Thanks for reading this guys. Review too. I'd like to know what I'm getting right. :D I own nothing from Blood+ [though I wish I did], and I hope you like this next chapter. I'll try and update at least once a month, but I'll slip an extra or two out if my brain is nice to me. ^_^
GENERAL POV
Lance had already spotted them as they walked back up. Kai could only imagine what the group seemed. Sure, this girl - he still didn't have her exact name - walked like she was in control of herself, but anyone who was just attacked held a shadow in their eyes. David was hunched and looking irritated, and Kai himself... Kai just shook his head while she nieces ran up to hug him. They squealed and attached themselves to his legs. He noticed a stiff look from Min, but he carefully ignored it. She wouldn't have to know.
"Mai keeps taking all of my books Uncle Kai!" she gasps, pointing to the little girl who looked exactly like her. Mai and Aella were Saya's nieces, but they'd picked up the habit of calling her 'mom' a few years back. They were both eight now. They looked exactly like Saya, and exactly like their mother. He shook away the memories with a smile and pointed at Mai's forehead.
"I'll get them back for you in a bit. Right now, I have a guest to entertain. Go play with Lance and your sister." Mai frowned and hmphed before she stomped lightly away. Aella looked up from one of the books she'd stolen from Mai and smiled at Kai, waving a delicate hand. Mai glared at her before Lance abruptly tapped her shoulder.
Julia sighed and Kaori giggled. Min just stood at the side, feeling awkward. She wasn't used to close family situations. She'd never been particularly close with her family. Like most wealthy families, as a daughter, she was shipped to a finishing school and then told to find a husband. Mind was never close to anyone in her home. She leaned against the gat that circled the park as the owner, Kai, interacted with everyone. The blond male gave her a firm look before joining her. She expected him to lecture - she actually expected yelling, but it was close- but he shocked her by extending his hand. She hesitated before taking it and shaking it, considering the silent truce as a good idea.
"How much did you know Saya?" he asked her, staring off into the open sky. His eyes were glazed over with memories. Min shook her head.
"I didn't know her well," she admitted. "Saya had been my only friend, though, and I decided she'd tell me what she wanted in her own time. She said she had two brothers, and that her father had passed away." She frowned. "That man isn't her brother, is he?"
The blond male nodded. "That's one of her brothers," he said. "The other one has also passed." Min nodded, suddenly uncomfortable with discussing this. She didn't need to get Saya's history from anybody else. The blond male picked up on her thoughts and shrugged.
"My name is David. I was at that party ten years ago. You obviously know this, though." Min nodded stiffly, gesturing for him to continue. "I want you to know that what you saw should not be told to anyone else other than the people in that park. Of course, the girls don't know much at the moment. Lance wouldn't either, but Kaori, Julia, and Kai know full well what happened. Of course, Kaori wasn't told until a few years later when Kai couldn't keep it from her." David sighed. "There are a few other people who are away, but they are both tackling another project right now." Min frowned, ready to talk, but David held his hand up to cut her off. "Don't think we won't tell you, but we first need to discuss if it's the right idea."
"Wait just a minute!" Min snapped. "I've been looking for Saya for ten years now! I deman to know what happened to her." She stomped her foot on the last word for good emphasis. David shook his head.
"You don't understand," he stated simply. The bluntness of the sentence caused Min to snarl in frustration. The feral sound shocked David. He'd last seen this girl terrified and hesitant. Obviously she wasn't the refined academy female he expected.
"I don't care! Help me understand..."
A firm hand touched her shoulder, and she turned to look at the blond female. She gave David a hard look, and then she directed a smile at Min. Kai and Kaori stood right behind her, and the children stood around in a circle, chatting about child like things.
Kai had watched the conversation with one ear while watching children with the other. Julia and Kaori had kept their ears open too. Juli had finally told the children to go inside, but they milled near by. Why would anyone want to go inside on such a nice evening?
"Do you remember when you didn't want to tell Kai what happened? What Saya truly was?" The blond female smiled softly again, but there was a sudden edge to it. David recognized it and stepped down.
"Julia... I'm just not sure"- The woman, Julia, cut him off with a dramatic sigh. Kaori giggled and started to shuffle the children inside.
"I want to break this to her," Kai said abruptly. David was about to protest until Julia started to tug him inside. She muttered something about it being a softer blow as the bar door closed. The afternoon sun had sunk into a dim early evening glow. Min stiffened when he took a step closer to her.
"I know who you are," she said. "You're her older brother, Kai. She said she'd had brothers, but she never told me your names."
Kai grinned. "Then maybe you could tell me who you are so I wouldn't be left in the dust either."
"Min," Mind said, extending a hand. "Everyone calls me Min." Kai shook her hand and was pleasantly surprised by her firm grip. Her hand retreated qickly to her side, and she pushed her oversized glasses up her nose. She never could stand contacts.
"I want you to drive somewhere with me," Kai said, gesturing for her to follow him. He started in the direction to a large van. There was a small dent in the door, and it looked like it had recent work done on it. There were obvious window replacements, and the smell of cleaning chemicals was all over the inside of it as Min slid into the passenger seat. Kai started the car, and they were off.
The drive was silent, and the scenery had Min's eyes glued to the windows. She honestly didn't do much sight seeing. She'd gone around the more busy areas of town and never beyond that until she'd found the bar. Her breath was taken away as they passed a beach. The water crushed against rocks, and the sand glittered in the evening sun. Kai gave her a curious look she didn't catch, and it was almost like deja'vu for a moment. Still... it wasn't Saya. Min gasped as the scene opened up more. It was truly beautiful to her eyes. She'd never seen a beach that wasn't crowded with city people.
They turned onto a different path, and Kai parked the car at the bottom of a set of stairs. Min got out of the passengers seat and started to follow Kai up the stone steps. Age and nature had started to overtake the cracked stones, and vines had curled their way through the cracks. Min didn't examine it too closely. She just followed Kai, who had remained silent the whole way.
"Where are we going?" Min finally asked as they reached an old stone building. It had Japanese characters over it that read a family name. Otanashi had been Saya's last name! Mind's heart started to sink as Kai led her into the small building...
Min gasped and fell to her knees. Kai just stood in the corner, a peculiar look on his face. In the corner a vibrant violet light pulsed from a... an... an egg? Min could almost call it that. It looked as though it were a bubble that safely protected it's charge. The charge, though, was another matter entirely.
Saya looked as though she were sleeping, and her dark hair had grown to the back of her knees. The only reason she could notice that right away was becuase Saya had kept her hair short at the academy. Saya just kept sleeping peacefully, though, as if no one were in the room. A blue rose lay next to the... bubble? Egg? Min reached for it, but Kai grabed her hand gently, pulling it away.
"It's for her," he said. "It's from... someone important to her." Kai had no idea when Hagi had last been in the room, but he was sure it was recent since the flower hadn't wilted yet. He would need to track him down sometime. He needed to be with the girls once in a while.
"It's Saya," Min whispered, her eyes watering. "It's my friend... why is she sleeping?"
TWINS AND LANCE'S POV
Aella finally closed the book, and Mai shook her head. Lance stared out the window with Mai. Aella crawled over to the other two, sighing.
"Did Uncle Kai really take her to see mommy without us?" she asked. Mai shook her head yes. Lance frowned.
"He always takes you two. I wonder why this girl was so important to take alone..." Mai punched his shoulder lightly. Aella copied the action, but her hit was a little stronger. Lance winced and shoved both girls back. They were comfortable enough with each other to rough house with no hard feelings.
"She must have been pretty special to mommy if Uncle Kai was okay with her knowing." The girls weren't as clueless as the adults sometimes thought, and they always filled Lance in. They were, after all, close friends. "I wonder if he's going to tell this girl about us needing... special things. About... everything." Mai sighed.
"Aella," she said, "He may not. She doesn't seem important. After all, she wasn't mentioned in Joel's Diary." Aella snarled.
"You either need to stop complaining I steal the books you never read, or you need to read more. The one I showed you was old. The newer one was on David's computer one night. It was updated with other things. Mommy had gone to a ton of places, and she'd met a few new people. Still, this girl doesn't fit anything..." Lance grimaced.
"Don't you two know anything? She's from that one academy Saya went to! You know... the Four Arrows one."
"Five Arrows," Aella corrected. "And we were only told that story once. That girl couldn't be the girl mommy stayed with. She doesn't seem like a lady." Mai gaped at her.
"That's rude Aella!" she cried, throwing a pillow at her. Aella squealed, and the kids went back to rough housing.
