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Taki woke up in a strange apartment, "Good, you're awake." Said the voice of the middle-aged man she did not know. He smiled at her, but the smile was far from reassuring, "You're book was most helpful, Miyabe-san." He said, "Now Sousuke-sama will be with us once again," Taki flinched visibly, "He'll be happy to know you generously provided his way back to the mortal realm." Tatsuki's eyes widened with horror. The man laughed, "Go make sure she's ready for the ceremony."
-the Red Monarch-
Butterflies are beautiful, delicate creatures that possess the grace a human could never hope to have.
A masculine hand rose into the air, held still for a long period of time waiting and hoping that one of the tiny fluttering creatures would land on it.
Humans envy the butterfly's grace, and thus wish to dance just like the fluttering insect.
A single butterfly landed contently on the hand, and the boy kneeled slightly so that the young girl beside him could see it.
However, humans cannot copy the butterfly's dance, this is why humans become butterflies when they die.
The little girl looked at the butterfly curiously, her brilliant reddish-brown eyes sparkled in the afternoon sunlight.
But Miyabes' are better then humans. We're the ones who decide which humans become butterflies, and which ones rot in limbo. There are very few others like us, Suki-chan, that are better then humans, keep that in mind. Never, ever, forget it.
The little girl looked up at her older brother as the butterfly fluttered away from his hand. Her eyes sparkled innocently as she looked up into his red eyes.
Of course I won't forget, O-nii-chan, I could never forget anything you say!
The older boy smiled at his younger sister and ruffled her long black hair. He stood up straight, his smile still adorning his lips.
That's good, Suki-chan.
-
"I could never forget anything you say…" Tatsuki repeated her words from the memory softly.
"Excuse me, Miyabe-san?" Tatsuki's eyes narrowed coldly at the sound of Arashi's voice. She glared icily at him as he stood in a far corner.
"What is it, Komatsuzaki-san?" she asked with a hollow, freezing tone of voice. Arashi shivered, it wasn't like he hadn't expected this from her.
"I bro-brought you a kimono to wear on the p-plane." He stuttered as he held out the clothing to her. He couldn't bring himself to look into Tatsuki's red eyes.
"Plane?" she asked, Taki turned her gaze away from Arashi and the kimono. Her eyes narrowed at the plush pillow laying idly at the end of the bed she was sitting on. It hadn't been a question, more of a statement with a question mark at the end. (Isn't that a question?!) "Tell, me, Komatsuzaki-san. Does that man plan everything out, or does he make it up on a whim?"
Arashi sighed, Taki could only be referring to Hiro. "I-I don-don't know. I-it's har-hard to tell." Tatsuki merely 'hm'ed in response.
-
Scraps and cuts, over time, will heal. This is an inevitable fact. Emotional wounds will never heal, this too, is an inevitable fact. The emotional trauma Tatsuki endures from watching her brother kill her parents, a handful of Center staff, and nearly kill two Center agents on a mere flight of fancy left the child to deal with it in the only way her mind saw fit. Hemaphobia. This, Olivia Mandell could understand quite easily. What she did not understand, was why anyone would try and bring a monster like Tatsuki's brother out of his prison, or why the old wounds she had acquired on her arms that day so long ago were suddenly burning as though they were fresh.
M.O.M. hissed with pain as she rubbed her arms, the burning wouldn't stop. No matter what she tried, those marks where Sousuke had gripped her harshly and then released high concentrations of that Miyabe special ability into her system seemed to show themselves through the white cloth of her body suit.
"So I take it your old scars are acting up, too?" M.O.M. looked up to see Colin smirking weakly at her. She felt sorry for him, his wounds had been far worse then her own, if she was hurting this badly, and Colin claimed the same of his, then his pain must have been beyond excruciating. "One can only hope this isn't an omen. Of course with this authoress it probably is" he said.
M.O.M. could only just barely return his smirk, "I sure hope not, Colin. Quit breaking the fourth wall, imbecile." her eyes softened on him, in his youth he had be care-free and fun loving, much how Martin was now, except of course, Colin's grades had been top notch. (Which baffles the Center scientists, mind you.) He had grown up the day Sousuke had attacked the Center employees, and had taken it upon himself to make sure Tatsuki was properly taken care of after she had lost her parents; a responsibility that most bachelors his age would never have considered. It was what M.O.M. admired most about him, that and the great pains he went through to gain young Tatsuki's trust and favor.
"Stop staring at me like that, Oli', you're making me jump to romantic conclusions." Only Colin could state something so idiotic with such a serious, and concerned look. It pissed M.O.M. off.
She bashed him on the head, leaving a few lumps behind, forget if he was already hurting, if he was making bad jokes like that then he couldn't be in that much pain. "As if I'd ever want to be paired up with you, imbecile."
"Ah…it feels good to be loved so dearly by a she-man." Colin said with a grin on his face as he rubbed his injured head.
"COLIN!!" M.O.M's infuriated growl carried through the air.
"Oops, guess I said that out loud."
-
Martin and Diana carefully snuck about the apartment complex searching for Tatsuki, hoping to get her safely away from the men who had abducted her. Goons all dressed in similar black kimonos littered the entire building; it was obvious that Sousuke's group intended to keep Taki there.
Martin's eyes burned with fury; one minute, he had only looked away for one minute, and in that damned minute Taki was Taki-napped! And that Arashi guy, he was with them, he was one of them this whole time!
Diana couldn't help but feel guilty, she shouldn't have been so willing to let Taki go out alone with someone they hardly knew, nor should she have dragged her brother away from keeping a weary eye on her. He was so unhappy watching them, though, and…and hurt I was only trying to Diana came to an abrupt halt behind her brother, he was waiting behind a wall for another goon to pass by. That idiot may not realize it yet, but…he loves Taki. She sighed, when her brother was truly angry he was silent, it was unnerving and foreign (as he usually won't shut up) and she didn't like it at all. It only proves how much he took protecting Taki to heart. They sprinted off again, careful to make a very small amount of noise as they ransacked the building searching for Taki.
The next sudden stop they took Diana had to look passed her brother for the reason why. Her jade green eyes widened with disbelief and happiness. She glanced up at her brother, of the two forms standing in front of them, one of them, she noticed, his eyes seemed to drink in like some kind of lost treasure.
-
Arashi admired the sight of Taki in the kimono he had brought to her, it would probably be his last chance to see her in such a thing at all. He took her hand and began leading her away. "Why in such a hurry to lead me to my death, Komatsuzaki-san?" her comment was dry and stung like millions of needles repeatedly stabbing him.
His response was quiet, and not what Taki had really expected, "Shut up and let me save you." He said and lead her through alternate hallways, all of which leading away from Hiro, and where Sousuke was to be released from the Spirit Realm. They had only stopped a few times, merely because some lower ranked cult members would occasionally pass by, giving them a need to hide. This current stop however, was different, Tatsuki hadn't realized how much she had already began to miss the Center agents till she saw them standing just ahead of her.
"Martin! Diana!" She had tried to move forward, however she was held back by the firm grip Arashi had of her hand. "Arashi…" she whispered, her voice was full of inquiry and distrust. He claimed he was going to save her, why wasn't he…then she realized, Arashi didn't know they were Center agents or that they were the ones supposed to be protecting her.
"What are you two doing here?" Arashi asked in English.
"We're here to rescue Taki, now let her go." Martin growled at the Japanese boy. Arashi raised an eyebrow.
"And how do you know Taki needs to be saved?" Arashi questioned. Taki looked between them, both Martin and Diana seemed ready to fight Arashi if the need arose, and Arashi didn't seem to notice, or acknowledge their hostility.
"Because we're the Center agents protecting her from bastards like you!"
Arashi's eye narrowed, "You're very good at your job." It was said so non-chalant that it was hard to tell if he was really insulting them or not. "If I let Taki go to you, promise me two things." Martin and Diana dropped their guard and blinked owlishly, both seemingly confused, "One, that you never let Hiro or these other goons lay a finger on Taki ever again." Arashi received a 'no shit' expression from the two agents, "and Two, that you allow me the Center's protection from Hiro as well."
"…What?"
"Just promise!" Arashi said.
"Fine, fine, we promise." Martin spat the word promise as though it was a cuss. Arashi released Taki's hand. With her hand now free, Taki and embraced them both individually, 'I never thought I would see you again' was never said, but certainly implied. Martin had been surprised by the embrace and when Taki had pulled away he found himself physically missing the warmth of her hug. Why though? He knew. He knew when his sub-conscious responded with: Don't screw up, moron.
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