A/N: Honey…I'm home. I missed you guys. I really did. NaNo went well in case you were wondering. I had the 50K goal in a week and a half. I finished with almost 175K. The rough cut is going up on Tumblr probably today. Hopefully today. Fingers crossed. I thought I'd edit it just a little bit. Regardless of all that, I'm actually quite surprised with all the follows this has gotten since I've been gone. Welcome, new people and I'll see you guys at the end, ok?
"Are you sure you want to do this, Angel?" Noiz worried, throwing me my cardigan off the kitchen chair.
"Noiz," I rolled my eyes, "It's just tea with Tae-san. You act like I'm going to meet up with my assassin. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I'm going to hang out with Trip and Virus."
"I'm just a little worried," he admitted, "Tae-san is a force of nature. She's terrifying."
"She's not that bad," I grabbed my bag.
"She once tore a man's arm off with her teeth."
"No, she didn't."
"She once ate a box of staples just to prove she could."
"No, she didn't," I kissed Noiz's cheek, "I love you."
"She's punched a baby."
"I'll be back in an hour or two," I shut the door behind me and headed off to Aoba's grandmother's house. I had only met Tae-san once. She didn't seem like she'd kill me with her bare hands. I'm sure I'd come out of it alive. Besides, it was just Tae-san and me having tea. How bad could it really be?
I knocked on her front door and heard her shuffling toward it, "Hello, Angel."
"Hi, Tae-san," I bowed, "Good morning."
"Please come in," she invited, "I just boiled the kettle. Oolong good for you?"
"That's fine with me," I sat at her table. In all honesty, I was a little nervous to be here alone. When I got the call from her last week, I thought it was an invitation for the both of us, but Tae-san told me to leave Noiz behind.
"I've actually heard quite a bit about you," she sat with me with a pair of teacups and the teapot in her hand.
"Have you?" I tried to keep my shakes under control.
"Not just from Aoba," Tae-san started pouring, "From everyone. Aoba. Koujaku. Clear. When Mink occasionally stops by, he won't ever shut up about you. You've been such a positive influence on all of them. I had to see it for myself."
"Yeah," I grumbled under my breath, "It's all a part of my power."
"Power?" she wondered, "What kind of power?"
"I'm a walking antidepressant," I told, "Only I have some of the most wicked side effects. Once I leave, I drive people to near suicidal levels."
"So, you were an experiment, too?" Tae-san looked me over.
"Yeah," I nodded, "My dad was a biochemical engineer before he retired. Come to find out his lab was a Toue owned subsidiary. He basically made me in a laboratory."
"Same way as Aoba and Sei," a look of sadness washed over her.
"Sei?" I wondered, "Who's Sei?"
"Aoba had a twin," Tae-san sighed out, "They both have powers of manipulation; Aoba with his voice and Sei with his eyes. However, we lost Sei when Platinum Jail fell."
"My condolences," my heart ached.
"Look, Angel," Tae-san got up and dug around in a cabinet full of small, orange bottles, "I can give you a certain kind of medication. I developed it myself. It should suppress your power. For the safety of others. Would you like some?"
"Please?" I sang, "Just in case it comes back?"
"Here," she put a pill bottle on the table, "This should help. And if customs ask, it'll come up as a medication for bipolar disorder. You should be ok."
"Thank you, Tae-san," I slipped the bottle in my bag.
"You're welcome."
"Can I ask you something, though?" I took a sip from my teacup, "Why are you doing this for me?"
"Because," Tae-san took my hand, "You don't deserve this. You didn't ask for this. You're a very special girl doing the best you can with the hand you were dealt. I admire that about you. And besides, if you can manage someone like Noiz by yourself and you haven't punched him yet, you've already won half the battle. You're very special to the others, too. There has to be a reason."
"What do they say about me?" my curiosity was killing me.
"Clear comes by once in a while," she began, sitting back down, "He rarely wears his gas mask anymore. And that's because of you. Every time he takes it off, he says he hears you in the back of his mind, saying how he has a face and how it's an adorable face. Koujaku tells me you were the first woman he's ever met that never treated him like a piece of meat and treated him like a human being. Someone that appreciated him for his mind over his pretty face. Mink…Mink gushes over you. He really does think of you like a little sister. In that respect, you're the last of his family. And Aoba…He told me he couldn't pick anyone better for Noiz. I've never seen Noiz so happy. I didn't know that boy was capable of cracking a smile until you. I love Aoba. Don't get me wrong. But I have to agree with him. Noiz wasn't his one. You're Noiz's one. Whether or not he sees that yet is in his hands, but I'm sure he will one day."
"Speaking of Noiz," I wiped the tear out of my eye, "I should probably be going. I left him to pack by himself. With all of his electronics, he could probably use some help."
"Don't stay gone," Tae-san threw her arms around me.
"We won't," I hoped. Maybe one day, we will be able to come back to Midorijima and everything will be fine, but until Trip and Virus are gone, we will be, too.
I got back home and noticed Noiz wasn't the only one home. Clear was here, too! Although, when I walked in, Clear was tangled up in wires. And Noiz looked like he was ready to kill a man. This is why I should never leave them two home by themselves. I come back and this is the kind of shenanigans I have to walk in on.
"Um, Noiz?" I approached him slowly, "What happened here?"
"Clear's a complete moron."
"Waahhhh!" Clear whined, "You're so mean, Noiz! I was only trying to help!"
"I told you to wrap up the HDMI cables," Noiz cradled his face in his hands, "How in the hell did you get so tangled?"
"I wasn't trying to!" Clear squeaked, "I started wrapping them up and they got away from me."
I swear…A mother's work is never done.
A/N: Sorry it was such a short chapter. I'm still trying to get back in the swing of things. I haven't touched the fan fiction in a month. Give me a little time. I promise next week will be a longer chapter. But it was so good seeing you guys again. And I'll see you next chapter. xx
