Ah, it's finally the weekend! I absolutely love having nothing to do! There's an anime I've been looking at, Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, that I want to watch this weekend. Season two is about to start, and apparently it was pretty popular when season one first aired. I thought it looked interesting, so that's how I'll be spending my weekend. The other upcoming anime I can't wait to watch is Ajin. I'm really excited for that one. It's a horror, which I personally don't believe there are enough of. Tokyo Ghoul was a good recent horror, but the ending...! I'm highly anticipating episode one of Ajin, needless to say. I must be strange, aren't I? Looking at the difference between these two animes I've brought up, they're pretty contradictory. But what can I say? They capture my interest one way or another, and I can't wait to see them.
And now for Ouran Highschool Host Club, which is an anime I watched towards the beginning of my anime career. That was a loong time ago.
I slap the apple out of his hand. "No eating, I already told you! I swear you're worse than the children! Just keep your hands to yourselves and carry the food."
"Yes, Ma'am," Hikaru grumbles.
"Who are these fine young men, Mari?" the woman behind the counter inquires, goggling openly. She's the daughter of an older woman who recently fell ill and is bedridden by order of the doctor. For about a week or so, she's been overseeing the shop. We all hope it's only temporary, but more likely than not her mother won't ever stand behind the counter again. The twins' eyes glint mischievously as they lean on the counter, grinning up at her.
"I'm Hikaru,"
"and I'm Kaoru."
Together they say, "Pleasure to meet you!"
"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you," she giggles. "Here, why don't you take an apple for free? Consider it a gift from me." She tosses one to Kaoru, even though it was Hikaru who had the apple, her terrible aim made up for with his hand-eye coordination.
"You can't take that, Kaoru!" Hikaru exclaims out of nowhere, laying his hand over the one Kaoru has grasping the apple. "I'll get jealous if you accept a gift from someone other than me!"
"But Hikaru, it'd be rude to refuse it!" They stare into each other's eyes, faces inches apart. The woman behind the counter gawks, flushing bright red.
I whack Hikaru in the back of the head. "Stop messing around, will you? I'm sorry, miss. Here's the payment for everything." I slip a couple copper coins across the counter and turn to leave, kicking the twins in the shin before heading out. They rush not to be left behind.
Outside the building that doubles as the produce shop and the owner's house, I count the fruit in my basket. There are twenty-one of us from the orphanage alone, but with the twins, Kyoya, Honey, and Mori, that's twenty-six mouths to feed. Even with the massive inheritance Mother was left with and the money Father gave to her before his death six years ago, we won't have enough to feed, house and clothe so many people for long. We've already somehow weaseled away almost half of that cash. Maybe I should search for a job. With Hikaru and Kaoru's help, the orphanage would receive the income of three people's wages. That'd probably be enough to sustain us, maybe living a little more frugal than we are already.
"Marrrii." I jump when the voice whispers in my ear, twirling. Hikaru and Kaoru stand a little too close for comfort, staring me down with unusually serious faces.
"What?"
They step closer and I inch back, but they quicken their approach abruptly so that they're hanging on either side of me. "We aren't children, Mari," Hikaru murmurs.
"So don't treat us like them."
"I'll treat you like the children so long as you act like them." I duck away from them, wary. "Perhaps it would be beneficial for you if you were to work like an adult." If they're burdened with responsibilities, they might stop acting so immature.
Kaoru holds back a laugh. "Adult? Mari, do you know how long we've been around?" Hikaru is suddenly beside me again and tucking back my hair behind my ear. He leans in so close that I can feel the warmth of his breath before speaking.
"We're one thousand and fifteen, Mari."
A shiver zips down my spine. Gathering my bearings, I slap his hand away and glare at him. "Then act like it, why don't you? Stop this. Whatever you're doing right now, stop it."
Their golden eyes catch the sun's rays at the same moment, flashing dangerously. "Is that an order?"
"Yes, now quit it," I huff, straightening my dress. A choking aura I had failed to notice forming vanishes and they grin at each other wickedly. For a moment I'm frozen from the shock of their sudden change. I shake it off, though, remembering. "We still have one more stop."
"Oh?" Kaoru raises a brow. "Where're we going now?"
"You'll see when we get there."
"You're treating us like children again," Hikaru grouses. He stops when I send him an evil eye this time and I enter into the simple wood hut across from the place we just emerged from. A peculiar incense fills the front room, one that I've grown to love over the years. I breathe in deeply while Kaoru coughs up a storm, Hikaru covering his nose and trying to comfort his brother. Being dragons and all, they probably have a better sense of smell than a human does. The only light comes from a lantern lit on a table off to the right. There aren't any windows in this building. At least, windows that are uncovered. Ever since the current resident moved in, they've been boarded up and covered with drapes. Because of the oddity of the house, not many people venture inside.
"Umehito! I've come to pick up Junko's medicine!"
The door to the bedroom creaks open, a cloaked man poking his head out to see. A pale yellow cat creeps out from the cracked door, takes one look at us, and goes to lie down on a pillow with the name 'Beelzenef' stitched onto it.
"Ah, it's you. And you brought friends." The smoke from the incense clouds together into the shape of a demonic wolf and stalks towards the twins menacingly.
"This is why people don't like you," I note, setting my basket on the table. "They won't be scared of your magic, though. Allow me to introduce you to my new familiars. This is Hikaru and Kaoru." I point to each of them as I say their names before turning back to the young man wedged between the door and wall. The smoke monster disperses.
"Welcome. I actually have another person here, at the moment." He chuckles deeply. "An elf, as fate has it." A familiar face appears behind Umehito, smiling pleasantly. I do a doubletake, having never seen that expression on his face.
"Hello, Mari."
"What are you doing here, Kyoya?" I wonder, my eyes trying to widen against my desire to keep them normal.
"I asked around and everyone said that this man was the most knowledgeable on medicine. I figured as long as I'm here, I might as well learn about the flora outside the forest."
"Oh, we have nothing like what's in the enchanted forest," I convey honestly. "I wish we did, but the most our herbs do is soothe a scratchy throat, or ease asthma, or calm an upset stomach. We don't have access to painkillers like that root from before, or anything even close to that sap."
He smirks, muttering under his breath. "Sap?" Louder, he clarifies, "Well, vast knowledge is never a bad thing. It's pretty advantageous to learn wherever you go."
Umehito glances between the two of us. "I see you know each other. Junko's medicine is right here. Tell her I hope for her swift recovery." He extends his arm out from under his long black cloak, holding a small glass bottle containing a greenish yellow liquid. I take it gratefully, switching it with a single silver coin. Umehito's prices are a bit high, but he's the only doctor in the village, so he can afford to make them so. I get a discount, myself, since I bring him plants he needs on a regular bases. Apparently he's had a condition ever since he could remember that makes him sensitive to the light of the sun, so he has a hard time getting out to collect them himself. Not only are they harder to find in the darkness, but there are one or two that are only identifiable by flowers that bloom during the day.
Umehito looks towards Kyoya, who is about the same height as he is, and I get a good look as his face. With the low hood he wears, I don't often get glimpses of his entire face. He's actually quite a handsome person. I like to think that I'm the only one who realizes how pretty his longish blonde hair is and the gentleness in his eyes since people tend not to get too close to him. It doesn't hurt that he's only five years older than me. He came to town when I was seven, having run away from home with his father's money. He bought himself this house, boarded up the windows, and here he is today. As much as I love his appearance, I would never consider him for a husband. Children are just too afraid of him, and that wouldn't go over well if I go through with taking over the orphanage.
"As much as I can tell you, Kyoya," he tells the elf, "she is the one who can show you. I recommend that you accompany her when she collects me the plants I need tomorrow."
I tilt my head, thinking back. "Are you running low on something? I already brought you some this week, so I was going to wait until next month to go again."
"Yes, that is true, but I need more of the prickly grassvines. I was payed to tell a young girl's fortune the other day, and saw a great cloud fall over us all in a week's time. I need them to create a protective barrier around the city."
"I see." I set the bottle in with the fruit, picking up the basket. "I'll do it, but have your fortunes ever been accurate? Do you really think there's that much trouble in a little town like this?" I hesitate after I speak, though, recalling the men from two nights ago.
"Better safe than sorry. If I cannot cast it on my own, I will call for you. Blood magic is much more powerful than that from spells, after all."
Supposedly it is. In every book of sorcery I have ever touched, it has specified that a human learning magic will never be as powerful as a person with inborn talent, but my abilities seem so weak I've found it doubtful. Umehito has been able to perform stronger spells than I since forever, and everything he's learned has come from a book. Although, he does have to use chants. I, on the other hand, do not.
Kyoya follows us back home, where children swarm us the moment we step through the doorway. From the mass, I pick out one of the smallest girls with black hair held up in pigtails.
"Junko, you shouldn't be getting too excited!" I scold her, setting a hand on her head to stop her jumping up and down. "You've been out of medicine for an entire four days!"
"I don't like the medicine, though," she grumbles, locking onto the bottle in the basket.
"You'll be taking it anyway," Mother demands, coming down the stairs. She stops before she reaches the bottom. "Come on, you two. Everyone else stay down here so your sister can be treated in private!"
"Let's play the which one is Hikaru game!" The twins announce. The children gather around them, placing their bets on which is which. Grinning at their antics, I usher Junko up the stairs. Mother already is sitting on the bed nearest to the stairwell, waiting. Junko, who's now an astonishing five years old, hops up next to Mother. I set the basket between them and remove the medicine.
"Do you think you can do it yourself, today?" I ask, kneeling in front of the little girl.
"Yeah." She takes the bottle from me, popping the cap off and turning it upside down.
I remind her, "Only half the cap. If you pour too much, pour it back into the bottle and try again."
"I know," she sticks her tongue out at me. Her hand shakes as she carefully tips the bottle, the liquid streaming into the cap. When it rises to where she wants it, she hastily pulls the bottle upright. After scrunching her nose in disgust, she gulps down the medicine and sticks the cap back on.
Mother ruffles her hair affectionately. "Good job! You're growing up, Junko! Before I know it, you'll be an adult and I won't know what to do!"
"It's still yucky," she complains.
I laugh, but my mind is elsewhere. It's true that Umehito has never been very good at telling fortunes, but every now and again he gets it right. And when he gets it right, not a word of it is wrong. If he feels such a need to protect the town to go as far as to put up a barrier, and he's right, it doesn't bode well for us. Even though I smile up at Junko, I can't help but wonder if in a week, she'll still be alright.
In case you're more familiar with the name Nekozawa, Umehito is his first name. He's that one character with the cat puppet. I thought it'd make sense to make his puppet into an actual animal. Beelzenef isn't very friendly, I'm afraid... He only ever purrs when he's alone with Nekozawa. Now that I think about it, I've written stories with cats in them before, but I don't think there's ever been a dog. At least, not in the fanfictions I have posted on here. Good for you, Noni! You're one of a kind! Let's see, on here I've written about cats, birds, horses...am I missing anything? I think that's all the pets my characters have had as of yet. Oh wait, there was also a goat named Kitten in the first story I posted. Am I the only one who finds it interesting how many different types of animals have come through my writing? Little things like this I like counting. I guess I like having statistics on my own stories. I wonder what animals I'll write about in the future.
Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!