There were three pistols tucked into his belt and a rifle slung over his shoulder. With the shotgun currently in hand, Augustus O'Neil almost forgot to clip his saber to his side. He didn't need it, certainly the firearms he gathered would be enough in his defense, but the long sharp blade called to him, reminding him that the foreign land he was currently in had an affinity toward their own blades, so why not he? Especially now of all times.
So he grabbed his sword and balanced himself. He was ready. Ready to retaliate against the dishonorable disappearance of his niece.
It was a moment later that said niece walked through the front door. Shoulders slumped, hair in tangles, and skin covered with blotches of dirt and shrub residue. The poor girl looked like she'd spent the night out in the woods.
"April!" His startle turned her attention toward him. Sleep still shined in the gleam of her blues eyes, and the bags underneath alerted him that she was likely due for a morning nap. Even still, they roamed him over before the smallest sense of confusion pulsed through those bright irises.
"Off to war, Augie?"
Augustus blinked. "War? April, you've been gone all night. I thought the worst and—"
"Sorry," she spoke up, rubbing her arms. "Must have lost track of time. Didn't even know I'd fallen asleep. Woke up on a bench at sunrise. Sorry."
Augustus's racing heart relaxed him, and that tight grip on his shotgun loosened. He disarmed himself and immediately took his niece into his arms. "You're going to be the death of me, I swear. Are you hungry? I can go get some eggs and milk for breakfast. That sound good?"
April nodded with a waking smile, and just as her uncle maneuvered out of the house still full prepped to do battle in three wars, she let exhaustion from her rough morning and tired walk home take full hold of her. Sliding down, she saddled herself into a cushioned chair. There she tried to recognize the reason for every mysterious ache in her body.
With a sigh, April looked down at the state of her shoes, both covered in copious amounts of mud. Great, that would take all day to scrub off. Even her dress looks like it's been through a mile of thorn bushes. However, there was one tear that was a little too well rounded to ignore.
Leaning over, April picked up the train of her dress, noticing the hole. She stuck her finger through it and raked her mind over what she could have snagged it on. Though, all possibilities that came to mind quickly vanished as a familiar "bang!" echoed in the memory of her ears. And then the swift "ping!" of something striking near her, too close.
The tear was a bullet hole. April paled, feeling her stomach churn at the returning memory of the night before.
. . .
Even though they had raced for two hours straight, Dennosuke and Michitaro weren't able to make it back to the city before sunup. In fact, the sun had been up for the past three hours. Apprehension took hold of them both as they moved toward the gate and the skeptical sentries at post.
"Hibiki, Kenta, my guys, how's business been?" Michitaro knows no boundaries, even toward the large sentinels who were looking at them with narrowing eyes.
"What were you doing outside the gates?" Hibiki questioned, looking down at them.
Michitaro darted back to his brother's side for safety and moral support. Looks like he's run out of excuses this time around, so it was up to Dennosuke. Reaching into his pack, Dennosuke pulled out two yellow globes and showed them off to the skeptical-eyed sentries.
"Picking some yuzus. Have some." Tossing the fruit, the sentinels quickly caught the entry gifts and dazzled their attention over them whilst the brothers made their way past the gates and into the city.
The scent of moisture instantly met them in a welcome home. The high sun crept rays down along crafted arches careening over the entire perimeter and along descending falls, filling springs where children played and swam, and where the older yet gathered and communed. Rising huts, both rounded and oblong, and even stacked created their own wall for the populace mingling inside. Though early still, the crisscrossed streets were seeing its first transporters hauling goods and belongings from one shop to another. Last minute cleaning created the wafting clatter from abodes and stalls, all preparing for the oncoming day.
At the center, near the high risen hills were the gargantuan figures of the great suikos. Beneath lay the arena patches where the rowdy began their first wrestling matches, and a very familiar kappa was currently tangled with another.
Michitaro ran over in his excitement to witness the outcome of the morning matches. He stopped just a breath away from the platform, waving his arms and then shouting, "Nice form, Raij! Squash 'em!"
At the identification, the wrestler pushed his opponent away, taking a few steps back before turning and looking at his avid fan. A look washed over his face as soon as a huff escaped his nostrils.
"Michi?" His eyes locked onto the other brother standing just behind Michitaro. "Denno?" However, his opponent shared no care for familial meetings and made to ram their shoulder right into Raijirou's plastron, almost knocking him off of the platform hadn't Raijirou caught his footing, twisted, and flipped his opponent onto their carapace. With his weight now pressed on him, Raijirou's attention toward his bothers could carry on unhinged. "Nari's been looking for you."
The relayed information made the two stiffen. They shared a grieved look before Dennosuke stretched his neck to clarify.
"Ienari's looking for us?" He questioned once more, hoping he might have heard it wrong, or at least assumed the worst incorrectly.
"Yes, he is."
Dennosuke and Michitaro about collided into each other when they twisted around to peer into the upset eyes of their eldest brother.
"You two were out all night. Why?" Ienari pressed.
"Uh, midnight stroll?" Michitaro offered, but only got a weary look from his brother before those harsh eyes turned back toward Dennosuke.
Dennosuke swallowed as he dug into his pack. "We, uh, went to pick yuzus." That excuse was good enough for the sentries in that Dennosuke carried two on him, but his hand grasped no more fruit, so he looked back at his brother with blinking eyes. "Uh, we did. You can go ask Hibiki and Kenta."
"Yeah, go ask them!" Michitaro seconded as he moved toward his older brother, leaning against his shoulder as if trying to pressure him into validating Dennosuke's statement. If he did, it would give the two of them time to retreat and create a new battle plan. But Ienari shook him off a moment later, moving away from him and then slinging an arm around Dennosuke and walking him a distance for a private conversation. Michitaro's insides were in tangles at the sight, knowing that his bother used this separating tactic to get confessions. The technique was usually quite effective and so that meant if Dennosuke untied his tongue about where they were and why they were and what they found and who they were with then they'd never be able to exit the city again.
"Denno, look, I know you mean well, but you shouldn't be sticking up for Michi," Ienari began, poking his younger brother to keep his darting guilty eyes on him. "We both know he likes to sneak out at night to quell his obnoxious desires, which you can agree aren't the wisest of ideas. You went with him to keep an eye on him, I get that. I just want to know what rambunctious plot he had last night."
Dennosuke remained quiet in recollection of everything that had happened the previous night. Things that were so unbelievable he doubted his brother would take him seriously. Really, though, where could he start?
"Stop it, just stop it! I wanted to see the new humans, alright!" Michitaro balled into them, standing between Dennosuke and Ienari.
"Humans?" Wide eyes took in Michitaro's distressed face for a moment before a heated look turned back toward Dennosuke accusingly.
"Yeah," Michitaro carried. "The ones those black ships bring. They wear these funny hats and have all this gold sewn into their tight clothes, and—"
"You saw them? How close were you two?" That upset and that glare was boring into Dennosuke. As the older of the two, it was his responsibility to be the mature one, and obviously looking at the humans from a reasonable distance was not an act of maturity in Ienari's understanding.
"They didn't see us," Dennosuke muttered, eyes cast down rather than look at his heated brother.
"But they could have," Ienari reminded. "You know what they could have done to you two?"
The silence was broken by Michitaro's comment, "There's a lot of possibilities."
Ienari shook his head. "No, there's not." He turned, pointing to one of the towering suiko figures. "They'll do to you what they did to our father, you want that Michi?" He looked to Dennosuke. "You want that Denno?"
The weight of Ienari's projected guilt began to slump both of their shoulders. It was impossible to look him in the eyes now.
"No," Dennosuke and Michitaro replied.
The tension dissipated with Ienari's sigh. "Look, you know I don't mind you guys heading out, even after the gates are closed. Shell, we've all done it. Just . . . consult one of us first, ok, so you don't get swallowed up in the wiles of Michi's unrealistic dreams."
The moment Raijirou jumped off the platform, Ienari maneuvered for his take in the arena. It was from that distance where Dennosuke and Michitaro watched their brother wrestle in quiet.
"He always makes me feel like garbage," Dennosuke muttered to himself, sighing as he tried to chase what pride he had back.
"Yeah, he sure does," Raijirou commented with a chuckle as he crossed his arms. He looked at the berated brothers. "Hey, if you two hadn't come back after my morning wrestling I would have gone off to look for you. We were concerned, okay?"
The moment of guilt faded a second later within the confines of Michitaro's soul. He perked and leaned closer to Raijirou.
"Raij! You should've seen it! They looked so different, and their clothes. It makes me wonder if they ride horses a different way too, how crazy would that be!"
Raijirou's eyes sparkled at the idea and he eagerly listened to the remaining comments Michitaro had of what he had witnessed the previous night. At least one of their older brothers was as enthused as they had been. But Ienari's worry wasn't misplaced. It was practical, like how Dennosuke should have been—but wasn't.
The walk back to their home was quite for Dennosuke who took the moment to himself to meditate on all the pointed out mistakes, and which ones he agreed with and fought to disagree with. His mulling had been disbanded the moment Michitaro caught up with him and slung an arm around his neck.
"Nice going, Denno! You didn't even mention Unohana," Michitaro praised.
"Unohana?" Dennosuke questioned.
"The human. It was weird to call her 'she' or 'human lady' so I figured it was best to give her a name." Michitaro crossed his arms and nodded to solidify his decision. Dennosuke just sighed, his pace picking on their walk back to their hut. He was exhausted and just wanted to cry himself to sleep, which honestly wouldn't take long.
When they moved into their home, Dennosuke quickly went to his section and fell into his blankets. He was ready for sleep to embrace him in its silent pitch-black arms, but a commotion too near to him stirred his irritation. He leaned up, turning his head to look at his brother standing just outside his room. He was just under the arch when he watched Michitaro reveal a small squared case. From the look on his brother's face, Dennosuke concluded that Michitaro was willing and ready to partake in an investigation.
Sitting down, Michitaro looked the case over and then tapped against its wooden structure. Dennosuke shifted to his arms and knees before leaving the comfort of his nest.
"What is that?"
Michitaro looked up. "Unohana's box, at least I think it's hers. Dunno, it was near her when we found her."
"You just decided to keep it?" The pitch in Dennosuke's words alerted them both of the seriousness of the situation. His brown eyes darted around, as if at any moment Raijirou or Ienari would pop out of a hiding spot, having seen and heard everything.
"Hey, you've got that bang stick of hers," Michitaro defended, giving Dennosuke a glance at his pack and then jutting his nose into the air. He carried on his exploration of the box from there. "How does one even open this?"
Dennosuke was busy holding his pouch protectively, wishing that Michitaro hadn't seen him slip that strange stick into it, but he had to know more about it, especially if it was supposed to be a weapon used against their kind. The sound of unlatching clips tinging into the air alerted Dennosuke to the opening, and he got a good view of the contents inside.
"Wooow!" Michitaro pulled out the parchments, browsing through them. "You think she did all this? She's amazing!"
Dennosuke couldn't help but lean closer. Along the papers were sketches of human buildings, and even a few humans themselves. They were quite good, but Michitaro and Dennosuke had to admit the colored ones were the best pictures.
"What are these?" Michitaro picked up what looked like pigmented squares, feeling them against his fingers for a moment before he slowly brought it toward his mouth. Dennosuke was quick to swat that idea out of his head and hand. "Ow, what gives?"
"It could be poisonous, you idiot!" With a huff, Dennosuke reached down and stole the box and its contents out of Michitaro's complaining grasp. "No, no. We're going to put this back where we found it. Don't want any human coming to look for it."
"Ah, what a shame." The tone in Michitaro's voice turned from bordering complaint to bordering excitement. It struck a nerve with Dennosuke who glared at him annoyingly, but it didn't effect Michitaro like he wished it would, instead the younger only grinned wider.
. . .
Ever since remembering, April couldn't get the image out of her head. In that moment of panic and fright and startle, there had been a figure, a face in the light of her gun's charge. And it was that face she was trying to draw right now.
April sighed out a moan, dropping her head onto the desk. "No, no, no." She moaned again, frustration lacing her features when she sat back and looked at the various attempts to sketch what she'd seen. It'd been days since that frightful event, but the image remained clear as day in her mind, and yet her hands didn't want to cooperate.
She had about eleven attempted sketches of the thing she saw in the fire light that night. But each time she looked at the finished or partially finished piece something just struck a nerve with her. Maybe it was her sense berating her for her foolish chase, or perhaps it was her perfectionist side that made her yearn to relive that moment—or at least that image—so she could take her time to finalize every detail with pencils and then complete it looks with color, the right colors.
April missed her art case. Most of her pencils were in there, and all of her pigments. Even what collected pieces she had was stashed away in that case. She must have dropped it during her run.
Twisting in her seat, she glanced out of her room. From her position she could see the housemaid Minako roaming about cleaning and straightening up the place, beyond her were a set of windows where the open road could be seen. The outside called to her, but April wasn't sure if she was ready.
After lunch April wrapped herself in a shawl and moved toward the living room where he uncle was lounging in a rocking chair and gazette in hand. An old one, but something to read during his time in Japan.
"Uncle Augie."
Augustus started, looking toward his niece. He smiled instantaneously. "April, it's nice to see you outside of your room."
"Yeah, I was thinking that maybe, if you could, show me around the shops today?" Given the daylight it'd be easier for her to see if she had left her case near the bench she found herself asleep on those days ago, or maybe if she had left it anywhere else near the market place.
"You want to go out?" Clapping the paper together, her uncle folded the piece and set it aside. He was to his feet an instant later. "Of course, let me get my jacket."
Despite her close-clung independency, having Uncle Augie escort her around the shops made April feel safer. His experience and fluency with the land and people helped her immensely, and for one of the first times since she'd arrived she felt care free and happy.
"Uncle, in there!" April's eyes sparkled at the shop full of brushes, paper, and paint. Along the walls were scrolls of paintings as well, the style fascinating and distinct. It was instantaneous attraction.
Her uncle watched on as she roamed about the shop, he himself striking up friendly conversation with the owners that April couldn't follow. Picking up bottles of intriguing colors as she went, she paused when she noticed a set of paintings off in the corner depicting strange creatures, monsters really. There was a variety of them.
"Uncle Augie?" April called out, holding onto one of the hanging pieces. "What are these?" On the painting there were depicted four creatures, each attacking the other whilst one human wrestled in the middle.
Turning back to the owners, her uncle inquired about the piece and as he was informed he returned the information in English.
"It's called the Enemies of Man. Tengu, the winged creature, Kitsune, the fox like creatures, Oni, those ogre looking ones, and Kappa, the ones that kind of look like turtles." That explanation would have been fine enough, but April noticed the owner carrying on the topic with deep interest. And so Augustus continued. "He says that these creatures are comprised in clans, and humanity is itself a clan. He says they've been at war with these creatures for thousands of years and that if any should cross paths they wouldn't hesitate to try and kill the other." April watched her uncle's brows rise before he chuckled. "Ah, Japanese fairytales, April. You know, like the ones your father and I used to tell you when you were little."
While Celtic and Japanese mythos likely had many similarities, April couldn't shake the strange feeling that the shop owner was an avid believer in these spiritual creatures. She wondered how many saw the stories as fact and interwoven in their histories. Though, to be fair, April even couldn't take her eyes off of the painting, especially the green tinted monster that clawed at the human.
April had gotten the painting in the end along with many bottles of paint. After a stop down the eating district she sat down at a familiar place and looked the painting over.
"Getting tired already?" Augustus stood near, a wagasa on his shoulder, twirling with a flick of his fingers to keep his pale skin from the sun's wrath. "Not my April." He chuckled teasingly. "And here I thought we'd be out all night."
Letting out a sigh, April rolled the painting up and placed it into the bag where her paint bottles were stored. She sat longer still for a moment, looking around and feeling the bench beneath her with her hand. It was that bench she woke up on that one morning, she was sure of it. But she was as confused about her surroundings now as she was the day she found herself there.
Twisting, April noticed the forest in the back, just beyond the outskirting houses, with trees heavy and full of green leaves rustling in the breeze wiping toward them. She remembered the forest closer, all around her actually. And then the things inside . . .
Looking around, there was no sign of her art case. April sighed again.
"Okay, let's go home." April stood and took her uncle's arm as they sauntered off, away from the bench and the forest she couldn't help but glance back at one more time.
Not that night but the following morning April saddled up the courage to go back out, alone. Right after her uncle offed to the temple she had snuck around Minako and left the house. By the time April had returned to the bench the sun was high and the day warm. Ignoring the passing crowds around as they ignored her she made it to the forest beyond.
The forest wasn't as intimidating as it was in the dark. She used to hike often when her parents took her and her siblings to the country for an outdoor getaway. The woods were not foreign to her.
In the peace and quiet, April felt her courage spurred and a giggle bubble in her breast. Creatures. It was likely something akin to a raccoon she saw that night. Probably startled the poor thing. Hopefully she didn't kill it, after all she had a gun . . . wait . . .
Where was the gun her uncle had given her? Lost somewhere with her art case maybe? Great.
Mind set and body well-rested, April was prepared to spend the entire day scouring what she could in search for her missing items. If anything, she hoped to find her case.
Having forgone lunch and supper, April was exhausted and hungry and just now noticing the diming light in the sky. It was dusk and time for her to head home before the night crept in. She was prepared to do just that in her discouraged state when she heard a rustle a little ways behind her.
Twisting around, her wide eyes scanned her surroundings, heart hammering in worry that perhaps there were bandits or bears. "Hello?" she called out to no response, not even further rustling. Of course not. She called out a few more times before she realized she must have misheard. Now certainly wasn't the time to linger.
Turning, she stuck herself with the task to walk straight home. She had a good memory of the way she came so it wouldn't be hard, however before she even took a step forward she paused, eyes looking at something she knows for certain hadn't been in her path before.
There seated on the ground before her was her art case.
It had NOT been there before.
Unsettled limbs began to shake as April turned around again wondering if . . . if maybe . . . But there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.
"Hello?" she called out as she knelt down and picked up the case, holding it close to her torso. "Hello!"
Her calls echoed as if no one and nothing was there, but she knew that wasn't true. She could feel eyes on her, and she didn't think that . . . She needed to leave. And so she turned back homeward and walked until she exited the forest, until she passed all of the districts, until she walked through the front door with dinner wafting from the kitchen. Her uncle came out his own room as soon as the door had sounded with a slam!
"April? Where have you been all day?" He paused when he noticed her case. "You found it. Where was it?"
April breathed out a shuddering breath. "Right where . . . right where I left it."
"That's good to hear, but you really have to stop going out on your own, you know. Come on, Minako just finished dinner. I'll bet you forgot to eat when you were out." April followed the pull of her uncle and submitted to his care, but she simply couldn't take his advice, not when her soul was raging that she go back out into that forest.
. . .
"Did you see, did you see? You saw that right? She came back, Unohana came back. It's like she knew!" Michitaro was all grins as he twirled around Dennosuke's work space, just like he had been during their second visit to the border of the human territory. He was just loud enough for Dennosuke to pull his eyes away from his work and glare at him, but obnoxious enough that he was sure if their other brothers were around they would just habitually drown him out.
"She seemed happy to see her paper box," Michitaro went on before glancing down at his brother's work. Currently he had dismembered Unohana's bang stick. Pieces were laying everywhere atop the table in a tray, but they seemed as organized as Dennosuke usually placed them. "Hey, weren't you supposed to give that back too?"
Dennosuke sighed, leaning away to look at his pressing brother. "I will after I figure out how it works." He held up the iron components as well as the powder he found inside. "And I think I'm really close."
Michitaro nodded, interested enough, but his growing smile was for something else. "That means we'll get to see her again."
"We don't know if she'll come looking for her stick," Dennosuke explained.
"But she was there when we were there returning her box. It's fate, brother!"
It was a strange coincidence how the human—Unohana, as Michitaro named her—happened to be in the forest on the same day they had managed to evade their brothers to return and drop the item off. Dennosuke wondered if she had been looking for her lost items all this time, now wondering if Michitaro's assumptions will prove true and that she'll be there when they were ready to give the stick back.
She was.
"I was right, I was right, I was right!"
"Shut up!" Dennosuke grabbed his loud-mouthed brother who didn't have the skill to whisper properly. His wide eyes were on the human who was sitting down in the grass near a particularly tall tree. Beside her was the box they had returned to her, and in her hands was a piece of paper. She was drawing, no, painting something.
"I wonder what she's doing." Michitaro's neck stretched as if he would get a better look that way. No, they'd have to circle around to manage to stand behind her. At this vantage point they could only see everything frontal.
"She's painting," Dennosuke explained, he nodded to her pad set atop her box, and the smear of pigments lain over, as well as the array of brushes present.
"I wonder what she's painting," Michitaro said with a sigh of disappointment—disappointment that he couldn't see what it was from where he was crouched.
"Trees for all I care, now can we do what we came here to do?" He held up the stick before Michitaro's eyes who looked it over before a sharp grin curled his lips.
"Look, Denno, if you're scared, I can do it."
Scared? Dennosuke wasn't scared. They gave back the box before, what difference would this return be? How dare Michitaro call him scared?
Oh.
Looking at the hand holding the stick, Dennosuke realized he might be shaking. Slightly, just slightly.
"No, I'll do it," Dennosuke swore, knowing that Michitaro was too carefree and wouldn't at all be concerned if he was caught during the return. Which was probably the reason he wasn't the one a shaking mess.
Taking a breath, Dennosuke crept around, hearing the soft encouraging, "Go, go, go!" from his brother. One last glare back made him silence himself. Now, all Dennosuke could focus on was the rattling of his nerves.
You can do this, Dennosuke. If Michi can be quick enough to drop the paper box off and dart back into the foliage before the human could react then you can do the same. Dennosuke's inner cheering wasn't as helpful as he wished it was. He blamed it on the scarcity of trees in this location and his own intent to make sure the human received the stick right back in her hands.
He was there now, right behind the tree she propped herself near. Just below laid her paper box and the pad of colors and brushes. Dennosuke was going to put the stick right beside them. Reaching out around the trunk, Dennosuke slowly lowered the bang stick he had expertly put back together. It didn't at all make a sound on the pad, and it wouldn't when he let go of it fully, however he never did because Onohana reached over to grab another brush and grabbed his hand instead.
The startle made the human jump, her body jumped as she turned and looked at him with wide eyes. A moment later she was screaming, limbs flailing even as she crawled away in an attempt to get back to her feet. A quick glance back over to Michitaro's hiding spot gave Dennosuke a visage of his younger brother's wide eyes and hand-squished face of horror.
Dennosuke didn't know what to do besides twist back for cover. He was frozen against the tree trunk, and he was absolutely certain the circumference of which did not conceal him entirely. Oh shell.
At least the screams stopped. Unohana was heaving, but she was wide-eyed, awake, and still standing. She was looking toward Dennosuke, and while he knew that, he remained frozen in place, eyes screwed closed hoping this was just some lousy discouraging dream. It was such a shame that it all felt so real.
The moment the human took some brave steps closer, leaning over to peer more behind the tree, Michitaro darted out of the bushes, hands waving. "No! No!" He slid between Dennosuke and the human, hands up. "Don't hurt him, Unohana! We were gonna give your bang stick back, we promise!"
Dennosuke's eyes popped open the moment he heard Michitaro. Gapping, he jumped at the sight before him. There Michitaro was, on his knees and hands in the air. He was between him and the human, protective but begging.
Instantly, Dennosuke reached out and took hold of Michitaro's shoulder, giving him a tug as a signal that he was there and that he would defend him if he had to. But while he knew their hearts hammered, Dennosuke couldn't help but see their same eyes in the bright irises of the human standing before them. She was just as frightened.
When the human mirrored Michitaro's pose and rose her own hands Dennosuke wondered if the danger of their situation would vanish. Could it be? Even from a creature as dangerous as a human?
Dennosuke tugged again, just to get Michitaro to his feet. They stood there, all three of them, for a while in silence. Minutes or maybe hours, they all stared at each other, neither having been so close to another of their kind. Ever.
"Denno, the stick." Dennosuke felt Michitaro nudge him with his elbow. It broke him out of his stupor and instantly he held out the object.
The human looked confused at the sight of it, but it didn't matter, Dennosuke shook it as a sign for her to take it. The following moment, she did. As soon as it was in her hands, and she looked it over, Dennosuke felt worry bubble inside him over whether or not he put it back together properly. What if he didn't? What if she noticed?
Then those unnaturally blue eyes were on them again, more specifically Dennosuke. They roamed down him, taking him in with long sweeps. They paused for a moment, and when they had Dennosuke looked down to notice they were looking at the nick he had in his plastron where the small stone had struck him that night.
Something flashed across her eyes then. It was hard to discern what it was given the fact that humans don't feel like kappa do. Yet, it almost looked like remorse.
When she stepped forward, hand out as if to touch, both boys took a quick jump back. They waved her away, trying to motion they didn't want her to come within an arm's reach. She seemed frustrated, but then she held up a finger—a strange gesture—before she moved back toward her papers. She picked up two pieces and then held it out to them as if to show what she had been painting.
It was kappa. Or, maybe, more specifically; them. That was an instant pull at Michitaro's fascination.
"Oooh, sweet!" He was the first to lean forward, the first to come closer even as he took up one of the pieces with no reservations and looked it over. "It's me!" He grinned, looking back at Dennosuke. "Denno, she's painting us!"
Dennosuke was much quieter than his counterpart. He took turns glancing at his relaxed brother standing much too close to the human and then toward Unohana. She hadn't made any further moves, in fact she looked just as intrigued at Michitaro's reactions and proximity as they were of hers. His eyes then roamed to the other painting, an atypical kappa, it could be anyone, but it was a better rendition than what they've known humans to sketch them as. Had she done this all from memory? Amazing.
"Denno! You've gotta see what else she's been up to!" Both Unohana and Dennosuke turned to see Michitaro crouched down next to her box, sorting through the papers. "Oooh, these are good." He twisted, holding up a paper. "Can I keep this one?"
Once more Dennosuke and Unohana's eyes met. He watched her move, slowly. When she returned back to her box, kneeling down beside Michitaro, Dennosuke felt a pull to move forward. After all she was a little closer to Michitaro then he thought was safe. What he saw over Michitaro's shell was the human showing him the different sketches and paintings, and then he watched with equal interest as she pulled out a blank piece and took out a thin stick, charcoal.
Unohana began to draw lines and curves until an image became clear. And this image was better than what they had seen before. Michitaro twisted toward Dennosuke showing nothing but teeth. "She's drawing me, Denno!" It didn't take her long, and when she was finished she turned the paper toward them. Michitaro took it in his hands then hugged it to his plastron. "I love it!"
"April." The both of them paused and watched her press a hand to her chest, pointing. "April."
"What's she saying?" Michitaro asked, looking up at his brother.
Dennosuke shrugged. "I-I don't know." But he listened, trying to find any similarities in their languages. It was hard to find any.
"April," she said again.
Dennosuke blinked. "I think I get it." He extended his arm, pointed toward her. "April."
Then she smiled. It made her look . . . pleasant. When she nodded, Dennosuke understood it completely.
"She's telling us her name. It's April," Dennosuke explained to Michitaro.
"April, huh?" Michitaro nodded himself, patting his plastron in a similar manner. "Michitaro." When she looked confused, Michitaro said it again. "Michi-taro. Or just Michi for short, up to you. Though, I still think Unohana was a nice name for you. You can always change back to that, you know."
April's brows furrowed further. Dennosuke rolled his eyes, sighing. "Stop bombarding her with a language she doesn't understand."
"Okay, then you translate, oh smart one." When Michitaro crossed his arms with a 'humph,' Dennosuke resisted rolling his eyes again.
"I don't understand either, but I know what she's trying to say." He offered a small smile of his own, waving his hand at her to get her attention. He patted his plastron. "Dennosuke."
April nodded, immediately trying to mimic the name. "Dennysake."
Michitaro's laughter startled the both of them. "Aha! Oh yeah, that's totally his name, haha!"
"Quiet, Michi," Dennosuke demanded with a short stamp. He pulled his attention away and once more patted his plastron. "D-enn-o-su-ke."
"Deonosukie." It was worse the second time around, as was Michitaro's ear-shattering laughter. And in Dennosuke's embarrassment and frustration he heard the human—April—laugh. He turned to her, watching as she joined in with Michitaro.
"Sorry," she said. Dennosuke didn't understand that, but he recognized the apologetic look in her eyes. It was still so strange to see humans with kappa emotions.
"It's alright," Dennosuke assured. He smiled along with them because this was absolutely crazy and all at once the most amazing thing that's ever happened in all his years alive.
Oh great Kami, please, just this once, don't let this be a dream.
TeamB: Notes . . .
I'm not too savvy on the lingo spoken during the mid 1800's, so a lot of their dialogue will likely seem kinda "modern." It's fanfiction alright!
Yes, Leo's a little bit of a jerk, if only because he's overprotective; as he was in the 2014/2016 films. He gets better.
Mickey's nickname for April, "Unohana," is actually a reference to a flower that blooms in Uzuki, which is the month of April. Yeah, see what I did there? :P