24
20 July 2009
Akihiko had his arms crossed across his chest as he looked at the water below. They were on a ship heading to Yakushima. Junpei was the happiest person, but Rosemary had been testy the second she even stepped foot on the boat. Her intense fear and dislike of the water rearing its head. She was gripping onto Koromaru's leash with a tight grip and her left hand was twitching on and off again. Mitsuru had quietly asked everyone to refrain from bothering the taller teen. Everyone agreed noting her discomfort. He moved to sit down with her, and she barely gave him a glance, she was concentrating on not having a full-blown panic attack.
Fuck, her heart was racing in her chest and she was having trouble breathing through her dry throat. She jumped a bit when he plopped a hand on her head before ruffling her long locks. She gave him a slight glare and he knew then that she was not in the mood. He felt bad that they were going by boat, but it was owned by the Kirijo company, so the ride was free. At least she was restraining herself from snapping at everyone, there was that part of her that refused to really lash out at other people when she was uncomfortable.
"Are…Are you sure you aren't too warm?" Fuuka quietly asked the agitated bluenette.
It was a valid question seeing as she was dressed in long sleeves and pants. It was a white dress shirt and a pair of black jeans. He'd seen her wear a dress before, but it seemed like she was more comfortable in masculine clothing that didn't restrict her movements. Then again, those jeans looked too tight to give easier movement. She tapped her foot against the metal floor and gave Fuuka a curt nod.
'I wonder what's wrong with her.' Junpei muttered in his thoughts.
Minato spared the teen a glance as he switched the song on his MP3 player. She had tried listening to music but that didn't seem to help. Now she was glaring ahead at the space where the wall was connected to the floor. It was an impressive glare if he was being honest. Her eyes narrowed a bit more in thought and he quickly looked away. His mind supplied one thing. She didn't like the water, and she was forced to ride on a boat. It allowed him to really think on that tangent. If she didn't care for water did that mean she couldn't swim? She tensed up a bit and he blinked. Oh, he was right? That didn't bode well for the trip. If it was true then why didn't she say anything when they were taking a vote? Her feelings were just as valid as theirs. He supposed it didn't really matter, they were already on the boat.
The second they docked Rosemary stood up, picked up Koromaru, and headed to the dock. Everyone blinked as she didn't stop walking until she was off the dock completely. She was standing as far away from the water as humanly possible, and without seeming too rude. She put Koromaru down and he gave a bark before his tail began wagging like mad. He had enjoyed being picked up by the tall female. She bent over and gently placed a hand on his head, before putting both hands against the side of his face and gently rubbing it. Koromaru was in heaven.
"If you keep doing that you'll spoil him," Akihiko warned her as he walked up.
"Look at him though, he's a good boy," She answered as she and Koromaru looked up at the silver haired teen with wide eyes.
Akihiko looked away. They were both giving him that wide eyed innocent look. How the hell she could do that was beyond him. One moment she was scowling for two hours straight and the next she was looking at him like she hadn't been. She stood up and he shook his head. She seemed to be in a better mood now that she was away from the water. It was a good thing that there was a nature walk in the woods. There was also a garden. They all headed to a large house that was waiting for them and were greeted by maids the minute they stepped inside the air-conditioned foyer.
Mitsuru's father was an interesting man. He had an eyepatch over his right eye. He didn't say anything to them, not even when his own daughter greeted him. Rosemary felt out of place. It was strange to see the same behavior from Mitsuru's father that her own had. She was curious about the man. He cared about his daughter, but there was an emptiness to him. She blinked at that and gently grasped onto her left forearm. She felt that way before. It was before Sumire had been born. She believed herself to be unworthy of living, but hadn't the courage to end it all. Any time she had thought about ending her suffering she remembered that there were people that had it far worse than she did. What did that make her if she couldn't continue walking forward when they could?
Coward. A nasty voice in the back of her head said. It sounded like a combination of her mother's, grandmothers, and Shinjiro's voice. It brought a shiver down her spine and she pushed it down. She couldn't let those feelings rule her life, not again. She was brought out of her thoughts as an arm wrapped around her shoulder, the owner not noticing her going still at the contact.
"Let's go and enjoy the water!" Junpei said with a grin, "This is going to be awesome!"
"Already?" Yukari asked as her brows raised in surprise, "I mean, sure. Let's us get changed first."
Ken nodded his agreement, and everyone was shown to their rooms. He decided to wait for his guardian to come out so they could walk to the beach together. He was excited to spend some time away from Iwatodai. He felt lighter, but knew not to let it go to his head. He stood outside Rosemary's room and looked down at his feet. His orange flip flops stood out against the blue tiled floor. He was wondering why she was taking so long.
Rosemary tied the strings to her two-piece and grimaced at the large areas of skin that showed her scars. The large one on her left shoulder seemed to be more pronounced due to the dark color her swimsuit. She brought a hand up and gently brushed the skin with her fingertips. It was rough, yet smooth. It was difficult for her to describe. She sighed and went to grab her light jacket. She stopped and let her hand fall to her side. Grabbing that jacket felt like defeat to her. It was hard to explain. She took in a deep breath and grabbed a book instead. Jurassic Park, she hadn't read it yet. She tucked it under one of her arms as she pulled on her sandals and strapped them up. Gladiator style sandals were her go to when it came to summer wear, it made the scars on her legs less noticeable.
"Ready?" She softly asked as she exited her room.
Ken gave her a nod and faltered upon seeing her skin. He felt horrified at the sight, but it wasn't due to the actual scarring but more of what it entailed. He knew about her mother. He was aware of how dangerous she was. To see evidence of it was putting it into perspective.
"What happened to your arm?" He asked her.
"An accident," She answered, it was the truth of only the half of it, "a friend patched it up for me."
She had the handkerchief, but had switched to bandages. It was simpler and more effective. The handkerchief was tied around her wrist like a bracelet instead. She would make sure to wash it before handing it back to Shinjiro. She smiled at Ken and they headed down the stairs. Yukari and Fuuka were waiting there as well.
Yukari had chosen a pink and blue bikini top and a pair of denim short shorts. Fuuka's two piece was similar in nature to Rosemary's, but showed more skin and lacked the ruffles the color a dark teal. It matched her well. They were waiting for Mitsuru and waved them on ahead. They weren't going to make Ken wait.
"Woah, there's our first contestant," Junpei said as they reached the beach where the boys were waiting, "What a shocking piece from our lovely garden club princess…those uniforms really don't do anyone justice."
"Idiot," Rosemary muttered in English before waving to Akihiko and Minato.
Both seemed nonplussed and instead gave her a wave back. She was pretty, but they were more focused on the scars they hadn't known about. Ken had moved past them, yet was still a little worried about how her skin would react in the sun. Junpei had ignored them. It was the first time her fellow second year hadn't put his foot into his mouth. She tuned out his pageant speech and moved to stand next to the other two boys.
"Did you put on any sunscreen?" Akihiko asked.
"No, I wasn't really planning on going into the water," She answered, "I was going to relax under one of the umbrellas and read."
"It's hot outside, why not swim?" Junpei asked her.
"I…don't want to," She shrugged, and Akihiko gave her a nod of understanding.
No way was she going to admit that she couldn't swim. She was starting to have troubles with the sounds of the gentle waves crashing against the sand. She put her book down on one of the chairs and was about to follow it when someone grabbed onto her hand and started to pull her towards the water. She felt her heart rate increase and she struggled finding her voice. Eventually, her world went dark. She was out for the count. She went limp and the person pulling her paused in surprise.
"Iori-san, she can't swim," Fuuka softly told the other boy as she checked on the taller teen, "Sanada-Senpai, can you help me get her to one of the chairs?"
"Right." Akihiko nodded.
Ken watched the scene as his guardian was placed under the shade of one of the umbrellas. She was completely out of it. He was worried and Koromaru decided to sit by her chair until she came to. Ken took a seat as well, the cool shade pleasant with the slight breeze coming off the ocean. He heard Mitsuru sigh and the older girl seemed remorseful. He wondered what happened.
"Hanamura was pushed into a riptide when she was a small child," Mitsuru informed them, "ever since then she's been afraid of deep water and can't swim."
"Oh man, I didn't know that," Junpei said as he began to feel guilty, "why didn't she say anything when we were voting about where to go for our trip?"
"She doesn't want to be a bother," Akihiko supplied, "she wasn't going to go against majority vote and cause a fuss."
He wished she had, and so did Ken. It was sweet that she didn't want to speak up about her fears and ruin a good vacation, but she needed to. They got lucky that she only passed out and didn't have a full-blown panic attack. Ken mumbled something under his breath and looked down at the scars on her right arm. There were less of them. He studied the ones on her left arm. Some of them were in straight lines.
"Those are from a ruler." A groggy voice informed him, and he jumped back in surprise, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"A ruler, huh?" Akihiko asked.
"You once asked me if I was left-handed and I replied with ambidextrous," She said as her left hand twitched, "I'm Dextrosinistral, a person who was trained to use their right hand."
"What kind of school…" Akihiko began but trailed off.
He really needed the full story of just how bad her previous school was. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. That would be an excellent start. She gave him a tired smiled before sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest.
"You two go have fun," She said, "I'm all right over here."
"I feel bad leaving you like this," Ken admitted.
"Don't be," She said, "Besides, I'll have Koro-Chan with me, right boy?"
Koromaru gave her a bark of agreement and she gave the two boys a smile. Both were reluctant but Koromaru climbing up onto the chair to lay on her was enough for them. Ken left his orange hoodie with her while Akihiko folded up his t-shirt. She stared at him for a few seconds. He wore a speedo?
"Did…did you need to be extra aerodynamic?" She asked him with a slight frown.
"Of course, I'm using this time to train as well," He answered.
"Okay then," She muttered.
It wasn't worth the possible argument. As long as he didn't lose them in the water they were all right. Ken ran off to join Yukari and Junpei in the water and Mitsuru came over to the other chair to sit. Fuuka was studying some of the small food stands with Minato. Rosemary couldn't help but wonder who he really liked, she thought that he liked Yukari. The brunette obviously did. She brought a hand up and rubbed Koromaru's head in thought. She didn't really understand such things. She barely understood her own relationship.
"Have you been in contact with Aragaki?" Mitsuru asked her.
"Yes, I stop by and say hello every once and a while," Rosemary answered, "If I have food sometimes I think about bringing him some, why?"
"We've been trying to get him to return to SEES for years," Mitsuru informed her, and Rosemary paused in her petting, "He refuses each time we ask."
"If you're about to tell me that you plan to use Ken as a reason he should return my opinion of you will drastically lower," Rosemary informed her in a serious tone, "those two have a history and no ones really handled their situation correctly."
Mitsuru knew that. Ikutsuki was the person who gave her the advice to let the police handle the situation and tell their usual line when someone was injured or killed. An accident, all those deaths were accidental. She looked towards the water with thoughtful red eyes. If she had known how deep the problem would become then she would've handled it differently. She was at fault.
"The blame is not on one person's shoulders," Rosemary informed her, "besides you learned from it and grew to make better decisions…let's give those two the same luxury."
"You think they could move past it?" Mitsuru asked in disbelief.
"No, that would take a miracle," Rosemary answered, a small smile on her face as she watched Ken splash the others, "their relationship will always be rocky, maybe there will be something that unites them."
"It would take a miracle," Mitsuru agreed.
"If Shinjiro does return to SEES I want to keep an eye on them both as it approaches that day," Rosemary admitted, "Ken wants revenge so bad, and I don't doubt that Shinjiro would let him do anything to atone."
Mitsuru knew what the other girl was saying. Ken would kill Shinjiro as revenge for his mother's death. It needed to be prevented and a healthier alternative found. She would step up and claim responsibility, and she would inform Akihiko that he needed to as well. They had not been able to stop Castor that night, perhaps they were all at fault. Not Amada, the boy had done nothing wrong.
"It's rare to see you so calm when looking at the ocean," Mitsuru said as she moved away from the somber topic they were on.
"Bold of you to assume that I haven't been mentally screaming for the past hour," Rosemary countered and that made the red head crack a small smile, "I might have trouble sleeping for the next three nights, but I'll just sleep in later you guys don't have to wait for me to get up enjoy your time here."
"The Kirijo estate has a large garden in the back," Mitsuru informed her, "I'll let the staff know that you are permitted to go inside."
"Thank you." Rosemary's words were followed up by a genuine smile.
It really was nice of Mitsuru. She went back to scratching Koromaru behind the ears and kept her expression serene as she thought. Shinjiro was going to be infuriated the minute he was asked to rejoin. Though a part of her couldn't help but want him around. Still, it was his choice and his alone. She could still go and find him in the back alley if she wanted to see him. Koromaru shifted in her lap and she looked down to see him sleeping. A dog that could summon a persona, huh? It wasn't the most far-fetched thing she had ever heard or seen. She felt her eyes growing heavy and slowly drifted to sleep. Her leg was in the sun, and slowly growing red the more time passed.
Mitsuru watched and internally debated whether or not to awaken the taller teen to stop her leg from getting burned. Looking at it made her wince, it was already lightly burned, less than an hour in the sun was enough to make the skin an angry red. The scars on her legs stood out even more against the discoloration. She gently put a towel over it instead, it was better to let her rest. It didn't sit right with her to wake her up, besides Koromaru seemed to be enjoying his human pillow.
Ken waddled out of the way of a splash sent by Junpei. The teen seemed to be splashing everyone, but mainly the girls. Fuuka wasn't too happy about that. She had preferred to just enjoy the water before they headed back for dinner. She hadn't minded getting wet, but she'd rather have done it on her own terms. Yukari was returning fire at Junpei in annoyance. She was in a similar situation as Fuuka, but she didn't mind splashing in a playful manner. Junpei may have thought it was playful, but it wasn't to the two girls.
"Hey, Yamagishi-San," Ken said as he walked up to the teal haired girl and acted as a slight shield against the water splashed her way, "Do you know when May-Chan's birthday is?"
"Her birthday?" Fuuka questioned as she enjoyed the slight reprieve that Ken brought with him. "I'm afraid I don't, I'm sorry."
"It's okay," He said with a shy smile.
It turned into a grimace when a splash went over his head and he was drenched. His hair stuck to his face and he started to rub at his eyes to get the salty water out of them. Fuuka sent Junpei a look of disappointment before gently leading Ken out of the water. They had some bottles of cool water near their dozing team member. She'd try to flush his eyes out before sending him back in.
"It's not that bad, Yamagishi-san," He tried to play off his discomfort.
She didn't pause in her actions of grabbing a water bottle, but she couldn't help but notice some similarities to his new guardian. It had to be coincidence. Then again, it was possible the two got along so well because they were similar personality wise. He brought a hand up and rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment and she gave him a soft smile. Yes, they were remarkably similar. He was picking up some of her behaviors without even realizing it.
"Just tilt your head back, Ken-Chan," Rosemary's voice said and the two of them looked towards her, "it's better to wash them out than to go around with the possibility of having sand grains in your eyes."
Ken tilted his head back, though there was a bit of a childish frown on his face. Both girls found it amusing and adorable. He winced slightly but kept his eyes open as Fuuka gently poured some of the cool water into his eyes and flushed them out. He was embarrassed a bit more when Rosemary gently placed a towel against his eyes, but he couldn't help but like being looked after. It had been a long time. Two years since someone had cared enough about him to take care of him. She brought a hand up and ruffled his still damp hair.
"Junpei's out of the water, so it should be safe for you two to enjoy," Rosemary softly said.
"I wish you could enjoy it with us," Ken muttered, and she looked at him in surprise.
"Maybe one day," She said, her tone was quieter than usual and heavy.
It was like she didn't believe that she could enjoy the water with them, but she wished she could. She gave them a tiny smile and waved them off. She turned towards the towel on her leg and lifted it. A sunburn didn't hurt as much as a stab wound. She hadn't felt it. She looked at the skin that had grown agitated due to the sun and ran a hand down her face. She had promised Shinjiro she would stay out of trouble, and she went and got a sunburn. It was a gnarly one too.
"Will you be heading inside?" Mitsuru asked her.
"Not until Ken's ready to go back," Rosemary answered, "thank you for covering my leg, you didn't have to do that."
"I'm your upperclassman, it's my duty to take care of everyone," Mitsuru said, a small smile on her face as she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Your father is an interesting man," Rosemary said, and Mitsuru gave her a sharp look, "he loves you a lot, I'm happy for you."
Mitsuru calmed down a bit at that. Rosemary had heard her father's surface thoughts. He loved her? It was nice to have that confirmation. Sometimes she wondered. With the arranged marriage he had made for her, it truly made her wonder. Still, she couldn't help but feel the same resentment that she was sure Rosemary felt at such things.
"It's hypocritical coming from me, but…please choose the way that your life will go," Rosemary said, catching her off guard, "you have so much more potential than someone like me, don't let it be hampered by some man who won't treat you right."
"What about yourself?" Mitsuru asked, frowning at the hypocrisy.
"I found a way out," She answered with a slight shrug and a soft smile on her face, "someone literally pointed out my cowardice at the fact that I refused to ask or accept help."
It had to be Aragaki. She remembered hearing Takeba and Rosemary talking during one of their hang outs. It was about a guy that the taller teen liked, the description sounded exactly like Aragaki. She saw the conflict on the other girls face and she let out a sigh. It was a conflict of interests, but she knew that the other girl wouldn't choose a side. She loved both Shinjiro and Ken, one romantic and the other familial. She was back to petting Koromaru in an absent-minded manner. Mitsuru felt bad for the other girl, no matter what she did someone was going to get hurt. She'd let herself get hurt before hurting either of them.
"Hey, May-Chan," Ken walked up to the taller girl, he looked exhausted, "I think I'm ready to head back inside."
"All right," Rosemary nodded as she gently shook Koromaru awake.
Koromaru jumped down from the chair and stretched in a yawn as Rosemary gathered her things and handed Ken the towel that had been on her leg. It was still clean, so there wasn't a problem as he wrapped it around himself. He let out a slight shiver at the cool breeze that was coming off the ocean. It didn't help that his skin was warm from the sun bearing down on him for a few hours straight. He hadn't noticed it that much when he was in the water. She gave him a concerned look before letting out a soft sigh.
"I'll go grab some of the aloe lotion I brought just in case someone got a nasty sunburn," She informed him, "it'll help protect your skin and heal it after so much time in the sun."
"What about your leg?" He asked, spotting the red skin.
"I'll see what I can do," She answered, "lotion might not work as well on such a large burn. I'll have to see if I remembered the burn ointment I bought."
"Have you always burned like this?" He questioned with a slight frown.
"Yeah, it's usually worse," She said with a slight shrug, "I don't really feel the pain from a sunburn anymore."
She gave him a smile as he turned concerned. He couldn't help but wonder why she didn't feel pain from something like that? Her scars proved that she had to have been through a lot. He looked at her left shoulder and noticed the scar that was on her back as well. It mirrored the one of her shoulder. Wasn't her arm in a sling the day he met her? That meant her injury had to have happened before she came to Japan. Her mother then. Why would her mother attack her to that extent?
"My mothers' psyche is shattered," Rosemary answered, "she's been harboring hatred and anger for so long that it's now taken over her mind."
"Huh? How does that work?" He asked with a frown.
"Hmm, it's hard to explain…" She muttered before tilting her head and crossing her arms across her chest, "Let's say that the human mind is like a piece of glass. Some people have glass that is stronger than others, think laminated versus the base form of annealed glass.
"One has a layer protecting it to take on the pain and hurt that can happen through life, the other is fragile enough that cracks begin to form due to negative experiences. I believe that my mothers mind shattered the moment we got the news that my siblings had been in a car accident."
"Why would she attack you?" He asked, he knew people did terrible things all the time but for a mother to attack their child?
"She never cared for me," Her simple answer was spoken in a matter-of-fact tone and had the action of a shrug, "I ruined her marriage and life with my inability to turn off my abilities. I didn't even realize that I could read minds until I was a bit older."
"How…how old were you when she pushed you into that riptide?" He asked.
"I was five, and if I hadn't been noticed then I know we wouldn't be having this conversation," She admitted, "I'm glad I was."
He was too. She gave him a gentle smile and he returned it was small one of his own. He felt as though they had grown closer, and he liked it. He couldn't help but think that her siblings had an awesome sister, and they hadn't even known it. She truly was the ultimate older sister type. He went into his room and quickly showered; the water warm as not to agitate his skin.
He met up with Rosemary and entered her room to see her bandaging her ointment covered leg. She was quick with it her years of practice showing. She handed him the lotion and he worked some onto the skin of his arms, it had a nice smell to it. It wasn't fragranced seeing as that could possibly agitate the skin further, but the natural smell of the aloe was nice. She helped him with his back, she had slight callouses on the sides of her first two fingers. She did write a lot, and she was inclined towards drawing.
Rosemary sat with her legs crossed as she eyed Mitsuru's father. The smell of his cigar was suffocating, but she didn't say anything. Still, the others had noticed her discomfort around the smell and agreed with her. Mitsuru was so used to it that she had become nose blind. A picture of the Pinefield family head had shown him with a cigar. Ah, no wonder she didn't like the smell.
"I'm sure Mitsuru has given you the abridged version of how the Dark Hour came to be," Takeharu Kirijo said as he eyed the teenagers, and one child, sitting around him, "its true us adults are to blame for it. If I could atone for it with my life I would've done so, but now I have no choice but to rely on you."
Rosemary narrowed her eyes in slight thought. He meant well, but she still felt resentment towards him. The others felt that way as well. They all stayed quiet, though a few glares were sent his way. He ignored them with ease, he knew that the teens around him wouldn't be happy with him. He looked towards the heiress to the company that supplied his family with lumber. Her glare was cold, and calculating. He felt as though she could see through him. That's right, her father had said something about his…daughter turning her back on the family. Her clothing reveled her skin and he had no doubt that her father had been lying to him. He felt guilty for thinking that it had been a good thing his heir had passed before he had agreed to an arranged marriage for his own heiress. The girl agreed if the shift of her glare to something that was more conflicted and curious was anything to go by. He wondered about that second one.
"What my father wanted to create with those monsters' power was a device that could manipulate time," He informed them, and he watched as dawning realization hit the teal haired girl and the heiress.
'No wonder time seems static in Tartarus,' Fuuka thought to Rosemary and she saw the slight inclination of her head in agreement, 'if someone were to stay in Tartarus for days on end, they'd come out feeling like a few hours had passed just like we had."
Rosemary wondered if that made her a few days younger than she previously thought. She was seventeen, and maybe their time in Tartarus had retracted some of her days towards her eighteenth birthday. It would have to be something they'd discuss later.
"That's what he was trying to do?" Mitsuru asked a slight frown on her face; she hadn't known that.
"Imagine if you could control the flow of time and eliminate unwanted events before they occurred…" Takeharu continued.
Everyone in the room had suffered loss and knew exactly what he was getting at. Rosemary frowned and fidgeted in discomfort. Minato spared her a glance and noticed the odd look on her face. She was biting her tongue about something. He nudged her shin with his foot, and she looked at him with a slightly guilty expression.
"What's wrong, May-Chan?" Yukari asked her.
"I don't think such a power should even be grasped at," Rosemary muttered, "power like that…the users would be corrupted so fast."
"Absolute power corrupts," Takeharu agreed, "you have quite an opinion of this topic, Pinefield-san."
"My opinion is my own, and I won't tell anyone what to think," She said in a defensive tone, "everyone here has lost something, and I can't blame them for having the aching to have that something back."
Akihiko looked at her for a few seconds and noticed her posture. It had stiffened the moment he used her last name, the one that was on her birth certificate. Sometimes he forgot she was the heiress to a company; she didn't act like one. She was clueless about several things, but it wasn't due to being sheltered by a rich life like Mitsuru. Her's was due to the lack of opportunity to learn about things. He narrowed his eyes at Takeharu and noticed that Mitsuru looked a bit uncomfortable as well.
"Please, excuse my interruption," Rosemary apologize, "it was quite rude of me."
"Of course." Takeharu inclined his head and went back to explaining everything, "Under my fathers' direction the research began to stray from its original goal. In his later years, my father seemed to have nothing but nihilism in his heart.
"Now that I think about it, his madness may have been a result of his struggle to break free from that…that's off topic…so, it's natural that you want to know the truth and it's my duty to inform you."
The lights turned off and a click echoed through the room. A projector had turned on overhead and was illuminating the teens faces. There was a man on the screen and Yukari froze at the sight of him. It was her father.
"What's this?" Akihiko questioned.
"This is the only remaining footage from the accident, it was recorded by a scientist," Takeharu answered.
"I pray that this recording reaches safe hands," The man said, his messy brown hair in disarray from constantly running his hands through it in stress, "my employer has become obsessed with a loathsome idea. This experiment should have never been conceived.
"I'm afraid what I've done will result in an unprecedented disaster. But if I hadn't the entire world would have paid the price…"
"The entire world?" Fuuka softly muttered.
"Please listen carefully," The man continued, "The shadows that were amassed here have been dispersed as a result of the explosion to end this nightmare you must eliminate all of them.
"I am to blame for this. I knew the risks, but I was blinded by the promise of success, and so, I didn't raise any objection. It's all my fault…"
"…Dad?" Yukari asked as she stood up, and everyone turned to her in shock.
"That's…" Fuuka said.
The footage stopped and the light came back on. No body said anything for a few seconds before Mitsuru turned to her father. She hadn't known everything, but she should've. She looked towards Rosemary and caught the strange expression on her face. Light-brown eyes met her own red ones, and she got the feeling that the Kirijo group had messed up tremendously where the members of SEES were concerned.
"Father…" Mitsuru said.
"His name was Eiichiro Takeba, he was the head researcher at the time and a very talented man," Takeharu explained, "But we are the ones who are responsible. We pushed him to continue the research. The Kirijo Group is to blame for his death."
"I…I can't believe it," Mitsuru said as it dawned on her just how bad the situation was.
"That means…my dad caused it all?" Yukari softly asked, she wouldn't look at anyone, "The dark hour, Tartarus and the people who died in that incident…it was all his fault?"
"Y-You okay?" Akihiko asked.
"Is that why you were hiding this?" Yukari questioned Mitsuru, and her anger was apparent, "Because you felt sorry for me? Is that it!?"
"No, Takeba, I…" Mitsuru tried.
"I don't want your pity!" Yukari yelled at her before running off.
Mitsuru quickly stood up and stared at the brunettes back. Everyone was shell shocked. Fuuka broke out of it first and looked at everyone in confusion. She wouldn't be able to run fast enough to catch the brunette. Someone else needed to go after her.
"Shouldn't someone go after her?" Fuuka asked.
Mitsuru sighed and walked up to Minato. He looked up at her before giving a nod of understanding. He got up and hurried after Yukari. Rosemary sighed quietly and ran a hand through her hair before turning to Ken. He was thoughtful, a small frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. She brought a hand up and gently ruffled his hair.
"I wouldn't worry too much about them," Rosemary softly said, and all eyes turned towards her, "Minato is good at calming people down."
They all nodded at that and Rosemary started to usher Ken to bed. He gave her the quiet complaint of not being tired, but her amused look told him that she didn't buy that. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Rosemary gave him the fondest of smiles before kneeling next to Koromaru.
"Please, look after him during the times that I can't," She softly asked of Koromaru.
She got a serious look from the shiba before he gave a nod. He jumped onto Ken's bed and curled up at the foot of it. She gave him a small smile of thanks before leaving the room, turning off the lights as she did. She headed into her own room and climbed onto the bed. The mattress was soft, and it felt like she was laying on a cloud. The sounds of the ocean made it difficult for her to fall asleep. Every time she was on the edge of sleep that suffocating feeling would appear and she got the distinct feeling that her head was under the water. She didn't sleep well.
21 July 2009
Mitsuru, Yukari, Fuuka, and Rosemary were walking through the woods. It was cooler under the canopy of the trees than it had been on the beach. The boys were at the beach again and Akihiko had promised that he would look after Ken for her. It made her relax a bit, she didn't like the idea of worrying about the twelve-year-old. She looked at all the green around her and felt the first pang of homesickness.
"I miss seeing green like this," She said, and they all turned to her in surprise, "I think its one of the few things about Britain that I miss."
"I can see why," Fuuka smiled, "You can't really do this in the city."
Rosemary was the only one who was talking to her. Yukari and Mitsuru were deep in their own thoughts. They softly talked about the taller girl's home country and she happily listened to the information on the forest of dean. It was obvious that she still loved some things about her country, but would never go back. Their conversation came to a standstill when the chairman called them to inform them that a weapon had escaped from the Kirijo labs.
Rosemary didn't really search for it with as much gusto as she should've. It was an anti-shadow weapon. How would something like that escape from a lab? Did that make it a robot? She frowned a bit before pushing her heavy hair from her neck. The summer heat was starting to get to her. She sent a man that was walking up to her a glare. She didn't want to be flirted with; besides, she was already…Wait. We're they in a relationship? She didn't really know the answer. Her arms and shoulders began to burn from the amount of sun she was getting, and she had to head in doors. What a day to wear a sundress. She sighed as the cool air hit her skin.
"Did you find the weapon?" Ikutsuki asked her and she shook her head in a negative.
"No one else has seen anything out of the ordinary either," She informed him, "Perhaps the weapon is hiding?"
"I see…it is a possibility," He said as he frowned in thought, "Oh my, you came in due to the sun."
"I easily burn," She shrugged, "I'm used to it."
She left him in the foyer and headed into the back. She wanted to see the Kirijo gardens. The flowers were healthy and growing in calculated patterns. She gently poked one of the white roses and gave it a critical eye. It was too calm. She liked when bushes were trimmed, but flowers sometimes looked prettier when there was some chaos. She pushed her hair back again and stopped next to some camellia's. She was alone in the garden; the nearby workers were leaving her to her own devices.
The others had come back in the evening and Ken joined her in the garden. He informed her that they found the weapon. A robot by the name of Aigis. She paused in her actions of studying a daisy. The Kirijo group had created a robot? No one thought to tell her of that little fact. Her sci-fi loving heart was tempted to go and hunt down the weapon, but decided to leave it for the night.
23 July 2009
The trip back to Iwatodai was quiet. The robot, Aigis studied the faces of the humans around her. Her programming was making sure to memorize the faces around her. She paused on each one and tilted her head slightly when it came to the resident mind reader. The hold on Koromaru's leash was back to being a vicelike grip and Akihiko was trying to keep her mind busy. He was talking to her about the different plants that had been in the Kirijo gardens. She followed along and found that she had several questions due to her programming not having any information about such things. Rosemary hadn't seemed surprised at the questions and patiently, though a bit agitated, answered every one of them. Their ride was far more pleasant than it had been before.
When they returned to the dorm Rosemary happily cooked dinner for everyone, including the chairman. She didn't trust the man, but she wasn't going to turn someone away from food. He drank a cup of tea with his dinner in a manner that was like hers. It wasn't overly sweet, but had just a hint of it. The dumplings had been made with Fuuka's help, and the shorter girl followed all the directions and was gently walked through it. Rosemary hadn't been the best cook when she first started out, she wasn't going to be rude to someone who was learning. Dinner was a quiet affair, everyone too tired from their trip to even hold a conversation.
Even Rosemary fell asleep the minute her head hit her pillow.