty but down to it they where only trying to survive in this harsh world, “by all rights we should not exist to the humans, a man to whom time lay open like a book, and a woman who can make the most modern technology look amateurs with only a fleeting thought,” he chuckled to himself, causing his form to shake lightly, “they would call us ‘supernatural’ beyond natural and therein beyond nature, when in reality they have a very limited view on what is natural.” And there was his inner prophet coming out, and he had to admit, it felt nice to openly speak like this with another person.

Sure he had Thor, but the raven was not human company, and sometimes was hard to talk to about things like this. “However my powers, by their nature, can’t be controlled fully, I can’t always focus on a set point in time, and sometimes I see things shocking and uninspected...” he drifted off, thinking of when his power would activate without him, it would take over and he was simply along for the ride, “more the once I have ran water to wash my face, but gazed too long into the basin and ended up seeing the end of the world.” There was a strange tone in his voice, enough to tell that it was no joke, like what he had seen was a sobering truth, but falling silence from then on, his eyes losing focus on the here and now, almost like said powers had activated, but he had just taken an unexpected trip into his own mind.

The vividness of the dream, of the vision never faded, never dulled nor lost a flake of detail. A world breathed in flames, the earth turned black underfoot and the sky scotched red like burnt skin and even the clouds, floating high overhead like flocks of blackbirds, shown no piety for the world beneath them, the only thing falling from their forms but ash. Broken bodies lay strewn like foliage upon the ground, both humans and death gods piled in the funeral mounds, blighted lumps of death like fell against once grand buildings, around their bases both beasts and men scavenged the mounds, looking for food, even the flesh of the dead would do. They bodies always remained unchanging, never rotting or returning to the earth, nothing truly died because nothing was born, the wheel of life stock still, a truth undeniable by the state of the sky, large rips in reality like some grate beast had clawed the sky, strips of pure nothing. “It may not happen.” He muttered thoughts unguarded.

He had pulled Chesha closer into his form, if that was even possible, but in doing so he pulled himself out of his own mind. “Plus, you could help me just as much as I could help you,” he said with a smile, recalling something she said when they first started talking, “you pulled information about me from out of nowhere, but it’s what you said about Luna, my mother, in truth I have been looking for her for some time, but the trail for me as gone cold, but maybe you can help me find her?” in his eyes it seemed like a far thing to ask, he had no plans of what to do when he found her, he just wanted closer, to make sure she is all right, or if not, to lay flowers on her grave.

“Chesha, if you don’t mind me asking, where have you been living so far?” he asked, picturing her sleeping in an rundown building somewhere, or a makeshift shelter.

Chesha responded instinctively, pouting, ”You never know, I might! If I ever felt ambitious enough...” Though in honesty she thought ruling the world would be far too tiring and not worth the effort. She just didn't like the idea of people believing she might not be ambitious. His statements after that caused a snort from her, further unimpressed, ”They only think like that because they forget about Darwinism. If anything we're the next step up from them, a mutant anomaly amongst the mass of similar ones with abilities that will see our survival furthered more than the others. In your case knowing allows for stronger chances of survival, or certain damnation of human media of knowing the future leads to causing its hand is anything to go by. But what do they know? And in my case I control that which they covet, objects that further their livelihood...though I can further it along multiple generations or use it for selfish whims.” Chesha preferred the latter.

Familiar words trickled down her ears, familiar because she thought them so often before forgetting. Business men talked about dipping fingers in multiple pies to collect money, and it worked to compare Chesha's mind. Busy connecting to technology her attention became too fractured and sometimes had problems pulling herself out. That usually resulted in the main problem of causing a scene or something off-key to occur. So both sympathizing and comforting, Chesha patted Unaru's arm as he appeared to daze out in recollection. She only saw many police reports, youtube videos, and porn: she couldn't imagine watching the true end of the world.

Plus at least she could wash her face without much incident happening. 'Save for that time I turned the bathroom into raging waters...'

There was that “I could use you” thing again, but at least he asked. Others would demand, acting like her having the power meant she should use it for good, or they deserved it for some unfathomable reason. The few times Chesha played “Hunter” she had a bit of fun and thrill, so not the worst thing he could've asked. Upgrading his toaster would only be for fun. However she tried to fathom why his mother might go into hiding if she wasn't dead like his father. Why ditch her child like that? Did she have a faulty mothering instinct? Was it out of necessity? ”I can try, might take awhile though. Scouring through images too fast makes me feel sick sometimes.”

As much fun as sitting on his lap surely was, Chesha's bum began feeling a bit funny so she scooted off to stand and stretch a bit. Muscles protested after all the tensing up throughout the short period of time, as well as awkward squirming courtesy of herself. Everytime she pretended her tail had no life alone required some flexing of the muscles in the large, fluffy thing. The question registered, and she contemplated her answer as she stretched her arms above her head. ”Live? Many places. Like an experiment it always depends on certain factors: season, location, if people are on vacation and their likely return date, if I can find the location, money – you know, reasonable things. If its nice weather then sleeping in a park's not bad, and if its cold or I want a nice, soft bed and a shower then usually I can get into someone's house after a proper check of airplane ticket sales to see if the people left. Then there are times if I scavenged enough cash might spring for a hotel room, but usually not. If its cold though and I can't find shelter then I usually sleep in Cassiel's realm.”

Those nights she hardly slept. A great place for storage, extended stays became distressing all too quickly. There were times she considered sleeping in the cold and rejected it the moment snow touched her foot. She frowned as she thought about the place, ”I don't like sleeping there though. I always feel like I'm about to run out of breath there, like being in a coffin. And so quiet...sometimes I hear distant noises, but still feels muffled there as though cotton's stuffed in my ears. I'd rather just sleep inside Cassiel while we fly somewhere else.” Then she recalled the main question wasn't about sleeping so much as living, ”Guess you could say I live on the world. Burned my last home when the Hollow killed my second family. Had too.”

Her mind saw it almost like a question game, turning the question back on him, ”Where have you been living then, since you don't live at your Grandpa's place?” This was asked as she leaned over to touch her toes while stretching leg muscles. Ears flopped over as though attempting the reach too.

Unaru could not help but have mix feelings when Chesha shot back that, ‘she might’ try to take over the world, it made him want to chuckle, maybe he was assuming things too much, but she did not seem like the type to try. He thought of what he would do if she did try it, would he stay with her; still allow her to use his powers? He was not really sure, he guessed that it would simply be down too why she was fighting, if she could win him over to her cause. But leaving when something like that was going down would be hard, even more so if knowledge of their existence had been made known, but still, theses where nothing more than ‘what ifs’, a ‘cross that bridge when they came to it’ moment. Chesha had pout a thought in his head that had never accrued to him, maybe they where the natural evolution on humans, like in the comics he would confiscate from some of his class, maybe the writer had similar powers to him and saw the turn humanity would take, but that seemed a bit farfetched for him.

His heart lifted when she said she would try, after all that was all that he was asking for, to try. He was in no real hurry as he always told himself that after all these years she won’t mind waiting a few more days, that if his power came from his father’s blood, that she was in no danger, but in reality, he was scared. Scared that when he did find her she would reject him, like a chick that had fallen from the nest and put back by a passing human, only to get pushed out by the mother bird who no longer saw the chick as hers, he did not think he would not be able to handle that. The loss of warmth along with the tingle of impending pins-and-needles brought him back into the real world once more, stretching his legs out and patting them down to disperse the feeling in them, before standing up, leaning up against the desk he had his back against.

He lessoned diligently when she told him where she had stayed, anywhere seemed far game for her, and he admired her ingenuity, but breaking and entering, he could not condole. Normally he would tell any student off for such an act, but seeing as Chesha’s unique circumstances he let it slide, after all it was a case of no-harm-no-fowl, and really he would have probably done the same thing in her stead. The question was thrown back at him, it was surprising she asked rather than do whatever it was she did and looked it up, but he had told her to ask him questions as she felt fit when they started.

“Well when I first came back into the ‘real world’ as it where I stayed in dorms, that was when I was getting my teacher’s licence, from then on I have only rented or stayed in hotels depending on how long I am required to work in a set school, seeing as I’m only a substitute and no one yet has offered me a permanent job,” he chuckled to himself, “honestly this is the first school that has re-hired me, so I thought that I could end up staying here long term, but after today I’m not sure if I would want to stay.” When he said ‘not sure if I want too’ what he really meant was ‘not sure if they will’, “not helped by that woman, honestly she jumps to conclusions, flies off the handle and goes running to the boss so much she does not need an excises plan,” he laughed some more, he had too really, if he did not laugh that he would cry, “but that’s getting a bit off topic, at the moment I’m living in an apartment building about 10 minutes walk away from here, it’s nothing big nor fancy but if you want you are more than welcome to come stay there, if anyone asks I can just claim you are my little sister that has come to visit.”

He paused briefly to think on the sleeping arrangements, there was small, but this place would be classed as ‘tiny’. There was only one room, which served as living room, bed room and kitchen and the only bed was a pull out sofa, so only one could sleep there, sure it was big enough for two but he was not sure in Chesha would be ok sharing. ‘If not I’ll just take the floor,’ “well what do you say? I just hope you are ok with birds.”

He still had yet to tell her about Thor, but that seemed insignificant to all that was going on at the moment.

”Don't worry about her, she probably won't be around for much longer. Maybe she'll learn not to jump to conclusions, or to dump her feelings on others to make herself feel better. If she doesn't learn though its not my problem,” At the least she'd lose her house, and at the most she could stand to go to prison for a few years. Admittedly Chesha wasn't always the nicest person, but right and wrong were hard to learn without proper role models. So in her mind this was more of a relief to anyone who knew the woman and forced to deal with her on a day-to-day basis. Chesha's feline ears could hear the cheers already from her students.

A quick check said he told the truth on owning a small place nearby. From the old online advertisement surely wasn't a large place. Perfect for a bachelor fresh to the teaching scene...or any job really. Chesha wouldn't judge.

”I don't think the principal's all that bad, without the pressure of a bitch like her he's quite nice. Just protective of students, sorry, my fault. Sarynn loves me, just not the warmest person to hug.” Her tone came off as absent minded while she checked over a computer in the office. Habit declared she should play with it, upgrade it, remodel it. From there any possible things could happen, and her brain figured the most likely conclusion of “dude where's my computer?” would come about. Because she couldn't leave evidence of being here.

The mentioning of birds caught her interest, probably suspicious given her appearance, but for a far different reason. Like a young child hearing they could soon interact with a magical being known as a “pet” she lit up as she turned back to face him while her hands gripped the monitor, ”I love animals! 'S why I make my bots as animals, though dinos cause otherwise I'll never see 'em. But birds are fine, I like them...they have pretty feathers and I have a collection of feathers in Cassiel's realm. If you show me your birds I'll introduce you to Cassiel!” It was all said with a rather breathy voice with childish excitement. No records came up on him purchasing exotic birds, so she somewhat expected a pigeon. She liked them, even if they were known for being “rat birds” cause they were still pretty in some ways. Horrible for swarming and over population.

What he said sprouted an idea, planted the seed as it grew all-too rapidly in her mind. 'Little sister. Family...' Again she wanted it, recalling occasional fun memories and times filled with smiles with those faceless birth parents, and the too-wonderful times with Sarynn's family. Chesha wanted it still, so much. It clicked a little later thanks to her odd mind focusing on the note of animals before family because animals loved unconditionally and she loved that. ”Little sister?” she asked it like the word sounded foreign even as she said it with a note of desire. The computer and monitor lay forgotten and unchanged as she turned to stare at him with a renewed view...”Little sister? Could I be?”

In that moment she ran into him as she hugged him, tail curling around one of his legs in a secondary hug as a light sound akin to purring floated from her. Wholeheartedly she accepted the invitation to his place, glad for not only a warm place to sleep that Sarynn need not guard the door of, and in her mind accepting the invitation to pose or even be his little sister.

He found it somewhat amusing that even Chesha had formed a strong dislike for that teacher, but then again she was the one to set this whole thing off. It was true, the principle was not that bad at times, Unaru had known worse, like the one in the school before here who would come into his class room midsession and make his take of all his chains, rings and his earring, only to put them all back on again 5 minutes after he left, did he set a bad example? Most likely, but did he care? Nope, after all he took them off when told, and he said nothing about not putting them back on. His hand rose to play with his earring for a moment, as he watched Chesha inspect the PC, not worried about what she was planning to do it, after all it was not his PC and there would be no way of proving that it was him or her that damaged it if it came to that. But it was that excitement on her face, like the light of a new day that surprised him, that fact that it only took a mention of one bird, even when she did not know its breed, to bring on this reaction.

‘Well Thor already has a fan it seems,’ he mused, never really mentioning the raven to anyone before, seeing as he was just a normal raven, and only become something supernatural when Unaru was around. He hardly had time to recognised the words she uttered when the wind was knocked out of his by the most fearsome hug he had ever experienced, it was only thanks to the desk that he was still on his feet, although his hip was now feeling a bit sore from the impact however as he grasped on to her, returning the hug more out of a gut reaction then anything, the small ache faded. For a moment he was taken back, back when Sara would sneak him a hug when Gart was out, the tail curling around his leg was strange at first, but then it felt reassuring to him, that she really, really wanted to be with him, and not just to the existent of sharing living quarters, that she wanted to be his ‘little sister’.

It was only a cover that he thought up; he did not think that she would take it like this, like an invite to be his family. He did not know what to say when she asked, like confirming what he just said was true, part of him at that point wanted to push her away and say no, recalling all the tragic losses of his past, but did she not also suffer the same losses? Even greater than his own. He would feel like an asshole if he said no now, a cowered for turning tail at the last moment, he had proven himself stronger than hate, but stronger than fear and sorrow? It was looking unlikely. He looked down at her, being greeted with nothing more than the sight of her hood and ears, this would not do, he slid a finger under her chin to gently angel her head up to face him, using his other hand to slowly pull her hood down and brush the hair out of her face. ‘After all I have said and done to get her to trust me I can’t run away now, dear god why am I still like this?’

But that moment of self doubt and worry soon passed, she was not Tsarr or Lang, not weak or old; she was, as he had said before, magnificence. ‘She is truly stronger than I,’ he thought to himself as he lowered his head, placing his lips softly upon her brow, a light, innocent kiss that only lasted for a fleeting moment, yet it was enough to wash away all his doubts. “You can, but only if you address me as your brother.” He said with a smile, a true feeling of brotherly love string within his gut, it was a strange thing to feel seeing as he had never had a sister before. He tenderly stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, making sure that his rings did not get caught in a strand of hair.

Long bangs shifted to slide down the side of her face as she stared up at him with mixed feelings of confusion. Black hair shone darkly despite the light with little shine, as midnight as her ears, and curled slightly at the ends thanks to only occasional brushing. She failed to fathom why he pulled her hood away while staring up at him and closed her eyes almost tightly when he leaned down to kiss her forehead. No memories told of a time when another did that, and opened her eyes to stare up with a silent question in her orbs. What did that mean? Later she might search the World Wide Web for a clue, but for now let it drop as he apparently accepted her with such an easy and simple condition.

”Of course! I still call Sarynn my sister even if she's now a robot!” she said filled with excitement. As he brushed his hand over her cheek again she made that faux-purring noise as she delighted in the feel of simply “being loved.” Family love she ached for and felt again for the first time in years, without the thought and threat of a hunting Hollow. Another part of her knew just one wouldn't do, that she'd become a little anxious about having the single “Brother” figure, and come to search for more members of the family structure. Because eventually she'd become so intoxicated with the feeling and act like a junkie looking for more. For now she understood happiness again.

Soft bell tolls woke her from the dream-like haze of happiness as her face screwed up in bewilderment and frowned at the ceiling. What was that? Noises filtered through the walls of students walking and talking, others using various devices until the cacophony of lockers opening and closing added to the nuisance of noise. This puzzled her until Chesha recalled a few programs she watched concerned with characters in these “school” situations. That bell meant kids filed out from those classrooms to move onto the next before the next bell rang, and continued the pattern until the end of the day. This brought about another thought: what would she do until school was over?

”What now?” she began, ”I don't go to school, but its barely midday. Do I have to take classes today? Will they let me just...leave?'” Heavily doubtful seeing how eager the principal was earlier about discovering where she went and where she lived. Due to lack of locations for either question they couldn't just let her waltz out like some unattended puppy from a pound. Unless Unaru planned to inform them she'd be going home with him, it'd come down to lying after setting up some official looking things she'd have “fun” deleting later. But she could accomplish it if necessary, and worse came to worse she put up a fake struggle and escaped only to meet up with him later. Like after school because it'd be fun to walk home with him.