The walk back to the Kurusu house was short, quiet, and above all else, awkward for everyone. Except Ai.
her refusal to tell Miia, Papi, Cerea and Mero her identity caused them all to be leery of her as they walked back to the house, and the fact that she had taken up a position directly at Kimihito's right, seemed to anger them even more. Miia especially seemed to take it as personal vendetta and was trying to press up against Kimihito's left side as snugly as possible, mostly making him trip on every second step.
Once they made it back to house Cerea became the one who was suddenly acting pushy, seemingly terrified that Ai took the front of the group and unlocked the door to the house with Kimihito's key. Once they got into the living room and had gathered everyone to do introductions, things became even more chaotic, though not In the way that Kimihito had expected.
"Okay, everyone I would like to do the introductions then." Kimihito said as he drew in a big breath and slowly let it out. "Everyone, this is my mother."
For a moment the room was completely silent, then nearly everyone exploded with the exact same reaction, screams of surprise. Kimihito couldn't even make out everyone's words because they were said so simultaneously, but didn't bother trying to do anything, knowing his mother; she was enjoying this and would want to truly introduce herself at her own pace, contrary to what everyone else wanted.
"Now now, there's no need to yell when I haven't even said anything yet!" Ai said with a smile, causing those who had yelled to calm down and allowed Rachnera, who had been quiet to speak.
"So, you are Honey's mother then?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a name?" Rachnerea asked. Causing Ai's smile to lessen slightly, though no one but Kimihito probably noticed.
"Yes, so allow me to introduce myself then. My name is Ai Kurusu, Kimihiro's mother. I know I haven't been around the house because of work, but I hope you all have learned much while staying here as exchange students, and I hope to get to know you all bit by bit!"
None of them knew how to react to Kimihito's mother's introduction. Even Rachnera who had prompted her, and Cerea who seemed like she'd be the most inclined to start such a conversation seemed unable to speak up. Finally Miia did, bring up something that Kimihito expected eventually, but not so soon.
" Um, you're darling's mother but um . . .are you actually human?" Everyone but Ai and Kimihito looked at Miia in shock and surprise that she'd even suggest that, but when she noticed everyone gazes she went on the defensive. "Ah, she looks human, but she like, mind controlled that officer that almost busted us earlier, remember Centorea!?"
"I remember, and it does interest me, but you cannot just ask someone if they are human! It's not correct and canto be a-"
"I'm not." Ai suddenly interrupted with a bright smile that caught everyone off guard.
"Then, is Honey actually-" Rachnera began to say, leaving her sentence hanging out in the open.
"No my Hito is perfectly human." Ai said with a smile as he gaze landed on Cerea. "You are the daughter of a centaur and human, yes?"
"Ah, yes but how did you-"
"When Liminals and Humans have kids together, the child is the same species as their same sex parent due to how Liminal Genetic material binds together with Human genetic material. If you had been born a man, you would have been human, and if Hito had been born a girl, he would have been a liminal!"
"Wow, you know a lot!" Mero exclaimed with a smile. "I've never heard about that!"
"It's not a commonly known fact, and won't be made commonly known until certain laws are passed probably. I only know because of my job." Ai said with a smile.
"Then, what exactly is your job?" Rachnera asked with a clever grin. "after all this time you suddenly appear, and Honey never said anything about you, so, was it something illegal perhaps?"
"Not really, though it would be if I brought any of my work home. I'm a Biologist, my speciality is biology related to blood, both human and liminal, and how they can mix or not mix. I've also done research on how human and liminal Genetics mix, and is currently on the team researching LTS. But that can't leave this room.
"Oh my, no wonder we never heard about you, it sounds like you are quiet busy." Mero exclaimed with a clap of her hands.
"That's basically it; I'm not home often because my work keeps me away for long periods. but I've been over working so I was sent home on a forced Vacation." Ai said with a smile as she decided to change the subject and glanced over to Kimihito. "So, I hear Kuroko wants one of you to marry Hito yes?"
Miia, Cerea, Papi, and even Suu all voiced their replies at once making it nearly impossible to discern what they said. Ai seemed to not care though and laughed as she looked to Rachnera and Mero, seeing their gazes toward Hito and smiled even more. "It seems like they all have their eyes on you Hito!"
Kimihito seemed to slink slight lower at his mother's words, the girls now arguing with themselves. "Please don't remind me, I'm not physically even close to ready."
"I suppose so; you've had it pretty tough with LTS after all.
"Y-you now about that?"
"Of course I do, I'm the one doing tests on people blood to see how it effects them." Ai said with a smile that quickly turned strange. "I can check if you still have it if you like?"
"But I'm human again, and Mrs. Smith never said anything about-."
"You might still have it though. we've found with the mutant strain that people will sometimes return to normal for a day or two before it becomes effective again. It's probably to normalize the infected brainwaves, but we're not entirely sure at the moment. I can check for you if you like though?"
"This check, it's what I think it is, isn't it?" Kimihito deadpanned with a sigh.
"Maaaaayybe," Ai said with a smile as she averted her gaze from Kimihito.
"Ugh, fine then." Kimihito said with another sigh as he raised his arm.
The girls however did not notice this, too enthralled by their own arguments, until Rachnera spoke up an covered her face as she spoke, " Oh my, I didn't expect that of all things."
"What?" Questioned Miia as she looked to Rachnera, and then followed her gaze to Kimihito and Ai, finding Ai appearing to be biting down on Kimihito's upper arm. " What the heck!?"
Hearing Miia's exclamation, and opening her eyes to see everyone staring at her in horror, Ai let go of Kimihito's arm and pulled her head back. with a quick lick of her teeth she pulled out a tiny cotton swab and pressed it onto Kimihito's arm, allowing him to take it and hold I there as she spoke. "Is something wrong?"
"You're biting master." Cerea said in shock, surprise, and sigust, clearly unsettled by it.
"What's wrong with it, it's only a little blood." Ai said with a smile that caused everyone but Rachnera to shrink away a bit as Ai turned to Kimihito. "Your blood tasted a bit thin on iron, have you been eating your vegetables Hito?"
"I was a Lamia for about a weak, I couldn't really."
"Ah, that makes sense; but you need to get your blood iron back up or it'll affect your health. Do we have any greens in the house, broccoli maybe?"
"Um, yes."
"Good we'll have that with dinner to get your blood iron back up." Ai said with a smile as he tongue lashed out and licked a tiny amount of bright red blood off the edge of her mouth with a smile. "Oh and you still have LTS, it's just dormant at the moment."
"Oh great." Muttered Kimihito as everyone looked on in shock and surprise.
"How do you know that?" Mero asked.
It wasn't Ai that answered the question however, but Lala, who had been quiet thus far.
"The nightwalker, drinker of blood, assassin of the night, tyrant of European lore and darkness." Lala said, causing everyone to look at her in confusion.
Rachnera however already knew what Lala was talking about. "You're a vampire."
"Yes, I was wondering when someone would realize it." Ai said with a snicker.
" What! Does that mean you brainwashed that officer into a slave to drink him dry later!" Miia exclaimed in horror, causing everyone but Lala and Rachnera to back up slightly, and causing Ai to break into laughter.
"Ha, of course not! It was just a minor hypnotism. It harmlessly wears off in a matter of minutes."
"B-but you're a vampire, so don't you drink peoples blood and turn them into ghouls?!" Miia sputtered.
"Some stories say that Lamia will catch humans and swallow them whole." Ai said with a grin. "And that mermaids will use songs to drag people to the depths to eat them. Are such stories true?"
"Oh dear me, of course not!" Mero exclaimed, sounding almost angry at the suggestion.
"Exactly. Stories say a lot of things, but the truth if often very different from them, yes?" Ai asked with a giggle. "Vampires do drink blood, but we can drink it to supplement our intake, when other food becomes scarce. I'm not dependant on it though once in a while it isn't bad."
"B-but you hypnotized that officer!" Miia exclaimed, apparently not entirely hearing what Ai was explaining.
"Yes, vampires can use simply hypnosis, but it does not last long and can only be used for simple orders. It cannot break a person's ideals either. In the past it was simply used to make people forget that they were fed on. But it doesn't see much use now."
" I'd think it would get much use if you could hypnotize an officer like that." Cerea stated grimly, making it sound like crime would be easier to commit, and sounding none too happy about it.
"True, but I caught him by surprise under normal situation most officers would not be so easily hypnotized. And all i told him to do was leave you to me, so his mind likely automatically thought I was your homestay, which I am!" Ai explained, adding a hint of a smile to her last words, something that everyone including Miia realized. she was Kimihito's mother, so she was in a way as much their host as Kimihito was.
"Ah, right. . . . Um, sorry." Miia nearly whispered as she shrunk down almost to the floor with embarrassment, realizing that she was just harassing her darlings own mother.
"It's no problem." Ai said with a shrug.
"But, how do you know that boss still has LST!" Papi asked in her usual tone.
"That's LTS actually. And I knew from the taste of his blood, it still tastes slightly, off for a humans." Ai explained as she suddenly looked at the clock on the wall. "Well since we've been talking for so long, why don't we get dinner started?"
Kimihito looked at his mother for a moment before he realized that she meant both of them and nodded. This was quickly followed by almost everyone following the two of them into the kitchen wanting to help, leaving only Rachnera and Lala in the living room.
After a few moments Rachnera yawned and walked off without saying a word, leaving Lala completely alone in the living room, the distant kitchen quickly sounding like a battlefield of clashing personalities.
"Strange . . . . . . His mother be a liminal and he be not, but perhaps that is how he survives despite the events that circulate around him. But, what is this strange feeling I. . . . . . Perhaps I be imagining these things or-"
"Oh Lala dinner is ready!" Papi exclaimed as she bounded into the room, causing Lala to suddenly stiffen up in surprise, causing Papi to look at her in confusion. "Something wrong?"
"N-Nay, I merely feel the confluence of life and death as usual, and the sudden intensity of ye soul staggered mine consciousness."
"Okay!" Papi exclaimed just as energetically as she ran out of the living room again.
Lala let out a sigh and began walking toward the kitchen. Whatever the strange feeling she was having it was probably nothing. Besides, it would be more interesting seeing how everyone acted around Kimihito with his mother around, than worrying about nothing.
Authors note: Yahoo, iv had monster hunter for maybe a week and I'm already on rank 4 quests! And I even found time to write between grinding Nargacuga's and Najarala's!
So yeah, that's Ai's species and my argument for it. It seems understandable, especially since it was revealed that Cerea's father was indeed a human. Also, it's hard doing Lala's speech when not doing it in chuni speak because she's supposed to have an older kind of Irish feel to it. Dam that's hard to write, and there barely was any! (I wonder if I'll be fine doing her speech in the future (Lala for best girl!))
So, I hope you all liked the chapter, and don't worry, Ai sticking around will only make things more hectic for Kimihito, and everyone else, mwuahahaha!
PS . unrelated, but I have a poll on my profile page assign people what sort of fics they'd be interested In me doing In the far future, so if you want, could you cast some votes maybe?