DAY FOUR
The next day, Hokuto decided it was high time she lived up to her promises. Unfortunately, this meant another train journey was in order.
Her plan was simple enough - go to their door, make a few threats, see how they react. Mind, if there was anything she was learning about this world it was that nothing ever turned out the way she expected it to.
As soon as she walked through the door she knew this was going to badly. The woman that appeared to be in charge was obviously a dedicated traditionalist and it wasn't going to be easy to convince her to let Kakyou go.
"Who are you?" demanded the woman, "and what are you doing here?"
Hokuto smiled sweetly at her. "My name is Sumeragi Hokuto. I want you to let Kakyou go."
The woman stared at her. "I have no idea what you are talking about," she said, stiffly.
"Kakyou," repeated Hokuto, "you know, the pretty dreamgazer you keep locked upstairs. I want you to let him go."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," said the woman, apparently giving up the pretence of ignorance. "His dreams are far too important to us."
Hokuto glared at her. "Fine. I'll make you a deal. Let him go willingly and I'll let him continue 'working' for you, but only if you pay him at least the minimum wage for skilled work."
"And if I refuse?"
Hokuto smiled again. "Well, you know. I hate having to make threats, but I'm a journalist, and my brother is the Sumeragi head, and together I think we could probably make your lives pretty miserable. Ne?"
When the woman showed her into Kakyou's room, the dreamgazer was understandably surprised to see her. "Hokuto-chan...?" he said, hesitantly.
"Ohayou," she said with a grin. "Hajimemashite." [1]
He shook her hand solemnly.
The woman looked like she planned on continuing to lurk in the doorway indefinitely, so Hokuto glared at her until she departed, closing the door behind her. When she heard the footsteps heading down the stairs, she explained the results of her 'negotiation' to Kakyou.
He looked somewhat pleased, but also vaguely worried. "I don't know about accepting money for using my powers, though," he said, quietly. "It doesn't seem right."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. They've been using you for most of your life, they probably owe you heaps of money. Besides, since they've taken away most of your employment opportunities by keeping you so isolated, it's the least we can make them do."
Kakyou nodded obediently. "So, um, where are we going?"
"My apartment. I'll help you pack, we're leaving as soon as possible."
He nodded again. "Thank you."
-------------------------------------------
Subaru rang that afternoon, asking if he could spend the night at her apartment as he was going to be in the city late with work. "It's so strange," he confessed, when she asked if this happened often, "having you around but not really having you around, if you know what I mean."
"I assure you, it's even stranger for me," said Hokuto, dryly.
He laughed. "Anyway, it's a pain having to work so far from home, but I wouldn't give up our place for anything."
"I understand," she said, "but you'll probably have to sleep on the floor. I have a guest in the spare room."
"Oh?" said her brother, sounding surprised. "Who?"
"Kakyou. He's a dreamgazer. You probably don't know him."
"The only dreamgazers I know of are Hinoto and Kotori-chan," he said apologetically.
"It's okay. He has been locked up most of his life, after all."
"Really?" said Subaru. "That's horrible."
"Thus why he's staying with me," she said, triumphantly. "I managed to get him out of that place and make them pay him a salary, too."
Subaru laughed. "Congratulations."
"Who were you talking to?" asked Kakyou, when she finally hung up the phone.
"Subaru, my brother. You'll probably meet him tonight. He's spending the night here, only he'll probably have to sleep on the floor since I don't have a spare room any more, but he says that's fine so it's all okay."
"Oh." Kakyou took a moment to process this. "Is he nice?"
"Subaru," she said, with a proud smile, "is one of the nicest people in the world."
He gave her a doubtful look.
"Believe me. Well, my Subaru was, and this Subaru isn't all that different, aside from being a little less mouse-like and with a better sense of humour, but he's still a truly amazingly nice person."
Kakyou nodded, thoughtfully.
She regarded him critically. "Do you have any other clothes?"
The dreamgazer looked down at his robes. "No...?" he ventured.
"Well then. Now I know what we'll be doing for the rest of the afternoon." She began running through potential colours and outfits in her mind. She'd never dressed a blond before. "Have you ever thought about cutting your hair?"
He put a hand to his hair protectively. "I like it long."
"But short hair is so much cuter!" she protested, laughing.
Kakyou shook his head firmly. "No."
"Well, at least get it trimmed a bit, okay? I know some nice long styles too."
"That's nice," he said, faintly.
"Well, come on then!" she poked him in the shoulder, lightly. She'd made the mistake of checking out her bank balance. The other Hokuto had obviously been saving for something, but since this Hokuto couldn't think of anything she wanted to do, other than visit the beach with Kakyou, she figured a little shopping couldn't hurt. "We'll take a taxi to the central shopping district. There should be plenty of choice there."
She had already decided that pastels were right out, and she'd have to be very careful with dark colours. Red and orange would look horrible, yellows were definitely out, which basically left her with greens, blues and purples. Whites, creams and blacks... They could work, if she was careful about it. That was fine. She could work with that.
As for the clothing itself, she was mostly thinking of simple, casual things. Jeans, shirts, that sort of thing. Maybe a long coat - it would be winter before too long.
First on the agenda, however, was the haircut. Once she'd managed to talk Kakyou and the hair dresser into a nice style that wasn't too long but would still tie back neatly and wouldn't tangle as soon as he'd been outside for more than five minutes, it was simply a matter of waiting. Then, the mall.
By the end of it all, the dreamgazer was looking a little overwhelmed, but he had a perfectly functional wardrobe. Hokuto felt very proud.
Finally, she dropped by a supermarket to get some supplies for the evening meal. Once they were back at her apartment she made Kakyou get changed and model all his new clothes, while she cheerfully began unwrapping and chopping vegetables.
Somewhat unexpectedly, when she was halfway done, Seishirou dropped by. Even more unexpectedly, he came armed with a bunch of roses. Ever the gracious host, she accepted the roses and invited him to stay for dinner.
Seishirou seemed a little put-out to see Kakyou there. Once she was done with the introductions, she retreated back to the kitchen and idly eavesdropped on their conversation. It mostly seemed to revolve around Kakyou's powers and what he was doing in Hokuto's apartment.
If she didn't know better, she would have sworn Seishirou was a little... jealous?
"I'm sorry for things being a little weird," she said, as she served dinner. "I'm still not feeling quite myself." She hoped that would be adequate explanation for the way she found herself twitching away whenever he made as if to touch her.
"So I've noticed," he said, dryly. "You forgot our dinner and movie date."
She felt herself flush bright red. "I... I mean, I... That is to say, I... I'm so sorry!" she said, almost knocking over the table in her hurry to bow her apology.
He gave her a smile that almost seemed sad, in an odd way. "It's okay."
The rest of the meal passed in uncomfortable silence.
Seishirou left not long after dinner, leaving her alone with Kakyou. The dreamgazer gave her a concerned look. "You don't like him very much, do you?"
"It's not that," she said, wringing her hands. "His counterpart in my universe did some pretty horrible things, that's all. I don't quite trust him."
Kakyou nodded and didn't pry, for which she was grateful.
Her gaze fell to the bunch of flowers she had placed in a vase before dinner. It was odd, that. Why would Seishirou be bringing her flowers?
It wasn't long before Kakyou excused himself, saying he was feeling unusually tired and would she mind if he slept early tonight?
She shook her head distractedly. "Of course not. You've had a long day."
He nodded, and retreated to the spare room.
When her brother let himself in later that evening she was still awake. "Subaru?" she said, walking out to greet him. "I think you were wrong. I think Seishirou was in love with Hokuto-chan."
--
TO BE CONTINUED.
Comments appreciated.
FOOTNOTE(S)
1. Ohayou means "good morning", approximately. Hajimemashite is what you say to a person the first time you meet. Hokuto is insane, don't blame me.
The next day, Hokuto decided it was high time she lived up to her promises. Unfortunately, this meant another train journey was in order.
Her plan was simple enough - go to their door, make a few threats, see how they react. Mind, if there was anything she was learning about this world it was that nothing ever turned out the way she expected it to.
As soon as she walked through the door she knew this was going to badly. The woman that appeared to be in charge was obviously a dedicated traditionalist and it wasn't going to be easy to convince her to let Kakyou go.
"Who are you?" demanded the woman, "and what are you doing here?"
Hokuto smiled sweetly at her. "My name is Sumeragi Hokuto. I want you to let Kakyou go."
The woman stared at her. "I have no idea what you are talking about," she said, stiffly.
"Kakyou," repeated Hokuto, "you know, the pretty dreamgazer you keep locked upstairs. I want you to let him go."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," said the woman, apparently giving up the pretence of ignorance. "His dreams are far too important to us."
Hokuto glared at her. "Fine. I'll make you a deal. Let him go willingly and I'll let him continue 'working' for you, but only if you pay him at least the minimum wage for skilled work."
"And if I refuse?"
Hokuto smiled again. "Well, you know. I hate having to make threats, but I'm a journalist, and my brother is the Sumeragi head, and together I think we could probably make your lives pretty miserable. Ne?"
When the woman showed her into Kakyou's room, the dreamgazer was understandably surprised to see her. "Hokuto-chan...?" he said, hesitantly.
"Ohayou," she said with a grin. "Hajimemashite." [1]
He shook her hand solemnly.
The woman looked like she planned on continuing to lurk in the doorway indefinitely, so Hokuto glared at her until she departed, closing the door behind her. When she heard the footsteps heading down the stairs, she explained the results of her 'negotiation' to Kakyou.
He looked somewhat pleased, but also vaguely worried. "I don't know about accepting money for using my powers, though," he said, quietly. "It doesn't seem right."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. They've been using you for most of your life, they probably owe you heaps of money. Besides, since they've taken away most of your employment opportunities by keeping you so isolated, it's the least we can make them do."
Kakyou nodded obediently. "So, um, where are we going?"
"My apartment. I'll help you pack, we're leaving as soon as possible."
He nodded again. "Thank you."
-------------------------------------------
Subaru rang that afternoon, asking if he could spend the night at her apartment as he was going to be in the city late with work. "It's so strange," he confessed, when she asked if this happened often, "having you around but not really having you around, if you know what I mean."
"I assure you, it's even stranger for me," said Hokuto, dryly.
He laughed. "Anyway, it's a pain having to work so far from home, but I wouldn't give up our place for anything."
"I understand," she said, "but you'll probably have to sleep on the floor. I have a guest in the spare room."
"Oh?" said her brother, sounding surprised. "Who?"
"Kakyou. He's a dreamgazer. You probably don't know him."
"The only dreamgazers I know of are Hinoto and Kotori-chan," he said apologetically.
"It's okay. He has been locked up most of his life, after all."
"Really?" said Subaru. "That's horrible."
"Thus why he's staying with me," she said, triumphantly. "I managed to get him out of that place and make them pay him a salary, too."
Subaru laughed. "Congratulations."
"Who were you talking to?" asked Kakyou, when she finally hung up the phone.
"Subaru, my brother. You'll probably meet him tonight. He's spending the night here, only he'll probably have to sleep on the floor since I don't have a spare room any more, but he says that's fine so it's all okay."
"Oh." Kakyou took a moment to process this. "Is he nice?"
"Subaru," she said, with a proud smile, "is one of the nicest people in the world."
He gave her a doubtful look.
"Believe me. Well, my Subaru was, and this Subaru isn't all that different, aside from being a little less mouse-like and with a better sense of humour, but he's still a truly amazingly nice person."
Kakyou nodded, thoughtfully.
She regarded him critically. "Do you have any other clothes?"
The dreamgazer looked down at his robes. "No...?" he ventured.
"Well then. Now I know what we'll be doing for the rest of the afternoon." She began running through potential colours and outfits in her mind. She'd never dressed a blond before. "Have you ever thought about cutting your hair?"
He put a hand to his hair protectively. "I like it long."
"But short hair is so much cuter!" she protested, laughing.
Kakyou shook his head firmly. "No."
"Well, at least get it trimmed a bit, okay? I know some nice long styles too."
"That's nice," he said, faintly.
"Well, come on then!" she poked him in the shoulder, lightly. She'd made the mistake of checking out her bank balance. The other Hokuto had obviously been saving for something, but since this Hokuto couldn't think of anything she wanted to do, other than visit the beach with Kakyou, she figured a little shopping couldn't hurt. "We'll take a taxi to the central shopping district. There should be plenty of choice there."
She had already decided that pastels were right out, and she'd have to be very careful with dark colours. Red and orange would look horrible, yellows were definitely out, which basically left her with greens, blues and purples. Whites, creams and blacks... They could work, if she was careful about it. That was fine. She could work with that.
As for the clothing itself, she was mostly thinking of simple, casual things. Jeans, shirts, that sort of thing. Maybe a long coat - it would be winter before too long.
First on the agenda, however, was the haircut. Once she'd managed to talk Kakyou and the hair dresser into a nice style that wasn't too long but would still tie back neatly and wouldn't tangle as soon as he'd been outside for more than five minutes, it was simply a matter of waiting. Then, the mall.
By the end of it all, the dreamgazer was looking a little overwhelmed, but he had a perfectly functional wardrobe. Hokuto felt very proud.
Finally, she dropped by a supermarket to get some supplies for the evening meal. Once they were back at her apartment she made Kakyou get changed and model all his new clothes, while she cheerfully began unwrapping and chopping vegetables.
Somewhat unexpectedly, when she was halfway done, Seishirou dropped by. Even more unexpectedly, he came armed with a bunch of roses. Ever the gracious host, she accepted the roses and invited him to stay for dinner.
Seishirou seemed a little put-out to see Kakyou there. Once she was done with the introductions, she retreated back to the kitchen and idly eavesdropped on their conversation. It mostly seemed to revolve around Kakyou's powers and what he was doing in Hokuto's apartment.
If she didn't know better, she would have sworn Seishirou was a little... jealous?
"I'm sorry for things being a little weird," she said, as she served dinner. "I'm still not feeling quite myself." She hoped that would be adequate explanation for the way she found herself twitching away whenever he made as if to touch her.
"So I've noticed," he said, dryly. "You forgot our dinner and movie date."
She felt herself flush bright red. "I... I mean, I... That is to say, I... I'm so sorry!" she said, almost knocking over the table in her hurry to bow her apology.
He gave her a smile that almost seemed sad, in an odd way. "It's okay."
The rest of the meal passed in uncomfortable silence.
Seishirou left not long after dinner, leaving her alone with Kakyou. The dreamgazer gave her a concerned look. "You don't like him very much, do you?"
"It's not that," she said, wringing her hands. "His counterpart in my universe did some pretty horrible things, that's all. I don't quite trust him."
Kakyou nodded and didn't pry, for which she was grateful.
Her gaze fell to the bunch of flowers she had placed in a vase before dinner. It was odd, that. Why would Seishirou be bringing her flowers?
It wasn't long before Kakyou excused himself, saying he was feeling unusually tired and would she mind if he slept early tonight?
She shook her head distractedly. "Of course not. You've had a long day."
He nodded, and retreated to the spare room.
When her brother let himself in later that evening she was still awake. "Subaru?" she said, walking out to greet him. "I think you were wrong. I think Seishirou was in love with Hokuto-chan."
--
TO BE CONTINUED.
Comments appreciated.
FOOTNOTE(S)
1. Ohayou means "good morning", approximately. Hajimemashite is what you say to a person the first time you meet. Hokuto is insane, don't blame me.