Do you know what it's like to meet another and mistake them for someone they used to cherish.
—Only to discover that it is not really them?
You might know what that is like, and you may forgive them for the minor mistake, because it's simply an honest blunder. Yet, while most do not agonize over this, I am certain that this is my fate. I know it is my responsibility, because I can see it in his glazed, tired eyes.
For his sake... he needs me.
"I'll be in this meeting today for around 80 minutes. Take care of Kakarotto while I'm gone, alright?"
"Understood dad." Replied the eldest son. Cheisu, being on break from his duties for the week, had no intention of heading out and look for trouble. All he wanted was to rest and spend his time how he wanted, even though looking after the younger sibling was a bit of a buzzkill. Then again, Kakarotto wasn't an annoyance like all the other kids were at that age.
Kakarotto wasn't his brother; no. Rather, the child was indeed his secretive sister whom their father had raised to embrace the tendencies of the male gender. All so that she wouldn't be at a disadvantage by perceived weakness of attitudes and proper responsibilities based on arbitrary societal rules.
Indeed, she was his sister, whereas the real brother who had been named Kakarotto was long since deceased. No one knew about that fact, other than close family and friends—and even then, they kept secrets from their children to protect the fact. For all they knew, Kakarotto was still alive, though how the secret would remain intact until adulthood would be a mystery.
"Cheis?"
Her trembling tone of insecurity brought his heart to pound in anticipation of coddling her; she was too damn cute to let be, especially as he found her warm eyes aesthetically popular. He wasn't sure if it was simply because of her looks, but he was also certain that it wasn't at all from the fact she had an appearance similar to their father—as Baddack had informed them that Kakarotto originally appeared like a carbon copy of himself. It must have been because of their mother, though the most Cheisu remembered of her was how she seemed like a maiden. Not just any, but specifically The Maid of Orleans, as Cheisu had perceived it. 'I think I understand how art critics feel about art and beauty.'
He shook away the perverse thoughts, finding them indecent as he was comparing his sister's grey eyes with their mother's amber ones. They just simply could not compete. Both had their own perks, but to compare them would be SCURRILOUS!
"I'm hungry. Could you cook me something?"
There was no option of heading home for Cheisu. The reason for them coming to the convention was because Sedrick Rutabaski requested to see his sister; something to do with her health progress that he had relatively no clue about, but certainly did understand that it was dire. He knew it was no joke; Baddack Valogna—their father—had been heading to hospitals for his personal reasons, but it was all for the family. If there was anything important about it, then it would most likely relate to evaluating what countermeasures they would need to take in order to continue disguising the girl. Either that, or...
"Also, could you teach me some of your fighting techniques later? Pressure striking is really cool."
It was only for a few moments that passed that Cheisu explained that he was required to check in with BALM as part of his duties, that he did not recognize the two youngsters entering the dining hall.
His sister had no idea how to handle the situation, since she was never told to expect it, but it was certainly a formula for disaster in her mind. He had told her many times before that Taritsu was a frightening person to be around with; he really was.
As a rambunctious child who made calculated decisions to handle uncaring and ruthless competing judgmental fools, anyway.
Nothing like how he was behaving just recently, conversing with Vejita Pioneeri about video games and what not.
"Wait—we've met before, correct? Ah yes; unmanageable mane of hair, in a style reminiscent of Professor Valogna. You're uncle Baddack's son, Kakarotto; why it's been so long. How have you been Kakarotto? How's auntie Maggie doing?"
Maybe she didn't have to worry so much about him with how things turned out, but Cheisu—knowing that she did not know how to answer—couldn't let things pass by with such potential risks. He had to step in for the sake of his sister.
"Oi, Taritsu. Vejita. Long time no see."
Harrumphing as his manner of greeting, Vejita merely acknowledged the young adult as he was not one to be goody-goody. In all honesty, he never really liked what he was doing, seeing as his father was forcing him to look after the kid; the only reason he was tolerating things at the moment was because he wasn't ranting on about science as he usually did. The kid was weird, but at least he had a few interesting tidbits—such as information Vejita was curious about. Particularly zombie first-person shooters and a game which Vejita had trouble managing with.
"Do you mind if I speak with you for a bit? It's really important."
It was only for a few moments that her brother was going to speak with Taritsu, but in those few moments Vejita seemed rather intrigued by the girl. Enough to inquire whether she played any games.
"Sorry about earlier, Kakarotto. I'll speak to you about King's Field Vejita; it's not really that hard, but then again the game's mostly single player." Taritsu stated as he returned after being informed by Cheisu of the sensitive topics he needed to know as Cheisu revealed he was needed by their parents. To think that his aunt died in labor; he would have asked about their little sister, but Cheisu made it seem as if Marguerite had issues on that that lead to both members of the family dying. "So... mind hanging out?"
Sneaking out of the designated area wasn't recommended for the children, but as Charlotte was roped into it, she had no other choice but to follow him. For as long as her father had spoken to her of the matters of dealing with boys, she understood she needed to prove herself while maintaining her dignity. She had expected Taritsu to do something brash all the while they both went off on their own, but there simply was no desire for that with him.
No, instead, Taritsu had been more curious of checking out the rare flowers out in the garden than doing whatever seven year old boys his age did.
He was definitely weird to the standards Charlotte knew off.
'Shouldn't he be playing some kind of game?'
"You know, I'm really not sure what you'd like to do. It's been about five years since we met last time, and I'm not entirely sure what you like."
"I'm not sure about you either; I mean, you don't seem like the kind to like flowers just because they look refreshing...riiight?"
Her efforts were not in vain, for it constituted the boy to chuckle at her guess. Pleased with her luck, she decided to expand the conversation from there, but was beaten by the boy as he explained his preferences.
"From what I know, flowers are picked for their beauty, and are usually uprooted in the prime of their aesthetics. They usually begin dying at that moment, and like everything we know, things usually start decaying to its end from then on. A poet once stated that people are like flowers; their souls are akin to its beauty, but in reality the best way to see how beautiful they are is by evaluating the garden which is their minds. A person could plant anything in their garden, they have the freedom to do so—be it that they choose to plant a field of flowers, or a field of weeds. However, such thinking is not entirely true... nor false. The honest truth, Kakarotto, is that people can complain because roses have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses. Whichever one chooses is true in its own merit, but to appreciate the choice—they'd have to comprehend that the full value exists when both remain together."
He had meant all of what he said, having determined what he wanted to do, and what he needed to do to achieve his goals. From what his parents taught him, Taritsu had been born into their families with high expectations in terms of responsibilities. None of the means traditionally used to do that appealed to him, but there was a definite way to complete his duties; his pursuits for science and truth was a means to it, and he'd embrace the path it would take him.
He had already eased from his perpetual anger-driven decisions, and yielded more patience than before. He even became aware of how to situate himself if there ever was a need to interact with lesser children his age. Besides, their means of having fun was not one which he particularly enjoyed... especially since it abused social contracts at the expense of others for sits and giggles.
Just as some boys were aiming to do right now.
"You done reciting your poem, sissy?"
The group that supported his thoughts laughed as they considered him too little in terms of masculinity; his appearance seemed as an amalgamation of his parents, but it was really due to his grandfathers who yielded a complimentary appearance to one another—mainly since back then society was less critical on male hair length. Either that, or they had public knowledge of them being untouchable. Unless they wanted something to regret.
"Nah, that crap doesn't matter to his type. They simply ignore insults towards their thinking man. What we really should do is shun him from having friends."
"Yeah, I think you're up to something. Hey you," the boy turned and confronted Charlotte. Having a good look at her up close, he could see the sparkles in her eyes and determined that perhaps "he" was attracted to Taritsu for his effeminate looks. "Why don't you hang out with us instead of this pretty loser. If you really want to idolize someone, idolize my divine-like body. Hell, I'll even let you suck my co~!"
His sentence was cut short as Taritsu could not tolerate the thirteen year old's perverted rambling.
In moments, Charlotte could see for her own eyes why her brother had spoken of Taritsu as a ruthless person. By speaking to her in such manners, he went berserk and pummeled the five older boys with his fists, anger overtaking his reasoning and showing almost no mercy until his eyes caught a glimpse of her horrified expression after Vejita kicked him off of their unfortunate, nonconscious forms.
Regretting his actions, he cast his look down and apologized to Vejita as he took their knocked out bodies away.
"It's okay. They asked for it; they should have known better."
Turning around the corner as he had been in a hurry to search for the two children, Cheisu caught his eye on his sister and Taritsu. He would be responsible for the beating. However, while he detested the consequences, his sister drove away her scarred state in an effort to comprehend what a stranger watching from the distance planned.
She figured out that it was a vital moment.
That was the moment she made a decision crucial for their futures.
