Aria of the Ascending Soul
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: Sweeping away mistakes as best I can
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"You know, its getting late and from what I understand, Valencia has to take a flight out in the morning." Sachiho commented, his eyes roaming over the group in the room with the exhaustion and confusion almost palpable. Along with the rage from his wife as so many of her family secrets seemed to have spilled out from some hidden place. Considering Kazuaki's homebody lifestyle, Sachiho decided there was no reason why they couldn't talk more the next day. The Belnades clan was full of secrets, he knew that when he agreed to the arranged marriage after all.
But he understood at the time that he would have to essentially 'lose' any son he would father. Only to be given that 11th hour save from some unknown source who had convinced Valencia to keep Kazu. For which, perhaps, he would one day actually 'hear' the story of that moment where Valencia had her 'lets keep the boy' revelation.
"He has the right idea," Trevor voiced from the other side of the counter in the kitchen with the other Belmonts a little confused by it.
"Come now, we've all stayed up later when we were on the Hunt," Christopher noted turning towards the sound of Trevor's voice.
"But Kazu isn't a hunter, and his normal abilities leave him constantly expending more energy than most," Trevor countered as he walked out of the kitchen and sat in its doorway.
"That's true, though my talents are in battle magics I can understand that he would be in a precarious position. I doubt there was anyone properly trained to guide him in his own abilities, and from what I've gathered you are nothing more than a stop gap." Juste noted the tip of one ear twitching slightly as he thought the situation through.
"He can 'hear' us you idiots," Simon growled in annoyance from his seat. Which was an open ground cabinet facing the kitchen under the counter space. Why was he the one to remember other people's situations better than his clansmen?
Justes' head flattened to the counter and he planted a paw over his mouth in embarrassment over the faux pas. Though Christopher and Richter didn't look any less embarrassed as they were, ungently, reminded of Kazu's awareness. Though 'looking embarrassed' took on a new meaning when discussed with someone trapped in the body of an eternally cheerful stuffed toy.
"The Ancestors agree with you, dad." Kazu noted with the weariness evident in his voice as he turned his head towards said parent.
The physical humans in the room looked among each other before nodding in agreement and began getting up. While Trevor stood up from his seat and made his way to the couch, leaping up to place himself on the cushion next to where Kazu had been sitting at. While a promise to his wife reentered his mind as he folded his paws properly under him.
"Kazu, let your mom know that Sophia wanted her to know that she's proud of your mom." Trevor called out, while the rest of his clansmen began leaping down from the counter top and out of the kitchen to join Yoko. As Valencia stood there as stiff and prim as usual, though there was a subtle flexing of her fingers that expressed her uncertainty of how to handle the situation.
Then again why wouldn't she? She had rehearsed the whole interaction in her head for well over five years. Deciding what was important, what should be omitted, gauging the reaction from the members of the DaNasty, Morris and LeCarde clans about this. Planning to make sure that no one in her branch of the bloodline would know about Kazuaki. But while Kazuaki seemed pretty simple in and of himself, Yoko had blown everything to hell and back.
How could Yoko, who had animated Snuggywuggy in early childhood, ensnare a Belmont and entrap the soul inside a toy? It was something only a fully trained adult high level witch could do, and for that matter, it was more in line with what the Aulin branch did. Not what the Belnades were know for, especially since Yoko could cast battle magic in the same way as their ancestress Sophia did. Valencia wanted to be proud of Yoko for such accomplishments, yet just knowing how that power had been used.
She couldn't be proud, nor could she be angry because Valencia knew she had failed in protecting Kazu in a lot of ways. Though she managed to keep Kazu with them, she had never really focused on his own abilities. Yoko seemingly having noticed and dealing with those issues far more quickly than Valencia could. She couldn't tell if Yoko had learned self efficiency on her own or if she had the devils' luck in making things just fall into place for her. But between Yoko and their trapped Ancestors, Kazu was now possibly in a position of danger if Dracula, now Soma, decided to target him. He knew where Kazu lived, his demonic servants knew and if at any moment someone wanted to get a promotion... Well they knew where they could kill off a defenseless Belnades.
"Well come on... I can't just let you walk to the car," Yoko broke Valencia's internal musings as she bent down and gathered up all four of her plush party in a squished hug before walking out of the living room and towards the foyer to get her shoes.
"Do you think this age has things to make it easier for us to communicate with her? The pen and paper thing seems kinda difficult," Richter noted from his crushed position in the posse.
"I'll come back later in the day, or call if that's easy and we can talk then?" Yoko offered Kazuaki as she slipped her foot out of her slipper and into her shoe.
"I'll drive you to the airport, better I do it than find out I've lost the women in my life due to a fireball." Sachiho informed his wife, unwilling to imagine his daughter trying to drive to the airport while the plush toys kept blocking every spell Valencia could cast. He was pretty confidant that the barrage would happen again in the car. He knew the ladies in his life after all!
A quiet affair of departure for some, while for Kazu it was louder with the four extra voices. Simon having been a quiet one for as long as Kazu had known the bear, then again by the time Kazu really was 'aware'. Well Simon had Trevor to talk to so it made sense that he would go back to being the quiet one. At least Trevor always said Simon was the quiet one.
He watched them slip out of slippers and into actual shoes before Yoko slipped out into the night with their dad following her chatting softly. While Valencia was left to face the son she had seemingly 'neglected' for so long. As though both father and daughter realized that Valencia needed some actual alone time with her son. Given what Yoko had learned that day, the struggle their mother went through just to keep Kazu, it brought a knew dimension to the stern Belnades.
Valencia turned to look at her son with the interior of the apartment serving as his backdrop. She took a deep breath and straightened her posture before saying, "well this went further off the rails than I anticipated."
"Heh, yeah... I love the gift," Kazu agreed before tugging them back to the safe topic of his birthday gift. The orb now resting on its own pillow in his bedroom in 'fire' mode giving the room the warm golden glow of heatless flame.
"Yes, I remember how you were always fascinated by my elemental spells," Valencia noted unable to properly clip her voice like normal.
But beyond that he couldn't think of something else to say. Somehow now knowing the 'why' Yoko spent more time as his 'mom' than his actual 'mom' didn't ease the pain of growing up like he did. Yet, the realization that he was supposed to 'not' know 'any' of his blood kin and she had hidden him away so he knew them? It strengthened all those times he thanked the Kami's for his sister and for Ralph.
"Before we walked out of the living room, Trevor wanted me to tell you that 'Sophia is proud of what you did'." He reported dutifully and watched as his mother went from her strict composure to looking like he just punched her.
Her eyes grew wide in a way that he had never seen, the faint light from his apartment lit her blue eyes enough to show the sparkle of sudden tears. She sucked in her breath in shock and he watched as her proud posture sagged in disbelief. She didn't know how long he had known of Sophia beyond being Trevors' wife. Didn't know if he was aware of the significance that the Belnades put on Sophia Belnades and their connection to her.
She struggled to regain her posture as he stood there unsure of how he should react to this sudden reaction. The chilled air of his apartment air conditioner tickled the back of his neck while his mother pushed herself back into a proper posture. "Well, I've dumped enough information on you for one night. Most certainly 'not' what people look for in their birthday celebrations I'm sure, but I made these decisions years ago. No reason to go back against them."
Off to the side Sachiho stood waiting patiently for his wife to join him before they left, while further down Yoko struggled to see her way to the car. It looked normal, all of this looked completely normal, yet he was of a European witches' bloodline. It felt weird, standing there knowing what he knew now and despite it being uncomfortable Kazu felt he needed to do 'something' for his mom. Despite it not being very, Japanese, he reached out and pulled his strict, strong willed mom into his arms and gave her a tight hug. She smelled a bit of cinnamon and hair care products and for once a part of him associated the scents as 'mom' scents.
"You take care," she finally said as she briefly give him a small hug back, granted that her arms were pinned down to her sides from his hold on her.
Valencia began taking the steps down to the ground below, her husband to her left and to the right was her daughter. Yoko standing at her car, the door open and the younger witch was waving to her brother with some semblance of her normal energy. While the entrapped souls of the Belmont Clan moved about the interior of the car for whatever reason.
Yoko gave her parents another wave and slipped into her vehicle, probably hoping to get away before a fireball went flying for her. Again. But Valencia wasn't quite sure how she should be feeling about what had been revealed. When she had made these decisions she had a stringent list of things she wanted to explain and that was 'it'. But now knowing that Kazu was, essentially, living with Trevor Belmont. That all he needed was a visit from his sister with her little army and he could talk to 'any' Belmont who had faced Dracula?
At least Kazu wasn't the type of person to actively look for the Dark Children and tote his position in the family as a right. A blessing that he apparently had a good head on his shoulders. Then again, Valencia never really 'heard' of any raging Dark Children here in Japan. While the rest of the world was a job that seemed never ending. Asia always had a grasp on how to appease the spirits and somehow managed to 'not' offend their Dark Children.
Which was comforting, but if he could see spirits maybe it had something to do with that? Japanese customs probably provided for the spirits of the departed to move on, unlike Western where there was less effort unless the spirit became negative. "Is it easier for Kazu here?" She finally asked, curious if there was anything else she may have missed.
"For the most part, so long as he sticks to certain parts of the country. But there are several large areas where, while the spirits have moved on, the land itself still is scarred. Man made disasters still resonate with the trauma and affect him even if the proper rites are done. The natural ones leave few if any scars that require his concern." Sachiho replied as he turned the key in the ignition of his small Toyota. The white box like car rumbled to life while he flicked on the headlights and put on his seat belt. "But Ral... Trevor has always been there to clear out anything that would bother Kazu, before it becomes an issue."
He didn't say anything after that, nor did she make any comments for such a long time that he wondered if she was still awake. So as he pulled onto the freeway towards the airport he gave her a glance to see if she fell asleep. But no, while she was still awake she sat there with her face shielded by her hand as she wept. It was a rare thing to see his strong wife give in to such emotions, though he would have thought she was relieved to be free of this burden. Yet somehow she seemed to be lost to tears that brought no relief filled smile to her lips.
"Maybe, I will take you home instead. After all its not like you have already made your flight plans to go to China. You should rest a little, this night has been trying enough for all involved."
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Kazu put the twin Shishi statues back outside the doors of his apartment before closing the door and putting back on his slippers. He leaned back against the door and for a moment just rested, his eyes shut to the ceiling of his apartment or the hallway he stood in. The weight of the night made the task of reaching the living room seem impossible. Witches and Vampire Princes, Vampire Hunters soul bound to stuffed toys and he was 'related' to the madness. Oh and going to college with a 'Dark Lord', whatever 'that' meant.
"I'm not dragging your bed over there so you better start walking back here!" Trevor called out, his tone patiently expectant. Then again he 'had' spent years dealing with Kazu and knew how drained the boy could get. But knowing the problem didn't always promise an easy solution, seeing that plushy Trevor couldn't drag a human body anywhere. The list of things he couldn't do even if he tried was ridiculously long and made the whole 'I slayed Dracula' sound more preposterous.
Kazu pushed himself from the door and made his way properly into his apartment, while his thoughts made his stomach churn the sake, birthday cake, and dinner into an unpleasant mess. He turned to the right to enter the living room and found himself stunned into stillness at what he saw in the living room.
Sitting on the couch was a slightly older looking man with a pronounced scar that ran down from his brow down over his left eye to the lower part of his cheek. His hair hung past his shoulders, and he wore a gray colored duster with brown leather accents, gloves and thigh high heeled boots. Yet Kazu faintly recalled the long rips in the tail of the duster from his childhood. When spirits got violent and came after him. Glimpses that never stayed long when Trevor would 'take point' and drive the spirits off.
Though in those memories was the sound of Yoko giggling at the spirits she couldn't see, just 'Ralph' pretending to be the 'brave protecting doggy'. But in all those memories, those brief glimpses of what Ralph 'really' was, Kazu never saw the face. He never saw who this person was and only knew that it was this human trapped in the body of his toy. But Trevor never discussed details of his life, always saying he was 'just a soul' that Yoko stuffed in the body.
It was even by accident that Kazu ever got to find out that Trevor was married or to even 'see' his wife. He merely walked in on their private conversation to find his dog talking to a long blond haired lady in near shapeless robes. Despite that, she had been pleasant enough to him, while Trevor only confessed to having a wife and kids. Now he knew who she was, and the reality of who this spirit was almost knocked the wind out of him. This powerful looking man was an ancestor, even if not directly. Arms crossed his chest, showing thick corded muscle between the gloves and sleeves, the chest and the pants, everything said this was a powerful individual.
Powerful enough to make Kazu feel grotesquely out of shape and intimidated by the mere presence of this soul. Which was sad because Kazu, while not a chiseled Adonis himself, wasn't exactly rolls of fat either. But some part of him wondered if Kazu's lack of physical size was considered embarrassing. Only to be dourly reminded he was from the 'witches' clan and therefore his size wouldn't matter all that much.
Trevor looked solid enough to be real, save he never drew a single breath for his position on the couch. Yet Kazuaki knew that for anyone else, all they would see is the plushy Labrador and not understand his profound shock. The eyebrow of the scarred side of Trevors' face rose up as though to ask if Kazu was just going to stand there.
"Are 'all' your direct descendants as intimidating in appearance as you?" Kazu asked finally and watched as Trevor smirked while rolling his eyes.
"You'll see over time," Trevor enigmatically answered.