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Isuzu stared out the window, the summer breeze blowing her long, straight hair back. Most of her injuries were healed. The only bandages left were around her upper back and chest; the large wound in her shoulder was still sore and would scare, but it was mostly healed.
Soon, she would be out of here, but she still wouldn't be free. No, Isuzu would still very much trapped in her own body, unless she found a way...
"Morning, Zuzu!" Marley muffled voice cut through the silence, opening the hospital room door as she struggled to carry the drink tray in one hand and the handle of a tote pink tote bag hanging from her teeth.
A small smile graced the ebony-haired beauty's face as she watched her comically balance everything.
" One vanilla late with soy for you and they had these delicious looking blackberry muffins, so I thought... breakfast!" Marley placed the paper bakery bag from out of the tote and put it to the side.
"...thank you." Isuzu's insides couldn't help but warm over the gesture, to Marley it was so simple to grab and share stuff with her, but it meant so much to the Zodiac member.
"And I also found... Looks it's a colouring book of rangoli patters! I thought it was a little odd, but all the designs are super pretty." She had been perusing through a craft store and came across the colouring book section, it actually said 'mandala's on the cover but to Marley they were similar enough. Okay maybe mandala's where a bit more complicated but same principal.
"Aren't colouring books for kids?" Isuzu judged, but Marley was barely bothered.
"Are you saying that if I open this up and start colouring, you AREN'T going to pick up a coloured pencil and join in?" She challenged, a somewhat cheeky smile on her face.
Isuzu slightly huffed and moved over in the bed so that Marley could fit in the bed beside her, and she put down the colouring book on the floating bedside table along with some pencil crayons.
"To tell you the truth, I was half-expecting you to be still asleep, it's still early." Marley teased as she picked up a pink pencil and started filling in her page.
"I haven't been sleeping well," Isuzu admitted as she grabbed a deep eggplant-coloured pencil and started from the inside of her chosen mandala pattern.
"Well... Maybe once your home, you'll get some good rest." Marley hoped, excited for her friend to be free of the hospital.
Isuzu wanted to sneer.
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Where was home?
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It wasn't Kagura's house... it's wasn't her parents' house... Isuzu had felt close to having a home, but it was taken away before she even had it.
" So, I'm supposed to have a Shodou tomorrow..." Marley mentioned, changing the subject.
"Pfft." Izuzu slightly smirked.
"Is my kanji that bad?!" Marley slightly whined, embarrassed at how widely known her shortcomings were.
" I can barely read any of your notes when you drop stuff off..." Isuzu pointed out a 'get well' card Marley had left when Isuzu was first admitted.
"..man... I really thought I was getting better... the teachers must be taking it easy on me since I'm a foreigner..." Marley covered her face in slight shame.
"You know who has really nice writing?" The Zodiac member brought up, a kind face with soft brown eyes entering her mind.
"Who?"
"Ha-…" But as soon as the first syllable left her mouth, she locked her jaw. It hurt to even utter the name.
"Zuzu... I know you don't want to talk about it... but I'm right here, whenever you need me... do you want to talk about it?" Marley tested the waters. Marley knew that Isuzu had ended things with Hatsuharu, and while she was baffled as to why Isuzu made that decision, she assumed that Isuzu had her reasons.
"Marley.."
"I just...look I know you guys were a secret, but that doesn't mean-"
"Please... just... no," Isuzu begged Marley, her large brown eyes silently begging as she looked into Marley's bright amethyst eyes.
"Alright.." Marley dropped it, but at the back of her mind, she was still thinking about how to make her friend feel better as she watched the aching girl pick up a black pencil crayon and add it to her pattern.
"Me and my Naniji use to make these together when the festivals came around," Marley mentioned, and Isuzu remembered last fall when the white-blonde had made a pattern out of flowers for some sort of Indian holiday.
"Like the one with all the little oil candles and flower petals?" Isuzu asked as she picked up multiple pencils and tried to figure out which colour to use next.
"The rangoli For Diwali... Sometimes out of flowers or dyed sands, sometimes both. I was always sad when we had to get rid of them." Marley admitted as she picked up a royal blue pencil crayon and handed it to her friend.
"Here, you should put this one in yours." Marley offered.
"Blue? Why?"
" Makes me think of you, Naniji told me that the colour blue meant for the warrior." Marley revealed, smiling at Isuzu as she took the pencil with slight hesitance.
Isuzu scoffed at the thought, she hardly saw herself as a warrior and really didn't see how blue meant warrior but as she filled in her pattern, she admitted to herself that the blue really did add something to her design and this was really therapeutic.
Marley picked up the yellow pencil and coloured in parts of her page before switching to a saffron-coloured pencil.
"Wait... Isn't it a school day?" Isuzu asked as Marley picked up her take out cup and took a sip of her latte.
"Eh. I can be a little late." Marley shrugged, happy to skip a class or two to spend time with Isuzu.
"... You have math first, don't you?" Isuzu bluntly asked as she raised a suspicious eyebrow.
Silence. Marley even looked away as she felt Isuzu's large eyes seeing right through her.
Isuzu laughed, and that just made Marley laugh with her, slightly embarrassed over being caught, but at least Isuzu was smiling now, and Marley would take a small victory.
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Three figures looked over the school courtyard from the 2nd story hallway window, all standing vigilant as they watched over their treasured Prince, making sure a certain someone didn't pull anything funny.
"Look at her. She really just... Like who does she think she is?" Prince Yuki Fan Vice President Kinoshita sneered as she looked out the window.
Marley was simply walking with Yuki, and the two seemed to be having a pleasant conversation, Marley said something, using large hand gestures to tell her story and the popular boy laughed.
"The White Witch is certainly a conniving woman... but we'll bring her down eventually." President Minagawa assured her right-hand woman.
" Hey... isn't that girl from your class, Minagawa-Senpai?" Minami Kinoshita pointed to a girl with dark shoulder-length hair, a blue hair clip holding back her bangs approaching Yuki and Marley.
"Huh? Oh yes, Kita Sawako."
"She recently quit the Prince Yuki club, didn't she?" Prince Yuki Fan Club member Gotou Mai asked, crossing her arms in disapproval, she didn't understand why anyone would walk away from the Prince Yuki Club, it was simply unheard of.
"Yeah, her and Ito Ryunosuke started dating, so I guess her love for Yuki was clearly false." The President confirmed but kept her eyes on the movement of the three students.
Kita Sawako bowed her head and put her hands in a begging position, appearing to be asking for something from either Yuki or Marley, she couldn't tell.
" I don't like it. Whatever it is." Kinoshita narrowed her eyes, Sohma Marley was clearly scheming something.
"Have we found out how to bring her down," Minagawa asked, her eyes still watching the scene. Marley and the 3rd year Kita were talking while Yuki seemed to take a step back, perhaps to polity offer the girls some privacy.
Marley nodded to something that Kita asked and then the 3rd year deeply bowed vigorously while Marley laughed and waved her hands about, trying to get the girl to stop bowing, a small blush on her cheeks.
Kita waved to both of them and ran off, and Yuki joined Marley's side, and they held a conversation as they continued to walk across the courtyard.
"Her and the Honda Witch are difficult to touch, it feels like they're always surrounded by either the Demon and the Gangster or Sohma members," Kinoshita reported.
"We could plant spiders in her desk?" Fellow 2-A Prince Yuki Fan club member Gotuo Mai out forward.
" I doubt that will work, remember there was a huge spider in the corner of the class last week, and one of the boys tried to stomp on it. The White Witch practically swooped in and carried the spider outside, IN HER BARE HANDS." The 2nd year girl shivered as she relived the memory, disgusted with the foreigner's actions.
"Looks like we'll have to be a bit more cunning than childish pranks." The President declared to her members as they continued to glare at the unknowing Marley.
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Marley let out a high pitched sneezed as she and Yuki were catching up, enjoying the small lunch break walk, and Yuki offered her a tissue.
"Allergies?" Yuki asked, and Marley shook her head after she thanked Yuki for the tissue.
"I don't think so."
"Perhaps someone is talking about you." Yuki joked, and Marley laughed and mentioned that if that superstition was true that Yuki would be sneezing all the time due to his fan club.
At the very mention of the Prince Yuki Fan Club, the boy let out an annoyed groan and his entire form kind of slumped forward and Marley could only giggle at his despair, she found the whole thing slightly entertaining.
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"I'm home!" Marley called out as she slid open the front door and slipped off her flats.
"Welcome home. How was school?" Dadaji looked up from his book and watched as Marley basically whizzed past him and went upstairs. Marley called out that it was 'interesting,' mentioning that a girl in the 3rd year asked if Marley would model her aerial silks for some sort of photography project.
It wasn't long before she came back downstairs and was dressed in a simple causal white dress that went to her mid-calf, perfect for the humid summer afternoon heat.
"Interesting choice to wear to your calligraphy practice with Naomi-San." Her grandfather reminded Marley, and she tried not to grimace at the thought of the cultural arts teacher who had been assigned to tutor her.
They didn't meet up often, but when they did, Marley felt like she might as well put a dunce cap on because Naomi made her feel like the village idiot.
"Ah, I thought that was tomorrow! I already promised I would hang out with Akito..." Marley really wanted to see Akito; for one, it had been a while since they had hung out, and she also wanted to ask an important question.
"Wait, what if I get Akito to help me practice?" Marley had already brought out her phone and was texting Akito to ask if it was okay, she quickly got a reply text; 'fine, see you soon.'
"Well, I-"
"Please, I know Naomi-San is gonna get on my case about not practising enough, let me practice with Akito, try and be a little more polished before I meet with Naomi-San. Please?" Marley pleaded, trying to use her big eyes to soften up her Grandfather.
" Fine.." he gave in, folding like a house of cards.
" Thank you! I'll try and be better next time." Marley apologized as she pressed her hands together in prayer position and bowed her head as she apologized.
The old man only let out a sigh and told her that it was fine. Marley hugged him and gave him a quick kiss to the cheek before grabbing her sandals and slipping them on at the porch.
"Not going to change? You might stain your dress."
"Well... maybe if I wear white, I'll be encouraged not to mess up?" Marley justified, but the deadpan look on her Dadaji's face proved that he didn't believe in her, but he supposed he would let the girl learn the hard way and gloat later with an "I told you so."
"Okay, bye, I'll be back to make dinner! I hope you don't mind Italian. Oh and Momiji mentioned he was coming by, oh and Kyo might come for dinner after training! Bye!" And waved goodbye as she jumped off the porch and headed off.
Tetsuo let out a sigh and shook his head, settling into his book, but not thirty seconds later, Marley was back and slipping her sandals off before zipping back into the house to the kitchen, Marley was opening the fridge, grabbing a few Tupperware containers.
"Almost forgot the ladoos. Okay, now I'm gone."
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Marley walked through the Estate, quickly chatting with a few Sohma members hear and there before she finally made it to the Main house on the Estate where Akito lived.
The white-blonde teen slipped off her brown sandals.
"Welcome, Marley-San, Akito-Sama is ready for you." One of the maids greeted Marley, and the friendly teenager smiled.
"Please, just Marley is fine. Oh, here, I made these for Akito, but I ended up making so much. Here some for you, and the other workers."
"Oh, I couldn't possibly-" She made numerous small bows, but Marley just asked her stop and then put the blue Tupperware in her hands.
" I insist! Please! I made so much, and I'm happy to share." Marley smiled at the maid, and then the woman dipped again into a bow, thanking her again, and this time Marley bowed back, mentioning that she hopes that everyone enjoys them.
The maid walked Marley to Akito's quarters and opened the sliding door. Marley thanked her and walked in and was slightly shocked to see that most of the tatami floor was covered in books strewn about.
"Umm. Akito.?"
" There you are. Took you long enough." Akito barely looked at her while she continued looking through a book before putting it down and picking up another from an organized shelf.
"Hello to you too." Marley giggled, and Akito lightly huffed while a small blush graced her cheeks.
" Your lucky that I'm willing to help.." Akito playfully glared at her and Marley just laughed.
"I know, thank you again, but I didn't mean for you to go to all this trouble." She gestured to the room and the table that had piles of washi paper and all the calligraphy tools ready to go.
"No trouble at all, I had Kureno set up the table and gather everything," Akito grumbled as she continued to flip through the pages of the thick book.
"Oh, well, tell him, 'thank you' for me." Marley looked around for the tall man, but he was nowhere to be seen. Kureno was always a mystery, he was seen but hardly ever heard, and normally Akito would send him away whenever Marley came around.
"What if I spill the ink or splatter on the floor?" Marley gestured to the fact there was no protective covering on the floor around the table. The girl had already learned how hard it was to try and get stains out of the woven straw mats after a misstep while carrying a very full bowl of tomato soup.
Fun fact: One simply didn't get stains out of tatami mats.
" I'll just have it replaced."
Marley let out a sigh, Akito had grown up surrounded by wealth and power, so replacing the floor was nothing but Marley still told herself to be careful.
"Oh! Here, I brought you some treats!" Marley handed over a small blue Tupperware filled with white coconut ladoos.
Akito took it into her hands and looked in, a soft look on her face.
"You... You remembered that I liked these.." her voice went low that Marley almost didn't catch it.
"Of course, and I think I'm getting better. They're not at my Naniji's level yet, but they're coming along." Akito took one out and took a bite, savouring the subtly sweet taste.
"They're... Really good... thank you." Akito felt all warm and giddy. Her relationship with Marley was nothing like she had ever experience. She wasn't a Zodiac member, nor was she a worker of the Sohma household or immediate family member.
Marley was an outsider who honestly had nothing to gain by being by Akito's side. She knew Akito's greatest secret but never asked too much, just wanted to spend time with her.
She would never take advantage, never asked for anything, just wanted to be Akito's friend. To hang out and laugh and share interests.
Today, Akito would get to share something that she was quite good at.
Akito was flipping through a book of poetry, deciding which passages to work on while Marley messed with her phone and the speaker system, looking for a playlist to play while the two worked.
"What do you feel like?"
"Something that's not going to be distracting." Akito simply answered as she put down one book and picked up another. The head of the Sohma clan felt stuck on how best to help Marley practice her kanji.
The white-blonde finally decided to just put an easy-listening playlist on shuffle, when a familiar tune started she couldn't help smile and swayed slightly to the beat, enjoying the guitar stums and soft percussions and Marley softly sang along with Bob Marley.
Stir it up
Little darling, stir it up (Come on baby)
Come on and stir it up little darling
Stir it up
Akito let out a slight scoff, giving a look to Marley that said, 'Really?'.
"I put it on shuffle, I swear, and this is a great song." Marley laughed as she left her phone by the speaker system, joining Akito as she continued to peruse through books.
"How about I practise the Kanji of people's names! I'd like to be able to do that better. Let's start with Dadaji's name!" Marley suggested, and Akito let out a sigh and agreed while Marley put her hair up in a top bun to keep it out the way. Marley's hiragana and katakana were fine, and she knew a lot of basic everyday kanji, but there were still hundreds if not thousands of kanji that she struggled with and probably would struggle with for a long time.
But she was always willing to try and learn.
Akito showed her how to make ink using one of the two traditional inkstones she had. It was about the size of a book, it looked solid black stone with a bit of a well at one end. Akito added a tiny amount of water to the flat bit of the inkstone and ground it using a tool creating black ink and pushing the wet substance into the well of the inkstone. She repeated the process a few times and then told Marley to repeat it on the other inkstone.
One the first try Marley poured a little too quickly but got the hang of it, making sure to make small movements and take her time, following Akito's example.
This was something new as Naomi had always just given her ink, but it was kind of exciting, making it herself.
Akito handed her a traditional fude brush with a deep red lacquer and white bristles. Marley couldn't help but notice the proud look in Akito's eyes as she demonstrated how to correctly write the two kanji symbols for the Sohma family, following it with the two kanji characters for Tetsuo.
" Smoothly True; Iron Man." Akito explained the meaning behind the Sohma Elder's name. Growing up, Akito had always enjoyed calligraphy, there was something about the black ink and strokes she found... satisfying.
"Dadaji's name means Iron Man? I had no idea! I wonder if he would like Iron Man Tony Stark? I'll have to ask him later." Akito laughed at Marley's enthusiasm and gestured for her to try.
It took about a few pages of differest washi paper, but Marley finally got a hold of it, actually letting out a cheer when her kanji looked decent.
"Let's do your name next!" Marley insisted, and Akito slightly felt a blush as she tried to avoid looking at Marley's bright-eyed look.
Again, Akito painted out the Sohma name, followed by her own.
" Smoothy True, Contented Person..." Akito read out the meaning behind her name.
"It's a beautiful name." Akito let out a small sigh at Marely's compliment, the foreigner had no idea that Akito was a masculine name, then again, Akito doubted Marley would care.
"So, what does Marley mean?" Akito asked, curious if there was something else behind it.
"... I actually have no idea, I was named after Bob Marley, I doubt Mama thought what Marley actually meant." The white-blonde smiled.
Truth be told, Marley used to be slightly annoyed about her mother's choice in naming her. It was ... An odd name, at least in India and she wanted to have a name that fit in with her mother and great grandmother's name.
It wasn't until quite recently that she appreciated the name she had been given.
"Who shall we do next?" Akito asked as she smiled, her mood seemed to be light, and Marley thought... maybe... Today would be the day.
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Kyo hopped up a tree and onto the roof tile of the outer wall, his hair still slightly damp from the quick shower he had at the Dojo. It was a bit more precarious jumping down from the top of the wall when it was dark, but Kyo had become used to this new routine.
"It's Kyo!" A cheerful voice announced as Kyo appeared in the doorway of the porch.
"Momiji? And Hatori? What are you doing here?" The orange-haired asked as he slipped off his shoes on the wooden porch before passing the three who were watching t.v to go into the kitchen.
" Marley-Chan was gonna make some pasta for dinner, we're just waiting. What are you doing here?" Momiji followed Kyo to the fridge and watched as he grabbed a milk carton labelled 'Kyo's!'.
"What's it to ya?"
"You're just mad because you wanted Marley-Chan all to yourself!" Momiji teased, and the comment made Kyo turn red and choke on the milk he was chugging.
"I-WHA-NO!" Kyo denied as milk dripped from his chin.
Before the two could continue, a loud ring distracted them, and Tetsuo shushed them as he answered the phone.
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" Please, calm yourself. Now, what happened." His tone was low, and even the teens could tell that this was no ordinary conversation.
Kyo and Momiji both looked at each other and then watched the Tetsuo facial expression sharpen and his skin paler.
" Akito did what?! DO NOT move her, Hatori and I are coming right now." Tetsuo slammed down the phone.
"Do you have your clinical bag?" Hatori shook his head, and Tetsuo told him to go get it and meet him at the main house.
"Wait, what happened?" Momiji asked as he tried to follow, and Tetsuo was putting on his sandals.
" Momiji, stay here," Tetsuo ordered, but the boy grabbed onto the elder's sleeve.
"It's Marley... Isn't it?" Momiji asked, and Tetsuo didn't say anything, Kyo felt his heart drop into his stomach as he clenched his jaw
"Please, let me come!" The young boy asked, tears building in his eyes.
"... Both of you stay here. We'll be back when we can."
" But-"
"Momiji." Tetsuo's tone meant that he wouldn't be swayed.
Kyo grabbed Momiji's shoulder and nodded to Tetsuo, a silent conversation that he would stay with Momiji in the house.
Tetsuo and Hatori rushed across the Estate, the Sohma elder, who told the family doctor what he was told over the phone, both unsure what they were about to find.
Hatori parted ways to run to his office as Tetsuo marched his way up the path to the longest standing building on the Estate. He usually avoided it like the plague, the last time he had been here was when the former head of the house was alive.
With an aggressive pull, the main door to the main house was torn open by the Sohma Elder and the maid waiting for him to arrive slightly jumped in fright, but Tetsuo also noticed how generally distressed the young maid looked, she was shaking like a leaf and panic was in her wide eyes.
"Tetsuo-Sama... I.. I- I" She tried to put together a sentence, but Tetsuo interrupted, his patience wearing thin.
"Where is she?"
The young maid nodded and led him down the hall to a private room, other maids of the house were crowded, and all saying words of comfort but Tetsuo heard the sharp hiss of pain.
"Move."
The maids parted, and Tetsuo felt his heart stop at sight.
Marley was lying on her back on the floor, splatters of black ink on her white summer dress, her eyes covered by a wet cloth and the lower half of her face was contorted in pain, her jaw clenching as strained moans of pain left her lips.
Tetsuo got down and held Marley's hand, telling her that he was here and not soon after Hatori came rushing in.
" What happened?" He demanded, and all the maids looked nervous to answer.
"All we heard was some yelling and a crash and then when I rushed in all I saw was Marley on the ground, covering her eyes with her hands-"
"And Akito?" Tetsuo interrupted, ready to have it out with the Head of the House.
"We... We haven't seen Akito-Sama..." The maid timidly replied. Truth be told, no one had looked for the head of the house, too caught up in making sure Marley was okay.
"So, the brat is hiding.." The elder spat, wishing he could give the head of the family a piece of his mind.
" You will not speak ill of Akito-Sama!" The main's house's attendant scolded, and Tetsuo looked at her with a cold glare.
"You think I'll stand for this! Look what that entitled- temperamental brat did to my Grandaughter!"
" Please. Don't make me laugh. That mutt is not your blood -"
" Say that, again.. Watch what happens." Tetsuo's voice dropped, his eyes narrowed, and the harsh attendant made take a step back, she had gone and forgotten her place. Akito might be the head of the Sohma Clan, but Tetsuo was more of a leader then Akito had ever been.
"Please. Don't fight. It was an accident." Marley cried as Hatori helped her sit up, and he had her gently remove the wet cloth from her face. Tetsuo glared at the old woman, a look that said that this wasn't over before he went to the other side of Marley and placed a hand on her back.
The cloth was removed, and the whites of her eyes were bright red, and there were splotches of black ink, Hatori brought out his small flashlight and shined it in her eyes, asking her to try and keep her eyes open.
"How are you feeling?" Hatori asked, his eyes raking over her for any more injuries, but the eyes seemed to be the only part 'damaged,' and it seemed it was minimal. Hatori was still partly blind in one eye due to his own incident a few years ago, and he would never wish that on anyone else. Especially not Yuuto's daughter.
"I'm fine... my eyes just really sting." Marley winced as Hatori checked her eyes.
" Did you wash your eyes yet?" Hatori asked, and she nodded her head.
"Yes. Someone helped me to the sink. Everyone's been taking care of me." Marley admitted, grateful for the help she's received, and at the moment, the young maid she had spoken to when she first arrived, handed her a fresh warm cloth, and she put it over her eyes.
"Marley... Do you feel able to walk home?" Hatori asked and watched as she took a gulp, and he just knew that she was probably crying underneath that cloth and honestly, who would blame her?
".. yes, please." Marley nodded, her lips trembling slightly.
"Let's get her a fresh clothe," Hatori asked one of the maids, and she immediately nodded and ran to the side where another cloth that was sitting in warm water was waiting.
She wrung it out slightly and brought it back to Marley, who squinted slightly as she tried to see and thank the maid. Hatori placed the cloth to her eyes and told her to hold it there. Tetsuo gently reached around his granddaughter and helped her to stand, linking their elbows as he led her out of the house.
One of the maids helped Marley slip on her sandals, and the three were off, walking slowly back to their house as Tetsuo acted Marley's eyes.
She couldn't even enjoy the soft evening breeze or the night sounds of the crickets, too distracted by the stinging in her eyes and the hurt in heart, feeling of self-loathing raking through her body.
Maybe I really don't understand anything...
"Outsider!"
Hatori stopped in his tracks and let out a huff of air.
" I'll be right with you, I just need to check on something."
"You're going back to that brat, aren't you?" Tetsuo snarled, and Hatori stayed silent.
"Of course you are. You truly are cursed-"
"Dadaji... It's okay...Thank you for your help, Hatori." Even though Marley was in pain, she mustered up enough strength and smiled in the general direction she figured Hatori was before Tetsuo ushered her along.
Hatori felt a strange pull, he could feel the bond tearing at him. Hatori wanted to go with them, to comfort Marley and stay with her and Tetsuo. But the Dragon member felt the strong pull to his God, calling to him.
The doctor walked back into the Main house and found himself in Akito's quarters. The room was littered with pages that had kanji in black ink on them, and then a section of the room had black ink splatters on the tatami mat floor and the walls, soft music was playing, but Hatori was hardly paying attention to that.
He walked around the room and finally found the head of the household, huddled in a corner, her knees brought into her chest.
"... is she okay?" Akito asked, her dark eyes locked onto her hands.
" Marley will be fine.." But Akito didn't look relieved as she squeezed shut her eyes and covered her face with her hands.
"It was her fault..." She muttered.
"Akito..."
"She was asking all these stupid questions! She had no right! It was her fault! Her fault!" Akito screamed into her hands as she continued to curl into herself.
"She thought I should let in that monster to the zodiac! Just let him become part of the 'inside'!" Akito's body was shaking with rage, but she wasn't even really sure who she was outraged at.
"It's not her place! She's nobody! Why would she care! It's not her place!" Akito screamed and then she glanced at the room, eyeing the still turned over table and the black ink splatters on the wall and floor. The image of Marley holding her eyes in pain, her white dress stained with ink.
"I.. Oh god... she'll leave won't she!" Akito cried to Hatori, begging him to tell her it would be alright.
"It's that monster's fault! If she hadn't brought that 'thing' up, then this would have never happened! I- I-"
Hatori looked at the crying God and immediately knelt down and took her in his arms, comforting the fragile girl whose tears were falling down her cheeks and to the floor.
"I'm right here, Akito. Let it out. I'll always be here for you." The Dragon wrapped up His God, rocking her back and forth as she wailed like a child, her hands clutching to his clothes for dear life, craving the bond that she knew could never be taken from her.
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Marley told her Dadaji what happened as they walked, well part of what happened. She mentioned that Akito got upset and flipped the table, causing the ink to accidentally spill on her and get in her eyes. She tried to joke about ruining the dress, but from his silence, she could tell the Sohma Elder was not in the mood for jokes.
" Careful, we're home, slip your shoes off. Okay, now step up." Marley heard a flurry of feet and arms wrapped around her waist for a quick moment before there was a poof.
"Momiji!" Kyo scolded, but she heard sniffling and tried to reach out to find the boy and help him, her hand moving slowly and unsurely as she tried to feel around for the rabbit.
" I'm fine, I'm fine, just a small little accident." Marley tried to insist as she finally found the tuft of soft fur she knew to be Momiji and gently lifted him up with one arm, holding him close to her heart as her Dadaji held her shoulders to walk her through the house.
"Kyo, run the tap in the kitchen, warm water." Tetsuo ordered, and Kyo barely nodded before he was in the kitchen and Marley heard the tap running.
Marley held Momiji in her arm and kept the cloth around on her eyes with her free hand, she feared that her eyes looked worse then they felt and didn't want to upset her friends more than she already had.
As she stood there, hugging and holding up Momiji in one arm, Tetsuo laid out a dark blue blanket on the floor and a pillow where Marley's head could rest. Once he was done, the grandfather tried to steer Marley down to the floor so she could rest, Momiji had to hop down to the floor and continued bouncing around, he wasn't sure how he could help, but he wanted to be there.
"Okay, kneel down. Let's lay back for a bit." Marley was helped to the floor and Marley tentatively laid down as Tetsuo helped her head to the pillow.
She could feel Momiji sniffling and cuddling into her chest, and she ran her hand up and down his small form, trying to tell him she was fine.
Kyo had taken incitive and had grabbed a new cloth and ran it under the water before squeezing it and handing it off to Tetsuo, who replaced the old cloth with the new.
"How does it feel?" Tetsuo asked as he patted his granddaughter's hair, trying to comfort her.
"The warm cloth feels nice, thank you."
"Do you need anything else?"
"... Um... I don't think I'll be able to cook dinner tonight... Sorry." She apologized, letting out a nervous laugh.
"Silly child..."
"Are you hungry, Marley-Chan?" Momiji asked as he laid his paws on her hand.
" Maybe a little..." She actually wasn't, but she thought maybe some good food would help, and she wanted her family to at least eat something.
"I'll order from that place you like, is the menu still by the phone?" Tetsuo asked, and Marley explained it was in the drawer by the phone.
Marley felt the ground around her creak, like someone moving or sitting down, and she moved her hand around, her hand brushing against the tatami mat till she came to a warm hand, it was a little bigger than hers, their fingers slightly calloused but gentle still.
Kyo.
"Momiji... do you mind picking out something for me to wear?" Marley asked, wanting to get out of the stained white dress.
"I'm on it!" Marley heard Momiji hop away and up the stairs. She listened to her grandfather on the phone in the hallway, ordering various dishes from the only Indian restaurant that Marley liked in the whole city, slightly butchering the names of dishes as he spoke on the phone.
Marley squeezed Kyo's hand, and her fingers lightly brushed against his bracelet.
" What the hell happened?" Kyo asked as he looked down at Marley's form, her eyes were covered, but it was unsettling. Seeing all the ink splatters on her dress and even some in her hair, staining the white dress and her white-blonde tresses, her body slightly shaking from whatever had got done. It wasn't... It wasn't right. He hated it.
"... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Kyo..."
"Wh-what are you talking about," Kyo asked, confused as to why she would be apologizing to him.
"I.. I tried asking Akito if.." She clenched her jaw, trying to calm herself down, even she could feel her accent coming through, and she wanted Kyo to at least understand her apology. Marley had failed, and she wasn't sure if she would get the chance to ask again. Marley had made Akito mad enough to lash out, Marley had pushed her on a subject that she didn't understand. And now... not only had she upset Akito, but she had also let Kyo down.
"If... if the Cat could be included." Marley choked out.
"If you could be part of the Zodiac."
" Why would you do something like that?" Kyo snapped, a feeling of dread that he might be the cause behind Marley's pain.
"Because I think you deserve... you deserve to be part of this family. I don't want you to be on the 'outside.'"
" And... I thought... I thought that just maybe I could... Help in someway but... I'm so sorry I wasn't able to help... I'm so pathetic." She cried, filled with regret, wishing she had better words. Wishing she was a more reliable person. Desiring to do something good in this world. Marley felt like she was just a waste of space at this point.
"Hey... Hey, stop... this isn't your problem." Kyo
" But -"
" Look what happened to you! Don't- Why would you do this for me?!" Kyo demanded, he had no idea what happened at the main house, but he knew for damn sure he didn't want Marley going anywhere near it again.
" Because I want.. I want you to be able to join the banquet."
Kyo took her delicate hand in his, completely encasing it, kneeling over her and bringing it his forehead, as if he was saying a prayer. He wanted to yell and break things. The temperamental boy wanted to blow up. But that wouldn't help Marley. So he took and deep breath.
Would you fight so hard for me... if you knew what I did?
" Please... you can't- this isn't your problem. You shouldn't have-"
" I wanted to help- You help me so much and- I wanted to at least try and help you. We—we said we would go through life together." Marley sniffled as she remembered that night in the rain when she was clutching to Kyo for dear life, begging him to let her in.
"Alright..." Kyo softy said as he stared down at her, how could he forget the words they shared on that night.
.
" I want to learn more about you, your fears, the things you love, the things you hate, your martial arts training, your favourite foods... anything... everything. I want to spend time with you... I want to eat together, drink tea together, watch movies or the stars, anything. As long as you let me stay by your side! Because...I want to be with you!" Marley cried, letting her feelings out in the open for him to see.
"Just, please! Please! Let's go through life together!" Marley yelled, hoping that her words could reach him. Praying that he wouldn't push her away.
.
" Can I see..." Kyo asked as he lightly touched the edge of the cloth.
"..." He could see Marley slightly biting on the inside of her cheek.
"Let me see." Kyo didn't even wait any longer and lifted the cloth from her face and Marley used her free hand to cover her eyes.
"Move your hand." The boy asked Marley and she became nervous, what if it looked really bad?
"Just..."
" What?"
"... It probably looks a lot worse than it feels... and it was an accident..." She sniffled, hoping that her eyes didn't look too scary and that he didn't get mad at Akito over this.
"Whatever. Now let me see."
Marley took a breath and finally removed her hand, the area around her eyes was red, and she was squinting against the light when she finally opened her eyes and chose to stare up at the ceiling.
They were bright red from irritation, streams of tears were falling from edges of her eyes and flowing down to her hairline.
" I must look terrible..." she didn't even look at Kyo, just kept staring at the ceiling, trying to distract herself by thinking if the ceiling had always been that light sage colour.
"I've seen worse." Kyo used the cloth to try and wipe away the tears, Kyo helped her sit up properly, and he gave her some room, sitting back casually.
" I've got a plan," Kyo told her, and she slightly tilted her head, the messy bun sitting on her head tilted as well, it would have been comical if not for the situation.
"A plan?"
"Yeah, Akito and me have a deal. Once I do it. I'm in." The boy revealed, a confident smirk on his face and Marley seemed to spring forward, she was on her hands and knees and looking up at Kyo, she was practically in the space between Kyo's legs, and he nearly fell back as he felt his heart race.
"Really?!"
"Yeah. And I'm gonna do it. No problem. So no more worrying about me and getting in the Zodiac." He told her, saying a silent prayer that she would drop it and never ask Akito anything like that ever again.
" but-" Kyo playfully grabbed her nose. Stopping her sentence.
" Trust me. I got this." Kyo assured, his saffron eyes gazing into hers.
" Okay." She said, her voice comically nasally, and Kyo let her go, laughing at the funny voice she had used.
" Can you tell me what the deal is?" Marley asked, slightly sitting back and rubbing her nose, it hadn't hurt, it was just a bit of strange sensation.
"... Then shall we make a bet out of it?" Cold dark eyes were taunting him, a slight smirk to Akito's face.
" I'll tell once I win." Kyo puffed out his chest, confident that despite the teasing look in his God's eyes, he would prove Akito wrong.
"Then, I'll be right here, cheering you on." A smile that lit up the room appeared on Marley's face, filled with a new hope and a faith in Kyo that he could do anything he put his mind to. It was one of the things Marley admired about the boy, stubbornly determined in the best of ways.
Kyo let out a small sigh and brought his hand to touch a lock of hair that had fallen out of her bun.
I won't let you down
"Promise you won't ask again?" Kyo wanted to really make sure because he couldn't handle knowing that Marley had put herself in God's wrath for him.
"..."
" I'm not kidding here, you gotta promise." He tried to use his most intimidating look, and Marley held a hand over her heart.
" Alright, I promise." She pledged, and Kyo let out a small sigh of relief, feeling confident that he wouldn't have to worry about her too much.
"Sorry to interrupt." A stoic voice cut through, causing Kyo to nearly jump out of his skin.
"Hatori." Kyo let out a scoff, glaring at the doctor who simply ignored him and held out something to Marley, her phone that she had left behind at the main house.
" Thank you... Dadaji's ordering food if you would like to stay." Marley offered, and Hatori shook his head.
" I need to get back to Akito, but thank you. I just wanted to give that back and check in on you. Here are some drops for your eyes, put them in after you wash your face." The Doctor ordered as he reached into his bag and handed her a small bottle.
Kyo watched as Marley gripped the phone a little tighter at the mention of the head of the family.
" How about you just leave already." The words were spat from Kyo's mouth, his orange eyes blazing with an angry rage.
Typically, Marley would have probably said something to try and help the atmosphere, but she was exhausted, her mind was still spinning, and her eyes stung.
"... I'll check on you tomorrow then." Hatori bowed his head and walked out of the house, Marley felt a small twinge of abandonment.
The doctor had been by her side through so much, but she was able to see that, between herself and Akito. Akito was clearly the more important one, while Marley was...
" You're an outsider! You have no right! You don't know anything!"
"Marley-Chan. Here." Momiji had returned, now in human form and carrying clothes for her to change into.
Truthfully Marley could have easily gone upstairs and grabbed clothes herself, but she had needed a moment with Kyo, and she wanted to give Momiji something to do. She felt a little guilty, but as she thanked him for helping her, he gave her a small smile.
"I'm just gonna change.." Marley took the clothes and walked to the downstairs washroom, slipping off her now stained white dress. Looking in the mirror, she noticed there were a few ink spots on her skin.
The young woman took a small towel and ran it under the tap before rubbing it against the spot on her arm, trying to clean off the dry black ink.
It was stubborn, the stain on her skin, so she had to rub harder and harder, making her brown skin turn pink against all the friction.
Her eyes started stinging again as she relived the moment.
.
Marley and Akito had gone through everyone in the Zodiac, she had learned how to write their names in kanji as well as learn their meanings.
It was mostly light conversation, joking around and Akito teasing Marley over her slightly heavy hand when it came to brush strokes.
It was when the final name come up, did Marley bring up what she had truly wanted to ask. She just needed to find a way to bring it up.
" Akito, it really must be wonderful having all the Zodiac around, all 13. I was speaking with Dadaji, and apparently, it's the first time it's happened since the beginning." Marley enthused. She also thought of the grandmother she had never met, who grew up practically alone in the Zodiac.
Her Dadaji told Marley how excited his late wife had been when Zodiac members started to be born, Natsuki Sohma had kept saying that something big was happening. Had she known that all the Zodiacs would come together for a full banquet, who knows? But even Marley could tell that something big was happening.
"Everyone was waiting for me...I was born to be loved by everyone." Akito mused, a smile on her lips as she uttered the words.
Right then and there, Marley felt the air shift, as it always did when Akito's role as 'God' came up. Marley was skeptical when it came to who 'God' was in the Zodiac. Marley had been acquainted with many different Gods and deities in her past. She knew of the many deities that Hindu's looked up to and prayed to, surrounded by their images as she grew up and learning their stories. Marley grew up going to the gurdwara and praying with her great grandmother, meditating in the name of one creator, a belief in divine unity, equality of all humankind. Even when her family moved to America, her Mama and she would attend temple and volunteer in the langar, the community kitchen.
Marley couldn't say whether she really believed in one 'God' or the other, but she loved the ideas and teachings she was shown and if there was 'God,' wouldn't they want prosperity for all, wouldn't 'God' welcome all who wished for a place to go.
".. yes well. It must mean something special, having everyone together."
"Wouldn't it be wonderful, after all this time... Maybe it's time for Cat to be part of the Zodiac." Marley tried to put out there as casual as she could, hoping that Akito would be open to the idea.
The air... it became so thick, but Marley kept her gaze on Akito, holding her ground.
Akito's eyes became dark, the smile that had been there moments before... gone. Like it had never been there.
And then... she started laughing. It wasn't a light laugh or a jovial one... it was...
Unsettling.
"Hahahahaahah You... you are so funny! That was a good one! The Cat! Becoming part of the Zodiac! Ahahahahaahaha." Akito had tears practically coming out her eyes. She was laughing so hard.
"I wasn't kidding." Marley simply stated, her large amethyst eyes locked onto Akito, a twisted feeling building up in her chest as she watched her friend laugh over the idea of Kyo becoming part of the 'inside.'
This... this side of Akito, she had maybe caught glimpses before, but this felt... Different. Marley's skin had goosebumps, and even though it was so warm out... the room felt ice cold.
Akito rose to her feet and stared down at Marley on the floor, now glaring at her rather than laughing, as if daring Marley to speak out again.
" You... think I would let that 'monster' join?" Akito scoffed and this made Marley jump to her feet, standing tall as she was ready to defend her friend.
"Do not call him that." Marley objected to Akito's term for Kyo, her heart was beating fast, and she found herself slightly intimidated by Akito at this moment. Still, Marley was not one to back down, determination behind her large eyes.
"You've seen it, and you still defend him." Akito smirked, but Marley pushed forward, she didn't even want to address the fact that Akito referring to Kyo as an 'It.', completely disappointed in how Akito was being.
"Kyo should be part of the banquet." Marley pressed on.
"... you really aren't kidding..." Akito growled, she felt like a coil was tightening and ice entered her veins, Akito was clenching her fists, her long nails digging into her palms.
" Kyo should be allowed to come 'inside.' He should be allowed to go where ever he pleases."
" Shut up! You don't understand! You're not one of us, you don't get it!" Akito screamed at her, but Marley pushed on.
" You are 'God'! Right? Then can't you do what you want? Why wouldn't you want to include Kyo?" Marley never imagined that this would be what she would be met with when it came to this conversation. She honestly had faith that Akito would simply see how...unfair it was to keep Kyo out, but... Akito didn't even seem to see Kyo as a person.
"Shut up..." Akito hissed.
" Don't you think it's time! Wouldn't it be wonderful to truly have all the members together? The banquet would be better with the Cat. It's wrong to exclude Kyo over some ancient tradition." Marley thought of Kyo, who wanted to be included, how it was only right. It wasn't that Marley was against tradition in general, but she only knew that some were meant to be broken, especially when that 'tradition' included alienating someone.
"Stop.." Akito's teeth were practically barred at the white-blonde, but she wouldn't shut her mouth. Marley wanted to do this, and she was as stubborn as the day was long.
" Kyo is a part of this family! He is a part of the Zodi-"
" You're an outsider! You have no right! You don't know anything! WE have a bond!" Akito screamed at Marley, not believing how the girl who came from nothing would dare fight her on this.
" Then explain to me! If there is a 'Bond,' then why can't the Cat be part of the Zodiac. Wouldn't the Cat be included in that bond?!" It just didn't make sense to Marley.
"Because that's the way it is!"
"I don't accept that and neither should you! Just because 'that's the way it is' means that you should just let it happen. You know that you can change it-"
"Enough!" Akito yelled, covering her ears, but Marley didn't want the powerful figure to ignore her or shut her out. Marley wanted Kyo, who even among the Sohma's was so special to her, Marley wanted him to be able to walk through those doors. A full-fledged member of this family. And Akito was supposedly the only one who could make that happen.
Marley could at least do this.
"Akito! Please! You can change-"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Akito grabbed the small table and flipped it to the ground in her rage, causing papers to fly, and the inkstones that were full of wet, black ink flew across the room towards Marley. The black ink splashing the floor, the wall, Marley's dress and her face.
Marley let out a shriek at the sharp pain, and her hands flew to her eye as she stumbled backwards.
.
After that it was all a blur, Marley remembered people coming in, being helped to a sink or something and washing her eyes and then being fussed over by a few of the maids of the house.
She took a large breath, trying to get a hold of herself.
The girl washed her face, splashing it with water and patting her face dry as she stared into her flection.
Her vision still felt a little blurry, the black ink in her eyes was gone, but her eyes were still bright red from the irritation.
Slipping on the loose grey sweats pants and bright yellow sweatshirt Momiji had grabbed for her. Already she was starting to feel better, a warm feeling in her chest over the care she was given from her friends and family.
Checking her reflection, she noticed the small bits of ink in her hair, under the bathroom counter, she found a brush and some coconut oil. Marley freed her hair of the messy bun and tried fixing what she could, brushing it out and placing a little dab oil in her hand, warming it in her palm before spreading it to where it was needed.
Pulling her hair up into a high, slicked-back ponytail, she would just wash out her hair in the morning, hoping the ink stains wouldn't be too much of an issue.
She grabbed the drops Hatori had given her and tilted her head back, and squeezed the small bottle above her eyes.
Okay... it's all gonna.. Be fine...
Today, Marley had been reminded of how different Akito's world was to Marley's. She was genuinely trying to understand, but... right now, she wasn't sure she wanted to understand.
Marley... She was a surprise, to say the least, her mother had her when she was only 16 and her birth father left before she was even born. She was a mistake; though no one who truly mattered called her that, she still heard those words growing up. Marley did not come from riches or a prestigious family. She wasn't born with a 'bond' that spanned centuries.
Marley was lucky to even be born while Akito was born 'lucky.'
"Everyone was waiting for me...I was born to be loved by everyone."
Akito was born a 'God,' constantly told that she was born for greatness, given whatever she pleased and acted; however she wanted. A mythical spell connecting her to 13 members who would serve and love her no matter what.
But what was the 'bond' that Akito spoke of? And was it really as beautiful as she seemed to boast?
If Akito was born to loved no matter what and be surrounded by the Zodiac members, she was bonded to... then why did she seem so lonely and lost the first time they had met.
Maybe Marley really never understood Akito at all...
She looked to her phone, noticing that it was paused on the music playlist that had been playing in Akito's quarters. A small part wondered of her wondered if it was her Mama reaching out, trying to cheer her on. Marley pressed play and let the song play, using it to calm herself down.
Don't worry about a thing
'Cause every little thing gonna be alright
Singing' don't worry about a thing
'Cause every little thing gonna be alright
Marley didn't know what Kyo's deal with Akito was, but she believed in him and would cheer him on in any way that she should.
It's... gonna be alright...right?
.
Marley shook her head and took one last deep breath before leaving the bathroom and walking back into the living room where Kyo and Momiji were waiting. Marley approached and lightly patted Momiji's hair before rubbing his back, promising him she was okay.
"Can... Can I hug you." Momiji asked, tears forming in his eyes once more. He had been terrified, everything seemed to be moving so fast, and he had through the worst when Tetsuo and Hatori had nearly stormed out of the house to get the girl he had come to cherish.
Marley didn't give a verbal answer, she simple leaned down and wrapped her arms around the young Momiji who instantly threw his arms around, his fingers grasping onto the soft shirt.
The embrace lasted only a second before Momiji transformed, but even in his Zodiac form, Marley cradled him to her chest, swaying lightly as she tried to comfort him.
"Food should be here in about an hour." Tetsuo walked in was relieved to see the scene. He usually wouldn't be thrilled about Momiji being all cuddly with Marley, but he would allow this. He was just happy to see his granddaughter up and even sporting a small smile.
" Do... do you wanna watch a movie or something?" Kyo asked, and an idea popped into her head, and she looked at her Dadaji.
" Can we watch 'Iron Man'?!" Marley asked as she remembered the meaning behind her grandfather's name.
"Why are you looking at me when you ask that?" Tetsuo asked as he raised a brow, wondering what was going through the girl.
"Because today during my kanji practice, I learned that 'Tetsuo' means 'Iron Man.' " Marley explained, and the old man rolled his eyes but let out a surprising laugh, he never expected to be compared to an American comic book hero.
" Put on whatever you like, I'll make some tea."
"Are you sure? I can at least make the tea, or lend a hand?" Marley asked and was already trying to follow her grandfather into the kitchen, but a hand took hold of her elbow.
"Would you just sit down already, we'll take care of it." Kyo 'scolded' but Marley tried to insist she would help but Kyo kept her there.
"Yeah Marley-Chan, you're the princess! We'll do everything." Momiji cheered as he crawled to her shoulder and gave her little rabbit kisses to her cheek. It was hard to argue with that.
Marley picked up the remote and turned on the T.V, slightly squinting as tried to change the source and find the search bar.
" Are your eyes still hurting?"
"Huh, oh no they feel okay, I guess I washed out my contacts..." Marley admitted as she continued to struggle typing in 'Iron Man' in the search bar on the T.V.
"... so you can't even see the damn TV."
" Yes, I can... I just can't see what's on it.." Marley had just been told she wasn't allowed to help make tea, she doubted they would let her go upstairs to grab her glasses and didn't want to bother anyone. Kyo seemed to read her mind and jumped to his feet.
" I'm gonna grab your damn glasses so you can watch the damn movie, and then I'm gonna sit there and make sure you don't lift a damn finger the rest of the night," Kyo said it like a threat and Marley tried not to laugh, somehow finding his attitude endearing.
And Kyo did just as he threatened to do.
He had gone up into Marley's room, grabbed her glasses, a small blush on his face when he handed them off to her and Marley remembered she had left her bra's on a drying rack in her room and had to stifle a giggle over his red ears.
After that, he sat himself down on the floor beside Marley while Momiji was still nestled in her arms.
Marley, now with glasses, was able to correctly type in what she wanted and settled in, kind of excited to watch a superhero movie with her friends.
" It's funny, I think a small part of me is now going to imagine Dadaji in an Iron Man suit whenever I write his name out." Marley joked as she fidgeted with the settings and put on the Japanese subtitles.
"Oh! Marley-Chan, did you learn what my name meant?" Momiji asked, his ears popping straight up.
"Maple Tree! Right?" Marley explained proudly before the rabbit happily nuzzled his face into Marley's.
Kyo finally groaned and grabbed Momiji by his scruff, he had enough of watching the affectionate rabbit rub himself all over the girl.
"At least change back before the food gets here." Kyo pointed out, and Momiji pouted before hopping off, dragging his clothes by his little mouth into the hallway so he could change in privacy.
Kyo was sitting a little far from her, his black t-shirt clad back to her as he faced the T.V. Marley smiled and reached out, using her finger to make a pattern in his back.
The boy slightly jumped a bit at the sudden contact but calmed down when he realized who it was.
"The hell are you doing back there?" He asked, slightly peering over his shoulder, and their eyes met.
" I learned the kanji for your name as well," Marley mentioned, her voice soft.
"Yeah, and?" He scoffed, ready for her to make fun of him.
"Apricot..."
Kyo groaned, and his shoulders sagged a bit, but Marley just continued to make patterns in his back.
" I love apricots," Marley said as she traced the kanji once more, and Kyo's face slightly flushed, but he didn't look away.
" You..do?"
"Your mother gave you a wonderful name." Marley complimented.
"... I imagine she really didn't give it much thought..." Kyo scoffed, his orange hair slightly falling into his eye-line, his tresses had something in common with the apricot he was named after.
"... your name... your mother gave you a nice name too..." Kyo softly mumbled.
"Thank you." Marley softly uttered as a small blush appeared on her cheeks.
"It's still weird, though." Marley only laughed at Kyo's comment, she knew he didn't mean anything bad by it, the orange-haired boy was just awkward when it came to giving compliments, she had seen it time and time again.
.
.
.
When the food arrived, they paused the movie and Marley took joy in showing Kyo how to properly eat Indian food without using utensils. Showing him the roti was what he was supposed to use to scoop up the various curry dishes her Dadaji had ordered.
It was a regular place that knew precisely how Marley enjoyed her dishes, including which dishes to make extra spicy and which ones were to remain mild.
There was an array of curries and pakoras, chutneys, achar and the restaurant even through in some gulab jamon. The dessert was far too sweet for Kyo, but Marley and Momiji enjoyed the syrupy sweet ball.
The Sohma Elder and the Cat of the Zodiac even entered a contest of 'who could handle the spiciest dish of the table,' which was Marley's extra hot Malai Kofta. Marley tried to warn them, but once the Cat challenged the old man, Tetsuo found it hard to back down, and both ended up wishing they didn't have tongues after they each had scoopful.
Marley tried not to laugh at their pain and bright red faces as she served them yogurt, but a few giggles broke through.
After they finished 'Iron Man' it led another superhero movie until it was past midnight, and Momiji had fallen asleep on Marley's lap. Marley had fallen asleep on Kyo's shoulder.
Kyo at first had only been sitting so close due to Marley continuously trying to get up and help with dishes or grab something for someone, and Kyo kept making sure she just sat down and rest until the two were sitting, shoulder to shoulder.
"...I'm glad you were here.." Tetsuo admitted as he looked at the serene look on Marley's face as she rested against Kyo's shoulder. It was as if earlier events had never taken place.
"Huh?"
" She's comfortable with you." Maybe it was the long day, but Tetsuo seemed softer than Kyo was used to seeing.
"... she's comfortable with everyone.." Kyo scoffed, doubting he was really anything special in the girl's eyes.
" Your still young. Maybe you'll understand soon."
"Hah?
Tetsuo merely got up and walked over, moved Momiji's head to the floor and with a strength that Kyo had no idea the old man had, Tetsuo Sohma squatted down, lifted the teenage girl into his arms and carried her as if she weighed nothing.
" Carry Momiji to the guest room down the hall." Tetsuo simply ordered, and Kyo was about to protest but felt that waking up the finally quiet, energetic boy would be a mistake. The orange-haired boy quietly grumbled as he picked up the small boy and found a guest room and placed Momiji down, lazily throwing the blanket over him.
Tetsuo closed the door to Marley's room and then mentioned to Kyo that he was also welcome to spend the night, he would set up the futon.
" No, I gotta get going." Kyo walked to the porch and slid on his shoes.
" So you and Akito have made some sort of deal?" Tetsuo asked, and Kyo realized he must have been listening when Marley and him were talking.
" I don't wanna talk about it." Kyo simply put, silently praying the elder would drop it. No one but the Cat and God knew of the details of their deal, not even Kazuma knew. Marley is the first person he's even told about the deal.
" You think Akito is the type to make a deal lightly?" Tetsuo warned Kyo as he took out his cigarette and lit up on the porch.
"... what over choice do I have?" Kyo scoffed, but there was no real venom behind it, Kyo was just tired.
Tetsuo decided to drop the subject and told the burdened teen goodnight. Kyo walked through the garden he heard a sliding sound and looked up to the second floor of the house, where Marley was sticking her head out.
"Text me when you get home." She softly called, leaning out the window slightly.
"Yeah yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, still awkward about someone just worried about his wellbeing.
" Good night Kyo." Marley sleepily waved to him from the window, and he felt his chest warm a bit. Of course, she would try and wake her self if only to say goodnight and wish him off.
" Goodnight... Marley." Her name slipping from his mouth, his eyes softening as her name left his lips. She waited til he was safely over the wall before cuddling back into her bed.
As Kyo walked back to Shigure's house, his mind wandered to what the future could hold for him, the warm feeling of hope in his chest blooming brighter and brighter with each day.
Someone was waiting for him, cheering him on. Kyo wasn't going to let that go to waste.
.
.
.
Notes:
Mandalas: Sanskrit for "circle" or "discoid object," is a geometric design that holds a great deal of symbolism in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. Creating them is connected with mediation and healing among other traditions.
Rangolis: an art form where patters on created on the floor using dry materials such as powers, rice, flowers for various festivals.
Shoudo: a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language.
Sikhism: Indian monotheistic religion that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century.
Gurdwara: is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as Gurdwara Sahib. People from all faiths are welcomed in Sikh gurdwaras.
Langar: term used in Sikhism for the community kitchen in a Gurdwara where a free meal is served to all the visitors
Gulab jamon: is a milk-solid-based sweet from the Indian subcontinent, popular in India, Nepal, Pakistan. The fried balls are then soaked in a light sugar syrup flavored with green cardamom and rose water, kewra or saffron.There are various types of gulab jamun and every variety has a distinct taste and appearance.
Achar: various pickled vegetables.
Malai Kofta: a popular Indian vegetarian dish made of potato & paneer balls dunked in smooth, rich & creamy gravy, can be made super spicy ( at least in my family XD)
Songs:
Stir It Up –Bob Marley and the Wailers
Three Little Birds – Bob Marley and the Wailers
* Concerning Kyo's name meaning: I tried so hard to find his Kanji and I could not, there was a similar kanji that is pronounced 'Kyo' and means Apricot so please forgive me for not finding the actual meaning, in this story his name means apricot, I thought it would be cute. again... please forgive me and feel free to correct me.
Hello!
Peachie here, hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy and keeping safe.
Man, I already miss going to temple since this quarantine, so I hope you don't mind me slipping in a few bits of Sikhism in this one XD
If you are enjoying 'Stir It Up' then don't forget to leave a review, it really does make me smile to know that someone out there is enjoying what I'm putting out there.
I'm running low on motivation due to being stuck inside, isolation is starting to get to me but I'll try to continue writing.
A huge thank you to VampireSiren, ktbelle1313, and zikashigaku for leaving reviews on the last chapter, it means a lot to me to get feedback.
TO VampireSiren: Thank you for the review. I think Marley really enjoys simple skin-care and hair care tricks and loves doing it with others :p and Marley takes her Big Sister role very seriously XD doesn't want to let anyone down. I don't think Shigure so much blames Marley for Yuuto's death but more like kind of taking Yuuto away from the Sohma's, in general, all those years ago when Yuuto married Chandra and moved away but Shigure is just a bit petty when it comes to certain things, I'm hoping to explore Yuuto's past with the Sohma's more in future writings.
To ktbelle1313: Thank you so much for the review, btw I finally hit 'complete' on the last book lol
zikashigaku: Kyo's always been my favourite too! Is it obvious? lol I'm glad your enjoying Marley as a character. She definitely starting to see another side to Akito but who knows how much she'll see of the dark side of the Sohma's ( I do, I'm the one who knows). Thank you for the review :)