Yello! This is Kiara! Eh heh... sorry it's been so long since our last storeh... we got sidtracked with finding new jobs and such... ANYWHO! None of the characters belong to me! Only Kiara while Kaze is... well... Kaze's. ^^; Enjoy!
A small tea shop sits in a town in the small island country of Japan. The shop is call 'The Silver Tea House' and is owned by a sixteen-year-old girl named Mizuki. The Tea House has quite the unique reputation. It is where people go to have their nightmares taken care of. However, the shop itself is not any different from other shops in the area (besides the fact that most of it's business comes at night). The one who actually takes care of the nightmares is one of the tenants named Hiruko. He is a Baku, a nightmare eater. Hiruko is the shop's Nightmare Inspector.
Hiruko looks to be a 17 year old young man with medium length blonde hair that he keeps back in a blue headband. His blue eyes seem dull and lifeless except when he is making fun of Hifumi Misumi (the other tenant of the Silver Tea House) or talking about an interesting nightmare. Hiruko is about 5'6" tall and wears strange clothes that include a black trench coat that stops about mid calf on his legs and hangs just under his shoulders. The clothes under his trench coat includes: a white sleeveless shirt with blue circles on the front, white arm warmers that start at his wrists and come halfway up his upper arms, a black pair of short shorts, white knee length socks and the black shoes he wears on his feet. Hiruko also carries a brown shepherds' hook cane that has a crystal halfway between the end of the cane's handle and the curve of the cane's handle along with a mysterious black suitcase.
Mizuki is about 5'3 with black shoulder length hair that is held back by a small headband and violet eyes. She has a fair complexion and a calm personality. She wears usually calm kimonos, which greatly contrasts Hiruko's strange sense of fashion. When people come to Hiruko about their nightmares, Mizuki instantly serves them coffee and usually listens in on the conversations.
Hifumi, however, is the complete opposite of both Mizuki and Hiruko. He is an 18 year old only child rich kid about 5'9" with light brown hair that is long enough to cover his ears and blue eyes. He also wears kimonos but unlike Mizuki, his are loud and eccentric much like his personality. Hifumi smokes, has a huge crush on Mizuki (which is why he is renting the room in the first place) and dislikes Hiruko because he firmly believes that Hiruko is either ruining or going to ruin his chances with Mizuki.
The night starts like any other night for the group with Hiruko getting a few customers. So when the door chime rings announcing to the three that the door has opened, they aren't surprised.
Hiruko smiles to himself and keeps cleaning his cane, effectively tuning out Hifumi's bragging about some expensive (and worthless) thing he bought earlier that day while Mizuki stands from her seat and goes to great the guests with her usual smile. She opens her mouth to speak to them but is cut off by an unusually cheerful voice.
"Ah! It's such a cute little shop, Kaze-sama! "
Hifumi immediately shuts up and Hiruko stops cleaning his cane as they both look up towards the bright voice to see two young women standing just inside the door, looking around quite calmly. All three are stunned by the apparent lack of fear or concern coming from the two. Normally, when someone comes to the shop they are frantic, angry or just plain frightened. Yet these two… seem… unabashed.
The owner of the voice seems to be a 5'2" young woman in her early twenties with energetic blue green eyes and reddish brown hair that falls to her lower back. She's wearing a white short sleeved blouse with a black tie tied loosely under it's collar and the first three buttons undone along with a black pleated mini skirt and a black pair of ankle rise Converse. Around her neck is a black clip dog collar with silver heart shaped tags. Hifumi's wide eyes are trained on the young woman's large bust.
The young woman standing beside her is much taller at 5'8" but around the same age as her companion. She has green eyes and long brown hair that has red and blonde highlights that is tied up in a ponytail. This young woman has a long slender figure dressed in black denim jeans with a black tank and black denim jacket over the tank. Her feet are encased in knee length black leather boots that have zippers and buckles totally covering them. Her expression isn't as expressive as her friend but her exasperation combined with slight interest shows in her calm eyes. In her hands is a cane very similar to the one Hiruko is holding.
The green eyed young woman sighs and places a hand to her forehead. "Kia… that's not very appropriate…"
The reddish brown haired young woman looks over at her and pouts, "But Kaze-samaaaa!"
"Don't 'but Kaze-samaaaaa' me. I'm serious," The green-eyed young woman reiterates, earning a huff from her friend.
"Fine," she pouts then turns to a shocked Mizuki. "'Ello! I'm Kawa Kiara and this is my best friend Kami Kaze. We're looking for the baku that works here."
"Hi…Hiruko?" Mizuki stutters, turning around to Hiruko who sits frozen in his chair at the far corner.
Kiara and Kaze follow Mizuki's gaze and Kiara breaks into a smile when they spot Hiruko. She prances over to him and sits down next to Hiruko, who looks at her with wide eyes. The broad smile on Kiara's face never leaves even as Hiruko starts to inch away from her peering gaze.
"Kia, stop it. You're creeping the poor thing out," Kaze sighs, walking up and swatting the back of Kiara's head, earning a sharp 'ow!' from her.
"Aaah gomen nasaiiii…" Kiara sighs.
"Uh… no problem… what is your nightmare?" Hiruko asks, still a little wigged out.
Kiara blinks at Hiruko then starts to giggle. "I'm not here about a nightmare, silly. In fact, Kaze-sama and I are-"
"Kia. Just get to it."
Kiara looks over her shoulder and pouts at Kaze. "I aaaaam!" she whines before looking back at Hiruko. "When Kaze-sama and I heard about another baku taking up residence here, we had to check it out!"
"Another baku?" Hifumi asks in confusion. "So that means that one of you is a baku?"
"Uh huh!" Kiara says cheerfully.
"Which one of you is the baku?" Mizuki asks.
"The one with the cane, Mizuki," Hiruko sighs, using his own cane to point to the one in Kaze's hand.
"No. I'm not a baku," Kaze says, while shaking her head.
All three pairs of eyes turn to Kiara, who is beaming, then turns back to Kaze, disbelief written all over their faces.
"No. way," Hifumi protests. "Shorty over there isn't half this much fun."
Hiruko turns a dark look over to Hifumi before looking at Kiara. "If you are the baku, then how come you aren't holding your cane?"
"Or depressing for that matter," Hifumi mumbles. Hiruko sighs then uses his cane to give Hifumi a sharp blow to the head, earning a corresponding yelp from him.
"Kaze-sama won't let me hold him," Kiara pouts.
"Because you play with it!" Kaze grumbles. "That and you scare people when you carry around this thing." She sighs, holding the cane up.
"He's not a thing! That's Cane-chan!"
"…It's a cane…" Kaze says.
"Cane-chan."
Kaze sighs and starts to shake her head back and forth while the other three watch on in disbelief.
"Um… w-would you like some coffee, Kami-san?" Mizuki asks in uncertainty.
"No thanks I'm good."
"So you found me. Why exactly are you here?" Hiruko asks.
Kiara looks over her shoulder at Kaze who just shrugs. So Kiara turns back around to look back at Hiruko, her face curious.
"I dunno," Kiara says plainly. "You wouldn't mind if we just stuck around for a while would you?"
"I don't mind!" Hifumi shouts, his lustful gaze focused on Kiara.
Kiara's face warps warily before she scoots her chair closer to Hiruko and away from Hifumi then looks at Mizuki expectantly.
"Do you mind?" Kiara asks softly.
"Err no… I have a spare room for you two to use if you want," Mizuki whispers, watching Hiruko for his reaction.
"I don't care as long as you don't interfere with me getting my nightmares," Hiruko sighs.
"Yay!" Kiara cheers happily, tackling Hiruko who yelps in shock.
Kaze sighs then pulls Kiara off the frightened Baku and setting her back on her own chair. Kiara acts as if nothing happens and quickly starts chattering happily with Mizuki (doing her best to ignore Hifumi's ogling) while Hiruko starts watching her, his face both confused and cautious.
"Are you sure she's a baku?" Hiruko finally asks after a few minutes of listening to Kiara discuss Mizuki's kimono. He lifts a skeptic eyebrow when Kaze nods slowly with another sigh. "Really? She doesn't act like any baku I know…"
"Trust me she is," Kaze sighs, turning her head to watch Kiara smile kindly at Hifumi's black cat before pulling it into her arms in a tight hug. "Kia's always been this way."
Hifumi's eyebrows scrunch in confusion, watching as Kaze sits down across the table from him her elbows resting on the table's surface. "But… then… the baku that consumed her had to be this way too…"
"Not necessarily," Kaze says. "For as long as I've known her, Kiara's always been happy. I have never seen her upset, angry or sad. She's just a happy person even after she became a baku."
"…Odd…" Hiruko murmurs, once again looking over at Kiara and Mizuki.
"Heh, that doesn't even begin to describe Kia," Kaze chuckles.
"I heard that Kaze-sama," Kiara grumbles.
"So? What'cha gonna do about it?" Kaze retorts.
Kiara frowns at Kaze as if she's debating how to reply then grumbles under her breath again and turns to Mizuki. "Could you show me where the room is? I'm kinda tired."
"Oh… uh yes. Right this way," Mizuki says then leads Kiara up a flight of stairs.
"…That was sudden," Hifumi says, blinking in shock.
"Kia does it all the time. Nothin to worry about," Kaze sighs then looks up at Hifumi her face slightly curious. "What are your names anyway?"
"I'm Hifumi Misumi, that's Hiruko and the lovely lady that led your friend away is Mizuki-chan !" Hifumi says cheerfully.
"… Great it's another Kiara…" Kaze sighs, rubbing her temples in irritation. "Thanks for explaining…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hifumi pouts.
"That you're annoying," Hiruko states, earning an angrily look from Hifumi and a stifled laugh from Kaze.
After a few minutes, Kiara and Mizuki return and Kiara plops down in the chair beside Hiruko and grins at Kaze.
"What's with the grin, Kia?" Kaze asks, lifting a confused eyebrow.
"We're right across from Baku-san," Kiara says cheerfully.
"His name is 'Hiruko' Kia," Kaze sighs.
"Oh? Ah, sorry! Then; we're right across, Hiruko-kun," Kiara mends with a slight blush.
Hifumi's eyes widen then start to sparkle when the blush creeps onto Kiara's face. With a happy cry, Hifumi wraps his arms around Kiara's small shoulders and buries his face in the crook of her neck. Mizuki, Hiruko and Kaze's eyes widen in shock while Kiara's face warps in horror.
"Hifumi?" Hiruko says uncertainly, causing the rich kid to look over at him. "What are you doing?"
"Hugging her ," Hifumi gushes, his own cheeks tinged with a blush.
"Well stop it, you're creeping her out," Hiruko sighs, thwacking him on the head with his head and in the process accidently hitting Kiara as well, earning sharp yelps from the both of them and causing Hifumi to jerk away from Kiara. "Ah! Sorry bout that, Kiara." He apologizes.
"It's fine…" Kiara replies, holding the top of her head with her heads as she grins at him.
"This is going to be an interesting visit…" Kaze mumbles under her breath as Mizuki watches Hifumi whimper to himself in shock.