Apparently Satsuki liked to eat in seclusion.
We passed an extravagant dining room that was too gaudy for one child and her mother alone. I assumed it must have been for the servants, which was odd, considering what Ryuko told me about wealthy people. Servants weren't supposed to get lavish materials. Yet I could already see a few getting ready to sit down at the table decked with the course of the night. They summarily bowed upon the arrival of Satsuki, staying still where they stood, waiting on orders. They did not comment on her new attire.
She brushed off their gesture, continuing forward and into a second room that was lined with books. A set of doors sat at the back of the room, outlined by white borders that stuck out against the general steel grey of the room. We headed that way and Satsuki pushed open the doors.
It was a rather simple room. I wasn't sure what purpose this room served aside from perhaps a guest room due to the bed and dresser, but when Satsuki perched herself on the edge of the bed, I realised this was her room.
I was surprised by her lack of personal items in the room. Even Mako's household had something—stuffed animals, drawings—something to identify with. To see it so stock bare…
She was sitting here, staring down at her hands. I took this time to scan the room. Her Bakuzan rested, sheathed, above her bed. Above it was a symbol similar to the design of a Kiryuin. Her bed was covered with a tan duvet, and pillows with navy blue sleeves rested at the head of the bed. A stand was on either side of the bed, and the one on the left had an empty platter and a picture frame placed on it; I couldn't see the one on the right because I was facing away from it, but I did see something on it when we'd walked into the room. There was a painting of stylised katakana hanging on the wall left of my position, and two tall vases containing a foreign plant flanking the sides of the painting.
My observations were cut short when a knock was heard on the door, and it creaked open with a servant carrying a tray. She walked swiftly and silently over to Satsuki's position, bowing respectfully once she came to a stop. "Lady Satsuki," she addressed, presenting the tray to Satuski. Satsuki took it, setting it on her lap, and nodded at the servant girl. And with that, she was gone.
The tray was warm on me, heated by the food on the plate. I couldn't tell what it was, considering that all Ryuko ever ate was the mashup of foods cooked by Mrs. Mankanshoku, but the closest thing I could relate it to would be fish. A cup of tea sat at the far right of the platter, steaming and ready to be sipped.
So she ate. Albeit slowly. It gave me time to think about my options at this point. I now knew that I couldn't force her to stop. The new Banshi wired into me hasn't shown any other ways to hinder me, not yet. I wondered if I could still move freely when not being worn. I assume it's possible, considering I can still squeeze Satsuki.
I could always just squeeze at random intervals to distract her, but if they take that away, I'd be no different from any regular clothing.
With how many servants were in the area, it would be impossible to escape without being noticed some time down the road of trying to run.
And what about when I have to face Ryuko? How will she react when she sees me working for the enemy? It's not my choice, but I still feel ashamed for having to serve them with no way to retaliate.
So I'm basically stuck here until the Kiryuins see no more use of me?
Satsuki finished, wiping her mouth with the handkerchief left on the left side of the tray. In a way, I appreciated that she did not eat with others. I didn't know if Ragyo or even Nui accompanied her during a meal, but if they did, it would be painfully awkward to endure whatever they would bring upon Satsuki, especially Ragyo. I didn't like how she interacted with Satsuki. Not because Satsuki was wearing me or anything like that, but because Ragyo was getting close to the border of a genetic taboo.
She sat the tray beside her and ran her hands through her hair, brushing back her bangs and sighing. To see a side of Satsuki so unrestricted as on the battlefield, nude and naïve without fear of observation, was interesting. It's easy to forget how many duties were put into her hands as the president of a Student Council, but the stress of it certainly showed in her body's condition.
But alas, it didn't last forever. She noticed my staring and her lips pressed into a frown, the shadow cast from the window behind her exaggerating her displeasure with sharp jagged edges. She moved to take me off, bundling up her hair so it wouldn't get caught in the process. With me removed, I was held out before her. The frown was still there, but it had softened after she stared at me for a few minutes. She was looking at the wall Junketsu was on and then back at me, and then to her closet and dresser. She seemed contemplative.
Over her shoulder I could see Junketsu nailed to the wall parallel to her bed, and close to the window. The placement was interesting; it prevented Junketsu from seeing Satsuki while she slept, but still gave him an otherwise wide area to view. I didn't have much knowledge of Junketsu other than his power in combat, but being nailed to the wall seemed a bit excessive. The Kamui was in stasis, though.
Was he aggressive like me? Is that what forced him to be nailed to the wall like I was?
Satsuki stood, and my attention focused back on her. She was moving toward the closet, to hang me there, I assumed. Instead, she grabbed a robe and wrapped it around her naked body. She walked over to the entrance to her room and knocked once. A few seconds later the door cracked open to reveal yet another servant girl, this one shorter than most of the ones I'd seen working here. "Yes, Lady Satsuki?" she said in a smooth but quiet voice.
"Wash this for me." She held me out on her arm, and the girl took me. I blinked. This girl had a really strong grip for someone of her stature.
"Would you like it brought back to you when it's done?"
"On the door handle will do."
She bowed, and closed the door in front of us. That was the last I saw of Satsuki for the night.
.o
I was moved into several pairs of hands throughout the next hour. There was a lot of talk in the laundry room, men and women alike hand-washing expensive clothing and towels. Some hands inspected my skin, trying to figure out what would be the best way to wash my fabric.
My round around the wash racks ended with a tall female who handled me briefly before setting me aside to work on the load that she was currently assigned to. She talked to the man who handed me to her in a language I didn't understand, but I did recognise 'Kamui' mentioned once or twice. She made some gestures with one hand, the other placing a dark blue robe into the washing tub. All of the clothes that I sat next to were darker in colour, most of them monochrome or dark shades of blue and brown.
The pile slowly filed down, tub by tub, as she kneaded away any dirt or other imperfections. The last load was currently sitting aside in a separate tub to soak in fabric softener. I was her last piece of clothing to wash for the night.
She picked me up, and paused when she felt my skin. She held me up close to her eyes, scrutinising the texture of my fabric with intrigue. She muttered something in that language I didn't understand, rubbing her fingers over the threads. I could feel how wrinkled her skin became from prolonged exposure to the water, and it felt very odd indeed. She flipped me over, doing a general scan of my body, before pushing me into the newest tub of water.
The coldness of the water shocked my systems, keeping me still for a few moments. The woman must have felt the goosebumps rising on my skin, because she paused once again. Normally the cold didn't bother me, but I'd been sitting near a vent that released steam at the time, which had warmed me up considerably. The sudden change of temperature wasn't welcolmed.
I was shivering, and I heard her whisper 'Kamui' again, and then pulling me out of the tub. I was cold and sopping wet, and she waved over someone out of my view. Her language was spoken again, and after a few exchanges and pointing at me and 'Kamui', the tub she was working with was dragged away. She looked at me and mumbled a word, looking at me in my eye. It was odd being recognised as a living Kamui by someone other than Ryuko. Most people saw my eye as mere decoration, ignorant even to it moving around.
I heard another tub thud in front of the girl, and I was sunk into water again. The feeling of warm waters was so soothing after that, but I was still rigid for a few moments. She began to lather me into the sudsy water, and a minute later I was limp in her hold.
The detergent used in the water was creeping into my seams, her hands helping to lather it into my body. It relaxed my fibers, smoothing down the goosebumps and softening my body's material. Her fingers were skilled in kneading away the dirt without scrubbing me furiously, as Mrs. Mankanshoku would. I would even say that her technique was better than Ryuko's.
It went on like this for some time before she finished and placed me in the bin next to the one in front of her. It was clear water unlike the one I was just in, and was just as warm as it. The woman grabbed a bottle from the side and poured some type of contents into the water. I read the label as fabric softener. The fabric softener was working wonders on me. My body felt airy and light despite being consumed by water. I groaned, closing my eye, and letting myself sink all the way into the water.
I was left to dry hanging above that same vent that I'd been placed near, the air blasting from underneath me and causing my skirt to expand outward. The moisture was evaporating and leaving me with a warm, tingly feeling.
And then I was hanging on Satsuki's door. The same girl who took me away brought me back, and knocked once on the door before departing. There was little motion out here, with the occasional servant passing past my view. Satsuki never responded, so I assumed she was asleep.
I should be asleep too. I don't want to waste my energy; I don't know when or even if I'll ever get a chance to take in more blood. I went into stasis.
.o
I didn't come out of stasis until Satsuki poured blood onto me. When I woke up, we were on one of Honnouji Academy's battle grounds. I woke with a start, fueled by more of that sweet blood.
"Prepare to transform," was my only warning before she pulled the trigger on the Seki Tekko and blood tapped into my system.
"Life Fiber Synchronise, Kamui Senketsu!" A flood of her thoughts swarmed my mind as we began. It always began with a transfer of thoughts after the first prick of blood. It connected the mind and body with one another for faster reaction times, smoother movement, and fair amount of energy consumption by doing said actions. It also allowed for me to warn my wearer of things that they could not see or were too slow to react with the normal human senses they were gifted with.
I heard her thinking of the transformation, and heard more than saw her reaction to it when it occurred. There was amazement, presumably because my transformation process was not as aggressive and forced as Junketsu's. She did not need to force me to override, and that's partially my fault, but being forced to transform would be more painful than not, if my experience with Matoi had any factor.
Waking up and immediately transforming is not great way to start the day. While blood is nice, it would have been better to have my mind in the right place to transform instead of catching me off guard. It hindered the transformation by a few seconds, causing me to lurch as I struggled to move things in their proper position. Straps snapped into place, body molding to Satsuki's flesh as though it were her own, blood surging through my systems. Her blood tasted different from the one that she had poured on me to wake me up. It was tangy, vibrant, and syrupy, not like the blood before, which was dark and thick.
I let out a bit of steam from the back vent when the transformation was complete, and felt her shut off her mind as soon as it did. The rush of euphoria died down with her thoughts, and it was time to concentrate again.
I thought I'd have time to think about what I could do to prevent her from making it easy to fight Ryuko, but gun turrets suddenly shot up and pointed at us in all directions, live artillery firing at us immediately. Didn't expect training to start so quickly.
Her movements were much more controlled than Ryuko's. We weren't jumping all over the place trying to dodge bullets and attacks from enemies. Rather, we simply moved out of the way. Satsuki wasn't expending more energy than she needed to, which was useful for keeping the amount of blood consumed relatively low. However, I sucked in a bit more blood than normal during the trial runs, because Satsuki's power was much more controlled, precise, than Ryuko's.
She tested my durability, flexibility, and strength when attacking the turrets. It was flawless, Bakuzan slicing through and destroying the turrets one by one.
We went through a few different maneuvers afterwards, establishing my strengths and weaknesses in a relatively short time. Satsuki now knew where to balance her stance when running, she found out how much pressure could be put on me before steam needed to be released. She located the weak areas from where I'd been cut in previous battles with Ryuko, the areas that weren't stitched up as good and had a greater chance of injury. She even figured out what her stopping point would be with me should she start running low on blood. I felt horrible for aiding her in Ryuko's downfall by letting her study how I worked.
There was still enough blood to spare by the time she wrapped up the session. I was still humming with energy; I could probably go another five rounds before I'd overexert myself, but she seemed content to end it right now.
Metal surrounded us, debris and circuitry an accessory to the sheer amount of it. The only sign that Satsuki had even been hit was a stray dot of blood marking where one of the turrets used to be.
Seemingly satisfied with her results, she cancelled the synchronisation, and I returned to my natural form, feeling the last bit of flowing blood come to a stop and left with just blood reserves.
And that was it for the day. Satsuki was constantly overseeing paperwork when she wasn't drinking tea, training, or anything else that Ryuko and I speculated she might do. I didn't pay much attention to the paperwork after I saw that most of it related to club registration, building management, and housing fines, among other things. My mind wandered to ways I could get back at them for stealing me, once again. Running through any possible scenarios that may give me a chance at escape, as well as what I could do to possibly make their lives more of a hassle. I didn't really worry about punishment because I am a Kamui. I can handle pain. Whatever torture Ragyo has in store, I can take it. She won't break me.
My interest was drawn back to Satsuki when she withdrew a slip from one of the desk's drawers. The envelope had bold red letters marked on it. She opened it, but intentionally kept it out of my view. Normally she would just lay the letter down on the desk and read it from there, but she even made sure I couldn't see what was written through the paper, by putting another sheet of paper beneath that one.
I felt a familiar trickle of annoyance seeping back into me, the one I felt with Ryuko multiple times throughout the past few weeks, and it urged me to tighten on her to let her know of my displeasure. But she snapped the paper back into the envelope and shoved it into the desk. Her body was getting warmer, and curious, I tried to peek in into her mind to see what she was thinking. The barriers were still holding firm, and upon feeling my tentative prodding in her mind, she glared down at me and told me to stop.
What nerve she had. I pinched at her skin as she stood up and moved out of the office-like area and into her own room, making sure that she was uncomfortable every step of the way, even if she didn't show it. I could feel her cringing as I bit into sensitive areas, hard enough to draw blood. Once there, she immediately proceeded to pull me off and onto the ground.
We stared at each other for a few moments, both unwilling to drop our gaze. After the initial tension, however, I looked away, at Junketsu in stasis on the wall. I wonder if he'll be used again. I don't like the idea of me becoming his replacement, especially since I'm considered the enemy. I would do everything in my power to keep that from becoming a reality.
Satsuki dumped herself onto her bed, not even bothering to dress into at least a robe. She wrapped a layer of blankets around her, the moonlight from her window casting an eerie glow on her form once she settled in facing in my direction. Her eyes stared at me from under a curtain of black hair, watching to see if I would do anything that may be considered threatening. I suspected that Satsuki more often than not had Junketsu stuck on the wall when he wasn't in use, because this level of distrust between her and I was palpable. She didn't trust Kamui, despite everything she'd said to Ryuko in battle that made us believe it so.
I remained where I was on the ground, not bothering to move into a more comfortable position with her observing me the way she was. I wasn't keeping track of the time, but it seemed like hours before she finally managed to close her eyes.
And I waited more. I could hear her heartbeat even from where I was, it beginning to slow. It was so quiet in here, any tension left in me melting away when I recognised her sleeping.
Without the troubles of her life bearing down on her shoulders, her face wasn't scrunched up in a serious expression. It was much like Ryuko when she slept; the stress fades away to leave behind a tranquil, pleasing face. It would smooth out the contours of the face, revealing unblemished surfaces, and a beauty that was held in during a battle.
I watched for a while before determining this was detrimental to saving blood, so I shuffled quietly over to where Junketsu was nailed to. It was illogical, irrational, to find comfort in a Kamui that had been out for your blood and death, having been worn by the enemy, but it was a Kamui nonetheless. Any kin would have been a sort of sanctuary in a place where you were seen as dangerous from all perspectives. I considered Junketsu dangerous, but he was in stasis, and he wouldn't be able to hurt me.
I leaned against the wall beneath him, giving the back of Satsuki's head a glance before staring at the floor in front of me.
And I fell into recharge with thoughts of Ryuko lingering in my mind.
.o
A/N: I deliberated on whether to have Senketsu transform with override or synchronise. However, Synchronise seems more understandable because 1.) Maiko was able to synch up with Senketsu (even though his positioning was totally backwards) despite having no former relationship or experience with him and 2.) Senketsu isn't the type of Kamui to need to be forced so brutally like Junketsu into transforming. He's unwilling, but he's not an asshole like Junketsu probably is (then again, Junketsu don't have no one to love him so he has to be a hard ass to hide his feels).
And no, Senketsu WON'T LOSE HIS WAYYYYY. He'll find a way to put a halt to their nefarious plans. Somehow. But a Kamui can only do so much.
