(sorry this fic is so slow... I swear it'll pick up soon XD)
Mark sat alone in the deserted living room. He hadn't bothered to turn on any lights or look out any windows. As far as he was concerned, this place didn't exist. It was nothing but an illusion created by his own brilliant, but momentarily overwrought, psyche. He wondered what exactly had caused this. Maybe he was nervous about final exams. They weren't for another couple months but they drove some people crazy right? He usually called those people idiots, but maybe it wasn't a sign of weak-mindedness, maybe finals just naturally made you go crazy? Otherwise, he was being held hostage by some crazy vigilante military organization that communicated primarily through mirrors and was staffed by large portions of dad's side of the family... But he didn't need to think about that because he was surely crazy from exam pressure. He had gotten an A- on his last math test after all...
What he found most distressing was the fact that unlike his previous unwelcome forays into insanity, this one was lasting for a really long time and, to a certain extent, had a very linear plot. It was nothing like the glimpses of things that he wished he could unsee, or thing that just didn't make sense. Those ones were over quick; this one was still going and wasn't showing signs of letting up.
After they had talked with Aunt Chisa in the mirror, Kuro had taken him by the hand and lead him through a bunch of hallways that looked oddly like the halls of a private school. They then reached a wing that had said "Teacher Dormitories". She'd made a beeline for number 96, unlocked the door, shoved him in, and given him the most angelic of angelic smiles while she told him to make himself at home and that he better take off his shoes. After that she'd closed the door behind her and disappeared.
Mark had immediately lay on the floor and tried to fall asleep in the hope it would bring him back around, but he only woke up more as he lay in the dark. After a while he started to wonder about his surroundings and thought that maybe he should find the light swich or something.
When Mark stood on shaky legs and took a step forward, he collided with something. After what may or may not have been an amazingly feminine scream and a lot of flailing in the dark, be ascertained that he had indeed just run into a low-hanging light fixture. He then turned it on.
There wasn't terribly much to see with the light on; a TV on a stand, what looked to him to be a coffee table and one, two, three, four cushions. It looked sort of like pictures he'd seen of houses in Japan. An entryway to the side lead to a clean, cute-looking Kitchen and there were a number of other rooms off of the main one that he chose not to explore. One might have thought themselves to be in a sort-of normal house.
Mark did the only sensible thing, pile up all four of the cushions and try harder to go to sleep. Surprisingly, he had more success this time.
…..
"What? No way! I'm not sharing my room!" a young male voice was saying fervently as Mark began to drift awake.
"Please don't be like that, Masa-kun... This boy has had it really rough and Mr. Death asked us to take him in until he can go home. It won't be so bad, you might even get to make a new friend!"
"But can't he sleep somewhere else?"
"No. He cannot."
"Whatever." Someone stomped off and Mark slowly opened his eyes. Two things were apparent, he wasn't out of Crazyville yet and he was no longer alone. A tallish dark haired woman was standing in the door way of the living room area. Her back was facing him so Mark got a few seconds to gawk at her odd, Ninja-like garb.
Her shoulders drooped as she let out a long and somewhat depressed sigh. Mark quickly shut his eyes and feigned sleep as he felt her attention turn. A few light footsteps crossed the room to where he lay "passed out" he felt the small shift in weight and she sat down on the floor next to him.
"Um, Mark-san," She said his name with the tentativeness of one who had learned it from another source. The gentle pat on his shoulder reminded him of the last time he had been awakened in recent memory. "Please wake up..."
Mark wasn't sure if her soft voice would have done any good had he been asleep for real, but he slowly opened his eyes anyway. Now that really was uncanny, the face he met as he opened his eyes this time looked quite a bit like Kuro. Well, maybe it was that Kuro looked like this woman, since she was obviously older and despite the ninja getup had much more acceptable coloring.
"Uh-" Mark didn't really have much to say but he felt like staying quiet would have been impolite.
"Oh good, You're awake..." She said with an almost relieved smile, but Mark watched that smile grow nervous as what she was going to say next started to process. She felt overwhelmed, but by what?
"Welcome to the Kageboshi household," she said formally with a little bow, "My name is Kageboshi Tsubaki, I apologize deeply for your sudden arrival, and lack of hospitality on the part of my daughter, she is terribly flighty as you might have noticed. I am also terribly sorry that my husband and son could not be here to greet you either, but they both look forward to meeting you."
"Uh, no! Kuro was very, um, nice and um..." Mark sat up, reacting to her formality, but not really knowing how to respond. He wasn't sure how he felt about random people he didn't know wanting to meet him, and he got the distinct feeling that it was at least partially a lie.
"That's very kind of you to say." Kuro's mom said with a smile.
"Not really-" Mark began, "But, um, wha—"
"You must be so tired!" She hopped into action with slightly forced energy before Mark could get a word in, "Let's get you cleaned up and fed!
After that, there wasn't much conversation as Mark was sweetly coerced into a japanese-style bathroom and left to wash up. When he emerged he found that his dirty tux had disappeared and been replaced by a clean set of clothes that fit Mark well. The clothes looked a bit too flashy-hipster for his taste, but being the fastidious person that he was, he was very grateful to be clean, even if he was still trapped in a freakish dream.
He was drawn back out into the living room, by the smell of something delicious. Laid out on the coffee table in the main room, was a immaculately prepared dinner of grilled steak, rice, soup, salad, stewed vegetables and some pickle-like dishes that Mark couldn't name. Kuro's mom emerged from the kitchen and ushered him to the table, pouring both of them some tea and sitting down across from him.
The food was so good and Mark was so hungry that he was able to ignor the awkwardness of someone watching him eat. He just thanked her repeatedly and ate as slowly as he could manage, Kuro's mom had even had the foresight to give him a fork, insead of the chopsticks that he suspected the family used on a daily basis.
Though, once the meal came to a close and he was no longer feeling as if he was starving to death, Mark's attention started to drift back to its usual state of self-consciousness. He became fully aware of the way the air around then was charged. The apartment was small but just beyond its walls her could feel the presence of others, some smallish and normal, others big and powerful, though all of them were unusual in some way.
Kuro's mom, he realized was one of those powerful people, but her nature had made it less noticeable right off the bat. Just a while ago, this would have sent him around the bend, but now he was surprised at his own apathy. Maybe it was because she was so innately calm…
"So," He said asking a question to fill the silence. Pretty sure he wouldn't get a straight answer but comfortable enough to venture. "Um," he almost called the lady that sat across him "Kuro's mom" but stopped short since that was totally rude, "Mrs. Kageboshi-"
"Oh, just call me Tsubaki-sensei." She said with a serene smile. So she was a teacher? Weird... Everyone had called Aunt Chisa "Chisa-sensei" as well, not to mention the twins' sarcastic comments about lecture halls and chalk boards
"Tsubaki-sensei, if you dont mind me asking," He kept his voice calm though, now that he thought about the question he felt like he didn't want to know the answer, but he was tired of being led around like a cow. "Where am I and what on is going on?" As he looked back upon the shuffle that had brought him here, he realized that he had no idea where his parents were and if they were alright. A lump rose in his throat, but he buckled down.
"Ah well," she looked flustered at his directness, "It's a bit of a long story, and I'm afraid that it would be rather hard for you to believe, but please relax and know that you are quite safe."
"But what about my parents?" he said softly. Whether this was a dream or not, it wasn't going away. "What was that thing that attacked us at the restaurant? It looks like I'm going to have to have a more open mind whether I like it or not..."
Tsubaki-sensei gave him an understanding smile and took his hand in a motherly way.
"It was nothing but a corrupted soul that wished to create chaos. I'm sure your parents are perfectly fine, it's just that, in light of certain matters, we've opted to play it safe."
"What matters?" Nothing was making sense, but only because he was being given the most vague answers possible. He was willfully choosing to accept this hallucination as reality; it was failing to give him anything to go on.
"I'm sorry, but-"
All of a sudden Mark could feel the oddest energy yet just outside the confines of the apartment. It beat with the same inhuman sort of rhythm that had stuck to everything dangerous thus far. Mark tensed, not quite threatened, but ready to fight.
When there was a frenzied knock at the door he was surprised by her calm, almost happy manner as she excused herself to go answer the door. He shivered; did she know what was coming? He was sure that Tsubaki-sensei was probably just as sensitive as he was and was obviously not an idiot, but he was once again gripped by his fear of the unknown.
He heard the echo of a new female voice in the entryway and was surprised when Tsubaki-sensei returned, flanked by a petite woman that looked to be in her early twenties. She wore a black dress and hat that looked like they had come straight out of a Halloween catalogue. Maybe today there was some kind of costume party. That would explain a lot…
"Oh! So this is the kid!" she said with careless smile, she had sharp reddish-brown eyes and a straight brown bob. He guessed that she was average looking, but something behind her eyes made her remarkable in an intangible way.
"Angela-" Tsubaki-sensei started in a hushed admonishment and then whispered in her ear for a while. The young woman listened respectfully, though the smirk never left her eyes.
"Okay, Okay... I get it..." She sighed aloud and all of a sudden the weird energy was gone, replaced by something that felt like she could have been one of Mark's classmates at school. She held up her empty palms to the older woman in a way that said "Now what?".
"Much better." Tsubaki-sensei said with a smile. Mark was still lost.
"Yeah, well, I came because you're needed for a mission. Blackstar sent me. I'm supposed to, you know," She nodded over to Mark, "Babysit." Wow, such tact, he was starting to get a feel for the culture around here. Save for for Tsubaki-sensei...
"Well," Mark's afore-mentioned hostess looked just about as nervous as he was feeling, he quietly tried to appeal, but her eyes never passed over his face. "I guess if I'm needed for a mission..."
"You really are." Angela crossed her arms and her gaze held momentary brevity. Mark was getting tired of all of these weirdoes exchanging meaningful looks over his head. It was impossible for him not to get suspicious.
"Alright..." Tsubaki-sensei wasted no time after that, "Mark-san, please forgive me for this sudden departure, but this is Angela, a dear friend of the family. She will be looking after you from now on." Angela grinned and gave him a friendly wave, it looked genuine and sweet, but Mark couldn't shake the memory of that chaotic feeling.
There was a long, appraising, silence once Tsubaki-sensei was gone. He met Angela's straightforward stare with the best return look he could muster. She really seemed normal now, but…
"Hmm...Why are YOU so suspicious?" she said, bemused, but a little defensive like was used to reactions like that. Mark's suspicious stare merely deepened. He stiffened when she came forward and sat down across from him at the table, her eyes never leaving his face. She bobbed her head from side to side and seemed amused when Mark's gaze followed her.
All of a sudden, she took a deep breath and the energy became apparent again. It didn't flow back into the room so much as Mark realized that it had been there all along, somehow covered up. He gulped and jumped back of his own accord.
"Ahha! You noticed that!" The young woman pointed at him as if she's just solved the most interesting of puzzles. "I guess you have more sensitivity that everyone's giving you credit for~" She smiled brightly but deflated a bit when Mark remained petrified where he sat. She focused again and the energy lessened, but now that Mark had a handle on its presence, it tugged at the corners of his mind.
Silence dragged on as she seemed to wait for Mark to say something. Mark avoided saying anything because he didn't want to piss her off by saying something like "What are you?" or the never popular "Get away from me, freak!" Angela stared into his eyes for a long time and seemed to reach a conclusion.
"In case you were wondering, I'm a witch." She said plainly and Mark's inner reaction was, "oh of course you are!". She certainly looked the part with that Halloween-store getup. But after that initial reaction he realized that she was completely serious. What the hell was he supposed to say to that! Witches were characters in fantasy stories, reacting to such a plainly stated impossibility was not part of his playbook.
"Well," Mark said in response trying to muster as much composure as possible, this wasn't so bad, just kind of like that time he went to France for the summer. People thought he was an idiot, but he could always play the dumb foreigner card. Maybe it would serve him here. "Where I come from, that is rather unusual. Please explain."
"Well, I am a female born with superhuman powers that lean towards the destructive." She smiled.
"I see." that at least fit Mark's known definition of a witch. It was actually the first straight answer he'd gotten from anyone.
"Though, you obviously have the soul perception to notice, so I'm not sure why you need it explained." she said with a bit of an eye-roll. There was that word again! Grim had called him a "wimpy civilian with the soul perception of an orange" whatever that meant.
"Um, that isn't the first time I've heard that word, 'soul perception', but I honestly have no idea what it means."
"Really!" She laughed, "I'd heard that you weren't enrolled at Shibusen, but you really grew up under a rock didn't you!"
Mark would have normally taken offense at being called someone who lived under a rock. But at this point he was beginning to feel that way himself. So he just nodded a bit sheepishly and let her continue.
"Uh, well, I don't really understand soul perception either, but it's like the mental power that meisters and weapons use to read the world around them. You can, like, figure out people's core personalities and power levels just by sort of reaching out with your mind..." She punctuated her explanation with expansive gestures and finished by raising an eyebrow in Mark's direction, "Is that ringing any bells?"
There was a long moment of contemplation, "Yes... it is..."
