Once a lifetime, there walks among humans what we call the nurse of souls... one who can feel emotions and magic. He walks among them to relieve their sad hearts and tired souls and also to take care of one for all eternity; the one his fate is tied to- his lover... – Arua Mendel, Monitor Angel.
First Day.
By this time, people had eaten their lunch and the Fuyou house was of no exception. Kaede was at dish duty while Primula dealt with the table. She wasn't washing though- because that person that gave her distress was distressing her even more.
"Why couldn't I get my mind off him? It's as if... he's trying to..."
"Kaede, are you okay?" Primula then interrupted her thoughts. "Are you cold? Are you sick? Are you..."
"I'm okay..."
"Please, let me do that as well..." her companion again spoke, pointing to the unwashed dishes and pot.
"Please do... and I'm sorry Rimu... I'll go check on the laundry instead."
Well, getting the laundry from the outside hangers certainly did the job of keeping her thoughts off the stranger- even though some items were no longer there. In another end, the guy that was the cause of Kaede's distress had just finished his chores as well.
"Inori... where are you going?" a much more mature female voice came in as he opened the gate.
"Just taking a walk auntie... and probably back to the church to practice more..."
"Eh? Why don't you just practice here?"
"I need to grasp some things to you know..."
"Have fun dear!"
"Auntie, she always worries... so typical of her..." the guy called Inori thought as he went off.
"I'll go shopping..." Kaede spoke as she opened the door, intent on going out as well. "What shall I bring you?"
"Anything warm and okay... and take care..."
At the park, Inori took out a sheet music and began to compose a few lines. But his concentration was broken by the intruding images of the morning.
"Arrgh, I can't work like this!" he screamed as he tore and crumpled the sheet. "It's as if that girl is screwing my focus! What's with her anyway? The sooner I settle with that girl, the easier I can breathe and compose again... I still need to complete Mika's requiem song."
But as soon as he stood up, someone with the most wrong of all timings crossed his path, making him bump on the person and almost stumbling the two of them.
"I'm sorry, miss..."
His words were cut short as he and the person that he bumped into looked at each other- she was none other than Kaede.
"You again!" the two almost hissed.
"I'm sorry that I made you slap! And what's wrong with you- slapping strangers like me like I was someone you knew!" Inori replied.
"And so what? You of all people made me nervous without even doing anything! I don't know you, so I don't care!" Kaede also hissed, walking away and followed by the boy.
"I was just trying to apologize for this morning and just now... hello?"
"Apology accepted, so shut up!"
Inori piped down but still followed the girl- intent of getting and giving a proper apology. Then...
"I told you to shut up!" again the girl hissed, turning around to look at him.
"I did not say anything..."
"Well then, what was 'I can help you' all about!"
"I was not- I mean that I was just only thinking about it..."
"Well then, would you stop thinking about helping me..." she replied, with less tension. "Nothing could help me with my problem." She then unwearyingly said.
"Nothing? Are you sure about that?" Inori then asked. "With a little patience and faith, any problem can be solved..."
"And why are you following me! I told you to leave my sight!"
"You only told me to leave now, not before you..." Inori began to reply but was stumped- for the girl was no longer there. "Hey, I'm not finished explaining!"
"What's with him anyway?" Kaede thought as she scanned the racks of the grocery. "That know-it-all that helps even people that don't like him... or know him for that matter- the nerve! But he was... trying to help me..."
"Yahoo, Kaede!" another familiar voice came in.
"Sia... what are you doing here?"
"The usual- for father. Why the face?" Lisianthus replied, noting her neighbor's sour look.
"Of all people, why him! Like he's some show-off!"
"Are you talking about-"
"It's not 'him-Rin' Sia... some stranger that I bumped into just this morning at mass..."
"Mass? You mean the 'night mass' that Akiya and Mikan were talking about?"
Kaede nodded and took an item from the shelf.
"Eh... I wished that I can join you guys... but I woke up too late... one powerful wish wasted..."
"You too? You believe that a wish can come true?"
"Well, it never hurts to wish for something..."
"'Never hurts to wish' huh?" Kaede sadly and softly replied, remembering the words that she had said in anger before- "I wish that you die!"
In the meantime, at the church- Inori was already there practicing a new piece, with a few choir members in tow. After they were finished with a run, someone claps in applause.
"Father Lopez..." the pianist greeted the priest, who was leading someone blue-haired and long-eared for that matter. "Who's your guest?"
"Ah... Inori Makoto, meet one of our volunteer vocals... Nerine. Nerine, this is Inori Makoto, our pianist this year..."
"Nice to meet you mister Makoto..." the daughter of the king of demons bowed.
"Nice to meet you as well..." he greeted back, then turned to the choir. "Take twenty guys..."
"Well then, I'll leave you for the while- I still need to manage a few things, particularly some issues about the van that the parishioners have given me..." the priest replied, referring to the latest of weird donations- a van.
As soon as he left the scene.
"Well then, a little test to determine your tonal range is in order, so that I may know where to place you. Try to match up with the keys that I'm tapping- don't worry, it will be in the normal scale- do-re-mi and so on."
As Nerine went up the musical scale, the subject of her in a choir was being discussed.
"Really, where?"
"Lin told me about a church..." Sia replied. "The church on the hill- what is a church anyway? Lin also told me that it's a sacred place- is it true?"
Kaede nodded, and then remembered a thought- the church's pianist. Upon remembering his 'words' her heart again beats hard, making her hold her chest.
"Kaede, are you okay?"
"I'm okay, I just remembered something... well, I have to get home now..."
"Wait on; I'm almost finished with mine..."
"Okay..."
Back at the church, Nerine's place in the choir was finally determined.
"People, we have a new lead in some of our songs- this girl." Inori spoke, pointing to Nerine.
"It's seems that you are busy with some girls as well..." Some guy in glasses- familiar to Nerine spoke and appeared.
"Itsuki... what is my cheeky harem-loving cousin doing here?"
"You better drop the 'H' word- I'm already a dedicated man..." Nerine's friend and classmate Itsuki replied, with another, yet female classmate appearing behind him.
"Mayumi!" the elf greeted. "Since when..."
"A few days back- he could not resist me, and I couldn't resist him- like always. He's sooo lovable..." she replied, snuggling up to her boyfriend.
"Mayu!"
"I was asking since when did you appear..." Nerine sighed, making Mayumi embarrassed- she was busted.
"I know!" his cousin suddenly spoke, striking a fist onto his palm. "Since you Inori have been down on love since Mika's passing, I'll introduce you to a friend..."
Suddenly Nerine, Mayumi and Itsuki then huddled a bit away from the pianist- with him wondering.
"I know what you are thinking there..." Mayumi whispered.
"I hope this works..." Nerine added.
"Don't worry girls; I'm sure that this will cheer Kaede up a bit... our operation blind eyeball!"
"'Blind eyeball'? What is that?"
"Simple really- 'eyeball' is a social term for a casual meeting..."
"And then the 'blind' means that the people don't expect who they are seeing- I get it!" Nerine commented.
"Well then, here is the deal my cousin Inori..." Itsuki then spoke, after breaking up the huddle with the two. "I'll introduce you to someone that might interest you- you'll just have to wait for my call- who knows, maybe the person that we will match you up with may be the perfect one for you- that will serve as our gift you know..."
"Hey, I did not agree on that kind of arrangement! You know that I hate blind dates you know..."
"That my cousin is not a 'blind date'- what I mean is a 'blind eyeball'..."
"That is still the same Itsuki!" Inori replied.
Later...
"Darn that Itsuki... he always sets me up- the con..." Inori mumbled as he himself scanned the market shelves- which Kaede had also looked upon about half an hour ago. Somehow, he was sensing not just one but two distinct, pronounced feelings- one contented but sad, and the other an uncertain blur.
"That girl at mass... she's been here..." he commented as he unwearyingly bumped into someone- the source of the "uncertain blur".
"Excuse me..." he turned and apologized to the person he bumped into- a seemingly teen-like woman with a pointed-ear fur cap covering her golden hair. "I did not mean to..."
In his rush to bow an apology and pick up the woman's things for that matter, he unwearyingly knocked the fur cap off the woman's head, revealing to him that she was an elf- the woman was none other than Ama Shigure.
"Oh my, my... are you okay?" Ama began to speak, in her usual tone "You seemed to be shook up there..."
"Um... forgive me... excuse me... um... I did not mean... um... I mean... ummmm..." Inori stammered, somehow sensing that the woman he bumped into- Ama, was no teen.
"You do seem a bit shaken there... do you mind for some snacks?"
Moments later they have landed on a café.
"What am I doing here anyway?" he thought as Ama ordered.
"Are you okay now?" Ama again asked.
"I'm okay... really; you don't have to put up so much for me- a complete stranger..."
"Nonsense... anyone that can feel someone else's feelings is a friend... Are you a friend of nature?"
"She knows that I can sense emotions and magic..." he thought, then turned to speaking "Well... not really, it's just that I can feel... my mother always told me that I have a special kind of power..."
"I'm Ama, Ama Shigure..."
"Um... Inori, Inori Makoto... well then... I must-"
"Don't go yet mister Makoto, just a bit longer so that my daughter and her boyfriend could come here..." Ama resisted his permission to leave- he had no choice, because it was inappropriate to leave someone waiting for somebody, especially when that someone asked for your company for the wait.
Back at Kaede's place, she and Sia part ways, before entering each of their respective houses.
"I'm home..." she greeted the approaching Primula.
"Welcome back... and you have a guest..."
Upon entering the living room, Nerine and Mayumi were there.
"Mayumi, Lin, what are you doing here?"
"Well, just visiting and checking out how you are holding out..." Mayumi replied.
"'Holding out'? You know that..."
"We know... so that's why we came here..." Nerine added.
"And to know that you have moved on... We and Itsuki have a surprise for you..." Mayumi then followed, taking out a piece of paper that said "Meeting with someone". "Ta-da! Introducing, operation eyeball!"
"'Eyeball'? You mean, meet someone?" Kaede asked, curious.
"Exactly... Itsuki said about a cousin of his that was spending the holidays at their place. In fact, you almost had a similar run-in- except that his ex died and Rin ended up with senior Shigure..." Mayumi continued her line of talking.
"Well, it's worth a try..." Kaede then thought.
"Well then, we'll just have to wait for a call then..." Nerine replied.
As that end was suddenly interrupted by a ring on the phone, back at the café, where Ama's guests have arrived- her daughter Asa Shigure and her boyfriend Rin Shichimi. Highly unusual though, Asa's hair once again went from short to long- as a side effect of her "unsealing"- every two weeks it needs to be trimmed. Inori takes a good look at the two and remembers the stories his cousin Itsuki had told- from various emails.
"Inori, I would like you to meet my daughter Asa and her boyfriend Rin..." Ama then introduced the pair.
"Nice to meet the two of you... I have heard the stories from my cousin and now I believe him... Inori, Inori Makoto at your service..."
"Cousin?" Rin then asked, as they sat.
"Yes, my cousin Itsuki."
"Are you sure?" Asa then asked. "Because we know-"
"Go ask him or his girlfriend Mayumi then..."
"Mayumi?" the two (Rin and Asa) asked.
"Well anyway..." Rin began to ask but was stopped.
"I cordially invited him here... he's such a nice guy." Ama replied as her stop.
"You don't know me that well 'mam..." Inori protested, seeing that he might be more of a burden than a companion. "I better go..."
"Wait..." both females protested but to no avail, as Inori quickly went out of their sights.
"And I was about to strike a conversation with him too..." Ama complained a bit.
Later with his hand on the doorknob, Inori was thinking about what he had just experienced.
"Someone who had just been unsealed, contented and a blank... what a day this is..." He thought as leaned his head on the door. "But of all the emotions I have felt... only that girl's remain- the one who slapped me. I wonder what her name is and where she lives... and I wonder, how can help her?"
Later that night- at the Fuyou house, where Kaede had just tucked Primula to sleep and she herself was getting into bed. She remembered the call that interrupted them a few hours back.
"Kaede, this is Itsuki... listen here, I had Nerine and Mayu there to tell you to wait for a call- so listen. Tomorrow at 10:30, Nerine will pick you up for your eyeball at eleven- so dress appropriately okay?"
Inori was getting ready for bed as well and also remembered what his cousin Itsuki had said.
"Cousin, get your best clothing out because you are going with me to meet someone at eleven- and don't even object- or else I'll drag you there..."
"I wonder who could that be?" both thought as they began to sleep.
