"My grandpa said I could bring my friends over for dinner."
Karmi looked up from her phone to stare at Eleanor. "Your grandpa?" They were hanging at a cafe called Toffee House when her friend spoke.
"Awesome!" Kirby looked pumped. "Your grandpa is the best sushi chef I know in town!"
I'm getting deja vu. It made her think of Momakase, but the biotech major shook her head. Just because there was a sushi chef supervillain back home didn't mean all sushi chefs were secretly mercenaries that kidnapped people on abandoned islands. "What's your grandpa like?"
"He's the only one in my family that believes I can speak to animals." Eleanor spoke in a quiet voice. "My mum thinks I have a big imagination, and my aunts, uncles, and cousins think I'm just really good at charades."
Karmi winced. "I'm sorry to hear that." No wonder Eleanor got excited when she believed in their ability.
"It's okay! I don't blame them for it, I mean it does sound far-fetched." Eleanor shrugged. "No one picks on me for it, but they do act like I'm making things up whenever I tell my cousins that their cat isn't a big fan of her water being served at room-temperature."
"Your cousins have a cat?" Kirby raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! Her name is Rufus." Eleanor explained. "She goes to these yoga lessons run by this cat that lives by the Dalmatians."
Karmi hummed, Domino and Diggs were visiting today, maybe she could ask them about the cat? "I hope they're not like this corgi I heard about."
"Corgi?" Kirby pressed for info.
"Oh, while my family was visiting the museum, Domino ran into this corgi that's neighbors with his family." She had been so mad to hear that the stuck-up dog had been harassing the pup just because of his breed. "Basically the canine equivalent of a Karen."
"Yeesh." Their friend winced.
Eleanor seemed to know who she was talking about. "Oh, you're talking about the corgi who's human tried to call pest control on the dalmatian family." They took an angry bite of their scone before continuing. "My cousin Elmer told me about that, since his dad works at the same hospital one of the dalmatians do, and he was mad!"
"I bet that guy's reputation took a hit for trying to get rid of a peaceful family." Karmi frowned. She hoped to not run into that person during her stay in Camden, otherwise she'd lose her temper for sure.
"Yeah last I heard he's been kicked out of some social gatherings." Eleanor told her.
"I did not know about that part, or the whole pest control thing." Kirby murmured. "How did you know that?"
Eleanor grinned. "Oh, the dogs in Camden have this emergency system called the World Wide Woof, the pest control incident was reported on there once."
"Man, that is so cool." Kirby gushed. "You like, know all of the secrets of the canine world!"
"Not that much…" Eleanor blushed. "I didn't even interact with the animals in Camden much outside of the Canal Crew up until now."
They nervously fiddled with their sleeves. "I don't blame you." Karmi told them. "I didn't talk with most of my peers at SFIT, I just wanted to keep to myself during that time."
"Oh right!' Kirby suddenly exclaimed. "I remember you mentioned you went to college at San Fransokyo, that's so cool!"
"Uh… Thanks?"
"Wow, it must be cool being the youngest student at your college."
The biotech major snorted. "I was the youngest, until last semester." She remembered feeling a little irritated when realizing she no longer had the title of youngest genius.
It hadn't been the main reason why she was cold to Hiro, she thought he only interacted with her because of the assignment and didn't want his pity-friendship, but it had been rough saying goodbye to something she had identified with. "Now I'm the oldest teen genius." But hey, at least she had a new title now.
"Cool!" Eleanor grinned. "Is going to college fun?"
"It can be if you're passionate about the course, homework is annoying, but as long as you keep a schedule, managing assignments is pretty easy." She grinned. "I'm doing some paper assignments while away, I'll still have to retake some classes, but at least I won't fall behind too much and if all goes to plan I'll still be able to graduate on time."
"How come you have to retake classes?" Kirby asked.
She flinched as a phantom pain rang in her neck. Eleanor picked up the cloudy look on her eyes. "You don't have to talk about it if it's personal."
"It is." She instinctively rubbed the chip scar. "My mother prefers if I don't share that information, it's complicated to say the least."
Both her friends hummed in understanding. "Coolio, so what class at SFIT was your favorite?" Kirby shifted the conversation back to her college and Karmi was happy for the subject change.
"That'd have to be thermodynamics with Professor Granville! One time she gave us a week off to do a creative course and she let me submit one of my drafts for one of my fanfiction chapters! Oh and one time there was…"
Meanwhile at the Dalmatians household…
Domino was a little nervous, watching as he noticed the chaos in the yard. "I feel you." DJ was sitting next to him. "Made me scared that one of my sibs was gonna come over and try to fight me, like back in the hoarder house."
"Don't remind me." If you weren't hunting for food, you were wrestling other pups in the house to try and get stronger. Domino was glad that Diamond had been on their side, otherwise they both would've been beaten up by the Dimitrio dozens of times.
Speaking of the troublemaking trip, Domino noticed that they were on the trampoline with Diana and Doris. "Least our sibs are having fun."
"I'm worried about Diana." DJ frowned. "She's so small, and the Dimitris are so big…"
"They said they changed." Domino pointed out. "You guys have been living together for half a year, have they tried attacking you or anything?"
His littermate shook his head. "No, but I don't trust them as far as I can throw 'em!"
"Aw c'mon, what's not to trust?" Speaking of the devil, the Dimitrio were now standing in front of them, Dimitri 2 had been the one who spoke. "You're such a cat, DJ."
"Don't compare me with one of those hairballs!" He bristled.
Domino frowned in confusion. "What's wrong with cats?"
All of his siblings gave him weird looks. "Cats are weird." Dimitri 1 stated.
"They just lie down all day and spit up hairballs." Dimitri 3 added.
"So do some dogs?"
"You don't get it bro, they also act like they're better than everyone else! Our neighbor is a cat and he thinks he's great just because he's not a dog." Dimitri 2 pouted.
Oh, now Domino could understand. "I haven't met any cats, sorry."
"Lucky! Our neighbor is bad enough, there was this bald cat that belonged to…'' Dimitri 3 glanced around before speaking. "Hunter."
Even if his voice was spoken in a low whisper, his littermates and DJ shuddered. Domino didn't recognize the name, but he got a bad feeling from it. "Okay? So is the neighbor as bad as Clarissa?"
"Dog no, but he's got a stick up his tail." DJ scoffed. "Why Deepak listens to that cat, I don't understand-"
"Hey! The guru had overheard and now was glaring at DJ. "Constantin merely teaches me about Guru Miaow and that's-"
"Blah blah blah." Dimitri 1 cut him off. "No one cares about your cat obsession Deepak."
Even if DJ had complained about the cat before, now he was glaring at Dimitri 1 with Deepak. "As Guru Miaow once said, 'those who pick on others are those who do not have much confidence in themselves.'" He recited.
DJ snickered as all three of the Dimitrio scowled. "Oi!"
"Okay, okay, break it up!" Luckily Dolly intervened. "We are not having the cats vs dogs debate again, so just back away."
"But Dolly, Deepak said that-" Dimitri 1 tried to complain but got a glare from his older sister.
"Don't wanna hear it, just go do something else dogs!" Dolly ushered them away, sparing a glance to Deepak. "Next time they insult your beliefs, just don't insult them back, we don't want to repeat the time you left because of it."
"Right sister." Deepak bowed his head in apology.
Dolly bowed her head back, and ran to go check on the other pups. "So, what's this Guru Miaow stuff?" Domino raised an eyebrow.
"It's the belief that all animals are equal to each other when it comes to the cycle of life, thus we must treat each other with respect and kindness, so that we can all find peace in this world we cannot control." Deepak explained. "Either in this life, or the next."
DJ rolled his eyes. "Reincarnation isn't a thing Deepak, it's only in movies."
"Well, that is your opinion." The guru huffed, turning back to Domino. "I was planning on visiting Constantin for his afternoon yoga lesson, do you want to join?"
"Uh, sure?" Domino shrugged. "I've never met any cats before."
Deepak's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yep, Diggs told me that there's this whole thing humans believe that cats and dogs don't like each other, but he told me that I should meet a cat before drawing my own conclusions." Domino gestured. "Which I guess is weird. I know some dogs that are nice and some dogs that are bad, wouldn't that work for cats, too?"
"Exactly!" The guru exclaimed. "Not every creature from a species or breed is the exact same, just as our family is full of good dalmatians, there are also bad dalmatians in the world." Vaguely, Domino thought of his birth mother, a dalmatian that didn't care about the wellbeing of any of her pups despite having so many. "Surprised you haven't heard about Guru Miaow before, you understand his teachings very well!"
"Um… thanks?" Domino didn't get it but he appreciated the compliment. "Should we take Diggs with us?"
"The more the merrier, but only if he's willing."
DJ rolled his eyes. "You guys have fun napping with cats, I'll just be here making awesome soundtrack remixes for this party I'll be dj-ing at over by the canals." He wandered off from the two, while Domino would've liked his brother to come with, he wouldn't cry over spilled milk.
Luckily for him, Diggs was alright with going to visit Constantin's house. "My back's been killing me, so some yoga might straighten it out." They had told Dylan and Dolly they were going next door, and were waiting outside the front.
"So Deepak." Diggs spoke up. "Does this cat have a human?"
The guru shrugged. "I don't know, I've never seen any humans in this house."
"Maybe Constantin is like your family, he doesn't need one." Domino suggested.
"Hm, hadn't thought of that before." Deepak placed a hand to his chin. "But that makes a lot of sense now."
They rang the doorbell, it gave off a pleasant chime as a grey thick-furred cat with white markings answered the door. "Ah, come to join the afternoon yoga, pupil?"
Constantin greeted Deepak, then raised an eyebrow as he noticed Diggs and Domino waiting outside.
"Greetings Constantin, I brought my new brother Domino and his family Diggs with me." Deepak told him. "Their humans are visiting Camden for awhile, Domino was one of the pups that lived in the hoarder house some of my siblings were born into."
The old cat's whiskers twitched at the mention of the house. "I see."
"Nice to meet you, sir." Diggs rumbled a greeting.
"Well, it's nice that your friends have more manners than some of your siblings, my pupil." Constantin muttered. "Come in, but be careful not to bump into anything."
As they entered, Domino felt his muscles relax as he scented something calming in the house. "What's the smell?"
"It's rosemary incense." Deepak explained. "Helps clear one's head before a yoga session."
Diggs raised an eyebrow at the lit candle, which was wafting the calm smell. "Hm, maybe we should tell our humans about what we find here." He whispered to Domino. "It could help Karmi."
The pup's tail wagged in anticipation. "Yes! Exactly!"
"What about your human?" Deepak lifted an ear in puzzlement. "Has her aura gotten worse?"
Both dogs glanced at each other, a little spooked by the guru's accurate guess. "Well, sometimes she has bad dreams, usually calls one of her friends whenever that happens." Diggs muttered, tapping his paws on the ground. "Don't really like gossiping about it, but I'm worried about her."
"We don't know the whole story, but we think the bad thing that happened to her city got to her." Domino chimed in. He felt guilty for talking about it, but they were both worried about Karmi.
On the outside, it looked like she was perfectly fine, but both of them could sense the stress hanging over her head like an anvil.
Deepak nodded in understanding. "Hmm, I see. Some of my siblings often come to me when they are haunted by past events that traumatized them, so I understand where your concern comes from." Domino wasn't surprised, considering he still had nightmares about the hoarder house, and had heard some of the other dalmatian pups had rough pasts. "What my teacher can offer isn't a permanent solution, but methods of self-care that could help ease her mind, and your minds too."
"Huh?" Both dogs blinked.
"I can tell by your auras that you've both suffered in the past." The way Deepak was looking at them, showed that he was a pup wiser than his age.
Diggs winced. "That's one way to say it."
He wasn't born in a hoarder house like Domino, but his first owner wasn't a nice human. He had run away, got caught by a dog shelter, and they had nursed his wounds and took him away from his bad humans, then he got adopted by the Khans.
Hadn't thought about that in a long time… He didn't like focusing on the past, but seeing Domino confront his own made the shepherd reflect on some things.
A meow from Constantin made them exit the house and enter the garden, it was nicely decorated, and there were some mats placed out in the front yard. "Huh, didn't know there'd be more dogs than Brother Deepak attending." One feline muttered.
"Well, as Guru Miaow says, 'life is full of changes, it is something not even the wisest of seers can predict from day-to-day.'" Another recited.
Domino felt a little embarrassed at the attention. "Um, hi? I've never met a cat before, so it's nice to meet all of you…" He wished he had a mostly dark coat like Dubaku or Dante, as his blush was easily seen on his face.
But the cat didn't comment on that. "Oh, what a polite one!" A red cat stated. "Much nicer than some of the troublemakers that are your neighbors, Brother Constantin."
"Indeed, they ought to learn a thing or two about not interrupting my yoga sessions." Constantin grumbled. "Enough babbling about my neighbors, let us begin today's meditation."
Diggs wanted to ask the cat some questions, but he could save that after yoga, and did his best to follow along with the rest of the class.
It at least made his back less stiff, but some of the movements were making him exhausted. Clearly these are better suited for cats. Diggs noted, but he noticed that while he and Domino were slower than the rest, Deepak was following Constantin's movements as elegantly as the felines.
He didn't know how such a small pup was quick and nimble, perhaps it was his diet? This yoga class is making me realize the secret to the life of cats. Diggs realized. Wait until I tell the dogs back home.
"It was nice to meet you." A brown cat, who was called Rufus, was chatting with Domino as class ended. "Most dogs aren't as polite as Deepak, they're really invested in the whole cats vs dogs thing."
"Yeah, even my littermates follow that." Domino agreed. "I don't get it though, it's rude to judge dogs because they're a different breed, or judge humans who look different, but being mean to cats isn't?"
Rufus twitched an ear. "I know some cats who hate dogs just as much as some dogs hate cats, Brother Constantin can be a good teacher, but even he isn't victimless in that whole cycle."
"Huh." Maybe he shouldn't have judged the Dimitrio too harshly for their thoughts about the neighbor. I had thought they were being paranoid considering the corgi next door, but maybe there was some truth to it. "Well, I did have a lot of fun hearing about Guru Miaow, wish I could read about it online."
"If you wish to read about the ways of Guru Miaow-" The pup almost jumped as Constantin walked over. "I have a few copies in the house."
"Huh." Diggs hummed as he also walked over. "Your human must also be a fan of this Guru Miaow." But that's when both felines snickered. "Or do you even have a human?"
Constantin shook his head. "Don't want one, never needed one, humans live their own lives, and I live mine."
"That's cool! No wonder you and Deepak get along well, you both don't need humans to do your own thing!" Domino barked in excitement. "Wait, how do you pay bills for the house?"
The cat twitched his whiskers. "Oh, y'know, selling incense and ointments, the occasional tea leaves from my garden…"
"Can I buy some?" Domino asked. "I mean I can't right now but I could find a way before I leave, I wanna get something nice for my human and-"
His rambling was cut off by Deepak. "Brother, I can pay for it." The guru told him. "As thanks for joining me today in learning about Guru Miaow."
"Huh, didn't expect you had a bank account." Diggs commented.
"My parents put some money in there for all the services I do for the family." Deepak told him. "Anyways, if it'll help your human's peace of mind, it's no fur off my back."
Constantin seemed moved by the kindness of his pupil, as there were some tears in his eyes. "You have learned the ways of Guru Miaow with honor my pupil, whatever your brother wants to buy, it can be half-off."
"Thanks!" Both dalmatians barked.
Diggs smiled, then noticed another feline sniffling. "Uh, are you okay?"
"No! My heart is full of rainbows and it's gonna kill me!" Rufus was sobbing. "Why are kids so cute?!"
Teen Dorks Squad group chat:
Karms: Anything happening back home?
Hiro: Well I am dying in Professor Ferns class, thanks for asking
June: Are Aunt Sally's classes that bad?
Hiro: you have no idea
Ari: you are SUCH a drama llama
Karms: Probably should've been specific, any superhero drama?
Meg: This wrestler got fired and then tried throwing hands with Red Panda
Rach: Red Panda curb-stomped him n.n
Karms: That doesn't seem in character,,,
Hiro: Well if he didn't, what if El Fuego started throwing hands with anyone?
Meg: Y'know what that would explain why Red Panda went to the fight.
Karms: El Fuego?
June: He was this heel at some mech-wrestling ring, but got fired bc the new owner was a dumb jerk who refuses to give back property he stole and I hate him!
June: I will get my mom's energy orb back from that guy or I'll die trying!
Karms: concerned
Meg: please don't I like you alive
Ari: Also I got grounded for watching the fight, Detective Dad snitched to my aunt : (
Hiro: I mean you did almost get yeeted by El Fuego
Ari: Drama llama!
Karms: O_O Did someone take video of the fight because I really am dying to know what happened
Hiro: *sigh* fine
Hiro: fight,vid this was something I found online but it's got good quality
Karms: thx n.n
Ari: Being grounded is now worth seeing the precious Karmiro moment in this chat
June: omg
Karms: ari w h y
Hiro: ARI CAN YOU GO ONE INTERACTION WITHOUT BRINGING UP THE SHIP?!
Ari: haha nope : P
Finding Karmi had been a hassle, Diggs checked at the hotel but she wasn't in her room. "Hi Diggs!" But there were the twins, Haley was watching one of those princess movies she liked while Ryan was playing a board game on Baymax's screen.
"Where did Karmi go?" Diggs looked around the room. Her scent hadn't been in the room since this morning…
Haley noticed he was looking around for someone. "Mom and Dad went to get pizza, if you're looking for them." Diggs shook his head. "You don't want pizza?" He shook his head again. "I don't get it."
"Maybe he's looking for big sis." Ryan guessed.
His tail wagged in excitement, if anyone would understand who he was looking for, it was the more observant of the twins. "Yes!"
"We don't know where she went." Haley pointed out. "She's with her new friends." Her tone showed a hint of jealousy.
Both Diggs and Ryan picked it up. "Big sis is allowed to have friends." Ryan told his twin. "She didn't before, remember?"
"But I miss her spending time with us!"
Diggs sighed, but he couldn't bring himself to be angry at Haley, she was just missing her older sister. "Ryan is correct, it is good for Karmi to spend time with friends and establish social bonds." Baymax stated. "It is natural for you to miss her company, but it is not recommended to get upset with her about it."
Haley frowned, she did miss her big sister, but she didn't want to be mean because Karmi was making friends like she Ryan did. "Okay, but I missed her when she went to college! I don't want her to leave again!"
"She won't leave forever, Haley." Ryan reminded her. "But it's not nice to keep her at home, remember that story Dad read us about the birdcage."
"Ohh no I don't wanna do that to big sis!" Haley wailed, visibly getting rather upset, so Baymax had to give her a hug.
Diggs recalled that story, it was a children's book with quite the dark ending. A story about a bird that had died in its cage because the owner was selfish and never let the bird be independent. The story was so sad that it made Domino cry, and Diggs had buried the book in the family backyard for the crime of making the pup upset. And to this day, Zachary wonders where that book went.
"Diggs." Baymax's voice made his ears perk up. "If you are looking for Karmi, she is on Retreiver Road." The robot's screen showed a map of the area.
He barked a thanks, even if Baymax didn't understand him, and went out the door, he had a surprise for the biotech major, one that he couldn't wait for her to see.
Good thing Haley and Ryan didn't question the bag he was holding.
Evening had fallen over Camden, it was quiet in the city except for the barks of some canine in the distance. "Hm, you think they're talking about the rugby game going on tonight?" Kirby wondered as they were walking with Karmi to Eleanor's place.
"I wouldn't know, I don't follow sports." The biotech major shrugged.
Kirby raised an eyebrow. "Really? Not even American soccer?"
"Nope." Karmi wasn't a sports person. "My step-dad gets really loud when the games come on, I usually put on music whenever he and my sister are watching it."
"Ah, my mum and aunt don't mind if I put rugby on the telly." Kirby replied with the wave of their hand. "As long as I don't put on replays around the same time as Reptile Watch."
"That's the channel about reptile care and herping, right?" Karmi questioned them. She recognized the name, as Hiro mentioned that he sometimes talked about the show with one of his cousins. "Two of my friends like that show."
Occasionally on the group chat, Hiro and Juniper would talk about one of the latest episodes, mostly the herping ones, as the two of them agreed that those episodes were the more exciting ones.
Kirby looked up at them with excitement. "Wow! No one at my school watches Reptile Watch, man I wanna meet your friends, they sound like a lot of fun!"
"They're gremlins, all of them." Karmi rolled her eyes. "Wait, no one at your school watches that show, what about Eleanor?"
"Ellie's homeschooled."
"Oh."
The conversation paused as they stopped by a house that reminded Karmi of some of the architecture back home. "Hey guys, you came!" Eleanor was waiting by the front door.
A canine was sitting by them, Karmi rubbed her eyes and blinked twice. "Diggs?" She was surprised to see the german shepherd sitting with the animal whisperer. "What are you here for?"
Diggs barked, and nosed the bag next to him. "He says that he got something for you, when he went to this yoga session that my cousin's cat also attends." Eleanor translated. "He wouldn't let me look."
"You got something for me?" The biotech major blinked at Diggs. He gave a nod, and nudged the bag towards her. Curious, Karmi opened it, and noticed that inside contained a variety of items.
From packs of tea, to flower scented candles, and even a book about meditation, albeit directed towards felines, but that didn't matter. To Karmi, getting a surprise gift was what mattered. "Aww, you didn't have to."
Diggs gave another bark, then looked at Eleanor. "He wants me to tell you that he wanted to because he and Domino were worried about you, so they got self-care stuff for you to try."
"Diggs-" Karmi's eyes watered as she gave the shepherd some well-deserved ear scritches. "You're the best!"
He didn't bark anything in reply, but his tail was wagging.
Diggs didn't stick around after delivering the surprise gift, even when Eleanor had told him that he was welcome to join them for dinner.
"He said he was going back to the Dalmatian house." Eleanor translated as they watched the shepherd run down the street and out of sight.
"Probably to make sure Domino's doing alright." Karmi explained. "Since Baymax can keep an eye on the twins, Diggs doesn't have to worry about looking after them."
Kirby raised an eyebrow. "He sounds like an overprotective parent."
The biotech major paused. Now that she thought about it, Kirby did have a point. "Great, the last thing I need is another overprotective parent." It was bad enough that her parents thought she should never go back to San Fransokyo because of one little mishap.
But it wasn't just that little mishap. A voice that vaguely reminded her of Hiro pointed out. You almost got killed on Akuma Island, remember?
Shut up, brain. She internally glared.
"Let's not discuss that right now." Eleanor stated, noticing how quiet Karmi had gotten. They opened the door. "C'mon in before it gets really cold!"
They followed Eleanor into the house, it was warm inside, and Karmi could smell vegetables being roasted. "It always smells like a restaurant here." Kirby commented. "Everytime I come in, I get hungry."
"Well it's a good thing we're here for supper!" Eleanor beamed as they led their friends into the kitchen, where Karmi could see a hibachi grill in front of a large table.
Three sets of plates were set out, with a bowl of soup in front of them, a man with cool brown eyes and grey streaks in his black hair, was flipping asparagus and zucchini on the grill.
"Grandpa Davidus, this is my new friend Karmi!" Eleanor introduced her. "She's the one I ran into at Regents Park."
Karmi gulped nervously as Eleanor's grandfather stared at her. "Well, it's nice to meet a friend of my dear grandchild." He grinned, then he glanced back at Eleanor. "Are you still using neutral pronouns?"
"That was last week, this week I'm good with he pronouns!" Eleanor shook his head.
The biotech major suddenly felt bad for misgendering Eleanor all day. "Sorry for getting your pronouns wrong today."
But the animal whisper waved it off. "Nah, it's fine." He didn't look offended at all. "Come take a seat!"
Eleanor was sitting in the middle of the table, Kirby sat on the left side, so Karmi was sitting next to him on the right. "Your cooking is as great as ever, sir!" Kirby was already digging into the soup.
Karmi took a sip of the miso soup herself, she felt like her tastebuds were going to melt, not from the heat, but from the rich flavor. "Your cooking is incredible Mr…" She trailed off, not sure how to refer to the man. "M?" She only knew Eleanor's last name started with an M.
"Hahaha, there's no need to be so formal!" He chuckled. "Any friend of my grandson can just call me David."
Huh, weird. That was a name she was familiar with, curiosity bubbled in Karmi's mind, thinking back to her first meeting with the animal whisperer.
But before she could ask a question, Eleanor spoke up. "Hey Grandpa, did you know that when I first met Karmi, she mistook me for her classmate who's also named David?"
"Huh, really?" Kirby looked amused. "I didn't know that."
"Yeah." The biotech major blushed, embarrassed now that she thought about it.
Eleanor continued with the story. "Karmi goes to school in San Fransokyo, have you ever been there Grandpa?"
As the name of the city was mentioned, his grandpa sighed. "Yes, yes I have."
"I mentioned that to Mum, and she got weird about it." Eleanor continued to speak. He had tried to ask her about it, but stopped when he saw she was getting mad at him for bringing it up so many times.
"Karmi if you don't mind me asking." Davidus glanced back at her. "Do you know anyone in San Fransokyo called Elizabeth Momakase?"
Karmi couldn't help but blurt out in shock- "Elizabeth what?!" as she glanced at Eleanor. "Is that what the M in your last name stands for?!"
"Why are you acting so weird?" Eleanor frowned.
She was confused by the look on the animal whisperer's face, but then relaxed. He doesn't follow the news in San Fransokyo, of course he wouldn't know.
"There's this supervillain called Momakase back home." Karmi stated, her two friends blinking in surprise. "She's David's mom."
"What does she look like?" Davidus kept his composure, but he did frown at the supervillain comment.
"She's got green eyes, her hair's black with blue streaks, oh and she also uses these graphene knives." Karmi explained, feeling as if she was a bug under a microscope.
Davidus sighed as he handed the trio freshly steamed vegetables. "Sounds like my youngest alright." He vaguely sounded disappointed, but there was no sadness or anger in his eyes.
"I have another aunt?!" Eleanor exclaimed. "And she's a supervillain?!"
Kirby looked shocked, but they were smiling. "Welcome to the club." Upon Karmi sending them a confused glance, they elaborated on that. "My aunt did a lot of international crimes, from stealing priceless art to exploding important government headquarters."
Why are all my friends related to people who commit crimes or have committed crimes themselves? If the universe was trying to pull a prank on Karmi, it was winning and she would like it to stop.
"Are we sure we're talking about the same person?" Eleanor looked a bit skeptical.
Kirby pulled out their phone. "Let me check." They typed something on their phone, and chuckled as they found an article. "Looks like she got arrested for stealing from this rich guy at some point."
Karmi glanced at the article, which had been several months ago. "She looks scary…" Eleanor mumbled.
"She might be scary, but deep down Elizabeth's got a soft side." Davidus chuckled.
"She poisoned a guy." The animal whisperer crossed his arms.
"That only happens if you insult her cooking."
Karmi made a mental note not to make any negative comments about the food being served in front of her, just in case Momakase got that from her dad. "Did Moma- I mean Elizabeth, cut contact or something?"
Davidus shook his head. "No, it's a long story, but you kids don't have to hear it."
"I wanna though!" Eleanor waved his hand. "I wanna know about my aunt and cousin!"
"Y'know, I go to school with said cousin…" Karmi pointed out.
Kirby shushed her. "Shh, let the old man explain his secret family history."
"Kirby!" She hissed, he was right in front of them!
But the grandpa chef didn't bat an eye, chuckling at the kid's enthusiasm. "If you guys don't mind hearing the story over supper, then I suppose I can share it." He placed thin strips of beef on the grill. "It started before our family moved to Camden…"
"I had married into the family long before any of my daughters were born. My wife, Elaine, was the one with the surname Momakase, mine wasn't very special, so I took her surname when we wed."
"Sadly, Elaine had passed just before our youngest, Elizabeth, reached adulthood. Maybe if my beloved was still with me, I'd still have my daughter in our life, and she wouldn't have drifted apart from Eliana and Elisa..."
Eliana had been sick for several days, whatever illness that had taken his wife had threatened to take his daughter too. The doctors at the hospital couldn't cure Elaine, and Davidus feared losing another one of his loved ones to this strange disease.
His brother-in-law, Eliot, had offered what seemed to be a solution. "One of the customers at the restaurant was talking about some doctor, claimed that the fellow cured any patient he had."
Davidus perked up. "Who are they?"
"Catch is: they're working for Mister Catastrophe and his gang of thieves." Eliot scoffed. "I believe it's a load of nonsense, no villain could be good at helping people, but I'm only telling you because I'm worried about Eliana."
They all had. "Well, nonsense or not, I'd rather owe a debt to some thieves than lose my pride and joy." Davidus knew there was a price working for villains, but he didn't care, if it meant that Elilana could live to see another day, he'd pay it with blood if he had to.
Surprisingly, when he reached out to Mister Catastrophe himself, he was in for quite the shock. He had invited the man over for dinner, despite the complaints of his daughters, but they had ceased when the villain had dropped a little bombshell on them. "Oh? I didn't know people were saying I cured all my patients." He was grinning like a smug cat as he revealed he was the doctor.
"Why are you committing thefts if you're a doctor?" Davidus questioned. "Not to offend sir." He added hastily, if he offended his last hope, Eliana was doomed.
But luckily, Mister Catastrophe just smiled. "Oh please, it's about the thrill of the hunt! The excitement of the crime."
"So it's like an extreme sport?" Elizabeth asked him.
"Indeed young one, stealing treasures under one's eye is greater than those tossing of objects people pay tickets to."
Davidus sighed. "Please don't encourage illegal activities to my children, I invited you over because I need your help." Mister Catastrophe gestured for him to go on. "My eldest is sick, and the doctors at the hospital can't help her."
"Of course they can't, those people only care about the sum of their paycheck, not lives!" While Davidus opened his mouth to disagree, the man continued. "I may be a thief, but at least my crimes don't result in a body count, unlike that Dark Volt, quite bloodthirsty he is!"
"Really?!" Elizabeth was staring at the man with wide eyes. "You're not going to make us pay anything?"
"Elizabeth!" His middle daughter, Elisa, hissed.
"Oh, I'm sure a fair sum of money will suffice." Mister Castophre gestured with the wave of his hand. "Free meals at your family restaurant for a week!"
Davidus smiled, sure, his brother-in-law, who ran the place would complain, but he didn't care. Eliana would be alright, and it seemed like all he had to do was trust his instincts and reach out to Mister Catastrophe.
"Or so I had thought… What I didn't know at the time was that the ingredients Mister Catastrophe used to make your mother's miracle cure, Eleanor, was brought from priceless items he stole from the crime bosses of San Fransokyo."
"Said bosses were not happy and demanded retribution, guess who Mister Catastrophe told them to take their rage out on?"
Eliot sighed as the police took away the group of gangsters. "That's the fifth attack this month." They were staring at the wreckage of the restaurant. "If I see that doctor… I'm hitting him upside the head with my skillet."
"I'm sorry Eliot." Davidus sighed. "It's all my fault."
"Hey, you had to save Eliana, not your fault that Mister Catastrophe threw us under the bus to save his rotten hide." His brother-in-law reassured him. "But we have to do something, one of those goons injured my son!"
Davidus winced at the memory. Eli was fine, but there would be a permanent squint in his left eye from the punch he got. "I think there's one thing I have to do…"
So, with a heavy heart, he had gone to the turf of the gangsters and requested an audience with their leader. "So, the little chef who hired that thief comes crawling for mercy?" Their leader, a tall and intimidating man, was looking at Davidus like he was worm.
"I-I-I did not know that Mister Catastrophe would resort to stealing from you." Davidus bowed his head, he didn't care if his pride would be wounded from groveling, he just worried that the gangsters would target his daughters next. "My apologies."
But the leader didn't want him begging for forgiveness. "Tch, that thief had stolen priceless items! Unless your precious restaurant serves things that can make up for what he stole, your words mean nothing."
Davidus didn't know what to do at that moment, money wouldn't satisfy the gangsters, and he couldn't offer them food like Mister Catastrophe.
There was one option he had spoken to Eliot about, but his brother-in-law had rejected it. "I'd rather die than see our family legacy be stolen from us!" He had spat.
"But Dad!" Eli protested. "If we don't do anything, then the gangsters will take everything from us. What if they hurt Eliana because Mister Catastrophe had stolen from them to make her medicine?!"
"It's your uncle's fault for getting him involved in the first place! He deserves to pay the consequences than forsake the family honor, a family he has no stakes being a part of!"
"Dad!"
His brother-in-law's words had hurt, but Davidus knew they were from the stress of the recent attacks. "My… my family has this set of blades."
The crime boss grinned. "Go on…?"
"It's a priceless artifact, made from a strong material." He rambled. "Would handing it to you make up for the crimes committed against your group?"
"Little chef…" He did not like the look on the crime boss's face. "We have a deal."
"The rest of the family had been upset with me for my choices, but in the end, it was the only way to keep our children safe. Eliot, still fearing for his son's safety, came up with the idea to move, I agreed, worried about running into Mister Catastrophe or any of those gangsters."
"So about a month after I gave away the family heirlooms in exchange for our safety, we packed up and moved here to Camden. But without the family blades, Eliot didn't want to re-open his restaurant, he worked at one instead. My oldest daughters were content with forgetting everything in San Fransokyo, including the days spent running the family dojo and teaching people, old and young, martial arts."
"The only one in the family besides me, who didn't forget, was Elizabeth. She never blamed me for my actions, in fact, she said that she was going to never let anyone push her around like those gangsters had pushed me around, and she was determined to get our family heirlooms back. But the rest of the family disagreed."
"Eliana had disagreed most of all, her life had been on the line during that time, to her, getting the family blades meant spitting on the sacrifices I had to make."
"Those people could come back and come after us again if you go for those stupid blades!" She snapped at Elizabeth, who was packing her bags for her flight back to San Fransokyo.
"They're all we have left of Mother!" Elizabeth hissed. "Dad had no choice, if those thugs want a bone to pick with me taking back what's ours, then they can speak to me."
"You're going to get yourself killed!"
Elisa had her hands to her ears, her sisters had been fighting all week, and she hated every second of it. "What's worse is that after we moved here, you forgot years of family history!" Elizabeth pointed to her and Elisa. "Not just you two, but Eli, Uncle Eliot, Aunt Gina, Aunt Ellia, even our other cousins! What's wrong with you?!"
"I should be asking you that." Eliana turned away from her sister, if she wanted to waste her life on a goose hunt, so be it. "The past is gone Elizabeth, it's time you learned that."
"Eliana!" All three girls froze when Davidus spoke up. "Enough, it's Elizabeth's choice, there is no need to shame her for continuing the family's traditions."
"The family's traditions are dead!" Eliana hissed. "All they did was get our family hurt, if Elizabeth's stupid hunt gets whatever poor kid she's saddled with hurt, then she's no sister of mine!" With one final word, Eliana exited the room, slamming the door on her way out.
"Y-You're still my sister, Eliza." Elisa muttered. "But I don't want you or anyone else to get hurt." Was all she said before following after her older sister.
Elizabeth sighed, Davidus could tell that her sisters' rejection had hurt her in no way words could heal. "Wherever you go, my daughter, my pride and joy, you'll still have a home here." He didn't want her to leave, didn't want her to get hurt, but forcing her to stay would end up hurting her, so Davidus let her go.
"I'll always remember you Dad, no matter what happens or what I do." Elizabeth murmured, giving him one last hug before she left, never to return.
"That was the last time I ever saw my youngest daughter." Davidus finished the story with a deep sigh. "Last I heard from her, she had turned the old dojo into her headquarters." The strips of beef had finished cooking and he placed them on the kid's plates. "It hurt too much, keeping in contact when her sisters didn't want to speak with her again."
"I'm really mad at my mom now…" Eleanor mumbled.
Kirby saw through that, noticing how he had cried hearing his mother had almost died. "No you're not, she just was worried sick about her loved ones, went about it in a bad way, but your mom's not heartless, Ellie."
"I didn't know that Momakase had such a deep family history." Karmi muttered. She still was wary of the chef/mercenary, who had kidnapped her and held her hostage on Akuma Island, but the story had reminded her that she wasn't a total monster either.
Not that she wasn't going to tell the old chef that, her parents didn't know of the incident and the biotech major would take the information of said incident to her grave. "I'm sorry that happened to your family."
"It was decades ago, no use crying about it." Davidus sighed. "Used to think that I could've done something more to prevent the family history from being lost, or prevent Elizabeth being separated from her sisters, but I stopped thinking about what-ifs." He glanced at Eleanor and Kirby. "Wouldn't have my grandkids if I didn't do what I had done."
"Aww, Grandpa…" Eleanor sighed. "Why did Mum not tell me about Elizabeth, or what the family used to do?"
Davidus looked down as he cleaned the grill. "She thought that the family history was cursed, thought that something bad would happen to you if you tried being a swordmaster or a chef, or heck, even a dancer, your grandmother was the best dancer from here to Port Angeles."
"That's dumb, curses aren't real." Kirby scoffed. "Ellie can be whatever he wants to be!"
"I want to be a zookeeper." Eleanor chuckled, but he appreciated Kirby sticking up for them. "But… do you think you could teach me some of those cool family techniques?" He looked up at his grandfather. "Without telling Mum?"
The old chef just smiled at his grandson. "Of course, she won't hear a word from me." Then turned to Kirby and Karmi. "You two are welcome to join if you'd like."
"Yes! I get to learn how to fight people!" Kirby cheered.
Karmi was concerned. "Please don't fight people…"
"What? One of my classes is wrestling, it's a lot of fun!" They then dug into their food. "Mhhmm, it's better than the real deal!"
The biotech major stared at the strips of beef on her plate in confusion. "I can't stand eating real meat, knowing it comes from a sentient being." Eleanor mumbled. "So when I visit Grandpa, he cooks artificial meat, so much better than eating a live person."
"You make it sound like eating beef is like committing cannibalism." Karmi muttered.
"Would you eat your chicken tenders if the chicken talked?!"
"No… but I would probably freak out about a talking chicken."
Kirby snickered at the banter. "Give Karmi a break, didn't you tell me that not all animals are as intelligent as humans?"
"Well no, but they still talk n' stuff." Eleanor took a bite of zucchini. "Sure, fish aren't as smart as other animals like birds, rodents, and canines, but it'd just be wrong to eat something because it's dumber than the rest of the animals!"
"At least you don't mind whenever I get seafood." Kirby commented. "I love you Ellie, but I would not love you as much if you made me choose between you and roasted eel."
"Okay in your defense, eels are creepy." Eleanor crossed his arms. "They find it funny to scare people at the aquarium, and they stare into your soul."
"That's one thing we can agree on."
"I might be repulsed about eating other living things, but that happens in nature so I'm not one to judge." The animal whisperer shrugged.
Karmi snickered. "It's the circle of life Eleanor, have you ever seen the Lion King?"
"Oh gosh I cannot get through that movie without crying at the stampede scene-"
As the trio continued to chat during dinner, Davidus watched the scene with a smile. Although he could not change the past of his family, he could, at the very least, make things brighter for the next generation.
And he hoped that wherever his youngest was? Elizabeth at least was happy, maybe he'd ask Karmi more information about his daughter, but for now, Davidus was content to let the past be the past.
AN: Woe, family Momakase lore be apon ye!
So basically that's Eleanor's family history! And though a lot of you guessed it early on, yeah he's a relative of Momakase's, and yeah David was 100% named after his grandpa, maybe one day they'll meet!
Thank you so much for reading, be sure to check out Fallen From Power next week, which takes place the same time as this fic!