Shortly after Christmas, Iemitsu left for work. He claimed to be working on the oil fields, but I saw through that lie. I would have believed it if I didn't have Aya and the rest to inform me of everything that's been said. We stood outside of the house while Iemitsu stood at a car.
"I'm sorry to leave so soon."
"It's okay. We understand." Mama said. Tsuna didn't seem to understand what was going on. He tugged my sweater.
"Where's papa going?"
"He's going to work for a long time." I answered softly.
"How long?" Tsuna asked me.
"I don't know." I hoped he'd never come back. We had gotten into another fight recently over dinner and how to set the table correctly. It was a pain. Mama started to tear up. Iemitsu hugged her tightly. He was genuinely going to miss her. Tsuna could read mama's emotions and started to cry. Iemitsu got down to Tsuna's level and hugged him.
"Don't cry, Tsuna. I'll be back before you know it."
"Okay." Tsuna said as best as he could. Iemitsu looked at me.
"Will you protect them, Yona?"
"I will."
"Thank you. Keep your mom and brother happy." He stood up and gave mama a hug and a kiss before getting in the car. Mama and Tsuna waved as the car left. I just stared with indifference. His presence didn't mean anything to me. If anything, it meant I could start working on things without worrying about him. With mama and Tsuna, I can explain anything in simple terms and not get caught.
After a month, Tsuna stopped his daily crying about Iemitsu and mama seemed to be back to normal. Though, I could clearly see how miserable she looked in the morning and night. Soon, we were all on a schedule. Tsuna would go to school and I'd get ready to start my day. Mama would make breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. I was starting to get the hang of the bass and would play constantly in my room from the time I ended lessons to bed time. Freya and Elf seemed to like the sound while Aya was jealous I was spending more time with my bass than her. That's why I had to give my weekends to the four and practice my alchemy. Even though Alter hasn't even woken up, I still made sure to make her feel part of us. I desperately tried to wake her every day, but she wouldn't respond. Elf told me I had to be patient with Alter. She's supposedly a harsh character who has never woken up for any of their previous masters. Today, I decided to do some experimenting with the noise creatures. They could only be summoned if I drew a specific circle for them. It was too time consuming to summon one of them. If I wanted to summon a few, it'd take minutes. They were meant to be used as weapons. How did other alchemists use them in battle if they took so long to summon?
A week had passed. I was still trying to figure out what I could do about the Noise problem. Aya put the glass tube on my desk with a smile. It was the homing device.
"What is this for?" I questioned.
"I found it laying around. We wouldn't want this to be destroyed on accident."
"Thank you, Aya."
She went back into her doll state. I picked the tube up and hummed. I looked at the incantation engraved onto the tube. The incantation could be roughly translated into origin place. Maybe if I took the same concept and instead put something meaning to burst or release, I could insert the noise inside the glass. That way, I'd just have to break the glass instead of wasting two minutes on one single noise. I took out a book grandma gave me of all the incantations. It took me two whole days to go through and pick out a few incantations. From thousands, I was able to narrow things down to a page full of different incantations. While I wasn't working on homework or playing the bass, I was figuring out which symbol to use.
"What are you doing, master?" Elf asked, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
"I'm figuring something out."
"I can see that. I want to know what you're trying to figure out."
"I'm going to experiment with the noise." I said, looking at an incantation. Elf hummed with interest.
"That's dangerous, master. You could get hurt or someone else hurt."
"I can just stop them."
"If you're going to put them into the tube, then you won't have much control of them." I stopped what I was doing.
"You see, master, they have no brain or consciousness. They only thing they have is the want to destroy everything but you."
"How can I control them then?"
"I don't know. That'll be something for you to figure out. It's why none of our other ancestors didn't do this already. They couldn't do it and moved on to other things." I put a hand to my chin. "What are you thinking?" Elf asked.
"It's possible. I'm sure of it."
"Why do you think so?" Elf snuggled into me.
"In theory, the solution is easy. There's a little under a hundred incantations that can be used and that isn't the hard part."
"What's the hard part?" Elf asked.
"Trying to keep the noise under some form of control will be the most difficult part." I hummed. "Would tempering the noise be taboo?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" Elf sounded genuinely confused.
"If I changed their command sequencing, I could possibly get them under control to where they can pick out their target."
"When it comes to you, nothing is ever taboo. Go ahead and temper with the noise. Temper with the world if you'd like. We'll always follow you whatever you decide to do." Elf said, bowing.
"I know you four will follow me. I'm not worried about that. I just want to do things legally. As long as you say it's okay, I'll go ahead with the experiments."
I turned back to my work and wanted to pick out a handful of incantations to use. When that was done, I created more glass tubes from sand I recovered from outside. I then engraved the incantations into the glass using careful precision. I used a small machine that looked like as a thick pen. It was actually a laser fueled by alchemy. Grandma taught me how to use it. Once I did that, I then embedded a small summoning circle for the noise inside the tube. Each circle was tempered with in its own way. I wanted to see different results. Instead of putting a large amount of alchemy into the circle, I hardly put any in. This whole process took a month. I knew once I got the formula just right, I could mass produce them with ease.
"Are they done yet?" Aya asked.
I turned my chair around and saw the three of them watching over me. "All I need to do is test them." I yawned.
"You've been working hard, master. You deserve to rest. You need to conserve your energy to deal with the noise if they get loose." Freya said.
"That sounds nice. It doesn't help you three are up in your human form." They all chuckled.
"Actually, master, having the three of us like this doesn't take any energy from you at all. You've given us enough power to keep running like this for days."
"I'm glad. That means I'm getting better." I said happily.
"That does and we're very proud of you, master."
"Thank you. Hopefully, I can awaken Alter soon."
"She needs some time to think about waking up." I looked at Alter who was sitting on the dresser.
"That's okay. She can take as much time as she wants. I won't force her to wake up. If she wants to sleep for eternity, I'll allow it." I said.
"You're very kind, master." I shook my head.
"She deserves to be respected. If you three don't want to be up all the time, just tell me. I won't be sad. I know you all can still hear me and that's enough for me. Though, I'm sure listening to me all the time would drive you crazy. So, just tell me to put you in a quieter place." Aya threw herself at me and hugged.
"You're the kindest master we've ever had!" I smiled and rubbed her back.
"I'm glad you four are under me then. I can't imagine anyone who'd hurt you four." Elf gave me a look of mixed feelings. I looked towards Alter. She had no emotion on her face. She just looked like a regular doll. "Even if you are rough around the edges, Alter, I'll still accept you. I won't throw you away. Plus, it's always nice to have someone with your personality around. I need someone like you to make me grow up. My mom can't be serious or angry to save her life."
A week passed. I was in my room gathering all of the tubes I worked on. I was going to a deserted part in town to test the noise. That's when I heard a loud bang and mama scream. I ran out of my room and saw mama on the ground passed out by the door from the top of the stairs. Two men were inside looking around. They didn't even see me.
"Tie her up. I heard they have a kid who is homeschooled."
"I heard she wasn't important." The other said.
"She isn't, but she'll sell well." My heart dropped. I thought the attacks would stop with Iemitsu gone. Did he not leave us any protection before he left?
"It's a perfect time to use your experiments." I turned and saw Elf.
"I can't with mama down there."
"I'll take care of her, okay?" I nodded.
Once I saw the two men gone, Elf and I went down the stairs. She picked mama up and brought her up the stairs while I threw two of the tubes down. The shattering of the glass got the two men's attention. They were weary of me. Soon, two Noise were summoned from the alchemic circles. They were a head smaller than me. One didn't know what to do while the other one attacked its ally. This wasn't supposed to happen!
"What the hell are those creatures?"
"Don't worry. They aren't attacking us." The man looked at me with a smirk. "Just come to me, sweetie. I'll bring you to a good place."
"Go to hell." I broke the rest of the tubes. I didn't care what they'd do.
Several were summoned. All but three ran at the men. However, they were easily kicked away. That shouldn't have happened. They should burn away human flesh. I didn't even mess with their destructive power in their DNA. All of them ran out of energy and disappeared. My experiments were a complete failure. I took a step back.
"Now, come with us before we do something bad to you." One of the men said. "And don't even think about running. We have you surrounded, little girl. We have many people around your house that'll kill you. You don't want to die, right?" I crouched down and took a shard of glass. I cut my finger with it and started to draw a circle onto the floor. I was kicked away before I could complete the circle. I got up and glared at the two. "Don't look too mad. We're not doing this for fun. This is just our job." One of them took a hold of my hair and dragged me into the living room. He threw me onto the ground, next to the other guy. "Check her body for any imperfections." The man next to me grabbed me.
"What if I find any?" The other asked.
"Keep her for yourself. I know how you like your women young." The man holding me down smiled and looked down at me.
"Let's hope you have something wrong with you." I tried to get up, but I was pinned down.
"Help!" I shouted but was slapped.
"I don't like loud noises." I ignored the warning and shouted for help again. Why weren't any of the dolls coming to help me? They should be able to hear me.
I could feel my shirt sliding up and my pants breaking. I was too weak to fight against a man. And with the position I was in, I couldn't even try to struggle. A cold hand pressed into my stomach. Please. Make this stop. I couldn't stop my sobbing. I was so powerless. I was going to get myself and mama killed. I felt something warm splatter on me.
"Don't touch my master!" An angry, painfilled voice shouted. I opened my eyes with shock. In front of me was Alter in her full glory, bloody sword in hand. The man that was touching me was dead from losing his head. I forced myself to look away. More men ran inside.
"Alter…?" She didn't look at me.
"Who the hell are you?" One man demanded.
"I'm the person who will kill every single one of you!"
"Quick! Fire!" The man shouted. They all got their guns out. I lifted my hand out just in time to shield me and Alter. Once the bullets stopped, I dropped the shield.
"You're not powerless, master. Keep yourself protected. I'll do all the dirty work." Alter said in a gentle voice.
"Be careful."
"That's strange. I haven't had anyone tell me that before. Thank you, master." She sped off and instantly killed each one with her sword. It didn't matter who came in, they all were slaughtered. My eyes were suddenly covered.
"There's no need for you to see any more than necessary. You're still a child." Elf said.
"O-okay."
Once I was able to see, there wasn't a bloody mess like I expected. All of the bodies were gone. Alter was in front of me, looking right into my eyes. "Master." She said. I immediately hugged her. I didn't care if she didn't like it.
"Thank you for saving me, Alter."
"It's my job to take out any and all threats to you. The other idiots are only there to take up space." I let go and smiled.
"That dress doesn't really suit you."
"Huh?" The two questioned.
"I wanted to hear your voice, Alter. I wanted to see if you were really as rough as I was told."
"What do you think of me? Disgusted, right?" I shook my head.
"You're as rough as expected and that makes me happy. I always thought your dress didn't suit your personality or that glare you always wear."
"I never did like the dress." Alter said to herself.
I stood up and allowed Elf to fix my clothing. Aya and Freya ran downstairs. "We're sorry, master!" The two said in sync. They were bowing by my feet.
"Why?"
"Elf told us to not save you. She was pushing Alter to her limits and forced her to wake up." I looked at Elf.
"You shouldn't have done that to Alter."
"That bitch is always up to something." Alter said, glaring at Elf. The two started to bicker. I could see what their relationship was like. They were too sisters always at odds with each other.
"Oh my." I looked at the open door and saw Kazuma. The four froze and glared. Freya was ready to pounce. She didn't like him at all.
"What are you doing here, Kazuma?"
"I heard a loud commotion and came as soon as possible."
"There's no need to lie." I said.
"I'm surprised you can see through my lies. Not many can." The four stayed silent. "I got word those men were here and after your family. I was about to interfere, but I didn't have to." He looked at the dolls with curiosity.
"If you knew she was in danger, why didn't you do anything to prevent all of this?" Freya asked in a growl.
"I wanted to see if she'd make another shield or pull off another miracle. I'm sorry about that, Yona."
"I can understand your thinking. Now that you've seen it, what will you do." I asked.
"I'm not sure. Will you or they pose a threat to Namimori?" Alter left my side and tried to kill Kazuma. He luckily jumped out of the way with shock.
"Don't kill him, Alter!"
"Why not? He's calling you a threat."
"He's just protecting what's his. He hasn't tried to harm me even after seeing my power." Alter let out a sigh.
"You better thank my master for sparing your life. Know your place, human."
"Alter." I said with a pout. She turned her head with a huff and came back to my side. "Will you have me punished?" I asked him.
"No. However, I will give you more training."
"She's perfectly fine!" The four shouted.
"If your master is alone and you four can't get to her in time, she needs to know how to fight by herself."
"I'll accept that on one condition." I said. The four beside me were surprised.
"What condition?"
"I'm allowed to have one of the dolls with me during training. I'd also like extra protection since our family is specifically targeted."
"That's two conditions, but I can accept both. Come to the house tomorrow. I'll have snacks and tea waiting." Kazuma left, closing the door. I could hear mama walking down the stairs. She was never light on her feet. The four turned into dolls.
"Yona?"
"Yes?"
"What happened? I just woke up in bed."
"You were sleeping on the couch. I sent you to bed. Don't worry. I kept an eye on dinner." She walked over and hugged me.
"You're a good girl, Yona. Mama is so proud of you."
"You are my mama after all." She chuckled.
"Why don't you go outside and play? It'll be good for you." I did just that. I brought the four with me outside. They all sat up.
"Are you okay with trusting that man?" Alter asked.
"I am. He's in charge of the town. What he says goes. If I can get his trust, he'll be able to let some things I do by."
"Like what?" Alter asked.
"If any of you need any more power, you can take anyone's memories without any complications with the law. However, I'd only like to see the bad people die." I explained.
"So, you're doing this for us?" Alter asked with hesitation.
"Of course." I could see a van driving slowly by the house. I could smell them. "Alter, make it look like an accident."
"Anything for you, master." She ran off still in her doll form. We couldn't see anything that was happening, but we did hear a big crash. She came back after a couple of minutes. "All threats are taken care of."
"Wonderful work, Alter."
"It's my job to take care of all that tries to harm you."
"I'm glad."
"Your experiments failed." Elf brought up the subject. I took one single glass tube out from my pocket. I forgot to break this one.
"There's still one left."
"You have nothing left to lose. Break it!" Aya urged excitedly. I threw it onto the ground. A small Noise was summoned. It looked everywhere and then turned to me. It just stood there.
"Can you wave to me?" I asked. Surprisingly, the Noise raised its hand and waved it. "Run in a circle." It did as I told it. Like a puppy, it came back to my side. "I did it!"
"I did it!" "You did it!" All but Alter shouted. I started to jog in place. I couldn't contain my excitement. Even the four were so excited. The noise didn't know what to do, so it started to copy me. It was cute. I stopped and smiled widely at my creation. "That's all I have for now. Thank you." It made a strange noise before destroying itself.
"I can't believe you did it! None of our previous masters have ever done so!" Aya said.
"I finally got the formula down after hundreds of hypotheses. Now, all I need to do is mass produce them and keep them on hand. I'll power some up where they'll be the size of skyscrapers! Nothing will stop me!" Elf and Freya started laughing.
"I don't think that's a good idea, master. You'll hurt a lot of people that way."
"Oh. Well, I won't have them that big. I do want to try though. I think that'd be fun."
"Don't be serious. You'd collapse from the energy it'd take out of you. Don't even try it!" Alter scolded.
"Yes, ma'am."
"I hope you remembered which formula that was." Elf said. I got quiet and started to think. I didn't even number any of them. I just collected them and broke them to kill the intruders. I wasn't thinking.
"Master?"
"She forgot which formula was the one that worked." Elf said with an amused chuckle.
"Take a break before going back to work. It won't take a big toll on you that way."
"T-thank you, Freya."
"Yona, your brother just came home. Can you help him with his homework?" Mama asked from the kitchen.
"Okay!"